#and uh it would actually limit pokemon so much

[im-very-sorry]

im going to scream i just want to play like a farming or life sim where i can have my little guy be in a wheelchair. i cant find any anywhere i hate this i hate this i hate this

[kit-williams]

Hey idk if you're going to do anything more with your cope fics but in the Soap one. Did Nikto do something?

So funny enough I was actually writing something that I was debating on posting unless someone asked so uh I guess I'll just paste it here.

I will say this about Nikto he's very villain coded and of course in the lore he is very much a scary war criminal. I 100% blame @halcyone-of-the-sea for actually getting me to look at Nikto Highly recommend their fic Ravishing Allure

This takes place before the soap fic.

Um non consensual kissing

I knew I was regressing slightly... without my meds and being barely clinging together I was regressing a couple of years emotionally. Perhaps it was a stupid idea to be running in the halls of the base holding the switch in my hands eager to show Soap the cutest little pokemon cafe worker. Perhaps I should be more careful with Kortac around... perhaps I should be more careful with who was lurking around.

I should have been looking where I was going when I turned the corner and run right into a broad chest. That hardly limited it down to who it could be but the apology died in my throat as the scariest blue eyes were staring me down. Nikto. He scares me... I didn't remember his wiki page really just the feeling that he was a very very bad man. But I manage to slam right into him.

It's his eyes... I usually hate prolonged eye contact except for one man really... my husband and its terrifying how such a rich blue shade is staring right down at me in the same manner that he does when I've upset him. I twitch slightly as my desire to soothe and make my husband not mad bubbles back up... I had done a lot of healing to stop being an utter pushover and people pleaser to him and our friends but it seemed it was rearing its ugly head back here. I instead just make myself look smaller and far more submissive as I hold the Switch between us like it will keep him from me.

"S-sorry Nikto. I... I wasn't paying attention." I say before I try to quickly move past him and then I felt it. That soothingly familiar touch... the comforting warmth of a hand around my neck, resting there as if it belonged not squeezing because it didn't need to and I trusted the palm that usually rested there... the comfortingly large hand that was there during sex or just his way of flirting with me.

I think I was far to eager in the way I looked back up at the arm holding my neck. Maybe it was the look in my eyes... a silent hope that it was my husband there and not Nikto that this was all over. Maybe it was the way I cocked my head to the side when he did his... maybe I should have reacted better than my hardcoded submissive self did... I just didn't react.

I only whimpered as my back was pressed against the wall as he boxed me in. I was scared of what would happen if I didn't obey him demanding me to close my eyes. I pressed back against the wall as I've kissed enough times with my eyes closed... felt my husband kiss me on the lips as I danced between consciousness and unconsciousness... I was well aware of how close he was leaning to my face.

I groaned softly as he wasn't sweet or kind or this was the precursor to something else. It was rough and demanding... demanding what? I couldn't say but I felt so complacent and guilty like I was cheating on my husband when I started to kiss back.

-----

Her tongue moved against his as his hands moved down her waist in mock tender touches. Breathlessly she kept kissing back. The gentle groan as he bit her bottom lip and sucked on it for but a moment. His hips rolling against hers.

Nikto was intrigued by the "Girl out of time" just as much as König was. They were the one to get König the data he wanted allowing the large man to get closer to the target... perhaps there was intrigue from them as well. Nikto finally pulled away putting his mask back on as a thumb of his brushed upon her slightly swollen bottom lip, they held back a shiver as she did a simple 'om' sound before slipping the tip of his thumb into her mouth and being far too cute for her own good.

She still was submissive when he let her open her eyes and sent her on her way with a smack to her ass as she hurried off.

[braintapes]

been playing a metric shitload of pokemon these past few weeks and its got me cooking in my mind. the kinds of battlers i think the hotel podcast characters would be:

First, overall, I think the Staff would all have weak teams at first in different ways, but then later on you battle them a second time (maybe after fighting the New Crew) and they've got beefed up 'Mons that you have to actually work to beat.

The Lobby Boy's first team is frail. I'm talking like, Wimpod, Magikarp, Slakoth, stuff like that. Litwick. First stage evos or Pokemon that kinda hinder themselves more than they're useful. Golett with Klutz or smth. The first battle's a cake walk. But these are Pokemon with pretty powerful evolved forms once you get there - Slaking, Gyarados, Golisopod...you get the idea. You fight him the second time and he hits you like a truck with highly powerful mons.

The Manager's team is designed around entry hazards. The Manager manages, she adapts. She knows she's going to take a hit, but she's going to make absolutely sure you get punished for landing it. Bulky, defensive mons that can take a beating long enough to set up spikes, stealth rocks, etc. Maybe also a Sharpedo for Rough Skin and to tie into her fish/ocean creature theming. Middle evos for the first battle maybe, full evos and more type coverage the second time? Also a focus on status setting, just to be extra painful while you slowly lose

The Owner's team has plenty of decently powerful Pokemon...but they are horribly set up. Bad abilities, poorly applied movesets, the works. Mons with Intimidation but which don't take advantage of it, ones that get Heavy Slam but aren't, uh, heavy enough to make good use of it. A team that would be kinda scary to go up against if he knew what he was doing. Which he does figure out by his second battle. Maybe he gets to use one of the cool gimmick features like Mega Evolution or Gigantamaxing or something. Idk about specific Pokemon, but I do know for sure he should have a Dusknoir. It's just right to me.

The New Crew, overall, take advantage of different battle formats. So while you don't rematch them, they come out of the box with strong teams focused on good synergy. If you could rematch them, they'd probably do some of the fun stuff the battle facilities in the games do, imposing restrictions and interesting limits.

The Bellhop and Concierge are fought as a unit in a double battle. The Concierge plays defensive and support, with bulky/hard-to-hit mons that set up screens, boost ally stats, and weaken enemy stats. He probably also enjoys taking advantage of things like confusion and infatuation/immobilization. I like the idea of him using normal types and 'regular' seeming Pokemon, perhaps.

The Bellhop has the strike team. She hits hard and fast with strong physical and special attackers. Favors moves that hit multiple times or have additional effects, although with all the stat boosts the Concierge is stacking her with it's really just overkill at this point. Pokemon with abilities that boost their stats maybe, or with abilities that nullify moves of certain types? Need to think on that more.

The Auditor's team is designed for support, but...a little too much. You fight her in a rotation battle, which (iirc) play like single battles but with some advantages. Still, I don't think she'd be a complete wash and she can keep her own Pokemon healed up throughout the fight and stall you out (again i dont remember rotation battles as much as double battles so i could be wrong on this. will have to research). Bug and ghost type user I imagine. I think she should get to have Aegislash, I know it's a sword and not a knife, but it's still a wicked blade. Also she gets a Banette bc I thought it'd be fitting for either her or the Manager.

Madam Hotel's first fight is a wash. Full of seemingly random and seemingly useless gimmick Pokemon. Chimecho absolutely has to be on her team because I need it to be on someone's team. Mimikyu, Eiscue, Zorua, a focus on disguises and damage absorption, but fairly easy to deal with once you've figured the gimmick out. Until you get to the very end of your team and thBLAM. BLACEPHALON BLAST!!!!!!!!!

The Hotel Herself does not fight fair. She rotates constantly between Ultra Beasts, Legends, Pokemon from the Staff and New Crew teams, thematically appropriate mons, she'll switch out a Pokemon from the box mid-battle because she can. She's gamebreaking and she knows it, and she's really just toying with you and having her own fun.

Her strategy is high risk, high reward. Fun, explosive plays in a literal sense - self-destructing moves, extremely powerful but low accuracy moves, anything relying on luck to hurt you. All of her team has accuracy and critical hit boosting items and she spams healing, revives, pp, constantly. It's an endurance game, like the most unbalanced and poorly designed of romhack battles cranked up to 100.

If you can outlast her somehow and win, she just kills you out of battle anyway

thank you for coming to my ted talk . smile :]

[kafus]

since my stadium 2 hue project has massively increased in scope, i'm temporarily going back to my pokemon language converter... for context if you don't already know, japanese copies of RGBY/GSC (and korean GS) can't trade with other language games due to differences in save file structure and character encoding. if you tried, it would completely screw up your saves. having multilingual pokemon cartridges is cool and fun so having that limitation sucks, but it also sucks for shiny hunters since for people who like authentic hardware, it's a much cheaper option to get multiple japanese carts than pretty much any other language cart for multi-hunting. so i'm making a tool on BMF where you can either upload full save data or .pk1/pk2 files from PKHeX and it'll change nothing about the pokemon's data except prompt you to give your pokemon a new nickname (or to keep the species name) since obviously the different language character sets are not compatible, and then either update the save files accordingly or spit out a new pk1/pk2 that can be inserted by the user. i want to be able to get this (relatively) small thing out since it's been a long time since i've updated and there was interest in it. then i can go back to full focus on the stadium 2 hue project.

today i feel sick but i at least wanted to get the javascript in a state where it could take a file input from the user, check to make sure it's the size of a gen 1/2 file, then convert it into an array of hexadecimal bytes for me to read and edit, then convert the hex back into binary as a file for the user to download. i thought this would be easy since my save converter for cart <--> VC has code that supposedly does that, but i made it a long time ago and lo and behold even though it does its job just fine, it wasn't actually converting the data the way i thought it was. it properly adds and subtracts bytes from the end of the file (which is literally all the converter has to do) but for the purposes of essentially a mini save editor, it was useless! i didn't have a proper hex dump to work with. so i just. uh. redid all of it haha. i don't claim to fully understand unsigned 8bit integers or array buffers but i got it in such a state where it properly checks the file size, reads the file as hex, and then converts it back into binary, and the downloaded file is identical to the original... so next time i work on it i can actually start building the tool. going to focus on version/language detection and checksum validation next since i don't want to corrupt anyone's save files.

anyways the people i would usually talk to about this stuff aren't online and i had the autistic itch to infodump, thanks for reading ww

[askleaderscrest]

Something About Stars

Clarent: A gift giving event? That seems... Odd, but nice! We don't tend to give much around here, other than the occasional shared hunt. We're not really ones for material items, nowhere to put anything, after all! Though, I suppose if anyone hears this, I can think of a few things that could work?

A bitter tasting treat?

One of those odd discs humans use on their partner Pokemon. Preferably one of the Fighting type.

Something interesting from another part of Paldea, or even overseas.

Wishful thinking, but maybe just... Someone around my age to talk to.

Or maybe something for my son, Gladius? I think he deserves a kindness.

Gladius: Huh, gift giving? Have I ever really wanted anything? Like a thing thing? I don't think I have? I'm pretty happy with what I have now, y'know? Though uh, I guess I can think of something?

Some training lessons would be nice, if that's manageable?

Something sweet! Berries are nice, but I've heard there's something sweeter out there!

Maybe a nice sharpening stone?

A way to see the ocean. I've heard of it, but never seen it.

Something nice for my mom? There's only so much I can offer her, and I think if anyone's deserving of a gift, it's her.

Sabre: You really expect me to believe Pokemon will just give things without payment? Well, I'm not buying it! This is some sort of tactic to get me to trust someone so it's easier to get me while my back is turned, isn't it? If you're oh so generous, than let's make it more difficult to get me, I want battle items!

Rare candies. EXP candies. Any of that.

Something to teach me a new move. I could use more variety.

An Eviolite. Preferably the one off Vel's neck. Hate that guy.

A Covert Cloak would also be helpful.

An easy way to get Gladius out of the Crest before he gets himself killed.

Capricorn: Wait, now why am I here? I ain't about this gift giving nonsense! I've hardly got any need for most things, but I guess I can think of somethin'?

Some human-made healing items.

Lessons on sign language.

Some human-made books for my daughter.

Advice on how to apologize to someone.

Morris: Oh, you didn't think you'd be getting way without mentioning me, now did you? And right after ignoring me on my birthday too? Rude. I'm participating in this, whether you like it or not, and I'm not gonna be easy about it!

A sewing kit.

An uncarved grave stone.

A Flying Gem.

And now for a fun one: A feather. And I don't mean something off your average Pidgey, I mean a Lunar, Rainbow, or Silver Feather.

A Prison Bottle would be cool, we need a new one.

Mod Note below:

(So most of these are pretty self explanatory, I think! Since most of the characters are feral/wild Pokemon, physical trinkets and such are pretty useless to them. It was actually pretty hard to think of options! So be as creative as you like with gifts! Also, elaborations just in case:

Clarent's list is pretty straight forward, I think. A bitter treat can be something akin to say, dark chocolate, since it's something she's never had. 'Someone around her age to talk to' can apply to pretty much any character who's been a parent, as she doesn't talk with many others except her Pawniards, Gladius, & Sabre!

Gladius' list is also pretty straight forward, he likes sweets and he wants to be stronger. Fulfilling a piece of Gladius' wishlist fulfills the final piece of Clarent's wishlist, and vice versa.

Sabre just wants to be stronger. Candies must be limited to a small handful and no, you can't actually take the Eviolite from Vel, though your character is free to try, they must fail to do so.

Capricorn... Is actually here on the chance my Star Sender is an artist who would rather not draw a Bisharp! His primary concern would be the first 3 listed items, but also lists a couple of story-relevant bonuses! Please note that since Capricorn hasn't been properly introduced, I unfortunately do not currently have a ref of his daughter done!

Morris serves the same purpose as Capricorn, being an extra on the chance you're an artist who would rather draw someone else. His legendary list is absurd at best and unfeasible at worst. But that's okay, because if you choose him, your character is allowed to fail miserably!

Have fun!

[hehe-hoho-ohno]

I actually do have a few guesses as to why. A) limited animation. B) They are extremely minor characters. C) It looks silly.

A) Limited animation. I'm about to put pokemon masters on blast here because it's the most obvious example, but if you've played that game for any amount of time, you will notice that the animation for it is EXTREMELY limited. Characters have like, five-ish animations each and will use them repeatedly. Whenever something that would be difficult to animate happens, (flying on a pokemon, swiming, ect.) the camera will pan away or cut to black so they don't have to animate it.

Now, I'm not a 3D artist, so I might be wrong about some of these things, but animating objects interacting is, uh, kinda hard to do in a way that looks natural. (Without noticable clipping). Even in mainline games where the animation isn't as limited, you'll notice that they tend to go out of their way to avoid characters interacting with each other or the environment. (E.g. never shaking hands or hugging each other)

I bring this up because in order to have hatless Ingo/Emmet, you would most likely need to animate him.... removing his hat. (To tip it or something.) Which they don't want to do. Because it would be a pain. You don't really see any characters removing accessories for these reasons (hats, coats, gloves, jewlery).

