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literaryavenger · 3 months

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Captain America: Civil War

Summary: When on a mission in Lagos things don't go as you expected, Secretary Ross offers the team a solution.

Pairing: Platonic!Avengers x F!Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of violence. Language. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 3K

A/N: It's only half of January and I've already been sick, great! Anyway, basically all the other parts of this story were queued and ready to go, so I got some time to rest but now I'm here writing with a fever! So, if anything doesn't make sense or I missed some mistakes, that's why. Enjoy!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

After months of tracking down Rumlow, you finally have a chance to get him once and for all.

You’re in Lagos, sitting at a cafe.

“All right, what do you see?” Steve’s voice comes in your ear. You know he’s talking to Wanda, she’s still learning how to be an Avenger.

“Standard beat cops,” she looks around her. “Small station. Quiet street. It’s a good target.”

“There’s an ATM in the south corner, which means…” he trails off letting Wanda finish his sentence.

“Cameras.” she promptly says.

“Both cross streets are one way.” Steve keeps going.

“So compromised escape routes.” Wanda reasons.

“Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out.” Steve says, “You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?”

“Yeah, the red one?” she asks “It’s cute.”

“It's also bulletproof,” you discreetly point out ”which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.”

“You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?” she says and you smirk.

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.” Natasha answers from a few tables away.

“Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?” you hear Sam ask and try hard to contain your laughter.

“Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?” Natasha says and you can see her smirking.

“Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him.” Steve says in our comms.

“If he sees us coming that won't be a problem.” Sam says.

“Yeah, he kind of hates us.” you add.

There’s a minute of silence as you all keep an eye on your surroundings, then you hear Steve’s voice again. “Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it.”

You turn around just in time to see Redwing flying under it to scan the truck.

“Give me X-ray.” Sam orders the drone. “That truck’s loaded for max weight. And the driver’s armed.”

“It’s a battering ram.” Natasha says and your eyes widen a little.

“Go now!” Steve says and before the words are even out of his mouth you’re moving.

“What?” Wanda asks confused.

“He’s not hitting the police.” you say and then you’re all running in the truck’s direction.

Steve and his supersoldier ass get there first, then Sam and Wanda who can fly, while you and Nat are stuck driving your motorcycles as fast as you can, but can still hear the conversation through the comms.

“Body armor, AR-15's.” Steve says “I make seven hostiles.”

You hear some gun fire and then Sam “I make five.”

“Sam.”- Wanda says and, after a few seconds, Sam again “Four.”

“Rumlow’s on the third floor.” Sam says, then Steve says in his Captain voice “Wanda, just like we practiced.”

“What about the gas?”-you hear her ask.

“Get it out.” he orders. You can see the green and red whirlpool from the street.

“Rumlow has a biological weapon.” Steve after a few minutes, just as you and Natasha get there.

“We’re on it.” she says and basically jumps off her motorcycle and it skids into an agent.

You make a sharp turn and come to a sudden stop in front of an agent on your right side, so you push your left leg off the bike and, twisting your body, you kick the guy hard on the stomach while also dismounting the motorcycle.

When you turn around Nat cocks her eyebrow at you and you shrug. “What? I’m not throwing my bike at these assholes.” she rolls her eyes at you as you two keep taking out soldiers.

You can see Nat getting dragged by Rumlow, but you’re too busy fighting off some agents to help her. You vaguely hear him saying ‘I don't work like that no more’ and frown, you manage to take out the last one around you and, just as you turn, you see Rumlow launch a grenade into the truck and say “Fire in the hole.”

You run towards it, knowing Natasha’s probably in it, but it explodes before you can get close and do anything, the door flying and Natasha falling out of it coughing.

Once you’re sure she’s okay, you turn around but Rumlow’s already gone.

“Sam. He's in an AFV heading north.” you hear Steve say and, sharing a nod with Natasha, you get back onto your bikes and run to catch up with the truck.

“I got six, they're splitting up.” Sam says just as you and Natasha get to where they ditched the truck.

Natasha jumps onto a car and then another and you follow her. “I got the two on the left.” she says.

“I got the middle!” you say and start your pursuit.

“They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now.” you hear Steve say as you run after your two guys. “One of them has the payload.”

Just as you manage to catch up to your guys and knock one of them out, you can hear Sam saying “He doesn't have it. I’m empty.”

You quickly take down the other guy and search through them. “I struck out, too.”

Then you hear Natasha say “Payload secure.” and you allow yourself to relax.

“Thanks, Sam.” She adds.

“Don't thank me.” he answers and you frown, confused as you start making your way back.

“I’m… not thanking that thing.” is all Natasha needs to say for you to understand, and you roll your eyes.

“His name is Redwing.” Sam corrects her.

“I'm still not thanking it.” she says.

“He's cute. Go ahead, pet him.” he says and you can’t help but laugh.

Your amusement is cut short as you hear Steve’s grunts, clearly still in a fight and you try to move faster to make your way to him.

You catch up right after Wanda, just as Rumlow says “And you're coming with me.” and activates the bomb vest he’s wearing.

You don’t have time to even try and cover yourself as Wanda keeps the blast contained in a ball around Rumlow, his screams the only thing that can be heard.

She launches him in the air and the ball of energy explodes too close to the building next to it, setting a couple of floors on fire.

As you all watch in horror, you barely register Steve asking Sam for Fire and Rescue as you put your hands on Wanda’s shoulders and turn her away from the building. You let her rest her head on your shoulder as she starts crying, your own shocked attention still on the building.

This is not good.

It’s been a rough couple of days for the team after the mission in Lagos.

You’re all back at the compound now, and you’re on your way to the conference room to wait there for Tony when you pass Wanda’s room and hear her talking to Steve.

“Rumlow said ‘Bucky’ and… all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn.” Steve pauses “And people died. It's on me.”

“It's on both of us.” Wanda counters.

“This job…” Steve starts “we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time… maybe nobody gets saved.”

You see Vision approach and keep walking to make your way to the conference room, exchanging a knowing nod with him.

When you get there you’re a little startled to see The Secretary of State, but you sit down at the table in silence.

Once everyone gets there, Steve sits at the head of table, to his left Sam, then Vision and then Wanda, to his right you then Natasha, then Rhodey and Tony is sitting in a chair by himself to the right of the table.

Secretary Ross is on his feet in front of the table and, once everyone takes a seat, he starts talking.

“Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass… I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives… but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some… who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’”

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha asks.

“How about ‘dangerous’?” Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Definitely not the word you were expecting “What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

Ross activates a screen behind him and News footage from past Avengers and SHIELD matters flash on the screen as he speaks.

“New York.” A Chitauri leviathan. Terrified citizens. A soldier firing a gun. The Hulk smashes into a building and sends a dust cloud that engulfs the camera. Rhodey looks regretful and he glances behind him at Natasha.

“Washington DC.” The three Insight helicarriers, firing on each other. The destroyed Triskelion. A helicarrier crashing into the Potomac and throwing up a massive wave, engulfing citizens and the camera. You and Sam look at each other, then down.

“Sokovia.” Terrified citizens, running. The city rising. A building falling over. Everyone’s eyes are glued to the screen.

“Lagos.” The burning building. Paramedics moving a body. A dead girl. Wanda is particularly affected by the footage from Lagos. Steve sees this and intervenes.

“Okay. That's enough.” Steve says, looking at Wanda.

Secretary Ross nods to his aide and the images disappear, then he starts talking again.

“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” he places a thick document on the desk and passes it to Wanda. She looks at it and then slides it over to Rhodey. “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries… it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.”

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place.” Steve points out. “I feel we've done that.”

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Steve looks up and meets Ross's eyes. “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes… you can bet there'd be consequences.”

You narrow your eyes at him. They’re people, not weapons. Before you can voice your thoughts he goes on. “Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.” He points at the Accords.

“So, there are contingencies.” Rhodey says, familiar with the politics by now.

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.” Steve glances at Tony “Talk it over.”

He starts to walk away when you speak up for the first time. “And if we come to a decision you don't like?”

Ross stops and looks back at you. “Then you retire.” he deadpans.

You simply nod, trying to stifle a grin and, when you look at Natasha, you can see she’s doing the same.

He leaves with his aide and there’s a moment of silence before you all get up and walk quietly to the common room. Some sitting, some standing and Tony laying down on a chair. And then the discussion starts.

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.” Rhodey says to sam. You’ve lost track of how long the team has been discussing.

“So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?”

“117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam,” He leans in to look at Sam since you’re currently between the two men. “and you're just like, ‘No, that's cool. We got it.’”

“Why am I always in the middle of this?” you say, a little exasperated at the two that are almost glaring at each other now, you make eye contact with Nat and she clearly feels the same way you do.

“How long are you going to play both sides?” Sam says, ignoring your comment.

“I have an equation.” Vision jumps in and everyone looks at him.

“Oh, this will clear it up.” you say sarcastically and cross your arms in front of your chest.

“In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.” Vision explains.

“Are you saying it's our fault?” Steve asks.

