#personal trainer northern

[5starphysique]

#fitness training #fitness trainer #fitness trainer northern beaches #fitness training brookvale #body transformation training #personal trainer #australia #brookvale #northern beaches

[anthonyjamespaulsey]

#About.me #Anthony James Paulsey #Anthony Paulsey #personal trainer #fitness trainer #northern california

[gatheringbones]

[“I had been gloating internally about my ability to keep up with, and sometimes outwork, women twenty or thirty years younger than myself, but it turns out this comparative advantage says less about me than it does about them. Ours is a physical bond, to the extent that we bond at all. One person’s infirmity can be a teammate’s extra burden; there’s a constant traffic in herbal and over-the-counter solutions to pain.

If I don’t know how my coworkers survive on their wages or what they make of our hellish condition, I do know about their back pains and cramps and arthritic attacks. Lori and Pauline are excused from vacuuming on account of their backs, which means you dread being assigned to a team with them. Helen has a bum foot, which Ted, in explaining her absence one day, blames on the cheap, ill-fitting shoes that, he implies, she perversely chooses to wear. Marge’s arthritis makes scrubbing a torture; another woman has to see a physical therapist for her rotator cuff. When Rosalie tells me that she got her shoulder problem picking blueberries as a “kid”—she still is one in my eyes, of course—I flash on a scene from my own childhood, of wandering through fields on an intense July day, grabbing berries by the handful as I go. But when Rosalie was a kid she worked in the blueberry fields of northern Maine, and the damage to her shoulder is an occupational injury.

So ours is a world of pain—managed by Excedrin and Advil, compensated for with cigarettes and, in one or two cases and then only on weekends, with booze. Do the owners have any idea of the misery that goes into rendering their homes motel-perfect? Would they be bothered if they did know, or would they take a sadistic pride in what they have purchased—boasting to dinner guests, for example, that their floors are cleaned only with the purest of fresh human tears?

In one of my few exchanges with an owner, a pert muscular woman whose desk reveals that she works part-time as a personal trainer, I am vacuuming and she notices the sweat. “That’s a real workout, isn’t it?” she observes, not unkindly, and actually offers me a glass of water, the only such offer I ever encounter. Flouting the rule against the ingestion of anything while inside a house, I take it, leaving an inch undrunk to avoid the awkwardness of a possible refill offer. “I tell all my clients,” the trainer informs me, “‘If you want to be fit, just fire your cleaning lady and do it yourself.’” “Ho ho,” is all I say, since we’re not just chatting in the gym together and I can’t explain that this form of exercise is totally asymmetrical, brutally repetitive, and as likely to destroy the musculoskeletal structure as to strengthen it.”]

barbara ehrenreich, from nickel and dimed: on (not) getting by in america, 2002

#barbara ehrenreich #currently reading

[ace-song]

Introduction - Midnights of the Drowsy Owl

Interactive Fiction - Midnights of the Drowsy Owl

Demo (TBD)

Description

When the city life takes everything from you, you leave for a house you inherited from your late grandparents, in a town far away from the troubles of life: Caersolvita.

While strolling through the little town of Caersolvita after job hunting during the odd hours of nights, the old clock in the quaint settlement strikes 12 midnight, and a building down the dirt road illuminates the twilight.

Beads of light fall like stardust through the coffee-scented building. No one knows about it, and even if they did, they cannot find it. When midnight strikes, it all changes. Down the bricked pathway of the town, life clicks into light, and the twinkles of windchimes carry a bitter fragrance.

A “Looking to Hire!” board stands neatly by the doormat of the slightly tarnished place. With little hope of finding a job anytime soon, you enter the cafe. When offered a trainee position of a barista, you leave for home, unknowing of the wonders that await you when the dead hours of night come about.

Features

Choose your gender: female, male, non-binary

Work at a quaint café in a rural town, shrouded in mystery and solitude.

Unravel the secrets of the midnight café.

Romance one of the four ROs and explore a fresh adventure with one of the three personalities chosen.

Deal with some snappy customers or different oddities.

Find out the history of Caersolvita through each route.

Enjoy the life of quietude and comfort, away from the worries of life.

Personalities: Loveable airhead, Taciturn fool, Sarcastic charmer

Romances

Thana (f/m)

Beautiful and dignified, Thana is the peculiar owner of the Drowsy Owl. Behind the mysterious red eyes and snowy pale skin, discipline of the body and grace follows each tilt of the wrist, where the whiffs of coffee beans stream along the cafe.

Admired by everyone in Caersolivita for sublime service, coupled by sweet words, Thana is the go to barista if someone is in need for comfort or dark humor. Although the sorry state of the cafe, it is the first choice for everyone.

With every smile given to Thana, two more are returned, and each heart that is offered, the more Thana guards the heart. Somehow, though, the trainee barista has a way with their words.

Ylfa (f)

Unhinged. There is no other word that fits the young wolf-like Ylfa. A sherpherdess along the hillside of Caersolvita, she meets each situation with the flash of her canines and a huff. With a beige bonnet, laced around the edges, she fancies the lolita fashion, enjoying lavish dresses, contrary to her rambunctious voice.

In the dead of night, a voice like a siren vying for love sings from northern cliff at the very edge of the town. From the ruffled hair and perky ears of the gilded in moonlight, the sound willows past till dawnbreak.

Despite the tough and rowdy personality, Ylfa holds her hands close to her chest, sometimes shooting glances towards the trainee barista from the day they met eyes.

Idris (m)

Personal trainer by day, guardsman by night. Idris is often described as "too blunt for his own good." Towering over everyone in town, he is regarded as a dark warrior, a signature black hood hanging over his defined face. Polite and well-spoken, his sharp tongue still manages to overshadow such traits.

By the bridge that connects the mainland to the hook-shaped cliffside town, Idris guards the safety of the people. Always seen next to the old watchtower, most hear grunts from the place, running away in fear.

When he bumped his head against the door of Drowsy Owl, he meets gaze with the trainee barista, and color rose-pink erupts from the steely brown eyes.

Shaylah (nb)

Always smelling like honey and floral concoctions, Shaylah is a local apocthecary who resides near the very edge of the cliff. Catching eyes everywhere they go, their sterling red hair shines like the sun under light. Always seen walking around town with a sunhat the size of an umbrella, Shaylah's ethereal voice wrecks the minds of people when their brash and uncouth words begin to lash out.

Spending the afternoon and night cooped up in their house, they take the blue flowers on the cliff, grinding them and creating concoctions. No one outside of the town know what it truly is, and only Shaylah's family know of it.

After spending a full day in their shop, taking rest at midnight by Drowsy Owl is usually what happens, accompanied by a cup of hibiscus tea. But now, where the bright eyes of the trainee barista caught them off guard, they never forgot.

#motdo #midnightsofthedrowsyowl #motdo introduction #if wip #twine #interactive novel #interactive fiction #interactive story #romance #sweet romance #romantic #shaylah #idris #ylfa #thana #midnights of the drowsy owl

[feyretales]

Elorcan oneshot: Vernon

Yup, I did it again: wrote another scene, filling the holes in elorcan story haha this scene was based in the though: what was Lorcan reaction when he first discovered Vernon had been caught? Hope you enjoy!

“Is Vernon Lochan here?”

“Yes”

“Elide´s uncle? The one who did…you know, everything?” Fenrys asked again, following his queen through the opening of the cavernous rock. 

“Yes and yes. Hiding right here, in the Northern Fang, and pretending to be a wyvern trainer. But we caught him”

“And why is he here?” Fenrys asked.

“Don´t know yet. Right here”

Turning a corner, they found a dark and long corridor, the horrible smell of valg and cruelty still strong. Rowan was there, standing against a wall, waiting for them.

“He's in there” Prince Rowan began, pointing to a door “Well restrained. Trying to pretend he isn't afraid. We need to move carefully. He's clever, but far away from invincible, and taking information of the second-in-hand may give us a tremendous advantage against Erawan, mainly in this point of war”

“Everything counts” Fenrys noded “But does…who already knows he's here?”

“We three, but I asked the trainee to call Gavriel too, and then we can think about when and how to tell Elide and…” The queen answered, but never finished her phrase.

The world went quiet. 

Absolutely quiet. Something was wrong.

The hair in Aelin's neck rose. 

"What's this?" She asked sharply. Vernon was well restrained, and he didn't have any magic power, not that she knew. But all this time being the second-in-hand for Erawan...

Both Rowan and Fenrys tensed, and she knew they were using their magic senses, trying to understand what had happened. This quietness, this cold air, the feeling that something horrible is getting near by the second...Aelin realized, a bit too late, where this must be coming from. Who this must be coming from. Of course the news would spread like fire, and of course, of course he would come. Vernon was a Elide's matter. And all this, it was the premise of death.

"Lorcan" Rowan and Fenrys said at the same time. 

They moved fast, tracking from where Lorcan was coming. Tracking how they would stop him. 

A door in the right side of the corridor opened, just a bit. And Aelin realized that, all this time, she was underestimating Lorcan. 

He was the deathless person in a battlefield, she knew already. From what she heard and what she saw. Brute force and energy perhaps had never been seen on this earth before him. But the power she felt passing for the door while he entered the room...

It was suffocating. 

Invisible, but almost palpable. A presence engulfing you whole. All your fears coming true at once. The desperate sensation that you need to run away.

Life slowly succumbing to death. 

Lorcan lifted his head slowly, and looked at the three members of his new court. Every movement was slow, like he was frozen with rage, his depthless eyes like frigid pools of night.

"I've heard some interesting news in the camp" he said quietly, and the hair in Aelin's neck rose once again when his eyes settled on her."Is it true?"

"Lorcan..." Rowan began, getting between Aelin and the Hellas´ blessed warrior, Lorcan´s attention on him.

“Is Vernon Lochan here?” Lorcan said, and his words were pronounced so low Aelin barely listened to them.

In that moment, with almost nothing human in his stare, Lorcan could be Hellas itself, and when he gave a step closer to Rowan, and closer to the door of the room where Vernon was locked, the queen of Terrasen refrained herself from giving a step away. She needed to put some sense into his mind, because even with the blood oath…all that rage, free, would be a problem.

“Yes, and I know…” Rowan began again, but stopped when Lorcan gave another step closer, and smiled. A smile that promised suffering.

