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quill-of-thoth · 1 year

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The Years When I Wrote Stuff

So it’s the wake of the year 2022 and as of two months from now it will be two years since I spent a significant amount of time writing anything. I watched The Glass Onion last night and I want to write a mystery so badly that my stomach hurts, but also I want to go home and time travel is not an option. Feel free to skip the introspection but I miss Livejournal, and I thought other people also waiting for a dead year to be buried who have also tried to make stuff during the last eternity might find this a little cathartic.

I spent my morning rereading some stuff I previously wrote, back in college, approximately a decade ago, and it’s... good? In ways that I didn’t expect, given a whole host of personal factors like ten years experience, the fact that some of what I wrote then was fanfic for a very small and insular writing and reading community and not actually fanfic of a property that exists*, and that what I remember as communitywide engagement is an average of five unique commenters per chapter. (*People who never lived on Live Journal: there were several of these sorts of emergent meta fandoms, long before Goncharov. I was in a handful of them. One of them was the Sims 2 legacy challenge community, where there is no canon, everyone is trying to win points on a spreadsheet while playing a completely different game, and people just straight up borrowed each other’s characters to write combination screenshot and text stories about. It was considered flattery to do it if you could write your way out of a paper bag. Or if your forum threads / livejournal entries got enough engagement to be equal to or more ‘popular’ than the original author. Other metafandoms involved sporking [critical reading of another work with jokes worked in], and meta-fanfic like protectors of the plot continuum.) So, what did I have in twenty mumbleteen that let me write, and do it pretty well for my level of skill at the time?

I was not less depressed: the year that I wrote 48k of cathartic mystery investigation that I still like was not a good one, personally, and the year before it was definitely top three worst. I also wasn’t just astronomically talented at the time: I was concurrently writing a non-fanfic attempt at a novel that has fully earned its position in the mental compost bin. (The physical location is somewhere in a folder within a folder on a thumb drive, probably labeled “junk” and “old junk” respectively.)

I was not less busy: on top of classes I was writing a thesis that was so bad, the singular time any other living human mentioned they’d read it after I graduated, I blurted out “Oh god WHY?” (I got that job anyway.) In contrast since the beginning of the pandemic I have been unemployed off and on and not exactly super busy otherwise. I may have been doing a less overwhelming amount of the work of living, since I was living in dorms at the time, but... (checks my apartment) I think I’d better not investigate how much work of living is technically getting done around here. I honestly think the major difference has been community. Don’t get me wrong, I like tumblr. I like twitter too. There is not a lack of people joyfully engaged in making stuff and talking to each other about it on either platform. We are (probably, at least in my case) a little cooler about it too: twitter’s villain of the week and the eternal problem of internet harassment aside, the dominance of short form and mostly public posting has made a lot more people than I remember aware that joining secret locked fandom groups devoted to hating specific members of your community is a bad thing and not a badge of acceptance into the Big Name Fan inner circle. Also, the first time Diane Duane turned up to my livejournal I acted like an embarrassingly star-struck teenager. Given that I was an embarrassingly star-struck teenager and have since managed to have actual conversations with published authors, I think I may have matured some. But with shorter, faster posts, and an internet economy that is increasingly about advertising, and single streams of information, we’ve definitely lost an aspect of the previous writing and fannish community. Not just the ability to off topic chat in a forum or a comments section with days or weeks between replies instead of wading through the discord, or community reading lists instead of reblogs and quote tweets, or spending hours uploading photos and gifs to new third party hosting sites and re-linking them every time free hosting got discontinued. From my perspective here on Tumblr we seem to have lost a huge amount of support for each other’s projects. Let me explain: back in the days of Livejournal there was fandom, meta fandoms, and original work. The three nations lived in harmony until - okay, technically they weren’t three nations, because we were a bunch of individual people doing a bunch of different things and even if you didn’t tag for shit, if you stuck around and commented enough you met other people. You would get invested in one of their projects, or they would get invested in yours. Most importantly, you would talk about things in the comments section. If you went looking for book reviews you would go to the comments for more recommendations. You’d also get arguments between people you’d never met, essays written by someone who appeared to be commenting on the mirrorverse version of the post you’d just read, and a decent number of bots. But you would be at the party talking about your favorite movies, the novel you were writing, and your thesis in the corners with photos of someone’s cat, instead of shouting across the width of the internet. You can still DM people, yes I know. You can still, if you’re too experienced to be embarrassed by being perceived like @seeingteacupsindragons and I, have a loud personal conversation in public via reblogs and tagging other people. It can even be a relatively private conversation if you’re deep enough into twitter replies or you’re only notable to a few dozen or few hundred people who only follow you in case you have more confessions to make about your former feral gremlin exploits back in the years when you wrote things. I can’t imagine writing the usual fandom disclaimer of “don’t own: don’t like don’t read” the way I used to during a spork or analysis. I legitimately once advertised the story that kicked off this round of introspection with “I obviously don’t own [book series we were dissecting to see why we hated it] because if I did you guys wouldn’t love me anymore.” Not just because it’s assuming my audience has strong feelings about me (easy to assume when there are seven of them and they loyally keysmash every chapter,) but because the firehose of social media feels very impersonal. Not on a caring about other people personally level, but on a level where, outside of fandoms, which aren’t built as sturdily as they used to be, it seems a little absurd to assume people care about your ongoing projects. I’m not saying prior fandom iterations were better. Fandom problems and blog and social media problems have always been the same community building problems dressed up in different posting limits. Human nature has always been that of miscommunication, self interest, and sarcastic asides no matter how low you can sink the stakes. People have always struggled to organize community in the face of corporate censorship, societal bigotry, and Russian government takedown bots.** I’m saying that the things that used to go hand in hand with fandom, like your own oc’s and the ability to spend six months in a fandom and come out with a writing group passionately keysmashing over each other’s original characters and original stories are much, much harder to find than they used to be. (**The bots are not always russian but false DMCA reports and the other apparatus of modern internet bot problems is not by any means new. And the eventual deathblow of Livejournal was struck by Russia. For more information I’m afraid you’ll have to google it all, due to me failing to locate any of the tumblr posts that filled me in on specifics long after the fact, on the very same day I successfully found my old Livejournal story I had forgotten the time of via a string of related tags. Irony, it turns out, cannot die.) AO3 and tumblr have kept fandom going, arguably stronger than ever, and it’s not like metafandom has died, given that it hasn’t even been two months since a critical mass of tumblr users decided to collaboratively write a summary of a movie based on a pair of bootleg shoes. I’m almost guaranteed to get more “interaction” with this post than my average original story in livejournal days. But goddamn it, I miss the comments section. I miss replying to people demanding to know what was coming next with cutesy replies like “well you see, next chapter, [redacted] will [spoiler].” I miss having to break five thousand word conversations into multiple comments and the accompanying ability to trade theories and refute assumptions point by point without either flooding the dash or having to shove it all behind a readmore. (I miss customizeable readmores and the ability to put up a summary to click on or make a cryptic comment about the plot. Upon reflection, I don’t miss breaking up comments, I miss having collapsible threads to discuss specific points of speculation.) Most of all, I miss the semi-private space where people overwhelmingly were not shy about saying “hey, this reminds me of some things in my original story, you want to read some?” and where the link you received when you said yes ended either with you giving out a polite comment about the similarity to the original conversation and ‘I might not keep up with it, but good luck!’ or falling madly in love with someone else’s blorbo. I’ve tried to recapture the magic here and elsewhere, but as lovely as most people in writeblr are there is just so much advertising that it hasn’t worked for me, as a vehicle of actually talking to people about writing. Without a word written of the actual story there’s a moodboard and a playlist and a near-constant feeling of talking to yourself in front of a microphone. We all might want to publish this some day: have two paragraphs and an entire tag of endlessly recycled promotional material about the aesthetic. Everything is a pitch contest and the rules of engagement are written down in a completely different post: above all else act professional. Well, professional enough. You can be a clown and you can be a jerk but you cannot just hang out and expect that everyone will get their own turn to talk about their OC’s, regardless of whether you’re seriously hoping to publish or not. I’d love to talk about the process and art of writing again with people I only sort of know, instead of only doing it in DM’s with my oldest friends. I’d love to drag my OC’s out of the metaphorical compost bin and tell you that I don’t currently have a WIP that is anything like ready for public consumption, much less publication, but that if you watched Glass Onion last night and cried over the idea that you can’t have justice for the ones you love and you can’t bring them back but you can damn well be sure their work was not in vain, you’d love them. They’re my children and they’re my self, they live in my brain and they’re in love and better yet they’re best friends who will never, ever loose each other. Whether that’s to the slow diaspora of having to move across the country to make a living or finding that a dumbass billionaire pulled the plug on the liminal space where they gather. They’re part of a family of orphans and outcasts and they’re the spiritual descendants of a lot of people who taught me a lot about community. They know way more than me about how to help the friends who are suffering yet another pointless accident and wring some kind of catharsis out of a world that has not stopped ending in a thousand different ways since before any of us were born, and it’s only partly because one of them can literally do magic. Mostly it’s because when you write for five people who all hated the idea that resistance to the cruelties of the world is pointless even in fiction the exact same way you can actually give them a single webpage where justice exists, the people who are supposed to keep people safe care more about that than maintaining their structural power, and rich assholes who ruin people’s lives are the ones who go to jail. Now if only my perfect, (but not too perfect) darling, useless daughters would bring me a plot so I could actually use the sadness and anger for something. Even if no one ever reads it.

#longpost #on writing #also on fandom #and writing community #and dead websites #Not actually about The Glass Onion #except in that if you like gay detectives #who hate rich assholes and have decided that not following a social script is a perk of the job #I may have a thing for you to read sometime between tomorrow and the heat death of the universe #depending of course on if the publishing industry survives and if I ever intend to make these blorbos make some money #et cetera #paging the department of nostalgia again

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s-haito · 1 year

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Охайо, Товарищи Тамблера! На связи Хайто (￣▽￣)ノ

Я - юная художница, которая набралась смелости выкладывать свои рисунки в Интернет. Поскольку это мой первый опыт, я решила остановиться на Тамблере. Заранее предупреждаю: Не выкладывайте мои рисунки, тем более с целью заработка!!! Не думаю, что подобное случится, но подстраховаться не помешает ( "-∀-)

Теперь обо мне:

• Местоимения она/ее. Пишу о себе иногда в женском, иногда в мужском роде.

• Я буду писать посты не только на русском, но и на английском ( переводчик мне в помощь ). В случае с английским перевод не всегда будет корректным, за что заранее извиняюсь.

• Я буду выкладывать работы из своих альбомов, блокнотов. Рисовать в приложениях пока не намерена ( мне глаза дороже )

• Увлекаюсь аниме и мангой. Порой делаю значки и брелки.

• Мой стиль рисования часто скачет, так что не пугайтесь. Я не захватила в плен других художников. Все здесь рисую я :Р

Спасибо, что пришли в мой тихий уголок. Распологайтесь поуютнее, а я пойду творить. Пока~

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Ohayo, Fellow Tumblrs! Haito in touch(￣▽￣)ノ

I am a young artist who has plucked up the courage to put her drawings on the Internet. Since this is my first experience, I decided to stick with Tumblr. I warn you in advance: Do not post my drawings, especially for the purpose of earning money!!! I don’t think that this will happen, but it won’t hurt to play it safe ("-∀-)

Now about me:

• Pronouns she/her.

• I will write posts not only in Russian, but also in English (a translator will help me). In the case of English, the translation will not always be correct, for which I apologize in advance.