Even if you don't animate the actual removal, and just have him hatless to start with, you would still need to account for the model. You would either need to rig Ingo/Emmet in such a way that would make the hat removable, or have a separate model without the hat. But they don't want to do that! It's more work they don't need to do!

B) They are extremely minor characters. You can completely miss both of them in BW and Ingo just completely vanishes from PLA's plot after you meet him. They aren't going to blow the animation budget on these irrelevant clowns.

And because they have so little screen time, there just less time to see them do much of anything, including being hatless. They have by far the most screen time pokemas, and the only way we are seeing them hatless there is if they have yet another sync pair, but their costumes don't have hats this time. Which is where you run into problem C.

C. It looks silly! They aren't going to make Ingo and Emmet sync pairs without the hats becuse it looks silly! They look better with the hats!

Because of A, the most likely place to see hatless submas is 2D art. Because of B, they are barely in the anime and manga, so seeing either of them make an appearance at all (much less hatless) is very unlikely. Which just leaves merch and promotional images.

The main thing submas has going for it (from a brand standpoint) is raw sexyman appeal. And everyone saw the massive freak out the fandom had when the (lack of) hair concept art dopped. If you (a random pokemon executive) are trying to appeal to the subams fandom by dropping some Ingo and Emmet crumbs, you probably wouldn't want to include the stuff that got backlash.

Hence, concept art. It's 2D, so A isn't a problem. There's concept art for pretty much everything, so B is irrelevant. And since it isn't canon, and you're more or less throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks, and most people won't see it, C isn't really a factor.

But IDK, I'm just speculating really, I could be wrong.

Y'know I just can't stop thinking about it.

Why are both the submas hair reveals technically non canon?

Ingos concept art with the buzz cut/receding hairline in the art book is just that: concept art. It's obvious because there's a "panel" where he's being discovered by the Pearl Clan, face down in the snow. But in the actual game he says the Pearl Clan found him, standing and looking around in confusion. His character model also has a sort of tiny cut off bun in the back under his collar, when taking his game model apart.

The image from the teraleak is one we know well... except for the tiny haircut thumbnail. Why was the image of Ingo with a buzz cut redacted??? Literally what could be the reason? The rest of the sheet is out there, and has been for a long time!

Do the devs just REALLY want to keep people guessing what's under those hats? Why have these images never transcended concept art, and in the original submas art case, never saw the light of day until now??

Aside from the devs wanting it to be a mystery (which is a hysterical potential reason), maybe they just... realize how silly the boys look? Like the hair triangles are not canonically sideburns, how many people draw them. They're sideBANGS; they're not attached to their face on any of their 3D models! And even in their 2D art they don't look like they grow from their face.

Maybe the devs were like "the world cannot know these guys have face framing mullets." Because a buzz cut except for the long side bangs is pretty insane 😂

But in all seriousness I am intensely curious now. Why is their hair all noncanon. Whose choice was that!

[fff777]

let's see what this shcrodinger's panda is about (wayv in chengdu) :P

Sichengcam!!! He's being a chipper host :P

Winwin: Where are we going, Hendery? Hendery: Ten! Ten: ...uh...the forest

I learned recently that Chengdu is considered the hometown of all pandas :3 So that's why Chengdu is panda city :P

Winwin: We're going to see the pandas eat bamboo and sleep Ten: What do you want to do when you see the pandas? Winwin: Take photos of them eating bamboo and sleeping

Hendery: Do they know martial arts?

Meanwhile Kun cam is much quieter lol

Ten was playing Pokemon on Nintendo Switch

Sicheng said Flareon was Fly Tiger and Arcanine was Bella XD Ten just deepsighing and Sicheng's made up names lmfao. Keep up that energy dude XD

Dejun trying to bring a party mood to the Xiaokunyang van to very limited success

Yangyang: Look at this panda Kun: ...what...?

Kun at Yangyang: We're here to see pandas sand you're singing Kangaroo? Yangyang: ...I'm tripping panda...

胖噠 transliteration of panda lol

Dejun getting matcha ice cream :3

Kun: Do you think pandas can speak Sichuanese?

I too have heard of the famous panda named Huahua. Here's an article about her.

Winwin called Yangyang a fox

Yangyang: We're here to see a national treasure. I should dress more appropriately.

Hendery called Yangyang dad and he immediately rented the scooter for him

Kun: 哪個寶寶要坐? Not wrong, in his eyes, all of them are baobaos.

But Yangyang gave up because it was too difficult to rent the scooter. And Hendery was like "So I just called you dad for nothing? Give it back to me."

Dejun feelin comfortable with Sichuanese ^^;;

Hendery: What if I drop my phone

Makes sense that they have to walk a long way to see the actual pandas. It would probably be annoying to them to live too close to urban human dwelling.

Ten had to smell the poop ^^;;

Finally spotted a panda!!!! But they ran away super fast lol.

Kun got a picture of the panda's back. Cryptid status.

There was such a big crowd waiting and the guys were like SURELY THERE'S A PANDA THERE but once again, crickets XD The editing for this is great

Dejun lifting Hendery to get a better look

Hendery comparing their plight to the bandwagon effect (sheep effect) as quoted by Kun-ge

Ah so this is Schrodinger's panda. Because they exist but not here lol.

I do appreciate that there is a lot of space for the pandas to hide that is away from the eyes of the visitors

Winwin just spent this whole video with his arm around Yangyang

Lol Yangyang had thought that the worst case scenario was that the pandas would just be asleep except he hadn't thought of a situation where he wouldn't even see the pandas lol

Winwin was speaking with a few passersby to get intel on where the pandas were. This is Winwin after he heard from someone that there was apparently a training session for the pandas.

Hendery at Dejun: I'll give you $300 (RMB) if you piggyback me up this hill Dejun: $300? Who do you think I am?! Hendery: $500! Dejun: Don't even think about it unless you have a car Expensive boy

Pandas Winwin is here!!!!!

I think their staff/camera person is Korean so that's why they're still conversing in Korean

LMAO at 13:43 I distinctly heard a Cantonese person asking whether they'd walked the wrong way.

They found them! But I can't see lol.

Look at the people in front who have panda headbands

It's a little one <3

Kun-cam

The sound a human makes when they see something cute :3

A panda centre staff calling out a visitor for taking too many photos that they're going to delete anyway ^^;; and Kun going SKSKSKSKSK

Winwin heavy on the erhua once again

So they ended up heeding the staff's advice and kept walking ahead where they could see more pandas instead of taking all of their photos at the first location lol. Kun and Winwin kept laughing on the way there XD

More pandas

Hendery reading the names of the pandas :3

There's a 17 year old panda at the centre

Kun cam of a big panda munching

At first I was like there's no way Winwin is that much taller than everyone else. And then Hendery was like "Dong Sicheng, don't climb that high!"

Sicheng was talking about how big the panda was but his body language was literally a kid who got caught by his parents while Hendery hyukhyukhyuked X'D

Hendery continuing to barter for a piggyback right from Dejun, offering $700 this time

WayV: *Points at birds* Winwin: The animals we've seen the clearest

Dejun was confused by the red pandas because he was like...how are they related lol.

Making clicking noises to try to get the red panda's attention

Hendery: What do you think the red panda is thinking about? Yangyang: Today...is so boring...Monday Hendery: Time to go to work again

Here, Winwin is saying that the red panda is well-behaved :3 Probably because it is eating out of its bowls instead of playing

Ten thought Winwin wanted to see flowers, but he wanted to see Huahua the panda whose shift apparently didn't begin until 4 PM

Group photo in the mirror

Kun cam of a panda that might or might not be Huahua

Home time

Ten prefers the red pandas to the giant pandas :3 When they were watching the red panda eat, they were commenting on how he looked like Louis, so maybe it was the catlike characteristics that captured Ten's heart :3

Yangyang took Hendery's cool photos, and Kun took Hendery's meme photos lol

Hendery ordering Winwin to pose so that Hendery can take his photo lol

Some cutesy photos for Kun

Winwin: Why do the bamboo trees start to curve as they grow taller? Hendery: You'll understand when you grow to 3m

I had to look up the poem that Winwin was reciting when they looked at the fish in the pond. I think it's by Zhuangzi? Here it is: 北冥有鱼，其名为鲲。鲲之大，不知其几千里也。化而为鸟，其名为鹏。鹏之背，不知其几千里也。怒而飞，其翼若垂天之云。是鸟也，海运则将徙于南冥。南冥者，天池也。 I feel like Winwin references old poetry and idioms the most, which I love!

The guys unexpectedly getting their hearts captured by the red pandas :3

Aw the guys watching the video of the panda one last time :3

[crystalelemental]

Pokemon Crystal - Team Personalities

Oh god I never did this for the Crystal run!  This is like a whole thing I’m supposed to do and I didn’t do it!  And the run is over!  Uh!  Uh!  Hang on, I can fix this.

Helen the Typhlosion, level 60 Moves: Flamethrower, Thunderpunch, Flame Wheel, Cut Item: Charcoal Personality: As the first Pokemon of the team, Helen is a confident but cautious Typhlosion.  Having been through every battle of their trainer’s career, she’s been able to take the measure of opponent’s quickly, making calculated decisions on whether she can handle something, or needs an ally to step in.  She’s a strong leader, able to delegate tasks effectively to her colleagues in a quick and logical manner.  Therese is her oldest friend, and the two enjoy focusing on development of tactics.  Helen will sometimes be overprotective toward Obsidian, who is the child of an old partner.  Euphyllia receives similar treatment for being young, though Helen’s concern for her is more her frailty.

Obsidian the Golem, level 54 Moves: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Strength, Magnitude Item: Hard Rock Personality: If Helen is the leader by intellect, Obsidian is the leader by might.  Obsidian takes charge quickly, and often pushes herself past her limits, challenging foes that she, frankly, has little business challenging.  Yet she has a tendency to overcome, being unexpectedly fast on her feet, and delivering powerful blows that few can withstand.  As the daughter of Beryl, the original Geodude of the party, and Aspen the Sudowoodo, Obsidian inherited a few unusual traits for her kind, including much stronger offense with Rock-type attacks, and a penchant for theatrics and drama.  As one of the young members, she gets along well with Euphyllia, who is like-minded in her approach to battle.  As a faster member of her species, she enjoys racing against Allegra and Orithyia.  Though she’s never beaten them, she swears she’s getting close.

Therese the Noctowl, level 39 Moves: Fly, Hypnosis, Thief, Flash Item: Leftovers Personality: Therese retired from battling, but continues to support the team as something of an overseer.  She enjoys traveling the world, learning what she can, and tries to support the team with her unique blend of supportive traits.  She’s particularly helpful to her trainer’s ambition to fill out the Pokedex, thanks to her weaker attacks and ability to lull opponents to sleep.  In battle, she primarily supports through disruption and stalling, while waiting for the others to construct a plan.  Therese and Helen are old friends, and as one of the earliest members of the team, Therese has an attachment to Obsidian, doting on her quite a bit.

Allegra the Jolteon, level 57 Moves: Thunderbolt, Bite, Pin Missile, Double Kick Item: Amulet Coin (Magnet wasn’t until Sunday!  I couldn’t get it!) Personality: Allegra was a young Eevee picked up by Bill, basically on accident.  She was a little mischief-maker, and had a penchant for getting into everything.  When her trainer adopted her, this tendency did not go away.  She was quick to rush into battle, and liked examining everything directly, regardless of whether it was strictly safe to do so.  Of particular note, this constant energy and need to move around involved her fluffy coat carrying a lot of static in it, and so it was decided she would be a Jolteon.  Thing is, giving a mischief-maker who liked to be in everyone’s business an evolution that makes it, quite literally, fast as lightning, was perhaps not the most sane decision.  She is all over the place, often going off on her own and coming back covering in mud and leaves.  No one really knows where she goes to half the time, but she always seems to come back just fine, so no one really questions it.  Allegra gets along well with Orithyia, who is similarly prone to wandering, and can actually keep pace.  She also like Obsidian and Euphyllia, who are more laid-back than Helen or Therese, who mostly give her grief.

Euphyllia the Kadabra, level 55 Moves: Psychic, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunderpunch Item: Focus Band Personality: A prodigy child of unbelievable potential, Euphyllia holds a natural affinity for her psychic abilities beyond the norm.  Yet her interest is not in honing that potential, but expanding it to other areas.  She is fascinated by control over the elements, and has mastered quite a few in her pursuits.  Kadabra are typically thinkers, first and foremost.  They analyze, study, and outmaneuver foes.  Euphyllia is capable of this, certainly.  But she much prefers a direct approach.  Why worry about multi-step plans when you can just fry something?  Because of this, Helen finds her somewhat exasperating, but can’t argue with results, while Obsidian thinks she’s the coolest person on the team.  For her part, Euphyllia is endlessly amused by Allegra.

Orithyia the Suicune, level 54 Moves: Surf, Aurora Beam, Waterfall, Rain Dance Item: Mystic Water Personality: As a major legend of the region, Orithyia took interest in her trainer upon awakening.  As she dashed through the countryside, ever evading the trainer’s pursuits, she grew fond of this tiny human who seemed so determined to catch up.  Their Jolteon in particular was quite quick, and kept pace for some time, even if she couldn’t stop her.  It was at the Tin Tower that Orithyia resolved to face the human directly, and was inducted into the team.  Orithyia is a more mild personality, enjoying the feel of a good run and traveling the world, but with an appreciation for just having somewhere to return to.  She’s a big fan of thunderstorms, and enjoys the feel of the rain washing over her.  Allegra is her closest companion, as the only one who keeps up with her.  She finds Helen a trusted leader, and gets along well with Therese’s laid-back attitude, sometimes considering retirement from battle a nice avenue to pursue.

[cerberus253]

If Drago had a love language, what do you think it would be?

According to the Internet, there are at least five types of love languages:

Words of Affirmation- Compliments or words of encouragement

Quality Time- Their partner's undivided attention

Receiving Gifts- Symbols of love, like flowers or chocolates

Acts of Service- Setting the table, walking the dog, or doing other small jobs

Physical Touch- Having sex, holding hands, kissing

I believe Drago would have all five in varying degrees.