“Good. I have some things to settle with him”

“Elide may want to see him, Lorcan” Fenrys interfered, approaching the two males.

“Elide won't come anywhere near him.”

“It's her decision, Lorcan. Hers alone”

“She already decided, months ago. She decided he deserved to die. She decided I´d kill him. Is he in there?” He pointed to the door.

“We need to think about all the possibilities, starting with torturing him for information, mainly if he was in Morath.” Rowan started again, talking fast. “ I know this is personal for you, I know, but we need to consider the war we are into. You know better than anyone here how it works. You said it to me yourself in Doranelle. Everyone will deal with the consequences of doing something without planning well…”

“You can't compare. And I know very well the war we are fighting. I can torture him. I can take all the information he knows since the day he was born. I will. But this will be between Vernon and me, and no one else. And I´ll take a long while doing it.”

“You are not thinking rationally, Lorcan, and we need to call Elide here and decide together what happens with him and how to do it…” Aelin began

“Neither of your plans will take that kill from me, Aelin. No one will”

“You are barely thinking straight” Rowan put a hand on his sword. “And that's why I can't let you pass.”

Aelin felt the dark sensation getting stronger. She felt the necessity of running away. She saw Lorcan starting to shake out of rage.

But instead of the explosion Aelin was waiting for, he just took a small step, closer to his centuries-long companion.

“Did I stand between you and Cairn?” Lorcan asked, and utter silence answered him. Rowan and Aelin paled alike.

“It could be useful to torture him for information too, but did I try to convince you of that? Did I try to take that kill out of you?” He gave another step closer, and now he and Rowan´s noses were almost touching “You needed to pay back what your mate had suffered in his hands, and I understood. I stood there with you. I had your back. And now you are blocking my way?”

“Lorcan, we know…” Fenrys tried again.

“You know shit. You saw nothing. And that's why I didn't already kill you all to get to that door. None of you know Elide like I do, none of you saw what I saw…

“She's my friend, and I want revenge as much as you do…” Aelin started again, voice breaking

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA '' Aelin stopped right away, and Fenrys realized, later, that he had seen two things for the first time in his life: Lorcan shouting, and someone shutting Aelin´s mouth  “And I hope, my queen, that you never in your life experience the complete desperation Elide feels when he's around, when she as much as thinks about him. I am no saint, but for what this man did to my Elide, the deserves to die the cruelest of the deaths a thousand and one times'' Flushed by rage, his dark eyes slided to Rowan again “He has been planning against her since the day she was born, Rowan. Everything he does, his very existence, has been the major risk for Elide´s life forever. I had your back because I knew exactly what you felt, like you know what I feel right now. Answer me: am I wrong?”

Rowan was still pale, and still silent. He didn't say anything, but there was no need for words, for there were a lot of emotions in his eyes. He faced Lorcan Salvaterre, flushed from rage, breathing heavily, and saw that the frigids nights of his eyes were replaced by an emotion that burned like the fires of an autumn solstice. So many autumn solstice fires they had seen together. Not him, nor the male in front of him, but the people they were,  before everything. Before Terrasen. Rowan knew he had become a very different male, but now he and Lorcan faced each other, and he saw the same transformation in this companion. He saw a male who could even stop being a companion and start being a friend. He saw a male that was willing to do anything to protect a family destiny had guided him to find. 

Rowan faced Lorcan, and understood. Understood what Lorcan was trying to say. He knew exactly what Lorcan was feeling, because the bond that guided them was the same. Even if Lorcan didn´t know that already.

A mating bond.

He took the hand away from his dagger.

“It's your right” And as Fenrys began protesting, he said “For what he did to Elide, he deserves to pay. Deserves to fall for Lorcan´s hand”

Lorcan faced him silently for a moment, then gave a curt nod and started walking again. Took a small piece of leather and tied his hair. His hand went to take one of the knives at his side. The other touched the knob of the door.

“All of this” he said, and looked at all the others again “It's not only about Elide. He deserves to pay for Kaltain too”

He opened it.

And Vernon Lochan was there. Tied and gagged. Paled and horrendous. 

Lorcan wasted some moments just staring at him. This piece of shit of a person. Unworthy to be a Lochan. And as Vernon stared back, and started to shake after seing Lorcan´s expression, he remembered everything Elide had told him. Everything this shaking coward was capable of doing when there was power in his hands, and no one to stand against his wishes.

Elide never left his mind, but in that moment he remembered Cal and Marion Lochan. Members of a family he needed to honor. Members of a family he so much wished to call his own.

Remembered Kaltain, too. Who had suffered unspeakable things, but had had courage enough, in the end, to fall like the greatest warrior and save everything for him.  

He approached Vernon with slow steps, and bent down, until they were face to face

“Hello, you.”

And punched him.

But instead of continuing what he had spent so much time planning to do, he went to the door again. Got out and locked Vernon inside.

“Call her. My right to do, but hers to decide. Call Elide”

#elorcan #tog #elide x lorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #sjmaas

[ae-neon]

Had she not known that Reid worked with a personal trainer for the exact reason that she kept dancing—beyond her love for it—making sure her body was primed for when its strength might be needed to escape any would-be predator hunting the streets.

Since the day the Vanir had crawled through the Northern Rift and overtaken Midgard eons ago, an event historians called the Crossing, running was the best option if a Vanir decided to make a meal of you. That is, if you didn’t have a gun or bombs or any of the horrid things people like Philip Briggs had developed to kill even a long-lived, quick-healing creature.

Vanir literally, like actually, LITERALLY prey on humans but it's the humans who are terrorists for fighting back against not just being oppressed in a caste society but being murdered and eaten

SJM is actually conducting a long term test on media literacy and if you like her writing you're failing

#anti sjm #ccity hoeab

[your-dearest-sunshine]

Raihan and his Bodyguard!Reader

alright here's part two of my bodyguard!reader series. this one is all of our very tall dragon trainer Raihan! if you haven't read part one with Leon, it can be found here. these aren't concurrent parts, so there's no designated order, they just both belong to this miniseries inspired by @bellafragolina and this post and the ask from one of their anons. hope you enjoy <3

//

The Pokémon League’s getting him a bodyguard? What? When did this happen?

Raihan was confused. He was one of the strongest trainers in Galar, he was known to train difficult dragon types, he was the eighth and final gym leader, and he was (probably) the tallest person in the region. Why did he need a bodyguard?

When it was explained by the league that, when he took a recent vacation to Kalos, it was not normal for him to be threatened by a terrorist organization dressed in ugly red suits, he still didn’t even get it.

He was fine. His Flygon handled them so easily he almost forgot the threat on his life even happened. He couldn’t be Leon’s greatest rival if he couldn’t handle a few weak Team Flare grunts, now could he?

The League was still concerned for Raihan’s safety, however.

He tried to find some loophole or some excuse to get out of the situation, but when one of the League’s attorneys showed him the Protection and Safety clause in his gym leader contract, he knew he would have to just suck it up.

He just didn’t want to be babied by some buff, overly-professional. middle-aged man who would be sticking to his side at all hours of the day (at least that’s how he imagined the bodyguard to be).

So, when Raihan was introduced to you, who was around his age and had a smile sweeter than a Swirlix, he couldn’t be bothered to contain his relief. Did he mention that you were very good-looking? Raihan wanted to make sure that was clear.

Then some random dude started lecturing him about your duties, where you’re from, and what he should expect from you.

Yes, okay, he’ll try to be safer. Yes, he’ll inform you if he’s ever alone and in trouble. Hmm hm.

Yep. He’ll listen to the advice you give him…yada yada something about you prioritizing his own safety over your own yada yada...

Okay, Pokémon League Official Whatsyourname, he’s got it. Raihan’s definitely been listening to the whole spiel. Now can he go and spend some time with his abnormally attractive bodyguard? Cool, thanks.

When you’re both alone, you introduce yourself and your partner Pokémon: Houndoom. By your accent, Raihan immediately knows you’re not a Galarian native (not that he minds this, however, your accent is adorable).

And he’s right! You say you’re from northern Johto, specifically Ecruteak City. Turns out, you used to be a gym trainer there. You got the job because you grew up with the gym leader there, but you left pretty quickly because one, you were far too strong to be a gym trainer, and two, you didn’t really fit the ghost-trainer vibe.

Raihan tries his best to get to know you beyond just basic-level friendship. He wants to know everything about you that’s not already online–which is practically everything. He’s got to set you up with an Instaryugram account asap.

When he asks, you tell him about your other Pokémon. You’ve been traveling a lot, so you have a wider range than most trainers. You have a Mismagius from your gym trainer days, a Sigilyph from a Unovan vacation, a Clawitzer from when you lived in Kalos, and a Mareep your old friend caught you (turns out Mareep is Houndoom’s best friend). Houndoom is your ace, though, and is the only one trained to do bodyguard work alongside you.

Raihan loves to ask you questions, but he loves to compliment you more. You always laugh, grin, and compliment him back.

To be honest, it’s hard to pay attention to what you’re saying sometimes because all Raihan wants to do is stare at your face, your muscles, and your smile. Arceus, you’re so kind.

But then he snaps out of it when a growl hisses at him. The perpetrator? Your Houndoom.

It has its very sharp teeth bared at him, sparks of heat flickering in its gums. Its tail is wrapped around your leg, standing alert next to you.

Raihan quickly learns that your Pokémon is a damn menace.

While you and Raihan go about his day as he likes, treating each other more so as friends on a day out rather than bodyguard and client, your Houndoom is an unwavering presence of intimidation. It takes its job as a bodyguard very seriously.

A single look from Houndoom sends any bad people the other way, and Raihan hasn’t been approached by any obsessive or crazy fans since you and Houndoom were assigned to him. If you tell your Pokémon to be on guard, Houndoom doesn’t give two Furrets who steps up the dragon trainer, they’re not getting within five feet of Raihan without its fangs in their arm. Not even Leon or Chairman Rose.

Houndoom doesn't descriminate. Everybody's getting bitten.

However, when you and Houndoom are guarding idly, innocent fans of both his gym and his own Pokémon are allowed to come up to him. When that happens, Houndoom is as docile as a Lillipup and even receives a few scritches from braver fans. Its tail always wags aggressively when that happens.

But at this point, Raihan believes your Pokémon has a vendetta against him.

