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liquorwinecave · 1 year

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What is the Best Australian Wine for You

Australia is a wine powerhouse. We’re talking about the fifth-largest wine-producing country in the world! Australia is home to a talented community of winemakers championing all wine styles, from rosé wine to sweet wine and everything in between.

Australia produces a vast amount of fine wine, and although picking a nice bottle is easy, finding the right wine for you is a bit more challenging. After all, with so many alternatives, how to choose?

Here’s all you need to know about Australian wine and the grapes used to make it, from the robust Australian red wine made with Shiraz to the gentle Pinot Noir. Let’s find the right wine for you.

Australia’s Wine Regions

To understand Australian wine, one must first know how the 2156 wineries and 6000 grape growers are organized and how they label their wines.

Australia has a sophisticated yet straightforward appellation system. You’ll find distinct Geographical Indications (GI) under the umbrella term Wine Australia all along the country’s southern shore.

Vineyards run along Queensland’s southern shore, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia — grapes grow merrily in Tasmania as well! There are around 65 GIs in Australia, and they all focus on different wine styles depending on their climates, soil types and proximity to the sea.

To find the right Australian wine for you, let’s explore the most famous wine grapes where they are grown. Here’s a quick tour through Australia’s verdant vineyards. Our first stop? Australian white wine.

Australian White Wine

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is Australia’s most planted white varietal and the third most important after the red Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Chardonnay is a noble grape. The queen of white grapes is native to Burgundy, France, but arrived in Australia in 1832. Winemakers love the grape for a reason — it thrives almost everywhere.

Of course, Chardonnay vines prefer colder climates, so you’ll find the finest Australian white wines made with the grape up on the hills or near the coast, where temperatures are lower.

Expect a tight acidic backbone and scents reminiscent of golden apples, white flowers, citrus peels and oaky vanilla over a medium-bodied and creamy palate. These wines are best enjoyed with pasta, creamy sauces, chicken thighs and savoury pastries.

Regions for Australian Chardonnay:

Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania.

Wine to try:

Allandale Chardonnay 2021

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is the fifth most planted grape in Australia, and it’s often blended with Semillon, a style inspired by the white wines from Bordeaux. By the way, Semillon alone makes extraordinary wine in Australia as well, primarily in Hinter Valley.

Unlike Sauvignon’s European versions, these wines are brimming with tropical fruit redolent of passion fruit, lychee and kiwi, always with refreshing acidity. Enjoy Sauvignon Blanc with fresh cheese and seafood. For dry white wine, Australian white wine has you covered.

Regions for Australian Sauvignon Blanc:

Margaret River, Yarra Valley, Tasmania, Tumbarumba (Check the Sauv Blancs from neighbouring New Zealand as well!)

Wine to try:

Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Riesling

Riesling is the queen of cold-climate white grapes; it's easy to see why it thrives in Germany and Austria. Well, Australian grape growers have found great spots for growing the late-ripening and aromatic variety as well. The result is an elegant wine with floral and petrol aromas, often with hints of ripe peaches and mango. The sweetness in these wines may vary, so read the label carefully.

Riesling is particularly compatible with white meat, including pork and veal. It can be a great partner for spicy food like curries, too. Riesling is a wonderful summer sipper, and it’s easy to enjoy on its own as well.

Regions for Australian Riesling:

Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Tasmania, Western Australia.

Wine to try:

Pooley Butchers Hill Riesling 2021

Other Australian White Grapes

Many other white varietals show promising results in Australia, including Vermentino, Pinot Gris, Fiano, Muscat and others.

Australian Red Wine

Although Australian white wines are up there with the best in the world, the country is best known for its reds. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are the two most planted grapes in Australia and make almost half of the vineyards. Both grapes arrived in the country in the 1830s at the hands of the “Father of Wine Australia”, James Busby. Today, producers make the most acclaimed wines in the country with one of these two grapes, but there are others. Let’s get to know them.

Shiraz

Shiraz, AKA Syrah, is a red grape from the Rhône Valley, France. The rustic grape produces big and bold red wines with ripe fruit aromas and hints of freshly cracked black pepper and chocolate.

Shiraz is also commonly blended with Grenache and Mataro (Mourvedre) in the now-famous GSM blend, where Grenache plays first fiddle. These wines are complex but approachable and offer a wide range of fruit, herb and spice aromas.

Australian Shiraz is best enjoyed with hearty stews, meat pies, grilled red meat, barbecue, roasts, goat and lamb.

Regions for Australian Shiraz:

Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Hunter Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale.

Wine to try:

Turon Artist Range Syrah 2019

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted grape globally and the second most popular in Australia. There’s no doubt the noble Bordelaise varietal produces age-worthy and structured wines across the country. You can find wines made 100% with Cabernet Sauvignon everywhere and spectacular blends, most likely Cabernet-Merlot and Cabernet-Shiraz.

Cabernet Sauvignon wines are an excellent match for thick, fatty steaks, especially rib eyes and strip steaks. Cabernet will also shine with meaty stews, casseroles and semi-hard cheese.

Regions for Australian Cabernet Sauvignon:

Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Victoria.

Wine to try:

Suckfizzle Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is not amongst the most planted red grapes in Australia, not because producers don’t want to grow it, but because the thin-skinned Burgundian grape is tough to grow and only thrives in the coldest climates.

Pinot Noir produces elegant, almost silky red wines with elevated acidity and fruit purity on the nose and palate. These sensual wines pair best with mushroom dishes, oily fish like salmon and tuna, and roasted poultry. Pinot Noir is also often used to make pretty rosé wine.

Regions for Australian Pinot Noir:

Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Tasmania, Adelaide Hills.

Wine to try:

Quartier Pinot Noir 2021

Other Australian Red Grapes

There are dozens of other red grapes in Australia, although not nearly as popular as those described above. Tempranillo is worthy of a special mention, and it’s doing great in Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Heathcote and Margaret River.

Merlot, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Petit Sirah (Durif) and many other grapes are worth seeking out, and they’re climbing the popularity ranks at an impressive pace.

There’s an Australian Wine For You

We’ve covered the most prominent red and white varietals in the Australian repertoire and where to find them. However, this is just a drop in the bucket — there’s much more from where these came from!

From world-class sparkling wine to lusciously sweet wine, Australian winemakers make wine for all occasions, food pairings and budgets. What’s the best Australian wine? That’s up to you. And you’ll have a great time finding the answer to that question.

Enjoy the wine Australia has for you and share it with friends and family. Australian wine is better than ever, and it’s not going anywhere. Are you ready to explore the vast country through your taste buds? All you need is a wine glass!

#australian wine #buy australian wine

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lixiehugs · 3 years

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riley profile

tw : mentions of self-harm (one sentence)

BASICS !!

stage name : riley (hangul : 라일리) birth name : riley isla xing huang korean name : huang byeol (hangul : 황별) chinese name : huang xing (mandarin : 黄星) nicknames : riles, isle, byeolxing, star, xingxing, byeolie, xingie

birth date : september 19th, 1999 zodiac : virgo birthplace : qingdao, china hometown : vancouver, canada

ethnicity : chinese nationality : chinese-canadian languages : mandarin chinese (100% — native), english (100% — native), korean (85% — fluent), french (65% — proficient), japanese (30% — learning)

PHYSICAL !!

height : 167 cm or 5′6 weight : 45 kg or 101 lbs blood type : ab

eye color : dark brown/black natural hair : black, straight

body modifications : seven piercings & 3 tattoos face claim : everglow yiren vocal claim : n/a rap claim : sandy (ha seonho) dance claim : n/a

CAREER !!

agencies : jyp entertainment (2014 - 2017), cre.ker entertainment (2017 - 2021), ist entertainment (2021 - present) training period(s) : 2014 - 2017 groups : the boyz, meraki subunits : n/a positions :

the boyz : main dancer, main rapper, sub vocalist, visual, face of the group

meraki : main dancer, lead rapper, sub vocalist, visual

individual fandom : moons (because riley’s names “byeol” and “xing” mean star) representative emoji : 💫 (because of her names “byeol” and “xing”) social media : @/official_theboyz on instagram, @/we_the_boyz on twitter

best known for : being the female member of the boyz. ranking high on produce 101/almost debuting with ioi. her ballet background + other dancing. her raps. her customized clothes. modeling. her stage presence.

PERSONAL !!

mbti : istp-a

positive traits : always smiling and laughing. funny. sarcastic. flirty. intimidating. loyal. someone you want to be around. will tell you if you have lipstick on your teeth. independent. friendly. spontaneous (sometimes).

negative traits : insecure (only in 2018). felt out of place/like a burden (in 2017 - 2018). self-critical. has had depression since 2012. shuts herself off/self isolates. hides her true emotions/feelings. lies to protect others. bottles everything up (she’s working on it !). overworking. zones out a lot.

habits : cracking her knuckles. not blinking for minutes at a time. falling asleep anywhere. biting her lips. man-spreading. talking to herself (only when alone).

hobbies : listening to music. gaming. writing + producing songs. dancing + making dance routines. staying up all night and sleeping all day. winking at people to make them flustered. doing lives (alone and with other members). customizing clothing and accessories.

BACKSTORY !!

riley huang was born on september 19th, 1999 to a chinese mother and a chinese-canadian father. her mother, huang eumeh (born 1975), is an accountant currently working in beijing, china. her father, brian huang (born 1972) is a computer scientist working in beijing, china. her parents met in qingdao, china at their job.

riley was born in qingdao, china as the first child of her family. when she was four years old, her family moved to vancouver, canada. that same year, riley’s younger sister, ella was born. two years after that, in 2005, riley’s younger brother, ethan was born. riley used to be somewhat close to her younger siblings but she isn’t anymore.

when riley was three years old, she joined a prestigious ballet academy in china. she enjoyed the sport very much and continued to pursue it after moving the canada the next year. she stuck with ballet for years, earning her the solo regional champion for 2009, 2010, and 2011 before she had to move to seoul, south korea. riley continued to do ballet until she auditioned for JYP entertainment. when she was accepted, she had to quit because she didn’t have time. riley trained for two and a half years before going on the survival show, produce 101. she ranked 13th in the final episode and couldn’t make it into the debuting group. after produce 101 ended, riley was contacted by Cre.ker entertainment. riley decided to leave JYP and join Cre.ker.

FACTS !!

riley was a cre.ker trainee for one year and six months before debuting with the boyz.

she attended seoul high school until the end of ninth grade before transferring to school of performing arts, seoul (sopa). she graduated in 2018 with a major in practical dance.

riley’s parents are not supportive of riley being an idol.

she calls the older members by “hyung” instead of “oppa” most of the time. she rarely uses “oppa”.

riley is the brand ambassador of dior for china and all of asia.

riley was diagnosed with depression in 2012. she takes medication for it every day.

riley has a history of self-harm. she used to slit her wrists from 2012 to 2015.

she has perfect vision.

she can beatbox.

riley can play the piano and guitar. she learned how to play those instruments at JYP.

she also learned how to produce music as JYP.

her favorite singers are post malone, logic, kehlani, and g-eazy.

her favorite color is purple.

her favorite movie is avengers: endgame.

her favorite season is fall.

riley is afraid of heights (but only from extremely high distances).

she cannot cook at all. riley almost burned down the dorm once when she tried to cook something.

riley is really messy and is often scolded because of it at the dorms.

22 notes · View notes

tripleaxeldiaz · 4 years

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maybe one day i’ll fly next to you

chapter 1/8

read on ao3

The sun is just rising when he gets to the rink, the early morning light streaming in through the high windows, making the ice glow. He’s the first one there, just like he planned, so he gets to take his time getting ready. He stretches a bit in the locker room before lacing up his skates and heading to the ice. Placing his guards on the boards, he takes a minute to just look, relishing in the stillness, the quiet, the smooth surface of the untouched ice. He takes one step, two, and he’s off, gliding through the mirrored surface, carving his path as he goes.

Buck can’t remember a time when skating wasn’t his entire life. He first put on skates at four, wobbling on the side of the rink while Maddie was in lessons. He started lessons of his own at six, and after that, he never stopped thinking about being on the ice. And he was good, too — by eight he was competing in the regional circuit, already landing a handful of clean triples when most kids were still struggling with doubles. He qualified for his first nationals at 10, won gold in Juniors at 11, and by the time he qualified for Junior Grand Prix at 13, people already knew his name. They knew his “modern artistry” as they called it, his powerful jumps, and talked about him like he was someone worth watching out for once he made it to the senior level.

It helped that by then, Buck was already addicted to competition. He loved skating on its own — the power he felt when he jumped and flew across the ice, the beauty of well-executed spirals and step sequences — but nothing made him feel more alive than doing it in front of a crowd and a panel of judges. Landing each element perfectly sent a thrill through him that he never wanted to stop feeling, and seeing his scores, usually much higher than others, was something that never got boring. He wanted to be the best, was on his way to being the best, and those hazy dreams of an Olympic gold medal didn’t feel quite as hazy anymore.

For a while, at least. Until he showed up.

But Buck doesn’t want to think about him right now, he just wants to enjoy the peace and quiet while he can. He’s not skating to anything in particular, just the music in his head taking him wherever feels right. He’s so lost in it, trying to nail the bit of choreo he just made up, that he doesn’t even notice Bobby until he hears him clapping from the benches.

“Looks good, Buck. Talk to Hen, I think that would work in your new short.”

“Thanks Bobby,” Buck says, making his way to the boards. Bobby hands him his guards and his water bottle, heading back towards the locker room.

“Come on, we’re just about to get started.”

Bobby and Athena have had this beginning of the season meeting for as long as Buck has been at their club. They go over assignments for Grand Prix and the Challenger series, figure out general training schedules, and do a “goal setting session” for what they want to accomplish this season.

