#or something like that idk I never played pla

[onestepbackwards]

(Chatting)

I know a lot of people love the Self-Aware Au.

But I can’t help imagining the Hisui residents being in another universe that playing PLA gives us access to. They are unable to see us but can feel us looking over the MC’s shoulder.

=================================

Most of them brushed it off during the first few days. There were enough things to worry about before Ward (and wasn’t that just the oddest name for a young girl) fell from the Rift... Until they started noticing something following the sky-faller. It seemed to have some control over the girl if all the inhuman feats she pulled off were any indication. Not to mention everyone could feel it looking at them from behind her.

The first few signs were hard to miss. Ward was able to stay up for several days and nights going on surveys. Except she started sleeping through entire days, getting up at specific times, went out to catch, and repeat. Her throw accuracy topped even that of Captain Cyllene, though according to the Professor she would occasionally break a ball on a tree. Secondly—Ward never seemed to get dirty despite being in the wilds for so long. How ironic dirtiness would be more normal than her spotless ness.

Pokemon caught by the corps member would rarely if not ever misbehave. She tamed them in some unseen ways but even too-powerful ones who ignored her commands never grew hostile. They were too frightened to tell her off for sending out Pokemon inside Jubilife Village.

(Marie seemed to be affected when she didn’t mind how peculiar the Pokemon were. How did a wooden fence stop them from rampaging???)

It could also predict what their requests were going to be. Ward spent many weeks religiously catching Buizel before taking Dorian’s request. His new Buizel was the exact size he had been looking for to aid his original one. Beauregard got three new Wurmples with the being saying something about Beautifly being impossible to get with one. And wasn’t that a shock! The non-human thing would make rare comments on issues—it seemed to have selective hearing...

A rather startling surprise came when it left Ward standing in place. She didn’t talk but they heard her hum, saw her fidget, even stretch.

Never did the being get truly mad. Frustrated over losing the chance to catch a rare Pokemon was the closest. But a poor Agriculture corps man was left shaking after Ward listened to him talk about his Cherrim request. Kichi described the absolute hate directed at him for half hour from it. First, he felt its gaze focus on him more intently than a casual glance over. Then he could feel the thing glaring at him and its voice complained so much about how stupid Cherrim was! He just wanted to see the complete entry!

It got mad enough to leave Ward stuck for a few minutes in front of Kichi. So. The entity didn’t like all Pokemon as its dedication to the Pokedex project indicated...............

========

Otherwise, us playing through Day and Night cycles. Sleeping at camp. Getting through requests as quickly as possible. And hearing about the dreaded Cherrim quest yet not knowing who exactly gave it to us.

I might write more of this. What do you think?

These ideas are very interesting, building off of that last ask 👀

Idk, just the idea of characters being wary of a ‘vessel’ is pretty neat.

To everyone, it’s just weird. No one really knows how to react to the hero, seeing as they are just… only somewhat there? Just a puppet to whoever is really in control. It makes conversations… tense.

And seeing everything they do… being able to sleep like a rock without moving a muscle, as much as needed, at any time. It has people on edge. Especially since despite how the hero may sleep in the weirdest places at the weirdest times, pokemon don’t attack the camp.

Sometimes the hero will just stare in the fields at nothing, standing there for hours. Sometimes even days.

If you watch them long enough, you start to notice how often they repeat thing. The same exact stretch, the same exact look around, the exact same hum.

It’s unnerving.

Sometimes the people think it’s better if they leave the hero alone…

Best not to poke the beast behind the hero. The one they cannot see.

[tammyhybrid21]

You know, looking back over all my Self Insert plot bunnies is kind of wild... Like it's actually really, really funny to look at where my priorites lie in them. From my baby, baby self's writings where it's like...

"I have a plot where me and my entire school class got stolen into a Dome House where we get EVERYTHING we ever wanted but something is off"

To like, Self Insert and I become the villain plots. But no seriously. Quite cathartic to look at the wild stuff I've done with Self Insert plots.

Naruto fandom, KHR, Sonic... I feel like I just need to list off everything because it's like, I have never written anything even CLOSE to normal here...

Some highlights under the cut... not my full Self Insert history... because that's... a lot actually.

The aforementioned Dome House plot. Like seriously, that's got to be one of my oldest SI things... and it was entirely original... But sure, a concept where I'm the main character and the entire plot is just "So my entire class got kidnapped into a Dome where everything is amazing and perfect and we get everything we ever could want" with some suspicious and questionable background details...

Another highlight is a story from Primary School where I was kidnapped because I was the "key" to some lost village or something out in the jungle and I ultimately decided that if I was the key then NONE of these people deserved to find and open it...

Someone please consider Into the Unknown Known World... I miss it.

Oh, I forgot that MASH(The World Turns To--) existed... based on the prompt of waking up as Ash at the start of the anime... how quickly do things go downhill. Immediately honestly. I suppose this one is a "Hijack SI" technically... but IDK if I count it because Ash gets so much character drift in fanfiction it's almost never actual Ash been written anyway...

In the vein... I have Rattata Tails... in which infodumping becomes the perfect ingredient to a disastrous series of dominoes and rattata go from been super common to incredibly rare because oops you praised them too hard.

All the Naruto Self Inserts... from NSA to BAON, to WHMS, 32 In, CC, my Roll the Dice collection... Man, that was the fandom I went wild in. Also anyone want to count how many of these were me hijacking Obito... r i p. Verry consistently to.

NEON LIGHTS, Just all of Neon Lights... r i p to that fic's everything... same with Dreaming of Autistic Clouds.

WHATEVER WAS GOING ON WITH WILDLIFE PRESERVE

I have one Rain World self insert fic and the only role I play is turning Five Pebbles into a slugcat by activating a Failsafe r i p.

OMNICHIBI! The omnichibi fic... r i p to the Ben 10 fandom, I never posted it.

Under the Rug exists somewhere to.

POKÉUMANS!

I have Aussies at Hogwarts somewhere, but we don't talk about HP, Oh No!

Dreaming of Autistic Clouds more like the autistic rage fic... incomplete and only kind of missed.

Oh here's a fun one to-- I was a SLENDER kid... I have a self insert where I was been protected by Slenderman because of Wildlife Preservation things. Try to puzzle that one out, I dare you. (Related, NSA had Slendy just show up near the end of it's life cycle for writing...)

Honestly all of my Pokémon Self Inserts are UNHINGED. Really. Like, I do not know how to explain to anyone anything. The most normal of them is that first one I ever made... then the next one is I am a Pichu and SLOWLY but Surely going to descend into villainy looking at the outline... Mash is stress, Rattata Tails is standard until it verily is not because excuse me, I am going to step in and snipe some things...

You also witness both flavours of my PLA SIs, the Volo Hijack and College Student "Social Media" fic. Both of them this close to a villain arc and Ingo's in the dubious position of finding himself the one holding the leash... SIDE NOTE ON THAT ACTUALLY FOR THE COLLEGE STUDENT VERSION OF THIS ESPECIALLY...

You are Ingo, you wake up, the broken device on your wrist is no longer broken, it's demanding you complete a number of tasks... you have the distinct feeling you're not paid enough for this.

Also keeping my disability for the Feral College student... chewing out God Arceus because how did I pass this job interview when 75% of the time my legs do not work... and even holding things is a bit of a coin flip sometimes... Also hacking, I have an audino and rattata for health reasons.

MY SONIC SI'S ARE UNHINGED TO ACTUALLY. But in an older flavour. Not exactly villain but hoo, haaah, want to be the one causing trouble, that's the flavour of so much. Well kind of... WHAT IF YOU WOKE UP, WENT ABOUT YOUR DAY, STEPPED OUTSIDE AND YOU WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN-- What an opening to a fic r i p.

Anyway, I think more people should be unabashedly weird about self inserts again. I certainly still am.

[hehe-hoho-ohno]

I actually do have a few guesses as to why. A) limited animation. B) They are extremely minor characters. C) It looks silly.

A) Limited animation. I'm about to put pokemon masters on blast here because it's the most obvious example, but if you've played that game for any amount of time, you will notice that the animation for it is EXTREMELY limited. Characters have like, five-ish animations each and will use them repeatedly. Whenever something that would be difficult to animate happens, (flying on a pokemon, swiming, ect.) the camera will pan away or cut to black so they don't have to animate it.

Now, I'm not a 3D artist, so I might be wrong about some of these things, but animating objects interacting is, uh, kinda hard to do in a way that looks natural. (Without noticable clipping). Even in mainline games where the animation isn't as limited, you'll notice that they tend to go out of their way to avoid characters interacting with each other or the environment. (E.g. never shaking hands or hugging each other)

I bring this up because in order to have hatless Ingo/Emmet, you would most likely need to animate him.... removing his hat. (To tip it or something.) Which they don't want to do. Because it would be a pain. You don't really see any characters removing accessories for these reasons (hats, coats, gloves, jewlery).

Even if you don't animate the actual removal, and just have him hatless to start with, you would still need to account for the model. You would either need to rig Ingo/Emmet in such a way that would make the hat removable, or have a separate model without the hat. But they don't want to do that! It's more work they don't need to do!

B) They are extremely minor characters. You can completely miss both of them in BW and Ingo just completely vanishes from PLA's plot after you meet him. They aren't going to blow the animation budget on these irrelevant clowns.

And because they have so little screen time, there just less time to see them do much of anything, including being hatless. They have by far the most screen time pokemas, and the only way we are seeing them hatless there is if they have yet another sync pair, but their costumes don't have hats this time. Which is where you run into problem C.

C. It looks silly! They aren't going to make Ingo and Emmet sync pairs without the hats becuse it looks silly! They look better with the hats!

Because of A, the most likely place to see hatless submas is 2D art. Because of B, they are barely in the anime and manga, so seeing either of them make an appearance at all (much less hatless) is very unlikely. Which just leaves merch and promotional images.

The main thing submas has going for it (from a brand standpoint) is raw sexyman appeal. And everyone saw the massive freak out the fandom had when the (lack of) hair concept art dopped. If you (a random pokemon executive) are trying to appeal to the subams fandom by dropping some Ingo and Emmet crumbs, you probably wouldn't want to include the stuff that got backlash.

Hence, concept art. It's 2D, so A isn't a problem. There's concept art for pretty much everything, so B is irrelevant. And since it isn't canon, and you're more or less throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks, and most people won't see it, C isn't really a factor.

But IDK, I'm just speculating really, I could be wrong.

Y'know I just can't stop thinking about it.

Why are both the submas hair reveals technically non canon?

Ingos concept art with the buzz cut/receding hairline in the art book is just that: concept art. It's obvious because there's a "panel" where he's being discovered by the Pearl Clan, face down in the snow. But in the actual game he says the Pearl Clan found him, standing and looking around in confusion. His character model also has a sort of tiny cut off bun in the back under his collar, when taking his game model apart.

The image from the teraleak is one we know well... except for the tiny haircut thumbnail. Why was the image of Ingo with a buzz cut redacted??? Literally what could be the reason? The rest of the sheet is out there, and has been for a long time!

Do the devs just REALLY want to keep people guessing what's under those hats? Why have these images never transcended concept art, and in the original submas art case, never saw the light of day until now??

