#i have not read bede but i read a LITTLE bit of bede on my english trip for one the lectures

[incomingalbatross]

Literature connected to Whitby:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Marmion by Sir Walter Scott (sort of—he took the abbey's name and its founder's and transferred them to Lindisfarne)

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede (the Synod of Whitby is the climax of the history's third volume)

Caedmon's Hymn (probably the oldest surviving English poem, composed at Whitby)

[magic-bounce]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅

I'm Bede. The elite Fairy-type gym leader, and the successor of Ms. Opal.

Despite some recent... mistakes. With how much rigorous training I've been through, I can still assure you that I'm plenty worthy of carrying on Ms. Opal's legacy, and promise to reach unbridled heights of pink!

If you wish, you may send any inquiries you may have. Whether it be about myself, or Ballonlea's gym. I shouldn't need to discuss what should and shouldn't be sent, as I assume that if you are clever enough to make yourself an account on this website, you are therefore clever enough to know what is appropriate.

I'll put my team's nicknames here as well, to avoid any possible confusion that could be caused otherwise.

Hatterene - Victoria

Rapidash - William

Gardevior - Elizabeth

Mawile - Anne

Sylveon - Mary

We'll be sure to show you all a truly wonderful pink!

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅

(OOC under cut)

Hello!! This is the same person that runs @psn-stalling, so follows and likes come from there! My name is Castor/Midnight, and I use he/they/it pronouns. So uh. I have been influenced by my friends into making a Bede blog :3

However!! This is my very first blog that's specifically made for a canon character! I've dabbled in it before, but this is pretty much my first time constantly doing it and not just doing a silly little event, so please keep in mind that there'll probably be a lot of trial and error on my end!

Anyways, here are the rules and whatnot!

The only blogs I ask to not interact are overly meta ones! Other than that, as long as you follow my boundaries, everyone else can interact!

Ic hate is fine here too! The moment it's not clear if it's ic or ooc, then it'll be deleted. If it's clearly ooc you'll be blocked.

Bede is a minor, so if you try to do anything nsfw you'll be blocked immediately. There are no exceptions to this. Normally I'm okay with a few mild suggestive jokes, but since Bede is fourteen here I'm not okay with it on his blog.

If I take some time getting to your ask/reblog, please don't take it personally! As active as I am on here I do get pretty busy sometimes, so it might take me a few. I also just sometimes don't know how to respond to things, so I apologize if that happens. Also I might take a bit longer than usual for me to write responses, because I'm still kinda figuring him out.

Thank you for reading this!

Pelipper Mail/Malice: On

Musharna mail/Malice: On

Magic Anons : Off

[charmonys]

@hattricks &&. said...

How did you come to choose to play this character? What are your favorite things about him?

(  holds  him  up  like  a  marketable  plushie.  )  i  just  think  he's  neat.  😇

okay,  but  in  all  seriousness,  i  feel  like  i  kind  of  had  a  different  first  impression  with  sunday  overall  compared  to  a  large  portion  of  the  fanbase  because  i  only  had  the  opportunity  to  experience  hsr  relatively  recently  —  which  means  i  had  the  privilege  of  getting  most  of  his  story  so  far  all  at  once.  i  saw  his  introduction,  i  saw  his  antagonist  era  and  i  saw  the  his  very  first  steps  towards  the  future  without  any  long  stretches  of  downtime  in  between.  i  really,  really  enjoy  characters  who  begin  the  story  very  flawed  and  get  put  in  a  position  where  they're  forced  to  grow  and  develop  as  people.  if  you're  familiar  with  some  of  the  past  muses  i've  written  (  looks  at  bede  and  scaramouche  )  you  can  kind  of  see  how  a  lot  of  them  tend  to  fit  this  archetype.  sunday  also  slots  into  this  role,  but  he's  a  bit  different  in  the  sense  that  he  genuinely  comes  from  a  place  of  good  intentions.  his  goals  are  painfully  altruistic  to  the  point  of  self-destruction.  he's  intelligent,  but  he's  also  very  sheltered.  he's  empathetic,  but  he's  also  very  prideful.  (  not  to  mention  condescending  —  and  oftentimes  more  than  he  realizes.  )  you  can  see  at  his  core  that  there  is  the  foundation  of  a  genuinely  kind  person  there  —  and  you  can  see  how  that  foundation  has  been  purposefully  groomed  and  twisted  into  everyone's  favorite  biblically  accurate  control  freak.

i  also  just  really  enjoyed  his  arc  so  far  overall.  i  love  penacony,  i  love  the  aesthetic  and  the  themes  the  story  presented  —  and  yes,  i  do  enjoy  the  yapping.  (  genuinely,  i  love  sunday's  yapper  tendencies.  i'm  unironically  so  happy  to  write  a  muse  that  speaks  paragraphs.  )  i  think  it's  interesting  how  we're  introduced  to  sunday  at  more  or  less  the  most  stressful  point  in  his  entire  life.  the  responsibility  for  the  charmony  festival  is  resting  on  his  shoulders,  fucking  gopher  wood  being  fucking  gopher  wood,  there's  all  kinds  of  unexpected  guests  from  different  factions  popping  up  out  of  nowhere,  he's  under  immense  pressure  from  the  family  —  and  his  sister  (  his  most  important  person,  the  only  blood  family  he  has  left  )  is  SEEMINGLY  MURDERED.  this  man  deserves  to  get  a  little  bit  unhinged,  i  think.  does  it  justify  his  actions?  no,  of  course  not.  but  honestly,  it's  a  testament  to  his  composure  that  he  handled  everything  as  smoothly  as  he  did.  c'mon  guys  —  he  could  have  been  worse!  he  only  threatened  a  little  murder.  👉👈  the  lotus  eater  machine  was  for  your  own  good!  every  day  could  be  sunday!

i  also  think  characters  who  aren't  just  your  run  of  the  mill  human  are  inherently  fascinating  by  default.  hoyoverse  hasn't  expanded  on  halovians  a  ton  beyond  dropping  a  handful  of  absolutely  WILD  breadcrumbs  of  dubious  canonicity.  it's  my  city  now  and  i  get  to  write  the  manual  on  these  weird  musical  angelic  bird  people.  i  love  worldbuilding.  i  am  so  normal  about  it.

LIGHTNING  ROUND  BELOW  THE  CUT.  click  read  more  if  you  dare.  i'm  going  to  be  so  cringe  and  babble  a  lot  and  also  get  kind  of  personal,  but  chicken  boy  is  my  comfort  character  and  i  am  doing  the  polite  thing  by  warning  you  now  to  avert  thine  gaze.

okay?  the  pact  is  sealed,  then.

i  really  like  his  sweet  tooth  and  how  it's  interwoven  into  his  arc.  how  it's  something  he  freely  indulges  in  when  he's  still  a  carefree  child  —  and  tries  to  repress  as  he  gets  older  and  grows  more  burdened  by  responsibilities.  how  the  last  letter  he  leaves  for  robin  mentions  eating  the  same  pudding  tarts  he  enjoyed  when  he  was  little.  also  in  general,  i  think  it's  kind  of  an  endearing  quality  and  plays  into  a  more  gap  moe-esque  angle  of  his  character.  yes,  the  very  responsible  and  orderly  oak  family  head  loves  strawberries  and  pudding  tarts.  he  strikes  me  as  the  kind  of  person  who  orders  a  black  coffee  for  the  sake  of  appearances  while  staring  wistfully  at  the  caramel  macchiato  on  the  menu.

i  adore  his  stupid  little  >:3  face.  i  want  to  shake  him.  i  like  the  implication  that  it's  definitely  not  a  sincere  smile  and  it's  really  just  something  he's  maintaining  for  the  sake  of  a  palatable,  professional  facade  —  hence  why  he  loses  it  in  his  playable  model...  but  honestly,  it's  just  so  silly  looking  and  i  love  it.  (  i  know  he  isn't  the  biggest  fan,  but  in  general  his  playable  look  is  just  so  comfy  to  me.  )

i  find  it  very  fascinating  how  a  character  who  has  religion  interwoven  so  intimately  into  his  story  and  overall  aesthetic  actually  has  a  very  transactional  relationship  with  the  gods.

his  little  guys!  his  cherubs!  his  echoes!  his  oomfs!  i  love  them.  i  think  they're  so  so  cute.

it's  very  funny  to  me  that  everyone  keeps  comparing  him  post-penacony  to  a  confused  duckling.  i've  seen  some  people  on  other  sites  (  predominantly  reddit  )  complaining  that  he's  been  toned  down  since  2.7  —  but  i  think  saying  that  is  kind  of  a  fundamental  misunderstanding  of  both  his  character  and  current  arc.  there's  a  really  good  quote  during  his  last  conversation  with  robin  where  she  more  or  less  spells  out  everything  he's  going  through  at  the  moment.  "he's  stronger  than  most  ordinary  people,  but  because  of  it,  people  have  this  misconception:  they  think  that  when  he  falls,  he  will  stand  back  up  faster  than  anyone  else.  [...]  before  he  stands  up  again,  he  will  hesitate  and  agonize  for  ages  over  whether  that  is  the  right  course  of  action."  that's  basically  where  he  is  right  now  —  he's  had  his  entire  worldview  shattered  before  his  very  eyes,  and  now  he's  lost  and  unsure  what  to  do  next.  he's  clinging  to  everyone  else  around  him  for  guidance,  he's  going  full  people  pleaser  mode  with  the  nameless.  it's  a  defense  mechanism.  he's  not  going  to  be  like  this  forever  —  i'm  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  we're  inching  our  way  towards  astral  express  sunday  eventually.  give  him  a  chance  to  breathe.

on  a  semi-related  note,  i  think  it's  hilarious  that  there's  a  lot  of  people  only  realizing  now  that  sunday's  ingame  model  isn't  actually  that  tall.  he's  just  usually  been  standing  by  himself  or  next  to  shorter  people  in  a  lot  of  his  earlier  scenes.  the  scene  where  he  confronts  gallagher  always  makes  me  laugh  because  he's  trying  so  hard  to  verbally  eviscerate  this  man  but  he's  like  a  whole  head  shorter  than  him.

OKAY  SO  THIS  IS  THE  EMBARRASSING  PART.  BRACE  YOURSELF.  i  actually  do  find  myself  relating  to  sunday  a  lot  in  a  number  of  aspects.  not  in  an  unhealthy  "blurring  the  line  between  mun  and  muse"  sort  of  way,  but  a  "(  sweats  nervously  )  oh ...  i  do  that"  sort  of  way.  for  example,  i'm  a  huge  people  pleaser.  it's  an  issue  i've  been  trying  to  work  on,  but  it's  something  i  still  do  occasionally  find  myself  struggling  with  nonetheless.  i  see  a  lot  of  that  reflected  in  sunday  —  and  i  think  the  most  obvious  example  comes  in  the  form  of  his  text  messages.  he's  being  very  polite,  but  there's  a  kind  of  underlying  desperation  there.  he's  giving  everyone  personalized  gifts.  he's  inquiring  about  ways  to  be  helpful.  he'll  even  serenade  you  if  you  ask.  there  is  literally  no  response  you  can  give  him  that  doesn't  net  you  a  courteous  reply,  even  if  you  pick  one  of  the  shitpost  dialogue  options  —  because  he  wants  so  badly  for  you  to  accept  him.  the  people  pleaser  is  trying  to  people  please.

"i'm  trying  to  connect  with  everyone  [...]  but  I  may  need  some  time  due  to  my  personality."  oh.  god.  i'm  cringing.  that  line  gave  me  psychic  damage.  i  think  i  taste  metal.

on  another  note,  there's  the  infamous  charmony  dove  speech.  i  know  he  gets  a  lot  of  flak  for  it  —  i  know  the  story  about  the  bird  gets  repeated  over  and  over  and  over  again.  but  i  feel  like  a  lot  of  people  are  so  caught  up  in  complaining  about  it  that  they  don't  really  look  into  what  it  implies  about  his  thought  process.  (  beyond  just  the  surface  level  debate  of  the  bird  and  the  cage.  )  every  single  time  he  tells  the  story,  it  becomes  more  intricate.  more  detailed.  more  dramatic.  he  thought  about  the  weather  that  winter.  he  took  stock  of  the  predators  in  the  yard  —  which  ones  would  be  most  likely  to  prey  upon  a  vulnerable  baby  bird.  have  you  ever  had  an  experience  that  was  intensely  distressing  to  you  (  whether  out  of  embarrassment,  trauma  or  anything  in  between  )  and  your  mind  keeps  cycling  back  to  it?  you  think  about  it  again  and  again  and  again,  analyzing  it  from  every  possible  angle  —  calculating  every  possible  outcome.  because  that's  definitely  something  i  do,  and  that's  also  something  sunday  does  on  more  than  one  occasion.

this  whole  yapfest  probably  makes  very  little  sense,  but  you  have  my  undying  admiration  if  you  actually  manage  to  sit  through  it.  i  love  this  sad  bird.  i  love  his  brain.  i  want  to  see  him  live  well.  i  think  he  needs  a  handful  of  flintstones  vitamins,  a  headpat  and  a  trip  in  my  washing  machine's  spin  cycle  to  atone  for  his  crimes.

conclusion:

[cherryroselock22]

Out of curiosity, how would you describe the dynamic between Bede and Hop in the context of their romantic relationship? I think of that one drawing where Hop holds Bede's head in his hands and I crack up at the thought of Hop seeing Bede as an especially disgruntled wooloo

Hi hello i’ve been waitin for this ask forever. ALSO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU!1 i love getting asks like this (two ship charts under cut n explanation if you're interested)

The non-detailed way I see their dynamic is basically just that, grumpy x sunshine. Whenever I think about em I just think about that post that reads ‘’Hop and his boyfriend whom he needs to fight with constantly’’

But I do have some more in-depth thoughts/headcanons on their relationship, I have been hyperfixatin hard on em for the past 9 months;

To me, Bede’s the more physically affectionate, or clingy to be more accurate. He keeps affection in public at a minimum cause well, you know gossip travels fast. But in private? He’s constantly seeking out Hop’s attention. At first he was awkward about hugging n stuff, getting overwhelmed easily, which is why Hop waited for him to seek it out but he eventually got more comfortable and now Hop can’t sit down without him laying down on him.

Out of the two of them, I think that (surprisingly) Hop is the most touch starved, he always gives affection without receiving much himself. I think that at some point, Bede realized this and it’s half the reason for why he’s so clingy.

They bicker a lot, at some point it just becomes a love language. Bede’s still a little bit of a jerk and Hop has to keep him in check. I like to imagine Bede is flustered easily n Hop loves to take advantage of that.

I think that Hop is usually the one planning dates and hangouts, it’s either that or he shows up at Bede’s door at 11 pm with roses out of nowhere. He also almost always insists on paying. In turn, Bede randomly sends him gifts. I definitely think Bede spoils Hop

Even though Bede’s taller, and Hop’s shirts are too wide and short for her, he steals Hop’s clothes all the time. Hop keeps losing shirts. If you see him without his jacket means that Bede probably has it.

Hop fidgets with Bede’s hair methinks, he likes to run his hands through it and occasionally braid it. Reminds him of a wooloo lol.

I also think Bede is very easily jealous, not to a possessive extent but it is very clear when she’s jealous. She’ll glare daggers to anyone who’s a little too close to Hop and will act very affectionate towards him in front of said person

Also I just think Bede’s smitten with Hop to the degree it becomes everyone’s problem. Hop might have fallen first but Bede fell harder. Like. Idk I just think that Bede gets attached to people way too easily but acts like he doesn’t while Hop is the opposite way

Also I’d be very funny is Hop’s dubwool was borderline homophobic towards Bede (I have a hc that dubwool is very overprotective of Hop lol, he does not let anyone near him). Bede reaches to grab Hop’s hand and is instantly tackled by dubwool. I have this scene in my mind where they’re both up in a tree and when they’re about to kiss, Hop’s dubwool just begins to tackle said tree non-stop.