Bobby calls it a “family meeting”, which is cute but also annoying. Skating isn’t a team sport. Families don’t win medals. And that’s all Buck wants to accomplish every season until he retires: he wants to win.

He sits down on a bench next to Maddie, who’s deep in conversation with Athena about her and Chimney’s programs, he’s sure. She’s been planning them since Worlds, so they’re probably fully choreographed and ready for competition. The Buckleys are nothing if not overachievers.

Bobby clears his throat, standing in front of the roll-away white board, and gets started. Buck’s half paying attention — it’s the fifth time he’s heard the “athletes aren’t born, they’re made” speech, he gets the point — letting his eyes wander over the small crowd of skaters. Chim’s on Athena’s other side, nodding along with Bobby. May and Hen are standing along the lockers, whispering quietly. The Juniors kids are sitting on the floor, in awe of their coach as he talks about hard work and victory. Buck gets it, he’s still a little in awe of Bobby himself, but not so much of his recycled speeches.

There’s one face, though, that he doesn’t see, and for a minute, he’s hopeful. He’s gone, he moved, he went to work with Rafael in Lakewood or something, so I’ll only have to see him maybe four times a year instead of every goddamn day thank god—

The doors to the locker room burst open, and fuck.

Because, nope, he’s still here. Windswept and out of breath and 15 minutes late, yet somehow still oozing confidence and jackassery.

Eddie Diaz. Olympic Bronze Medalist. Two time reigning World Champion. And the absolute bane of Buck’s existence.

Bobby doesn’t even say anything, just waves him in and keeps talking. If Buck had been that late, even if it was for a good reason, he would have had his ass handed to him in front of everyone and would’ve had to run laps or something after his ice time. But of course, Eddie gets a pass.

Whatever.

Buck doesn’t pay much attention to the rest of the meeting, too busy trying to keep himself from glaring at Eddie every 20 seconds. He tunes in enough to hear that they’ll both be going to Skate America and NHK because of course they are and spends the rest of the meeting trying to keep his blood pressure down. When it’s finally over, he makes his way through the crowd to get back to the ice for his first session with Bobby. He’s scrolling through his phone, trying to find his music, when he feels someone walk over and join him on the bench. He looks over, and lo and behold—

“Eddie,” he says with what he hopes is a low level of contempt.

“Buck,” Eddie responds, looking over and nodding as he laces up his skates. “Good summer?”

“Fine.”

“Ready for the season?”

“Always am.”

Eddie smiles, easy and charming, and Buck hates his fucking guts. He nods at him again as he heads onto the ice, and Buck gives into the temptation to thump his head against boards a few times.

It’s going to be a very long year.

~~~~~~~~~~

Buck has hated Eddie since they were 16 years old.

Okay, maybe “hate” is a little strong, but whatever emotion it is when just looking at a person makes you feel like smoke is coming out of your ears, that’s how he feels.

It was his first season in Seniors, and he had been doing better than he expected in the first half — a silver and a bronze at his Grand Prixs, and fifth at the Grand Prix Final. Nowhere near perfect or the best in the world, but he was the best US men’s skater and poised to win gold at Nationals. He hadn’t even heard the name “Eddie Diaz” until he got to Nats, and even then it was just whispers — some small town kid from Texas who was landing clean quadruple jumps at a time when some of the highest ranked skaters couldn’t. Buck was working on them — his coach kept harping on how important they’d be to the sport one day — but he’d hit a growth spurt just before the beginning of the season, so he was still getting used to his new center of gravity.

But the rumors were true, Buck saw it with his own eyes at a practice session. He remembers the mix of awe and dread as he watched Eddie jump — the thoughts of damn I want to be as good as this kid and he’s about to take everything from me.

Eddie won Nats by about 30 points. Buck came in second. The US only had one spot at both Four Continents and Worlds, and Eddie got picked for both. Something about having “a better chance with his abilities and consistency in the international field” or some other bullshit.

He didn’t podium at either. Buck felt shamelessly vindicated.

Over the next three years, they became perfect foils of each other — Buck with good jumps but better artistic expression and connection to the music, Eddie a little stiff but a blur of height and speed in the air. They flip-flopped at competitions — Buck got silver, Eddie got gold. Buck got gold, Eddie got bronze. Nats turned into a yearly showdown, the media always highlighting their “friendly rivalry”. Buck must have been a better actor than he thought if he was coming across as “friendly”.

He won Nats right before the Olympics, pretty much guaranteeing his chances of getting named to the Olympic Team. Two days before the announcement, he broke his leg on a bad landing and felt his dreams shatter along with the bone.

Eddie went instead. He placed third, higher than any US man had placed in 12 years.

Buck watched it all from his couch, unsure if he’d ever be able to skate again.

Fast forward three seasons, and while Buck is still struggling to get his consistent jumps back, Eddie keeps skyrocketing. He hasn’t lost a major competition in two years and is the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal in Beijing. It was bad enough to hear about it from other skaters or see at competitions, but then Eddie moved to Bobby and Athena’s club a year ago, so now Buck gets to suffer through first hand observation.

It simultaneously pushes him harder and makes him want to die.

Which is the exact feeling he has right now as he watches Eddie land a perfect quad toe triple toe combo. He tried the same combo yesterday and landed flat on his ass, so now he just wants to practice it over and over until it’s perfect and he can rub it in Eddie’s smug face. See, you’re not the only one who can do it. You’re not that special.

“You better watch how hard you’re frowning, Buckaroo, you’re gonna get wrinkles,” Hen says as she walks over to him. She follows his line of sight, and her expression turns from vaguely worried to exasperated. “Staring that hard at Eddie isn’t gonna make him fall.”

“It could,” he says. “Maybe I have untapped psychic powers that are just waiting to come out.”

She gives him a flat look. “Sure, and I’m the long lost crown princess of a small European country. Can we go over your free instead of fantasizing about stupid things, please?”

“Fine, fine,” Buck says, finally turning away from Eddie as he steps on the ice.

He loves his programs this season — he usually doesn’t get used to them for a few months, but this time around, he already feels connected. His short is more modern, melancholic and gritty, while his free is more classic, hopeful, makes him feel like he’s floating rather than skating. He’s always been good at choreography — either taking it and making it his own or creating steps himself — and he feels like both really highlight his talents. Plus Hen, being the amazing choreographer and friend that she is, let him have a lot more input this time around, so it all feels more authentic. He likes to think that no matter what happens, he’ll be proud of whatever he puts out with these pieces.

They work on his free for an hour, and he stays an extra two to work on his short and his jumps on his own. By the time he leaves, the sun has set, his legs are already sore, and he has a lovely bruise blossoming on his right thigh from falling on his quad flip three times in a row.

It’s all worth it, though. Because as much as he wants to be happy with his programs no matter what, he knows he won’t be unless they get him to the top of that podium, hearing the national anthem play with a gold medal around his neck.

~~~~~~~~~~

He’s floating away in his dream, higher and higher like a runaway helium balloon. He can see the whole world below him, spread out and endless, rolling hills and forests and oceans. He wonders if he’ll ever come back down, or if he’ll just keep moving up and up, into the atmosphere, into space, into a different universe. He thinks that might not be so bad.

Suddenly, he’s falling, plummeting back down to Earth like an asteroid. He’s racing and racing towards the ground, bracing for impact, for everything in his body to break, he’s falling and falling faster and faster—

He wakes with a yell, covered in sweat, his leg twinging. He takes a few minutes to breathe and get his heart rate back down, but even then, he’s still shaking.

He looks at the clock. 4:30am. He could go back to sleep — he doesn’t have practice until noon.

Except his mind is churning now with the phantom memory of breaking. The feeling of going from standing to not being able to move, pain radiating from his leg into every other part of his body. The panic, not just for his body, but for his whole life and what it could turn into. What he could lose.

He lays there for another half an hour, but the memories just keep burning. So, he does what he always does when he needs to shut his mind off.

He goes to the rink.

First practice isn’t until 8am, so he uses his keys to unlock the back door. Chuck, the janitor, was sick of waiting two extra hours to lock up after him, so he gave him his own set after his first season. Buck gives him a giant cookie bouquet for Christmas every year in return.

He feels better after just a few laps around the ice. The chill that bites as he speeds up his pace, the white noise of his blades in the ice, it all settles him like nothing else. He speeds up still, setting up for a triple Salchow — easy, almost second nature, a jump he could do in his sleep. He pushes off, but as soon as he’s airborne, something jolts through him, makes his stomach turn over. He pops the jump to a single and lands on the wrong edge, losing his balance and sprawling across the ice on his back. He stays there, staring up at the lights, letting the cold leech in through his sweatshirt.

Almost four years later, and this is still happening. He scares himself out of jumps like he expects each one to end badly, even though he knows — logically, statistically knows — that it’s unlikely.

And yet. Here he is. On his back. After another failure.

He’s too tired to feel pissed or frustrated like he usually does, so he’s just resigned. Today is not the day for jumps. That’s just how it is.

He gets up finally and skates over to his bag, digs his headphones out and queues up his short program music. He works through the step sequences, over and over, making little tweaks as necessary, thinking through where the judges could take off points until it’s perfect. The repetition quiets the last of his racing thoughts, and he finally feels like himself again.

He’s moving into his last spin when he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He slows down enough to recognize Eddie, inching towards the locker room like he’s trying not to be seen.

Buck stops, staring Eddie down. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Eddie freezes eyes wide, looking suspiciously guilty. He walks forward, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I have an 8am and wanted to beat traffic on my way in. The back door was open when I got here, and I saw the lights on, so I—” he swallows, looking anywhere but Buck’s face. There’s a blush crawling up his neck, and he looks nervous.

Nervous like he just got caught somewhere he shouldn’t be, Buck thinks. He narrows his eyes as he checks his watch — it’s 7:00. He gets wanting to beat traffic, but a whole hour?

He quickly makes his way off the ice, grabbing his bag from the bench. “Well, I’m done for now, it’s all yours.”

“Thanks,” Eddie says quietly. Buck’s just about through the door when he hears his name. He turns back to Eddie, his blush now all the way up to his hairline.

“You looked good out there. Can’t wait to see it in competition.”

Buck freezes, processing the compliment. A compliment. From Eddie. They hardly talk unless they have to, and even then it’s never friendly. Cordial, sure, but not friendly.

So why is he being so nice now?

Buck just narrows his eyes again before stalking off to the lockers.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mads, I really think he’s gonna pull a Tonya Harding on me.”

She looks at him over her wine glass, unimpressed. “Yeah, because that worked out so well for Tonya the first time.”

“I’m serious!” he says, taking a sip from his own glass. Neither of them drink during the season, so they’re taking full advantage of their weekly wine nights while they can. Buck’s not a lightweight by any means, but two glasses in and he is starting to feel a little fuzzy. And a little crazy, trying to figure out what Eddie was up to this morning. “You haven’t seen any weird guys lurking around have you? You’d tell me if you did, right?”

Maddie rolls her eyes. “You sound insane.”

“I’m not insane if I’m right. Why else would he be watching me?”

“We all watch each other, Buck! He was watching Chim and me yesterday too while he was on break. He even said our twizzles were really in sync.”

“You better watch your back too, maybe he’s trying to take the whole club out.”

“Oh my god,” she says, pouring another, very full glass.

“He’s just so— he’s—”

“Annoyingly perfect? Obnoxiously talented? I know, Buck, you only bring it up every 15 minutes.”

Buck deflates at that. “I don’t— it’s not that often.” Sure, he rants about how clean Eddie’s edges are and how good his quad flip is, but that’s because it’s so irritating. Buck works just as hard as Eddie, and he knows he’s not flawless. But somehow, Eddie is. Stupidly flawless and perfect and—

“I’m just saying,” she says, squeezing his hand across the table and bringing him back to the conversation. She pours him another generous glass, too. “This energy is great, but it would probably be better to put more of it into practice and less of it into worrying about one of your competitors. I know you’re nervous about this season, but you can’t let that turn into this weird paranoia. Don’t let it take your head out of the game.”

He sits back and sighs. She’s right, of course. She always is.

