#i always have trouble tagging for pokemon

[oracleviolet93]

Change Of Plans

Summary: Due to your friend cancelling plans because of personal problems, Wade and eventually Logan step up to take their place.

Pairing: Worst! Logan X Reader

Authors Note: Hey guys! Here’s the short story I told you about last night. Loosely based on what I’m going through right now with a friend of mine and their situation. I’m ok now just backing off from the friend for a while but will check in on them soon. Hope you guys like!

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, Wade breaking the 4th wall (kinda) No use of Y/N, Cussing, Pet names, Wade calls Reader Angel, reader is 18+

Chapter 2

You sighed hard as you looked down at your phone while walking to the laundry room. Your friend decided to bail on you last minute due to getting in a fight with their mom and now their mom isn’t talking to them. You decided to ignore the text for now. You want to help them but every single time you gave them advice it fell on death ears and they never listened.

“There’s my favorite little Angel!” A cheerful voice rang as soon as you got in the laundry room.

“Oh, hey Wade.” You said putting down the basket and your phone and getting some change from your pocket.

“What’s wrong Angel? Wolvie being a dick again?!” Wade asked peeking over your shoulder.

“No and he’s never a dick to me.” You said counting change and Wade switched sides.

“Work get you down? Trouble at home? Friend trouble?” Wade asked as he kept switching sides with every question.

“The third one and it’s that friend.” You sighed putting the clothes in the washer and putting the coins in and pushed them in the machine to get it started.

“The one who lives with their mom, always gets into fights with her and wallow in self pity not listening to your advice and cancels plans on you? That one?!” Wade asked.

“Yep.” You said as both Wade and Logan knew the story about your friend all too well. Even Vanessa, Al and Laura knew enough about your friend to have their own opinions on them.

“Angel, I told you before, that person isn’t worth it. They don’t listen to you, they won’t move out of their mom’s house. They’re a lost cause.” Wade said putting an arm around your shoulder. “Even Al says ��Get rid of the motherfucker!””

“We’ve known each other for 14 years Wade.” You giggled. “Easier said then done.”

“Look Angel, I had to get rid of some friends I knew for a while. Hell I’m gonna have to replace Weasel with another Weasel…someone who doesn’t give off a TJ Miller vibe.” Wade wondered.

“Hm?” You hummed, having no idea what Wade was talking about.

“My point is Angel, it doesn’t matter how long you knew them. If they’re gonna feel sorry for themselves and not do anything about it and or not listen to you, you need to back off and worry about yourself.” Wade told you.

“You may be right…” You sighed. “We also had plans today and maybe tomorrow with Pokemon and Fortn-“

“Oooooo I’ll join I’ll join!!” Wade jumped up and down raising his hand.

“Do you even play Pokemon?” You asked giving a chuckle.

“I have Scarlet AND Violet, Sword and Shield, Both Lets Go G-“

“Ok I get it Wade.” You said giving him a soft smile. “My friend and I were supposed to do a Quaquaval raid but you know what’s going on.”

“What Pokemon do I need?! You’re the expert at these raids!”

“I’ll make you one as soon as laundry is done and I go back upstairs.” You said giving him a smile.

“Ooooooo I can’t wait!” Wade smiled as he gave you a big hug.

“Oof!”

“Don’t worry! I won’t let you down…unlike your friend.”

“Thank you Wade.” You said smiling slowly and softly. “This means a lot.”

A few hours later after you got your laundry done, you walked back to your apartment and put it away. Afterwards you grabbed your Pro Controller for your Switch and turned the TV on and powered on the Switch and played some Pokemon Violet.

“I’ll catch him a Houndstone and breed Wade a raid ready one.” You thought as you went to an area where Houndstone are normally found.

“Hey princess? I’m home.” You heard the door open and saw Logan come in.

“Logan!” You got up and ran into his arms and gave him a tight hug.

“Hey kiddo, what happened?” Logan asked softly.

“Trouble with my friend.” You told him as Logan just nodded and hugged you more.

“Same shit bub?” He asked.

“Yeah.” You said as you went back to the couch and he followed and sat down. “Gonna take a shower?”

“Cheering you up is more important right now.” Logan said as you got closer to him and laid your head on him and he pulled you close.

“I’m fine.” You said going back to hatching Greavards and Logan just gave you a look that you couldn’t ignore for long. “Ok I’m a little upset at them!” You sighed.

“A little?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Ok really upset!” You whined putting down the controller and hugging him. “I do all I can to try and help them but everything I say just goes over their head or it’s just a vacuum. Plus we had plans for today and maybe tomorrow too. Video game plans but plans.”

“I’m sorry to hear that kiddo.” Logan hugged you back fully. “Maybe don’t make plans with them anymore, because truth be told shit like this always happens when you make plans with that person.”

“I’m not.” You told him as you picked up your controller again. “I’m done making plans with them, I’m done trying to give them advice, I’m done. Call me a shitty person, I don’t care.”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Darlin’ you’re not a shitty person! You are loved by everybody you meet, especially me and I don’t fuckin’ deserve you!”

“Logan…” You sighed as you sat up to nuzzle him. “You do deserve me, just like I deserve you…”

“You are too good for me.” Logan sighed as he kissed your head.

“That’s because I love you.” You smiled as you picked up your controller and went back to hatching eggs. “Also Wade said he’d play with me tonight.”

“Good grief.” Logan chuckled giving a soft smile. “And here I’d thought I’d have a relaxing evening with you.”

“Oh don’t worry, he won’t be over. We’ll just talk on the phone or discord or whatever.” You said.

“What the fuck is discord?” Logan asked.

“It’s an app or website where yo- HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!” You exclaimed as you hatched your latest Greavard.

“WHAT?! ARE YOU OK?! WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Logan yelled pulling you close and extending his claws.

“Logan! Logan! Baby! Nothing is wrong! I’m excited because I just hatched a shiny Pokemon!” You told him trying to calm him down.

“A what?!” Logan asked as he was still on guard but slowly put away his claws.

“A Pokemon with a different color, they’re hard to find or hatch if you don’t hack them in.” You said softly. “I just got excited that’s all.” Logan then started taking a few deep breaths.

“I’m sorry princess.” Logan said after calming down.

“You don’t have to be sorry Logan.” You told him.

“I scared you, that’s not my intent. Plus I’m not used to…you know.”

“A life like this?” You asked.

“Yeah…” Logan sighed as you hugged him more and kissed his cheek.

“I better tell Wade he’s getting a shiny.” You said grabbing your phone.

“You’re giving it to him?! But you said they’re hard to get!” Logan said raising an eyebrow.

“I know but I’m a shiny hunter and I caught a few a while back.” You said with a smile. “Plus I have a rule for myself, when I’m hatching Pokemon to build for someone else, if I hatch a shiny, they get the shiny.” You dialed Wade’s number. “And since I’m building a Pokemon for Wade, he gets it.” You waited on him to answer

“Merc with A mouth services, you better not be a fucking cop! How may I help you?” Wade asked as he picked up.

“Guess who’s getting a shiny Greavard?” You asked as you smiled.

“No fucking way!”

“Way!”

“Ohhhhh thank you Angel!” Wade said excitedly as he was heard dancing around.

“CALM THE FUCK DOWN MOTHERFUCKER!” Al’s voice was heard.

“Hey! Angel just hatched me a shiny Pokemon!” Wade shot back.

“I don’t give a shit if she ended world hunger! I’m trying to take a nap! Quiet down motherfucker!” Al yelled

“I take it I should call you back later?” You asked quietly.

“Yeeeeah…talk later!” Wade whispered as he hung up.

“Everything ok?” Logan asked as he saw your face.

“Yeah, just Wade and Al about to get into it.” You said as Logan nodded. “So I’ll build Wade’s Houndstone as soon as I can and we’ll get into it.”

—

Later that night after building Wade’s Houndstone and trading it to him, plus the shiny Greavard, you were on the couch with your switch in handheld while Logan was in the recliner watching a movie.

“Ready Wade?” You asked as you were on Discord with him.

“I was born ready!” Wade said sounding determined.

“Lets do this!” You said giving him the code and waiting on him to get in. When he did you both were ready and went into the raid. “Remember Will-O-Wisp first turn!”

“Gotcha!” Wade said as he did just that. “He’s burned!”

“Good! I’ll lower his attack!” You said as you used Breaking Swipe. “Keep me alive Wade!”

“I’ll do my best!” Wade said nodding as he used Howl and you used another Breaking Swipe.

“One more and I can tera.” You said as you got attacked.

“Need a heal?” Wade asked.

“Not yet, just keep using Howl.” You said as Wade did just that and you used one more Breaking Swipe. “Now I can tera next turn!”

“Sweet!” Wade said as you did just that and used Fusion Bolt.

“Shields are going up…and our stats are back to normal. I’ll do a defense cheer.” You said as you did just that.

“I’ll do a heal cheer and keep howling, you keep using electric type moves!” Wade said as you nodded.

Minutes went by as you and Wade eventually got Quaquaval’s shield down, but you were running out of time.

“If I can get these next attacks in, we should be able to get him!” You said sounding a bit unsure though since time was running out.

“We got this Angel!” Wade said sounding determined. “I only have one more heal though.”

“Use it ne- USE IT NOW I GOT CRITED!!” You exclaimed as Wade did just that.

“You ok princess?!” Logan asked jumping up and you just nodded.

“One more attack…don’t miss…” You said as the attack hit and Quaquaval was down. “WE GOT HIM!” You smiled.

“WE DID IT!!” Wade celebrated.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP MOTHERFUCKER!” Al screamed.

“Ignore her, but we did it!” Wade smiled.

“We did.” You smiled as well. “Thank you so much Wade.”

“Anytime! Hey if you need anymore help in raids, let me know! This was fun!”

“Yeah it was.” You smiled softly. “Oh Wade?”

“Yeeeeeeeessssss?” Wade asked back.

“Thank you again. This means a lot to me.” You smiled as you two said your goodbyes and hung up.

[meruz]

hi!! im sure ppl have asked this b4, but i scoured your asks tag for an hour or so looking to see if you answered anything abt it and couldnt find anything, so i was just wondering if youve made any posts on your process for making n selling merch b4? and how you know which franchises you can make merch for w/o getting into trouble w copyright n trademark stuff (hopefully that makes sense, im not sure,,,)

hi! got a bunch of asks abt merch stuff lately im gonna put it under a cut.

preface: i don't know if i'm the best person to ask about all this stuff because I'm doing merch on a strictly hobby basis LOL. I have a fulltime job which takes care of the bulk of my finances, I don't really make big quantities of anything and my main priority at cons is to just make enough money to see my friends in different cities at minimal expense. i pretty much always get a refund when i file my con taxes because my profit after all the deductions is like fucking..nothing.. lmao. So if you ultimately lose money following my advice don't blame me. OK NOW lets get into it

my process for making merch: when I have an event scheduled that I want to make merch for I start by brainstorming a bunch of stuff I wanna make. for mgscon this is what I wrote down in my sketchbook lol

i made a legend to denote which ones are actually just reprints. it gets easier to plan out merch when you already have merch. out of the new merch ideas here i actually only made like 4 of them. and out of the reprints i only reprinted like three. i also came up with like 4-5 other merch ideas after writing out this list that i actually did do. LMAOO UM. my point here is that nothing rly goes as planned.

when i get a merch idea i start with thumbnails what i want it to look like (sometimes this is based off merch ive seen before so its very realized and sometimes its really vague bc im kind of pulling it out of my ass)

then BEFORE i go into making the final art I research how I'm going to make the merch. whether its printing/constructing it myself or looking for a manufacturer. There's a lot of different places that you can get custom merch made, i used to go shopping around at local printing shops but nowadays it's really common to do it all online. For both these jet tags and the washi tape I did some of my own research into manufacturers and also asked friends for their contacts/referrals/recommendations etc. most manufacturers either have their specs/template publicly available or will give them to you when you ask. so once I've locked into a manu and gotten the specs I'll start designing the final art.

then it's sending it off and waiting! easier said than done.

i will say this process is a lot lengthier for some types of merch than others LOL. for prints... I've been doing prints for like a million years and I plan out almost none of it. I draw everything at print resolution so a week before I have a con scheduled I'll simply go through all the files I've accumulated since my last con, squeeze whatever drawings I want into standard print sizes lol (ie. 8.5x11, 11x17, 4x6 etc), and print them at a local shop. takes like a couple hours max.

how you know which franchises you can make merch for w/o getting into trouble w copyright n trademark stuff?

