#drew and serena have a few of those too

[pokemonedits-outofcontext]

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter One (Part 2)

Back at the house, Shane’s mother Caroline is pulling rocket out of the vegetable patch. She complains all the time about having planted it without realising how invasive it is and how it would choke and overcrowd her shallots. Beside her is a growing pile of herbs, some of which she will offer to me before I go home, and I’ll take it knowing that my parents don’t know how to cook with things like rocket. 

“Well,” She says to me with the sun in her eyes. “How did you get on?”

“Horrible.” I say. “I thought I’d be sick.”

“Great to get back into the swing of things again.” She says. “Sure you’ll be flying up and down those fields again in no time.”

“I hope so.” Down the garden Claire is lying serenely in the sun next to a flourishing bed of summer flowers. When I go over to her she squints up at me and says “You’re a bit sweaty.” 

“Yes I know.” I say, and I lie down beside her with my arms and legs spread eagle and close my eyes against the warmth of the sun. 

“This is why I don’t do things like running.” She says. “I can’t stand the feeling of exertion.”

“I can’t imagine you sweating.”

“‘Cause I don’t do that.”

Shane is toeing a football around the grass nearby with Rosie snapping at his feet. I can’t fathom how he has the energy. “If I’d it my way you’d be out of bed at six, running up and down the park with me.” He tells her. 

“I’d never do a thing like that in my life.”

“Evie will though, won’t you?”

I sigh. “I suppose.” We have a plan in place to get me fit again once we go back to college in a few weeks, and now that Shane is moving to Portobello it means he’ll only be a five minute cycle from our apartment. When it’s time for our run he can just come and get me. The thought is ominous, but not half as ominous as the thought of heading back to Dublin after the summer, even if I won’t be in the NCAD building much this year.

There isn’t much that stands out from second year. It passed me by in a haze, and all that I really did was work and study, eat and sleep. I chose to specialise in illustration, just like I said I would, and I enjoyed it, but it really just became my life, and once again I fell into the role of the quiet girl in the back of the classroom, never all that willing to participate in pub nights with the others. I went home and drew all evening instead, sometimes hanging out with Jaz and Serena when they were over, but apart from that it was quiet. I didn’t want any new people in my life.

Marnie specialised in graphic design, Dean in painting, and we never spoke except for the time that she said something to me in the canteen about liking my hair. I didn’t say anything back to her and then she never tried to talk to me again. They don’t talk to each other anymore either, but I don’t care about what happened. I saw Dean in the hallways once or twice, and out in the yard with some girl who I almost felt like warning about him, but then chose not to risk getting tangled up in his rotten web again. I hope that she will be smarter than I was. I decided to take an optional extra year and do an internship, but they did not, and so next May they will graduate without me and I’ll never have to see them again. 

“Are you excited for your internship thingy?” Claire asks me, somehow following my train of thoughts to the same point, and I tell her that I am. “I’m scared too though.” I admit. “I feel like I wouldn’t know how to act in a real work place with professionals.”

“You’ll be grand. You worked in that café before.” 

“Yeah but a café is very different from a screen printing studio, I think probably anybody can pour an americano and put a bun on a plate. The people at the studio are going to be actual paid artists who design things and sell them.”

“But you are an actual artist.”

“Not yet.” I shift up to lean back on my elbows and watch Caroline busy at the beds still, the soft buzz of the honeybees in her hives fill the air with a pleasant, comfortable sort of ambience. “When I get paid for something I’ve done, I think then I can say that I am.”

“Hm.” She says. “Well then you can say it after you’ve painted that window later on this week.”

“Oh yeah.” I say, remembering the promise I made to my former manager to do some typography on the front window of the café. It’s the kind of thing I haven’t done before, but the idea of it feels so exciting that I feel I’d probably do it for no money at all, but the fifty euro he’s offering sounds enticing too.

“Here, what’s the name of that printing place you’re going to work?” Shane wants to know, and I tell him. “Mezzotint.”

He nods. “I think I know one of the lads that works there.”

“Really?” This incredibly culchie man and the amount of alternative social circles he seems to have a finger in never ceases to surprise me. Since when is he randomly hanging out with screenprinters?

“Yeah.” He says, kicking the football into the back wall of the long garden with a thwack. “Simon something. He’s hung out with me and my friends a few times now. Nice lad.”

“Is he a single lad?” Claire asks for my benefit, and I lightly thump her on the arm. She’s only teasing. She knows I’m firmly settled into being entirely romantically unavailable again. Safe limbo, married to myself, never looking at any boys. 

“Wouldn’t say so.” Shane says. “I think he’s going out with one of the girls.”

“Oh no.” I say sarcastically, and take my phone out of my bum bag to check the time. ��Anyway, I think it’s time I head off.”

“Aw, stay.” Claire says, but I show her that it’s almost five and she understands immediately. Kelly works with her dad, the head chef at a local hotel, every weekday until five. She’ll be home in about ten minutes and I don’t want to be anywhere near this garden when she is.

“Don’t forget the rocket.” Caroline tells me, and I don’t. I grab a generous handful from her and let myself out over the stile ladder. 

“Same time tomorrow.” Shane yells after me. 

“Ugh!” I yell back, and take off over the fields that lead me back towards town. 

Beginning // Prev // Next

[quiiscnt]

WORLD BUILDING

Fiore's Black Market

LOCATION: Cleome City

Cleome flower is also know as the spider flower. This city, although in terms of size and population is closer to a town, it located just past Clover, around the area where "Cat Shelter" use to exist.

This area does not have any nearby mage guilds in its area to protect it, and is close enough to the board of the country and mountains that is gets neglected. It wasn't always a sketchy area. Ironically when Oracion Seis was operating it was thought as their territory and most dark influences stayed away. When they, and Cat Shelter, left, it drew those who wished to conduct hidden business. Over the past few years it has really grown in operation.

The entire town isn't "evil", although one should be careful when passing through regardless. It has nice parts. But if someone is looking for trouble, they can certainly find it easily.

MARKET: Nephila Square

Nephila refers to the weaving of webs. Just as the black market is a web of information, goods, and services. Despite what it provides, it is a very structed market located near the northern part of town.

Stalls include, but not limited too, banned magical items, pure lacrima crystals, and weaponry. Nephila Square is also where dark guilds come to meeting with clients, there are even mail boxes for dark guilds and clients to use so nothing can be traced to them.

There are rules to protect customers and shop keepers alike. It is a place of evil, but not for barbarians. It is against protocol to hunt other customers who beat one to an item or out bid them. Stealing obviously is frowned upon and shops taking from customers already purchased goods is also looked down on. There are more, but it is just important to note that the consequences for breaking rules could be heavy. Again black market they are never afraid to get their hands dirty there.

CLIENTS: anyone but not everyone

Snitches get stitches as the saying goes and nobody likes a rat. It is best to keep one's identity a secret, and if you are from a legal guild certainly keep that hidden. Trust is not something easily given or received. Violence isn't encouraged in the market but no one is going to care if a "good" mage gets knocked around a bit. If there is something one wants, get in, get out, and keep head low. It isn't impossible to build a reputation as a client, and doing so is important to get news on items drops such as rare dragon slayer lacrima harvested from the dead God Serena's body Not everyone in there is bad perse, but always be careful.

ARRIVAL: invite required

Cleome is already hard to get by, nearly three-four hours from Magnolia. The train lets out at Clover, and if someone is lucky they can get a carriage to head out the rest of the way, if not it is a part way ride with hiking to the city is how it usually goes. Once in the town a password is needed to get into Nephila Square. Or at the very least have someone who already is allowed and known be the escort.

[zedpercyfan]

Left Behind - Chapter 1

The Status Quo

ASH KETCHUM had always been too busy traveling on the road to pay much attention to those in his circle of friends and acquaintances.  He always remembers a face when he’d see them again but in transit it was always what was in front of him or a second step ahead that mattered – long term plans were kept vague and that’s how he liked it.  “Day by day” in his words.

As he aged, however, that philosophy began to get challenged.  It was after Alola when he took notice.  Ash hadn’t paid attention to the social media accounts that Bonnie had made him set up, so one day when he went to Kalos for Professor Cerise, he had a huge shock when he noticed a ring on Clemont’s finger.

“Hey, Clemont, what’s that about?” he asked eventually has they conversed over tea and cake.

“Oh, didn’t you see, Ash?” replied Clemont.  “I proposed and got married to Serena two years ago.  The wedding was eight months ago.  She and I posted about it on InstaShoot.”

The black-haired boy blinked in shock.  Had he really not noticed, he thought.  Strange…

“Er – yeah, I-I must’ve forgotten about it! Haha!”

Clemont cocked his head to one side.  “Yeah.  I-it’s okay.”  Something in his voice told Ash it wasn’t though…

Stranger things happened still.  Soon he found out Bonnie and Max had crossed paths somehow and were now dating; Kiawe got engaged to Mallow (he’d been apparently developing feelings for her the whole time when they were in school together.  Ash seriously questioned how he hadn’t noticed before.  Wouldn’t that have been obvious?); Brock got engaged to Lucy; May and Drew got married and already have a kid on the way.

The then 24-year-old was incredibly confused and wondered: had he never really noticed any of these relationship signs?  It seemed odd to Ash…and the worst part was learning all of this either on his new social media accounts or by directly encountering those friends and apparently being the only one not to know.

Worse was to come.  He returned home to Pallet Town a few days after learning about Kiawe and Mallow’s engagement to each other.  He wasn’t physically or psychologically tired from the journey as Goh and Professor Cerise suspected but he took the vacation regardless because he needed a break from all the shocking news he was enduring.

“Ah, Pallet Town,” sighed Ash when he saw it once he ascended to the top of the hill.  “Doesn’t look like much has changed.”  Ash huffed with content; it was a line he uttered every time he saw the place.  Then has grew closer and closer he heard an orchestra of familiar sounds, sounds that didn’t belong to Pallet Town.  “Er…”

Past the thick tree lines that filled his right vision stood familiar yet alien buildings.  There stood several new suburb blocks with several more under construction nearby.  “Um, no one mentioned those last time we talked…” Ash groaned.

As he entered town, the changes hit him in his heart more.  Now there were shopping strips, more than ever before, the once quaint and quiet town now a hustling bustling place.  A whole crowd of elementary students rushed by him from a café he usually only saw in the big cities – the sight of it in his hometown hurt his head.  He sought out his family home, yet once again, it hit him like a bullet train to the solar-plexus, and that hurt.  “Oh, what in the hell is this?” asked Ash Ketchum.

Now his house was replaced with a bigger one, the material the same, now with more storage rooms and a bigger kitchen, dining, and living room.  Ash slept that night, not feeling at home at all.

The next day he found his Mom already out of the house.  Not thinking this strange, Ash went about his breakfast before he headed for Professor Oak’s Laboratory.  His time in the company of his Pokémon at the corral went by peacefully.  Professor Oak and Tracey were as cordial as ever with him and nothing seemed amiss to Ash in comparison to the shock he had had for a homecoming yesterday.

Delia Ketchum was noticeably tired when Ash returned home late in the afternoon, but she hadn’t given him any reason to be concerned.

The next morning saw her absent from the house yet again.  Ash was unconcerned and once more set off to the Oak Corral.  It was at the lab where Ash wondered if something was up, because he found the Professor and Tracey both absent.

“Huh… Strange.”

He headed for a convenience store and was in the middle of walking back to his family house when he saw Gary leaving the local church.  Ash froze up where he stood adjacent to the doors. “U-uh…”  Ash was without words.  Gary was in a tuxedo, a girl with long brown hair he didn’t recognize in a wedding dress, her left arm hooked with his, Professor Oak walking nearby and his Mom in a fancy dress right behind.

“Oh, hey, Ashy-boy,” said Gary as soon as he noticed him.

Ash recovered and tried not to show how stunned he was. “Hey, Gar-bear.  You’re…you’re married – er – that’s amazing!”

“Yeah, it is.”  Gary paused and looked at Ash.  Ash’s lips trembled slightly.

“So, um, no one said anything…”

“Sorry about that,” said Gary awkwardly.  “It was RSVP, and when I talked to your Mom, we weren’t sure how available you’d be to come.”

Ash’s heart sank.

“I’m sorry, dear,” his Mother added solemnly.  “You just seemed like you really needed a rest so I didn’t want you to worry about attending.”

“I totally get how busy it can be as a Research Buddy so I just assumed things were busy with ya.  It was a surprise to hear you came home, but like I said…”

“That and the church does get upset with last-minute arrivals,” said ‘Leaf’.

“Well, it’s not like we were that crowded,” said Gary suddenly.  “A few people couldn’t make it anyway.  Your Mom probably prepared too much food for the reception anyway, so come with us.”

“Well, um…”

“Good idea! Ash, you do have some fancy clothes for parties, right?”

“Well, yeah, I-”

“Good! Put them on and head for 720 Purwey Street. No, on second thought I’ll come with you to make sure they’re on right,” said Delia as she ran up as fast as she could – or as fast as a woman could in heels – to him.

“Y-yeah…thanks.”  Ash sighed inwardly.  Now all he’d done was waste his money buying some hundreds yen worth of food in the plastic bag he was carrying.

***

“Oh, hurry, hurry,” fussed Delia as she knotted his tie on his dress shirt.

Ash grimaced and kept his thought about how they wouldn’t be in a hurry if he had just known about the event that morning to himself.

The reception went by with Ash not knowing how to feel.  He felt happy for Gary but he also felt an icy loneliness.  He didn’t know this ‘Leaf’ girl, never knew she existed, and couldn’t shake the feeling he was a spare brought to eat the food that some five absentees left behind.

“Why wasn’t I told?” he muttered to himself as he swallowed his second glass of white wine.  No one heard him, though, and he preferred it to stay that way.  His Mother happily conversed with some of the local ladies in attendance while Ash was left alone – he figured his own feelings didn’t need to be known, the loud music and clicking of shoes on the dance floor drowned him from sight…

He felt hurt and unsure of himself.  It seemed like pointless bureaucracy to think about the logistics of letting him know of the festivities.  He had been around Professor Oak’s practically all day yesterday, why not inform him of Gary’s special day.

***

Delia now placed more focus than ever before into the family business left to her by his Grandmother.  It turned out that the expansion to their house was necessary to allow his Mom to host cooking lessons that she started offering.  Ash kindly offered to move out to leave space, his Mother gave her blessing.  In truth, Ash only agreed to it because it hurt too much to feel so out of touch with everything around him.

He was glad when he was able to go back to work soon after.  The problem, however, was that he soon became too engrossed to work.  Months passed by, and he was forced to take an even longer break.by Professor Cerise and Goh again.

Ash tried to spend his free time not obsessing with what else was happening, but he couldn’t escape it.  Tracey and Daisy had twins before his break; May had given birth while he had been researching in Hoenn and he had not been invited to say ‘hello’; and Lana had recently become a CEO of a now global-expanding Riding Pokémon Training and Education Company.

“Ugh…and Lana really asked Brock and Professor Cerise to help with setting that up before asking me?”  Ash hated trying to make it about him, but something stung about not being trusted enough to help with those ventures.

