#it looked cool before too before it got too overgrown for my liking but meh i always cut it a lot when i think it's time for a haircut

[nayarablueglasses]

Duo x male reader

a/n: oh gods this is so. anyways this was meant for day thirteen of the @gundam-wing-pride event but certain circumstances have caused me to be unable to post in time for it. the tears prompt was kept in mind for this, i hope it suffices.

word count: 2,059

summary: horrific battles never made you cry, so how did a joke from Duo manage to do it?

warnings: reader is in an active war at first, brief mentions of reader becoming deaf to loud sounds after the battle, reader has a very dry way of thinking, i haven't seen the entirety of the show in ages so i think my timeline is a little messed up

reader pronouns: he/him but comes off as gn

How’d you end up here?

You’d woken up to the extremely jarring sounds of the space station’s evacuation alarms. Considering the immediate panicking masses of people that then flooded the streets, it wasn’t the best way to wake up. Especially when you factor in that your first evacuation drill since the ‘safe space’ had been rebuilt, relocated and refortified was supposed to happen next week. Though to be fair, there were absolutely no signs that you knew of that would signal a a war erupting on your colony.

Honestly? You never were impressed by the Gundams. All you knew about them was that they were starting a war with what a few of the colonies had begun to call the “colony rebels.” The White Fang. Maybe the White Fang had started the war, but you could care less. No matter who’d started this, the colonies- your colony- was caught in the crossfires now.

And it wasn’t like you could trust the Gundams, either. It wasn’t that long ago that Gundam Pilot 04 almost blew up an entire colony because their father had been killed. If that was how the Gundams handled personal loss, your colony could only speculate on the ways they’d deal with the political difficulties of a war. And unsurprisingly, it turned out that they handled it absolutely terribly.

The scariest part was the absolute absurdness of the whole war. Two sides that claimed to speak for the colonies. The White Fang pressed attention on the colonies, while the Gundams remained an absolute mystery. Plus, the individual power struggles claiming the colonies, the Treize Faction war against Oz that was reportedly occuring back on Earth... everybody was misinformed about absolutely all of it, and the best you could do was try to make sense of the chaos unfolding and hope it never touched your poor colony.

But wishes don’t always come true. And certainly never the wishes you make.

Like the wish you’d been repeating back to yourself for the last hour- to be able to come out of this unscathed. Your arm had some thoughts on that.

As it turns out, trying to run through an active warzone to the safe space you didn’t know the location of was extremely dangerous. So dangerous that your arm had been hit with a stray bullet. Right now the main dangers were the footsoldiers firing at each other, but not that far off in the distance you could see two of the Gundams fighting a swarm of Taruses. The fact that they weren’t close was anything but comforting, since you’d seen the speed of the Gundams before on T.V.

Oh.

“Hey- get outta the way! Ya try’na get killed?” A White Fang footsoldier shoved you to the side, presumably trying to help. Instead you stumbled facedown into a very large pile of scrap metal. Which very much hurt your arm and effectively trapped your leg as well.

Fun. “The fuck kinda horror movie is this?” You muttered to yourself. Of course, of course you ran directly into the fray. Because of COURSE that was safer than the opposite direction (which in all fairness had been covered in sharp-looking rubble). That’s fine. You could work with this. What did your uncle usually tell you- take inventory in terms of crises?

You hadn’t brought a backpack with you, so, all you could take inventory on was what was in your pockets. One elastic, a single outdated coin, and fuzz. Plus, a bleeding arm and the bullet you figured was still in there, a possibly twisted and hopefully not broken foot, ringing in your ears... and the clothes on your back. Ok.

So this is how you die? Fine. That’s fucking fine. You had plenty to live for, but fine. Who cares?

“Woah-hoh, what the hell? Hey- hey handsome, you awake?”

A very neon green light pierced your consciousness. Out of habit, you tried to raise your arm to block it out- and then an even more painful, piercing feeling jolted through your whole body. “Ahh-huah- ‘m. ‘m awake now. Ohhh gods. Yeah. ‘m- yeah. Fuck. Who’re you and are you going to help me or kill me?”

“Kill you? Man, I might be the god of Death and all but I’m not going to kill you! You related to Heero or somethin’?”

“Don’t know- ow- who the fuck that is. What’s up with that green light shit> ‘M gonna be blinded if I open my eyes.”

And there the light went. Nice. If this guy didn’t kill you, you might actually survive. Sans your arm. Nobody on your colony could help your arm. You figured that life would be interesting from now on. “Great, thanks man. Fuuuuck. You- you see my arm? Yeah- I’m taking your silence as a yeah. This bitch’s fucked and moving at all is very very painful. So hey random stranger. You strong enough to carry me to the nearest amputator?”

Apparently you were just being dramatic. Your arm would 100% be still attached and your foot would survive. Your ears were… fine. After waking up in a hospital on an entirely different colony station, you learned that apparently, there exists a kind of deaf in which it was hard to hear things that were too loud. Which. You now had.

No more concerts. Meh.

The most jarring of everything was when you discovered that a) you were likely to have either trauma or ptsd and b) the guy that carried you to the hospital in his Gundam- was a Gundam Pilot. 02. Duo Maxwell. He’d brought you to Colony 14 Blue and was now reportedly “chillin’ outside until you get discharged.” with the promise that he’d bring you to the Peacemillion afterwards.

