absolute zero.

#𝐆𝐑𝐔𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐀 is a mutuals-only portrayal of 𝐆𝐘𝐌 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐀 from the pokémon franchise, following a 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄-𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓 interpretation .

a study in: the journey to 𝚆𝙰𝙱𝙸-𝚂𝙰𝙱𝙸, embracing 𝙻𝙸𝙵𝙴 and the desire to 𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴, navigating 𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙵 and loss, finding a 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃 companion in pain, & learning to 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙸𝚅𝙴 oneself .

𝐝𝐧𝐢: self-inserts, gen-ai, 'dead dove' edgelord pro-shippers (+ those complicit), minors & duplicates .

symbolized by: the moon, butterflies (china), daffodils (japan), wisteria (japan), clipped wings / the caged bird who can no longer sing, cracked ice, & frosted glass .

𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲: carrd or perish

inspiration drawn from: kafka's "the metamorphosis", shaun white, nile wilson, yuta totsuka, ayumu hirano, kira kimura, more tbd.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: promo . written by ouranos (27+ they/them) . est.2024 .

[no slope] it has not yet manifested(tm) on the dash from discord but grusha is a hiccuper. if they cry or laugh just a Little Too Much and their breath gets uneven, they start hiccuping.

grusha had readily drifted from the relative center of socialization & out into the comparable fringes. from there they quietly observe & listen to others' socializing. but, it's as they take hold of a grape cluster that grusha realized they had not escaped poppy's notice (apparently).

they clear their throat, stepping close enough to the child that neither has to worry about going unheard. "yeah, gym leader… my name is grusha. i am your new ice-type specialist." they'd really prefer galarian, but it'd be unfair of them to hope this kid knows more than paldean. they shift somewhat uncomfortably, and distract themselves by plucking a grape from the cluster & lowering their scarf to eat. "thank you, though…"

they glance sidelong, catching sight of the draping sideswept bangs, "i really like the color… all versions." their hand moves, gently taking hold of a strand which frames their face as they look back to her, "is blue your favorite color… ?" she could have commented just to be polite, "or -- is it something else?"

( "four seasons", huh… )

grusha's eyes lift from the ground to larry, who had finally gotten around to explaining why the four gym leaders before him were gathered. in this setting, he was acting as one of geeta's elite rather than their absolute equal & it was for sake of passing along the idea that… well, they didn't quite catch how it came about.

a sense of reluctance swirls into being as larry explains the idea: an invitation would be spread through each province for the celebration of next year's children's day in mesagoza. by lottery upon registration, children would be assigned one of four seasons - spring, summer, autumn, or winter - to "represent" among the multitude of games, contests, tests, and other activities to be planned. each of the teams present had their own leader at the metaphorical 'helm', responsible for encouraging participants, compiling overall scores from all events, and more.

… honestly, how did geeta expect them to keep up with such a thing? surely, this was more along the lines of rika's expertise… ?

( how troublesome. )

they keep their remark to themselves, however, and shift slightly in their (uncomfortable) seat as the larry somewhat awkwardly indicates the end of his contribution. but that meant it was time for feedback, and hearing from the four leaders who had been chosen to represent each season.

brassius for spring agreed in a heartbeat, expressing a number of ideas which had come to mind throughout larry's explanation. kofu for summer agreed just as readily, but not without causing grusha to jump out of their skin by 'opening' with one of his characteristic booming laughs. ( azelf… ) a hand rises to their chest, pressing down upon their heart as they urge the jittered organ to calm. autumn's chosen gym leader of katy expressed some concerns from a logistical standpoint, but ultimately she agreed…

… then it came to them, and all of their coworker's eyes fall upon glaseado's watcher.

( guess it'd be really uncool if i was the only one to say i'd rather not, huh? ) grusha sighs quietly, a shrug coming through as they move to stand / indicate their readiness to leave as soon as possible afterward, "fine… i think it'll create a good sense of unity through the region. i think it'd be better-received if first, second, and third place all walked away with something in terms of reward instead of just first, but that's just me thinking in podiums."

a brusque nod's given, and the other leaders stand as well. larry uses the opportunity to hand each of them a (fairly thick) folder with the details of what they'd just discussed, and after casting the older man a bow, grusha turns to leave. they're almost at the door when unexpected touch catches their elbow, and lifted eyebrows make their surprise clear as they turn to look -- ( brassius… ? ) -- before the surprise remains as he regards the smaller man.

they say nothing in that moment, air suspended between the two of them; even if brassius had not been planning on speaking, grusha's silence otherwise would have forced it, lest the situation devolve into something entirely awkward. they blink when it's spoken, but they make no move to pull away or be freed from brassius' unexpected contact. "… that your way of saying we should collaborate?" the question is flat, and the familiar anger which had resided in grusha since the (disastrous) conversation in which brassius had attempted to form a bridge churns faintly. "i'm --" lips purse behind their scarf, and visible contemplation of a furrowed brow shows the scales in their mind being balanced...

the responsibility they now share for helping children's day be something incredible for paldea's youth, against their personal feelings.