(Applying my gender hcs woo). Even though Hop’s not really a guy, Bede still refers to him as his boyfriend. Hop also refers to Bede as his girlfriend as much as he can to fluster her or try to cheer her up.

I find it funny to imagine Bede being horrified upon figuring out he has a crush on Hop. Also also Bede cooks for him a lot. Usually just sweets or baked goods since that's what he knows what to do best.

I think that the confession was a disaster. Like they were probably hanging out, Bede’s just starin at Hop not payin attention at all and without thinkin blurts out a ‘you’re pretty’ or something like that. Cue panic and Hop tryin to get a direct answer and Bede just denying everything. It works out somehow

I think Hop’s mum would like Bede, Leon would not lol. Opal is supportive not only cause Hop is a good match for him but also because Bede can’t stay at the gym all the time, Opal has to kick him out sometimes.

Movin onto the angst stuff:

I think that Hop would struggle with saying ‘I love you’ while Bede would say it too easily.

Hop is very observant, he notices when there’s a slight change in Bede’s behavior and when she’s nervous. Bede isn’t as observant and is usually a little awkward when it comes to comfortin Hop

I think both Hop n bede have scars. Bede has scars on his hands from the gym challenge and digging through caves to get wishin stars. He also has a light yet constant tremble to his hands, aka his hands are always trembling, can’t control it (I also have this and I get to choose which character to give it to). While Hop generally has scars from wounds he’s picked at, he has them primarily in his arms but some in his legs too. He also has a burn scar from eternatus.

I think Hop has low self-esteem and doesn’t think he’s a good person. I definitely imagine there’s times were he feels like he isn’t worthy or deserving of the affection Bede gives him. I also think his intrusive thoughts (I hc him as having intrusive thoughts cause I do lol) don’t help. Bede does his best to try to distract him from it

That’s all I have rn cause I’m sleepy n also my mom is yelling at me to go to sleep lol, have some charts I did. SORRY IF THIS IS KINDA RANTY, I’M NOT GOOD WITH WORDS

[nerdyagere]

trick or treat!!! 🍬 marnie from pokemon! :)

Oohh Marnie!!! I haven't thought about her much but I think she's such a cutie, perfect excuse now to rattle her around my brain giving you... a sweet treat!

Note that I have only played the games, haven't watched the anime or read the manga (I SWEAR I will one day) so please forgive me if my HCs are lacking!

---

- She seems like the type to not only love deco pacis but make her own! They're always a little dark, gothic in theme covered in little black gems, cute little crobat or duskull charms

- I think she'd adore plushies too, Piers once gifted her a Morpeko and she's been attached ever since, that was the start of her ever growing collection (that maybe she's a BIT shy about but it's okay, Piers always supports her via his many, many plush gifts he'll give)

- Generally I think she likes to stick to herself, preferring more quiet environments where she can cuddle up with plushies and watch a show or a movie, sometimes it's a little tiring having a whole fan club following you around always you know?

Doesn't mean she doesn't love when Piers spends a bit of time with her, or maybe when her friends stop by and they have a fun movie night, big pillow fort all snuggled together!

- Oh she loves to play dress up too, she and Gloria will team up and drag the others into their room, trapping them and using them to showcase whatever outfits they create together, mwahaha!

Of course everyone's having fun, trying out stuff they'd never normally wear (Marnie's wardrobe is pretty outside their normal styles but man, she has good taste, her and Gloria create the best outfits!) even if Bede is reluctant at first he'll slip into the fun the second Marnie pulls out something more his style, can't be grumpy when Marnie pulls out a limited edition fairy type inspired jacket she snagged from the local boutique!

[nightwatch-ithaqua]

i dont mind much, i get it anyways. i was too busy drawing to check this and then thinking of how to respond also takes a while so its not much of a problem if i have to wait sometimes ...

i like visually separating from nathaniel less because i dislike him so much and more just because.. i like having my own unique style. i dont mind looking as similar as we do, but i prefer to still have defining traits so we dont get mixed up constantly.. at that point id be no better than his shadow.

its really funny now having like, a ton of Proper brothers after the fucked up one. ..too many brothers, in fact. at least according to bede.. who is also one of my brothers лол. i kind of just.. collect them on accident, im very Little Brothjer Swag or someyhing like that. i only have like, 2 younger brothers, (one of them also being.. one of my older brothers), which normally isnt even really possible with me because i tend to get freaked out if im not the Most Little Brotherly around. didnt know that was even a thing, much less a competition, but it is apparently because my brain says so.

its even worse because i kind of just call all of them "my brother" with no sort of context or added name to specify which one im actually talking about lmao.. a bit confusing at times, but i find it funny nonetheless. i think ive been getting better about it lately because helel or andrew tend to ask which one when i mention a brother, so theyve been reminding me to be specific about it pretty well..

sorry if it seems like i change the topic too much or anything like that. if i cant think of a way to respond to something and continue that part of the conversation i kind of just ignore it and go on to the next thing i want to talk about instead. i find it more convenient, especially in cases like this where the goal isnt bonding, so needless small talk without getting anywhere important just seems unnecessary to me.. but i understand if its a bit annoying to deal with anyways.

🪷

Our ADHD allows us to switch between topics with ease. Because of how the mind is wired.

No the only annoyance is having to read such a large ask 5 times because we stop processing it midway through and also dyslexia. We meant to ask you to tone that down a bit the last time but they're still decent asks

- ☁️

[teomodo]

oc mondee (blinks my big eyelashes cutely)

we love a little past-midnight oc monday. original post here, oc tag here :]

1. Is [x] in a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone? What is their partner like? Or, why not?

val and shoni are together ^_^ when they meet shoni is one of like 3 people in an online fandom for his band Woon Socket and she writes rpf of him and the singer yousef. she has this picture of him in her mind as kind of a like mcr whumpee sadboy and she wants to fix him but also of course he has... much more than that going on... val on the other hand is struggling with the delusion that he is Literally in purgatory and that shoni is Literally an angel sent to help him. sooo they are very sweet and silly and cuddly with each other but neither of them is maybe fully seeing the other like maybe they're just seeing what they want the other person to be. erm uh oh guys

bede's single now but her most significant/longest lasting relationship was with a guy named heath in college who i have posted a little about before. he was a libertarian poli sci major who was almost as misanthropic and edgy as bede but not quite. she started the relationship on this like "emotionally unavailable but dtf" vibe which was fine with him but the longer it went on she also became physically unavailable (no longer dtf migraine coming on ok so get out) and was constantly ribbing on him and putting him down until he was like. do you? like me? like at all? they broke up when she got him drunk at a frat party which led to a pregnancy scare and it was a whooole biiig thiiiinnggg

also as a little side note: shoni is one of very few people bede actually makes an effort to be friends with. bede is a little bit embarrassed by it because she doesn't really know how to have like. a genuine friendship with someone. but you can't help it with shoni. heath is one of very, very few people that val can't stand. like val tries to be all "i dont hate anybody" but he haaates him and not like in a brotherly you'd better not break my sister's heart way he just finds him deeply annoying

2. Does [x] believe in the existence of anything their culture considers a supernatural creature?

val: yes. he and his mom are both quite superstitious. beyond all the catholic stuff like angels and demons i think he'll believe almost anything he reads on /x/

bede: no lol. her rationality is her pride

shoni: it would be sexy if lots of stuff was real like werewolves and vampires but only maybe ghosts might could be real. maybe. she has an open mind

3. Does [x] believe in space aliens? Are there actually aliens in contact with their world?

val: absolutely. there aren't aliens but especially that heavens gate/scientology blend of spirituality and aliens i think would slot into his little worldview very nicely 

bede: because she is a 90s kid she would ask if her brother counts (no she doesn't)

shoni: again she has an open mind. there's probably microbes out there somewhere

4. Can [x] dance? Are they good at any particular styles?

val: yeh he has a great sense of musicality and he's really good at DDR but idk if you could pin it down to a particular style. makin stuff up as you go style. he can shuffle

bede: i feel like most of the dancing she's ever done in her life is throwing elbows in the club. "good" is relative

shoni: she's very familiar with stage choreography from working in theater. she definitely wants to get better at tap dancing 

5. How does [x] feel about heights?

val: he gets dizzy

bede: good. great even. if she had a corner office she would spend all day just staring down her nose at the people down on the sidewalk like ants

shoni: she likes a nice view but if she's right by the edge she'll cling to your arm and maybe say eeek! out loud

6. Can [x] burp on command?

val: yes but it's like 60/40 between doing it successfully and giving himself hiccups

bede: yes she definitely made anthony and val teach her how when they were kids

shoni: nooo thats yucky >_<

7. What is one thing [x] is trying to get rid of? How have they failed, so far?

val: his earthly desires lol. he's very fixated on asceticism and contextualizes a lot of his more horrible experiences by throwing his self respect out the window and being like well this is just what im here for. suffering is good actually (depressive episodes are kind of awesome because he doesn't want to do anything that he enjoys or eat or anything which means lots of spiritual brownie points) but of course the more he denies himself the more he wants what he wants and the more he unpersons himself the more other people have to step in to make sure he's like eating and taking his meds and not homeless and then his little not-taking-up-space thing is ruined

bede: her reliance on other people. she wants to be totally self sufficient and able to say she did it all herself but she always pushes herself wayyy too hard. she almost drank herself to death in college and then needed her stomach pumped (paid for by her moms insurance) because she wouldn't ask for extensions on deadlines or actually open up to her friends or admit that she had a problem with alcohol bc she neeeeds to be impressive first and foremost. and then she crashes

shoni: her anger, or like, negative feelings toward other people in general. she usually feels obligated to be as understanding as possible or to like, take the weight of conflict in a social space and try to fix it, but that means she swallows a lot of frustration with people. which makes her more frustrated because she can't express it so in spite of herself she gets resentful

[thesmashwaffle]

-- ❤️: Favorite character?

Arven. Hands down. The last character that I've loved and resonated with on this level was Hau back in Gen 7, and it takes a lot to even come close to matching that. Like, I love how many layers there is to him as a character, because while you would've expected him to be the resident asshole (a la Gladion and Bede), he turns out to be such a sweet, gentle, and sentimental guy. He was very much going through it with all the shit he was put through, and I can relate deeply to how he thinks more with his heart than his head, how he struggles to communicate with and read other people, and how much he cares about those close to him on the inside. I love him to death, and he'll go down as one of my favorite characters in all of fiction.

-- ⭐️: Favorite Team Star member?

Honestly a pretty tough choice, since there's a good bit to like about all of them, but I think Giacomo is the most compelling to me. I think his design is kickass, I admire how chill he is, and his background as the former student council president is very compelling. (Funny how two of Arven's more well known ships are with student council presidents of some shape or form)

-- 0️⃣: Favorite DLC character?

Listen, this one was a pretty hard choice between the siblings, but I might actually have to say Carmine. Like, I really didn't like her that much at first, and that was mainly because the way she treated Kieran sometimes hit a little too close to home. The way she bad talk or embarrass him in front of the player, the only real friend he made at that point, the way she brushed off some of his feelings as "teenage angst" and just him being emotional, some other stuff... It felt like a spitting image of how my brother used to treat me up until my second semester of high school. Later on though, you can see how she genuinely concerns for her brother, and realizing how she took him for granted in some ways, she comes back around exactly how my brother did. There's definitely a good few more layers to her beyond this, but all in all, she's such a well and realistically written older sibling, and I love her for that.

-- 💥: Favorite Gym leader/Elite four?

Kofu. I love his "fun uncle" energy, and he never fails to put a big fucking grin on my face whenever he's onscreen. I want to give him a hug.

-- 📝: Opinion on each of the Zero Crew? (Arven, Penny, Nemona)

Arven - I think I already said as much as I needed to before.

Penny - She didn't click with me as much as she apparently did for a lot of other people, but I really adore her and what she stands for as a character. I love how well she connects with others like Team Star even despite her introverted nature.

Nemona - Oh boy, where do I begin with you? I've said it before, but I love how she puts her own spin on the obligatory rival trope where instead of trying to be better than the player, she trains the player up to become as strong as she truly is so she can have someone to rival her strength in battle. Even besides that, she's just such a lovable character in her own ways. I adore her enthusiasm, I think her overzealousness can be funny, and she's just the kind of character you just love to love

Also, whether you ship them or just see them as friends, I don't think her dynamic with Arven is appreciated enough. Early on, they do bicker a lot, and he does claim that they "can't get along", but you can tell that she cares about him unconditionally by the way that she shows concern for his wellbeing in her first phone call. Furthermore, Arven even considered going to Nemona for help with the titans before you came along, and actually softens up on her in Area Zero when realizing how much more there is to her as a person. They still butt heads a little in the postgame, but you can tell they're getting along better by the way Nemona implies they've been talking more when bringing up Arven's suggestion for the tournament's name. I could go on for a while longer about this, but all in all, they have better chemistry than a lot of people realize.

-- 🌲: Opinion on the Kitakami siblings?

Carmine - I think I said all that I needed to before.

Kieran - Honestly such a nicely written character. I love his character arc, and as a younger sibling who was also kinda kicked around a lot, I can relate to him in some ways myself. I do like how he's sort of this subtle antagonist though, because Kieran was more or less the catalyst for literally everything that went wrong in the DLC. He was the reason the Loyal Three got revived and antagonized Ogerpon, he created a toxic environment within the League Club, and he awoke and enraged Terapagos. Like, sure, he didn't have these evil schemes and shit like Giovanni and Ghetsis, but in terms of what he was willing to do or risk for his own fulfillment, was he any different from characters like Volo or Lusamine? It's just more understandable and forgiveable in his case because he's just a kid and wasn't nearly as far gone, since he came right back around towards the end.

-- 🫐: Opinion on the BB league members?

I can't say too much for each of them individually other than Drayton, because he's the only one they did all that much with. I do like him in particular most out of the rest for how much smarter he is than he lets on and the layers he has to his character. Crispin is my second favorite of the bunch because I like his passionate energy and love for cooking, plus his blatant crush on Lacey is adorable. Speaking of, Lacey is adorable, and I kinda wish she clicked with me the same way she seemed to with a lot of others. Amarys is... Amarys. I don't want to say I disliked her, but she just isn't interesting to me as a character in the slightest. I think her design is cool, though that's really about all I can say.

-- ⏱️: Favorite Paradox Pokemon?

Penis Dragon Miraidon. The design is so fucking cool, the type combo is one I like, and I admire how both it and Koraidon have more of an established character in the story than any other box legendaries do. The closest we had to anything like it before was Nebby.

-- 💛: Favorite Paldean Pokemon?

God, that's a tough one because there's a good few that I actually really like.

I think I'm gonna have to say the Pawmot line. I like that it actually has an evolutionary line like Pikachu does, unlike the other pikaclones, and all of the designs for it are fucking adorable. I also love how stupidly busted Pawmot is against any pokemon that isn't a ground type.

-- 📖: Favorite storyline? (Ex: Mochi mayhem, Starfall street)

The Way Home. I love how it brings all three of the game's stories into one, gives such a solid introduction to Area Zero, concludes Arven's story arc, and establishes a fellowship betwixt yourself and your three friends. It's fitting that Toby Fox had a hand in this storyline's soundtrack and motifs, because it reminds me a lot of how everything was sort of tied together towards the end of Undertale's pacifist route. (Doesn't help the final boss has glowing blue eyes)

-- 🗣️: Anything you want to say about SV?