Aside from the devs wanting it to be a mystery (which is a hysterical potential reason), maybe they just... realize how silly the boys look? Like the hair triangles are not canonically sideburns, how many people draw them. They're sideBANGS; they're not attached to their face on any of their 3D models! And even in their 2D art they don't look like they grow from their face.

Maybe the devs were like "the world cannot know these guys have face framing mullets." Because a buzz cut except for the long side bangs is pretty insane 😂

But in all seriousness I am intensely curious now. Why is their hair all noncanon. Whose choice was that!

[thefanciestflower]

watched a horror movie that I told myself I would watch for YEARS and never got to and I am so MAD because it was so COOL!!!! GOD... ugh.. I need something that makes me do the things I want to do sooner instead of me just not doing things for so long ifthat makes sense... I am so BAD at getting myself to watch movies, cause thinking about paying attention to videos over an hour is so dreadful and hard because I am like.. a creature.. that cannot do that... BUT IT WAS SO COOL!!!!!! foaming at the mouth someone please make smth that can make me do things without putting them off forever first

I always do this to myself when I see smth cool istg; like every cool movie I see I tell myself, "I'm going to watch that!! it looks cool!!", and then I DONT!!! Then I keep telling myself that I'll watch it, and keep not watching it, and then it's only months or YEARS later that I'll finally watch it!!!

The same thing happens with shows and books and games and art and everything too tbh, but I can usually start them more easily. If I don't finish things in a certain amount of time tho, if I don't finish things fast enough, like, I'll just drop them. And it makes me so so so so so mad- because it's not like I lose interest- I DONT, I just like can't get myself to finsih, and I hate IT. Like I drop them for so long, and only sometimes after months or yearssss will I come back and finally finish them off; or at least try to.

Like examples: Literally all my art, I draw basically everything I post in a single sitting; if I don't then I'll likely abandon it. Only sometimes will I come back to an unfinished piece that I didn't complete all at one time to finish it. Or, like another example, PLA, I played that game sooooo so so much when it first came out, I LOVED IT. But you know what? I went through the wholeee story but then I just *did not* do the postgame- and I wanted TO, believe me, I loved the game; but I just didn't do it. It took me so LONG to finally complete the postgame, and do the arceus fight, because I literally just did not touch the game for maybe over a year- even tho I wanted to, I just didn't do it. AND I DONT KNOW WHY!!!! It just happens to me and I hate it and it's evil, it's like I am so so so lazy about things but trying not to be lazy is like trying to eat rocks, so I can only do things at specific times when it is not like eating rocks and is fun. idk, idk if this makes sense I am just rambling lol

[cheemken]

along with bw and b2w2, what other pokemon games do you love and which ones are your least favorite

Unova and Hoenn and Johto games my absolute fucking beloved

Anyways under the cut bc it's really just me rambling abt stuff hahaha

Your honour hckdndk Emerald was legit the first pokemon game I ever saw fr, and Treecko was the first starter Mon I saw too, but when I got my phone and downloaded my first pkmn game, I didn't know Emerald at that time and the thing that shows up most was FireRed and I thought that was it so like imagine my confusion when I was going through the starters and I didn't see Treecko anywhere and the vibes are like, different lmfao

But when I discovered RSE man ofc I downloaded all three of em, I finally found Treecko hahah and like, when I saw the other starters they were so goddamn cool man the Hoenn starters are peak fr, all three of em were so fuckin dope and I really wanted to choose Treecko ofc bc he was the one I was looking for all these years, but then I saw Mudkip and yeah the rest was history hahah

Also dyk, I encountered my first ever shiny in Sapphire hahah it was a shiny Shroomish, unfortunately, I was out of pokeballs so I didn't get to catch it ;w;

But yeah y'know, until now I still wish I could play ORAS, I have a tab now y'know I can dl Citra, but like,, it's still lag as shit, I tried it on X so yeah owo. Ah well hey, maybe one day hahah either way, RSE be dope af, it's honestly so so homey for me idk why, it's just,, there's smth abt it that feels more at home than any other pkmn game, even Unova, like,, the music for Littleroot Town would get me man chdmdb hahah but maybe bc it's like a tropical region, and I live in a tropical country so hey, it's the sense of familiarity ig hahah

And then the Johto games, Crystal was the first GBC game I played and the first gen two game I played and it was so cool man, seeing the old sprites, seeing them move a bit, how cool Typhlosion was, having to battle Red for the first time hahah was even dope when I found out Lance became Champion, and while I'm not very fond of Kanto, it was cool that the games let us visit another region, that was the dopest experience honestly hahah

And like, I was curious tho bc I wanna know what I'd get when I completed the pokedex there, granted I never completed the dex prior to that, so busted out the cheats bc I really wanted to find out, and like,,, nothing owo. But hey ig, guess Crystal gets that point of being the first game where I completed the dex albeit cheated hahaha

Then I found out abt HeartGold and my guy let me tell ya my soul fucking ascended when I discovered my pkmn can follow me around man like that was dope as all fuck my Typhlosion back then was so goddamn cool jcmdndnd such a shame that mechanic wasn't in gen 5 anymore, it would've been dope plus story wise it would've made more sense if it was itroduced or was still around in the BW games

And ofc, I was an og Unova stan hahaha I think at this point we all know I'd throw hands for the gen five games lmfao it's just cool as fuck man like,, idk it really is the peak of pkmn for me, like yeah there are some cool games now like PLA and ScVi and all that but like,, BW/BW2 are just the dopest for me hahah like it legitimately set the standards for me I'm ngl, I mean c'mon, the story was amazing, there's so much going on, the league actually did something instead of just vibing around, like it's so fucking dope man it actually made me care abt all the characters in it bc they show what they're like outside being gym leaders, they interact with each other, the game shows us abt their friendship and how they're all willing to help each other and the region out like to honour this is the game ever for real I can never get enough of the Unova games man

Also real shit, N being my trans awakening lmfaooooo you don't understand how much I wanted to look like N back then I thought it was just young me having a fictional crush but no I deadass liked his whole ass aesthetic I wanted to be like him and here we fucking are owo

Anyways my least fave of the pkmn gamesss

I honestly don't vibe w the Kanto and Sinnoh games lmfao

Idk man, the Kanto games are just boring for me and the Sinnoh games dont appeal to me much, like it really took me a while and a whole lot of coaxing for me to actually finish Platinum bc half way through I just wanted to stop bc it really wasn't that fun of an experience for me

Idk ig it's the fact both games are kinda,, over hyped?? Like, a lot of peeps still think the gen one/Kanto games are the best and then there's the people who like Sinnoh but let's be real most of them just kinda favour it for Cynthia. Honestly at this point I see Cynthia and Red kinda like Sans from Undertale, overrated and almost everywhere, the fandom hold them in such high regards that they just kinda ignore other characs or everything just kinda,, revolves around em? Idk, but, majority of the stuff I see are like that so hey y'know take this w a grain of salt hahah

And like, not that I hate those characs ofc, just that I don't see Red as a "legendary" trainer, and I honestly don't see the hype in Cynthia's fight, it,, it really wasn't that hard for me idk but hey

But ig it's also the fact that Kanto didn't give me much and Sinnoh was slow as shit even w the fast forward on in my emulator like my guy it's smth else💀 that plus the tons and tons of HMs you need to get through the game man it broke me o w o

But y'know, that's just me, if you like these games then hey, you have fun and enjoy playing em, those games are just not my cup of tea hahaha

[juniminabloom]

Hello! I hope im not asking too much but may I request a nsfw alphabet for Nightmare King Grimm? This is my first time requesting from you, so I hope It’s not too much!