For Words of Affirmation, it would be pretty much just like the list says, but he would be kind of aggressive about it. I've said it before, and he would be like, "You're FINE, stop worrying!" with a raised voice. What makes it special is that he says it a lot more often than just "encouraging the troops." There would be times where he can be calm about it, but he'd also be quick and straight forward about it. Example, "Hey, you alright?" "Yeah, I'm good." *S/O gives a thumbs up, Drago just nods* You would want to pay attention to what he says and how often rather than how he says it because he would have difficulty expressing kindness and concern.

Quality Time would be just that, just wanting to be around them. Drago would probably want to be around them even when he's angry, but he'd be aware of how aggressive he gets, and if the S/O has anxiety or depression or something, he'd keep that in mind. It would just make him indecisive on what to do: He feels awful, so he wants to feel better, which would be around the S/O, but if he does stay by them, he could hurt/upset them and that would make him worse. So, he'd be quite frustrated around the S/O a lot when he's upset but wants to feel better.

Depending on how he feels, Drago would either be all-in with the gift giving, or embarrassed and just send it to them and be absent. So, like, he could be all bombastic and loud about giving the many gifts or affection, or the, "Yeah sure fine yes whatever *grumble grumble*..." *blushes*. Again, he isn't the best with showing affection, so if he feels normal or worse, he's going to be embarrassed, but if he feels good or better, he's not going to care and be loud about it. What items would he give? Uh, probably the normal stuff, like flowers and chocolates, and if you're like me and have a limited yet simple likes, then he'd get those. "I, uh, 'appreciate' you and stuff, and I know you like Pokemon cards, so here." Just don't make a huge deal about it like, "Awwwwww, you DO care!" Just play it cool, smile, and give him a hug and kiss.

Acts of Service is warped. Like, Drago doesn't want to serve people and will be verbal about it, and he would not want to do little services to even the S/O. HOWEVER, although he doesn't WANT to do the things, and yes he will complain, deep down he doesn't actually mind. How one can tell this is if he doesn't put up much of a fight when you ask him to take out the garbage or something. Like, probably the worst it get would be: "Hey Drago, can you take out the trash real quick?" "UGH, do I HAVE to??" "Yes please!" "FINE" *gets up mumbling to himself*. If he really didn't like doing the thing, he would do his best to get out of it and put his foot down.

Lastly, Physical Touch, we've been through this already: If he does not like the person or is neutral, he avoid physical touch unless it was a beating punishment. If he does like the person, he'd be okay with High Fives, shoulder bumps, and being close in space. If he has deep feelings for the person, he'd be nervous, jumpy, and flustered around the individual. He WANTS to be so physical with them, but this is a stupid, weak, human thing, so he shouldn't act upon these feelings. So, when he does get over the culture barrier, you KNOW he REALLY likes them. So, it's like, 'No touching, but if I have to' to 'Yeah I'm okay with this stuff' to 'I want it so bad, but I shouldn't and couldn't, but I WANT it, but--'. He's a conflicted boy-o.

Now, would there be a unique thing that Drago would do? I think we can agree from these previous Five that him going against his social norms/culture stuff and going with his "human urges" is his Love Sign. So, the fact that he is willing to go against his demon culture to satisfy his suppressed wants is his Love Language I think.

[trial-by-yuri]

Okay give me a bit I will because I am so abnormal about them

obvious extreme spoilers yippee yahoo

So the first part of the dlc introduces like 3 new actually important characters so that's easy.

Ms. Briar is a teacher at Blueberry Academy who is really interested in the phenomenon occurring within Area Zero but she hasn't been given permission to actually explore Area Zero because it's off limits. She's the one that invites you and three other unnamed Uva/Naranja Academy students to go on a school trip to Kitakami. She does eventually get permission to explore Area Zero in the second half of the dlc

Kieran and Carmine are two students from Blueberry Academy. They also used to live in Kitakami and are participating in the school trip to revisit where they used to live. Carmine is kind of an ass to you at first but she warms up to you eventually. Kieran on the other hand immediately idolizes you but he's pretty shy about it.

Kieran idolizes the legendary pokemon native to Kitakami called Ogerpon even when the stories being spread around Kitakami paint Ogerpon as a bad pokemon (it's later revealed that the stories were wrong so Kieran was pretty correct for liking Ogerpon good for him) but when it comes to the point of the game where your able to catch Ogerpon he ends up losing a battle between the two of you to see who get's to keep it. Which makes him obsess with becoming stronger to beat you in the next battle with you in the second part of the dlc.

The second part introduces a lot more characters but I'm just gonna talk about the Blueberry Academy Elite Four because they are silly.

The BB Elite Four consists of Lacey, Crispin, Amarys and Drayton. They specialize in Fairy, Fire, Steel, and Dragon respectively.

Lacey is my personal favorite but that's because I'm a sucker for fairy type trainers. I don't know how to describe her personality but she kinda feels like the leader of the Elite Four (which I know would normally be the job of the Champion but the champion is Kieran and as previously mentioned he's kinda going through it) She also gives you a tour of Blueberry academy. Also she's canonically related to Clay from pokemon BW so uh,,,,, that's interesting

Crispin is laid back and he's a chef and I think he's super cool. His elite challenge is literally to make him a spicy sandwich and it's very silly. He's so so silly I love him. I don't know how else to describe him he's so silly

Amarys appears very serious but she's actually very caring and silly. She refers to you Miraidon as "Agias" just because that's the sound he makes it's very silly. It's also very clear that she cares a lot about the rest of the elite four and Kieran. She's very cool. I love Amarys

Drayton,,,,, hmmmg,,,,,, Drayton. Okay so. He acts very lazy a lot but he also follows you alone for the majority of your elite four battles. He's the one that convinces you to join the league and he talks to you after every battle. He also rubs Kieran's defeat into his face when you beat him and take his champion role so my feeling towards Drayton are very complicated but hmmmmmg he's cool sometimes.

I feel like I should come back to Kieran because he is,,,, he is not okay,,,, okay so second part of dlc right? he's not okay. He wants to defeat you so so badly. In the time between the school trip and when you meet him again at Blueberry academy he got strong enough to surpass the entire elite four and become champion. And he's part of the reason you got to participate in the league in the first place. He continues to obsess over becoming strong so he can beat you most likely because he believes his weakness is the reason he lost Ogerpon. So yeah. he becomes very different both in personality and appearance but he is also still the guy who says wowzers so he only changes so much

Idk I probably didn't explain any of this well but read up i guess

I don't know anything about the scarvi dlcs what's going on in there who are those guys

i don't know how to describe them at all. there is a lot going on.

i would explain every character but it's a lot

[franeridart]

Anon said: [Spoilers for non-manga readers] opinion on Baku's hero name?

Very Bakugou, honestly don’t mind it at all! Mostly just surprised it’s, like, legal in the bnha universe for heroes to call themselves stuff like explodo-kills (and also that there isn’t a character limit for hero names??) but that Bakugou would stick with it is pretty damn in character for him so I like it xD still, I’ll probably just call him Dynamight if I’ll ever need to use his hero name lmao

Anon said: not to be the most romantic sap but uh just a kiss by lady a is killin me

Nothing sappy about letting romantic songs get to you!!!! I say, as I’m constantly crying over romantic songs so this mindset benefits me as well lol

Anon said: i may or may not have stumbled across some of your older kiribaku art, the stuff with akane, and she's the best child oc tbh. i actually like her and i tend to not be a fan of child ocs but she's just the cutest darn thing 🥰

I’m so glad you like her!!!!! She was a lot of fun, what a good gremlin ;;;

Anon said: uve heard of dragon!kiri w his hair spikes up, now get ready for dragon!kiri w his hair dowm lookin like the softest boy

AW HECK I think I’ve drawn him in the past, actually!!!! Spike-haired Kiri will forever be my fav Kiri, but there’s just something about hair down Kiri isn’t it!! What a cute boy ;;;; all sharp edges and soft curves, what a lovely sight

Anon said: can i just say your itafushi art is so cute? these two already make me feel and then your art just (つω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)

THANK YOU SO MUCH I really need to draw them more, don’t I! goge kinda monopolized my attention there, but the way itafushi makes me feel..........boy the way they make me feel ;;;;

Anon said: good day, poké au thought: 12 y/o bakugo somehow catches a dreepy as like his 2nd pokemon and never questions it

WHY NOT WHY NOT I have a whole team in my mind for the boy tbh but dreepy is so cute ;;;; and anyway, I like my poke!bakugou with as many dragon types as he could possibly get his hands on hahaha

Anon said: Please know that, amongst other factors, you were one of the maon reasons I stsrted Jujutsu Kaisen two days ago and there isnothing more to say except thank you and I'm absolutely in debt with you for that, thank you so much 😍

I’m so so SO glad you’re liking it!!!!!! It can get kinda heavy but it’s such a great story.... honestly I’d been wanting to start it since I saw the first pv for the anime all the way back last year but I was like, you know it’s a mappa anime! so I wanted to watch the anime as a new thing, cause I love mappa, but three episodes in I couldn’t hold back and just binged it. It’s kind of story that just makes you wanna drink it all in one go, isn’t it? so good so good

Anon said: makeup artist kirishima and model bakugo or makeup artist bakugo and model kirishima? :0c

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm can’t say I see either of them much into fashion tbh, but if I had to pick probably model Kiri and artist Baku? I just don’t think Baku would be able to stay still enough to get photographed, and he wouldn’t like the photographer bossing him around anyway, and catwalks would be impossible for him to stomach imho, he’s too restless for it! At least it’s the way I see it haha

Anon said: fdgdhdkfhdafs i had a thought, what if bakugo prefers dogs and kirishima prefers cats and when they meet each other and become friends it's like, "oh." because they have some striking similarities to their fave animals

That’s been my headcanon for a while now, actually!! I think for me it came from two characters in a manga I like that are a lot like a dog and a cat but have inverted fav animals and when I read about that I was like “oh, right, makes sense since they like each other” and then my brain turned it krbk because when does it not lmao

Anon said: your art is the soothing balm to my soul recently, thank you for posting so much beautiful content. i hope you have a lovely week. ♡

sob thank you so much, I’m glad my doodling can help you feel better ;; <3

Anon said: Friendly reminder anon from last time: that post I left last time I had only eaten 7 gingersnaps that day and hadn’t drank any water. So that encouraged me to actually self care. Thank you.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well I hope you’re taking care of yourself today too! And as fair trade, I’ll do the same myself! <3

Anon said: Hi! I'm an artist and I'm thinking of making a sideblog for my art. Do you have any tips?

Ah man, I’m sorry but I’m not the best person to ask this to! I started this sideblog cause I had too many followers on my main and I didn’t want my stuff to be seen by that many people at first, so whatever I did probably isn’t what you’re looking for :( but really there isn’t much to it, just post whatever you like to draw, tag it as best as you can (but remember that only the first five tags appear in the search page) and be patient, since whatever you do at first you won’t get much attention anyway - the only real advice I can give is to draw something that makes you happy and that you’d draw anyway even if no one were to see it, it’ll make keep posting despite a possible lack of activity a lot easier!

Anon said: Your goge art🥺🥺

I just love them so much ( TT’’’TT)9

Anon said: how the fuck have i not been following you? I remember seeing your bakushima art in the bnha tag and always thinking it's so cute. Now you're into JJK too??? and the satosugu art??? fuckin, diabetes incarnate. I love it. I love you. Your art 10/10. I'm tired lmao.

WELL thank you for the follow!! And for thinking my stuff is cute!!!!! I do my best with that, I want all the soft things for my favs 😌

Anon said: Are you gonna draw Gojou/Getou comic?? 👉🏻👈🏻 WOULD LOVE TO READ IT

you mean an actual doujin? I don’t think I will, sorry! I’m really no good at long projects orz but thank you so much for wishing to read something like that from me!!! ;A;

Anon said: Hello! YOUR ART IS SO FREAKING GORGEOUSSSS!!! I love them so much!! If I may ask you one question. Between Getou amd Gojou, who do you see as top/bottom? Just curious

THANK YOU!!!!! And I honestly don’t care as long as they’re happy and together!!! please let them be happy and together 🙏🙏🙏

Anon said: i want you to know!!! i followed you for your kiribaku art but!!! i love your art so much that idc what you post because it's all just!!!! incredible and wonderful and stunning!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! this means a lot to me so seriously thank you so much!!!!

Anon said: d'you think bakugo has like headaches or migraines after training or battles because of how loud his quirk is? like, i listen to music slightly too loud and my head is sending me to hell. (unless you go with the hoh hc which is also 👌)

I like to think Baku’s body is attuned enough to his own quirk that he wouldn’t get drawbacks of the kind tbh, though that wouldn’t be a bad thought for when he just starts to increase the output/width and strength of his explosions............ well, I myself suffer from chronic headaches and migraines so I’m always up for projecting on my favs ngl lmao

Anon said:  so like... dragon kirishima's eyes glow right? like, if we equate his dragon-ness to unbreakable his eyes glow? they also glow when he's half shifted? honestly i just live glowing eyes

Oh hell yeah I’m all for that, definitely definitely, I love glowing eyes with my whole heart and Kiri’s eyes in unbreakable are just so!!!!!! NGH *chef kiss* the more of unbreakable there is in his dragon form the happier I am ( TT^TT)9

Anon said: me, scrolling through your blog: ah shit guess im gonna have to start watching jjk

!!!!! hope it won’t hurt you too much, anon!!

Anon said: dragon!kiri and bakugo having a tug-of-war match over a piece of meat. both have it in their mouths. both are determined to win.

Kiri is turned into his dragon form and Baku still wins, hell yeah

Anon said: your satosugu is top tier!! it's hard to find stuff for them that isn't straight up angst so your art has been super cool and also very very cute!! (tho if you went with angst, it wouldn't be a bad thing obviously)

AH I’m so happy to hear you like them!!!! but also happy you wouldn’t mind angst, as I do like them the best happy and soft but my brain, my brain has been throwing sads my way for a while now 👀 I got some ideas

Anon said: What program/device do you use??

Easy Paint Tool SAI and a wacom intuos!! Though I got myself an ipad+procreate just yesterday and I’ve been messing around with it, let’s see how that one goes!