As a game, it's certainly not perfect, but in terms of damn near everything else, this might just be one of the best things to come out of Pokemon as a whole. I wish the game had more time in the oven so its flaws could be ironed out and so some people wouldn't have as much reason to drag it through the mud.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is easily the biggest hyperfixation I've had in years, and I'm honest to god surprised it's stuck with me this long. Then again, this series has been a part of my life for literally as long as I can remember, so what can I say?

Pokemon Scarvio themed reblog/tag game!

-- ❤️: Favorite character?

-- ⭐️: Favorite Team Star member?

-- 0️⃣: Favorite DLC character?

-- 💥: Favorite Gym leader/Elite four?

-- 📝: Opinion on each of the Zero Crew? (Arven, Penny, Nemona)

-- 🌲: Opinion on the Kitakami siblings?

-- 🫐: Opinion on the BB league members?

-- ⏱️: Favorite Paradox Pokemon?

-- 💛: Favorite Paldean Pokemon?

-- 📖: Favorite storyline? (Ex: Mochi mayhem, Starfall street)

-- 🗣️: Anything you want to say about Scarvio? (Infodump, a rant, or just other thoughts)

Feel free to infodump alongside your answers! Anyone is allowed to reblog :3

[touristbree]

Penny Family Theory (Confirmed)

OKAY SO, I started playing Area Zero and then Penny says this:

[Image Text:

Penny - “It’s just my dad! He’s loud and clingy and makes up weird nicknames for me like “Pen-Pen”.]

And when read this, I thought: “Peony?”, and that was the start of my rabbit hole. I theorize that Penny is the younger daughter of Peony.

For a little reminder: Peony is the character who leads the player through Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra DLC. A steel type user, former champion, Chairman Rose’s brother, and embarrassing father to Peonia (and Penny).

Penny was introduced in the main story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, being the secret leader of Team Star.

Exhibit A: Dialogue

This is what she entirely says about her dad:

Penny - “It’s just my dad! He’s loud and clingy and makes up weird nicknames for me like “Pen-Pen”.

Penny - “He’s the most annoying guy in the world! Period! He’s the worst!”

Penny - “Unbelievably Annoying”

Penny describes her dad as “Unbelievably annoying”, “loud and clingy” and that he calls her weird nicknames like “Pen-Pen”. Peony is well known for being an enthusiastic and endlessly supportive father, and gives Peonia nicknames like “Darling Daughter”.

Penny already seems a bit pessimistic so maybe she’d read Peony’s energy wrong.

Exhibit B: Names

Penny’s Japanese name is “ボタン” or “Botan”, which comes from the Tree PEONY.

Also, their names all start with “Pe”, have an “N”, and have an “ē” sound in their name.

Peony

Peonia

Penny

Exhibit C: Home

Penny (being referred to as Cassiopeia) was sent to Galar after Operation Star, and Peony was introduced in Galar, former Galarian champion and gym leader, and so on and so forth.

[Image Description: Harrington with Ortega, the player, and Clive.

Harrington - “I wanted this student (referring to Penny/Cassiopeia) to take some time to rest, so I had them return home to the Galar region.”]

Exhibit D: Genetics

Now for the elephant in the room: they look nothing alike.

This would be a flaw, if we didn’t have his second league card:

[Image Description: Peony’s Second League Card, Peony is front and center with baby Peonia on his shoulder and a blonde woman behind them]

It is assumed that the woman in the back is Peony’s wife since she’s in the league card along side him and Nia (and because her and Nia have blonde hair). Penny is paler… but that may be from a lack of sunlight due to being a nerdy hacker who barely goes outside (Canon).

We don’t see the woman’s eye color… but we do see that she is a recolor of the beauty trainer model (notice the red clothes and hair styles) which has brown eyes, just like Penny.

[Image Description: Beauty Trainer from Sword and Shield, she has brown eyes and a red sweater]

UPDATE 12/16/2022

A friend of mine (YouTube: WagonWorks) mentioned a bit of evidence that I hadn’t noticed. We were discussing a video by HybridHero about my theory, except HH theorized that Penny was the daughter of Rose and Oleana LINK. He goes over some of the same evidence as me, but I’m not as certain about “Oleana being Penny’s mother” and Bede isn’t mentioned despite being Rose’s adoptive son. Now then…

Exhibit E: Eye Shape

Rose and Peony have eye shapes very similar to Penny, specifically eye lashes. Her eyes especially resemble Rose’s and eye lashes resemble Peony’s, Rose being her uncle would confirm that that eye shape would be somewhere in Peony’s genes to pass down to Penny.

[Image Description: Penny, Peony, and Chairman Rose’s faces. Peony’s eyes are more angular while his eye lashes are curved and have a bit pointing out. Chairman rose had more curved eyed but shorter eyelashes. Penny has the same eye shape as Rose and same lashes as Peony]

Update: 12/29/2022

Exhibit F: Hair

While Nia and Penny’s hair styles are very different, their front bangs are extremely similar (maybe even the exact same if the graphics weren't completely different from SwSh). They both also have dyed hair (presumably, at least the red part of Penny’s hair could be dyed).

In the real world, dyed hair and bangs would mean nothing, but this is a fictional world where small details like that can be important. We recently has Legends: Arceus where we had several ancestors of modern characters, many of which have the same (or similar) hairstyles to their modern counterparts such as The Miss Fortune Sisters and Bertha, Candice, and Saturn, Colza and Gardenia, Rye and Riley, Choy and Charon, Arezu and Mars, Calaba and Gordie, Volo and Cynthia Etc. (they also share name origins, with their counterparts and similar parts of their names).

Now, comparing ancestors to descendants is a leap, so a more modern example is in Sun and Moon with Hala and Hau. Both of them have that ponytail and start with a “Ha”.

[Image 1: Penny and Peonia, their front hair bangs are very similar.

Image 2: Hala and Hau, both have a ponytail with Four Points]

Update: 12/13/2023

Exhibit G: The Mini-Series

Penny, Peonia, and Peony all make short cameos in the final episode of their respective region’s mini-series, and both cameo in the same location!

At the end of Twilight Wings, Peony is shown chasing Peonia on a train to the Crown Tundra. They are not facing the audience.

At the recent end of Paldean Winds, during a montage of people watching the final video, Penny is shown in the background, on a train, not facing the audience.

Now this would be nothing big… IF THE TWO TRAINS WERENT EXACTLY THE SAME:

Notice:

The rectangular Windows with curved edges

Orange text above the door

The yellow railings and curved railings towards the back of the train

The blue chairs that are shown to face each other.

The pokeball symbol on the back door.

Another important detail is that in the Paldean Winds Train, no one is shown wearing a Naranja Uniform, including the children, meaning this isn’t Paldea since EVERY OTHER CHILD WEARS THE UNIFORM IN THIS TRAILER.

Caph Squad still standing in the previous episode and the player character seeming to cameo at the beginning means that this episode takes place before the events of the game, WHILE PENNY IS IN GALAR.

I’ve also made a separate Post for more “Out There” pieces of evidence.

The End

In the Mochi Mayhem event, before the Zero Crew leave for Kitakami, Penny had to call her dad for permission and this is what we get:

[Transcript:

Penny - “Oh my GOSH, Dad, would you just drop it?! I told you—friends! I’m going with friends! No, you DON’T need to be worried about it! We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves! Ughhh, no, it’s not gonna be an “Adven-tour”—no one says that! Honestly. I’m hanging up now!”

Second Clip:

Penny - “Haaah. Suddenly I’m too tired for any of this…”

Arven - “Did you get your old man’s OK to go?”

Penny - “Yeah…in the end. But I had to put up with his ultra-mega-annoying dad talk to do it.”

Arven - “He just ultra-mega-cares, little bud!”

Penny - “Oh! Oh…yeah, maybe you’re right…”]

THERE IT IS “ADVEN-TOUR” THAT IS PEONY’S WORD, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS CONFIRMS:

Penny Is Peony’s Youngest Daughter

Almost 2 years of theorizing has finally led to confirmation, my life is complete.

[pokenimagines]

SFW | Marnie | Headcanons

So this stems from my hatred of Marnie's tournament outfit and just the Team Yell outfit in general. I hate the Team Yell outfit. They should have let her keep the jacket. Piers has a jacket. Give her her jacket back, Game Freak. And also a lack of platonic Marnie & older-sibling-like Reader.

So, how would Marnie react to older-sibling-like!Reader giving her a snazzy new jacket to wear with her new gym leader outfit as a congratulatory gift?

Marnie deserved the world. I've adopted her, Hop, and Bede; so I will gladly write sibling content for them. They deserve it. Also Marnie, you need a coat on bby, it's cold out there.

Rules | Discord Server (16+)

SFW Marnie: Respect the Drip

Marnie deserved better, in your opinion, when it came to the gym uniform. Leaders were allowed to customize their gym uniforms if they wished, but Marnie had literally just taken over the gym, and didn't have anything fun for it.

You, being her dear friend, and basically like another sibling to her, wanted to rectify the situation.

This led to you and Piers actually going shopping, searching for something for her. When you found it, you just knew it was perfect.

It was a leather jacket that closely resembled the one that Piers always wore, except the sleeves were now longer and the white parts were now an inky black.

So you waited until right before Marnie's next gym appearance to surprise her with it. You had it wrapped in a cute little gift bag and waited patiently by the door leading to the changing room.

When Marnie came out, she wasn't surprised to see you there at all. You often wished her good luck before battles. However, she did notice the item in your arms.

You smiled and handed it to her, and when Marnie opened it, you could see her eyes lighting up. She threw the jacket on immediately, loving the warmth it provided. While Spikemouth wasn't in the coldest areas in Galar, it still got chilly inside the dimly lit town.

"This is perfect...thank you."

She looked rockin in her new jacket and she even struck a small pose, though there was a faint blush on her cheeks at the embarrassing display.

At least now her outfit was a bit better than what she had before.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅• Thank you for reading! Did you know we have a discord? It has everything from RPs, General Discussions, and even an 18+ area to go hog wild in! We even do announcements early for when the inbox is opening for requests, as well as other events! Come in and join us!

[cherry-bomb-ships]

A Happy Ending

Word Count: 2,266

Content Warnings: None

Summary: Ruby tells her daughter, Olivia, a bedtime story that's not entirely a fairy tale.

Author's Note: I just wanted to write something quick and fluffy for the anniversary, so I threw this together in the span of like 5 hours. Also, this is the first time my fankid with Junkrat has been in a fic! Please enjoy! :3

Tag list below the cut. Click here or DM me to be added or removed. Reblogs are all seen and appreciated!

@ava-ships @bee-ships @beetleboyfriend @bonbonships @canongf @cloudyvoid @canonjunto @discountwife @dissonantyote @edencantstopfallininlove @final-catboy @gible-love-nibles @gothamcore @halsdaisy @hoppinkiss @hop-n-bedes-malewife @hyperionshipping @iyamifucker @lex-n-weegie @little-miss-selfships @little-shiny-sharpies @loogi-selfships @lovebugexe @mikaelrealman @mintpecks @mrs-kelly @nameless-self-inserts @nerdstreak @paper-carnation @patches-and-her-selfships @poghorn @radioromantic @red-velvet-ships @rexscanonwife @ship-trek @squips-ship @sunnysideships @toogayforthistoday @void-kissed @winterworlds

There was a full moon that night. It shone brightly over the countryside, piercing the mist among the stems of tall grass and the petals of wildflowers that blanketed the rolling hills, transforming the expanse of nature into a glittering oasis. Nestled deep within the prairie was a humble home, built from the ground up to have and hold an unorthodox but deeply-bonded family of four.

And it was within this sleepy home, hidden away from the world, where young Olivia Fawkes-Ramirez was being tucked into bed for the night.

"There we go," her parent Ruby cooed gently as she tucked the pastel yellow blanket under the mattress, knowing that her daughter slept best feeling a bit compressed under her covers. "You ready for lights out, jellybean?"

Olivia paused for a moment and looked up at Ruby with her wide hazel eyes; Ruby could already tell that that meant no, but she also knew that Olivia had a tendency to be too shy to ask directly for what she wanted.

"You know you have to give me the okay, Livvie," Ruby said. "If you don't say anything, then I can't go, and I'll just be here staring at you all night."

Olivia let out a weak giggle, but still didn't speak up.

Ruby continued, "That's gonna be very awkward for both of us, babygirl. And I don't think you're gonna get a lot of sleep like that."

Clutching her favorite stuffed animal- a piglet covered in polka dots- in her arms, Olivia looked to the side as she mumbled, "I miss Daddy and Uncle Mako."

Ruby's heart nearly cracked in two when she heard those quiet words, but she kept a brave face as she reached out to stroke her soft blonde hair. "Oh, I know, chickadee. I miss them too. But hey," she gently placed a finger under her chin to angle her daughter's face towards her, "when you wake up tomorrow, both Daddy and Uncle Mako will be back home, and I'm sure they'll have a present for you like they always do. So if you fall asleep quick, they’ll be here before you know it."

Olivia smiled a bit, but it was clear to see on her face that she was still a bit upset. Ruby thought for a second, brainstorming how to send her child off to sleep with happier thoughts in her young mind.

“How about this, Livvie,” Ruby proposed. “I can read you another story, but then you have to go right to bed. Does that sound like a deal?”

Olivia looked to the side again, pondering the proposal carefully, before looking back to her parent and nodding her head. At that approving nod, Ruby moved toward the bookshelf, when she heard another small noise of protest and looked back to Olivia.

“Umm, mumma… do you think you could tell me a brand new story? I heard all of those ones on my shelf before,” Olivia asked.

A soft smile spread across Ruby’s lips as she immediately took the request in stride. “A brand new story, huh?” she said as she sat back down on the edge of the bed, already thinking of a concept.

Olivia nodded happily, a smile finally returning to her face. “Yeah, and then I’ll go right to bed, I promise!”

Ruby smiled back endearingly. “Now that sounds like a good deal,” she joked, before looking down thoughtfully. “Okay, a new story… Alright, I think I’ve got something. You ready, jellybean?”

Once more, Olivia shook her head in approval and let out a soft “yep” as she sat up, eagerly awaiting her story.

“Alright, here goes,” Ruby began. “Once upon a time… there was a knight. This knight was sent far away from the kingdom that they called home, to protect a small island out in the middle of the ocean. Now, this island didn’t have any treasure or anything on it that made it special. It was just a simple little island, with palm trees and white sandy beaches. There were times when the knight even questioned why they needed to protect it in the first place. But they were a good knight, who wanted to make their king happy, so they devoted themself to protecting the island with their life.

“Many days and nights passed by, and no one, good or bad, came to the tiny island. The knight was starting to get bored, wondering why they were sent there when it seemed like no one would ever show up. But then, one day, someone finally came to the island.”

Olivia was listening to the story unfold with wide eyes, already captivated. “Who was it, mumma?”

Ruby’s smile grew wider, relieved that her improvised story wasn’t a bore. “It was… a pirate! And this pirate was known around the world for being ruthless, dangerous, and altogether just plain mean. When the knight saw the pirate, they got very excited, because they thought that they could bring the pirate back to their king and be called a hero! So, right as the pirate was getting off their little boat they brought to the island, the knight stepped forward.

Ruby put on a theatrical voice, imitating an old-timey English accent. “‘Stop right there!’ the knight said. ‘You’re under arrest, pirate, for stealing treasure from across the seven seas!’

“The pirate was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be on that tiny island. But even more than that, he thought that the knight in front of him was more beautiful than any of the glittering gems he’d ever stolen. ‘Pardon me, good knight,’ the pirate said back politely. ‘I’m just tired from traveling, and would like to rest here on your island. In the morning, I’ll be gone again.’