He doesn’t tell her that, though. Just takes a gulp of wine and tries not to think about Eddie’s annoyingly perfect anything.

~~~~~~~~~~

There’s a news truck parked outside the rink when he gets in the next morning, and he spends about 15 minutes contemplating just going home and telling Bobby he’s sick.

The lead reporter — Taylor, he thinks — claims they’re here to do a profile on the club and how they’re preparing for the Olympics, but he knows they’re mostly here for Eddie. They want any and all sound bites they can get from him to use over and over and over in coverage leading up to Beijing. Quotes about hard work and following his dreams that they can play over footage of him skating and smiling after winning again. Buck’s already annoyed at the prospect of seeing them on NBC Sports for the next six months.

To their credit, they do film everyone practicing at some point. They get Maddie and Chim doing their new rotational lift, May landing her triple lutz that she’s been working on for months, and Buck’s nearly perfect (if he does say so himself) flying camel spin. So at least they have good footage of him, not just random shots in the background of Eddie’s. Maybe he’ll even get his own little promo.

Bobby calls him into his office after lunch, where the news crew has set up an interview space. He wasn’t expecting to talk to anyone — maybe a quick question at the boards, but nothing this fancy. He sits in one of the chairs as someone puts powder on his face and tries to do something with his hair. Taylor sits down across from him, a 1000-watt smile turned on as the cameras start rolling.

“So, Evan. Or do you prefer Buck?”

“Evan’s fine.” As much as he hates his first name, it’s how the general public knows him. Buck is reserved for friends and family.

And Eddie, an annoying voice reminds him. Fine, friends and family and...competitors.

“You came in second at Nationals and Four Continents last year, and fourth at Worlds. How do you feel about the momentum going into this Olympic season?”

“Every season is different,” he says as diplomatically as possible. These reporters always want drama, someone slipping up and bragging about themselves when they have no right to. He’s not wrong — every season is different. No matter who’s expected to win or who has the most medals, you never know how everything will play out. “We haven’t had a men’s field this strong in a while, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. But I’m as prepared as I can be at this point.”

“You were injured right before the last Olympics. Do you see this year as a bit of redemption for yourself?”

He feels his smile go tight. “It’s every kid’s dream to go to the Games. It’s certainly still mine. I’m ready to do whatever I can to make that dream come true.”

“Eddie Diaz has been with your club for just over a year now. What’s it like training with him?”

There it is, he thinks. He’s surprised she asked so many questions about him before getting to Eddie. The first responses he thinks of are all variations of he sucks and I can’t stand the sight of him, but he knows any petty answers will be worse for him personally than anyone else. So, as much as it pains him, he settles on the nicest version of the truth he can muster.

“Eddie’s an amazing skater,” he says, surprising himself at how genuine he sounds. “He’s been paving new paths in the sport, and he’s pushed everyone to be better to try and get on his level, myself included. He definitely brings that same energy to the club.”

“Do you think you can beat him this year?”

Wow, she’s not holding any punches.

He shrugs, smiling through the sudden burst of anxiety in his veins. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Despite his less than fiery interview, Taylor asks him what he’s doing after practice right before they leave. It’s easy enough to turn her down — he’s got an early PT appointment in the morning, plus the way she’s been looking at him all day is making him itchy. He can tell she only sees him as an object — as a means to get her name on a lead story or a body to keep her bed warm or both — and that’s just not something he’s interested in. Maybe a few years ago, when sex was a way for him to forget about the potential end of his career, but not now.

As nonchalant as he was in the interview, this season really could make or break him.

He can’t afford any distractions.

#buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 fox #buddie fic #911 fic #9-1-1 #SHE'S HERE #I HOPE Y'ALL LOVE MY CHILD AS MUCH AS I DO #and if not that's okay this is pure self indulgence #fs au #ficcery

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pastelsandpining · 4 years

Text

Baby It’s Cold Outside (Snowed In)

The first prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts

Prompt List

Cover Art: @neezlebums be sure to show some love to the original here!

Words: 3439

**If I don’t have explicit warnings, read with caution. It simply means there’s nothing I could think of that could be potentially triggering, but I could’ve just missed something. In that case, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to put a warning!**

Summary: The trip to Hebra didn’t go quite as expected when Zelda and Link are forced to take cover from a snow storm.

Pre-BotW, HWAOC centered, but it’s a little mix of both

Zelink-mas 2020 l Masterlist

Zelda absolutely could not believe her luck. Well, she could, but she would rather pretend that she couldn’t so she could keep a cap on the bottle of anger that threatened to burst. Everything was beginning to catch up with her now that the sun was setting, and she didn’t have the safety of her bedroom and pillows. What she had instead was a headache, and she was very cold despite her winter coat, and she was hungry, and she was exhausted.

Hebra was a beautiful region, but the snowstorms and blizzards were anything but. They were biting and vicious, and never ending it seemed. She’d come here for one reason only--to try and prompt Revali to give her an answer. He thought it would be just fitting to make her wait, and she didn’t want to seem pushy, especially when her own powers were still dormant, but they certainly didn’t have forever. She didn’t want to be annoyed with the Rito, but Calamity Ganon was not going to wait for an answer, even if he was the most skilled warrior among his people. She also didn’t want to seem spoiled, but she couldn’t help finding it rather offensive that he wanted so badly to make her wait. What did he want her to do, get on her knees and beg?

But then they were interrupted by one of the storms, a blizzard that came from nowhere. Of course he had gone off to do whatever it was, and she was left behind with Impa. Which wasn’t bad--she loved Impa. She simply found it infuriating to be left in the dark. So, just as any other sensible, curious, responsible person would do, she traversed into the blizzard anyway. And what did she find at the end of the tunnel but her knight and the potential Rito champion trying to kill each other?

Needless to say, it had been a long day. She got her answer at last, but really, at what cost?

And now the blizzard kicked up again with twice the force as before, and she had to keep a hold on Link’s hand so they didn’t get separated. She didn’t speak and if he did, she couldn’t hear him. She held her other arm over her eyes for protection, but it did nothing to stop the stinging of her ears and cheeks. She couldn’t tell if it was the wind howling or something else.

She was just about to suggest that they turn back. They should’ve stayed in the inn in Rito Village, but she’d wanted so desperately to get back to her room and she knew Link wouldn’t argue, but now she wished he had, because the last thing she wanted was to catch hypothermia and freeze to death in Hebra.

But Link gave her arm a tug, and their direction was changed. She was beginning to think there wasn’t anything Hylian about him except his appearance, because she couldn’t see within a foot in front of them. Yet she could see with every step they took a clearer picture—a cabin flanked by bare, snowy trees. There was no smoke rising from it, so she assumed it was empty. Or at least, she hoped it was empty. It was some form of protection and her body gave a violent shudder just thinking about it.

She didn’t know how old it was, but it wasn’t falling apart at the very least. It was empty and looked to be deserted. There was nothing that indicated the presence of another person. The door had a lock too, and her fingers that had frozen through the gloves fumbled with it until it slid into place. Cold still seeped through the walls, but there was no more wind and snow.

A burst of light suddenly came to life, and Zelda looked up from the Sheikah Slate she’d been trying to pull out her coat.

“Where..?” she began, looking between Link and the fire in the hearth.

“There were a few pieces already in there,” he replied with a gesture to the warmth. “I don’t know how old they are and I don’t know how long they’ll last, but it’s better than nothing.”

It was the most she’d heard him speak.

Zelda nodded once in response and then shuffled forwards to take a seat in front of the fire. She shivered again, leaving the Slate besides her so she could turn her hands to the flames. Her lips parted with the instinct to thank him, but he snatched up the Slate from the floor and she settled for silence.

She watched the flames dance, throwing the room into shades of yellow and orange. It was mesmerizing, but it pulled her into a realm of thoughts. What right minded individual would leave a sanctuary (if you disregard Revali and Link’s mutual distaste for one another) that was so far from home at such a late hour? Zelda closed her eyes and told herself it was the result of a long day and high strung emotions. That was it. Any other day, in any other circumstance, she would’ve stayed the night in the village.

A weight on her shoulders made her flinch and open her eyes, but it was nothing more than a blanket. It escaped her mind that she’d put one in the Slate before they left, but she didn’t think it would be much use. She looked over at her knight with furrowed eyebrows, but he was busy making skewers of some sort. She was very thankful for the beeping of the little guardian, which hid the growling of her stomach as it padded on over.

It settled itself right between the two of them as if it was cold too. Zelda shook her head, pulling her hands back to her lap. Maybe it was just her, but the air felt awkward with no noise other than the crackling fire and sound of wind. Her eyes drifted to the guardian again as she bit her lip.

“Have you come up with a name for it yet?” she asked. Link looked over immediately with confusion written over his features, so she gestured to the guardian in an attempt to ignore his reddened cheeks and nose. She could imagine she looked very similar.

“I.. it belongs to you, Princess. I couldn’t-“

“You were the one who found it,” she replied as she worked the gloves off of her fingers. “Besides, I.. could use some ideas.”

“Well.. uh, I have one,” said Link. The little guardian beeped as if it were prompting him to continue. “Eggbert.”

Zelda’s head snapped in his direction.

“This is a valuable, near intact piece of ancient, advanced Sheikah technology created with the purpose of defeating the Calamity, and you wish to name it ‘Eggbert’?”

Link scratched the back of his head with a sheepish shrug.

“It’s white and.. vaguely egg shaped,” he pointed out.

“Fair enough,” Zelda said, turning her face away so he wouldn’t see her lips cracking into a smile. She cursed him for nearly making her laugh, and Eggbert giving a furious beep didn’t help. She was pleasantly surprised however, because she didn’t know he had a personality, much less a sense of humor. “Eggbert it is.”

The guardian stood from its perch and beeped again, pointing a leg up to a bewildered Link before it scampered off into a corner. For a piece of ancient technology, it could be very expressive.

Zelda’s stomach growled again when the smell of meat and mushrooms hit her, and she hugged her stomach to try and quiet it. She hoped her cheeks, which were now defrosted and warm, were still red enough to hide the embarrassment if he looked her way. But she had bigger worries, she supposed, when her body reminded her of the pounding ache in her head—just behind her eyebrows. She pressed her fingers to her forehead, rubbing small circles like it would have any sort of effect. She was better off making an elixir, but the Slate still hadn’t been returned to her side, so she didn’t bother.

“Princess..”

She lifted her head and looked over to the knight, who was holding out one of the skewers.

“It’s hot,” he warned, but she took it gingerly and bit into it anyway.

“Have you always known how to cook?” she asked, though it wasn’t like it was anything impressive. Anyone could stick some meat and mushrooms on a stick and hold it over a fire, right? But she wanted to make some sort of conversation. He nodded and took a bite, so she threw in a “it’s good” and then let silence fall.

It was a few minutes later that Link said “thank you”, and Zelda nodded. He held another skewer out towards her, but even with her own picked clean, she shook her head.

“You can have it,” she assured, offering a faint smile. She’d seen him eat a literal rock back on Death Mountain, so she was certain the boy would eat anything and had a far bigger appetite than her.

He looked hesitant, but he took a bite anyway. With less hunger and more warmth surrounding her, Zelda decided to succumb to her exhaustion. They wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while, likely not until morning, so she curled up in front of the fireplace.

She was almost asleep, but the sound of the lock on the door sliding out of place got her to sit up and turn around.

“Where are you going?” she asked, fighting to keep her eyes open.

“We need more firewood,” Link replied with a gesture to the dying embers. Zelda rubbed her eyes.

“You’re not going out there,” she said and shook her head.

“It’ll get cold-“

“We could hardly see anything when the sun was still up. You are not going out there in the pitch dark, Link. I don’t care how strong or brave you think you are.”

“Princess-“

“You will not go out that door. That’s an order.”

She hated playing that card, she really did. It felt no better when Link nodded silently and his fingers slid the lock back into place. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed one end of the blanket and opened it up as a gesture for him to join.

“If you’re cold, then there are other ways to keep warm. It’s.. safer,” she mumbled, gripping the blanket tighter. “I mean, it’s still snowing and the wind is.. I don’t particularly want to tell my father that my knight attendant got lost and froze to death overnight..”

Despite how hesitant he must’ve been, he spared her the embarrassment and took a slow seat besides her, taking the blanket from her hand. It left very little space between them and went against so many codes, but the fire was dying and they couldn’t go back out, so they simply had to make do. The survival and health of the crown princess of Hyrule was more important than some code of honor, right?

“Thank you,” Zelda said quietly, keeping her eyes on the embers and small, flickering flames.

“Go back to sleep, Princess,” he replied, but Zelda pulled her knees to her chest and held the blanket tighter.

“You must promise me that you won’t try to sneak out if I do.”

“..of course.”

She turned to look at him and furrowed her eyebrows, then stuck out a pinky.

“Promise me,” she demanded. Link looked between her hand and her eyes, but he wrapped his pinky around hers and nodded once.

“I promise.”

Satisfied, Zelda curled back up in front of the fire, making herself as small as possible so that she didn’t pull the blanket off of Link. It took her seconds to fall asleep and despite the day she had, it wasn’t as restless as she thought it’d be.

———

Zelda woke to sunlight dripping in through the window. She was much warmer than she expected to be, but perhaps that was from the shared blanket—with Link pressed to her back. She flushed at the thought of it and suddenly, she didn’t need the blanket anymore. She peeled it off and carefully sat up. The fire was out, Eggbert was still asleep in the corner, and apparently already awake, Link turned onto his back to look up at her.

“Good morning,” she choked out and scooted a little backwards.

“Are you cold?” he asked, propping himself up on his elbows. Zelda shook her head.

“No, I-.. are you?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Link eyed her for a second. It looked as if he were about to ask something, so she grabbed the Sheikah Slate and activated it. Within seconds, Eggbert had come pattering over.

“We should start heading back,” he said. “Before they start to worry.”

Zelda nodded and scrambled to her feet, pulling her hat back on. Link was looking at her again, so she ducked her head and headed for the door, sliding the lock out of place. What she wouldn’t have given last night to be alone, but now she felt a nervousness she couldn’t explain and didn’t want to think about.

“Princess.”