Anon said: *inahles* i am simping for mohawk man please tell me everything about your ocs immediately or i will detonate

THANK YOU FOR LIKING HIM HE’S CALLED DAVIDE Dav for short, he’s a cat of a man and a music instrument enthusiast (mostly string ones, but he’s very good with the piano as well) - he works in a music instruments store, and he’s a uni student majoring in philosphy! He doesn’t like bothersome things, he isn’t very good at taking anything seriously or putting effort in stuff, but he’s very chill to spend time with and generally a nice chat both if you want mindless thoughts or deep conversations (he’s a philosophy major after all). He can’t sing for shit, he’s got two cats (tago and schelly!), and he just wants a quiet life to laze around but all his friends are hurricanes in human bodies, but then again, he picked them himself so he can’t complain. He’s a good boy!! I’m planning a comic for him and his boy Ross >:]

[phoenixyfriend]

The Naruto/Frozen Crossover

So I was planning on just doing an image ID thing for this post, but apparently the formatting on desktop is such a mess that it’s easier to just make a new post that’s text only. I can also like. Bulletpoint it so that it can be a little neater. All ideas were made with @firebirdeternal​‘s help, because they are the most efficient enabler I have.

Also I added some bits at the end.

Under a cut, because it’s Long As Heck.

I originally had two options: either Mid-teens Elsa and Anna being transported to ninja land sometime pre-canon and running into Haku and Zabuza... or just like. Born as a Daimyou's daughters.

Spoiler alert, we’ve got nukenin and I’m a sucker for an intrusive crossover, so transported to ninja land it is.

Suggestion from Birdie:

Mechanism for crossover: Elsa ices over a Wishing Well by accident after having Wished for someone else who understood her, Anna and her fall in and get Ice Mirror Portaled to Ninjaland, falling out of an iced over pond near a shrine that Haku recently prayed at for similar lonely child reasons?

Which I like! They don’t end up there soon enough to run into Haku, because I want a dramatic chase first, but I like it.

Obviously, Anna is forced to learn about Elsa's powers because it's the only thing keeping them safe

Or at least alive

(Elsa will do ANYTHING to keep Anna safe, and if that means she has to get her hands dirty...)

...neither of them knows Japanese, so, you know. There’s that.

I'm thinking that they end up in/near Kiri at first

And they aren't FAST ENOUGH to get away so Elsa panic-enchants a giant reindeer made of snow to run away across the suddenly-frozen ocean.

She and Anna have to ride and Elsa is probably crying the whole time.

Oh shit this is like. RIGHT after their parents die, I forgot. So that’s a thing! They are in mourning and all that fun stuff.

Point is, they use the powers for a Self Defense thing and BBY Haku is just !!! "Master can we rescue them for Ice Cousin reasons?" Zabuza: Yes, and only for those practical reasons and not because I collect endangered children like people collect pokemon cards.

I imagine that maybe they track rumors of a Yuki-onna down, or the Giant Snow Reindeer rides by and Haku’s just like Wat

The girls just tag along with Zabuza because. Like.

Do they like him? No. Do they trust him? No. Do they enjoy the fact that he considers them pathetic civilians? No.

However, Haku is Baby.

Zabuza is REALLY annoyed at them being Useless Civilian Royals “but Haku likes them so I guess they can stay.”

Age at meeting, three years pre-canon:

Zabuza - 23

Elsa - 18

Anna - 15

Haku - 12

Elsa is 90% anxiety/depression master combo BUT if Zabzua protects her then she's WILDLY dangerous so like. Whatever

Elsa's bingo book nickname options, uninspired:

Winter Witch

Winter Queen

Ice Queen

Snow Queen

Something about a Yuki-Onna maybe

She's Very Stately and kinda breakable but Winter is her Bitch

I mean like, the fact that, if protected, she can shut down the agriculture of a fucking country? That's an S-rank even if she's not that useful in a fight.

She's like. Jinchuuriki-level destruction. Generally speaking she wouldn’t. But she could.

Elsa: What the fuck is a chakra? Elsa: my snow monsters are self-sustaining. Elsa: I'm gonna build us a house.

Zabuza has NO idea how her powers work and it is INCREDIBLY frustrating but “there’s no chakra cost to keep these things going and we have shelters on demand” is too convenient to question after a while.

Haku: Delicate, deadly, incredibly fast ninja work. Elsa: I can't dodge a kunai but watch me wreck your entire country's ecosystem in under a day.

Elsa is a siege weapon.

Meanwhile, Anna is really, really into the physicality of ninja practice.

She's clumsy and she's not very good at ninja stuff, but she sure is determined!

Anna also gets on Zabuza's nerves because she keeps insisting that Haku get to be a kid.

Anna: Let's make flower crowns! Zabuza: No, he needs to train, not- Anna: FLOWER CROWNS

Consider: Haku saying Elsa-nee-sama and Anna-hime.

Or just calling Elsa “onee-sama.”

Anna is also younger than Elsa and way more Fun so she probably gets adjusted to Anna-chan or Nee-chan.

If Zabuza calls Elsa “Hime-chan” or “Elsa-hime” or, Sage forbid, “Elsa-sama/dono” then he’s VERY MUCH making fun of her and he’s probably getting his soup frozen that night.

At one point, Elsa... tries to like. Convince herself to have a crush on Zabuza or Kakashi or something until Zabuza just puts a hand on her shoulder and asks "do you even like men?" "...that's an OPTION?"

Zabuza urging her to try and ask out a Cute Kunoichi and Elsa's like.... I can't decide if she's bright red and a useless lesbian or uncomfortable and ace.

I am SO invested in the siege weapon thing.

SHE IS THE SQUISHIEST WIZARD.

It's not her fault that every single other combatant on the continent is Massively Dangerous in melee! She took a very traditional back-line build!

Enemy: Doesn't it GRATE to protect someone so pathetic, Zabuza? Zabuza: She literally froze an entire castle of enemies to death because they harmed her sister, so. No.

Most Ninjas: Sharp Knife. S-Rank Mega Ninjas: Gun. Elsa: High Yield Explosive Rocket Launcher. Literally loses fights to the Knife People, because she can't bring her power to bear on that scale. But if you can give her Time and Prep? No contest.

Long distance AoE

Like  you know how Nagato is literally dying of starvation due to illness and can't walk, but he's also capable of leveling powerful villages more or less on his own?

Elsa is the same Vibe.

It’s like sealing a bijuu in a civilian.

She's honestly both more and less powerful? Like it'd be hard for her to kill everyone in Konoha in the snap of a finger? But also, she could starve out the Country of Fire in a summer.

She WOULDN'T, but she could.

I always read Elsa as gay or ace but my brain keeps trying to ship her with dude ninjas and I have to yank it back on a child leash.

People insinuate that Zabuza is interested in Elsa and he's just "What? Ew she's like five."

"I'm eighteen."

"Five."

BUT

Elsa! Might mistake trust and companionship for a crush!

I can see THAT happening despite gay/ace.

Also like. I don’t think Zabuza is straight.

So mlm/wlw solidarity?

And Haku is probs genderqueer.

So Anna is THE TOKEN STRAIGHT.

Anna is like, the Straight Friend who will go to the mat for her queer friends. Like vicious. In-your-face barking like a mean dog at people who were being bigots.

You know how Elsa in the second movie uses her powers to make toys for kids out of ice?

Okay, so her practicing by making things with Haku.

But yeah, Elsa can't really do "throws ice senbon," but she can do Delicate Geometry Things since she apparently, canonically studies math for fun and loves fractals.

Haku: I can trap you in a prison of ice mirrors, and you are at my mercy. Elsa: LOOK AT THIS CASTLE I MADE???

Haku wants to do Pretty Things like Elsa

OH.

Elsa makes... snow bunnies..

For the ninja distraction reasons but also because it's a Soft Thing that makes her feel better about, uh, everything. And Haku likes bunnies.

Zabuza still takes The Dirty Missions but Elsa gets upset when he does something that hurts innocents and Nobody wants Elsa upset. Even Zabuza doesn't want Elsa upset.

When Elsa gets upset, overnight accommodations are suddenly Very Uncomfortable for everyone except her and Haku.

And then Anna gets upset, which makes Elsa even MORE upset.

And then things just keep getting colder.

Zabuza doesn't want Elsa upset for many reasons, not limited to: "Is actually capable of killing me from outside of Sword Range if she's mad enough, even if it’s not that easy" and "the Small Children would be unbearably sad if she died and honestly so might I."

She's more of a friend than a ward and he's not entirely sure he's okay with that.

Zabuza: "Ew, friendship."

He has absolutely no idea how to have a social interaction with people he isn't Bullying, Raising, or Threatening to Kill.

Elsa and Anna have no trouble convincing people they're related, at least. Different coloration with almost identical bone structure.

A tendency to burst into song when they feel emotions.

Identical weird accent that nobody can place.

FOOD

The girls are royalty, they don't know how to COOK.

But they also want food from HOME.

It's a lot of trial and error.

More error than not, since they have both no knowledge and also a language barrier to overcome. It probably takes YEARS before they can describe things like Unfamiliar Flavors well enough for people to say "OH that sounds like spearmint."

When they run into something they know that’s familiar, it’s life-changing.

Chocolate is more common in the elemental nations than in Arandelle and Anna may or may not cry about it.

Anna is loudly bossy, even at Zabuza.

Zabuza is gruffly commanding, to everyone.

Elsa doesn't actually like being in charge, but when she talks, people LISTEN.

(Haku is just happy to be here.)

Elsa radiates two things: Anxiety, and Natural Command, and she basically just fluctuates between those.

"I don't want to be in charge but also I'm vetoing this."

So, obviously, the main reasons that Zabuza keeps the girls around is that Elsa is a living siege weapon and he thinks she could be convinced to help him run a revolution in Kiri, and also that the Ice Queen schtick is like. Really good for Haku and Zabuza can’t really say no to the kid.

HOWEVER, Anna is clumsy and messy and all that, so Zabuza starts training her in Ninja stuff. Elsa joins in on the “I need to know how to Run Fast to get away from fights I don’t want to have in the first place,” but Anna’s the one that’s like “TEACH ME HOW TO SWORD.”

It’s honestly not that hard to teach her, she’s just really, really, REALLY enthusiastic.

Once or twice someone asks why she’s so bad at this yet running around with an A-rank nukenin and Zabuza’s just like “I’ve only had her for a year and a half, shut up!” because it’s not that he’s a bad teacher, it’s that she was a very pampered civilian until like a week before he met her.

He should get a MEDAL for even getting her to low Chuunin.

Zabuza: I'm taking a job from Gato Elsa, who has Training in economics and politics and bureaucracy: I have a better idea.

This is actually not entirely what I’d do but I wanted to make the joke first ANYWAY here’s an actual plot or something.

Oh, also by this point everyone is Canon Ages so Elsa’s 21 and Anna’s 18 and Zabuza’s 26 and Haku’s 15.

Elsa is getting paid to keep the water from interfering with construction, by way of....

ICE COFFERDAM

Elsa with Haku as her Guard while Zabuza is off running his own mission? Which Anna begged to go on because Cool.

Elsa also kind of keeps her involvement on the ice front semi-secret by claiming she’s there as an engineering consultant.

LISTEN canon made her like geometry, I can ENTIRELY believe she’d be excited about the bridge-building.

Gato has hired someone else on the danger level of Zabuza, who is Threatening to Team 7 + Haku? But then when things look bleak Anna and Zabuza arrive and then Scary Sword Man is on our side and oh dear that's a lot of blood.

Which, you know, fun!

Birdie suggested Raiga which I’m not feeling but I do feel the need to bring up as an option.

It’s also not Kisame BUT

Kisame: [giant lake dome filled with sharks]

Elsa: uhhhhhhhhhhh...

Giant lake dome: [is now a giant ice dome]

Anyway

Gato: I'm hiring an army. Elsa: [giant ice wall around his compound] Gato: ... these guys can walk up walls! Elsa: [adds snowman guards] Elsa: ... Elsa: [adds a ceiling]

Just puts Gato's entire mob in a fucking snow globe.

Zabuza shows up twenty minutes late with (Throwing) Star(buck)s just like "Oh, they dead? No? Want 'em to be? Okay cool I'm gonna go pick up Haku, I'll be back in like an hour."

Anna would... LOVE Naruto

ENERGETIC FRIENDLY GOOFBALL

"I found us a baby brother!" "No, we already have Haku." "BUT LOOK AT HIM."

Anna is only a year or two older than Itachi.

OH RIGHT

I wanted to make a joke about how Naruto also vibes with her because he's less judgmental that she can't really... talk properly.

Sasuke is Judgy and Kakashi is Paranoid and Sakura is Uncomfortable.

Meanwhile Naruto is just like "And I Shall Scream."

Anna, who learned Japanese from Zabuza (rude) and Haku (uber polite): WELL FUCK YOU, GOOD SIR Naruto: YEAH WELL FUCK YOU TOO, LADY Elsa, overly formal: I am... so very sorry.

Anyway, generic missing nin fights and all that.

Elsa gets injured in the process and after a variety of arguments, Naruto manages to convince them to take her to Konoha for medical attention.

Elsa is... usually the one getting injured.

Zabuza and Haku are FAST and Anna is at least learning (even if she’s only been doing it for three years), but Elsa is The Squishy Wizard.

If someone throws a kunai... she can’t... really dodge...

So yeah, gut wound.

Normally they find a nukenin medic to patch them up but Konoha is reasonably close and has some of the more skilled medics on the continent and they DID technically help the Konoha nin so like. Gah.

That’s Zabuza’s final thought. Gah.

Just “Fuck it, let’s save the ice queen.”

Elsa ends up in a half-literal-ice stasis state on the way there and it’s happened before (it is not the first time she’s been stabbed), but it’s always terrifying.

Especially to the Konoha genin who are just like WHAT THE HECK IS THAT.

So they get to Konoha, there’s a whole bunch of stuff about extradition treaties and “you are bringing a literal WMD of a woman into our town” and “we can’t just let MOMOCHI ZABUZA in.”

Anyway, it ends up being that Zabuza has to wait outside the village while Elsa is treated inside, and one of the Teenagers goes in. Obviously, it’s Anna, because Zabuza is INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE with letting Haku enter a village that’s known for having lots of bloodlines, and anyway, Anna’s the sister.

Bunch of stuff, she’s healing, etc, and then one day Anna comes in and is told “your sister had a bad reaction to the anesthetic, we couldn’t save her, I’m sorry, she’s gone.”

