#and i just kept thinking of my pokemon phone charms

[haunting-hari]

pinned post

(my previous pinned post was getting a little old, so i thought i’d spice it up a little.)

hey! i’m hari- pronounced ha-ree. if you pronounce it as ‘hairy’ i’ll maul you

i’m 17 yrs old, and hang around unova. um. here’s me. and my pokemon.

Maru is my ace, and very first pokemon. I’ve had her for more than.. about 14 years. He’s never left my side, and is very caring to those she loves. He also loves shiny things- to the point that when she evolved with all the things she’s collected in his wax, they carried to his evolution! Maru loves battling, and is very strong to boot. She has a track record for taking on foes almost twice his level- and doing so trilling happily. How could you not love her? [she/he, around level 57]

Mal, long story short, is a shithead. fuck them. Affectionately. They’re missing one eye, but loooves not only going into electronics, but creating them. They created their own main inhabitant- A prosthetic arm, which makes them electric/steel type. A smartass who loves causing trouble, AND steals my phone (more on that later). I care for them, though, and they care for me. I guess that counts for something. [they/them (rotoms are genderless lmao), around level 55]

Miss Tye is very temperamental, but is very loyal and protective of those she loves (especially Charm.) Her and her ‘sister’, Charm, stowed away on a ship from Galar, and appeared in Unova. She’s very sweet when she has a reason to be, but pretty easy to anger. She hits, and hits hard in battle, so she’s quite the force to be reckoned with. [she/her, around level 55]

Charm had appeared with Miss Tye, and was a milcery at the time. She had wanted to evolve for so long, so much so she kept her bow sweet, even after it broke in half. I gave her a berry sweet, but the bow sweet kept with her! Her cream is of salt and mint (two of my favs!!). Apparently, she wanted to evolve like so, so she could be blue, like her ‘sister,’ Tye. She is not much of a battler, so If I get a new pokemon, They may be on my team. Charm prefers to be a support in double battles, and she’s very good at it. [she/her, around level 30]

Locket just.. appeared in my house? I was on vacation, and upon coming back, we had an egg. I didn’t expect him to be a shiny when he hatched, but I love him very much!! I use him when I come across low-level trainers that challenge me to a battle. Otherwise, it would be no fun. [he/him, around level 10]

Arom is the only pokemon I’ve received as a gift- I got her as an applin from my (girl)friend, Maxie. She often competes with charm as to who smells better. A friend-of-a-friend sent me the Dragon Cheer TM, so I can evolve her, but I think I’ll wait a bit. [she/her, around level 53]

There’s a few pokemon that appear that I haven’t caught- and they don’t want to be caught. They stick around. I like them.

Jackie is a gengar, and he’s one of the owners of the little house I reside in. Apparently, him and Rasp used to be rivals ‘back in the day’ (126 old ass…) but now be spends his time being lazy (I say this affectionately), bothering rasp (I’m convinced they’re married in some weird way), or just fucking around. He’s cool. Would give good hugs if he wasn’t. Yknow. Part poison type. [he/him]

Rasp is a trevenant, and he’s the second owner of where I stay. I would say he’s like a mother, if he wasn’t a 126 year old gay tree. Very galarian (yuck/j). I do love him a lot, as I have him to thank for teaching me how to cook. (Arc knows what I’d be doing if I didn’t have a hobby.) He keeps all the shitheads living here from burning the damn house down, and hell, if that isn’t an achievement, I dunno what is. [he/him]

Sev is a Dhelmise- arc knows how old he is at this point- and he often travels from unova to alola to paldea, and more. I don’t have much to say about him, considering that I don’t see him often (I mean, he’s in unova like.. 1/4 of the time, anyways. and it’s not like he’s straying away from the sea.) [he/him (why are there so many gay old men)]

there’s gonna be a few other bloggers you see me interact with a lot so, it may be helpful to give a small introduction. i guess.

by the by, I’d recommend checking them out. not JUST because they’re cool and awesome and deserve love, but because it’s possible for pronouns to change. gender is a tricky thing, no?

@mmaxie-musings is my. um. girlfriend. She openly states that she’s a psychic, so I think mentioning it here is okay. met her in the woods, because her ditto wandered off into the woods I live in. the rest is history, as they say! [she/her]

@pkmntrainertrix and @uva-academy-vio are my fellow ghostboys!!! first people I met on this site. we’re weird, have odd relations with gender, but boy is close enough, and we like ghosts. what more could you want in a friend group? [it/he for trix, and he/him for vio!!]

@itshaunting-pkmn is my brother (in spirit. not by blood, but we call eachother brothers), and we met in some pkmn center some time ago, because he got big ol eyes at Maru and started awkwardly asking me questions. Aaaand then it turned out he’s also on rotomblr. and then we just. got closer! [he/him]

@alamos-garden-lover is a darkrai. yeah, i’m not kidding. I didn’t believe that at first either, but you kinda start to after you, yknow, send an ask his way asking for a nightmare because I can’t sleep anyways? ..yeah. but really, he’s very sweet, even if she’s a bit anti-social. i went to alamos to see her once, and I truly can’t wait to go back to see my dad agai- to see DARKRAI again. she’s not my dad and I don’t see him as my dad. totally. [he/she]

@aco-knight is the resident Creature (trix coming in a close second on the Creature scale), and it’s just a little bastard. other honorary non-blood-related sibling, because apparently darkrai’s just. Mentally adopted me (i’m not complaining) and I got aco as part of the little package deal (also not complaining). I saw ‘em when I traveled to paldea, but they just. Fuck around and teleport sometimes. It does that. It does a lot of things, get used to it. [they/it]

so, uh, yeah! i know that was a lot, but i guess it’s better to have info here, in case you need it.

my Rotom REGULARLY steals my phone, and refuses to post on their own. So, their tag for posting is “MAL’Z POSTZ”

i. am nnnooooot the best when it comes to interacting with others, so be a little patient! i’m just a fan of ghost types and battling, nothing too special about me.

Because I’m a normal human. Totally.

CURRENT EVENT: none

//ooc in readmore!

hey! finally redid the pinned, because this is waaay more organized. but, the ooc? lol. I’m just gonna copy and paste what I had. blehhhh :P

(oh and, P.S. - in case you forgot, the runner of this blog is @aimless-aimz !!! hi!! that’s me!!!!! i don’t bite, and I have a few interests other than pokemon, but you could find more pkmn art on my blog rather than this one.)

More will be revealed about hari and his team as time goes on!! please interact if ur a pokeblogger!!!! try to stay in character with this guy ok? lol

ooc storytelling will be tagged "hari's stories"!! they are often from askgames, but PLEASE request some if you ever get a prompt idea for this guy... you could ask about his past, present, and sometimes future!!

the current events each have tags for things related to their story! So far, we have the events “mourn the nineteenth”, “galarian imports”, “charm evolves”, “trip to alamos”, “unexpected egg”, “rebirth on the 26th”, "entombed event", and "Paldea trip". look at the tag to learn more!

there’s a tag for more serious stuff: that’s tagged as “lore”. Another lore heavy tag is “Forlorn presence”.

ofc, no generally unpleasant people, you get the drill. please send asks!!! :)

magic anons are on, too. please send asks!!!!!! this blog’s activity is mainly correlated to its interaction :)

also, small tidbit- you can do pelliper mail, but don't deliver a dusk stone. maru is gonna stay a lampent for a while because hari cant find one. so. when the time comes she'll evolve, but. yeah

..wow, you really read all this? that’s cool. um. thanks! the interaction and enthusiasm is appreciated a lot :]c

[xdeusxmachinax]

Why I swim with the Pisces

I can’t be sure I’m manic depressive exactly. For a long time, my diagnosis was kept from me, and what I have exactly, I’m not sure. All I do know is that somewhere before I was ten, I began to have periods of intense panic, and sorrow. I’d break down crying if something I couldn’t immerse myself in wasn’t on TV. I’d burst into a sobbing mess if my mother was out of sight for two long. I remember deliberately wetting the bed to try and spend a little more time near her, and she called me out on it. I think I was seven, and it was shortly after being rescued from almost being molested. 

I remember not wanting to go out and catch bugs, or line my pokemon toys on the front steps, like elite four champions. I just wanted to sit and watch cartoons. I remember my mother nearly crying with frustration, because she was trying to wrangle my younger brother and I was still sitting staring at my school clothes, not dressed for the day. I was crying. It genuinely felt like I couldn’t move to put them on. And I didn’t know why. I didn’t know why I was being so bad.

 At some point, after talking to a lot of really friendly strangers in crisp offices filled with toys, I was given medicine. And it made me feel a little better. For a while.It’s a process, especially as a child, to find what medicine works for you. It’s even worse, as you couple it with puberty and adding on things like Birth Control. But overtime, I began to see two sides of myself.

There was one, who felt a bit like a disney princess. She could sing, and clean, and make people’s days better by being friendly, and she made plans. Big plans, not always things she could finish, but she dreamed big. I thought of that as ‘the real me.’

Then, there was the other me. Who felt like she was made of toothpicks, created just to fall apart, and hurt everyone else, made to crumple and suffer at the slightest difficulty. During the teens and twenties, her teeth came in. I’d lash out when I was hurt, but always in private. online, or at my sweet, confused step-father. I’d spew all the vicious venomous things my mind could come up with, anything to get the hurt, and anger and frustration out of me and into someone else. I hurt a lot of my online friends then. Never to their face, of course, but to other friends, my then-boyfriend, people I know wouldn’t spread it. People who let me get the venom out.  I’m never going to forgive myself for the things I said. 

It’s easier now. If anyone else has a dynamic like this in their hearts, I swear to you, that it does get easier. I’m in my thirties now, and as the years pass it feels less and less like I’m two impossible contrasts pulling against each other, and more like I’m two halves together.

When I first met my now-husband, we would talk on the phone. And we would talk for hours, and when we talked, I’d walk in circles. Especially when I was feeling like my disney princess self.

“Like a goldfish in a bowl!��� my husband chimed, cheerfully. And from then on, that was my nickname, Tinafish.

I’d never really had a name I liked. Tina always seemed clunky and unpleasant. And Kristina was my name when I was in trouble, or had to do something professional. Tinafish felt perfect. It felt like a nickname from a friend. And it stuck. I was doubly charmed, because my star sign was pisces.

I think, that sing, the Two fish, swimming in opposite directions, has sort of become something of a mantra to me. That just because I’m a little broken doesn’t mean I’m wrong, or unnatural. There’s always been a symbol for people with a mind like me. I’ve always been just a fish, moving the pebbles in her bowl best she can. and sometimes swimming in confused circles. And thats okay. I’ve reached a point where most days, I’m okay. More often than not even, I’m okay.

And I have cute little fish pins, as ballasts. A little cotton fish my sister-in-law hand knit for me. and I’m not a venemous creature or a disney princess. I’m just me. Just a fish. And I’m still swimming okay.  

[fmdjoosungarchive]

【✧】━━━ ♥ d e s i g n e d     b y     a e s t h e t i c ♥ ━━━【✧】

the aesthetic is just conceptual so BEAR w me,,,, i’m plagiarizing okay,, sung would make his own character, and make a keychain of said character. and bc the Concept is meant to be him-ish, the character would b a mix of two animals, and be a bear in a puppy suit. so like the middle pics but Reversed. and there’d be two keychain options, the traditional ring, and a string type to attach to a phone case. lil 3d mf. super cute, adorable, luvs it

word count: 424

tldr; im doing the para first bc,, timeline purposes but also bc im Hype to mention how apeach sung’s inspo here

---

never did joosung ever think that as an idol, he’d be asked to design merchandise for himself. asked for opinions on what phrases, pictures, or items might resonate with their fans, sure, just like anything else they were vaguely asked for their opinion on.

designing something of his own felt too close to the discomfort he’d felt when he was pushed as some... fashion guy, a while back. however, this couldn’t be blamed as a him issue, considering he’d heard everyone in the company was being asked to do the same thing. all he knew for quite a while was that clothing would be off limits. sung didn’t want to fall back into the same marketing as fashion focused, and even if he did try, the only clothing items he’d personally be interested in wouldn’t be all that marketable against his, and quantum’s, image.

he’d felt stumped, when every time he tried to think on the subject, he found his mind wandering to subjects that felt more pertinent. schedules, relationships, script writing, song writing. staying on the subject long enough to give it a proper go never came to closure.

what got him there, eventually, was in conversation. a compliment on his apeach phone case, and the subsequent discussion where sung, in a not too common scenario, was able to gush about his love for this, in truth, useless character. vaguely, it’d sparked a sliver of a thought, that came to mind the next time he attempted to think about the design process. he wished he could make something that could have that strong of an effect.

-well, why not?

who was to say sung couldn’t make a character out of this? he hadn’t tried creating characters of his own since he was a child, but with as much of a literature fanatic as him, it should be doable, right?

although, considering this was supposed to be merchandise in some way, it should be a reflection of him, and when it came to what could be personified, immediately he jumped to animals. the eternal debate amongst his fans, was he more of a bear or a puppy? sung did at times feel a little slighted that cat was nearly never in the picture, but on a deeper level, he understood.

deciding between a bear or a puppy might give himself too much of a stake in the debate, but... he could play into it, if it was both. that would make the character more unique than the millions of bears and puppies out there.

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

sung vs bearppy... pear...

word count: 474

i wanna come up w more concepts abt the character

and i dont actually kno if theres any lore(??) abt the characters in the aesthetic so if this part is the same its just parallel thought lol

so the character wears the suit bc theyre rly friendly n lonely but no one wanted to hang w them bc theyre a Big Scary Bear n most ppl love dogs so it makes them less threatening

they had a backstory of trying different suits but nothing working and/or feeling right until the puppy suit

their fave food is a peanut butter n honey sandwich

they explain hibernation to their friends by saying theyre visiting their family abroad

their life goal is to have 100 friends

okay im gonna leave it there bc i feel like these kinds of characters r meant to b vague enough to project onto

 onto the product pitch!

so this one i think would have been his second pitch, and he’d feel more confident n stable in the headphones pitch, despite the idea coming first (i imagine the headphones to come from the connection to bears)

this is more pitching a concept of sales rather than explicit research suggesting sales would likely be good

he’d have made a powerpoint for this one too bc ofc he would, and he’d end up mentioning his initial concept around apeach but in a more general sense of line friends/kkt friends

and he’d put effort into selling the concept of a brand new character being marketable Just for being cute. it’s a harder sell because this is meant to be something branded, tied to the self, and,,, bc this is an area sung always felt he struggled with most

he knows the textbook knowledge of how to be professional, marketing techniques, blah blah, but when it comes to knowingly using his charisma to win someone over, he gets in his head and it feels like lying. he’s just not good at closing the sale

his main tactic here would be presenting the idea that this one stupid keychain could become a big piece of media that they can get a lot of coin from. it’s just a gamble, and he knows that, even if he wouldnt mention it (bc again, if he did, he’d feel like he was lying to try to reassure them that he Absolutely knows it would turn out well. he’s like no this could b a total flop i dont actually kno anything)

so yeah he’s selling the big picture of it starts with a keychain then its a feature film kind of thing

and because it’s what he feels he knows how to do, he’d try to throw in statistics wherever he can, but they’d b v supplementary there. he’d likely walk out of the meeting disappointed w himself (thanks childhood)

[champion-leon-imagines]

Chronicles of Galar - Prologue 3: Y/N L/N

The Chapter you all waited for. Don’t worry, we’ll get to your past soon enough in the story, so stay tuned. Amila is a fake region my best friend made. He is also your brother in the story and the Professor of Amila. And don’t forget to save the tag Chronicles of Galar for updates ^_^ You can also find the story on AO3: Here

[Prologue: Y/n L/n]

Light footsteps echoed through the darkened Slumbering Weald, Galar. You tried to make your way through the thicket and a white Vulpix kept you company. The little Pokemon had a very shy and timid nature and was trembling with fear all the time. The unknown has always had a tense effect on the pre-stressed Pokemon. No wonder, when you thought about what those monsters from Team Skull in Alola must have done to it. You didn't want to think about that anymore and took out your smartphone to dial your brother's number. "Yes? [Y/n]? Man, we're looking for you everywhere. We were supposed to meet at Wedgehurst station. Are you lost again? " a male voice sighed at the other end.

“What does 'again' mean here? Sorry for not memorizing the entire map of a new region the first time I explore. Not everyone can have such a photographic memory as our Professor Mamoru [L/n]. ”You countered jokingly. "Very funny. Where are you?"

"If I'd know that. There is a forest here. I followed a little Pokemon that I don't know yet. That was so cute. Such a small blue creature, a bit similar to Ralts, with pigtails. I HAD to go after it, that's why I ran after it. "You explained, describing the Pokemon Hattrem, the intermediate form to the Pokemon Hatterene, a Galar Pokemon with the dual types fairy and psycho.

".... You walked into an unknown forest because of a 'cute' Pokemon?" Mamoru sighed and covered his face with his hand. That was just so typical of you.

"Pff. If it had been a new Arcanine Pokemon, you would have done the same. ” You shrugged your shoulders and heard a woman's voice laughing on the other side. "Hello Aki."

While you were talking to your brother, you did not notice at first that a fog was coming up. At first the fog was light and transparent, but soon you couldn't even see your own hand in front of your eyes. "Damn. Where does this fog come from all of a sudden? Hello? Mamoru? Can you still hear me? Hello? “ You asked several times after you didn't get an answer. You looked at your cell phone and then saw the connection go dead. "Strange."You muttered and tried to connect again.

Connection failure. The empty wifi symbols blinked mysteriously and that made you even more alarmed than you already were.

Vulpix jumped into your arms, the fog must have made it even more frightened as it snuggled into your chest. You pressed the fox creature close and tried to calm it down. “Don't worry, I'm here. We can do it, ” You whispered in a calming tone.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes next to you, made you stopping in your tracks. You swallowed and hugged Vulpix even closer. "Okay .. keep calm. That is .. just the cute blue Pokemon from earlier .. definitely .. I'm sure of it "Your mantra died in your throat when a large, wolf-like Pokemon came slowly walking towards you. It was mostly blue and the tail, as well as his shoulder jewelry and a long, pigtail-like fur chain, were in a red. The animal looked graceful but also dangerous. You knew from your trainer battle experience when a wild Pokemon is too strong to risk a fight. Since you had not brought any other Pokemon to Galar except Vulpix and Primarina, you did not dare to challenge this mysterious Pokemon. Especially since the fog was too thick for a real fight.

You backed away as the unknown wolf pokemon stepped closer. It seemed to be assessing the situation without actually giving the appearance of wanting to attack. You didn't wanted to risk anything and so you turned around and tried to escape. You held Vulpix with all your strength so that you wouldn't drop it while running.

However, it turned out to be a wrong decision to run through an unknown forest in thick fog. At every corner you almost bumped into the trees and one time you could not avoid the roots that were on the way and stumbled. At the last second you were able to turn your body to one side so that you wouldn't crush Vulpix with your body.

In return, you fell so hard on your shoulder that you had to cry out in pain. Vulpix whimpered helplessly and tried to comfort it's trainer by licking your cheek when you got up again and wanted to run away. To make matters worse, you were getting tired too.

It wasn't long before you passed out when you let go of Vulpix and collapsed. In this unknown fauna with a wolf on your back and nobody knew where you were. Was that the end?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Char?"

You had a headache and your shoulder hurt badly when you slowly opened your eyes. You felt as if you had been grilled with a Rapid Spin. Above you was a shadow that turned out to be the head of a Charizard and that made you blink.

"Oh? You are finally awake? " a male voice, unknown to you, spoke up. You straightened up before you realized you were covered with something. A blanket? No. A cape? It was red with a yellowish border and next to the red check pattern there were many different symbols, probably from companies from Galar. Sponsors maybe? Then you looked at a campfire.

A young man was sitting there, no more than 1-2 years older than you, and gave you a sincere and charming smile. His irides were amber and glowed from the fire. His purple hair was moving gallantly in the blowing wind and his parted goatee gave him a wise and manly touch. He wore a kind of leotard with a sword and a shield, short white trousers and long, equally white leggings underneath.

"What happened?"You wanted to know and held your shoulder. The memories, of what happened, were rather vague. “Charizard found you. And at the right time. You passed out right in front of a cliff. “ the man said and crossed his arms. "However, it took a while to save you, because your little protector thought we were enemies at first." the purple-haired man smiled and then pointed to a white fur ball next to you. It was Vulpix who slept next to you. You blinked and looked up. "W-what?"

The man's smile widened. "It really wanted to protect you heroically, even though it was trembling with fear."

