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heytheredahlia · 3 months

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I've been going feral with some world building that I plan to use for a number of future fics, and after the loving encouragement of some of the people in a discord I favor, I've decided to write up a big lore drop post. Partly so other people can use said lore and partly so I don't have to reestablish it every time I want to use it for a different fic.

In this universe, Nuzlocke is a way of describing the danger inherent to a region. There are Nuzlocke regions and Union regions. Union regions have leagues that abide by Union standards, varying rules to protect both trainers and their Pokémon.

Nuzlocke regions are characterized by increased odds of death and bodily harm to Pokémon participating in battles, both against trainers and wild Pokémon. The Pokémon in these regions tend to be more dangerous and as a result the trainers tend to be a lot more vicious during fights. Where as trainers in Union regions can trust one another to a certain extent, Nuzlocke trainers cannot trust each other not to permanently harm or cripple their Pokémon and fight according, ironically leading to more injuries.

By contrast, the Union provides a number of different services to Union abiding regions. First and foremost is medical aid, care in Union regions typically far outpacing Nuzlocke regions. Additionally, the Union acts as a separate legal force not associated with the League and as such can prosecute trainers for excessive amounts of force. The Union also helps with controlling and monitoring wild populations of Pokémon. Powerful trainers are sent out to capture exceptionally aggressive Pokémon (raid mons for example!) to remove them from the breeding pool and curate a calmer wild Pokémon population. The Union also helps in population maintenance which is why a trainer can catch as many Pokémon as they please in union regions as opposed to Nuzlocke regions that limit one capture per route to maintain a healthy population of wild Pokémon.

A region doesn't immediately become a Union region when the league joins the Union itself. There's a set of criteria that needs to be met before a region looses its Nuzlocke status, and it's possible for regions to slip back into Nuzlocke status if the league is inattentive. This points out perhaps the biggest difference between Union Champions and Nuzlocke Champions. In Nuzlocke regions there is only ever one champion. They are the end all be all of strength and remain in power until a stronger champion beats them. They hold an immense amount of sway but their rule is de facto. Union regions can have multiple champion "ranked" trainers who receive a number of benefits for their ranking but only have one primary Champion that is the acting leader for the region itself. The goal of these Champions is to act as guides and protectors for their region, and the role can be passed over at any time to another suitable Champion ranked trainer.

For trainers wishing to swap regions that have different classifications there are a number of rules and regulations regarding Pokémon. Nuzlocke caught Pokémon cannot leave a Nuzlocke region without special testing and certifications proving the Pokémon in question isn't a threat and that the trainer knows how to use reasonable force in battles be they wild or trainer. It is possible for trainers moving to Union regions to obtain licenses for force but these are only applicable when used against dangerous wild Pokémon, again such as raid mons.

Both Nuzlocke and Union regions provide licenses for trainers to carry more than six Pokémon at a time, but only a maximum of six Pokémon can ever be used during a singular battle. In Union regions this rule typically only exists for the sake of ride Pokémon or service Pokémon but Nuzlocke trainers have been known to use this rule to keep multiple battle ready teams on their person, especially more powerful trainers.

Region Specific Lore and Worldbuilding

Kanto/Johto: Kanto and Johto due to proximity have remained consistently linked in terms of status, sharing a singular league between the two. During the course of Red and Blue it was still a Nuzlocke region but has long since joined the Union the term only just barely still applied. Immediately after during the time in which Lance was coming into power as champion, the join regions were finally declared officially Union.

Hoenn: Before the Union was officially recognized, Hoenn had a proto-union of sorts due in large part to the existence of contests. Nuzlocke rulings were often contradictory to what contests necessitated and the death of popular contest Pokémon could often cause large scale upset. The transfer to Union ruling was exceptionally easy for Hoenn and it's been Union ever since.

Sinnoh: To this day, Sinnoh is still a Nuzlocke region and you can thank Cynthia for that. She is not actively malicious, but she isn't particularly kind either. She loves her own team but has no special care for other trainers Pokémon which has inspired a similar disposition in the rest of the region. Cynthia has shown no signs of wanting to become a Union regulated region and because of this Sinnoh is something of a safe haven for trainers who prefer Nuzlocke ruling.