She flips out, gets shown the corpse, flips out MORE, gets escorted out to the village walls where Zabuza and Haku are waiting.

Horrified reactions

Zabuza doesn’t want to admit that it’s EMOTIONS because this is his FRIEND, he is clearly just upset about losing the living siege weapon.

Haku is just super confused and goes “But she’s not dead.”

“What.”

“She’s not dead, I can feel her, I can always feel her, it’s like sensing but just her, because we’re both ice. She’s alive, somewhere over... there?”

And points right in the direction of the Hokage Mountain, which for the purposes of this fic and also Drama is where ROOT headquarters is.

YEP we absolutely have that plot point.

Is Danzo overused as a plot device? Probably. Am I going to diabolus ex machina him anyway? Ye.

They kick up enough of a fuss that the Hokage gets called down.

He wouldn’t, normally, he’d leave it to a couple of skilled jounin and call it a day, except Naruto got involved so like. You can’t. Ignore that.

There’s lots of shouting.

Just like. A lot.

And then part of the mountain explodes!

AS ONE DOES

Elsa comes flying backwards out of the hole, catches herself on a spontaneous ice slide, gets to her feet.

Girl is swaying like MAD.

There are absolutely ANBU (both fake and real) coming after her.

At least one of them gets speared through by an ice spike.

Anna runs up to her, tries to hug her, gets batted away.

Elsa’s staring at her in sheer TERROR and starts muttering something about how Anna died years ago, this isn’t real, etc.

Nobody except Anna understands most of it, but Haku picks up enough to translate when Anna’s freaking out.

Elsa starts doing her Ice Castle thing in the middle of Konoha as a coping mechanism, mostly so she can get Up and Away and Shielded By Ice.

This is not a good look.

Especially because she’s singing, which Zabuza always thinks is a bad omen because it means shit is getting real and one or both of the girls are about to get a powerup or be beaten even harder than otherwise. When they start singing, things get More Dramatic And Extreme).

(Zabuza does not like Disney Musical Rules)

Danzo shows up.

There’s a bunch of arguing.

All the medics insist that nothing she was given at the hospital should have caused amnesia, psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, etc.

It’s. Not hard for Hiruzen to guess what happened.

Namely that Danzo, upon finding out that chakra dampeners didn’t do shit since none of Elsa’s powers come from chakra, decided to keep her drugged up and start using genjutsu to make her more malleable.

Because like. An injured WMD just showed up in your village. What are you supposed to do, not try to kidnap her and turn her to your side? Like, come on. What was he supposed to do?

Not that, Danzo. Literally Not That.

IDK how it gets resolved, probably Anna getting to her with the power of love, because Elsa is ultimately Super Disney.

I also don’t really know where to go from there other than “Maybe Jiraiya can get you home, but also I’m pretty sure Zabuza wants you all to get the hell out of here and take over Kiri” but who knows.

Also

IMAGINE ELSA MEETING GAI.

Imagine Ino getting a puppy crush on Elsa.

IDK that’s it for now.

[alxprit]

Personal GOTYs

2021 for me felt a lot better than 2020 did. Though I didn't spend too much time playing things that were absolutely brand new, I did engage with many things that I had always wanted to get to, but never did. And that gave this year an overall pleasant feeling as I conquered challenges old and new and broadened my horizons further beyond the scope of Nintendo. Let's talk about a few of the games that stuck with me. 10) MONSTER SANCTUARY An indie game that combines metroidvania dungeon exploration and progression with monster collecting and turn-based battle systems sounds like a recipe for success. Even better when your monster designs are by and large cool, cute, and everything in between. But what really marred my experience with this game was the high difficulty. The game scales to you as you go through it, as you can explore various areas in any order you desire, so grinding wasn’t much of an option. You also hit a level cap by the end of the story, so when I found myself struggling with a battle near the endgame, I realized that my team and strategy simply weren’t good enough which meant I would either need to redo and re-grind an entire team back to the level cap from scratch or just give up. I chose the latter, unfortunately, and though they have since added an easier difficulty and further nerfed the challenge of those battles in particular, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth knowing that some devs are still unable to understand why Pokemon is so approachably simple to clear and only tends to get hard after the credits. Still, the journey through it was by and large enjoyable, and I don't regret the time I spent on it overall. 9) NEXOMON Between the prior game, Pokémon, and my frustrating foray into Digimon World: Dusk, I played a lot of monster collectors this year. Uh, anyway, Nexomon is something I heard about from a personal friend of mine. They had played and enjoyed the sequel, Nexomon: Extinction, and recommended to me to play the first game as the story logically follows from it. Nexomon started life as a mobile game, so when it came to Steam it had a bit of its blood sloshed around in wonky ways. Items that were normally in-app purchases were found in random places as hidden treasures, for example, and characters often made metatextual references to the fact that I was playing on a phone, when I wasn’t. However, the world design was quite pretty, the characters were amusing, and the actual creature designs for the Nexomon are impressively solid - more than the game frankly deserved, I think. Battle itself is a stripped down version of Pokemon. Speed isn’t a thing, you always go first and the enemy always goes second. A defeated enemy will be able to switch in and attack you immediately. Every single status ailment is immensely debilitating and remarkably easy to abuse. Also, every Nexomon only has a single type, limiting potential fun combos, along with many mechanics being obscure and difficult to figure out. Now that I’m saying all this to myself I’m surprised that I still left this game feeling positive about it. It only makes me more excited for the sequel, which I’ve heard fixed basically all of these issues and made things a lot more interesting. 8) HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER Hyper Light Drifter is a game I enjoyed purely on the back of its gameplay. Combat was very tricky, but I never felt cheated by the game, and checkpoints weren’t too crippling. I've even been complimented in my persistence and skill in figuring out the combat system as quickly as I seemed to. My only main issue was difficulty in locating some of the important collectables you need to progress. But, this game has a bit of a hard to understand story! It’s told entirely through actions and pictures, which is not my favorite thing in the world. I didn’t really Get It my whole time through and needed to rely on outside material in order to have a semblance of an idea on what was actually happening. There was also a myriad of optional content and hidden items I never found, and I wasn’t really encouraged to go back and seek them out without any kind of guidance. This isn't to say that these are things that can't be good or that aren't good, but it doesn't personally jive with me. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as overall solid as some other indies I explored. 7) HYRULE WARRIORS: AGE OF CALAMITY I never played the original Hyrule Warriors much. I would play it at a friend’s house here or there, take in some of the coverage as it got its DLC updates and eventual release on Switch. And that’s also why this game is in my list - I borrowed it, not bought it. And for the price of free, this was a splendid experience. Though the story’s “alternate timeline” approach is seen by some as cowardly or unfitting of Breath of the Wild’s atmosphere, I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to see things from Zelda’s perspective, get more fleshed out characters beyond the champions and fall in love with an adorable time-traveling egg baby. It was a deceptively simple game all things considered and bad framerates never marred my experience personally. Something fun to waste time with. 6) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD HD Skyward Sword was one of two Zelda games I had never played before (the other being Spirit Tracks) and I had heard tons of opinions about it. All ranging from, fantastic story, great dungeon design, creative items, to the other end of repetitive bosses, lack of freedom, annoying fetchquests, and boring traversal. So where do I land? I generally liked the game, and its flaws didn’t overwhelm its good points to me. I got a bit annoyed with Scrapper, and the dungeons blended together a bit for me, and that second Imprisoned fight really blows… but I would die for my best friend Beetle whom scout, acquire item, and kill small foe. Also one of the most satisfying acquirals of the Bow in the series with it coming so late and allowing you to pretty much trivialize basic combat as a result. The story was good as advertised, Groose entirely lived up to the hype. I am glad I played this game with the new button controls though. 5) BASTION A classic indie game, the first of Supergiant’s ilk, that I had always said I would play but never did, until this year where I finally followed through as part of the aforementioned indie focus. And you know what? It lived up to the hype! Some of the things I liked about it were the great soundtrack, the challenging but not overwhelming combat, the variety in weapon choice, and the story’s framing and presentation were far from Hyper Light Drifter's muddled style. Sure, it helps that I have a sweet talking narrator to get me through everything... but still. This is a game that’ll stick with me and I’ll always remember. 4) PSYCHONAUTS Yes, not the sequel, but the first game! Psychonauts was always one of those games I would lightly hear about every so often. Someone would be like, oh man this old game was great! And I never knew why or how it had come to be that way. I was graciously able to win a Steam copy of this game from a giveaway and decided with the sequel looming that this was the best time to finally give it a try. This game blew me away! There’s an insane amount of love and detail put into the voice acting and the character interactions, the overall world and mental worlds are designed with the utmost care and sincerity, and it was all wrapped up in humorous and wacky hijinks that kept me guessing as to what nonsense would be happening next. My only main criticisms are the lack of ease with which you could find all the collectables and some annoying puzzle aspects in levels like the Milkman Conspiracy or Gloria’s Theater, along with a bit of motion sickness potential in the way some levels move and shift. Psychonauts 2 looks immensely fantastic and a perfect evolution of the first game’s personality, so I’m really glad that their legacy was able to continue. 3) DELTARUNE (CH 1 & 2) My secret shame is that I never myself played Deltarune when it first released three years ago. I watched one person play through it on a livestream and from there I felt like I had seen it all. When Chapter 2 was announced, I thought that maybe this time I would finally play it myself, but I was feeling pressured at the time and didn’t want to commit to it yet. But the amount of spoilers I had seen almost immediately basically forced my hand and made me play the game very quickly after its console release. And for once that kind of pressure didn't make me regret my decision. Deltarune is an interesting game because it’s still currently incomplete but it feels very evolved and beyond its time. Like Psychonauts it has a solid amount of comedy weaved in with its setting, but it also tells some very important stories for its characters. The battle system is also much more fleshed out in Chapter 2, feeling like the numbers and equipment I acquire are mattering in a way that they never did in Undertale. Plus being able to see your “spare progress” is just smart. The endless theorizing, discussion, and obsession with this game is one of the few “popular” things that really has its hooks in me, and I don’t feel ashamed to admit it - it’s a good game! 2) MONSTER HUNTER RISE There’s not a lot to say about Monster Hunter that hasn’t been said already. So for my part, I favorably compare this game to its predecessor, Monster Hunter World & Iceborne, in several aspects. The silkbind skills flesh out a lot of weapons, feeling more like core parts of their movesets in many ways that the Hunter Arts from Generations did not. The Wirebug adds accessibility in recovering from fumbles and new ways to traverse the terrain that never existed before, but there’s also an element of skill in using it right, and not just launching yourself straight into the monster’s next attack. And I don’t know about you, but I like that monsters are just always on the map 100% of the time and you don’t need to bother throwing a paintball at them or gathering their footprints. I’m looking forward to this game reaching new peaks with its expansion, but as it stands now I’m not dissatisfied with Monster Hunter Rise. Also, one of the best final bosses in the series, and this is a series that had a final boss that was a bug. Just saying, if it managed to impress me despite that, it surely did something right. 1) FINAL FANTASY XIV ONLINE From the moment this game was new and fresh off the cusp of its A Realm Reborn stuff, I knew that I would like it. However, I was not a very privileged person in that I didn’t own any Sony consoles, nor did I have a PC capable of running the game. So the game mostly left my mindspace beyond a few mentions of it here and there as my life progressed. This year, I finally decided that after all the quest culling, the addition of flying to ARR, and the new expansion hot on everyone’s minds, that I would finally give it a try. And you know what? Big fuckin’ surprise, I love it. I loved it in ARR. I loved it more in Heavensward. I loved it a lot in Stormblood. I loved it more than that in Shadowbringers. I caught up fully, and despite the pressure to make it just barely right on time for its release, I loved this game more than I thought possible in Endwalker. And the best part is as I go through the tedious tasks I love in games like these, I can feel myself improving not just in my number go up, but in my own personal skill in hitting my buttons, dodging mechanics, understanding the flow of battle, so on and so forth. It feels like something I have been missing from my life that I’ve finally found. It’s so great to be able to share this experience with friends who support me and want to see me succeed in this game as much as they did when they were newer. It’s a game that makes me feel loved, both in-game and in real life. And there’s nothing more valuable than that. GAMES THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE TOP TEN: Digimon World: Dusk, for being just awful in almost every way. Fire Emblem Awakening, for being totally Seinfelded into not making much of a personal impact for me. Baba is You, for spooking me with its metaverse manipulation. Pokémon Shining Pearl, for losing the polish that one would expect after foisting it off to a third party. Technically I'm still playing gachas and MapleStory but those feel less like games and more like an extension of my daily life so they don't count. I hope you all like my long post!

[vanaera]

Defining Epilogues (ksj)

Synopsis:  Seokjin thinks he could always see the end of something before it even comes. When an annoying girl starts to rent the weirdest books from his shop, all Seokjin could see is how she will be the one to end him.

Characters: Seokjin x Female Reader

Trope/Au: Book rental shop owner!ksj x animator/artist!you (onesided enemies to lovers)

Genre: Fluff, comedy that’s close to crack

Wordcount: 6.3k

Warnings: Books with weird titles and secondhand-embarrassment-inducing sfw sex jokes (PG-15 Rating)

A/N: Happy birthday to my best girl @sophrosinn!!!  This is my gift for you! This fic is done with the great help of the ever wonderful @senfleurs who edited this story and stayed with me for the past 24 hours while I cry, laugh, and panic writing this fic! This fic also ended up helping me ride out a massive writer’s block.

            If Seokjin ever prides himself for something, it’s on his ability to tell how things will end the moment he sees them. He can tell when someone is about to fail their exam. He can sense a fight within a crowd before it even happens. He can stand at the end of the street and know the woman with the umbrella is about to break up with her boyfriend. And it always ends with Seokjin being right.

          Seokjin’s thankful for this skill because he’s been able to learn when it’s the right time to pursue something or when it’s time to give up. If it weren’t for this ability, he would have not been able to accomplish his dream of having a book rental shop that actually sells. Seokjin just didn’t expect he would have to start thinking twice about this skill soon after his shop’s opening. All because of a Y/N L/N who appears in his life like a wild Pokemon.

          From the start, Seokjin was already certain of one thing: Y/N is far from his type. For one, he didn’t even like having her as a customer.

            “Hey, I think that girl’s been staring at our way for three hours now. Are you sure I’m not supposed to go help her out?”