Oh. And almost everybody you knew closely had “likely” passed away in the attack. The therapy for that was going to be interesting when you consider that nobody of your family was on the colony at the time of the attack. Honestly the way they were pressing for you to be evaled made it feel like they were planning to make an example out of your supposedly poor mental state. Unsurprisingly the hospital was being run by the White Fang.

Discharge went quickly. The ride back to Duo’s Deathscythe went quickly. The ride in Duo’s Deathscythe went far, far too slowly. And adjusting to life on the Peacemillion went poorly.

Every now and again, Duo would look for you and, if he hadn’t immediately come from a fight (he passed out on your carpet once due to blood loss after being in a gunfight. Zechs was less than appreciative.), he’d bring you to the nearest colony. Being able to enjoy a day out on occasion was a rarity you usually only got to experience with Duo.

“Ooooi, Duo. Check these out. Tell me these aren’t the coolest gloves you’ve ever seen.” You held up some black fingerless gloves for him to inspect. He’d brought you to a new colony, where apparently a special holiday (complete with fun sales) was happening. Admittedly, some of the people on this station were giving you and Duo some especially strange looks whenever Duo would tug on your shirt or grab your hand to get your attention but like. Fuck them.

“Hey, those look pretty awesome!” he grinned and bounced over, snatching the gloves from your hands to look for a price tag. “To steal or not to steal, that is the question.”

You raised an eyebrow. So maybe the crush you’d developed on this overgrown child of a thief was growing. So what? It’s just a crush. Everything’s going to be fine. “Is the price tag expensive or something?”

Duo shook his head. “Exact opposite. There isn’t one.”

“Let’s just leave ten gilla and bolt, then.”

“...wicked.”

Normally the rides back home were silent and awkward, but after the rather exciting day you’d had, you were feeling especially chatty. Which wasn’t to say that there weren’t still awkward breaks in the conversation. It was quiet, sure, but a lot of things had been quiet lately. Being deaf to louder things tended to do that to a person.

Duo drew you out of your thoughts with another tug on your sleeve and pressed one of the gloves into your hand. “Here. Figured we’d both look badass with just one glove. Plus we match!” He held up his gloved left hand with an air of confidence. He wasn’t wrong, honestly. Wearing his braid the way he did, he already cut an impressive figure, but the gloves really sold the look.

You pulled on the glove he gave you, flexing your fingers to test it’s flexibility. After all, if you couldn’t engage in you and Duo’s elaborate handshake, you might have to ditch the glove altogether. Luckily the glove fit you well- functionality and style alike. Ten gilla spent well.

“Not bad. Y’think Zechs’ll get jealous?” Duo laughed at the idea.

“Doubtful, doesn’t he have Noin to get him cool stuff? Plus, I think his mask and that hair are defining accessories, what else does he need?”

You shrugged. “What gay wouldn’t love these? ‘M already enjoying mine ‘nd yours look more worn in than mine do. Solid fuckin’ proof right there.” Not like you could confirm or deny that Duo was gay. Honestly, you didn’t really care for his specific labels, but Zechs was definitely gay so it just helped further the joke. With his demeanor and his lesbian best friend? Could the flags get any gayer.

“More like pansexual on my account. Good to know your take on gender preference though. This mean I’m allowed to openly flirt with you now?” He leaned back into his seat, throwing his feet up onto the table in front of you and resting his head in his hands.

You raised an eyebrow. “Only if you promise not to ‘no homo’ me afterwards.” Duo pretended to fall backwards, clutching at the nonexistent pearls and acting offended. You two giggled when Sally came in from the cockpit to assure herself that somebody hadn’t just gotten a concussion. To which Duo immediately pretended to have a head wound of some sorts (you suspected he was being purposely vague) in hopes of attaining the candy that Sally sometimes had on hand.

Once she left (leaving you and Duo with strong warnings against fooling around more, lest Duo’s “head injury” get worse; to which you had saluted and replied, “absolutely no promises, ma’am!”) you shared a look with the brunette and tried to keep from dissolving into a fit of laughter. To your chagrin, it was a fail. You were laughing so hard that your stomach was starting to genuinely hurt. Duo was doubled over on the ground, wheezing unintelligible words and trying to hand you the lollipop that Sally gave him.

By the time you had managed to calm down and breathe, Duo was getting into the chair beside you and clutching his side. “I think I pulled a muscle from laughing so hard.”

“Yeesh, ‘m crying from laughin’ so much. Aah, this is what y’do to me.” You joked, wiping away tears from the corners of your eyes.

“Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before,” Duo paused to think. “like, at all! Now that I think about it, didja even cry when I rescued you?” You shrugged again. The battlefield was pretty terrifying and if you hadn’t found it in you to cry from fear… well, you were feeling a lot of emotions during the whole ordeal. Who could really blame you? “Pretty tough that a fuckin battle didn’t even make you cry. Hey- my bit musta been pretty damn good to make you shed a tear!”

“Yeah, don’t let it get to y’head. ‘S just because ‘m crushin on you.” You mentioned casually, testing the waters.

“Full homo?”

“Full homo.”

Well, would you look at that. Now Duo was crying. What was with you two and tears today?

BONUS:

“You’re so cheesy.” You muttered to Duo, who was proudly holding up your guys’s fingerless gloves- which he had sewn a rainbow patch onto the back of.

He smiled, tugging your glove onto your hand. “Mhm. You love it though.”

Sighing, you returned the favour and pulled his glove onto his right hand. “You’re right. I love it. I love you.”