“I'm saying there may be a causality.” Vision clarifies, before going on “Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict… breeds catastrophe. Oversight… oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom.” Rhodey says and you roll your eyes while Sam glares at him.

“Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal.” Natasha points out.

“It's because he's already made up his mind.” Steve says.

“Boy, you know me so well.” Tony says sarcastically and gets up, rubbing his head. “Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache.”

He walks to the kitchen and grabs a mug before continuing. “That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort- Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”

He puts his phone in a basket and taps it, the phone projects an image of a smiling young man. He looks down, then back up, and pretends to notice the picture for the first time. “Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia.” Everyone is listening to him intently as he seems to be having a little meltdown, but his words are clearly affecting the whole team.

“He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” He pauses and takes a pill with some coffee, then faces you all. “There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.”

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up.” Steve says.

“Who said we're giving up?” Tony promptly answers.

“We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions.” Steve counters. “This document just shifts the blame.”

“I'm sorry. Steve. That- that is dangerously arrogant.” Rhodey says. “This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA.”

“No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change.” you interject, seeing Steve’s point.

“That's good. That's why I'm here.” Tony says, pointing at you. “When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”

“Tony, you chose to do that.” you tell him, then Steve talks, nodding at you.

“She’s right. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” Steve says.

“If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later.” Tony reasons. “That's the fact. That won't be pretty.”

“You're saying they'll come for me.” Wanda speaks up for the first time since this discussion started.

“We would protect you.” Vision says confidently.

“Could we?” you say and everyone looks at you, so you elaborate. “If we don’t sign this we’re criminals for even trying to keep her safe. If we do sign, it’ll be our job to come for her if we get ordered to.”

There’s a moment of silence while you all think about this, before Natasha speaks up. “Maybe Tony's right.”

You all look at her, surprised. “If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-” she gets interrupted by Sam.

“Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?”

“He’s not wrong, Tasha.” You add.

“I'm just… I'm reading the terrain.” She explains. “We have made… some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.”

“Focus up.” Tony says and looks at Natasha, clearly amused. “I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?” you roll your eyes.

“Oh, I want to take it back now.”

“No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed--I win.”

They all start to talk over each other, but you’re focused on Steve’s phone that you can see over his shoulder since you’re standing right behind him. He gets a text that says ‘She’s gone. In her sleep.’ and you frown, watching Steve quickly get up.

“I have to go.” is all he says while dropping the Accords on the coffee table and, when he exits the room, you exchange a worried glance with Sam.

Requested taglist: @sapphirebarnes @aki-ham

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donutwatches · 5 months

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MHA 2.14 - Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears - part 3

This is my first time watching this show so no spoilers.

The thought process of a high school boy. Go jumpy jump = be cool. He is such a doofus here. I love him.

Deku’s parkour game still need a lot of work. Something that I love about shonen anime in general is the time the story gives to training. The hero’s are always shown putting in the hard work to earn their strength.

Me as f*ck. Every morning of my life as I drag myself out of bed feeling busted. However, Deku’s exhaustion is more valid since he has been hardcore parkour-ing all night long. Who knew that being like a bouncy ball would be the key to being the next #1 hero.

This had me snickering. I know it is not Gran Tostito’s intention, but my dirty mind cannot help it. I mean, All Might’s big buff body sure is a redeeming feature. And Deku’s face is too funny, like he can’t process All Might having flaws.

All Might’s predecessor? I NEED TO KNOW MORE RIGHT NOW! MHA loves to tease with little hints and then it makes you wait to find out. People have told me that I have to wait multiple seasons to learn certain things and I am DYING. I better not have to wait too long to get info on the predecessor.

This is it. His brain finally broke from the pressure. It was only a matter of time. RIP to Deku’s brain. F in the chat for Deku’s broken lil’ noggin. This is what lack of sleep and too much parkour gets you.

Ha! I have no comments this is just funny as hell. This show has pretty great humor in general. When this show was recommended to me initially I was told that it has fun characters and action, but no one told me that the comedy beats are pure fire.

Baby is having a breakthrough moment. He has been using OFA like a battering ram, just brute force, which works well for All Might, but it does not suit Deku’s abilities as much.

I am EXCITE! Deku has so much creative intelligence and I feel like him using OFA more strategically will have amazing results. I cannot wait to see how he develops his quirk if he internalizes the power as his own and develops his personal style. Not just copying All Might.

Click here for episode 15

Click here for the master list

#boku no hero academia #bnha #my hero academia #mha #anime #deku #izuku midoriya #Midoriya #Izuku #gran torino

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ram-on · 1 year

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whenyourbirdisbroken asked:

Hi ram-on! Thanks for your tags on that fic rec for Carry That Weight, I've never read that fic but your tags made it sound very interesting! What are other McLennon fics you like, if you don't mind sharing?

Hello there, @whenyourbirdisbroken! Thank you for my very first Beatles related ask and sorry for the late reply!! I discovered fanfiction through the Beatles fandom, I had never read fanfic before! But I'm still too bad at bookmarking things, so I'll certainly forget some I loved. Still, here's a list of those I can remember now:

Carry That Weight and its sequence Hello Goodbye by @waveofahand It's a massive work by a massive talent and it has a very special place in my heart. @idontwanttospoiltheparty described it very well in their recent post about it, and I added a bit of my commentary in the tags. Don't worry about the length, you don't have to read the two parts to enjoy it, but also if you start from the beginning and it's your cup of tea you may soon discover you never want it to end!

Mums, Yur Boys are Crying by waveofahand. If you love hurt/comfort, this fic includes both John and Paul suffering - John's mom dying and Paul helping him go trhough the funeral, etc, and then Paul himself getting into another situation, and John worrying about him too. The boys are young but there's kindness, maturity and wisdom in it and the typical picturesque, novel-like features of waveofhand's prose. A special bonus are the very charming scenes between Mimi and Paul which may colour your perception of the interactions between those two forever (I always expect them to act like that in other fics). It's also a delightfully finished fic, it has a beautiful ending and conclusion.

Everything by merseydreams . As you may notice, I'm mostly a fan of drama and angst, but @merseydreams are my favorite exception. They're a comedy genius, their fics are romantic, charming, witty, very vivid and enjoyable both on story-buld level and micro-sentence level. I've often told them they should write scripts for sitcoms and romantic comedies/dramedies and other good things. Also good thoughtful characterization, relationship study-ing and dialogue too (so there's seriousness in them too! They're ultimately happy but not fluffy.). I love all their fics but I guess The Birthday Party is the best by being the longest, if you somehow missed it go read it ASAP!

i was a younger man then (now) (post hoc) by fingersfallingupwards. This fic is so touching, that I don't know how to describe it. It's a very poetic, imaginative and unique story about John&Paul-forever and time travel. About the connection of their souls in a fantastical but poignant sense that somehow fits them so much. Might make you cry but it's worth it. Also, completely finished fic as well, with a thrilling emotional twist towards the end. Might be the most complete fic I've read. The fic also provide very good context for the flaming pie anecdote :-)

On our way back home by Kathleenishereagain. This one is also about time travel, but in a different way, basically about old Paul getting back to being young again and how he'd do things differently. I think it's quite popular so you probably all know it. (Funny thing is I never thought I'd care about time travel, but ultimately it's just a writing vessel and aren't we always time travelling when we fantasise about the Beatles?)

Close The Door Lightly When You Go by RosalindBeatrice. Set in 1979 when Paul comes to visit John in the Dacota, who acts like he doesn't want him there. It's awesome, one of those fics, in which they have real tension and problems which makes it all more real. It's mostly inner-thoughs and dialogue-driven but very intense nontheless, great characterisation, great attention to detail, just fantastic for lovers of post break up relationship studies and excellent writing.

The Wild Horses trilogy, from which I especially love the last part, Son of a Shining Path. It's about young Paul and John and Paul being abused by his father, and the first part might be a bit too dark for some. But I love the writing, and especially in the third part (which has no abuse but other suffering) I just love how well being worried about someone you love and being unable to show it is written in the end there. It's subtle, very realistic in its details, I love it.

I'm Looking Through You by @idontwanttospoiltheparty That's the only fic in this list which is still a work in progress, still updated. If you follow the author on Tumblr you know how smart they are, and their fic is just as thoughtful and attentive to the Beatles history, the music and the psychology of it all. The story gets more exciting and rich whith each chapter, I fell in love with the last three. It also pays attention to all four of the Beatles and their human sides and motivations in a way that rarely happens. Last chapter included the best incorporation of the Manila adventures I've read in fic. Just many emotionally packed and thrilling scenes all around (also that thing I just wrote about being worried about someone and being frozen about how to help them which I love being written realistically in fics -- is here too.) Go read it if you haven't and let's read the next update soon together!!