“Now the knight was shocked too. After all of the stories they had heard about this pirate being so awful, they couldn’t believe how friendly he was acting to them. Still, they didn’t let that distract them. The knight told the pirate, ‘you may rest here for the night. But in the morning, you must come with me back to my kingdom.’ And to the knight’s surprise, the pirate agreed. The two of them would set off across the ocean when the sun rose over the horizon.

“That night, the knight and the pirate laid on the beach together. The knight didn’t want the pirate to leave their sight, just in case he tried to escape. But for the entire night, the two of them just talked. The knight got to hear about all of the pirate’s exciting adventures all around the world, and the pirate heard about the knight’s life alone on the island, and for the first time in a long time, the knight was talking, and laughing, and smiling. They felt like they finally had a friend. But that was silly, because pirates are bad guys. And knights are good guys. They couldn’t be friends… could they?”

Ruby paused for a moment, seeing if Olivia would answer. To her delight, the young girl did speak up. “I think that, they should still be friends if they want to. Because the knight’s happy now.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait to hear how it ends,” Ruby chuckled, glad that Olivia was still on board with the story. “Now where was I… Oh, yes. So, the next morning, the two left the tiny island and sailed off for the kingdom far away. It was a long journey, and there were times when the seas would get rough. But no matter what happened, the two would look out for each other. During the mornings, the pirate would teach the knight about sailing his ship, and during the evenings, the knight would make the pirate a delicious meal. And every night, the two would sit under the stars and talk for hours. They would talk and talk and talk, and some nights they talked for so long that they would be too tired to go to their beds! So they would just fall asleep right there on the deck of the ship, lying next to each other.

“The two got to know each other very well during their long voyage, and once again the knight began to wonder why they had heard that the pirate was so mean and vicious. Sure, the pirate didn’t have the best manners, and he refused to bathe unless the knight begged him to, but he was always so kind and so cheerful, that he made the knight very happy when they were together. The knight wondered if anyone else had ever actually stopped to talk to the pirate, to hear his stories of adventure, to get to know him as a person like they had come to know him.

“But at last, after many days and nights of their long, long voyage together had passed, the two had reached the knight’s kingdom. But now, there was a problem. The knight knew that if they arrested the pirate and brought him to the king, they would never see the pirate again. This pirate, who was now their closest friend, would be lost to them forever. As the two pulled the ship into the dock on the shores of the kingdom, the knight came to the pirate, and they asked him a question.

“They said, ‘Pirate. We have been journeying for a long time now. We have braved the seas together during the days, and talked for long hours during the nights. Over this time, I have come to know you as a friend, a friend that I would be very sad to lose. I need to know, pirate. Do you feel the same way?’”

There was a brief moment of silence, leaving young Olivia in suspense. “What did the pirate say, mumma?”

Ruby smiled, “The pirate said, ‘Yes. I felt the same about you since the moment I saw you, dear knight. I sailed across the ocean to this kingdom with you, knowing what would happen when we made it here, because all of those days and nights spent together were all worth giving up my life of stealing. I want to stay with you no matter what, because I love you.’

“The knight was stunned. They had never heard anyone say that they loved them before, but here was this pirate, confessing his love for them just as they were about to hand him over to the king! The knight was nearly moved to tears as they replied, ‘Pirate, I want you to know that it means everything to me to hear you say those words. And over the days we’ve spent together, I have come to realize something of my own. I love you, too. And I don’t want this to be goodbye, but I don’t know what other choice I have.’

“There was a moment of silence between the two, before the pirate came up with an idea. He said to the knight, ‘Come with me, knight. Leave your kingdom behind, leave the island you were trapped on behind. Stay with me, on my ship, and we will sail the world together. Every day will be a new adventure, and every night, we can lie together under the stars. We can stay together, and most of all, you’ll be free.’ The pirate grabbed the knight’s hand tightly as he finished his proposal. ‘Please, dearest knight. Stay with me.’

“Well, the pirate didn’t need to wait long for an answer. The knight wrapped his arms around the pirate, and they said, ‘yes. Yes, of course I’ll stay with you! I’ll sail away with you no matter where you go. I’ll stay by your side, pirate.’ So, the two of them pushed the boat out from the dock, before anyone else knew who they were or why they were there.

“The knight knew that staying with the pirate would make them an outlaw too. It meant that they probably wouldn’t see anyone from their old kingdom ever again. But they didn’t care. It was worth giving up everything they had known to stay with the man they loved. So, the knight and the pirate sailed away, far away from the kingdom, far away from the island, to have countless adventures, and spend every night under the stars, together.”

Olivia rubbed her eyes, hardly able to keep them open, as she sleepily asked, “And did they live happily ever after?”

As Ruby reached forward to pull the covers back over Olivia, she caught sight of the golden band wrapped around her left hand’s ring finger, and for a moment she fought back the water welling in her eyes as she smiled and answered, “You know what, Livvie? I think that they did.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead gently. “I love you, chickadee. Sweet dreams.”

The young girl’s eyes were already closed, all of her worries now long forgotten as she contently mumbled, “I love you too, mumma.”

Ruby stepped away from the bed on her tiptoes, dimming the lights in the room before pulling the door shut, leaving it cracked just enough for a sliver of light to trickle in. She turned from the door and walked quietly into the living room, picking up a book from the coffee table before resting on the couch. She gave a glance to the clock; it was still early in the evening, and she had a long night ahead of her. After all, her pirate was sailing home to her that night. She wanted to be awake to welcome him back into her arms when he finally arrived.

[epicspheal]

This was a superb story! Pokemon Masters has been rather good about making interactions between characters who normally wouldn't have the chance to do so in the main series canon, and The Revel In Rivalry Event was no Exception" I really enjoyed how it started off with the (eventually former) mean rivals all together to battle. Props to Bede for having the balls to challenge both Silver and Blue at the same time with his Hatterene. Of course, he lost, but Silver and Blue both saw his potential and commended him for it And of course, this goes straight to Bede's head. I really love how Blue immediately tries to put those arrogant flames out which is no doubt him seeing his younger self in Bede at the very moment. Bede doesn't take this too well, but it leads to probably one of my favorite exchanges in the history of Pokemon. Even though Blue's matured, he can still be rather blunt. But being blunt isn't (always) a bad thing as sometimes dealing with someone like Bede needs more of a blunt approach. While Bede is rather stubborn about toning down his overconfidence he does at least take Blue's offer to join the tournament. It made me really happy to see him on a team with two of my favorite rivals Wally and Hugh. While Hugh is definitely not a mean rival he is rather no non-sense and I loved how he and Bede clashed with Poor Wally on the side trying to be the peacekeeper. Then came another highlight of the story. Hop's team is Bede's team's first opponent and HOP BEATING BEDE!!! Everyone who wanted Hop to get some sort of revenge for that sweep and crushing speech in the wild area can now rest easy. Even if it was a team battle, Bede still lost to Hop so it counts. It was really nice to see how after the loss, both Bede and Hugh got a bit of mentorship and advice from other trainers on Pasio which led to them coming to a temporary truce the day of the tournament. Seeing Bede and Marnie interact with Marnie imparting some useful wisdom on to Bede about fighting for something greater than himself was heartwarming. And of course Gladion, much like Blue cut straight to the chase and accurately reading the situation. Meanwhile we have Hugh getting mentored a bit by Cheren and Bianca. It was nice to see Hugh be reminded that he has to work on compromise. I can totally relate to Hugh in not wanting to work with or compromise with someone I don't mesh with and having to be reminded of teamwork. I love it when we get scenarios like this were both sides have to work on their own flaws. The Team Break part of the story I thought was a really nice way to tie loose ends. Seeing Gladion on Team Break's tail and making sure Wally, Bede and Hugh were caught up to speed. It was also hilarious to see Blue with the three Team Break grunts trying to attack him but he just manages to irritate the crap out of them with just a single sentence. But the really heartwarming part of this was seeing Bede and his team coming to check on Blue. It shows that despite Blue's blunt words at the beginning Bede still respected him and cared enough about his well-being. Hugh even gets to use his iconic "You're about to feel my rage!" line on the grunts. And it gets even better with Hop, Hau, Calem, Marnie, Gladion, Silver and Barry all coming together to take team break down. We even get to see it all end off with Bede's signature snap! I just really enjoyed this little story arc and I hope we get to see the rivals interact more like this in game!

[pokemonswshfics]

hello friend! :D i had accidentally posted this draft of it before i was finished, that's why the message of the request is a screenshot, so sorry for the slight wait :"D have a good read! + (i didn't really know what speaking up meant , so it's slightly different for each in terms of "speaking up" hehe i hope you all enjoy 💛)

// because of how long this post might be, I'm gonna leave the read more button right here before all of them. they're sfw but I wouldn't wanna clog up anyone's tl :'D k byee ^-^

Raihan/Kabu/Piers × Shy Male! Reader (Sfw)

Raihan × Shy Male!Reader // S/O (Sfw { mild cursing })

You stood outside Hammerlocke stadium waiting for your boyfriend as he said to meet you there. You had on his jacket, with the hood up because of how many people were around. This didn't stop reporters and fangirls from coming up to you, all bombarding you with questions.

You simply pulled the hood down and shoved your hands into the pocket. It wasn't that you were trying to be rude, you just preferred the attention be on someone else. Literally anyone else.

"How does it feel to be Raihan's first public boyfriend?"

"Hey! Look up here for a quick photo, it wont hurtcha. You're already so cute from what we've seen!"

"Do you love him?"

"Are you gonna stay under there?"

If it was up to you, you would stay in your boyfriend's clothes forever. It was a perfect hiding spot.

"I-I would prefer..not to answer." You stuttered out quietly and stepped closer to the gym doors. The attention got overwhelming at times but you would do this forever if it meant being with Raihan. He was worth it.

"What's annoying about Raihan? Isn't it tiring, that he puts his whole life on the internet?"

You scowled a little and pulled your hood down farther. "I think it's cute." You said under your breath.

"Don't you wish he was champion instead? He always fails at beating Leon!"

"What?" You said softly and lifted your head up a little, but not enough to be seen. The people surrounding you only saw this as invitation to ask more.

"Isn't he a little full of himself when it comes to battles? You can answer us!" Someone said excitedly and shoved a microphone towards you.

"Fine, take this for an answer." You almost snatched the microphone from their hand and frowned at them. "No, I do not find Raihan annoying. I'm very proud of him for even having a gym in the first place. He doesn't need to be Champion to be accomplished! Who the hell are you guys to even be asking stuff so rude? Are YOU Champion?"

Your hood fell back to your shoulders by the time you were done talking. Instantly, camera flashes hit your eyes and you tried to cover your face with your sleeves. You were still beyond angry, and it only increased as you heard the people begin talking again.

"Aw, so cute!"

"Are you really dating Raihan?"

"Raihan got lucky!"

You clenched your fists and dropped the mic you had snatched to your feet.

Then you lunged at a reporter.

Two women screamed, one yelped because of the sudden action and right before you actually touched the man you were going to attack..

"Hey." You felt a pair of strong arms pick you up and throw you over their shoulder. You were met with a back side that had a dark navy shirt on, and navy gym shorts. The Dragon Type uniform.

"Calm down, Tyrogue headass.." Raihan chuckled and you blushed at the familiar teasing. You could hear squeals from the crowd, the same one you would have attacked with your bare hands had it not been for Raihan coming at the last second.

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!" You said quickly and began waving your fists in protest. "They weren't being nice about you!"

"Not worth your time, babe. Thanks for keeping him occupied." You could practically hear the grin in Raihan's voice as he began to turn back to the doors of his gym to carry you in. You faced the reporters again and now looked up at them with a scowl. Their faces were all in awe at Raihan carrying you. Some continued taking pictures.

"Oouu let him put me down and I'll- do not very nice things!" You growled quietly and shook one of your fists at them.

"Baby, calm down." Raihan giggled from above you as he even paused for photos a few times just to frustrate you playfully. You pulled the hood further down your head, still cursing reporters as your boyfriend carried you past them.

***

Kabu × Shy Male! Reader (Sfw)

At almost all times you were sitting or standing next to Kabu. It wasn't that you didn't like the rest of the gym leaders, it was just something you did for comfort.

You were in a meeting with the rest of the Gym leaders, sometimes you tagged along with Kabu when invited. The other gym leaders didn't mind, they were the ones inviting you sometimes.

Right now they were discussing new ways to (as Raihan said it) "spice up" their gym missions. Kabu wasn't on board and it showed.

"Come on, you guys think challengers might not get bored of the same thing every year?" Raihan sighed and sat back in his chair. "Same old thing, I'd be bored out of my mind."

"Good thing you aren't a challenger then." Kabu replied, crossing his arms. His irritation showed to you and you nudged his knee with your own under the table lightly. "Our gyms will be led how we would like, and I like mine. I'm keeping it the way it is."

"Come on, no need to get mad." Raihan chimed back and half smiled. "Either all of us or none."

"I'm keeping mine how it is, I've done too much for it since Opal gave me the gym." Bede remarked.

"Come on, Bede..you're the newest of us, take some advice! Change it up a little." Nessa said and sat up.

"I'll k-keep..mine." Allister stammered out and looked down to the table.

"I'd like to change mine." His older sister, Bea smiled widely and pumped one of her fists up. Raihan high fived her, attempting to now convince Milo and Melony to change theirs.

Kabu's eyes furrowed then he looked towards you, smiling with tired eyes. He playfully rolled his eyes while nodding to the other gym leaders. You giggled quietly in answer.

"Come on Kabu, lighten up. Keep up with the times!" Gordie practically whined out. Kabu tensed up once again, and you could feel his anger rising once more.

"Don't tell me what to do. My gym, my rules." Kabu stood and looked around now with a frown. If provoked, his temper could easily appear. You looked to the other gym leaders, Allister (even with a mask, you could tell) was nervous because of how Kabu could get.

"Ugh. They're just ideas-" Bede groaned sassily.

"They're stupid ones!" Kabu slammed one of his now balled up fists onto the table you all sat at. The gym leaders were used to his hot headed self, so it didn't bother them and they never planned on telling him anything like "calm down", or "be nice."

"Kabs." You stood up, still slightly avoiding eye contact with the rest of them and grabbed his elbow softly. "Calm down, they were just trying to give some advice." The other gym leaders now all looked at you, some with slightly widened eyes. 

Kabu’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, you could feel the tension in his body go away as you began to rub his arm. He turned toward you and the anger in his eyes was gone, now replaced by warmth when you looked into them. Raihan smirked from the other side of the table.

Kabu grumbled something then sat down, his face burning up. “I-Yeah. He’s right. I suppose I should calm down, you all are just trying to help me. I apologize for calling your ideas stupid.” He crossed his arms and avoided eye contact. You followed and sat back down with him, then looked up and realized all the gym leaders were now staring at you, either with shocked faces or grins.

“I’m so sorry if I interrupted your meeting- I just wanted Kabs to calm down and-” You could now feel your cheeks begin to darken with embarrassment and you hid your face in your hands, not even wanting to finish your own sentence.

“Why are you apologizing? You got Kabsy here to calm down, something none of us could do. And you did it without thinking he might take out a Pokemon and burn you alive or something.” Raihan chuckled and turned to Kabu, with his chin being held up by his palms. “You got a soft spot?”

Your boyfriend scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get on with the meeting, I don’t have time to-”

“For me he does.” You teased softly and took one of Kabu’s hands in your own. This only caused the red in his cheeks to return and for him to hide his face in one hand, groaning. 