[all works found under the name "nayarablueglasses" are property of nayarablueglasses. please do not repost, claim as your own, or edit. i do not consent for my works to be part of any social media other then tumblr, including having my works be adapted for asmrs.]

#gundam wing #gundam wing x reader #gundam wing x male reader #duo maxwell #duo x reader #duo x heero #duo maxwell x reader #duo maxwell x male reader #oh gods i hope this doesn't flop.

[turtletimewriting]

Logan’s Adventure- Go Forward

Summary: wouldn’t you like to know weatherboy.

Note: Sorry for taking a break but I’m back baby! 

This is based on fluffomatic’s brilliant ideas of a tickle forest so go check out their art!!

The beginning!!--- Patton’s part

_._._

Virgil chewed his thumbnail before he heaved a dramatic sigh, “I say we just go forward. We know what’s going to happen.”

Logan frowned and looked at him. Avoiding his eyes, fidgeting, chewing his nails (though that was more an anxiety thing) and a faint blush. It all painted the picture of a lee who was very embarrassed to have to walk into the tickles himself. So of course, as his boyfriend, he should help him, “Okay then, sounds like a plan. You go first then?”

“What!” Virgil gaped at him, “You go first! Why do I have to go first!” 

“W-well...” Logan stumbled, while not optimal, he could still fluster him this way, “Okay then.”

Logan breathed in wobblily and braced himself. He walked a fair bit until the long branches of the tree were literally sitting on top of his shoes. One more step and he would be tickled to pieces. But then he could also fluster Virgil. Hopefully... He walked one more confident wide step and....

Nothing. The branches stayed completely still. The slight breeze meant the feathery branches were always slightly swaying but nothing was attacking him. He turned to go taunt Virgil before he felt a swipe across the back of his neck. As he turned around, his back to Virgil, as he had a fantastic little idea. 

While the imagination could only be used to its full potential by Creativity, it of course still relied on information and a basic fantasy logic. He knew the imagination was listening to him. While he definitely couldn’t command the imagination, he could at least whisper an idea to it. Whether it listened or not was another question. Meh, it was worth it to see Virgil all flustered.

“My friend over there is much more ticklish than me, his poor ticklish tummy is his ultimate tickle spot. I would recommend you wait and don’t attack me,” Logan whispered before turning to face Virgil again. 

However, that did not stop the tree. 

The feathery branches started swaying harder and harder, to the point it was clear this wasn’t the breeze. They swept around his neck and along his arms as they followed around his waist. It didn’t really tickle but just the suggestion had Logan smiling and flinching as he swayed gently right in the middle of the path, in the middle of the tree. 

Virgil gave him a look, trying to seem cocky and teasing but the blush completely destroyed that, “Oh, how is it?”

“Not bahad,” Logan shouted back to him, really really hoping that the tree would go nuts at Virgil rather than him.

“Oh yeah?” Virgil tried teasing but Logan only threw his arms out to the side.

“Yeah, you can see me Vee. I’m not gehetting attacked that much. Just walk through. We bohoth need to get to the end,” Logan spoke faster and faster as the branches started tracing along his arms. Gritting his teeth, he made sure not to slam his arms down. He could not seem weak to Virgil. This was to ensure his boyfriend got all flustered and giggly. And the plan was totally working thank you very much. 

Now Virgil looked awkward again and his nails found their way into his mouth again. He could never do any sort of admitting or knowingly getting tickled. He spun around like someone would come and rescue him but alas no one came. Breathing in, he walked up to the tree exactly like Logan did. The soft branches were swaying closer and closer to him with his steps. He paused once the branches managed to just about reach him. 

“You coming Virge? I mean it truly isn’t that bad?” Logan smiled wider as it was clear the imagination had listened. 

“Shut up! I’m coming, I’m coming!” Virgil shouted despite not being far from him. 

“Well what’s taking so long? Are you nervous? It’s only some feathery leaves. Nothing too much, right? Oh wait, were you weak to feathers? Right? Like soft feathers that would tickle along your jaw and around your tummy and let’s not forget your...”

“Can you shut up!” Virgil gasped, burying his face into his sleeves. Logan smirked, his plan working flawlessly! 

“Do you want to hold my hand?”

“No!” Virgil took a step back, “I know you! I know that look! You’re just going to... like get me!”

“I promise I won’t,” Logan lied.

“You will!” 

“I won’t.” Logan held his hand out with a comforting small smile. The branches followed his every move but it seemed content just messing about with his tie and aimlessly tracing him. Slightly tickly but nothing worth his laughter. 

Virgil groaned before taking his hand. 

And immediately latching on to Logan’s sides with vicious scribbling. 

“AAH! VIHIHIHIAHA HAHAHAHAH VIRGE!” Logan exploded into laughter. He tried to curl up but Virgil remained strong. He kept tickling despite now he could feel a couple branches poking around his waist and one annoyingly stroking along his cheek. 

“Thihis is rehehe revenge!” He finally pulled himself together to declare. 

“IHIHIH HAHAHAHA AHAHHAAAAAAAH! VIRGE! I DIDN’T HEHEH DO ANYTHINGGGGGG AHAHAHAHAA!” Logan thrashed around until he managed to awkwardly pull off Virgil’s jacket so the branches could actually tickle him. His tickling definitely faltered as he actually started laughing and batting away at the branches.