“Yes?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder. Link held up her discarded gloves. “Oh.”

“May I?”

Zelda hesitated, eyeing his upturned hand. Just what exactly was he trying to do? She gave no verbal answer, but she eventually held out her own. He approached slowly, giving her the chance to pull away should she wish, but she didn’t. His touch was gentle and his hands were warm as he slid the gloves over hers. It took her a moment to look away from him once he was finished, but she pulled the door open and welcomed the icy air on her flushed cheeks.

There was approximately a foot of snow on the ground, and some of it fell into the doorway and over her boots. She kicked it aside and stepped out of the safety of the cabin, fishing the Slate out of her pocket.

Link took the lead and she followed, with Eggbert scuttling along between them. It was quiet and Zelda didn’t try to make conversation. Perhaps it was unlike her, but so was sleeping against a knight and letting that same knight put her gloves on. She’d been off all morning though, and she hated the feeling. It’d been so nice escaping her responsibilities for a little while, even if it was only due to a sudden snow storm. She wished she could do it more often, but what would her father say if he knew how she was thinking?

“Princess?”

Zelda glanced over at Link, and the little guardian beeped its own concern.

“It’s nothing,” she assured and looked for something, anything to change the subject. “Is your coat warm enough? You look cold.”

His cheeks and nose were cherry red again. She tried not to think about it too much.

“I’m alright,” he replied, so she nodded and let silence fall again. Hunger was beginning to set in, as was a soreness from sleeping on the hardwood floor, but she would not complain.

Eggbert scuttled a little ahead and Zelda picked up her pace to match. Perhaps the little guardian was seeing what she was seeing—a stable just ahead, with the shape of a horse peeking out above the trees. That very stable had their horses, and thinking about a more filling meal cooked in a pot gave her hope that they would make it out of Hebra after all. Snow was beginning to fall again, but it was softer and there was no storm to carry it, so she hardly minded. She liked it enough to tilt her head back and stick her tongue out to catch a snowflake.

Link was watching her, and her cheeks flushed.

“What?” she asked, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. He only shook his head and turned his attention back to the stable, but she wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “I’m convinced you don’t know how to have fun.”

“Having fun is not in my job description, Princess.”

“Job description? What are you going to protect me from this far from civilization? The snow? Oh, watch out, it’s falling from the sky and it burns!” Zelda raised her hands over her head in a dramatic show of protecting herself, but it got nothing more out of Link than an eyebrow raised in her direction.

“There’s a lot hiding in plain sight,” he replied. Obviously, she knew that. But she was too stubborn to let go of this. She would make her point one way or another.

“A sense of humor, perhaps?”

But they’d arrived at the stable at last, and Zelda left her knight’s side (and handed the Slate over) to approach the stable hand.

“Good morning,” she greeted with a soft smile.

“Princess,” he replied with a low bow, but he knocked his head against the booth and Zelda bit her cheek to stop a laugh.

“Goodness, are you alright?” she asked instead, reaching a hand out to him.

“I’m quite alright,” he assured. “Thank you. I do hope your trip has been treating you kindly.”

“It has, but we were caught in the storm last night. I’m happy to see the stable held up.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing. She’s real sturdy.”

“That’s delightful to hear. You’ve put a lot of work into these stables. That’s why we’re more than happy to support them.”

“We appreciate that very much, but uh..” He looked nervous. Zelda stole a glance in the direction of Link, who was crouched by the cooking pot. “We do have other, unlucky news. Something got into the stable last night and bit your knight’s horse. She’ll be okay, I assure you! But her leg is swollen and she’ll need a few days rest. No charge at all, of course!”

“That’s quite alright,” Zelda assured, though the news made her anxious. She didn’t know how Link was going to take it, but she pushed a few rupees over to the stable owner anyway for his troubles and smiled. “I insist. We trust you to take the utmost care of her.”

She made sure to walk away before he could argue. Whatever Link was cooking smelled really good and it made her wonder where he’d learned to do this, but she didn’t quite know how to ask. Instead, she sat on the ground next to him and held her hands out towards the warmth of the fire.

“Your horse,” she said softly, sparing him a glance. “She, um, got hurt last night. Nothing serious, but they say she needs rest.”

“Okay,” Link replied. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, so she gave up trying to and rested her head against her knees.

“What are you making?” she asked.

“A cream of mushroom soup,” he answered, glancing over to her. “It’s not.. breakfast, but it’s warm.”

“You could add a spicy pepper,” she suggested and looked away. “I’m not sure about taste, but spicy peppers are often used in cold resistance elixirs. I imagine it would work similarly with food.”

Zelda didn’t know why she felt surprised to see him follow her suggestion without complaint. She knew what she was doing of course, but there were occasions where other people, men in particular, didn’t think so. It made her all the more satisfied when she was proven correct.

Ten minutes later, they were full and warm and ready to really head back.

Well, almost ready.

“Link, you don’t need to walk,” she said, gripping the reins of her horse tighter. Link looked up at her and said nothing, so she huffed to make a point. “It will be far more quick and efficient if we both ride.”

“Princess..”

“I insist. Our arrival is overdue and.. and I don’t mind.” She definitely minded. “Please don’t be stubborn.”

Defeated, Link joined her at last and Zelda was no longer sure if it was the effects of the spicy pepper that warmed her up, or his arms entrapping her waist so he could hold the reins.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked, though it sounded far too close to her ear for her liking.

“I’m fine,” she replied and wrapped an arm around Eggbert, who was settled in front of her and beeped once.

The return to Hyrule Castle was quick enough, but she was hyper aware of every time he touched her ever since last night and oh, she hated him for that.

Of all people to have gotten snowed in with…

final art piece by me! Zelda’s a little wonky but I can apparently only draw her when the stars align, so, sorry sis. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST EITHER PIECE OF ART or you’ll lose all kneecap privileges

#zelink #hwaoc #botw link #botw zelda #christmas prompts #zelink prompts #my writing #i don't know what else to tag here

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ofieugogyshz · 4 years

Text

Fic;; Memories: Riolu III

Word Count: 4900

Warnings: None

Summary: Slowly accepting that maybe she might be having difficulties with Riolu, Sarah accepts that Lance was right, and that she might want to get in contact with someone like the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia in order to figure out what was wrong, and how to fix it.

Notes: This fic was published as Lucario II, but I changed it to Riolu III to better suit the focus of the naming convention.

Read First | Second | Third

(Alternatively, Series Masterpost)

-----------

It was difficult, trying to train Riolu. What started out as an instant bond felt like it was tapering away. Trying to bond with him the traditional way wasn't working, either. It was getting harder and harder to understand him, his battle style, his personality, and I could tell that he was getting frustrated too.

Maybe Lance was right. Training a Riolu was going to be difficult because I wasn't open or honest about my emotions. And, honestly, I didn't want to be. Maybe it would have been more accurate to say that I didn't want to feel those emotions, much less share or admit them. I always tried to hide them, except when I was angry or hurt. Then I wanted everyone to know it. But then I'd try to hide it again, because that's what was right, was socially expected. And it just made it harder to figure out how I was supposed to respond to something. Everything just felt like a spiral, and it was on several occasions that Riolu commented on how confusing and chaotic it made reading my aura, until I couldn't understand his thoughts anymore.

And admitting that I needed help? That was hard. Difficult. But, if it was the Sinnoh Champion, then maybe I could challenge her to a battle as well, ask to train with her a bit...? I could use that as a lean in, and casually bring up Riolu, and see what she'd say.

I asked around. Some people told me that she was partial to ruins and mythology, suggesting that I might want to try Celestic Town, Solaceon Ruins, or the Library in Canalave City. Although Canalave City was where my next Gym Badge was located, I decided to go north. I battled against several trainers along the routes there, becoming more discouraged when my connection with Riolu felt more and more out of sync.

No one said they had spotted her around Solaceon Town or the Ruins, so I pressed on north. I decided to take a break at the Cafe Cabin. I stepped inside, greeted by the employees. Pika and Riolu walked in beside me. My Pikachu was used to this sort of thing, but I had forgotten that Riolu, only a few months old, hadn't yet been inside a battle cafe. I took a seat at a booth, while Riolu followed behind slowly, eyes wandering as it took in the busy atmosphere.

“Can we get you anything?” asked a waitress. “A battle? Food? Or just drinks?”

“Just drinks for now,” I said. “Pinap juice for Pika, Pomeg-Watmel smoothie for me, and...” I looked at Riolu, who was sitting across from me. It was standing up on the seat, looking over its edge at all the trainers and their Pokemon in the cafe. It was rather busy, so there was a lot for it to take in. I felt a tinge of worry that it might be overwhelming for it, but it kept staring in awe.

“Ri....”

“Um. I think a Moomoo Milk for my Riolu?”

The waitress nodded, hastily scribbling down the order before leaving.

I sighed. Part of me wanted to believe that maybe there was a quick fix-all for being able to bond with Riolu better, so I could understand him better, but I knew that that wasn't going to be the case. Still... Riolu looked around, and I followed its gaze wherever it went. A trainer with a Machamp, another with a Glameow, one with a Meditite, and so on. More Pokemon in one spot than it had seen yet. His eyes wandered until he saw something towards the corner. I watched as it continued to stare in awe, and followed its gaze. My eyes widened.

“Isn't that...”

I thought back to Eterna City. I had met someone that looked just like her. Long blonde hair, a long black coat over black pants, with quiet serenity. I had come to look at the statue on the far side of that town, and found her there, reading the inscription with an intense focus that was more than touristy.

What did she say her name was...? I flipped through the e-mails on my phone, trying to see if I had mentioned her in any that I had sent to my friends, whenever I was updating them about my adventure. Any posts I may have made on social media. Anything that might have mentioned the person I met back then.

“Today I met a trainer in Eterna City. She was beautiful! I wish I could be as pretty as her... Oh, but! More importantly! She was looking at the statue there too! She explained to me that it was part of Sinnoh mythology. I introduced myself to her, and told her alllll about my victories in the last three regions I been in! She said I was cute, and reminded her a little of herself when she started her journey.(I'm not cute, but whatever.) Then, I showed her my Pokedex. We had a lot of fun. I forgot to ask for her contact info... But she told me that her name was Cynthia, and that I'll probably see her around again!”

Ah. There it was--

“Wait...” I said quietly, to no one in particular. “Is she... No way, it's gotta totally be a coincidence!!”

I quickly looked up online “Champion Cynthia”, her photo coming up online as she held a trophy, the proclamation “Cynthia Wins the Sinnoh Cup Again!” titling an article. It matched the person that Riolu was staring at, with much focus.

“Nononono...” I buried my face in my hands and suppressed an embarrassed whine. I totally made a fool of myself back then... Ugh. Why did I act like that? Now the local Champion thinks that I'm a total child and-- AAAAAAAAA!!! This is awful, totally awful, uggggghhhh!!! Now how'm I supposed to ask her for help with Riolu?!! I screamed inside my head out of embarrassment at my past self.

I took a breath, trying to see if I could cope with having my face visible. I cupped my hands around my face and pushed them back into my hair, fingers running between strands as I tried to recompose myself. Well, no, maybe she wouldn't notice me... Ah. But that doesn't help with the 'trying to find her' part, and ask for her help training. I could probably find other trainers with Lucario! I mean, there's Blaze! He's the one who got me Riolu, after all! Or that person that he said he got his egg from! What was his name... I... R-something? Guh. Crap. I don't wanna ask Blaze though, because then I'll have to let him know why, and I don't wanna let him know that I'm having trouble with Riolu!! My pride wouldn't've allowed it, and there I was, just stewing in my thoughts, not even aware that our waitress had arrived with our drinks.

“Pi! Pika!!” Pikachu had eagerly grabbed at hers as the waitress pushed it past me.

“Are you okay, miss?”

I looked up at her. She had a mildly concerned expression on her face.

“Ah, I-- I'm fine, I promise. Thanks for the drinks.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

She left. I was alone once more with my thoughts. Pika was happily drinking from her juice, slurping it up noisily. Across from me, Riolu was still watching Cynthia, unaware that it had a drink in front of it. I let out a long sigh, stirring my smoothie with my straw as I continued to watch its fixation on the region's beautiful Champion. I pushed the bottle of Moomoo Milk across the table, letting it make a loud noise in an attempt to distract the Riolu.

“Riolu, here! I got you some tasty milk to drink!”

<<...strong!>>

I blinked. Riolu turned around to me, an excited expression on his face.

<<...really strong! ….meet? >>

Maybe I was imagining it, or maybe that was how he really felt right now. It had been so long since I felt his voice, that I wondered if I was making it up, inserting my own understanding of how it felt. Riolu's tail wagged a little, hopeful that I might say yes to what it wanted.

“Uh... N-not right now, Riolu. C'mon, sit. We can go say hi after,” I said, half-lying. Riolu's tail stopped. He looked at me, uncertain; as uncertain as I was about if I was still interested in talking to Cynthia. Riolu plopped down, taking the Moomoo Milk and drinking, looking a little angry, upset with me. Maybe I might change my mind after we rest a bit, but for now...

When we were done, I paid for our order and left. The Champion wasn't anywhere in the cafe anymore, as far as I could tell, and I felt a little safe leaving now that she wasn't around. Riolu yipped loudly at my side, partially in excitement, partially in impatience. I didn't need to have a connection to know what he was wanting right then and there.

To meet Cynthia.

“No, we are NOT going to look for her right now, okay? Let's just keep heading north and see if we can't find her at--”

An angry thought burst into my mind.

<<But that WAS her!! I know it was!!! She had a Lucario!!!!!>>

Riolu had ran in front of me, cheeks puffed up and tail standing up straight as it glared at me. It felt like a stare-down. Beside me, Pika looked back and forth between the two of us, unsure of what was gonna happen. Riolu growled softly. Pika ran in front of it, trying to mediate between the two of us, waving her arms.

“Pika pi!! Pi pika, pikachu!”

The attempt only made Riolu growl more. It pushed her away, speeding towards me with a charge. Its head hit my chest, knocking me over. I couldn't hear what it said as it ran away. Pika started to give chase.

“Pika!!! Pikachu chu chu!!!”

I groaned, sitting up slowly. I let out quick hisses of pain as I propped myself up with my elbows. Pika yelled after Riolu. But instead of continuing her chase, she turned back around to check up on me when I sat up.

“Pi?!”

I groaned. Tears were in my eyes from the aching, stinging pain. I clutched at my body, trying to will myself not to cry more from it.

“Ow!!” Touching had made it hurt more. I could tell that a gnarly bruise was in store when the pain would subside.

“Pika!!!”

“It's okay, Pika. I'll--” I let out a hiss of pain, impatiently waiting for the pain to dull. “I'll be fine. But more importantly, do you know which way Riolu ran off?”