“You should come to meetings more often, dear!” Melony practically squealed out, Nessa nodding in agreement. 

Raihan laughed loudly then looked towards you. “No, seriously. Calm your man down sometimes.” He grinned.

“Let’s get on with it!” Kabu said loudly and waved his free hand in the air but was still looking away from everyone to avoid his blush being visible. He didn’t take his hand from you though, now he intertwined your fingers. You smiled a little more at the action and squeezed his hand in return. 

“Alright, Alright...” Raihan bit his lip and reached down under the table only to pull out a folder with a playful squeal.

“Let’s change our uniforms!!” There were chuckles throughout the table of people, and you began to feel more comfortable with all of them, simply by holding Kabu’s hand. He turned his head toward you and smiled a little, as to not make it obvious to the rest of them. 

You giggled again and prepared to listen to Raihan’s bright idea of changing the uniforms with Kabu already groaning when he realized what the younger gym leader had said.

***

Piers × Shy Male! Reader (Sfw {mild cursing})

You sat on a wooden crate besides Marnie, your boyfriend's little sister. You two were listening to him sing to a crowd of Team Yell members and other people from different towns.

The silence with Marnie was usual and comfortable.

"Look at my bro go. Always had it in him, singing." She said quietly and leaned slightly towards you so you would hear over the music.

You nodded and smiled a little. Your eyes couldn't come off Piers, you loved watching him sing. You put your knees up to your chin, and rested your arms crossed on them so they would hide your grin and pink cheeks.

"Still not much of a talker?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah- I like talking." You practically whispered. "Sorry, not really-"

"Hey. It's fine. Piers already told me you aren't that out there. I don't mind some silence." Marnie replied with a nicer tone now, since she meant it.

"Thanks." You quietly replied and looked back to the stage before you heard her speak again.

"What do you see in Piers? You can tell me, I'm not the judging type."

"What do I..see in him?"

"Mhm."

You looked to the stage again and watched Piers interact with the crowd. Your grin widened, you almost never see him smile as much as he did on stage unless he was alone with you.

"I see..a sweet guy. He looks all mean and hard but he's really the most gentle guy I know. He has this smile that drives me wild and.." You took your arms away from your face to talk more clear.

"And? Come on, don't be shy." Marnie encouraged and nudged you with her elbow.

"He's real funny. Piers makes me happy when I'm having a really bad day, he's got this thing to him that I can't stop wanting." You could feel your cheeks turning a light shade of red, and you cursed how easy it was for you to blush.

Piers looked towards you and Marnie and winked at you. Some people in the crowd cheered at the action, a few swooned excitedly. You buried your face in your hands and could hear Marnie laugh a little.

"A-Anyways..he doesn't let anything in his past or present get to him. His music..his music! It's so impressive. He's a singing gym leader. The way he manages both..I just-!" You dropped your knees from your face and squealed. "It's Piers!"

Marnie laughed a little at your excitement. "Anything else?"

"He's..SO cute. Gosh, I can't get over it. We've been together for a while and he still makes me all giddy and warm inside when he smiles or- does shit like that!" You spoke about his playful wink, and you stood up on the crate, not even caring about your fear of crowds anymore. "And I love it!"

The crowd was still practically screaming as the song ended. You cupped one of your hands around your mouth, waving the other at Piers frantically.

"Come on Piers! Give us MORE!!" You shouted out while grinning and quickly caught his and some fans' attention. You locked eyes with him, and made a motion to usher him for another song.

He raised his hand to the crowd to quiet them down then spoke. "Alright, hey. Glad you guys are enjoying the show. It was supposed to stop now but, how am I gonna end this when I got my sweetheart over there asking for more?" Piers nodded to you, causing multiple Team Yell members to turn your way, smiling.

You immediately sat back down on the crate next to Marnie and hid your face. "No.." You protested quietly against his teasing. He knew you never liked the acknowledgement, he just liked making you blush.

"So, Team Yell. I want you to be as loud as you can, this next one is for my cutie. Love ya." Piers adjusted the mic as Team Yell began what they did best again: cheering. They turned quickly back to the stage and you peeked up at Piers.

Your eyes' focus never left him, and you listened intently to his voice. A relaxed sigh left you as you felt yourself being caught up in the music. You and Piers continued to make eye contact throughout the rest of the show, as if no one else was there. The moment was like a trance and neither of you were really looking to get out of it.

***

thank you for reading ! requests always open! just might be a slight wait 💕 - 🥝

[uas-fics]

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Read on AO3

Title: How to Train A Champion and Keep Your Reputation Intact

Summary: Piers doesn’t want to coach Leon, but the last thing Piers needs is for everyone to know a cool punk like him used to perform in Pokemon Contests! If it means keeping his reputation intact, he’ll begrudgingly teach this ray of sunlight what he knows.

Fandom: Pokemon Sword and Shield

Ships: LeonxPiers | dnnz

Rating: T

Contest Warnings: N/A

Chapter 1: The Early Morning Visitor

----

Of the people Piers expected to be sitting across his kitchen table at eight in the morning, the former champion was not one of them. Leon wasn't even in the top ten, yet here he was, twiddling his thumbs behind a cup of tea with a peppy expression on his face.

Piers was barely a human being this early, yet Leon seemed to have the same energy as a particularly bushy-tailed skwovet.

"You have a nice kitchen," Leon commented, more to fill the silence than an actual compliment.

Piers glanced at the pile of take-out containers on the counter then the singular shoe that hadn't made it to his room with its partner the night before. His kitchen was nothing spectacular, and it didn't need to be. His home was a place to crash or bring a date, not some fancy townhouse. With only he and Marnie there, why should he bother fancying the place up?

"What do you want, Leon?" Piers took a sip of his tea.

Leon wrapped his fingers around his cup but didn't move to drink. If Leon would have preferred coffee, he could have said something before Piers poured him a cup. It'd be a waste to pour it down the drain.

"Well, it's a little silly, but I could use your help with something," Leon explained.

Piers narrowed his eyes.

Leon was the chairman of the Pokemon League. Piers gave his gym over to Marnie after the last Champion tournament. What could he want Piers to help with at this point? The only connection he had with the League was Marnie.

Unless...

"I swear if you're goin' to pull the same shit as Rose did and try to get me to make Marnie move the gym—"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Leon raised his hands, palms facing out. "It has nothing at all to do with Spikemuth or the gym."

"Then what does it have to do with?" Piers leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Uh, well, alright," Leon didn't meet his eyes, "it's about a rumor."

Piers' frown deepened. He always had rumors about him floating about. It came with his persona.

"I heard Piers beat a man to a pulp because he spilled his drink on him." or "I heard Piers took three girls back to his home and made them leave before the sun was even up." or he was a dealer of rare hallucinogenic flowers or that he used his pokemon to break into Rose's office and peed in a potted plant behind his desk.

There was rarely any truth to the rumors. He didn't care to squash them. He was a dark-type trainer, having everyone thinking he was a bigger badass than he already was could not hurt his reputation.

"C'mon, mate, aren't you a little old to be listenin' to rumors?" Piers cocked an eyebrow.

"It's not a bad rumor.”

"What's the rumor then?"

"Ah, well, I heard," He paused to clear his throat, "that you, ah, that you competed in pokemon contests when you were younger—and that you won."

Piers barely kept his face deadpan.

Where had Leon heard that? Those contests happened just before posting on the internet boomed, so it wasn't like the contests were live-streamed and archived. The only video that he knew existed of his contest days hid in a box in the back of a closet. Marnie captured it when she could barely see over the railings at the stadiums. Even then, the video quality was terrible and Marnie kept moving the camera around. He looked like a black and white blob in them.

He forced himself to calm down. He could easily deny this rumor. No one would believe he, Piers, former Spikemuth gym leader, head of Team Yell, the fierce trainer of powerful dark-types, would ever compete in a pokemon contest.

"Where did you hear that?" Piers reached for his tea just to have something in his hands.

What credibility did this rumor spreader have? Probably none. Denying this would be easy.

"Oh, I heard your sister mention it."

Piers nearly dropped his cup.

Shit.

He could not deny this, not without putting Marnie's credibility on the line. She was still a new gym leader. The last thing she needed was the chairman thinking she was a gossip.

He hissed out a breath. "Oh, did she?"

"Yeah, she was talking to Opal while Bede filled out some papers," Leon told him. "She said she remembered you used to be good at pokemon contests. That's why I'm here."

"So what?" Piers spat. "It isn't illegal, now is it?"

Why couldn't this have been about Malamar scaring passers-by on Route 7 when he was bored? Why could this have been about the rave Piers helped throw in an abandoned mine last month? Why could it have been about pissing in the potted plant? Why couldn't this have been about anything else?!

Leon frowned. "Of course not—"

"Then why are you askin' me about it?"

"Because I wanted your help to win one."

Piers' mouth gaped. Did he hear that right? Leon, the former champion, one of the strongest pokemon trainers in all of Galar, wanted to enter a pokemon contest.

He stuck a finger in his ear and twisted it.

"Sorry, say that again. I must have somethin' in my ear. I didn't just hear you ask for help in a pokemon contest."

"That is what I asked." Leon beamed. "There is one in Ballonlea in two weeks and I want to enter, but I don't know the first thing about them. If you know, you could help me—if you want to, that is."

"Why?" Piers held back from pinching himself. How was this not a dream? Maybe he was messing with hallucinogenic flowers after all.

Reaching into his pocket, Leon took out a folded piece of lavender paper. He laid it flat on the table, smoothing it with the side of his hand, before pushing it over. The faint scent of roses wafted from it.

"All are invited to the first Bellonlea Pokemon Contest!" It read in a flowing, elegant font. "Coordinators of all ages and skill levels are invited to the Bellonlea Stadium to participate in a Pokemon Contest. Please contact the Bellonlean Ladies' Society for more details and how to enter."

"Was this ‘ppose to explain somethin'?" Piers pushed the flyer back. "Why do you want to win a contest?"

"That prize, of course!" Leon took his phone from his pocket. He scrolled a moment then turned the screen to Piers.

A picture of a red and white hat with a black logo stared back. It honestly looked like something an overly-excited ten-year-old would win from a cereal box drawing.

"It's a hat." Piers peered over the top of the phone to look at the hat Leon already had on.

"It's not just a hat. It's a limited edition!" Leon pulled his phone back. "I had one when I was a little kid, but I lost it to an angry corvisquire. The first place in the beginner contest wins it."

"And you can't just, you know, buy one for yourself?" He rolled his hand. "I know you have sponsorships out your ass." Piers looked down pointedly at his Spikemuth Chamber of Commerce shirt for emphasis.

Leon shrugged. "What fun is that?"

Piers downed half his drink in one go. The burn on his throat reassured him he wasn't dreaming.

"Piers?" Leon leaned over the table, his face alight with a smile. "Can't I talk you into helping me out? Please? I promise to owe you one after this."

Piers groaned. What choice did he have? He couldn't deny it without hurting Marnie's reputation. Their reputation used to be the only valuable he and Marnie had to their names, besides each other. Lying to Leon to save his own skin was not an option.

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Piers raised his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll do it, but," he held a finger up in Leon's face, "you have to swear on your life that you won't tell a soul about it. I don't need anyone thinkin’ I ever put any of my pokemon in a frilly suit or made them dance around like pretty ballerinas or some shit."

Leon nearly jumped across the table. He put his hands on Piers' shoulders and squeezed a little too hard.

"Thanks a million for this!" He hopped up. "Where should we train? I think I understand the rules, but maybe we should go over the rules first? Or outfit—"

"Tomorrow." Piers cut him off. "We'll start tomorrow."

Leon's face fell like a growlithe that just had his bone taken from him. Piers held his sad gaze. Marnie's morpoko did the same pout when she wanted something, and Piers knew better than to give in.

If Leon still wanted to learn how to be a coordinator, he had to prove himself first. A day would be enough time for Piers to think up obstacles to make Leon forget about the silly notion. Contests, despite the stereotype, were hard work. While beginner contests weren't all that complicated, Piers didn't mind sprinkling in some of the more difficult to grasp bits from the higher tiers. With any luck that would confuse Leon right out of the idea and out of Piers' life.

Leon took a breath. He pulled his hands from Piers and squared his shoulders.

"I'll meet you back here at eight sharp tomorrow and then we can get started."

"No. You'll meet me outside Spikemuth at noon."

"Oh, well, alright. It'll be a champ—" Leon caught himself from using his old catchphrase. "It'll be a fun time."

"That's one way to think of it," Piers muttered, feeling less and less enthused at the arrangement by the second.

----

True to his word, Leon stood outside the front gate of Spikemuth at noon on the dot. He perked up when he saw Piers and jumped in front of him.

"Good afternoon, Teacher Piers."

He winked.

Piers wrinkled his nose.

"Call me that again, and I'm callin' this off."

Leon laughed nervously. "Sorry." He whistled. "Sooooo, what should I learn first? How to use music? Or pose? I'm already pretty good at that."

"How about the rules?"

Piers waved him to follow down the road towards the Spikemuth Tunnel. People were less likely to eavesdrop on them if they walked.

"Alright, rules. I know there are two rounds, and each trainer uses only one pokemon."

"Coordinator," Piers corrected sharply.

He promised to teach, but he didn't promise to be entirely pleasant while doing it.

"Yeah. There are two rounds. The first round is the Performance Stage. You show off your pokemon's appeal with a choreographed set of moves. The judges will assign points based on how well the performance fits into particular categories."

Piers began to ramble on about the different move categories as if the contest in Bellonlea would be so complicated. Beginner contests weren't judged by the five categories individually like higher-ranked contests.

Back when Galar still had a contest circuit, the people in beginner contests were kids with weak pokemon that might only know two or three moves. A performance with a cool move first and a cute move next wouldn't be judged as harshly as the first rank contest would.

However, Leon didn't need to know that. If he thought that the category system was complicated and—in Piers' humble opinion—limited and stupid, maybe he would back out.

"And that's all there is to the appeals rules." Piers looked at Leon, expecting him to be confused and dejected at the long-winded explanation, but instead found him holding onto every word.

"Well, that doesn't seem too hard." He nodded. "It's just putting on a show in a time limit with your partner. Easy."

"We'll see how easy you think it is when you're doing it." Piers stood under a shade tree. "The next round is the harder one. It's the battle round."

"Battle? I thought contests were for show, not for fighting."

Piers cackled at the genuine confusion on Leon's face. Of course, he would think that. That silly stereotype about contests never seemed to die, did it? Coordinators didn't just train their pokemon to teach them new moves. Their partner had to be strong to last the battles against one another. Even though Piers was a gym leader when he did contests, he still struggled against the stronger opponents.

He idly grabbed a lower branch and bent it down. If he didn’t slouch, Piers was tall enough that he could just about reach into the pokemon nest a few branches up with relative ease.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" He opened his hand.

The branch whipped up and hit the branch the nest was on. The skwovet in the nest jumped with a squeak. Its sudden movement knocked a sitrus berry over the side.

"In the second round, two coordinators battle to remove points from the opponent, usin' moves that fall into the contest categories." He snatched the sitrus berry out of the air.

The skwovet glared at Piers. Piers smirked at it before wiping the berry on his shirt. The pokemon chattered and hurried higher into the tree.

Leon frowned at Piers' interaction with the skwovet. Piers met his gaze, daring him to comment on it.

Leon cleared his throat. "That wasn't necessary."

"It was an accident."

Leon pursed his lips in doubt but didn't argue. Instead, he said, "So it's a battle, but it's an entertaining battle. I can do that."

Around a bite of berry, Piers shrugged, "It's a five-minute battle, but the point of the battle isn't to knock out your opponent with the first move. No one needs to faint. It's to show that your pokemon is better than theirs."