            Seokjin turns around to face his assistant and he hates that he’s able to see that girl from his peripheral. Seokjin shakes his head and turns back to the new books he’s been putting on the database, “I’m sure, Jungkook. Go back to work.”

            “Are you really sure? I think she’s the type who’s too shy to ask for help and instead, hopes to send a telepathic message by burning holes on our heads.”

            “I’m sure, Jungkook,” Seokjin repeats with a sigh. “Now why don’t you try working on that next book instead of stalling?”

            “I’m not stalling—”

            “Hello. I want to borrow this book.”

            Seokjin looks up from his counter. The girl stands in front of him, staring straight into his eyes as she pushes the book his way.

          Natural bust enlargement with total mind power: How to use the other 90% of your mind to increase the size of your breasts by Donald Wilson.

            Seokjin looks back at his work and sighs, “Jungkook, get this.”

            Jungkook picks up the book. He must have been taken aback as he looks at Seokjin, confused.

          Seokjin closes his eyes and waves him off. “Don’t even ask. Just do the usual.”

            “Okay,” Jungkook says. “Uh, ma’am, please write your name here. Okay, so Ms. Y/N L/N, you’re gonna return this—wait, you’ve been borrowing this book for three weeks?

            “Yes. Why?”

            “U-um, n-nothing. Just curious. It only has 141 pages and you’re not, um, finished yet?”

            “Well, I want to learn more about how to mind control my breasts to make them bigger.”

            “Uhh…”

            “Alright,” Seokjin stands up and nudges Jungkook away. “Ms. Y/N L/N, you’ll need to return this book five days from now, on March 23rd.” Seokjin slams his date stamp on the paper. “If you fail to return this book on time, we’ll have to charge you $1 for every day past the due date. And if the copy gets destroyed or lost, we’ll also have to charge you. Understood?”

            “Yep.”

            “Now, that will be $17.”

            Y/N places the money on the counter and heads for the door. But she doesn’t leave without sending one last stare into Seokjin’s way.

            Seokjin plops back down on his seat and clicks his tongue. “She didn’t read the book again.”

            Jungkook rolls his chair next to him and asks “Aren’t you being judgmental? Maybe she’s just a slow reader.”

            “No, she does not read it. The author didn’t mean literal mind control as she said. The book is about conditioning your mindset to a more positive view of your body image.”

            Jungkook looks at him with his forehead scrunched, “Wait, you’ve read that book?”

            Seokjin’s lips turn into a frown and he rolls his chair away from his assistant. “Don’t even ask.”

            When Seokjin first met Y/N L/N, he was convinced that she’d be the type of customer he’d hate the most. The type that comes in, picks a book, stays for god knows long, and leaves without borrowing anything. She used to do this back when she first came to his shop within its first week of opening. She kept the tradition strong for a solid month, and Seokjin was convinced that some highschoolers noticed her behavior and attempted to use his shop as their new hangout spot. He’s glad his shop was getting packed as the days went on. It’s just a different story when a hoard of teens started flocking around his shop without renting anything and prevented actual renters from entering his shop. Seokjin had to put up “No loitering” and “Maximum of 3 hours stay” signs on his windows to end this money-ripping tactic once and for all. 

          That didn’t seem to stop Y/N, though, as she would still come to his shop to pick a book to read right in front of his face without ever renting it. This time, however, she made sure to follow the three hours maximum to avoid getting called out. This went on for another week until Seokjin decided he had to talk with her about this. That didn’t end as well as he had hoped, as Y/N just looked at him straight in the eye and left immediately after he got his last word out. 

          Seokjin remembers getting so embarrassed at how he unknowingly did a monologue to a single-person audience. He wasn’t left mulling over it for long as Y/N came back the next day and actually began to rent a book. She still stays the three hours max limit most of the days but she doesn’t let a week pass without renting a book. She also manages to lower her ‘miser’ type level to the ‘weird borrower’ level in Seokjin’s annoyance scale. Having a customer with a renting history surrounding the most ridiculous-sounding books is much better than having them rent none at all. 

          Albeit, that’s a bit of a stretch, too, as Seokjin finds out that Y/N’s not exactly the weird borrower type, but the weird borrower who comes again on time just to rent the same book for weeks. And she doesn’t even read them. Seokjin confirms it one night when Y/N came to his shop a minutes-breadth away from the closing time.

          “Wait!” Y/N screams, running towards the shop.

          Seokjin stops pulling down the metal gate to give her a glare, “I’m already closing, L/N. Come back tomorrow.”

          “But I have to borrow something!”

          “Oh no you don’t—”

          It’s too late though, as Y/N slips under Seokjin's elbow and pushes the unlocked glass door open.

          Hearing his bell on the counter ring for consecutive times from the incessant taps of the infamous L/N, Seokjin knows he’s already lost the fight. He sighs as he makes his way back to the counter.

          “What do you want?”

          “This,” Y/N smiles. 

          The Beginner’s Guide to Sex in the Afterlife by David Staume.

          Seokjin eyes her as he picks up the book, “This again? You’re still not done reading 164 pages after, what, two months?”

          Y/N gulps as she clasps her hands in front of her, “Well, um, I still don’t get how people engage in sexual intercourse in the afterlife.”

          Seokjin decides not to reply and continues to do his job.

          “If they believe in a god. Or gods. Wouldn’t they worry about their god seeing them do...lewd stuff?”

          Seokjin feels his right eye start to twitch.

          “Unless...their god is a sex god?”

          Seokjin closes the book louder than necessary. He pins Y/N with a glare. “Look, Y/N. This book is about sexual energy transcending material life and even moving to the astral world. Just like how people pass away. What made you think that this book was about literally having sex in the afterlife?”

          Y/N looks at him with wide eyes, “You read the book?”

          Seokjin scowls. “Don’t turn this on me. We’re talking about you. Why do you keep borrowing books you don’t even read?” 

          Y/N looks at him then back at her clasped hands. “You don’t have to know,” she mutters under her breath, taking Seokjin by shock when she slams the payment on the counter and leans over to stamp the renting slip with the due date herself.

          Seokjin tries to call after her retreating figure by the door. “Wait, I didn’t even tell you the—”

          “Yeah, $1 for each day after the due date and you’re gonna charge my card if I destroy the book,” Y/N yells over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna come back on time!”

          Seokjin pales in his seat. Her announcement sounded like a death sentence.

          He wishes he wasn’t so easily bothered at the slightest of things Y/N said. He wishes he didn’t spend too much time deciphering a way to stop her. Most of all, he wishes he didn’t become too intrigued by her to the point he’s started to care about what she’s actually doing.

          And Seokjin hates it. He hates how he stresses himself reading the books Y/N borrows. He hates how he wastes his time trying to re-arrange the books in the shelves just so Y/N would start picking books with titles that actually made sense (which he learned is futile as Y/N had a penchant for finding weird books around his shop whenever and wherever). And, Seokjin hates how he basically studied her long enough to memorize her pattern. Long enough to realize that underneath all that weird borrowing behavior, Y/N just comes to his shop to stare at him. Moreover, Seokjin hates how he confirmed it with a friend.

          “Y/N must be making you quite busy, no?” Jimin asks over a mug of coffee.

          “You know her?” Seokjin asks in disbelief.

          “Yeah,” Jimin nods, “I’m friends with her. I consulted their animation company for the ad I told you I was making for Books to Tell. She was the one who assisted me and we just clicked. Especially after I learned that she’s also friends with Namjoon.”

          Seokjin’s eyes go wide, “She’s also friends with Namjoon?!”

          “Yeah, they kinda knew each other in college. Why are you so shocked? You were in the same major as Namjoon. You could have seen her with him around uni.”

          “Uh, no, I didn’t.”

          Jimin rubs his chin and shrugs, “Well, it’s a small world then. So, how is she? I actually told her to go visit your shop when you first opened.”

          Seokjin chokes on his coffee and Jimin hurries to pat his back. “God, why are you like this today? Is something wrong—"

          “How come you’re just telling me all of this now?!” Seokjin cuts his friend with a glare, making Jimin jolt in surprise.

          “W-what? Was I supposed to tell you about this earlier?”

          “Yes! Y/N’s been annoying me for four months now!”

          “I…didn’t know about that,” Jimin steps back and sits in his chair. “I just told her to take a look at your shop and she said ‘okay.’ She didn’t say anything after that so I figured it left her mind. I didn’t know she was a regular in your shop. She just brought it up again yesterday when she told me how…” Jimin zips his lips and shrugs.

          “How what?”

          “...how she likes your face.”

          Seokjin chokes again. This time on his own spit. He should have seen this coming. He was long aware that some of his renters only went into his shop to get a look at his face. Even if he had to suffer through the tedious cycle of rejecting their queries for his number and offers of coffee, some of them ended up as his regulars. Seokjin didn’t mind. Money is money after all. He just didn’t expect Y/N to be like them after all the months he spent trying to decode her actual intentions.

          Seokjin tried to brush Y/N off just like he did with the previous renters. Although she hasn’t pulled off anything yet, Seokjin believes it’s better to set things straight before it happens. The sooner he ends this, the faster he’ll find his peace again.

          Seokjin hired his neighbor, Jungkook, who’s been bugging him for a part-time job for so long and made him his assistant. He entrusted him with entertaining the customers so Seokjin wouldn’t have to deal with Y/N bugging him anymore. And like always, that plan goes down the drain because Y/N always, always ends up in front of Seokjin even when he’s countlessly told her to go to Jungkook.

          Seokjin’s tired of stressing over her so he forces himself to ignore her and the ridiculous books she borrows. But even that proves to be hard when Y/N hasn’t even done anything untoward but to stare at him from time to time. And give him a headache with the books she borrows like The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America by Julian Montague, 50 Sad Chairs by Bill Keaggu, and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich by James Yannes. For after all the progress he thought he’s put in, Seokjin still finds himself reading these books all because of a goddamn curiosity he couldn’t put down.

          It becomes harder when Namjoon and his friends pick up Seokjin’s weird setup with Y/N. And mutual friends being the annoying mutual friends they are, Namjoon and the gang begins to invite him and Y/N to hangout.

          “Why is she here?” Seokjin mutters to Namjoon the moment he sees their table.

          “Who?”

          “You know who.”

          “Oh, Y/N,” Namjoon prolongs the syllable as if her name is the most amazing thing ever. Seokjin grimaces. “Why? You got a problem with her?”

          “No,” Seokjin instantly denies. “I’m just asking why you invited her. It used to be just us for so long.”

          “Yeah, it’s always been just us that’s why it became boring.”

          “Boring?”

          “Yeah, I’m getting tired of your face,” Namjoon chuckles, stepping ahead of Seokjin. “Besides, what’s wrong with adding a new friend? Y/N is cool.”

          Oh hell yeah, Y/N is cool. She beams at Seokjin like she always does as if their legs weren’t just casually touching after their friends made it a point to choose a cramped barbecue restaurant and sit the two of them next to each other.

          “So Seokjin, I heard you and Y/N are getting close,” Namjoon starts and Hoseok hoots in support.

          Jimin, being as annoying as ever decides to ride in too. “Yeah, why don’t you tell us how you met.”

          “I was doing my business and Y/N just rented a book. That is all,” Seokjin says dismissively as he grabs his shot glass and downs the gin in one go.

          “Are you sure, that’s all, Seokjin?” Rose leans forward, grinning, “Maybe you’re hiding something from us.”

          “I’m not—”

          “He’s not hiding anything. That’s true.”

          The table pauses as all eyes dart to Y/N. A wave of self-consciousness washes over her and she directs her focus back on her clasped hands on the table, “S-Seokjin’s right. I just rent books from him.”

          Seokjin glances at Y/N then back at his drink. It’s the first time she actually addressed him that night after engaging animatedly with Namjoon, Jimin, and Rose for the past hour. The table nods slowly and Seokjin guesses they’re already about to drop the subject. Seokjin’s lips tug in a small smile. Maybe tonight’s not gonna go as bad as he initially thought.

          However, Jungkook,  being the ever-living oblivious fuck that he, must’ve not gotten the memo, decides to stir up the subject again.

          “No, I don’t think so. Seokjin and Y/N do have something going on. I catch Y/N constantly looking his way and Seokjin for some reason, knows every single weird-ass book Y/N borrows.”

          Seokjin’s lips part in shock. Jeon Jungkook did not just give him away like that. “Of course, I’ll know those books. I bought them to rent them to people. That’s my business!”

          Jungkook blinks. “But you know every single detail about them.”

          The table goes silent. It doesn’t last very long, though, as Rose and Jimin break into simultaneous laughter while Namjoon repeatedly slaps his thigh. Hoseok shoots, “Oh my god, you must’ve kept on buying books with weird titles just to keep Y/N borrowing!”

          “What? I did not!” Seokjin yells but his voice is lost in the sea of laughter and teasing. Seeing as there’s no hope in making his friends stop anytime soon, Seokjin decides to lean on his seat and cross his arms in silence. His friends are going to jump onto another topic eventually. Looking at his empty plate, his eyes glance at the person who’s equally quiet next to him.

          Y/N is busy fiddling with the seams of her jacket. She looks up from time to time to their friends to wave off their playful jibes at her with a laugh.

          Seokjin feels an annoyance prick on his skin. His friends invited him over just to tease him. Seokjin is sure it’s only him because he’s the only one who’s gotten frustrated over this debacle while Y/N sits chill beside him. Y/N doesn’t even break a sweat laughing with the others as if she hasn’t been bothering him for months now. Seokjin swears he’s gonna decline the next time his friends invite him again. Or at least try to, because he’s gullible to their promises of “Hey, they’re giving out free drinks. Free is free!”

          It’s the same as that one fateful night.

            Seokjin stops in his tracks and grabs Hoseok by the shoulder. “Why is she here again?”

            “Who?”

            “Y/N.”

            Hoseok raises a brow, “Why do you keep asking this question when you already know the answer?”

            “I don’t,” Seokjin shakes his head. “I don’t know why you keep inviting her whenever I decide to join you guys.”

            “Oh, don’t be such a grump. Y/N’s our friend, too.”

          Feeling Seokjin still in his spot, Hoseok turns around and sighs, “Hey, we only see each other ‘bout twice a month, you know. Let’s have some fun, okay?”

          Seokjin should have known Hoseok’s definition of ‘fun’ is far from his as he sits across Y/N in the restaurant. All their friends out of sight.

