#this gym of mine

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Pokemon fangame: "You're the gym leader and these are the t-"

Me: "Okay yadda yadda I get the deal, where's the Fairy or Steel gym picks? ... fine I'm a Ghost leader. At least I can surprise people with Honedge and stuff."

Pokemon fangame: "Everyone hates you because the city's previous gym leader was a loser and the city's in ruin so you gotta fix it."

Me: "... Hypnosis + Lick + Shadowball for everyone! Got a Zorua and taught it Shadowball too! Surprise, it's not a Ghost! Oh, a Psychic type in the wilds nearby? Yoink, teach it Shadowball and make sure it'll learn Dream Eater. When I get a chance I'll get a Jigglypuff for rollout! If everyone hates me I'm gonna give them reasons to hate me!"

[magnetictapedatastorage]

been really enjoying "this gym of mine". it has absolutely ZERO polish though. like. whenever the music changes there is a Loud noise where the game has no idea what track to play. this happens with... every battle. also level 38 wild kakuna because the encounter levels scale but the species do not...... it's worth it though to run a team of fully evolved bugs and lose to the third bird catcher in a row. also heracross literally sucks

[crystalelemental]

Tumblr’s still horrifically broken today, but just in case this actually posts: finished This Gym of Mine.

It’s fine.

There are some things I do like.  The fact I can get a Braixen with Quiver Dance, for instance!  That rules.  But...

I talked a lot about the issue of random encounters scaling to you, but trainer battles not?  Yeah, that...never goes away.  To compound, gym battle levels start to scale REALLY sharply, and their solution was a single trainer you can battle repeatedly in front of the gym, who has six Blissey with no damaging attacks, all holding Black Sludge.  It is a very rapid leveling system.  But it turns the game entirely into this odd back and forth between slow grinding for levels, and then rapid-fire battles.  I think I had like four consecutive days of event battles for rank boosting.  One of them happened after going to the Badlands, clearing it out, coming back to the event starting immediately.  It was supposed to happen after sleeping, so I missed all the characters.  Their dialogue showed but I never saw the people involved.  Which was great.  Then we had to deal with the leader of the riders and couldn’t do other stuff until then, then we had the champion show up, and then...it just keeps happening.

The added frustration is that, eventually?  They catch up.  By level 50-55, you’re just on-par with trainers again.  Which isn’t so bad.  Except they very clearly are EV trained, and have moves that aren’t typically learned, and you...do not.  You do not have access to basic moves.  I could never find the TM for things like Ice Beam (Jynx had to use Powder Snow), Dazzling Gleam (Braixen is now hard walled by Houndoom), or Earthquake (eat shit, Metagross).  So a lot of fights that should’ve been cleared with little issue wound up being incredibly frustrating because suddenly, Braixen is hard walled, and they have something that instantly kills it.  Which is very, very frustrating.  There were other options I could consider in the type that would cover things, but to my knowledge, Slowpoke and Exeggcute aren’t in this game.  So there goes a lot of my counterplay.

On the plus side, money stopped being a problem like...instantly.  Once I opened the commercial district and had a bit of money?  I went from 6k a day to over 11 million a day.  Money cap is 1 million.  I did this in like two days.  It explodes open, and suddenly you can afford infinite items with no issue.  Which...trivializes a lot?  It’s hard to care about the fight when it’s either getting stomped, or you’re able to just spam items infinitely.  Also this game fucking LOVES spamming Zoroark to throw you off.  When you’re unfamiliar with the team, and don’t see it there, it’s a lot more effective.  It’s completely fucking obnoxious, I kinda hate it.

Moreover, a lot of areas lack any kind of interest?  When you do have Repels, you start to realize, there’s like nothing in here.  It’s very short stuff with nothing going on.  So I don’t really know what to say about the region itself.  There’s not much there.  Story is similar; there’s too little going on in the broad scale to be entirely interesting, and they don’t have much engagement with your gym trainers like I expected.  I know, I know, fan game.  For what it is, it’s fine.  But it’s not doing much for me as a result.