[Flashback after you passed out]

[Leon's POV]

Charizard scanned the area to find a way out of the thick forest. If my brother ever finds out that I'm still lost in the Slumbering Weald ... I sighed and continued on my way through the fog. It was strange, the last time there was a fog like this, I looked for Hop and Gloria. The two reported about a rare Pokemon. Had it reappeared?

"Char-Charizard!"

My faithful companion drew my attention to something. A person was lying near the cliffs. Here in this part of the forest people rarely got lost, so I was astonished to meet someone here. Charizard and I stepped closer to identify the person. It was a woman. Just as Charizard was only a few steps away, a Vulpix attacked us. But it looked different from what I knew. It was snow-white and otherwise looked slightly different. Was that a so-called "Shiny"? I've never seen anything like it in my life! It had to belong to the woman. “Don't worry, my friend. We mean no harm. We want to help you. " I tried to calm the Pokemon. It stood protectively in front of its trainer and growled at us. But I also realized how scared it was. His entire body was shaking and his eyes showed despair and uncertainty.

I leaned down so I didn't looked so tall and held out my hand slightly. "Do not worry. We are not enemies. ”I tried again, but the Vulpix barked and shot an aurora beam at both Charizard and me. Wait? Aurora beam?!

I had no time to be confused about what was going on with it's element.

Charizard intercepted the attack with his wing and tried to counter. “Charizard stop! Don't fight. “, I ordered him and looked back at Vulpix. Just as I was trying to figure out how to make it clear to the Pokemon that I just wanted to help, it seemed to run out of strength and it collapsed. "That poor thing. Who knows how long it had been so weak and it kept on its feet the whole time to protect its trainer. "

[End of flashback]

"Vulpix must love you very much." The man added gently to his story and you smiled gratefully when you lightly petted the head of the Pokemon. "Oh Vulpix .." you whispered softly. “By the way, my name is [Y/n]. And your name is..?"

Now the man looked surprised, almost shocked. Or maybe .. disappointed? But then he had to smile again. "And I thought I am most famous trainer in Galar," he said, although his tone was not arrogant. "So you're not a fan of me, unfortunately." he added jokingly. "Hahaha. I'm sorry. But I'm not from Galar. “ You explained to the young man. "Will the most famous Galar trainer tell me his name?", You asked, a little amused yourself, whereupon the friendly stranger had to laugh gently. "With pleasure. My name is Leon. “, He finally introduced himself. "I am pleased to meet you. And thanks for the rescue. “ You replied kindly. "You're welcome. Where are you from, if I'm allowed to ask? ”Leon asked curiously.

"Of course. I grew up in Sinnoh. But originally I'm from Amila. ”You explained proudly. “Oh, I've heard a lot from Amila. Has your family moved to Sinnoh? "

"No no. It's a somewhat complicated story and, frankly, a bit too private. "You answered the question with an apologetic smile. Leon seemed to understand your intention and nodded. "Then of course I won't ask further. But it's nice to see that trainers from so far away are drawn to our beautiful Galar. But what are you doing here in the forest and why were you passed out? "

"Um .." You scratched your cheek in slight embarassment. “I wanted to meet my brother and his fiancée in Wedgehurst. Then I saw this real cute Pokemon and followed it blindly into the forest. At some point I lost sight of it and then this thick fog came. There was this Pokemon .. graceful, big, blue and red .. and I fled from it because I didn't fight unnecessary fights .. At some point on my escape I dislocated my shoulder and then passed out from exhaustion.“ You sighed in frustration. Oh man, that really sounded like a story that could only happen to a beginner. Leon grinned slightly. "So, a cute Pokemon got you into this misery. Well, you seem to me to be a very caring trainer and also very cautious tactically if you don't risk fighting against the unknown. ", Leon began and put his hand under his chin in a thinking pose. “You remind me of me. I'm just as devoted when it comes to Pokemon. And I ... uh, have no sense of direction. I even get lost in houses ... “, he then admitted with a laugh. "So? Is that why you walk around here by yourself too? Are you lost? In an area that should seem familiar to you as a well-known trainer of Galar?“ You tried to tease him. "Well .. at least I'm not so clumsy that I hurt myself." "Touche."

The silence between you two lasted a very short time until Leon spoke again. "And which Pokemon fascinated you so much that you walk into a dark forest that you are not familiar with?" He asked while he went to you with a first aid box. He was probably trying to fix your shoulder. You smiled and were grateful that you liked to wear strapless shoulder tops. So you didn't even have to undress and Leon got to the affected area without any problems. “Well, it must have been from this region because I didn't knew it. It was small and blue, with two braids and a white body. It looks a little like Ralts or Kirlia .. " You described while Leon took care of your shoulder and made a professional splint from a piece of a big leaf and bandages. “Oh, you mean a Hattrem. You can find them here in the forest, but quite far inside. They are also considered to be very shy when it comes to human interactions, because they react strongly to emotions. So I'm amazed that you saw one far enough from the forest to follow it. ”Leon wondered and blinked. “Then it was obviously my day of luck and bad luck at the same time. Because it got away from me. “You giggled and thanked him for the treatment. "Are you hungry? My cooking skills are modest, but so far Charizard and I have not had any food poisoning, "Leon laughed and handed you a plate of homemade curry. You accepted the food with a thanks and ate a spoonful. Leon paid attention to your facial features and at the moment when the corner of your mouth went down slightly, he laughed embarrassed. "So bad?"

You giggled slightly and swallowed the somewhat tough curry. "Well, some spices are missing, but it still tastes better than when one of my brothers tries to 'cook'." You said and ate the rest of the curry. It wasn't quite as bad as he had advertised it. Leon smiled and then looked at the sleeping Vulpix. "I think your little protector is waking up," he said and pointed to Vulpix. Its small head rose and it noticed that its trainer was no longer next to it. "Vul ..!" It shouted happily when it saw that you were awake and jumped joyfully into the arms of its trainer. You hugged it lovingly and breathed a quick kiss on the Pokemon's head. "There is my heroine."You said meekly and Leon couldn't help but smile happily while he saw the interaction between trainer and Pokemon. There weren't many trainers who had such a close and friendly relationship with their Pokemon, which was actually very sad. Many saw them only as toys or tools, as battle puppets, to become famous. Many did not care how the Pokemon are feeling. But that was exactly what the champ of Galar wanted to change.

"If you feel fit enough, then we can look for a way out together." Leon suggested after you gave your Vulpix some PokeBlocks from your home to eat. After all, you didn't wanted to let the poor thing suffer from the bad curry.

"Yes, I am. Vulpix surely too, right little one? “You asked and Vulpix replied with an enthusiastic: 'VUUU!', Whereupon both trainers had to laugh and went on their way. On the way you held a little small talk, about your wisdoms on how to take care of Pokemon, about the fact that you wanted to settle down in a region at some point in order to run a fairy gym, since this position was already taken in Amila . And in the other regions that you had traveled to. The subject came up about the strange colors of your Vulpix. "I wondered something. Is your Vulpix a Shiny? Because I've never seen a white Vulpix before. His fur is also a little different. ", Leon said and looked next to him. You walked next to him while Vulpix made herself comfortable on your not injured shoulder.

"No. But it comes from Alola. You know, the Vulpix in Alola had to adapt to the changed weather conditions and basically ... changed their element. These Vulpix are ice and fairy type. "You explained and now it made " click "at Leon. "Aaaaah, that explains why it attacked with aurora beam," he laughed then. "You have never seen an Alola form?" You asked, flabbergasted. "No, we actually never have trainers who come from Alola," Leon answered thoughtfully. "I think you're the first one I see with an Alola Pokemon in my 10 year trainer career," he added. It was a few more hours before you reached the exit. You two noticed that you got along pretty well and that your chemistry was really good. You laughed a lot, of course you didn't try to get lost again and you actually felt a little wistful when you got out of the forest. Because that meant that the ways of you and this personable trainer parted again.

"Hey! Sister! ", Mamoru shouted, who was already waiting in front of the entrance with his fiancee Aki and an unknown young man.

"Huh?" You blinked and ran to your brother. "Who is this?"

“This is Hop. He lives in the village and is currently visiting his mother. We got to know him and he wanted to help us find you. But as I can see you've found your way back. ", Mamoru grinned mischievously. You knew that grin. "Brother!" Hop called and hugged Leon. You blinked. So Hop was Leon's brother? If that wasn't a coincidence. "Really, have you got lost in the Slumbering Weald again?" The younger sighed and put his arms on his hips. "You know how bad my sense of direction is." Leon laughed and raised his hands defensively. "However. Mother would like to see you again, so move your bum to her and say hello, "he ordered.

"Well, then it's probably time to say goodbye first.", Leon said and turned to you. "Um .. Here, this is my league card. You can all have one. ", He said a bit embarrassed and first gave Mamoru and then Aki a card. He gave the last one to you and grinned. You looked at it and blinked.

"... Champion Leon .. Wait, you are the champion of Galar ?!", you asked completely perplexed and pointed at him. "That offends me now, that you are shocked." Leon laughed and winked at you.

"No of course not. That somehow makes you sympathetic that you are so absentminded. "You smiled. Just as Leon was about to reply, Hop poked him in the side. "Stop flirting and get on your way, brother."

Leon laughed, then turned back to you. "Now that you now know who I am .. Is there a chance that you will become a fan of mine after all?" He asked you slightly teasingly.  You smiled back. "I already am." Your answer surprised him and your next words made him even a little blushy. “You are my savior after all. My hero. Of course I'm your fan. "You added and also winked.

Leon just stood there with his mouth open and everything he wanted to say died in his throat. Hop grinned broadly and then pulled his brother behind him. "Maybe we'll see each other again, folks!"

"See you then, Hop! And Leon. ", Mamoru shouted afterwards with a laugh, until he turned to his sister with a grin. "Already Found a little romance here yet? ”He teased you. "Dont talk nonsense. I do not know him. But he was .. nice. “You said and then looked at his League Card. Under the name was soemthing written in small letters: 'Turn the card'. You blinked and looked at the back of the card.

....

You grinned broadly and hugged the card when you laughed softly. "What's going on?", Aki wanted to know. "Oh nothing."You smirked and took your smartphone to type Leon's home number, which he had attached to the back with a small message, into your phone. He was kind of cute and this was just the beginning of a new wonderful friendship. You were sure about this.

[radramblog]

Ultimate^2

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate has finally unveiled its final DLC character, with reactions ranging fully across the spectrum. Hot takes abound.

I mean, statistically, just about every possible opinion is going to be represented. There were at least 500,000 people watching the reveal stream, and that’s not including those viewing through restreams. That’s insane for a trailer of any kind, let alone for a console-exclusive video game DLC.

Now that it’s been like… a day and a bit, I think most of the spciest takes have probably been made, which is the perfect time for me to chip in with my own milder opinion. More of a butter chicken, really.

(no images in this one i’m lazy tonight)

I figure I’m this late already, might as well drop some notes on the other ones first.

Piranha Plant was kind of the definition of an unexpected pick. Not only was it from an already well-represented franchise, being fucking Mario, it’s also just…not a character. As such it makes an odd choice for a DLC fighter…except for the part where it was free. If you owned the game in its first month. And frankly, I don’t think people would have been happy if it wasn’t. As it is, though, it’s a perfectly fine character- surprisingly cute, actually.

I’m unsurprised about Joker’s inclusion. With how huge Persona 5 became in both Japan and the west, capitalizing on it to make a shitload of money makes perfect sense. The character plays well enough, though the meter gimmick was kind of a daunting sign of things to come. All that in mind, though, the most surprising thing about Joker being in the game is that they still haven’t put P5 on the Switch. Atlus please.

Hero and Banjo/Kazooie were announced on the same night, and I distinctly recall someone saying that this was one for the Japanese audience and one for the Americans. I mean, I’ve never played Dragon Quest, so I guess I fell into the latter? Both series have a long, well-regarded pedigree (Banjo’s lack of recent offerings notwithstanding), so both arguably deserve their respective positions. Hero is the much more notable character gameplaywise, though, with the incredibly complex mana and spellcasting mechanics. Complaints about RNG in Smash aren’t completely unfounded- though it has existed in the past in the form of, say, Luigi’s misfiring side-B- but I know a lot of people think Hero took it too far. If I’m honest, though, the weirdest thing is just having Akira Toriyama-ass 3D models in the game. Banjo’s gameplay is…awkward. The kit is kind of a mess, but at least the gimmicks weren’t going too hard, you know?

Next was Terry, perhaps the most obscure character on the entire list in 2021. I actually really like Terry in this game- while he’s still trying to emulate a similar feel to Ryu/Ken, the difference feels more natural, if that makes sense. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really devoted significant time to them, but Terry’s kit feels easier to work within than the Shotos when going between characters.

Finally for the first Pass, we had Byleth. I think it’s for the best that they announced the second Fighter’s Pass before this released, because if both 4 and Ultimate had ended their run on Fire Emblem DLCs then people would have been pissed. I mean, people were already pissed, but like…moreso. As someone who has played Three Houses, I do think the game is worth celebrating, but having yet another Fire Emblem Protagonist (read: basically a blank slate) in the game over all the substantially more interesting characters 3H has to offer is just really frustrating. Also the final smash looks like dogshit, like FE3H has overall worse animations than Smash for obvious reasons but I’m pretty sure this attack looked better the first time around.

FP2 opened with Min Min, which brings ARMS to the table. ARMS. The only first-party fighting game Nintendo has outside of Smash, so it looks a bit less weird next to everything else but…come on, man. I think this was the most confusing pick of all of them- the game came out in 2017, and having Min Min in Smash would serve as promotion for a sequel…which hasn’t been announced. There was a graphic novel in the works, but it was cancelled earlier this year. Oops? At least the stage was fun.

As much as playing them is awkward and complex, the Minecraft addition was fitting. Only the best-selling game around. I think people weren’t sure if Microsoft would go for it, but they let us have Banjo, so sure. I’m mostly just annoyed that they couldn’t get any of the songs from the actual game in there- like, you got one in from the fucking mobile game, but you couldn’t just get C418 on the phone?

Sephiroth is definitely one of the hype-ier releases from this pass. The character is iconic, as is his theme and his home game. I’ve never played any Final Fantasy game, but I can still respect the name. Once I remember how to spell it. The whole bossfight aspect to his release was also quite cool, while it lasted.

On the other hand, I have no love for Pyra nor Mythra. There’s so much wrong with these ones, frankly. They’re another swordy character, immediately following Sephiroth too, and they go back on Smash’s very deliberate decision to split characters like Zelda/Sheik and Samus/ZSS up (Yes I know Pokemon Trainer does the same thing but I have a lot more leniency for them). Add in their being from a JRPG much less well-known or remembered than the previous couple characters and the designs being…questionable, I have a big issue with the whole thing. This was also around when I kinda stopped playing the game in general, and they definitely didn’t help pull me back in.

Kazuya might have, though. With the exception of him and Sephiroth, all the characters from the Fighter’s Passes were pretty much protagonist-types, but this motherfucker pulses with the essence of bad guy. What I’m saying is that he’s fucking cool, and while he’s ludicrously complex, that makes perfect sense since…I mean just look at the combo lists from Tekken 7. His inclusion also kinda rounds out the list of biggest fighting game franchises out there being rep’d in the game, though I imagine now I’m going to have stans from Mortal Kombat or whatever on my back. They’re not going to put a fatality-capable character in Smash, guys!

Finally, this rounds us around to the original point of this article. Let’s talk about Sora. And by that I mean…I don’t really have a huge amount to say about him. Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that completely passed me by growing up, and I don’t think I have the time or energy to devote to it now. I’m sure it’s good, people seemed really excited for him to be in the game so they have to have gotten that love from somewhere, but I don’t share that feeling.

That’s not to say that I don’t think he deserves a slot. The idea of “deserving a slot” in Smash Bros is kind of an odd concept, even though it’s come up a lot so far this post. But a slot in this roster isn’t just a place in a popular fighting game, because at this point, Smash is kind of a museum of (mostly Nintendo) games- and so having representation is a forever acknowledgment that the franchise is, or has been, an icon to so many. Kingdom Hearts, to my knowledge, has 100% earned that position, and so Sora getting to be playable here makes perfect sense. He wasn’t my pick (Touhou representation never I guess), but I’m happy for those who wanted him.

As far as the actual gameplay looks, he reads like a character that kept in mind what people didn’t like about Hero when he released. It’s another sword-based character, which I think at this point speaks more about the demographic of video game characters than it does about Smash. But I appreciate that the Magic Bullshit is toned down, and that it’s also his only real gimmick (The 3-hit combo feature is A Thing, but other characters e.g. Bayonetta have already done that, so whatever). His recovery potential looks patently absurd- like he just gets Pikachu/Pichu’s Up-B as a Side-B that can also be chained with his actual Up-B? This guy better be light as hell or he’s going to be super hard to take out. I dunno, I think he looks solidly fun enough- more dynamic and aerial than the other swordfighters, at least- and that’s good enough for me.

And I guess that marks the end of Smash Ultimate. Not with a bang, but with a key…dude. It’s been a very solid run, the game managing to keep itself fresh across several years of development, even as other games have risen and fallen. Smash is kind of forever at this point, I think, though the finality of Ultimate’s ultimate character implies that this particular iteration may be coming to its end. And seeing as it is always one Smash per console, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Switch itself was nearing its endgame as well.

Okay but also it’s pretty funny how they heavily censored everything Disney out of Sora’s DLC except for that little Mickey charm on the trailer, like how much must that one shot have cost them, was it even remotely worth it, I don’t know but I kinda want to

[drchiakinanami]

Your Favorite Song (Kamijirou)

KaminarixJirou college AU, background Todomomo

Rating: Mature/Explicit

summary: Kyoka Jirou moves in across the hall from a boy who might actually be less ‘annoying boy next door’ and more ‘someone worth watching’

At first, she thought he was annoying.

Move-in day was already stressful enough, and Jirou was moving in a week early to prepare since she was living off campus with her best friend.  That meant that her junior year was already off to a better start then the last two.  The dorms had been hell.

The problem had arisen with her neighbor.

“Hey, you moving in?” A cheerful voice called from the door right across from hers. Jirou turned, holding a box in her hands.  She looked to the box and then back to the boy who had addressed her.  

He had long,  blonde hair, pulled up into a loose bun, pieces hanging out in the front.  He wore and old band t-shirt and acid wash jeans, and he was leaning against his doorframe, grinning at her.  

“Obviously,” She said by way of reply.

He blinked, obviously not expecting that sort of answer.  “Um.  Did you need any help?”

“Nah, I’ve got it,” she said, “I’m almost done.”

“I’m Kaminari Denki, by the way,” he said, following her into the apartment.  She set her box down on the dining room table and turned around, running her hand through her sweaty bangs.  “Jirou Kyoka.”

He reached out his hand, grinning at her.  She sighed and shook his hand, pulling it back as quickly as she could without being rude.  

“Nice to meet you.”  He shoved his hands in his pockets.  “I guess I’ll be seeing you around, since we’re neighbors and all.”

She crossed her arms.  “Yeah.  I guess.”

A knock at the open door alerted Jirou to her saviors.  “Momo!  Todoroki!” 

“We saw the door was open, everything okay?”  Her best friend and now roommate, Momo, said worriedly.  

“Yeah, I just have a couple more boxes left.”  Jirou gestured to Kaminari.  “This guy’s our neighbor.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” Momo said cheerfully.  “I’m Yaoyorozu.”  

Kaminari kept grinning.  “Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

Todoroki picked up the box Jirou had left on the table and carried it further into the apartment without saying anything to anyone else. 

“That’s my boyfriend, Todoroki.  He’s like that.  Shy.”  Momo smiled apologetically and disappeared further into the apartment.  

Jirou turned back to Kaminari.  “So, um… You should probably get the fuck out.” 

He blinked. “Oh, yeah.  My bad.”

“It’s fine, just… We have a lot to do.  You get it.”

“Yeah!  Yeah, of course!”  He looked around awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I’ll see you around?”

“Probably.”

Kaminari hustled back to his own apartment, shutting the door quietly.  Jirou felt bad for just a moment, but she wasn’t lying.  She had a lot to do to unpack, and get ready for the start of classes… She didn’t have time for new friends, or anything else. 

Kaminari showed up in two of her classes, which surprised her quite a bit because up until this year she’d literally never seen him before.  He sat next to her in Biology, grinning at her.

“Hey, neighbor.”

She smirked a little.  “Get up late?”

“Huh?  What do you mean?”

“You hair.  It’s everywhere.”  She gestured to her own head.  “You look like Pikachu.”