You swear that Houndoom is as cuddly as a Komala at home, but Raihan refuses to believe you. He's tried to pet your Pokémon one time and nearly got four of his fingers taken off. You said it was because he didn’t ask for consent first, but he’s not buying it. He thinks it's personal.

When he tells this to Leon, the champion just comments on how the dark type Pokémon probably notices how much Raihan is smitten by you and is acting extra protective.

Raihan nervously chuckles at that, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s not that obvious, is it?”

“I bet you wish it wasn’t, but it is.”

Raihan slowly notices that he doesn’t flirt with you as much now as he did when he first met you. He had subconsciously stopped doing it when his brain realized his feelings for you were more than just physical attraction. 

He was so into you it hurt.

You’re always so nice to him, offering to take photos of him for his social media feed. You have a knack for getting the best angles and telling him the best poses. His smiles in those photos are more genuine too, but he doesn’t want to admit to you that they’re just because you’re the one holding the phone.

He wants to tell you his feelings so badly, but he knows that if the Pokémon League catches wind of them that you’d be reassigned to someone else.

So he’ll wait. He’s trained baby dragons into full-blown monsters, he’s got the patience to wait it out.

In the meantime, he’ll just soak in your presence every day and enjoy it while you’re with him.

Raihan is around you so much that sometimes he forgets you’re not actually his partner yet. You’re his bodyguard, and you have bodyguard duties.

This was one of those moments.

You randomly take hold of him by the arm like a couple would before smiling up at him. He grins back at you with that signature smirk of his. He has no idea why you’re doing this, but he’s not going to complain when you’re holding onto him so tightly.

With a tug, you subtly take the lead and start to move Raihan down a different road in Hammerlocke than you had both planned to today. Houndoom walks on his other side, staying in line with every step he takes.

When you speak, your serious tone doesn’t match the carefree and blissful look on your face.

“There’s four people that have been watching us periodically on our walk since we left the gym. Your safety at the stadium’s been compromised, I’m taking us to the Vault.”

Oh. So that’s why you’re doing this.

He had no idea you had been paying attention to your surroundings that much. But, he really shouldn’t have been surprised, you were hired as his personal guard by the league for a reason.

Once you reach the doors and Raihan unlocks them, he takes a glance over his shoulder. He sees four ladies with red outfits, funky glasses, and colorful hair approaching the Vault. It’s Team Flare again.

“Get in the Vault and lock the door, I’ll handle this.”

Wait, what? You’re going out there by yourself?

“Hey, wait a sec–”

Houndoom’s tail wraps around his ankle tightly as you shove him in the chest, simultaneously snatching the Vault’s key from his hands as he stumbles backwards.

Raihan can’t even protest before the door is shut on him, followed by the turning of a very heavy lock.

These Vault doors were ancient, but very well made. There was no way he was getting out of here unless he broke it down at full force.

So that’s what he plans to do.

He pulls out Duraludon, commanding it to help him break out of here so he can go and help you.

After a few breaking swipes and flash cannons, the door doesn’t even have a dent in it. He feels powerless.

But then the sound of the locks turning catches his attention before the door opens.

It had only been mere minutes, but you come into the Vault without any urgency and the sunlight cascading behind you.

There’s blood dripping down from your knuckles to your fingers. Your hair looks a little disheveled and there’s a thin layer of sweat on your forehead. But, other than that, you seem unscathed.

Raihan doesn’t think you’ve ever looked so radiant before.

Houndoom waltzes in after you with longer horns and vicious bone armor curling around its body. Mega Evolution made your Pokémon partner scarier than ever.

Looking over Raihan, you begin to laugh while shaking out your aching hands.

“Sorry about shoving you! I had to act without thinking and–”

Raihan grips the front of your shirt and places his lips over yours.

Yeah, screw patience. He’s waited long enough.

//

just a thought i'd put here. pls know that this is definitely not how irl bodyguards are if that wasn't already obvious lmao. i usually do a ton of research to make things accurate, but i'm ignoring all of that because i like my version of a pokemon-universe bodyguard way too much lol. see you in part three with Piers soon!!

#pokemon x reader #pokemon imagines #pokemon #raihan #raihan x reader #pokemon raihan #reader insert #team flare

[reides]

did you know that generation four of the pokemon games features more ribbons than any other generation? in diamond/pearl/platinum alone, you can get 38 new ribbons - and in hgss, you can add one more to that pile for a whopping 39 ribbons. this is a truly crazy amount of ribbons and i feel like i went a little crazy while gathering them. but, with that being said, i sure did gather them.

this post is all about reides the kingdra's journey through sinnoh, johto, AND kanto!

as a quick aside, you can check out my other ribbon master posts in my ribbon master tag. you can also see the posts on my personal site; those versions have a bit more pictures since they're not Contained by tumblr's limitations.

anyway...!!! my gen4 journey with reides began in my childhood copy of diamond. my trainer - named 'juke' after a handle that i had back in those days - picked up reides at the pal park, along with fangs the salamence, albatross the latios, origin the metagross, persana the suicune, and princess the zigzagoon.

i was really thrilled to finally be using one of my childhood playthroughs; back in gen3, i opted against using my childhood file in sapphire, as i wanted reides' original trainer to be recorded as 'Jamie' - and my sapphire file didn't use that name, either! another bonus to this was that diamond was already in the postgame, so i could get to work on grabbing my sinnoh ribbons as soon as reides made the trip over there.

immediately, i got to work on getting the first of the daily ribbons. these ribbons are very simple to get. all you have to do is talk to a woman named julia - who lives in a little house in northern sunyshore - on each day of the week. each day corresponds to one type of daily ribbon. the first ribbon that reides got was the smile ribbon!

julia is a really sweet character, and i really enjoyed my little routine of popping in and chatting with her. i was able to nab each of these heart-warming ribbons while i tackled other ribbon tasks.

the daily ribbons weren't my only routine, either! i also visited the masseuse over in veilstone ever day so that she could boost reides' affection for my new character. (i understand why affection resets when you trade your pokemon over to a new file, as they're technically a whole new trainer... but it still made me feel a little sad... like, reides. it's me!! it's JAMIE!!! the person who worked SO HARD to get you all those ribbons in gen3!!!)

once reides' affection was maxed out, i went over to... dr. footstep. dr. footstep is a guy who lives on the route outside of pastoria city. his whole deal is that he can read your pokemon's feelings for you by looking at their tracks - even if they don't have tracks. (reides, for example, doesn't have tracks. so, yeah. dr. footstep is... talented?)

an important note about this ribbon is that it actually isn't affection-based from gen5 onwards. instead, it's based on how many LEVELS you gain with the pokemon - becoming attainable when you've raised it at least 30 levels from when you met it. this is obviously deeply horrifying, as it means you can totally miss your chance for this ribbon if you trade a pokemon in that was past level 70 (due to the level 100 cap). an exception to this is if a pokemon is 'voiceless' (e.g. if the pokemon is a magnemite, or a beldum, or one of the regis, etc etc) in which case it... somehow reverts back to being based on friendship.

you'd think that the footprint ribbon would be based on *steps* rather than levels, as not only does that make more sense, but it also prevents poor pokemon from being locked out of it forever... but whatever. it's kind of hilarious that the mark of reides' affection for me is summed up by a ribbon which is essentially A Foot but that's a whole other can of worms.

during all of this, i was also grinding out pokedollars so that i could afford the syndicate ribbons. the ribbon syndicate is located over in a very posh mansion in the resort area of sinnoh. i met the 10-ribbon requirement for entry into the syndicate easily, but i then had to take on the challenge of raising enough pokedollars so that i could afford the hilariously expensive trio of ribbons that they had for sale. i had enough pokedollars to afford the first two - the gorgeous ribbon (10k) and the royal ribbon (100k). the last ribbon, however, was priced at 999,999 pokedollars... namely, the most money your character can carry on them. getting my hands on this ribbon would require some work...

...but admittedly not that much work! by using the vs seeker on an elderly couple on the route right next to the pokemon mansion, you can actually grind pokedollars out super, super easily. they pretty much funded the final syndicate ribbon for me and it really wasn't a painful grind in the slightest. if only real life worked like this...

these side ribbons were honestly a lot of fun to gather as the days went on! they made me wish that we had more stuff like them in future generations, to be honest! i know some people think that they're kind of just 'filler ribbons' which aren't all that meaningful, but i had a great time getting them all. my little talks with julia and my puzzlement over dr. footstep's lore(?) were certainly meaningful to me, and it was pretty awesome to cap out on pokedollars for the final syndicate ribbon! i think ribbons like this offer a unique little break from ribbons that are focused on streaks in battle towers or the standard hall of fame entries, as iconic as those may be.

anyway, on the subject of hall of fame entries... reides obviously had to go grab the sinnoh champion ribbon! i decided to take on the sinnon league with the whole gen3 squad, including princess the zigzagoon.

reides just so happened to be looking RIGHT DOWN into the spotlight in both of these pictures that i took. that wasn't even planned... i guess he just really liked the pretty lights.

with the sinnoh league tackled, the super contests were up next. i was really excited to gather these ribbons, as gen3 made me a HUGEEEE contest fan. with that being said, i knew that sinnoh's contests were a whole lot different from hoenn's contests. despite gathering a TON of accessories for these contests as a kid (THANK YOU, JAMIE OF THE PAST!), i was woefully clueless as to how to win them. i had to do a bunch of research, as the good ol' rest + snore combo wasn't going to carry me through the appeals like it did back in gen3... and i'm very pleased to say that i was able to find a great strategy for winning these things!

the best strategy that i found was provided by Guy_Gin_Smash over on the pokemon ribbon subreddit. it can be found as a reply to this post! i'm attaching a copy of it here just in case that thread is ever made inaccessible in the future, but please go give it an upvote if you use it and it's of help to you, too!