Widow by abromeds on LJ. This story is more than a decade old, but it's no wonder it still appears in fic recs. It's about death and grief - not John but Paul dying like John did - so it's truly dark, not like fun angsty, but truly deeply dramatic and real. So you might think why read something sad, but maybe you should, because it's so good. It's also serious writing on meaningful topic and I think the fictional element (Paul dying and not John) somehow helps it being more bearable and at the same time makes you think about the actual reality and we kinda avoid doing it, don't we? And it's just very well written, there are also very plausible-sounding flashbacks of their history and relationship through the years (the one about why John actually climbed the fence in Cavendish is my favorite!), so it's not really all about death. And my absolutely favorite thing in ''Widow'' is the very ending, the last sentence even. It's the most perfect, most poignant ending this story could have had, an ending any good fuckin literature could have. Sometimes I walk on the streets and think about that ending.

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This fic rec is got too wordy, so I'll end this here, although there are other fics I've enjoyed just as much, but I'll add them some other time!

Always feel free to recommend me some fics too (or to share your thoughts on the already mentioned!)

#fanfic rec #Beatles fic #mclennon #John and Paul

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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 10 months

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Applin Of My Eye Ch1 The Apple Shaped Heart Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree (plus story summary)

Part 5 of the Galar Soulmate Series spin off of Love Doesn't Do Encores/A Champion Time For The Heart and side parody of Dragon's Treasure/Diamond In The Rough (This story will be much shorter than the others but I didn't want to leave out the last guy. This will also be the final installment of the Galar Soulmate Series.) Everything was fine now. Eternatus was defeated. The bad guys caught. No more things to worry about...Or at least for Y/n. A small encounter with a certain farmer has made him realize that he never apologized for bowling her over with a wooloo. So when the woman who helped save Galar shows up on his doorstep with an injured wooloo he may realize that maybe he had some secret feelings he never expressed to her in the beginning.

(Before we begin keep in mind that I do not know the actual name of Milo's little brother so his name is only cannon for this story, and his backstory is also not cannon and just for the story.)

It was a funny thing how crushes often worked you see.

You couldn't really control when cupid would shoot you with his arsenal of arrows through your heart and piercing your brain with that fuzzy feeling that made you all warm inside. However he felt as if he might've been hit with a whole sledgehammer. He still remembered the first time he saw her there. Last year pretty early in the year too actually. It was when he was getting his wooloo ready for the Gym Challenge but unfortunately one of the little rascals had slipped out and started running all over the gym with him chasing right after. Eventually it was able to escape right out of the gym and rolled faster than a tumble weed in a tornado out of his gym and right up the dirt road leading right out of town. Well he went chasing right after it one hand holding his sun hat. To his horror the pokemon was heading right towards two women walking their way down the dirt road chatting oblivious to the danger. Unfortunately speed was never his strong point, he was more of a strength guy himself.

Gloria smiled and pointed to it as the two of you walked down hill on the path. "Look! See? I told ya it was a good idea to take the short cut."

You looked down at her deadpanned, the baaing becoming louder the farther you two walked. "Uh huh. And those people chasing us in the beginning was part of the 'good idea'?"

You two didn't see the thing coming towards you from down the path or the man giving chase to it. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad. We got here faster and now we can rest up and see 'bout that gym.

"Oh yes. And battling someone inside a mine is a good idea too-"

"Nonono! Miss! Watch out-''

Something hard rammed into your legs and they went flying back, sending your front shooting forward and in an instant you faceplanted the dirt road hard. A resounding 'THUMP!' sound echoing out as whatever rammed into you just as suddenly disappeared. It was like a your legs were pins and you just got ran over by a bowling ball. Stunned your body just sat there face first on the ground with your sobble thrown from your shoulder a couple feet away. You didn't move even as a gasp reached your ears, along with baaing and running footsteps. Your sobble chirping in annoyance upon being flung sat itself up and shook itself off, but scurried away and burried itself under your limp noodle of an arm when someone bigger nearly ran it over. Still you laid there stunned.

"OH NO! OH NO!!" A man's worried voice reached your ears just as your brain finally started to register you had been knocked over. "I AM SO SORRY!! MISS!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Y/N!!" Gloria shouted and you felt her shake you frantically. "NO! This can't be how you die! Bowled over by a wooloo isn't a good way to die so please get up!!"

....You coughed. And groaned. Your vision blurry as your now dirty face slowly lifted itself from the ground and looked up. Blinking at the two faces before you. Gloria who was obviously concerned, but the other was a man one hand clutching a hat on his head as he looked you over with worry. "What was-"

"I am SO sorry, Ma'am!" The man you assumed kneeled down letting you get a better look at his freckled face. "My...Are you ok!? You took that tackle head on!"

"What happened?," you mumbled and your answer was being easily lifted by the man by strong hands grabbing your shoulders.

"One of my wooloo! I'm so very, very sorry! She keeps running away everytime someone leaves a door open and I need her for the gym so I keep having to chase her down and bring her back!," the man quickly stated holding you up on wobbly legs as you shook your head as your poor sobble refused to let go of your arm. Hanging onto it like a koala bear would. Hands dusted you off. "Oh no. You're all a mess because of me. I hope you're not hurt, Ma'am."

You waved him off. "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with troublesome wooloo," you grumbled remembering the Slumbering Weild incident. "I feel fine. Just a few dirt stains aren't gonna hurt."

The man sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was really worried when you fell so suddenly." His face quickly snapped with a frown to the wooloo who baaed at him. "And you! What did I tell you about running off like that!? This time you did hurt someone!" It baaed louder at him. "Don't you talk back to me! You're in big trouble young lady!......Hm?" He looked to Gloria who was currently staring at him in surprise before he suddenly smiled at her. "Oh. You must be one of the Gym Challengers, right?"

"I- W-Who me!?" She sputtered before nodding quickly. "Y-Yes, Sir! I am!"

"Ah! I thought so." His polite smile widened. "I saw you at the Opening Ceremony earlier this week! My name's Milo. It's nice to meet you."

"I know! AH! I mean!" Gloria sputtered holding up her hands. "I s-saw you too with everyone else! I'm so sorry!"

held up his hands. "Oh no. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you and your friend here for the trouble I put you through."

"Milo?," you asked confused gaining his attention.

He nodded. "I'm a Gym leader here and partial to Grass Type pokemon. And if I'm not mistaken your friend here is one of the ones Leon keeps going on about. I've been itching to see just how good the Champion endorsed Gym Challengers are..." he sighed moving his hands to his hips. "But I'm afraid you might have to wait your turn."

"Huh?" Gloria blinked.

"I know usually my gym's the first one trainers pass by on their trip, but I didn't expect so so many to come here right after the ceremony. I've been completely swamped and I still have three trainers waiting for their turns with me right now. And it doesn't help this one keeps running off the first chance she gets."

You mean I gotta wait until you have more time off just to fight me?" She groaned with a pout. "Maybe we should've taken the train to get here faster after all."

"Hey. The man's busy" You patted her back with a frown. "And obviously he's having a hard time right now. You said we had what?....A whole year until those finals come up? It hasn't even been a whole week yet. We can wait a lil bit longer and let Mr. Milo here sort himself out."

Milo gave you a surprised look and Gloria sighed before nodding. "You're right. We're here and that's the most important thing! I can wait a few more days if I have too."

You smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Even Milo eventually smiled. "Well then. Let me find out at the Gym Stadium when you're ready." He pointed behind him. "Just head on down this route and you'll run right into my stadium. See you there!" He then turned to the wooloo. "Come on now. Back to the stadium with you too. We can't keep the Gym Challengers waiting." It baaed at him in protest but didn't give too much of a fight when it started to follow him as he turned and gave one wave back to you two. "Again sorry for the trouble! Hope to see you soon!"

With a sigh you brought your arm up and your sobble blinked at you...before grabbing your cheek with a questioning chirp. "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

He thought that would've been it. You see he wasn't expecting to see her again. He thought he saw her the next day when he battled her friend in the stadium, but that was that. He lost, congratulated the young girl who looked about the same age as his little brother and off she went. He thought that would be it until he saw the next challenger. But he was surprised when night fell and he stepped out for a few moments to himself.

The night was peaceful. The night was quiet. It was one of the times he could actually get a bit of breathing room to himself and he always gave one last look around anyways. The wooloo were all snug back in their barn. The gym was cleaned up and closed. And most of the farm's chores were already done. All that was left was to do one last look around before bed. The night was pretty. The sun had just started going down over the horizon leaving sn assortment of yellows and oranges and pinks to be chased away by a dark blanket of black filled with millions of tiny stars. It was beautiful among the silent fields. Although he was never expecting to run into another person. Quite literally. He was just walking around the side of his barn when he almost ran face first into a woman. A woman with a sobble clinging to her shoulder. The sudden face to face encounter had her jumping back with a yelp jumping back and the sobble terrified ducking behind her head with a chirp. He himself took a step or two back from the sight as the two of them just...blinked at one another for a good second. Who was-

"Milo?," The woman asked with a blink. "What are you doing out here?"

He blinked. Why did she look familiar? "I...I own this farm? And who are you?"

"I'm Y/n." He still stared. "Your wooloo bowled me over the other day."

It all clicked in an instant. "Oh! You're that woman!" He remembered now. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"Camping." She gestured behind her towards the back fields and when looked over her, he noticed there was two tents set up right in the middle of one of his fields. "My friends and I are camping out here before we leave tomorrow morning, but we had no idea this place belonged to you. I heard someone walking around out here so I came to check it out." It was then she held up her hands and apologized. "But we don't want to cause any trouble. If it's a bother, I'll have them move our tents somewhere else. I'm sorry."