I mean. honestly I don't know. selling fanart is the kind of thing that IP holders kind of just let slide as long as they don't think they're losing a substantial amt of money on it. there ARE a couple franchises people avoid because they've been known to send IP lawyers after fanartists... disney is the big one and they're known for being pretty petty abt it... that's why you don't really see people selling fanart of the disney princesses at cons. ive heard pokemon will also crack down if your project seems to be making a lot of money lol, part of why i think a lot of pokemon fanzines operate on a charity basis. I do feel like the pokemon company has bigger fish to fry than someones artist alley table though so i wouldn't sweat it too much.

it's also generally considered impolite/bad taste to sell fanart of small franchises. webcomics and indie games especially if they only have like 1-2 devs who rely on the income that game makes.

I'm not a lawyer so you shouldn't consider this legal advice BUT I will say... I don't think you should let IP law stop you from selling fanart lol. especially if it's low quantities/not mass produced and you're not making crazy amts of money I think you kind of have a leg to stand on. Besides, most cases it seems like the worst you'll get is a cease and desist.

you Will notice that when people start turning their artist alley endeavors into a real business they'll generally ease up on selling fanart (the case most prominent in my mind is omocat lol). but i love fanart and thats why i will never make money and thats a promise [snake saluting gif]

SORRY IDK IF ANY OF THIS WAS HELPFUL. I've been doing merch and cons for a long time (10+ years lmao, you can find record of this on this very blog) and i think im kind of old fashioned about it. i recognize the artist alley/merch scene is a lot more demanding now than it used to be but start small at local low-risk events, online sales etc and work your way up and remember to have fun and itll be ok i believe this wholeheartedly.

its literally just layers of acrylic like any other dinky charm. I'm sure pretty much any manu that does acrylic charms could do it but this specific charm/template i did order through a group order server. they're pretty well known! heres a link to their twitter

@wheatormeat sorry for taking a full month to answer this... anyways. This is tricky because I've actually been changing up my sticker manu everytime LOL IDK if I've found one I actually love.

these ones i ordered thru an alibaba manu because I was jumping on a friend's group order to save on shipping. it was ok. they arrived a liiiitle late and printed a lil dark but i think thats kind of my fault LOL I use dark colors i always need to lighten things before i get them printed and i think i just didnt lighten these enough. otherwise i rly love the quality!

i realized i never posted these online and also this is not a good picture (the lighting in my living room sucks rn) but i printed these tmnt stickers thru stickerninja they feel really solid but they needed kind of a lot of space for the cutline. but their customer service was very nice and helpful!

these ones i got printed at washimill and i was so impressed with how fine their cutline is... pricing and quality of the sticker itself is alright they feel a lil flimsy? idk. but i do like the printing. i kind of elected to go with them solely because i was already ordering washi tape. A LOT of my manufacturing decisions are made based on how much money i can save on shipping tbh.

and thats my sticker manu reviews dont forget to like comment subscribe idk if i have one im gonna stick with forever or anything im rly indecisive. ideally id like a manu based in the u.s...? because im based in the u.s. and international shipping is pricey. but idk if i keep ordering washi tape maybe ill keep using washimill. who knows...

[i-am-grell]

Let Us (Anime) Poll

As I mentioned, since the winner of last poll is short and still airing, I'm getting this poll ready now.

If you're new here, I watch anime, but I don't make choices - you do.

As always, propaganda* (*yapping) below the poll. You can reblog to yap in tags, recruit/annoy your followers, whatever. You do no have to know me, follow me, like me, or like/know/have watched any of the shows to vote.

Propaganda:

Pokemon - Pokemon has been in the polls before, but to catch up anyone new: years ago, I watched a straight shot of Kanto -> Sinnoh (including movies), and stopped right at the beginning of Unova. This poll option will count for Season 14 - Black & White, and any movies that take place chronologically in that period.

One Piece - I've met Nico Robin, and I am so excited to simp for her more. This poll option will count for Seasons 5 and 6 (ep 131-195) of One Piece and any movies that take place chronologically in that period.

Sailor Moon - I'm running out of Sailor Moon theme song lyrics. There really aren't that many Sailor Moon theme song lyrics. This poll option will count for Season 2 - Sailor Moon R.

Kamisama Kiss - WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT MY MAN J MICHAEL TATUM IS TOMOE?? I know there's some dedicated Kamisama Kiss fans on this website and y'all need to work your magic here. (This isn't me influencing the vote, this is just me being a J Michael Tatum enjoyer.)

One Punch Man - I don't know much about One Punch Man aside from what's very blatantly implied, and frankly some of the best shows you've all voted for me to watch have started with titles that basically say it all.

Kuroko's Basketball - I summoned the Kuroko no Basketheads (idk what you call yourselves) last time it was in a poll, so good luck friends. I know I will simp for green-haired glasses guy, the only character I have actually seen from this show.

[owlgirl18]

Get to know your mutuals! Tagged by @catt-crossing Ty for the tag!!!

-What's the origin of your username? One of my favourite animals are owls, I’m more or less a girl and my favourite number is 18 cause when I was a kid I wanted to be old enough to drink coffee ahah (I don’t like coffee now XD)

OTP(s) + shipname: It’ll always be Clexa from The 100 for me, they deserved so much better. Old classics for me also include Kyoru from Fruits Basket, Zutara from Atla, Klance from Voltron, Midlink from Tloz and Chrobin from Fe:a. My current big one is Durgetash from Bg3 <3

Favourite colour: All things purple, I usually say a darker shade or a plum vibe but you really can’t go wrong. Orange is my second favourite and my third is the pink brown hair colour from Pokemon Sun and Moon, is that too specific ajshdkah

Song stuck in my head: Too Much by Dove Cameron

Weirdest habit/trait: I never wear matching socks

Hobbies: Drawing fanart and original works, writing about my ocs, reading mostly warrior cats, video gaming in general

If you work, what's your profession? Closest thing I have rn is being an artist

If you could have any job you wish what would you have? An artist but one who makes more money rip

Something you're good at: Creating characters and bringing them to life with drawings and stories

Something you hate: Transparent foods

Something you forget: Literally everything, catch me constantly taking notes

Your love language: I’m not sure anymore :(

Favourite movies/shows: Doctor Who, Fruits Basket, Assassination Classroom, My Hero Academia, The Last of Us. Princess Mononoke, Wolf Children, How to Train your Dragon 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Lion King 2, Rise of the Guardians, Tangled, Strange Magic, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs. Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Catching Fire, The Meg. Yes that is as much as I could narrow it down lmao

Favourite food: I often get tired of even my favourite foods so that’s a tricky one but my current fav rn is peach mango dessert tofu

Favourite animal: Cats, owls, snow leopards, vampire squid

What were you like as a child? Very shy and anxious and scared to get in trouble, pretty angry too about certain living situations but also kind and creative and loyal to those I cared about, not much has changed tbh

Favourite subject in school: Art and science

Least favourite subject: Social studies and french

What's your best character trait? Probably my creativity, it’s the one thing I can always turn to

What's your worst character trait? I can be too complaisant, and it comes back to bite me

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be? To feel at home

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet? My social anxiety says no thank you aha

Tagging the first several mutuals I see in my notifications cause I’m lazy ahah (absolutely no pressure): @technicallyoneofakind @slayerdurge @noodlepals @7space7 @babygurltash @ruunkur @megamarine @icacus @iczer3 @scandistar @sarathefnafqueen1987 @avenin @jewel-heist And anyone else who wants to! <3

(Blank version below if you want an easy copy paste:)

Get to know your mutuals! Tagged by

-What's the origin of your username?

OTP(s) + shipname:

Favourite colour:

Song stuck in my head:

Weirdest habit/trait:

Hobbies:

If you work, what's your profession?

If you could have any job you wish what would you have?

Something you're good at:

Something you hate:

Something you forget:

Your love language:

Favourite movies/shows:

Favourite food:

Favourite animal:

What were you like as a child?

Favourite subject in school:

Least favourite subject:

What's your best character trait?

What's your worst character trait?

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

Tagging:

[roxannarambles]

Title: Wings of a Butterfly, Eye of the Tiger (Part 5)

Ship: Nemona x Juliana (Julinemo/Terajules)

Summary: Nemona and Juliana just can’t resist returning to Area Zero once more. They find new places to explore, new pokemon to discover, and a new things to learn … about pokemon battling, but also about each other. (Sequel to Picnic in Paradise)

Chapters: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Tags: Slowburn, Romance, Friendship, Crushes, Action/Adventure, Pokemon Battles, Fakemon

You fell backwards into the chilling lake, disoriented and floundering. When you managed to kick back to the surface of the water, gasping for breath, you could noticed frantic splashing, Scarlet caught in a fierce struggle with some kind of water pokemon– from the looks of it, a massive shark, Terastallized in a rainbow of colors. The beast had chomped down on one of Koraidon’s legs and Koraidon was desperately scratching at the shark’s face with his claws, trying to escape so he could use a proper battle move. A bit further away, Nemona was treading water, mercifully in one piece.

“Juliana, are you okay?!”

“Ye-” Your head dipped below water and you popped back up, coughing and sputtering– “Y-yeah!” You weren’t as good at treading water as Nemona was. 

“Can you swim? We need to head to that island!”

“I-I think so! I’m not really–”

You stopped and turned when Scarlet cried out, and you saw he had managed to get the shark to release his foot and was now swimming away at full speed. This made sense: while Koraidon was a good swimmer, he just didn’t work well in the water for combat. He couldn’t even get into battle form while he was swimming. He’d need to reach the same island as you did.

Thinking he could pick you up along the way, you called,

“Scarlet, this way!”

Scarlet cried out again and adjusted his course, starting to swim in your direction. Her voice laden with fear, Nemona shouted,

“Juliana, careful, he could lead that thing right to you!”

You thought it would be fine, Scarlet seemed to have a head-start, he could just pick you up and whisk you away, but then you realized the problem.

While Koraidon was a good swimmer, the shark was a better one. 

You watched as the glittering dorsal fin closed the distance far too quickly. And as the shark approached Koraidon, its head lifted out of the water. The broad, flattened shape of the head that included a pair of torpedo-like horns reminded you of Garchomp right away, but the massive pair of scythe-like blades on the side of its face– which rested horizontally like a pair of insect mandibles– were certainly a terrifying addition. When the shark had drawn close enough, it swung that mighty pair of blades closed, latching onto Koraidon’s tough dragon hide. Scarlet gave a startled cry. 

“Scarlet!”

The shark’s eyes began to glow blood-red, the glow rapidly reaching the rest of its body, and it went into a death roll, spinning in the water and dragging Scarlet along with it. It roared and thrashed, its savage fury whipping up waves in the lake. You coughed and choked on water, struggling to keep your head afloat.

“Oh my god, Juliana– hang in there, I’m coming!”