Regardless of the Pokemon, here is my advice for what worked best for me and my Ribbon Masters: ・Move 1: A move that increases in appeal when used first (Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw, Flash Cannon, etc.). This is your "comeback" move when you do poorly in an appeal round. ・Move 2: A move that increases in appeal when performed last (Revenge, Gyro Ball, Assurance, etc.). This is your "Hit while the iron's hot," move. Use this when you do really well in a previous appeal and need a finisher. ・Move 3: Psych Up/Bulk Up/Swords Dance/Dragon Dance/etc. It doubles your next move's score and helps set you up to use Move 1 first in the turn order next turn. Use this when you end up second or third in the turn order. ・Move 4: Protect. It increases in power depending on how low the judge's voltage is, and even on Master Rank there's normally at least one judge with no voltage available to pick. Use this when you get stuck in the second or third turn order -- preferably with a Psych Up boost.

following this template, reides' gen4 contest moveset consisted of hydro pump (part of his learnset), natural gift (bought at the veilstone department store), dragon dance (part of his learnset), and protect (bought at the veilstone department store).

of course, the appeal portion was only one third of the contest itself. i also had to take part in the visual round each time. i wasn't too worried about this, as reides' gen3 sheen transferred over to gen4... which meant that i didn't have to make him a single poffin. like i said before, i also loved gathering the contest accessories as a kid, so i didn't need to grind out any of those either. still, i was sure to skim over this page on serebii, which told me which accessories would score the most points based on the theme provided at the start of the contest. the other part of each super contest was the dancing portion, which was basically just a little rhythm game that didn't really bother me once i got into the swing of things.

i enjoyed these contests a lot, but i do feel like a lot of content was crammed into them. the visual stage in particular is a fantastic addition to the contest format, as i really loved putting accessories on reides, but the time limit that they place on dressing up your pokemon made it unnecessarily stressful at times. with that being said, here are a few costumes that reides wore to various contests.

he's a true model imo.

they were a little bit time consuming, but reides was able to get through these contests pretty painlessly. i didn't lose a single one of them, though i absolutely soft-reset my game every time johanna (the player character's mother) showed up as a fellow competitor. i saw a lot of people say that she posed a huge challenge and i was NOT gonna take my chances. sorry, mom! lmfao.

at this point, reides had a sizeable bulk of the gen4 ribbons... and it was time to face the inevitable. my most dreaded portion of my ribbon master journey: the gen4 battle tower ribbons.

like i said in my gen3 post, this ribbon master challenge is my first foray into the battle tower mechanic in these games. even with my limited experience, i've heard plenty of stories about gen4's battle tower ribbons. all of the tales of streaks breaking due to the ai suddenly 'cheating' had me really nervous - especially since they really ramped up the difficulty in gathering these ribbons for gen4. gen3 had 2 battle tower-related ribbons. gen4, on the other hand, has 6. SIX. i knew i would be here for a while, even if i got lucky and my streaks never broke.

this guy pretty much summed up my thoughts on the matter.

still, i had faith in my team - my beloved companions who made the gen3 battle tower ribbons a lot easier than i thought they'd be. i held my head up high and carried on!!

before entering the tower proper, i knew that i had to change up my team's movesets. gen4 introduced the physical/special split, which meant that the typing of moves no longer dictated if the move was physical or special. for example, BEFORE this split, every single ghost type move was a physical attack move. AFTER the split (i.e. in gen4 and onwards), each move itself was assigned as a physical or special attack regardless of the move's typing. going back to my ghost type example... this meant that you could find ghost-type moves that were special attack moves, too.

my physical attacker, origin the metagross, had to get rid of their shadow ball attack asap, as it became a special attack. i replaced it with zen headbutt but planned on replacing *that* with iron head once i had enough bp for it. i also replaced metal claw with bullet punch. this left them with this moveset:

origin the adamant metagross - earthquake - bullet punch - zen headbutt --> iron head - explosion

as for albatross, i had the opposite problem: his dragon claw was now a physical move. since he is a special attacker, this didn't fit with his stats - so i replaced it with dragon pulse. his final moveset for the battle tower was therefore this:

albatross the timid latios - psychic - dragon pulse - thunderbolt - ice beam

i also refined reides' moveset, getting rid of the moves that i used for the super contests and giving him a set that was more suitable for battle.

reides the bold kingdra - surf - ice beam - dragon pulse - hydro pump

again, as a reminder, i went with a bold nature on my ribbon master kingdra because it suits his personality more! but on the topic of bold legends... i took some time to refine my suicune's moveset, too!

persana the bold suicune - surf - calm mind - rest - sleep talk

i opted to try out a bit of a bulky set for my suicune, since i heard really good things about it!

with my pokemon's moves all sorted out, i walked through the battle tower's doors. first up on the list was the singles tower. i got two ribbons by battling my way through it; one for each time i faced the iconic tower tycoon, palmer. i got the first ribbon - the ability ribbon - after facing him on battle 21, then the other - the great ability ribbon - for facing him on battle 49.

after defeating palmer twice in the singles tower (and being scared half to DEATH while facing his cresselia on battle 49), it was time to take on the doubles tower. i had to win 50 battles in a row there. i'm pleased to say that the metagross + latios combo was still the stuff of legends - though reides and persana also came in clutch MULTIPLE times!

eventually, we got the double ability ribbon, even if we had to face a whole lot of daunting foes during our climb. every time i saw an ice type, i braced myself for a sheer cold inexplicably gaining crazy-good accuracy... and every time i saw a bulky staller, i braced myself for the long wait for those hp bars to go down. sobs.

the third battle tower ribbon that i took on was... a bit of an odd one. you get the multi ability ribbon once you win 50 battles in a row while using an npc as your partner. this meant that my little latios + metagross strategy would no longer be viable, as i would have to rely on another trainer's pokemon to get to 50 wins. i had riley as an option when i took this challenge on, so i decided to pair up with him for the whole tower. he ended up making for an INCREDIBLE partner! in particular, his absol was a huge help. the climb wasn't without its scary moments, but we clutched it out and got through it.

shockingly enough, my streak somehow didn't break at all during my multi ability ribbon climb! given all the horror stories that i heard about this ribbon in particular, i was SUPER relieved. i'm not sure if i got really lucky or if riley is just really, really good - but, either way... thank you riley!!!

once he got the multi ability ribbon, reides' gen4 battle tower conquest came to a sudden halt, though. you see, the remaining two ribbons - the pair ability ribbon and the world ability ribbon - went beyond the scope of my lone file of diamond. the world ability ribbon focused on a wifi-based challenge (which i'll get into later). the pair ability ribbon was similar to the multi ability ribbon, except i would have to get a streak of 50 wins alongside another gen4 file. i couldn't fight along with another npc; it had to be someone i connected with through co-op play. for my purposes, this meant dual-wielding dses. but there was a bit of a catch, here, as - despite owning every other gen4 game, including TWO copies of soulsilver - i didn't have another gen4 game in the post-game like my diamond file. that meant that none of my other gen4 games had access to the battle tower.

upon realizing this, i decided to take the opportunity to replay soulsilver. as i mentioned in my last post, hgss are my favourite pokemon games of all time. you might think that it's odd that i didn't have a fully decorated post-game, in that case - but i have an explanation for that! you see, i loved hgss so much as a kid that i repeatedly transferred out all of my pokemon so that i could replay the plot of the games as much as i pleased. kind of hilarious, i know... anyway, since i also needed to get a ribbon for beating red in hgss' post-game, reides was destined to be part of yet another storyline team.

after planning out my soulsilver storyline team and deciding that i wanted to raise a steelix, i decided to send reides over with a metal coat so that i could evolve an onix early on. pro gamer strats, i know. i picked up a cute little totodile (who i named tapioca!) as my starter and sent reides over to johto as soon as i unlocked trading!

admittedly, i was utterly thrilled to see reides in soulsilver. i didn't care that this would add a HEFTY amount of hours to my ribbon master challenge - not in the slightest!!! being able to explore my favourite region with a pokemon that means so very much to me was a dream come true - especially since hgss has such a flawless implementation of follower pokemon.

i really enjoyed my playthrough and amassed a team that ended up meaning so very much to me. while i kept reides in my party, i obviously didn't use him all that much in battles, as i wanted his younger pals to get experience and catch up with him.

costume the eevee was named after a kid i saw on halloween, who was in a really cute eevee costume! i picked up my eevee that night after the trick-or-treaters left, and my friend cody suggested that i name the eevee after that kid's costume. (fyi, costume ended up evolving into an espeon!)

here are some more pictures of my soulsilver team and me during the course of our amazing journey through johto.

prior to beating the elite four and unlocking the battle tower, i decided to take a little peek at it and instead ran into this guy, who was really, really eager to take on the challenges.

given the sheer amount of grinding that i had been through, along with the amount of grinding that i knew was in my future... i can't say that i shared his enthusiasm. but i respected him for it nonetheless.

eventually, our johto quest led us to the pokemon league. sadly, there is no ribbon linked to beating johto's league and entering its hall of fame, but it was nice to take on everyone regardless.

after a really dramatic showdown against lance in his AMAZING room full of golden dratini statues, we entered johto's hall of fame.

after hours upon hours of time spent in johto, i could finally approach the battle tower again - this time with the goal of getting the pair ability ribbon on reides. grabbing my 3ds, i set up a local wifi room on my copy of diamond (apparently, using a copy of diamond or pearl as the 'leader' means you get to face easier trainers when compared to a platinum or hgss leader) and connected into it on my copy of soulsilver. origin and reides reunited with albatross and persana, and we got ready to get our streak of 50 wins.

the battle tower link multi challenge was actually probably the easiest one i've ever done on the course of reides' journey thus far, though that may have been due to the sheer amount of FOCUS i had on it, LMAO. i really didn't want my streak to break, so i took absolutely zero risks... except for when i had to. and boy, did i have to at one particular point of this climb. on battle 49(!!!), most of my team was knocked out, save for reides. i took a picture, as i wanted to show just how the odds were stacked against my boy. but then... he did something amazing.

reides outsped and took down zapdos with surf (which also dealt damage to registeel), then traded a bunch of attacks with registeel - only to clutch out a win with the luckiest hydro pump i have ever witnessed. he kept the streak alive!! (for context, surf's damage wouldn't have been enough to take down the registeel at that point. if reides' hydro pump missed, registeel would have knocked him out, too.)

soon afterwards, we ended up winning the 50th battle in a MUCH less scary manner - and reides got the pair ability ribbon!

this left me with one last outstanding gen4 battle tower ribbon... the world ability ribbon.

the world ability ribbon is technically unattainable now, as it requires the use of nintendo's now-defunct wifi servers. basically, to get it, you connect to nintendo's servers and download a room consisting of 7 battles. by battling through a bunch of these rooms, you can rank up. once you get to rank 5, your team gets the world ability ribbon. due to the servers' being inaccessible though 'official' means, it's not required for a ribbon master challenge. but people have made fan servers that you can connect to in order to try for the ribbon anyway. the one major drawback to connecting to these servers is that the ds can only connect to wifi hotspots that use either the now-outdated wep security protocol or no security at all. as a result, a lot of people don't really have the means to connect to them... and i was one of these people!

now you might be wondering: why bother with this ribbon if it's not necessary for completing the challenge? the answer is pretty simple. beyond it being a matter of pride, in future generations, all of your pokemon's contest and battle tower ribbons from gen4 and gen3 get consolidated into two memory ribbons. these ribbons are depicted on a silver plaque if you're missing any ribbons and a gold plaque if you managed to get them all. ...so, you're seeing where i'm going with this, right?

people really, really want the gold plaque.