But he quickly got his revenge by stuffing the feathery leaves under Logan’s collar. A burst of feathers around his neck and them brushing along his ribs, one managing to poke around his belly. Logan gasped before just giving up and lowering into laughter in Virgil’s arms. Virgil was too busy laughing to actually even hold him up and they both fell to the floor in a lump of tickles. 

It took awhile before they actually decided to get up and try to walk the rest of the path, “C’mon Virge.”

“Ihihi ahhAHAHAHA I’M TRYING!” Virgil yelled as he fell back to the floor in giggles as the branches feathered up and down his sides. Logan pushed away the leaves sweeping along his neck and pulled him up. Well... at least tried but Virgil unexpectedly leaned all his weight on Logan, almost dragging them both back down. 

“I always seem to forget how useless you are with feathers,” Logan laughed off. 

The only solution was to just grit their teeth and get through this. Logan managed to wrangle Virgil’s jacket on again, trying desperately to make sure no leaves got caught, but Virgil certainly made it difficult by squealing the second he saw Logan’s hand come near him. 

Maybe riling him up and flustering him wasn’t the best decision? Oh well.

It took way longer than necessary to finally walk past that little patch of the overgrown tree. Once they did, and Virgil actually caught his breath, they both continued onwards. 

Of course that didn’t last long.

They both stopped once they had very distinct tiny chirping. Almost like a cricket but more musical and tiny. There was nothing around them but walking away didn’t make the chirping go away. The chirping was still very loud and it was following them. Virgil frowned and went to ask Logan a question but froze.

On Logan’s collar was a tiny purple bug. It looked fuzzy, like a caterpillar, and seemed to be determinedly scuttering over to his neck. Virgil gasped and immediately slapped his hand into the bug. “What! Virgil?” Logan startled.

“You’ve got a bug on you,” Virgil explained with wide eyes. He moved his hand. The bug was gone. Or was it? 

“Do you think it’s a normal bug or...” Logan mumbled with a nervous look. Virgil winced.

“I think it’s gone?”

“We should make sure,” Logan justified and started to mess around with his collar. 

“Well do you feel anything?”

“No?” Logan shrugged and tried to walk forward confidently.

“That’s not helpful Lo! I mean if there were bugs in the trees then we could both be covered! Oh god, what are we going to do!” 

“Let’s relax for a second,” Logan stopped him, “Neither of us feel anything on us and if we do then we can be thorough for looking for bugs. It was the one bug and this is the middle of a forest. It makes sense that there’s just bugs everywhere. We know about quite a few bugs from the doctor. We’re okay.”

They continued onwards, narrowly avoiding more tickle insects and Logan almost doing the exact same mistake with the same roses they saw in the garden. It was a brief walk before they were abruptly thrown out on to the bank of a river. 

Virgil wooped as Logan confirmed that they were indeed right near the end of their own adventure. The map clearly showed that they just needed to get through the river and then a brief walk would take them to an obnoxious ‘X’. 

Looking around, there was a sizeable sand bank before the wide rushing river. It wasn’t the fastest flow, but it would be challenging to swim through it. Not impossible but it would surely make them tired and therefore more likely to make mistakes and get tickled. There was a very shoddy little hut a brief walk away from them that looked exactly like the rundown shops along a seaside town. Tacky but he found himself still looking at the bright colours and massive inflatable animals. 

“Right, I propose we assess the situation in front of us,” Logan stated clearly, making them stand in a two man huddle. Maybe it looked a little like a hug but it wasn’t like Virgil was going to ask him to stop. 

“We’re almost at the end,” Virgil stated with an obvious glow of enjoyment and satisfaction.

“Indeed. It is also getting late but I propose we cross the river and then we sleep our mandatory 8 hours of sleep. That gives our clothes time to dry and if this takes a lot of our energy then we can rest.”

“I’m cool with that,” Virgil nodded. 

“The shop over there has inflatables, a very obvious trap considering we already know about the jellyfish.”

“Yeah but do jellyfish swim in rivers?” 

“This is Roman and Remus. Do you think they even care about the sanctity of scientifically factual animals?” Logan shuddered, Virgil laughed and kissed his cheek. 

“Okay so we know not to get the inflatables. But I will say it does seem weird for them to lay such an obvious trap.”

“I agree but with that logic we could be here debating all day. What is also important to discuss is the clue you found. By passing through the river, we may end up getting the clue destroyed so we should truly analyse it.”

“Oh yeah,” Virgil said and he grabbed the note from Logan’s pocket and looked over the words again. Not that there was much to analyse:

The treasure is kinda smelly and gross but you’ll love it!!!!

Logan swayed on his feet with an expecting look, Virgil let him stand there in silence for a few more minutes before he released him from the torture, “Hey Lo, do you mind sharing what you analysed from the note?”

“Ah, of course Virgil. Well, very obvious observation, but this is clearly a note from Remus. You could argue that maybe it’s Roman trying to imitate Remus as some sort of plot twist. While that would explain the basic wording of ‘gross’ and ‘smelly’ but there was no way that Roman would butcher the English language and use so many exclamation marks.”

“What, that’s totally a thing Roman would do!”

“Actually no. Roman is in charge of every script and formal writing Thomas has ever done. These works may be dismissed if he made such a basic mistake of misusing punctuation. He now has the habit of everything he writes being very well written with accurate punctuation.”

Virgil nodded at that and decided to just follow his word, “Well do we know anything about the treasure from this.