A/N: I'm so sorry that it's late!! I lost so much motivation for a while and now I'm back! And thank you so much for requestiing!! here are no limits and inbox is ALWAYS open!

~~~

Nightmare King Grimm- NSFW Alphabet

A: Aftercare

-This  B I T C H-

-Goes away to Idk, smoke? But they just start doing their own thing

-They're at least nice enough to make sure you're okay and comfortable

-7/10

B: Body Count

-Has had questions and has wanted to try it out before, but his other half usually gets all the attention so he can't help but wonder

(That was before he met you)

-Never kissed another either

C: Cum

-Wherever he feels like 👍 

-But he loves seeing your cheeks fill up with his essence (He's a freak for that)

-Otherwise on your chest

D: Dirty Secret

-Likes to watch you bathe or shower, especially when you wash your hair. It gives him a nice view of your figure

-Yippee

E: Experience

-None (well before he met you)

-So low that he has had trouble jacking off before (not anymore)

-Poor guy

-Only because his other half gets all the attention 

F: Favorite Position

-Enjoys you giving him oral (a lot) so mostly a position where that can happen

-But otherwise, against the wall- doesn't matter which way you're facing

G: Goofy

-"Haha okay 👍"

-He has no patience or time for fooling around- it's just water under the bridge Ig

H: Hair (And Horns)

-Is okay when you touch his horns, but it doesn't bring him nearly enough pleasure unlike his other half

Same as his other half:

-Will grip and pull your hair (unless you don’t want him to)

-Loves your hair

-Hair down there? He is a bug. He has fucking none. Hair down there on you? Couldn’t give a shit.

I: Intimacy

-Occasionally romantic

-But it's really when he wants it (I mean, damn-)

-He'll take you and (sort of) make the mood however he is feeling: like passionate, rough, loving, etc etc.

-But he of course still loves you <3

J: Jack Off

-ABSOLUTELY jacks off

-Mostly quiet

-But sometimes, just to tease you, he'll be extra loud

-🤗

K: Kink(s)

-(Man is a total dom [yeah come after me])

-BDSM (Giving)

-Choking (Giving)

-Dirty talk (Giving and receiving)

-Degradation (Giving)

-Master/Slave (Giving [He’s the master, so you’d be the slave Idk how to explain it well])

-Spanking (Giving, and not painfully)

-Overstimulation (Giving)

-Voyeurism & Exhibitionism (Giving and receiving are both kinda different but he’d do both)

L: Location

-In his bedroom istg

-But usually somewhere private where he could enjoy you all to himself

-Yayyy privacyyy

M: Motivation

-Hmm;

-"Bedtime"

"Type one or type two"

"It's 2 PM type two"

(Nah man he'll mostly do it in the night)

N: NO

Just like his other half,

-He won’t ever do knife or electric play

-And is not into any pregnancy (man already has a damn kid)

-And he won’t do anything that will physically hurt you (I mean he’ll choke you and shiz but he’ll give you air when you need it. Same with spanking)

O: Oral

-Will give you oral every now and then

-But this fucker LOVES when you give it to him

-He'll be so vocal about it too

P: Piercing

-Uh

-No

-🥳

Q: Quickie

-For oral only

-(I'm telling you he'd love it)

R: Risk

-Has a usual thing, stays with it too

-Doesn't really like change so oh well

-And will refuse to do anything that will physically harm you (Go back to N for choking and spanking)

S: Stamina

-He is the goddamn Nightmare King

-He’ll go on and on and on until you can’t anymore

-When you're dead tired, he isn't the best at jacking off (yet), so he'll just sit there bored, maybe playing with a tiny flame or something

T: Toy

Just like his other half,

-Understands if you’re in the mood for a toy

-But will sit there and watch you (unless you beg for him to leave. Then he’ll listen at the door.)

-He much prefers fucking you instead of you using a toy but is entirely okay with it

-As long as you're happy bbg

U: Unfair

-Is gonna choke you

-Is gonna degrade you

-Is gonna make you that gosh-diddly-damn cock slave of his (sorry)

-So he’s gonna be unfair

-But every now and then he’ll play nice

V: Volume

-Mid? I mean he isn't quiet but he isn't super loud

-Of course, he groans and pants too but that doesn't count

-Much prefers hearing you though

W: Wild Card

-Would fuck you in the shower

-With him behind yo

-But rarely

-Enough said

X: X-Ray

-Uhh

-I'd say good

-Not like a King-Kong hookah dick or something

-But a good hearty size

-I have no clue what kind of manhood he has so I will leave that to you and everyone else

Y: Yearning

-yes

-🤠

Z: Zzz

-Go back to S for some

-Is never the first one asleep

-Big spoon ofc but sometimes likes to be the little spoon (gotta be held every now and then amr)

[nell0-0]

I have this itching need to draw/write a certain Ingo/PLA AU that has been plaguing me for days. Reading fanfic, I've seen people comparing the warden position to that of a Gym Leader or something like that. I mean, if we're talking about Ingo's path of solitude, I get it. But most wardens aren't like that, even if they have pokemon as companions (Melli and Skuntank for example).

You know what they remind me of even more than a Gym Leader or something like that? Of a Pokemon Ranger.

See, this AU plaguing me can go two ways, which is why I haven't really gotten into drawing/writing anything for it yet.

The first option would be that Ingo returns to present time from Hisui and, still without his memories and not a clue on where he needs to go to reach home (I'm assuming that while he's popular in Nimbasa and Unova as a whole, the regions usually don't have interests on each other so it's not like Ingo could be easily recognized in, say, Sinnoh or Johto by everyone), he tries to reach for a lifestyle that feels comforting and familiar to him. And instead of being train related, it's kinda Hisui related as it's all he's known. In short, he becomes a Pokemon Ranger in Sinnoh or maybe Johto (undecided. Could be Johto since he tries to travel abroad to find his home but Unova is literally in the other side of the world of Sinnoh. Could be another region entirely).

Of course, Ingo eventually reunites with Emmet because I refuse any other outcome, but it does take some time. Probably some type of crisis that gets the rangers attention and gets them to act, so they call all the reinforcements they could to Unova to help out, which just happens to include Ingo.

Idk.

The second option would be that Celebi is involved. I remember playing a Pokemon Rangers game when I was a kid tho I never finished (it was a friend's, not mine so *shrugs*) where Celebi was a key part with the timeline mumbo jumbo. It would be something similar in here, just a bit more complex since Ingo keeps getting yeeted to the present and back to the past until the Rift problem is fixed.

He's still missing his memories, but the Interpol has been alerted that something is amiss. As in, Ingo has been in Hisui for some time already, but when the rift problem worsens, he ends up trapped into a distorsion. Celebi helps him out, but in turn they request his aid to fix this whole mess. Celebi promises to help Ingo home and let him stay there after the timeline is stable again, so he takes a more proactive role when it comes to the matters on Hisui while working with the rangers on the other side. The rift is affecting both points of the timeline, connecting them and threatening to unravel the flow of time, breaking it for good. It starts out with Ingo having information about what's going on in the present and he ends up as an honorary member of the rangers.

Heck, maybe as I keep thinking on it I'll come up with something completely different. Still. I really wanna see Ingo in a Pokemon Ranger outfit.

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

I started typing this post about one particular Pokémon thing but then it spiraled into a long rambling rant-like thing so I’ll just put it behind a read more. Idk, read if you want my Pokémon opinions I guess.

I will always regret being a coward in middle school when Pokémon black and white came out. I bought it but then quickly returned it because I despised Patrat, the monkey trio, vanillite and a few other Pokémon from the BW early game and I was afraid if my classmates found out I was still playing Pokémon they would make fun of me (even more than they already did). So I ended up missing out on the games with the best sprites and, apparently the best story from what I’ve been told, in the whole series. Then Pokémon made the disappointing jump to 3D with XY, a game whose only meaningful contribution was mega evolution. Then we got ORAS which I thought was perfect. And then Sun and Moon which I loved, but was immediately soured when then they tricked me into buying the same exact game with Ultra Sun when I was expecting it to be like BW2, and then every game since then has been more and more disappointing. I thought sword and shield was fine when I played it, I quite enjoyed my playthrough because at the time I was just starting to transition and I found the games fashion to be very fun and Wooloo, Hatterene, and Dracovish we’re all Pokémon I adored (hated the starters though). Then Pokémon made the move of giving another studio the job of creating the Diamond and Pearl remake but gave them no creative freedom so the game is exactly the same but with an art style and 3D Pokémon models that I find significantly less appealing than the original game’s charming sprites (even if the load times are better). Then we got PLA which was an interesting semi-spin-off that immediately lost everyone’s attention because they waited like 5 minutes before announcing Scarlet and Violet, which are looking like they’re going in the exact opposite direction of literally everything I enjoy about Pokémon.

All this is to say that I guess Pokémon really isn’t for me anymore. I guess that’s fine. I feel entitled to being sad about parting ways from something I was obsessed since I was 4. I deeply wish they would spend far longer developing their games instead of pushing them out with ridiculous deadlines and crunch time, but I know they won’t because people aren’t going to stop playing Pokémon, and the plushies are where the money comes from anyway. Even competitive Pokémon went in a direction I completely despise. I guess whenever I get the itch to play Pokémon again I’ll replay an old game or delve deep into the growing romhack scene.

If Pokémon ever wants to win back the incredibly specific fan group that I’m in, they’ll spend years developing a new battle revolution or something with all Pokémon and moves in it (to fix competitive) and with animated 3D Pokémon that actually have the extremely charming character that they did back in battle revolution. This will literally never happen because there are more than double the Pokémon there were when battle revolution came out, the mainline games are already in 3D (even though I think the Pokémon look bad), and Pokémon doesn’t really care that much about their competitive scene. Or maybe they could win me back if they just stopped doing this ridiculous yearly release schedule and took a couple years to make a good game, but that makes less money so that also won’t happen.

(Don’t get me started on the PTCG I could rant waaaaaaaay longer than this about the PTCG)

[pokemon-my-beloved]

my thoughts on the new scarlet/violet trailer

and also the information about it that was added to the official site, though granted i will be referencing the trailer more

under a readmore again because BOY is there a lot to unpack

general

the big theme is going to be past and future, i’m calling it now. i don’t speak japanese, so forgive me if this is incorrect, but to my knowledge “korai” means something from ancient times (aka the past) and “mirai” means future. also, sada could possibly come from “pasada” (past in spanish) and turo from “futuro” (future in spanish)

they’re officially open world pokemon games??? screaming /pos

it looks like you go to a school at the start of the game, so the story probably starts with you going out to fill the dex as part of an assignment or smth

it sounds like you can do the gyms in any order you want, at least based off this quote from the website, which is a touch i adore “...a world that you’re free to explore at your leisure and not in an order dictated by the story.”

you can play the game co-op, apparently, which is probably not something i’ll do (at least at first) but still is cool!

got a look at the new battle interface! nothing too special, but still pretty visually appealing!

the region is definitely based off spain, i’ve made up my mind. shoutout to @modern-alebrije for pointing out the windmills on my last post about sv, which basically made up my mind, and @kirigaya-art, who saw smoliv, thought it was a corn pokemon, realized it was an olive, and was disappointed until he realized corn would make more sense for latinam than spain and olives did make sense for that

speaking of, no region name yet! i want to know what this place is called cause it looks really cool and i’m very excited, but i’ll manage to wait probably fjlkasjgla

we’ve got a release date, november 18! looking back, i didn’t really put much thought into when the games would come out, but this does make the most sense. mainline pokemon games generally come out between mid and late november, except pla for some fucking reason idk

the pokemon centers look VERY different. i mean, i like the fact that they’re outside now, that’s cool, but the design seems more consumeristic, i guess. like, it’s more of a gas station than a cafe, if that makes sense

still don’t know what the significance of scarlet and violet are. i can’t tell if the light spectrum theory has been debunked for sure, but it kinda seems like it, especially with the past/future symbolism

pokemon