Unova: Until recently, Unova was a Nuzlocke region. During Alder's younger days he was a trainer who sought strength, which was encouraged. When he lost his partner it was a wake up call. Between that and the rise of Team Plasma, the region began to shift priorities and during the end of his time as Champion, Alder began the framework to get the region union recognized. By the events of B2W2, the region is already officially Union status having historically been one of the fastest regions to meet the requirements outside of the founders.

Kalos: Kalos has a complicated history due to the actions of Team Flare. While regarded as a Union region for most of the time the Union has existed, the actions of Team Flare managed to cause the region to slip into Nuzlocke classifications temporarily before the region was brought back under control. The awakening of the legends in X and Y caused a surge of more violent and powerful Pokémon that had to be quelled, though the situation was rather quickly rectified.

Alola: Alola itself is a difficult topic due to how young its actual league is. It lacked a champion until very recently and because of that it was also a Nuzlocke region, lacing any Union presence as well. Because of this, Alola is up there as one of the most dangerous regions alongside Sinnoh. Upon receiving a champion the league immediately got to work trying to get the region up to Union standards but it's been a long and slow process as a lot of trainers have been resisting the change.

Galar: Galar is one of the oldest Union regions, having helped to establish the union as a present force. This can especially be seen in the fact that the role of Champion for this region has been split into two, with a powerful active Champion to take care of threats and the role of Chairman filling in for the bureaucratic duties that Champions in other regions would also shoulder.

Paldea: Paldea is a long standing Union region, however, the existence of Paradox Pokémon poses a certain degree of threat. As long as they remain in the great crater then the region as a whole remains up to Union standards and Area Zero can be carefully monitored. If the Paradox Pokémon begin escaping however... Well, Union regions can be reclassified as Nuzlocke if they stop meeting all necessary standards.

#pokemon nuzlocke #nuzlocke #nuzlocke lore #nuzlocke headcanon #nuzlocke au #pokemon headcanons #pokemon headcanon lore #pokemon nuzlocke lore #pokemon fanfiction #dahlia nuzlocke lore

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candy-jinx-art · 1 year

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YTTD Nuzlocke AU part 2

#art #fan art #digital art #au #crossover #nuzlocke au #yttd #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #pokemon #sara chidouin #ranmaru kageyama #ransara #furfrou #leafeon #upload #mine

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w1f1n1ghtm4r3 · 3 months

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made an ippiki au kohane nom as well as an energy refill version for my casual tiering server (which you should totally join if you want to play with me on ensekai when i tier, i'm a very casual tierer so expect lots of playing stuff for fun and being able to bring your own event teams instead of needing fill teams :D)

#project sekai #prsk art #project sekai fanart #prsk fa #kohane azusawa #ippiki au #w1f1 draws #shes so fluffy and silly looking i was makign her while in vc with friends #except i was also backseat driving an emerald randomizer nuzlocke so i got very easily distracted from drawing

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jbwashere · 1 year

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(repost with redesign) Have a small ref sheet for a comic I’m making called Trail to Unova Its basically just a series I’m making while playing Pokémon Black (since my last save file got deleted and I reached the elite four I-) this is mostly for self indulgence (and coping.)

Pre-Unova John is from @askangstyarchiis

#pokemon #Pokemon AU #Pokemon comic #Pokemon art #Trainersona #Pokemon Trainers #Pokemon Cheren #Pokemon Bianca #Pokemon oc trainer #Web comic #Pokemon fancomic #Pokemon trainer oc #Unova #Pokemon Black #Pokemon Black and white #Repost so that I can reblog this to blog #Im taking a small break rn and my friend is playing a shiny only nuzlocke #They got a shiny but only for a second since he accidentally missed clicked #rip Shiny mudkip/JB

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perenlop · 5 months

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i'm trying to do these teams based on pokemon you can reasonably get throughout the story, but i'm trying to restrict these teams to only pokemon that show up in that region and do you know how difficult that is in the johto games. woe, houndoom be upon ye

#always wanted to use a houndoom. i think i used one in platinum? but it didnt stick #cause id usually use infernape or weavile #i also didnt wanna add ampharos cause i have a johto nuzlocke pmd style story ive been sitting on foreverrrrr #and i didnt wanna add too many pokemon from that locke. but oh well. half the team is that anyways #and i just did NOT know which johto pokemon to add that i both cared about enough and didnt clash types.#i miiiiight cheat and go with the fairy rule and make togetic fairy type and add a normal type instead #heracross and togetic were just non negotiable cause like. well for one its togepi. and for another i fuckin adore heracross #mayyybe ill replace amphy with a smeargle. i like smeargle and itd make a cute anthro #echoed voice #anthro au

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novanexusart · 2 years

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A Luckless Landing Pt 2

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Am I posting two back-to-back posts of the same comic series? As sure as our protagonist is an absolute moron.