Piers half-expected Leon to go on about how no pokemon was better than another, instead, Leon stroked his chin in thought. Maybe Leon realized that a contest wouldn't be as fun as he thought and wanted to give up on the idea.

The branches above shook and the skwovet chattered. A leppa berry slammed into the ground near Piers' boot. The skwovet, arm loaded with unripe leppa berries, held up another. It threw it. Piers took a step to the side.

"Nice try," he mocked. The skwovet's fur bristled. It tossed down the rest of its armful and missed every time. With a huff, it stomped back towards its nest to rustle through its hoard.

"Alright. I think I can handle this," Leon said, moving into Piers' personal space and lifting his arm over Piers' head, "with your help."

Grinning, he stepped back then opened his fist to present an oran berry. The skwovet cried out in frustration. Piers rubbed the top of his head. He glanced up at the wild pokemon once more before walking away from the tree, with Leon in tow. It was best not to test his luck anymore. The skwovet might use a move on him and the last thing he wanted was to spend the night picking slobbery bullet seeds out of his hair.

The skwovet angrily chattered but seemed to give up. It hurried down the tree to gather its berries. Leon crouched to roll the oran berry over. The skwovet eyed him but snatched the berry up to shove into its cheeks anyway.

Piers raised an eyebrow. Maybe this training wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

----

The training area outside Spikemuth wasn't much, just a patch of barren earth that trainers from Spikemuth would come to battle when they didn't feel like using the gym. Currently, the only souls there were Piers and Leon. Since Marnie took over as gym leader, the younger trainers of the city moved their training back to the gym.

"They didn't want to come when you were the gym leader. They think you're scary," Marnie had explained. "Dunno why though. You're about as scary as a teddisuara."

Piers crossed his arms. "Do you know which pokemon you're goin' use? These are Hoenn rules, so you can only use one."

Leon tapped the pokeballs at his belt. "I'm not sure. I didn't think I could go in with Charizard, so I didn't bring him with me."

"Why not Charizard?"

"Everyone knows what my Charizard looks like," Leon explained. "And I don't think I can pretend not to be me if I use him."

Piers' brows furrowed. What in the world was he talking about?

Upon seeing Piers' expression, Leon chuckled to himself.

"I guess I forgot to tell you." He put his hands on his hips and set his feet a shoulder-width apart. "I'm going to do this contest in disguise."

The hope Piers just acquired vanished.

"You're what?"

"I'm going in disguise," He repeated. "I was the champion, and now I'm chairman. That would give me an unfair advantage, don't you think?"

Piers pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course, Leon would want to win on a level playing field. The Bellonean Ladies' Society would probably just give him the stupid hat if he promised to simply show up and bring more attention to the event. If he did that, Piers could have stayed at home and lazed about, but, noooo, Leon had to win his silly hat fair and square.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"Well, I hoped you could help me with that, too." Leon pointed to his face. "I've seen your stage makeup, and you're talented. I bet you could make me look like a different person."

Piers hated that he couldn't argue with that. Not long after he decided to follow his dream of being a punk star, one of the gym trainers offered to teach him the basics of cosmetics. Once he had the basics down, it only took a year of using his pokemon, friends, and Marnie as test subjects for him to perfect his art.

He could easily make Leon's face look different enough: soften his cheekbones, maybe a few freckles, pull his bangs back, color contacts, and glasses...Leon would look good in glasses, even if it meant hiding his natural eye color...

Piers shook his head. He hadn't agreed to anything but training for the contest. He was not giving Leon a makeover like they were preteens at a slumber party.

Leon pursed his lips. "It would be pointless if I won because of who I am. That wouldn't be fair to the other train—coordinators."

"No. Figure that out yourself."

Leon sighed, his shoulders slumped. He muttered under his breath, something Piers couldn't make out. Finally, he straightened and shrugged.

"You know, I have to approve the budgets for each gym provided by the league," he lifted one finger and wagged it as he continued, "and wouldn't it be nice if Spikemuth got a little extra in their budget so their new gym leader could fix up her gym stadium? I know the Spikemuth Chamber of Commerce can't always give too much to the gym, and it needs a few repairs."

Piers' mouth fell a gape. Did Leon just try to bribe him through his sister? He had to admit, he was impressed. It wasn't the best bribery offer he'd ever been given, but considering whom the offer came from and what Marnie would get in return, he decided to give in.

"Make sure the gym gets enough to replace the crumplin’ stadium walls, and I'll do it." Piers stuck out his hand.

Leon took the offered hand in his and shook once. "I knew you'd have a change of heart."

Piers yanked his hand back. "Change of heart my ass. Just send out your pokemon."

With a nod, Leon let out each of his pokemon in turn: Aegislash, Haxorus, Dragapult, Mr. Rime, Seismatoad, then Rhyperior. True to his word, he hadn't brought his ace pokemon with him. Like a well-oiled machine, they quickly lined up and turned their full attention to their trainer.

Pride rolled off Leon as he gazed at his team. Up until last year, this team was undefeated. Leon kept them at their best and even Piers could call that admirable.

"Alright everyone, listen here." Leon clapped his hands as if any of them didn't have their eyes on him. "Remember how I said we were going to enter a contest? Well, only one of you can enter it with me."

Leon's Mr. Rime leaned on his cane and Aegislash shifted his shield, though the other pokemon didn't react one way or another to the news.

"Contests aren't like normal battling. They're a performance." Leon gestured to Piers. "Piers is going to help pick the best one of you for the contest."

Piers snorted. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm not assessin' your team."

Leon's hand dropped to his side. He tilted his head.

"You're not?"

"No."

Piers took out the only pokeball he had on him. With a flick of the wrist, he released his own contest partner. The stench of rotten eggs filled the air. Everyone but Piers jerked back to cover their noses.

Skuntank shook himself out. He stretched his front paws forward then pulled the rest of his body up like a cat in a sunbeam. Piers crouched down and patted his partner between the ears.

"Skuntank here won nearly every contest he entered," Piers explained. "He knows more about them than even I do, I'd say. Even keeps track of the Sinnoh contests online. If anyone can give this team a proper assessment, it'll be him."

Skuntank lifted his head proudly then stomped forward. He stalked up, down, and around the line, eyeing each pokemon. He stopped in front of Haxorus, narrowed his eyes, and rumbled. Haxorus shuffled nervously. She looked to her team members then back at Skuntank. Siesmatoad shrugged, and Dragapult looked away.

Satisfied, Skuntank trotted back to Piers. He took a breath and stated something to the pokemon, loud and clear.

The other pokemon were taken aback. They muttered amongst themselves, all except Mr. Rime and Aegislash. With his chest puffed out, Mr. Rime strode forward. A moment later, Aegislash floated next to him. The rest of the team remained still.

"That's the two to choose from," Piers said. To the other members of Leon's team, he continued, "You can go over there. Take a rest why don't you?" He jabbed his thumb towards the grass at the side of the training area.

Without missing a beat, Dragapult floated away, soon followed by Siesmatoad, Haxorus, and Rhyperior.

Leon gasped. "That's amazing. How does Skuntank know?"

It wasn't as if Skuntank could smell contest talent on Mr. Rime and Aegislash. It just so happened that when Skuntank asked, Mr. Rime and Aegislash wanted to enter a contest. The rest weren't interested.

Ignoring Leon's question, Piers asked, "How do you want to decide between these two."

Leon blinked. "Isn't that what Skuntank is here for?"

With a thump, Skuntank flopped to the ground, paws under his chin, and shut his eyes.

"He's filled his quota." Piers said. "This is your job, Mr. Chairman."

Leon stroked his chin. He crouched down between his pokemon. Mr. Rime tapped his feet and spun his cane. Leon lifted his eyebrows at the impromptu performance. Not to be outdone, Aegislash held his shield up and spun it on the end of his arm. He tossed the shield then expertly caught it.

Mr. Rime danced backward. He spun in a circle, holding his cane up to the sky. From the tip of the cane, snow flurried around him, glittering like tiny diamonds.

Aegislash, upon seeing Leon's dazzled expression at Mr. Rime's performance, clanged his shield and blade together. With his trainer's attention back on him, Aegislash whipped his arm out. The shield rolled out on its side into the middle of the battle area. In the blink of an eye, Aegislash descended into his shadow. Using shadow sleek, he hurried in front of the shield.

Aegislash burst from the ground, large and dark. He whipped the shield up. the sun glinted off the polished metal. Contrasted against Aegislash's dark form, the shining shield appeared like a bright star in the night sky.

Leon's mouth fell a gape. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that, Aegislash."

Aegislash returned to his normal appearance and smugly shurgged. Mr. Rime stomped his foot in frustration. He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled for Leon to look at him. Once again, his cane spun. Around him, aurous panes of light screen appeared then frosted over. Mr. Rime stopped and raised his arms. The light screen panes shot up and burst like fireworks.

Aegislash bristled. His grip on his shield tightened and his single eye narrowed. Mr. Rime sneered at him as Leon carefully picked up the frozen light screen fragments to examine.

Piers clapped his hands once. "Don't you lot make this a battle." To Leon, he ordered, "You need to pick one."

Leon stood. "But they're both really talented."

From behind them, Skuntank snorted. Aegislash and Mr. Rime turned their glares from each other to the dark-type.

Piers agreed with Leon, even if his pokemon didn't, but leaving those two to keep one-upping each other wouldn't end well. Leon had to pick a partner for the contest, even if it would hurt someone's feelings.

Leon thought on his choice then slumped forward with a sigh. He rummaged in his pocket and held up a coin.

"I can't decide," he admitted. "Heads for Mr. Rime and tails for Aegislash."

He flicked the coin into the air. Like the oran berry before, he caught it from the air. With a hard smack that made the top of Pier's hand hurt, Leon slapped it on the top of his hand. Aegislash and Mr. Rime stood tense as Leon slowly lifted his hand.

"Heads."

Mr. Rime jumped up with joy. Aegislash dropped his shield to the ground with a thud. Leon reached out to comfort him, but Aegislash waved him away. Dragging his shield through the dirt, he trudged towards the other pokemon.

Skuntank lumbered back to his feet. He intercepted Aegislash. Skuntank rumbled at Aegislash. He silently mulled over what Skuntank said then lifted his shield from the ground.

In a voice like clashing metal, Aegislash yelled at Mr. Rime. Mr. Rime stumbled in his tap dancing, looking shocked at what his teammate said. Skuntank cackled, slapping the ground with his paw. With his mood improved considerably, Aegislash led Skuntank away to join the other pokemon.

----

Mr. Rime was a showman. Even with the occasional heckle from Skuntank, he and Leon managed to cobble together the start of an alright appeal round. After Piers finally admitted that the move categories meant shit all for the beginner contests, Leon decided to make use of what Mr. Rime already presented: sparkling snow and unique uses of psychic power.

Piers, for his part, offered critique when he saw a move that might be too showy or too dull, but mostly left Leon to his own devices. After all, Leon was the one entering, not him.

A thunderbolt tore through an icy column, shattering it. A glow of psychic power protected some of the ice from the heat. When the mist cleared, what remained was the carving of the Champion's logo.

Leon pumped his fist. "There we go!"

Skuntank muttered something to Aegislash, who replied in agreement. Though he hadn't been as loud in his criticism as Skuntank, Aegislash made snide remarks for every misstep.

Piers had more fun watching Skuntank and Aegislash than Leon and Mr. Rime, honestly.

As the heat both from the thunderbolts and the day wore on, Piers was thankful he choose to sit under the shade instead of directly interact with Leon.

Though on the field, he would have had a better view.

Every time Leon raised his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow, Piers turned his attention towards him. Rehain once mentioned Leon weight trained and exercised to stay as fit as his team, and Piers could tell. He stared at the well-formed muscles usually hidden under Leon’s shirt several times before finally being caught.

“Is something wrong? Is this too much?” Leon gestured to Mr. Rime’s newest ice sculpture.

Piers made up a suggestion to save himself the embarrassment.

“It’s fine, but you’re rushin’. Slow down, if you know how to do that,” Piers replied, turning his head to hide his pink cheeks against his shoulder.

“Oh, alright.” Leon nodded. “Mr. Rime, take a few more seconds before calling down the thunderbolt!”

Stuntank chuckled and Piers sent him a glare.

“Shut up,” he hissed, earning another laugh from Stuntank.

Something pulled at Piers' sleeve. One of Dragapult's dreepy chewed on his jacket. When Piers acknowledged it, it flew in a circle trying to get him to play with it. It went to nip at the end of one of his ponytails.

Dragapult sighed and wrapped his tail around the dreepy to pull it back. He gave Piers an apologetic look.

The rest of Leon's team wasn't doing much better. They were bored out of their minds.

Siesmatoad ripped a clump of grass from the ground and tossed it in her mouth. Rhyperior and Haxorus took turns stabbing leaves through their horns or tusks, seeing who could make the biggest hole without tearing the leaf in half.

Before Leon and Mr. Rime could start again, Piers called, "That's enough for today."

He stood and put his hands on his lower back to stretch. Skuntank grumbled but got to his paws.

"Well, if you say so." Leon came over to the crowd of pokemon with Mr. Rime. "Everyone ready?"

Seismatoad spat out the grass clump, nearly hitting Rhyperior's foot. Dragapult cooed and the rest of his dreepy hoard hurried out of the tall grass. Aegislash refused to look at Mr. Rime, instead of staying close to Stuntank. Haxorus bent forward and pressed the button on her pokeball with her mouth scythe, returning herself.

When Leon took out Aegislash's ball, Piers put a hand on his wrist.

"Before you return him, can I ask you a favor?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Aegislash and Skuntank seem to be havin' fun together. Do you think Aegislash could come back with me for tonight?" Piers asked. Skuntank stamped a foot and wheezed in approval.

Leon lowered Aegislash's pokeball. He bent down so he looked Aegislash in his singular eye.

"Do you want to have a slumber party with Skuntank at Spikemuth?" He spoke like a parent to a child. Mr. Rime snickered. Stuntank kicked sand at him with a short growl.

Piers pulled the bill of Leon's hat down over his eyes.

"Aegislash is probably older than both of us combined," he reminded. "Don't call it a slumber party."

Leon pushed his hat up and wrinkled his brow. Realization crossed his face.

"Ah." He asked Aegislash, "Do you want to have a date with Skuntank at Spikemuth?"

Piers went to pull Leon's hat clean off, but Aegislash took hold of the bill and pulled until it completely covered Leon's face with the bill touching his chin. He rolled his eye and shrugged towards Skuntank. Skuntank snickered and shook his head back in reply.

Leon laughed, taking the hat into his lap. "I'm joking. I'm joking. Sorry." He put a hand on Aegislash's shoulder. "Really, if you want to hang out with Skuntank for the night, you can." He smiled sincerely.

Aegislash paused, eyed his trainer, then seemed to sigh. He took the hat from Leon's hands and set it on his head. He patted his head, like a parent pacifying a child. Aegislash floated by him towards Skuntank.

-----

“Listen up.”

Piers whistled to the crowd of dark-type pokemon around the Spikemuth stadium. All heads turned towards him and the two pokemon by his side.

“This is Aegislash. He’s part of Chairman Leon’s team.” Piers nodded to Aegislash. “He’s visitin' for the night, so don’t be an asshole.”

He sent a pointed look at Malamar, who crossed his tentacles. Malamar only recently got out of trouble for scaring people around Spikemuth. Neither he nor Marnie needed Aegislash going back to Leon traumatized from Malamar's pranks.

The gym pokemon muttered and mumbled to themselves, eyeing Aegislash suspiciously.

Going well so far.