She ran over to the edge of a thicket of trees and pointed. “Chu!!”

I stumbled to my feet and set off after Riolu.

I didn't know what kind of Pokemon lived in these trees, and it worried me that something might have happened to him in here. Unfortunately, I didn't have too many Pokemon that could help me look, and the thicket was getting denser the more I went in. Pikachu was leading me on the ground, trying to follow Riolu's scent. I had to backtrack when she lost it, and when we were in a slightly wider trail, I let out my Crobat, Janet. I quickly explained to her that we were looking for Riolu.

“He ran off somewhere in here. Please help us find him!”

She let out a noise of agreement and zoomed off, hastily flying between trees until I couldn't see her anymore. Pika and I continued with our search on the ground.

I was getting more anxious with every step I took.

The path we followed opened up into a small clearing. It looked like a Pokemon battle happened there. Branches and leaves were scattered across the floor, with some of the thicker ones still having their leaves on them. The ground had been disturbed, with indentations from the fight. Several of the trees had claw marks on it. I felt my heartbeat quicken, worried that Riolu had gotten himself into trouble.

“RIOOOOLLUUUU!!!!” I shouted.

“PIIKAAAA!!!”

Our voices echoed slightly. The sound disrupted a handful of Starly in the trees. They flew away. I heard the sound of wings flapping towards us. It was Janet; she had returned to find us.

“You find anything?!” I asked her.

Janet nodded, making a noise that sounded like a 'whsk'. She kept making it as she flew around us, impatiently waiting for the command to go.

“Lead the way!”

-----

Riolu had ran out of the thicket. He wasn't afraid of the Pokemon that he had encountered, since he had won. The moves his Lucario father and his trainer had taught him were incredibly useful, more than he had realized under his current trainer. But, after all the battles he had done on the way here, that last one had made him tired. He had decided to head back, still mad about what had happened, but also apologetic about hurting his trainer. He hoped he didn't hurt her too badly. His steps quickened until he could see the growing light of the exit of the forest.

Cynthia had returned back to the cafe, carrying a small bag containing medicine for the Psyduck that had taken up residence along a major path by it. It was causing difficulties for the cafe to receive and distribute its product along the one side. The owner of Cafe Cabin had called her over, asking her to help take care of the issue. And what those Psyduck needed was the Secret Potion, a rural recipe capable of helping relieve even the recurrent headaches that Psyducks got.

Cynthia's Lucario was helping her distribute the medicine to the Psyduck that lined the road. He stopped suddenly, looking into the forest with sudden focus. That had gotten Cynthia's attention, and she turned, looking to where her Lucario did.

A small, black and blue Pokemon came out of the thicket. It rested against one of the trees, sighing. It lifted up its head, looking around, and came across the sight of Cynthia and her Lucario looking at it. Its eyes widened, and excitement overcame it. With renewed vigor, it ran over, letting out happy yips as it bounced around them.

“Hm? What's this?” Cynthia knelt down to brush some twigs and leaves out of its fur. “A Riolu?”

They're usually not common in this area, she thought to herself. But the mystery of where it came from wouldn't last for very long. A Crobat had come out of the woods, quick on the tail of the small Riolu. Cynthia and Lucario tensed, prepared to help protect the small Pokemon if Crobat proved aggressive.

The Crobat stopped a few yards away, calling out to the Riolu.

“Ri. Ri!” It ran out to greet the large purple bat. Crobat landed, folding its wings around the Riolu as it hugged the Pokemon.

“Well, that's interesting,” said Cynthia. Her and Lucario looked at each other and nodded. Lucario closed its eyes and held out its palms, allowing both its trainer and the two Pokemon before it to better understand one another with its aura powers.

“Crobat, were you looking for this Riolu?” It nodded. “Is your trainer nearby?” Crobat turned towards the trees, twitching an ear as it listened. There was the faint call of its trainer, shouting out for the Riolu, but it was far too distant for Lucario, much less Cynthia, to hear. It turned back around, letting go of Riolu as it flapped back into the air.

“Okay then, Crobat. Go and get your trainer, and I'll wait here with Riolu. I promise I won't go anywhere.”

Crobat looked at Cynthia, then to Lucario. Its eyes shifted back to Cynthia, who gave it a gentle smile. Normally, Crobat wouldn't have trusted anyone to take care of one of her trainer's Pokemon without her permission, but Lucario helped communicate what was in their hearts. These were good people. There wasn't an ounce of malice in their hearts. With some reluctance, Crobat turned towards the forest, flying back into it in order to grab its trainer.

“Now then, little Riolu. Do you care to tell me how you and your trainer got separated?”

-----

I ran out of the clearing, following Crobat's directions. She flew out into the clearing, circling low, and Pika followed her all the way out there. I rested a hand against a nearby tree, trying to catch my breath. I could hear a happy cry from Pika that let me know that she had found Riolu. I stood back up and hurried along, coming into sight of a trainer and several Pokemon, not including the line of Psyduck that was lying about neaby. I stopped when I recognized the black clothes and long, blonde hair.

Cynthia turned around to greet me.

“Hi there! You must be Riolu's trainer.”

I nodded, walking towards them once again.

“Thanks for finding him,” I said. I didn't know what else to say. I hadn't planned on this, and my mind was drawing up a blank, still stuck on the “find Riolu” plan, that the “Talk to Cynthia” plan hadn't yet intersected. As I got closer, her expression changed to one of curiosity, as she seemed to recognize me.

“Oh! You're the trainer I met back in Eterna City. Thank you for that day, by the way. You really helped me out.”

“E-eh!?” I felt my face flush, and held up my hands, shaking them in an criss-cross motion. “No no no, thank you, for. Um. Well, talking to me, I guess. And humoring me? I'm so sorry that I wasted your time though! I didn't know who you were, and I'm sure you're pretty busy as the Champion, and, oh! You said you were researching, so I'm so sorry that I interrupted your day that day!” I bowed my head, apologetic. My face was still flushed.

She laughed. It was an amused laugh, one that reminded me of Lance's.

“Don't worry about it!” Cynthia said. “Like I said, you really helped me out that day. I kept hitting a wall in my research, but spending some time with someone who wasn't from here, and sharing the myths with them really helped me get out of that rut. You won't believe how much it helps shifting your focus for just a moment.”

I lifted my head to look at her. Now that I knew who she was, she looked more beautiful than I first thought. A part of me became bitter. It was a small, envious feeling, and I could shush it away, but it hurt, just a little bit, to see her. A female Champion that was beautiful, well-respected, famous, and had amazing synchronicity with her Lucario. Speaking of...

I looked at Cynthia's Lucario. It didn't seem to mind having Riolu hop around it excitedly.

<<...look! ...Lucario!!!>>

“I'm sorry if Riolu was interfering with your training.”

“Oh, not at all! Actually--” She turned around, looking at the Psyduck that were lying in the middle of the road. “--We were trying to help these poor Psyduck. You said you were from Kanto, right? So you must know how hard it is for Psyduck with their chronic headaches.”

“Yeah. Misty mentioned that it made it difficult for her Golduck to focus on training when he was still a Psyduck. Is that why they're all lying about in the road like that?”

“Yes. I went to get them some medication, and when I started treating them, your little Riolu came up to us. I was having Lucario help me treat them, but he seems to be pre-occupied with your Riolu now. Why don't you help me instead?”

I nodded, taking a couple of the bottles from her. We began to treat the Psyduck. Some of them let out pro-longed quacks, dramatic cries of pain. Some only whimpered, until we administered the medicine. We worked from the outside in, meeting each other in the middle as the Psyducks we treated still lamented, rubbing their heads.

“Okay, that's the last one!” Cynthia said.

We waited.

“How long does it normally take for them to get better?” I asked.

“It shouldn't be too much longer.”

The first two Psyduck we treated suddenly bounced up. They looked at us with their vacant expressions, before suddenly tilting their heads in confusion.

“Psy?”

Several more followed. The cries of the loudest ones stopped, though a few of them kept crying until their buddies picked them up. They talked to them, and the Psyduck slowly pulled their hands from their heads, letting them fall against their feathery bodies. They looked at their companions with a vacation expression, before tilting their heads in confusion.

“Psy?”

The group was satisfied that all of them had been thoroughly treated, and they waddled off together. A few of them waved at Cynthia and I as they left, and we waved back. Both of us were happy that we had helped alleviate some of the pain that these Pokemon had, at least for now.

I looked down at the empty bottles I held in my arms.

“That's amazing! What is this?”

“It's a Secret Potion.”

“A secret potion?” I repeated. It was now my turn to tilt my head in confusion. “Why's it a secret?”

Cynthia laughed. “It's the ingredients! The recipe is a secret; only my grandmother knows how to make it. I went to visit her in Celestic Town before I came back here to treat them.”

“Aww. I wanna know how to make it!” I said, arms flailing.

“I can't tell you. My own grandmother hasn't told even me the recipe, and she brags to everyone about what a great trainer I am!” She laughed, and I pouted.

“Now, now. I'm sure there's plenty of chances for you to find something just as equally amazing. Oh, but that's right! I wanted to talk to you about your Riolu.”

I felt my face heat a little as I looked away in shame.

“Y-Yeah... That's, um, actually-- I came up this way because I was looking for you. Because we're having trouble staying on the same wave length.”

Cynthia looked at me, quirking an eyebrow. I continued.

“Y'see...” I explained to her about Riolu-- how long I've had him, where he came from, and that my friend who hatched him had named him after someone I liked. I vaguely talked about the embarrassment I got whenever Riolu was there for my phone calls with Lance. Except, I didn't tell her who, or that I had a crush on them, just that I was speaking with a friend. Cynthia nodded along thoughtfully, and when my cheeks heated up, there was a small, knowing smile. The way I stumbled through explaining more about it, the more my cheeks heated up, caused me to finally admit that it was someone I had a crush on.

“Mhmm.... Mhmm. I see. From what you've told me, and from what Riolu's told Lucario, it seems that your emotions are getting in the way of your connection.” I gave her a look of dismay, and she continued. “I'm sorry, but it's what seems to be the truth. The two of you need to be open and honest with each other, or else that connection will suffer. Riolu are very sensitive Pokemon. They can see auras as colored waves-- Oh, I feel like I've just told someone else this very same conversation.”

I felt a sudden jolt of fear and stood up straighter, afraid that she might connect the thread between the two.

“Ahahaha... well, I bet it's because people think you're the number one authority on this, huh? I bet all kinds of people from all over ask you about Riolus and Lucarios! ”

“You're not wrong about that...” Cynthia said. She sounded a little distracted, lost in thought. Silence fell between us for a moment, before she suddenly came back to the present. “Oh, I apologize. Sometimes I get a little lost in thought when I'm thinking about something. Where were we?”

“Uh. Outside the Cafe Cabin?” I said, a half-hearted joked. She smiled.

“Well, your emotional honesty and openness aside, you also need to make sure that your Pokemon know that you love them. It's that connection that will help them filter through any conflicting emotions that you might have.”

“But I do love Riolu, I really do!!”

Cynthia looked down at Riolu, who spoke to Lucario.

“Ri ri!”

“It doesn't seem that way to him.”

The weight of that feeling suddenly pressed down on my heart. I found myself angry, frustrated at myself. I turned towards my Riolu and knelt down. I held out my arms towards him.

“Riolu, I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. I didn't know you felt that way about me. That you thought I felt that way, I mean. I don't want you to think that I hate you or dislike you, I really don't. But please, please please come back with me? We can try again, and I'll try my best to do better at listening, and-- um, well, I can't guarantee that my emotions will get any easier, but I'll promise to go over them with you, when, um, we have time? I promise I'll try to help you understand me.” I sighed. “It's just, that... I don't understand myself very well either. So I won't always have the answer about it.” I felt tears well up in my eyes and I closed them. It felt like that was going to cause a permanent block in my bond with Riolu, and that wasn't something that I wanted. But I didn't know how to get around it.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked to see Cynthia, a sympathetic smile on her face. There was some semblance of understanding, some sort of feeling like that. I could sense that from her, but I couldn't quite understand how I knew that she did. It just didn't feel like something she knew in the present.

“It's okay. You don't need to understand yourself just yet. That's what your emotions are there for. They help you learn about yourself, and what you think of certain things. But your emotions aren't always going to be easy to understand, either. But you can ask Riolu to help you understand them, when you feel like you're uncertain of yourself. You just have to trust that Riolu will know what they mean.”

I felt my heart lurch in my chest. Her words were potent, important. Even I could tell that much at that moment. Things that I would save and keep in my heart for many years to come. I would come to rely on that wisdom that she gave me that day, even when over decade passed. But in that moment, as powerful as I knew they were, and as true as they were, I felt myself start to cry.

Riolu took a few steps forward. I could feel it's concern, its hesitation. It wanted to reach out, but he also felt just as upset as I did, mad at me for never... never calling him by his name?

“Now...” I could hear Cynthia's soft voice in my ear. “Why don't you try calling out to Riolu by name?”

I felt my face flush up at the same time that my pain waned. I was afraid. How many people name their Pokemon after their friends? After people they were in contact with? But I was more afraid of what Lance would think, if he knew, if he found out that my friend named Riolu after him. All because I had a crush on him. It was embarrassing.... And causing Riolu pain, too, to not be called by the name he was given. He was proud of his namesake. As he ought to be. But it was so... It was so difficult. I couldn't even say that name normally. How could I be expected to call out my Riolu's name, when it was named after my crush?

As my mind wavered between the two extremes, I could feel Riolu sense that struggle. He took a step back, withdrawing that connection from me. But I knew what was right. I knew that Cynthia was right. What was right for him, for both of us.

I took a deep breath. I gulped, before nodding, slowly.

“C-C'mere...... L...Lance.”

I could feel the surprise from Riolu. The shock, appreciation, happiness. He ran towards me and jumped into my arms. I hugged him tightly, crying into him. It would have been wrong to continue to call him by any name other than that one. Whispering over and over again, “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lance.”

Riolu—Lance, I mean, buried his head between my shoulder and neck. He nuzzled me, happy and relieved that I had gotten it-- That I had finally called him by his name.

#Champion Cynthia #Pokemon Cynthia #Pokemon selfship #Pokemon selfshipping #selfship #selfship community #selfship fic #these tags look suspect but jokes on all of you if you think its going there #fic series: memories lucario

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yaya-does-things · 4 years

Text

Leon x fem!reader: A Recollection

Prompt: “I’m sorry.... But I don’t remember you”

Word count: 5812

Alrighty. This is finally done. I took forever to finish it cuz um I’m slow and also I didn’t know how I would properly finish it. But now I have. So yeah. Hope ya’ll enjoy :)