“Everybody…has so much going on, buddy,” Ash said to Pikachu early one morning on the second-floor balcony.  There hadn’t really been a point to sleeping in as he’d have liked, everyone he knew was either out of town or preoccupied with other things, so he couldn’t have a nightlife (not in a small town like Pallet) and doing it of his own accord wasn’t really his style anyway.  “They’re all doing things I wouldn’t have expected, or are deep in their relationships…”

Even Paul had gotten a girlfriend recently and that weirded Ash out just because his image of him was a surly one.  Maybe he’d been wrong about Paul the whole time…

Still, things could be more shocking, Dawn was currently juggling two relationships at once after deciding she indeed has bisexual leanings.  Then again, he isn’t an expert in romance so maybe it made sense Dawn never confided this to him.  Then there was Ritchie, who changed careers entirely and now is a building engineer; both Violet and Shauna separately went from fashion models and influencers into real estate and restoring national heritage sites; but perhaps worse of all was how he could see and read about pretty much everyone he knew but Misty.

He'd never been able to get an answer, not even a word.  Her sisters always picked up her phone, apparently busy with meetings with the League – none of his and her mutual friends really knew either and social media was of no help.  Ash sighed and drank his milked-down coffee, he had a feeling he knew what was going on, or at least an inkling.  His heart ached as all of that weighed down on his mind.

“Y’know what, though?” he said to Pikachu, continuing his out loud wonderings.  “There’s no point in dwelling on ‘ifs.’  We’re here, and we’re now.  Not like there’s anything else to do, Mom’s running the restaurant.  Let’s just go for a ride.”

“Pika-chu!” said Pikachu in agreement.

Ash hurriedly got his bike out the door and after collecting a random assortment of his Pokémon friends to bring along, began his journey.

“Anywhere you really want to be, Pikachu?”

“Chu. Pika!”

“You don’t have an idea either?  Seems we’re in agreement – anywhere we please!”

Ash biked along aimlessly.  He breezed through Viridian Forest and past the city and out into the unknown, biking without awareness.  He peddled through fields of flowers, past lonely farms and rice paddies, rumbled past bridges that were above rivers or dips in the grasslands, plunged into naturally formed rocky caves turned tunnels and ones purposefully built, he’d tread and weave through towns and cities, climbed up winding roads, and crested a hill and took in the sea breeze as he passed by the ocean from atop a cliff.

He took it all in, not really caring for where he was or how much time had gone.  His only stop was a ramen cart at the border of some town somewhere along the way.

He didn’t keep up where he was going because he didn’t want to think.  Thinking, he realized, only brought him pain and regret.  Traveling was in his heart; he loved adventure and that was where he felt truly at ease.

Yet he couldn’t escape his anxieties.  Alone in the open country with only the sound of bike gears winding alongside only the occasional Pokémon cry left his brain to go back to speculation.

Had Misty found a boyfriend or girlfriend by now?  Was she pregnant?  Running a business or had she taken over from somebody – followed in Violet’s footsteps?  Perhaps all his calls in the past few months fell on deaf ears because she was preparing for her wedding?  Ash shook his head, trying to will the bad thoughts away but he just couldn’t.  Out of everyone whose lives were changing without him knowing, it was Misty’s that strangely irritated him the most.  The idea of yet having to have another major epiphany of events beyond his control was too much to bear.  He never noticed that he was suddenly going uphill.

Atop the slope lay a four-way crossroad.  Ash in his state climbed it without a problem and when the gradient flattened, he had no way of slowing down as a stopped bike with someone on top came into view!

“Whoa! Look ou—”

With a resounding crunch, metal met metal and Ash was hurled into the dirt path.

“Ow…! Damn it. Hey, are you all right…Misty?”

Perhaps it was his last thoughts making him think it was Misty.  There was no way such a coincidence as the very person he was thinking of would be there when he needed them was.  No way her hair was still as short as the last time he saw her.

“Ash, is that you?”

It was her.

[smallblueblondie]

I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and say you are genuinely interested in learning and aren't asking in bad faith!

A lot of the links I drew are outlined in the original post, but I'll go over a few more clearly. Keep in mind I'm speaking as a white us-american enby and Black Trans Women or just WOC overall could offer you even stronger and more eloquent insight. I'll use this as an opportunity to add onto my original post and add some insight some of the reblogs gave me!

1) Womanhood defined by Beauty. Radfems and Terfs often define what makes a woman a "real woman" by what she looks like, either at a first glance or deeper down. I unfortunately don't have the screenshot myself but there's been many terfs listing how to "clock" trans women using phrenology and beauty standards. The idea that big noses, dark skin, large hands, thick body hair, are all masculine and "ugly" features so therefore if a woman has those, she mus be secretly trans. A lot of the features they list line up with features common in women of color (specifically black women are often targeted), intersex women, and just women who don't naturally look like pretty pale porcelain dolls.

2) Victims of transvestigation. Most often I see this in the infamous trans in sports debate where terfs will try and accuse athletes who are "too good" at being trans women (which in itself is also misogyny, why are women these frail helpless flowers in their minds?), and often they demand Testosterone testing be done and that these women "prove" they're real women. More often than not they're accusing black and latina women of being trans because they don't fit the beauty standard or perform "better" than what they think a real (white) woman could do. Serena Williams is one I see often accused of being a "man with a mans body and a mans face and man hips and man man man" but there's tons of CIS black female athletes accused of maleness because of their blackness.

3) Denying Black Femininity. Black women are often accused of being men and masculine regardless of it's by terfs or conservatives as an exercise of racism. They're told they're "hulking, too strong, manish, ugly." They're denied their right to be feminine because the beauty standard is skinny hairless white women. Another example is the countless conservatives who accused Michelle Obama of being secretly a man out of nothing but her blackness. Terfs often see this and mimic it, because

4) They learn from their friends. Notoriously radfems have no issue rubbing elbows with Nazi's, white power groups, violent xenophobes, and other deeply racists folks in exchange for their agreeing to further target trans people as well as people of color. Even if a terf isn't outwardly racist, they don't see racism as a real problem. Only misogyny is the real oppression, and racism is a frivolous afterthought at best. Most notably is UK based terfs working with their conservative party to further both racist and transphobic movements. Terfs have no problem siding with neo-nazis as long as they can burn trans people alongside people of color.

5) The roots of radical feminism itself are based in bioessentialism and gender essentialism based on white, European, colonialist ideas of gender. Female and Male only. Women are pathetic and weak and helpless and can only cook clean and birth babies, they're too fragile and mousy for anything else. Men are uncontrollable beasts, slaves to their libido and hormones who have no emotion besides horny or angry, and they do all the "real work" for the world. But terfs tack on "girl power" to all that without removing any of the gender roles, any of the sexism, any of the white european gender roles of it all. Many nonwhite cultures have historically had more than one gender, room for trans folks, gender roles completely different from female baby machine and male labor machine. They insist these white european colonial gender roles are biological facts and every other (nonwhite) culture's view on gender is deranged transgender fakeness. Or that trans people are the real racists for having nonwhite gender ideas.

These are the main points I have seen myself and the main ways terfs/radfems uphold, empower, and further white supremacy through their ideology. If anyone has more feel free to add on, I'm personally muting notifications on this post for my own sanity because despite having a lot to say, I dislike conflict strongly. And with tumblr smacking anyone speaking out against transphobia or terfism with the ban hammer, I was a little nervous about this post suddenly gaining so much traction again.

Please never stop ignoring that white supremacy is a huge core element of radfem/terf ideology.

Like yes they hyperenforce gender roles and stereotypes on all cis women, but it is primarily women of color that they target and accuse of being predatory and "not real women" when they're targeting cis women.

The metrics of "real woman vs trans woman" that terfs love to share are almost all just white eurocentric beauty standards. Small nose, thin fine hair, little/no body hair, petite but somehow curvy, hell I've even seen a post saying skin lightness is a determiner.

Terf/radfem circles are racist at their core. You cannot separate radical feminism from it's violently white supremacist roots. You can't have "anti-racist radical feminism", that's a fucking oxymoron. There is a very clean path from terfs to tradfems/tradwifes, to just straight up conservative republican women.

Yes yes always, terfs are super misogynistic. They hurt all women by forcing them back into the little impossible painful boxes that they claim they're fighting. But one of their biggest targets other than trans women is black women. Not to mention ignoring, discrediting, or just straight up trying to erase all the hard work that black trans women did for queer rights.

Radical feminism is very much transphobic, homophobic, and misogynistic. I'm not saying stop addressing it as such. Don't ever do addressing it as such!

But racial feminism is white supremacy in a coat of pink paint. Please never forget that when talking about how it hurts us all.

[doped-on-galaxies]

So I decided to make my last post a little more clear

We're going to put the shippings more in depth.

First off, keepsakes

I dont take the keepsakes very seriously due to the fact that's all they are. They were gifted. Nothing fancy just things that are carried along throughout the series. Though Misty's keepsakes were carried throughout plenty more seasons than Ash and May's ribbon. The ribbon was nothing more than a good luck charm to remind May of how much she learned, same as Ash's lure from Misty was a good luck charm for him 🤭

Posters/Advertisements

Whether these were hints towards shippings or not, these were the only personal ones that had Ash and a female companion alone. Though this can be argued I do personally feel as if Pokeshipping and Amourshipping were hinted in these. Nonetheless May and Iris did not get a cameo poster with Ash alone.

Being saved

If you're going to consider one as a hint, then consider all of these as hints. These characters were simply being saved, and each of the falling scenes have a close up of grabbing each others hands. Let it be noted though, that Misty saving Ash, Serena saving Ash, and May saving Drew were the ONLY times the females saved their *crushes* every other time it's just Ash saving and girl. Yes a few of the girls liked Ash but that carries us into our next topic.

Blushing

Somebody said that "blushing doesn't always mean romance" of course. I get that, but not in these scenarios. Each person blushed due to to a romantic gesture. Whether it's embarrassing someone about possible love letters, accusing one of having feelings, accepting feelings, or simply a romantic moment. They say "Oh well Pokemon can't be romantic due to age" yet last time I checked, there is blushing, rose giving, slow dancing, kissing, and people asking if x has a crush on y. Can they go too far? No, but did they give us an idea on who liked who??? Definitely. As shown even Ash blushed, he just didn't blush very often, but them few counted. I understand that Goh blushes at Ash too though but last time I checked we aren't talking about characters being embarrassed, but I do believe if there is a possibility for there to be a LGBTQ relationship with Ash- Gary and Goh are definitely good representations.

Oh, and yes I am aware Ash was sick in the scene with him and Serena, but Pokemon did a pretty *obvious* job of making it a romantic scene regardless. They didn't have to do all that, but they did. "Some" people seem to forget that there's more to a Pokemon shipping than having to fish out romance out of non-romantic scenes due to their ship just being a healthy friendship at best, but if you're here for the obvious, you can easily tell Pokemon did their best to portray some kind of romance in these scenes. The proof was in the blushing. If you don't feel for someone you don't blush. You argue it out or deny it. We have all been in a scenario as kids and young teens where someone asks if you have feelings for someone, and you brush it off or argue about it because it's simply not true. I promise you my face only got red when I actually had feelings for someone. It's natural instinct, Pokemon knows that too. Take some notes from the Pokemon creators because they knew what they were drawing and what was going to be said in these scenes. Also take a look at the few shippings that had no blushing whatsoever. It's a sign, not an argument.

"Look at how they look at each other"

You know, you're only partially right. Look at how Ash looks at EVERY GIRL. Ooooh wow same expression. Pretty last resort thing to fall back on. Which is why there are other hints that help to make SOME of those expressions actually worth digging in to.

Let's face it, when it comes to ships like Contestshipping and Penguinshipping- there's very few episodes that Drew and Kenny are in, so every second counts. Plus the episodes with Angie, Anabel, and Lucy (towards Brock) they made it very clear within the very few episodes that those girls had feelings. Though I do believe Pearlshipping was partially one sided (I do feel like Dawn liked Ash to an extent only with the way she left Kenny to travel with Ash despite his offer) there was 100% proof Kenny DID have feelings for Dawn and it was easily initiated in the actions he made. Contestshipping was not one sided though. I've learned in my 23 years of watching Pokemon if they don't blush, it's not anything to worry about. Luckily May blushed nearly everytime, and Drew did blush but he didn't always need to. After all he was slinging red roses left and right, and if they were for Beautifly- the last one she received would've never been given to her since Beautifly wasn't even in Battle Frontier at all.

Though I am a Pokeshipper, Amourshipper, and half ass Pearlshipper- I stand as an ally when I say that if you're looking for romantic signs in a shipping you're going to have to find it in the Poke'girls actions. Ash doesn't *look* at one girl specifically different than the other. He literally just looks at them. Though the only person he ever blushed with was for Misty, but that doesn't mean the 2,000,000 hints Serena had are dismissed. After all, like I said before, if Pokemon wanted to create hints, they would, and they did. Those hints were soooo out there, that saying "oh look how Ash looks at her" is gonna leave us asking "who?" Because let's face it he looks at all of them pretty normal. That being said there are still hints Ash had. Being jealous of Misty's potential crushes, showing he was attracted to other women, running up to Serena when he was sick and falling into her arms, and looking at Serena when she kissed him and doing nothing but smile, when normally Ash would probably freak the fuck out.

That being said I hope I made myself clear on how to spot a close-to-canon shipping. It's okay to ship people who have litte to no proof of real romance, but don't say a ship with real proof has none. That is where you are wrong.

[lilith-of-rivia]

The Bard’s Sister 

Geralt X Reader 

Part 2 

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Masterlist 

Summary: Geralt of Rivia and his long time travel companion Jaskier find themselves in Jaskiers home land. A place Geralt had not only never seen nor heard of. Jaskier is ready to reunite its his family after traveling and exploring the world for 20 years. The one person he missed the most was his baby sister (Y/N). Who he hadn't seen since she was 5. The journey is long, but the pay off is grander then they would ever be able to predict. This is still part of our introduction to the main characters and their personalities in this story. Next chapter will be more about (Y/N) and Geralt. I know I am trash at summaries.

I would like to state that I do plan on adding a pregnancy in the future to this story. (I know Geralt is steril. Just bare with me and the story line I’ve created) I just wanted to let eveyone know because I would hate for someone to get attached to the character and story only to have a plot line they do not like for themselves. I know not everyone like pregnancy plot lines but I’m such a sucker for dad!Geralt.

Trigger warnings: Cursing 

Pairings: GeraltxReader JaskierxSister!reader

Word count: 6,369

(Changed from 3rd to 1st person) 

The sun was high in the sky, it was nearly two in the afternoon. The garden below the large windows of the castle was shining brightly. The birds chirping, children playing in the river that ran through the center of the city. Life was good. The sun was shining a little brighter today. It was because Jaskier was finally home. 

I hadn’t realized how much I missed him till he was back. After breakfast, we walked around the castle’s courtyard. He and Geralt introduced me to their horses. To my pleasant surprise, Roach took a particular liking to me, as did her owner. He was nothing like the rumors. There were many times that I traveled out of our borders into the western part of the continent, and every time people had nothing but cruel fowl things to say about the poor witcher. Sure he wasn't perfect, but no one was. 