“Basically, no.” Logan sighed, “I’m pretty sure everything in the universe has once been described by Remus as ‘gross’ and ‘smelly’. Maybe he applies those words more often to animals he likes like octopi and rats but then again I think Patton has also applied those words to particularly cute cats so that’s not something to really figure out.”

“So, long story short, the note is from Remus and that’s it?” Virgil raised a brow.

“W-well when you say it like that, then it sounds very basic,” Logan flushed as he broke their little huddle. 

Clearing his throat, Logan stood tall again, “Now, let’s focus on the right now. How shall we cross this river?”

“Well...” Virgil looked around nervously.

“I suggest we could build a raft ourselves. I know how to build a basic raft and the forest would definitely have the supplies for it. Another suggestion could be we just swim across.”

“Just swim across! Logan, are you insane! No, no way. Even if the jellyfish are attracted to the inflatables, that doesn’t mean they won’t come investigate two random people swimming through their home. Not a choice. I think we should either build a raft or ask the shop guy how people cross. Surely they might have information?” 

Logan nodded. That did sound like a good option. 

AND THERE’S THE ADVENTURE!

This part of the adventure took: 42 minutes.

The total of the adventure: 1h 28 mins

So what should they chose?

1) Build a raft

2) Ask the shopkeep

#TicklyAdventure #Tickling #ts virgil #ts logan #turtle writing

[thirteenthspirit]

I would, my friend, Fernando (Part I)

Where to start… You know how they say you instantly know it when you meet ‘the one’ – you know, that person you think you’re meant to spend the rest of your days with, grow old together, the whole shebang. Well, I think it happened to me. Emphasis on the ‘think’ bit.

I met him as a random grindr hookup – sure, not the prettiest beginning to a story, but I’m sure I’ll weave a prettier lie at our wedding. It was nice and all, but we barely bothered to learn each other’s names.

A few months later, I was about to do a Raid in Pokémon GO with the usual team when he showed up, joining the party. I didn’t instantly recognize him, but as we kept raiding the following days and he kept appearing, I realized it was him. The random hipster hookup from a couple of months ago.

When I say hipster, what I really mean is… I have no idea. Somewhere between fashionable and trashy, cool and geeky, ‘lumberjack chic’ – but, as he himself would put it, sometime later, “skinny legend fashion icon”. Just rolls off the tongue, am I right. So you have a clearer picture, he is very tall, appears to be in his early 30s and is overtly fond of beanies and skinny jeans – oh, and of course, the moustache. Not the gross overgrown kind nor the plain ‘single line’ one, but a perfect blend of both, just looks good and different on him. The kind of person that draws everyone’s gaze in, when they enter the room.

He eventually joined our local whatsapp group for Pokémon GO raids and we began to see each other more often. It was a fun game of “we have met before but we don’t really acknowledge it”, between me and him. He sent me a friend request on Instagram, and we began to chat one-on-one from there.

The conversation began developing after I learned that he needed a Spinda, of which I had 2, so I offered him one. He lived literally across the street from me, so we could trade from our respective couches. I think that same day, since we lived so close together, we arranged to go for a walk after dinner, to catch Pokémon. The never-ending “shiny hunt”.

And again the following day.

And the next. And the next one after that too.

The conversation deepened. Since we met in that fashion, there were no boundaries regarding our hookups and sexuality. It didn’t take long for us to become very good friends and talk on a constant basis. Plus we had a lot of interests in common – we were both somewhat emotionally-distant people and with a peculiar sense of humor.

For us to connect so easily, it was definitely a weird thing - my area of expertise is Finance (I currently work at a bank) and my professional experience has always been at several desk jobs. Some better, some worse, but ‘inconsistently consistent’ (the reverse of Grace Helbig). A corporate man, I guess, leaning more towards the realistic side of life, rather than pandering to the dreamer and ambitious one. He is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He is an elementary school teacher and an editor for a magazine and has even written (and successfully published) his own book. A writer in every sense of the word.

Personality-wise, I am what you would call an introvert by nature – not exactly shy, but definitely the proud owner of a handful of unresolved childhood issues caused by enthusiastic bullies and shame. I wear glasses, which help in conveying the whole ‘geek’ category and am of an average build and somewhat tall. I’ve still got my share of face imperfections and pimples at the age of 25 and look younger than my actual age – something we both have in common. Our personalities just clicked though, his extremely offensive sense of humor contrasts well to my fake well-behaved and nice demeanor and we’ve bot got similar personal values and empathy when dealing with others. A couple of nice chaps, is what the ordinary passerby would think.

We became best friends. He confided in me about his past relationships, the good the bad and the (very) ugly and I vented to him about my insecurities and depressive thoughts. We saw each other roughly every day, during our usual “old ladies” walk through a nearby park, always worshipping that battery-draining app. On the weekends, we unknowingly formed the habit of getting breakfast together and basking in the sun for a bit. I was going through a tough time at the time, what with my mother not being in her best shape or form, mentally speaking, leading me to come out to my parents amidst an argument (NOT the best way to do it) – this situation worsened after we had a little house-fire scare. So his presence really helped and comforted me.

Time passed. Mall trips, community days, ex raids, regular dinners and breakfasts and breakfast-lunches. He was pretty much the person I saw the most. And quickly became my favorite.

I was always keenly aware of how close we were getting, and how it might be affecting me and my ability to connect with other friends, but I never gave much thought to the situation escalating. He was 38 years old, and I was 25. The thought alone made me never overthink the relationship.