~~~~~~

She had arrived in Wydon on a particularly cloudy day. A fresh coat of rain layered over the streets as people scurried through the town. Pokemon could be seen casually following in their owner’s wake. With the bustling about, and the splatter of water, (name) stood outside of the train station, looking around in wonder. She had never been in Wyndon before, seeing as it was a city she never visited when she was younger. She noted the stadium, the lovely way it looked like a rose. Then, she saw the hotel, all the way across the town, the clock tower seen in all of its glory. She smiled, and walked down the entrance. There, she saw a man and woman standing, waiting. They looked to her, the man smiling as he stopped twisting the longer piece of his hair. He walked towards her, extending his hand.

“Ah! You must be (name), am I right? I’m Rose, the League Chairman of Galar,” he said. (Name) took his hand, shaking it with a smile.

“Nice to meet you sir.”

“I hope your trip was alright?” he asked, referring to the large suitcase in her hands.

“Oh! Yes. It was very nice. Galar is so beautiful!”

“I’m glad you think so. Oleana, do you mind grabbing her luggage?”

The woman beside him nodded, her face emotionless as she stepped toward (name).

“Oh, haha, no, it’s alright sir. I can --”

“But, I insist! Plus, Oleana is more than happy with carrying your stuff, isn’t that right?” Rose says, waving his hand offhandedly as he starts to walk. (Name) looks to Oleana, who nods, and quickly takes the luggage from her hands. A look of confusion is plastered on (name)’s face, but she shrugs off the peculiar relationship between the two, and walks after Rose, falling in step with him as they head to the hotel.

“So, have you ever visited Galar before?” he asks in an attempt at small talk. They pass a few buildings, which home the many people that live in Wyndon.

“Well, yes of course. I actually used to live here,” she replies, looking around as she speaks.

“Really? Well isn’t that exciting. You must be happy to be back,” he says.

“Oh yes. I haven’t been here in years. I’ve missed it so much,” she sighs, looking to him. His face is neutral, a look of disinterest as opposed to the enthusiastic way he sounded. She’s silent for a bit, taking in the scenery as she ignores the discomfort of the Chairman’s company. His demeanor was welcoming, but gave off the feeling that this was just a chore. Something he didn’t need to do. “I thought the Champion would be here too.”

He doesn’t reply immediately, seeming as if other things are on his mind. A nudge from Oleana can be seen and he snaps into a jovial mood.

“OH! Yes, he was, but alas he had family business to attend to.”

“Ah, I see…” she nods in understanding. A strong silence is placed in the air as they finish their walk to the hotel, Rose stopping at the entrance to turn to (name), his seemingly fake enthusiasm emerging again.

“Well! Here we are! The Rose of the Rondelands Hotel! It’s quite the elegant one, if I do say so myself,” he says, with a grand gesture to the large hotel in front of them. Just saying the name brings about a glow to him that hadn’t been expressed at all during their short time together.

“It is rather lovely,” (name) agrees, hoping her approval will spark something other than discontent with the Chairman.

“Yes, it is,” he seemingly sighs. Then, he perks up and his usual business-like expression re-emerges onto his features. “Well, this seems to be the end of our tour!”

It wasn’t much of a tour.

“I guess I’ll leave you here. You can get settled in just fine, am I correct?” he asks with a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Oh… um… yes. I’m sure I can handle myself,” she replies with an uneasy nod. She glances at the large building again, feeling a bit discontent with his “helpfulness”.

“Wonderful! Then, I’ll have Oleana return your luggage,” he says, nodding to the woman who (name) completely forgot about due to her silence. She steps forward, handing over the suitcase’s handle, the slightest tinge of relief and annoyance etched onto her stoic features. She steps back beside Rose, who beams at (name).

“Well, I guess this is where I take my leave, my dear,” he says, with a bow of his head. He turns to leave but soon stops in his wake to utter one final remark. “Oh! And Leon will definitely be here to accompany your trip around Galar soon enough. In fact, I messaged him just as you arrived, telling him not to keep you waiting for too long.”

“Oh, haha, you didn’t have to tell him that,” (Name) says, feeling bad for the Champion who has to deal with such a seemingly demanding Chairman. “I mean, he can take as much time as he needs!”

Rose chuckles in response.

“Of course. Well, now this is the final time I will bid thee farewell. Good evening (name)!”

And with a final wave of his hand, the Chairman walks away, seemingly heading to what Galar uses as a “flying taxi” system.

“Right… Yes…” (name) mutters to no one in particular. She looks around, noting that no one is around, and shakes her head, as she heads up the stairs into the elegant foyer of the hotel.

~~~

By the next two days, (name) had had it with Wyndon and the people of Galar. How could she be stuck in a hotel since her arrival? Why hadn’t the Champion been the one to whisk her away instead of that iffy Chairman? Her brain was jumbled with questions, annoyance and frustration entering her system as she paced inside her room.

The hotel was extremely lavish, including everything a five star hotel should. Even her room was far too much, her own suite accompanied an entirely different room for a kitchen, and a bathroom that had its own spa-like bathtub. A shelf above lined with different soaps and scents to richly bathe in was also included, which wasn’t something she would much complain about, but found much too extravagant. Even the bedroom was over the top, the bed itself having a curtained canopy bed frame, with so many pillows that one could drown in. Now, she herself thought the suite was amazing, but as she was only one person, with rather small pokemon to accompany her, she found she missed the quaint hotels she usually stayed in when she traveled across the Regions. And her annoyance with Galar’s lushness didn’t help due to the fact she had yet to actually see any of it because of the Champion’s utter slowness to get to her. Perhaps she was being selfish, but he knew of her whereabouts and didn’t seem to put her as priority.

And so, with a swift plop onto the nearest chair, she pulled out her Rotom phone, just about to dial the Chairman to give him a piece of her mind, when a sudden knock was heard from the door. She tilted her head as she stared at it, wondering if it would sound again, when yet another, much louder rap was heard on the wood. She stood, adjusted her outfit as needed, and headed to open it. With a click of the lock and a twist of the knob, the door opened, revealing a man she had never imagined she would have ever seen again.

“Lee?” she said, an astounded look on her face as she gawked at him. He looked rather different, with his hair much longer, and the mature stature of his face and form, but she could tell, this was the Leon she had known so long ago.

“Um… Hello? Are you (name)?” he asked, a confused look on his face as he responded to the unauthorized use of his nickname.

“Oh! Haha, yes! That’s me! (Name)!” she laughed nervously. Why was she all of a sudden so apprehensive to speak to him? Was his reaction not what she expected? She remembered him, but was it not a reciprocated remembrance?

“Uh… So, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting here for so long. I’m sure Rose told you I had family business to attend to, but I really wanted to meet you when you got here! And um… mind if I come in?” he asks.

“Yes! Um, of course! How silly of me not to offer…” she mentally slapped herself as she opened the door wider. He entered with a grateful smile, walking over to the quaint living room and taking a seat on the sofa. She followed tenaciously, not understanding the confusion she was feeling.

“So, have you gone out to explore Wydon?” he asks in an attempt at small talk.

“Yes! I did actually. The-uh-the stadium is lovely.”

“Yeah! It really is!” he laughs.

A silence emerges as they both grasp for something to say.

“Want anything to drink?” she asks in a final attempt to keep the conversation from being dead.

“Yeah, uh, water would be nice?”

“Is that a question?” she quips, in an attempt at humor.

The move was not very effective.

“No! I mean if it’s too much trouble, I don’t want you to go out of your--”

“I was joking! It’s no problem at all…”

And to think things couldn’t get more awkward.

“Why did you call me ‘Lee’ when you opened the door?”

And yet they can.

She froze from her spot at the fridge, her arm in midair as she was about to grab a water bottle. She quickly wracked her brain for an answer, but didn’t really know how to word it correctly, herself standing as she responded.

“O-oh, well I mean, I know you I guess.”

That didn’t come out the way she wanted.

“You know me?”

She could sense the raising of an eyebrow from his tone.

“Well, I don’t know-you-know-you per se… but I did…”

She turns to walk back to him, her suspicions about the raised eyebrow looking correct.

“You did?”

This conversation was getting worse by the second.

“You know what? Let’s just forget I even said---”

“No continue, you have me intrigued.”

She sighs.

“Well, I mean…” --Just ask it (name), there’s no going back now-- “Don’t you remember me?”

“Well, wouldn’t you think I would when I first saw you?”

“So… then you don’t…”

“I’m sorry… but I really don’t remember you.”

She sighs again in disappointment.

“Yeah… I figured you wouldn’t. It would be a long shot if you would have remembered me, seeing as we were so young when we met…”

A new look of curiosity enters his face.

“Young?”

“Yeah. We were just nine or ten I think. You and I would always hang out… don’t you remember that? And we would battle all the time…” she chuckles, “... and you would always win, with that awesome Charmander of yours. Do you still have him?”

He nods, patting the pokeball strapped to his waste.

“Ah. He must be such a big one now huh? A Charzard right?”

He nods again. There’s a look in his eyes that she can’t quite read, but she dismisses it and continues on with her explanation.

“Anyway, I guess since I moved away after you became the Champion, you forgot about me huh?”

This takes him aback. A newfound form of defense rising in his system.

“Wait a minute. You can’t just say that!”

“What?”

“That I ‘just forgot about you’ because I ‘became the Champion.’” he says, his defensive side on full blast as he uses air quotes to emphasize his disagreement. “I don’t even know you! And if I did, a friend would never assume that! If anything, it sure does sound like you were jealous of me if you can accuse me of that so easily.”

She scoffs with an offended shake of her head.

“Excuse me? I would never be jealous! I never was!”

“Then why don’t I remember you? Why didn’t you ever stay in contact with me if we were ‘such great friends!?’”

The air quotations used made that phrase sting, it piercing a wounded nerve that never fully healed in her heart.

“I never stayed in contact with you!? You can’t even remember! You don’t know SHIT!”

“Then enlighten me, oh knowledgeable one! Because your story isn’t turning out very believable.”

She stared at him, not able to process what to say. The pain in her heart resurfaced, something she hoped would never happen again. She knew she tried. Oh she tried so hard to remain friends with the boy who became Champion at such a young age. She wrote to him as often as possible. Replies only existed on occasions, and even then they were short and unmoving. So of course, soon enough, all efforts to keep a friendship afloat was thrown overboard. What would one expect from a pair of ten year olds with short attention spans? Not that he had one. No. His was the excuse of being constantly busy. Matches being forced upon a young boy. Exposure to the media. Instant fame. All the features that would keep someone busy. And of course, that forced the end to anything they could have possessed. The only way was for the one reaching out to stop all hopes. To learn to grow up. And to perhaps do so at the same rate that he endured.

She looked down at the floor, face filled with disappointment. Perhaps there was no convincing someone of a lost friendship.

“I’m sorry. I… I made it up. So, much for a first impression I guess,” she tried, a smile forced upon her lips as she looked up. He stared at her, eyebrows knit together. How could she just say things like that? There was obviously something she needed to convince him of. To end all efforts meant she was truly making it up, or her nerves were all too much. He softened, sitting up and clearing his throat.

“I-it’s fine. Uh…” he didn’t know how to continue further. It was too much now. The mood was ruined. There was too much of a tension in the air for either of them to speak.

They sat there, with a silence so thick neither felt like they could breath. Suddenly, she stood. She cleared her throat, and went to her room. He stared after her, dumbfounded. What was he supposed to do now? Was he supposed to apologize as well? He felt a pang of guilt, but he wasn’t sure of what for. He bit his lip, confusion filling his system. He also stood, placing a hand on his forehead. Perhaps it wouldn’t be right for him to accompany her across Galar after all. With one last glance to the room she disappeared into, he walked to the door, and opened it. He was just about to step out when he heard her voice.

“You’re leaving?”

He turned back.

“I thought you wouldn’t want me here anym--”

“No! I-I’m sorry… I was just gathering… my… stuff…” she said, eyes shifting to the side as she revealed her suitcase. He stared at her, yet again, with an inaudible “oh” escaping his lips. Silence resurfaced.

“You still want me to… help you out?” he asked, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

Oh, how much more awkward this has become.

“Well, I mean I waited for you this long.”

He looked up at her, seeing she was trying her best to lighten the mood. He nodded, his own attempt at a smile showing on his face.

“Let’s go then,” he said, opening the door wider, allowing her to walk through first. Oh how interesting of an adventure this would be.

~~~~~

To say things got better… would be a massive disappointment. The air about them was now always filled with a tinge of discomfort, neither knowing how to address the other’s obvious feelings. They traveled in silence, both on their phones doing nothing in particular, but looking as if they were busy to stifle any form of conversation. It wasn’t until they entered Wedgehurst Station that anything interesting was said.

“Wow… it’s a lot smaller than I remember,” (Name) said, slowly turning to take in the sights all around her. “But much more beautiful.”