“Would you like to see my studies?” I asked as we walked down the long corridors that lead to three separate staircases. I glanced between the two men that were on either side of me. 

“Your studies?” Jaskier asked looking down at me. I couldn’t help but smile. 

“I told you in my letter that I’ve been working with a man over the last couple of years. He has trained me well. But I have many books, drawings notes all sorts of stuff that I’ve written about the world outside of our home.” We approached the base of the three staircases. 

“I’ve never seen a castle so big in my life.” Geralt’s sultry voice flooded my ears once again. I couldn’t help but smile up at him. He was so polite. He never turned his nose at us. I knew he didn’t have a very positive history with others like us. Yet he sent no judgment towards myself or my parents. He just listened, followed, and learned. I had never met someone so open to the world yet so closed off that the same time, and we’ve barely even begun to get o know each other.  

“Our mines are some of the richest you’d ever see in your life. From coal to diamonds. Nearly 85% of all ores get mined and sent out to the rest of the continent.” I started walking up the staircase on the far left, the stairs led up a long corridor that was open and bright, the mountains that shielded us from the rest of the world in perfect view. Both were still by my side. I stopped at the first picture that hung on the wall. 

“That’s my great-great-grandfather, he only recently passed but he started all of this.” I looked towards Geralt. He was listing intently, his eyes on me as soon as I looked in his direction. I knew Jaskier knew our history so I wasn't too worried if he was paying attention or not. 

“He came here from Termieria with his 6 younger brothers. The mines here had been closed for many many years. The town was completely deserted. There was a serious necrophage problem that no one wanted to deal with, so they just up and left. Leaving the plentiful mines full for someone else.” 

“Necrophages?” Geralt questioned his eyebrow tiling in curiosity. 

“The people who inhabited the lands before we did, had not known of the creatures. Didn’t properly bury the dead. My grandfather wrote in his journal that when they got here the streets were lined with bodies that had been drug out of their shallow graves, crypts had been broken into. His best guess is that a flue came before the people fled, killing many in a short period.” I started walking ahead of the two men, down the hall towards my room. I pushed the door open walking in placing my books on the night table as they followed in slowly behind me. Their eyes wandered over every inch. Jaskier started wandering through the room looking at every picture on the wall. Most of them were sketches, mostly of him. Or the people he sang about in his ballads. He grabbed one off the wall and laughed softly. 

“Who is this supposed to be?” I walked over to him and laughed softly, my cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. 

“That, that uh was my first sketch of Geralt.” The sound of his name got his attention, he was trying to be polite and not snoop. Although I didn't care if he wanted to look around. He walked away from the door over to Jaskier and me. He lingered behind me, very close behind me. I could feel his body heat on my back and his warm breath on my face as he peered over my shoulder at the parchment Jaskier was holding. 

“How old were you when you did this?” Jaskier asked.

“Eighteen, maybe nineteen. It was after your first balled about your adventures with Geralt that started to spread like wildfire. I went to a tavern one night with a friend and someone was singing it. I was intrigued by the song and asked them who they sang about. I was told they didn't write the song, our very own Prince had. So I listened to them play it over and over.  I asked around the and so see if people knew what the famed witcher looked like. I got conflicting answers from nearly everyone I asked.” Geralt reached his arm over me, his hand gently brushing my arm, sending chills down my spine. His hand grasped the paper as he looked at it closely.           

“They got the hair color right. That was about all. Some people have some very wild depictions that I drew, but none in any seriousness.” The particular one they were examining was nothing like Geralt. They got everything wrong but his hair color. Many people said he was a scrawny young lad with the strength of thousands of men, making him easier to blend in with the crowds. Granted this was very early on in my brother and the Witcher’s adventures together so not many people had paid close attention to the witcher. 

“You drew what people described?” Geralt asked. 

“Yes, some people tried to pay me but I told them to give it to the needy. I traveled with Serena for a couple of weeks right after I turned nineteen, we didn't venture far past the mountains but it was enough.” I couldn't help but frown at the memories of the people in the towns scowling and sticking their noses in the air when I asked about the Witcher and my brother. 

“Can I see the other ones?” Geralt’s question took me by surprise. 

“I don’t know…” 

“Oh come on, you're very talented (Y/N), let him see them,” Jaskier said and shoved my shoulder playfully. I smiled softly at him but shook my head. 

“It is not that I’m self-conscious of my work, it’s the depictions of Geralt outside of our Kingdom, for the most part, were cruel and inaccurate beyond belief. I only drew them because I was wasting their time asking questions. I honestly don't know why I kept them.” I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, the idea of Geralt seeing those ugly, horrendous, depictions of himself made my stomach turn. He didn’t deserve the hate he received. I never understood why people despised Witchers the way they did. I only experienced it outside of our kingdom. For some reason, whether it be our pure lack of monsters or the abundance of sunshine, my people seemed happier. Less judgmental than the outside world. I was grateful to live in such a kind and caring place, but it does get rather dull after a while. 

“I’d still like to see them.” Geralt said softly as he handed the parchment back to me. I sighed slightly uncomfortable with the idea, I took the parchment and hung it back up on the wall. 

“Let’s make a deal,” I said turning to them both. 

“Oh boy.” Jaskier teased. 

“I’ll show you the drawings if you let me paint you now, so I have an accurate model. Not just words.” Geralt’s eyes looked over me, his arms crossing over his chest. A small smirk formed over his lips as he watched me intently. 

“If you want to draw me so bad, just ask dove.” The nickname nearly threw me off my feet. My heartbeat quickened at a rapid pace and I couldn't even look him in the eye. Jaskier snickered and pulled out a chair by my desk. He was enjoying this way too much. I cleared my throat swelling thickly. 

“T-that I uh..” I had never been one to not have words. According to my parents, I talked too much. Just like my brother. Yet here I was gobsmacked and wordless. I grumbled under my breath moving to the desk Jaskier was sat at and made him move. He got up and I sat down. I opened the top hatch of the desk, lifting out folders and files of archives. Some containing spells, some more drawing, history of the continent, and even monster facts that I knew I wouldn’t ever need. I placed the folders on the floor. Jaskier grabbed a few and moved to my bed plopping himself down kicking his feet up. My head snapped over to him as he put his dirty boots all over my fresh linens. 

“Jaskier. If you don't get your boots off my bed, I will castrate you.” I warned turning back around rummaging some more. I heard him kick off his shoes. Geralt chuckled behind me. 

“Fiery are we.” He teased but I ignored him. Finally, at the bottom of all my work, I found the folder. I held it up to him, not wanting to watch his face as he looked at the disgusting depictions of himself. 

“Thank you, dove.” His lip was right next to my ear. I felt frozen. 

I couldn't tell if it was genuinely just a flirt or if this was directed to me. Sure I had heard the rumors of the witcher and his many women of the night, including the sorceress Yennefer. But this seemed different. I snapped back to reality when he let out a low chuckle. I turned around and stood up, peering over his arm to see what one he was looking at. This one was particularly nasty. His eyes were slanted like snake eyes, large fangs protruded out of his mouth, and his hair was a crazy mess. His eyes were blood red, his nose crooked from supposedly being punched so many times. His face was littered with so many scars he had scale-like skin. I remembered the man who gave me that description. 

“I met this man in a tavern in Solveiga, it’s the furthest I've ever been from home.” Jaskier stood up walking over and looking at the drawing Geralt was studying carefully. I didn't know why he was spending so much time on such a cruel piece. 

“He said you came through a few winters prior, he and a bunch of the townsmen had gathered some coins so you'd get rid of a Striga. I knew was lying the moment he opened his mouth.” Geralt looked up from the payment, his eyes meeting mine.

“Why do you think he's lying?” I took the folder from him, and just as I expected the parchment below the picture he was looking at was full of my notes. Every time I traveled and spoke to people about it. My brother or his companions took incredibly detailed notes, I never wanted to forget anything. I took the parchment out before handing him the folder back. I began to read the notes:

“This man takes me for a fool. No more than some silly girl. While he sits here and tells the tale of the Wolf he seems to be forgetting the incredibly important fact about Strigas, they only hunt during a full moon. He keeps saying that the beast was hunting their people every single night, slashing children, men, women, animals, every night for months. He’s using it to fuel the people's hatred of the witcher. He’s attempting to claim that they sent for him as soon as they knew of her presence. Claiming the witcher waited nearly three months before coming to discard the beast.” I flipped the page over scanning the meticulous notes. 

“He said the beast was killed on a new moon, he said he remembers it so vividly because of the lack of moonlight while he escorted the witcher to her crypt. I may not be a witcher, but I am not stupid. The man is trying to make matters worse by lying through his crooked yellow teeth. How dare he tarnish a name for the sake of his prosperity.” Geralt chuckled at the last part making me look up at him, he had an amused smile on his face, his eyes twinkled as he looked at me. 

“Why are you laughing?” I tilted my head to the side slightly and he just shook his head, putting the folder of parchment into the desk. He knelt and began picking up the rest of the folders neatly placing them inside the desk where they came from. 

“Because you got so mad that someone lied about me, yet you at the time were not even sure I was a real thing-“ 

“Person.” I quickly corrected him. His eyes glanced at me, he didn't move his head as he continued placing my papers where they belonged. 

“What?” He asked. 

“You called yourself a thing, you're not a thing Geralt. You're a real living breathing person.” His eyes found my own again. My heart raced as he studied my eyes. I had never seen anything so beautiful. His eyes were like hot pools of gold and honey. The complexity of the colors was mesmerizing.

“And I wasn't only mad that he was lying about you, I was mad that he was lying in general. About something anyone could disprove if they just picked up a book on monsters.” I noticed the parchment with the drawing he was just looking at was on my bed. I grabbed it to put it back on the desk. Geralt's strong hand gently grasped my wrist stopping me. His other hand gently grabbed the parchment from my hand. 

“I’d like to keep this one if you don't mind.” I looked at him shocked.

“Why that one?? Of all the ones I've done you choose one of the most inaccurate and the crudest?” It made no sense to me. Why did he want that? Was it some fun game of his to think he was just some stupid monster? 

“Because it shows your talent in a way the others don't. And besides, you got my nose perfectly. No one can do that.” I sighed heavily not liking the idea of him possessing such a cured drawing that was drawn purely on lies. 

“Fine. Keep it.” He smiled vicariously. I’d let him keep every single one if he smiled like that all the time. The smile quickly vanished when Jaskier came back over with the first file he took. The one he had been studying was full of my notes on herbology and alchemy. 

“You are incredibly smart (Y/N), I felt as though I was reading Yennefer’s notes.” A huge smile spread across my face at his compliment. 

“Thank you, Jax.” Geralt was now walking around my room, hands tucked under his arms as he studied the drawing and notes hanging on the walls. Some drawings were of monsters, some of the random people I’d met on my short travels, some maps I’d drawn up so I’d remember where I wanted to go when I had the chance. 

“Your talent is very wide-ranging, little dove. I have to say I’m very impressed with your knowledge.” That blasted nickname nearly kicked me off my feet again. 

I looked out my window noticing the sun was getting lower in the sky.

“If you'd like to get new clothes I’d suggest we do it now, it’ll be dark soon and the shops close earlier in the week.” Gertrude turned to me, nodding his head. 

“Please. These pants are so tight I’m afraid I may lose my legs.” 

We walked down the street. The sun was close to setting in the sky. The cool air kissed my bare chest as we walked. It was a comfortable silence between the three of us. For the first time in my life, I felt comfortable in silence. I hated the quiet with most people, it left room for negative thoughts, negative energies. Most times when it was unbearably quiet when I was present was because I was shut down from talking by the people around me. I know they meant no harm, I knew I had a lot to handle at times. I was just lonely. Board. I only had a few true friends. Most of the people I grew up with were married and with children now. I spent a lot of time alone, I liked being alone. It gave me space to think about the world. The world outside my small one. 

We approached the seamstress, walking through the wood door. A small bell rang in as we entered. Hildi walked out from the back, a bright smile on her face. She was a sweet older woman, not much older than my mum. She had been running this shop for as long as I could remember. She was the best seamstress in the country in my opinion. 

“Princess (Y/N)!! What a lovely surprise!” She walked around the counter and hugged me softly. Her hands-on the sweater I was in. She made it for me many years back for a birthday gift. She always had the best gifts. Full of love. I did adore the woman. Her attention turned to the men next to me. Her eyes grew bigger, her hand gently coming up to her chest. 

“My gods. The rumors were true. Jaskier!! How wonderful it is to see you again!!” Her hands wrapped around my brother who hugged her back. I couldn't tell if he remembered her or if he was just being nice. As she released him she looked at Geralt who was visibly tense, scared that she may try and hug him. 

“You must be Geralt of Rivia!” He nodded. 

“Rain!! Get out here!! And bring me my Witcher’s guide!!” Geralt's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the book. He shot me a glance and I just smiled. A few moments later Hildi’s daughter Rain appeared. She was my age. We knew each other in school. She was never nice to me. Picked on me. Would make jokes about Jaskier not being around. I never told anyone, in fear people would think I was nothing but a stuck up princess. Her presence made me uneasy. I slowly took a small step back, inching closer to my brother. Rain’s eyes landed on Geralt. I could practically see the drool pooling in her mouth. 

“Gods save me.” She moaned out. I had to fight off the urge to cringe at her outward burst. 

“The tales are true then?” She looked directly at me. 

“So maybe you weren’t lying all these years.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. 

Hildi was very blind to her daughter's cruelness. After her husband passed away it was just her and Rain. She’d do anything for her. I understood that. She was a devoted mother and wife. I knew how heartbroken she was. She walked to Rain and took the book from her hand and grabbed a quill that had been dipped in ink. She turned to Geralt, a very soft smile on her face. 

“Would you sign this for me?” His eyes bulged out of his head. 

“Y-you want me to sight your book?” I held back a giggle at his shock. He truly wasn't used to being appreciated. 

“Yes, please. If it is not too much to ask. Your stories were what got me through my husband’s death. Had it not been for the ballads and tales of your great bravery I may have not made it through.” Geralt’s shoulders softened at her words. He nodded his head and walked over to the counter. She opened the book to the first page and he scribbled down his name before giving her a soft smile. She gently placed her hand on his arm and squeezed. 

“You are truly a great hero here Geralt. If our country had a mascot, you'd be it.” Jaskier chucked lowly at her comment making me swat the back of his he’d. He hissed in pain and looked at me. I glared at him. 

“Do not ruin this for him,” I whispered. 

Hildi turned her attention back to me and smiled. 

“What can I do for you today my dear?”

“Well as you can see, Jaskier has a sore taste in fashion and also doesn’t understand sizing. I was hoping you could fit them in some better, more comfortable garments. Maybe a set of nice clothes for my party as well?” She gleamed. She hurried around her counter, grabbing a piece of parchment and measuring tape. She came back around and wasted no time in messing the two men. I sat down at a table by the window and watched as she rummaged through somethings in the back of her store. 

“So you're like a real witcher?” Rain’s voice caught my attention. She was leaning over the counter, her dress pulled down, the cleavage of her breasts on clear display as she dumbly curled her blond hair in her fingers. 

“No. I'm a fake one.” Geralt said back unamused. 