No one jumped to attack or called out an obscenity towards the new pokemon. Already it was going better when Raihan brought his pokemon over to play while he and Piers visited. Not one sucker punch to the back.

Marnie’s Grimsnarl picked up the toy ball and held it protectively. Both scrafty scooted to shield their tower of cards. Obstagoon took his nose out of a bag of crisps for a moment before shoving it right back in. Liepard yawned, purposely exposing her fangs, before laying her head on Toxicroak’s lap. Toxitricity peeked an eye open from his corner then continued strumming his chest. Morpeko jumped off the stage and scurried over to Aegislash and Skuntank.

She greeted them. Skuntank wheezed to her as Aegislash lifted his shield in a hello. Morpeko spoke with Aegislash a moment before turning to the rest of the pokemon. She took a deep breath and shouted to them her approval.

Malamar snorted but uncrossed his tentacles. Grimsnarl slowly took the ball back out. Neither scrafty moved from their hard work. Toxitricity waved idly. Liepard and Toxicroak and Obstagoon didn’t acknowledge the announcement, the former two napping and the latter still stuffing his maw.

Skuntank jerked his head towards Toxitricity's corner of the gym. Aegislash and Morpeko followed after. Grimsnarl and Malamar watched them closely.

Marnie took a bite of her hamburger. Around it, she asked, “Is that really Leon’s aegislash?”

Piers open the bag from Bob’s Your Uncle to dig out his order. “He is. He and Leon’s Mr. Rime got into a fight, and Aegislash wanted to be away.”

“So Leon asked you?” She swallowed.

Piers thought on his feet. “Dark and ghost types are pretty close when you get down to it. Born of night and the deepness of the soul and all that.”

“Shouldn’t he have asked Allister?”

Piers took a bite of his burger and slowly chewed. He swallowed and said, “Kid must have been busy. He’s still got school to go— just like you.” Piers smirked, leaning over. “And how’s that school work going, little sis?”

Marnie blushed. She huffed, snatched the bag from Piers, then marched to the stage at the other end of the stadium.

Even being a gym leader, Marnie still had to go to school like every other kid her age. Since she was still learning to juggle gym leader duties and school, Marnie fell behind in her classes and had to take extra lessons.

Piers had been the same when he took over the gym, but he usually skipped after-school lessons. She complained about the lessons often, and Piers offered an understanding ear.

He wasn’t above using this information against her, though.

With long strides, he followed his sister. He overtook her quickly. Holding his burger between his teeth, Piers hopped onto the stage and sat, his toes brushing the ground. Marnie walked up the steps to sit near him. She purposefully set the bag with their food on the side farthest away from Piers. He leaned across her to fish his chips out of the bag.

They sat in companionable silence, watching the pokemon as they ate their fast food.

When Marnie’s scrafty turned to open another pack of cards for their tower, Malamar raised a tentacle glowing in psychic power. With both scrafty backs to it, a card from the middle of the tower pulled itself out.

Piers’ scrafty gasped and tried to hold the wobbling tower together, but only managed to save the top two cards from falling. As the scrafty started to argue, Grimsnarl went to the wooden crate next to the stage. She sat her ball inside and began to dig through the pokemon toys until she found another ball. This ball was worn and patched up. She wandered over to Malamar to talk.

Skuntank, Toxtricity, and Aegislash lounged against one of the crumbling stadium walls as Morpeko chewed on a berry. They made friendly conversation until Grimsnarl and Malamar came over. Grimsnarl raised her ball.

Skuntank shrugged and spoke to Aegislash. Malamar sneered at Aegislash. Aegislash rolled his eye and pushed himself up. Skuntank slowly lumbered to his feet. Toxtricity shook his head. Morpeko tossed her berry up and caught it in her mouth before standing as well.

Piers nudged Marnie and pointed at the pokemon as they walked to the middle of the stadium.

Grimsnarl tossed the ball and hit it to Skuntank. Skuntank bopped it with his head. The ball dropped towards Aegislash. Aegislash raised an arm to hit it, but Malamar’s tentacle shot out and smacked the ball up. Aegislash snapped something at Malamar, who ignored him.

Piers chuckled to himself as the game of hot potato continued. Every time the ball neared Aegislash, Malamar or Grimsnarl made sure to hit it before he could. Of course, they were testing him. Being on the former champion’s team wasn’t enough to prove Aegislash worthy, even with Stuntank and Morpeko's approval.

Soon Aegislash had enough. When Malamar went to hit the ball for himself, Aegislash shadow sleeked behind him. He burst from the ground and slapped the ball towards Grimsnarl. The attack on her friend took Grimsnarl by surprise. She stumbled back trying to hit the ball but missed. For the first time since the game started, the ball bounced against the floor.

Skuntank cackled. Morpeko chased after the ball. Malamar stared at Aegislash, who held his ground.

Marnie started to push off the stage to break up the fight, but Piers put a hand out to stop her.

After a few tense heartbeats, Malamar coughed a laugh. He covered his beak and shook his head. Grimsnarl took the ball back from Morpeko. Seeing the newfound respect for Aegislash from Malamar, she went back over to the box to switch the worn, old ball, for a nicer ball with a pink and cream polka-dot pattern.

Marnie let out a breath. Piers tossed a chip in his mouth.

He knew things would work out well. Like his trainer, Aegislash was endearing in his determination.

He wondered what Leon was doing while the Spikemuth pokemon played. As late as it was, he was probably home, or maybe he was training with Mr. Rime for the contest. Piers could almost see him now working with Mr. Rime to pose in time with some pop song.

Leon worked hard for what he wanted. It's no wonder he became champ so young and held the title for nearly a decade. If Piers had that kind of drive, he wouldn’t have left Spikemuth fall into disrepair as he did.

He bet he could ask Leon to help him fix up Spikemuth, and not just the gym. The outside walls needed the myriad of penises and breasts painted over. He could do it, but it would be better with some company, particularly with company that had the energy of a sugar-high puppy. Enjoying the outside air, just talking and working—That would be fun. Piers would be willing to wake up early for that.

Piers reached into his chip container absentmindedly but found nothing but salt. He jerked out of his thoughts to see his last two chips disappear—one into Morpeko’s mouth and one into Marnie’s.

“The hell?” He held his hands out towards the empty container.

“Do you have a new girlfriend?” She asked bluntly.

Piers choked on his tongue. “What?” He shook his head. “No! Why would you think that?”

“A boyfriend? A non-binary friend?”

“No,” Piers assured. “I don’t have anyone.”

“Huh.” Marnie scratched Morpeko behind the ears. “You had that look on your face.”

“Look?” Piers’ stomach clenched as he asked, “What look?”

“That look.” Marnie pulled her pokemon to her lap. “The one you get before Morpeko and me find some gushy love song folded up on the living room floor. It happens every time.”

Piers’ ears grew hot. Twice, Marnie found his secret love songs twice. For that reason, he didn’t even write them on scrap paper anymore but in a nondescript notebook in his dresser drawer—which he hadn’t pulled out since he broke up with an ex gym trainer more than a year ago.

Morpeko stuck her tongue out in disgust at finding another love song. She clambered over Marnie’s arms to the chips container. Morpeko licked her paw, dabbed it in the leftover salt, and cleaned her paw before hopping off the stage to rejoin the game.

“I don’t have a look like that.”

“Yes, you do,” Marnie replied in a sing-song voice. “You get this far away look on your face and a little, tiny smile like you’re thinkin' of somethin’ soft. I only see it when you’re datin’ someone or,” her eyes widen in realization, “you gotta crush.”

Piers’ stomach unclenched and fell to his boots.

“You’ve got a crush, dotcha?” His little sister pried. “Who is it? Do they like you back? Can they like you back? Are they a trainer? What’s their pokemon team? Do you see them often?”

Piers' head spun, blurring the rest of Marnie’s inquiries.

No way. He was too old for crushes, for one thing. For two, if Marnie’s theory held any water, then his ‘crush’ would be Leon.

That wasn’t possible.

Sure, he admired Leon’s strength and his determination. His kindness towards pokemon and others was sweet if a little goody-two-shoes. He was much more clever than he first appeared. His athletic frame stole Piers' attention and he wouldn't mind leaning up against that strength-trained chest.

Oh. Arceus. No.

Piers’ face reddened as he cataloged his thoughts. He did have a crush. He had a crush on Leon. Leon was the Chairman of the League. Not only that, he was and still is the poster child for preppy, sporty trainers everywhere. Leon was the goal children were taught to chase if they wanted to compete.

Only the trainers from Team Yell ever wanted to be anything like Piers, a badass who sang to his own song, not the one society dictated.

Sponsors flocked to Leon like mothim to a flame for his perfect public persona.

Only the Spikemuth Chamber of Commerce ever sponsored Piers, and that’s only because they always sponsored the gym leader.

Leon was the light that the world idolized.

He was the darkness that fought back to prove to those that the shadows were protective and safe for people like him. He was a fierce dark-type trainer. He sang punk rock. He had a band of miscreants who would follow his every order.

He could not have a crush on Leon.

Yet, he did.

What if people found out? Arceus, if news got around he wanted some of Leon’s finely toned ass—

“Piers?” Marnie poked his cheek.

He jumped, losing his balance and tumbling off the stage.

At the thud of his fall, the pokemon stopped their game. Obstagoon tossed his crisps bag aside to barrel towards his trainer. He skidded to his knees, dramatically throwing his claws up and crying out as if Piers fell off a ten-story building.

Marnie hopped down. Crouching, she asked, “Did you break your face?”

Piers groaned loudly. “Dark void, open up and swallow me. I no longer want to live in this cruel world that would play my heart like a harp string and snap it with its sick, twisted irony.”

Once Piers went on with his dramatic monologue, the pokemon returned to their games, confident Piers was fine. Obstagoon patted the back of Piers’ head reassuringly.

Marnie crouched next to him. “Is the person you have a crush on that bad? Are they married or,” she lowered her voice, “old?”

“We’re the same age.” Piers didn’t lift his head from the ground. “He’s single as far as I know.”

Marnie poked his cheek. “So what’s the matter? Are you too scared to ask him out?”

“No. It’s worse than that.” Piers crawled into Obstagoon’s lap and leaned his back against the warm, somewhat smelly, fur. Obstagoon wrapped him in a hug. He’d seen his trainer confused and in a pansexual punk panic before. Piers needed all the comfort Obstagoon could give him.

Marnie tucked her legs under her and waited expectantly for Piers to clarify.

He sighed, slumping farther down Obstagoon’s lap. Obstagoon’s arm fur tickled his nose as he buried his face in it.

“I can’t ask him out,” Piers muttered. “He’s my opposite.”

“Opposite?” Marnie echoed.

“Opposite,” Piers repeated. He paused, then said, “I’m punk. He does ballet. What more can I say?”

Her brows furrowed. She opened her mouth, then shut it, opened, shut, then tilted her head with one eyebrow raised.

"He dances?”

Piers rolled his head away. “You kids have no culture.” He sighed. “He’s the kind of person every kid wants to be like. I’m the kind of person kids stop comin’ to community gyms to train because of.”

Marnie hit her fist into her palm. “Oh, I get it. You don’t want to drag down his rep ‘cause people think you’re a lazy delinquent.”

“Hey!” Piers bolted up, right into Obstagoon’s hanging tongue. He wiped the slobber off his forehead with his forearm. He jabbed a finger at Marnie.

“It’s the other way around. He’d pull mine up from a mysterious, cool rebel rocker.”

He cringed at himself. Out loud it sounded childish. What was he, a schoolboy?

Piers flopped back against Obstagoon, grabbed Obstagoon’s arm, and dropped it over his face.

“Suffocate me. Please. I need to die to escape this torment.”

With a humph, Marnie wrapped her arms around Obstagoon’s thick forearm and lifted. She looked down at her brother with a frown.

“That’s it?” She shook her head. “That’s sad.”

“You’re a kid. You don’t understand.” Piers countered, trying to pull Obstagoon’s arm back over his face.

Marnie wrinkled her nose and tugged against Piers’ attempts.

“I am not.” She dug her feet into the ground. “It is sad. If you’re a ‘mysterious, cool, rebel rocker,’ why should you care what anyone thinks?”

Piers dropped his hands to his lap.

Without the opposing force against her, Marnie fell backward, still clinging to Obstagoon’s arm. Instead of letting her fall, Obstagoon lifted his arm, leaving her hanging off the ground. He carefully lowered her, but she kept his arm pressed against her chest.

Piers pushed himself up to his feet. He patted the back of his shirt, throwing black and white fur into the air. Without a word, he headed to the stage and picked up the trash from their food.

“Piers?” Marnie hugged Obstagoon’s arm to her chest. “Are you ok? I didn’t break you, did I?”

Piers turned. “Yeah. Just fine.” He walked back, bag in hand. A smile spread across his face as he reached up and ruffled her hair.

“You’re right. I was being the opposite of cool.” He admitted, prying her hands off Obstagoon's arm. “Thanks for reminding me.”

Marnie was right. He was the cool, fierce master of dark-type pokemon. He became one of the strongest trainers in all of Galar without resorting to Dynamax in a pinch.

Why the hell should he give a flying ratata’s ass about what other people think about who he wants to make out with?

He still didn’t want people knowing about his contest days. The stereotype of elitist snob coordinators still hung too closely to contests. The attraction could excuse Leon, but he didn't have a good enough excuse for dressing skuntank in a tophat and glittery, purple bow tie when he was still a stunky yet. Maybe if the contest scene grew a little, he could try again, but until then best keeping that particular secret under wraps.

Marnie shrugged, aloof. “It’s whatever. Someone needs to help you keep your head spun the right way around. I'm the only one qualified for it.”

“What would I do without you?” Piers chuckled.

“Die, probably,” Marnie replied. “So can you ask this guy out? Does he like you at all?”

Piers shrugged.

He didn’t know if Leon liked men. As far as he could remember, Leon never dated anyone of any gender. Leon had always been laser-focused on training and being the strongest trainer in Galar.

But if he did like men, would he be interested in Piers? He didn't know, but given how much time they’d be spending together training for the contest, maybe he could figure it out.

Marnie, her ponytails somewhat righted, asked, “If you need help, Gloria and me could—”

“I’d rather step on a pincurchin,” Piers cut her off, crushed the paper bag into a ball, and tossed it to the side. It bounced and went right through Scrafty's new card tower.

"Sorry," he apologized.

Scrarfy sobbed and slumped back. Marnie’s scrafty looked towards him then sighed. She walked around and helped him pick up the cards, their friendship restored.

“I’ll tell you if I find out anything.” He pointed at the hot potato game still ongoing with his thumb. “Right now, though, you and me don’t need boys when we can play with the best pokemon in the Galar region, though.” To Grimsnarl, he shouted, "Oi, toss it to me!"

Marnie giggled as Piers took her wrist and led her towards the game.

----

AN: Shout out to my friend Sara for the help with this! You da best!!! ^-^)/ Next chapter should be next week? I'll probably post to A03 first though if you want less of a wait.

Also feel free to follow my art blog @uas-art if you enjoyed the chapter art.

[piershoesz]

SWSH Boys as Dads HCs (+Guzma)

So I know a lot of people rlly like these group HCs, and it’s been a while since I made my last one, so I decided to whip this up!

SWSH Boys Included: Hop, Bede, Milo, Gordie, Piers, Raihan, and Leon (Plus Guzma from Pokemon Sun and Moon)

𝗛𝗼𝗽

- Always worried if he’s doing a good job of parenting or not, and is always striving to improve, which you find nice. - Was very serious about becoming a father, and always does a very good job of raising up your child and helping them become who they want. - Wants to raise your child to be whoever they want to be when they grow up. Breeder, Trainer, Nurse, doesn’t matter to him as  - he likes to and has always liked telling your child fantastical stories in hopes some day they’ll be inspired by them and set off on a journey of their own!