• I will upload works from my albums, notebooks. I don’t intend to draw in applications yet (my eyes are dearer to me)

• I am fond of anime and manga. Sometimes I make badges and key chains.

• My drawing style often jumps around, so don't be intimidated. I didn't capture other artists. I draw everything here :P

Thank you for coming to my quiet corner. Make yourself comfortable, and I'll go create. Bye~

#ищу свою аудиторию #looking for my audience #новый художник #new artist #новый участник тамблера #new tumblr member

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classlutup · 2 years

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Saw your post about where the TGM fandom is and if you're using Tumblr correctly.

I have been on this hellsite (affectionate) for twelve years now so let me share my hard earned knowledge with you:

The first thing you have to remember is that your main dashboard has absolutely NO algorithm. Tumblr does not fill your main dashboard with things it thinks you'll like, you have to find your own. Which means everything you see on your dash is totally dependent on who you follow and what they post and/or reblog. Because people will only see your stuff if a) they're following you b) someone they're following reblogs your stuff or c) they come across your stuff when searching through specific tags. Basically, unlike almost every other social media app/site, likes do absolutely NOTHING for engagement. In fact, most people use likes as a way to save something to read or look at later (that's I use them 99% of the time).

Now for tags, keep in mind that only the first 20 tags on a post are used by Tumblr to make your post searchable. Any tag after 20 is you just shouting into the void because Tumblr won't use those. Lots of people also use the tags to add their commentary on a post they're reblogging so as not to clutter up the original post. And lots of people also use the tags to just shout out their emotions and feels into the void as well.

Some people are extremely methodical and super organized when it comes to tagging their posts, while others either don't tag at all or tag randomly and haphazardly. It's also common for people to have a very specific tag for specific types of posts to make it easier for people to both search and/or block certain types of posts. Examples of those would be people having a specific tag for when a post is about their personal life or using a specific tag for posts that are just about writing or tagging all ask answers with a specific tag.

Also keep in mind that reblogs don't show up in tag searches, only original posts do. But it's still a good idea to tag anything you reblog since people can search your blog for specific tags. Another thing to remember about tags is that anyone can see what tags you use on a reblog (you can sort the notes on a post to show you just reblogs w/comments & tags).

And if you really like someones tags on a post you want to reblog, feel free to either copy them into your reblog or take a screenshot of them and post that to your reblog. Doing so is very common and seen as kind of a badge of honor on Tumblr that someone thought your tags were good enough/funny enough to make sure more people see them. Common things to add when doing so are phrases like "why are you hiding this perfection in the tags?" or "you can't just say that and hide it in the tags". It's also common courtesy to tag the person whose tags you're sharing.

It's also common courtesy that if you want to rant about something you don't like you either a) don't use it's tag or b) tag it as anti-X. For example, there is a ship or fandom you don't like and you decide to post a rant about it. Don't tag it "ship name/fandom" but instead tag it as "anti-ship name/anti-fandom". That way your negative post won't show up when people who do like the thing are searching that particular tag.

Tumblr also likes to be really weird sometimes and randomly hide posts from tags for no apparent reason. And since people from all over the world use Tumblr, sometimes you have to post things at different times of day for more people to see it. It's not uncommon to see someone reblogging their own post with a tag or comment that says something like "reblogging for the morning/evening crowd".

Just remember that for the most part Tumblr is a fun and unique corner of the internet. Hope all of this helps! ☺️

Oh wow this is a chunky one I feel like I need to take notes.

So I need to follow people I think are funny, tell people they're funny, show I'm funny, be nice and generally not a dick.

Shouldn't be too hard. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and cross my fingers??

Thank you so much for this lovely long tell, I cannot tell you how much it means to me!!

#learning how to use tumblr #im learning #a03 #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #tgm #read my top gun fanfiction please #lead me on a03

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rosejigglypuff76 · 1 year

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I got myself my first Shiny Pokemon in my gameplay of Pokemon Violet! ✨

That being a Male Shiny Kirlia that I named Sven! 💙

If you've seen some of my Pokemon Artworks, where I make some of my favorite characters in Pokemon, I made Sven Svensson from the Henry Stickmin Collection as a Shiny Kirlia 💞

Was able to catch Sven the Shiny Kirlia sometime after I earned four gym badges and got access to Luxury Balls 💫

I also had an objective to get at least one Shiny Pokemon before beating the main game, which ended up being a Pokemon that I wanted to have on my main team 🎀

Speaking of which, I'll be trying to find the time to draw Facade!Sven (from my THSC Facade Collab AU) with an outfit similar to a Shiny Kirlia 💙

That upcoming artwork will be posted on the websites I'm available in such as Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and Instagram itself 🌹

1st Slide - Julie (me) and Sven 2nd Slide - Sven Svensson the Shiny Kirlia

#kirlia #kirlia pokemon #pokemon kirlia #pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #shiny pokemon #shiny pokemon hunting #pokemon shiny hunter #sven svensson #henry stickmin sven #henry stickmin sven svensson #henry stickmim collection #henry stickmin #thsc #thsc au

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cafalla · 5 months

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Pokémon BW Rival Destinies: Battle for the Bolt Badge (2012) Comic Storybook Scans

I've got a couple of scanned Pokemon books for today! Mainly because tumblr only allows 30 images per post, and if I combined both posts it'd be too long! Here is a link to the post about the second book!

Both books are from the Black & White anime era of Pokémon, titled BW Rival Destinies. They are “adapted” from episodes of the Black & White anime. By adapted, I mean they simply retell the story of the episodes with screenshots and a comic-like layout and style.

The first book is titled “Battle for the Bolt Badge”, and retells the anime episode “Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!” This book and episode cover Ash’s gym battle with Elesa.

They have a three count Pokemon battle, and *spoilers* Ash wins in the end and gets his gym badge. But you probably already guessed that outcome.

Here’s some of my favorite parts of the book!

Elesa sends out Zebstrika, and Ash sends out Palpitoad. I’m crying over the way Palpitoad is just staring down the barrel of a flaming zebra gun three inches away from his face with a smile, unbothered, head completely empty.

Palpitoad just has so many great expressions. He's the star of this book for me.

What a goofy guy.

By this point Zebstika is eliminated and Elesa has sent out Emolga. Who, by the way, says “Emo, Emo!”

I know it’s common for Pokémon to use abbreviations of their own names in the anime, but this one is SO funny. Emo, Emo!

Emolga casts attract on Palpitoad and looks cute doing it.

Palpitoad gets knocked out, and Ash sends out…Snivy? Against an Emolga? Even Ash’s crew is confused at this move.

Snivy eventually falls, and Pikachu joins in as Ash’s last Pokemon. He takes down Emolga, and the final fight is Pikachu v. Tynamo.

Tynamo proceeds to beat the sh*t out of Pikachu.

Is it just me, or is Tynamo HUGE? I looked up their heights, and Tynamo is canonically eight inches tall, while Pikachu is one foot four inches.

It's so funny when creatures in games are portrayed bigger or smaller than they actually are. I understand it in a Pokémon game, given the limited framing of battles, but even in the game Tynamo is portrayed as quite small. Definitely smaller than a Pikachu.

Maybe this Tynamo is larger than most. Or maybe it's normal size and everything in the Pokémon universe, including people, are tiny. That'd be kind of funny considering the size of Tynamo in comparison to both Pikachu AND Ash in the above frames.

Anyways, I'm thinking too hard about this, I know it's not that deep. Lol.

Pikachu picks himself up and defeats Tynamo, earning Ash the Nimbasa badge.

The End!

。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°

Here is the link again to the second book!

As always, you can read the whole book(s) and view higher quality scans on my Internet Archive account.

Thanks for reading!

#txt #scans #my scans #pokemon #pokemon black and white #pokemon bw rival destinies #pikachu #palpitoad #emolga #tynamo #pokemon ash #pokemon elesa #pokemon iris #pokemon cilan #2012 #comic book #story books #nostalgia #books

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

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I've been following your blog for a while now and I love your writing and your meta! I was wondering, do you consider Levi and Hanji's relationship to be romantic in canon? Do you consider it canon that Levi had romantic feelings for Erwin?

Thank you for the ask anon, also, thank you for ruffling my feathers a bit too :D. I’m glad you like my writings and meta and I hope that my works continue to bring you joy.

The types of questions you asked up there could only lead to the types of answers that can spark ship wars. I mean the dialogue in 136 and the change in kanji for chapter 132 hinting their own ships canon were enough to have Eruri and Levihan shippers bashing each other on twitter tbh.

Personally, I see the romantic potential for both Levihan and Eruri in the show. That’s why I found myself reading a good number of Levihan and Eruri fics. (But lots more Levihan if it isn’t obvious from AO3 bookmarks and my tumblr title). I mean lots more romantic potential than let’s say.... ereri

Do you consider it canon that Levi had romantic feelings for Erwin?

I’ll answer this one first. No. I don’t think Levi had romantic feelings for Erwin anywhere on the show. Was there potential for something to bloom? Possibly, that’s why I still read eruri fanfiction. I like exploring the possibility if Erwin wasn’t a little too obsessed with his dream, maybe their relationship could have turned out differently.

In canon, by the time they introduced Erwin, Erwin had already forsaken all romance and I think whatever feelings Erwin had towards romance rubbed off on Levi and their relationship ended up being more professional than anything. Due to Erwin’s one track mind and the position he had taken upon himself. any romantic possibilities between them in canon was just harder to make happen.

Levi though still had strong feelings towards Erwin. It’s undeniable. Erwin had given Levi purpose to live and direction on where to go next, what to do next so that’s why regardless of whether canon had made it possible or not, this relationship is still very interesting to explore.

Erwin was more professional and cold than Levi imo and honestly, despite the cold demeanor of his best friend Erwin, Levi was an incredible softie at heart and we’ve seen that side of him multiple times, when he gave Petra’s badge to that one soldier, when he stared at that one mother and child when they were on the wall ready to leave to retake Shiganshina.

We all know Levi begrudgingly wanted that soft side of him indulged and between Erwin and Hange the one more likely to indulge that softie side of Levi was Hange.

Which brings me to the next question.

Do you consider Levi and Hanji's relationship to be romantic in canon?

I wouldn’t be obsessively writing Levihan fics if I didn’t see it as romantic in canon. But at the same time, I don’t believe Hange and Levi have been in a relationship since Season 1. My headcanon here is Hange and Levi built that relationship over time and this relationship just rapidly progressed after season 3

It’s incredibly subtle which is one of the reasons people like to pretend it doesn’t exist. Probably because they’re trying to promote another ship or they don’t wanna see romance in AOT

But I don’t think a relationship developing subtly is at all a sign that it can be more platonic than anything else.

In fact, most healthy relationships and most relationships from a bystanders point of view, develop subtly. Like we were the bystanders in many other developing relationships in real life, I think we, the audience of AOT, were also bystanders watching the subtle development of Hange and Levi’s relationship.

Let’s think about how we’ve watched relationships develop in real life.

If we’re not invested, they happen incredibly subtly. These people are just constantly together, then eventually we realize we can’t invite the other without the other, then we realize we can barely get them alone, then we realize the person changed and eventually they drop this bomb saying “by the way, I’m dating this person now.”

This pattern happens way too many damn times among my friends though and people I just randomly watch everyday that it just became so expected for it to develop into romance so eventually, when I’ve seen the formula play through, I tend to lean on the side of ‘yeah, they’re probably togteher or getting there.’