“But like are the rumors true?” She asked leaning even further over the counter. She was trying so desperately hard to get him to look down her dress. But he was simply uninterested. I felt my heartburn with envy. I hated that it did. He wasn't mine, he was nowhere near it. But the thought of him looking at her like that made my blood boil. 

“Rumors about what?” He took a step back from the counter slowly making his way over to where Jaskier and I were. 

“Ya know. About your huge cock.” Jaskier and I both choked on our spit. My hand flew over my mouth to keep my laugh in. It was a good thing her mother’s hearing wasn't all that great. Geralt looked visibly uncomfortable. He sat down in the chair next to me, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Jaskier and I were both trying to get ourselves under control after her question. She was completely unfazed. She thought she was hot shit. 

“Common witcher. Tear me apart. Show me the real monster you can be.” That sentence made my grip on the chair so tight I thought I could’ve broken the arm in half. I probably could have if I did not have any self-control. I’m much stronger than I look.

“Do not call him that.” I hissed. My teeth were clenched so hard I was sure I was breaking them. Her eyes flicked over to me. She looked me up and down trying to size me up. 

“Call him what? A witcher. Honey are you dumb. That’s what he is.” In a second I was inches from her face. I could feel my blood pumping thru my veins. 

“Do not ever call him a monster again.” I was a bit shocked at how mean I sounded. I had never been this angry with her before. I wanted to punch her stupid smile in more than anything. 

“(Y/N)..” I heard Jaskier’s voice behind me. He was very close to me. My hands were balled in fists at my sides. My knuckles were turning white with how angry I was. 

“I promise you, studying princess, he's been called worse.” She smiled cheekily at me and her hand came up and she attempted to pat my face like I was a dog. My reflexes were much faster than she realizes. I grabbed ahold of her wrist in an intron grip. I began to squeeze and bend her wrist back away from my face. Her face contorted in pain. She wasn't expecting me to be as strong as I was. 

“I said-'' I squeezed harder, and she gasped slightly as she tried to pull her hand away. “Do not call him that.” I threw her hand away from me before turning around and walking by the window. I hadn't realized both Jaskier and Geralt were standing behind me. 

Moments later Hildi came out completely oblivious to the scene that just took place. She had a cloth sack filled with clothes and placed them on the counter. 

“Alright, dearly that’ll be 45 coins.” She said as she wrote down the total in her book. I stood quickly pulling the amount from my coin purse and putting it in her hand. I smiled at her as best I could, Jaskier grabbed the bag of clothes. 

“If something doesn’t go right, bring them back.” 

“Thank you Hildi, very much.” Geralt said a charming smile on his lip. He gently shook her hand kissing the top of it. 

“Thank you, Geralt. It was a pleasure meeting you. Don’t be a stranger.” She patted his cheek as a mum does. I turned on my heels and walked out of the shop. The cold air hit my hot face. My blood pumped slow and hard through my veins as the anger disappeared from my body. Jaskier came out of the shop and threw his arm over my shoulders leaning into me. 

“Thank you.” He whispered lowly, Great not being very far behind us as we walked to the castle. 

“For?” 

“Defending him. Many people don’t realize how much he’s heard throughout his lifetime. I’m glad I’m not the only one who wants to help.” I turned to him and smiled. I leaned into his side hugging him gently before, turning around walking backward as I looked at Geralt. 

“If you would like, I’ll show you both to your rooms, and you can change. We can then have tea in the garden and I can draw you.” A soft smile graced his lips, his eyebrow rising softly. 

“You seriously want to draw me?” I nodded my head and stopped walking, but he didn’t. He kept getting closer and closer till he was a few inches from me. 

“Yes, Geralt I do. You have a special spot in my heart, not just because I believe you are a true knight. And many people are just too scared to admit that, but also for keeping my brother safe all these years. You deserve to feel appreciated.” His features softened as his eyes searched my face before settling on my own eyes. His hand gently came up and he moved a small piece of hair from my face. 

“A deal is a deal, little dove.” I felt as though my soul was being sucked out through his hand. Every fiber in my body wanted to pull him closer to me, to show him love, and tenderness. Something I knew he never actually had. 

“Good, follow me,” I said with a smile.

After I showed them to their rooms; my brother’s old room not far from my own, and Geralt’s which shared a wall with my room, I went down to the garden. My easel, charcoals, and paints were set up on the table as they came down from changing and freshening up. Geralt looked more beautiful in clothes he could breathe in. his attire was so simple yet he made it look like the finest silks and jewels. It was a soft cotton button-down, it was loos on him, his pants were tight, but in a way that allowed him to move and feel free. I could tell by the way he walked he felt much more comfortable and in his element.   

“You look like you feel better,” I said with a smile. Even Jaskier changed. A white shirt. And some black pants. He looked as he always did when I was a kid. The obscene choices in fashion were only adopted after he left home. 

“I do.” I plainly said, a small smile on his lips. He and Jaskier sat down and I poured them tea. They both snacked on a few fruit tarts while I began sketching the background of the garden. allowing them to eat and not have to sit still just yet. 

“So...while I draw maybe you could both share a story?” I glanced behind my paper and looked at the two. Jaskier smiled and leaned back into his chair fixing his hair and popping open a few buttons for the portrait. 

“What story do you want to hear?” Geralt asked. Leaning back, his shoulders relaxing, a small piece of hair fell from the bit that he had tied back. It looked deliciously messy. It made him look disheveled, nearly like he was right out of bed. 

“Wait!” I yelled and grabbed his hand gently, pulling his hand back softly. 

“I like it. Keep it.” his hand went back down to his leg to rest. His eyes watched me for a few minutes. I studied their faces beginning my base sketches. 

“What story shall we tell her Geralt?” Jaskier asked as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to the sky, the last of the light kissing his skin. 

“We could tell her about the Djinn?” Geralt said back, glancing at Jaskier before looking back at me, a coy smile on his face. 

“A Djinn?? I’ve only ever read myths about them. You encountered one?” My curiosity was blossoming, the urge to get more details about the creatures I had been taught about.

“Geralt here was going onto day gods knows what on no sleep. He was beyond grumpy.” Jaskier tilted his head back up and looked at me with a smirk. 

“The git said my singing was like a pie with no filling!!” I couldn’t hold back my laugh. It was much louder than I wanted, not very ladylike at all. 

“Oh… I may have to steal that one.” I said in between giggles, whipping my eyes. 

“I was hoping to use a wish from the Djinn to help me sleep. But unfortunately, your brother got in the way.” As Geralt spoke I moved into his details on his face, my eyes traveling all over his beautiful face. From the way, his brows arched to the cute little dimple on his chin. His face was beautiful. Some scares were prominent enough that I could see them if I looked hard enough he had one on his cheek, it looked newer than all the others, the skin being a bit lighter than the rest of his skin. 

“What did he do this time?”

“He decided that because I told him I no longer appreciated his singing that he would take the Djinn away from me till I took back what I said.”

“And let me guess, you didn’t take it back?” I glanced at him from behind my easel, he was watching me closely, his eyes slanted like he was studying a pray. 

“No. No, he didn’t. And I almost died!” Jaskier shouted dramatically causing my eyes to drift from Geralt over to him. 

“Don’t be dramatic Jaskier,” I mumbled, putting down the charcoal I had been using. Now turning my attention to the paints I had in front of me. I started mixing the colors Id need for Geralt’s skin tone. 

“No, this time he’s right. He did almost die. Unfortunately for Jaskier, he refused to let go of the vase the Djinn was in. While we tugged on it, the lid came off. Maybe the Djinn knew I was a witcher and its curse wouldn’t work on me, or maybe it was just annoyed at Jaskier. Either way, it attacked him.” My eyes were focused on the painting, brows furrowed as he spoke. I waited a moment for him to continue but he didn’t. 

“I’m listing Geralt, please continue,” I said my eyes moving to his, the colores pooling in my head as I prepared for what pigments id be using to paint them. 

“I don’t want to interrupt.” I shook my head a soft smile on my face. 

“I will,” Jaskier said as he sipped his tea, looking at me. 

“The Djinn attacked my throat. Made it swell, I was coughing up blood.” My painting stopped as I looked at him. My stomach sank a little as he spoke. I knew Jaskier had been put in harm’s way before but hearing the first-hand accounts made my stomach ache. 

“Geralt took me to an elven healer that wasn’t too far from where the river bed was. Unfortunately for me, he couldn’t help me. But he knew of a mage that could help.” My hand started to paint again, filling in the sketch with colors on Jaskier’s face as he spoke. 

“We can skip over those details Jaskier.” Geralt huffed crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Why? Don’t want my baby sister knowing that we had to sit threw an entier orgey just for you to speak to the mage?” Jaskier snickered looking away from me to his friend, 

“Jaskier, shut up.” Geralt grumbled. His eyes avoided my own when I went to look at him. 

“An orgey?” I had heard the word but hadn’t ever fully understood what it was. 

“What’s that?” I questioned looking at my brother. His head fell back as he cackled. 

“Oh dear sister how you’ve been so sheltered from the world.” My cheeks flushed red at his words. 

“Jaskier don’t be rude,” I mumbled grabbing a fine liner brush from my pile. Adding some final detail into Jaskier’s blue eyes. 

“It’s when a very large group of people get together in one room and have sex.” The blood rushed to my head at his words. I could feel my ears turning red. My brother was right. I had been sheltered about sex in my family. I didn’t have friends who I could talk to it about, and never really had anyone in my life I was willing to have sex with. 

Unlike many women my age I never viewed my virginity like a sacred rose that no one could touch, I just wanted it to be lost to someone who deserved it. No someone I was forced to allow to deserve it. 

“Oh look at how red she is.” Jaskier snickered standing up and poking my sides. I smacked his hands away glaring at him. He was now able to see the nearly completed painting. All I had left was my Geralt’s eyes and some details in his hair. 

“Gods (Y/N), this is amazing.” He whispered his hand on my shoulder. I smiled softly, swallowing the spit that had gathered in my throat thickly. 

“Thank you, please sit down and continue your story.” Jaskier did as I asked. 

“The mage was Yennefer. She helped me. Saved my life. The mage and I may not get along, but I do owe her my life.” I smiled softly as he spoke of the mage I had heard so much about. 

“I’ll be sure to thank her myself if I ever come across her,” I said with a smile. My attention turned back to Geralt who didn’t look please at the topic of our conversation. His eyes were on his leg that bounced slightly. He was anxious. 

“Geralt love, I cannot see your eyes. That’s nearly all I have left.” At the sound of my voice, his head tilted up so he could look at me in the eye. 

I smiled sweetly at him. I broke eye contact as I added in the different hues of orange and a bit of red. Some gold flecks showed themselves in his inner iris. The depth of the color was so enchanting. I could paint just his eyes forever. I finished with his hair after a few minutes of silence. Both men just enjoying the warm afternoon air. They both looked relaxed, peaceful, safe even.    

“I’ve finished, boys,” I said whipping my hands on my apron. I stood up and turned the easel around to the two. They both sat up straight, eyes wandering all over the painting. 

“You, my dear sister are beyond talented.” Jaskier mused looking at me, a bright smile on his face. 

“We both are.” I smiled at him. Geralt was still examining the painting, his eyes flicking over every inch of himself. I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not. It made me nervous.

“I know the hair isn’t perfect. I’m still trying to get the brush technique down-”

“It is perfect.” Geralt interrupted me, a smile on his face as he looked at me. 

I smiled back at him, my heart beating a little quicker. 

“Can I keep it?” Geralt asked. 

“Seriously?” I asked him. 

“Well, actually it’s probably best you keep it. I don’t have a home, so I wouldn’t want to ruin it…” I smiled softly, taking a step closer to him. 

“I’ll keep it safe but if you ever have a place that you want to keep it, ill get it to you,” I said, softly stroking the stray strand of hair behind his ear. His face tilted up as he looked at me. 

“I think I’m going to turn in for the night boys,” I said gathering my items in my hands. 

“What about dinner?” Jaskier asked. 

“I’ll grab something from the kitchen, I’m quite tired. I need a bath. I’ll see you both in the morning.” I said hugging Jaskier goodnight. I turned to Geralt, courage surging through my veins. I bent down and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Goodnight Geralt.” His cheeks turned a very, very soft shade of pink, but only for a moment. Our eyes locked again. 

“Good night, dove.”  

[buttmuncher91]

a lot of advanceshippers love to say such bs about Drew even to this day. Drew is not my favorite character & it’s fine to prefer advanceshipping over contestshipping and I kinda like advanceshipping , but some of the things they say are ridiculous! This is not bashing on all advanceshippers or advanceshipping in general, this is just some quotes (not exact) I’ve seen that I’ve had problems with.

”Drew is a jerk! Ash would treat her right!“

Both would treat her just fine! Drew watches out for her & tells her when Harley is tricking her, saved her friends & brother when she was busy, saves her friends, cheers her up when she’s down, & they both calmly talk to each other when alone.

Besides, there are some things to point Ash being a jerk to her too! Ash yelled at her because he was butthurt he had no boat to get his next gym badge & skips out on watching some of her contest when May even watches him battle regular trainers.

And it’s not like May is an innocent angel herself. She yelled at Ash & Drew for no reason, had her torchic attack Ash, & forced Ash to agree to let her travel with him by bringing up her bike.

I know May & Ash have developed a lot sense than, but so has Drew & y’all are just stuck viewing him how he reacted at the beginning.

”May hates Drew & loves ash!“

She doesnt hate Drew. At the very worst, she sees him as a friend & has seen him that way by “Who, What, When, Where, Wynut.” Like I said we seen them talk a lot when they run into each other & heck, she even ditched the group, including Ash as he was talking to her, to talk to Drew when she saw Drew. So tell me again how she loves Ash way more than Drew lol!

And in ”Spontaneous Combustion“ May blushes at Drew after he waved and walked off. May never blushed around Ash, even when some weird couple accused her of being Ash’s lover. And there was nothing in that scene that indicates her getting red met something else. She wasn’t sick, doesn’t look mad, didn’t do anything embarrassing, etc... so it looks as if she really likes Drew.

”Drew is a flirts with any girl & would cheat on May, but Ash would never cheat on her!”

You people have nothing to back this up. Drew had fangirls gushing all over him? May being Norman‘s daughter and probably because she’s referred to as hoenn princess, has a lot of fanboys! In fact, Ash is more likely to cheat on May then Drew dispite him being oblivious, as Drew showed 0 interest in his fangirls & ran from them. If he was such a flirt, he wouldn’t run from fan girls, but would try & you know, FLIRT with them. Drew also showed 0 interest for other girls, & only teases May. You advanceshipper fanbrats (not saying all advanceshippers are fanbrats just the advanceshippers who think this) only pretend he is to make up reasons for May to reject Drew.

”He only likes May for her rack, & wouldn’t care for her if it was flat!“

Talk about reaching. Drew only stares at her FACE! He never stared at them, & the anime gave her chest 0 focus. He isn’t just some creeper. Despite not being interested in her, he treated Breanna nicely & she was flat. He may just have puppy love/a crush on her, but saying he’s just trying to win her because of her rack is complete bs!