Until I did. Until the “what if” statement popped into my mind. And the age gap just… lost its entire relevance. I tried to push the feelings down, but as all feelings do, it just made them get bigger and more intense. You see, my past relationships have been failed ones, because I wasn’t emotionally involved in them – I was like meh. So I didn’t really know what it was like to actually like someone. But I was smart enough to recognize it – this was probably my first real interaction with “infatuation” and dare I say it, love.

Here’s the part of the story where the sky is bright and the road ahead is hopeful and sunny.

Spoilers: It’s not.

Why not? Well. Because it’s completely one-sided. Unrequited love. Nothing less, nothing more, the usual boring sappy story of friend in love with his best-friend but unable to do anything about it.

“Well, why not do anything about it? Tell him!” The Jiminy Cricket in my head says.

I definitely let him know, I drop hints here and there, statements like “we’ll be together in 20 years” and getting notably jealous when he’s texting or telling me about his sexy-time and dates with other men (this part hurts particularly). So he knows. If he’s choosing not to see it, I know he has good reasons for it and I am good enough a friend to know not to act on it. It’s cruel on my part to try and force something that shouldn’t happen.

And why should it happen? I don’t really have much to offer him. I’m not his type, I still live with my parents (which I attribute to the ridiculously high rents here in Lisbon) and am overall kind of an emotional mess. Tbh, I wouldn’t pick myself either. But that’s an issue for another day, it’ll get resolved eventually. By myself, not by piling it onto somebody or using a relationship to distract from it.

Also he met ‘the one’ already. Or what he says he’s afraid might have been the one. His last boyfriend, who we name ‘psychopath’, definitely earned his nickname. Physically and emotionally abusive, he left a scar. And Fer is smart enough not to get into a relationship this soon after said breakup, as there is still too much fresh baggage, ready to be thrown at the next man in.

And there are (many) candidates for the ‘next man’ position. He’s a fascinating man and they are immediately enthralled by him (here’s the pot calling the kettle black), so he does leave a string of broken hearts behind him.

I don’t like hearing him talk about this. I can see there is a hint of pain in his eyes when he jokingly says he’ll never find anyone and is fated to remain single his entire life, to which I jokingly retort he’ll never be alone, as he’ll have me. And this is the part that really hurts me – I am content. I am content with being the best friend and I’ll eventually have to deal with him finding someone else, and watching him be happy in a (hopefully) long-lasting relationship. And I’ll be there. The pathetic best friend story from the B-list storyline of Hermione and Ron from Harry Potter. I’d rather have an Elio and Oliver thing, as fleeting as it might be, over a lifetime of longing for something that will never be. I want nothing but the best for him, he deserves it. But… we could be happy together. We could have a life. And that realization kills me.

Then again, years haven’t passed. Time does cure all wounds. Maybe time will heal these feelings, some days they are stronger, somedays they are weaker. Some days I am sure I can call them love, others it’s something darker.

I have realized something, though – I should let myself feel them. It’s ok not to act on them, if I think that’s the best course of action. But I should not repress them. I do love him (how could I not?) and that’s okay. I felt pathetic for feeling them, at first. Especially the jealousy bit I always judged my friends for, that one is a particularly nasty feeling.

But hey, for someone who thought himself to be emotionally shipwrecked, the ship floats! I think that should be my takeaway from this. That’s a positive outlook, right?

And more than anything, I should be grateful to my best friend for showing me something new I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

So if you ever end up reading this, Fer, know that it’s true. Also sorry it’s in English! And sorry if it’s all too much. But I do love you, and will always be a part of your life, in whatever role you deem fit. Now I’ll close this, as it’s time to go on our daily Pokémon run.                                                                                                                                                                                               -João A. (Xanuda)

Link to Part 2 “I Wish I Hadn’t”: http://thirteenthspirit.tumblr.com/post/183770872439/i-wish-i-hadnt-part-ii

#Love #Pokemon #PokemonGo #LGBT #Short Story #Personal #romance #romantic #Grindr #gay #firstlove #story #writing #relationships #Part 1 #Therapy #Mental Health

[umbrahighpriestofgiratina]

Caging Destruction

This is one of the earliest Yangverse fics, and oddly one of the more popular ones in certain circles. It features Yveltal being a socially akward dork, among other things.