sprigatito weed cat confirmed lmao

we’ve got a look at the box legendaries! they’re okay, i guess, not BAD or anything, but i’m not super big on them, they feel like the least creative box legendaries aside from dialga and palkia, but those two at least have different body shapes and types. also why do they have wheels for chests, is that necessary, what the hell

pawmi looks to be the pikachu clone this gen. having it unveiled so soon is new (at least to me, i only started paying attention to this shit at the beginning of gen 7), as is the fact that it looks like it might evolve into something, which the pikachu clones have never done, iirc

i would like to personally shake the hand of every single person who contributed to naming lechonk and smoliv JGKLASJGLKAHSGLJKA

lechonk is probably based on lechon tho, which is made by cooking a baby pig so that’s. morbid

as the early-route normal-type, i cannot WAIT to see what lechonk evolves into ljgkasjgkjalgkjs

we seem to have moved away from early-route rodents to early-route farm animals as the first normal types. gen 8 had wooloo AND skwovet, but now we’ve just got lechonk (so far, at least)

also excited to find out what the early-route bird is, that’ll be exciting

so far, the previous confirmed pokemon are pikachu, fletchling, flaaffy, chewtle, bagon, larvitar, venonat, coalossal, toxapex, cryogonal, lurantis, talonflame, flabebe, starly, hoppip, petilil, psyduck, drifloon, combee, meowth, stonjourner, clauncher, pelipper, swablu, blissey, seviper, magnemite, and lucario, plus (by extension) all of their respective evolutions and pre-evolutions. seems like a good balance of pokemon from all the previous regions, though i’m unsure of if this means we’ll get the natdex or not (i’d guess probably not, though. this game will likely bring the total number of pokemon over 1000, and there’s no way they can fit all of them (plus alternate forms and possibly mega evolutions and such) into the game without sacrificing a decent amount of quality)

no regional variants have been revealed yet, which is kinda disappointing. hopefully we’ll get some later (maybe with the reveal of the region name), but if they get rid of that, i will be very upset

also i know we’ve only had two regions with variants (three counting hisui), but meowth is the same as its kantonian form in the og trailer, which means that this is the first time since that feature was introduced that he won’t have a variant. just something that i found interesting

characters

gamefreak said “happy pride month to wlw ONLY” huh /j

i am obsessed with professor sada she is so pretty

also the rival, nemona? incredible

speaking of nemona, this is the first time we’ve had a girl as the main rival! the closest we’ve gotten to that before were gens 3 and 6, where the rival depended on the player’s gender (and also shauna was in gen 6 ig), gen 5, where we got cheren AND bianca, and gen 8, where marnie was a rival, but not the main one (which was hop). tldr, i’m very excited to see what they do with nemona

continuing on the nemona train, according to the website she apparently has a smoliv on her team, which means there’s probably going to be an early-route water-type and early-route fire-type to balance it out and she’ll have one of those plus the starter depending on which one you chose

alternatively, i’m completely wrong and she breaks new ground by NOT having a traditional starter and having a preset team that doesn’t change based on your choices at all instead

we’ve got two professors now! they differ based on version, and i gotta say, as much as i love the futuristic aesthetic and prefer it over the historical one, i might pick scarlet JUST for professor sada

also, this is probably just me here, but i don’t like professor turo that much so far? maybe it’s the outfit (it’s definitely the outfit), but i’m also not a fan of his face, if that makes sense. definitely a “me” thing, but i’m not super big on more masculine looking characters, which professor turo seems to be. i know a lot of people disagree with me on this (callout post for @yamakagashiz /j), but i still wanted to put that out there

i mentioned this a bit earlier when i was talking about the past/future thing, but our professors aren’t named after trees! they’re not named after any sort of plant at all!!! at least, no plants that i’m aware of. this is unprecedented, as far as I know. like, there’s probably some random fuckoff professor in the anime that’s not named after a plant that only showed up a few times or something, but i never kept up with that religiously and also it’s been a hot minute since i watched it at all. regardless, another first in the series!

that’s about it, i think. i’m very excited, and can’t wait to find out more!

[insecateur]

Ok I heard you say somewhere you also like professor birch so i'm very curious to ask your opinion on the mainline pokemon profs

Also damn you, you are lowkey making me want to practice my french again

yes!! birch is my favorite pokémon prof actually :^) i haven't drawn him in so long i would like to draw him again at some point... and maybe write something about him also...

i'm so sorry that i'm inspiring you to get back into the cursed hell language that is french. i'm (somehow) picking up writing in french again and remembering all of our nightmare tenses is filling me with dread

opinions on mainline pokémon profs (chronological order)

putting it under a cut just so it's not too annoying LMAO

oak: i like him a lot!! i love that he has such a stocky build... he's so THICK in pokémas it's so funny. he's the OG obviously so you gotta respect that but i do just like him in general.

elm: he was actually my favorite pokémon prof as a kid... i loved him in the anime, there was something about him being so tsundere about oak lmao. i like that he is a nerd and i like that his area of expertise is pokémon eggs, i think it's cute!

birch: MY BELOVED... i think birch needs more love... he is My Type. (beard. kind of a mess.) i find the way he seems to get attacked by wild pokémons a lot very moe. my headcanon is that he was apprentice pokémon prof alongside sycamore and maybe... they had a thing together... (i would like to write about it someday perhaps...)

rowan: oji-san... i like his mustache... obviously he's augustine's mentor so i like him. if i were learning to become a pokémon prof under prof rowan i would simply have a crush on him... it's inevitable... also i like that he's very outwardly stern and serious which contrasts with the previous profs who are more chill.

juniper: my gen5 knowledge is lacking bc it's the region that interests me the least but i do like her! her area is interesting and i like that her dad is also a pokémon prof. i remember liking her when i played bw (did not play b2w2 sadly)

sycamore: nasty man. never seen this guy in my life. would not trust him ever. j/k I WAS VERY NEGATIVE ABOUT HIM AT FIRST... he kind of checks all the cliché french guy boxes which annoyed me at the time LOL but obviously i have Come Around. i like the subtleties of his personality! i wish he had played a bigger role in the games tbh

kukui: my second favorite... i drew SO MUCH art of him when sumo was first announced. i like that he is basically the chillest guy but also very dedicated to what he's passionate about, which funnily enough is opposite to what sycamore is into (i.e. battling) HIM LIKE... letting pokémons use their moves on him to study them. absolute chad. also he's hot

magnolia: i'm so sad she's basically a non-entity in the games lol we finally got a new female prof and... well. i know it's because she's basically About To Let Sonia Take Over The Mantle but it makes me sad... i feel like pokémon has a bunch of older ladies and i wish they could get bigger roles!

sonia: idk if she counts??? she's listed as a mainline prof on the bulbapedia page so i'll say she counts. i like her! i actually really liked the whole storyline where hop realizes he wants to become a pokémon prof and he starts studying under her etc... it was very sweet. also i like her design. her 6* EX in pokémas looks gooood

laventon: I LOVE LAVENTON SO MUCHHHH HE'S SOOO CUTE i love his bobble hat... i love his fashion sense... legitimately one of my favorite PLA characters i've been meaning to draw him for ages and still haven't because my brain is too busy rotating the two same french men over and over

cannot really say much about the new profs for the next gen because we don't know anything about them LOL i love the past/future theming though. they are both hot and i appreciate that. i like that turo is wearing a futuristic skin-tight suit—

[4stars-uswnt]

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes [Tierna Davidson x Reader]

requested by anon: Idk if you’re taking requests or not but could you do a tierna x reader where reader’s kinda reserved and the team doesn’t know her super well but her and baby t just bond together and one gets the courage to ask the other out. And maybe they like hide their relationship just to mess with the team or something cause they were trying to set them up. If not then it’s perfectly fine. You’re a great writer!!

A/N: thanks anon! i honestly don’t know how this got so long... oops

You hesitantly make your way down the aisle of the bus, unsure where to seat, given that this was only your fourth camp and you didn’t necessarily have a designated seat.

Spotting an empty spot next to Tierna, you sheepishly ask, “Hey, is anyone sitting here?”

“Nope,” she gives you a kind smile, glancing up from her phone. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” you mumble, a small smile of your own tugging at your lips.

As you’re putting in your ear buds and turning on your music, Tierna curiously watches you. “So how you liking the team so far?”

“I love it. It’s honestly better than I could’ve imagined. Everyone here is so nice and welcoming and so willing to teach,” you ramble slightly nervously, scratching the back of your neck.

Ever since you’d gotten your first call up last year, your nerves hadn’t calmed down at all. You were a naturally reserved and quiet person, but being around the best players in the world only intensified your nervousness.

Given your shyness, none of your teammates knew that much about you. The only one who knew anything about, apart from your position, your hometown, and where you currently reside, was Alyssa. The veteran goalkeeper had taken you under her wing when you went pro at just nineteen and joined the Red Stars. The two of you immediately bonded, forming a sort of big sister-little sister relationship, as you were both so similar in the way you carried yourself on and off the field. So when you got your first national team call up, Alyssa was the one to show you the ropes and help you make the transition.

And although you played on the same NWSL team as Tierna, you’d never actually had a real conversation with the other woman, so neither of you knew each other at all.

“Yeah, it’s an incredible environment,” the defender agrees. “It really does become like one giant family.”

“Hopefully, I’ll stick around long enough to become a part of that.” You anxiously chew your lip. Being on the national team has been a dream of yours ever since you could remember, and now that you are presented with the opportunity, you were scared you were gonna do something to mess it up.

“I have a feeling you will,” Tierna muses, smirking. You can’t tell if she’s flirting with you or if she’s just being nice, but either way your face flushed red.

The three hour bus ride went by seemingly quick, as you and Tierna engaged in an easy flowing conversation, talking about topics ranging from the basic introductions to the incredible cinematography of The Queen’s Gambit.

You find yourself becoming increasingly comfortable and relaxed around the other woman, and you feel this is the start of a wonderful friendship.

—————

After a quick team meeting upon arriving to the hotel, Vlatko starts to announce roommates and distribute room keys.

“Tierna and (Y/N),” he calls out, giving Tierna two key cards.

“Looks like we’re roomies,” she beams, as she hands your key.

“Looks like it.” You grin, excited at the idea of spending more time with the defender.

Both of you were pretty tired, especially after a long day of traveling, so you each quickly jump in the shower and change into your pajamas.

As you slide into bed, Tierna, already under the covers, grabs the TV remote. “Anything you wanna watch?”

“I’m fine with anything.” You shrug, as you pull the blankets over your body. “Have you seen the docuseries on Netflix about the Challenger?” You ask, remembering her passion for space and aeronautics.

“I haven’t,” Tierna gasps. “Can we watch it?”

Your heart warms at the sight of her pure eagerness. “Of course! I’ve been meaning to watch it for a while too.”

You quickly set up your laptop, connecting it so that your screen projects onto the TV.

As the episode progresses, Tierna spits out additional facts about the Challenger as well as NASA itself, and you can’t help but listen in awe and admiration.

The two of you barely make it through two episodes, as the hours of travel catch up to you and sleep takes over.

—————

It was the last day of camp, and you and Tierna had grown quite close, bonding over being the youngest on the teams as well as your similar interests.

You’d discovered that, when not playing soccer of course, you both enjoyed going on hikes, reading with a cup of coffee, and also relaxing at the end of the day with a good TV series.

She’d also given you some insight on how she adjusted to being on the national team at such a young age, something you were having trouble doing. It’s not that your skill level wasn’t up to par; you were just finding it difficult to put yourself out there and connect with the rest of the women. And just maybe your newfound friendship with Tierna would be just what you needed to open up to the rest of the team.