          Hoseok started a game after dinner where everyone had to draw a piece of paper from the cup being passed around. The partners would then have to leave together in a form of a friendly date. It’s similar to seven minutes in heaven but messed up because instead of seven minutes together, they had to spend the rest of the night with the person they’ll end up picking.

          Seokjin should have known that this was all planned when Namjoon oh so coincidentally pulled Rose, who everyone knows he’s been secretly crushing on. Meanwhile, Hoseok, Jimin, and Jungkook obviously ended up drawing each other’s name just to purposely get Namjoon and Rose together. And well…him and Y/N together. Seokjin sighs as he stands up. He just had to get this done and over as quickly as he possibly could.

          “Look, Y/N—”

          “I know a good place near here.”

          Seokjin halts. He looks at the girl who’s already looking up at him with wide eyes. "There's a cafe down the block and I heard it's really nice."

          "Uhh, that sounds amazing. I guess. Look, Y/N-"

          "They let you play with board games and borrow books, too."

          Seokjin scratches his head, "Uhh, I don't know about that, Y/N. I haven't had the time to check them out yet...I mean...if those cafes are good...or bad," Seokjin internally cringes at his words. Making believable excuses was never really his forte.

          "Oh, it's good!" Y/N smiles, “I’ve tried it before and I had a really good time."

          "Uhh-"

          "It's really good. You can trust me on this.”

          “No, I can’t,” Seokjin says before he could think about it and he immediately feels the guilt pang in his heart when he sees Y/N’s eyes drop to her feet

          “That’s…okay. I'm sorry. I just wanted to make up for the days, and uh, nights I probably made you uncomfortable. I thought, maybe you'd enjoy having a few drinks at the cafe since I always see you with a to-go cup on your counter."

          Seokjin looks at her with surprise written on his face and Y/N flushes. "Sorry. I tend to observe... stuff. I’m sorry," she repeats again, voice dripping with remorse.

          Seokjin bites his lip. He didn’t mean to make her sad. He just wants to…run away from her. The reason? Well…Seokjin doesn’t exactly know why. Maybe it had to do with the feeling that nagged at him since the night started. The feeling that something may happen tonight that he wouldn’t like. He tends to prioritize his disposition because more often than not, his gut feeling has saved him countless times from unnecessary drama and unpleasantries. But for tonight, Seokjin decides to shake them off. It wouldn’t hurt to take up Y/N’s offer, right? It’s just some coffee.

             “Okay. Um, I forgive you.”

             “You do?” Y/N perks up, lips curving up again.

             Seokjin looks away, “Yeah. I think I’m being difficult, too. I’m sorry if I also made you uncomfortable.”

             Y/N waves her hands, “Oh no, don’t apologize. You don’t make me uncomfortable. Far from it, actually.”

             Seokjin doesn’t know what to say to that so he clears his throat, “Okay, so...let’s go to the cafe?”

             “Sure,” Y/N grins.

             It feels weird to walk side by side with Y/N when he’s gotten used to having a counter between them. It’s even weirder that he actually enjoyed their time together inside the cafe. The cakes were delicious, the coffee was amazing, and the books and board games were a wonderful addition. Seokjin didn’t know he'd actually have fun playing scrabble against Y/N.

             “I can’t believe I lost again!”

             Seokjin chuckles at her, “That’s because you kept using short words.”

             Well, it really is fun when he’s winning.

             Y/N pushes the game to the side, “I don’t want to play scrabble anymore.”

             “That’s okay,” Seokjin chuckles, “I can find another game I’m sure to win again.”

             The two of them fall in a comfortable silence. It’s the first time Seokjin felt this way around Y/N. For all the months she came to his shop, he did nothing but be forever on his toes around her.

             “You know...I really like your face.”

             Or maybe not. Seokjin tenses up in his seat.

             Y/N puts her hands up, “Oh, I didn’t mean it like, in a bad way. I mean, I like your face. It’s so...expressive.”

             Seokjin looks at her, confused. Expressive?

             “You’ve asked me before about why I keep on borrowing books I don’t even read and I told you that you didn’t have to know. It seems right to tell you the reason behind it now..” Y/N fiddles with her hands, “Since you’re now paying attention to me.”

             Seokjin knows this isn’t true but he doesn’t say anything.

             “You see...I’ve been fumbling around my work for so long. Well, it’s more like a personal project for now. I’ve been meaning to pitch in the idea of a lighthearted romcom series to my department. I just wanted to have a solid draft first so I could at least let them see my vision. I’m pretty bad with words. I need things to be spelled out completely and I don’t think I can do it with this one so I will have to get the drawings complete instead,” Y/N scratches her head. “I want this pitch to have a solid chance. I’ve been working on it for almost three years now. I just can’t seem to finish it because I didn’t know what to do with my lead male. Until I heard about you from Jimin.”

             “Me?” Seokjin points to himself.

             “Yeah. You have this look in your face that just exudes…greatness. It’s like you’re telling me...‘I’m a star.’”

             “Huh?”

             “What I mean is, your expressions are perfect for a leading guy!” Y/N squeals, “Oh my god, I just found the right words.”

             Seokjin laughs nervously, “Y/N, just so you know, you’re not making any sense right now.”

             Y/N cautiously fixes herself again, “Uh, what I’m trying to say is, you have this aesthetic around you that’s just perfect for the male lead I am envisioning. It’s easy for you to make various expressions that stretch from annoyance to glee and beyond. I’m really surprised at how well you could do that. If you think about it, you can be an actor if you’d like. You’re even handsome.”

             Seokjin flushes at the sudden compliment.

             Y/N continues, “And that’s that. You became my muse and I kept visiting for inspiration because I obviously couldn’t take pictures without your permission. That’s illegal.”

             Seokjin should be appalled. He’s never met a person before who said such...things aloud in the open as if they’re just talking about the weather. But here he is, looking at Y/N, and feeling at peace. Maybe it had to do with him finally getting the answers he’s been looking for for months.

             “Well, you should have just told me from the start. I wouldn’t have been...too weirded out by you.”

             “Yeah, I’m sorry. My bad,” Y/N softly laughs.

             “I thought you’re purposely messing with me with the way you pick the weirdest titles from my shop.”

             Y/N awkwardly shrugs, “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.”

             Seokjin chuckles but halts. Why does Y/N bother to pick the weirdest titles when she can just pick from the hundreds of normal-looking books he has? She won’t even read them anyway.

             Seokjin clears his throat, “Um, Y/N, why do you always borrow the weird-looking titles?”

             Y/N’s eyes grow wide. She darts her eyes at her lap, “Uhh, I just, uh, do.”

             Seokjin isn’t convinced. No one spends time finding the weirdest of books in a shop ‘just because they do.’ Seokjin feels the familiar itch of his curiosity. He needs to know why. Only then will he probably stop finding a pattern in the ridiculous-titled books Y/N borrows.

             “Okay, you can keep doing your...inspiration thing.”

             “What?”

             “I’m not angry about what you said. You don’t have to worry. Everyone has their own inspiration. You can keep coming to my shop. After all, you’re my regular renter.”

             Y/N’s smile immediately grows into a grin, “Okay. Thank you, Seokjin.”

             Seokjin feels his chest lighten with satisfaction. But at the same time, he can’t deny the feeling that he’s probably signed himself up to something he’s unprepared for. He presses his lips together. His gut feeling was right. He doesn’t like this night.

          Seokjin confirms this when tomorrow comes as well as the following days. Y/N comes in like usual in the afternoon, maxes her three hours, and finds a book with a weird title to rent. Nothing had changed much except now, Seokjin had to see her stare at him openly and not behind a book, as she intermittently looked towards his counter then back to her sketchpad. He regrets having ever welcomed Y/N because now he thinks he’s the one who’s weird for feeling his heart pound in delight whenever Y/N looks at him.

          Seokjin hates what he’s become. He hates how he simultaneously dislikes and likes Y/N’s presence in his shop. He likes how Y/N has begun using her three hours to tell him another story from work. He likes how she makes him laugh even when her jokes don’t make any sense. He likes how easy it is for him to tell her his own stories—his dreams, his fears, his past relationships. He could even say the most ridiculous musings he ever had without feeling ashamed of it because Y/N understands. But at the same time, he can’t help but dislike how he’s started to constantly wait for her return in his shop. He hates how he instantly feels so down when he realizes Y/N won’t be able to make it to his shop. He dislikes how he finds himself oversharing stuff without feeling any guilt when all his life, he made it sure not to say to let people know too much. The more they know, the easier it is for them to inflict hurt. Because they know what part is gonna hurt the most. And so, Seokjin tells Y/N everything other than the things he feels about her. The things he really wishes to say.

          All his life, Seokjin has always anticipated seeing how things will end up. Because he knows he’s right. And he always almost is. He knows that this relationship he has with Y/N is purely transactional. Y/N just kept coming because she needs someone who’ll give her inspiration. Seokjin knows if he ever lets his feelings out, he’ll only end up breaking his own heart. He knows how this will end and yet he can’t but wish he isn’t always right. Now, he sits fearfully in anticipation of the day Y/N stops her visits as soon as she finishes what she started coming to his shop for.

          Turns out, Seokjin didn’t have to wait very long. Because on one Thursday morning, he finds a copy of Y/N's final draft on his counter and no presence of the girl. Y/N doesn't appear during the following week. Or the week after that.

          "What do I do?" Seokjin mumbles. He covers his face with his hands as he slumps on Jimin’s dining table. The rain thundering outside fits his current mood so well. Seokjin hates it.

          "Well, you shouldn't have been so hostile to her from the start," Jimin says with crossed arms.

          "Don't you think I already know that? I've already played through all the different things that could’ve happened if I didn't pick on her borrowing habit."

          "It's not that," Namjoon says. "We meant how you usually react when we invite her over to our hangouts."

          "Yeah, you always look so stiff next to Y/N even after we set you guys up on a date," Jungkook remarks. "Anyone would have looked at you and would’ve commented on how uncomfortable you looked right next to her."

          It's true. He felt uncomfortable whenever he sat beside Y/N. In his defense, it no longer felt like the uncomfort he felt when they had first met. This feeling of uncomfort felt different, it’s brought by the heat that fills his body when Y/N's leg brushes against his.

          And it didn't help that earlier that day, Y/N pulled quite a stunt on him.

          "Hey, you have something on your hair," Y/N points at his head. But before he could pick it up on his own, Y/N had already leaned over the counter and picked it away for him. She came so close that Seokjin could clearly see how long her lashes actually were and how pink and soft her lips looked. He feels his Adam's apple bob up and down.

          "There," she smiles, "All handsome again."

          Seokjin feels heat rush to his ears as he looks away.

          Seokjin looks at Jungkook, “Well, I can’t control how I feel. You know how bad I act when I’m not okay.”

          “So you’re not okay being by her side in public but you’re okay when you guys are alone?” Jungkook eyes him, “Don’t you dare deny it because I saw you guys getting chummy across the counter.

          Seokjin gulps. He knows what Jungkook is talking about. He didn’t know where and when but somewhere along the way, he and Y/N started to blur any nuance of personal space around each other. He just found it natural to tuck her hair behind her ear when it falls on her face as she draws. He found it natural to let his fingers brush on Y/N’s own as he grabs a book from the upper shelf for her.

          “You must have been watching too many romantic movies.”

          “Why?”

          “You’re really acting like a main lead now. You’re making me feel as if I’m the female lead.”

          Seokjin freezes and tears his eyes away from Y/N. He pulls the book and unceremoniously pushes it to her. “Here’s your book,” he mutters before walking back to his counter.

          “Hey, don’t just leave me here!”

          And Seokjin found it natural to let his actions do the talking for him instead.

          “Do you trust me?” Y/N asks as she looks up at him. “I already made you look good on paper. What more if we go to this amusement park together?”

          “I don’t trust you,” Seokjin says but his hand grips on hers tighter. 

          “Of course, I’d feel better when we’re alone,” Seokjin grunts as he grabs his coffee, “Who would want to see two people touching each other in public? Not to say people who engage in PDA too many times will eventually break up since the pressure from the public-”

          “We’re not telling you to engage in PDA,” Namjoon cuts him. “What we’re trying to say is that, why do you refuse to act on your feelings?

          “Yeah,” Jimin seconds, “It’s obvious that you like her. You wouldn’t keep on buying weird books and reading what Y/N borrows just to check if Y/N will indeed read it. You wouldn’t keep asking me if she’s alright at work whenever she doesn’t show up or leave you any messages under the pretense of ‘ensuring she wouldn’t come to your shop to disturb you’. You keep asking me because you’re worried about her. You keep buying her weird books because you’re happy seeing her smile happily about them. You keep welcoming Y/N into the shop even when you hate getting distracted because you like her!. It’s so obvious! Why can’t you say it?!”

          “Because I know how this thing between us will end. What we have is purely temporary. Y/N came in to find a muse and that’s that. She comes to my rental shop just to finish her project. Y/N never intended to stay long, and I made sure she didn’t. I knew she was leaving the moment she finished. If I said I liked her then, it would’ve only made us awkward and I would’ve ended up absolutely miserable.”

          “Well, she already did leave,” Namjoon deadpans. 

          “And you didn’t say anything but you’re still miserable,” Jungkook says.

          Seokjin closes his eyes and nods. He’s fully aware that Y/N is gone, but it’s not like he can act like nothing happened. It was his fault, after all. “Yeah, I know now. I’m stupid. I’ll just have to deal with it on my own and move on.”

          “You don’t have to deal with it on your own.”

          Seokjin jolts at the familiar voice. He turns around and finds the very person he’s been missing for weeks. Y/N. With the deep bags under her eyes and her hair all mussed up, she looks far from Seokjin’s type. But she’s still the most beautiful person he’s ever seen in his life. 

          “Okay, I guess this is our cue to go.”

          Seokjin whips his head to Jimin, his eyes wide, “You planned this?”

          “Obviously. It looks like you still needed a little push after the last stunt we pulled. Jungkook, stand up from your goddamn seat.”

          Y/N stays in her spot until their three friends leave them alone. Seokjin looks at his feet as shame and self-consciousness mingle in an unsettling mix in his stomach. Y/N is here and he must look like the stupidest idiot in the world right now.

          “Did you mean it when you said you liked me?

          “Yes,” Seokjin sighs.

          “Then why didn’t you say so from the start?” Y/N says in a soft voice. “You kept blocking my advances. I was trying to let you know that I liked you, too.”