He wrinkled his nose at her.  “There are worse Pokemon to be compared to.”

“You think?”

“Oh, for sure.”  The grin stayed plastered on his face.  “Did you move in okay?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at her notebook.  “Yeah.  We’re pretty settled.”

“Cool, I’m glad to hear it.”

The professor came in then, and the conversation stopped there, but Jirou was surprised that this guy was trying to talk to her at all.  Guys weren’t usually scrambling to hang out with her, and she wasn’t sure why Kaminari was hanging around her at all.  After class, she got up and left before he could even open his mouth to say something else to her.

As time passed, she reluctantly let Kaminari get a little closer to her.  He poked and prodded at her, asking questions about herself until she’d say something like “Damn, Kaminari, what kind of interrogation is this?” And he’d laugh, but he’d stop.

He found out she played guitar and begged her to teach him, which was where the trouble started.  Being in his apartment was surprisingly intimate, but having him in hers was way worse.  It all depended on who’s roommates were home, and if Momo wasn’t out with Todoroki or one of their other friends, Kaminari’s roommate, Sero, was.  And Jirou found herself liking Kaminari’s company. 

After lessons, they would still hang out, and he’d play her a new song he’d heard or she’d recommend something from her huge mental library.  She laid back on the couch, in her apartment this time, him sitting at the far end by her feet, as she showed him a personal favorite.  

“It’s good,” Kaminari said, bobbing his head.  She laughed, closing her eyes.  “I thought you’d like it.”

“So I take it you don’t hate me as much as you did when you moved in?” “Huh? I never hated you!” “You told me to get the fuck out!”

“No, Pikachu, I didn’t hate you.  You’re annoying, though.”

“Don’t you mean I was annoying?”

She sat up, looking at him carefully.  “No.  You’re annoying.  Currently.”

He pouted at her a little.  “Come on.  You like me a little bit.”

She shrugged. “Just because I hang out with you doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re annoying.”  Getting to her feet, she ruffled his hair. “Do you want a beer?”

Kaminari huffed, and she got the feeling she missed something monumental, said the wrong thing.

“Sure.”

************

At Momo’s insistence that she didn’t go out enough, Jirou started to attend more social events and gatherings.  Their friends were fun, but Momo and Todoroki were absolutely no fun at these events, usually drinking wine and sitting at the dining room table of whatever frat house they’d managed to end up in.  Jirou had to smile a little bit when she saw them together, though.  They really were like two puzzle pieces.  

Kaminari came to a lot of the same parties too, but he had a habit of being a ‘life of the party’ drunk and an even worse flirt.  

But he didn’t flirt with her.  

And it bothered her.

And she wasn’t sure why.

“He likes you, I think,” her friend, Mina, told her one night, when they were both several shots deep.

“Who?” Jirou asked, squinting.

“Kaminari.  Won’t shut up about you when I go over to visit Sero.”

“You and Sero have a thing?”

“No!  Oh my God, what?! Even if I did, I don’t wanna talk about me!”  Mina poked her shoulder.  “He thinks you’re too good for him, though.  Kaminari… Not Sero.  I’m not sure Sero thinks.  Thinks you want someone smarter, is what he said… Kaminari.”  Mina was slurring a little, but 

Jirou frowned.  She wasn’t sure she believed any of that.  She looked up to see the object of their conversation.  He looked nice.  Black button down shirt rolled up to his sleeves paired with jeans and his hair swept back off his face.  He was good looking, she had to admit it, and she knew that their time hanging out and playing guitar together sucked up most of his free time.  And there he was, striking out with another girl.  Jirou sighed and looked back to Mina.  

“If he liked me, he wouldn’t pull that shit.”  She pointed at him for emphasis.  “...Besides, I don’t even think I like him that way.”

“Ohhhh my God, but you totally do!  You look at him the same way he looks at you, but only when he’s not looking.” Mina giggled, then hiccuped.  “I should sober up.”

Jirou stood and noticed that the world tilted a little.  “Yeah, me too.”  She glanced over to Kaminari again, who seemed to be laying on the charm thick with another girl, one she didn’t recognize from their school, and his hand was on her waist.  Jirou felt bile roll up into her throat and closed her eyes against it.  It would be safe to throw up, she thought, since she was drunk, but she would know that wasn’t the reason.  

Mina wobbled to her feet next to her and Jirou glanced over.

“I’m going home,” She announced, stumbling a little.  “All the way the fuck home.”

“Are you mad?  You look mad.” “Tell Yaomomo I’m fine if she asks,” Jirou tossed over her shoulder, leaving the party before anyone could say anything else to her.  She couldn’t quite remember where she was, though.  She’d never been to this house before tonight.  She swallowed hard and tried to concentrate, pulling out her phone.  If she could just get her address typed in-

“Hey! Jirou!”  A definitely-more-sober-than-her Kaminari bounded down the stairs.  “You shouldn’t walk alone when you’re like this.”

She blinked. “I’m okay.  I’m not really that drunk.”

He furrowed his brows as she turned away from him.  “Hey, look, I mean it.  You’re drunk, let me walk you home.” She winced.  “I saw you were busy, though.  You don’t have to come with me.”  She wrenched her arm out of his grasp.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She started walking, but he kept pace with her as she tried and failed to plug her address into her phone.  She bit back tears of frustration, anger at the boy next to her, all of it.  Why couldn’t she just be a girl that guys liked?  She wasn’t Momo or Mina, she’d never had that kind of confidence.  

“Whoa!”  

Her thoughts were cut off as she tripped over the uneven concrete of the sidewalk and Kaminari caught her, arms wrapped firmly around her waist.  

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked softly.

He was way too close.  And she was way too drunk to trust herself.  She pushed at his chest.  “Let me go, you idiot, I’m fine.”

“You almost wiped out on the sidewalk.  I think a thank you is in order.”  He stepped back from her, though, and took her phone from her, slipping it into his own pocket.  “You can have it back when I get you home.”

She could’ve punched him.  Really wanted to, actually.  “Fine,” she spit out.  “But you’re not allowed to hold this above my head.”

His eyes softened a little.  “You think I would use helping you as a form of blackmail?”

“I don’t know what the fuck you do.”

“Whoa.  What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shot him a dirty look and just started walking.  It must have been the right direction, because Kaminari sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets, and fell into step beside her.  She glanced over at him, watching him walk.  He was pretty, dammit.  The roots of his hair were dark from sweat, and a drop travelled down his neck and headed towards his collarbones. Jirou’s brain almost shorted out at the sight.  

“Has anyone ever told you you’re really confusing?” He asked, breaking into her increasingly dirty thoughts.  

“No.”

“Yeah.  Probably not.  You’re scary.”  He smiled at her, though.  

“I’m not scary,” she shot back, rolling her eyes.

“Yes you are.  I’m surprised I worked up the courage to talk to you at all when I first saw you.”

“Courage?”

“Yeah.  You looked so cool.  You are cool. And you’re teaching my useless ass guitar.”

“You’re not useless.”

“Whoa, I thought for sure you’d have a joke for that.”

“I’m drunk.”

“Point taken.”

He walked her all the way to her apartment, and when she opened the door, she found herself wanting to invite him in.  She kind of wanted to kiss him, too.  Maybe kiss him in the apartment.  

“I ruined your night,” she said softly.  

“Nah.  I wasn’t having that much fun anyway.” “That girl-”

“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I let you walk home alone.”  He pulled her phone out of his pocket and presented it to her grandly.  “As promised.”

She laughed, and glanced up at him.  “Thanks.”

Against her will, and maybe it was just because she was drunk and emotional, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.  It was embarrassing, how quickly he hugged her back, nose pressed to her neck.  

“Are you drunk?” She whispered.

“No,” he whispered back. “I was a couple hours ago, but not now.”

“I’m really drunk.”

He chuckled.  “I know, Jirou.”

“I should go to bed.” 

“Mm.”

Come with me.  I want to breathe you in.  I want to follow you into Hell.  I want your body to show me Heaven.  Kiss me, just once.  I have to get you out of my system.

“Goodnight, Kaminari.”

“Goodnight, Jirou.

She went into her apartment.  Alone.  Even drunk, she wasn’t brave enough to tell him she wanted him.  

But now, for the first time, she was forced to admit it to herself.  

******************

Nothing changed for a while. Momo’s eyebrows had shot up when Jirou told her that Kaminari walked her home, and even Todoroki had muttered an “Is that so?”.  Mina had been the most excited, but Jirou was still convinced it didn’t mean anything.  They weren’t like that.  

It was their first lesson after Christmas break that everything was different.  Jirou was wearing a sweater that Kaminari had loaned her when she didn’t have anything heavy to wear to the airport, and she was embarrassed to admit she’d worn it several times over the break, tucking her nose into it to catch his cologne.  

They’d set their guitars aside and Jirou lay on the couch in his apartment, shuffling the music to play on the speaker that sat on the coffee table.  Kaminari was sitting next to her, but his fingers were drumming a beat on the top of her foot.  

“Thanks for teaching me.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, dumbass.”

“I want to, though.  It’s a lot to ask, I know.”

“Mm.”  

“How… How was your break?”

She looked over her knees at him.  “It was fine.  Not too eventful.  How was yours?”

They didn’t do small talk.  It was weird.  But he’d started it, and she had a feeling it was for a reason.

“It… It was good.  I missed you.”

She smirked a little.  “Did you?  Hang on, are you blushing?”

“No!” he turned away from her, and she tossed her phone down on the table, sitting up on her knees to look at him closer.  Without thinking, she grabbed his face and made him look at her.  

“You are!”

“Hey, don’t tease me.” 

“Too late!  Oh my God, look how pink you are, what?  What are you blushing for?”

“Shut up,” he laughed, jamming his fingers into her sides.  She squeaked and fell back, laughing and fighting back against him. 

They’d never wrestled before, but she ended up on her back again on the couch, Kaminari hovering over her, one hand on the armrest by her head, the other on her waist over her borrowed sweater.   The air turned hot as the smile slipped from Kaminari’s face as he looked down at her. 

“I mean it,” he choked out, “I really missed you.”

“We text like, everyday.”

“Not the same as seeing you, hanging out with you.  I-” his breath hitched, “I think that I-”

She watched him struggle for several moments before taking pity on him.  She cupped his cheeks again, softer this time, palms covered by her sleeves, and leaned up to kiss him.

She’d always imagined a first kiss with someone would be explosive, but no one she’d kissed had ever made her feel that way until now. She felt electricity course through her body when their lips touched and she swallowed his gasp of surprise.  

She was so afraid for a moment that she got it wrong, but then Kaminari moved his hand from her waist to fist into her hair and all of a sudden she wasn’t in charge anymore.  His kisses were desperate, as if he’d been waiting a thousand years to kiss her.  She felt her brows furrow as she poured everything she could into him, shifting her knees to clench against his hips.  He let out a groan and broke away from her. 

“Jirou.”

“Yeah, Pikachu?”

“I really fucking missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Are you just saying that?” “No,” she shook her head. “I missed you.  I did.” He descended upon her again, having gotten the answer he wanted.  His hand went to the back of one of her knees, pulling her leg up over his hip and grinding down against her.  She gasped, wrenching her mouth from his. He wasted no time in pressing urgent kisses to her neck, down to her collarbones, pulling the collar of the sweatshirt down to mark her skin with his teeth.  

One of her hands threaded in his hair, and she curled her fingers in at the root, pushing him closer to her.  

“This is my sweatshirt,” he said, “I didn’t expect you to actually wear it.” “It’s warm,” She admitted breathlessly, staring down at him, his head so near her breast making heat flood her whole body and her thighs clench.  “It smells like you.”

“Yeah, does it?”

“Oh shut up, smug doesn't suit you.”

“I think I have a right to be smug,” he said, sliding his hand up under the shirt and palming her over her bra.  “The hottest girl I’ve ever met is saying she wore my sweatshirt cause it smells like me.”

“Don’t repeat it, that makes me sound gross.”

“I like it.”

“Yeah?  You would.”

“Mm.”

He shut up then, kissing her once more, and Jirou found herself growing bolder, running her hands through his hair and down his back.  He kissed her deeply, as though he couldn’t get close enough to her, even though his hands were against her bare skin and his tongue was in her mouth.  

Feeling bold, and for the first time, finally confident that he felt something for her, she reached down to the front of his jeans, cupping him firmly.

“This for me?”

“Yeah.  Always is, these days.”

“These days?”

“Yeah, since, like, I met you- fuck, Kyoka, chill out, do you want this to go anywhere?”

“When is Sero coming home?” 

“I don’t know.  C’mon.”  He wrapped his arms under her waist and tugged her up, standing with her legs wrapped around her waist.  She did her best to distract him, teeth at his neck and hands running under his clothes.  Kaminari carried her to his bedroom and tossed her onto the middle of his bed before slamming and locking the door.  She hurriedly stripped herself of the sweater and watched him unbutton his shirt with shaky hands and toss it aside before crawling over her, a gleam in his eyes she’d never seen before. 

“Are you okay?” He asked once he was face to face with her again.  

“Yeah, perfect.”

“...Yeah, you sure are.”  He kissed her again and suddenly Jirou was tired of waiting.  She reached down and unbuckled his jeans, relishing in the hiss he let out against her lips, and he pulled down her bottoms in retaliation, until finally they were both naked, eyes blown wide as they stared at each other.  There was no going back now.  This was it.  He kissed down her chest to envelope a nipple in his mouth, lavishing his full attention on one breast and then the other, making every thought in her head turn to dust. 

He reached down, pressing against where she needed him most and watching in almost awe as her head tipped back and her mouth fell open.  Her hands gripped his upper arms and she drew her knees up, on either side of his hips again.  

He watched her for reactions, avoiding the one spot that would send her into orbit.  She pulled a hand off of his arm and smacked his chest. 

“Denki, can you quit fucking with me?”

“I thought that was the whole point.  Say my name again.”

“Ah, ah, you’re gonna get a complex now.”

He kissed her again, deep and long, and gave her what she wanted, fingers deep.  He pulled back, whispering against her lips, “Say it again.”

“Denki.”  It came out as a whine, but she was too turned on to even attempt to be embarrassed that the class idiot with a million watt smile had reduced her to whining.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.  Yes.  Yes.”  

He pulled off and out of her to hurriedly grab a condom before he situated himself over her.  That was when Jirou decided that wasn’t how she wanted it.  Hooking her leg around his, she bit his pulse point, and while he was weak and moaning in her ear, flipped them over so she was on top. 

“I’m impressed,” He said breathlessly, eyes glazed over. 

“Yeah?”

“Fuck yeah.”

She kissed him again and slid over him, rocking back until they were fully pressed against each other. 

And suddenly she felt whole.  

He sat up, now completely inside her, and scooted them back so his back was against the headboard, but the friction that move alone caused made Jirou groan and lean into his neck.  

Kaminari chuckled, running a hand through her hair. “My bad.  Sorry.”

“No, it was good.”  She started moving her hips, realizing that he was waiting on her.  He gasped, grabbing at her waist and letting her dictate the movements. She rested her forehead against his, arms draped around his neck. 

“Fuck.  You’re so hot. You’re so beautiful like this, you’re so beautiful, you have no idea-” Kaminari’s ramblings were cut off as she grinded down onto him.  He really was letting her take full control, and she wasn’t sure why.  She kind of wanted to compete with him, tease him, even now.  

“Hey, after that party last semester, when you walked me home-” Jirou gasped, grasping his shoulders in a bruising grip.  “Did you- what would you have done if I’d invited you in?”

“I wouldn’t have- you were so drunk,” he kissed her jaw, pulling her close and sucking on the skin of her neck.  “But to know you wanted me… I probably would’ve manned up and said something the next day. “

“Really?  You wouldn’t have taken me then?  Fucked me on the couch before Momo got back?”

Seemingly tired of being submissive, and spurred on by her words, Kaminari flipped her over and snapped his hips, driving into her harder and at a new angle, making her cry out and grip at his hair.  “I sure would’ve thought about it.  That night.”

“Yeah.”

“Mmhm.”

His voice was completely strained and she realized they couldn’t talk anymore.  He buried his face in her neck, panting, breath moistening her skin.  Her eyes fell closed and she dug her fingers into his back, chanting his name as she reached the peak.  

Falling over the edge with him was something she never would’ve expected to be so wonderful.  They cried out at the same time, hands clutching, mouths seeking, until they were both completely spent, Kaminari laying on top of her, gasping for air.  

She ran her hands through his sweaty hair and closed her eyes, feeling peace wash over her. “I know I tease you a lot,” she said softly, pressing her lips to his ear. “But I really like you.” He huffed out a laugh and squeezed her tight around the middle. “I sure hope so, after that.”

The two of them cleaned up almost wordlessly, and without discussing it, they climbed back into his bed together, facing each other.  

“What does this mean, for us?” Kaminari asked, staring down at her hand, which he held in both of his. “I can’t… Go back to sitting next to you in Bio and pretend this didn’t happen.”

“Um.  We could go out. Be a thing.  You wouldn’t… Flirt with other girls at parties.”

His eyes snapped up to hers.  “Is that why you were mad at me, that night?”

In for a penny.  “Yeah.”

“I wasn’t… Oh, God, Kyoka, no, I was just… So nervous, every time we’d be at one of those things tomorrow, and I knew I didn’t deserve you, I still know that I don’t deserve you, but… The reason I never flirted with you like I flirted with them was because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you or hurting you.”

“So you’re okay with being… Stuck with me, now?”

“I’ve been praying to be stuck with you.”

“Denki?”

“Yeah?” “Thanks for not… Fucking off.”

He laughed, but knew what she meant.  Gathering her into his arms, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.  “Anytime.”

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (13)

Happy Halloween to you all! I would like to say I was saving this update for Halloween but I really was just that lazy about writing it even though I knew exactly what I wanted to write.

Anyhoo! Considering where we left off last chapter I think we can all assume what happens here. Lila aids an actual terrorist because she is the literal worst.

---

It’s over. It’s finally over.

Marinette breathed in the moment. Lila had finally been exposed. She couldn’t fool anyone anymore. Her old classmates knew the truth and Marinette’s name had been cleared.

It felt so good.

“Marinette?” Nanette scooted closer, “You’ve been really quiet for the past several minutes. Are you okay? Was it the video?”

“They know the truth. Everyone knows she’s a liar. I’m free.” Marinette’s laughter quickly spiraled into overwhelming sobs. Tears of joy. “I’m finally free.”

Nanette, Kagami and Quinn all reached over to envelope her in a hug. Marinette didn’t think that this would hit her so hard. She felt a tad ridiculous crying like this in the middle of the cafe. But goodness help her if she would have been able to stop.

Her phone buzzed on the table drawing her attention away. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears away. “You guys can let go now.” She told her friends, “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Kagami asked.

“Yeah. All that stress about Lila finally left my body and it shook me up more than I thought it would.” she glanced at her phone. She missed whoever was calling her.

Kagami’s phone started buzzing this time.

“It’s Adrien,” Kagami answered, “Hello--huh? Adrien, slow down, I can’t understand you.”

The others stopped talking and looked to Kagami. “Yeah, she’s here.” Kagami looked at Marinette, “We’re at the Winking Violet Cafe. What’s going on? What’s happened?”

“Adrien?” Marinette got closer to the phone, “What’s wrong?”

“Marinette! Lila got akumatized and she’s hunting down everyone that exposed her.” Adrien’s voice sounded panicked, “You need to go and hide.”

“Are you safe?” Hello again stress, missed you the whole ten seconds you were gone.

“I’m okay. Just find a good hiding spot and stay safe. Ladybug and Chat Noir will take care of Lila.”

“Yes they will.” Marinette clenched her fists, “You stay safe too.”

She looked at her friends. “Lila is akumatized so we need to get to a safe place.”

“Too late!” A voice outside the cafe snarled. The windows crashed and everyone ducked for cover from the flying glass shards.

An enormous fox with nine long tails stood in the middle of the cafe. It’s eyes trained solely on Marinette now sprawled on the ground.

“Marinette,” the fox growled, “You wanted to paint me as a monster so now that’s what I am and you are going to pay!”

“Lila, stop this!” Marinette yelled at her.

“I am not Lila! I am Kitsune! And you are dead meat!” Kitsune pounced at Marinette.

“Back off!” Kagami threw herself between Marinette and Kitsune. She was wielding a table chair like she was some kind of old lion tamer. “Marinette! Run!”

“Kagami--!”

“You think you can take me?” Kitsune laughed. “One pathetic little wannabe hero against a monster?”

“How about two?” Quinn jumped in as well.