Yeah, I get it, there’s a danger in assuming that people are together. I’ve seen enough romantic relationships develop though to realize that leaning on the side of ‘romantic’ given specific signs is usually the correct assumption. In fact, I have earned a good amount of money irl winning bets with my friends that two people are actually together but are hiding a relationship (or possibly are in denial).

What are some of these signs?

The way they treat this one person is so glaringly different from how they treat other people

Through the years, I have lost a lot of my best friends to their boyfriends/girlfriends and as the youngest child, I have watched all seven of my siblings get into a relationship and believe me, a lot of them have a certain line they would draw on what they are willing to do for their close friend or sibling and what they are willing to do for a lover.

I have seen people in love so willingly have their hand crushed while the person they love has their fingers set back. “Hold my hand as hard as you need to.” I’ve seen my friends take a detour 1 hour away from the destination just to pick up the person they love. And here’s the thing, they wouldn’t have done it for anyone else usually, they would have only done that thing for that one person.

Yes, okay doormats exist. But even people with doormat syndrome, the threshold of what someone is willing to do for a close friend and for a person they love still differ regardless. In a life or death situation, I think both Levi and Hange would have fought to conserve lives but if we consider small things, like routines, groceries, small favors, I feel like Levi has an incredibly low threshold of what he’d be willing to do for a random person. But Levi still carried her groceries for her so he could meet her with Moblit in the smartpass. Levi still picked her up and waited for her in Season 2 when she was researching the rock. And for Hange, chapter 115 is all the hint you need. I honestly don’t know if Hange would have gone through those lengths for anyone else but selfishly abandoning commander duties for one guy? She practically said screw you to everyone else.

The way they talk to each other is different.

This is something I notice in real life too. Most people won’t notice when they themselves do it but it��s incredibly obvious for listeners if the listeners look out for it. The tones of people’s voices change when they’re talking to someone they love. For a lot of people, sometimes their voices get a little high pitched. For others, sometimes their voices get a little softer. Just watch when you’re talking to a friend and suddenly their SO calls. (It might not apply to everyone but I find this incredibly common.) Not just tones, speech patterns change or tendencies too. In front of that one person, sometimes people are a little more selfish. Like maybe, they don’t usually say what they want to eat but when the one person asks, they would answer because suddenly they know what they want.

With Hange and Levi we have the ‘let’s live together’ and the ‘dedicate your heart’ respectively.

These are two expressions/phrases they would have not used with anyone else. There was probably more in canon, but these are just the most glaringly obvious ones with two pivotal scenes that blatantly show that Hange and Levi do have signs of the above.

Hange and Levi who are generally very selfless all business people, are suddenly only selfish with the person they love. Hange with “let’s live together?” An injured Levi deciding to rest and sleep despite the fact that they were in a war because Hange was nearby to take care of him?

Those two were suddenly selfish when they were alone with one another?

They are constantly together.

Okay, irl, you can see this when you have all your friends ride in a car together and somehow, it’s always them taking those two seats next to each other. They leave the classroom together. They leave every single dam room together. And it could be subtle or not but they always wait for one another. Yet if one person is not there, they’re the type to just go ahead and leave without giving the room behind them a second look. When someone wants to buy something, the other always has an excuse to come. And oh my god, when you call your friend in the middle of the night to hang, that person is always in their dam house or in their dam room, no breaks.

And Hange and Levi have their equivalent of this.

Levi literally picked Hange from her lab in Season 2 while she was injured and he had no need to.

I think I have made a post where Levi and Hange are shown constantly together but lemme make some points. Even early in canon, why were Hange and Levi introduced riding next to each other, they’re not even in the same squad. Why were they riding out the gate together? Shouldn’t Levi have been with his squad and shouldn’t Hange have been with her squad?

Yeah sure, maybe they just decided to ride together. But why were they next to each other in the Ilse’s notebook too when they went out the gate? And even when they were going to take back Wall Maria, Levi and Hange were next to each other in the lift, they were back to back on Wall Maria.

Like the only expedition where they weren’t riding together was when Levi had to protect Eren yo.

“They’re both leaders of course they were together” Mind you, Levi’s position in the military is a special one. He’s the captain of a special operations squad and not at all a squad leader so he shouldn’t be riding next to Hange if it were by “leaders” and in the retake Wall Maria, if they were divided by “leaders” why didn’t Hange take the lift with the other squad leaders? Why wasn’t she back to back with the other squad leaders on top of Wall Maria?

Why did she pick to hang out with Special Ops squad Captain Levi of all people, in every. Single. Damn. expedition. Scene.

And don’t even get me started on post Season 3 man. They’ve been inseparable since Erwin died.

They literally come in a set.

And you kinda realized your friends are in love when you wanna invite one of them out and you realized you kinda have to invite their special little friend by default.

And Hange and Levi are just like that too,

Hange and Levi have always come in a set. In fan art, in those advertisements, Hange and Levi are always next to each other. In those fan audiobooks, smart passes, there are always Levihan crumbs. Attack on Titan Chuugakkou was literally a testament to the canonicity of Levihan since in that show, they didn’t even hide anything, Levi and Hange were always next to each other. (I think Hange actually ended up living with him towards the end?) Post Season 3, I don’t even think there were many seasons where Levi and Hange were apart and when they were apart it was more of for duty than anything else.

Hange was always with him when she could, despite her duty as commander. Given their circumstances, they wouldn’t even be together a lot if they didn’t make the effort too.

Especially towards the end, 126 - 132, the few times Hange did leave Levi behind were for commander duties but Hange never left Levi for the lulz. And also, in 132, Levi was magically able to walk when Hange finally left him behind, and Levi could barely walk in 132, yet he still pushed himself to stand up, walk toward her and attempt to stop her.

In fact, Hange’s first scenes were next to Levi and Hange’s last scenes were also next to Levi “See you later Hange.”

And I think the huge efforts they put to being together despite their circumstances says a lot already. Hange and Levi’s treatment of each other and their being together constantly in general is a huge testament to the canonicity of their romance.

Sure, there were no ‘I love yous’. But really, before our irl friends who were in love actually came out to us, maybe months or even years after we’ve watched them be joined at the hip, were there really ‘I love you’s between them or did we all just place bets on it because they were just being too glaringly obvious about it in how they treated each other?

#levihan #levi x hange #levi x hanji #meta

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cosmictulips · 2 years

Text

A sort of Reintroduction

because it's time to clear some things up

also thank you to @introvertedlion7711 who will either be tagged or not because tumblr.. isn't showing... your blog as I type this lmao --- for the beautiful name suggestion because I saw it, I screamed and I knew it had to be mine uwu.

so with the mess of the discourse, and a bunch of people unfollowing, following, etc. and the fact Im at 4250 posts and 425 followers, I figure it's time that a lot of people know what my blog is because it has kind of had some small booms lately and a lot of people don't think my blog is anything outside of tarot.

and I got some news for you LOL

so let me reintroduce myself since been years.

Hi!

I can't form question marks without tumblr doing something weird! my name is Taryn, but please call my Tulips or Cosmic. or Taryn. Idk. whatever suits ya lol.

I am 25 years old, going on 26. Astrologically speaking I am a Taurus Sun, Virgo Moon, Pisces Rising. I have Mars and Saturn in my first house, and I have a sagittarius midheaven. many people like me, many people don't. it's interesting because I also have Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune in the 11th house. so... pls... be my friend uwu I like talking to people.

I am a witch of many things! Ocean stuff, Space stuff, Earth and Nature stuff. Hedge Witch. I'm a hedge witch lol. Not to be confused with Plant stuff because I can't keep plants alive but I sure do love to know about them lmao.

I have plenty of tags which you can find in my pin post. Id recommend checking them out because a lot of it, you can't find anymore because the person deactivated lol. I'm like a weird time keeper.

and this is the stuff I like to reblog and post about. not just tarot readings. and tarot stuff.

In terms of witchcraft and all these fun divination things, I've been doing it for a long time. since I was 11. Tarot since I was about 16 but fully committed at 19. I work with many Gods. Norse and Greek. though I know a lot about Celtic and Roman as well. My sister works with the Norse Gods so while I don't personally worship them, they have popped up for messages and are pretty chill with me. so that's nice.

My gods that currently worship are as followed :: Zeus, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Nike, Soteria, Eirene and Enyo. these are in no particular order of importance of my life. though Aphrodite is always hanging around my shoulder.

In recent time I've felt Eros, Apollo and Hermes sneak around. so I'm trying to work with them as well as Hecate and Hestia. Hestia in particular wants me to practice Bindrunes so at some point you will all see that too. I got a deck coming in at some point in the year. so be on the look out lmao.

I have a temper. a lot of you have seen that already. it's not an attitude problem, it's a respect problem. I'm a very nice person until you disrespect me. that's just how it is. I don't believe respect should be earned, it's automatically given and it's up to you to keep it. that's all I will say about that.

I can understand 4 languages. French, Dutch, ASL and Japanese. Japanese is a little wishy washy but it's getting there. I'm also learning Norwegian, Greek and I'm thinking about getting into Korean or Mandarin. idk.

UHm but yea going back to like, the witchcraft and astrology stuff. I am dominant in Uranus energy. Uranus, Mars and Saturn. what a FUCKING trio lmao. I have a lot of fire and air in my chart so have fun with that. and I guess capricorn since Saturn is like... my top guy. these aren't the first, second, third placements by the way. they're a three way tie LOL.

I am Dyslexic. I have ADHD if you haven't noticed, and I have a lot of anxiety to the point of paranoia....and anger issues. I won't be afriad to admit that. I'm working on it though. it's why my perfectionism is so strong and my will to survive is so weak.

I don't really care to talk about that kind of stuff though. I don't see it as a badge of honor like a lot of other people. I just see it as a way of my life. the fact that I even have to put some of this in order to gain some sympathy from some of you is kind of annoying. but whatever. it is what it is. and i"d like you to know this bit about me.

some other fun facts about me::

1. I get horribly motion sick a lot.

2. I get headaches... every day. regardless of what I eat or drink. I don't know.

3. I think my ears are fucked up LOL I once lost hearing for a whole year. I don't know.

4. I am a twin =)

5. fastest way to my heart is to send me photos of your pets. you'll get a free reading from it and make my night.

6. Id like to be an Ambassador someday. or a Linguistic Anthropologist. travel around the world, learn languages and help restore cultures and languages that we're so constantly losing.

7. I'm a huge humanitarian. I care way too much about other peoples suffering. it's almost... debilitating lmao.

8. I'm dumbly intuitive. you can't get much past me. sorry.

9. ask me about space. ASK ME.

10. Tulips are my favorite flower c=

#witchblr #witch community #tarotblr #introduction #witchblr introduction #reintroduction if you will

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writersarchivex · 3 years

Text

New Job- One Shot

a/n: basically y/n just got a new job, and before her first day she goes out to celebrate with some friends. she meets harry at the bar. things happen. b o o m.

warnings: angst, adult language, drinking, mentions of sex.

!theres no smut in this guys . give me a break this is my first time posting on tumblr!

words: 1.6k

After months of looking and years of hard work at college, Y/N finally got the call. She had gotten her dream job at a law firm, which might not sound like much but it very much so is. All her life this had been just what her dad wanted for her, to grow up and become a powerful lawyer and strong young woman.

So that’s what she did. She worked her ass off, never attending parties and never straying far from the lines. Pretty much everything she did was to please the memory of her beloved father.

Tonight though, was a change of pace for Y/N. A group of her friends invited her to the local bar, after finding out about her new found job.