”Think about it, Drew & May would make ugly babies!”

Based on what? Cuz Drew has green hair? As someone whose least favorite color is green (okay, okay dark/forest green is pretty), I think this is a stupid claim. Even with a weird hair color, there’s a chance the child could be cute, & really beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Hair color is NOT even close to a huge factor to what separates not ugly to ugly. And they don’t have to make babies if they do get together. They can just choose to adopt to help out those who need a home or just happily be with each other with no children at all.

”Drew is in less episodes with May than Ash, so advanceshipping is better & will be canon!”

🤦‍♀️Misty has the most screen time with ash. By this cruddy ”logic,” Misty & ash (so far) are canon. Yes, misty has much more screen time with ash than May. Misty had all of Kanto, Orange Islands, AND Jhoto with ash... as well as a cameo with ash in Hoenn, and TWO separate cameos in Alola. And at this point, May could have spent more time with Drew. It’s been 4 regions that Ash hasn’t even thought of 1 of her Pokémon after all this time. I’m no pokeshipper, but let’s be real here.

And most of the time Ash & May are on screen, it’s them focusing on their goals/Pokémon. They cheer & encourage each other too, but it’s mostly friendship stuff. Could something happen later on between them to spark love? Sure. But nothing in the anime ever pointed to that. And you can literally say that with Ash and... ANYONE! Like Ash could grow up, met back up with Roxie & they could fall for each other.

When Drew appears on screen, you mostly see hard evidence for contestshipping, weather on Drew’s side, May’s side, or both. Yes, there’s evidence on BOTH sides that they like each other. At best, advanceshipping looks one-sided on May’s side. And even then, it mostly looked that way in the beginning of AG. There’s way more evidence that May likes Drew & vice vesa than with ash & May, even with “less contestshipping hints!“ A lot of hints for shippings are overblown. Not just advanceshipping hints, but poke/pearl/negai(actually never mind, negai is under looked & over hated)/amour/etc... are over blown & it’s just ash being his usual nice/childish self. With Drew, it’s obvious he likes her as how he constantly stares at her, teases her, gives her red roses (& says they’re for beutifly), etc... While I think I covered how May likes Drew enough already. And yes, this could just be a kiddy crush for the both of them, but in the end there’s still harder evidence that Drew & May like each other.

Plus there are a lot of canon fictIonal couples who had less screen time with each other than other characters. Naruhina, ichihime, Hinny, gochi, etc...

“Drew never saves May’s life, unlike Ash!”

So? May never even tried to saved Ash, like she did with Drew!

Ash has also saved: Angie (who has a more confirmed crush on ash), Dawn, Pikachu (3x I can think of), Chinchar, Lillie (or at least attempts to help a lot of times), Celiebi, Erika’s Gloom, Serena, Misty’s sisters Pokémon, a ton of CotDs & their Pokémon...

And what of those who saved Ash? Misty, Sabrina’s... family photographer, Gary, Iris, Clemont’s father, Zeroara dude, a ton of officer jennys, Pikachu, a lapras, Paul, Drew (ya keep on hating him if it werent for him Ash Brock and Max would probably be dead in that crate Jessie, James & Meowth trapped them in so not even advanceshipping could happen).

“Rivals can’t be dating!”

Where did you get this bs? Even in the pokeani IN THE AG SERIES this has been proven false. Watch Pasificlog Jam again. Who put you in charge of how couples should work anyways? If a writer wants to have rivals hookup in their story, than they have that freedom to have the rivals hookup regardless how upset you get over it.

“Ash & May kissed in a banned episode, so advanceshipping is canon not contestshipping!”

Come on guys, they’re 10. The anime creators aren’t gonna have two 10 yr olds kiss on the lips. Its really creepy some person came up with this. No, it’s not creepy cuz I don’t like advaceshipping (I actually like some aspects of it). Again, it’s creepy because they’re 10. If they were like 13+ yrs old, it‘d be okay, but NOT 10. Plus, even Japan is very sensitive when having kissing on the lips happen with kid shows. Even with adults, they censor it/show something else as the kiss happens & just imply it happened. Expecally how they view kissing on the lips in the first place, they ain’t having 2 ten year olds kiss.

And there would be NOTHING to imply that they where going to kiss. Around this time this episode that they kissed claimed to happen (episode 357), Ash & co. where heading to fortree. Nothing ever was implied from the both of them even want to kiss each other. They just where supportive friends of each other with no hinting there where secret feelings or developing feelings from ether of them. Theres also nothing beyond that episode that implied the kiss happened. Because if it did actually happen, I’m sure something like that would impact the next few episodes, but nope no mention of any kiss nor do ash & May act any differently around each other in 358 and beyond. So even if it did happen, it was going to more than likely sink the ship, like it was some akaward thing they did because they were “under the mistletoe“ & afterwards just agreed to be friends & forget about it. The pokemon anime was always about friendship, adventure, and Pokemon themselves, never romance.

Also episode 357 is “Take This House and Shuppet!” not “A Kiss Under the Mistletoe!“ The Japanese episode is the same as the English barring names & episode number.

Were do you get such a sorce for this info? “my friend’s japanese friend who talked to the director of the AG anime & saw it!” or some other ridiculous unreliable garbage like that? Give me actual sources with interviews from the writers talking about this supposed banned episode. Bet you can’t, unless it’s fake & unreliable. If it existed, it would have floated up by someone from Japan. After All, even if for 20 mins that episode should’ve existed if it was just banned. Like “Electric Soldier Porygon” was banned completely & only aired one time in Japan. However, there are places that you can watch the episode despite it being completely banned due to putting a lot of children in the hospital from seizures. That was older than the supposed advanceshipping kiss episode as ’Electric Soldier Porygon’ is a Original Series episode in Kanto the 38th episode. No one can find this supposed advanceshipping episode nor is it even listed in the banned episode list. It should be harder to find this older banned episode than it should be to find this supposed banned kiss episode.

“Why should May choose Drew over Ash? Ash is like a literal god!”

What? Yes, he’s befriended every legendary & come back though poketears, save the world so many times, has arua abilities (he rarely uses), & whatever else, but it’s not like he seems that BA or whatever. Ash not aging seems over focused on, when in reality NO ONE is aging. It took him 7 regions to win 1 league (a questionable one at that), can’t remember Pokémon he seen before & sometimes forgets what he learned, & needs saved by others sometimes. Some god, can’t even rescue himself. Besides, who knows what Drew has done on his adventures. Drew has also saved Ash, Brock, & Max from trouble, isn’t Drew awesome saving someone ”like a god!”? Drew also has beat him in a battle as well, is that y’all’s problem?

And where is Ash’s voice in all this? It’s like this in all this anti-Drew bs. “Drew is just this terrible creature who possesses all 7 deadly sins & is the creation of Giratina & thus May hates & so does everyone else! However... blessed by Arceus himself, we all just know not dense Ash Ketchem is waiting to sweep May off her feet & save her from the demonic spawn that is Drew who is lusting after her bewbs😡��� (<-original ideas, do not steal jkjk). Like there’s NOTHING to indicate ash wants her. And do you think this of May as well? Like do y‘all think May is just this perfect, sweetest, most divine woman in the pokeani that only Ash “blessed by Arceus“ is the only guy that should be blessed by such an angel? 🤣

Look, I like Ash & I like May. But even with my favorite characters I wouldn’t go as far as to think so highly of them that it makes Helga’s obsession with Arnold look like nothing. And just because Ash is more amazing with more feets & whatever, doesn’t mean May has to love ash or that Ash has to choose may because Drew doesn’t measure up to him.🤷‍♀️ Just think about it, should Timmy’s mom go with Dinkleburg? After all, he is smarter than Timmy’s dad, has more money & is more successful than he is. And Wandesemo is more popular, not stupid, & mostly competent unlike Casmo. Should Wanda dump Casmo for him? Of course i understand wanting the best person to end with you’re favorite character. But that’s not how love works & in the long run isn’t fair to both Ash & May (& Drew, but I know you haters don’t care about that).

[bloodredx]

Day 4: Medicine

It had been centuries since she first took up the practice, and if anyone knew the truth, one might argue that Lady Serena had invented the concept of modern medicine in Glacidea. She of course, would deny that if pressed, but fortunately no one would know to bring up the claim in the first place. One would just need to take one look around her office’s “collection of antique medical equipment” to see how things have changed over the years. Of course, these were really just a collection of favorite tools she herself used, some more delicate than others. Still, even knowing the good memories of helping people, saving lives, and removing pain from those who so desperately needed the care, the lingering knowledge of death would forever chase her.

Perhaps when she was younger, and felt more guilt over her position in unlife, particularly over the damage she had past caused, that death’s hand being right next to her own would have made her quiver. No longer, for Serena was now quite confident with the fact that Adamsa Frisay often accompanied her on her lonely walks down the hospital’s hallways. The God of the End was the most mysterious of the pantheon, but that never changed the sad kinship she felt when reflecting upon that inevitability, even for herself. Though she’d been plenty successful in not meeting him just yet.

Still, she was no god. And no matter what, people died. Her eyes scanned the test results quickly, keeping pace with the strip of paper the blood chemistry machine was printing out. “Lymphocytes dangerously low…” The doctor pulled up her patient’s chart as she remained unsurprised. His blood smelled that way, even as she loaded it into the machine. “Ketone high as well. Just into the brink of acidosis.”

The Lady took a sip from a coffee mug, cheekily printed with a label to “Donate Blood!” Of course the substance within was the result of such generosity, but the taste of good blood still didn’t overpower the smell of her patient’s blood. “Creatinine is also sky rocketing.” She tutted her tongue as she made notes in her precise cursive.

Icarus, who never felt truly comfortable in the lab, seemed able to put aside his general discomfort for once to take interest in his mentor’s work for once. “Do you always talk to yourself this much while working?”

Serena shot him a look with targeted precision. “Does it bother you?”

Her ward nearly recoiled, lifting his hands in defense. “Not at all. I meant to ask, does it help you?”

“Organize my thoughts, yes. I suppose it’s more routine at this point.” She laid her pen down on the counter, and pulled the read out of results from the printer. Another sip of her mug as she crinkled her nose. “Does the smell not bother you?”

“Of that man’s blood?” Icarus raised his brow. “A little, now that you mention it. But it’s still so intoxicating in any other way.”

“Hmm.” Serena noted his response before turning to face him, a stern expression on her face.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s dying.” She took another measured sip of blood. “Critical failure of his kidneys and liver to an extent that he would not survive the wait list for a transplant. For either organ.”

Though it had been years that he’d known the Lady now, her bluntness never sat easy with him. Even more so at the weight for a potential death. “Anything you can do?”

“An ignorant question.” She concluded quickly. “There is much we can attempt, dialysis, intense regiments of drugs that would otherwise cause innumerable side effects to his overall quality of life. But the fact remains he was rolled into my ER unconscious and so affected by jaundice that even running these tests for a few minutes has cut off the effectiveness of any treatment by hours. Days even.”

“So you’ll let him die?” Icarus stood up, feeling heat coursing through his veins. Though he wasn’t sure what the cause was, certainly the Lady could be cruel, but she wasn’t heartless. At least not to that extent.

“Everyone dies, Icarus. Even us.” Her voice was icy, flat against the sterile lab environment. “But that being said, I have ideas of options for his family. Ultimately, that’s their choice, his fate. And you had best believe I’ll go through with any plan they approve to my best ability. I’ll move mountains, drain seas, and plug volcanos for them. But I am merely a medical tool, I can no better stop the inevitable than you can stop time eroding history.”

A silent standoff went off within Icarus’s mind. She was right on one level. But she did have other choices. One that most other doctors didn’t. “Have you ever thought about embracing someone?”

He regretted the question the second it left his lips, wincing reflexively to avoid the sour expression and lecture his mentor was sure about to bury him under. But after a few moments of extended quiet, he cracked an eyelid to see what stopped her from her relentless fury.

Instead of the traditional scowl, her face was heavy with an emotion he hadn’t seen on Serena. Was it sadness? Remorse? He couldn’t tell, but her lips frowned in a softer angle than he had seen before, and for once she had broken her near constant, near dominating eye contact. No, she was staring squarely at her own wrists, eyes following the too dark veins that crossed under her pale skin. She a drew a deep breath, one that both of them knew was unneeded, but still an element to any conversation, no matter the need of oxygen, before opening her mouth slowly to speak.

“I would love to lie to you and say no, it hasn’t.” A pause, unlike her. “But I am many things, a liar is not included amongst them.” A finger traced alongside the veins as she continued. “It would be very easy, the most perfect cure to illness, and a near perfect one to death entirely. And though I am quite content with my existence, I cannot find nor guarantee that anyone else would be. To be thrust upon bloodlust without even knowing it, to be so sick and nearly gone to meet the gods again, and then be thrown back to the world with such darkness taken within them. I cannot ordain such behavior.

“There was an opportunity long ago where I could have done so to save someone I loved above all else at the time, to change the entire history of my world. But I wouldn’t, no, couldn’t do it. And the world has never been the same for me since.” She stepped away from the counter, taking a few stride to where Icarus was sitting, all in order to place a calm hand on his shoulder. “I cannot ask someone to follow me to where I am, but I have thought of it. It’s almost a feature of the blood; that we make more of ourselves to survive. However, I only ask that if you come upon the chance to find yourself in my shoes, that you won’t fall back to the easy fix, the snake oil cure. Vampire blood does much, but it takes much more than it gives. Practice good medicine in all that you do. I would hope I’ve rubbed off enough on you to leave you with that guidance if nothing else.”

Icarus felt himself frown as he tracked the glow of light in her brown eyes. What could he say in response to that? Certainly nothing snippy as he normally would, no. Heaviness sat in the air a moment, lingering like cigar smoke before he broke her gaze. “Of course, Lady Serena. I won’t do anything to disappoint you.”

Her hand dropped down to his, lifting them to chest level as she squeezed them tightly. “I know you won’t.”

The tenderness struck him, but then again so did everything else about this exchange. And he knew a little bit better the exact person his mentor was. While he could do little in the nature of medicine that she could, he could at the very least go on with the same grip on existence. “You have a life to fight for.” He returned the squeeze to her hand before letting go with a little push.

Her normal features snapped back into place, resetting the scene as if it had never happened in the first place. “That I do. Please excuse me.”

(OC-tober challenge by @oc-growth-and-development can be found here)

[cluelesslybrunette]

The duality of June Osborne -

Reflections on The Handmaid’s Tale 4x07

[Spoilers ahead for episode 4x07, "Home"]

Hero: a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great.

Villain: a bad person - or a character in a book, play, film, etc. - who harms other people or breaks the law.

(Definitions from Cambridge Dictionary).

According to these definitions, can June be considered a hero? Yes, she did some very brave things and achieved something great. She saved 80+ children from Gilead dictatorship. That can absolutely be considered heroic. She was ready to sacrifice herself for these children and women. She helped get her daughter and her friend (Nichole and Emily) out of Gilead and stayed behind to look for her other daughter. She helped Moira escape.