The truth was, you had swimming lessons when you were younger, but it had been a long time since you’d really needed to put them to the test–  Koraidon had always been there for your water excursions in Paldea. This also wasn’t the ideal set of circumstances to try and remember how it went, but you gave it a shot anyway, kicking your legs and swinging your arms in a very poor backstroke. The trouble was you couldn’t remember how to get a proper breath while moving, and you kept choking and knew you weren’t getting very far. The sounds of Scarlet and the shark thrashing about violently nearby wasn’t helping matters, and you were starting to panic.

Luckily, it seemed Nemona was a very strong swimmer. She reached you shockingly fast, coming up from behind you and wrapping her arms under yours.

“Easy, I’m here, I’ll help you out, okay?”

You stopped struggling, letting your body go into a neutral position in the water and trusting Nemona’s hold. 

“Great job, just keep calm, I’ll do the work. I’m gonna–”

You saw a little flash of blue light, the telltale pulse of energy that indicated a pokemon returning to its pokeball, which skittered through the water and returned to the ball in your pocket. You both looked to see a dorsal fin rising up from the water. 

It was far too close.

“Shit, okay, uh, one sec,” Nemona said, fumbling around her pokeball belt. You reached for your pokeballs too, but you knew the only ones in your pockets were Paradox Pokemon that were either exhausted or would be virtually useless in the water– nothing seemed a good pick. What’s worse, you knew Nemona’s belt only had her Paradox team at the moment, too. 

Nemona flung a pokeball, and a bright-green tiger went tumbling into the water with a shocked scream.

“I’m so sorry to do this Hellcat but we need you and we need you now. Play Rough, right there, now!”

Nemona started to swim backwards towards shore, pulling you along with her, so you happened to have a perfect view of the unfolding drama. Hellcat didn’t instantly sink like a stone, to your relief– in fact, it immediately started swimming, moving very gracefully and effectively in the water, honing in on the giant fish without a single hint of fear. The shark breached from the water again, lifting its head into the air, its huge scythes glowing an intense bright blue. When it reached Hellcat, the blades swung together with an incredible clashing sound that echoed enormously in the cavern and rang painfully in your ears.

You could hear Nemona gasp from behind you, but it wasn’t from exhaustion from swimming. She whispered,

“That was Guillotine.”

Oh. You’d never seen the move used before, but you sure as heck remembered talking about it in class. There were many, many pokemon you did not want to be in the same water with, but something carrying Guillotine was at the top of the list.

The blades had missed Hellcat, thankfully– the tiger had barely even flinched in the face of it. It dove into the water and launched itself at the shark. You couldn’t see the battle for a while, since it was under water, but when the two re-surfaced, the shark had its teeth sunk into Hellcat’s haunches.

“Hellcat, keep using Play Rough!” Nemona yelled. You turned your head to look and see how close you were to the little island– not far now. It had taken a while since Nemona had to help you, but at least you were almost out of danger.

Hellcat did its best to twist around and attack the shark again, slashing at its eyes, forcing it to release its crushing bite. The pair of blades came crashing together again and missed again as Hellcat dove under. Whatever went on under water must have been good, because you could see a spray of rainbow fragments, indicating Hellcat must have broken the shark’s Terastallization. 

“Yesss! Great job, Hellcat!” Nemona called, even though the pokemon were still under water. 

However, it seemed it was premature to celebrate. A few seconds later, a blue flash returned to Nemona’s pokeball. 

Then a ragged dorsal fin surfaced on the water once more. 

“U-uh, Nemona–”

The fin went careening through the water, heading straight towards the both of you, and you started to flail, trying to see how close you were to shore.

“We’re almost there, don’t panic, Jules–”

It was true, you were almost there, hardly more than a few yards, but it wasn’t fast enough; you felt Nemona yanking you as fast as she could, gasping for breath, but it just wasn’t enough. The shark’s head surfaced from the water, jaws and blades opened wide, and you pulled a ball from your pocket and chucked it, screaming.

The poor Brute Bonnet you sent out floated and bobbed in the water, wriggling its stubby legs and crying, looking very confused. The shark took the bait, its curved, red blades slamming together into the spongy body of the Bonnet.

The pokemon fainted instantly, at the same time that you and Nemona reached the island. You both scrambled ashore, out of reach of the beast’s behemoth blades.

“That thing sure has a lot of fight left in it!” Nemona yelled, sounding equal parts exasperated and impressed.

“Y-yeah, might need to weaken it a bit more for catching. At least we’re safe here?”

The shark stopped at the water’s edge, snapping its jaws and snarling, frustrated. Now that its tera was broken, you could see its coloration better and realized it really did resemble Garchomp in a lot of ways, the same slate-blue color with a red underbelly, and the same yellow star-shape on its snout. Nemona dropped to the ground and panted out,

“Right, maybe you can send something out, Jules, I think I need a minute.”

You obligingly pulled your soggy backpack off and zipped it open, accessing the pokeballs for your regular team. 

“Let’s see, not sure which one I should use . . .”

You glanced up when the shark turned tail and swam off a ways. At first you thought it was retreating, but you could see it was swimming in a large circle, gradually picking up speed. The water around it began to glow a bright blue. 

“What’s it doing?”

Nemona stared, her confused expression soon shifting to one of alarm.

“Weeee might not be safe here after all, Juliana . . .”

The swirling water was soon seething with power, and the shark turned. It began to charge directly towards the island you were sitting on. It finally occurred to you what the move looked like.

“That– that’s Wave Crash, isn’t it? Um, um, hold on!”

You tossed a pokeball, releasing your Aqua Breed Tauros. You pointed and quickly ordered,

“Tauros, I want you to use Wave Crash, okay?!”

Tauros looked around in confusion and then spotted the rapidly approaching shark. It lowered its head and water began to gather around its body like a glowing cloak.

Nemona stood and grabbed your hand, backing you both away several paces and asking nervously,

“Are you sure that’s going to work?”

“Nope!”

There wasn’t really time to consider an alternative; the shark was barreling down on the island with all the rage of an out-of-control freight train, a towering wave of water at its back. Tauros had just enough time to fully power his move and back up as far as he could on the island before the shark was virtually upon you, and then the bull charged forward and leapt into the air, at the same moment the shark launched itself from the water.

The two pokemon collided mid-air, their bodies slamming together hard. In their wake, the two opposing waves of water crashed together as well, a terrific roar that shook the entire cavern, white foam spraying absolutely everywhere. You had hoped that the two waves would completely cancel each other out, but it seemed they had only softened the blow– the opposing waves continued to pass through one another, and a few seconds later, the shark’s wave came crashing down on the island, sweeping you and Nemona off your feet and sending you right back out into the water. Fortunately, it didn’t carry you too far out, and once you’d popped back up on the surface, you battled your way back to shore, sputtering and heart pounding. You found the shark still out for blood, although it was clearly growing exhausted, its scythes crashing together again and again as it pursued Tauros, missing each time. 

“Tauros! Retreat!” you shouted, although he already seemed to be doing exactly that. A few moments later, the bull made it to shore, stamping onto the soggy ground and snorting, turning about to shield you protectively. The shark breached from the water, its toothy maw wide, letting out a draconic roar.

“Take that!” Nemona yelled, flinging one of your Dusk Balls. The shark caught the ball in its mouth, teeth chomping down on it, then dissolved into light as the ball sucked it inside. The pokeball bobbed in the water briefly before clicking. The remaining waves in the water carried it to shore, where it gently came to rest. 

The two of you stared for a few moments, as if needing confirmation that the thing was finally safely contained. Then you reached out your ball and mumbled,

“Good work, Tauros. Return.”

Nemona dropped to her knees, panting. You proceeded to have a minor coughing fit, trying to expel the water that’d gotten into your lungs, then dropped to the ground too. Nemona crawled her way over to sit under the crystal tree, so you followed her, splaying out on the ground beside her, still shaking with the occasional cough and feeling completely exhausted. For a long time, the pair of you just laid there, and the only sounds were your gasps for breath and the drips of water that fell from the glistening branches of the tree. 

Eventually, Nemona started laughing, a breathless, wobbly laugh, her voice cutting in and out. You turned your head to see the mirth sparkling in her amber eyes. She said,

“Man . . . that was pretty nuts. What a rush, huh?”

You gazed at her for a few beats, then answered,

“Of course you loved that. You know, you’re a little crazy, Nemona.”

She turned her head to the side to look at you too.

“And you’re smiling.”

You turned away, trying to smother your smile, saying,

“No I’m not . . .”

She giggled, nudging her head closer to yours, her voice full of glee.

“Yeah you are, you goober, you can’t fool me. You loved it just as much as I did.”

Losing your battle with keeping the smile off your face, you turned your head to look at her again.

“I–”

Your foreheads were practically touching now. You felt your heart climb to your throat, choking out whatever words you’d planned to say. You were helplessly lost in her eyes, as vibrant and fiery as the sunrise. 

You knew that you were staring, that you were blushing. That your face was an open book. It had to be. She had to see it, didn’t she?

Nemona gazed back at you, silent at first. Her tongue briefly wetted her top lip and she asked quietly,

“You what?”

Her voice was soft but carried some sort of undertone you weren’t confident in identifying. You swallowed, desperately trying to remember your previous train of thought.

“Uhh, I . . . I . . . forget.”

You were pretty sure you didn’t even remember your own name in the moment. Nemona’s chest bubbled with a short, silent giggle.

“You forget?”

“Mmm,” you mumbled. You would have felt embarrassed, but Nemona was looking at you with such overpowering affection that there was literally no space in your head for anything more. 

Nemona’s gaze shifted, dropping just a little below your eyes, before quickly shifting back up again. There was something suddenly very nervous in her energy. Her voice soft and vulnerable, she began,

“Jules, could I . . .”

You waited, but she trailed off and seemed to freeze. 

You asked,

“What?”

She suddenly pushed herself up to a sitting position, letting out a nervous giggle.

“U-uh, I-I– forget. Hey, um, we’re both pretty wet, huh?”

You sat up as well.

“Soaked. But really, what did you wanna ask me?”

“Nothing, it was nothing! W-we should probably figure out how to dry off though, any ideas? I was thinking maybe some kind of Flying pokemon move to give us a quick blow-dry, but I don’t think any of my pokemon have moves that would work.”

You looked at her for a few moments, processing the fact she wasn’t going to fess up to you. 

Sighing, you answered quietly,

“I dunno, lemme think a minute.”

You went to your backpack and considered your monster collection. Your main team was stacked with high-power moves that wouldn’t work as a gentle blow-dry; Corviknight’s Brave Bird certainly wouldn’t fit the bill. None of the Paradox Pokemon you captured would probably work, either, since they also seemed stacked with powerful moves. While you mulled it over, Nemona busied herself with letting out Hellcat and Scarlet to revive and treat with potions and pets. Eventually, you had an ‘a-ha’ moment, pulling a ball from an inner pocket in your bag. The pokeball belonged to the very first pokemon you had caught back in Cabo Poco, all those months back. While you hadn’t kept him on your main team for very long, you still loved him dearly and were sentimental enough to always keep him with you.

You returned to where Nemona sat under the crystal tree, two pokeballs in your hand.

“Okay, I think I have a solution.”

“Oh, great!”

You tossed the first ball, releasing your Volcarona. Nemona looked a little wary.

“Um . . . Flamethrower might be a bit much . . .”

“Not Flamethrower. Volcarona isn’t going to use any moves. But she has Flame Body, remember?”

Your friend brightened.

“Of course! That’s so smart, Jules. It might be a little slow, but we should dry out way faster than if we just sat here.”

You smiled and said,

“Well, we can do even better.”

You released your second pokemon, a Vivillon. Then you sat down beside Nemona.

“Volcarona, head over there. Yeah, that’s good. Florian, I want you to go behind her, facing us. Okay, great. Now just keep using Gust. Nice and gentle, all right? Slow and steady.”