“DIE YOU POKEMON WANNABE!” Nanette threw Marinette’s muffin at Kitsune. There is a literal glass vase that would do for a better distraction but instead she sacrificed the soft food item. Wasteful!

“But--” Marinette couldn’t just leave her friends but she also needed to get away to transform.

“GO!” The three of them yelled at her.

With a heavy heart she pushed off the floor and made a break for the exit. Kitsune tried to follow but Kagami, Nanette, and Quinn blocked her way. She needed to find a secluded spot and fast!

“Come back here!” Kitsune pounded down the street after Marinette.

“I gotcha!” Marinette was scooped up and vaulted into the air.

“Chat Noir?” Marinette looked at her partner, “How did you find me?”

“Uh...your friend Adrien told me.” Chat answered.

“Adrien? Is he okay?” Marinette asked, now even more worried.

“He’s safe. I promise.” He set Marinette down on top of a roof, “Stay here. Ladybug and I will take care of Kitsune.”

“Thanks, Chat Noir.” Marinette waited until he was out of sight before opening her purse, “He’s gonna need help. Tikki, transform me!”

As soon as she was powered up Marinette took off to take down Kitsune. She should have saw this coming. Of course Lila would get akumatized after she was exposed. Nothing to do now but take her down and purify the akuma before she hurt anyone else.

She found Kitsune prowling the streets and snapping at anyone not quick enough to get out of her way. “This isn’t ideal.” Marinette muttered. She couldn’t even see an akuma object on her anywhere.

“You can say that again.” Chat Noir sighed. Marinette hadn’t even heard him approach. “I barely managed to get to Marinette before our nine tailed friend down there tried to eat her.”

“I was having such a good day before this.” Marinette sighed, “Did you happen to see anything that could be holding the akuma earlier?”

“Nope.”

“Perfect.”

“Do we have a plan?”

“Go down there, protect civilians, keep Kitsune detained until we find the akuma, kick some butt.”

“Are you still sick? You’re usually a little more serious in these matters.”

“I got a lot of energy and I wanna do some butt kicking. Let’s do this!” Marinette jumped into the fray with Chat Noir behind her.

She lashed out her yo-yo wrapping around Kitsune’s throat and pulled her back from a group of civilians like a dog on a leash. “Get out of here!”

The civilians sped off just as Kitsune threw the yo-yo off. She turned to Marinette and Chat Noir baring her teeth and growling. “I was hoping to sink my teeth into a baker’s daughter but I’ll settle for hero instead.”

Kitsune lunged at them but they dodged out of the way. Chat Noir tripped her up and beat her down with his staff as best he could while Marinette leashed her and searched for the akuma. There really isn’t anything on her. She’d have to get closer. Maybe there was a necklace or something hidden in her fur.

“Chat Noir!” Marinette yelled, “Cover me!”

“On it!” Chat Noir jumped on Kitsune’s back, extending his staff so it stuck between her jaws like a crude bit.

She slid under Kitsune’s belly and groped around her neck. There has to be something!

Kitsune started to buck and thrash wildly. Marinette delved her hand deeper into her fur. It was like putting a hand in a wolf’s fur, it just kept going.

“AAAHHH!” Chat Noir was sent flying as Kitsune managed to knock him off her back.

“Darn it!” Marinette tried to roll out of the way but Kitsune was faster and swiped a massive paw at her head.

She pulled herself onto the nearest roof with her yo-yo and held the side of her head. It didn’t feel like she was hurt but one of her ribbons was gone. She pulled out the other ribbon and tied her hair back in a single ponytail for the time being.

“I’m back!” Chat Noir huffed as he made it back to the action. “You’d think I’d be used to getting thrown around like that but it never gets any easier.”

“Hope you’ve recovered because we still need to figure out where the akuma is hiding.” Marinette stared down at Kitsune who paced the street growling at them and carrying on about heroes ruining everything.

“Wait, I got it!” Chat Noir exclaimed, “I know where the akuma must be!”

“Where?”

“You see the tails?” Chat Noir pointed to the nine long tails Kitsune had. Each was tied off with what looked like a ribbon of sorts. “Those ties on them are the only other thing on her. The akuma must be hiding in one of those.”

“You’re right!” How had she not seen that before. “How’d you figure that out?”

“Well I was gonna make a comment about how cute the single ponytail looked on you when I had the realization. Doesn’t Lila usually wear her hair with little hair ties near the ends? Much like the ties on the end of Kitsune’s tails?”

“Chat, you’re brilliant!” Marinette praised her partner, “Since we know where the akuma is I think it’s time for this. Lucky Charm!”

She thrust her yo-yo into the air and out of the bright light dropped a plastic container. She opened it up and took a whiff. “Hoo!” she pinched her nose, “That is some seriously strong red pepper flakes.”

“What are we gonna do with that?” Chat asked.

Marinette looked around for something to help her. That hose, Chat Noir, his staff, her yo-yo, and the very potent red pepper flakes.

“I got it!” she explained her plan to Chat Noir. “Do you understand? She handed him the container.”

“You can count on me, my lady!” he jumped back onto the street drawing Kitsune’s attention.

While he was keeping her distracted Marinette grabbed the discarded hose laying on the street. “Now!” she shouted.

Chat Noir started spinning his staff until it created a powerful tunnel of wind and uncorked the container of pepper flakes so they flew directly into Kitsune’s face.

“Achoo!” Kitsune sneezed, “What do you think--achoo! A little pepper can’t--achoo! Achoo!”

Kitsune kept sneezing giving Marinette the opening she needed. She lashed out her yo-yo entangling her feet and knocking her to the ground. Next she bound the tails together with the house and pulled the ribbons off of all of them. She ripped each ribbon in half until a dark butterfly flew out of one.

“No more evil doing for you, little akuma.” she captured it in her yo-yo before releasing it purified back into the world, “Bye bye little butterfly!”

Chat Noir tossed her the pepper container. “Miraculous Ladybug!” the ladybugs went about correcting all the damage Kitsune had done. Including replacing Marinette’s single ponytail with her pigtails again.

“Pound it.” The duo bumped fists in victory.

“Huh?” Lila was back to normal and gazed around at the street. “But, I was--” she saw Ladybug and Chat Noir a few feet from her and frowned. “If it isn’t Crap Noir and Ladybarf.”

“Hey! I know you don’t like me but there is no reason to pick on my partner.” Marinette snapped at her. “We just saved you from destroying the city, again.”

“Whatever. This is the worst day ever!” Lila stomped her foot, “First with that pampered brat’s presentation and now this! I’m going home!”

Chat Noir didn’t let anything show as Lila stormed off. Usually he’d at least try to be the assuring one in these instances but he seemed to be basking in her bad mood as much as Marinette was.

“Do you think she’s okay to leave alone?” Marinette asked Chat Noir. “She seems really mad. What if she gets akumatized again?”

“I don’t think it’s that bad. She’ll sulk and fester in her anger for a while but I don’t think it’ll be so powerful as to get her akumatized twice in the same day.” Chat Noir shrugged.

“I hope you’re right.” Her earrings beeped. “I’m almost out of time. See you later, Chat Noir.”

“Have a wonderful rest of your day, my lady.” Chat Noir bowed before taking off in the other direction.

Marinette found an alley a couple streets down from the cafe to transform back in. Tikki nestled herself snugly in Marinette’s purse to munch on her cookie as they walked back to the cafe.

When she walked in everyone was in a buzz about the latest akuma attack. Kagami, Quinn, and Nanette were crowded in the corner looking at their phones frantically. Quinn noticed Marinette enter first and ran up to her.

“You’re okay!” Nanette and Kagami followed suit to crush Marinette in their arms.

“Of course I am.” Marinette assured them, “Is everyone here okay?”

“No!” Quinn smacked her arm, “You scared us half to death! The last we saw you a giant fox was chasing you down the street. We’ve been worried sick! You didn’t answer any of our calls, we thought something bad may have happened to you.”

“Sorry,” Marinette checker her phone. Sure enough there were a bunch of missed calls listed on her phone. Quinn, Nanette, Kagami, Alya, Aurore, and even one from Wayhem.

“She’s here now and she’s in one peice.” Kagami said, “That’s all that matters.”

“Well,” Nanette set her hands on her hips, “To celebrate not being mauled by a giant fox creature and the downfall of a horrible lying she-demon I say we take this party back up to my room for an impromptu dance party. Who’s with me?”

“Sounds ridiculous,” Kagami shook her head, “I’m in.”

“Yes!” Nanette grabbed her arm, “I knew I’d wear you down to the dumb fun level as the rest of us!”

The four of them adjourned to the apartment above the shop and filed into Nanette’s room. While the other three partied it up Marinette took a minute to call back her other friends to assure them she was okay. They wanted to talk more about Lila’s well deserved downfall but Marinette didn’t have the energy for it right now. They’d all meet up tomorrow to talk about it.

After her calls were finished she joined her friends back in the small bedroom where Quinn was trying to get Kagami to floss. Oh what sweet, weird, friends she had. Wasn’t flossing outdated yet? Who in the past couple months was flossing?

“I nabbed this from the cafe,” Nanette handed Marinette a muffin. “Since I sorta lobbed yours at an akuma earlier.”

“Thanks,” Marinette took her muffin and nibbled it as her friends laughed and danced around the room. Today was a great day.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (14)

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(tagged)

@northernbluetongue @heredemaquam @zazzlejazzle @lady-flora-of-slytherin @ladylb @immatureidiot101 @kristycocopops @schrodingers25 @sublimemagazinestarlight @shamefullove 

[timelock97]

Game Changer

Chapter Five: Home at Last

Word Count: 4004

Warnings: Language

_________________________________________

Raihan and I exit the plane following behind Felicia, Steven, and the pilot. They pull our bags from under the plane before saying their goodbyes to us, entering the small building to do whatever they needed to do before heading home themselves.

My eyes scan the small airport and I am surprised when I don’t see Leon waiting for me. I glance at Raihan who is on his phone, a zip of light catching my eye until the phone in his hand lifts into the air.

“Ah, hello Rotom, hope my disappearance wasn’t too awful.” The device chimes as it zips around his head, making me giggle. “Why don’t you call a Corviknight taxi for me.”

It buzzes until it flips around to face him again, ‘Taxi will be here in five minutes.’

“Perfect,” he hums before glancing at me, “Nothing from Prince Charming?”

“Nope,” I mutter, popping the p as I check my phone.

He nods, taking my bag again and walking toward the small building to get out of the wind. “I can take you up to Wyndon before flying home, he’s most-likely still at Rose Tower.” He suddenly chuckles as he leans against the building. “We may have to storm the castle and rescue him from the raging dragon named Oleana.”

I let out a laugh, a real laugh. The two of us lean against the building while we wait, and Raihan talks about some things he did with his nieces while in London. When the taxi comes, my eyes widen at the sight of the Corviknight, it’s much more impressive in person than in the game, and it’s pretty impressive in the game. Its sleek, and its red eyes are basically glowing. “Woah,” I whisper, the bird looking down at me from its perch.

“That there is Margo,” the taxi driver states as he gets down from his perch, landing on the ground with a small huff, “She is one of our eldest flyers, gorgeous ain’t she?”

“Absolutely,” I say smiling at the man, suddenly seeing his eyes go wide as he takes a step toward me.

“Margo! Back to your post-”

My eyes widen as the Pokemon jumps from its perch to in front of me. My hands fly up in surrender as Raihan is clambering out of the taxi to aid when the bird just leans its head toward me silently and presses its beak into my open hand.

“Well, I’ll be damned-”

“I thought Margo wasn’t a people person unless one of the taxi members?” Raihan whispers as I slowly run my hand up under her beak, smooth as freshly shined metal.

“She ain’t.” The driver whispers, looking at us in disbelief.

I run my hand up from her beak and against her neck, she lets out a small coo. “She’s magnificent.”

I feel a hand on my shoulder, “She really is.”

I turn and smile at the driver, “Sorry, I should have asked-”

“No problem, love, but I do want to get you two to your destination.”

“Right, right, I’ll uh, climb in.” I whisper, pressing my hand one last time to her head where she leans in and coos again before taking a step back and getting into the taxi where Raihan is shaking his head. “What?”

“Lee said you were an animal person, guess that transfers to Pokemon too.” He teases, leaning across to grab and pull the door closed. “It’s not much for pictures at night, but the view is pretty cool.”

I lean over to the side once the taxi makes it into the air, and the view takes my breath away. “How can no one know you guys are here? Look at this place!” It’s mostly just lights from the towns and small cities, but it illuminates the sides of the mountains and forests. As we fly, Raihan makes sure I don’t lean too far to one side, hand resting on the back of the seat. When we get closer to Wyndon, I can see the tower. “S'that Rose tower?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty tall. Well, tall for here anyways.” Raihan says leaning his head out of the window to yell up to the driver, “We want to head toward the tower, Champ needs to head home and the only way to make sure he does is if we drag him out.”

The guy booms out a laugh, “Sure thing, Raihan.” The taxi glides down and lands just in front of the building. As we start to get out, I notice a woman walking out of the main doors.

“No one is allowed on the premises at this hour, please leave or you will be forced to-” She stops, long dirty-blonde hair swaying to one side as she jots out her hip, “Raihan, what are you doing here?” Her eyes fall on me as Raihan opens his hand for me to take as he leads me out and the taxi driver pulls my suitcases from off the back. “And who is this?”

“Oleana, it’s nice to see you too.” His words are coated in polietness before looking at me, “This is (Y/N), Leon’s girlfriend. We are coming to pick him up-” “He’s working-”

“He was supposed to pick her up from the airport, so he’s done working.” The slight playfulness has left his voice, “So either you take her up to see him, or I can.”

She looks at the two of us in annoyance before she huffs and turns on her heel to walk back toward the building. As the doors slide open she pauses, looking over her shoulder at us, “I’m heading up to speak with Chairman Rose. Raihan, you may take the Champion’s girlfriend up to his office. But he isn’t permitted to leave until his paperwork is finished.” With that, she disappears into the building.

“What a hardass,” I mutter, causing Raihan to burst into laughter.

He laughs so hard he has to braces his hand on his knee while he wipes a tear from his eye. “Finally! Someone said it!” He shakes his head to collect himself before looking back at the taxi driver, “I’ll be down in ten minutes, that okay?” The guy nods before waving us off.

“Thank you again!” I call over my shoulder, watching as the taxi driver lets out a laugh and waves me off.

“Alright, cutiefly, let’s go find the Champion so you can finally hit the sack, yeah?”

“God, I forgot how tired I was, why did you have to bring it up?” I whine, leaning into his side as we walk up the steps and into the building. I let out a small 'ooo’ at the intensity of the inside. “This looks way too clean.” I mutter as Raihan walks us to the elevator. When it opens, my mouth drops as I walk quickly inside, passing him. “How does this even work? It’s a whole damn room!”

Raihan laughs as I spin a circle, laughing harder when the elevator starts to rise and I fall to the side and land on my bottom. He walks over and offers me a hand to pull me back up. “It’s just how it was designed, like how it was also designed that people can battle in here.”

“Why?” I laugh as it comes to a stop, all four doors opening.

Raihan places a hand on my back and leads me to the right, “I don’t know, just in case I guess.” He turns us down another hallway until we reach a set of double doors. He knocks once before opening them.

A smile etches across my face upon seeing Leon seated behind the desk. The lamp is illuminating one side of his face while he writes and makes notes. His hair is tangled back into what I can assume is a messy bun, but looks like it is just falling out at this point. “How can I help you?” He mutters without looking up, pencil scratching against the page.

“Well, we were just in the neighborhood and were hoping you were done with your paperwork so you can take your cutiefly home so she can sleep.”

“My cutiefly?” Leon rubs his eyes with his hand, “Rai, I don’t have-” he cuts himself off when he sees me, immediately grabbing his phone and groaning. “I can’t believe I forgot, between paperwork and, nevermind.” He stands and walks around the desk, which prompts me to quickly walk over to him. Once I am within arms reach he tugs me into his chest, letting out a small groan. “I’m sorry, my love. Time got away from me.”

“It’s okay-”

“Wait, cutiefly?” He pushes me to arms length before glaring over my shoulder at Raihan. “Rai you can’t give her a nickname it’s wrong-”

“Not wrong,” Raihan laughs, “and I think it suits her.”

I look up at Leon, he has bags under his eyes. “You look tired, Lee.” I mutter, fingers brushing against his face, him leaning into my touch as his hand cups my cheek to do the same.

“So do you, love.” He gives me a small smile before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I giggle before turning to Raihan, who is leaning on the doorframe. “Thanks again Raihan. for taking me here and waiting for me.”

“No problem, cutiefly. I will see you two at the Christmas banquet in a couple of days.” He gives us a final wave before walking out the door, hands placed behind his head.

Leon signs behind me, pulling me in a little closer. I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing his face into the side of my head and so I can rub my fingers into his scalp causing him to hum contently. “How much longer you got?”

He groans in annoyance, “Three pages, shouldn’t take me too long now.”

“Go home, Leon, I can finish what’s left,” The two of us look towards the doorway to find the Chairman and Oleana.

Leon slowly unravels himself from me as Rose walks in, Oleana looking unamused as she stands in the doorway. “Chairman, it shouldn’t take me too much longer-”

Rose shakes his head as he reaches us, his hand taking my hand in his, “Nonsense, I’ve kept you two away from each other long enough.” The Chairman looks at me next, my body stiffening, waiting for him to strike, but instead he smiles widely, “And, my dear, it is so nice to finally meet you.”

I let out a sigh of relief, “It’s nice to meet you too, Chairman.”

“Please, call me Rose. Now,” he squeezes my hand before continuing, “I am going to finish these up, you two head on home. And Leon,” he turns fully to look at him. “I don’t want to see you here until after new years. Well, minus the Christmas banquet.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

Rose smiles at us before round to the desk and picking up the rest of the paperwork on Leon’s desk. “I hope you both have a good night,” he calls over his shoulder as he walks to the door, the heels of his dress shoes clicking against the smooth tile, and leaves with Oleana in tow.

Lee and I look at one another before sighing in unison. He eventually lets out a small chuckle as he walks over to the door where I can now see that he has a jacket hung up next to his signature cape. I walk over quickly, and immediately pull it down with a bright smile on my face and fluff it around my shoulders. When he looks at me, a small giggle leaves his parted lips. “You look adorable”

“This thing is fucking heavy,” I I deadpan before giggling. I take the cape and whip it around, lifting it into the air. It makes my arms wobble a bit as I look at the sponsorships printed on the back of it. I let my arms fall down, cape brushing the floor as I yawn softly, lifting one hand to rub the sleep out of my eye.

“Not get enough sleep, darling?” He teases back, hand moving to tug the cape from my hand and place it back on the hanger.

“No, never enough.” I giggle, moving to snuggle into his chest. I let out a content sigh as he closes his arms around me and presses a faint kiss to the top of my head. “Can we go home now, Leon? Cause if not then you’re going to have to carry me.”

He chuckles, turning us gently and leading me toward the door. Lee grabs one suitcase while I grab the other before walking out and shutting the door behind us. Once back on the elevator, I whip out my phone to take a picture of Leon and I to send to my folks to confirm that I had arrived safely, or at least I finally was with Leon. He keeps a hand on my back as I type out the message to send it in a group chat, leading me out of the elevator and through the main lobby.

Once outside, Leon leads me over to another elevator, ushering me inside. I glance up at him as the door shuts, his eyebrows are knitted together as he stares at the buttons. “It’s um, I’m by the stadium. Yeah,” he mutters as he presses the corresponding button. The lift jerks to a start before we are on our way.

“This is a weird way to get transported.” I murmur, making Leon chuckle.

“Leave it up to the Chairman to design these things.”

“At least you can only go to two other places.”

Leon nods as it comes to a stop the door opening with a swoosh. Leon groans at the frigid air, grabbing my bag and ushering me out. He pulls me to a stop before we get too far his hand disappearing under his coat, and before I can ask he whips his hand to the side and a loud pop bursts through the air. Suddenly in front of us is Leon’s Charizard, and I am at a loss for words. Leon moves a hand up to scratch his partner’s chin, the pokemon’s chest rumbles, purring and bumping his head against Leon’s. He eventually turns toward me and reaches for my hand as he speaks, “Buddy, this is (Y/N). My love, meet Charizard.”

“Holy shit,” I whisper, my hands shaking as I lift one to touch him. Charizard sniffs my hand before pressing his snout into it. “Look at him!” I giggle as I move forward and both my hands brush against his scales. It was a mixture of the velvet feeling of a snake’s scales, while some patches are a little rougher to the touch. Charizard leans into my touch before moving so I’m practically pressed against his front, his neck and head moving down to press me there as I scratch at his skin, he rumbles again making me giggle. “And I was not expecting him to be so warm! I mean I know he’s a fire type but,” I shake my head, “nevermind, I’m tired and rambling.”