But can she be considered a villain, too? Also yes. She harmed other people. She raped Luke in this last episode and has manipulated and lied to Janine countless times. To protect her perhaps, but Janine herself recognized this and called her out for it. She poisoned I don't know how many Commanders a few episodes ago. She encouraged a child to violently murder her rapist. Cathartic for her maybe, but I'd wager harmful in the long run.

It would seem like June is following the old adage of "you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain". Of course, this change has been coming on gradually. We've seen her become more unforgiving and harsh, especially during the last season. Unbending and vengeful to a point where even her friends have sometimes wondered about it, but greater things where at stake and it all very much depended on June's tenacity. So we mostly ignored it. June and the other Handmaids and Marthas have always been morally grey. They had to be, in the world they live in. They couldn't be the classic heroes à la Superman or Luke Skywalker. Their world is too dirty for them to survive and escape on pure idealism. Like they've said themselves many times: Gilead brings out the worst in you. But how much can you justify with the "doing what was necessary to survive" philosophy? Where is the line? Does this line even exist? Who drew it?

In this last episode I feel like we really got to see June's duality. How from victim, she's becoming a perpetrator herself. And I think this becomes explicitly clear in the final scene, which had such a strong emotional impact on me. We listen to June describe Serena and her motivations -"hatred and rage"- but the images we see are of both women. We see Serena returning to Fred, confessing she needs his help, while June says: "She'll do anything to get what she wants. Lie to you…" But then we cut to June playing with Nichole and Luke and her VoiceOver continues: "…hurt you, rape you." And here we focus on Luke observing his wife and daughter playing together, smile fading. What a painful image that was. June concludes with: "So if you feel yourself get sucked in by her, run. Run for your life" while the images keep interchanging between her and Serena Joy.

That's what made the ending so horrifyingly compelling to me. It was so hard to listen to June describe Serena Joy so accurately and with so much hatred and rage, while remaining blind to the fact that those are the very same emotions that drive her, too. She doesn't see it, but we sure did. And I couldn't look away. Because while we were able to forgive or rationalize her actions in Gilead, that's no longer possible. What she did to Luke, there's no way to justify that. Sure, she's mentally scarred from her time as a handmaid, she's not well, but Luke is not the enemy. It won't be easy for us, the audience, to ignore that. Here, in the safety of Canada, is where we see how far June is willing to go. Here is where we see whether those bastards ground her down or not.

The episode is titled "Home", but what even is home for June anymore? Luke, Nichole, Moira? She barely knows Nichole, and Luke and her have lived such different lives for the past few years. How can they find a common ground upon which to build a life? Not even Moira has seen as much horror and filth as June. No, "Home" is the Fight now. It's destroying Gilead and the Waterfords and everyone who's had a part in it. It's getting her daughter back and making them pay. Home is Revenge. So, will she get the help she needs and focus on her family and the love in her life, or will she let hatred and rage and revenge consume and guide her? Both are possible and valid outcomes, in my opinion. What's yours?

[i-am-very-very-tired]

Let’s get one thing straight: Body-shaming someone is never OK, even if the target is a public figure. However, despite the fact that this should be a universal rule of decorum, people are still prone to criticizing the appearances of others, including those of celebrities.Although social media has shone a bright light on the issue in recent years, celebrity body-shaming is nothing new. Since the rise of gossip magazines, stars have had their bodies scrutinized for all the world to see. From critics saying Gigi Hadid is too skinny for the runway to onlookers rudely commenting on Tyra Banks's swimsuit body, it seems no celebrity is totally immune to the plague of judgment and unnecessary remarks.Pregnancy rumors, comments about weight gain, and bullying for clothing choices all fall under the tasteless domain of all that encompasses body-shaming — and it happens even more often than you may think. But that doesn’t stop most of these stars from living their best lives and even taking some time to teach these trolls a lesson or two, when they're in the right mood for it. Below are 17 times celebrities have experienced body-shaming, either before their time in the spotlight or while living directly in it. Gigi Hadid Supermodel Gigi Hadid is no stranger to having her body commented on by the public. Some people have accused the model of being too thin while others have said she’s too curvy for the runway. Despite these comments, Hadid stresses that she loves her body and that shamers should mind their own business. It’s not their body, after all. Demi Lovato Growing up in the spotlight is no easy task for anyone. Demi Lovato has dealt with body-shamers since her days as a Disney star and still faces unwanted comments about the way she looks regularly. Most recently, people came after the singer for supposedly gaining weight while in rehab and used a paparazzi photo to tear the singer apart. Thankfully, Lovato isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and has a history of taking people down when they make negative comments. Selena Gomez Like Lovato, Selena Gomez grew up in the spotlight and has subsequently suffered years of body shaming at the hands of "fans" and haters alike. In 2015, the actress and singer opened up about how she sought therapy after being body-shamed publicly. Most recently, Gomez clapped back at fans who commented on a photo of her wearing a bikini on Instagram. Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Aniston has also experienced some body-shaming. The former Friends actress once wrote an empowering essay for HuffPost in 2016 about being “fed up” over ridiculous rumors and unwarranted comments about her body. During this time, gossip magazines were speculating that Aniston was pregnant because her stomach "looked bloated" in a few photos. The actress set the record straight while simultaneously destroying the idea that people’s bodies are something that should be critiqued. Tyra Banks “Kiss my fat ass.” That’s the iconic and unforgettable response that queen Tyra Banks had for body-shamers in 2007 after tabloids captioned a photo of her in her swimsuit with cruel phrases, and it seems she's sticking with it. Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson has dealt with body-shamers, as well. In 2017, a Twitter troll tweeted that the American Idol winner was fat. Clarkson responded, “...and still fucking awesome,” proving she is not here for any type of comments on her body. This wasn't Clarkson's first troll, either. In 2015, British media personality Katie Hopkins had the nerve to comment that Clarkson had gained weight, to which she responded by saying this wasn’t the first time she’s been attacked for the way she looks. Clarkson also said she’d rather have wine than waste any time thinking about shamers. Same, girl. Adele Adele has faced years of disgusting comments about her body since her intro to stardom in 2006. Nevertheless, the clap-back queen makes sure to shut down instances of body-shaming immediately. But that doesn’t mean words don’t hurt. In a 2015 interview, Adele mentioned that while she does sometimes

struggle with her body image, she tries not to let it rule her life. America Ferrera For her 33rd birthday, America Ferrera wrote a letter to her body. She shared the body-positive message on Instagram, saying she’s finally learned to love her body after years of harboring feelings of negativity towards it. However, people are still commenting on Ferrera’s body. In fact, Ferrera has famously said that she didn’t know she was ugly or fat until she starred in the show Ugly Betty, which says a lot about the way people treat public figures. Chrissy Teigen Twitter phenomenon and multitalented model Chrissy Teigen has often been the subject of judgmental comments. In fact, Teigen was body-shamed at the 2018 Emmy Awards, with trolls talking about her weight post-pregnancy with son Miles. Teigen sarcastically responded to the trolls in her typical hilarious tone by showing them she has no time to be shamed for her body. Lady Gaga Body-shamers have come after Mother Monster, too. Lady Gaga, who has been open about her struggle with chronic illness, has had her image picked apart since appearing on the scene with her 2008 hit “Just Dance.” Trolls also had something to say after her 2017 Super Bowl halftime performance. Of course, the ever-busy superstar didn’t have time for such nonsense and quickly responded that she loves her body. Alicia Silverstone Clueless star Alicia Silverstone saw her career take off in the '90s, but stardom didn’t come without a slew of critics picking apart the actor's appearance. When it was announced that Silverstone would play Batgirl in the then-upcoming film Batman & Robin, the actress was met with an onslaught of hateful comments about her body. In an Entertainment Weekly article from 1996, it’s noted that fashion critics said Silverstone looked “more Babe than babe,” referring to the fictional pig. The actor later recalled that paparazzi chased her down in an airport chanting “fat girl” to the Batman theme song. Rihanna Rihanna has also been attacked for the way her body looks. After her 2018 Grammy performance (which she slayed, by the way), trolls came after Rihanna for her apparent weight gain, speculating that the singer might be pregnant. This isn’t even the first time Rihanna has faced such criticism. In 2017, the Fenty Beauty founder shut haters down with a Gucci Mane meme (in which she showed two photos of rapper Gucci Mane, from 2007 and 2017, and captioned the meme "If you can’t handle me at my 2007 Gucci Mane, you don’t deserve me at my 2017 Gucci Mane"), proving that body-shaming her or anyone else will not be tolerated. Serena Williams Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Yet the 23-time Grand Slam champion has had her body scrutinized countless times for being "too muscular." Although the tennis champion says such comments have hurt her feelings, she also says that she's now more confident than ever about her body and calls it her “weapon.” Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Lawrence says that when she was beginning her career, people in the film industry shamed her for "being fat.” According to the actor, she was once told she would be fired if she didn’t lose weight. Kate Winslet Before she landed her lead role in Titanic, Kate Winslet says the kids at her school would bully her for the way she looked. The actor opened up about being body-shamed by her fellow classmates, who called her “blubber” and told her she was too ugly to be an actress. However, Winslet never gave up on her dreams and has since spoken out against body-shaming, saying that she had to ignore the negative comments to be the person she is today. Drew Barrymore The lovable Drew Barrymore faced her own harassment in the '90s over the way her body looked onscreen. During this time, Barrymore often had her “baby fat” criticized in reviews. In a 2010 interview, the actor says she was often bullied for her weight when she was younger. More recently, the actress has had to refute pregnancy rumors over the way her stomach looks on TV. Renée Zellweger It seems Ren´ee Zellweger

can’t please the critics (nor should she have to). Since gaining weight for her role in the early-2000s film Bridget Jones's Diary, Zellweger’s weight has been a subject of contention for body-shamers everywhere. Some people think she’s too skinny, while others think she’s too fat. Nevertheless, Zellweger isn’t here for tabloids that want to critique her body. The actress wrote an article for HuffPost in 2016 after people commented on her rumored cosmetic surgery, proving once and for all that her body isn’t for public consumption or criticism.

[wrestlingisfake]

AEW Fake Rankings, 12/12/2020

Men’s singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley

Cody Rhodes

Darby Allin (AEW TNT champion)

Orange Cassidy

Hangman Page

Lance Archer

PAC

Dustin Rhodes

Scorpio Sky

Matt Sydal

Men’s singles division - heels

Kenny Omega (AEW men’s world champion, AAA mega champion)

MJF

Brian Cage (FTW champion)

Ricky Starks

Eddie Kingston

Sammy Guevara

Powerhouse Hobbs

Matt Hardy

Shawn Spears

Wardlow

Unranked: Brandon Cutler, Colt Cabana, Michael Nakazawa, Peter Avalon

One of the things I like about AEW is that they’ve got so many guys in the mix and I usually know off the top of my head what any of them is up to.  Granted, some of these guys aren’t doing very much, but I at least have a sense of their character and storyline while they’re on the back burner.  I used to like that about WWE, years ago.  But somewhere around 2000 they lost the ability to focus on more than a handful of characters at any given time, which is a big problem when you have a hundred performers on your roster.

As a result, it feels more organic to me when guys like Eddie Kingston and Team Taz jump out of the undercard into the AEW title picture.  On Raw, these guys would be random nobodies in R-Truth skits until Vince McMahon suddenly decided to present them as killer threats to Drew McIntyre, and then they’d lose the title match and be nobodies again.  In AEW, there’s a better flow between “beating jobbers on Dark” and “beating name guys on Dynamite” and “punking out a champion to disrupt the rankings” and “recovering from a big loss by beating midcarders.”  That’s something I haven’t seen in US wrestling for so long, I forgot how much I missed it.

PROTIP FOR TONY KHAN: Try doing that with the women sometime, kthx

Men’s tag team division - babyfaces

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW tag team champions)

Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian

Best Friends - Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta

Lucha Bros. - Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix

Jurassic Express - Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt

Private Party - Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy

Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss

The Gunn Club - Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn

The Varsity Blondes - Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison

Top Flight - Darius Martin & Daunte Martin

Men‘s tag team division - heels

FTR - Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

Chris Jericho & Jake Hager

Miro & Kip Sabian

The Butcher & The Blade

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson

John Silver & Alex Reynolds

The Hybrid2 - Jack Evans & Angelico

The Acclaimed - Anthony Bowen & Max Caster

Chaos Project - Luther & Serpentico

Alan Angels & Preston Vance

This has to be the deepest tag team division I’ve ever seen in pro wrestling.  I suppose maybe some group in Mexico might have more teams.  But 20 active teams is practically unheard of for a major-league US promotion.  Even New Japan could only find 10 teams for World Tag League, and half of them were one-off combinations.

One caveat is that the “Jericho and Hager focus on tag wrestling” thing may or may not be a long-term direction.  And Colten, Pillman, Garrison, and Serpentico are not (to my knowledge) under contract.  But that’s balanced out a bit by the tandems that haven’t competed in the last 30 days (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall, Santana & Ortiz), and the potential for other alliances to be full-time dedicated tag teams (MJF & Wardlow, Team Taz).

The advantage of having this many teams is that you get booking in the tag division like you’d see in the singles divisions of most promotions.  You can actually have four or five teams on hot streaks, because there are plenty of lesser teams to put them over, so they don’t have to go 50-50 with each other.  You can actually have a group of teams acting as a midcard, that lose to the top guys but can beat anybody else.  And there are maybe six teams here that I’d call jobber teams, but they still win sometimes because they beat each other, or the freelancers on AEW Dark.  It’s a good ecosystem.

Women’s singles division - babyfaces

Hikaru Shida (AEW women’s world champion)

Big Swole

Serena Deeb (NWA women’s world champion)

Thunder Rosa

Leva Bates

Shanna

Leyla Hirsch

Red Velvet

KiLynn King

Women’s singles division - heels

Nyla Rose

Britt Baker

Abadon

Anna Jay

Penelope Ford

Diamante

Ivelisse

The AEW women’s division suffered a lot this spring from injuries and travel restrictions, but I’d say they’ve mostly recovered from those setbacks.  Most of the women listed above weren’t even in the company before March.  Collaborating with the NWA (Thunder Rosa) and pushing freelancers (Diamante, Ivelisse, Hirsch, Velvet, and King) has yielded a deeper roster than they had in 2019.

That being said, TV time is still an egregious problem for this division.  AEW is clearly wary about chasing viewers off to NXT if they run too many women’s segments on Dynamite.  If feels like they’re waiting for something that’ll make it the right time to actually push the division.  But the perfect moment will never come, so they might as well go with the hand they have.

It looks like the brewing Brandi Rhodes vs. Jade Cargill feud is going to expand to include (at least) Nyla, Swole, Deeb, Velvet, Diamante, and Ivelisse.  So if we see various matchups among those women for a few weeks (alongside Shida vs. Abadon and Baker vs. Rosa), then great!  If it just means one multi-woman tag on Dynamite, then it doesn’t really address the problem.

No matches in the last 30 days: Emi Sukara, Jade Cargill, Mel, Santana, Ortiz, QT Marshall, Riho, Tay Conti, The Bunny, Yuka Sakazawi

At some point CIMA and T-Hawk were quietly removed from the roster on AEW’s website.  With Shanna and PAC back in Jacksonville, that only leaves Sukara, Riho, and Sakazawi as the contracted performers out of action because of the pandemic.