Your Vivillon flapped his wings, the air moving across Volcarona’s body, sending a warm breeze rolling over you and Nemona. It felt really good, your skin rippling in goosebumps at the warmth, making you realize just how chilly you’d become in your soggy clothes.

“Okay, you really are a genius, Julinana,” Nemona said, sounding thoroughly impressed. You glanced away shyly, chuckling,

“I dunno about that, but thanks.”

Nemona gave a luxurious stretch and leaned against the trunk of the crystal tree, crossing her legs and reveling in the warm breeze. 

“Mmm, not gonna lie, I’m glad we get to rest a bit, I’m beat. Promise to wake me up if I nod off, okay?”

Nemona’s eyes fluttered closed, her head nodding forward slightly. At some point she had pulled her hairtie out and let her hair down so it could dry off better, the long, dark strands gathered in damp bunches at her shoulders. Her wet clothes were all rumpled and wrinkled and her red tie was loosened to the point of nearly falling off. Your fingers itched to reach out and remove it for her.

“Jules?”

You jolted a little when she said your name, but she hadn’t even opened her eyes again.

“Y-yeah?”

Sleepily, she repeated,

“Promise, okay?”

You smiled faintly. God she was cute.

“Mmmm,” you answered. You didn’t actually want to promise, you wanted to let her sleep. Fortunately, Nemona didn’t seem to notice your lack of promise, or she was already too far gone. You resumed shamelessly admiring her as you were warmed by the beating of a butterfly’s wings. Water droplets in the branches of the crystal tree above caught the light and reflected a soft rainbow across your friend’s face. The vision was positively arresting. You couldn’t look away. 

However, the exhaustion from your recent terrifying encounter started to catch up to you, and coupled with the growing warmth, you felt your body grow heavier and heavier. And before you even realized it, you’d also drifted off asleep. 

Your head slumped onto Nemona’s shoulder, the soft rainbows cast across both of your faces.

You dreamed of Nemona kissing you under the crystal tree. It felt so vivid, so real, and as you gradually woke, you could swear that you could still feel her lips on yours. They were hot and wet and a little bit rough, and . . .

“Pffft! Ptyyuck! Gackkk!”

You realized there was something big lapping at your face that was decidedly not Nemona, and you squirmed and sputtered, trying to get it off you. You pushed a giant lizard’s muzzle out of your face.

“Sc-scarlet, geez, get off!”

Scarlet trilled happily, wagging his tail. You wiped lizard spit from your face and grumbled. From beside you, Nemona stirred awake. She sleepily mumbled,

“Jules?”

You looked to her, unable to help savoring the way her long lashes slowly blinked awake, the adorable, brief moment of confusion in her eyes. She stared at you for a few beats as her senses returned.

“Nnngh, Jules, you said you’d wake me if I fell asleep!” she complained, looking slightly embarrassed over having fallen asleep. 

“I didn’t actually say that! Also, um, I couldn’t really do that anyway, since I fell asleep too.”

“Hmmph. Well, okay, I guess I can’t fault you for that . . .”

She yawned, then climbed to her feet, stretching wide.

“Ow, ow, ow.” She rubbed her neck, wincing.

“I gotta stop falling asleep under trees, that is not good neck support.”

You stood as well, feeling a wave of empathy for her. Your neck didn’t hurt, but you were pretty sure you’d been using Nemona as a pillow.

“At least we’re all dried out now,” you said, running a hand through your messy, tangled curls. Your Vivillon and Volcarona had landed in the branches of the crystal tree, apparently resting up there. They looked very picturesque. Hellcat was curled in a ball, sleeping soundly.

“Yeah, that blow dry really did the trick.We’ll have to keep it in mind for future adventures,” Nemona said. She pulled her hairband from her pocket and worked on gathering her hair up and putting her ponytail back into place. Her tie had come entirely loose by now, and it slipped off from her neck while she was busy. You picked it up off the ground.

“Whoops. Thanks, Jules.”

Her hands were still busy with fixing her hair, so your brain had the genius idea to just reach out and loop the tie back around Nemona’s neck for her, which you started to do before you had the chance to question whether that would be a good idea. Nemona’s eyes widened just a little and she let out a giggle.

“Oh, thanks! You wanna help tie it for me? I was never any good at that part, honestly.”

She was looking at you intently and there was a playful little quirk to her smile that was doing dangerous things to your heart, but you couldn’t very well stop now. You leaned in closer to her, gently running your fingers along her collar so you could turn it up– accidentally brushing against her neck for a few seconds, which you thought you might die from– before carefully adjusting the length of the tie around her neck. It somehow felt terribly, terribly intimate and you could feel her eyes on you as if they were boring holes, but you tried very hard to focus on tying the knot without turning into a blushing mess. It took you longer than it should have, but you were proud you’d managed to produce something halfway decent.

“How’s that?” you asked, your eyes finally flicking back up to hers. Her easygoing smile was strangely absent, her jaw hanging slightly slack. Her mouth swung shut again and she seemed to force a smile back in place, answering quickly in a thin voice,

“G-great, that’s– that’s great! Thanks!”

You let go of the tie and backed off a pace, and Nemona added on awkwardly,

“Although, uhm, it’s not like I can really see it, so, uh . . .”

You laughed nervously, feeling very silly.

“Yeah, that’s true . . . well um, it, it looks good.”

“Great!” Nemona repeated, a little louder than was strictly necessary. She cleared her throat, glancing around. Sounding a bit antsy, she said,

“Anyway, um, guess we should get going, huh? We can’t spend the rest of our time here napping, not when there’s so much to do!”

You nodded, looking out across the still waters of the underground lake. You felt slightly nervous about going back out there, despite how peaceful it looked. It had looked just as peaceful last time, after all.

“Okay. Maybe keep your eyes peeled, though. I don’t really feel like dealing with another ambush.”

You both got your bags and prepared for the ride. You didn’t like how vulnerable you’d been last time, without any strong pokemon choices in your pockets during the heat of the moment. You made sure to take a few pokeballs from your main team to keep in your pockets, just in case of any more nasty surprises. Nemona returned Hellcat to its ball, and you returned your Volcarona. You decided to keep Florian out of his ball, though, so he could fly along above you and keep an eye on the waters around you. You felt a lot safer with those safety measures in place. You and Nemona hopped aboard Scarlet once more and paddled your way out of the lake. As you drifted back through the tunnel-of-love, Nemona said that you both should definitely return again sometime soon and have a picnic under the crystal tree. You agreed that it sounded like a lovely idea.

Once you were back safely on land, Nemona was very eager to return to the chamber that was full of overgrown crystals.

“That shark was Terastallized, so maybe it was the right one we needed to clear the road block!” 

You and Scarlet followed after her down the passageway. You answered reluctantly,

“Yeah, but . . . I dunno, Nemona . . .”

She turned to you.

“What’s wrong?”

You hesitated.

“Well it’s just . . . these encounters we’ve been having have only been getting more and more dangerous. And it’s starting to get pretty late in the day, and um, you still wanna have at least one pokemon battle with our Paradox pokemon, right?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely!” she answered immediately, then seemed to think about what you said.

“Hm . . . I guess I see your point. We want enough time to battle . . .”

Your steps sloshed through the shallow water as she thought about it. She soon suggested,

“Okay, how about this– if the roadblock is gone, we just take a quick peek at what’s past it. Just real quick. Then we’ll get ready to battle. How’s that sound?”

You nodded. You had to admit, you were just as curious what lay beyond the roadblock. 

“Deal. Only a few minutes, though–”

“Yeah, yeah, of course! We’ll just take a peek.”

Once you’d reached the portion of cave where the walls were thick with layers of crystal like piled snow, Nemona let out an excited squeal, the roadblock now mysteriously gone just as you’d hoped.

“I knew it!!”

She rushed up to the unblocked tunnel entrance and gazed into it. You joined her and looked in as well, your eyes going wide at the sight. The cave tunnel was completely coated in dense layers of glittering tera crystal on every conceivable surface– to such an extreme that the passageway itself was restricted down to a relatively narrow hole. Looking into it felt like gazing into a dizzying spiral. You breathed,

“Geez, I’ve never seen so much tera crystal in my life.”

Nemona turned to you and said,

“It feels important, doesn’t it? Like there’s something important in there.”

You nodded. It really did. You didn’t have any rational reason to assume it, since it could just be a portion of cave where the tera crystals had run amok, but somehow looking into the tunnel really did make you feel like you were standing on the threshold of something magical and significant. 

You smiled at her and asked softly,

“Shall we see what’s inside?”

She grinned and nodded, then took your hand. You stepped together through the opening, Scarlet following behind.

The crystal-coated floor was slippery, so you had to move slowly and carefully. There was also a slight swirling optical illusion as you moved, due to the twisting way the crystals had grown, combined with the fact that so much light was shining and re-reflecting in the confined chamber. It made you feel dizzy, which was another good reason to move slowly and keep hold of Nemona’s hand. The tunnel narrowed the more you progressed, until it was so narrow that even Scarlet couldn’t fit through the gap. You returned him to his ball and walked the remainder of the passageway with Nemona. When you exited the tunnel into the darkened chamber beyond, you both stood still, gazing about in awe. 

This place was strange. So many of the Area Zero caves were well-lit, because the tera crystals glowed brightly and there were plenty of them around. The chamber you stood in now should have been the same, and yet, it was much, much darker. The problem wasn’t the number of crystals, because there were plenty of crystals growing here along the walls and ceiling– in fact, they grew in towering, thick pillars, larger than you’d seen anywhere else. But the majority of them simply did not glow with the same intensity, for whatever reason, and only threw out an incredibly dim light. You could tell the chamber you were in was large, but it was hard to say how large; you couldn’t even see all the way to the ceiling, only spotting fleeting glimpses of the reflections of crystals. 

However, not all of the crystals were dim. In the center of the chamber stood a collection of crystals that glowed with an intense rainbow aura. They were enormous. A central one grew like the trunk of a massive, elderly tree, with several other thick pillars that had grown around it in a circle, only for them to topple over in their weight and come to rest against each other, like the poles of a teepee. Your eyes were naturally drawn to the sight, which seemed especially dazzling to look at in the relative darkness of the cave.

“Whoa. Talk about the mother of all tera crystals,” Nemona whispered. You murmured,

“Yeah . . . I wonder why they’re so big down here? And why it’s so dark here?”

You both began to slowly approach the collection of massive crystals, which seemed almost overwhelming in their splendor. As you got closer you saw there was a flat platform at the base of the collection of pillars, low off the ground, around the height of a stage. It gave the impression of a royal throne, the pillars behind acting as its grand ornamentation. Sitting upon the platform was a small hexagonal gem. It actually looked rather plain when compared to the other huge tera crystals in the room, but was noteworthy in how uniformly it was shaped and how neatly it sat there, almost as if intentionally placed.

The gem had caught Nemona’s eye as well. She reached out curiously and touched it, saying,

“This one’s kinda cute.”

As her hand made contact with the gem, a silvery little swirl of sparkles flowed down her arm and into her body, and she gasped. You grabbed her, alarmed. 

“Are you okay??”

She let go of the gem, staring at her hand, looking more confused than concerned.

“Yeah, it didn’t hurt, just felt a little tingly. Kinda like static electricity? Honestly, my hair’s felt like it’s been standing on end since we came into this room. . .”

You noticed the silvery sparkles were still swirling around her a bit, but they were concentrated especially around her backpack. 

“Hold on, Nemo, hold still for a sec.”

You zipped open her bag, reaching in. You located the source of the energy and pulled out her Tera Orb. Normally the orbs glimmered very softly with power, but hers now was shining as bright as a star, almost painful to look at.

“What the heck? My Tera Orb’s going nuts!” Nemona said, taking it from you.

“Yeah . . . I think what you felt was tera energy running through you.”