𝗕𝗲𝗱𝗲

- Will do anything for you and your child, you both mean the entire world to him and if anything happened to either of you, he’d feel as if it were his fault.

- Always teaching you child new things, showing them how to properly care for and interact with Pokemon, and teaching them how to catch their own Pokemon.

- Your child’s first Pokemon was a Hatenna Bede helped them catch. And since that day it has stuck by your child’s side and never let it’s eye off of them. It calmed Bede a lot knowing your child had a companion now.

- He’s just so loving and supportive. Always clearing time for you and your child. Although he can get very overprotective, so watch out!

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗼

- gentlest father ever. So loving and wholesome. And smothers your child with so much affection. Sometimes it can be sickening to them, but at the end of the day they know Milo just loves them so much.

- Will do anything and everything for you and your child, he loves you both so much and would go to the ends of the earth just to make you too happy.

- Like Raihan, hopes your child will want to take over as Turffield gym leader, but is very open to whatever your child wants, as their happiness always comes first!

- He’s super strong, so he used to and still does sometimes carry your child around the farm, and they’ll help care for the wooloo along with him.

𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗲

- Always stressing over whether or not he’s doing a good job as a parent as well, Melony often has to help calm him down.

- Because he still has work to do at the gym, Melony always comes over and helps babysit, helping you a lot. However, Gordie will always make time for family!

- Wants your child to be Circhester’s next gym leader, and enforces his wishes a bit more than both Raihan and Milo do, but still wants your child to focus on other careers too just in case they refuse.

- Will often bring your child to the gym to help them train and get better with taking care of and getting accustomed to Pokemon.

𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀

- He’s very quick on his feet when it comes to your child and their needs. He grew up caring for Marnie, so he was used to it all when your child was born.

- Of course, he’s super loving and enjoys time spent with you and your child. So much so that like Raihan, he has photographed and written down about milestones and achievements your child accomplishes and reaches. 

- When your child was younger, they enjoyed playing with his hair, and sometimes they’d tug on it and make him yelp, which made you laugh.

- Like everyone else, super supportive and encourages your child to do whatever their heart wants to do!

𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻

- Although he heavily encourages your child to someday take over as Hammerlocke gym leader in place of him, he’s still very respectful of whoever your child wants to grow up and be.

- Raihan’s super tall, so he’s been carrying your child on his back since they were a toddler. Even now, he can still lift your child with ease and stroll around with them on his back. It leaves your child very flustered yet smiling.

- He keeps a photo album on his Rotom phone of all the important milestones and achievements of your child, just so he can look over them all in the future with you.

- Practically smothers your child in hugs and tickles, and his favorite activity is to build pillow forts with you and your child, then later snuggle up in them together along with your Pokemon!

𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻

- The very overprotective and loving dad. He can sometimes be a bit embarrassing, but you and your child both love him so much and would never leave his side.

- When your child was younger, he’d wrap them up in his cape and carry them around the house.

- Your child loved, and still loves to play with his hair. They used to be able to crawl into it when they were little even, and you used to take so many photos!

- Will never stop your child from doing anything unless it could possibly end in them getting hurt, he knows they need their freedom and thus will give your child all the space they need in order to become who they want.

𝗚𝘂𝘇𝗺𝗮

- He struggled a bit when it came to being a father at first, but you just knew he was trying his best. He never wanted to be like his own father, and instead wanted to be like the one he always dreamed of having.

- While he was never good at teaching your child at a younger age, the older they grew, the more they started to appreciate Pokemon and love them. Guzma wants your child to do whatever that gives them the most happiness and fulfillment in their life.

- Your child adores all of his Pokemon. When they were little Guzma would either carry your child on his back, or gently place them on his golisopod and have it carry your child.

- Like Guzma, your child very much wants to prove to trainers all around Alola that bug-type Pokemon aren’t as weak as they seem, and because of Guz...they’ve done a great job of proving it!

As always, hope you enjoyed reading!

[starkatana]

So Close

Pokemon Piers x Female Reader (OC)

Summary:

You and Piers confess your feelings for each other but you’re only in the Galar Region for a limited amount of time. What do you two decide to do with your newly professed feelings?

Notes before reading:

Originally from Unova, in Galar for research.

You’re working with Sonia researching dynamaxing pokemon.

You’re full-time job is working at the pokemon nursery, you rehabilitate injured pokemon and you take care of abandon pokemon.

You have a Levanny as your pokemon partner.

AN: I’m back! I’ve been sitting on this forever thinking “why do i always have an OC when writing for different characters, i don’t know” I’m going to post it anyway! Hope you enjoy!

You are at a party in Hammerlocke hosted by Raihan in honor of the new champion because it’s long overdue after the Rose incident and the twins' fiasco. A party was what everyone needed to celebrate and unwind. You’re Sonia's plus one, and once you had a moment by yourself Raihan came over, drink in hand, smug look on his face, “Hey, y/n are you single?” he’s straight to the point, “Asking for a friend.”

Your face immediately gets warm. Your eyes quickly shift over at Piers before looking back at Raihan. As quick of a glance you thought it was to Piers, Raihan noticed, and his smug grin only got bigger. “Piers?” he asks.

“Is that the friend?” you respond.

He simply shrugs in response giving you a playful smile.

You give him an eye-roll and followed by a light shove. Your cheeks are pink with embarrassment and you’re only a tiny bit upset that Raihan was able to read you so easily.

He lets out a laugh, “Don’t be embarrassed.” He reassured, “So you know. He stares at you every time you look away.”

“Why are you telling me this?” As cute as you think Piers is, the thought that he could like you back never crossed your mind. “I don’t think he likes me much at all.”

You’ve been in town for about two weeks now, and every time you are around, he never seemed to be interested in you. He would only talk to you if someone else was already talking to you. When you two got into a conversation, you thought he was just being friendly. There was that time where he invited you to Spikemuth, but he invited everyone, and when you said thanks, he ran off without another word.

Raihan lets out a small laugh, followed by a slight headshake, “I’ve known Piers a long time. As fearless as he is on stage, offstage, he’s shy. Keeps to himself, and never draws any more attention to himself than he needs to.”

For some reason you didn’t believe that, but decided not to push the topic. “Again. Why are you telling me this?”

“because” Raihan sighs, “I’ll say it outright. Piers likes you, and I’m letting you know that he’s not going to make a move. You’ll have to do that.”

You turn to face Raihan, who mirrors you and smiles at you, “He’s a good guy, but he’ll always put everyone’s feelings before his own. He’s focused on getting Marnie set up to take over the Spikemuth gym. So, he’s just going to stare at you from afar and use Marnie as an excuse to come over and talk to you because my poor punk baby is never going to do it himself.”

“Please ask my brother out, y/n.”

You turn around, and Marnie steps up next to you two. “We have to make this conversation fast.” She says, “It’ll only be a matter of time before Piers comes up to join our conversation.” You look over at Piers, who makes eye contact with you, and you look away again, heart beating fast and blush washing over your face.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. He doesn’t like me.” You try to lie to yourself. You are only going to be here for three months you live in a different region, even if things went well and things worked out, how long would it last with the long-distance?

Marnie and Raihan roll their eyes sharing a glance.

“Everyone can tell that you two have a thing for each other.” Marnie gestured at you.

“Everyone except you two.” Raihan continued.

You don’t know what to say. All this information was coming so fast.

“And then I whipped out a peace sign saying I would win the next one.” Raihan let out a hearty laugh.

“What’s going on, you guys?” Piers asked as he walked up to your group. “Hey, y/n.”

“Hey, Piers.” You quickly sink into your drink, at the same time trying to shrink into the background to disappear. Now that you knew that he liked you back, you didn’t know how to act around him. Not that you knew before, but definitely not now.

“Raihan was just telling us how he lost to Leon. Again,” Marnie said.

How were these two so good at lying?

“Now, my goal is to defeat Leon AND Gloria.”

“Good luck with that.” Gloria laughed, joining their group as well with Hop and Bede close behind. “These two nincompoops want to duke it out in the stadium, can they Raihan?”

“Oh, hell yeah.” Raihan cheered, “I’ll ref! But first!” he takes his Rotom phone out, “Selfie!” and he brings the group together to snap a picture. It felt purposeful where Marnie took a step forward, giving peace symbols as Hop and Gloria get close to you, pushing you into Piers. You and Piers lock eyes, you feel your face turn bright red while you give him a sheepish smile. He smiles at you in return. When the camera snaps, neither of you were looking at the camera.

“This one’s a keeper!” Raihan said looking at the photo, “Let’s go to the stadium!” Raihan announced to the room. The kids run off with Raihan as they run past you and Piers. Piers instinctively pulls you close as the VIP room empties, leaving you in a daze as to what just happened. You two are some of the few remaining people in the room. You look up at him, and the two of you share a moment where his arms are around you protectively.

“Thanks, Piers.”

“No problem.” He hesitantly lets go of you and pulls at the ring on his choker, “Raihan always manages to get people pumped up for Dynamax battles.”

“It's fascinating.” You say, looking through the window over at the stadium, “I’m just curious what the lasting effects on dynamaxing pokemon are.”

“Is that what you’re working on with Sonia?”

“A little.” You look over at him and catch him looking away from you when Raihan’s words go through your head: He likes you.

“Do you want to watch?” he asked.

You shake your head no, “I’m good after that Swordbert and Shieldbert thing, I’m good without dynamax pokemon for now.”

He nods, “Alright then.”

You suck in a quick breath, you take a shot, “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Sure.” He agrees without any hesitation.

Crap. You didn’t think you’d get this far this fast. “Let’s go to the daycare and see some baby pokemon.”

He gives you a soft smile, “Sounds like fun.”

He orders a Corviknight, and it takes you two to route 5. Not only were you working with Sonia on the lasting effects on Dynamaxing pokemon, but you also helped out at the daycare. Your fulltime job is daycare caretaker, you help rehabilitate pokemon and care for the ones abandon by their owners. You two go inside the daycare and see your Levanny sitting outside the door of the nursery spitting silk as if she was knitting.

“How are things?” you ask her.

She lets out a soft coo and points to the door, telling you to be quiet. Then she starts pointing at you two and nods.

“Okay.” You blush, “C’mon Piers.” And you lead him out of the daycare.

“She takes her job very seriously.” Piers joked.

You laugh, “Yeah, she’s great at it.” You breathe relieved. Even your pokemon seem to think you two would be good together. “Sorry, we can’t see any baby pokemon right now. They’re all sleeping.”

“It’s alright.” He was so go with the flow, it was nice change of pace from your crazy structured day-to-day life and his presence is just so calming, “It’s a beautiful night,” he gestures down the bridge towards Hulbury, “care to join me?”

“Of course.”

The two of you silently walk down the cobblestone together taking in the view and the fresh air. The night was perfect. The sky was clear, the stars shined bright next to the moon in the sky, there's was enough moon in the sky to illuminate your walk, but not enough to drown out the beauty of the night. It was a picture-perfect evening. Other couples were walking around and standing on the bridge.

“This is romantic.”

You blush at his voice and the thought. “Yeah.” You let out a weak chuckle, “I walk this every day, and I never realized.”

“It’s… beautiful.” He stammered. You looked at him, he was pulling on his ring again.

You gently touched his upper arm, “I think so too.” He lets out a light sigh followed by a smile.

You two stop in the center of the bridge, overlooking the wild area with a gorgeous view of the Hammerlocke gate, “This is my favorite view.” You say leaning against the railing as he takes his place next to you.

“It’s beautiful.” There’s a noticeable pause between the two of you as you looked over the wild area. “Just like you.”

You stop and look over at him. He lets out a low cough, obviously looking away from you trying to avoid eye contact. A lightbulb went off in your head, he was trying to do that earlier too. He’s so precious.

“Piers,” you pause, I like you.

“What's up?” his voice sounded hopeful.

“Nothing, it's dumb.” You shake your head, giving yourself an eye roll. While he turns to look at you, you turn away looking in the opposite direction.

“I’m sure it’s not.”

You face him, and for the first time, you two make eye contact without the other turning away instantly. Everything about him takes your breath away. You feel your face get warm again. He’s so cute, especially in the moonlight. His bright blue eyes were so easy to get lost in. It wasn’t obvious, but he has such a welcoming and friendly energy that once you got past an exhausted looking Piers, that did scare some people, he is honestly the nicest person anyone would be lucky to be around.

“What?” he asked, his face grows concerned. You look ahead of you again, taking a deep breath trying to find your composure.

“Okay.” You wipe your hands on your shorts. “I’m going to take a shot here because of,” you rotate your hands around each other avoiding his eyes, “ideas.”

“Yeah?” you could hear his confusion.

“Has anyone told you anything.” you wonder aloud, looking back at him.

“I mean.” He looks away this time but back at you before continuing. “I think you’re cool, but I know you’re only here for what two more months?”

“Yeah.” You sigh. That was a big factor in why you didn’t want to get involved with anyone here. You were only in Galar for three months, you had two and a half left. There was no need to get into a relationship with each other or even bother about letting him know how you feel. As much as everyone wanted to, there was no point. Why make your small group of friends here awkward?

“I’ll just come out and say it.” You look over at Piers. “I have a crush on you.”

“What?” you say instinctively. Raihan said he wouldn’t make a move, but apparently, he didn’t know Piers as well as he thought he did. You heard what Piers said your brain just needed a second to comprehend and register what he said.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized, pulling at the ring on his choker, “I just felt like I would’ve exploded if I didn’t get it out right now.”

“No, it’s okay. I just….I like you too.” You respond, “I just don’t know.”

“Same.” He lets out a weak smile.

The silence is tense between you two.

“You leave in three months, and I just don’t want to make things awkward.” Piers said. “I really like hanging out with you and I don’t want that to change, but if….” His voice trailed off.

“Yeah! I totally get that.” You agreed, “We don’t want to force anything.”

“No. No. Definitely not.”

“So, we could just take this as it goes.” You say.

He nods, “Yeah…”

“So, because you said it. I do like you too.” You reassure him.

He gives you a smile, “Thanks, I was getting nervous for a minute there.”

“Have you not been nervous this entire time?” you joke, “I’ve been freaking out.”

He laughs, “No, I’ve been a nervous wreck this entire time.”

You two share another laugh together as you have before. It felt natural and easy being with Piers. You deeply wished something would happen between you and Piers, but there was time to see where this would go.

“So, we’re just going to see where this goes?”

“I’m okay with that if you are.”

“I’d really like that.”

“Okay.” He smiles at you, “Want to come over for dinner on Thursday? I have this new song I want you to hear.”

“Yeah,” you agree, “Text me when you want me over.”

“Always.”

It was a good feeling to get that off your chest. You two lean against the railing looking back out at Hammerlocke gate in silence, but closer together. You lean your head on his arm and take in the moment you have together. Piers settling into being your pillow.

“Thank you.” You say, “I’m glad.”

“Me too.” He responds.

Thursday came. He was just finishing up a training session with Marnie, while you sat in the back watching the two battle. Immediately after Piers comes up to talk to you about what he was planning to make for dinner.

“I hope that sounds okay.”

“Sounds awesome. I can’t wait.”

“I really hope you like the song too. I wrote it with you in mind.”

“Piers.” you hold your hand over your heart, when Marnie walks over and starts stabbing the air between you two.You two stop what you were talking about and stare at her.

"What are you doing?"  he asks her.

"Trying to cut the romantic and or sexual tension between you two.” She continues furiously stabbing the air, “Crap, it’s not working!”

You and Piers blush furiously.