L;FDGKDFL;GK but real talk - pokemon home recently let pokemon with 7 battle ribbons get the gold plaque anyway, so it's just something that people encourage attempting if you have the means. since i didn't have a readily available wifi hotspot that was compatible with the fan servers, i was very much on the fence about taking it on. i decided to procrastinate on making a decision and, instead, wandered out of the battle tower and towards a whole new region: kanto!

the only new ribbon in hgss is the ribbon you get for beating red - and you can only challenge him once you're done with kanto's gym challenge. while journeying kanto and battling these leaders, i also took a bit of a breather in order to complete one of my favourite little sidequests in the pokemon games.

if you collect five of these shiny leaves and put them on your pokemon, your childhood friend back in new bark town will craft them into a beautiful golden crown for your pokemon. unfortunately, no ribbon is attached to completing this sidequest, but it's an absolutely incredible one that also grants you this gorgeous certificate.

empowered by his shiny new crown, reides and i kept up with our kantonian journey - facing each and every gym leader. there's something so special and bittersweet about kanto's status during the johto games. everything is so familiar... but also so different. it was particulary sad to face blaine off in one of the seafoam caverns, as cinnabar had been overrun by a volcanic eruption. but the hope that blaine had for the future of his gym was inspiring, too. it really gave kanto a lot of depth; a sense of its people still having to face challenges, even after your journey as protagonist had ended back in red, blue and yellow.

eventually, we met up with the final gym leader: blue, himself!

upon beating him in battle and getting my 16th gym badge in soulsilver, i gained access to mt silver. i knew that red, the ultimate pokemon trainer, was at the very peak of this lonely mountain teeming with high-levelled pokemon.

i journeyed to the peak as soon as i could. i had every intention of spending a lot of time training in mt silver and even gathered lucky eggs to make the task easier - but, in the end, i couldn't resist challenging red the very moment that i found him.

i'm very, very pleased to say that red still lives up to his status as a legend. his team makes for a very, VERY difficult fight; it's incredibly satisfying to face them all. time and time again, it always lives up to the hype. after duking it out, i managed to emerge victorious... albeit by the skin of my teeth. for being part of the team that won this battle, reides got the legend ribbon.

i was sure to take a picture with the rest of my team during our trek through mt silver, too! without them, this whole journey wouldn't have been possible, after all. we also took a photo together in pallet town, right outside of red's house. since my personal pokemon journey began in kanto with pokemon red version, it was quite the emotional shot. i was really happy to have such a great team with me!

this marked the end of my soulsilver storyline playthrough, but i wasn't quite done with gen4 just yet. i was finally at the world ability ribbon crossroads. feeling emotional over my progress up to this point, i decided that i would try to take it on, as i wanted reides to get that gold plaque from gen6 onwards and i didn't want to bypass an optional ribbon unless i absolutely HAD to do so. this meant that it was time to research just how the hell i would connect to those fan servers.

eventually, i found a thread on the ribbon master subreddit talking about an incredibly simple method of connecting to them. they said that you could use a flashcart or homebrewed 3ds to inject your save into your pc. from that point on, you just needed to run your save on the melonds emulator and use its wifi feature to connect to the dns featured on the poke classic network. (it's also worth noting that you need a rom that's been patched for online play - you can use the wfc patcher to do this). i decided to give this a try, as, before this point, i had no idea that emulators even supported wifi without a billion complicated workarounds. even if it didn't work out, it was super interesting to me.

...and, hilariously enough, it worked out on my very first try! i seriously felt like the 'technology is incredible!' guy who lives in every single starting town of every single pokemon game. i found myself suddenly having the means of getting this elusive ribbon despite gen4's servers being defunct. how incredible is that?! i couldn't be more grateful to the people maintaining those fan servers.

the setup was the first part of my world ability ribbon challenge, though. as awesome as it is to be able to connect to the wifi rooms, those rooms are also NOTORIOUS for being filled with hacked pokemon. popular ones include machamps with the no guard ability (which means that its moves never miss) running sheer cold (a move that can ohko your pokemon; they typically have a very rare chance of hitting) and spiritombs with wonder guard (an ability that makes it so only super effective moves can damage the pokemon with it; spiritombs in gen4 have no weakness).

there are ways to counter these hacked pokemon, however. you can outspeed machamp before it can land sheer cold (or run a focus sash on your pokemon, which will make it survive a sheer cold with 1hp), and you can also decimate spiritombs with wonder guard if you use fire fang against it (fire fang SOMEHOW bypasses wonder guard in gen4; a little happy mistake of a glitch, haha).

in an incredible moment of serendipity, i also found a counter-meta team for these hacked pokemon which included latios AND metagross! i was thrilled, since i already had albatross and origin all trained up. while i had to steal a shuca berry from a wild ponyta trotting about on mt silver, that was easily done. i started training up a garchomp, too... but then i got lazy while ev training him and ended up trying out the rooms with reides instead of a fire fang user. (i'm well aware that this was a really big risk LMAO - if i ran into a single hacked spiritomb, i'd have to take an immediate L and raise that garchomp before facing the room again.)

in selecting the rooms that i wanted to challenge, i opted to download those in the late 20s to 30s range, as those rooms are said to have less hacked pokemon within them. i wasn't sure if that was just a rumor, but i tried it out anyway.

in the end, i had a blast. i really liked seeing everyone's nicknamed pokemon in the rooms that i downloaded. i'm not sure if it's because of the 'late 20s to 30s range' strat or what, but i ran into ONE single hacked pokemon, who i will now proceed to shame:

YEAH. I BET YOU'RE SORRY.

luckily, 'i'm sorry' the machamp wasn't a threat and he didn't get a single sheer cold off on my team. he did, however, land a will o wisp on origin, which had me wondering if he was even running sheer cold to begin with? either way, we beat him up real good!!!

i don't want give that machamp the only shoutout re: this ribbon, though! i also want to show off some of the pokemon that i ran into while working towards rank 5. i believe these pokemon are also taking on the ribbon master challenge.

this is only a small selection of the pokemon that i saw, but i still really loved to meet them all. it made me a bit emotional, too, as i thought about future ribbon masters running into reides the kingdra. :') i can also vouch 100% for the anti-hack team that i posted; if you're struggling with getting this ribbon, definitely give that team a try!!

after grinding through these rooms, my team eventually hit rank 5. reides got the world ability ribbon... the 6th and final gen4 battle tower ribbon, which was also the final ribbon of his gen4 journey.

as you can tell from this absolutely massive post, gen4 was a journey and a half. my god. i'm well aware that most of my time spent in this generation was likely during my soulsilver playthrough, as i wanted to raise a proper team and take my time with the experience, but oh my goodness gracious. i should've known it would've been a monumental task, given the sheer amount of ribbons available... but it still took me by surprise. no regrets, tho. none at all.

i sent reides (and the rest of the pals accompanying him on this ribbon master quest!) to unova, which doesn't have any ribbons. this quick stop-over was still necessary in order to put everyone in pokemon bank, though! once they were there, i sent them over to kalos. at the moment, reides is chillin' and getting ready to take on the generation 6 portion of this quest. in particular, i'm excited to take him to omega ruby, as i got him in emerald version and he's a hoenn baby!

so, yeah! that's how reides' journey though sinnoh and johto played out! i'm super excited to keep on going with this ribbon master journey. just like i said last time, i hope that you'll keep on cheering him on, too!!!

#pokemon #ribbon master #jamietxt #GEN 4 UPDATE YEAHHHHHH #reides the kingdra

[grxnthxnry]

Daiharu’s Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rUguYn90AMgrB5D4pQyRA?si=6a1686f8693c460c

I couldn't help but make some ficlets for each song in the playlist, hope y'all enjoy!!!

~Electric Touch~

- May encounters an intriguing young man in the depths of Granite Cave. As their hands brush when she provides him with that life changing letter, she just has the feeling that this would either break her heart or bring it back to life.

~Gold~

- Steven Stone has always been described as stone-cold as the stones he so desires, but the look in the glimmering sapphire eyes of this novice trainer that he encounters in Granite Cave manages to crack through his steel enclosed heart without him even realizing it.

~Sparks~

- May feels as though that one singular meeting in that godforsaken cave just ignited this insurmountable spark in her heart and she is clueless to how it will apply to the future.

~Distance~

- Steven knows he has to keep moving, a champion’s life was never meant to be placed in one location for a huge amount of time. But he can’t help but feel like he left a piece of himself in that cave with a brunette girl with the bluest eyes he’s ever seen.

~Line Without A Hook~

- Steven believes that he might not be the best person for this young, blossoming mind to be looked up on, as he watches her grow from a distance, he feels as though he was just a mere line without a hook for purpose.

~Style~

- May notices him battle those pesky grunts in such a flawless, elegant manner that she almost becomes mesmerized from his dance-esque battle style.

~Northern Lights~

- Steven catches May in time for a rare Aurora light show when a herd of Aurorus and Amora comeby and somehow he feels that the blue of the aurora pales in comparison to her iridescent sapphire eyes.

~Livewire~

- May is unpredictable, untameable, nearly unreachable, and yet, Steven Stone has never wanted to know a person more than he yearns to know more about her.

~Bright~

- Steven somehow manages to make even the darkest of caves light up with such vibrancy, that May is dazzled by his capability of doing so.