"Oh no. It's no trouble at all," he insisted with a smile. "As long as you all don't litter, I don't mind at all. "

"Oh. That's actually really nice of you. Thank you so much. That battle you had with Gloria today was great!"

He paused all of a sudden caught off guard by what she had said. "Pardon me?"

She smiled at him. "I said your battle with Gloria was really fun to watch. You put up a good fight out there today. No wonder you're a gym leader!"

And in that moment he paused. She was complimenting him? HIM?! He had to look around real quick to make sure that there wasn't anyone else there for her to speak too even though he knew there really. He then looked back to her with that perplexed took. By now the small sobble had timidly poked his head from behind hers.

He pointed at himself. "You mean me?"

"Of course I mean you! You're the only gym leader in Turrffield. Who else would I be talking to?" She rose a brow.

"Oh. I-I meant no offense, Ma'am. It's just...well I'm not used to compliments actually." A hand reached up as an embarrassed smile graced his features. "I don't get a whole lot of them outside my friends and little brother."

"Really? I'm surprised. You put up such a good fight against Gloria." Ah. That must be her friend's name. The young girl who he battled today in fact. "You're also the first official gym leader I've met so far."

He blinked in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded. "You see. I'm uh... Visiting Galar. It's my first time ever being in this region. So today was my first time ever seeing a live gym battle and you're the first ever gym leader I've spoken too....Ever actually."

"Huh? You mean you've literally never met another gym leader before me? Like ever?"

"Nope! First time ever today. Or night as it happens to be now." ...She smiled again. "But I'm glad it was you. You're really kind, I could tell by how you treated your Pokemon during the battle." She then turned and waved a hand good bye. "Well it was nice meeting you Mr. Milo. Sorry again for the trespassing. Have a good night."

"Uh...Good night."

That was it. He didn't see the strange woman again when he went to inspect the fields the next morning. The tents and people were gone, if he didn't find the small holes in the ground from the tent spikes, he would've believed he'd just dreamt up the whole thing. Oh well. She was kind though! It made him happy to be complimented for once but he soon forgotten about the whole thing when he just got on with his life. A lot of wool was harvested from him wooloo and so many crops were harvested from the fields this year! In fact this might've been the most plentiful harvest Turrffield has ever had.

His little brother was making his way through the gym challenge as well! He was so proud of him! He really grew from a bud to a giant blossom this year. He was so proud watching Felix battle his way through the gym leaders one after another and make his way through the gym challenge. He always knew Felix was a much more stronger and capable trainer than he ever was. He'd grown so much than he'd ever could, one day when he was older he'd make an even better gym leader! If Ma and Pa could see him now, they'd think the same thing he was sure of it! So it came to no surprise when months passed and he saw Felix again sometime in August. The biggest smile on his face when he busted through the door of their home, almost scaring Milo into dropping the giant sake of potatoes he was handling, and with a confident smile presented his full badge circle with all eight badges.

"Milo! I'm competing in the semifinals this year!"

He was then given the biggest hug and welcome Milo could ever give. His own little brother was going to be in the semifinals this December. And it was then that he saw her again. When he and his brother traveled down to Wyndon city near Christmas time. Felix was getting ready to battle the other three finalists and he was patiently waiting for it all to start from the V.I.P lounge with most of the other gym leaders. But they couldn't until Leon showed back up, which was sooner than he expected when the door opened and the smiling Champion came walking in-

With one mighty push, Leon pushed the door open and walked right in. "Hey, Everyone." He called back into the room. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Leon. Don't tell me you got lost again! I thought one of us were gonna have to rescue you like last time.," came a woman's voice that sounded familiar from the inside, "I swear sometimes you're more confusing than a spinda."

You both slowly shuffled in as Leon chuckled a bit embarrassed. "C'mon, Nessa. That's a bit harsh." Shaking his head he smiled behind him as you brought up the rear. "I got a bit distracted on the way here and invited some friends over."

You stepped in and blinked at what you saw. The room you were all in was almost as big as Gloria's hotel room but less fancy. Warm thankfully, with some couches, a table with a few chairs, a big flat screen TV, and over in one corner was some kitchen stuff. By kitchen stuff there was a counter with a few cabinets, a sink, full sized fridge, microwave, and a coffee maker. And within the room around you was all ten gym leaders!! Ms. Opal was sitting at the table with a cup of presumed tea with Kabu who seemed to be meditating or asleep by the way he was just sitting there eyes closed and arms crossed. Gordie had been standing by the fridge leaning against the wall, but looked up from his drink when the door opened. Melony standing with him. Nessa sitting on the couch next to Bea, and across from them on the other couch was Raihan glancing at you with a surprised look with Alister sitting next to him on the opposite side of the couch. Milo was the closest one standing to you all looking to have been in the middle of eating some kind of doughnut in his hand when you walked in, and last but not least there was Piers. He had been the only one visibly standing and looking out the window as the stadium was filling up with people, but had side glanced over his shoulder just seeing Leon before turning back to the window before he could see you walk in behind him. Disinterested in whoever Leon brought with him. Oh if only he knew. And...HEY! It was the three trainers of Raihans. Sebastian, Camilla, and Aria. The triplets were encircled around the fridge most likely getting something to eat also.

Good morning," Victor greeted politely and a bit more confidently than you as he waved. "It's really nice to meet all of you."

You were going to say hi as well. Most probably to Nessa since you've spoken to her before or maybe Ms. Opal and ask how Bede was doing. Or....maybe Raihan if you were feeling a bit more brave. But it was one soft voice that interrupted all thoughts.

"Y-Y/n."

A lot of everyone around you (you included-) looked surprised as ALLISTER of all people spoke out and you watched in surprise as he slowly scooted himself off the couch until his feet hit the floor. With a turn of his head towards you he slowly walked towards you...and you smiled. 'y/n. Milo instantly paused, His emerald green eyes going wide all of sudden, and the doughnut he was holding nearly dropped. And his brows instantly shot up upon seeing YOU of all people standing there next to Leon.....YOU!? HERE!? WHAT WERE YOU DOING BACK HERE?! WITH LEON!? HUH-

"Hey, Allister." You greeted and to everyone's surprise you instantly lowered yourself to sit on your knees finally placing Silver down to your side to be eye to eye with Allister. This seemed to make him more comfortable to talk with you as he slowly walked up to you now being closer to his height. "Wow. You look great! Did you grow taller from the last time I saw you?"

He instantly nodded his hands into fists in front of his chest. "Uh huh. L-Leon s-s-said I grew three inches this year!"

You gave a small gasp. "No! That's so cool! You're growing up fast. Soon you're going to be even taller than him."

"Y-You think so?"

You nodded again smiling wide. "Oh yeah. A big strong person like you? I bet you'll be the tallest person I know!"

That seemed to make him happy as he smiled from behind his mask at you before reaching around to his pokeballs. You watched patiently as he fumbled before holding up a pokeball. "I-I made a new f-f-f-friend! W-Would you like to meet him?"

Still smiling you nodded. "I would love to meet your friend, Allister." You gestured to Silver next to you who chirped when you acknowledged him. "I want you to meet my friend too. Allister this is Silver. He's been with me for a while now. Say hello, Sil."

In response Silver have off some kind of noise towards Allister who stared for a moment. "H-Hello..." Before turning back excitedly to you. "H-Here! Y-You're gonna really like him!" You knew that you would either way. Everyone was now staring at you two in surprise. Even Kabu had opened his eyes to peer over at what was going on. A flash of bright light from Allister gave way to something white, floating, and very pretty. And you smiled wider realizing what exactly what it was. Floating there by Allister in all it's white glory, was a Froslass. "I m-m-met him w-w-when it snowed by the stadium. He really likes playing hide and s-seek with us."

"Ooh. He's absolutely beautiful." You turned to the pokemon, and as if he was another human, you greeted him. "How do you do? It's very nice to meet you, Sir."

The pokemon blinked at you seeming to be taken a back a bit but made some noises while smiling proudly at itself. Allister slowly pointed at him. "H-He s-says you're v-very polite and i-it's n-nice to see s-s-someone recognize h-h-his looks."

You chuckled. "Well thank you! I'm glad he thinks so." Slowly you stood back up to stretch your legs still smiling. "I'm glad to see you're making new friends to play with. Are you here to watch the semifinals too?"

Allister nodded again before pointing over to the couch. "B-Bea's going to take me to the h-h-haunted houses in the c-c-city for Christmas."

You glanced from him to her and smiled. "Well doesn't that sound great!" You waved to her. "Hi. I don't think we've met. Or seen each other really."

Bea seemed to still be staring at you totally bewildered but it was nessa who spoke up next. "Oh yeah. I remember you." More surprised glances were sent between her and you as she gestured towards you. "You were Sonia's friend with the sobble! Er.." She glanced between you and Silver who shook off snowflakes. "Well, it looks like he's not too much of a sobble anymore."