Leon chuckles behind me, “Same here, my love. C'mon buddy,” I step back as Lee pats his partner’s cheek, “Help us not get lost, yeah?”

Charizard blows some fire into the air, making me giggle before the three of us start walking down the street. While we walk, Lee keeps an arm around my shoulders as he rambles about what I had missed from him that day, which wasn’t much. We almost walk past the apartment, but Charizard makes sure we don’t by grabbing the back of my backpack and pulling me to a stop, which prompts Leon to stop and see what’s wrong.

He smiles sheepishly as he takes my hand and returns Charizard to his pokeball before leading me into the apartment building. We ride the elevator to the top floor, and when we exit there is only a small room with a single door. Leon whips out his key and unlocks it with ease before pushing it open and allowing me to enter inside in front of him. “Home sweet home.” Leon mutters once the door falls shut behind us.

I don’t get to look very far before I hear a chorus of popping through the air, and when I turn around my heart almost stops. Now standing in the sparse living room is Leon’s whole team, and they are looking back at me with curiosity.

Leon chuckles as he walks over to me, helping me out of my backpack and jacket, which he promptly tosses to the couch, before facing his team again. “Alright, team. I think it’s time you really get to meet my darling girlfriend.”

“Lee,” I whisper nervously, placing my hands over my mouth as I glance back at him. He gives me an encouraging smile before placing his hands on my shoulders.

“They won’t hurt you, love.” He whispers back as his Haxorus takes the first, cautious step forward. She walks slowly over, head tilted to the side. Haxorus chirps as I reach toward her, avoiding her blade like tusks as she leans into my touch and moves toward me. “Look at her, she’s adorable, well for as badass as she looks.” I add with a giggle.

“I’ve had her for most of my journey,” Leon smiles, pressing a kiss into my cheek. “Raihan and I found her in the wild area. I think I was twelve.” He chuckles as he moves so he is stationed beside me and Haxorus. “We crept over to the nesting area and I caught her. The adult on scene caught us though and we nearly got our asses whooped, but she has been nothing but loyal since day one.”

“Well, I love her.” I smile, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to the top of her head, she chirps again before moving away to let someone greet me next. Mr. Rime tap dances over, swinging his cane as he does. I giggle as I move to meet him in the middle with a quick minimal tap dance causing Leon chuckle. “What about him?” I reach for his hand before squealing at his stomach’s face moving and smiling back.

Leon chuckles from behind me, “I caught him as a Mr. Mime after I won the championships a third time. Since I was sixteen, I could live in Wyndon on my own. So Rose got me set up in an apartment, but it was weird not having any people around. Camping in the wild area, I could hear the other Pokemon around me and I could have my Pokemon out so I didn’t have to worry about the silence. It was too quiet in the apartment.” He pauses for a second, making me look over at him. His eyes are down casted, but not for long. He sighs and looks up, smiling when he sees me looking right at him. “So I would let out Mr. Mine, but I will admit sometimes seeing him in the hallway late at night was terrifying.” He laughs again as Mr. Rime suddenly spins me in a circle before bowing.

I turn to the right and look at Aegislash who is still sheathed behind the shield so I can look at him without any worries. “You have to evolve Aegislash with a stone, right?”

Leon nods as I glance at him while gently placing my hands around the rim of the shield to look at the patterns. “I found him as a Doublade in the wild area. I was on my way to Hammerlocke for the first time to head to the fourth gym when I caught him. I actually accidentally evolved him.”

“And how did you manage that?”

“I was cooking in the wild area after practicing my strategies for the last gym, and I was looking for some ingredients from my bag and just,” he pauses to gesture him throwing things over his shoulder, “was tossing all around. When I turned around he was evolved.” Lee shakes his head gently, “I was definitely surprised.”

I giggle, turning to look at him. Immediately my shoulder gets nuzzled and I laugh a little harder at Lee’s Dragapult who nudges my hand as I raise it. His tail wrapping about my ankle, whisps tickling my skin. “And lastly, what about him, Lee?”

Leon walks over to me and places one of his hands to my hip while scratching under Dragapults chin. “Wandered into my camp as a Dreepy, he was wounded so I patched him up. What was funny about it was that I had been lost in the wild area for like three days-”

“Only you-”

“Hey, a lot of people get lost in the wild area, especially with the unexpected weather.” He defends, playfully tugging me into his side. “And it was particularly foggy those three days so there wasn’t much I could do. But he did manage to lead us out, so when we did make it back and he wanted to follow I just caught him.”

I nod, leaning my head into his shoulder, a small yawn leaving my lips. “All lovely stories for your team.”

“And I vote no more stories, unless they are in bed.”

I yawn again, “Bed sounds good.”

Leon takes my hand and pulls me along softly, “And you lot, go to bed. You all trained hard today, so you deserve it.” I hear them all call out, making me giggle. He leads me down the hall and opens a door, leading us into the master bedroom. Leon softly laughs as I let go of his hand and throw myself across the bed, groaning when I land.

“Why is your bed so much more comfortable than mine?” I whine, rolling over to pout at him as he moves about the room, discarding his shirt and pants. I watch as he opens a drawer and pulls out a pair of shorts and a shirt, but his shirt he tosses toward me instead of putting it on. I smile as I sit up and tug my shirt over my head to replace it with his before tossing my bra across the room, making him blush in the low lit room.

“Making yourself at home, love?” he teases as he walks over to the edge of the bed. He grabs my ankles, tugging me to the edge as I giggle before unbuttoning my jeans and carefully tugging them off.

“Of course I am, you make yourself at home when you spend the night at my house.” I tease as he tosses my jeans across the room where his own clothes sit crumpled on the floor.

Leon rolls his eyes before he leans down, caging my face with his arms as he leans in to kiss me. Only he doesn’t, he instead grabs my hips and lifts me, causing me to squeal and wrap my arms around his neck as he moves my legs to wrap around his waist. He then crawls across the bed on his knees, me giggling into his ear. I hear him move the blankets, and suddenly we are both falling toward the bed, my head hitting the pillow as he moves just enough away from me to pull the blankets over us. As soon as he is settled he attacks my face with kisses, bringing me as close as he possibly can.

“Stop!” I giggle, pushing his face away for only a second before I pull him back to kiss his lips. “And besides, I am home as long as I am with you.”

“You’re a sap-”

“Only with you,” I smile, nuzzling closer to him until my head is resting on his chest and he is laying on his back. We both let out a sigh, and I feel my eyes flutter shut. Leon’s hands resting against my shoulder and waist. Finally, I was really home.

_________________________________________

A/N: Good day all you sweet, lovely people! Hope your day is going well, here is another chapter to Game Changer. Let me know what you think and let me know if you wanna be tagged!

Masterlist

[olivediamonds]

Face-To-Face: chapter 4

"Damn it Rai open up! It's been almost an hour!"

It has been a week since Keira had moved in and she thought she got the hang of Raihan's showering habits but apparently she was wrong. After a couple of more bangs the door finally opened and Raihan stepped out in nothing but a towel. His usual cornrows were undone and his curly hair was still dripping wet. Keira could feel the heat rising in her cheeks but she still kept her grumpy face.

"Well finally! Now if you don't mind, I need a nice cold shower."

She pushed past him as he chuckled and shut the door behind him as he walked out and to his room. Keira turned on the shower and set in after undressing and worked on washing her hair. She silently scolded herself for still getting flustered seeing Raihan half naked. Ever since she started living with him she learned quickly he loved walking around shirtless. The only time he really wore one was to go outside. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the bathroom door open. She had thought Raihan was just grabbing something he forgot but that thought was quickly proven wrong when he pulled back the shower curtain.

"Hey Keira did you-"

"Rai! I'm naked!"

"And I'm half naked and hungry now did you eat the last of the chips?"

Raihan ducked as a shampoo bottle was thrown at him.

"I bought more chips yesterday! Check the top shelf!"

"Oh sweet! Thanks babe!"

He closed the curtain and left the bathroom. She could feel her blush returning as she returned to washing her hair. After she finished her shower she dressed and found Raihan watching TV and trying to straighten his hair.

"Why do I get the feeling that you'll end up burning yourself trying to straighten your hair blind. Give me that, I'll do it."

Raihan grinned as he passed her the straightener. She worked on straightening his hair while he took a selfie.

"If you post that I might accidentally burn your ear."

He chuckled as he posted the selfie.

"You know you love me too much to do that."

She rolled her eyes as she finished straightening his hair and began redoing his cornrows. 

"It's your fault if tomorrow's headline on tabloid news feeds are "is Raihan seeing previous champion Keira?!" Because you know how your fans get."

He laughed because he knew she was right. The same day Keira first came to Galar there were rumors started that they were dating. 

"What? You wouldn't want to date me? I think we'd make a cute couple."

Keira snickered as she finished his hair and hopped over the couch to sit next to him.

"Let's be real, if I rated everyone I'd date it would be Piers, Leon, Nessa, Milo and then you."

Raihan gasped dramatically and clung to her waist.

"No way! There's no way Leon is better than me!" 

Keira laughed and swiped the remote to change the channel. She knew he wanted attention and the best way to tease him was to ignore him.

"Oh so Leon can't be better than you but Piers can?"

"Well yeah, it's Piers. Can't beat a bad boy musician."

Keira laughed harder because it was completely true. She tickled his side to get him to let go of her. Best part of Raihan walking around shirtless, it's easier to tickle him.

"Alright e-boy get up I'm supposed to meet Nessa and Sonia for a shopping trip."

"Ooh girl time, enjoy!" 

Keira climbed over the couch to grab her bag and headed out while texting Sonia she was on her way.

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

"So, how is it living with Raihan?"

Keira looked over at Nessa as she was looking for a new hoodie. 

"It's pretty good, the guy doesn't know personal space but I'm used to it."

Sonia giggled as she stepped out of the changing room in a floral sundress.

"That sounds like Raihan. Even when younger he never understood personal space."

Nessa nodded as she passed Keira a hoodie she thought Keira would look good in.

"I thought your plan was to look for your own place? Don't tell me he charmed you into staying."

Keira blushed as she tried on the hoodie. It was an eevee inspired hoodie with a fluffy collar and ears on the hood.

"Of course not, I am looking. It's just nice being able to see him face to face. I've known him since I was a kid and it's just fun being able to talk with him everyday instead of texting."

Nessa and Sonia gave each other a knowing look as Sonia pulled out her phone. She showed her phone to Keira which had Raihan's selfie on his rotogram.

"So that's not you doing Rai's hair?"

Keira raised an eyebrow at the photo.

"So? The dork was watching TV and trying to straighten his hair. I offered to do it so he didn't burn himself."

Sonia smirked.

"Raihan never lets anyone touch his hair. I've offered to do it to make it easier for him but he always says no!"

Keira blushed and pushed passed a giggling Nessa so she could buy the hoodie.

"Just because I did his hair doesn't mean anything!"

"We didn't say anything. You're the one making assumptions Keira."

Keira turned to look at a smirking Nessa.

"Don't you get all phycological on me. He's my best friend and nothing more."

Keira left the store with Sonia and Nessa laughing behind her. She was still hung up on what Sonia said. It had to be because Rai trusted her, that's why he let her do his hair, nothing more than that. Keira stopped in her tracks when her path was cut off by a group of Team Flare grunts standing in her way. Sonia raised an eyebrow at the group and tried to walk past them but was pushed back. 

"You're not going anywhere."

Keira glared at the grunts as Nessa took out one of her pokeballs. Inari, sensing Keira's agitation released herself from her pokeball and readied her wand.

"There's no need to fight if you just surrender your pokemon and come with us Miss Keira."

The group parted and from the group came a woman in a white suit with gold trimming.

"Who the hell are you?"

The woman ignored Sonia as she pointed at Keira.

"If you don't come with us we'll have to take you with us by force."

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 32

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Two Meeting JoJo Siwa! Rainbow-adical!

At lunch, the Baroness approached Lily. “Who is Jojo Siwa?” She asked after complimenting them on the cloud display in the stable. (She found it elegant and impactful.)

“She’s a pop singer who’s headlining the festivities in Moorland. She’s from the United States,” Lily told her. “Her songs are on J-Tube.”

The baroness tilted her head and slightly pursed her lips. “I would like to meet her. Invite her to dine with me tonight. I doubt she’ll have time once the festivities start. All of you are invited.”

Lily blinked. “I, yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, Baroness Silverglade.”

The Baroness smiled softly and left.

“I, um,” Lily looked at all the other girls. “Is she even in Jorvik yet?”

“She’s staying at Fort Pinta Inn,” one of the girl’s said. “She had the choice between that and Silverglade. The festival stand is halfway between pretty much. I think she’s hanging out at the Disco?” She checked her phone and Jorvikgram. “Yeah, she’s at the disco.”

“Then, um,” Lily finished her lunch and looked at her outfit. She didn’t think she wanted to see Jojo looking like this, not to invite her to see the Baroness over dinner! “I better change.”

“Right. You want to make a good impression.”

“I’m the Baroness’ lady,” Lily said mock seriously.

They giggled.

“And we’ll start on the balloons.”

“And get the bunting on the paddock.”

“And we’re going to put the little clouds and hearts through the Silver Glade track and all the trees on the side of the road across the bridge and towards Silverglade Village.”

“And the ones in the grape fields. Balloons too.”

“Get the fences. Can’t forget the fences.”

“Because you never know who is going to take a ride through the fields during the festivities.”

Lily just nodded.

“We’ve got this under control, boss.” Pauline grinned at her.

“You represent our stable!” Regina shook her fist in front of her face.

“This isn’t pokemon!” Several of them yelled at her.

Lily retreated as Regina started arguing that the stable was like a gym. She looked over her clothes and decided on the midriff baring Baroness bow blouse in lavender and grape with her pair of white baroness capri pants and silverglade clan sneakers in lavender with the mulberry stripe. It was a good balance between showing appreciation for Jojo Siwa (bow blouse) and pride in her club. On a whim, she kept the sparkly bow in her hair.

She took the transport to Fort Pinta and left her horse at the stable. She had to smile because the farmer’s cart near the stable had changed their awning for one with rainbow stripes. And well, the girls in Fort Pinta had the same ideas they had had on how to use the decorations around the stable area and in the huge courtyard with the fountain.

Saffi and Selma mobbed her before she got halfway across the courtyard to gush at her about wearing the bow and how great it looked.

Lily grinned. “Thanks. I think it’s fetching.” She touched it briefly. “We have a lot of girls interested in supporting Jojo over the next week.”

Saffi and Selma squealed. “Girl power!”

“Girl power,” Lily agreed with a grin and bumped their knuckles.

Her outfit changed was all for the good. Jojo was on the disco balcony, not quite looking bored. “Oh, you’re awesome!” She shouted and pointed at Lily.

Lily posed and pointed back. “No! You’re awesome!”

Jojo laughed.

Lily sauntered over to her. She held out her hand. “Lily, President of the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

Jojo smacked it. “Jojo Siwa! But, err, you probably know that.” She tugged Lily closer. “Selfie!” She said holding up her phone and snapping a pic of both of them. She let Lily go after.

Lily grinned. “I do. I follow Jorvikgram like everyone else.”

Jojo waved her phone. “You’re part of my jorvikgram story now!” She said as she posted the picture.

“I’ll be sure to download it,” Lily promised. “My Club is looking forward to coming to watch the show.”

“Radical!” Jojo looked excited. Her eyes darted back and forth. “You want a dance lesson first. Just so you can be on the edge of coolness.”

“Sure,” Lily agreed.

Jojo led her through some of her signature moves. “You’ve got it!”

Lily laughed. “I’ll teach the other girls and we’ll do a show.”

“Maybe if you’re good enough you can get up behind me and be my, like, back up dancers.”

“That’d be great.” Lily wrinkled her nose. To her, Jojo seemed a bit lonely. It had to be tough being alone on Jorvik. “Say, I have an invite for you. Actually, it’s not an invite. It’s more like an order to appear. Baroness Silverglade wants you to join her for dinner. It’s kind of like,” Lily paused. “Okay, not the mayor, since the mayor of this town is a pony, but more like the President of the area asking. She owns a lot of land around here and she wants to know more about you.” Lily made finger guns at Jojo.

Jojo’s eyes widened. “Really. Um, wow.”

“I don’t think you’re really getting the option to refuse.”

“What should I wear?”

“Well, the Baroness likes roses and purple. If you have a nice dress, tonight would be the time.”

“I have, like, the perfect thing! This is going to be so cool. What is she like?”

“Ice queen, but she does have a soft heart. She cares a lot about this area and her people. I hope you like Greek food. If you don’t, um, Antonia, her chef, makes this apple smothered pork chop that’s to die for, not literally, but it’s delicious.”

“I am down with the Greek food.” Jojo fiddled with her sequin dress. “Um, Lily, I’m supposed to go meet someone named Loretta at this festival site. But the only transportation they have around here is horses.”

“Haven’t been on them much?”

“Not really. Come with.”

“Absolutely,” Lily agreed without reservation. She should check on what the Bobcat girls were doing for decorating the area anyways. One never knew with Loretta. “I think Tan is a mega Siwa fan. She’s Loretta’s right hand girl. If it’s not right, Tan will get it fixed. Come on, you can meet my horse, and we’ll find you a nice pony.”

“A pony?”

“They aren’t so far from the ground,” Lily winked. She actually liked Jojo. She didn’t want to intimidate her like she’d intimidated James.

Jojo relaxed slightly. “Sweet.”

They went to the stable and after making sure Jojo met Mayor Peanut, who through James, had greetings for her. She took selfies with him. Lily introduced Jojo to her horse. More pictures of Lily and the horse together mostly. And then, they found her a nice steady Jorvik Starter Pony to ride. Jojo took a self of her and the horse together.

On the ride, Jojo was full of questions about how long Lily had been in Jorvik and was it all so rural and did she like it and so on and so forth. Lily answered freely enough. She didn’t mind telling Jojo about herself. She made it a point to point out special things about the parade route. The Bobcat Girls and the Ponies had worked the rainbow and sequin streamers into the ivy, and put rainbow sequin swag bunting and the big bows both inside and outside of the archways. There were huge bunches of ombre rainbow balloons too.

On the fences, they’d put more bows, and swags of sequin bunting, and bracketed the places where they ended with balloons. At the base of the fence post, they’d put the lanterns. Lily took a picture and texted it to one of the girls.

Jojo bounced in the seat of her saddle and took pictures. Her fingers flew over the keys as she captioned them.

“On it!” She got a response to her text from Regina.

Tan met them as they entered the site, jumping up and down and waving. She was ecstatic to point out the decorations.

At the festival site, there was more of the same, lots of sequin swag bunting, lots of bows, tons of balloons. One of the carts with a rainbow awning had set up to sell merchandise. They had set up a photo wall with both pastel and bright color rainbow curtains behind it but they were all sequins. There were bows and gold beads too.

Jojo insisted on doing several selfies and included both of them.

Tan gestured at a tent with a rainbow awning.

“For the friendship bracelets and to make the bows,” Tan explained.

They’d left a large empty area in front of the stands.

“So everyone can dance,” Tan said as to why all the benches were further back. “We’re having our rainbow swirl sugar cookies and milk. The Farmer’s Market is just over the fence so we thought it’d be too much to have food.”

Jojo’s eyes widened. “There’s a farmer’s market.”

“Sure, it’s free for anyone to go to,” Lily said. “If you want to check it out.”

“Do I ever!”

Tan jumped in. “I can take you if you want! Linda sent over these program flyers for the craft tent with a map so everyone knows where to go.” She jogged off and came back. “Here. I hope you get some time to go to all the festivities between sets.”

Jojo read it over. “This is so awesome. I can’t believe you’re doing this much stuff. I’ll definitely have to get around. I don’t know if I’ll have time to see the other performers though. Bummer.”

“There’s a charm bracelet in it for you if you do,” Tan said. “I’ll come with you and we can collect the charms together.”

Jojo grinned. “I’m sure Selma and Saffi would like to come too. This will be great.”

Lily nodded at Jojo. “Well, I need to check in with Loretta then. You two have fun at the Farmer’s Market and I’ll see you tonight at dinner. I’ll make sure Godfrey comes to pick you up.”

“Godfrey?”

“The butler.”

“Butler. Got it.” Jojo nodded. She grinned at Lily. “Thanks for taking the time to come with me.”

“She’s renting a pony from Fort Pinta stables,” Lily said to Tan.