“Come on Y/N. One drink. Live a little before you jump into that great job of yours.” Mia said into the phone.

Y/N sighed and looked around at her apartment. She didn’t really have any plans for the night, and there wasn’t any harm in having one drink with her friends. I mean, how often do you get to celebrate things like this right?

“Fine, Mia. Just one drink. No funny business though, I really can’t go in tomorrow with a hang over.” Y/N smiled.

One drink very quickly became two, and two became four. Y/N was very drunk. The room was a bit blurry, but she was certainly sober to know she’d had enough.

Mia and the group were having a blast, and of course she was as well. This type of thing was never Y/N’s scene. She was more of the ‘stay inside with a blanket and a book’ kind of girl.

She kind of hated nights like this. The smell and taste of alcohol overpowering her senses, drunk sweaty people dancing around, and a black dress that was all too short and uncomfortable.

After looking at her friends a while more, she had decided she was done. It’s way past time to call it a night.

She gave a smile to know one in particular, and turned to get her wallet.

She did not expect though, to be met with very pretty eyes and the most gorgeous hair she has probably seen on a man, or any human being for that matter.

“Can I buy you a drink, love?” The man asked, eyeing her carefully up and down.

His voice was dripping with attractiveness, and a beautiful english accent.

“Uhm, I really should be going. Thank you though,” She did her best to be polite.

Although the man looked like a literal gift from God, she really needed to get home.

She missed her pajamas. And her cat.

“Come on, just one. If you really wanna go after that, I’ll call you an uber.” He smiled.

Okay, by now Y/N was very sure she was dreaming. No man that sexy can possibly be that kind. Nope.

She looked at him carefully, like he did to her just moments ago. He was quite tall compared to her, and he was wearing a very nice suit, that fit him perfectly. A businessman maybe?

The man continued to patiently wait, until she gave her answer.

“Okay fine one drink, can I at least have your name?” She smiled at the curly headed man.

He clapped his hands together softly, and let out a chuckle.

“I’m Harry.”

——————————————————————————

Y/N felt the warmth of the sun on her as she slowly sat up in her bed. The memories of last night still a mystery in her mind.

All she knew is that, somehow she was not late for work.

And there was someone in her bed.

A man was laying next to her, facing the opposite direction. From what she could see, he was hot. He certainly had a very nice back.

“I’m Harry.”

Memories from the night prior flooded her mind. She began to slightly panic. She’s never experienced anything like this before, and she didn’t quite know what to do with the man in the bed next to her.

He was fast asleep, and right now she wishes she were dead. Out of all the stupid things she's ever done, this seems to take the cake.

Trying her best not to wake the man, Y/N made her way quietly out of her room. I mean, she could just get ready for work? Let him wake up on his own?

With the few times that she had gotten drunk in the past, she's never really had a hang over. Call it good karma, or maybe just luck.

She examined her self in the mirror, noticing the hickeys that littered her pale chest.

"Jesus. Couldn't he have aimed a little lower there Harry." She grimaced, turning away from the mirror.

Although she felt a little stupid and embarrassed, she didn't really regret sleeping with the man in her bed.

He seemed mature, which is always nice in situations like this. Not to mention he was mind numbingly attractive.

—

Soon after her shower was finished and she had gotten ready for work, she stepped out of the bathroom trying her best to prepare to wake the man up.

It took every bone in her body not to just let him stay there until he deemed fit to leave, but she figured that wouldn't be the best of ideas. She walked down the small hallway and quickly noticed the smell of coffee surrounding the apartment.

Walking into the kitchen, the man was stood in just his boxers, patiently waiting for the coffee to brew.

Standing there she decided to indulge herself a bit. She never really gets the pleasure of housing someone like this in her apartment, so she figures it wouldn't hurt to admire a bit.

"The mugs are in the top cabinet." She was a bit surprised by how weak her voice was, considering how confident she was last night.

He turned quickly and gave her a quick smile. He seemed a bit wrecked, which was a given under the circumstances.

"Hangover?" She asked, slowly making her way to the medicine cabinet.

He nodded and sat with his cup of black coffee, placing his hands around his head.

"Yes. You seem perfectly fine though. Is it bad that i kind of wish you were hungover too?" He laughed a bit, but quickly grimaced at the sound of his own voice.

What he said made her giggle a bit, before she handed him a few ibuprofen.

He mumbled a quick thank you and finished his cup of coffee.

He stood, placing his hand on either side of the counter where Y/N sat.

Suddenly, she felt like she was in junior high all over again. Y/N felt her cheeks go hot and it felt like every sign of breath had vacated her lungs.

"Hangover or not. From what i can remember, last night was great." He said in a slight whisper.

He was close enough now, that Y/N could feel his breath on my neck. It sent shivers down her spine and she could've swarm she would die right on the spot.

He placed his lips on hers gently, and boy she could've sworn she felt sparks. Her whole face was on fire at this point. No man, or woman, has ever had quite this effect on her.

"I wish I could stay love, but I have to head in to work in about an hour." He said, tracing circles on the side of her arm.

She smiled and looked at the clock, she still had about thirty minutes before she had to get to the firm, and living pretty close surely helped her situation.

"It's okay you can go. It was nice- meeting you Harry."

He gave her one last kiss on the lips before returning to the room to get dressed.

—

Y/N was actually quite sad that he had left. She wishes he could've stayed longer, but she wasn't going to be that girl.

It was a one night stand, and nothing more.

She sighed and looked up at the polished building. Her cup of coffee had gone a bit cold, but she drank it nonetheless.

She checked her watch quickly, and decided it would be best just to go ahead in.

Y/N was very nervous. She worked hard and earned her position, but she was still a bit worried about how her arrival would be taken.

She was a nice girl, and she hoped that people would treat her the same.

She got a few looks as she walked in, but most everyone continued on with their business as if she was just another intern. That she was though.

"Y/N hey!" She stopped in her tracks as her close friend Liam flagged her down.

He stopped in front of her and began to give her the run down of the building.

"Here's everything you need, badge, ID card, and I wrote down the pin numbers to the break room doors. Oh and you have a quick meeting with the boss in about five minutes. He's running late, so you can just go wait in his office." Liam panted.

I was a bit overwhelmed with all the information he gave me, but I did my best not to show my nervousness.

"Okay. I'm going to head there now. Wish me luck okay?" She grinned at the man.

He gave her a quick hug, and then hurriedly made his way over to his office.

———

The bosses office was quite bare. She'd never seen or met this man. Y/N was hired by the head of the department she'd be working in. This man that she was meeting with was the head of the whole damn building.

Kind of intimidating, but it's nothing she can't handle.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the door opened and closed quickly.

"I apologize for my lateness, Miss Y/L/N. I was stuck in morning traffic." A familiar voice rang out.

She grimaced and turned around slowly to face the man.

Her boss.

"Harry?"

#harry styles #solo harry #harry styles fanfiction #fanfic #harry styles x reader #harry styles fluff

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sc-passions-and-pastimes · 3 years

Text

We’re so grateful to everyone who is taking time out of your days to enjoy these incredible works. Your kudos and comments and Tumblr reblogs and social media posts are the sweetest treats for the creators.

DAY 7 REVEALS

someday you'll carry me up a mountain, too

[Patrick Brewer/David Rose - E - 18,463]

David Rose. Gorgeous, interesting David Rose is flirting. With him. In the past, flirting had been enjoyable, a nice way to get to know someone new. This is different. It’s exciting. And fun. And makes his stomach swoop and his knees weak. For the first time in his life he finally understands the appeal.

Or...

Patrick Brewer, newly single and fresh off a break up, has himself a vacation fling, that leaves him wanting more (HEA, of course!).

Outside Edge

[Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & David Rose, Patrick Brewer & Stevie Budd, Sebastien Raine/David Rose - M - 12,114]

Patrick's barely-there-brows pull together. “Hey, I’m doing you a favor here—”

And that's it; that's what completely sends David over the edge.

“—I'm sorry, doing me a favor?” David cuts him off before that gets any further. His voice is doing that shrill thing he's apparently well-known for, but he can replay the memory and hate himself for it later. Right now, he's pissed. “How about you do me a favor and take your little hockey bat and sh—”

“O-ookay!” Stevie half-yells, literally stomping her way between them. Her angry expression turns to David first: “David, he is your only shot at competing this year. Literally your only option.” She turns that look in the other direction: “Patrick, this is your only shot at competing again at all. Literally no one else on this planet is desperate enough to teach an NHL retiree how to dance on ice.” She folds her arms over her chest. “So, either suck it up now or quit.”

Kinship

[T - 7,303]

Stevie grabs the photos and the papers and the heartbreak, stuffs it all into the box, and pushes it into the back of her closet.

Family is complicated. Taking a DNA test doesn't change that.

Practice Makes

[Theodore "Ted" Mullens/Alexis Rose - G - 2,605]

This, Ted decided, was his favourite part of Christmas. Not the presents, which were just okay, and not the time off from school, which he didn’t really like that much, but this – making cookies with his mother.

Ted, his cookies, and five Christmases through the years.

[Podfic + filk + fic] measure by measure

[Stevie Budd/Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands, Stevie Budd/Alexis Rose, Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands, Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands - T - 2,296]

Black Sheep's debut album, At My Fingertips, is up for Album of the Year and Rock Album of the Year at the Grammys. But anyone who knows of Twyla Sands (lead vocals and guitar), Stevie Budd (bass guitar), and Alexis Rose (drums) can't help but fixate on the question everyone's asking: are the three of them more than just band mates?

Ruth Clancy, lead reporter for Rolling Stone, is here to find out.

(This fic contains podfic and music composed and performed specifically for the podfic!)

Rainbow Rose

[Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd/Ruth Clancy - G - 2,190]

David had expected lots of things to come from Schitt’s Creek, but being one of three prominent queer establishments was never one of them. He actually assumed he would be hate crimed within his first few weeks here. Instead he found the most welcoming community known to man.

----------------------

Don’t forget to keep tabs on the works you check out with our spreadsheet. You’ll earn badges along the way!

NOTE TO CREATORS: If your work is part of today’s reveals, please update the posting date of the work to today’s date so it shows up fresh in the AO3 feed.

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sonicasura · 3 years

Text

Balan Wonderworld Review - Favorite Costumes Part 1

I have officially beat the game with every single Gold Balan Statue in every level, got the Balan Costume, got all the main game costumes and the latest section of the Tower of Tims that I need to unlock being the sixth section.

I had quite a ball playing the game despite Square Enix being backstabbers to Balan Company and the game. Now, this huge ass review will split into different categories and will have their own page. These categories are:

Favorite Costumes

Level Design and Level Music

Boss and Boss Music

Now, these picks will be my personal opinion. I'm starting with costumes because it's probably the hardest out of these to choose from since every costume has incredible designs to them.

There will be two picks for each Chapter: a Common Costume and a Rare Costume.

Common Costumes are those you can easily find in each act. If you can find them in multiple spots in one act or they can seen im both acts then they count as common.

Rare Costumes are ones you have to go the extra length to find. Some are hidden while others require certain costumes to get.

The Balan Costume isn't being counted for obvious reasons. It is the only costume found on the Isle of Tims and it's requirements are staggering.

How To Get Balan Costume

First you need to feed the Tim Statue on the isle a certain amount of Rainbow Drops. Once it's full, you need to get a white Crowned Tim. This very Tim can be acquired by getting Tims with three badges.

A Tim can get a badge for consuming the equivalent of 30 Tim Drops(3 large drops) in either blue, pink or red colors. You need at least 2 Tims with all 3 badges and then breed them together. It is trial and error so I suggest getting multiple Tims with badges but also exit the game if ya fail to get a white Crowned Tim.