A woman entered a small sub shop late at night and looked around. She saw a lone girl and her Purrloin eating the last of their French fries, the latter stealing them while the former wasn’t looking. She then turned her attention to the cashier, who was sending a text while his manager wasn’t looking. She marched over to him and slammed several dollar bills on the counter. “Be a dear and get me a Unovan cheesesteak,“ she said, “And make it snappy.” The worker, after backing away quickly, hastily prepared the woman’s sandwich and handed it to her. The woman left the money on the counter and sat down at a table. Ah, nice to finally settle down and eat, she thought, smiling, and moved to take a bite of her sandwich. ”Yveltal,” said a voice. The woman looked up to see a blue-haired, red-eyed man in a blue and silver business suit. “Shh!” she said. "People will hear you!" "I have erected a... Glamour of sorts around this table," he replied. "We will go unnoticed." "Fine, Dialga. Tell me what you want." The man sat down. "You've been... Unusually active as of late." "Yeah, so?" "For a Legendary of your caliber, it's rather risky." Yveltal raised an eyebrow. "Can't you say the same about yourself?" "History shows I'm more... disciplined in terms of self-control than you are. Especially since you recently were unsealed after a thousand years." "I'm fine." Dialga crossed his arms. "You could drain the life from every being in this restaurant if you lose control." Yveltal smirked. "Implying you couldn't just turn it all to dust if you did the same." Dialga scowled. "That's enough. Meet me in my home dimension." "But-" "Now." Dialga got up and left the restaurant. Yveltal sighed and did the same, carrying her sandwich with her. ------ Yveltal looked around Dialga’s home dimension. It seemed to be composed of a strange blue haze, with enormous glowing crystals floating through the aether and flashing scenes from throughout the history of the universe. The haze formed a “ground” of sorts around Yveltal’s feet, though she wasn’t entirely sure how flimsy or not it was. Meh, thought Yveltal. Needs more stuff blowing up. She yawned and stretched her wings- having reverted to her birdlike, red-and-black default form- when she noticed Dialga approaching. To most people Dialga’s current form would resemble a steely blue and silver dinosaur or wingless dragon; to Yveltal he resembled an overgrown, deformed Ponyta. “Now, Yveltal,” he said. “Tell me why you’re here.” “Because you’re a prick?” “Try again,” he replied, not changing his tone in the slightest. Yveltal rolled her eyes. “Fine. Because I endanger people and Pokemon by roaming about?” “Precisely. You must remember, Yveltal, you are the embodiment of death and destruction – not something that should be taken lightly.” “I can control myself.” “Really? What about the time you drained the life out of everything in a five mile radius before your latest slumber?” Yveltal shifted nervously. “That… Was an accident.” “Or the time you immolated an entire kingdom?” Yveltal flinched. “I had a damn good reason for doing that.” “Or the time you caused a mass extinction?” “I’m learning, OK?!” Dialga scoffed. “Yveltal, you are dangerous. Thus, you need to isolate yourself from humanity.” “Bah, you’re no different. Just look at the time that Cyrus freak tried to-“ At this Dialga gave a truly venomous leer and stomped a forefoot on what was the rough equivalent of “ground” in his dimension, sending vibrations that shook Yveltal’s body. “Enough! You know the hierarchy. I’m the senior Legendary, and you obey my orders. Understood?!” “…Fine. I will.” With that, Dialga stormed off. Yveltal sighed. “Hey,” said a feminine voice. “My brother giving you a hard time?” Yveltal turned to see a white –and-pinkish dinosaur-like creature with a long neck approaching, looking worried. “What do you think, Palkia?” replied Yveltal. “Eh, he’s always bossing good mons around. I wouldn’t worry about it.” “But…” Yveltal sighed again. “I just woke up after a thousand years thanks to that whole Team Flare fiasco. I could use some freedom.” “I know… Hopefully he’ll ease up eventually.” Palkia’s expression then brightened considerably. “You could hang out with me! I was just about to watch a Valiant Knight Skarmory marathon!” “Thanks, but I think I’ll go home.” “You could hang out with me, ladies,” said a third, masculine voice. A third, gray-and-gold dragon emerged from a portal nearby. “Giratina! Were you listening in on private conversations again?” said Palkia. “Maybe. Just saying, I’m the cool one to hang out with.” “Yeah, right. Yveltal, you can go home now.” “Thank you, Palkia,” said Yveltal, and she left hastily. ---- Yveltal sat on her perch on a desolate mountain, rocks and scraggly trees filling her vision all the way down to a valley below, where a human city lay, its form seeming to taunt Yveltal. In the meantime, a Latias was babbling in her ear. “…And Tornadus and Thundurus blew something up. Again. Any questions?” “Nope,” said Yveltal, “I’m good.” “Thank you! Now can I go? I have a human friend I wanted to vi-“ “Fine!” snapped Yveltal. “Shoo!” The Latias gulped and quickly flew off. Yveltal gazed back at the city sourly. Maybe Dialga is right, Yveltal thought. Maybe I should stay away from humans. As the sun set in the distance the lights began to flicker on in the human city. But humans are so interesting. They don’t know when to stop creating- and even better when to stop destroying! I hardly even have to do anything sometimes! And they’re far more dynamic and open to change than we Legendaries are… She smirked. And besides, they’re fun to hang out with. Her mind skipped back to the subject of other Legendaries and suddenly felt a pang of longing. And then there’s Xerneas… He can be a bit of a buzzkill too and we fight a lot, but he’s my friend and I miss him. He could be out there, anywhere. Yveltal fidgeted a bit, then stretched her wings. To hell with it. I’m going. She flapped her wings and flew off towards the city. ---- A now-human Yveltal weaved her way through a crowd in a city park, making sure not to bump into anyone. There was a celebration going on, and the air was filled with various sights and smells, some pleasant and others not so much. Suddenly a man tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, have you seen a blonde girl in a Zelda t-shirt?” “Let me guess, your girlfriend?” said Yveltal. “Uh, yeah, why?” “Ew. Romance. I don’t get why you hu- er, everyone is so gaga about it.” “…I’ll ask someone else.” The man left in a huff. What? Thought Yveltal. I really don’t get it. She then felt something pulling on her leg and looked down to see a Helioptile. <You got any food?