“Yeah. It really is,” Leon said, nodding in agreement as he himself looked around at the

rolling fields that made up the small town. He stopped for a moment, then looked at her. “You’ve… been here?”

“Yeah, of course,” she replied, not once taking her eyes off of the fields. “I used to live here.”

He was taken aback by this. Was she really telling the truth about knowing him when he was young? He looked at her, watching her reaction as she longingly stared at the scene around them. It wasn’t long until a crowd formed however, the people finally noticing the Champion was in their midst.

“Leon!”

“We’ve missed you!”

“It’s great to see you here!”

All this and more could be heard coming from the people surrounding him. His face broke out into a smile, greeting the people as if they were friends. She watched this, noticing his change in mood like a flick of a switch. To think he could so easily go from a serious face to something with so much eagerness to please with just a call of his name.

She moved to the side, watching as he greeted everyone, each person getting their time with their beloved Champion. The crowd soon grew smaller, until a single boy stood in front of him, the widest grin placed on his face.

“Lee!” the boy exclaimed. He looked oddly familiar, with the same colored locks and the same sparkle of golden eyes as the man in front of him. Leon chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair as he pulled him into a hug.

“Hop! What’s up mate? How’ve you been?”

“LEEee! I literally just saw you a few days ago! But, I’ve been fine. I’m glad you're here! Did you take the person around Galar like you said you would?” the boy asked, looking up to his brother.

“Uh-huh. Actually she’s here right now,” Leon said, whispering the last bit into the younger’s ear.

Hop looked around, spotting (name) quickly as he beamed at her. She waved, her own attempt at a smile aimed at the boy who looked ever so much like Leon.

“Hi! I’m Hop! You must be (name)!” he exclaimed, walking over and taking out his hand to shake.

“Aha, yes. That's me,” she replied, taking his hand in her own.

“Lee’s told me all about you! You must have so many pokemon as someone who travels around the Regions often! Seen any rare ones?! How many do you have?! Can I see them!?” he exclaims. His enthusiasm is nice, but just the way he looks so much like his brother makes her tense. She doesn’t know how to respond, that is until Leon places a hand on the bouncing boy’s shoulder.

“Haha. Alright Hop, let’s give her a break. You can ask her all about her Pokemon when we get settled at home.” -- the boy opens his mouth again, but Leon beats him to it -- “and after we eat dinner.”

Hop looks as if he physically deflates, his enthusiasm replaced with a glum look. It quickly returns, however, as he insists to take her luggage. She couldn’t say no, so she allowed him to do so. He soon starts running as he calls back he’ll beat the two to the house. Leon shakes his head at his overly hyper brother, (name) letting out a snicker as she watches him do so.

“What?” he asks, enjoying the fact that she is amused.

“Nothing,” she says, starting to walk in the direction that Hop went. He followed, wanting to start a conversation after such a long silence they both endured.

“So… how long ago did you move away from Wedgehurst?”

The question surprises her.

“Oh… well it was quite a long time ago. I would say… around 17 years?” she replies, a thoughtful look on her face as she tries to recall the exact time. “I don’t remember much. It was definitely a lot different…”

She trails off, not knowing what else to say.

“Uh… yeah! I mean, um, when I was younger this place definitely wasn’t as lively as it is now… I mean, I guess that’s because everyone knows that this is my hometown…”

“Ah. I see.”

The awkward silence is placed yet again. He wished he could figure out what else to say but he truly was at a loss of words. How to talk to her after such a blunder the first time they spoke was confounding to him. He just wanted to fix the relationship they never had. Or so he thought.

Nearing his parents house, (name) grew even more uneasy. It looked exactly the same as she remembered, the place she had visited oh-so-many times. Why did he have to forget her? It would make things all the worse if his parents were able to remember and not him. She stopped in her tracks, shaking her head as she stared down at the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

She heard him, but didn’t care to listen to his obvious sound of concern. She didn’t want anything to do with another situation that would lead to his utter confusion. The fact he didn’t remember hurt all too much, but if his parents could and he could not? It would cause all the more heartache. And so, with a swift turn, she ran. She had no idea where she would go, but as long as she didn’t have to step inside that house, everything would definitely be all the better.