“I thought it looked like one of theirs. I mean, though, why would you be out to see the Welshies on South Hoof yet. Though you really got to do it. Have you ever ridden with a wild horse herd? It’s so totes amazing!” Tan beamed at Jojo.

Jojo looked a bit leery. “I’m down,” she said trying to be game.

Lily took off. “Dinner’s at six,” she called over her shoulder.

Lily rode down to Moorland Stable proper. There were tons of camper wearing Jojo bows and they grinned at hers pointing at their heads. Lily gave them a thumbs up.

They gave her thumbs up back.

Lily was quite relieved to see that the Bobcat girls had managed to use the rainbow decorations instead of the pink ones. She stopped by Julie next to one of the entrance gates. “Any problems?”

“Conrad won’t let us decorate the forge. We’re going to do it anyways,” Julie eyed her nails. “Do you think I should do a rainbow manicure? That’s the thing right?”

“If you want, maybe one gold nail, to be hip,” Lily advised. It wasn’t that the Bobcat Girls were bad people. They were just a bit vapid and shallow.

“I better wait until I don’t have any chores left to do.” Julie sighed. “We haven’t been able to recruit anyone else. They all want to run off and form new clubs.” She glowered at Lily.

“Viva la revolution.” Lily said blandly. She tipped an imaginary hat to Julie and trotted around the stable to check on Loretta.

Loretta widened her eyes at her. “You will not believe all the trouble putting up these decorations has caused. Josh is refusing to talk to me after I put hearts on his poles.”

“Poor baby,” Lily said. “It looks nice.”

She looked towards the Pole Bending track. Josh knelt next to his poles with his hat knocked back and a roll of tape meticulously taping down each heart. She wasn’t getting involved. Nope. Let Josh and Loretta sort it out between them.

“And I told him that it’s Rainbow Week. Unless the skulls were painted like rainbows, they had to go. Now he’s threatening to leave Moorland. I don’t know what his problem is? This is Rainbow Week and it has to go off perfectly. Tan’s so busy setting up the festival site making sure it’s perfect for Jojo that I’m not sure she’s going to get the parade outfits done in time.”

“Jojo seems pleased with the site.”

“Something’s going right then,” Loretta huffed. “I don’t know why she decided to come up with new parade outfits, last years were fine. I mean, they’re black with black.”

“I thought they were nice. They had the black vest with the black capris, right?”

“Yeah, but no, ‘the power of friendship compels me’ or something. I told her that it better not be anything like Daxton’s rainbow vest. It had better be fashionable or I’m not wearing it.”

“It can get rather loud very quickly,” Lily agreed. “That was the danger in the decorations too.”

Loretta wrinkled her nose. “That might be the first thing we’ve ever agreed on.”

“Well, as long as Tan hasn’t taken them apart, you still have last years if hers turn out to be not fashionable.”

“True,” Loretta chewed her lip.

Things looked under control enough. Lily rode through the stable area to check out all the different decorations. She breathed a sigh of relief. No one had tried to sneak the pink things in at all. A quick tour through the other courtyard revealed their photo wall set up in front of Moorland’s distinctive camp office.

Lily took the transport back to the winery and directly into some teasing about her adventures with Jojo.

“As Tan says, don’t be jelly,” Lily rolled her eyes. “Jojo’s an enthusiastic and sweet girl.”

They all giggled.

“You’ll meet her soon enough for dinner,” Lily sighed. “And you can get your selfies with her then.”

“I think we’re about done,” Pauline said.

“It looks great,” Lily said. There were bunches of balloons everywhere to fill up space. It really made the whole thing come together and not look tacked on. “Where is everyone else?”

“Decorating the pavilion and setting up our photo wall,” Pauline said. “We’ve got the supplies for the crafts locked up in the tack room right now. I think we can lock them up in the arena overnight.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Make it so,” Pauline said and texted it out.

Lily rolled her eyes. “While you’re making me out like Captain Picard, Number One. Tell everyone to dress nicely for dinner. Dresses.”

Pauline nodded. “We better rotate shower time.”

Lily decided she better inspect everything. She wanted to have a good report for the Baroness.

--

Jojo Siwa slid out of the car in front of the huge Greek style manor and looked around, her eyes huge in her face. She smoothed her skirt.

Lily darted forward to greet her. “Jojo, glad you came.”

“You didn’t say it was so fancy,” Jojo whispered.

“Baroness implies fancy,” Lily implied. “You look great.” And Jojo did. She’d put an ombre purple sequin bow in her hair which was thankfully down instead of her signature ponytail. The top of her dress had a huge blown out rose done in smaller sequins on it. It covered her entire chest. The skirt was a darker purple large sequins and the sleeves matched the skirt. Her ballerina flats had bows on them too. Fortunately, only the bows had sequins.

Lily didn’t know what the Baroness felt about sequins. It didn’t matter. Jojo looked decent.

“You look nice too.”

Lily glanced down at her Winery Rose Evening dress. She didn’t think the white color made it any less formal but it matched Pauline’s lace dress she’d bought at the Jorvik Shopping mall color wise. “Francezka Ironsaddle, big Jorvik designer. She did all our outfits. The Silver Rose opens tomorrow,” Lily gestured at the building almost hidden now behind the trees in the reflecting pool. “Well, not all of our dresses, Francezka only designed three and it is difficult to find nice dresses here on Jorvik.” Lily tucked her arm around Jojo’s and led her up the stairs. “Try not to let her intimidate you.”

“Too late,” Jojo said.

The girls were waiting inside beaming brightly. Lily made introductions and Jojo kindly did pictures with all of them.

“Okay, phones away,” Lily said once they were done. “And on silent!”

They all tucked phones away.

Godfrey opened the doors of the dining room promptly at six. The Baroness stood up to greet them at the head of the table. There was gleaming crystal glasses, elegant china, and more silver flatware than most of them had ever seen.

Lily introduced Jojo to the Baroness.

“Ms. Siwa, please, take a seat on my right.” And a glance at Lily had Lily seated at her left. Linda sat next to Lily. In fact, everyone who worked at the Manor and even Anastasia and Aaron were in attendance. The girls took up the middle of the long table while Aaron ruled the other end with his sister. (Anastasia’s dog had its own chair.)

The Baroness asked Jojo about herself as the soup course came out, the lemon chicken soup Lily noted. Jojo was happy to talk about herself, her music and the messages she tried to sing about friendship, being kind, and supporting each other, and her v-log. Though Linda had to interrupt to tell the Baroness what a V-Log was.

“A visual diary for the public, how, interesting,” the Baroness said politely.

Pauline sat next to Jojo and with low voice prompts managed to get her to talk about Jorvik and meeting the Jorvik Starter Ponies and since Jojo phrased everything enthusiastically (like they figured she would) the Baroness didn’t get offended over anything. Jojo loved Silverglade Castle and raved about the food she’d had at the Farmer’s Market.

Anastasia managed to slip in a question about Jojo’s fashion style.

Lily had no idea what the Baroness was hoping to learn or Anastasia for that matter.

After one of Aaron’s sundaes, it was time for Jojo to leave.

The Baroness walked her out to Godfrey’s car. “Ms. Siwa, it’s a pleasure to see young people in this day with such passion and enthusiasm for what they do. You appear quite genuine rather than being an act. You’re always welcome to back to my part of Jorvik.”

Jojo brightened. “Thank you!” She gasped and got in the car.

Godfrey smiled at his employer nodding in approval before he got in the driver’s seat and took Jojo back to Fort Pinta.

Lily concluded that probably couldn’t have gone any better.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: YumeTwins July 19

Hello~ Welcome to our review :3 today we’ll be looking at the July YumeTwins. For anyone curious, my mom is doing very well and they said she could leave later today (Sunday).

“It’s finally summer time and with the weather heating up we hope you’re looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the sun! We had exactly that in mind when we put together this month’s selection of goodies for you. Isn’t it funny how when the sun comes out it somehow magically brightens our mood? We hope you’re feeling motivated and excited to get together with friends for a fun day in the sun or a Pool Party! Don’t forget to bring along your kawaii pool party items from this month’s box! Are you excited yet? We sure are! We hope you enjoy!“

(Just pointing this out for anyone new... I know people like sunny weather, but my mood improves when it’s rainy and cloudy out.)

Photo Contest

This month the winners and runner-ups could look forward to an adorable My Melody plush and chocolate-shaped pens!

Yume Prize

Meanwhile, Rilakkuma is our featured character in the special Yume Prize box. With several items perfect for bringing to a pool party.

Gudetama Sticky Notes/Pokemon Stickers

I know, you’re probably wondering “there’s no Gudetama though“, and I have a good reason for this. The booklet lists Gudetama Sticky Notes, but as you can see I didn’t get them. If I recall, this is because something happened and they had to replace them for some boxes... I’m not 100% sure, this was back in July when I looked into it.

Keep in mind things like this usually don’t happen- and since I can’t exactly remember why it did, I won’t fault YumeTwins for it. With that, let’s take a look at this cute sheet of puffy stickers I did get instead. There are 65 in total, featuring a variety of Pokemon and some pokeballs. They’re a bit on the small side, but that just means you can use a lot more :P

Although I don’t like tiny stickers, I do admire all the detail you can see in these. However, I noticed some of of mine have little itty-bitty smudges or markings, they’re also pretty hard for puffy stickers.

Kawaii Character Pouch

Our next item is a cute little pouch, which would come in handy at the pool for storing small items you can keep nearby. There was a variety of fun prints and Sanrio characters available. The one I got is an adorable Sumikko Gurashi pouch, featuring a pastel floral background and black details surrounded by the series name and writing that says “Day after day we have fun in the corner.“. There is also a light pink ball chain connected to this, giving you the option to attach it to various items.

Although I’ve gotten numerous pouches like this, I think this would be one of my most favorites. I love the floral background on it~ It’s well made, it feels nice on both the inside and outside, although I did notice its on the thin side, so I’m not sure it could handle a lot of abuse, or getting wet. Not sure.

Key Chain and Strap

To go with the pouch, we also get this adorable chain and strap piece that can be used as is, or you could split it into two portions and use both pieces separately if you wanted. You could even “cross swap“ the chains, so you could make the rubbery piece into a phone charm if you wanted. Like the pouch, these consist of various Sanrio characters partnered with various items they’re often found with, for example, besides Hello Kitty and her bow, there’s also Gudetama with an egg.

I love Hello Kitty, so I’m always a little disappointed when I don’t get her for items featuring various Sanrio characters~ Which happens a good amount of time! But this time I got lucky x3 I’m especially fond of Hello Kitty phone charms because back when I had a phone that could have them, I used a vampire Hello Kitty charm I loved more than anything. I still have it (and a Hello Kitty Frankenstein too, it was part of a Halloween series) but I can’t use it at the time.

As you can see in the picture, the details are perfect, the lines and colors are smooth and crisp, the figure is especially extremely well done for something its size and has a lot of details on it. The pose and item are obviously on the generic side, but I think in this case it actually works for the line.

Handy Mist Fan

A perfect summers item (and probably really fun at a pool :D), this adorable Sanrio hand fan comes in the shape of a star wand and is available in this hot pink and red various Sanrio mascots, or there is a pale colored Sumikko Gurashi one. Besides being a cooling hand fan that requires no batteries, there is a special feature that makes this one even more fun; it has a water mist function!

Initially I didn’t know that. but I did see the hole the water comes out, and had been wondering what the side tab did. I never really looked at the description until I began writing about it, and as it turns out you just unscrew the bottom and fill it with water. The tab on the side is for controlling this feature, and the water will mist out while you’re using it. There is also a long string you can use to hang this from your neck or various items.

This is actually a lot of fun! I usually don’t get that excited by hand fans because while they are cute, I find they either work or they don’t (or the breeze is so small you can barely feel it) so I wasn’t very sure I’d be satisfied. But it works really good, I was surprised by how cooled I felt while/after use, and the misting function is really strong, to the point you get water all over you. I can’t see this being an ideal winter toy, but it’s perfect for late-spring and summer! 

Sailor Moon Jar

Next up is a pretty KiraKira Canister inspired by Sailor Moon that was available in 2 colors (pink or purple), both featured alternate images. But otherwise they have the same physical appearance. The jar has a diamond tile etching you can feel on the inside, and on the top of the lid is a gem. It’s also a decent size and the booklet suggests using it for things like candies, hair accessories, and cosmetics; which I think I will do. Lately I’ve been putting all my unique lip products from the boxes in the Sumikko Gurashi container I keep my earrings in and I ran out of room <3<

This is a pretty item that could come in a lot of handy in numerous cases, it’d also be the perfect gift for a Sailor Moon fan x3 The details make it extra-special, I like it a lot~

Kirby Inflatable Ball

This is our last item of the box, an adorable Kirby inflatable that also serves as the featured item this month!

This airy toy makes for a lot of fun at the pool or just as an inflatable yo-yo :3 it’s very fun to play with and was surprisingly easy to blow up for me -and I have asthma- although my cheeks still felt a little sore afterwards~

There is one downside I noticed, and I don’t know if its just mine, or if they all have this issue. I noticed over time Kirby seems to lose some air, and I don’t know if it has a hole somewhere -despite being kept in its packaging until I took the pictures- or if its meant to do that. It’s still playable of course, but it’s a minor concern.

♡ Cutie Ranking ♡

Content - 5 out of 5. We got some good, quality items this time! I didn’t notice anything messed up or sloppy (besides a couple Pokemon stickers), each piece was detailed and very cute/pretty and individually I essentially liked all of them.

Theme: 2.5 out of 5. Honestly this is where they fell a little short I thought... I mean, we only have 2 really obvious pool-based items in the box- but you could use them in multiple locations too, which is good. But while you could store small items to bring with you in the wallet and jar, who would actually bring these to a pool? Maybe to a poolside locker or hotel. The stickers/sticky notes and charm kinda don’t work for me theme wise, and all they suggest is using the charm as an accessory to the pouch. They could have just as easily included a water-filled charm or something to add more of the pool touch to it. 

Total Rank: 7 out of 10. I really did like this box, would recommend, the only thing I had a problem with was that I felt like the theme could have been better. The theme suits summer strongly, it was just the items didn’t fully meet the theme in my opinion. 

♡ Cutie Scale ♡

1. Sailor Moon Jar - I love, love, love it~! It’s so pretty looking and it’s a decent size so I know it will come in handy regardless of what I choose to do with it. 

2. Hand Mist Fan - Great for cooling down when you feel particularly warm or just want to have some fun~

3. Character Pouch - I got tons of these, I didn’t need another one; but I love how it looks! Definitely in my top 3 of pouches I own, I’d be very likely to use it. 

4. Kirby Inflatable Ball - As precious as Kirby is and as fun as this is, I’m worried over the air draining out of it, but I couldn’t find any holes. I’ll probably hang it up somewhere safe to make sure it doesn’t get one for now.   

5. Keychain and Strap - I’m very happy I got Hello Kitty!

6. Pokemon Stickers - I don’t like repetitive sticker sheets, even though they do have their good points. And because a few of them got messed up I can throw them away with no remorse.

[surveysonfleek]

1442.

Can you remember your first day of school? very clearly lol. i was that kid who cried when their parents dropped them off. Who’s your best friend? my boyfriend. Do you watch the Disney channel? no, we never had cable :( What’s your favourite movie? i have way too many. aladdin, mean girls, white chicks, 40yo virgin etc. Would you rather jump out of an airplane or go scuba diving? honestly the thought of either scares me but i’d probably choose scuba diving.

Do you get bored looking at other peoples’ holiday pictures? it really depends. i love albums that are quality over quantity. my cousin takes photos of absolutely everything so going through her albums of 400+ photos if boring af. Do you give money to charity? i have before but had to stop it coz it was a little too much for me. What can you hear right now? the tv. What does your last received text say? i’m home. Is there anything annoying you right now? not really.  What did you last have to eat? steak. Are you more into music or movies? probably music. Do you like making surveys? i don’t make any. When was the last time you went to a swimming pool? omg i forgot. last year maybe. Can you ride a bike? What age were you were you learned? yes. i was about 5 but was fully confident at about 7 lol. Would you rather have a pet snake or a pet turtle? turtle. Do you have, or would you like to get, any tattoos? no tatts, don’t plan on getting any either. Have you ever seen a band live? Who was the last you saw? yes. majid jordan. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in someone’s bedroom? idk lol. Who do you live with? my family. What colour are your socks? not wearing any but i own mostly black socks. When was the last time you went outside? about 30 mins ago. Are you too hot or too cold right now? i’m a little too hot but it’s tolerable. Do you have any musical instruments in your bedroom? nope. Do you like Batman or Robin more? neither. Did you ever love Pokemon? Do you still? yes, i loved it as a kid. i don’t follow it anymore. Do people who use massive amounts of emoticons annoy you? i don’t mind. Have you ever talked to your parents over an IM programme? yes. Do you like painting? i haven’t painted in years. What was the last clothing item you bought? pants and shorts. Do you have any fairy lights in your bedroom? nope. What does your washing powder smell like? like typical laundry detergent. that linen smell lol. Do you have a dishwasher or do you do dishes by hand? dishes by hand. Are there any cobwebs in your room? hopefully not. Do you keep a diary? not this year. What made you laugh last? a video. Have you ever used a pick-up line and had it work? no lol. Do you read Texts From Last Night? How about FML? nope. Are you wearing any jewellery right now? nope. Do American / British spelling differences annoy you? haha. not really. i do british spelling for everything coz that’s how we were taught. Do you like the smell of lavender? i don’t mind it. Have you ever entered a modelling competition? Would you? no and no. Did you keep any drawings / stories from when you were younger? yeah basically anything from my school books that i still have. Who did you last have an argument with? my boyfriend. When was the last time you cooked for yourself? last week. When was the last time you wrapped a present? christmas. Do you have a safe? no. What’s the scariest thing to happen to you so far? idk tbh. maybe when i was at the airport and alarms started blaring for 10-15 minutes. i stayed pretty calm though. What was your last dream about? (or your daydream if you don’t remember) no idea. i never remember my dreams. Do you own a baby names book? nope lol. i used to always look through them at the library though. Do you read TV magazines? no. When was the last time you saw a relative? today. What time is it right now? 12:39am. Do you shout out the answers at quiz shows? haha yes. Have you ever been in a TV audience? yes haha! Have you ever entered the lottery? Won anything? i’ve done it once and didn’t win anything. When was the last time you were so angry you thought you would burst? haha maybe two weeks ago. Do you skip breakfast? sometimes. Are you in anyway close to reaching a personal goal? no. Do you prefer crosswords or word searches? word searches are a ton easier. Have you ever drawn on a wall in your house? no. Felt-tip pens or highlighters? felt tip. Do you like making collages? i did as a kid. Have you ever kept a scrapbook? yes. What’s your favourite video-game? the sims, tekken, gta 5, watchdogs and rdr. Do you remember any inside jokes from childhood? not from the top of my head. Do you think you’re a geek? no. Have you ever made up a word? no. Do you get nervous speaking to people you don’t know on the phone? yes haha. Are you scared of anything irrational? driving somewhere i’m not familiar with. Can you calm yourself down or do you just get all panicked at things? i panic over everything. Do you need to wash your hair? nope. What are your plans for tomorrow? working. Have you ever forgotten how to spell a really simple word? haha no but if you stare at a word long enough it starts to look weird. Do you have a passport? What’s the picture like? yes. it’s terrible. Have you ever had a full fringe? (bangs) yes. Is there anything you would never admit to liking? not really. What time did you get up this morning? 11am. pretty late. What’s the weirdest craze you can remember? scoobies. Have you ever been so hot you took a freezing cold shower? yes. i do this all the time in summer. it helps. Do you own a plaid shirt? yes. Do you take your own surveys? no. i don’t make them. Do you have a fan in your room? yes. two haha. Do you use bug spray or fly swatters? both. Do you know where your parents are right now? yes, sleeping. What was the last thing you said outloud? bye. Are you a clumsy person? yes. Can you brush your teeth without getting toothpaste all over your face? yes. i’ve had to learn after doing my makeup then realizing i hadn’t brushed my teeth yet lol. Do you have tiled floors in your house? yes. Do you listen to any movie soundtracks regularly? nope. Do you bruise easily? no. What would you love to learn to do? a language or instrument. Do you prefer monkeys or lemurs? whatever. Do you think you’d be able to survive on a desert island? probably not. Have you ever watched a foreign film without the subtitles? no lol. actually yeah but i understood the language. Do you watch movies based on the actors or the movie plot? a bit of both tbh. if the trailer is good i’m keen too. Do you have any phone charms on your mobile? nope. Would you ever meet anyone you met online? probably not. Are you more shy in real life or on the internet? real life. Are you happy with where you’re going in life? not really. ready to make changes but i just need to motivate myself.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #205

forget picking song lyrics, i’m going the hell to bed now.