I think that’s the ultimate takeaway I have.  It’s a very cool idea, that I would love to see in like...an actual official game, with a budget behind it.  Having something where you engage more with your gym trainers could make them interesting.  Having a more dynamic system of building the town that isn’t cracked open instantly for max money every day would be engaging.  Having a more dynamic region with more options and less frustration over the encounter levels being scaled would make it flow a little better.  It’s an under 10 hour endeavor, but I’m not sure I want to play it again with a different type.  It’s interesting, but not super engaging.

[zorquil]

Gonna stream for a short while! Playing Pokémon: This Gym Of Mine!

[lordmaddie]

tbh I admire the balls on this man

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

02 / 627 words

You challenge Gaz to a pushup competition. And lose. What did you think would happen?

He keeps at it, though, maybe as a flex. Half-envious and half-curious, you lay on your stomach with your arms folded under your chin and watch him go. Gaz pushes himself up and down at the same even pace. You could always saboratge him, shove him over, but the satisfaction wouldn't last. Especially with his self-righteous ass taking it as permission to be a martyr about it. Wouldn't be the first time.

"Can you do those one-handed?" you ask him.

He glances at you. "Doesn't do much good for my triceps, but yeah, I can handle it."

"So what? Triceps, pff. The point of one-handed pushups is looking cool."

"If you can pull it off."

"Can you?"

"Obviously."

Gaz pushes up a little harder, repositioning one hand so it's centered under him when he comes down. The other hand he puts behind his back. To your disappointment, he continues with ease. He holds his body in perfect alignment despite the sheen of sweat glazing his skin.

"Wow, fine." You make yourself sound as unimpressed as possible. "Of course you can do it with your dominant arm. What about the other one?"

Gaz switches sides without missing a rep, making it look just as easy. You frown.

"That what you meant?" he asks.

"Yeah. Yeah. Okay, that was smooth," you admit.

"It's all in the form. Keep everything straight and taut. Can't do it properly if your body's all loose and jerking around."

"Uh-huh," you say absently. "What about weighted pushups? Like what if there were something on your back?"

"I've done it before. How come you want to know?"

"Just wondering what if I, like, sat on your back while you did it. Do you think you'd be strong enough?"

"Ah, is that it?" Gaz grins. He pauses his reps with his arm taught but slightly bent, bracing him in a plank. "Try it."

"Really?"

"I can take it."

"I'm heavy."

"Mmm, sure you are. Come on."

Gaz lowers himself to the ground. You hesitate, but he's not letting you back out. He's calling your bluff and he knows it.

"Chickening out?"

You huff and push yourself to your knees. "You wish."

You feel like a ton of clumsy bricks, lowering yourself down onto his back. You really try not to think about how your hand lands right above his shoulder blade or how his tank top leaves so much of his muscled back and shoulders exposed or how your ass slides against the firm curve of his lower back. You pray you're not too heavy. But Gaz either doesn't notice or doesn't mind. As soon as you're situated, draped over him sort of on your back and sort of on your side, he resumes his reps. Slower. Like he's accommodating you as you adjust.

You keep as still as you can. Gaz is as focused and professional as ever. But this is a bit more intimate than you anticipated. Damn him for forcing you to contend with the consequences of your actions. It's impossible not to notice and feel his back muscles at work. His strength is impressive. You're dismayed at the very idea that you thought you could beat Gaz in a test of arm strength. Hubris, that's what it was.

"Is this... helping? The weight?"

"Helping my training? Yeah, it seems to be working. You're good resistance."

"Oh. Thanks. Glad to be of service."

"Yeah? You feel alright on top of me?"

Your cheeks go a little pink at his phrasing. "Yeah. Best seat in the house."

"Is it?" Gaz wears a cheeky smirk, though you can't see it. "Keep it there, then. I like a little extra motivation."

...

[part 1] / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5

more Gaz / masterlist tag

[petricorah]

i think korra would really like climbing [ids in alt]

[felixlefebvre]

NOAH BECK on INSTAGRAM.

[ruikasas]

timeskip osamu icons

[crystalelemental]

Alright, day 2 of This Gym of Mine.  I don’t know how I feel about this game.