Leon, however, didn’t know how to react. Her sudden exit was not what he was expecting, and he had no clue how he would comfort her now. He knew she was hurt. Knew that her story of a lost friendship was becoming all the more real as he learned more about her. He glanced at the door, only inches away, but knew leaving her alone would never be of help to her. In a final seconds decision, he quickly ran after her, only able to see her retreating form heading for the Slumbering Weald.

~~~~

How he found her, he had no idea. As someone who was terrible with directions, Leon finally found her sitting alone on an extremely old looking swing. The trees surrounding left the slightest gleam of light enter through the leaves, illuminating her hair and back. She hadn’t yet noticed him, but the sound of sniffles could be heard.

SNAP

Her head flung up, turning to Leon as he slowly lifted his gaze from the twig he just stepped on. His eyes were wide, but softened as he noticed her features blotched with red, and tearstained. He stepped towards her, but stopped when she turned away.

“Why’re you here?” she asked, head bowed as a tinge of venom escaped her lips. He gulped, but continued to walk towards her, ‘till his figure towered over her sunken form.

“I wanted to know that you were okay…”

“You don’t need to. I’m fine, so you can just leave,” her hand waved him off, eyes still not meeting his own.

At this point, he didn’t know what to say. What was the point of following her when he knew she didn’t want him to be around? He sighed, placing a hand at the back of his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. What to do… What to do… he wondered to himself, and finally took in the scene around him.

This patch of opening in the forest was something that seemed familiar to him. A place he remembered stumbling upon on his own when he was young. He had no idea how he made it there, but recalled returning whenever he wanted to be alone. Then he remembered the slightest of detail that made him turn to her ever so quickly.

“How did you know about this place?” he asked, a sense of hope in his voice as he started to understand.

“I… I stumbled upon it when I was young… It was my--”

“Quiet place?” he finished. She raised her head again, turning to stare at him in wonder.

“Yes… it was…”

“I used to come here too. You know, when I just wanted to get away.”

A moment's flash, and the recollection of a girl sitting on this exact swing entered his mind.

“Could-could you tell me more about how we met?”

The sudden question made her stare at him even more, confusion falling over her as he looked back into her glossy eyes. She gulped.

“Why do you want to know? I thought you didn’t care.”

He cringes at her words, his brows creasing as he looks to the floor.

“No never. I-I do care…” he looked back up to her to finish, “just tell me. Please?”

Her eyes searched his, moving over his features to see if there was any falter in what looked like sincerity. She found none. She sighed.

“I first met you when I was what? Maybe 9? 10--?”

“When? Where?”

She tilted her head, looking at him in disapproval from his interruption. He sheepishly looked away in his embarrassment from eagerness. She sighed again.

“I was on my way here actually, when I could hear the softest voice speaking in the woods ahead. In fact, in the place where I was headed. I was careful. Quiet. And then, I saw you with your charmander, speaking to it in the most loving way a ten-year-old could speak to something. It looked hurt from what I could tell, but you were comforting it in such a way, I wanted to know what you were saying. So I stepped out. I guess I had made too much noise because you immediately looked up. Which also drew the attention of your pokemon.”

Leon looked at her with such an intensity, trying to search his mind's eye of any recollection of an event like this. She continued, ignoring his strong gaze.

“It got scared, from what I saw, and you yourself seemed pretty startled. I mean, you hid the poor thing from me, as if I hadn’t seen it already. I didn’t dare step closer, only because I didn’t want you or it to go anywhere. Not like you could… but still….

“I tried talking to you. I was an extremely shy child back then, so just allowing myself a ‘hello’ took a bit of courage to say. I walked closer, and crouched just in front of you, each of us just staring at the other, not knowing what to say. At this point you had a curious look in your eyes, as if you wanted to say something, perhaps to ask how I ended up in your secret place…. Our secret place. And just as I was about to ask who you were, your charmander ran up to me, taking a defensive turn to try and protect you. I of course got scared, myself not owning a pokemon of my own and not sure of how I was supposed to defend myself. So, I ran. And that’s how we met.”

She stopped her story, blinking at Leon as he shook his head in confusion.

“That’s it!?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s how we met?” he sounded incredulous.

“Mmhm.”

“Then how exactly did we become friends?”

“Well that’s the question now, isn’t it?”

“Well I am asking it.”

She laughed.

“Okay, fine. Next time we met, I thought I would be sure to be here,” -- she motioned to the spot they were in -- “before you. So, I would come everyday, the same time I remembered you being here. I went everyday for weeks, and one day, I realized perhaps I would never get to see the golden eyed boy with the feisty charmander. So here I was, sitting on this exact swing, thinking to myself, when I heard steps. I looked up, and woah and behold, you were there.”

His eyes widen at this revelation.

“I remember this!”

“Huh?”

He nods vigorously now, another flood of memory entering his mind as he jumps back.

“Yes! I do! I remember you, sitting right there! In my spot! And I remember I got so mad that --”

“That you challenged me to a pokemon battle?” she intervened, a blossom of hope entering her eyes as she eagerly sat up.

“Yeah! And I remember, I remember you just stared at me. You stared with those big… pretty... eyes… and gave me that look of utter confusion… and wonder… and….” he trailed off, looking at her the same way he did as a little boy. He always thought she was pretty, even as a young lad. He remembered how her eyes sparkled when she tilted her head, not understanding his sudden attempt at a challenge. And how he remembered his contempt when she told him she had no pokemon of her own to battle with. And then, he remembered his own wonder, at how in the world this girl could have no pokemon of her own to love and to hold.

He looked at her for a few moments longer, her face expressing the same emotion he just described, waiting for him to continue. He smiled and went on.

“And I gave up when you told me you had no pokemon. Instead, I found it was my duty to help you get one of your own, so that we could battle and I could regain my spot for my own… but that didn’t happen now did it?”

She shook her head.

“We decided to share it,” she replied.

Leon smiled even wider than before.

“Yeah. We did.”

There was a long pause in the air. A silence that had risen between them yet again, but this time something that was welcomed and not filled with awkwardness or discomfort.

“So… you do remember?” she asked, standing from her seat on the swing, but holding onto the rope that held it up.

“Yeah. I do.”

And then his happiness turned to sadness as he recalled the rest of the story.

“I remember you telling me right before my challenge with the champion that you were leaving. That you were moving away from Galar and probably never coming back. And I remember getting so mad at you. Mad and sad. And it was because of those feelings that I was able to beat the Champion. But it was also that feeling that caused me to push you away.”

She gasped, looking into his golden eyes as she herself recalled the betrayal felt when her only friend started to push her away.

“I-I thought that since you were leaving, it would be best to just not talk to you anymore. And since I was the new Champion, it made it all the more easier. So when you left… it didn’t make a difference to me… because I was already prepared to forget about ever seeing you…”

She looked to the ground, his honesty hurting her more than he could imagine.

So her attempts at mending their friendship was futile after all. It wasn’t because his Champion duties took away his time. It was because he truly did not care. And with this can of worms opened, it only made the heartache hurt more.

A sniff, and then her eyes welled with tears, herself biting her lip in an attempt at trying not to cry. Her attempts betrayed her when he said more.

“I remember you sending me letters now. I read each one. And all they did was rekindle the fire of sadness that was in my ten year old heart. All I wanted was for my friend to be there with me along the way. To be of help when I needed you. So that’s why, I don’t remember. You leaving hurt me so much, that I guess I must have pushed the very thought of you away.”

And then the floodgates broke. A sob exited her lips as she covered her mouth, and with that one sound, she was engulfed into his arms. He held her as she cried, caressing her hair in attempts to comfort her. He let her cry as much as she wanted, because he knew this was what she needed. A way to help cope with her feelings after such a long time of remembering such a heartache. When there were no tears left to cry, she leaned back in his arms. Looking into her tearstained face, one last question entered his mind.

“Why didn’t you just forget me? Why keep this inside of you for so long?”

She didn’t look into his eyes, but had an unfocused stare that she placed on his chest.

“I guess it’s because you meant so much to me. You were practically my first friend. The person who caught me my first pokemon. Who challenged me to so many pokemon battles that always ended in your success. The only one that I enjoyed spending time with because you were so fun to be around. I guess that’s why. Knowing you could so easily forget is the reason why it hurt so much. Because I cared so much.”

He nodded, not knowing what to say. Instead he lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. They stayed like this for a few moments, then he smiled.

“Geez, I’m glad I got to meet you again. Maybe it wasn’t in the best way to rekindle our friendship, but it was definitely the most interesting. The question is, are you alright with forgiving me for being such a dummy for so long?”

She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him again.

“Of course I am,” she said, her head resting on his chest.

“Good. I’m glad.”

They finally let go of each other, a new air about them as they sighed in relief.

“So, ready to get back to my place?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“Think you could lead the way? I get lost easily…”

She laughed in response, placing a hand on his shoulder as she shook her head.

“Yeah. Sure. Come on you forgetful man,” she laughed as she walked back through the trees.

“Hey! I’m not that forgetful!”

“Haha okay bud.”

“I’m serious!”

And so, perhaps her trip back to Galar wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, now that things were out in the open and everything was alright with Lee.

#pokemon leon #pokemon #pokemon imagines #pokemon x reader #leon x reader #pokemon hop #pure boy hop #Chairman Rose #Champion leon #galar pokémon

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fedgovwhistleblower · 3 years

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Global Alert: Hydrogen Peroxide, Humidifier and Water mixed 50 Percent used indoors will "Kill Covid 19". Fact that will save your "Life, Family and Friends". US President's, Vice and Congressman attack my integrity for attempting to save lives globally. Unbelievable, Honorable Discharged US Army Sgt not afraid to "Stand and Tell Truth's". Oath to "GOD" matters.

Hydrogen peroxide nebulizer are humidifier to treat Covid-19 infection The following is from Thomas Levy, M.D, J.D., a board certified cardiolosit and a prolific medical writer of 13 books and a international speaker. Thomas is a good friend of mine and I trust him. Dr. Frank Shallenberger is also an internationally well known doctor whom I trust as well. Although I have not personally tested this, I will recommend to you just in case you need it. This method makes scientific sense and is safe, most definitely worth trying, especially now at this global covid-19 crisis. -Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.An At-Home Treatment That Can Cure Any Virus, Including CoronavirusOriginally Conceptualized, circa 1990, by Charles Farr, MD Subsequently Researched and Prescribed by Frank Shallenberger, MD Current Protocol Created by Thomas Levy, MD, JDAlthough COVID-19, aka coronavirus, is deadly in some select cases, and it can spread rapidly, there is a simple, very inexpensive, and highly effective treatment that can treat and rapidly resolve coronavirus and virtually any other respiratory virus. While different individuals can be expected to have variable degrees of positive response, this intervention can be anticipated to eliminate eventual fatal disease outcomes in all but the most advanced cases.

As I hope you will eventually experience, the treatment works for all acute viral infections, and especially well for flu viruses of any variety. In fact, although we are constantly conditioned to not believe in anything “too good to be true,” you will never have to worry about getting a cold or the flu again because you can cure it on your own.The key ingredient in this treatment is common household 3% hydrogen peroxide, and this is the same substance that can be purchased in a 32-ounce plastic bottle at Walmart, for 88 cents, or at Walgreens for under a $1.00. Perhaps you have never heard of hydrogen peroxide therapy, but since the treatment was first championed by Dr. Charles Farr in about 1990, thousands of doctors have used this therapy for decades to conquer infections in many thousands of patients throughout the world.

How and Why Hydrogen Peroxide WorksBecause hydrogen peroxide consists of a water molecule (H2O) with an extra oxygen atom (H2O2), it is this extra oxygen atom that makes it so deadly for viruses. In order to comprehend why H2O2 therapy works so well, you must first understand that viral infections are eradicated from the body not by killing the virus itself, but rather by killing the cells that produce them.Technically, viruses are not alive, and so it is not possible to kill them. But some agents can physically break down the viral structure and render them inactive. Viruses are actually pieces of genetic code that, in and of themselves, can neither survive nor reproduce. Therefore, in order to replicate, viruses need to infect cells, which means that in the interior of cell, a virus uses the cell’s own DNA and RNA in order to effectively reproduce. Essentially, therefore, the virus controls an infected cell and uses the cell to manufacture new viruses. Then, the new virus can exit the cell and proceed to infect other cells. As a result, the way to control any viral infection is not to kill the virus; rather, the infected cells that have been turned into viral factories must be killed.

This is the role of the extra oxygen atom in hydrogen peroxide.Under normal circumstances with a healthy immune system, one’s immune cells produce their own hydrogen peroxide to kill the infected cells that propagate viruses. When one’s immune cells are overwhelmed, such as the case with COVID-19, hydrogen peroxide therapy merely assists the immune cells in doing the job for which they were originally created.One Disadvantage of Dr. Farr’s Original H2O2 TherapyFrom a patient and consumer perspective, the single main drawback to Dr. Farr’s original therapy is/was that it is primarily an intravenous (IV) therapy. Under most circumstances, this means that you must either administer the IV needle yourself or depend upon another person to assist you. Unfortunately, this is beyond the logistical (and perhaps financial) capacity of most people, and it may be one reason why the original hydrogen peroxide therapy is not more widespread.

Nevertheless, it should be realized that the proper intravenous application of hydrogen peroxide exerts a powerful anti-viral and general anti-pathogen effect.Dr. Shallenberger’s Ingenious Use of a NebulizerThe great news is that there is a safe and simple way to avoid doctors and IV needles. This method developed by Dr. Frank Shallenberger is almost as effective as IV, can be performed at home, and is much less costly than IV.The treatment is known as nebulized hydrogen peroxide, and Dr. Shallenberger began using the technique some years ago when he had a patient who was taking asthma medication that her doctor had been administering in a nebulizer.

For those who are unfamiliar, a nebulizer is a device that is able to convert a liquid into tiny, microscopic bubbles. As a result, these extremely small bubbles, which appear as smoke escaping from the nebulizer, can be inhaled into the deepest regions of the lungs without any discomfort or irritation. Such a device has long been utilized for asthmatics to get medication to open their lungs, but Shallenberger further noticed that nebulizers have a systemic effect, which is delivery far beyond the lungs only. According to one of Dr. Shallenberger’s patients, the inhalation of her prescribed drug in the nebulizer was “unbelievably strong,” and “affected her entire body.”What Was Taking PlaceIt turns out that the tiny bubbles were not only providing medication to the patient’s lungs, but the drug was being delivered to her entire body through her lungs.

Based on Dr. Farr’s prior research, Shallenberger reasoned that perhaps H2O2 could be delivered to the entire body with a nebulizer. Dr. Shallenberger tried the nebulizer delivery system on himself, and he was delighted to discover that the treatment was extremely easy to administer, very comfortable like breathing extremely pure air, and the treatment was in no way irritating. Shallenberger’s first actually ill test subject was his wife who had developed the initial symptoms of flu. She immediately began 10-minute treatments every waking hour, and within 72 hours, (three days), the flu was fully cured. Shallenberger was predictably amazed in that even IV hydrogen peroxide cannot resolve flu in much less time.

Since Mrs. Shallenberger’s rapid recovery, Dr. Shallenberger has treated hundreds of cases of colds, flus, sinusitis, and bronchitis all with the same results. Indeed, Shallenberger has discovered that nebulizer treatments actually have an advantage over the IV therapy. Not only is the hydrogen peroxide disseminated into the entire body through the lungs, it is also going directly to the areas of the body that are most affected by viruses: the sinuses, throat, bronchial tract, and lungs. This is especially important since colds and flu viruses replicate to very high titers in these areas, serving to supply a continuous feed of virus to the rest of the body.

Effective hydrogen peroxide nebulization quite literally, “chops the head off of the snake,” and the virus present elsewhere in the body can then readily be mopped up when the new virus influx has been terminated.It should be kept in mind that hydrogen peroxide kills all pathogens very readily upon contact in an open wound. It should, therefore, be understandable why putting a fine mist of hydrogen peroxide in all the areas of maximal viral replication promptly puts the body on a pathway to rapid healing. Dr. Levy’s Simple, Inexpensive, and Extremely Effective H2O2 ProtocolEarly Onset and Treatment of VirusRegular off-the shelf 3% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized. Preparations of greater pharmacological purity can be obtained if desired.For most adults, the 3% concentration can be utilized in the nebulization chamber undiluted. This optimizes the degree and rapidity of anti-viral and anti-pathogen effect.When a runny nose or slightly sore throat is already present, it is recommended that 10-to 15-minute nebulization sessions be undertaken roughly four times daily or until a symptomatic relief is realized.

Many individuals report significant improvement only a few hours after the first one or two treatments. But it would be advisable to persist in these treatments several times daily for at least 24 to 48 hours after you feel everything is completely normal in your sinuses, nose, and throat.For some, the 3% concentration results in too much stinging/burning in the nose. Such individuals can dilute with water until they find their highest tolerable concentration. Nearly everybody can tolerate a 50/50 combination of the 3% hydrogen peroxide and water. However, still lower concentrations can be utilized with clearly beneficial effect.Prevention/MaintenanceAs it is a completely non-toxic therapy, nebulization can be administered as often as desired.

If done on a daily basis at least once, a very positive impact on bowel and gut function will often be realized as killing the chronic pathogen colonization present in most noses and throats stops the 24/7 swallowing of these pathogens and their associated toxins.If daily prevention is not a practical option, the effectiveness of this treatment is optimized when somebody sneezes in your face or you finally get off of the plane after a trans-Atlantic flight. Don’t wait for initial symptoms. Just nebulize at your first opportunity.

Final Note: This fact and protocol sheet does not contain a copyright, and a patent has not been applied for. Therefore, I encourage the reader to disseminate the contents far and wide to as many people as possible. Because you now have a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to conquer virtually all viral infections, you do not have to live in fear of COVID-19 or any other pandemic. "Please share as a Public Safety Alert" step 1. mix water and hydrogen peroxide 50/50 percent step 2. Pour mixture into a humidifier step 3. Turn humidifier on and breath in mist being released in any room in your home. Try to do this every day, be well. Hope this helps everyone, friend always. mlh.

Yours in good health,Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD www.PeakEnergy.com March 18, 2020

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so-i-dont-forget-again · 4 years

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So I Don’t Forget Again: A Breath of The Wild fanfiction

Entry 49: ???

Sidon insisted that before I leave, he teach me how to swim up waterfalls without launching myself into the sky. So far, the attempts have been a failure. It’s nothing to do with form, I’m simply too light.

We took a break and simply sat at the waterfall’s edge. We talked for a bit. I admitted I wasn’t sure where to go next. He told me that four races had the Divine Beasts. One with the Zoras, one with the Rito, one with the Gorons, and one with the Gerudo. The Rito live high in the snowy Hebra Mountains, The Gorons on Death Mountain, a massive volcano in the Eldin region, and the Gerudo in the Gerudo desert. All of which were either very far away, or I wasn’t sure how I’d survive. I don’t think I could survive on a lava spewing mountain even if I was continuously eating. Sidon then told me that there are elixirs specifically made for the purpose making people temporally heat resistant so they can traverse Death Mountain. He then added that he’d have some prepared for me before I go.

We were chatting about something else when I heard something. I leaped into the water and swam back to town. There he stood on his perch playing and singing away without a care in the world. The song was about Mipha. “Recall the Champion of Ruta’s wrath, before she walked her chosen path. Mipha’s kindness was known to all, which is why the princess came to call.” The rest of the song recalled a memory of Sidon’s where Mipha was kind, yet she was also strict. The song showed there was more to her than just being helpful to others. Her kindness came through in many forms even harsh at times.

Turns out that Kass and Sidon are friends. Once the storm had cleared Kass thought to visit to make sure everything was alright. There was another reason though. His master began writing a balled for the Champions, but never finished it before death so Kass has taken it upon himself to complete it. He wanted the song to capture a side of the Champions that wasn’t well known, yet still befitting their image as heroes so he had asked the King and Sidon for stories of Mipha and incorporated Sidon’s memory into the song.

We ended up listening to Kass play song after song till we noticed a very distressed looking Zora. Turns out his wife left to go fishing not long before the storm, but even now still hasn’t returned. Sidon and I immediately leaped into the water and decided to search far down river.

And Bossa Nova too. The only time I’ve ever seen them apart was when Sidon and I left to fight Vah Ruta. Aside from that they’re never too far apart. Occasionally Bossa Nova will wander off and do his own thing, but always returns to the Prince’s side not after too long. He’s almost always around so I may forget to mention him sometimes, sorry.

All three of us tried to leave Zora’s Domain via the river, but due to the storm many parts of it were blocked off. As we went to land to think of a plan, we met a young Zora. She apparently sent letters in bottles down river and chatted with someone through that. The Zora girl, Finley is in love with the person but with so many parts of the river being blocked they couldn’t talk anymore. Another reason to unblock the river.

As Sidon was talking with Finley, using the Sheikah Slate I summoned a bomb, chucked it at the rubble and detonated it. The way was mostly cleared, but there was still more rubble down the river, so Bossa Nova and I jumped into the water. Bossa Nova can swim much faster than me, and since I can’t use the Sheikah Slate in the water I road on him. We continued this process till we reached a part of the river which was out of the small canyon like area of the Domain.

Sidon was not far behind following the letter in a bottle.

There was still more debris blocking the river, and even Lizalfols in the water blocking the letter’s way so we kept following and protecting it till we reached some land near where a Hylian guy was camping. Turns out he’s the one who Finley was writing too.

After this Sidon had me ride on him since Bossa Nova was getting a little tired of carrying me.

We kept going down river and kept searching, but there were many branching paths. We decided to not split up given that even in the complete Zora armor set I can’t swim for too long. While searching Sidon asked me something. If I think a relationship between a Zora and a Hylian could last. I feel like that if people of any races cared mutually for each other they could make something work for them. Sidon spoke of how he couldn’t stop thinking about how in some time and place there was a possibility where we could have been brothers-in-law. He then went on to speak of how Hylians live much shorter lives than Zoras. He then asked if I think I’ll live longer than the average Hylian because of my healing ability. I... never thought of that before. If that is the case, then I’d see a lot of people I know die. We were silent for a while before Sidon said that he hopes things work out between the Hylian and Finley. I hope so too.

While searching I found something, but not a Zora. I told Sidon to keep going without me, but he wouldn’t. We were dangerously close to the castle and refused to leave me alone in a place filled with all sorts of Guardians. Luckily, we were at the back of the castle which seems to be much less protected than the front. I felt guilty, but I needed to look.

I kept looking at the picture on the Sheikah Slate then at my surroundings. We could see the castle not far off in the distance. We were under a large tree in a field of tiny colorful flowers. One caught our attention, one called “The Silent Princess” It’s endangered and can only grow in the wild. All efforts to farm it have failed. Then she caught something. She became very excited and scooted closely towards me explaining how it had powerful effects in elixirs in the right circumstances, all while keeping it cupped in both of her hands. She was holding a frog and wanted me to eat it to see what effects it would have on me.

Sidon was holding me by the shoulders at arm’s length. He looked concerned and said that while looking around I slowly stopped moving and stared off into the distance. I asked him if we could stop for a moment so I could write a few things down.

I’m glad that of all people I managed to connect to Sidon.

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