Once you have the Tim, do a level and it should be the proper size to pick up. Throw it at the statue and it will become the Father Tim. That big Tim will fly you up to the costume so you can get. If ya lose the costume, then give the Father Tim more Rainbow Drops. Rainbow Drops can be given by redoing stages, bosses or Tim Statues scattered about the levels.

Now let's get started.

Chapter 1

Common Costume: Tornado Wolf

An obvious choice for me. Wolves are one of my favorite animals and werewolves being one of my favorite mythological creatures. Tornado Wolf can be found in Act 1 and in the Boss Level. A simple jump engulfs the player in a mini tornado that can reflect wind projectiles and break blocks.

Powerful, agile and cute plus Tornado Wolf just gives me Werehog nostalgia since I'm a Sonic Unleashed fan.

Rare Costume: Jumping Jack

You can't just give me an adorable kangaroo and one of the better costumes when it's comes to movement. Jumping Jack can only be found in Act 1 so it's actually rare. This costume allows the player to do a flutter jump, great for getting extra air, reaching slightly far platforms and a decent recovery.

It's a costume I suggest stocking up on since you can't get the better mobility options until Chapter 6 Act 2. Also love there's a plushie in the pouch and the white patches of fur. Kangaroo are marsupials who do carry young in their pouches, and the silver tufts just add extra charm to the design.

Chapter 2

Common Costume: Jelly Jolt

Very useful! The Jelly Jolt is the perfect costume when it comes to electric resistance and make enemies stay five feet away while you shock them to hell. Can be found in Act 1 and the Boss Act. First time seeing an adorable jellyfish that actually doesn't mean harm.

Jellicent, Frillish, and Healslimes don't count considering the former have a habit of wrecking ships and the latter is a pain in the ass in boss fights or tough opponents. Also, all of these attack you! Case in point.

Rare Costume: Double Jumper

Definite pick for many reasons. This costume can only be found in Act 2 and requires the Fixer Upper Costume in Chapter 12 or the Frost Fairy Costume in Chapter 8(harder difficulty for reaching it).

It allows you to double jump, a godsend when it comes to reaching Balan Statues, costumes, recovery and careful platforming. You can get some major air with this costume and makes backtracking for certain levels easier.

I love the demonic imp design too. Imps are agile and mischievous creatures after all. Just like the basis, this costume is difficult to grab like the imp.

Chapter 3

Common Costume: Sickle Slicer

Slickle Slicer are one of your first go-to for fighting spiked enemies. This costume can be found in Act 2 and the Boss Act, it allows you to throw sickles that act like a boomerang. If you do a combo, these sickles can go farther than their already decent range.

The design is a very nice touch since the praying mantis can be considered a high level predator amongst insects. The costume is quite agile which helps in a pinch against fast opponents.

Rare Costume Itsy Bitsy Elf

A mini chinchilla perfect for tiny doors. Costume can only be found in Act 2 and takes some careful platforming to get. Suggest using the Jumping Jack costume if you don't want to wait for the better option in Chapter 6. This costume lets you enter tiny doors that often hold Balan Statues or Balan Bout inside. Very adorable, very fast (probably second fastest in the main story) and super fun.

Chapter 4

Common Costume: Aero Acrobat

Holy Balloon Popping Batman! This costume can be found in Act 1, Act 2 and the Boss Act. It allows you to pop balloons and even jump kick enemies caught in the crosshair. Balloons are scattered about in various levels and this guy is a great option of transport to reach these specific areas.

The aviator outfit makes it even better and I love bats. Probably my favorite flying mammal of the bunch since I often have a bat ally in games like Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, a Crobat for hunting escape happy Legendaries in Pokemon and Hidabat in Yokai Watch.

Rare Costume: Happy Horn

My first performing costume. It can be found in Act 2 and performs on special stage platforms scattered throughout chapters. A good way to gain some extra drops and hear a different version of stage clear. Not only is the costume charming, this is the first time I actually like listening to a marching band.

Chapter 5

Common Costume: Guardian Bird

The first costume to find in Act 1, can also be found in Act 2 and the Boss Act. The Guardian Bird costume lets you throw a mini whirlwind in midair. A nice costume to have for hitting far off opponents and counter wind projectiles.

I love the purple and yellow of the feathers and that orange mimics the bandana and ponytail of the costume's human equivalent. This costume is quite quick and good for dodging, the ability can act as a last second recovery should the need arrives.

Rare Costume: Sickle Slayer

A much stronger version of the Sickle Slicer that can be found in Act 2. One of the early options for breaking iron blocks or fighting iron coated opponents. The extra bulk does slow down the player but the payoff is worth it.

The larger size, serrated sickles and the color palette proves that this is a costume you rightfully earned. A sign that you can handle the much stronger costumes that can be found in the game. The general amongst the Sickle race.

Chapter 6

Common Costume: Pumpkin Puncher

The Fruity Boxer! A costume found in Act 1, 2 and the Boss! This costume lets you punch opponents from afar with straight Rayman equivalent punches. Doing a combo even extends the range. A faster hitter than the Sickle Costumes but also great at getting tons of Drops from Negati. If you take out tons of Negati in a single costume without changing or getting hit, the number of Drops they give increases.

I love the design since it's practically a scarecrow boxer. The outfit is cute, has a sort of fanciness you can only find in medieval periods in wealthy districts.

Rare Costume- Air Cat

The princess of platforming. This costume can only be found in Act 2 and allows the player to walk on air for a short amount of time. A perfect option for reaching far off areas, recovery and even avoiding ground hazards.

I've used this costume A LOT for most of my playthrough of the game. Even go back to Chapter 6 just to restock if I run out. This costume is that good. Very adorable too, just has this Artistocats nostalgia to it as well. Also I am a cat lover, literally got 5 cats at home and all are rescues as well.

That will be it for now. Part 2 of Favorite Costumes will be out sometime this week. I would've put the whole thing here but Tumblr limits how many pictures you can add to a post, 10 to be precise. Also, I don't want to make this too long for any fellow readers.

Until next time folks! See ya back in Wonderworld.

#balan company #balan wonderworld #balan wonderland #my personal opinion #costumes #balan wonderworld costumes #video game review #sonicasura #personal favorites #balan company's innocent #fuck square enix #fucksquareenix

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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 3 years

Text

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch11 Back To Motostoke

(Warning: Contains another fight between younger reader's mom and herself in a flashback. It was pointed out that I accidentally posted the wrong chapter by mistake. My apologies to my tumblr readers, Ill see to it this won’t happen again. Here’s the missing chapter for the events between Chapters 10-12. Enjoy.)

To say you two had a long night when you got back to your hotel room was an understatement. The boys jumped at the first chance they got asking Gloria how the dinner went to which she just let out a long drawn out 'Uuuuuhhhhh' and you had to cut in saying that he had just asked her about the gym battle and her day. Which she seemed thankful about you doing to save her the trouble. Luckily neither seemed too miffed about Glory getting to dine with THE Chairman Rose apparently, you certainly didn't enjoy the experience other than the free meal. You changed the subject by asking Hop when his battle was to which he proudly stated tomorrow. Alright! Seemed cleaned cut enough......Surprise, surprise it wasn't. The four of you ended up having to stay another two days instead for the one you all planned because Hop had lost the first battle with Nessa, visibly upset about the entire thing. Quite understandable. But to your surprise once meeting him outside the stadium he seemed...rather happy. Quickly finding out the reason not only because Nessa have him her ultra rare league card as compensation but that she offered to battle him again a second time first thing tomorrow morning to which he quickly agreed to. So the four of you agreed to spend another night in Hulbury. The next morning the four of you left bright and early for the stadium and after waiting for Hop to redo the gym challenge again, watched him battle Nessa for a second time. It was intense. It was stressful. And it was certainly rough on both parties. But you were SO glad Hop was able to win! Not only because you wanted him to win, but because you didn't want to spend another day in Hulbury. It was a close one too. With Hop winning two out of the three rounds but it was a good enough score to earn the badge! And he was proud to show it off as well when the three of you managed to meet up with him again outside the stadium by the Hulbury lighthouse.

He had smiled instantly shoving the bronze-golden badge out to you three with the same patterns that was on Gloria's water badge. "LOOK!! I FINALLY GOT IT! And on my second try too! Pretty good huh?"

"You were so cool out there!," Gloria excitedly complimented him smiling widely. "Now we're all caught up!"

"Doesn't make us less rivals y'know!"

"...Hey. Speaking of gym badges," you cut in gaining their attention as you gestured towards the badge in Hop's hand. "Do you guys know which gym you wanted to go to next?" You were really itching to get out of Hulbury by this point and just wanted to GO.

Gloria opened her mouth to speak but Hop beat her too it making all of you look back at him. "Actually, I have one on my mind."

"What is it?"

He turned to Gloria. " All right, Mate. You've got both the grass badge and water badge by now right?" She nodded confused. "In that case, we're both headed for Motostoke and the fire gym leader Kabu!"

All three of you stared shocked at him. The twins seeming at something else, and you because MOTOSTOKE. As in the city you all started in?! Hop wanted all of you to walk back ALL the way there to challenge a gym leader!? WHAT-

"What!? We have to go all the way back to Motostoke for that?!"

"KABU!?", both the twins yelled at him and you rose a brow at their reaction.

"....Ok. I feel like this is the part where someone tells me more about this gym leader."

With a slightly worried look Victor turned to you. "Kabu is the Galar Region's Fire Type Gym Leader and his gym's in Motostoke. He's also the only gym leader who's not from Galar himself."

"He's also the SECOND most powerful gym leader behind Raihan," Gloria jumped in frowning, "If Raihan and Leon weren't in the picture he could've easily gotten the title of 'Galar's Strongest Gym Leader' or the Champion itself. He's been known to make a whole bunch of trainers quit the entire gym challenge as a whole because they couldn't win against him." She turned back to Hop raising a brow. "Which begs the question on why do you want to go there next of all places?"

"Nessa suggested I go there actually." She did? That sure surprised you. "She said if I wanted more of a challenge for myself then he'd be a good canidate to battle before we reach Raihan. I thought it would be a great idea to challenge myself even more!"

.....Gloria hummed. "Actually you might be onto something. We can't get stronger unless we push ourselves..." She smiled. "Ok! Count me in too!"

"I think the both of you are in over your heads." Victor sighed. "But if that's where you wanna go then fine. We can take the train."

You felt internal relief you wouldn't have to walk again, but that begged the question. "Exactly how long would it take to get back there?"

"About another month by walking. Two weeks by corvinight taxi. And five days by train over nights too."

"Yeah..We're taking the train this time."

There was one tiny problem with that notion tho. The morning train had already passed so the four of you had to wait in the shade of the train station for at least another two hours until the afternoon train came rumbling up to the station at last! As nice as this place was, you wanted to leave as soon after you and Gloria attended the dinner with the Chairman and his assistant. After hearing he had come there often enough to have 'a usual' dish you didn't want to accidentally bump into them again especially after what you did and getting the off feeling about them. It was too weird, so you were glad to get on the train. You were slightly afraid you wouldn't be able to get on without paying but luckily you slipped through the bars quickly behind Gloria after she scanned her train pass in the slot and piled on inside with the rest of the kids and a few other people who either got on too or were leaving.

"Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. We will be leaving Hulbury Station in five minutes. Please gather all your belongings and exit or enter accordingly. Next stop shall be Nester Town. Thank you for using Galar Transportation for your traveling needs," a man's voice came through the speaker over head and you gave it a raised brow. You had to remember there was more than one town in Galar since now it wasn't just a game. ...In fact with how big this region was, it must've been home to millions of people like a region back in your world.

The four of you all settled into the train cars and gotten yourself situated into one of the seats with the table between them. The twins on one side and you with Hop facing them as you sighed into the soft seat cushions. It would be nice not having to walk somewhere for once at least. You also assumed Sonia must've had the same idea about taking the train outta here because you hadn't seem her since she excused herself and ran out from the dinner about two days ago now. Oh well. Where ever she was, you were sure she was fine. After all you slightly remembered her reappearing later in the game too, so if events were going as they were in the original game then you would most definately see her again soon. But for now you sighed content to just tug off your backpack and leave it on the floor at your feet, your sobble taken residence on the table between you all, and you just leaning back into your seat and looking out the window waiting for the train to start moving again. Not really paying too much attention to what the others were talking about-

"How about I share with you a little tip about that leader, Kabu?" Your eyes blinked back over to Hop who was glancing at his phone you assume reading something. "From what I heard, he's holed up now in Galar Mine No. 2 undergoing special training."

"What?!," Gloria gave him a look. "He's underground while the gym challenge is goin' on? What kind of gym leader does that?"

"If he's in there then we can't take him on in Motostoke even if we zip right over there, putting the breaks on our gym challenge!"

"That's what I literally just implied....Wait. How long has he been in there?"

"Uh.." Hop quickly flipped through his phone's screen. "According to this...since about three days ago."

"WHAT? Who trains in a cave for three days straight? ...What if he's not out by the time we get there? We'd be waitin' for days by that point!"

"....So I say we head to galar mine no. two ourselves!," Hop decided lowering the phone from his face. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about!"

"Uh-...NO!!" All three teens looked at you as you frowned and crossed your arms in a stern pose. "No. No. HECK NO!! I went through one mine thank you very much and was almost caught by miners chasing us because someone wanted to take a short cut. We can go and wait for him like every other person."

"...You did what!?"

"Actually Galar Mine Number two is open to the public since it's naturally a part of the Wild Area," Hop explained ignoring Victor's earlier question. "It's full of a lot of water pokemon since it's connected to an underground spring. You can also find a couple Wishing Stars if you're lucky. ..Huh. Maybe that's why he went there?"

Unconvinced you rose a brow but sighed and leaned back into your seat just as the train gave a small little lurch before slowly beginning to pull away. The kids going back to talk among themselves about mines and gym leaders. Despite not walking, you had a feeling this was going to be a long trip back to Motostoke. ...And you weren't wrong either. The world went past as the train moved along as a rapid pace, the town of Hulbury quickly disappearing from view as it did. Replaced by nature and forests, and the distant view of the ocean side within a matter of minutes. As the talking of the kids and other passengers chatting in the distance continued you pressed your forehead to the window and closed your eyes. Peace allowing you to drift off for the moment as for once you had no worries and nothing weighed on your shoulders, so you got a well deserved break for once. The next five days for the four of you were a bit uncomfortable but managable. A lot more managable than camping at least. When night fell you four decided that you'd take the two empty seats across the small walk way from the four of you so each of you could have one place to sleep comfortably(or as comfortable as you could sleep on a train) and would take turns staying up to make sure none of you missed the stop at Motostoke. Or in case something else happened. Victor volunteered to stay the first night up that rolled around which you were thankful for and the other three of you slept. The next morning you woke and you were greeted with the sight of Victor barely awake leaning his head against the table. Guess he kept true to his word. He only had time to east a couple things Gloria shoved into his hands from your food rations into his hands before he ended up falling asleep leaning against the wall. You felt a little guilty for letting him stay up for so long but it was for a good reason. The second day went as well as the first. The train rode on, Victor slept most of the day away only waking up around sunset before going back to sleeping again that second night, Gloria excitedly showed you the battle between herself and Nessa from the League's official website as well. You watched and had to agree with Gloria that it was a very close call. Managing to defeat Nessa in the first round, losing the second, and then just BARELY winning the third. Good thing it was a good enough score to pass. She was certainly stronger than Milo from what you'd seen. When it came the second night Gloria ended up volunteering to stay up that time stating that she'd use her favorite videos of the League's past battles to keep her up as she always stayed up and never missed a detail when she did watch them. This being confirmed by Victor who looked a little worried over that but was too tired from last night to argue and it was agreed. Day three rolled around and it was the same as the first two. Only this time Gloria spent most of the day leaning against a slightly annoyed Victor snoring. Did she always snore? You must've been too deep in sleep to notice before now, at least Hop found his friends' situation amusing. And then guess who got volunteered by Victor to stay up that night as revenge for laughing at him. Hop wasn't very amused after that. And thus the fourth day came and everyone was awake minus poor Hop who laid upon one of the empty seats during most of the time there. But it was a matter of fact your turn to keep watch as they all slept and agreed without hesitation. After all it was only fair. During the entirety of the trip so fair you all rationed out the food you bought from Hulbury whenever hungry, and walked up and down the walk way between all the train seats if you needed to stretch your legs. Many people coming and going and sometimes giving the one taking up a whole seat to sleep a strange look before moving on. The conductor announcing each stop and as you all came to it. So far none were Motostoke but it was only a matter of time. That night you stayed up as slowly one by one the kids and your sobble fell asleep leaving you the only one awake as the sun set and was replaced with the moon and stars in the silent night. The dark nature of forests and meadows flew by quickly only with the occasional town or house in the countryside lighting up the landscape. It was actually rather peaceful and beautiful. You could almost fall asleep. And you almost did quite a few times but you managed to jerk yourself awake each time. Gloria had offered to let you stream some shows on her phone just as she had done before but you had declined the offer.....Maybe you should've accepted because your eyes slipped closed once. And once again like in your dreams you were back home. A much younger you. Around Gloria's age of fifthteen or so. You were playing a game. The whole surroundings were fuzzy..as if you were seeing everything through a foggy telescope, being able to see things but being too blurry to see much of the finer details. Younger blurry you looked up just as angry footsteps stomped their way towards you and whatever game you were playing. BAM!! With a loud bang your door was flung open hitting the wall and younger you jumped to your feet as the blurry form of your mother standing in the doorway. Even if her face was blurry you could tell she was very angry.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?" She shouted angrily as you dumbly stood there. Even as she stomped over and swiped the controller from your younger self's hands. "I told you to study for your year's finals and what do I find!? You playing these stupid games after I slave away at a minimal wage job that barely covers the bills as it is!! Do you want the electricity bill getting higher!? Do you not want to get into a good college!? No daughter of mine is going to be stuck with her mind in the gutter from these dumb timewasters!!"

"HA!"

Your head snapped up colliding with the cool window of the train which in turn made you curse out as your hands instinctively shot up to clutch at where you hit your head. Groaning and looking around, it took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dark again....And you sighed in relief seeing the sleeping figures of the kids and your sobble sleeping facedown on the table. Your hand went from rubbing your head to rubbing your face as you let relief wash over you....A dream...It was just another dream thank goodness. But one you weren't keen on revisiting. Safe to say you didn't fall asleep again that night, nor did you the fifth day despite the kids insisting you at least take a powernap before you arrived but again you refused dodging the questions and eventually they dropped it but kept giving your very tired form worried looks every so often. The day was a blur as you kept drifting in and out of small sleeping spells until nodding off that fifth night, barely remembering Victor volunteering to stay up a second time for that night before completely nodding off into a thankfully dreamless slumber.

"AH!! Y/N WAKE UP!!"

"AH!" Once again as if fate thought it'd be some funny joke, you ended up hitting your head against the window...again...and once again you cried out and clutched your head. The only difference this time was that someone was dragging your half awake butt out of the seat as your brain barely registered what was going on as you barely managed to stumble to your legs getting dragged out. Another person grabbing your other arm and pulling along with whoever was already making your barely upright body hurriedly stumble down the walk way of the train. Your brain began to finally catch up and you realized the two who were pulling your staggering form was Hop and Gloria with your sobble desperately clinging to her enormous backback. By the time you fully registered what was going on they already had you stumbling into what could only be the inside of a train station. "What the-"

"You couldn't have woken us up?," Gloria barked at someone and you blinked over tiredly where she was looking as Hop ushered your staggering form over to one of the seats. Took you a moment to realize that it was Victor who was sluggishly putting his grey beanie back on his head.

"M' sorry," he tiredly mumbled. Judging by the bags under his eyes and the tired look he gave, he was in need of some sleep. "I guess I must've dozed off when we passed the station in Motostoke."

Your blood ran cold as you stared at him and Hop made you sit down. Passed Motostoke!? Any sleepy feelings were mostly dashed out at the spike of concern. How far were you away from Motostoke then!? Were you going to have to walk a long way back there!? Take another train back!? Were you going to miss the chance to battle Kabu?!

"Actually this is better than stopping in Motostoke."

.....The three of you turned to Hop as he smiled. "....Excuse me?"

"Yeah!" He pointed towards the outside of the station. "Mine Number two is located just out of Motostoke right? We're back in the Wild Area. Which means we can go to the mine sooner and see about the hold up with Kabu!"

...Gloria slowly gained a smile. "Oh yeah! I hadn't realized that! That's why yer a genius Hop!" Hop chuckled shyly at the praise. Tho Victor very much disagreed as he frowned.

"What?! We can't just go to the mines as soon as we step off the train! What about getting a spot at Budew Drop Inn for sleep!?"

"There'll be plenty of time for that!" Gloria waved her brother off as he scowled looking like he was about ready to yell at her.

Guess you'd better step in. "Hey. Calm down you two." Both of them looked towards you as you frowned. "Gloria, Victor has a point. He's tired and probably needs some sleep....Maybe we should go back to Motostoke City and let him get a couple rooms for us-"

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!!," Victor yelled out reaching around to grab his backpack from the slew of seats offered too by the station.

"....What?"

Tiredly, Victor looked at the rest of you three. "You all can head to the mines and I can go reserve our rooms and wait for you. I'm tired."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." You interjected pointing a hand at him. "You REALLY expect ME to let you go into Motostoke by yourself when you barely got any sleep last night??"

"I'll be fine," he insisted regaining his composure and sighing as the weight of the very large pack settled back on his back. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wait for you guys here and we can take the noon train back into Motostoke in a couple hours."

You paused for a moment before turning towards the door outside. It looked like the sun was just starting to rise from the night and the train was starting to pull away at this moment. It was pretty early in the morning, so if you left now then the four of you could make the noon train back in time. And Victor could get a bit of rest..but you were a bit unsure about letting Victor just stay here by himself. So you looked back at him. "Are you sure you wanna stay here by yourself?"

"I spent an entire year by myself traveling before Gloria even started this journey," he confired waving his hand. "I'll be fine for a few hours...*yaaawwwnn*"

You still weren't too convinced but agreed that this would probably be a better plan than letting Victor try to go into Motostoke by himself and drop from lack of sleep, or having Hop or Gloria just run off into a mine. (especially since that worked oh so well last time.) "Ok. You win. But I at least want you to seat over here where the station master can see you in case something happens, alright?"

Victor sighed but nodded. "Fine. But make sure you guys get back before the next train otherwise we'll have to wait for the night train or walk there."