She gave the orb a gentle shake and laughed,

“That makes sense! I mean, look at this place, the amount of energy here must be off the scales! You should see if yours is like this too.”

You took the Tera Orb from your own backpack, but it wasn’t shining as brightly as hers was. Nemona said eagerly,

“Touch the gem here, that did the trick for me!”

You weren’t exactly sure if it was a good idea to overclock your Tera Orb in the first place, but the temptation was too great. You reached out and touched the gem, feeling the power flowing through your body and into your Tera Orb. The hairs on your arms prickled and your skin tingled.

“Heehee, it kinda tickles,” you said, admiring how brightly your Tera Orb shone. Nemona looked pumped.

“I wonder if our pokemon’s Terastallization will be stronger now with these?? Ooh, I can’t wait to test it out! Maybe we should take this gem back with us?” 

She pocketed her orb and reached for the gem again, trying to pick it up. However, it seemed to be stuck to the crystal platform it was sitting on.

“Hmm, maybe we could break it off?” she mused, tugging a little harder on the gem. 

You suddenly felt uneasy, as if somebody was watching you. You glanced around, saying,

“Maybe we shouldn’t mess with it, Nemona. We don’t even know how tera energy works, not like Sada did . . .”

Nemona grunted, 

“Yeah, but we could give it to a researcher to figure it out, right?”

She had a point, but you couldn’t shake your feeling of anxiety as you watched her. 

“I think I almost got it . . .”

You thought you saw something in the corner of your eye, and you jerked, glancing to the side. There wasn’t anything there, though, other than the gigantic tera crystals towering all around you. You peered into the darkness.

“Nemona, stop.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Just stop.”

Your friend let go of the gem and backed away a step, looking at you. You were staring intensely at the crystals around you, and she followed your gaze. After a tense silence, she whispered,

“What is it?”

You shook your head and whispered back,

“I don’t . . . know, something isn’t right.”

You pulled your phone from your pocket and switched its little flashlight on. You aimed the beam around you, scanning the area very carefully, slowly lifting the light higher and higher in your search, eyeing all the towering crystals. Nothing looked out of place so far, but you continued to scan, the sense of unease still sitting heavy on your chest. You cast the flashlight on the ceiling, all the gems glinting and gleaming in the light. You kept going until your head was tilted all the way back, gazing directly overhead. The pattern of crystals growing up there looked kind of strange to you, a number of them jutting outwards to the sides before growing in a new direction and curving around, as if the tera crystal columns were jointed in several places; it almost gave the impression of gangly legs, a strange tangle of columns that all reached for the same point, crowned in a white, fluffy mass of material you didn’t immediately recognize. You squinted at the ceiling, trying to identify it. You were so distracted trying to figure out what the white stuff was that it took you a while to bother following the crystal columns with your eye the other direction, away from the white material, to see if you could locate where exactly in the ceiling they sprung from.

The columns did not lead back to the ceiling. They led to a center crystal mass that contained the largest pair of eyes you’d seen in your life. 

You gasped. 

They were perfectly round dark voids, as black as the pitchest of black, and would have been imperceptible in the darkness if not for the way the flashlight glinted off them. The shape of the thing suddenly came together in your head: the crystal columns didn’t simply look like a tangle of gangly legs, they were legs, holding a taut stretch of spiderweb between them like a fishing-net. The colossal spider hovered on the ceiling directly overhead in perfect silence, as still as stone, its eyes as empty as a pair of black holes. 

You froze to the spot as the full picture dawned on you, an icy chill sweeping down your back and through your limbs. The spider’s fangs were about the length of your forearms. Its eyes were almost comically oversized in comparison to the rest of its body, each one large enough to swallow you whole and then some, if they were indeed the black holes they seemed to be. You were not particularly squeamish about Bug types– in fact, you normally loved them– but this sight was enough to strike terror in the hearts of even the most hardcore Bug maniacs.

You let out a tiny squeak.  

Nearby, Nemona breathed in a small voice,

“J-jules?”

It sounded as though she’d definitely seen it, then. You were too afraid to actually turn your head and check.

“Don’t. Move,” you whispered. 

“Then what do we do,” she whispered back. You tried to think. The silent monster stared back blankly as you struggled to formulate a plan. You ran what you knew about Bug types through your mind, about Spidops in particular, since this seemed to be a horrifying version of one. Spidops hung from a web in silence while holding its net, using its massive, hypersensitive eyes to spot prey on the ground below, even in the darkest of places . . . 

You had a sudden flash of inspiration.

“I’m gonna throw my Tera Orb directly at it,” you whispered carefully.

“. . . how is that going to help?”

“They’re supercharged now, I think the light might blind it for a bit. The moment I throw it, we gotta both run for our lives, though. Okay?”

After a beat, Nemona answered quietly,

“Okay.”

You set your Rotom phone to auto-flashlight so it would hover above your head and remain pointed automatically. Then you started to reach your hand towards your pocket, moving your arm slowly, just a few inches at a time. Once you’d gotten into your pocket, you carefully grasped the orb, pulling it out just as slowly and holding it low– your eyes never straying from the menacing sight overhead the entire time.

You swallowed, pulling your arm back and doing your best to aim. 

Then you flung the Tera Orb with an underhand throw directly upwards, as hard as you could. 

You opened your mouth to shout “Run,” but the spider reacted way faster than you expected, the enormous creature dropping down so rapidly that it was all you could do to gasp. You heard Nemona cry out,

“Jules!”

You tried to run, desperate to dodge out of the way of the net. By some miracle, it seemed you were able to evade it, your shoes slapping noisily against stone ground as you ran, carrying you away from that nightmare.

But Nemona wasn’t so lucky. 

You screeched to a halt when you heard Nemona’s scream pierce the darkness and echo in the cavern.

Turning, you were met with a sight that made your stomach drop to your feet: Nemona caught in the spider’s snare, the spider rapidly climbing its line like a cable back to the ceiling. It was using its legs to wrap Nemona over and over in its net, producing a tightly-wrapped package, Nemona’s screams quickly muffled into silence.

“NEMONA!”

You ran back, but the spider had withdrawn back to the ceiling far too quickly, out of range of most pokemon attacks. You ran your hands over the pokeballs in your pockets, heart pounding, trying to choose something that would work, but it was a little hard to concentrate when it felt like an icy hand was squeezing all the air from your lungs. 

“F-fly, we need to fly,” you muttered, your panicked thoughts finally producing something useful. You yanked a specific ball from your pockets, throwing it with a shaky hand. Your Corviknight appeared and you climbed aboard, yelling,

“Up there! Quick!”

Corviknight took off immediately, carrying you up towards the vicious creature that held Nemona captive. It was still winding silk around her immobile body, but you knew once it was satisfied with the job, the next step for a spider was always the bite– to inject venom to paralyze and, eventually, digest its prey from the inside.

You weren’t going to let it get that far.

“Corviknight, I need you to aim right there, okay? I need you to– ugh, this is too complicated to just explain, h-hold on, um. . .”

You struggled for a bit to think of a quick solution and ended up yanking off the tie from your neck and unknotting it, then pulled the fabric through your pokemon’s beak so you could grip it like reins. 

“Okay, follow my lead, Corviknight! USE U-TURN!”

Corviknight glowed yellow and surged forward, diving straight for the oversized arachnid. You guided your pokemon to fly right into the spider’s dangling legs, striking them as hard and quickly as possible, each in turn. The sudden, jolting impact caused the creature to lose grip on its prize, the package of wrapped silk slipping and starting to fall.

You yanked hard on the reins, bringing the curving U-turn around so that you flew under the falling silk package, in time for it to land on Corvinkight’s head. Releasing the reins, you reached out and grabbed hold of the bundle, dragging it back with you and holding onto it for dear life. You shouted,

“Take us out of here, Corviknight, now!”

Once you had the silk package secured with you on Corviknight’s back, holding it steady with your legs, you tore into the silk with your hands, digging until you found Nemona’s buried head within. She gasped for breath once you’d cleared enough silk out of her face.

“Nemona,” you whimpered, thanking every single one of your lucky stars that you’d gotten to her in time. 

“Juliana,” she coughed, sounding very shaky but very much still alive. You pulled thick strands of silk away from her head, enough to be sure she could breathe fine, then switched your focus to holding onto her while Corviknight carried the two of you out of the dark cave. Your pokemon had to land once it reached the crystal-lined tunnel, however, as it was much too large to fit through. 

Spidops was mostly a slow pokemon– it was an ambush predator, which meant it lay in wait for prey to wander along and then it would suddenly spring with a quick burst of energy. It was not built to chase its prey down, though. There was good reason to believe the ancient form of Spidops was the same, since it seemed to behave in a similar way. So, you were probably already safe at this distance.

However, you still were not terribly eager to hang around and put that theory to the test.

You started to dig the rest of Nemona out from her silken cocoon as quickly as you could, grabbing handfuls of the sticky, fibrous material and ripping. 

“Juliana, you saved me . . .” Nemona said, her eyes wide, still looking very dazed. Quite frankly, you didn’t blame her, but you needed her to recover fast. You answered tersely,

“Not yet I haven’t. Help me get this stuff off you, I don’t wanna give that thing a chance to come back for seconds.”

She seemed to respond to your tone and wriggled in her silken bonds, but she couldn’t help much until you’d helped her get an arm free– once she did it went a lot faster, the both of you ripping the thick strands apart as fast as you could. A lot of the strands kept re-sticking and sticking to you and slowing things down, but you did your best under the circumstances. Once you’d snapped all the major strands around Nemona’s legs, you leaned back up and grunted,

“Okay, we should be g– ughh, damnit–”

The accumulation of broken silk strands had become a problem, which you now found an annoying percentage had reattached to both you and Nemona. 

“Get off, you crummy– get off!” you yelled, yanking at the strings. Nemona tried to help, leaning forward and grabbing handfuls to pull off you, but all this accomplished was sticking the strands still attached to her to the ones stuck to you. The opposing strands gripped to one another tightly, and when you tried to pull away, it only seemed to cinch tighter. You grumbled,

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m sorry Jules, I think I made it worse.”

You shook your head,

“It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have rushed it. Here, don’t move too much, just see if you can sorta . . . jimmy it, you know?”

“Yeah, okay, like this?” “Yeah–”

It was so ridiculous you probably would have laughed, or at least, you would have if the spectre of death wasn’t lurking so closely nearby. Nemona ended up wriggling and writhing against you to get the silk loosened up enough, and it rapidly went from laughable to something . . . else, something that made your face flush scarlet and the thoughts short-circuit in your brain. Thankfully it was over quickly, because you were pretty sure you would have literally died if that part had lasted long.

Finally, though, you both were able to pull free of the cursed silk, clambering off Corviknight and into the iridescent tunnel of freedom, withdrawing Corviknight back into its ball along the way.

It was only when you’d reached the other side of the tunnel that the pair of you stopped running. You sat down on the floor just to catch your breath, Nemona flinging herself onto one of the crystals to pant there like a racehorse. You gazed up at the ceiling as you gulped in air, your vision spotting over for a while.

You heard Nemona pant out,

“I think– that’s, that’s enough exploring for one day.”

You nodded, leaning your back against the coolness of the cave wall. You answered heavily,

“Yeah.”

You both continued to rest for a while in silence. You picked strands of spider web off yourself as you tried to process what had just happened. Mostly your thoughts were just glazed over in exhaustion, though. 

Eventually, when Nemona had caught her breath enough, you heard her voice echo in the cave, sounding uncertain but hopeful.

“. . . we’re still on for that pokemon battle, though, right?”

[fangaminghell]

pkmn interactions are rlly fun. Sometimes u get so far w a team u gotta create their own team dynamic and their own story. Even ships. Beau and Xenon get together mid-story and Bonnie and Clyde also have smth non-platonic going on there. Dynamite and Clementine (Cinccino) are also together. It’s oc ception -JJ

SO REAL!!!!