Part-timers: Awesome Kong, Dallas Page, Dasha, Rebel, Sting

Kong has been out for nearly a year with no explanation besides a kayfabe injury.  My understanding was that she would be taking time off to film GLOW, but then the show was canceled, so I don’t know if she’s healing from real injuries or taking time off or what.  DDP is 64 and the last time I saw him on AEW programming he was mentoring QT Marshall from inside his house, so I’m pretty sure he won’t be back until after the pandemic.  Dasha and Rebel aren’t listed by AEW as wrestlers but they’ve each had matches this year.

Interestingly, Sting is listed on the official roster as a competitor with a 0-0 record in the promotion.  That seems like the surest sign yet that AEW plans to book him in a match.  He’s 61, but I suppose DDP wrestled this year at 63 years old.  He was forced into retirement with spinal stenosis, but I suppose Edge came back from that after a lot of rest and for a lot of money.

Inactive

Brodie Lee (ankle - undisclosed injury)

Brandi Rhodes (arm - storyline injury)

Kris Statlander (left knee - ACL tear)

I’m kinda surprised there aren’t more people on the shelf than this.  (And technically Brandi isn’t really hurt and probably won’t be selling it much longer.)  It feels like AEW has had a lot of injury problems this year, but I suppose they’ve managed to avoid a lot of major surgeries.

[cowboyshit]

14, 19, 24, 25, and 27 :)

14: a fic you didn’t expect to write

ohhh... does it have to be one I posted? because honestly my fic of drew and celeste (which I have removed from tumblr for now) was completely and totally unexpected. I never thought I was going to write a drew fic and suddenly that whole story was exploding out of me and I was like wtf is happening

19: any new fics to start next year

to be honest I’m forcing myself to keep any time or energy I have for fic writing as focused on Starlight as I possibly can so I can finally finish something. but also I want to rework/rewrite Sugar Darlin and start that back up again. I came up with a lot of new ideas to change it and I really would like to write that one as a (long) one-shot completed piece to throw out at some point next year because I genuinely enjoy writing it I just... need to rework a few things.

24: favorite fic you read this year

okay, so i thought for sure it was going to be Bleed Into the Night but if I’m being honest right now it’s Recipe For A Perfect Christmas. you just captured the exact essence of what I look for when I go to read those beautiful, human holiday romance stories so perfectly that it’s now absolutely my must-read every holiday season from here on out. you wrote hallmark christmas romance waaaaayyy better than hallmark could ever wish to do, you know what I mean?? I just. ugh. I really, really love that fic so freaking much... but yeah, Serena and Adam are always going to hold a VERY special place in my heart.

25: a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

can I say Recipe For A Perfect Christmas (yeah I just linked your whole ass masterlist sue me) for all of the things I said above?? Honestly, if you haven’t read that fic and you love those holiday romance type stories you really need to give it a read. hell, even if you’re normally not someone for the holiday romance but you enjoy romance in general you NEED to give it a read. it’s everything you love in a romance story and you just can’t help but fall in love with every character in the story from the main characters to the side and background ones too.

27: favorite fanfic author of the year

YOU, bitch!!!! tf kind of question is that?????

[goldenchocobo]

Next batch of KH Daemons

I included Ansem in this one as well, because otherwise I’d feel like he would be on his own.

I originally put Xehanort and his Daemon in my Yearly Art Dump post, as I originally drew him then and planned to draw Eraqus and Ansem soon after, but found it hard to pin down Ansem’s Daemon until I just put my hands up in defeat and said “alright, you’re a hooded crow!”.

I did re-draw a little bit of Xehanort- his hand mostly, and struggled with the pose of Eraqus- His Daemon was originally perched on his shoulder and arm like a weird cat (since Grey foxes can kind-of climb better than most canids.) which is why Eraqus has one arm up.

I only really have a few more KH characters before everyone has their Daemon. I’ve got Hayner and Olette’s, but I’m struggling with Pence, and I have no clue what the Union Leaders are apart from Lauriam (and Elrena too, since I’m including her in that bunch).

Like with all other Daemon posts, a more detailed description is under the Keep Reading

Xehanort

Settled: Markhor Daemon Name: Trutina Looks: A Grey, strong-looking Markhor with Horns that corkscrew away. She has a white beard and fluffy cheeks and a mane of grey-brown fur. Her hooves look heavy and hard.

Trutina is a simple Daemon. She speaks often to Xehanort, and they are able to bounce ideas, thoughts and musings off of one another, allowing Xehanort to become ever wiser. Her existence ended as Xehanort possessed Terra, turning Terra’s Daemon Lapis into a ‘new’ Trutina.

Symbolism: Markhors are members of the goat family, and are large, robust animals, their size and strength alone enough to intimidate many predators. They live in the harsh mountains where only the smart and strong are permitted to survive, much like how Xehanort views the world. Trutina is a direct translation for the Latin word for ‘Balance’.

Eraqus

Settled: Grey Fox Daemon Name: Serena Looks: A small, slight-looking fox with a large, bushy tail that’s mostly black. She has a white underbelly, paws and muzzle, and black face markings. She has a collar-like marking that’s rusty bronze in colour.

Serena is a righteous Daemon who can be a little cold to others. She has a strong repulsion to anyone who uses Darkness to their own gain and she is not someone who backs down easily either, not even Terra’s Leopard Daemon snarling can make her flinch.

Symbolism: Foxes are sly and clever animals, much like Eraqus. While Introverted and solitary by nature, they are hopelessly loyal to their friends and loved ones, forgiving grievances in hopes of rekindling a friendship. Serena in both name and word means both ‘Clear’ and ‘Brightness’ in Latin.

Ansem the Wise

Settled: Hooded Crow Daemon Name: Sophie Looks: A dark-bodied bird with a light-brown head and hazel-golden eyes. Her beak is a darker brown and her legs and talons are black.

Ansem’s Daemon is naturally very helpful and wishes to do good by others by helping Ansem make the best possible decisions. However, she can find it hard to let things go easily. Though smart and ever-seeking knowledge, she can become tunnel-visioned into something, leading Ansem to become so as well, until he eventually has to pull both of them away.

Symbolism: Hooded Crows- like most Corvids, are highly intelligent animals, using their wisdom to solve tasks, and even work together to make tools. However, their intelligence comes with a mean streak and often mob and attack those who have done them or their flock wrong. Sophie as a name means ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Insight’.

[trialbystory]

Why I Am Like This pt 2

Alright so I did a whole thing last week about how Power Rangers was responsible for younger me realizing serialized/longform stories were, y'know, a thing. But I also mentioned it was half of a one-two punch, so since I've just reached the rough halfway point of SOC ch 5, let's take a sec to talk about the other half. And the one that seems to have been more influential on me long-term.

So growing up my family didn't have access to cable television until I was in ninth grade. But we did go to video rental stores fairly often. The more popular one did this thing where you could borrow 2 kiddie movies for free for a week every time you came in. My favorite was Speed Racer. It was one of those deals American companies did back then where rather than bothering to dub a whole series they'd pick a few episodes and cut them together as a straight-to-video 'movie' instead. But this isn't about Speed Racer (though fun fact the Wachowskis' live-action Speed Racer from '08 is unironically my favorite movie), that old VHS tape had the same problem as almost everything else I was watching at the time: it was one self-contained thing.

No, this is about my older sister's favorite video(s) to rent: Sailor Moon. Now in hindsight, I obviously know that the old dub released by Dic is...not great, but at the time we didn't know any better. We liked it. My sister liked because, let's be honest, she was the target demographic for it. I liked it because it had cool laserbeam attacks and I thought the transformation sequences were neat, like the morphing in Power Rangers, but with more going on (I was at this point still too young for the 'Boom anime babes' to 'Make me think the wrong thing'). And at around the same time I learned about continuity in Power Rangers, I noticed in in Sailor Moon too. It was also very monster of the week, but it too had things change from episode to episode, and it kicked in faster with Sailor Moon. The rental place had most of the series, so my sister and I were able to follow along as Serena (remember we had the dub) met and recruited the rest of the team, as generals were defeated, as they learned the truth about the Sailor Scouts' past and as Queen Beryl was ultimately defeated. It was great. And more importantly, I didn't care that it was a show 'for girls.' The cast was overwhelmingly female, but that didn't matter to me. They still fought and had adventures and hijinks and were heroes, and it was still cool. And that stuck with me. I occasionally caught some crap for it, but as I grew up I didn't shy away from reading books or watching shows and movies with female protagonists or 'girly' concepts. I loved the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce, my sister got into Ouran Highschool Host Club and I was right there with her. Hell, it's one of the things that actively drew me into RWBY when RT started releasing Monty's trailers. Even now romance and female-centered stories tend to draw me in more easily, and most of my favorite characters are women; Bridgitte and Tuon from Wheel of Time, Daja from Circle of Magic, the list goes on. Hell, even my favorite music, with a couple exceptions, is all female-fronted symphonic metal and hard rock groups (If you'd like a recommendation, I suggest listening to Within Temptation), and the lineage of that can be traced all the way back to sitting on the floor watching Sailor Moon with my older sister. So yeah. That's why I, a cisgender heterosexual (mostly, the last 18 months or so have been interesting) male born in the early 90's, seem to have an obsession with female characters and especially longform stories about them.

[amareite]

Lacewood Week 2018 Day 7

Prompt - Free Day

Word Count - 4.5k

Warnings - None

Only have wi-fi for the next few minutes so please the enjoy the last fanfiction I’ve written for Lacewood week!

Anistar City was possibly the oldest city in Kalos, even older than Geoseng. Serena had researched it on the side, she read plenty of history books from the Lumiose Library and from Professor Sycamore’s grandiose collection. She greatly preferred to read about Pokémon but there was something about Anistar City that just drew Serena in. It was her beacon and her port at times. It was comforting.

That’s why she sitting before the Anistar Sun Dial, just on the other side of the rings. Staring up at the monolithic quartz. She usually preferred being on the balcony, so she could see the ocean but today she just wanted to sit and watch the dial spin and listen to the sounds of the city around her.

She was in a rut lately and she needed a break from catching Pokémon and traveling and battling. Serena was getting close to completing her pokedex and sent off information to the professor often, through e-mail only. She hadn’t seen or talked with the professor since… Well, since he told her about New Mega-stones appearing in the area. That was months ago.

Serena dipped her head, she couldn’t rightly remember seeing any of her friends lately. She had seen Calem in Kiloude, they battled but Serena realized that had been more than a month ago. Serena scolded herself, she brought this upon herself. She was the one so determined to prove she was an asset; that she was worth the kindness others have shown her, although why she came to Anistar City for recuperation was a mystery even to herself.

Serena didn’t know why it was so important to her to always come by this particular city once in a while. The people here were friendly like the rest of Kalos. Serena had to stop herself from thinking about the old man she had lent a baby Pokémon to. He passed away but thanked her in a letter and Serena didn’t know for some time, yet no one judged her, some residence told her that the old man passed away very happy thanks to her efforts.

The people in the café invited her in often and the saleswomen in the boutique in town was always sure to greet her even if she was walking by. There was that young girl by the Pokémon center who told people of their Pokémon’s memories, and she would ask Serena if she could see Greninja because he had such lovely and happy memories. On really special days, Olympia would visit her at the café and they would chat endlessly and Olympia could not stop smiling at her about her bright future. Okay, so the people in Anistar were special. Everyone Serena met she felt a connection with.

Serena then wondered if it was the Sun Dial that called her to Anistar so often. She felt something ethereal and alive from the crystal that lit up the golden rings and made them turn and dance and spin and they entranced Serena every time she came by. She constantly asked herself if the dial was just meant for Pokémon and mega evolution like everyone suggested, or if there was something greater hidden in the crystalline monolith.

Serena looked at her watch. 7:44 pm. Not long until the setting sun hit the dial to start its mesmerizing dance in the courtyard center. Serena gazed back down into her lap, a map of Kalos was open and her scribbles were all over it. Checkmarks, notes, scratches, arrows and x’s. All of those had to do with Pokémon, either where she found the most hordes, the most uniquely colored Pokémon, the highest levels and lowest levels. Essentially, things that the pokedex didn’t record for her.

The x’s were her most recent interest, they marked where she found mega stones so far. The only problem was that she knew she was missing a few stones (mostly through rumors and hearsay) and she had no idea where they could be. She had checked every possible place of interest on the map and still nothing!

It was so frustrating to be stuck like this, if she didn’t manage to find a new stone, she would honestly have nothing to send the professor. That thought caused anxiety. Would he e-mail her? Would he be concerned? Would she end up distracting him from work?

As if in a trance, Serena brought her head up to look at the sun dial. The sun dipped just low enough that its rays passed through the hole in the middle of the monolith and touched the golden bands that slowly rose out of their resting spots and began spinning in an age old rhythm before her.

She was lost in thought almost instantly. Asking herself how they spun, how they kept rhythm, how did the sun always shine just right through the monolith? It was all mathematically inclined, but she still wished she could understand.

Serena suddenly remembered the photo she had taken here. The very first time she had seen the rings shining and the professor standing atop the balcony, waiting for her. Her heart skipped a beat. She never told him she had taken that photo and she doubted she ever would tell him. She carried the photo around everywhere and cherished it when she felt herself losing track of what she was doing in Kalos.

Now, though, she had no idea what she was doing here. Not even her beloved candid photo of her beloved professor could help. At first, it was her trying to make a name for herself. Battling. Breeding. Traveling. In a twisted sense of obligation and justice she went after Team Flare to stop their plans.

Then she defeated Diantha, the champion. Now Serena was the champion and to add onto her resume, a hero. She was known. Then she exclusively concentrated on helping the professor… and on the side chased down the rest of Team Flare with Looker. Again, that was months ago. With Interpol unconcerned with stragglers of Team Flare and the assistance she’d been giving the professor was at a standstill, she hadn’t even made much progress herself.

The last two weeks were miserable. It was filled with ruined rollerblades, her favorite fishing rod snapping in half, lost data, corrupted e-mails, little to no human interaction, two nights in an overcrowded Pokémon center then camping for days on end. Just today she’d managed to get a hotel room here in Anistar. Thank Arceus, she would have lost her mind otherwise.

Honestly, she could’ve handled it if only she managed what she had set out for. She wanted to double mega evolve. She spent days and days at the Tower of Mastery training, and it all came to nothing. In fact, she wounded herself trying. She’d fainted and hit her head on the stone floor. She bled on the balcony and tried to wash the blood off, she thought she got most of it, maybe she didn’t but regardless she ran away from the Tower not long after, humiliated.

Thankfully Master Gurkinn and Korrina weren’t there and Serena could recuperate on her own, which wasn’t ideal but Serena wasn’t used to failure, and instead she decided to look for more mega stones, maybe she needed the right combination of Pokémon first and then she could dual wield mega evolution.

All in all, Serena felt dejected and lost. It had been going so good beforehand. She was so happy here but she just couldn’t bring herself to change her thought process. She wanted the professor to be proud of her, she wanted to work with him. She wanted to feel like she belonged with her friends. She had rushed through the league in Kalos so quickly, thrust so immediately into the spotlight Serena didn’t know how to stop and enjoy herself anymore, didn’t know who to be with or ask.