"-- my phone's notification's are pretty much always off, but…" they shrug slightly, and in that movement take their arm free of brassius' grip. "let me know what you think of and i'll eventually get to it. having me as a 'rep' for a season... probably a bummer if i don't come up with something cool. i could use some help there." a tiny, obligatory bow from the shoulders is their silent farewell, before they turn & push through the building's door.

there's a relief which floods through them with the touch of silver's lips to theirs. they want to melt into him, let their leg buckle & gravity lull them into silver's body against the structural integrity of their prosthetic, but the most they permit of themselves to do so is lift their free hand & slip it betwixt silver's arm and his side. weight's borne into their cane in the other hand, and boyfriend's tugged against him with a passion which says, "you have no idea how much i needed this right now."

it's only as they need to breathe that they reluctantly draw back, but the aforementioned resignation is subsided with full sight of silver's face / argent gaze sweeping their own. "i know you like givin' gifts, but did you ever consider that you showing up at the gym in itself is one?" their eyes soften, indicative of the smile behind their scarf, " 'specially when i just wanna fall face-first on that -" they glance away for sake of emphasizing their cane's point at the couch, "- and not move for like... a year."

they lift the hand not being used to poke at their rotom phone's face, and let the rough grip of their mitten's palm scratch against the cetoddle's rostrum.

[ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] uhhh (๑﹏๑//) [ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] i actually couldn't tell you about her last time we saw one another because she was gifted to me this past christmas. [ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] her name is vishnya... i'm not super in-tune with that part of my heritage, but i know a couple words. [ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] "vishnya" means "cherry", and even though black cherries aren't actually black... i thought it fit? [ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] how long has it you been since you trained anyone from the ground-up... ? [ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ📲ᴄᴀɴᴅɪᴄᴇ ] this is a first for me since i brought up the team for my league assessment...

"good girl... take a bit of a break, yeah?" a pleased expression spreads over the whale's face, and her flippers clap as she moves them against her body in happiness.

they don't need to think long on this one, and it's conveyed in the quick turn of head to look at their coworker with the quick cross of arms -- they're confident in their answer.

"i think of my two larvesta: apemerukoyan and unamerukoyan." grusha nods slightly, "they heat my house, and they're perfectly content to snooze in the fireplace... until they decide they're hungry, and i'm not fast enough to feed them. they snuggle real close to one another and keep their flames gently going. honestly, it's pretty cute."

"mmh," a quiet hum is given in response, and grusha allows their eyes to fall from the aforementioned sky to the tatsugiri tartare just before them. lime wedge in-hand, the younger leader seems to study the cubes of fish & the dish they composed...

they'd been sliced with noteworthy care. the chives were fresh. the salt was pink and from eastern mountains, they can tell by the spare flake they see on the ceramic. overall, respectable quality from appearance alone. larry was correct in his restaurant recommendations yet again.

... before they lift their hand, and squeeze the citrus over the meat.

"maybe it sounds weird, but..." they place the now-juiced wedge on the corner of their napkin, and pick up a fork. "... that's sorta why i like a cloudy, overcast sky." hands come together with a momentary bow of their head in silent thanks for the meal, before taking a small forkful of the fish & biting down.

a nod's given as they chew, approval apparent on their face. they continue after swallowing, "fresh snow usually meant great boarding." a tiny shrug, "but to your point: when it snows, it's like you can reach that sky... at least a part of it." they pause before elaborating, "when it falls as snowflakes into your palm... you're holding something that was once a cloud, yeah?"

they're unexpectedly showered with gratitude.

"really, it's nothing --" rather than the embarrassed bashfulness that typically renders them quiet in a similar situation, grusha feels a subtle warmth filling them. there's admiration, joy, and other emotions they can't quite identify in the faces of those who look at them now... and it lets them realize something in this moment: the interview a few months prior had, perhaps, been something of a bridge between themselves and those in paldea who admired them.

for the first time in a long time, their fans had been given something that allowed them to relate to the gym leader.

maybe that was part of what 'pride month' was all about. at least in their position.