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Pokémon I Love You; I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do [A Gracefulshipping One Shot]

eeeeeh

Torchic W. Pip

Here, Queer, and Utterly Glorious
Location
Sootopolis City
Pronouns
they/he
Partners
  1. torchic
  2. custom/torchic-blue
  3. custom/torchic-mikuri
  4. custom/torchic-daigo
  5. custom/quaxley-torchic
A Facadeverse fic

Me: * writes angst * No one's gonna like this. It's too depressing. I should write fluff.
Also Me: * writes fluff * No one's gonna like this. It's too corny. I should write angst.

I don't know why I'm posting this, because it's the sappiest romantic fluff I've ever written, and I've written Coffee Shop AUs. I wrote this fic for myself and only myself. I don't know if anyone cares about Gracefulshipping, but I do, so someone does.

Story summary:
Wallace was a perfectionist. His proposal to Winona had to be perfect, but he wasn’t even sure what “perfect” meant. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her before they went to bed. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her at her favorite place—in the trees of Fortree City. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her on the most romantic date he could imagine.

But for some reason, it was more than enough for him to ask her right after a Gym Leader meeting.


This story is rated EVERYONE.

Wallace was a romantic through and through. He had always dreamed of falling in love, and dating Winona was like falling in love over and over again. As their relationship developed, as he expressed his love for her through poetry and serenading, he considered proposing to her. He knew she was the one, the one that he was meant to be with, the one he wanted to marry and start a family with and grow old with.

There was one, or rather, two problems. The first was that he and Winona could often be very busy with work and outside responsibilities (his duties as one of Sootopolis City’s biggest cultural and religious figures and her duties studying birds and leading the Hoenn Gym Leaders, for instance). Sure, they managed to plan special dates and stay at each other’s houses, but then there was the second problem: Wallace was a perfectionist. His proposal to Winona had to be perfect, but he wasn’t even sure what “perfect” meant. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her before they went to bed. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her at her favorite place—in the trees of Fortree City. It wasn’t enough for him to ask her on the most romantic date he could imagine.

But for some reason, it was more than enough for him to ask her right after a Gym Leader meeting.

He didn’t even have a ring yet. He just saw her leaving the room (they were the last two people left in it) and impulsively asked, “will you marry me?”

-

Winona loved Wallace, she really, truly did, even if her love language wasn’t as elaborate or pronounced as Wallace’s. He was a good lover, a good person, and he was the person Winona saw herself living with, starting a family with, growing old with.

The problem was that Wallace seemed to take forever to propose.

In Hoenn, if someone wanted to get married, they’d usually get married around the age of 25. There were exceptions, of course: Steven, for example, was 25, and while he planned on eventually getting married, he wouldn’t be marrying any of the rich socialites his dad set him up with anytime soon. Winona and Wallace were both 23. They had been dating since college, when they had been around 18 or 19. And sure, they were both Gym Leaders, both very busy, but if they could go steady for five or so years, if they could live through Legendaries, extreme weather, and Sidney’s karaoke, they could surely make a marriage and children work.

Well, hypothetically they could, if Wallace ever proposed.

Sure, people joked that Winona was a “girlboss”, and “who said women can’t propose?”, but Winona daydreamed about being proposed to. As much of a “girlboss” as she was, she always liked the idea of Wallace getting down on one knee, presenting a beautiful ring, asking her the question. She liked the idea of a cliché proposal. Besides, Winona was good at clothes, not jewelry.

There were many moments when Winona thought Wallace would propose to her, only for him to actually just ask a question about how work was, or what kind of television programs Fortree City got (he only got two), or what, again, is the quadratic formula. Winona didn’t mind those questions, but she sometimes wondered when he would propose.

Why, right after a Gym Leader meeting, of course.

-

Winona stopped walking and turned around. Wallace would often casually ask “would you marry me?”, but “will you marry me?” had such different connotations. It was the connotations of a proposal.

Ever the dramatic one, Wallace was standing from his chair, reaching towards Winona as if to say “wait!” Even his eyes and parted lips revealed a sense of desperation, as if this were his only chance to propose before Winona disappeared forever. She had to give him credit; he hadn’t asked in front of the other Gym Leaders. That would have been too much for Winona to handle.

“Wallace…”

Wallace's arm fell to his side as he stood up straight. A nervous smile spread across his face.

“Winona, you are one of the most wonderful people I have ever gotten the chance to meet and get to know. It would be an honor to get to spend the rest of my life with—“

“Do you have a ring, Wallace?”