          “You like me, too?” Seokjin asks, shocked and confused.

          “Of course! Did you really think I just picked weird books out for fun? Okay, I did have a lot of fun picking them — but the point is, I did all of them to get your attention!!! For god’s sake, did you think I sat through your lecture on divine afterlife intercourse “just because”? No!! Okay,” Y/N closes her eyes, I first went to your shop for inspiration. But that all changes when I started liking you. You’re just so hardworking and smart and even if you’re grumpy on bad days, you actually care so much. I just want to stand out at least a bit so you could see me, too. And just when I thought I had finally succeeded when you agreed to let me draw your face, you started giving me mixed signals. You’d come near me and touch my hand and would let it go right when I started to talk about it. You’d act so affectionate then say the exact opposite. Do you know how bad it hurts when I ask you if you’d trust me—even when I sound like I’m joking—and all you’d ever answer is ‘no’?”

          “I thought...you already knew the answer.”

          “No, I don’t, Seokjin. I told you I’m bad with words. I need things to be spelled out. I-”

          “Y/N, I trust you. I thought you figured it out already when I told you everything about my life.” Seokjin looks at his hand, “But it turns out it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry we had to take the long route like this because I couldn’t say what I really wanted.

          “And what is it?”

          “You.”

          Y/N flushes at his sudden confession. The surprise in her eyes morphs into a satisfied glint as Y/N’s lips curve into a soft smile. “It’s okay. You have me now,” She steps into his arms and Seokjin immediately engulfs her in his embrace. For the very first time in his life, he doesn’t anticipate anything. His mind doesn’t conjure any endings. All he could think of is how he wants to prolong this moment as much as he can. Seokjin smiles into her neck as he tightens her hold on her. This must be what it feels like to be finally at peace.

          “So you like me now, huh?” he feels Y/N murmur at his chest.

          “Yeah.”

          “And you trust me now?”

          “2000%” Seokjin grins.

          “Good. I’ve been wanting to try out something that I read.”

          “Oh, so you’ve finally read something,” Seokjin chuckles by her ear.

          Y/N giggles, “Yeah. I wanted to do it right this time for this book.”

          “What book?”

          “Edward Jaye’s The Cookie Sutra.”

          “What?”

          “Cookies and Kama Sutra.”

A/N pt. 2: Hello my dear @sophrosinn. Happy birthday! First of all, I love you. I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH. AND MY LOVE FOR YOU CANNOT BE CAPTURED ENOUGH BY THESE WORDS. You’ve been with me for four years of my life and I couldn’t believe it’s just four years when it feels like I’ve been living my whole life with you. Yeah, you made a super large mark in my life and I couldn’t imagine what my life would have been if I didn’t meet you. You’ve helped me out in so many difficult times of my life. Through all the shits and slumps I had in school, in my family, and in my writing journey, you’ve stayed with me throughout all of those things. Gave me the advices I needed to hear. You’re still here, helping me heal from the pain I’ve suffered and still suffering. You’ve always been a rock of support in my life, @sophrosinn, and I wouldn’t have come this far if it weren’t you. When I look at you, I still wonder how life managed to let me meet such an astoundingly wonderful person like you are. These days have been tough but I hope you know you don’t have to suffer through it alone. I and @senfleurs will always be here to hear you rant, listen to your basog moments, and help you lighten your load as much as we can. Whenever life brings you down, I hope you always remember I will be here for you to give you an ear that will listen to you, to give you a shoulder you could cry on. I want to also be your rock of support you could always go to without hesitation just like you’ve always been for me. So Happy happy birthday my dear best girl! You have gotten a year older today but don’t worry, you’re not gonna be alone. I and @senfleurs will be by your side as we grow old with you! Here’s to more amazing years! I love you!

P.S. Yes, this fic is inspired by this reddit post you sent to us.

I just changed it up a bit bc my mind went blank when I first drafted the “we’re married” concept. Hope you like it, anyway! I tried writing both your serious and quirky sides through Seokjin and the OC!

P.P.S. I’m sorry I couldn’t get this fic out much earlier. My writing slump is still as bad as it can be but oof, I managed to get it out just before August 11 ends! I hope the wordcount and the feels and laughs make up for that   > u <

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[ranger-kellyn]

I have never played Pokemon Ranger before, I looked it up and read about the gameplay. The whole concept is pretty interesting!

i could write an entire ESSAY on why i love pokemon ranger so much, but admittedly, a lot of it just boils down to Ranger 1 being there for me in a really rough time in my childhood.

Ranger 1 is great because it's the original, the classic, the foundation that all the other games are built on. /dont mIND HOW IT WRECKED MY DS'S LOWER SCREEN

Ranger 2, Shadows of Almia, is like. All time favorite game. I've been writing trashy vent fics with the characters since it came out. One of the first fics I ever finished was a SoA fic, and while it's a genuinely bad fic, it was a launch pad for my creativity. I still write stuff for all these characters, and like. ONE DAY. I'll actually post fics for this. BUT APART FROM PERSONAL LIKES, SoA had such INCREDIBLE quality of life improvements. Captures were still hard, but NOTHING like they were in Ranger 1. Ranger 1's style of "you have to capture the pokemon in one continuous loop/no lifting the stylus from the screen" very likely turned a LOT of people away from the game. SoA improved this, and improved a lot of the pokemon assists, as well as had an INCREDIBLE plot, and a full cast of lovable characters, as well as has a lot of fun flavortext! also is a pokemon game where you can aCTUALLY D I E IM NOT EVEN JOKING U CAN DIE IN THIS GAME IT'S REALLY HARD BC THE TIME LIMIT DURING THAT MISSION IS SO HIGH BUT YOU CAN

Ranger 3, Guardian Signs...now look. I LOVE this game. I love Ben and Summer the playable characters, I love Ukulele Pichu with all my heart. I think the plot is fun, and don't even get me STARTED on the pixel art!!!! A STUNNING game for it's time!! HOWEVER....I have two major qualms with the game: 1- I think it was released too soon after SoA. It had all the same pokemon SoA had, both games going up to Gen 4. No new pokemon to use or catch, and so like...It was lacking there. If they had waited another year or so, at least until after BW(2) were released, and then could add in some Gen 5 elements, I think it would have saved the game in that regard. 1.5- not that i dont LOVE ukulele pichu, but going from like. 16 partner pokemon to just ONE was uh. A Choice (bUT I think there was a quality of life improvement of the assist pokemon would stick around more easily?? idr it's been a while since i played them all back to back) 2- And this is more minor, but the game took a step back in the sense that. There is just. NO. Sense of time. Like Ranger 1, there are virtually no breaks to indicate a day has passed. I think there is only ONE true break to indicate time has passed during the main plot, and another break after the main plot. Everything might as well have happened all in one afternoon. (the world record any% for R1 IS just over 2hrs so.......)

[firepiplup]

How do i say no to people

You know that analogy about people with adhd having spoons for energy management or whatever? My spoons are on backorder from like 2 months ago and more got on that list now

The problem is that all of the things I'm being asked to do are Very Important Things

I have to feed my diabetic cat. This in itself is not a problem, however she's needs to eat at a specific time (12 hour spacing) and my current sleeping situation along with work do not allow this to happen consistently. Currently trying for 7:30, we'll see how it goes

My apartment has bedbugs, and there's no way in fucking hell I'm sleeping on my living room floor until my scumlord landlord actually gets the guy to come back to spray because he did spray but I'm still seeing adults and i "need to give the spray time to work" it's been fucking 2 weeks i don't know how is supposed to work but i feel like after 2 weeks whatever spray you did isn't going to get any stronger i just want to sleep in my own bed it's been like this since fucking March

With that part explained, I'm sleeping at my mom's house on the other side of town. This in itself isn't much of a problem, however as "payment" i have to take care of her dog in the morning, to practice because she's going on a week long vacation in October and none of her dogs can just be taken care of like normal dogs. He needs to wear a diaper to leave the room while i pick up his shit and soiled weewee pad and mop the floor, give him some time to be out of his room, and then feed him his special food mix. The other dog has allergies and probably will get into something he shouldn't, then not use the bathroom outside even though he literally has a doggy door that has constant access to the backyard. Neither dog get along with each other, which is why they are separated. Thank fuck the cat is just normal, this is why i prefer them

Now with THAT explained, it's difficult to take care of my own cat on time in the morning. But as the legendary Billy Mays says: But wait, there's more!

I just got rehired at my job working in a local understaffed pizzeria. My friend, ego also works there, is on vacation (good for her, she deserves it, absolutely no negativity towards her) so i have acquired her hours. So i now work 6 days a week, kinda sorta clopen but i guess it's more of opelose. Or a combination of both? Idk. The point here is, I'm then dealing with essentially running half a restaurant alone 6 days a week, with it not being 7 purely because the owner himself ALSO has the same work schedule as far as I'm aware, and wanted to give himself a day off, and since we are so understaffed it would be impossible unless we literally closed. My tasks include answering the phone, washing dishes, making sandwiches, making dinners, folding pizza boxes, and cleaning the tables/equipment on that side of the restaurant. So essentially everything except making pizzas, cleaning the pizza area, mopping in general, and driving. We generally close at 9, 10 on Friday and Saturday. Guess who was explicitly rehired to close those days? Guess how that's going to work with me having to be home around 7:30 to take care of my own cat? I have no idea either. It's only for about 3 weeks, but my mom, whom i have not asked for any additional help with anything, won't feed the cat while i have work, even though there isn't a guarantee that i can leave on time to THEN RETURN to close, because again I'm the only one on that side of the building. I understand the fear of the bedbugs, so that's probably it, but it still fucking sucks because the kitchen is on the other side of the apartment from the bedroom and there is literally no reason to go there to feed her. But i get it

Did we get to where i can do my own ADLs? Of course not. My neighbor is in the hospital, and her husband is blind. This is a new development that was only discovered an hour before starting this post (about 3:30 am for me). She's ok, it's for mental health reasons, and that's her own business about that. Her husband being blind is not a new development however. And he needs help taking care of the pets, specifically the birds. Which is fine, they just also need to eat on their own schedule. 8am, around lunchtime, and 8pm. Guess who's still at work? One of the birds is special needs because her beak got injured and needs to be essentially spoon fed. Which the blind husband can't do at all. Fairly simple task, but just adding to my obligations that are Very Important because they involve making sure things don't starve to death while my neighbor is in Crisis

Ok let's see, that's 4 Very Important Tasks/Obligations, and only one was originally my own voluntary one. Still not at taking care of myself yet, but i have my shelter, i have my job ("part time" minimum wage, hurray. Part time because even with me being there 6 fucking days a week open to close it still isn't technically enough hours for the state to recognize it as full time), and I'm taking care of *counting* about 8 pets for the next week. Will unemployment give me my money that I've been claiming since March? No? Will they let me claim with my new working hours that makes that while process even harder? Technically but it'll take over an hour for it to process and it doesn't even do that in the end? Well fuck, guess i have to wait to get paid on the books in cash and beg for a hand written paystub and have my hours worked written down. Glad i earned $100 this week, i hope now that my hours have increased i get some more

Next on the list, appointments. Because I'm a dumbass who can't remember shit if it isn't consistently recurring, i overbooked myself for next week. My much needed therapy appointment with my therapist that I've only met once and is the replacement for my much better therapist that i actually had a relationship with is supposed to have a session with me on Tuesday. Will i remember to do it this time? Possibly since i actually remembered it's on Tuesday. Will she send me the reminder text with the zoom link? Probably not. Wednesday, my one day off, thank fuck for that, is the main problem with the scheduling. My med appointment is for 11:30. Cool, can do. Driving lesson at 12. Oh, that's a little close, but i can manage that probably. I only average 1 lesson per year and a half, so it's fine, it's "healthy" to be nervous about operating a death machine powered by explosions. Have to go to social services to pick up, or attempt to, a new food stamps card. They probably close at 5, and add a Non Driver, i need to rely on someone to take me. The sooner the better, but it can't be during the lesson. Don't forget to take care of the creatures before and during all of this.

Ok. Great. There's an hour before work. Time to shower, because it's so fucking hot I'll be sweating like crazy by the time i get around the corner to the pizzeria, with me literally getting out and dressed and then walking out the door. Glad i finally did still to take care of myself. Eating? I might have something i can heat up quickly while the cat eats and so i can take my own meds. Dishes? Those are going to have to wait, i hope the heat wave doesn't get too bad, but it's been like this for a while, still slowly chipping away at them. Sleep? Severe insomnia. I partially blame the bed, my mattress is so comfortable, i hope the bedbugs like it because i can't fucking use it right now. I'd be sleeping so fucking soundly if i were in my own bed, and yet here i am. Maybe i should take the Trazodone now. I just hope I'll wake up on time. Oh look I'm exhausted, can't afford to buy comparatively better prepared coffee from Dunkin, so i guess my shitty at home coffee is going to have to do. Black because i don't have any creamer or milk or lactose free milk in my house. Just the way i hate it. Gonna have to deal with that i guess, maybe I'll learn to like it

The coffee pot lives in my fridge now. I'm worried to put it with the other dishes because if it sits there, not being washed like everything else, then i won't even have the option of coffee. It's just water and ground up beans, I'm sure it's fine

Maybe i can find some kind of coping skill/hobby to help me through my limited me time. Let's see.... I like to crochet, and that helps me get through the dishes by letting me alternate between them and a row/round on one of my many started projects. What? It's in a giant garbage bag with a bedbug treatment stick because of the damn ass bedbugs? Can't open it for at least another week and even then there isn't a place to put the yarn safely? Well fuck. I found that really helpful with keeping me grounded. Umm, well looking online, i should *checks notes* buy new yarn in the meantime and keep it somewhere safe. Uh, well, i can't afford more yarn now and i have nowhere to put it. Videogames it is maybe? Oh fuck now I've hyper focused too long on pokemon, rhythm heaven, and whatever daily games i do, i think i have 5 of those of varying lengths of time spent on them

Did i remember to brush my teeth? No. Do i remember that i should and then when i get out of the shower so i forget to actually execute? Yes. Have i gone insane? Probably

How many spoons is a person supposed to have per day? It takes more for me just to get through the day in general. Why does everyone need me to do their Very Important Tasks? Why is there never anyone else? Can my neighbor just not buy more birds when she gets home from Crisis?

I just want to have good mental health, why is this so hard