I so that a LOT with my oc teams. It's harder to do that in fangame teams bc I generally have A Lot of pokemon,and thus don't usually have the energy to give personality and thought into each and every one of them. However I think of all my ocs, I think the Rejuv trio has pokemon with the most defined personalities.

Imani: There's sooooo much i wanna talk about given her main team but hnnnnnng it'll be so long and I'll go insane. So I'm forcing myself to focus on June and Sunflower ( I mean there's gonna be mentions of others but it's mostly through said pokemon's perspective)

June ( Primarina, Male) is the leader of Imani's whole box, with Mira ( Nidoqueen) being his second in command. He's very much like Imani, someone who's bubbly, cheerful and always an optimist! Though upon evolving he became much more of a calming presence, and was really shining as a leader ( not that he wasn't before lol, just that fully evolving made him feel more sure of his ability to lead). Him and Mira have this " older brother, big sister" vibe towards the rest of the group, ESPECIALLY with Sunflower and Autumn ( Leafeon, male). His leadership has gotten the ire of Opal ( Milotic, male), and the two would often go back and forth a lot....though if you were to ask Mira, she would say something shifted in their arguments. They're softer, and tend to enjoy each other's company more. Either they don't realize what's shifting or don't want to realize it. Either way their relationship is getting a bit better day by day so! That's a plus, right?

Sunflower( Chandelure, female) is the youngest of the team! Well. If you want to be technical, she is older than all of them, but mentally and physically she's the youngest and acts like it. Ever since she was caught she had wanted nothing more than to explore everything and anything. Her curiosity tends to get her in trouble. A lot of trouble. And it doesn't help that she doesn't exactly have a filter so she's pretty blunt. But her team loves her so it's fine. As a mentioned before, June and Mira are like older siblings to her ( June miiiiiight tetter in fatherly figure), and she adoooores them. Whenever they're genuinely upset over something she did she gets so upset at herself. She just wanna help! Next to them, though, is Autumn, who is both her partner in crime, and also her biggest victim. I think Autumn is older than her, but only by a bit. Both of them are the youngest of their teams and thus, both tend to stick to each other. If you consider Sunflower pestering Autumn when he's brooding ( " I'm NOT brooding !" ) sticking together. They do care about each other though. Autumn is usually the one that tags along with Sunflower whenever she wanders off - mostly to make sure she doesn't get into any serious trouble. But also bc they do get into shenanigans together and it's fun! Despite his " I'm too cool for this" attitude ( me realizing he's basically a young teen compared to everyone else hgvhvgvgvcg), he's very protective of those he loves, including his little sister Sunflower... something that Sunflower never fails to point out! He always gets embarrassed about it when it's mentioned hvcfsghufhgdvd.

Flynn: Hopefully this will be shorter this time! Like Imani, I'm choosing two, but really these two are kinda Flynn's aces/ signature pokemon.

Sakura ( Meganium, male) was Flynn's first pokemon. Atm, how they met is kinda being rewritten since Flynn as a whole is getting a slight rework. Before, it was a starter pokemon given to her by the Blakeory's ( Flynn's parents had something going on with them - and no they weren't rich, this was very much a dept thing). But recently, upon realizing Flynn wouldn't have been born and raised in GDC ( she would be younger if she did), I think she met her Chikorita as an abandoned pokemon in Oblitus town ( she's from Oblitus Town btw). He would have been her first patient....and they've been attached ever since! Flynn is a very very shy person and Sakura....is not. He's much bolder than she is and isn't afraid to get defensive on her behalf. Even when he evolved, he never was afraid to confront things, and even pushing Flynn to get out of her comfort zone now and again. As for the relationship with his team it's. Nooooot as indepth as Imani's, sadly. I can say that he gets along with June very well, and probably picked fights with Opal on his behalf ( yes, it would be a losing battle both in terms of type weaknesses and Sakura being a more support/ defensive pokemon, but that's not gonna stop him lol). I think Sakura and June have a similar sibling esc relationship that Imani and Flynn has ( J: Oh I don't want to be mean... S: Don't worry, I do. J: Sakura!)Sakura kinda gives me the impression that you either vibe with him or you don't. He doesn't hold it against you if you don't as long as you're civil about it. He's very loyal, and isn't above confrontation as you've seen before. But he isn't foolhardy either.

Horis ( Hydregion, male) is kinda the start of Flynn collecting more pokemon. He's not the second she had, that's her Audino, but he's definitely the third. No he's not related to Dylan. Maybe. We'll see. The two met in the hospital, Horis being a Dieno that wouldn't let anyone near it despite its need for treatment. Flynn, by some miracle, was able to worm her way into his heart and he's been following her around ever since. Once a guarded dragon is now a big ol puppy. Loves Flynn, loves it when she pets him, loves it when she baby talks him, loves making her happy!!! I think that protectiveness has made it hard for him to get along with other pokemon though, especially as Flynn started expanding her team. He may be. A smidge jealous. Just a smidge. But I think he's overall a pleasure to be around. Very excitable, and while it will take a while for him to get used to anyone, he likes playing with others. Sometimes he forgets he's bigger than he used to be though lol. Sakura and him definitely had a bit of a rocky start. Sakura was concerned for Flynn's safety after what he's heard and Horis was privy to anyone who wasn't Flynn. Much to Flynn's pleasure, they gradually got along better as time went on ( specifically bc the girl got wrapped up in Plot and the both of them could agree that Flynn's wellbeing was more important than any distrust they had).

Arrow: .....maybe this will be shorter? Only one bc I'm losing steam aaaaaaaaah-

Firecracker ( Charizard, male) - Arguably the oldest of everyone I mentioned here, same as Arrow. Despite this and the scars that he has, he's genuinely a softy. Likes looking out for others, a great sparring partner and an amazing flying buddy. He's a sweetheart! He's known his team for a loooong time, with only a few recent additions I think. Him, Jester ( Gliscor, female) and Sunny ( Helioptile, male) go waaaaaay back to Arrow's youth, and are three peas in a pod. Not as bashful as Jester but not as outgoing as Sunny. A good balance and thus, is easy to talk too! I think the other younger pokemon look up to him ( something he gets bashful about hgbfgbnjfdfhj).

And that's it! God this was long. It reminded me I should think about my ocs pokemon to pokemon dynamic more. Imani's team is really fruitful in that regard but I feel like the others are lacking so. Yeah! Something to keep in mind.

[lyzelky]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @gilded-glitter!! Kissing u

When did you start writing?

I remember getting pissed off about the writing choices in the Pokemon Anime when I was about 8 or 9, and I came to the realization that I could write my own story featuring my own Pokemon Trainer and handle the story the ✨right ✨ way (lol). From there I started filling up several dozen school composition notebooks until several years later I realized I could write on my ipod touch and save myself the trouble.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I'll read just about anything as long as it interests me, but I think the genre I enjoy least is sci-fi? I don't hate it, but it just doesn't have that strong enough of an appeal to me, though I do like when people get goofy with it (Doctor Who, some episodes of DS9, etc.) I love a good mystery/period piece though, and I while I enjoy writing it, whether or not I'm any good at it is another matter entirely. If there is a procedural detective show with a will-they-wont-they pair of leads, chances are I've seen it.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

Oh jeez, well, I've never published fic before so I don't think I have ever been compared to anyone else, but an english teacher I had in high school once complimented me on have a "unique voice" in my writing, and I still think about it from time to time. As for writers I admire? Off the top of my head: Toni Morrison, Norman Maclean, Cormac McCarthy, and Tolkien.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space? I write primarily on my phone, so I don't really have a dedicated space. I used Pages primarily but I kept running into issues with lag, so I recently switched over to Scrivener on my phone. As for where I write I either do so at my desk or in bed, or on long train rides. The good thing about writing on my phone is that if I have a sudden burst of inspiration and have the time, I can write almost anywhere.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Music, especially with long train or car rides. Staring out the window at scenery with music often gets my imagination going. Long walks work too, especially if I'm on the treadmill at the gym and can zone out without worrying about walking into oncoming traffic lol. Other than that, ideas often come to me just as I am drifting off to sleep.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Found family, prophecies, newfound/hidden powers, finding purpose, feeling like an outsider. These don't really surprise me, I was always kind of a weird kid and am now a weird adult, with the pervasive feeling of "not belonging" a constant throughout my youth. This isn't to say I don't have friends and family that I love, and am certain love me back, but I've always been a little awkward in most social settings, regardless of the context.

What is your reason for writing?

I have a very active imagination that probably borders on maladaptive dreaming, but writing and art create a healthier outlet to channel that into.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Basically anything vaguely positive or encouraging is enough to make me blush.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Honestly I don't even know, I hope they think I'm moderately cool? I have never been perceived through the lens of my writing before, only my art.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

World building and character development!

How do you feel about your own writing?

Pretty shy, I am always mildly concerned that my stuff is too trope-y or whatever, and other times I re-read what I wrote and go "hey, that's pretty good!".

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I would say 99% of what I write is my own OC stuff that I never plan to make public, so I'd say I write mostly for myself. That being said, I do think people would enjoy certain aspects of my OC stuff, it's just way too jumbled for anyone but myself to make any sense of it at this point in time.

Tagging whoever wants to join in on this!

[mliter]

Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: The Teal Mask.

I was gifted this DLC by ThatAnimeGuy, a follower of mine who wanted me to give it a shot, because (just like everyone else,) he was appaled by how i was playing Pokemon. I ended up going viral for the team i was running. I didn't think it was that bad! I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Oh well. Regardless, thank you TAG. It's weird how these things just end up happening.

Just like Sword & Shield, Scarlet & Violet's DLC is a two-parter. This one takes you to Kitakami, a region away from Paldea in the form of a school trip.

It's actually a pretty small area. Which is alright, thinking back to the isle of armor. The locale is pretty nice. It seems that this is designed after the Japanese countryside, judging by the farming stuff and homes they've got going on here. It's well designed. Not a lot of people seem to live here though. I think we barely break 100 citizens here. This was always advertised as a village, not a city.

While participating in the local events, tradition and culture, trouble fit for a Pokemon protagonist arises. Luckily for the occasion, we have new threads for the occasion.

I remember back when people were saying these were an improvement over the school uniforms. I can't say i disagree.

New characters are introduced as you begin the DLC. Immidately expanding the game's lore, Briar is introduced as a descendant of the guy who wrote the original Scarlet/Violet book that played a part in the main game's story. She acts as our guardian and preforms research in the back while everything happens. Not much of a clue of what she'll do with it.

Carmine and Kieran are the two main characters of this DLC. Carmine introduces herself as a local that despises foreigners. I remember back when she was revealed, people were joking about her being racist, lol. After getting to know us, she later mellows out and becomes a bit more inviting.

Kieran on the other hand is introduced as a meek younger sibling to Carmine. Overrun by insecurity & loneliness, he manages to connect with the Pokemon this DLC is centered around in a unique way, much to the dismay of the surrounding cast.

Like many Pokemon character designs, i really like them. The extra color under their hair makes for a unique shared trait between the two. The dynamic between the two siblings is quite cute, and there's clearly more to be unpacked here.

This DLC is actually quite short. Having you run around from place to place, do a few battles and have it concluded with a battle against a legendary pokemon with a unique mechanic. Ogrepon slapped my team around quite a bit with the 4 stage boss battle. I liked it. But i wouldn't of gotten through it without the help of my friends in call lol. I've somehow gotten really bad at pokemon over the years.

The ending of this DLC alluded to a part two. While i'd like to dive right in, i'm told i have some work to do with my team. I might be a while.