#digital art #original character #my art #pokemon #pokémon #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon nuzlocke #nuzlocke comic #fan comic #nexusdraws #unremarkable hero #alternate universe #pokemon au #luckless misadventures

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askkanjohtrio · 5 months

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ALSO TO THE ASSHOLE WHO ABANDONED THEIR LEAFEON BECAUSE THEY FAINTED ONCE RIGHT BEFORE THE ELITE 4

RIFI IS DOING SO WELL WITH ME AND IS STRONGER THAN YOU'LL EVER BE SO FUCK YOU

- Galena

#tw caps #rotomblr #brine's pokemon au #pokeblogging #pokemon irl #trainer galena #//not trying to make fun of nuzlockes just thought it would funny to do this #//plus some trainers would probably abandon their pokemon for the dumbest reasons in universe without remore #//*remorse

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pokemon-flickering-hope · 2 years

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Decided to draw my version of the Black 2 protag for my nuzlocke :) Her name is Lea :))

I…. Haven’t added her team because that’s…. Clearly subject to change :sweating emote:

And below is the blank for the trainer card I made, free to use! (credit would be appreciated, and feel free to tag me! I wanna see ‘em if you use it!)

#flickering hope au #i have uh…. tweaked the rules of a nuzlock specifically for this run….#i won’t elaborate unless asked bc i am actually afraid of backlash for doing that #and im still writing out the rules #oc// lea collins #rosa pokemon #(technically?)#pokemon black 2 #pokemon nuzlocke #pokemon #pokemon au #fox’s art tag

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chimeracrash · 1 year

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Out of context new AU doodles [yippee]!!!! I started a randomized crystal nuzlocke and now the puyolocke exists [it hurts] [there has been deaths]

dumb creaturaes

#puyo puyo #puyolocke #chimera doodles #my aus #pokemon #nuzlocke #amitie puyo puyo #sig puyo puyo #klug puyo puyo #marle puyo puyo #schezo puyo puyo #satan puyo puyo #ex puyo puyo #AAUUGUGUHHHH THE CHARACTER TAGS [EXPLODES]

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m-awile · 1 year

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this is entirely based off a Pokemon Nuzlocke im sorry everyone

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vulturevanity · 1 year

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Ok so post-Nuzlocke Platinum finale shenanigans:

I was out of "good" flying types to put my Fly HM on so I unboxed Hooty and used it for the rest of the run. Noctowl is famously kinda bad compared to other flying types in gen 4 and therefore nobody's first or even second choice, so I wasn't thrilled about using him. Even so, I trained him up so he wouldn't just take up space in my party and force me to go up against the e4 + Cynthia with 5 pokémon.

The final team was

Maren the Empoleon (I narratively justified his return with catching the lake spirits)

Dash the Rapidash

Guy the Machoke

Fenrir the Umbreon

Nightshade, the Haunter I used to catch Mesprit (I was not about to level up another pokemon)

Hooty

We wiped to Garchomp once due to being 6 levels below cap (oops), then went back in at level 60. The elite 4 was not a challenge (did you know a Haunter with giga drain can knock out half of Bertha's team), but Cynthia is always terrifying so there was a good chance we would wipe again. I opened with Dash to knock out the Spiritomb as fast as possible (and used up one of her full restores), then switched to Maren when her Milotic one-shot Dash. I had to think, because we didn't really have anything that could hurt her good, and she couldn't hit Maren either so it was chip damage against chip damage (her Mirror Coat was a little trouble on that account but I had plenty of potions).

But since my plan for Garchomp needed Maren with full HP and a lot of PP, and due to the fact that Cynthia still had a counter for both him and Fenrir in the form of Aura Sphere Togekiss + Lucario and could switch at any time, I tried something with Nightshade but she was pretty frail and got mirror-coated into oblivion, and through some unfortunate trial and error I eventually switched to Hooty who didn't really have a Role in the battle. I actually forgot Milotic had Ice Beam, so when she hit Hooty I thought I was in big trouble

But then he took less than a third of his hp in damage and left me slackjawed. It turns out despite its meager move pool and low attack stat, Noctowl is both bulky in HP and tanky in Sp. Def., so he could deal with super effective moves like a champ. With the help of several hyper potions, he managed to outlast and fell both Ice Beam Milotic and Shock Wave Togekiss. He eventually went down to a Stone Edge from Lucario, but boy did he prove his worth in the end. Truly represented his unstoppable Owl House namesake.