You gave couple laughs before reaching over to pat Silver's head. "Nope. My lil guy's practically all grown up now. Takes a lot of love and care and food, but Silver's worth it." You waved a hand to her. "But it's good to see you too Nessa. Hope things been well. My friend showed me your new line in the ads." You added remembering Gloria showing you a magazine with an article of her. "I really like the 'Sea Emerald Delight' dress."

She smiled your way before turning her gaze to Raihan who blinked at her. "I told you. Green dresses will look good on anyone all year round." the Dragon Gym leader rolled his eyes in response and stood up.

You also shook your head...but paused feelings eyes on you. And it wasn't just the others around the room. Your head turned over towards the windows and you paused seeing Milo staring right back at you cheeks stuffed with a doughnut , brows raised at you. You both stared at one another for a moment before you went back to smiling, crossed your arms, and rose a brow back.

"Hello there Milo! It's nice to see you again too!" Finally a familiar friendly face besides Lee. "You're here to cheer on your brother right? I believe he's going to be competing against my friends."

He still stared at you as you smiled back patiently before swallowing down the food in his mouth and forcing a smile. "Y-Yeah! Felix is going to be fighting out there an-and I don't want to miss it when it happens."

Ah." You nodded. "I'd expect nothing less from you all. It's real sweet of you to be here to support him!" You smiled wider. That just makes you a good big brother! I knew you were sweet !"

He nearly choked on his doughnut as his face blossomed a bright pink.

You chuckled and you would've said something back if a voice didn't startle you. "Nice to see you too.~" You jumped with a yelp and backed away from the taller guy that walked up to you two. Raihan smiled that fanged grin of his as you blinked at him. "You didn't even say hi to me.~ I'm wounded.~" His gaze shifted from Milo to you as you blinked. "Hey there, Sassy.~ Wasn't expecting you to come rolling up here with Lee! You have a knack for hanging out with famous people?"

You blinked a moment before raising a brow. "Not really. Leon just offered to be nice and I didn't want my water type out in the freezing weather."

"Aw. And here I thought you came all the way to see me.~" He faked sadness making you roll your eyes. Milo glancing between you both. "Y'know if you're free sometime that dinner date's still up for the taking!"

"No thanks."

You never really gave it a thought? Really?" Raihan asked blinking surprised for a moment as you shook your head no before he smiled and leaned down closer to you making you lean back. "Well that's a first I've heard. Usually I'm something people can't get off their minds.~ You've certainly been on my mind for a while.~"

.......You reached for a nearby magazine. "Uh huh. I'm ....flattered I guess but dude. You might as well be flirting with a rock."

Behind you all Nessa gave a small snort which Bea slapped her shoulder. "Aw. I guess you're right. But you are cute.~" He gave that smirk that could've made anyone swoon. You raised your magazine. "You're like a short cute firecracker making my heart explo-HMPH!?"

Milo yelped when you all of a sudden you grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of you. With you now half hiding behind him now, you brandished your rolled up magazine like a sword....A harmless sword but something to ward him off non the less. Raiham blinked having been bonked harmlessly by you. You scowled using your Milo-Shield and Magazine-Sword to swing at him a couple times. Piers blinked wide eyed at you not sure what was going on. The doughnut all but forgotten about, what was left of the poor food dropping to the floor as his face blossomed an even thicker red.

"Bad Gym Leader! Down!,'' you firmly said scowling swinging at him, "Go to h0rny jail!"

"Wha- Jail??" He asked but held up his arms from your harmless magazine attack. "H-Hey! I was joking, Sassy! Seize fire there!"

"Silver help!!"

Raihan's eyes suddenly went wide before snapping his head when he heard a loud chirp and stumbled back when Silver eye narrowed starting walking towards you. "Hold it hold it hold it!!" Raihan held up his hands to Silver and ended up having to literally jump over the couch he was previously sitting on and stood in front of the lady gym leaders to avoid Silver who now stood between you and Milo and the couch. He narrowed his eyes at Raihan and gave a loud chirp. "Geez. You weren't kidding when you said he was protective."

Piers ended up giving a loud bout of rare laughter at the sight of the display and Leon was able to pry her off of him to let him recover from the sudden jolt. If he wasn't so flustered by the sudden action. Oh well. They parted ways and he soon forgot about it when the semifinals actually started. Felix sadly lost first round but that was ok. He was proud of him and he came farther than so many other people in the gym challenge. He didn't really think he'd see her again after that but again he was sadly mistaken when Christmas came around. It was that wonderful time of year when the spirits were high and the laughter was everywhere. And after all what better way to spend time with his little brother on Christmas than to take him to the Festival? Milo wasn't expecting to see her yet again but here he was, just waiting for his little brother to get off a ride when she just walked right up to him.

The park was actually beautiful this time of year. A slightly frosty patch mostly cleared went through the quiet parts of the park lit up by the faint lights of the festival and a perfect full moon above you. It was starting to snow again now, not too much, only enough for it to look really pretty and fluffy falling from the otherwise clear skies. The smells of the parks pine trees filled the air with the faint scents of foods from the festival, giving it a balanced mixture of nature and dinner time. The snow on the ground shined reflecting the moon light from the darkened sky making it look like a forest of glitter against the cold.

He shivered from the cold, rubbing his hands together from the cold and sinking further into his coat. It was always chilly out this season. He'd be glad when he was able to get back to their hotel room. It would just be after the parade after all. The gym leader was so wrapped up in his own worlds he didn't notice the woman walk up to him or the footsteps crunching through the snow until they were right next to him.

"Hey."

"Gah!" He practically jumped out of his skin and whirled around to the woman next to him who blinked and held a few objects in her hands. "Wha-...Oh. I -Its you. *Sigh* Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you...Again. That's just another thing I need to apologize to you for while I'm here."

"Huh?"

Her answer was to just hold up the objects in her hands. Which was two small bags and a cardboard cup holder holding two cups of hot chocolate, he could tell from how they smelt. "Seeing you the other day made me realize that I didn't apologize for all the inconveniences I gave you. So I'm sorry we trespassed on your farm. And I'm sorry for scaring you..Twice. And I'm sorry for using you to get away from Raihan. And I'm also sorry for making you drop your food. Here." You held out the food at him. "I got you and your little brother some replacement food as an apology gift." He opened stared at her, before looking at the food, then back to her, then opening his mouth- "Take it. My drizzlie would only eat it if I took it with me. And I have no place for it anyways."

....He slowly took the objects handed over to him with an unsure expression on his face...before giving a small smile. "I-...Thank you. Wow. Doughnuts and hot coco. Heh. Not a bad Christmas gift."

"Oh. That reminds me. I do have something for you." He again looked surprised when she dug into her coat pocket and pulled out two small metal keychains shaped like wooloo. They shined in the light as she held them out with a smile. "Here. Merry Christmas."

He could only stare at them. "A...gift? For me?"

"And your little brother. I got all my friends some and I figured you'd guys like one too."

...He took a moment longer to stare at them more before shifting the food into one arm to reach a free hand over to take them from her. A... Christmas gift? For him? But...he never got any Christmas gifts except from his few friends and little brother. He certainly didn't have that many fans so all the unexpected kindness was...So sudden. But...not unpleasant. In fact..the gesture struck something in his which made his heart pick up a beat and his face turned a darker pink than his hair.

"Well I'll see you later. Good luck in the Champion Cup tomorrow, Milo. Merry Christmas."

And then she turned and left, leaving him to look on after her red faced as her eyes glittered in the Christmas lights, the snow gathering prettily on her f/c hair, and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her face.

BU-BUMP!!

He nearly crushed the cups of coco as he felt his heart place a beat and his face burnt.

"O-O sweet wooloo knitted sweaters."

#pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #pokemon reader #Pokemon Milo #Pokemon Milo x reader #Pokemon reader x Milo #Milo x reader #Reader x Milo #Milo #Reader

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choicesmc · 13 days

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okay because i still have tabletop gaming on the brain (and I know you play now hehe):

would any of your MCs/OCs ever join a D&D campaign? (or something more niche like Ars Magica?) What would their classes be? What parts would they most enjoy?

ty sunshine! 💖

thank you for dropping by o/

Rin -> funny enough I actually headcannon that Rin starts a rival D&D club after trying to join Edgar’s table. She thought it’d be fun. Anyhow, she’s usually DM but on the rare occasion the group’s playing a one-shot, Rin’s often a barbarian. Though she’s dabbled with fighters and warlocks, barbarian is the only one that really sticks xD I think she really enjoys playing a character that’s just allowed to feel, who’s allowed to use and acknowledge intense emotions to the team’s benefit rather than their detriment, if that makes sense? When it comes to campaigns, she leans more towards ‘dungeon’ mechanics (<- ie getting quest after quest with less importance on fleshing out a character/role play) over anything else! (Also: she is a dice-hoarder, what can she say? Dice are pretty)

*Rams -> really wanted to play D&D but couldn’t find time for it… now, xe would join a campaign (if offered) but doesn’t go out looking for one. Out of all my MCs, co’d be the most open to other ttrpgs though just know co will almost always be the healer. In D&D, ze splits between cleric and druid with a mean lean towards druid. Rams is very much a roleplayer, ze doesn’t mind lots of battles but they take last priority to really getting in character and playing out a story.