[aquanutart]

Hello!! Uh this isn't really a question (and I'm really sorry if you knew about this already) but uh from what I can tell in the tags of your Ninian drawing, you play the Pokemon TCG? That's really cool!! I've been going to vgc tournaments for ages, but haven't actually played any tcg stuff (vgc simply has a stranglehold on me for the foreseeable future). But I thought, from how you talked about it, it didn't seem like you were aware of leagues for the card game. Assuming the tournaments you play at are official ones held at a game store, all game stores with tournaments are required to have a league for people to play casually! If you're having trouble finding ways to practice, people at leagues are generally really nice and welcoming! (And tcg players play any chance they get from what I can tell. They scare me for that, but it probably would be good if you're looking for people to practice against). You also are supposed to get a free pack of 5 cards just for showing up ! And if the tournament you went to was like a regional or something, you can find local stuff using the event locator here: https://events.pokemon.com/en-us/events

If you already knew about this stuff I'm really sorry!! I just really like shilling official pokemon events since I find the community really nice and inviting. Hope you have a nice day !!!!!

Hey!!! Thank you so much for the message! It makes me super happy you noticed my tags and are interested in the Pokemon TCG and/or gaming tournaments! :D It's super cool you play in vgc tournaments too!! (I GET the feeling of something having a stranglehold on you for the foreseeable future XDD;;; you gotta do what calls to your heart!!)

I never had the patience to train enough for competitive vg pokemon haha XD I tried EV training in gen 4, but ultimately it's more fun for me to just run around the map with my pokemon.

I do know about the leagues, but thank you for telling me about it because I'm super happy to see someone so enthusiastic about the events!! :D

I actually used to go to the weekly leagues way back when I was a kid and they gave out stamps for every game you played, 20 points for a win and 10 points for a loss, and you earned badges if you got enough stamps by the end of the month. It was super fun!!

I stopped playing for nearly 20 years and am just getting back into it, since this was a highlight of my childhood and I'm super happy they are still holding events!!

I do go to local leagues, but I find nowadays they are structured like a tournament even on non-tournament days, with official pairings and timed matches. So it does make it feel harder to practice, but I know I could make more of an effort to approach people to play casually, and I'm planning to make more of an effort to try that!

(I can vouch for tcg players wanting to play at every opportunity, because even when I go there and get steamrolled, I can immediately go back to addictively playing my deck against myself trying to figure out how to change it and wanting another chance to play! XD;;)

Also yes, I love getting the prize packs! :D The prize packs contain playable cards too, so they've saved me from having to buy something myself many times!

Thank you so much for shilling the official Pokemon events! I'm really happy there is a community of people who love the game!! It always makes me happy to hear about someone else out in the world playing alongside their Pokemon partners! Best of luck with all your upcoming vgc matches too!! :D

[lordcaptains]

twenty questions - writing edition

(tagged by @avas-poltergeist - thank you!)

how many works do you have on ao3? 22

what's your total ao3 word count? 58,375

what are your top five fics by kudos?

all rodimus' fault (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, e) - 644 

flame on (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, m) - 619 

self control (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, e) - 482 

body shop (mtmte, drift/ratchet, g) - 254 

refractions (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, g) - 244

what fandoms do you write for? i've written for transformers, fallout 4, baldur's gate 3, wrath of the righteous, and rogue trader!

do you respond to comments? why or why not? i try to! sometimes i get intimidated by them and go hide instead, and then four months pass and i feel embarrassed about responding after so long.

what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? old world (seeing) reds - but that's definitely relative, as angst isn't either my preference or my forte, i'd say. it's about my character grappling with her complicity in the evils of the world before the bombs fell.

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i like my happy endings, so most of my fics have them. let's say warmth, which was written out of a bitter sense of frustration with a comic that meant a lot to me.

do you get hate on fics? not so far.

do you write smut? yep!

do you write crossovers? nope.

have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of!

have you ever had a fic translated? nope.

have you ever cowritten a fic before? nope. i don't think i would, either - i have enough trouble getting the words in my head to come out the way i want them to.

what’s your all-time favourite ship? well, that's a question. i definitely couldn't pick just one - right now, obviously, it's orica/heinrix. for ships that 1) aren't oc x canon, that 2) i've written for and, that 3) i've shared, i'll say rodimus/magnus! i love them dearly, and i think i always will.

what’s the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? good goodneighbor. 

first fandom you wrote for? pokemon. at age 10. i think i still have that wide-ruled spiral notebook around somewhere…

what are your writing strengths? analysis, which is both fortunate and unfortunate, i think - it absolutely flavors my fiction, too.

what are your writing weaknesses? i struggle to write longer fics - my inclination is to say what i want to say as efficiently as possible, which isn't always best.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? i've never tried, and i probably wouldn't unless i spoke the language with at least some degree of fluency.

favourite fic you’ve ever written? the one in my head. (i'll say old world (seeing) reds for coming out very close to what i had in mind.)

i'll tag anyone with an ao3 who wants to do this and hasn't already!

[justalwaystired]

GET TO KNOW YOUR MUTUALS

thank you @ccarisi for the tag!! <3

what’s the origin of your username? - i’m always tired irl so it felt fitting

OTP(s) + ship name - idk if i’ve ever had a otp written in stone but richonne, barisi, and jopper changed my life

favorite color - most pinks and greens

song stuck in your head - pump it - black eyed peas

weirdest habit/trait - i have preferred dish/silverware i like to use and my mom always makes fun of me for it </3

hobbies - gaming, reading, playing with my pup, and having a chronically high screen time

if you could have any job you wish, what would it be? - private investigator (like imagine the drama) or something to do with video editing

something you’re good at - fixing things! i’m really stubborn and if i can’t figure out a solution to an issue, im gonna go from plan a to z if that’s what it takes

something you hate - bugs. my biggest fear and i feel like they all have it out for me.

something you collect - pokemon cards and kpop albums

something you forget - unfortunately a lot of things……..

what’s your love language - acts of service and physical touch

favorite movie/show - for movies, captain america: civil war & howl’s moving castle and for shows, bobs burgers and law and order: svu

favorite food - stuffed crust cheese pizza

favorite animal - dogs and raccoons <3

what were you like as a child? - a nerdy goody two shoes that hated getting in any trouble LMFAO but once i hit high school i finally got involved and found my corner

favorite subject at school - loved a good english or science class

least favorite subject - most maths and history because it never sticks in my brain

what’s your best character trait? - helping those i love (let me fold your laundry and bake your favorites)

what’s your worst character trait? - my anxiety. it’s my biggest enemy with a helping of self sabotage and a side of avoidance

if you could travel back in time, who would you like to meet? - jonghyun from shinee ❤️‍🩹

tagging anyone and everyone who wants to answer! <3

[diamondphantom-art]

OK SO I've been wanting to draw my pokemon trainer self insert with all of her pokemon for a while but...it's just not doable LOL I decided to do a group pic for the pokemon she has for each region!

For example, these are all the Pokemon she has that were first discovered in the Johto region. Most people would start with Kanto, butttt, her first journey was through Johto, so I decided to start there.

Her outfit is based on my FIRST outfit design for her (it's not her current one). She'll have a different outfit every pic! At the end I'll try to make some kind of nice ref for her.

✩ Johto Team Shot ✩ Kanto Team Shot ✩ Hoenn Team Shot ✩ ✩ Sinnoh Team Shot ✩

Click the read more to learn about each of these mons!

Petal—Meganium—♀— Calm Nature Caught in her sister’s garden in Celadon City as a Chikorita. Very mellow and prefers to go with the flow. She isn’t one for crowds and prefers opens spaces with plenty of flora. She enjoys spending time in the nearby meadow looking after the local Pokémon that live there. Petal is a great mediator and often helps settle various disputes.

Ash (Ashen)—Typhlosion—♂—Timid Nature Obtained from Prof. Elm in New Bark Town. He was supposed to be a starter for new trainers, but wasn’t suited for it due to his high anxiety. With a specialized treatment plan, his anxiety is mostly under control. He’s, overall, quite timid. He rarely interacts with others and spends most of his time sunbathing or battling whoever challenges him.

Blitz—Shiny Pichu—♂—Rash Nature The child of Dia’s Pokemon: Lightning (Raichu) and Vanilla (Alolan Raichu). Born at the same time as his cousin, Flux (Pichu). As a fairly young Pokemon, he doesn’t make the best decisions. He’s quick to start fights for fun but also quick to run when it doesn’t pan out. He wants to be a great battler like his dad someday, but hasn’t seemed to do well thus far. Special notes: Shiny palette comes from GSC.

Flux—Pichu—♀—Timid Nature The child of Dia’s Pokemon: Duskio (Umbreon) and her sister’s Pokemon: Thunder (Pikachu). Born the same time as her cousin Blitz (Pichu). As a fairly young Pokemon, she still clings closely to her parents. She’s very meek and tends to avoid most other Pokemon. However, she usually tags along with Blitz in an attempt to keep him out of trouble. She seems to have a good instinct for battling, even though she isn’t particularly interested in it. Special Notes: Spiky-Eared Pichu!

Volt (Voltaic)—Laturn—♂—Calm Nature Dia fished him out by the bay in Cherrygrove City as a Chinchou. He was happy to join her and her Pokemon. Volt enjoys sunbathing, taking relaxing swims. and naps. He's not much for activity and just tends to go with the flow. Although laid back, he's the first to rush out and help anyone in trouble. Volt's a certified Pokemon Lifeguard.

Dom (Dominic)—Espeon—♂—Hasty Nature The child of Dia’s Pokemon: Navy (Vaporeon) and Syntha (Leafeon). A prankster with little impulse control. Dom likes to drag his brother Damian (Jolteon) around on mischievous adventures; usually harmless pranks are involved. He often visits Violet City because he enjoys teasing tourists with at Sprout Tower with his wild Pokemon friends.

Duskio—Umbreon—♂—Impish Nature The first Pokemon that Dia ever caught! He had been corrupted in early Shadow Pokemon projects and released into the wild. Never fully a shadow Pokemon, Dia was able to unlock his heart and return him to normal. He’s very loyal and sees himself as a protector, especially now that he has a child: Flux (Pichu). When he’s not guarding/on patrol, he greatly enjoys playing with the younger Pokemon or spending time with his partner Thunder (Pikachu).

Dell (Dellutio)—Shiny Umbreon—♂—Bold Nature Given as a gift to Dia by her father when on a trip to Orre. Even as an Eevee, his goal was always to become as strong as possible. He’s very bold, ambitious, and stubborn. He cares deeply for his partner, Escalus (Flareon) and would do anything for him. Special Notes: Shiny palette comes from the GameCube games.

Cress (Crescent)—Teddiursa—♀—Rash Nature She originally belonged to the daughter of a berry farmer. Cress desperately wanted to leave the farm and see the world, so she ran away. Dia found her and brought her back to her original trainer, but, the daughter agreed to let Cress join Dia on her journey. Cress is a hotheaded and passionate gal. Most other Pokemon shy away from her due to her personality and she has trouble making friends. Despite this, she’s actually excellent at taking care of eggs and younger Pokemon which she does at a Violet City Daycare center along with a few of Dia’s other Pokemon.