From then Guy one-shot Lucario with a boosted Revenge, Fenrir finished off Roserade with a couple Psychics, and we were down to facing the Terror Himself, Garchomp.

We were 3 on one so I thought we were fine as Fenrir hit him hard with Dark Pulse, but then Garchomp ate that Sitrus Berry, Dragon-Rushed Fenrir to ashes and Earthquaked Guy pretty hard on switch when Cross Chop did very little. I used Guy's last turn to revive Hooty just in case -- and immediately regretted it as I realized Hooty does not take physical hits nearly as well. My only hope was for Maren to survive a super effective STAB Earthquake (which he very likely wouldn't) and retaliate with a quad-effective Ice Beam.

But then, RNG smiled upon me, as I had given Maren a Quick Claw before I entered the e4 (and it had never activated to the point I actually forgot about it), and right then it activated and the Ice Beam hit, ending the battle.

This last attempt (and subsequent victory) hapoened on the afternoon of the 25th. It was so hype y'all. A real Christmas miracle. I love pokemon

#babs' in character platinum nuzlocke #well. the aftermath.#giratina's gambit au #pokémon #pokemon #(to y'all seeing this from the main tag with no additional context: the nuzlocke ended with Giratina as it was a character run and an AU)

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candy-jinx-art · 1 year

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More of the YTTD nuzlocke AU featuring Ranmaru and Sara

#art #wip #digital art #fanart #yttd #pokemon #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #ranmaru kageyama #sara chidouin #leafeon #furfrou #au #alternate universe #crossover #nuzlocke au #ransara #upload #mine

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atherflame-theconcubus · 2 months

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You do not know how scared I was in the moment.

I genuinely thought Monty was gonna die here. I’m just trying to find a goddamn Eevee and we nearly experience our first death.

#ather talks #sams au #sams nuzlocke #pokémon nuzlocke #pawmi monty

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wild-battlebond · 5 months

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everytime I read a nuzlocke comic it makes me want to make a nuzlocke comic so bad...!!!

#i've wanted to do a Y one for a long time...#except i already have an active normal file of Y that still needs beat (tho i do have a workaround for that).#and knowing that the protagonists of the one i just read are AU versions of pre-existing ocs is also inspirational... it could be cool to #do a yellow nuzlocke with naminé as the protagonist...#fiftytenpost #pokémon #maybe i could blitz through Y over break. hm... ?!?!?

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critterbitter · 4 months

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Asks and responses under cut!

First to note! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THESE ASKS. I REALLY APPRECIATE YALL. That aside, lemme get cracking! @drakeling7413 AWE MAN THANK YOU! I just started playing B2 with a friend (we're... not doing a nuzlocke anymore because we both got full team wiped at Clay's gym. That exadrill's built different man.) But I'm glad to bring back some of that whimsey! @bluemimikyu As an eel defender I am VERY glad to hear that! Good luck with tynamo though, they evolve at a disgustingly high level and they're... well, I don't want to say weak but they're a bit difficult to use against anybody not water or flying, from personal experience. (I love eelektross though. Levitate my beloved...) @ashnesspokemon ADLSKJFLKSDJ THANK YOU!!! I have SO many thoughts about them. We've seen them as rat children. We've seen them as sad old men. Today, I offer you-- gangly teenagers interning at Gear Station and Scheming in the meantime. (Plus elesa! The more I draw her the more I love her, ah... I've always been a sucker for trios. ((looks dead eyed at botw and hollow knight))). I do intend to draw them older later on, but that's a timeline I will Not Nail Down anytime soon hehe. @64s-art-blog Emmet has eel rights, Ingo has lamp rights. (But you're right. He should have thrown eelekrik. The comedic apparel would have been incredible.) @aroacepokefan First of all (points at your user name) AYYY. (Points at this characterization of Ingo). AYYY??? Second of all, thank you I LOVE moles and drillbur's perfect. @asperanna Oh boY OH BOY OKAY SO. I am prrrrobably not gonna draw anymore conventional starters AU cause I have a lot of wips I have to handle of the current comics, BUT Ingo would have a unovan samurott. and then when he gets heebie jeebied into hisui, he would have a HISUIAN Samurrott. And then when the two samurotts meet, they would be like the spiderman pointing meme. But because this is also a sandbox, if you ever wanna run with the hisuian samurott idea please go for it! Free real estate, just remember to credit so I can sneak in and spectate the art. @submasfan SLJLDSFJSLDK TY!!!! I am definitely gonna have to slow down at somepoint so I can work on commissions again (ah... maybe I should open a patreon... to feed myself. hmm.) BUT I APPRECIATE THE EXCITEMENT. The submas brain is real. @magicfeatherbean4 (sweats) This is where I tell you they only appear for like... five lines. BUT YOU SHOULD PLAY BW! I miss the 2d pokemon aesthetic, and BW nails that in the head. ((Its okay we can sit on the sidelines and admire the muppet men do their daily commute within the depths of the train.)) @rudeboimonster I'm so glad you caught the stims! Character consistency is an important rule I hold close to my heart, so seeing people notice the little details I add makes me grin like a loon.