Wallace’s eyes widened a little.

“A-a ring? Um…”

His smile slipped away as he realized just how little he was prepared for this moment.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Wallace began to walk out of the room, but Winona took his hand before he could disappear down the hall.

“Wallace, I…” she thought for a moment before smiling. “Yes, I will marry you. Do you want to meet me in Lilycove City this evening?”

-

“Steven, do emeralds have the same meaning in Hoennese culture that they do in Sootopolitan culture?”

Wallace had flown back to Sootopolis City, specifically to Adamas Jewelers, to get an engagement ring before meeting with Winona. He wasn't going to screw up his proposal redo.

Adamas Jewelers was a very fancy store of white walls and chrome counters. Countless rings and necklaces and the like were on display, and a display screen presented a slideshow of different stones, their properties, and their meanings.

Wallace trusted Adamas, but he knew that stone symbolism was right up Steven's alley. Wallace called him up to ask for advice, though he hadn't yet told Steven the news.

“Well," Steven began, "in Hoennese culture, emeralds are more associated with—what’s the word?—pastoral life, the beauty of the natural world. In Sootopolitan culture, they’re more associated with the sky, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m trying to determine what would be the perfect stone for Winona’s engagement ring.”

Steven gasped.

“Ohhh! Finally popping the question, I see.”

“I already ‘popped’ it.”

Silence. Wallace was beginning to worry if Steven was okay, but then Steven spoke again:

“You proposed to Winona before getting a ring.”

“I wasn’t planning to propose! It simply just happened on a whim.”

“Wa… Wallace, I don’t… you know what, never mind.”

"No, what is it?"

"I just don't understand you sometimes."

"And I don't understand you sometimes."

"At least I don't ask life changing questions without planning!"

"Fine! Sue me for acting on impulse. You win. I, Wallace, fall in defeat, and you, Steven, get to laugh at my folly."

"Are you going to at least plan out the wedding, or is that going to be an impulse, too?"

Dead serious tone. Wallace couldn't help but laugh.

"Perhaps. We'll have to see."

“Perhaps?!?!”

“Of course not, Steven!”

"Do you want me to ask Winona what her favorite stone is?”

“It's sandstone."

"How do you know?"

"I asked. I was going to tell you for a date idea. Long story."

"Wallace, what—"

"But I don't think they use sandstone for engagement rings, and even if they did, I don't want Rubin Adamas to think I'm crazy. Instead, how about this: what stones go with silver?”

“Well, there’s—”

“Wait.”

Wallace’s eyes were fixated on the display screen, as if it had cast a spell on him with its infographic on lavender jadeite:

“Jade is the gemstone of luck and the skies in Hoenn, but lavender jade carries with it the wisdom and spiritual strength of the heavens. Highly valued by merchants of the past for its soothing, beautiful hue.”

“Wallace? Wallace, are you still there?”

"Steven, what do you know about jadeite?"

-

As the sun began to set, the lights on the streets and skyscrapers of Lilycove City began to spark to life.

Winona sat on a bench overlooking the Hoenn sea. She was wearing a long, lavender dress, and her hair was done in a feather braid. She had even put on makeup: dark red lipstick and lavender eyeshadow.

She stared at the horizon, where the sky met the sea. The water reflected the cyans, violets, pinks, scarlets, and yellows of the sunset. A sunset over the sea was one of her favorite things to see and experience.

“I’m here, darling.”

Winona looked up. Wallace was standing a few feet away. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, blue dress pants, white boots, a blue jacket, and, of course, his white beret. His Luvdisc, Elizabeth, floated right beside him.

“I suppose we should… start over from the beginning,” Wallace chuckled awkwardly.

Winona stood up. Wallace quickly glanced over at Elizabeth. With a deep breath, he smiled and dramatically gestured his hand towards Winona.

“Winona, you are one of the most wonderful people I have ever gotten the chance to meet and get to know. In all of my years, I have never seen someone as brave, strong, generous, loving, and beautiful in looks and soul as you. We have seen so much together. We’ve laughed. We’ve cried. We’ve shared so much with each other. It would be an honor to get to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He got down on one knee and took out a small, blue box from his jacket pocket.

“If life is a journey, then I want to travel its winds and waves with you.”

He opened the box. Inside was a silver ring with a band of lavender around it. Set within the lavender stone was a silver bird design. Winona could barely make out the details, because her eyes were already welling up with tears.