[sollucets]

get to know me tag

as tagged by @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, and @troubled-mind! thank u everyone 💜🥰

do you make your bed? literally never!

what's your favourite number? 52. i picked it as a child and i don't remember why, but it pleases me still

what is your job? i'm a humble lil grocery store employee

if you could go back to school, would you? if i could quit my job and go to school and still have my same money, then yes, i should think so, but that's super not happening! it might be nice to have a second degree. i think history would be fun

can you parallel park? yes i can! i used to have to do it every day to park in front of my last house. >:c

a job you had that would surprise people? i think all of my jobs have been either rather generic or right on the nose for what people would expect of me so probably not. i was a nighttime gas station attendant for a fair bit of college, which could be a surprise i guess? everyone always goes ":0 but werent you scared????" and like, no, not most of the time, but sometimes you do it scared yknow

do you think aliens are real? yes, but real in a way that there are many real things i can't see and don't understand (protons, gender, etc)

can you drive a manual car? i could do that once and probably still can, but it's been a long long time since i practiced

what's your guilty pleasure? as far as media goes, i do my very best not to have things like this. if i feel bad about liking it i generally do not like it for very long. i would say the closest is being into kpop, but it's not like i keep that a secret, i just dont really want to engage with kpop fandom, so i dont often post or talk about it publicly. a real guilty pleasure is that i like cherry pepsi too much

tattoos? i have one; he's on my left forearm & he's an abstract little spaceman with a fern for a head. i call him my cosmonaut. i have plans for more but i never have the time or money lately

favorite color? we know this one already surely. 💜

favorite type of music? ohh, i don't like to discriminate hehe. my very favoritest songs usually have fun harmony or funky rhythms, though, and it's best if i can sing along

do you like puzzles? sure! i used to have a book of fairy puzzles when i was a kid that i love dearly even now

any phobias? i am afraid of all bugs, but i can be a grownup about most kinds of them. i Cannot be a grownup about moths or centipedes, which i am terrified of (using those words will cause this post to be filtered for me on tumblr). i try not to kill them if i can avoid it, since it isnt their fault i'm like this, but i,,, i really can't, i'm useless if i see one. when id find centipedes in my room at my last house i wouldnt be able to sleep.

favorite childhood sport? i did tennis all of middle and high school, explicitly because of ryoma echizen prince of tennis lol. i was on varsity! i also figure skated as a kid. both are still fun when i get the chance

do you talk to yourself? oh yes all the time. i keep odd hours so i used to accidentally wake my roommate cause i just kind of absentmindedly chatter abt everything

what movies do you adore? i am not really a movie person if i'm perfectly honest; i don't watch them often as an adult. from my childhood my favorite movies were kenneth branagh much ado about nothing, the princess bride, pokemon 2000, and return of the king

coffee or tea? neither, i dont like most hot drinks. apple cider is ok now and again but i usually drink it cold, and im horribly picky about hot chocolate

first thing you wanted to be growing up? i changed this answer all the time as a kid and i have records of me doing so in my old notebooks lol! answers i know about include "pilot", "author", "dragon", and "eowyn"

this one seems like it might be a little personal so im shy to tag people hehe. go ahead and put me down if you want to do it though; i will be happy to know :)

[gaycey-sketchit]

15 questions

Tagged by @thedoggoesed-ward! Thank you!!

1. Are you named after anyone?

I named myself after a grand total of four fictional characters (Drew von Pokemon, Will Solace, Alphonse Elric, and a secret fourth one).

2. When was the last time you cried?

Good question. My SSRIs make it harder for me to cry, so I don't cry often, even when I want to. I almost cried the other day, but I'm not quite sure when the last time I actually did was--it was definitely in the last couple months though.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, and I intend for it to stay that way (the only kids I might want are baby goats). Thankfully I'm in a gay t4t relationship (and pro choice anyway) so there is no chance of it happening by accident.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I had a brief stint in track and field as a youngin, and as an adult I took up playing tennis for fun last year.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Occasionally! Sometimes when I'm annoyed, often to be silly.

5. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Hm, hard to say. Hair is a major one though--color, style, how much of it there is. I have trouble with faces, so I have to figure out other ways of recognizing people.

7. What's your eye color?

Very dark brown.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings all the way, but I can handle a lot of things in a story if it turns out okay in the end.

9. Any talents?

I have a pretty keen ear for recognizing voices! I watch a lot of animated media and it's always fun to hear a familiar VA.

10. Where were you born?

Some hospital in Georgia

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, drawing, dancing, baking, reading, playing viddy games, taking photos, watching cartoons, and collecting things related to my special interests (Pokemon and horses).

12. Do you have any pets?

My dog Buddy! I also live and spend time with my sister's pets, a dog and guinea pig.

13. How tall are you?

5'7"

14. Favorite subject in school?

I was big on the sciences, particularly biology! I could do Punnett squares all day. I also really enjoyed French.

15. Dream job?

I have many. Working with horses in any capacity, voice actor for TPCI who voices like 30 Pokemon and the occasional CotD, baker, librarian, defense attorney, something in medicine, sustainable sheep farmer... to name a few off the top of my head. I like a lot of things and I want to either be involved with one of my special interests or help people.

Tagging: @itstimetodrew @kohakhearts @kongpang @torchickentacos @a-star-that-fell and anyone else who feels like doing this!! (No pressure to anyone!)

[bombcollar]

I was tagged by @go-go-devil!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I currently have 151.

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

327,526

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently the most recent fics I wrote have been for Cadence of Hyrule but I've also recently written for Iconoclasts and Pokemon.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Ferris Wheel (Bugsnax, Snorplo) - 248

Gemini (Bugsnax, body horror) - 169

Imitation Beef (Bugsnax, continuation of a canon scene) - 165

Imago (Elden Ring, Miquella wakes up as a big bug) - 154

Field Notes (Bugsnax, AU, cosmic horror) - 148

5. Do you respond to comments?

I always try to, even if it's just to say thanks.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oh god probably one of my bugsnax fics... bugsnax really was ripe for angst. Both One Last Dance and Weary end in the implication that everybody has succumbed to the snax. I tend to leave things on more ambiguous notes than angsty, so even if the characters are in a sad or desperate situation it's uncertain what's going to happen to them next.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sleep is Dark Souls III fic that implies the age of dark is actually a good thing and Lorian and Lothric survive to see it after all they've been through. I know I have written other happy things but this one is very hopeful.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten a couple shitty comments or ones where I was just like, I have no idea what you're trying to communicate to me, but they're extremely rare and I just delete them if I do get them.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

I do not write smut. Just not my thing.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Not often, I have a few Fromsoft crossovers but I did write a Bugsnax/Nier Automata fic that never got finished. That's Between My Teeth.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, quite a few. Ao3 user Dashana in particular has translated a number of my Iconoclasts fics to Russian. I will probably never say no to having a fic translated if it helps it reach a larger audience, especially because I tend to pick niche fandoms or subjects.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have, with @malicious-fisheeves and with @wheeled-jack as well as some other friends who don't really use tumblr.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I really don't feel that strongly about ships much of the time but I do really like Wally/May from Pokemon RSE/ORAS and Gwyndolin/Darkmoon Knightess from Dark Souls.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Ugh I have this Mochi Mayhem rewrite thing in the works but I just can't seem to make any progress on it. I may put it out there unfinished but the problem is I have a big chunk of the beginning done and then a scene at the very end and nothing in the middle lmao.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm really good at building dread. I personally think I'm good at writing platonic and familial character relationships, and writing characters who might be antagonists but who are complex and sympathetic.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have some trouble when it comes to writing incidental side characters that might serve a purpose for one scene but aren't really that important.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I really enjoy writing dialogue, it's one of my favorite parts of the process.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I wrote a Rayman 3 fic about some OCs of mine probably back in 2003 or something. It was about these griffin-like creatures that had the powerups tested on them and it fucked them up because they were flesh and blood rather than made of cloth like the Hoodlum enemies are. They were trying to escape the facility they were kept in. Unfortunately I do not think it's still posted on my old ff.net account so it may be lost media.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'll always be extremely proud of Monarch Sunrise (the bugsnax timeskip cruise fic) for the sheer scale of it (as far as my fics go) and for all the help I had plotting and editing it.

This is a tough question to answer though because I'm really happy with many of them. I'd say my favorite thing I've written lately is Lyre Lyre, my Octavo backstory fic, because I think it does a good job of laying out his situation in a concise and entertaining manner, like he's telling this story to a crowd.

as for tagging folks uhhh how about @wheeled-jack @mumagi @disco-descent

[pinkpoweredpunk]

---

[AUDIO: A recorded conversation.

Alder: So, that boy Cheren seems to have his dream more or less figured out. What about you, kid?

Blake: Huh? Me?

Alder: What are you on this journey for?

Blake: ...

Blake: I don't know. Well, I do, but- it's kinda pathetic...

Blake: I wanted to get away from school.

Alder: Really?

Blake: Yeah... this one my mom tried to send me to. She wants me to find some direction in my life, but- I hated it. It got me all antsy and uncomfortable just thinking about it- sitting around in a classroom full of strangers, listening to some guy drone on for hours, going back home with a load of homework- been there done that in elementary and middle school, you know?

Alder: Ha! Trust me, I do know. I had the exact same problems when I was your age- I couldn't sit still or stay in one place to save my life. Why learn about the world on a chalkboard when you can go out and see it for yourself, right?

Blake: Yeah, but- still. It was kinda irresponsible of me.

Blake: And... I dunno if it ended up being worth it. I got caught up in all this stuff with Team Plasma, and- people have gotten hurt because of it, and...

Alder: Ah, Team Plasma, eh? Yeah, they've been on my radar for a while now. I just got back from talking about them with Clay. We're looking into trying to stop them, but they're a slippery bunch.

Blake: Yeah... and uh, lately someone I thought I could trust turned out to be... not who I thought they were.

Alder: I see. So all of this is what's been making you want to call it quits, huh?

Blake: ...kinda. I don't know why I even bothered, honestly. This always happens- I get all excited, and think this time surely nothing will go wrong, and guess what? It does.

Blake: I don't... at this point, I don't know why I keep thinking I deserve to give myself second chances... All I keep doing is getting wrapped up in some kind of trouble, and dragging others down with me. It'd be better for everyone if I just threw the towel in.

Alder: Now, now, hold on there.

Blake: Huh-?

Alder: You're not giving yourself- or the friends that have been sticking by your side- enough credit. Your Pokemon, your traveling buddies- you've clearly got some loyal pals if they're still tagging along with you after all this time.

Blake: But-

Alder: I know you probably think it's unfair to them, huh? That they don't deserve to be caught up in this mess with you? I get it. But from the way I see it, I think they would've said something by now if they didn't want any part of this.

Alder: Well, at least that's what I gathered, from how close you all seem. I don't think I've seen a team of Pokemon this happy in a long time!

Blake: I...

Alder: We've all got our flaws, kid. Every adventure, every journey is gonna have its ups and downs. But I think the best way to handle those road bumps isn't just shoving everyone outta the way to deal with 'em yourself- it's tackling them together.

Alder: People aren't always gonna understand each other. Family, friends, strangers... People and Pokemon won't always, either. But I think what help us persevere in the face of those things is the bonds we share. And the way to nurture those bonds is opening your heart to each other, trusting each other.

Alder: Let me guess- you haven't told Cheren or any of your other friends much about these feelings, have you?

Blake: ...No, not really... They all see me as this tough, unstoppable trainer. I-I'm the most experienced out of any of them, they- they rely on me to keep my shit together.

Alder: Mhm. And how's that been working out for you so far?

Blake: ...Not great.

Alder: Well, I won't try and push you into doing anything- but I think it ought to be worth a try to open up more. Just a little bit. You're not infallible, champ- no one is.

Alder: It's clear you're enjoying this journey more than you say you are, otherwise you would've given up a long time ago. You love the feeling of seeing new places, and gathering all these new experiences, you love traveling with the people and Pokemon you've met along the way- deep down, I think you understand you wouldn't trade any of that for the world.

Alder: You've still got a long road ahead, and it's gonna have its mix of good and bad moments. Best you can do to prepare for it is trust your heart, try to know who your friends are, and take in whatever's around you and whatever you're feeling in the moment.

Alder: Like right now- you aren't facing down with Team Plasma, are you? You're at a festival! You ought to go enjoy yourself.

Blake: Haha... I guess you're right.

---