#asks #mailbox #critterbitter

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syrikif · 6 months

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Gamer Etiquette

Kodzuken x Streamer!Y/N

Pairing: Kenma Kozume x Fem!Reader

Genre: SMAU, Written Elements, Strangers to Lovers, Romance, Fluff, Humor, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Streamer/Youtuber AU

Upcoming content creator/streamer, Y/N, has gone viral for lots of things. Her infamous dumb moments, her blended cookie recipe (which tastes better than it sounds), the way she rages at her friends during games, and about a hundred more.

But her most recent viral moment? Accidentally knocking famous streamer, Kodzuken, off the Bedwars map and making him lose his two year winning streak.

Now with more attention (and hate) than she ever asked for, her only option left is to go to the source: the man himself, Kenma Kozume.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Chapter 8 (b): Little Things

Word Count: 2243

It’s past three in the morning.

Kenma ended his stream only minutes ago, having spent the past seven hours playing a hardcore Pokémon Nuzlocke (as decided by his viewers).

And he’s not even tired.

He sighs as he relaxes back into his gaming chair, his fingers idly messing with the strings of his hoody as he watches all the messages coming through on his discord server.

He frees one hand and leans forward just enough to grab his mouse, opening a clip that one of his fans sent in the chat. Kenma realizes shortly into the video that it’s from one of his own streams, an older VOD that’s most likely still up on his neglected YouTube channel.

He makes a mental reminder to start posting on the website more often; his fans clearly like watching the videos after all, regardless of the lack of uploads.

Kenma watches his past self yell almost incompehnsibly at the game he’d been playing, a soft smile coming across his features as he picks up on Kuroo’s voice quietly taunting him underneath all the screaming.

“Some things never change,” he mumbles to himself as the clip ends with the two roommates arguing over each other.

And suddenly it all feels so bittersweet, a sense of nostalgia filling his chest and leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Because while things may not have been easy then, they were simpler somehow; less demanding of Kenma despite the fact that he’d had so many more pressing responsibilites.

He hears himself sigh and briefly wonders when exactly he’d started getting so old.

It’s almost laughable - Kenma reminiscing over his college years at the age of twenty-four.

He releases a low breath, his gaze straying from the chat to the list of active users on the side of the screen. Unsurprisingly, there aren’t as many people online as there usually is and one name manages to catch his eye.

Kenma rarely ever cares to check on things like roles and ranks in his server, he has moderators for that very task after all. But there is a role that he personally made himself when the server was first created, strictly for the purpose of having his friends in one place.

No one has been added into that level in years.

Until now.

Now there’s Y/N.

Kenma isn’t the person who placed her there (he didn’t even know she’d joined his server before this very moment) and the only other people with the ability to do so are his mods.

With this realization he remembers the message he’d recieved from Moe, one of his very first moderators, from earlier that day.

“You can thank me later.”

Kenma had been confused at the time, even assuming that she’d texted the wrong person and not bothering to respond.

Now he understands.

There’s only a moment of hesitation, his cursor hovering above that unmistable gray symbol, before he finally just clicks.

He isn’t sure how long he waits, long enough to feel a sense of dread beginning to sink in but too short to dwell on the feeling.