Over the past couple of days, as you’d gotten to know the defender, you couldn’t develop feelings for the other woman.

So here you were, packing up your hotel room, as you worked up the courage to ask Tierna out. At the moment, the freckled woman was currently rambling about some new book she’d found, but you were to stuck in your own head to really pay attention.

“(Y/N)?” Tierna pulls you out of your thoughts.

“Huh?” You shake your head, turning to see an amused smile on Tierna’s face.

“Did you hear anything I was just saying?”

“Umm, yes?” You try sheepishly.

Tierna rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. It’s alright. You can make it up to me by reading the book I was talking about. And by the way it’s about a depressed neuroscientist at Stanford.”

“Sounds peachy,” you groan, earning a chuckle from the defender.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing,” you mumble, shrugging.

“Come on, what’s bothering you?” She asks, as she sits down next to you, lightly elbowing your side.

You take a deep breath, gathering all the courage in the world, before asking, “Would you maybe wanna go out sometime? Like grab some coffee or dinner when we’re back in Chicago?”

Tierna stills, her eyes widening, as her brain tries to process your question. “What?”

“I’m asking you on a date, T,” you clarify, feeling a new wave of confidence take over. “Do you wanna go out with me?”

A gigantic grin breaks out Tierna’s face. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

—————

About six months later, you’d received another national team call up, and so had your girlfriend.

After last camp, you and Tierna went out to dinner at a restaurant back in Chicago, and from then on, you began dating. It helped that you both played for the Red Stars, getting to spend more time together and not having to worry about the trouble of a long distance relationship.

However, the two of you decided to keep your relationship under wraps, not feeling the need to announce or flaunt it. In fact, in public, your relationship didn’t really change, and to most people, it looked as if the two of you were just best friends.

But Alyssa had known you well enough to see that you definitely had a crush on the younger defender, and to be fair, you did, but the goalie didn’t know that you were already dating.

The Red Stars training before the national team players left for camp, Alyssa decided to see if anyone else shared the same suspicions.

“Hey, J!” she calls out, catching up to the blonde midfielder.

“What’s up, Lys?”

“Do you think there’s something between (Y/N/N) and Tierna?”

“What do you mean?” Julie furrows her brows, confused.

Alyssa gives her friend a pointed glare, nodding her head in the direction of where you were leaning your head on Tierna’s shoulder, giggling at something your girlfriend had said.

“Ah, I see,” Julie muses, nodding her head in realization. “Are they together?”

“Nope, at least I don’t think so. I’m sure (Y/N) would’ve mentioned something.”

“Well, should we help them get their head’s out of the butts and try and set them up?” The midfielder proposes.

“Camp is this weekend…” Alyssa smirks, as the two women share a knowing look.

“Kelley’s gonna have a field day with this,” Julie chuckles.

—————

After morning training the next day, the team split off into groups, as they head into town to grab a bite to eat, do some shopping, or just walk around the streets of Santa Barbara.

A group of the veterans decided to try out a cute little cafe they’d seen. As they were all sitting around the table, sipping their coffee and eating some pastries, Julie decided to bring up the subject of their two favorite team babies.

“So, have you guys noticed anything going on between (Y/N) and Tierna?”

Conversation stopped, the entire table going silent.

“Wha?” Kelley asks, her voice muffled by the food in her mouth. “(Y/N/N) and Baby T?”

“Kel, please swallow your food,” Christen requests, cringing at the defender.

“Sorry.” The freckled woman gulps down her bite of her croissant. “But Tierna and (Y/N)?”

“You don’t see it?” Alyssa raises her eyebrow, surprised that she might be the only one who saw the chemistry between you two.

“Aren’t they just best friends?” Tobin chimes in on the conversation.

“That’s what people always said about you and Chris until they got their heads out of their asses,” Ash snorts, pointing between the two forwards.

“Fair point.”

“Now that I think about it,” Christen hums. “They do act very couple-y.”

“And Tierna is really the only one that (Y/N) hangs out with, besides Alyssa,” Pinoe points out, as the others nod in agreement.

“True, though she is warming up to the rest of us,” Julie lightly argues.

“So do we have a plan?”

The rest of the table just stares blankly at Kelley, who rolls her eyes.

“A plan to get them together?” She clarifies, as if to say ‘duh.’

“Well, that’s what I thought we could discuss.” The blonde midfielder suggests, sparking the discussion of how to get the two youngsters together.

Meanwhile, as the veterans were scheming, you and your girlfriend were taking a walk along the beach, your hands laced together, as your bare feet sunk into the sand.

“I hear you might start in the match versus England,” Tierna smirks at the shy blush that creeps up your neck.

You duck your head and brush a loose strand of hair of your face. “I don’t know. Our midfield is already so stacked, so I don’t know why Vlatko would start me.”

“Hey.” Tierna stops walking, stepping in front of you, halting your movement as well. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a phenomenal player, one of our best middies, at only twenty-one years old I might add.”

“You have to say that.” You bashfully roll your eyes. “You’re my girlfriend.”

“That I am,” Tierna proudly states, as she kisses your cheek. “But seriously, (Y/N/N), you’re amazing and you’re here for a reason. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“Thank you, babe.” You lean in to give her a chaste kiss before bringing her in for a hug.

The two of you decide to walk back up to the sidewalk and sit on one of the benches that overlook the beach. After a couple of minutes of peaceful silence, you remember something Alyssa had mentioned to you a couple days ago.

“I think Lys might know we’re dating.” You raise your head from your girlfriend’s chest to look up at her.

“Hm,” Tierna hums, not looking concerned or fazed, only curious. “Did she something to you?”

“The other day she asked me if I had feelings for you.” You snuggle back into your girlfriend’s body, comforted by the fact that she didn’t seem to be freaking out about the possibility of one of your teammates knowing. “Well actually, her exact words were: ‘Do you have a crush on Tierna?’”

“And what did you say?”

“I said ‘yes,’” you mumble, your cheeks tint pink.

“What was that?” Tierna teases.

“I told her ‘yes’ I have a crush on you.”

“Aw, babe,” she coos, tapping your nose. “I have a crush on you too.”

All you can do is scrunch your face and stick out your tongue at your girlfriend and her antics.

“Do you think we should tell the team we’re dating?”

“Words probably gotten around that you have feelings for me, and seeing how we’re ‘best friends,’ knowing them, they’re already probably devising a plan to get us together.” Tierna shrugs, lightly chuckling.

Though you hadn’t been on the team as long as the defender, you knew she was most likely right.

“Well, who are we to stop their fun?” You say with a small smirk on your face.

Your girlfriend raises her eyebrow at you, surprised by your uncharacteristic boldness and mischievousness.

“Whatever you say, babe.” Tierna softly kisses the top of your head.

The two of you spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other’s presence, the calm waves crashing in the background, before you have to return to the hotel for team dinner.

—————

As you and your girlfriend were off on a brief romantic walk, the rest of the team, who had been recruited by the Kelley, had been finalizing their plan to set you and Tierna up on a date, so you can confess your feelings.

“So,” Kelley, the leader of this operation, announces. “Tomorrow, when we have dinner off, Alyssa, you’ll ask (Y/N) if she wants to grab a bite to eat, and Casey and Abby, and whichever youngsters wanna tag along, will bring Tierna out to dinner.

“The rest of us will grab a table in the backroom so we can see them without being seen. Everybody got it?”

They all nod along, voicing their agreement.

“Awesome,” Ash cheers and claps her hand together. “What do you think Lys?”

“I think it’s good, hopefully it works.” Alyssa nods, quickly glancing at her phone. “I also think we better head back for dinner before Vlatko sends out a search party.”

The rest of the women check the time, their eyes widening, as they all scramble out of their seats, rushing to make it back in time for team dinner.

—————

The next day, at the end of training, many of your teammates, mainly Kelley and Sonnett, were anxious about their upcoming blind date they’d set up for you and Tierna.

“Gosh, I don’t know how I didn’t see it before,” Kelley groans dramatically, watching from across the field, as you and your girlfriend were leaning on each other, laughing at something you’d said.

“How can they be so oblivious?” Tobin shakes her head, following her friend’s gaze.

“That’s rich coming from you,” Megan snorts, as she approaches the two women.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Chris had heart eyes for you for like three years before you actually noticed.”

“That’s different,” Tobin protests, earning a laugh from her two teammates.

“It’s really not.” Kelley clasps the forward’s shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile.

“But we’ve learned.” Pinoe boasts with a pointed look.

Tobin just tilts her head and furrows her head in confusion, not following along.

“Oh, Toby.” The freckled defender slings her arm around Tobin’s shoulder, as they make their way back to the bus. “After being tortured by you and Press’s oblivious pining for many many years, the team collectively decided that when two teammates develop obvious feelings for each other, we’d put our own dignities aside and get them together.”

“Hence, our dinner plans for Tierna and (Y/N),” Megan finishes.

“You guys are all crazy,” Tobin says with a light-hearted roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, but you love us,” Kelley chirps before skipping off to catch up with Alex on the bus, leaving the two forwards chuckling at their teammates playful behavior.

—————

After hopping out of the shower and getting dressed, you decide to text Tierna to see if she wants to grab some dinner.

(Y/N/N):

Hey, you wanna grab some dinner?

I think I saw a taqueria that looked good :)

T 🤍 :

Sorry, babe :/

Casey already asked me to get dinner with  Abby  and Sam.

(Y/N/N):

Aw man, okay.

Stop by after?

T 🤍 :

Of course

I’ll see you later :)

You give the message a heart, before shutting off your phone. As you contemplate what you’re gonna do for lunch, there’s a knock on your door.

“(Y/N/N),” you hear Alyssa’s muffled voice. “It’s Alyssa.”

“Come in!” You call back.

The goalie saunters into your room and plops on your bed. “You wanna grab some dinner?”

“Yeah,” you beam. “I saw a Mexican place downtown that looked good.”

“Hmmm, I had tacos for dinner last night,” Alyssa hums, pretending to think it over, even though she already has a restaurant in mind. “Tobin mentioned a good Japanese place they ate yesterday. We could try that?”

“I could go for Japanese,” you agree. “You wanna head out now?”

“Yeah, I’m down.” Alyssa jumps up from the bed, as you gather your things, following her out the door.

The two of you make light conversation, as you walk through the streets of Santa Barbara, enjoying the warm evening air.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the hostess leads you to a table by the window, but as you sit down, Alyssa remains standing.

“I just have to run to the bathroom real quick,” she tells you. “If they come by to order drinks, could I get a lemonade?”

“Of course.” You nod, before scanning the menu.

While you think Alyssa is going to the restroom, she is actually going to text Casey that you’re sitting at the table near the window.

After a couple minutes, you hear footsteps approaching, which you think is the waitress coming to take your drink order.

“Hey, funny seeing you here.”

You immediately snap your head up when you hear your girlfriend’s voice.

“T, what are you doing here?” You ask, obviously quite surprised, as Tierna sits down in the chair across from you.

“Well, I was supposed to meet the girls here, and they just they’d be at the table by the window,” she chuckles amusedly. “Obviously our teammates are setting us up, not that I’m complaining.”

You roll your eyes at the teasing smirk on your girlfriend’s face. “Yeah, Lys brought me here for lunch. I didn’t think it was in her to be a part of their little matchmaking plans.”

“Alyssa is full of surprises.” Tierna shrugs, as she picks up the menu to look at it for herself.

“Aint’ that the truth,” you laugh.

As the two of you sit in a comfortable silence, deciding what you wanted to eat, you spot a familiar head of purple hair out of the corner of your eye.

“I think we’re being spied on,” you whisper, leaning forward in your seat.

“Huh?”

“Pinoe’s pink hair is a dead give away,” you slightly nod your head towards the back room of the restaurant.

Tierna turns her head to subtly scan the room, and then lets out an amused chuckle. “So how are we gonna play this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, since they’re watching us, do we wanna play into their hands or should we mess with them a little?”