All of this in combination led to Serena feeling like an outsider. Even when she had first arrived in Kalos, she didn’t feel this foreign. She didn’t feel this unfamiliar.

The Sun Dial rotated in a steady rhythm, like always and Serena felt tears well up in her eyes. Why did she get so emotional at the stupidest things? “It’s not a big deal.” She muttered to herself. She could feel the smoldering of her throat and the tightening of her jaw and she hated herself so badly for being such a useless idiot. Out of the corners of her eyes, some tears escaped and Serena wiped them away angrily with her fingers.

Ridiculous. That’s what she was, couldn’t even be left alone five minutes before she messed up. The feeling of shame hit her harder than she’d like. She just wanted… to do something right, for herself. Not for her mom, or dad, or her friends or even the professor. Just for her but it was so damn hard.

“Mon dieu, Serena! Est-ce- Is it really you?” A voice smoother than silk called out. Serena yelped in shock, shooting up off the ground and her papers fluttering off of her lap. Professor Sycamore was jogging to her, a bright smile on his face.

Though as the professor neared his student, he was shocked by her tear stained face. Serena tried to hide by looking down at the ground and hastily picking up her papers and shoving half of them haphazardly into her bag. “Ah, ma chere, are you alright?” The professor reached a hand out but Serena recoiled back fearfully, the professor faltered.

Serena shook her head of her prior thoughts, waving the professor off and managed a small wobbly smile. “Hello, professor. Please don’t mind me, I’m just being dumb.” More forceful smiling as she turned away from him to put the rest of her papers away, the heat of shame permeated her chest.

The professor was undeterred and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder to pull her close and embraced her. “Don’t say that, I’ve been so worried about you.” The professor just laughed lightly. Serena sniffed and shuddered. She really loved how easy it was to get along with him. Maybe she hated that about him, too.

“I’m sorry.” Serena muttered dejectedly into the professor’s shoulder, forcing her tears to stop, she was mortified that he’d caught her crying.

The professor didn’t even seem to mind as he gently rubbed her back in comfort. “C’est correct. Don’t be sorry. You’ve been working too hard lately.” He answered her encouragingly, he was so kind and had always been a good friend to her. She never had a best friend before she came to Kalos, the professor certainly met that criteria for her but on the professor’s end, she was probably just his silly student.

Serena wouldn’t fall down that rabbit hole. She couldn’t tell him what had happened so she shook her head and tensed in his embrace. “I haven’t done anything in weeks.” Serena ground out over the persisting tightness in her throat.

The professor brought a hand to pat her head gently. “Now, I know that’s not true. Calem saw you in Kiloude City, Laverre Town and Ambrette Town just a weeks ago, Trevor saw you on Route 22, Tierno says were at Cyllage earlier this week and Shauna told me you were training at the Tower of Mastery and staying in the Couriway Pokémon center. Who knows what else you’ve been up with no one watching.” Serena tensed, why was everyone suddenly in her business? Yeah, she was moving around a lot but she wasn’t exactly busy.

“Don’t be fooled, just about everything ended in failure.” Serena sniffed lightly and then pulled away, expecting Professor Sycamore to let her go, except he didn’t and instead gave her the most incredulous look he could muster, though his face mostly betrayed the jest behind it when he couldn’t hide his smile.

His kindness shone through. “Serena. Even if it didn’t work, that doesn’t mean you haven’t been working hard. It’s okay to take a break, you’ve been running around for nearly two months now. I have hardly spoken with you.” His response seemed almost too earnest, his brows furrowed fantastically as her tried to quell her fears.

Serena properly pulled away from him, forcing every inch of her body to stop melting at his touch. It was enough, he didn’t need to deal with her stress. “It’s still nothing, please professor, I’m alright now.” It was a strangely tense reply and the professor didn’t seem to buy a word of it.

The professor laid his hand on her shoulder, offering a comforting grip. “You don’t have to push yourself so hard. There’s no time limit, the Pokémon will still be here tomorrow… and the day after, thanks to you.” He added at the thoughtfully, it was intended to be taken lightly but Serena just turned away from him, stepping away so that she was too far to reach.

Serena wanted to kick herself, she was making this awkward but she didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to admit her fears to him. He was too busy for her failures. “I know, I just- if I don’t work hard, why am I even here?”

His voice was soft against the sounds of the dial spinning and the ocean waves. “Don’t say that. You belong here regardless. I’m happy you’re my research assistant.” Serena almost started crying again. He was too kind for own good. She nodded her head, in recognition of his words but nothing else.

There was a long silence between them. Serena refused to turn back around, effectively hoping that the conversation was over because she was just going to keep whimpering like a child. The professor had a different idea.

The professor took her hand in his, he was right beside her with grin on his face. “Come to the balcony, I know you like the view much better there.” He walked, not even bothering to hear her reply. He wasn’t wrong. She loved the balcony, just staring off into the endless ocean, making her feel insignificant enough that her problems didn’t crush her.

Just at the edge of the monolith, the balcony opened up to see the ocean. It was truly magnificent here and the night sky was darkening, leading way to the brilliant starry sky. The professor leaned on the balcony rails, staring off into the horizon. Serena did the same, no prompting, just wanting to be close enough to him to ease her pain. She was being selfish.

Stillness surrounded them, Serena tried to focus on the professor. Tried to focus on the fact that he was taking time to spend with her but all she could think about now was that this was waste of his time. He probably had better things to do.

Maybe he could read minds because his words were clear and his eyes unclouded as he looked to her intensely. “We’re friends, oui? You can tell me.” His statement was penetrating. It was so sympathetic and firm at the same time.

Serena somehow managed to find words hidden in her throat, she didn’t even know they were there. “I feel like such an outsider. I don’t want to bother Calem and Shauna when they’re doing their own thing. Tierno and Trevor aren’t really nearby so I don’t run into them often. Diantha is so busy and the others… I train as hard as I can- I just...” She couldn’t admit to it. Serena cringed hard, now that she had begun, she was in the thick of it. She couldn’t bear to look the professor.

The words spilled out before she could even properly think of them. Her words were quick and strained over the emotion she was trying to keep a leash on. “I want to make you proud but I can’t get anything to work. I feel like I’ve taken advantage of your generosity towards me and I don’t know how to repay you for everything you’ve done.”

Dammit. That wasn’t what she wanted to say to him. This was her problem.

His arm returned to wrap around her shoulder in a side hug. It was tight, this time he turned to face her. “Have I ever given the impression that I wasn’t proud of you?” Serena gazed up to him and found herself holding back a blush that attempted to claim her cheeks when she saw his intense gaze, his visage decorated in purples and pinks from the reflection of the quartz monolith beside them.

Serena shook her head but something in her expression told him that she really believed she needed to prove herself more than she already had.

“It’s not that, professor. You’ve given me so much.” Her whisper sounded weak to her own ears.

“I didn’t give you Pokémon and the pokedex to be repaid, I gave them to you so you could have an adventure.” Sycamore squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture but Serena just turned away from him. She couldn’t tell him the worst part. How she felt about him. She’d just ruin this friendship. The professor had been the one constant in her life since she moved to Kalos.

Serena didn’t reply to him, just leaning on the railing again but ignoring the view before her. She heard him exhale beside her. “Ma belle, I’m so proud of you, extremely proud. You’ve worked so hard for me already and you’re still running all over this country. Thanks to you, so much of my research on mega evolution has been completed. You’re a hero and a champion, and so much more.” His eyes were bright as he recounted her best traits and her endeavors.

Serena’s mouth was dry, unable to accept such compliments so she shook her head. “They’re just titles…”

Sycamore scoffed in good humor. “Titles they may be but the work you’ve put into them is astounding.”

“I’m…I’m not-…”

The professor’s fingers found their way to her chin, attempting to get her to look over to him. She refused. “Serena, look at me,” He tilted his head inquisitively at her, his tone was kind. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Serena casted her eyes down and seemed so distraught. She forced the words down, it was too ridiculous to talk about. The professor reached out suddenly and his fingers crept into her blonde tresses felt the bump on the back of her head. Serena recoiled slightly in pain and pulled away from the professor with fearful eyes.

The professor gasped as he pulled his hand away. “You did get injured. Korrina mentioned you may have wounded yourself while training at the Tower. Oh, mon cherie.”

The professor tried to get close and inspect the damage but Serena struggled, jerking away and startling the professor with her violent reaction. Serena was immediately hit guilt at his shock and screwed her eyes shut. “N-no! I wasn’t! It’s not what it seems…”

Sycamore shook his head and stepped forward to embrace her properly. “I’ve been so worried. I’m delighted over how committed you are to helping me find new mega stones and completing the national pokedex but Serena, I wish you wouldn’t push yourself so hard. I haven’t seen you in months. I fear that you’ve isolated yourself.” Of course, he was absolutely right on every conceivable level. She was pushing herself. She was isolating herself. She wanted to be better. Stronger.

“It’s not like that…” She forced out weakly, her words failing her, her mental shield to keep her issues to herself crumbled more and more with every prolonged moment with the professor. He didn’t reply to her, instead stared on rather glumly at her defiance.

That did it, her shield shattered and she felt the tears burn her eyes. “I’m so sorry, professor. I just feel worthless. Everyone seems to know what they want to do and I just get in the way. I feel like I’ve lost focus of what I want to do and I’m just drifting around. I don’t know who I want to be, or how I’m supposed be. I just want to- I want…” Serena sobbed, the weeks of isolation and tension catching up with her finally and she ducked her head but the professor just rubbed her back caringly.

“The last thing I wanted was for you to be hurt. You are the furthest thing from worthless and I wish you wouldn’t push yourself so hard. You’ve already done so much while you fought through the league, you’ve done more than what was expected of you, you’ve driven yourself mad with work, and it’s alright. You do enough, you are enough.” Somehow, the professor always knew what to say to her, always knew what would calm her down and make feel better. She wondered if he just knew, inherently, what someone needed to hear.

For once, she returned his hug. She wrapped her arms around his middle in a desperate need of comfort and cried into his chest. Having someone acknowledge her fears and tell her she wasn’t useless was all she needed apparently. Maybe she had isolated herself too much. Serena took in a shuddering breathe, reorienting herself and rubbing her eyes of her tears. “Thank you, professor. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“We all lose ourselves sometimes.” He let her go of his own will this time and outstretched his hand. “May I see what you’ve been working on?” His request was simple enough, she had shoved all of her papers and her map into her bag without thinking, so embarrassed to have been caught crying she had forgotten completely.

Serena nodded though, and pulled out her map while at the same time catching her fingers on the one photo she didn’t ever want the professor to see, it slipped out of her purse and she didn’t realize until the professor reached down for it and his eyes widened at the picture. Serena noticed all too late what he had in his hand. The mortified horror that spread over her expression would have been comical if it wasn’t obvious that Serena was suddenly terrified that he’d found out she liked him in that way.

The smile on the professor’s face was cheerful as he reviewed the photo. “Serena, this is a wonderful picture.” He praised her easily, his eyes not leaving the photograph. “This was taken here, oui?” He rose his gaze to meet hers and halted as he saw the absolute despair in her eyes. She swiftly turned from him, staring right up to the dial.

The professor called to her gently. “Oh, ma belle, don’t hide.”

“I’m sorry.” She felt so ashamed she could only apologize, she couldn’t believe she had given herself away like that. Something so dumb, she dropped the photo on the floor, of all things!

“Whatever for?”

“You don’t need that kind of trouble.” Serena ripped the photo out of his hand suddenly and turned, her face taking deep red that didn’t just indicate embarrassment but even emotions like shame and guilt. The professor couldn’t understand why she felt she was so unworthy.

“I love trouble.” Sycamore answered cheekily and Serena kept her eyes downcast.

“You don’t have to make me feel better, it’s a dumb crush.”

Sycamore paused at her intensity. On her part it may have been a dumb crush but it wasn’t on his and that’s what she was missing. “…Have I not made my affections obvious?” He began, deflecting her statement completely. Serena tensed in surprise. He continued. “I thought I was being apparent, clearly, I was wrong. Did you think I’d be upset?”

His question stopped her in his tracks. She looked to him and then back to the ground. He could never be upset, she’d never seen him upset before. She swallowed thickly and answered him quietly. “No, but…”

The professor opened his arms. This time waiting for Serena to come to him. She hesitated for a few steps and fidgeted with her Mega Ring. Seeing her reluctance, he summoned her softly. “Vien…”

Serena walked to him and hugged him tightly. The professor sighed in relief. “The truth is I’m very fond of you and I’ve been so worried about you since you’ve left.” Sycamore murmured to her, running his fingers through her hair. “I had been planning on asking you out to dinner but you never returned to my lab. You stopped taking my calls, so I decided to look for you and make sure you were alright.”

He breathed steadily as he admitted to his deception. “My being here is no coincidence. I asked around personally and Olympia told me she’s seen you in the café just hours ago, I rushed over as quickly as possible to see you.”

“I’m so sorry I’ve caused you so much trouble,”

“Non, Serena. Listen to me,” He cupped her cheeks, making their eyes meet. “I care about you deeply, the only things that trouble me are your tears.” He answered her as honestly as he could.

“Professor…”

“I…” Serena tried to get her mouth to work, to admit to him what had been going on in the train-wreck of her head but the words were lost as she stared into his eyes. He was so amazing. So wonderful to her she couldn’t bear to confess. She loved him, so damn much.

She switched her tactics, she couldn’t confess like that. “I care about you, too. You’ve been so good to me and I love you dearly as a friend and mentor and... I’m afraid it’s become something I can’t handle anymore. It hurts being near you.” She whispered the last part, nearly inaudibly confessing to him.

He paused as he heard her, his heart not nearly prepared enough to hear her words, even though he sought her out. He struggled to speak. “Is that why you’ve stayed away from me?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Sycamore leaned in slightly, rubbing his thumb over her cheek in affection. “May I take that pain away?”

“You can try but…” Serena didn’t finish her sentence as the professor dipped and claimed her lips in chaste kiss, she froze in shock, and her arms fell to her side, her beloved photo drifting out of her fingers and to the floor as her breath stopped in its tracks.

Professor Sycamore pulled back just a bit, gazing at her opened eyes and smiled softly.

“Does it still hurt?” He asked inquisitively, though there was mirth in his eyes as he gazed at her.

Serena couldn’t stop her lip from trembling. “A little bit.”

“D’accord, ma belle.” He spoke tenderly and this time wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to kiss her properly. Serena closed her eyes and brought her trembling hands to his shoulders, her fingers unable to properly grip him from the wonderment of being confessed to by the professor.

Sycamore slowly let go of Serena, drawing away to see the young woman in his arms blushing profusely and nearly quivering from the contact they shared.

“And now?” The rings stopped spinning behind them, the light faded. The kaleidoscope of colors and reflections faded, leaving the couple near darkness as the Sun Dial halted its rhythmic dance. A hush fell upon the courtyard as night fell upon them completely.

In this hush, Serena answered him. “It’s gone.” She said quietly, covering her face with her hands to hide the blush that flooded her features in a deep red.

“Like magic.” He sighed to her, leaning for another kiss.