~Five Days of Summer~

- Summer in the rain has never felt more like home when Steven spends the gruelling heat with this one person that takes away the normalcy of everyday life.

~Cruel Summer~

- It’s all knew to her, his eyes, his smile, his mind, it’s all so glaringly knew that it feels cruel to just subject herself to it all.

~The Tip Of The Iceberg~

- She seemed so intricate that he could not stop getting to know her more rather than just skim the surface of her intriguing psyche.

~Sparks Fly~

- He takes her to the power plant in Mauville to geek on about the surge of adorable Magnemites that have just arrived on the seen, but with her hand in his, the Magnemites aren’t the only one’s that causes the sparks to fly.

~Dandelions~

- She takes him, in turn, to Verdanturf to the meadow Wally pointed out to her. It wasn’t a date, but the way he looked at her as the cherry blossoms and dandelion seeds flew by and landed on her head made her think he wanted it to be different too.

~Cloud 9~

- Spending time with her just seemed to make him be the most vulnerable he’s ever allowed himself to be, and maybe that was okay, just this once.

~Candy~

- She just can’t help the fact that her nose gets some whipped cream when they eat at her favourite sweets shop at New Mauville, but the amused smile he gives her, saves her from the imminent embarrassment that was sure to come.

~Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy~

- Call Steven Stone cliche all you want, but you can’t deny that he knows his way to treat a woman, just one of the things he picked up from his old man, Joseph Stone.

~Sweet And Low~

- For his suave moments, Steven Stone cannot dance if his life depended on it, but May let’s them dance to the slow rhythm of the food courts music stereos.

~Yellow~

- The stars never looked so beautiful when they go out and stargaze underneath a quaint oak tree on the outskirts of the city. “Beautiful” he says, but she has a feeling he wasn’t talking about the starlit sky when she sees him looking at her with complete and utter devotion.

~Today Was A Fairytale~

- She can’t help but feel lost in his steel blue eyes as she leans ever so closer to him, the same can be said for him when he swims in her ocean blue sapphire eyes. Their lips touch for th first time and the night ends with them in that tree with the sky full of stars as their witness.

~The Real World~

- Reality is such a lovely place, but at this very moment, with her in his arms, he just doesn’t wanna live there anymore.

~Enchanted~

- She was enchanted and wonderstruck to meet him, but she keeps this to herself as she burrows further into his chest when they finally come up for air. Little did she know, he felt the same way too.

~Meteor Shower~

- The stars fall down to earth to greet them after their marvelous night and they welcome them with open arms with May happily dancing as the stars cascade down the night sky, Steven looks on and his heart can’t help but skip a beat when she looks at him with those now warm sapphire eyes set aglow with the shimmering starlight of the night. But he knows the next day that he has to go.

~Some Type of Love~

- He starts packing up for his next leg of his journey but is stopped by May by the door and she convinces him to spend the night together, the next day he almost stays, almost.

~Hanging By A Moment~

- May wakes up to see the spot where Steven laid empty and cold, she’s not surprised, she just knew.

~1 Step Forward 3 Steps Back~

- May moves on with her journey, but her heart always seems to be on a constant backtrack.

~Haunted~

- She gets her badge from Flannery, but she can’t seem to feel the gratifying feeling of the victory when the loss of something hauntingly important keeps a constant reminder of itself in her heart.

~Somebody To You~

- When she leaves Fallarbour triumphantly defeating team Aqua’s shenanigans once again, she has a silent promise to be somebody that can be as insurmountable as Steven Stone.

~Ever Enough~

- When she beats her own father, she can’t help but feel like nothing will ever be enough to fix her fragile glass heart.

~Foolish One~

- She had to stop checking her PokeNav for some sort of message form Steven Stone, but her foolish heart can’t help but check for a call or even a text from the silver haired man.

~Let Her Go~

- Steven Stone was accustomed with the fact that he could get anything he wanted in life. But he knew he could never have her.

~Glimpse Of Us~

- Steven sees a future with her, a future he could never have. But he can’t help but see her in a white dress, walking down the aisle with him waiting at the end, just a word away from being his forever.

~I’m Still Here~

-  No matter how much her heart yearns for him, she knows that she’s still where she needs to be. Little that she knows that across the small span of water from Mauville to the next route, Steven Stone would be unknowingly waiting for her.

~The Story Of Us~

- The fact that he got to see her again and witness a legendary pokemon simply reveal itself to them was another story to tell the posterity, but the silence she gives him seems to be a bit more in the forefront of his mind more than anything, Team Aqua and the Eon Twins be damned.

~Still Into You~

- She hates how her hearts still beats more than the human amount possible when he’s around her. She couldn’t escape the fact that she was 100%, without a shadow of a doubt still into him.

~Beautiful Scars~

- She still looks as beautiful as ever when they finish their tag battle against Team Aqua. Her battle scars are truly what makes her beautiful in his eyes, he makes sure to tell her that as they fly back to where they came from.

~Iris~

- The world could go to the distortion world for all she cared, she just wants to be seen and understood to the one person that seems to understand.

~Just Give Me A Reason~

- She wants, no, begs, no, demands to know why he runs away from her every single time. She expects him to run away again, to her utter surprise, he stays and takes her hand in one of his while the other holds her face and draws her in. His lips are still as soft as she remembers.

~When I Look At You~

- He tells her that when he looks at her, he sees the ocean, the endless blue, mysterious, yet beautiful ocean. He would willingly drown in her for all his life. When he looks at her, he sees a life of adventure, a life he yearns for, a life he feels like he can’t give her. When he looks at her, he sees love for she was the one that captured his elusive heart.

~Ours~

- She takes his hand and says that their love is their own, not for others, not for the world, but as she takes his face with her other hand to look at her properly, she says, “This love is ours.” He kisses her again without pomp and circumstance.

~If My Heart Was A House~

- A compass is always meant to point towards the truest north. A house is meant to house those who have your heart.And now all he knows is that he was meant to love her, for now, for then, forever, and always.

~Love In Slow Motion~

- They make it to Fortree for the night, and this time, he’ll stay. No more living life fast forward and missing out on the things in front of him. Now, he’ll live it in slow motion with her.

~When Emma Falls In Love~

- She has fallen in love, there was no need to explain it further. She truly and honestly has, or that’s what she tells her mother on the phone while Steven’s in the shower the next morning. Caroline tells her that it reminds her of how she fell in love with Norman and May would love nothing more than to have the same love her mother and father have.

~Call It What You Want~

- When they depart from Fortree with May’s badge in hand they arrive in Lilycove and then on to Mossdeep and then to Sootopolis. However, people start talking, they start staring, they start whispering. But May could careless with their careless whispers and by the small squeeze Steven gives her with their intertwined hands, sh e has a feeling he doesn’t care about them too.

~Show Yourself~

- After months of preparation and trainings, May has managed to surmount the insurmountable pokemon league and managed to make it to the champion’s door. She had to call Steven and tell him the good news as she enters the darkened room for the first time. A small ring greets her as she enters and all of the sudden she’s come face to face with the Hoenn champion himself, Steven Stone.

~I Can See You~

- Their battle is full of utter devotion for their pokemon, to themselves, and to each other. They wouldn’t have it any other way. They see each other for what they both are and what they both are to each other.

~Steal The Show~

- Steven Stone has always known the feeling of being the best, being the strongest, being the example never the rule. But for once, he sees his heart fight with her entire being and he knows that he won’t mind if she steals the show.

~Sunflower~

- If Steven Stone could attribute May with any sort of flower, it would be a Sunflower. Beautiful and elegant, but strong and full of beams of sunlight that could never waver even in the darkest of times, even when Team Aqua had one last hurrah after their battle for the champion position.

~Superman~

- She knows he has to help out with overseeing the navigation part of the mission, but she can’t help but admire him in helping her save the world too. She likes to think of him as Superman too, even if he doesn’t see himself as a hero himself, she’ll always remind him that he is.

~A Sky Full Of Stars~

- He will never get over the fact that the most beautiful of sapphires he has come across his life will always pale in comparison to her’s when they lay down in Mossdeep’s many fields in another starlit night that never fails to make her more beautiful than she already was.

~Until I Found You~

- They finally say that love for them was elusive and unreachable until they met each other that fateful day in Granite Cave.

~Love Like You~

- Steven never believed he was capable of being loved by someone as amazing as her, but she keeps surprising him with her unrelenting love for him.

~The One~

- She was the one, he knew it from the first day and he will continue to love her for forever.

~You Are In Love~

- He was the one, she knew it from the first day and she will continue to love him for forever.

~All About Your Heart~

- He’s afraid that he might screw this up, but she reassures him that it will always be about your heart when you love someone, and right now, her heart is his and only his.

~New Year’s Day~

- The new year comes and goes and right now they have each other, for the beginning of the rest of their lives.

~Cornelia Street~

- They choose to settle in Mossdeep permanently, it was close to the League and Steven’s job at the Space Center. There are moments of love, there are moments of tears, there are moments of heart breaks, moments where Steven thinks he may have lost her. But they always found each other in the end, because nothing will come against them.

~The Saltwater Room~

- Her favourite past time is when Steven drags her into the kitchen and they dance in the refrigerator light. His dancing skills are still horrendous, but she would never trade these moments for anything.

~The Only Exception~

- Steven always thought that love would never come for him, but the sight of the sleeping figure next to him on their bed makes him think otherwise now.

~The Night We Met~

- Steven takes her back to Granite Cave for a surprise, a kind of surprise that required that one little box tucked in his pocket.

~You And I Tonight~

- He gets down on one knee on the exact same spot they first laid eyes on each other, he asks her the question that has plagued his mind for some time, she says yes.

~Mine~

- Of all the things that she’s been blessed by, she will always know what was the best thing that’s ever been hers. The ring on her finger is a symbol of that.

~Arms~

- When she finishes league business, nothing compares to her coming home to his arms as they crash down onto the sofa for some much needed snuggles and kisses.

~Long Live~

- From the adventures to their heart breaks, they made it to this moment together, so long live all those precious moments.

~Afterglow~

- They agree that it’s time for their relationship to take the next level and what a night they had. They bask in the afterglow with a searing kiss that encapsulates the hardships and trials they overcame to get to this point, to each other.

~Timeless~

- She just knows that no matter what lifetime, what body, what soul, they would always manage to find each other. For their love transcends all of space and time, Dialga and Palkia be damned.