And it’s futile really, the way Kenma tries to hide his grin from the camera when Y/N finally answers the call wearing cat ears and a blanket that seems to swallow her whole.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she suddenly says, her gaze deepening into a glare.

Kenma wants to laugh because she probably knows exactly what he’s thinking right now. “Like what?” He does his best to appear nonchalant, leaning back into his seat and running a hand through his hair as he stares at her through the screen.

She looks different like this.

Or maybe he just isn’t used to seeing her on video.

“Like I’m some little kid or something,” Y/N huffs, her eyes rolling back as her blanket falls to her lap.

“More like a little cat,” he mutters almost unthinkingly. He watches her eyebrows furrow, her head tilting as his words reach her ears.

“Huh?”

Kenma shouldn’t tease her. He really really shouldn’t. “It’s fitting,” and yet he’s completely incable of resisting, “Kitten.”

Y/N’s jaw quite literally drops, her eyes widening as her face turns a satisfyingly bright shade of red.

And Kenma can’t help but think that she looks so- so- (what was the word?) something.

“Wh- what did you just?” She shakes her head, “You- why would you- ugh!”

Cute.

Yes. That’s the term.

Kenma thinks she looks cute right now.

The realization is slow to hit, his mind even slower to catch on as he watches Y/N fan her face and cup the skin of her cheeks.

It isn’t even the right word, honestly - to kenma - she looks adorable, cute was just the first thing that came to mind.

Why did it come to mind?

“You’re the one wearing cat ears,” he defends. He’s not sure what he’s defending at this point (himself? his thoughts? his weird obsession with cats?); he just doesn’t want her to take it the wrong way.

What would be the wrong way? Flirtaitiously?

But, if she were to flirt back, Kenma doesn’t think he’ll care.

“You piss me off,” Y/N suddenly announces, her voice full of exagerated annoyance, but there’s no doubt that she’s smiling at him - because of him.