The Gym Team is Bronzor, Metang, and Smoochum.  I’m considering Drowzee until Smoochum can evolve, but eh.  If I need it, I have Butterfree too.  It can learn Psychic so it’s legally allowed in my Psychic gym, and more importantly, it’s fast and has Sleep Powder so it can fuck with people.  So we have a decent spread of options.

The main issue I take with the game is that wild encounters scale to your level.  I understand that the point of this is to minimize grinding to catch up with newer Pokemon, and to offer means of grinding levels as needed to over-prepare your gym.  But it’s unnecessary.  The areas you can travel have a pretty clear method of progression, if you mess around in the area.  Like, level 13 or not, a Stunfisk is going to be a problem due to stats early on.

Trainer levels, however, don’t scale at all.  So when you go somewhere, they’re kinda piss-easy to take care of.  I have encountered one (1) trainer that scared me.  It was a dude in the Cold Steel Cavern, who had 5 Pokemon all in the mid-20s.  I was maybe 20-22 at the time.  He had a Mawile.  It knew Sucker Punch.  I am a Psychic type.  We still won first try, though, all my Psychics still alive.  Thanks, Shroomish.

This is meant to be offset.  Having seen it, I now understand that progression is supposed to be show up in town, do two days immediately, and then move forward, because Leader Rank 1 is level 15.  Okay, great.  Problem: there’s no indication of that anywhere prior.  When you show up in town, you have no idea what you’re in for.  Moreover, when you show up, you probably don’t have three Pokemon with your type, or that know your Gym Specialty TM (in my case, Psychic).  I had to level up for Butterfree to qualify, and by then we’re already massively over-leveled.

The next phase feels like there’s some clear progression.  Going right out of the city is really high level, so I’m likely supposed to do more gym stuff before going over there.  But I could.  Nothing stopping me, really.  And going left, there’s now the really long road to the Badlands.  I assume that’s my next destination, since someone asked about it there, and if there’s sidequests, it’s probably an intended option.  But to get there, I have to go through two zones of constant random encounters, and fight exactly nothing.  Because every encounter scales to my level, and I can’t one-shot anything.  So it’s just getting into constant battles and running, to get into trainer matches with no teeth because I over-prepared.

The game just feels very...odd.  Despite the level scaling being intended to save time grinding, it actually is worse than usual.  Because again, every encounter is a threat, and you’re constantly hauling your broke ass back to the center.  It would honestly be a lot better if they didn’t.  If you needed to ensure new stuff was caught up, there’s this super neat modern mechanic called EXP All that I know people shit on, but that is in fact it’s intended use, and you could make a good case for it in a shorter game like this with Gen 5 style EXP scaling.

I dunno.  I’ll keep going but I can’t say I love it yet.  I think I’m just antsy for new options, and to not feel like exploring is such a chore.  The curse of Quiet Bronzor is never being able to run away successfully.

[she-wu]

"don't i look like a gym teacher?"

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

currently eating drywall while reading your Gaz pushup fic. I got an idea, Gaz pinning reader down under him and doing push-ups like that?

this is playing with fire anon.

1,843 / 15 / takes place immediately after doing push-ups with Gaz and distracting Gaz as he's counting reps

...

The next day, Gaz gives no indicator as to how many push-ups he's doing, and you're struggling to keep track. Your focus lies elsewhere--between his broad shoulders and muscular back; the way his t-shirt fits so tightly to his skin.

"You're not counting my reps this time, I take it?" he asks dryly.

You stiffen, in the middle of warmup stretches yourself. "Why, should I? Are you going to get distracted and miscount again?"

"I don't miscount." He pushes up. His biceps look like carved stone under the strain. "I just ignore people who try to get my attention while I'm working."

"Maybe I should lay under you this time so you can't ignore me." You chuckle absently at your own joke without fully registering the implications of what you just said. You also don't notice Gaz falter in his reps for the first time ever.

He buckles down onto one elbow. "I'm... sorry? Come again?"