The three of you agreed before exiting the station and once again you found yourself standing in the Wild Area like you did a month ago when you were on your way to the Entrance Ceremony. It may have only been a little more than a month ago but it felt like forever ago now. It still looked the same as it did when you first arrived here minus the giant herd of wild wooloo on the tracks. Hop walked up next to you and looked around at the lovely sight. Commenting on how cool it looked. To which you agreed before turning over to Gloria who finally walked out of the station stuffing two pokeballs into her bag as she walked up to you.

"Hey. What are those?," you asked gesturing to them.

"Some people in there didn't want their eevee and pikachu. So I got both of them."

You rose a brow but decided not to comment on that, instead looking around. "Ok. So do either of you two know where this mine is? I don't remember seeing it last time we were here. ..Mostly being chased around by a giant onix and battling super powered pokemon."

"You're never going to let me live that down are you?"

"I do." Hop beamed before pointing off to the fight across the giant spacious open land to where a pretty decent area of trees were huddled together by a hill side. "It's there by those trees according to the map, and every other site where it's listed. C'mon! We can get there and be back in like two hours."

While you were weary of wondering around an area where wild animals-...Er..Pokemon could chase after you at any moment, but seeing no other option the three of you began walking. Despite you still feeling a bit tired from not sleeping the night or day before last night, you felt alert looking around you three in the grass and plants as you walked. Making sure no pokemon jumped out at the three of you as you walked and walked..and walked before the cliff side jutting out of the earth surrounded by trees. As you three approuched and managed to pass through the trees you finally came across it. A giant, dark opening within the rocks being only lit on the inside by a few lanturns strung along the walls leading down into it.

"This is it!," Hop excitedly exclaimed as he picked up his pace gesturing for you two to follow him faster. "C'mon! Kabu's close! I can feel it!"

Increasing your speed you followed him into the cave's opening and blinked as mostly darkness overtook your vision. This cave was BIG, way bigger than the last cave you and Gloria traveled through. The ceilings were high and the same gems as the last one was scattered about the wallas....as well as a few construction workers and equipment.

......You pointed at them. "Hey. I thought you said this was public area!"

"It is," Hop's voice from somewhere ahead of you called back, "But they can collect Wishing Stars here too so they come by and collect them."

Oh that made sense, you glanced at the workers for a little while longer before turning back about to ask Hop something but stopped....They were gone. "....HOP!?" You shouted getting only an echo back, and some of the workers looking at you before you took off in the direction his voice came from. Oh great! First minute in the cave and already you lost these kids!! "GLORIA!? HOP!! C'MON YOU TWO!!" You called out but surprise, surprise only got your echo back. ...Great. Well you better find them before they got in trouble again or any of you got lost. As you traveled farther in with only lanturns plastered on the walls for light, you began to notice how it was connected with the Wild Area. There was pokemon all around here. From bat-like pokemon hanging from the ceiling, a couple scraggies hopping about, and more than once in this GIGANTIC cave and it's caverns, you walked by a small cave like pond and could've sworn you saw some kind of red crustation pop in and out. But with the limited light it made it hard to see and find out for real. More than once you would call out either of the two's names but the only answers were more echoes of your voice, and the sounds of scared pokemon as they fled from your voice. Your sobble(who had regained it's spot on your shoulder after leaving the station) was staring around wide eyed with chirps, occasionally reaching out towards the sparkling stones on the wall. "Yeah. I know they're pretty. But we can't stop and look at them right now. We need to find those two before they get in trouble again." Your sobble chirped curiously grabbing at a sparkling stone from a very close stalagmite as you passed it, the rock easily plucking free as he tugged it. Looking at it curiously...before sticking it in his mouth. !? "HEY!" In an instant you grabbed him by the chin. Your other hand trying to open his mouth as like a child, the sobble squirmed and pushed away. "DROP IT!! BAD POKEMON!! SPIT IT OUT!! IT'S NOT FOOD!!" Instead of listening your pokemon turned his head cheeks puffed out as your fear of him swallowing something that could hurt him rose. "Spit that out or I'm never going to let you have bites of my curry ever again!" This time the sobble paused, looking at you for any signs of deceit, but you absolutely meant it. Holding your hand out expectantly to it.......It opened it's mouth and the sparkling stone fell right into your hand. Quickly you pulled it away from your sobble releasing it with a scowl. "Good boy. Now don't do that again! Rocks aren't edible!" He gave off a chirp in protest but didn't do any more than pout like a toddler on your shoulder. With a sigh you shook your head and looked at the small stone in your hand...Huh. This one didn't look like all the others on the wall. Maybe it was a different one-

"You!" You jumped at the sudden voice. Blinking around at who could've said it when your eyes landed on someone walking towards you in the dim light with pale features. ..Your f/c eyes widening when you realized who it was. Standing before you was Bede! You hadn't seen him a little over a week ago by now, but for some reason he was here and he frowned at you. "It's an inconvience in of itself that I run into that girl and the Champion's chatterbox younger brother, but now I run into the very lady who disrespected the Chairman's assistant as well! Are you all trying to get on my nerves or is this bad luck on my part?"

It took you a moment to respond as he rubbed his head but you frowned right back at him. "Look, Kid. I'm not the one who straight up walked up to someone who's minding their own business and rudely ask about why I was here? For all you knew I could've just been going for a walk or sight seeing the famous Mine Number Two or just exploring the Wild Area. Did I come up to YOU and accuse you of following us from Hulbury? No. No I didn't."

Bede stared at you from under his hand, brain seeming to process what you were saying before a deeper frown is what he chose to go with. "BAH!! Never mind then! I've wasted enough time as it is down here especially after running into those two again. Now if you'll move aside I'll be taking my...." He froze. Purple eyes widening at you, and you rose a brow at his all of a sudden silence. ".......You." He pointed right at the sparkling stone in your hand. "That Wishing Star! Give it to me."

...You held up the stone. "Y'mean the rock this guy tried to eat-" Hold up! Weren't Wishing Stars the magic stone thingies everyone used to gigantamax their pokemon around here!? " You already have one of these." You pointed to the band on his wrist. "Why do you need this one?"

he gave a small growl of frustration. "I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you, Woman! If you won't give it too me then I'll just take it from you!" With that he whipped out a pokeball.

"Oh for the love of- You can't be serious!"

With a toss and bright like a small Gothita pokemon exploded in black in white in front of you. .....WHY was the first reaction for everyone to just whip out a pokemon to intimidate you if you hesitated even just a little bit?? This kid absolutely had NO manners! "Gothita will make quick work of you and your sobble if you don't hand that stone over to me this instant." He was REALLY getting on your nerves. You stepped forward. He smirked. "Another challenge? Really I couldn't be more inconvenienced today as it i-" You stepped OVER Gothita who looked confused as it why you weren't standing farther away sending the sobble on your shoulder to battle. Bede seemed also rather smackgobbed as well. Guess he hadn't ever experienced someone who would physically step over his pokemon instead of battling. His eyes widening as you walked right up to him with a scowl.

You stared a moment at his frozen and confused stance before deciding to talk. "Y'know. Obviously you have no manners. The Chairman should be ashamed of himself if his endorsed challenger is so rude to someone minding their own business and demanding things like a spoiled toddler who's never been told no before."

Bede flinched. Blinking rapidly in your shadow before seeming to regain his voice. "D-Don't talk about Chairman Rose like that-"

"I WAS talking about YOU, Bede!" He flinched back as you leaned forward. "Obviously no one ever taught you manners so I'll teach you a quick lesson in them right now."

His eyes became smaller. "L-Lesson? What l-lesson you m-mad woman-"

"Is THIS what you want?,'' you cut him off holding the wishing star to his face. He paused for a moment, almost going cross eyed as he looked at the thing in front of his face...before reaching a hand towards i- You held it away from him with a scowl. "NO. You don't take things that don't belong to you without asking first. Now I'll ask again. Is this what you want?"......He nodded. "Ok. Do you know what please and thank you are?"....He nodded again. "Good. Now what do you say when you want something?"

He didn't answer at first. Looking at you with some unreadable expression. Confusion? Shell shock?...Maybe fear? ".....May I...please have that Wishing Star, Miss?" Narrowing your eyes for a moment you eventually held it up to him and he reached for it again.

"Yes, you may. But I want an apology first?"

He paused again. "....A-Apology?!"

"Yeah. For acting so rude before. If you really are the better person you will apologize because I don't think the Chairman raised a boy with no manners."

You both stood there for a moment not moving or breaking eye contact before he backed down first and looked away. "Tch! Fine! I'm.....sorry! Now can you please just give me the stone so I can leave!?"

Smiling satisfied you nodded and held it out to him...he...slowly finally took it from you. "What do you say?"

"Mmmm....Thank you," he forced out through gritted teeth as you nodded.

"Good. Now I have to go now but I don't want to be talked to rudely like that again if I ever see you again. ...And don't call me Woman. My name's Y/n. I know you're better than that, Bede." He paused....blinking and looking up at you again seeming to be so, so confused. "You said you saw Gloria and Hop right? Did they go down that way?" You asked pointing behind him. Still staring he slowly nodded. "Ok. Thanks. You be careful getting out of here ok?"

He didn't say anything and just confusedly watch you step around him silently and continue walking away down into the dimly lit cave. At least you were on the right track now. Hopefully you'll be able to catch up with the two of them soon. And by soon it meant it'd take longer than you realized, coming across a fork in the road as hey say and leaving two caverns tunnels to chose from.......You ultimately decided on going left since it was more lit and figured they'd be smart enough to also go down this passage way. As you walked you called out a few times more still getting no answers. This was getting ridiculous!! Where could those two have gone!? Surely they couldn't have gone THAT far away from you in the short time you weren't looking!

"Thank you for helping out with my training, Team Yell." You paused as the voice rang out....What was- "But I must say it's unforgivable for you to get in the way of a carkol hard at work." ...OK! THAT WAS DEFINATELY A VOICE!! Granted it sounded older and nothing like the two kids, but if someone was down here then maybe you could ask for directions or if they saw the two. You broke out in a job up the tunnel towards the voices up ahead.

"We weren't gettin' in it's way! We were tryin' to cheer it on!," a different man's voice insisted loudly. What the-

You rounded the corner as the tunnel gave way to a giant cavern and you froze....OH NO NOT THEM!!

"Still, you did a number on us in that pokemon battle so...it's time for Team Yell to scarper and give a morale boost elsewhere!," one rock star wannabe said to an older man and standing next to another rock star wannabe.

You stared dumbfounded. SERIOUSLY!? What was the chances that you'd run into them all the way down here again!?

"Cheering is one thing but one shouldn't get in the way of honest work,'' the older man scolded the two of them.

You rose a brow at them, eyes slowly going to look behind them. And widening as you saw two teens standing in the entrance of another passage way across the cavern room. ...You frowned. "HOP!! GLORIA!!" Everyone either jumped or snapped their heads over to you as you shouted at the kids' direction. "Dang nabit! Why'd you run off from me like that!? Don't you know how to wait up!?" You started walking over towards them.

...One rockstar wannabe grabbed his friend wide eyed as he stared at you walking past. "C-Crikey! Bro, it's that dame that nailed Andrew in the eyes with dirt!"

"Wha- Seriously!? Let's get outta 'ere before that sobble starts singing a sad tune yo!"

You paid no mind to the scattering footsteps as you walked up to the now gulity looking pair of kiddos. "There you are! *sigh* Do you know how worried I was running around here like a headless chicken?"

"......What's a chicken?," Gloria asked.

"We're really sorry, Y/n," Hop apologized frowning, "we thought you were right behind us and then we ran into some trouble."

"Oh yeah. So did I. Bede needed some manners taught to him."