Do you live by yourself? I live with my mom. Do you like cleaning? Does anyone???? Who is your favorite character from Harry Potter? I've never watched the series; not even a single movie, actually. So I don't have an opinion. Do you watch PewDiePie? Extremely rarely. He's funny, but I'm not interested in his channel's content anymore. Do you like "Despacito?" My sister showed it to me once when she learned I'd never heard it, and I found zero appeal in it whatsoever. Do you play Pokemon Go? It's a brilliant idea, and I really do wish I could play it, but here where I live, there are like ZERO PokeStops (where you get Pokeballs), even in cities, so it's pretty much impossible. Did you ever color your hair pink? No. Do you like Dr. Phil? I don't watch the show and don't know him as a person. Do you prefer to be inside or outside? Inside. Do you eat meat? Sadly. I'm HOPEFULLY quitting when I get to the weight I want; I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed when I was vegetarian to where my body was desperately clinging to what it had or something like that (basically, my weight wouldn't budge in a couple of months), but even still, I don't know if I could do it without depriving myself again. I'm just such a picky eater. Do you need to do the dishes? Yeah. Not desperately, but. Are you scared of clowns? No. Do you have any subscribers on YouTube? *checks* A very impressive 66. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes. Do you salt your popcorn? Yes. Do you like McDonald's? Don't even lie to me, you'll eat there. I don't mind it at all. Do you have a Steam account? Yes. Do you like gaming? Not as much as I used to, but yes. Have you ever played Five Nights at Freddy’s? No. I don't consider jumpscares to be genuinely "scary," but rather a natural reaction to surprise, but FNAF's are intense, and I know they'd have me jumping like crazy. That aside, the games aren't of my personal appeal to actually play (though it's a fun game to watch). Do you like horror movies? Yes. Do you like chicken nuggets? I love me my chicken nuggies hunty. Have you ever tried Akinator? Yes. Can you twerk? I don't know and don't care to. Do you like dabbing? It looks stupid to me. The meme of it makes me laugh, though. What was the last country you visited? I've never left the country. Do you know your phone number? No, actually. It is incredibly difficult for me to memorize sequences, and besides, it's not like I give out my number almost ever. Do you swear in front of children? No. What’s your opinion on Brexit? Shit, I don't even remember what it's about. So obviously I can't have an opinion. It doesn't affect me, anyway. If you want children, what are some of your reasons for wanting them? N/A When you cook a dish that has beans in it, do you prefer to use canned or dry beans? I don't cook, and you'll never see me willingly eat a bean. What were some fun experiments you did in science class as a kid? The two that sharply stand out to me are dissecting an owl pellet in elementary and a frog in middle school. Both were SO cool. What was the last strong emotion you felt? Excitement. After finishing a bowl of cereal, do you drink the leftover milk? Only ever if it's Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I ate. And even then, only sometimes. Do you use dry shampoo between washes? No. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? Overdosing. What’s the most severe allergic reaction you’ve ever had to something? Nothing severe, besides pollen allergies flaring up. What’s your favorite sub-genre of rock? Hard. Who was the last person to get frustrated with you, and why? Mom, but she was more than frustrated. We were having a serious fight about her attitude towards Dad and his wife. What’s something that makes absolutely zero sense to you? Anti-vax shitlords. What’s your phone background? Lock screen is Darkiplier, home screen is Sara kissing my forehead. :'> Have you ever lived with someone you didn’t get along with? No. Do you have a fitness tracker? No. What types of animals have you had as pets? A billion cats, dogs, snakes, lizards, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, box turtles, hermit crabs... and probably more. How well do you understand economics? Have you ever taken an econ class? Not well at ALL. I had one my senior year. What was the last fruit you ate? I had two bites out of a watermelon 'cuz I was really hungry, but we didn't really have anything as a snack. (I fast daily, so I have to watch when my meals are.) I'm not a big watermelon fan, but I hadn't tried these cubes before, and at least it was something. Can you remember your first day of school? I believe I can very faintly... very faintly. I think I had a complete breakdown because of my insane separation anxiety regarding my mom, or it was the complete opposite... alskdfjaweiajr it's like I can kinda see it in the back of my head, but it's super blurry. What’s your favorite movie? The Lion King. It was my favorite as a kid and became so again as an adult just truly acknowledging how damn good and meaningful it is. Plus the soundtrack was a banger. Would you rather jump out of an airplane or go scuba diving? Scuba diving. Do you get bored looking at other peoples’ holiday pictures? Eh. If it's a whole lot, yes, but as a photographer, I enjoy noting which ones I like and why I favor them. Do you give money to charity? Not currently, no. I have no money to give. When I do have a paying job, I plan on definitely donating any time Mark does a charity stream. Are you more into music or movies? Music, easily. When was the last time you went to a swimming pool? WOW. It's been years. Either when I still lived in the apartment or once at Colleen's in-laws', I can't remember which was last. Would you rather have a pet snake or a pet turtle? I have a snake, and I'll take another for sure. Have you ever seen a band live? Who was the last you saw? Just Alice Cooper. Ma and I are seeing Ozzy next year (if the poor man ain't dead), tho!!!! And he's gonna be with Judas Priest and Megadeth. We are NOT going to survive. Do people who use massive amounts of emoticons annoy you? Yes. Emojis, more specifically. If you're writing a sentence and you use an emoji after each and every goddamn word, it drives me up a wall. What was the last clothing item you bought? Underwear, I believe? Or a bra? What does your washing powder smell like? Idk. Normal? Do you have a dishwasher or do you do dishes by hand? By hand, which I cannot explain how much I loathe. It feels disgusting. Are there any cobwebs in your room? I don't believe so, no. Have you ever used a pick-up line and had it work? Ew, I'd never use one to begin with. Have you ever entered a modelling competition? Would you? No to both. The current modelling industry is so, so harmful. Did you keep any drawings/stories from when you were younger? Like around two years ago, I remember going on a mass destruction episode of those super old things, as they embarrassed me horribly, even though I know it had no real reason. Just everything I create embarrasses me. My mom has old school stuff, though. Who did you last have an argument with? Mom today. When was the last time you cooked for yourself? If you include putting things in the microwave with few steps... not that long ago. Maybe two days back. Do you have a safe? Mom does. When was the last time you saw a relative? Mooonths ago when Grammy and her husband were driving through. My brother and his son are visiting real soon, though!! Do you shout out the answers at quiz shows? Yes, lol. Have you ever been in a TV audience? I've been to like three-four hockey games, so yeah. Have you ever entered the lottery? Won anything? No. Well, Mom or Dad would rarely get those scratch-off tickets at random, but the most we've ever got was just like five bucks or so. Do you prefer crosswords or word searches? Word searches. Have you ever drawn on a wall in your house? No. Do you like making collages? No. Have you ever kept a scrapbook? Yeah. What’s your favorite video-game? Silent Hill 2 and Shadow of the Colossus. Sigh, I want a PS4 SO bad to get the SotC remaster. I actually teared up when I saw the opening cutscene for the first time, and I just marveled through the EEEEEEENNNNtire playthrough I watched. It's unbelievable. Do you remember any inside jokes from childhood? Not off the top of my head. I'm tired, don't make me think. Have you ever made up a word? Well, as a writer, I've made up names and places. A word itself, I don't think so. Do you get nervous speaking to people you don’t know on the phone? VERY!!!!!!!! Are you scared of anything irrational? You mean like, half my fears? Do you have a passport? What’s the picture like? No. Have you ever had a full fringe? (bangs) As a kid I did. Is there anything you would never admit to liking? Don't think so. What’s the weirdest craze you can remember? Fidget spinners. Do you use bug spray or fly swatters? Fly swatters. Then we also have this hanging cylindrical sticky... thing that flies and gnats are apparently attracted to with the smell, I guess. Works like magic, though I agree it's pretty cruel. Just stuck there until you die. Are you a clumsy person? Boy, am I. Do you have tiled floors in your house? In three rooms. Do you listen to any movie soundtracks regularly? No. Do you bruise easily? Way too easily. Like normally something simple won't leave behind an obvious one, but even a normal poke in the arm hurts a lot and leaves the spot sore for a good while. I was tested for anemia, but apparently, I don't have it. What would you love to learn to do? Play the electric guitar. Do you prefer monkeys or lemurs? Ehhh... lemurs as far as cute goes, monkeys overall. Do you watch movies based on the actors or the movie plot? The plot. Do you have any phone charms on your mobile? No. What is your opinion on sex without emotional commitment? That's a big 'ole honkin' nope. Last time you puked from drinking? Never. Have you ever gotten drunk and danced on a bar? No. What is your favorite simple ice-cream flavor? Vanilla. Though sometimes I prefer chocolate. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages? Only for dinner. I forgot the science behind it, but one of my meds for bipolarity only works to its full effect after ingesting at least 350 calories; I only get about a 20% effectiveness of the medicine when eating less. I know it sounds weird, but my psychiatrist is a goddamn genius, and I trust every word that comes out of his mouth. When was the last time you slept on the floor? Two years ago when I was living with Colleen and I didn't have a blow-up mattress yet. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos? When???????????????? do I?????????????? not???????????????????????????????????? Do you wear flip-flops? That's pretty much all I wear just about year-round... I remember in 7th grade, one of my teachers asked me about it a lot and I just told her I didn't mind the cold, which was true. Pretty sure she thought I was lying and was too poor to buy new clothes or something, as she gifted me socks one day, which I thought was incredibly sweet. I miss my 7th grade teachers. Best school year. Who was the last person to kiss you on the cheek? Pretty sure my niece Aubree when saying bye. What is your favorite sauce to eat with spaghetti? Normal Prego sauce, I think. Have you ever seen a magic show? A little one as a kid. When was the last time you vomited and why? Months and months ago when I was testing a medication. Quit that shit real fast, as it made me sick so many times. Where do you usually sit when you eat dinner? Uhhh I eat in my bed usually, lmao. We almost never sit at the table. I normally do if Mom's there, though. How often do you get headaches? Ugh, often. Why did you call the last person you called? I was calling back about my job application that I was supposed to hear about yesterday. How many windows are in the room you’re in? Two. Do you have Facebook friends that you’ve never actually met? Yes. When was the last time you had your photo taken professionally? Not since senior pictures, pretty sure. I hated how it came out. I have a lazy eye when I smile, gah. How long does it take you to get to school or work? Currently N/A. Let’s say you had a baby with the last person you kissed? We're both female, so. And neither of us want kids anyway. When was the last time you completely broke down? A couple weeks ago in a totally random and severe panic attack. Do you have someone you can spill your heart out to? Yeah. Is there a person that you would do absolutely anything and everything for? No. I'm not gonna, say, murder someone just because they want me to. What’s something you really want right now? To go and get my tattoo cleaned up by a more professional artist alsdkjfalwei. I got the approximate cost, I just have to wait until I can afford it. This tattoo is so so so important to me and it needs to be perfect. What is your relationship status? Taken. What was the longest time you’ve wasted on a certain person? Not even two weeks lmao. I said yes to dating mostly out of fear of hurting his feelings, and he QUICKLY proved he was NOT for me. Are you listening to music right now? Yeah, my iTunes is on shuffle. Anyone you would like to get things straight with? I wouldn't want to be friends I don't think, but I REALLY want to see Jason one final time to tell him how sorry I am. I recently acknowledged just how fucked up I treated him after the breakup; he wasn't the only one who made mistakes. I sure as hell did. He deserves to hear it badly. I do believe our last talk was a good ending, but I feel me finally admitting that I fucked up would be the perfect one. What was the best thing that happened to you today? Seeing Dad for his birthday. When was the last time you did something for the first time? I talk-talked to some WoW friends a couple days ago, though very very briefly. I couldn't figure Discord push-to-talk out and I ended up panicking lmao. What color are the last new pair of pants that you bought? Black. Is your room clean? I should dust and vacuum, but the latter doesn't currently work. List all the countries you’ve visited.  I've never left America. At what age would you allow your kids to dye their hair? Shit, whenever they wanted tbh. So long they sounded serious about it and it wasn't just a brief episode of "oh this would be cool." Which fast food place do you eat at the most? Hm. Wendy's or Sonic. When was the last time you weren’t lonely? Jesus fucking Christ, who knows. What kind of movies do you like? Horror, fantasy, Disney/kids' films, comedies, rom coms, and emotionally moving ones. Bats are not spooky or are they? They're adorable, omg. Do you think blue is a gay color? Fuck off. What's your opinion on gays? Fuck off harder. Do you like the song "Womanizer"? Don't even talk to me if you don't. Where is your favorite place to get fries? You can't live your fullest life without having Bojangle's fries at least once. Do you know anyone who was raised by their grandparents? Idk. Have you ever made your own pie from scratch? No. Who was the last person you had an in-depth conversation with? Sara. What was the last fast food item you ate? A hot dog. What is your favorite gaming console? You know PS2 was the best, you know it. What was the last major city you visited? Raleigh, if that even counts. Do you always have a stock of alcohol in your house? No. Have you ever had a pumpkin latte and if so, did you like it? I hate everything pumpkin-flavored. Is there an antique store in your town or city? I think so... Have you ever been to a baby shower? My sister's. Maybe others', but idr. Do you know anyone who has been to rehab? Pretty sure yes. How many romantic relationships have you been in so far? Genuinely "romantic" ones, two. Would you consider yourself to be a picky eater? I am 99% sure I am the pickiest human being to ever live. Have you ever lived in a house with a pool in the yard? Not a built-in one. What color is your toothbrush? Blue. Do you have gluten intolerance or know anyone who does? I know a few people. Have you ever slept in a car overnight? No. Have you ever fainted? Yes. Do you avoid conflict as much as possible? YUP. Do you like ice cream cake? I'm not a big fan. Have you ever made out with someone of the same sex? Yes. Where is your second home!? The place I'm second-most comfortable is probably Sara's. What song always makes you sad? I avoid listening to "The Mortician's Daughter" by Black Veil Brides unless I just really, really want to hear it. I always tear up due to memories. Have you ever played a game that required removing your clothes? No. Where is your favorite place to be kissed? Breasts and neck. Were you mean as a little kid? No. Who was the last person you hung out with? Dad. What is your mother’s name? Donna. What is your favorite song at the moment? I've been in true love with a heavy metal cover of "Invincible" from the WoW soundtrack for like a full month. What day will you never forget? The breakup night. Suicide attempt. My niece and nephew being born. Meeting Sara. Getting Teddy. First time hanging out at Jason's. 16th birthday. Alice Cooper concert. Putting Dale and Cali down. There's a lot. What was the last thing you took a picture of? Some crazy shit on FB to show Sara. Something you're looking forward to? Getting a goddamn job. What is God teaching you right now? Lul. What does Notre Dame Cathedral mean to you, and how has its fire affected you? I was devastated to hear about it; it was the one event that actually got me paying attention to the news. It is a monument of incredible art and history, and for Catholics, a house of their god. I am so thankful the damage wasn't too tremendous. What’s the last dumb decision you made that you beat yourself up over? I dunno. Surprisingly. What’s your favorite version of the Bible to read? N/A If applicable, do you underline verses in your Bible? N/A When was the last time you went to church? Not since Colleen had her extreme Christian phase two years ago. What’s the last song you listened to on repeat? "Radio" by Rammstein. That new album's gonna be bangin'. Does your town’s hospital have a good reputation? NOPE. It sure does not. I have no issue with the psychiatric care unit there, though. Every time I went to the ER for suicidal thoughts or the attempt, they were sweethearts to me. But as far as physical health, they do NOT have a good rep. I know someone's grandfather that nearly fucking died thanks to them, and I can't recall what it was exactly, but Mom had some complaints during her kidney cancer treatment. What is your hometown known for? Crime. Are you longing for and missing a toxic person? I honestly miss Colleen sometimes, but I can't go back to her. I can't. I'm done giving her more chances than she deserves. It was nice to actually have someone to hang out with, but she is just overall not a pleasant person. What’s your greatest longing? Financial stability, probably. Have you ever read a Bible verse and thought, “this isn’t true”? BOY HOWDY- What are you behind on? Being an adult. I am 23 and a SOOOOOORRYYYYYY excuse for one. Is there someone who’s stolen from you and never got caught? Yes. Someone stole our basketball hoop from my childhood home. Have you been lonely for most of your life? Most of my life, no. What color is your sleeping bag? I don’t have one. When was the last time you used a sleeping bag, and what for? When I lived with Colleen and slept on the floor for a bit. Do you live near the woods? Yeah, there's woods across the road. What do you want to be for Halloween this year? List 1-3 ideas. I wanna be the dumb blonde witch from Hocus Pocus, lmao. A pastel vampire would be pretty cool. And Rhett from the "Sleep Tight" video has instilled in me the great desire to be a steampunk toothfairy at least once. List five things people have been jealous of you for. Idk. List five things you have felt jealous of other people for. More than anyone, a friend of many friends' photography success when I can genuinely and modestly say I really think I'm better than her. That is easily the worst envy situation I've dealt with (and still do), as this is the one that is actually almost spiteful, wrong as that is. Then I have another friend who is a FANTASTIC photographer as well and is now a professional one in the fashion industry, I believe. Then there was a girl I went to school with called Cailin whose drawing skills were naturally INCREDIBLE since elementary school, and I remember back then, me and her would always get the most attention for our work, but she did moreso, but I wanted to be the "best" artist. Once I hit high school I just had great respect for her talent. Next, one of my former best friends Hannia was a natural GENIUS that got perfect scores on LITERALLY almost anything; she had the highest GPA in the entire school, while I was right behind her. And uhhhh five... I have been and still am jealous of my sisters for being proper, successful adults. What is your favorite shade of brown? Like a caramel tone, I guess? What color is your toilet seat? White. Would you rather live in an apartment or a house? Definitely a house. What’s one thing you had growing up that you miss now? Energy. Do you prefer kale, lettuce, or spinach? Lettuce. Do you listen to instrumental bands such as Hammock, Trentemoller, etc.? No. Have you ever gotten a manicure or pedicure? Just because my sisters went and Mom wanted me to hang out with them. I may have with my old friend, too. Have you ever self-harmed? Yeah. Never the answer. Do you have any eating disorders? No. I'm afraid of developing one once I (hopefully) get to the weight I want, though. Have you ever met a celebrity? No. Do you like Monster Energy or do you prefer other energy drinks? I hate energy drinks. They taste like poison. Do you plan on getting married? Yeah. Do you want kids? That's a big fat nope. What’s your sexual orientation? I don’t judge. Bisexual. At what time of day do you normally feel the best? The morning. Name one reason why someone should not commit suicide. YOU. CAN. GET. BETTER. Seek professional help if you feel suicidal, and after what I understand is a serious struggle, you truly can go into the light at the end of the tunnel. You've got, to our understanding, one shot at this. Don't end it when there is a possibility for a beautiful future. If you’re unhappy, what would it take to make you fulfilled? Have a job and be in school. Name someone you know who is a cancer survivor. My mom. Are you friends with any cancer survivors? I don't think so. Do you wish the sunrise and sunset lasted longer? Hm. Sunset, maybe. Idk. Name a country whose history you know nothing about. Lmao most. What is your favorite store at the mall? Hot Topic. Do you have a bed or do you sleep on a mattress on the floor? I have a bed. When was the last time you went for a run? Shit, not since high school gym. Do you keep Christmas lights up year-round? No. What did you win a scholarship for? Nowhere. What type of bug do you see the most often in your home? Flies. Do you put off things until the last minute? I tend to. Is your mom the same size as you? No, I'm smaller. Do you know any Christians who aren’t judgmental? No shit. Do you still think of that Gwen Stefani song when you spell bananas? Ha ha yup. Do you like the way your hair naturally is, or do you change it? It's fine. But I want it dyed badly. Do you know anyone who died accidentally by doing something stupid? Yes. How many different languages have you taken in school? Latin and German. How tall is your father? (Estimate?) Idk. Over six feet. Would you meet Miley Cyrus if you had the chance? No. What is your favorite slow song? Oh yeesh. Idk. Maybe "See You On The Other Side" by Ozzy. Do you believe in karma? No. Do you constantly check your cell phone? No. Only Sara or Mom ever text me, and I pick it up just if the green light is blinking (means I have a message). If there were aliens on earth, would you be afraid? Well yeah. If you could spend 1 hour 20 years in the future, would you? Yes. I want to see where I am, so long as I can change my behavior to improve that future if needed. Otherwise, I don't wanna know. Are your pets asleep? Teddy probably is, Bentley might be, idk where Roman is, but he likely is, I can't see Mitsu from where I am currently, Venus may be (no eyelids, so you never know) as she's in her rock, and Kaiju is awake. Have you ever wished you were an only child? Never. Have you ever hurt someone on purpose? Yes. Have you ever gotten hurt while sledding? No. Do you enjoy going through old pictures? It depends on the subject of them and my mental state. Kid pictures I'm always up for, high school ones are okay, though they can make me really upset with how healthy and skinny I was, and I deleted all photos I had on Facebook of Jason and me last year so I couldn't even risk looking at them ever again, as there's a good chance some would trigger my PTSD. Of all your exes, who do you think you had the deepest feelings for? Jason, obviously. Do you tend to have a lot of drama in your life? I have the most uneventful, bland life. No. When’s the last time someone was disappointed in you? Idk. What song are you listening to right now? Is this one of your favorite songs? "Alone I Break" by Korn. No, but I love it. What is something you have to explain a lot? My sweating issue. Gross to talk about, but I sweat seriously excessively, like you would not believe. It can be 70 degrees and I'll be sweating in seconds. People worry about it, and in VR, I've had to explain it so many times due to it affecting suitable jobs (I think we can all agree being drenched in sweat at work looks extremely bad). Hopefully I won't have to anymore when my doctor decides what to do about it. It's most likely a thyroid issue, which I have no clue about how to subdue symptoms of. There's really a shitload I have to explain lately between doctors and VR... Which compliment do you receive the most? From those that know me/see me, that I'm losing weight. From people in general, "I love your hair" or something like that. Who were you last on the phone with? My sister. What is one thing you have always wondered? Uh. Idk. I'm sure there's a lot, just nothing's coming to me atm... What do your friends think about the music you listen to? Your family? My friends and I like similar stuff, as do my parents, especially Mom. My sisters are the total opposite of me and don't enjoy metal and the like at all. Has anyone ever told you to grow up? Essentially. Do you believe people when they say they don’t judge people? Hell no. How many true friends do you have? Excluding family and my girlfriend as they're more than that, like... one or two, it feels like most of the time. Can you honestly say you’re happy right now? No. What is something you are exceptionally bad at? Doing math in my head or spelling up there. AND READING LIPS. Do you have a house phone? No. Who do you love more than anyone right now? Don't make me choose between Mom and Sara. How much money do you have saved up? I literally have $11. Do you like bright/neon colors? Yes, but I prefer pastel. What is your favorite wild animal? Meerkats. Do you ever eat breakfast? I almost always do. Do you remember who your first grade teacher was? Yes. Have you ever won any trophies? What for? Yeah, for A honor roll all through elementary school (save for 5th grade; I got one B and was so upset, lmao), then in all kid sports I played, everyone got lil ones, some from dance I believe, and I think there's one or two others I'm not thinking of...