Your brain catches up with your mouth just as you're trying to twist your left knee up and over your right hip. "Wait, I didn't mean like that. Or I did, but not in the way that, like, just with your chest-- wait, fuck--"

Still mid-stretch, his hand closes around your ankle.

"No, really, come again."

He pulls, dragging you under him, and you find yourself on your back, the workout mat stinging against the skin there. He hovers over you, his hands and knees caging you in.

"Lay under me?" he says. "Because that's what it sounds like that's what you're saying. Is that what you want? To be under me?"

You blink up at him. This shouldn't feel as intimate as it does. Gaz is your workout buddy. You've been closer to him. Regularly.

It's the eye contact, isn't it? He looks hungry. Your gym buddy shouldn't be looking like he wants to devour you. He leans in closer, his eyes roving over you in a way you've never seen him do before. Obviously Gaz is an attractive guy--ridiculously so. But you've never seen him look at you like this. Your whole body is tingling with awareness.

You know you can put an end to this right now with a single comment. The fact that you don't want to is what makes his closeness feel new. If he were to lean down and kiss you right here on the gym mat, you would welcome it.

As if he can hear your thoughts, Gaz shifts again, leaning further over you. "I said, is that what you want?"

Your mouth is dry. Your tongue darts out go wet your lips and his eyes snap down to watch.

Your self-control wavers.

"Yeah," you tell him shortly. "Maybe I do."

Gaz's jaw sets. His body is tensing like a coiled spring. He is desperate to touch you. "Maybe isn't good enough," he grits out. His hand slides up from your hip to your waist, slipping under your shirt. "I want to hear yes."

nsfw ⬇

Your vision fogs a bit as his fingers graze the skin under your breasts. When he dragged you under him, you realize, the friction of the floor against your clothes rolled them up. Now your shorts and top are riding very high on your frame. He sees the way you're trembling, your hips writhing subtly under his touch. You're so exposed. It's so wrong. But he's enjoying the hell out of the view.

His hand disappears and he drops to his elbows, his hard body pressing up against yours. Your breath hitches. He chuckles. His mouth strays to your ear. 

"Easy," he breathes. "I'm not asking to have my way with you right here on the floor. I'm just asking for permission to touch you a little, yeah?"

Your heart clenches in your chest, catching oddly. "Oh, right. Y-Yeah."

"Sorry, are you disappointed?" His hand drifts back up your body, going straight to the elastic band of your sports bra. "Did you want me to take you right here? In this very public gym?"

You squirm as his thumb begins to work its way under the elastic. Your hands go to his chest, a rush of endorphins surging through you at the slight give of his form pectoral muscles under your fingers.

"I didn't say that," you tell him, voice still wavering more than you want it to. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Oh, no, I'm just thinking out loud. You really need to watch your phrasing, boss. You're gonna make me think you're not as innocent as you like to act." His thumb rubs in slow circles over your soft skin as he speaks. "I’m just thinking about how cute you are when you're all flustered. And how pretty your eyes are. And how you’re not denying it.”

"You're the one who-- ah--" Your retort dies on your lips as his hand slips under your bra. His fingers run over your nipple, the rough texture of his callouses against the many nerve endings there making you jump.

He lets out a low groan of satisfaction when you respond so quickly to his touch. His forehead falls to your collarbone, trying to focus on you, on the sounds you're making. You're igniting his whole body. He squeezes your breast roughly, unable to help himself. He squeezes again when you squeak and he realizes just how much you like this, too. He tenses more and more with every breathless little jump and squeal.

You're barely aware of your own reactions. All you register is his hand on you and the heat in your face spreading down your neck and racing to your core.

His knee slides between your legs. It tears a ragged gasp from your throat. That only seems to encourage him, and he presses his body down harder over yours.

"You're so sensitive," he breathes out.

He grinds his knee up into you even more shamelessly, and you fist a handful of his tank top. "Wait," you protest. "Someone could walk in."