Fiona -> I think he plays on the off chance if he happens to have the time + the energy. Like, you might find him wandering into a dice store and dropping in on a game every couple of months. But also, Fiona is the type whose character is a self-insert. The only difference between Ivo and Fiona is that Ivo is a traveling bard and, arguably, Fiona is not. I’d say, Fiona tends to prefer non-homebrew campaigns because 1) they are familiar and he can really focus on knowing his party members even if for just one night and 2) homebrew campaigns make him feel more bad about not being a consistent party member. (Also: only has the beginners’ pack blue dice)

Jiahao -> never played. Would play to satisfy her curiosity if a friend really wanted her to play with them. If she did ever play, his character would be a rogue. Like fallen noble turned crooked criminal type!

*Wanted to add: in Rams’ universe, there’s a D&D equivalent called Immortal Realms in which the BOLAS characters are part of a pre-made campaign kit

#tiny tidbits #fiona lightwood #asks answered #rin #rams erndheart #jet

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tirorah · 1 year

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Growing Stronger One Failure at A Time: Smile PreCure and Its Dark Sequel Novel

Long-time readers of this blog know that, aside from Strike Witches, there’s one other media property that holds a special place in my heart: Pretty Cure, the magical girl anime for young girls who love to watch fictional young girls kick ass and do cute things. Airing almost weekly since 2004, each season (bar a few sequels) completely changes the setting, cast and motif, allowing for incredible diversity in stories.

Smile PreCure is the ninth season and served as my gateway into the franchise. It is, for better or worse, a consistently average show, with engaging characters, a by-the-numbers plot, and a lot of funny nonsense. That last part is especially important: Smile aired in 2012, the year after Japan was devastated by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Smile’s lighter tone and goofy antics were designed to cheer people up.

Indeed, Smile is so relentlessly optimistic, so bright and so colourful, that even my younger self’s teeth and retinae had a hard time keeping up. But it did exactly what it was supposed to do: in a period of my life when I wasn’t feeling my best, I sat down to watch it based on mere hearsay and it made me Ultra Happy. To this day, it remains one of my favourite shows of all time.

In February 2023, I decided to watch Smile for the fourth time—the first in years—in the hopes of recapturing that magic. And while doing so, I found out about something else: nowadays, there’s more to Smile than the anime.

Between 2015 and 2016, Toei released six PreCure light novels that were explicitly written for its now-older fans. To my utter fortune, not only was Smile one of the seasons to get one, it also received an unofficial translation to English by a team of devoted fans. Naturally, I gave it a read.

And I thought it was incredible, despite its faults!

Why? Because it builds so well on the characters I know and love. Because it’s given me a deeper understanding of Smile’s theme. And because it accomplishes that by taking this group of happy-go-lucky girls and ramming them straight into the harsh reality of adult life. Which is also, despite appearances, an essential part of Smile’s story.

[Spoiler warning: If you haven’t watched Smile PreCure and think you might want to, now is the best time to acquaint yourself with it. I spoil important plot points throughout this post.

If you’ve already watched the anime and want to know why I love the novel, you can read on for a bit. I’ll give you another warning once we get into spoiler territory for it.

If you’re unfamiliar with both, but want to give me a chance to explain why I think they’re great, read on!]

Life As an Underdog

It’s well known among PreCure fans that Smile makes poor use of its fairy-tale motif; it’s one of the areas where it falls short of its potential in a big way. But its theme is a different story, and that’s best felt in its character writing. As ivanhobe once said in his Worth The Watch series (which I highly recommend): the main characters of Smile are underdogs.

See, PreCure characters are always good at something, whether it’s a hobby, a potential career or a facet of their personality. While I’m sure this doesn’t happen to literally every character, there’s a tendency to inflate this aptitude to such a degree that the character becomes incredibly competent in their chosen field, far beyond the skill most fourteen-year-olds are capable of.

In contrast, Smile is the story of five girls who have talent, but who are not the best at whatever they put their minds to. They’re also shockingly prone to failure. This affects how we view their struggles; when they fall short and experience disappointment, or regret, or lose confidence in themselves, it’s believable to the viewer because they’re relatively normal girls who still have much to learn.

This is why episode 22 works so well. The group is faced with a choice: continue into the den of evil and possibly die, or abandon their magical friends and return to a peaceful life on Earth. They don’t want to do the latter, but the former legitimately terrifies them. Although we as viewers know they’ll succeed in the end, the danger is very real to them, and that makes it all the more heroic when they each independently decide to go through with it anyway.

This is the theme of Smile PreCure: keep smiling and keep doing your best, even if you’re sad, even if it’s hard, and your efforts will lead you to a shining tomorrow. The Smile girls were brought low, but they never gave up completely, and they earned an unknown but happy future in return. That’s where the anime left off.

In the light novel, that future has become reality. Ten years have passed since Pierrot’s defeat and the girls are now 24 years old; a time for budding careers and working toward your dreams. But reality can be hard, even unfair, and not giving up never gets any easier.

I had won an honourable mention only once; a bittersweet start to the goal of opening my path of becoming a writer to the world. After graduating from vocational college, I eventually became busy focusing on real-life one day, and any time to write fairytales disappeared. I couldn’t keep putting my faith in the power of imaginative stories.

– Miyuki

The above passage is emblematic of why I so viscerally connected with this story. I was in my young 20s when I first watched Smile, recently graduated into a job market that was unfavourable to me for several reasons. I was unemployed for a long while and found myself stuck in a rut that I had trouble envisioning a way out of.

Back then, Smile was like a shot of rainbows straight into my arm. I was much happier for weeks and was downright inspired by some of the episodes. While I didn’t suddenly turn my life around because of it, it did give me something I truly enjoyed like few things before it or since, and I’ve always been thankful for that.

Now, on my fourth watch and my first read of the novel, I’m in my early 30s. My situation has improved quite a lot. But I’ve also had to endure my fair share of challenges, the most emotionally intense of which is a trio of losses that I suffered over the past couple of months. That’s why, even though I’m a happy person in many ways, it’s harder to feel like that right now.

Grief makes you fragile. I’m…tired. Sometimes I’m sad, or I wonder if another blow will come soon, and I become afraid of what it would do to me. Other times, I’m just unable to have as much fun with something I love compared to a few years ago, or even a few months ago. This is why I started my rewatch of Smile in the first place; it’s my go-to laughter therapy.

But in the novel, I found a different type of relief: catharsis. These cheerful young girls, whom I all adore, had grown up…and they were struggling too. Some of them were successful, some of them less so, but all of them suffered from time to time, because that’s how life works. As I read each chapter and came to realise what these characters were going through, I felt…represented in a sense. Seen, maybe. Understood.

The way I understood them.

Emotional Baggage

[Beware! Spoilers for the novel below.]

But I know now that I’m an adult: there’s no such thing as a perfect person. If anything, once you’re grown up, you’ve got even more worries. More failures. The stuff that makes you wanna cry piles up like a mountain.

– Nao

Another of Smile’s interesting writing decisions is that the main cast is static, rather than dynamic. By and large, they don’t get any big arcs and the status quo is never upended. Smile is much more concerned with developing the characters rather than growing them. To compensate, all of them have strong personalities from the start, and those personalities completely carry the show. It’s Smile’s most impressive achievement.

But they have flaws too, weaknesses that can be turned against them, and this is what the novel plays with. Let’s take a look at each of our heroes.

Miyuki works part-time in a bookstore, and she’s not great at it. Still, she’s taken initiative to organise storybook readings for little kids, and sometimes she’ll read the one she made herself: The Greatest Smile. It’s her dream to have it published and to create more children’s stories, so they can be delighted and inspired by them like she was.

But having your story published is far from easy, and her attempts have so far resulted in failure. To make matters worse, the bookstore is now due to be closed next month, and there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Miracles only happen in stories, the manager says, and the scene ends before Miyuki can disagree with her—if she even does at all. It’s hard to keep smiling and dreaming when you’re not getting anywhere.

Akane still works in her family’s okonomiyaki restaurant. On the sunny surface, she’s doing great. But their customer base is stagnating, and despite many happy years of living together with Brian—both in the UK and now in Japan—Akane’s world is rocked to the core when she realises Brian’s vision for his future differs from hers.

She’s always been the most individualistic character, wild and free and boisterous. But sometimes this crosses the line into self-indulgence. It’s not something she does on purpose, just a natural consequence of what she’s like as a person. To her, nothing could be more perfect than running the restaurant with Brian by her side. But he has other dreams, something which is tough for her to understand and accept.

Yayoi is the most successful of the group by far. Miracle Peace really took off and ended up serialised, running for seven years. But keeping your ratings high is difficult and time-consuming. So, to be able to devote everything she had to its continued success, Yayoi dropped out of high school and set up a workplace in the city centre, chasing deadlines year after year.