~Where We Came From~

- On the eve of their wedding, they have to stay in separate rooms, but they can’t help but look at the stars and reminisce the journey they went through.

~Paper Rings~

- Steven Stone has a collection of precious gems, he honestly thought that he would marry someone with one of those gems. But as much as he loves those stones, his love for May surmounts all of that and he’d marry her in paper rings for all he cares, he just wants to be with her and be hers forever.

~Never Stop~

- He will never stop choosing her, he will never get over her, he will never stop loving her.

~Celestial~

- He was the stars to her, he was the moon, he was the entirety of heaven itself.

~Near Or Far~

- Whether he was in some cave in Hoenn or if she was in the League doing business, they know that no matter the distance, their love will always reach one another.

~I See The Light~

- For so long, Steven Stone only saw darkness just like the caves he so frequently traversed in. But the moment he looked into her sapphire eyes, he only saw the light. For him, that was more than enough.

~Daylight~

- For so long, May Maple only saw a singular goal. Win, win, and win. But the moment she looked into his steel blue eyes, she only knew that she finally saw daylight for the very first time. For her, that was more than enough.

#pokemon #pkmn #may #steven stone #daiharu #rarepair #short story #fanfic #hoennchampionshipping #romance #drama #true love #ficlet #favorite songs #taylor swift #omega ruby #alpha sapphire #pokemon oras #pkmn oras

[angellayercake]

Sam and the Series of Disastrous Dates

Sam has watched her new best friend fall in love with the man of her dreams but when will it be her turn? For OC kiss week 2023 we will follow Sam from the Pastimes for a Retired Papa series on some of her dating adventures and see if she will ever meet her dream man.

Original Female Character x Original Male Character

AO3

Day 1 - Dancing 

She plucked at the leotard she was wearing as she prayed for the floor to open and swallow her. A dance class was what she had been told she was attending. Her so-called friend had a lot to answer for. She spared one last glance for the text message that had ruined her evening.

‘Sorry Sammy, a little white lie! It’s Salsa Speed Dating. Can’t wait to hear about Mr Right! X’

A couple of the guys were looking in her direction with what she assumed was a leer. She had thought she was attending a fitness class, hence the now somewhat ridiculous outfit. Looking around at the other women in attendance she felt her stomach churning in embarrassment. Flowy dresses, perfect hair, make up! And there she was in a subtly sweat-stained leotard, she had added a wrap skirt from her little foray into ballet class so that was something, and trainers. No make up obviously and scraped back hair possibly a few days passed needing a wash. She was seconds away from turning and leaving when the host entered, clapping her hands above her head to get everyone's attention.

‘Welcome, welcome!  All of you are here to find love through the passion of salsa!’ Sam cringed to herself, the woman was waving her hands along with her shouting and spoke with a gratingly fake Spanish accent, made worse by the fact salsa dancing didn’t even originate from Spain. ‘You will have a song to learn all you need about your potential partner then we will change. Please get into position in order of your badges and then we will begin!’ She clapped her hands once again, stamping her feet like she was doing the flamenco.

She takes a deep breath, last chance to escape but no, she is here now and she can do this. She looks down at the already peeling sticker stuck to her checking her number, four, and makes her way to the slowly forming line. She looked up and her heart sank. Either the universe had a sense of humour or the organisers had taken one look at them and decided that they were meant for each other.

He was wearing a full ballroom dancer's outfit. The whole thing was made of awful stretchy polyester and although it looked like separate pieces it was, in fact, an all in one. The shirt which was open to far too low on his shaved, and judging by the sheen, oiled chest could only be described as bedazzled. Rows and rows of plastic diamantes fanned out across the shoulders, although the longer Sam looked the more she noticed were missing. The shirt was then sewn into a heavily ruched cummerbund that did nothing to hide his protruding stomach which was also attached to ill fitting flared trousers.

Looking back up at his face she noticed him smirking at her. Oh she hoped he didn’t think she was checking him out. She smiled at him awkwardly in a bid to be polite, she did have to dance with the man for the next five minutes.

‘The person opposite you is your partner for the first dance. Take up your positions and let’s salsa!’ She winced, who thought it was a good idea to give her a microphone. She stepped forward, offering him one hand and placing the other on his shoulder.

‘And what is your name senorita?’ She bit the inside of her cheek in an effort not to cringe his northern accent, not making the term of endearment roll off the tongue. She opened her mouth to reply and almost choked on the taste of his cheap aftershave. She was really regretting not running away when she had the chance.

‘It’s Sam.’ She smiled and hoped it didn’t look as strained as it felt. He didn’t seem to notice.

‘A lovely name for a lovely lady. Every Samantha I have met was a beauty.’ He looked pleased with himself for that comment but she had to repress a shiver of disgust.

‘Uh thanks, but it is Sam.’ She looked down before remembering her manners. She might never want to see him again already but she didn’t want to be rude. ‘What's your name?’

‘I’m Clive so you better remember it for when you tick the yes box later.’ He winked and she managed to choke out something that could be called a laugh.

‘Well I haven't seen your dancing skills yet.’ The music hadn’t started yet, why hadn’t it started yet.

‘Oh you will not be disappointed, I can tell you that for nothing.’ She just nodded once before breaking the unsettling eye contact he was trying to maintain. Finally the first song kicked in and he didn’t hesitate to lead her through the first few steps. He was a surprisingly competent dancer although it didn’t seem like a natural talent, his rhythm being slightly off and his brow furrowed in deep concentration.

‘You aren’t so bad yourself,’ he said after she spun back to him after a series of twirls and spins had kept them apart. Sweat was starting to bead on his upper lip and she wasn’t sure how he was going to last the night. ‘I should have known you would be as good as me.’ She knew he didn’t mean it as an insult but it felt like a jab all the same. ‘You and me are the only ones dressed properly for the occasion.’ She spared a glance for some of the other couples around them wearing normal date attire and tried not to think about how ridiculous they must look.

‘Yeah we are a right pair,’ she laughed along but upon catching his eyes she thought she may have said the wrong thing. There is a glint in his eye she doesn’t like the look of. As the dance progresses he gets too out of breath to carry a conversation so while she doesn’t really appreciate his heavy beer tinged breathing directly in her face at least she is spared that.

As the music reaches a climax he swings her into a dip, her only option to cling onto him to avoid collapsing to the floor. He looks into her eyes in what she assumes is supposed to be a seductive manner but it misses the mark but a lot. His sweaty red face is not doing anything to help him. She breaks the awkward eye contact looking up at the ceiling, waiting for him to let her up but he just keeps staring.

‘I think we would make a great pair Samantha.’ He closes his eyes and moves his face closer.

‘It’s Sam,’ she starts to say before she is silenced by his slippery puckered lips. She freezes not knowing what to do, maybe falling to the floor would have been better. She feels his sweat dripping onto her face as he keeps his lips pressed firmly to hers. The only saving grace is that he doesn’t try to deepen the kiss.

‘It seems the passion of salsa has overtaken one couple already, but don’t make your minds up too quickly! There are many salsa partners to sample tonight!’ She is still in shock as he brings her back upright, overbalancing slightly and clinging to her to steady himself.

‘You won’t be forgetting me in a hurry will you Samantha.’ He has the audacity to wink at her and she can only grimace back as she tries to surreptitiously wipe his sweat off her face.

‘You are quite right about that,’ she says before muttering to herself. ‘But not for the reasons you think.’

‘What was that?’ He asks as he leans towards her to try and catch what she said but she is quite literally saved by the bell signalling the change of partners.

‘Oh look, time to change partners. See ya.’ Then she quite literally runs for it. She grabs her things, managing to slip away in the buzz of the other attendees swapping around, already trying to order a taxi and get as far away from this place as possible. As soon as she has confirmation she switches to her messaging app typing away furiously. Oh god she is going to kill her for this. She really needs new friends!

#ockiss23 #pastimes for a retired papa #eventual #the band ghost fic #my writing #Sam is finally getting some love #ockissweek

[5starphysique]

#boutique gym #private fitness studio northern beaches #personal training program #personal training #fitness training #fitness trainer #Boutique gym northern beaches #personal training brookvale #personal training northern beaches #brookvale #northern beaches #australia

[costora-region]

"Stay awake people! Traditions only shackle you to an unfair past! We most bring progress and modernity to everyone!"

- The motto of Team Awake in every rally they do

Meet Team Awake! one of the two villanous teams that try to take over Costora and manipulate people for their own benefit by advancing their agenda. They weaponize arts and try to take control of certain legendary in order change the past and make it fit their narrative.

Team Awake grunts are people who simply feel joining this team that is all about progress and forgetting the past will give them some sort of superiority. They are either manipulated by the admin's agenda infused works or rallied by the Leader's and Right hand seductive speeches.

And speaking of the admins! Let's start with the lowest in the ranks, Prince. An socialite from Northern Costora who got seduced by the Team Leader's speeches into going against his own groups. Some of his own respect him, others despise him. Some say he's just weak minded.

Following the ranks, Manuel is a an opposing singer to Shannelle and has a beef with Brandom and Lucio since he uses his music to push his ideas unto people weaponizing his art belittling those who don't think like him on a regular basis.

Patricia on the other hand, is the right hand of the Leader, a silver tongued woman whose speech against the groups and traditions of old have managed to turn so many people in their favor. She advocates for evolution of our civilization without caring for the world around her.

And finally, Becky, Team Awake's newest leader who has no real care if her team is right or not, the real reason she's looking for the legendary Pokémon Gasiroar is to use it in order to change the past and become the most powerful and influential person in the world.

Team Awake's nefarious plans constantly clash with Team Slumber's schemes, so the PPC tries to use this on their advantage in order to bring both of them down. Nevertheless, Team Awake has decided to aim now towards young new trainers in order to lure them to their ranks!

Will Team Awake's seductive words lure Diego, Alma, Zoe and Walter to their ranks? Only their decisions will let us know!

Next Wednesday, we'll meet Team Slumber! So don't miss out!

#pokemon #fakemon #fake pokemon #pokemon fan region #fakemon region #fake pokemon region

[whispering-jabberwocky]

One 👤 for my boy Samir <3

One of his lesser known relationship is a female water genasi named Dipti.