“Winona, will you marry me?”

Winona almost knocked Wallace over in a hug.

"Ask me a thousand times, and my response will be yes every time."

Elizabeth circled around the two, creating a ring of glowing, white hearts. She picked up the ring from the box and slipped it onto Winona's ring finger.

"Did I do it right this time?" Wallace whispered. "Was it perfect?"

"It was more than perfect."
 
Last edited:

Nubushi

しぶい
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. custom/slowpoke-hgss
  2. custom/togekiss-nubushi
Well, it is certainly fluffy, but hey, sometimes that can be nice. ;) I also like it when fanfiction explores relationships between crack couples that it wouldn't occur to most people to pair together, so I was interested to see what you would do with these two.

What I like about this fiction is the things that pique the reader's interest and provide a little bit of tension, so it's not like fluff that has absolutely no tension at all, even if we already know how it is going to end.

First, there's an interesting contrast between Wallace's perfectionism and the fact that in the end, an unplanned, no-frills question after a gym meeting is still "good enough" for his proposal to Winoa. We see this statement, and it makes us curious about what the circumstances that bring about this unplanned proposal, and what the outcome will be. It also lets you get in a little bit of a sense that love is what truly matters, but Wallace's self-professed perfectionism leads to some humorous mild tension in the rest of the story after the off-the-cuff proposal, where we see him scrambling around trying to figure out how he can fix things by "re-doing" his proposal and make it the perfect romantic proposal that he and Winoa both dreamed about.

The part with Wallace frantically on the phone with Steven while in a jewelry store is humorous, the scene in Lilycove where the two meet in the evening is nicely romantic, and I won't lie, Wallace's elegantly-worded redo proposal left me with a smile on my face.

From your comments about this story, it sounds like it was more of an off-the-cuff sort of thing rather than something you're really interested in continuing to polish. If you're not really interested in revising, that's fine, I understand, but in case you are interested in c/c,

My main suggestion would be to try to anchor the story in more concrete sensory images. With a fic like this, with it being about a crack couple AND focusing on the proposal moment, there's some telling that has to take place to establish that these two characters are in a relationship and are in love with each other. But I do think there are tons of places where you give an example of something in passing that could be made concrete--like Wallace's poetry and serenading, the special dates, the scenery of Fortree city that Winoa loves, etc. Without getting bogged down, you could put in a bit more specific detail without necessarily increasing the length of the sentences.

Anyways, cute story with a nice bit of a unifying theme of perfection: Wallace being a perfectionist, the botched proposal that was good enough anyways, and Winoa's "more than perfect" at the end.
 

Torchic W. Pip

Here, Queer, and Utterly Glorious
Location
Sootopolis City
Pronouns
they/he
Partners
  1. torchic
  2. custom/torchic-blue
  3. custom/torchic-mikuri
  4. custom/torchic-daigo
  5. custom/quaxley-torchic
Well, it is certainly fluffy, but hey, sometimes that can be nice. ;)
I write a lot of angst, but I also love writing fluff!
I also like it when fanfiction explores relationships between crack couples that it wouldn't occur to most people to pair together, so I was interested to see what you would do with these two.
Well, disregarding the manga, I suppose Gracefulshipping is technically a crack ship, since they haven't met game/manga-wise. Oh well. Half my ships are crackships, and that's never stopped me.
What I like about this fiction is the things that pique the reader's interest and provide a little bit of tension, so it's not like fluff that has absolutely no tension at all, even if we already know how it is going to end.
Yes even fluff can have tension, even if the tension is made of sugar.
First, there's an interesting contrast between Wallace's perfectionism and the fact that in the end, an unplanned, no-frills question after a gym meeting is still "good enough" for his proposal to Winoa.
You like perfectionist Wallace? Boy, do I have some fics for you.
We see this statement, and it makes us curious about what the circumstances that bring about this unplanned proposal, and what the outcome will be. It also lets you get in a little bit of a sense that love is what truly matters, but Wallace's self-professed perfectionism leads to some humorous mild tension in the rest of the story after the off-the-cuff proposal, where we see him scrambling around trying to figure out how he can fix things by "re-doing" his proposal and make it the perfect romantic proposal that he and Winoa both dreamed about.
Aww this is really sweet (:
The part with Wallace frantically on the phone with Steven while in a jewelry store is humorous
Oh good I did the funny right
the scene in Lilycove where the two meet in the evening is nicely romantic
Oh good I did the romance right
and I won't lie, Wallace's elegantly-worded redo proposal left me with a smile on my face.
(:
From your comments about this story, it sounds like it was more of an off-the-cuff sort of thing rather than something you're really interested in continuing to polish.
Don't worry pal. I'm a perfectionist to a fault. I could write a crackfic and want critique.
My main suggestion would be to try to anchor the story in more concrete sensory images. With a fic like this, with it being about a crack couple AND focusing on the proposal moment, there's some telling that has to take place to establish that these two characters are in a relationship and are in love with each other. But I do think there are tons of places where you give an example of something in passing that could be made concrete--like Wallace's poetry and serenading, the special dates, the scenery of Fortree city that Winoa loves, etc. Without getting bogged down, you could put in a bit more specific detail without necessarily increasing the length of the sentences.
Part of this lack of anchor comes form the fact that this is technically part of a larger 'verse, but yeah, I should probably anchor it. And all my other stories.
Anyways, cute story with a nice bit of a unifying theme of perfection: Wallace being a perfectionist, the botched proposal that was good enough anyways, and Winoa's "more than perfect" at the end.
Want a fic about perfectionism? Boy, Do I have a fic for you.
 