[lovemesomesurveys]

Can you remember your first day of school? I can vaguely remember kindergarten, but I don’t remember preschool. I remember some kids were crying, ha. Who’s your best friend? My mom. Do you watch the Disney channel? Not anymore. I haven’t watched it in years. What’s your favourite movie? I have several. Would you rather jump out of an airplane or go scuba diving? Neither.

Do you get bored looking at other peoples’ holiday pictures? I feel like by holiday you’re referring to vacation photos in this case. I typically don’t look at them when people post on Facebook, honestly. I mean, I’ll see some of the photos while I’m scrolling through my feed, but I don’t click on them to see more if there’s a lot. Do you give money to charity? I used to regularly, but it’s been awhile. What can you hear right now? Home Improvement, myself typing, and the living room TV. What does your last received text say? I don’t feel like checking. Is there anything annoying you right now? My body has just been really sore and achey lately. What did you last have to eat? A Smart Ones eggs and potatoes meal. Are you more into music or movies? I enjoy both. Do you like making surveys? I don’t make them. When was the last time you went to a swimming pool? It’s been like 5 years. Can you ride a bike? What age were you were you learned? No. Would you rather have a pet snake or a pet turtle? Turtle. Do you have, or would you like to get, any tattoos? I don’t have any. I’d like one, but I’m too scared to get it. Have you ever seen a band live? Who was the last you saw? Yeah, I’ve seen a few. I last saw Green Day back in 2009. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in someone’s bedroom? I had a friend who just left out her... ~toys all over her room. Who do you live with? My parents, younger brother, and doggo. What colour are your socks? Black. When was the last time you went outside? This past Thursday. Are you too hot or too cold right now? I’m warm. Do you have any musical instruments in your bedroom? No. Do you like Batman or Robin more? Batman. Did you ever love Pokemon? Do you still? I was into it for a bit as a kid. Do people who use massive amounts of emoticons annoy you? It doesn’t annoy me, no. It can be a bit much, though, Have you ever talked to your parents over an IM programme? No. Do you like painting? I don’t paint, so. What was the last clothing item you bought? A shirt. Do you have any fairy lights in your bedroom? Not those kind specifically, but I have a string of lights around my headboard, a string of lights across my dresser that is apart of my Christmas decor (yes, my Christmas decorations are still up) and another across my cubicle shelf. What does your washing powder smell like? Are you referring to laundry soap? Like typical laundry detergent. *shrug* Do you have a dishwasher or do you do dishes by hand? We rinse them off and use the dishwasher. Are there any cobwebs in your room? No. Do you keep a diary? This is it. What made you laugh last? Something on TV. Have you ever used a pick-up line and had it work? Never used one. Do you read Texts From Last Night? How about FML? Oh wow, I forgot about that. I used to all the time. Are you wearing any jewellery right now? No. Do American / British spelling differences annoy you? haha. No. Do you like the smell of lavender? Yeah. Have you ever entered a modelling competition? Would you? No and no. Did you keep any drawings / stories from when you were younger? Yes. Who did you last have an argument with? My dad. When was the last time you cooked for yourself? I made the breakfast meal thingy I had earlier. I just had to put it in the microwave, but hey. When was the last time you wrapped a present? Christmastime. Do you have a safe? No. What’s the scariest thing to happen to you so far? Health related things. What was your last dream about? (or your daydream if you don’t remember) I don’t remember. Do you own a baby names book? No. I’d have no need for one. Do you read TV magazines? No. When was the last time you saw a relative? I see my parents and younger brother everyday. Outside of them, I haven’t seen any other relatives in awhile. What time is it right now? 3:09PM. Do you shout out the answers at quiz shows? Yeah. Like with Family Feud. Have you ever been in a TV audience? No. Have you ever entered the lottery? Won anything? I have, but no I didn’t win anything. When was the last time you were so angry you thought you would burst? Blah. Do you skip breakfast? I used to never eat breakfast, but I have been for the past few weeks. Are you in anyway close to reaching a personal goal? No. Do you prefer crosswords or word searches? Word searches. Have you ever drawn on a wall in your house? No. Felt-tip pens or highlighters? I mean, they have different uses. I like both. Do you like making collages? I used to all the time when I was like 13/14. Have you ever kept a scrapbook? Yes. What’s your favourite video-game? Mario Bros. Do you remember any inside jokes from childhood? No. Do you think you’re a geek? Meh. Have you ever made up a word? Yeah. Do you get nervous speaking to people you don’t know on the phone? Yes. I hate talking on the phone. Are you scared of anything irrational? Yes. Can you calm yourself down or do you just get all panicked at things? I suck at keeping myself calm. Do you need to wash your hair? No. What are your plans for tomorrow? Nothing. Have you ever forgotten how to spell a really simple word? Yeah, I just like completely blanked. Do you have a passport? What’s the picture like? No. Have you ever had a full fringe? (bangs) Yes. Is there anything you would never admit to liking? Hmm. I don’t think so. What time did you get up this morning? 8:50AM. What’s the weirdest craze you can remember? Beanie Babies. Have you ever been so hot you took a freezing cold shower? Not freezing cold, but a cool one, yes. Do you own a plaid shirt? Not anymore. I used to really be into plaid. Do you take your own surveys? I don’t make them. Do you have a fan in your room? Yes. A desktop fan and a ceiling fan. Do you use bug spray or fly swatters? Fly swatters. I hate the smell of bug spray and it just ends up getting everywhere. I’d rather just swat the fly. Unless it’s a spider. Do you know where your parents are right now? Yeah, they’re here. What was the last thing you said outloud? “Yeah, I use it every year.” Are you a clumsy person? Yes. Can you brush your teeth without getting toothpaste all over your face? Usually. Do you have tiled floors in your house? Yes. Do you listen to any movie soundtracks regularly? No. Do you bruise easily? No. What would you love to learn to do? I’d love to have a talent of some sort. Do you prefer monkeys or lemurs? I don’t really have a preference. Do you think you’d be able to survive on a desert island? No. Have you ever watched a foreign film without the subtitles? No. Do you watch movies based on the actors or the movie plot? Plot usually, but if there’s an actor I really like in it I’m more apt to want to check it out. Especially if that actor is Alexander Skarsgard, ha. Do you have any phone charms on your mobile? No. Would you ever meet anyone you met online? I don’t know. Are you more shy in real life or on the internet? In real life. Are you happy with where you’re going in life? No.

[nonotnolan]

Hide and Seek

The problem with having a shapeshifter for a boyfriend is that all of your fights and arguments will be at least ten times worse.  I lost every single argument for the first two months because he kept distracting me with different, sexy faces.  I’ve learned to close my eyes if I need to have a serious conversation with him, and for the most part it works well.  The problem is that Mason never met someone who will intentionally resist his charms, and he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it.  Currently, his coping method is to stomp out of our apartment in a fit of rage, and then disguise himself as a different person until he thinks I’m no longer mad at him.

It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so frustrating.  The good news is that he doesn’t have a car, so I know he can’t be more than a few blocks away.  The bad news is that still leaves him with twenty or so public spaces he could be hiding in.

The Starbucks was my first thought.  Mason loves coffee almost as much as I do, and both of us enjoy the barista that works on Thursday nights.  But he can’t shift into exact copies of people, and if he tried to be a new employee I’d find him right away.  I order a tall mocha, and browse Facebook on my phone while watching the crowd.  No one here seems to be alone-- everyone is paired off in twos or threes talking to other people.  I finish my drink and head out.

My next guess is the library.  I absolutely hate it whenever he tries to hide here, simply because of how many people are in here at any given time.  Of course, the one thing that is nice about it is that Mason is too vain to shapeshift into anyone unattractive or out of shape.  Normal-looking people just don’t appear on his radar.  And, maybe I’m being an asshole, but good-looking people don’t hang out in libraries because good-looking people don’t read.  So, while there’s a lot of ground to cover, I don’t have to second guess myself very much.  Mason can’t create piercings, and none of the other guys here are up to his standards.  Which... means he is probably at the gym.  Fuck.

Mason loves showing off for people, just like... pretty much any other person at the gym, ever.  It’s a huge pain in the ass.  He could be half a dozen people showering in the locker room, or any one of the jocks on the free weights.  Usually he hates exercise-- he doesn’t need to work out to gain muscle-- but I think he’s been using exercise as a way to release his pent up aggression.  I change into the set of spare clothes I keep in my locker, and grab one of the treadmills against the wall.

My first guess is the muscular twink in the corner.  The guy can’t keep his phone out of his hands, and somehow his hair is immaculate.  His shoulders are pretty ridiculous, too.  But I’ve never seen Mason wear a tank top before, so I decide to say nothing.  Still, after twenty minutes on this damn treadmill, I really need to make a decision soon.

That’s when I notice one of the men from the locker room showers.  Clever bastard.  I was so captivated by his facial hair that I overlooked the obvious clue.  “We’re not done talking about this,” I say, walking straight up to him before he has a chance to sit down on one of the benches.  “You don’t have a full time job.  The least you can do is empty the trash and run the damn dishwasher.”

He stares back at me, with an eyebrow raised in confusion.  “I... I don’t... who are you, exactly?  I’m sorry, but I don’t know you.”

I cross my arms in defiance, which makes me look even more out of place next to this giant bear of an older man.  It doesn’t matter.  I know I’m right.  I continue to glare at him until he gives up.  He sighs, and drops the act.  His broad shoulders droop and the smug grin on his face becomes the sarcastic smirk I know so well.  “Alright, fine.  You found me.  How the hell did you manage to do that?”  I know I shouldn’t give away my secrets, but the answer is too funny not to share.  I can’t help but laugh.

“You’re still wearing your Pokemon Go device.”

[ganbaramen]

Ultra Jump March 2018: 100 Questions for Ai Furihata [EN Translation]

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Ai Furihata (voice of Ruby Kurosawa)

Nicknames: Furirin, Aiai, Shokunin [TL: Artisan]

Birthdate: February 19

Blood type: B

Hobby: Cameras

Skills: Illustration, photography

Major roles include:

TV Anime: "orange" (Saku), "Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta."

Games: "Mahoutsukai to Kuroneko no Wiz" (Kaede), "Dare ga Tame no Alchemist" (Lisbeth)

Voice Comic: "Tottemo Yasashii Amae-chan!" (Amae)

Questions

What food do you like? Meat! Especially salted beef tongue!

What food do you dislike? None!

What snacks do you like? Calpico!

What do you enjoy most from your family's cooking? Karaage.

What color do you like? Pink.

What scents do you like? Ylang-ylang and the smell of the sun.

What season do you like? Autumn.

What's your favorite event of the year? My birthday!

What sports do you like watching? Basketball.

What sports do you like playing? Badminton.

What animal do you like? Pandas!

What animal do you resemble? A small animal...

Are you a dog person or a cat person? A dog person! I like a Shiba Inu and Pomeranian mix.

What manga do you like? Rumiko Takahashi's works.

What genres of manga do you like? Romantic comedy and slice of life.

What was the first manga you read? Ranma 1/2.

What was the first anime you watched? It might be Pokemon.

What film do you like? The Devil Wears Prada.

What artist do you like? Daichi Miura.

What songs do you listen to every day? Daichi Miura's songs.

What was the first CD you bought? One of Porno Graffiti's CDs.

What's your karaoke specialty? Something like Sayuri Ishikawa's “Amagi-goe”!

What's on your phone's lock screen? DiCaprio.

What brand of clothing do you often buy? I buy from second-hand clothing stores.

What’s your best outfit? Maybe a white one-piece dress.

What's your favorite place in your home? Perhaps my living room.

What do you want most right now? Free time.

What's certain to be in your bag? Taiwanese candy.

What have you been unintentionally collecting? Pink things and yumekawa things. [TL: yumekawa (ユメカワ) is a fairy tale-like style; literally "dreamy and cute"]

What do you treasure? Everyone ♡

What were you like as a kid? I was shy and didn't say much.

What did you treasure as a kid? A teddy bear that I'd had since I was a baby.

What did you dream of becoming as a kid? Being a veterinarian or mangaka.

Who’s someone you respect? My father.

Where would you go on a trip to? I want to go to space.

What country do you want to try going to? Europe! Particularly France!

Do you have any bad habits? Recently, I've been inadvertently touching my earlobe.

Do you have a catchphrase? Outlook on life has changed.

What's your charm point? The mole on my left ear! Don't miss it.

What's your strong point? I don't get angry very much.

What's your weak point? My thoughts sometimes slip out of my mouth.

What's your special skill? Drawing portraits.

What don't you like doing? Exercising.

What are you weakest against? I'm no good with ghosts or horror...

What about yourself do you want to improve? I should listen more carefully to what people say.

What can you confidently imitate? I think I'm good at imitating Ikue Ootani, who voiced Mitsuhiko from "Detective Conan" and Chopper in "One Piece".

What one thing could you live solely off of? My smartphone.

What's your current obsession? Collecting (aroma) diffusers.

What's a buzzword that you've been using? Enjoy!

What's your favorite motto? Have as much fun as you can!

How would you describe yourself in one word? Scatterbrained.

What do you unintentionally fuss over? I keep looking up references for Ruby's eyebrows! [TL: probably in the context of drawing them.]

Fill in the blank with something positive in "Actually, I/I'm ___". I care a lot for my younger sister.

Fill in the blank with something negative in "Actually, I/I'm ___". I'm very boyish and crude (laughs).

Anything but this! Don't call me tiny!

What do you want to disappear from the world? Conflict.

How do you kill time? Katamari Damacy.

How do you relieve stress and refresh yourself? I get Thai-style massages.

What app have you used a lot recently? Animal Crossing.

What do you always do after you wake up in the morning? Look at my phone.

What do you always do when you go to bed at night? Look at my phone! (laughs)

What do you do when riding a train? I keep a mask on, so since people can't see, I make weird faces (laughs).

Is there anything you do to maintain your health? A mask is indispensable.

What do you do on your days off? I go to clothing stores.

What do you do when you're alone? Reading magazines.

What do you do when you're out with friends? We go looking for Insta-worthy places.

Where do you want to go on a first date? A museum!

If you were to confess to someone, what kind of situation would you be in? I'd confess directly at my place!

If someone were to confess to you, what kind of situation would you like to be in? I'd want it to be really romantic, in a place with beautiful lighting ♡

What memories do you have of Valentine's Day? When I was in elementary school, I gave a boy I liked chocolates that my mother had incidentally made for me, and said that I made them myself.

What have you enjoyed recently? Meeting all our fans at the fan meetings!

What’s something sad that happened recently? I couldn't make a recording of the FNS Song Festival...

What funny thing has happened recently? Today, on the bus for our photoshoot, I heard a bird tweeting early in the morning, and I thought it was one of the staff's alarms. But when I asked whose it was, it turned out to be mine (laughs).

What do you want to erase from your past? The time I fell down while playing jump rope in 5th grade.

What moment made you think "It's a miracle!"? Meeting all my fans.

What moment made you think "I'm glad to be alive"? Seeing a sea of pink lights during a live.

What do you want to happen in the future? An Aqours worldwide tour!

What did you wish for that happened? Continuing as Aqours in season 2 of the Love Live! Sunshine!! anime.

What did you enjoy in 2017? The whole year was fun, but going to Los Angeles, perhaps.

What went wrong in 2017? On the last day of 2nd Live, during the MC after "SKY JOURNEY", I was explaining the dance move we called "Sky Walk". But I kept calling it "Aqours Walk", so I ended up doing a dogeza [TL: you may know the pose better as OTL] in front of everyone...

What do you aspire to do in 2018? I'll put all my strength into accomplish everything that falls onto my plate!

What would you do if you won 100 million yen in the lottery? I've been saving up to buy a house. If I had 100 million yen, I'd just buy one (laughs).

What would you do if you had a time machine? I'd go back to the past and practice my jump rope skills.

What would you do with your last day on Earth? I would be with my family.

What would you eat on your last day on Earth? Salted beef tongue, of course! I want to eat the things I like!

If you went to an uninhabited island and could only bring one thing, what would you bring? Everything you need for camping (laughs).

If you were reborn in another world, what would you want to become? A final boss. I want to be strong.

If you were reborn [in this world], what would you want to become? A sloth. I don't want to think about anything.

If you were reborn, would you want to be male or female? Male.

What challenge do you want to take on? I want try startling someone with a prank (laughs).

What's good about being a girl? Growing out your hair and trying different hairstyles with it.

If you were a guy, what would you want to try? Nanpa (laughs). I want to try seducing girls (laughs).

What role do you want to try taking in the future? Maybe an adult woman, someone stable.

What job would you want to do outside of voice acting? Something like dealing with second-hand clothes at a tailor's shop.

What has made you the happiest out of what people have said to you? That I seem like a type A person. [TL: probably blood type.]

Are there any secrets you've kept from the Aqours members? Nope! I'm very open! I have faith in everyone.

Where in Numazu would you want to visit again? I want to go to Marusan Bookstore with King (Kanako Takatsuki).

Praise yourself as highly as you can! You sure did your Rubesty, didn't you! ♪

What are your thoughts on today's photoshoot? It feels fresh to do a photoshoot in personal clothes, and I'm very happy that we could do it as CYaRon!. It's been a long time since I went to the aquarium, and that was a lot of fun!

Finally, a word for your fans! I'll keep doing my Rubesty as a member of Aqours. I really want to surprise everyone and show everyone a variety of sights. I'll continue to be in your care!

Happy birthday, Furirin! (Again.) I hope you’re having a wonderful time on your favorite day of the year.

Please consider buying the magazine! Along with the 100 questions feature, it has an interview and a photoshoot involving all three members of CYaRon!, featuring some wonderful photos. You can order it on Amazon Japan at https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B079NBWSZS.

Translation: @ganbaramen QC: @yujachachacha