She works at Fig Tree, a lesser known pleasure house in Lakwada, characterised by their rather more exotic staff. Around two years ago, Samir decided to get some training in the art of love and seduction. He asked in Fig Tree for a short internship (since it was akward to ask his great grandmother). It was unpayed, in return they would share with him his knowladge and techniques. Dipti was his trainer.

It was an unusual relationship. They hit it off pretty well, since Dipti is a great listener and has a pleasant, though a bit submissive, personality. Though they were intimate with each other a lot it was always very academic. She was showing him how to give pleasure and he was taking it all in with focus. Sometimes he was taking notes.

When they weren't busy they talked. Nothing too personal. As it happened, they are both partial to finer things: good food, sweet wine, music, theatre. They liked to just sit and dream about a great tour around Adarayan, while they would visit luxurious inns, clubs and restaurants.

Dipti's hobby is lacework. She mostly makes little ornaments, like doilies or handkerchifs. But she was also working on a shawl. She restarted it many times, since she tried project an elephant pattern, as it is her favorite animal.

Samir couldn't really keep contact with her, when he left Fig Three after a month and embarked on his great journey. However he knew she was courted by one of her clients -a welthy merchant from some northern country - a plump, jovial lady, with hair twisted in a bun on top of her head. Dipti was quite fond of her as well.

Mawybe Samir should visit her sometime?

#samir #it took me some time #lack of creative juice #but sudden inspiration struck

[jadeazora]

The Ultra Beast Arrival: Global event will be held Nov27, at 11a.m. to 5 p.m. local time

Different regions have different UBs. The Americas spawn Nihilego, Guzzlord, and Buzzwole. Asia-Pacific will have Nihilego, Xurkitree, and Guzzlord. Europe will have Nihilego, Pheromosa, and Guzzlord. The Northern Hemisphere has Kartana and the Southern Hemisphere offers Celesteela.

Timed research focused on Raids will also be featuring the UBs.

From Nov21 until Nov26, a global challenge takes place! As Trainers meet challenges focused on referring friends to join, new bonuses will become available for everyone during Ultra Beast Arrival: Global! 50,000 Trainers referred: all Trainers will receive a Lure Module via a bundle in the in-game shop. 100,000 Trainers referred: all Trainers will be able to use Beast Balls when facing Ultra Beasts during Ultra Beast Arrival: Global.

Event bonuses are: 1.25XP for defeating UBs in Raids, increased chance of XL candy from in-person Raids, and up to 5 additional free Raid passes spinning Gym Photo Discs during the event and up to two hours afterward.

When you defeat an Ultra Beast in a Raid Battle, the following Pokémon will appear around the Gym that hosted the raid for a short duration: Scyther, Machoke, Magmar, Gulping, Absol, Minccino, Frillish, and Dedenne.

#ultra beast #pokemon go #pokego #nihilego #buzzwole #kartana #celesteela #guzzlord #pheromosa #niantic #xurkitree

[fruit-salad-ship]

Val is so sweet and such a hard worker! Val gets a little pampering sometines too, right?

But of course. While she acts all tough and doesn’t like to be touched, mostly by strangers, she is part of the family just like everyone else. Grey has his rituals with her, mornings when peach is still in bed they’ll both get up, he lets her out the house, sneaks her some milk before the others wake up. Grey knows not to touch her, and instead, sometimes when she’s in a good mood, they will play ‘pass the ball’ a stupid game of lazy catch where they roll a toy to each other for 20-30 minutes or so. A strange form of bonding. Val seems entertained though peach is certain she does it to humour grey more than for her own enjoyment.

Peach will always fluff her many cosy beds up, keep them clean and made, she hates creases in blankets, things have to be neatly done or she won’t sit on them. She gets bites of anything peach eats if it’s safe, endless pets from her if she’s in a rare loving mood, and of course, is given the utmost respect from everyone, her trainer included. She has been given her own den under the floor boards, so that she can hide items and stuff she holds dear to her heart. No one goes near it, strictly her zone. When no one’s around Val likes a belly scratch, and is always in peach’s lap when she’s looking through magazines at the latest Pokemon trends and toys, asking if her partner would want to try any of the new stuff. It’s mostly a no, but she always asks.

Plums the one who’s least welcome with Val, she’s indifferent at best to the ranger. Plum knows this, her personality wasn’t far off this back in the old ranger days, so she tends to leave her well alone.

Val gets regular days off, free to roam and do what she pleases. Every week without fail at least two days off, peach is fine without her, she needs the time out as much as any of the staff. Most of the time she just spars with northern residents, or sleeps on the couch all day.

#fruit salad #brainrot #val

[queenofcandynsoda]

Dystopian Omegaverse AU: Clothing

In general: Married couples would have wedding rings depending on which marriage. When it comes to Gammas and Omegas, they wear mated collars with matching colors. 

Alphas

The clothes for Alphas are tailor-made, expensive clothes that are made of luxurious fabrics. These are Burmese lotus flower silk, Vicuña wool, Koigu Kersti cashmere, and Cervelt. Their clothes can have extravagant designs in different colors as long it is not the main color. The colors must be in shades of black or gray. Some Alphas and most Elders would wear traditional, semi-formal, or informal clothes for everyday wear. For example, a female Alpha Elder from the Far East Regions can wear a black decorated kimono, which is technically called a kurotomesode, with silver embroidery, nacre kushi, seasonal tsumami kanzashi, silver obi, black getas, and white obi. Another example would be a male Alpha from the Northern Isles Region can wear a black tartan kilt with a sporran, Argyll jacket, gold cufflinks, and a pair of black Oxfords. Once they are married, they are to wear a black wedding ring.

Examples

Delta Plus

The Delta Pluses wear high-end, militarized clothes to show off their military power. The primary color is green, though head towards emerald once they were married. Even their casual clothing is heavily influenced by the military, especially for Tamers as they need to assert authority over the untamed Omegas. Speaking of Tamer, they wear strict, military dresses. Men who wear Rifle green suits are either a “Techmancer” or “Securitore”. Once they are married, they are to wear a dark green wedding ring.

Examples

Delta Minus

The Delta Minuses wear smart causal clothes as they are not as active in the military. The primary color is green, though it leans towards moss green once they are married. The smart casual wear allows others to be less tense around them while showing their authority. If they are overseeing Droughters, they would wear sap green, sometimes with a gas mask and riding a horse. When onboard, certain young women would wear more modest dress in a shade of olive green. These women are known as “Missionaries” as they job is to go into other nations and recruit others, primarily Omegas, children, and other vulnerable people, to go to Sol Fertilis. They would do this for three years until they can get promoted to either “Teacher” or “Trainer”. Once they are married, they are to wear a standard green wedding ring.

Examples

Beta Plus

The Beta Pluses wear informal clothes as opposed to Delta Minuses. This is due to their high positions that required knowledge and immense training. The primary color is blue, though it leans towards turquoise once they are married. As they are not in high positions of power, they wear this to showcase their high intelligence. On special events, the women would wear formal hats, such as mushroom hats, bicycle clip hats, and fascinator hats. Girls and unmarried women would wear doll hats, cloches, half hats, Eugénie hats, and cocktail hats. Once they are married, they are to wear a dark blue wedding ring. 

Examples

Beta Neutral 

Beta Neutral wears standard-produced clothes. They can wear pencil skirts, shirtdresses, polo shirts, and sweater vests. The primary color is blue, though it leans towards teal once they are married. They can also wear a standard blue wedding ring.

Examples

Beta Minus

Despite the style, the clothes are mass-produced since they are deemed as uniforms for their respective positions. This can range from personal assistants to newscasters. The primary color is blue, though it leans towards indigo once they are married. Their casual clothes are usually dresses or a shirt and a skirt with flat shoes for women and a shirt with pants for men. Once they are married, they are to wear a light blue wedding ring.

Examples

Gamma Plus

Like Delta Pluses, they wear high-end clothes, such as a wrap dresses, coatdresses, blazers, and dress shirts. Their uniforms are often elegant and tailor made for give off comfort. The primary color is purple or violet, though it leans towards royal purple or burgundy once they are married. They are allowed to wear cocktail dresses, evening gowns, and black lounge suits for special events. Women can wear peach basket hats and pillbox hats. Once they are married, the women must have a head covering, depending on where they are. They also wear a pearly purple wedding ring.

Examples

Gamma Minus

Like Beta Minus, their clothes are cheap, mass-produced, and similar to each other, depending on their occupation. They are basically uniforms with a nametag. The color must be either mauveine, for women, or puce, for men. They would also have some accessories, such as maid aprons, high-visibility vests, hats, and gloves. Their casual clothes are usually dresses or a shirt and a skirt with flat shoes for women and a shirt with pants for men. Female Gamma Minuses must only have minimal jewelry and makeup. For the Pleasure Venues, they would wear costumes depending on which theme. For example, they would wear an oiran costume for the Edo Japan theme or gimp suits for the BDSM dungeon. Once they are married, they are required to have a head covering, depending on where they are. They would also wear bluebonnet wedding rings.

Examples

Omega

This is split into two categories, which are Omegas from Alpha-Omega pairs and “tamed” Omegas from Droughters. The primary color is red. The fabrics for the former’s clothes are mulberry silk, baby cashmere, Pashmina, and linen. For the latter, it’s soft cotton. The children would wear informal traditional clothes. For special events, they would wear formal, semi-formal, or folk clothes. Recently, “tamed” Omegas would wear red/wine mass-produced dresses due to them not coming from Alpha-Omega families. They wear haute-couture clothes once they’re married. Depending on where they are, they are required to wear a head covering of some sort. These include, but are not limited to, hijabs, hanging veils, shpitzels, and mantillas. They also wear a ruby red wedding ring. Maternity clothes are ready for them once they become pregnant. It’s expected for them to show off their pregnancies.

Examples

Pups

Pups would wear white clothes to symbolize their birth, innocence, and renewal. They wear white until they wear the colors on their ranks.

Examples

Droughters

Droughters wears only orange clothes if they are within Sol Fertilis. In the Menageries and Savage Zoos, they wear ragged “savage” clothes. In The Fields, they wear prison jumpsuits. These are clothes barely fit as it provides little protection from the harsh environment.

Examples

#Sol Fertilis #dystopian omegaverse #omegaverse au #clothing