> “No. Shoo.” The Helioptile frowned and scampered off. Great, thought Yveltal. Now I feel guilty. She moved away from the crowd and rested her hand on a tree. Aside from those little mishaps, so far, so good. See, Dialga, I’m doing fi- She suddenly felt a surge of energy through her arm and looked up to see the tree’s leaves withering. Gah! She thought as she recoiled her hand. Keep it under control, keep it under control… She looked around and became further flustered when she saw a pink-haired young woman in a Valiant Knight Skarmory t-shirt. Palkia! OK, keep your cool, you just have to avoid her seeing y- “Hi Yveltal!” said Palkia, who was suddenly right next to her. Yveltal jumped to the moon and let out a yelp. “Don’t scare me like that! How’d you get over here so quickly?” “Deity of space,” replied Palkia, stopping to sip a drink. “Whatever. Just… don’t tell Dialga.” “Like I’m going to tell that buzzkill.” “I’d suggest not calling me that again,” said a third, seething voice. A human Dialga stepped in and gave Yveltal a glare that could freeze the sun. “And look who’s already disobeying orders.” “Hmph,” said Yveltal, “Can you just buzz off?” “I’ll “buzz off” when you actually listen to me.” “Er, guys?” said Palkia. “There are people here…” “Look, I’m just trying to learn how to fit in.” said Yveltal. “Is that so bad?” “It is when you’re a risk to everyone around you,” replied Dialga. “Maybe I wouldn’t be one if you left. Me. Alone!” At the “alone” a pulse of dark energy fired from Yveltal’s mouth straight at Dialga. It collided with him and sent him flying straight into a tree, and the sound of wood splintering echoed throughout the park. The crowd of people heard the noise, saw the crumpled Dialga, and began to yell and panic. Dialga staggered to his feet, and his eyes began to glow. Around him, Palkia, and Yveltal, time flowed in reverse. The tree de-splintered several pieces of wood at a time, the crowd’s panic transitioned smoothly back into celebration, and when the glow in Dialga’s eyes ceased and time started flowing normally again nothing seemed to have happened. Dialga then spoke as coldly as he possibly could. “Palkia, take us home. Now.” Silently, Palkia blipped them away. ---- The crystals in Dialga’s home dimension gave off an audible buzz as the three Legendaries –now in their default forms- gathered between them. “Well.” said Dialga. “I believe we all learned a lesson today.” Yveltal opened her beak to retort, but just as quickly closed it. “Yveltal,” continued Dialga, “You will be re-assigned to the most remote corner of the planet. And if you attempt to leave I will report you to Arceus himself. Understood?” Yveltal sighed and hanged her head. “Yes…” “Woah woah woah,” said Palkia. “I have had enough of this. It wasn’t entirely her fault!” “She fired a Dark Pulse at me!” said Dialga. “Because you were pressuring her!” “Well what was I supposed to do?” “Give her a chance?” “I already gave her-“ “A real chance?” “…Fine.” He turned to Yveltal. “We shall do battle. If you display sufficient control of your power during it I may let you off easy.” Yveltal immediately shifted into a battle position but squawked and ducked when Dialga spat a pulse of turquoise energy her way. “You’re going to have to react faster than that!” said Dialga. “Oh, I most certainly will!” said Yveltal, firing a pulse of dark energy that racked Dialga’s steely hide. Dialga grunted and pooled the light shining off his scales into a beam that struck Yveltal and nearly knocked her out of the sky. “No, I can’t lose this!” Yveltal fired her own beam from the center of her body at Dialga, pushing him back a bit but barely making him flinch. However, it was enough for Yveltal to blast his face with dark energy, disorienting him. At this, Dialga began glowing; Yveltal panicked and bullrushed him, raking him with the claws on her wings in a desperate attempt to stop his attack. But it was too late; an explosion of energy pulsed from Dialga’s body as he roared, blasting Yveltal away and leaving her crumpled on the ground. “Ugh… I’m sorry…” she said. “I failed…” “No. You succeeded.” Yveltal looked up to see Dialga smirking. “You displayed admirable control of your power in that battle. I feel that merits going a little easier on you.” “Yes!” said Palkia, pumping a claw in the air. “Yes!” said Yveltal as well, shooting back up into the air. “I knew I could do it!” “However,” said Dialga. “Given the incident today I feel the need to appoint a supervisor.” “Eh? Who?” Dialga suddenly turned his head. “Giratina! I know you’re there. You’re the supervisor.” A portal opened, from which the gray-and-gold dragon emerged. “Yo ladies! We are gonna par-tay, am I right?” Yveltal stared blankly for a few seconds before giving a satisfied smirk. “Totally worth it.” -------- The next day a human Yveltal and Giratina were together on the side of a city street, the human Giratina being dressed in a long coat, fedora, and scarf. “Now,” said Yveltal, “You aren’t going to be embarrassing me, is that clear?” “If you say so,” said Giratina. “Good. Now-” She noticed something sticking out of Giratina’s mouth. “…Is that a joint?!” “Maybe.” Yveltal quickly grabbed the joint and tossed it away, where it hit the back of a young man’s head. “What the-“ he said, looking around. “Ack!” said Yveltal. “I’m sorry!” “Oh, it’s OK!” said the young man. Yveltal suddenly noticed the young man’s platinum-blonde hair and blue-and-black hoodie and felt a twinge of familiarity. “You know, I feel like I know you…” she said. “Who, me? Well, maybe you do. I wander around. Try to live my life to the fullest because, well, I love life. Viva la vida and all that.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Of course, I shouldn’t be using that particular phrase. I’m Kalosian.” Yveltal stared at him for a few more seconds before the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “…Xerneas?!” She embraced him. Xerneas embraced her back. ***

Thanks to Shurtugal and my Creative Writing teacher Tim Waggoner for revising help.

#yveltal #dialga #fanfic #yangverse