“We could do a little bit of both?” You propose, earning an impressed grin from your girlfriend.

Before Tierna can respond, the waitress comes by to take your orders.

—————

“What can you see?” Sonnett shouts from the other end of the table.

“Keep it down, Sonny,” Kelley scolds, swatting the younger defender’s arm. “But, P, seriously, what’s going on?”

“They’re just talking, laughing occasionally,” Pinoe reports, as she cranes her neck to see the table in the other room. “From what I can see, no sparks are flying yet.”

“Gosh, this is painful. We need to move them along,” Kelley whines, before her eyes widen and her eyes light up, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. “I have an idea.”

“Oh no,” Christen groans. “This should be good.”

The freckled defender just waves her hand, ignoring her friend’s comment. “Just you wait and see. This is gonna work.”

The team has to wait a couple more minutes until the waitress comes back to refill their waters for Kelley’s plan to unfold.

“Excuse me,” Kelley calls over to the waiter, briefly glancing at her name tag. “Virginia, could I order some dessert?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like to get one slice of your cheesecake, please. And if I could ask for a favor?”

The waitress nods with a polite smile.

“Would you deliver it to my two friends over there sitting by the window?”

“Aren’t those your teammates?” Virginia turns to see where Kelley’s pointing.

“Yeah, we’re trying to set them up. So if you could just say it’s on the house or something, we don’t really want them to know we’re here.”

The waitress just chuckles, as she shuts her notepad. “Of course.”

“Oh, wait,” Kelley stops her one more time. “If you’re cool with it, maybe you could flirt with one of them, maybe say the cheesecake is from you?”

Virginia pauses for a second to contemplate her options, before ultimately agreeing. “Fine, but only if I can get your friend’s number over there.” She smirks and points over to where Emily’s sitting, sipping on a glass of wine.

“Deal, but only if my friends over there get together by the end of the night.”

Virginia just smirks, as she leaves to continue her job and get a slice of cheesecake.

—————

You and Tierna took advantage of the date your teammates had set up for you, enjoying some delicious rolls and a bowl of udon. Even though your teammates were technically in the backroom watching, you and your girlfriend enjoyed a nice evening to yourselves.

As you’re finishing up your meal, the waitress comes over with a slice of cheesecake and places it down in front of you.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” You move to return the dessert. “I didn’t order any dessert.”

“I know, cutie,” Virginia flirts. “That’s from me, on the house.”

“I- I, um.” You blush, flustered, while Tierna shoots silent daggers at the waitress. “I’m flattered, but I actually have a girlfriend.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the waitress apologizes, glancing between the two of you. “Is this your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I am,” Tierna answers, hints of jealousy lacing her voice, as you give a sheepish nod.

“Ah I see,” Virginia observes, amused, knowing that the other group of soccer players were going to be quite shocked. “Well, I’m sorry, again, for hitting on you. Keep the dessert as an apology?”

“Everything’s forgotten,” you amend with a kind smile. “Thank you for the cheesecake.”

As the waitress turns to leave, she suggests, “Maybe you guys can share? I’m trying to win a bet.”

Before you or Tierna can respond, Virginia gives both of you a knowing smirk, as she takes your plates and goes back to the kitchen.

“What does that mean?” You tilt your head and push the plate of cheesecake towards the middle of the table.

“I assume that our teammates probably had something to do with that whole scene,” Tierna guesses, shrugging, as she takes a bite of the dessert. “Mmmmm, but thank goodness they did because this cheesecake is delicious.”

“Oooooo, let me try!”

As you and your girlfriend share the slice of fluffy cheesecake, your teammates were waiting for something to happen.

“Anything?” Alyssa asks impatiently. The goalie had been becoming increasingly agitated, because she had seriously thought there was something between you two.

“Not yet,” Kelley sighs. By now, the rest of the team had lost interest and decided to just enjoy their night out.

“Oh wait!” Pinoe gasps, holding her hand up to get everybody else’s attention. The pink-haired forward watched intensely, as you leaned in closely to Tierna, who was holding out her fork with a bite of cheesecake for you.

“Baby T just fed (Y/N/N) a bite of cheesecake. I repeat, Baby T just fed (Y/N/N) a bite of cheesecake!” Megan exclaims. “It was the last slice, too!"

“And they are totally giving each other heart eyes right now,” Kelley adds, excitedly bouncing in her seat.

After a few minutes, as the team bubbles with anticipation to see what would happen next, Virginia returns to the table with the checks and hands it to Kelley.

“By the way, you owe me your friend’s number.”

“Um, I don’t think so. We don’t know for sure that they ended up together,” Kelley protests, as she passes the checks down the table.

“Yeah, we do, because they’re already together,” Virginia boasts and moves to collect the empty plates, smirking when she sees you and Tierna holding hands, as you make your way over to the team’s table.

“What? No, they’re not.” The defender frowns, not noticing her two youngest teammates.

“Yes, we are,” Tierna simply states, leading you out the backdoor, as you duck your head to hide your flushed cheeks.

“And, thanks for the cheesecake,” your girlfriend throws over her shoulder, leaving your teammates sputtering in shock with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

“Well, that was fun,” you snicker, as you step outside.

“Yeah, it was,” Tierna agrees, kissing you cheek. “Now let’s go have some fun of our own.”

Laughing freely, you relax into your girlfriend’s side. You couldn’t help but feel lighter, like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders, now that the team knew about your relationship, and maybe this is the push you needed to open up to the women who would soon become your second family.

[wolfcrunch]

Say what :O WOLFY?!?! Aw, well. It'd be real hard to grab a copy of HGSS nowadays. The cheapest I found was 50 bucks, with $200 at the most expensive. Some features couldn't be used because it's been over a decade, but I had to get it because nostalgia was killing me with extreme desire. (It had battery acid all over it and wouldn't turn on, so I threw it on the ground, stabbed it, then cleaned it with a lemon wipe until it did and my friend was appalled that it worked because I got scammed? 😅)

(idk if these are from the same user.. gonna treat is as such tho)

right, i always forget that much like how BDSP is technically gen 8 despite being set in gen 4, HGSS are gen 4 despite being set in gen 2. regardless i never picked up either as a kid (for note, the first gen i actually ever played was 4 with diamond.. never completed lol)

this is why emulators are good.... regardless of copy im not paying unfortunately. unless it was a remake on a console i actually own, my DS is kinda broken lol so even HGSS would be a bit unplayable for me.

and remakes i think can go both ways... sometimes it is just updated graphics with improved QoL features - BDSP is a good example, as its improved from the original DP. however they can also add story... ORAS added the Delta Episode.

a gen 6 reboot or just a game set in the gen 6 setting could work... either its PLA-esque, we go back to the Kalos war, and our story in that game crosses paths with that of AZ. OR we get something more ORAS-esque... good QoL updates, some new postgame.

while the alternate timeline in the mainline games is atm only in USUM, its not the first time its appeared in the franchise. the anime/movies exist in their own timelines.. some movies and special episodes exist apart from the mainline anime, iirc. we could get a gen 6 reboot with what was supposedly going to be in the original game, but cut out due to time or space issues. again, this is all speculation and "rumor" but given how certain things were handled and executed in XY, it wouldnt be surprising if some stuff was cut out. it could genuinely work if gamefreak/TPC wanted it to.

is this all copium? quite possibly. but i feel Kalos just had a ton of potential for when it was released. also for once people would stop complaining abt lack of megas because megas would be back, its a win-win

[segatoys]

Hey Bruno, for a once hardcore pokemon fan that’s kinda gotten bored of the last few mainline games (me) do you thing Legends is worth trying out?

honestly? yes!!! i didnt realize how utterly BORED i was with the usual format until playing pla. the open world aspect works so well and the method of actually completing the pokedex is a lot more enticing. i’ve never been someone who’s gone for completing the dex but this is the first game i really want to do so. it kind of mixes elements from the “go” series - you can catch some pokémon without having to engage in battle at all - while still retaining the fun parts of battle. also not to mention they got rid of the EV/IV system which honestly makes it a lot more fun, lol (they replaced it with something called effort level). compared to older mainline games, this game is VERY streamlined - from simply how item collection goes to menu layouts…. idk. it’s definitely one of if not my top favorite mainline game!!! for sure my favorite ever pokémon game in terms of gameplay.

besides some nitpicks like some graphical stuff and fast travel (you can only go to different regions of hisui by stopping at the “hub” village first), i honestly can’t think of any major complaints. highly recommend :-)

(also, the clothes in the game are banger, and don’t actually vary too much between gender if ur character)

[starlitflowers-secretgarden]

This is maybe a controversial opinion but...

Another thing about tomorrow’s update is that your IGG ID will no longer be displayed anywhere in game or searchable by other players, and from what I’ve gathered from the official discord and from the in game chat, a lot of people are really upset at this, and I will never understand why that is. I try to be reasonably private about my personal information online, and it’s always made me uncomfortable that this unique identifier for me is so prominently displayed to literally everyone in game.

I do get that if someone is being a troll in the in-game chat it’s easier to report them if you know their IGG ID, but also, I don’t like the idea of some troll being able to see my IGG ID to potentially target me personally. There’s got to be a way to block and report without the IGG ID right? In the in-game chat, when you tap on a player’s icon and look at their calling card, the option to block them is right next to the option to add them as a friend. It’s super easy to block someone, and knowing their IGG ID is not necessary to do so. Not having the ID displayed on their calling card wouldn’t affect blocking. They could easily just add a report option to the calling card to so you could do both if they’re being a troll in the chat to everyone. I would 100% be supportive of that.

Like, you will still be able to request people’s friendship in game, and at least in my experience, in game friendships have been pretty useless. I literally do nothing with my in game friends and have no idea who most of them are. I just confirmed every request I got until I reached 200 friends and couldn’t accept friends requests anymore. I don’t really use the shared closets because it’s impossible to search for items by tags or find anything in the shared closets without manually searching individual closets. You don’t even send stamina or friendship beans to individual friends, just hit the send all button and receive the max amount of each in return. I suppose I could message a specific friend and ask them to put something in the closet for me, but I don’t see the point in the extra steps because it’s not that difficult to clear stages with what I already have. I cleared a few spots in my friends list a while back by getting rid of friends that hadn’t played in over 30 days, so I could accept requests from players in my society when they created the societies feature, but like, even my society isn’t close with each other. We all do our tasks so we get the benefits each day, but we have never talked in the society chat ever. Any friendships I have made in the TP fandom have been forged on outside social media rather than any in-game interactions. Even with those that I’m friends with in-game as well as outside the game, I don’t really interact with them in-game.

The change is the result of a Chinese privacy law that went into effect Nov. 1, so it will be applied to the game and any official game servers where Chinese players interact. I wonder if they’ll still ask for IGG IDs for their Facebook comment giveaways after this, or if the law won’t apply to their posts and contests for the English Time Princess social medias. Personally, I never participate in the social media comment giveaways because I don’t want to share my IGG ID publicly like that, and I’m a fan of most changes that increase privacy protections. I personally like this change in the upcoming update.

There is one part of the update that really doesn’t make sense me though, and that’s that they’re going to start allowing usernames to be repeated. In the same update that eliminates all front end significance of the unique identifying number that could be used to tell apart players with the same username, that can lead to some serious issues with trolls sharing usernames with other players and causing trouble for those players, so I wish they weren’t also doing that.