"So?" He growls, his voice suddenly rough. "Let them walk in and see. I'm not going to pretend I'm doing anything other than what you want--" His breath gets heavier as he shifts again, his knee easing back. Fuck, you're right. Someone is going to walk in any second. It's incredible nobody has already. This would be a compromising position to be found in, to put it very lightly. He's a senior officer over you. It looks bad for him to be over you.

Gaz forces his hand to still and pulls it out from under your shirt, swallowing. He sits up, dragging his gaze slowly down your body before he finally locks eyes with you again. Your clothes are in disarray; your chest is heaving; you're looking at him with such a debauched look in your eye he has to clench his hands into fists to keep them off you. Jesus. He's only touched one nipple and you already look like he's been fucking you. How are you real?

He grabs your hand and pulls you to your feet as he stands. "Come on, up."

"Where are we going?" you ask as he walks across the floor with your hand still in his grip. "Why did you stop?"

"We're going somewhere private." His grip stays firm as he drags you out through the front entrance. "And I stopped," he adds, "because you're going to get me in trouble if I keep going where we were."

"Wait." You tug his hand back as he pulls you past the entrance to the women's locker room and showers. "In here."

Gaz almost trips as your grip pulls him back.

"What?" His voice is an exasperated whisper.

But at your persistence, he lets you tow him over to the women's locker showers.

"What?" he repeats, this time quieter as he opens the door. "Are you--?"

But you step in after him, shutting the door behind you. Gaz's eyebrows go up.

"I guess you are."

"A lot less foot traffic in here. Enough time for a little hands-on training, right?" you say, pulling him further into the room. You start up one of the shower heads near the door, hoping the noise will cover up what you want to do. Then you strip your tank top and bra off in one swift motion, grabbing the hem of his shirt immediately after.

Gaz's throat goes dry at the sight of your exposed chest. He drinks in your body, his eyes roaming slowly and possessively. "Jesus, your body is-- fuck."

He grabs your hips and pushes you against the wash-tile in the nearest stall. You gasp at the cold of the tile on your naked back.

He runs his hands up your waist, groping your tits unabashedly. "We're way past hands-on training, love. That's your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah. Yours." Gaz's voice is rough with arousal. He hefts you up, grunting in satisfaction when your legs fasten around his waist. "You started this. You're the one who suggested laying under me. You didn’t have to say that. Did you think I was going to say no?"

You give him what is--somehow, even as you're naked from the waist up with your legs around him--a shy glance. "I didn't think you'd say yes."

His hands move up your legs, massaging your thighs then moving to your hips again. The way your body grips him, the way your legs squeeze him tightly to you--he's loving every goddamn inch of you.

"What do you expect a starving man to do when he's presented with a three-course meal right on the table?"

You scoff. "You are not starving."

"I'm starving for you," he grits out. "Don't be obtuse. God damn. You have no idea how often I’ve thought about getting my hands on you.” He rubs his fingers along the sensitive skin just over your waistband. “You have no idea just how much I’ve wanted to--”

He slides his hands up your body again, his fingertips tracing smooth undersides of your breasts. Even now he's holding back and his restraint is obvious. He could have you right now, pinned to the wall.

"I wanna devour you, you hear me? Every inch."

Your stomach flutters as his palms reach your ass and squeeze. You can't believe Gaz of all people wants you like this. "Is this gonna mess up our relationship as gym partners?"

"Probably. Definitely." He bites your earlobe the same place he bit it yesterday. This time, he laves his tongue against it. His breath is labored in your ear. "If you don't want that to happen. I need you to tell me." He rolls his hips against yours, groaning at the feeling of your heat through your thin workout shorts. "Right... right now."

"Is... is it wrong that I kinda want you to ruin it for the rest of time?"

"Good." He shifts one hand to run his fingers over the crux of your thighs from behind, making your back arch. "Because I'm going to destroy it beyond all reason."

...

part 1 / part 2 / [part 3] / part 4 / part 5

more Gaz / masterlist tag

[innoouuff1]

Back to the gym 🤍

[orwellian-sazerac]

Inspecting all you little perverts.

[ncisfox]

Stair sprints on leg day have me soaked 💦

[galaxies-mesamou]

Some more gym progress 💪✌️