"Wait..Ya saw the Mareep Head??"

You nodded. "I ran into him on his way out. He said you gave him some trouble."

"By trouble if ya mean kickin' his behind-"

"Nevermind that. Y/n we found him!"

"Found who?"

Hop pointed behind you and you turned with a brow raised. The old man was petting a pokemon that looked like a giant living piece of coal. "There! That's Kabu!...Man, he's wicked! No wonder he's the fire-type gym leader!"

...THAT was Kabu!? Well whaddya know. It made sense since by looking at him now, he wore an unmistakable gym suit. The old man, Kabu, looked up at you three from petting his pokemon and gave a polite smile. "Ah, you are the trainers endorsed by Leon! Hop and Gloria, am I right?"

Both pair of young eyes went wide at him. ".....You know our names!?"

"Yes. Leon has spoken about you before. And your concerned friend just literally shouted your names just now."

"......Oh. W-Well we're here to see you actually! A-About having a pokemon battle!"

"Naturally you would. I'm just training right up until the last moment so that I can guarantee the perfect match when I face you gym challengers."

"Oh really?," you asked and he nodded, "This deep in a cave?"

"I specialize in fire-type pokemon, and the water-type pokemon in Galar Mine Number Two are the perfect opponents to train against, Young Lady."....He hummed and you all watched as he looked at a watch around his wrist. "....Regardless it's getting late. I must leave if I'm going to get the gym ready by tomorrow." he looked back to the three of you with a smile. "Just go straight once you get out of this mine and you'll reach Motostoke. Get a good at the hotel, and make sure you're both in your top condition." He turned around calling to the pokemon. "Come on, Carkol. Time for you to head on home, too. I'll make sure you get there safely. We're going to be on fire tomorrow!" He began jogging off and the thing lumbered off after him with a grunt of it's own. The man looked old enough to be your grandfather and could still jog as fast as you had done earlier. Impressive.

"....I remember Lee talking about Kabu." You blinked over to Hop as he looked at where Kabu disappeared. "He said that a lot of gym challengers give up because they just can't beat Kabu. Man, now I'm getting all fired up too!"

"Yeah. Well, I'm tired out!" Both paused looking at you. "C'mon. You heard what he said. Let's get back to Victor and get to the Inn."

The three of you started making your way back out of the mine and back towards The Wild Area Station. You were tired and you could use a rest before catching the evening train back into Motostoke where you began in the first place. Surprisingly you made it out faster than it took going in the caverns.

"That carkol from before," Hop commented off in thought, "I guess it must've been here on a job. You do know about poke job by now right?" You nodded. "Course you do! I bet he hired that carkol to train with him or something!"

"You might be right, but after today I think I just want to get to the hotel and relax."

Hop nodded. ".....Oh hey. I think we found out who those guys in the punk make up were?"

You froze. Nearly stumbling over your feet as you did so before snapping your face over towards the boy. "WHAT!?"

He nodded. "Yeah. They called themselves Team Yell. Which is weird cuz I've never heard of them before and I don't remember Lee mentioning them at all. What about you Glor?" Gloria shook her head no to his question.....Team Yell?? They were team Yell?? What name was that?? Any 'team' you knew from the Pokemon franchise was evil. Team Rocket being the most obvious in your mind, but if that's true then does that mean those Rockstar wannabe's are more dangerous than they seem? Did Team Yell have a world domination scheme from the game!? You tried to wrack your brain for any and all possible villainous plots in the game that could involve a whole bunch of rockstar make up wearing hooligans....But ended up with...absolutely nothing!! DANGIT!! You couldn't remember anything from playing it years ago! ....*sigh* The only thing you could do now was push on and keep your eyes peeled for any possible trouble they'd cause you. "Now, I'm cream-crackered." Hop's voice snapped you back into reality. "I'm for the Budew Drop Inn and some sleep. Come tomorrow that Fire Gym Leader Kabu better be ready because I'm coming for him!!"

Gloria nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We better get back ta Vic before he decides on givin' us another boring lecture on being late."

You couldn't agree more either. Maybe some more sleep will help you think more clearly than normal. The three of you made your way back towards the station with the afternoon sun rising high in the sky, upon entering you discovered Victor exactly where you all left him. Fast asleep leaning back in one of the chairs. He must've been more tired than you realized, maybe it was for the best he stayed behind here. It took only an hour of your four waiting, appreciating the small break your body got, before the afternoon train came rumbling on in as per usual. It was a jumbled process of trying to wake up Victor who acted like a caffiene lacking zombie until you and Hop decided 'Screw this' and both of you picked him up by either side and dragged his half asleep, staggering, groggy butt over and onto the train with Gloria right behind. It wasn't much easier pushing him into a seat next to you and trying to wake him up for the ten minute ride back into Motostoke, before unsuccessfully doing so and resulted in both of you again half dragging Victor off the train in Motostoke station and on your way to Budew Drop Inn with Gloria trailing right behind you three. Sure it was hard, but you couldn't imagine trying to do this walking all the way back to Motostoke through the Wild Area with dangerous pokemon about, so the train was much better. It took a bit of lifting and slight yelling from Hop for Victor to wake up, getting some strange looks from other people as you went, but by some miracle the four of you somehow managed to make it into the inn you stayed at before during the entrance ceremony. The golden statue still gleaming as ever as you and Hop struggled to get the mumbling Victor up the stairs and over to the bewildered looking clerk at the front desk. WHAT THE HECK WAS IN HIS BACKPACK MAKING HIM SO HEAVY!? It was an effort to keep him up standing as Hop smiled awkwardly at the man.

"Uh hi! We need two rooms for the night please. And fast before my friend decides to drop dead on us."

The clerk blinked for a moment before slowly nodded. "Oh. Of course. Are you challengers here to battle against Kabu?"

Hop nodded. "Yeah that's us alright. Or will be once we get some sleep."

The clerk nodded in understanding smiling. "Oh yes! Wait here for a moment and I'll get you your room keys."

You rose a brow. "Don't we need to register?"

"Oh no. Mr. Kabu has graciously told us to put any registered gym challengers' stays on his tab and send him the bills. After all he doesn't know how long they'll stay before quitting and going home. He's a kind man that doesn't want them or their families stuck with any expensive hotel bills if they stay for a long time before getting stomped out," he said so casually like it was no big deal. ....You and Hop gave each other a look..before exchanging one with Gloria who just shrugged at the both of you. The clerk turned around. "Just one moment please while I check and see which rooms would be available."

"Jeez. If Kabu's this tough, Rahain and Lee's gonna be even more tough-"

"Excuse me." The three of you looked over your shoulder towards a soft polite girl's voice with an accent you couldn't place. Standing there was a teen around these guys' age in almost gothic attire and right blue eyes. At her heels was a small pokemon who you'd call hamster like. Except she wasn't looking at you or Hop or Victor. But Gloria. "Uhhh. Challenger Gloria, Right? From Postwick?"

Gloria blinked in surprise seemingly surprised, before raising a suspicious brow at the girl. "Yeah? ....And yer who?"

"Marnie." She answered politely back. "Out givin' it your all even this late, huh? Hey. Help me with somethin' for a sec. Would you?"

Gloria remained silent for a moment. "....Help you with what?"

"I want t' see if I'm ready for the next leg of the Gym Challenge."

"...Why me?"

"You're one of the challengers endorsed by the Champion. I figured the best way to see if I was ready at all was t' see if I'd be able to beat a fellow gym challenger before I leave. Would you like to battle with me?"

"Gloria. We need to get Victor to his room so he can sleep," you countered feeling the weight of Victor start to weigh down more on you.

"I know, I know but...." She looked between the girl and the three of you. "She asked for my help, and it'd be rude to just say no right?" You gave her a look. "Oh c'mon please, Y/n! It'll be quick. N' and out! Easy peasy berry squeezy."

....You groaned. You really didn't have time for this! " Fine! But please for the love of Mike hurry and get back? We've been running around all day and you need rest for the battle tomorrow!"

She beamed. "Ya got it! Get ready ta have your team beat!"

The girl smiled. "Wicked! Got some fight in you, Huh? "

"You bet! Let's do this!"

You sighed and turned shaking your head. Only distracted from them when Hop grabbed the keys from the clerk and jingled them at you to let you know you two could now go and get Victor laying down. As the two of you turned to struggle Victor towards the elevator the girls left-....!? Your head snapped around as a dash of red and black crossed the corner of your eye, but it was gone the moment you turned around.....What the-

"C'mon Y/N! He's gettin' too heavy to lug around for much longer."

...You turned back to the elevator before the doors closed behind you. It was probably nothing anyways. Right now you had a kid who needed to sleep badly. The two of you managed to drag Victor who ended up passing out in your arms to his and Hop's room, and after Hop struggled to open the door, dragged him to the nearest bed and plopped him on top of it with sighs of relief when your poor body was finally freed from heaving him around. After assuring you he'd take care of things from there, you took your own room key from Hop and went to your own room. It didn't take you too long to get settled in after taking a quick shower, and again rummaging through your pack to fish some food out for your chirping, pouting, hungry sobble. Man the little guy ate a whole lot. It was a little while later as you were eating yourself that Gloria finally showed up, knocking on the door before coming in after hearing your voice.

"Hey. How did the battle go?"

She smiled. "I'd hate to brag....But I won."

You nodded. "Hey! That's great. Glad to know it went well."

She nodded again. "Yeah....But I gotta tell ya something." You rose a brow at her curiously. "...Those Team Yell guys from earlier? They were there."

You dropped the small dried piece of fruit you were holding which your sobble was quick to snatch up and eat. "WHAT!?"

"YEAH!! There was a guy and this woman wearin' all this all this punk make up, and they were cheerin' for 'er. I almost lost cuz I they were so loud makin' it hard to focus. I guess that's why they're Team 'Yell'. Should call 'em team Scream if ya ask me."

"Team Yell was with the girl?" She nodded. "Did they try anything?! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she assured you, "But nah. One of 'em was wavin' this flag that had Marnie's picture on it. ...Do they do that? Y'know make merch for Gym Challengers with our faces on them? If they do I'm totally buying Mum one!"

They....Team Yell was....Cheering on Marnie?? That didn't make any sense. They had said a while ago that they were trying to stop Gym Challengers. Why would they be cheering a Gym Challenger on if they were trying to stop them let alone have merch of one??? It didn't add up. Except for maybe-......You paused. Back at the bridge. When you and Victor encountered those two thugs trying to steel the poor nurse's bike!! They spoke of a lady! Could it by that the girl and 'Our Lady' they spoke of was one in the same? Or was Marnie somehow connected to the woman they spoke of?? Was she a part of Team Yell secretly? If yes then what interest did they have in the Gym Challenge?? Did Leon have something they want?? Were they just trying to cheat their way to the top??.....Or..Your eyes widened. Was there something that the Challenge league had that they wanted and were after?? Control over the Galar Region? Money? Power? Fame? Some other powerful thing you couldn't remember?? ...If she wasn't a part of them then what WAS their purpose for cheering her on?...Could the mysterious woman they spoke of be related to Marnie? Or maybe someone who endorsed her for the gym challenge? You shook your head. It was all so confusing. Too many questions and absolutely no answers at all. It made your head hurt just swimming with the many possibilities.

"Oh by the way. While I was out the battling got me thinkin' 'bout some strageties I could use to beat Kabu."

"Oh really?," you muttered half listening deep in thought.

"Uh huh. But I gotta ask. Y/n, can I borrow your sobble?"

"Sure you can-.....Wait. ..What?!"

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