silurica

All shall be well
Pronouns
They/Them
Partners
  1. custom/arceus-beta
  2. arceus
Henlo, henlo. Long time no see in reviewing.

So this is a "oh, Wallace, you dork" kind of story. Fun. There is a tension between Wallace's perfectionism, the couple's respective desires, and the spontaneity of the first proposal. Thankfully for Wallace, Winona is more than happy to give him a chance for a redo. Good for you, buddy. Especially good because we're treated to a pleasantly romantic setting and Winona all dressed up and pretty. What a queen.

The little tangents about their relationships to other people were cute. (How is Sydney?) I also enjoyed the exchange about the difference in emerald's meaning between the two cultures. It's a neat detail.

Speaking of which, I wonder what jadeite means here. After the exchange above and the "cliffhanger" before the scene changed, I was expecting for jadeite's meaning to be elaborated as well, or at least alluded to, but it seems it was chosen because it's purple like Winona? Mind that this is still a valid way to choose something pretty for your darling, but if it's just that, it seems rather peculiar coming after the previous deliberation. There is a spontaneity to it like the first proposal, in a way, though thankfully this one wasn't a botched spontaneity.

(Side note: when I first read jadeite I imagined something green like emerald, and my quick DuckDuckGo search seems to agree that this is a popular perception of the jewel, so it being purple here was a "huh, TIL" moment for me.)

Oh, and the couple is adorable, but so is that Luvdisc. Cute lil' cupid.
 

Torchic W. Pip

Here, Queer, and Utterly Glorious
Location
Sootopolis City
Pronouns
they/he
Partners
  1. torchic
  2. custom/torchic-blue
  3. custom/torchic-mikuri
  4. custom/torchic-daigo
  5. custom/quaxley-torchic
Henlo, henlo. Long time no see in reviewing.
Henlo
So this is a "oh, Wallace, you dork" kind of story. Fun.
Yeeeeee
There is a tension between Wallace's perfectionism, the couple's respective desires, and the spontaneity of the first proposal. Thankfully for Wallace, Winona is more than happy to give him a chance for a redo. Good for you, buddy. Especially good because we're treated to a pleasantly romantic setting and Winona all dressed up and pretty. What a queen.
Yes what a queen
The little tangents about their relationships to other people were cute. (How is Sydney?) I also enjoyed the exchange about the difference in emerald's meaning between the two cultures. It's a neat detail.
Speaking of which, I wonder what jadeite means here. After the exchange above and the "cliffhanger" before the scene changed, I was expecting for jadeite's meaning to be elaborated as well, or at least alluded to, but it seems it was chosen because it's purple like Winona? Mind that this is still a valid way to choose something pretty for your darling, but if it's just that, it seems rather peculiar coming after the previous deliberation. There is a spontaneity to it like the first proposal, in a way, though thankfully this one wasn't a botched spontaneity.
Oooooh I should add some stuff. Thanks for pointing that out!
(Side note: when I first read jadeite I imagined something green like emerald, and my quick DuckDuckGo search seems to agree that this is a popular perception of the jewel, so it being purple here was a "huh, TIL" moment for me.)
Jadeite comes in mant colors, thank goodness for me.
Oh, and the couple is adorable, but so is that Luvdisc. Cute lil' cupid.
Luvdisc fans unite.
 
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