It made her a lot of money, but money by itself doesn’t guarantee happiness. She’s horrified when her deadline causes her to forget the anniversary of her father’s death, and decides Miracle Peace’s story has to end, for her own wellbeing. But this leaves her adrift. Is being a mangaka truly what she wants for herself? How can she pursue her passion if it causes her to lose sight of other things she loves?

Nao was always the person whose personality flaws hindered her the least in daily life, the one who had the least to ‘learn’. That’s probably why her shot at her dream career was taken from her before it even began. When she saved Yui from an oncoming truck, Nao took the hit instead…and broke her leg. Although she was fortunate enough to survive, her leg suffered permanent damage and she had to give up football.

But this incident is a symptom, not the cause; her true enemies are stagnation and self-sabotage. She chose to stay in her hometown for university, despite a multitude of recruitment offers. She didn’t even move out to live on her own. Unwilling to move on from her family, unable to pursue her original dream, and burdened with a trauma that freezes her when triggered, she’s shrunk her world to a safe existence where her limits aren’t challenged anymore.

Reika’s path led her to share her wisdom with others. As a Language Arts teacher at her old middle school, her genuine interest in her students and her encouragement to seek one’s own path in life have made her quite popular. So, it’s all the more of a shock to her when a letter turns up in the school’s letterbox: an anonymous student accuses her of being unable to see into the students’ hearts, and threatens to leave unless she quits.

Her confidence as a teacher falters. In spite of all the internal progress she’s made, and all of her efforts to be a more charismatic speaker, she now faces proof that she has failed in her duty to listen. Someone’s crying out for help, she concludes, and she must find out who. But this means observing her students, analysing them as though they’re criminal suspects. It’s a loss of the intrinsic trust between student and teacher, and that makes her feel like a horrible person.

As you can see, each character is being punished for their flaws or personality traits in some way.

Miyuki is in a situation where optimism is simply not enough, and her attempt to put on a happy face ends up backfiring. Had Akane thought to look past her own ambitions, Brian’s plans might not have blindsided her so much. Yayoi lived the life of her dreams, but that life was utterly consumed by Miracle Peace. Nao’s problems are a direct result of her total devotion to her family and how she never grew out of her role in it. Reika is so steadfast in her path that she misses the warning signs of someone else straying from theirs, and it makes her heart waver.

Then, just when Reika has managed to recover her equilibrium, Joker appears.

A Story of Despair

Until now, I’ve completely skipped over the overarching narrative of this novel. It’s not subtle about the fact that something more is going on here. For starters, Miyuki doesn’t actually remember why she drew The Greatest Smile; she thinks she made it all up, and that she used her best friends as templates for the heroes. But the most disturbing thing is that she doesn’t even remember said friends to begin with.

There’s a haze clouding their minds. Whenever two of them encounter each other, memories of their non-Precure times at middle school resurface, like seeing them through fog. But when the other person leaves, those memories slip away and the encountered friend is gradually forgotten, the fog closing around them once again. This is the basic plot structure for the first three chapters: Miyuki happens to run into Akane, Akane into Yayoi, and Yayoi into Nao. And then the memory drifts to the back of their minds, doomed to fade away unless something triggers it again.

This is actually my biggest complaint with the novel: the first three chapters all explore the same concept and have roughly the same outcome. They don’t add new details to intrigue you every chapter, so the story isn’t pushed forward during Akane and Yayoi’s chapters any more than it is during Miyuki’s. And because the girls spend so much time separated from one another, the novel doesn’t flesh out the character dynamics between specific duos, an aspect that was already lacking in the show.

But in the background, hidden from the reader, plot was afoot. We see it in Chapter 4 for the first time.

Nao, absent-minded and troubled, inadvertently places herself into the path of an oncoming truck. The stressor triggers her and she freezes in place, helpless to avoid death. But someone pulls her clear: it’s Reika, her childhood friend! Unlike the previous three meetings, this one didn’t happen by chance; Reika specifically sought her out. See, it’s one thing that they don’t remember their best friends from middle school. But for Reika, missing so many childhood memories on top of that proved too suspicious to ignore.

In Reika’s chapter, it eventually becomes apparent that this isn’t the first time she’s snapped out of her haze. As it happens again, and more and more of her memories rush to the surface, she finds indicting proof: ever the organised sort, she’d made a note in her schedule to see Nao. It wasn’t just Nao, either; Reika realises she’s visited Miyuki, Akane and Yayoi as well. And the memories faded every time.

Although this doesn’t alleviate the problems I outlined earlier, it does help. First of all, it recontextualises the first three chapters. You’re prompted to wonder when Reika went to see her other friends, and if this had anything to do with their awakenings. And secondly, it utilises the childhood friendship between Nao and Reika more profoundly than the anime ever did. While we’re never shown if Reika’s actions had any effect outside of Nao’s chapter, it’s possible that they did. And if so, their years-long bond may have helped to save the day. It saved Nao’s life, at least.

Back to Joker’s attack. Although it’s not the first time he targets Reika—having taunted and tormented her in two dreams prior—he now goes on the offensive for real. Reika is getting too close to the truth: that this world they live in is a fabrication, not unlike the Ball of Negligence they were once trapped in. Only this time, instead of a carefree dream, their prison is a nightmare of never-ending struggle and disappointments designed to grind them down.

She escapes of course, fleeing through the Book Gate toward the Magical Library they once used as their secret base. Here, in the final chapter, the rest of the truth is finally revealed.

The entire premise of the novel was a lie. In truth, it’s only been a year since Pierrot’s defeat. The girls are fifteen years old, on the cusp of graduating middle school, and separation looms. Although Miyuki, Akane and Yayoi plan to attend the same high school, Nao and Reika have each decided on separate ones that align better with their interests. And so, they gathered in the Library to discuss their dreams and plan a graduation trip.

It was at that moment that Joker made his move. Although without a body, his fusion with Pierrot and his boundless hate for the Precure had turned him into some sort of immortal being with an immense grudge. He trapped them in the Library, locked away their ability to transform, and took Candy hostage. Then he challenged them to a game: to save Candy, they must navigate the stormy seas of adult life…alone, with not even their happy memories of each other to keep them going.

The True Meaning of Strength

Now, in true Smile PreCure fashion, Miyuki and her friends have overcome their hardships, get beaten down for a bit longer, and finally return with a vengeance. They transform as adults, their Precure forms more refined than ever, and a power boost to go along with it. But even with that rather typical return to form, the details are what’s truly important.

Joker has evolved into an even more dangerous form, as he managed to collect a considerable amount of Bad Energy from them during their captivity. And he shows them pictures of their lives as adults: downcast, lost, disillusioned, suffering. The insinuation is clear. Maybe it was only for one, intense moment, or perhaps it was a long-term bout of despondence, but whatever the case, each of them did fall into despair.

What’s more, Joker asserts that the stories they were trapped in weren’t of his own making; they were based on the despair within them, their weaknesses, their fears. These were potential futures based on who they are as people. And sometimes people fail, or lose sight of their dreams, or even give up.

And yet here they are, stronger than ever. Miyuki remarks that they’ve, ‘powered up just as much as we have become adults!’

This raises an intriguing question. Beyond the nebulous concepts of friendship and determination, what exactly fuels their powers? How did they go from only being able to use their finishers once, to spamming their elements at will? I always assumed they were becoming more accustomed to the rigours of being Precure, that they were getting used to the fighting and the energy expenditure.

But what if it is this act of ‘becoming an adult’ that drives their powers to new heights? The change in their outfits seems to suggest as much. Now, the simplest explanation is that Precure become stronger as they age, but…that’s not very fitting. PreCure is a romantic universe by nature, one where bonds and willpower save the day. Reducing that to the passage of time is entirely at odds with the spirit of PreCure.

No, I think it’s more interesting if we look at the other side of becoming an adult: maturity. Do Precure—or at least the Smile Precure—become more powerful as they mature? If so, then the question becomes: what does it mean to mature? That’s a complicated one, but I hope everyone will agree when I say that personal growth is a big part of it. Except, didn’t I earlier claim that Smile’s characters don’t really grow that much, if at all?

It's true. Smile mostly lacks character growth…in general writing terms. But in terms of the characters as people, each episode is a valuable lesson. As established before, Miyuki and her friends are deliberately written to fail, and they do so frequently. But they always keep going. They always renew their determination to never give up on what’s important to them. Whether they actually achieve their goal of the episode is irrelevant; what matters is that they experience hardship and keep at it anyway.

In this way, the theme of Smile PreCure doesn’t just shape the characters; it’s literally the source of their power. Every victory, big and small, becomes a source of confidence. Each memory serves as proof that they can come out on top one day, as long as they keep trying. This is why Joker’s game was so effective. They had to get back up on their own this time, without any help from the friends they came to rely on, and missing many of the memories that made them stronger, better people.

It was their toughest challenge yet, and they had to dig deep to overcome it. But ‘overcoming it’ wasn’t winning a fight, or achieving some sort of goal, or unlocking a nifty power-up.

It was a choice.