Idk, is there something I haven’t thought of that is significant enough to game play that it’s worth publicly displaying a unique identifying number associated with only me to everyone? I genuinely don’t understand why that change is so unpopular with users.

[tonystarkbingo]

Presenting, for your entertainment and amusement, a Titles Game from the TSB Discord!

Aim of the game: a title is suggested, and everyone pitches in their idea of what kind of fic they would write for that title.

“Hot Chocolate Kisses” - suggested by @rebelmeg

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony and Bruce are undertaking a very serious series of experiments to determine the optimal ratio of hershey kisses to milk in hot chocolate. And taste-testing the results. (actually, that would be fun to do as Tony and Morgan)

@summerpipedream - Natasha/Pepper - Natasha hates hot chocolate. It's always been too sweet, too sticky and if she could drink any other winter holiday drink, she would. Figuring out how to tell her girlfriend Pepper that, the biggest chocoholic in the world (Tony literally bought her a chocolate fountain for her birthday one year), well...it was a problem.

@rebelmeg - Iron Family winter tradition that comes about the first day they get a big snow. everyone wears their coziest sweaters, fuzziest socks, and wooliest winter hats, and they all drink hot chocolate out on the porch swing as they watch snow fall

@somesortofitalianroast - Hot chocolate kisses: Bucky teaches Russian History at Appalachian State University. Steve Rogers is the new World War II teacher. It always amuses Bucky that the UNC System decided that they needed an entire 3-credit hour class on World War II, and why AppState was chosen as the university, since Fayetteville is, like, right next to Fort Bragg. Or something. At least Steve’s easy on the eyes. Even if he’s not into guys. Except he is. Into guys that is. They’ve just started dating, Steve’s coming over to Bucky’s house for the first time, and a snowstorm hits. Featuring hot chocolate, declarations of love, only one bed, and enough pining to repopulate the pine barrens.

@darthbloodorange - Captain America is meant to be the paragon of virtue, the pinnacle of perfection. Or so Tony thought until catches Steve stuffing his face full of chocolate in the middle of the night. He demands Steve share the chocolate, but he's eaten it all ready. The only way Tony's get some, it seems it, is to kiss it from Steve's hot, chocolate covered lips.

(Keep reading for more amazing ideas!)

“to love and only love” - suggested by @somesortofitalianroast

@rebelmeg - giving me tony and maria vibes for some reason. can't decide if it's angsty, about how maria loves her son more from a distance, or if it's fluffy, and she loves him more than enough to make up for the ways howard doesn't.

@summerpipedream - Tony/Bucky - "To love and only love" is what the world always said about soulmates. His mother always said that when he'd meet his soulmate, he'd know. But what did that say about him when his soulmate kept running away?

@somesortofitalianroast - To love and only love: Cap!Steve/oblivious mechanic, Tony. Snarky identity porn. (changed it because, now that i think about it, it's tony/steve, that fic. lol)

@jamesbuckystark - to love and only love - Angst - Tony falls in love way too easily and quickly. Even when the ones he loves hurt him time and time again, he cannot find it in his heart to hate them

@jacarandabanyan - To love and only love: Tony hates soulmates and destiny deciding who he’s supposed to love and all the cultural adoration around the whole concept of soulmate marks. But nothing beats how much he hates that he loves his soulmate, despite himself. Steve clearly hasn’t seen their matching marks, and even more clearly doesn’t like, let alone love Tony. Tony can’t stop himself from living Steve- another thing to add to the list of things he hates, his stupid, insuppressible love for Steve- but he can avoid letting Steve know about their matching marks. He can love Steve and do nothing about it.

@lbibliophile-mcu - The vibe I'm getting from this title is subverted love triangle. The set-up is all there for angst and jealousy, but the characters all decide to focus on the positives instead. Whether this is one character deciding that (close) friendship is enough, or some degree of poly. Just everyone deciding that the important thing is that everyone is happy and together.

@trashcanakin - I get arranged marriage, enemies to real lovers vibes from it. Winteriron of course if I wrote it xD

To love and only love: Why does Tony have to marry him of all people. It's bad enough he's being forced into marriage because it's what the "kingdom" needs, what about what he needs? Or wants for that matter. And Bucky doesn't even like him, always silently glaring at him. It will never work, they just can't pretend to love each other when it takes all their strength just to like each other. But things change with the seasons. Could one terrible accident move the tide and show the true feelings hidden below?

@darthbloodorange - To love and only love (Stony): It's been years since anyone one has come by Tony's lair, leaving the dragon alone to tinker and work with his tech hoard. That's how he likes it: no knights, no paladins, no trouble. Just him and his bots. One day a werewolf (Steve) makes his way into his lair. He does everything he can to get rid of him, but the werewolf always returns. Before long Tony realises he likes having Steve around, likes how happy Steve is when he returns to Tony. Before long any frustration Tony feels for the werewolf is worn away, and all there is left is for him to love him. But would it ever work out between a dragon and a werewolf?

“Falling off the edge of the world with you” - @summerpipedream

@rebelmeg - pepperony, tony is teaching pepper how to work the rescue armor. they've been at it long enough that she's got the hang of it, and they celebrate by taking a thrilling flight together, far enough up that there's nothing but them, the edge of the world, and the stars

@summerpipedream - Tony & Rhodey - Whenever he got angry or tired at the world, Rhodey always used to drive him to their favourite lookout. Told him to yell and scream when things got too much and the world would fade away. Through the years, this never changed.

@jamesbuckystark - falling off the edge of the world with you - Rhodey knows it's unhealthy, following Tony to the ends of the earth. He also knows that Tony would understand if he said no. But there's something about the rush he gets when he's with Tony

@lronhusbands - falling off the edge of the world with you - ironhusbands. Idk like soft and fluffy boys who are just flying in their suits just to fly and playing games with each other and like total au where Rhodey doesn’t fall like he does so like they’re total idiots who cut their jets and plummet to earth and laugh bc they think they're invincible

@somesortofitalianroast - Falling off the edge of the world with you: 70 years ago, Steve Fell. Capital “F” Fell. There’s only one term for it, anyway. He might have survived, barely, yes, but he survived. But the thing about a Fall is that you never fly again. Even if you recover. Steve had resigned himself to never see the world from the air again. Until Tony.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Something different: Extremis!Tony (technopath version). Jarvis has been helping him get used to his new skills and senses. Because as much as Tony prefers to run rather than walk, he can also feel the very real risk of losing himself in this world of information and connections. The climax has Jarvis 'standing' beside him (acting as his guide and tether) as he takes his first dive into the internet.

@darthbloodorange - Falling off the edge of the world with you (Stony): Tony thought he would be the last person Steve would turn to for flying lessons. He didn't even have real wings anymore, not since Afghanistan. He doesn't fly like he used to. He didn't even think that Steve wouldn't know how to fly. With the broad, strong wings the serum had given him, Steve should be the best flier out. But as Steve stands before him, shyly stammering out his request for help, Tony could only find in him to say "yes" Tony schedules in time every week to help teach Steve how to fly. It soon becomes their thing.

@jacarandabanyan - Falling off the edge of the world with you: Space AU- Tony has always dreamed of exploring out beyond the edge of the known universe, and Rhodey has always known that he would follow Tony anywhere, no matter where. Even if current mathematical models of the edges of the known universe indicate that the two of them are more likely to end up falling into the void of nothingness than discover another universe or whatever it is Tony thinks he’s going to find.

“My heart beets for you (Mint to be)” - @darthbloodorange

@rebelmeg - the avengers have transformed the roof of the tower into a garden. and it's going pretty well. they've all got their own spots for their own stuff, and a section they do together, it's a good team bonding activity. at least... it is until tony's mint ("it's peppermint, get it?!") starts taking over clint's beets ("they're purple!"). then it's all-out war, and the one with the greenest thumb wins (pun not intended, hulk.)

@trashcanakin - My Heart Beets For You (Mint to Be): (No powers AU) Bucky runs a little cafe in a nice quiet town. They specialize in pastries, some say that their mint pies are the best around. Then some loud, rowdy, asshole buys the lot across the street and puts in a music store. Oh, it is on! This Tony guy wants a war, he's got one. And toss in soulmate AU on top because it would be funny xD

@jamesbuckystark - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) - Bucky is a garden sprite. No one sees him, and he bestows his loving touch to those who deserve it. Tony tries to be a plant dad... but fails miserably, due to the lack of sun and his forgetting to tend to his plants. Bucky takes one look at the man and falls in love. Imagine Tony's surprise when his dead plants are now alive and blooming!

(addition by @trashcanakin ) Tony's apartment is full of plants, flowers, and greenery because every time Bucky looks at him and blushes it makes more plants grow xD

And he's like "IDK WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

@summerpipedream - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) - Tony/Sam - Maria's last instructions in her will to Tony, along with the keys to her old family manor, were "Be Happy". It didn't take long for Tony to decide to quit his job, pack up his things and move out in the middle of nowhere to turn his mother's old home into a bed and breakfast. Of course, he never expected to run into Farmer Sam, who insists on sharing his extra fresh produce with him, dropping by 'just to see him smile'.

@darthbloodorange - My heart beets for you (Mint to be) (Stony) Steve and Tony retire from saving the world after the defeat of Thanos. Steve takes up gardening, wanting somewhere calming to do his art, somewhere he can relax. He needed something sedate, something peaceful that he could manage. He starts small, only a handful of flower beds, and learns as he goes. Slowly he starts expanding his garden, growing new sorts of flowers, and food. Herbs for Bruce. Flowers for Nat. A mediation/sensory garden for Sam. Pumpkins for Clint and his kids. A coffee tree for Tony. Soon he has a huge garden at the Compound with something for all of the Avengers. With a little work he manages to convince Tony to help him out in his garden (even if it is mainly to ogle Steve).

“If You Only Knew” - @jamesbuckystark

@rebelmeg - welp. okay. angst. tony ruminating about all the ways the people he loves don't understand the way he loves them. the way he shows them, tells them with different words. all he wants is to be loved back, and he can't understand why he's so unlovable.

@trashcanakin - Bucky would do anything for Tony, anything. Tony's the reason he's free, has a roof over his head, food, has his life back... Tony and Shuri even gave him his mind back, too. But Tony thinks Bucky hates him... Of course, why wouldn't he. Bucky keeps tryin' to show Tony how much he actually cares, but things keep gettin' in the damn way! A story full of misunderstandings, hurt/comfort, and eventual romance. Ayye. Could easily turn that into humor and crack as well, 'cause it's my brand xD

@summerpipedream - If You Only Knew - Steve/Tony "Do you know how long it took me to get home?" scowled Tony, "Every werewolf I ran into on the street told me congratulations, or took him long enough. Did you have something to tell me Steve?" Werewolf Steve is a little too enthusiastic with scenting his human mate. Whoops.

@jamesbuckystark - If You Only Knew - Tony talks in his sleep... a lot. Rhodey has experienced hearing some weird-ass stuff that he's said ever since college. Now Bucky gets woken up by Tony shaking him then saying something like "I farted by a hairy man yesterday" or "who grabbed my cheese in the ocean?" before zonking back out. Tony knows he talks in his sleep and often asks what he said when he wakes up. Bucky can't tell him due to laughing so hard so he ends up wheezing out "oh if you only knew what you said."

@jacarandabanyan - If only you knew: Tony loses his memories after a magical head injury. Nothing should be more important than getting his memories back so he can get back into the field and fight the good fight with these hero-types that claim to be his teammates. But one teammate in particular keeps distracting him from this vital work. For some reason, Bucky Barnes is both eager to help him in any way he can and totally unwilling to be alone with him. If only Tony knew why.