No, he really wouldn’t mind at all.

~~~

“Favorite color?”

“Oh come on.” Kenma rolls his eyes, taking a small swig from the can of soda he’d grabbed from the mini-fridge just beside his desk. “You know my favorite color.”

Y/N gives him an incredulous look, “Um, since when?”

Kenma’s eyebrows raise, “Um, since the first day we met?”

“You’re literally lying,” she says with a mouth full of some sort of food. He doesn’t know what she’s eating at this point; first it was chips, then tomato soup, a thin slice of pie (Kenma’s sure that she was trying to rub it in his face), and now it seems to be a kind of fruit.

He’s never seen someone eat so many diverse snacks in one sitting.

Y/N’s eyes suddenly widen, “Shut the fuck up.”

Kenma’s at a loss for words, and he’s sure that Y/N can see the disbelief in his features as he sets the drink on his desk.

“No, like seriously shut up.” She lifts one hand, using her index finger to point at Kenma - or (more accurately) the camera of her webcam.

He blinks. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m trying to think here, okay? So shh,” she glares at him.

Kenma makes a show of pressing his lips together, mimicking the motion of zipping them up and tossing aside the key.

He can see Y/N trying to suppress a smile at his actions, a small huff of a giggle escaping her own lips when he pretends to struggle against the imaginary lock on his mouth.

Her face suddenly lights up with recognition, “Red!”

Kenma’s charade breaks. “That’s what you were trying to figure out this whole time?”

“I was right?” She suddenly looks confused, more confused than when she didn’t even know the correct answer.

“Obviously.” His head tilts, “Did you just guess or something?”

A sheepish smile, “Or something.”

“You just guessed, didn’t you?” It’s not really an actual question at this point, they’re both all too aware of what she did.

“Well I mean- kind of?” She shrugs, a clumsy movement that makes her appear so much younger than she probably is. “To be honest, I just happened to remember that Nekoma’s colors were red and black. So,” she hangs on to the word for a brief second, “Lucky guess?”

“Well what’s your favorite color?”

Y/N had suggested a scuffed form of twenty-one questions, a version with no drinking (not that either of them were against it, Kenma just doesn’t have any alcoholic beverages in the house) and no limit on how many questions they could ask.

It’s been years since Kenma had gotten to know someone like this.

She hums with consideration, “I’m not sure. I like all of them.”

“That’s such a cop-out answer,” he light-heartedly scoffs.

“Oh don’t even,” Y/N straightens in her seat, the black cat ears slipping further back on her head. “At least I didn’t make you play a ten minute guessing game,” she retorts.

Kenma tsks, “That was not ten minutes.”

“Well it felt like it. So hah!”

He laughs as he stretches out his legs, adjusting the waistband of his sweatpants when he notices that they’re off-center. He looks back up at the screen, eyes fixated on the way Y/N tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“How old are you?” Kenma asks out of mere curiosity, because he knows she must be at least close to his age, but he feels so much older in comparison to her cheerful nature.

She’s staring intently at something off to the side, scrutinizing whatever happens to be there. “Twenty three.”

Only a year younger, maybe even less depending on her date of birth.

But-, “Wait,” his eyebrows furrow. “Didn’t you date Sugawara in high school?”

He regrets bringing it up the moment he’s finished speaking, mentally cringing at the idea of talking about her ex’s.

Y/N groans, her face falling into her hands. “Don’t remind me.”

“That bad huh?” And if Kenma’s being honest with himself, he feels strangely . . . relieved.

“Like I love the guy,” Oh. “In like a totally platonic sort of way though,” she suddenly rushes to explain.

Kenma nods, “Right.” He pauses for only a brief second. “So you were a first year when you started dating then?”

Y/N’s head tilts with obvious bewilderment, “What? Oh,” she laughs. “No, I was a second year. I just have a really late birthday.”

“Oh okay,” he releases a small breath of relief. He isn’t sure what he would’ve done if he found out that one of Y/N’s boyfriends was a sick fuck that preyed on first-years.

That’s something he couldn’t let himself overlook, no matter who it was.

“Why’d it end then? Was he not,” he hesistates, “Good to you?”

They’re getting into dangerous territory now; it’s none of his business why their relationship didn’t last, but it feels like it should be. And he supposes that if they’re going to be friends and if he’s going to come into contact with said ex-boyfriend, then it would be better to know anyways.

Right?

Who is he kidding? That’s just an excuse.

He has no real reason for wanting to know, but that’s not going to stop him from asking.

Y/N shakes her head, a thoughtful expression painted across her features. “Nothing like that. It was almost like he was too good to me, you know? It was a good relationship but it was like so good that it was uneventful and boring. We just don’t mesh well romantically.”

Kenma nods as though he understands when really - the truth of the matter is that - his only relationship had ended on such bad terms that he hasn’t dated since.

“And you’re twenty-four right?”

“Yeah,” he confirms without thinking. Then his eyes narrow on her form, “How do you know that?”

She sighs deeply, as if even the mere thought of it is taxing. “Sho has not shut up about you since we met, it’d be more shocking if I didn’t know that at this point.”

Kenma smirks, “All good things I hope.”

“Please,” she rolls her eyes, “That man is practically singing your praises.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Despite the confusing choice of words, Kenma feels himself chuckle at the idea of one of his closest friends boasting about him to a complete stranger.

“He just like won’t stop talking about how cool you are, or how you’re so fun to be around. Or how you’re the most awesomest - yes he used that word - person he’s ever met.” Kenma’s disappointed when she unexpectedly stops, her hands raising to massage the skin of her temples. “It’s honestly starting to get annoying. Like you’d think he was trying to make me fall in love with you or something,” she snorts.

Is it working?

The words are on the tip of his tongue, his stomach turning at the possibility of her responses.

Kenma swallows thickly, “So what? He’s trying to set us up?”

Some questions are better left unasked.

“I guess so?”

“That’s a little weird.” Only a little bit though.

Y/N smiles then, but it’s mischevious and temptingly playful. “Really? You don’t think we’d look good together?”

His mind races at the implication behind her words, his body growing warm from her teasing tone of voice. And he abruptly feels so thirsty, his tongue brushing across his lips as he watches the way her lashes flutter when she blinks.

“Now I never said that,” he murmers in return and he can’t tell if his voice is as throaty he feels like it is.

Her gaze flickers down somewhere below his face, and Kenma silently berates himself for his choice of lazy clothing, before slowly trailing back up.

Her voice is soft when she speaks, her eyes never straying from his. “Neither did I.”

Kenma’s breath catches in his throat.

He forces a smirk, “I guess we can agree on one thing then.”

Her grin comes back in full force, wicked and full of invitation, “I suppose we can.”

Yeah, Kenma definitely doesn’t mind when she flirts.

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