Even though each of their awakenings was sparked by contact with one of their friends, it still fell to them as individuals to find a choice to make, and then to commit to their decision. When they did so, they tapped into a wellspring of power within themselves that was completely divorced from external factors: a strength of character. And it was only then that they fully remembered who they were.

It makes perfect sense that the resulting power increase as Precure allows them to beat back Joker and write yet another victory for themselves.

The Treasure You Need

With this emphasis on choice and maturity, I see a lot of parallels between the progression in this light novel and the anime. See, both of them contain a basic but effective writing tool: want vs need. I’m far from a professional writer, but here’s what I know.

What a character wants is their initial motivation in the story: an external goal that will make them happy. But what a character needs is some sort of lesson: an inner realisation that will make them a better person. This want and need are usually linked in some way.

In the show, there’s a constant build-up and reinforcement of the group’s want, and it clashes with their need in a heart-rending manner.

The girls and Candy want to stay together forever, because the friendship that’s formed between them is incredibly precious to them. It’s the foremost reason why they fight so hard, and why they can keep getting back up no matter what. The importance of their want is proven to them on every occasion.

Then the finale hits, and suddenly it all comes crashing down. They receive a final chance to save the world…at the cost of losing their friend forever.

Smile treats this revelation with the gravitas it deserves. Miyuki and the others are devastated. To them, this is the ultimate sacrifice. Even though they can see the choice they need to make—and that it’s basically no choice at all—it still takes them a good while before they can accept it. The moment they commit, they choose to sacrifice their want in order to attain their need.

Even though Smile retcons this twist in its final moments, likely to avoid making a lot of children (and me!) inconsolable, the characters still made that decision and were at peace with it, no matter how excruciating it was. And that’s a true hallmark of maturity.

The light novel is less dramatic, but it’s an equally stirring continuation of this journey toward adulthood.

First, each of them is placed in a situation where they’ve (more or less) achieved their want: they all have jobs that they like or love, that they’re good at or at least competent enough to keep. For those who have yet to attain their dream profession, their current situation has the potential to lead them there. Yes, even for Nao; sure, she can’t play anymore, but she still loves football and being a coach fits her.

But there’s something holding them back from true happiness, and this is where their need comes in: there’s no such thing as a perfect life or a perfect person. They need to acknowledge that, no matter how hard they try, their future won’t always be bright, it won’t always be how they envisioned it, and they won’t always get what they yearn for. The choices they make during their individual chapters are how they embrace that need; they turn away from their want and become better people for it.

This is best exemplified by the ending.

Joker has been vanquished and everyone is safe once again. None of the girls seem scarred by their latest experience, but it serves as a potent warning: even if it was fake, even if it stacked the deck against them as much as possible, it was based on a nugget of truth. And they take that to heart. Rather than brush it off as an inconsequential trick, they take action that shows a newfound level of maturity.

On the day of their graduation, they ascend to the top of a hill on the outskirts of town. Their spur-of-the-moment goal: to find the treasure at the end of the rainbow. This is a futile endeavour, of course. Rainbows are optical illusions; they don’t actually exist as an object that can be approached. The treasure can likewise never be found.

But that was never their goal. They make the journey slowly, using only their own legs to carry them. No bicycles, no public transport. By the time they get there, the rainbow has long since disappeared from view. None of them care; walking there together was the true point all along.

Here, under a sky resplendent with stars, they bury a time capsule with The Greatest Smile inside: a collection of their precious memories, the source of their fortitude. Accompanying it is a letter, tailored to a more realistic future:

To our future selves who have become adults.

Hey there, how are you doing right now? Did your dreams come true? Is your work fun? You didn’t forget to smile every day, did you?

If you have opened this capsule and are reading this, then it’s most likely your heart is being troubled. You may have lost sight of your dream, and you may be facing discouragement. You may have even lost your smile, and you may have been stricken with sorrow.

But think back, remember that time. At the end of the day, you girls became the PreCure and saved the world. So be brave. You were all able to change the Story of Despair into the Story of Hope after all.

And, don’t ever forget. You all have irreplaceable friends who are there for you. Whenever you want to cry, think back to when you used to go to the end of the rainbow with everyone, and remember that day.

Somewhere in the twinkling and shining starry sky, you will surely find happiness.

– Hoshizora Miyuki

I view this as a more mature version of the show’s theme. It’s important to dare to keep dreaming, to keep moving forward and doing your best, even if you’re sad, even if it’s hard. And you need to accept that, inevitably, you will be sad sometimes, and you will find yourself disillusioned with your goal, or with life. Maybe you’ll lose touch with the people or the things you love…or maybe you’ll lose them altogether.

But you need to get back on your feet no matter what. And if you do that enough, hopefully, someday, you’ll achieve happiness. Maybe it’s not the happiness you set out to find, or maybe you took a long, winding road to get there, but if you manage to attain it, that’s your figurative treasure at the end of the rainbow. You can’t always see it, and you can never touch it, but it’ll still make you smile.

And that’s a lesson I hope to learn myself.

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Thank you for reading. I hope it was as informative for you as writing this was for me.

#smile precure #smile precure light novel #welcome back to Thinking About Things Way Too Much: The Blog #smile precure novel

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fipindustries · 2 months

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-of three

yuuuuuup, i think this is where i tap out, whatever was the comic i originally fell in love with this is no longer it, hasnt been for a long while.

in a sense it was kind of inevitable, if this comic intended to last any serious ammount of time and try to tackle a serious kind of story it couldnt stay as the wacky, histrionic, horny and chaotic extravaganza of cool body horror and funny silly characters it was when it began.

the later, more angsty, more complex, more... can i even say "grounded"? let's say heavy parts of the story were just not doing it for me, though not through any fault of their own, i should clarify. is just simply not something im in the mood for anymore.

i think something changed in me, in my temperament, in my tastes, in who i am. i think i lost the taste for highly dense, highly complex convoluted stories with thousands of characters and moving pieces and giant ambitious worldbuilding and deep lore. or maybe is not that i lost the taste for them, is that ive already involved myself in far too many of them. i am currently reading one piece, kill six billion demons, gunnerkrigg court, the locked tomb series, as well as watching dungeon meshi, yellowjackets and a bunch of other shows. maybe my head has just ran out of ram to keep all of those things straight in my head and still care and be invested in all of them simultanously.

or maybe feast for a king is just a little TOO damn chaotic and its cast a little TOO crowded with people and its timeline a little TOO convoluted. to be honest, after a while keeping track of it all felt more like homework than anything else, and after hitting a certain scale you kind of start hitting powercreep induced nihilism. like, between the five different types of hekatonks, the queen worms and the king worms, the kings seeds, whatever celadon is, cyborg powers, heart worlds, double hearted mandragoras, the weeds, hybrids, clones, mutants, gods??? it really feels like just about anything goes. death is kind of meaningless in this world, powerlevels are kind of meaningless, what is possible or impossible is kind of meaningless, we have shapeshifters and possessing bodies, and mind control, and astral projection, and ghosts, and time travel. anything can be anything anywhere all the time, it just becomes meaningless. insipid. there is no up or down.

on top of that the morality of any given character is so fucked and the scale of the horrors and sins commited in this story are so overwrought that i also fail to be morally invested on anything? are there good guys? bad guys? is there even a right or wrong here anymore? i know there are characters i nominally like, but i dont even know what version of that character do i sympathize with really, do i really like this character or do i like what who they were 500 years ago? or maybe i only liked someone else pretending to be that character, or maybe i dont like the character i like the worm they became after they were eaten by worms, etc etc and so on and so forth.

i just lost the plot. it got away from me.

i think you can be highly chaotic and ambitious in one or two things when executing your story. either worldbuilding, or the order of storytelling, or characterization, or morality, or nature of the cast. but not all of them all at once.

still, i do not want to leave this with a bitter taste in my mouth. i do still highly respect this strange beautiful beast for what it is and for what it tries to be. i wouldnt want it to be anything else. its just too strange not to like. im glad something like this exists. and by golly did it give me some great moments. let me say that again. it gave me some amazing moments, some truly magical experiences that i never got from anything else. and just for those incredible scenes and characters i will always have a corner in my heart where embers will burn dedicated to it. i dont think its flaws take away from the good i got and i would still enthusiastically recomend this to anyone who is mildly curious and has way more patience than i do

it was truly a feast, in all senses of of the word, and i had my fill of it.

#feast for a king #simon Did not do and indeed will never do Anything Wrong ever #simonXknife4lyf #simon best character #possibly best person???? ever????#the true deffinition of my little meow meow

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echantedtoon · 5 months

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Applin Of My Eye Ch1 The Apple Shaped Heart Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Everything was fine now. Eternatus was defeated. The bad guys caught. No more things to worry about...Or at least for Y/n. A small encounter with a certain farmer has made him realize that he never apologized for bowling her over with a wooloo. So when the woman who helped save Galar shows up on his doorstep with an injured wooloo he may realize that maybe he had some secret feelings he never expressed to her in the beginning.

(Before we begin keep in mind that I do not know the actual name of Milo's little brother so his name is only cannon for this story, and his backstory is also not cannon and just for the story.)