@celtic7irish - It would be a story of one-upmanship of the craziest stunts the Avengers have ever pulled. "If Only You Knew" the TRUE story behind some of those missions. If Only You Knew what really happened in Budapest. If Only You Knew what really happened during that one summer at MIT. Lol.

@jamesbuckystark - Also, angst version. If You Only Knew: Tony Stark, the control freak. Tony Stark, who thinks he knows best and screws stuff up. Tony Stark, the creator of Ultron. All these things, Tony has heard and will agree with. Rhodey does not. The others don't know what he does to keep shady government agencies off their backs. They don't realize what Tony sees at night. He wants to tell them, but Tony won't let him

@darthbloodorange - If You Only Knew: (Stony) Steve locks himself away in his room as Tony brings back another Omega to the tower, not wanting the Alpha to see the tears it brings to his eyes. It wasn't fair, he had no right to be hurt or jealous, Tony wasn't his Alpha. Tony would never be interested in him. Tony was only interested in soft, pretty Omegas. As far as the world cared he was an Alpha. But he wasn't. He was an Omega. If only Tony knew... maybe he would pick him. ...Maybe he would love him.

[angrylizardjacket]

take me to your heart

Summary: Lola's never had a proper Christmas, and after this one, she still hasn't, but Tommy's a surprisingly good gift giver. Set during the tour with Roxie, but well after she's departed.

A/N: Written on my phone, v Christmas. Warning: Lola n Nikki give each other dirty gifts but the fic is sfw. Tommy-centric. Also idk if he's genuinely greek orthodox, he might not be idk

[run to paradise]

----

"Sharise wants to do something for Christmas," Vince sighs, his heels resting on the table of the tour bus. Lola, at least, looks up from her magazine with a frown, though she seems to be the only one paying attention.

"She's in LA."

"We'll be in Phoenix by then, its not that long of a flight," Vince answers quickly, and Lola goes back to her magazine. "I don't know what to get her."

"A six-pack and edible panties," comes Nikki's answer, half distracted where he was trying to write lyrics. Vince's expression, however, wrinkles.

"Have you ever bought a present for a lady who wasn't Lola?" He snaps, crossing his arms, and though he can't see Lola's amused expression, he hears her snort of laughter.

"Yes," Nikki responds flatly, finally looking up, "but incase you haven't noticed," he gestured around to the bus, which was filled only with the band, as well as Doc and Lola, "none of them are still here."

"That's correlation, man, not causation -"

"You know what? Fuck your five dollar words, man, I was trying to help." Nikki snapped, picking up his notebook in a huff and heading to the back of the bus. Silence fills the air, Vince sulking a little, Tommy just looking between Lola and Vince. Mick, who was trying to nap, sighs deeply and shifts in his uncomfortable seat.

"Is that all you've ever gotten for Christmas?" Tommy asks and Lola's response is surprisingly honest.

"Zero expectationsl, zero disappointments; drink, eat, fuck, like any other day." She does give pause there, the magazine rustling as her grip tightens just a little, and when she lowers it, there's amusement in her eyes. "Also, grape is the best flavour."

"What?"

"For edible panties."

"You guys are absolutely no help." Vince declares. Mick just laughs at that.

Lola's never been too bothered by not having a proper Christmas, she and Nikki live a pretty secular life when they weren't dabbling in Satanism, and the others were usually too busy doing their own things around the holidays to notice the pair's lack of any sort of traditions. Usually they'll buy each other booze, or some sort of joke present, but its never been a particularly sentimental time for Lola, not that anyone had really noticed her apathy enough to care.

Until now.

The holidays have always been a sentimental time for Tommy, and though he'd strayed from his Greek Orthodox roots, he still took it as a chance to show his family how much they meant to him, and now he was feeling like a fool for leaving his band-family out for so long.

What the hell could he get them that they didn't already have?

Nikki was easy, as it turned out. One quick phonecall home, his father spends about twenty minutes rifling through the junk Tommy had left from hia teenage years, and a poster, heavily creased and golden with age, is waiting at their next hotel, express shipped. Nikki didn't want or need any fancy packaging, so Tommy bought a big, yellow envelope and put the poster inside, along with a lighter he'd bought at a gas station. It looked cheap, a bit rough around the edges, but he was pretty sure Nikki would appreciate it all the same.

Mick was a little more difficult, seeing as he was almost guaranteed to throw out any joke gifts, or amything he didn't want. It feels like a cop-out, to just give him booze - expensive booze, mind you - instead of something sentimental. As luck would have it, Tommy finds himself scoring blow in an alley beside a pawn shop, and once the deal's done, he spots an iridescent alien-head keychain. He tapes the charm to the bottle of booze, amd slaps a bow on it, and is satisfied.

He and Vince have been exchanging Christmas presents since high school, as long as they were in the same town. Mostly they're joke presents. Tommy's had this year's picked out for months; a Malibu Barbie he'd repainted himself with Vince's stage make-up. Vince he didn't need to worry about.

Lola was a different story. She lived her life in the shadow of the band's, her existence, her belongings, were a patchwork of their leftovers; her creature comforts were consumables, and while she always took whatever she could wherever she was, it was because she could, not because she wanted things. What can you get for the girl who seems to want nothing, and still gets everything?

"Lola doesn't want things, she wants experiences, opportunities," Vince is the one who Tommy finally goes to for advice, and was the only one who Tommy knew would be actually helpful. They're in Vince's dressing room now, Tommy polishing off a bottle of Jack while Vince touches up his own eyeliner. Tommy's frowning, still at a loss, and he lowers the bottle. Their eyes meet in the reflection of the mirror, and Vince visibly hesitates before speaking again.

"Have you ever heard her play piano?"

Christmas rolls around and they're stuck in a hotel in Arizona. They're finishing the tour in LA just days before New Years Eve; the end is so close they can all almost taste it.

Sharise invites them all to dinner, well, she invites Lola when she learns that Lola's never had a proper Christmas dinner and 'the rest of them can come too if they want'. Tommy feels like Santa, laden with gifts, as he gets to the private room they had booked at the nicest resturant in town that was still open. He'd spent the morning organising Lola's gift, and was glad to have a break to eat before he gave it to her, or more accurately, took her to it.

"We were meant to bring presents?" Lola looks immediately panicked when he steps inside with a rather full backpack. She starts patting down her pockets as if hoping to magically find a pile of gifts there. "I didn't- I mean like I didn't bring them- its just drinks- nice drinks -" she clarified, but Tommy grins brightly.

"It's chill, Lols, I just saw this stuff around and thought it would be nice, its not a big deal," with that he laughed a little self consciously, "and dude, I'm sorry but I don't even have a thing to give you."

Lola can't help but be a little put out by that, still strangely childish in ways that continue to baffle Tommy, but he hopes she'll appreciate his gift, even if he can't give it to her with the others.

They do exhange gifts; Tommy gives Sharise champagne, and she seems more amused by his gift to Vince than Vince is. Vince, for his part, gives Tommy an ornate fountain pen, which has Tommy confused at first, while Nikki roars with laughter, pulling out an incredibly cheap ballpoint with a bow on it.

"You guys are fucking assholes," Tommy scowls once he realises, though by now even Lola's snickering. The scar from where Roxie had stabbed him several months ago begins to ache, just a little.

Mick, like Lola, doesn't have any gifts either, but he passes her a lighter and gruffly tells her he found it on the bus, that it was her's and that this isn't a gift. He does, however, smile at the keychain Tommy gives him, and in a few days, Tommy will see it looped around the handle of one of his guitar cases.

To no ones surprise, Nikki puts a six-pack and a pair of cheap, grape flavoured, edible panties on the table, and slides it gracelessly across the table to Lola wearing a shiteating grin. Mirroring his smile, Lola reaches into the inner pocket of her jacket, and flicks him a little cardboard package. Its unmarked, nondescript, and absolutely no-one at that table trusted Lola to have put something appropriate in that box. Everyone waits with a sort of morbid curiosity as Nikki shakes the box, giving pause before opening it.

"It vibrates." Is all Lola says as he holds up the bright purple cockring, smile on his face giving away how genuinely amused he was with it.

"Presents are cancelled," Sharise declared with faux exasperation, but Tommy's already protesting, holding out his own gift to Nikki.

Sharise hands Lola a small present as Nikki unwraps his. For Lola, its new black lipstick and eyeliner, and for Nikki, its an old poster of his band, London, and a cheap lighter. Nikki's expression is unreadable, blinking slowly at the poster, the room's gone quiet enough that everyone can hear it crinkle in his hands as he looks up at Tommy's smile.

"It's the one I used to have on my wall, man; my folks kept all my old posters, I thought you might wanna burn the shit out of this one." He gestures to the lighter, nervousness bubbling in his stomach, unsure of how Nikki feels about it, his face still a little shocked.

Little by little, Nikki's lips turn to a smile, a bright, beaming, genuine grin. He practically launches himself across Mick to wrap Tommy in a hug, fierce and bright. Mick grumbles, but Nikki just crows about how weirdly cool it was.

"Yeah, i figured arson and petty revenge are like, two of your favourite things," Tommy babbles, hugging Nikki back, quietly pleased with himself. Its a strangely endearing moment, and when Tommy looks over at her, he catches Lola's adoring smile as she watches them, but its gone quickly.

Dinner is fun, between the bottles of rum they finish off between them and the lines of coke they have for dessert, which Sharise mostly abstains from, they don't really get out of line. Except for when Nikki sets the poster on fire with the candle in the middle of the table, and he ends up getting kicked out.

Whatever, he was mostly done anyways.

After dinner they all go their separate ways, but Tommy catches Lola before she gets too far. She's tipsy, grinning in the cold night air, happy to let Tommy lead her where he may. Lacing her finger with his, her free hand swings the six-pack Nikki had gotten her, while she hums a tune Tommy recognises but can't place.

They come to a stop outside of the Hall where the band were due to perform the following night, their equipment bus parked and quiet beside the building.

"Nothing's in there yet; we're bumping in tomorrow morning," Lola says, her hamd still in his. Tommy just grins, pulling a set of keys from his pocket, jangling them enticingly.

"So we've got the whole night."

Inside, in the middle of the stage, lit by a single warm, golden spotlight, sits a grand piano. The whole building is empty, save for the two of them, and Lola's grip on his hand tightens. All words leave her, eyes going wide and surprised.

Walking forward, she heads towards the piano, but she doesn't let go of his hand, gently tugging him along with her. His name leaves her lips, a disbelieving, reverential utterance. The lid is already lifted and she carresses the keys with her free hand.

"You didn't have to-" she turns to him, expression awed, but he gives her hand a squeeze.

"Merry Christmas, Lols."

Stepping up to him, her hand is gentle on his cheek, far more gentle, more tender than he was used to her being. Leaning in, they kiss softly, in sync, fitting together as they always had, as they were always meant to. Pulling away, Tommy's grin is fond as he kisses the tip of her nose. Untangling their fingers, he gestures wordlessly to the piano.

Lola sits, hesitates, listening to Tommy's retreating footsteps.

"Where are you going?" She asks quietly, fingers dancing across the keys as she plays a quick scale.

"Vince told me-"

"That snitch." Lola laughs softly, before adding, "'told you I don't like an audience, didn't he?" Tommy agrees, still paused halfway to the door. Lola is quiet for a moment, and she stops in her movements, but then she starts up again, and Tommy's heart is in his throat as he hears thw opwning bars of the song he'd been working on for almost a month amd a half now. The song's not yet finished, but he'd know the opening to Home Sweet Home anywhere.

"Can you stay?" Lola's voice is barely audible above the music. "If you want to, I'd like you to stay." And she doesn't know the lyrics, so she keeps playing what she's heard him play a hundred times over.

"I didn't know you knew this that well," Tommy finds himself smiling, walking back to the piano, to sit down beside Lola where she's shifted over to make room for him. She's smiling too, genuine, actually a little bashful, and she's still playing when she admits her thoughts.

"It's shaping up to be one of my favourites."