#embarrassing of me...i never finish pokemon games and yet i never do getting them

[finncakes]

commission for @nuuneyraegon ! thank you for commissioning me this was so fun!

[sanekibeko]

Heyo! Currently on break from socials while I finish up my final semester which includes my senior thesis film but while on Spring Break I found a some draws that never saw the light of day I thought I'd share.

Some got further than others but I'm only sharing those that got further along than just a very rough sketch. Another quick note from 2018-2020 I was mainly doing pokemon related stuff before I shifted my way to Vivz.

2018

Title: Mommy doesn't want you in here

Back then I was really involved in Pokemon Emerald's Battle Frontier and had to grind a lot of the best pokemon to breed. One of the pokemon I breed from was Gardevoir, which swept the floor getting me many of my symbols, and I thought of this very dark situation where a Gardevoir was breeding for the perfect child and that said child wandered into the incubation room finding her imperfect siblings. Pretty much how IV and shinny breeding goes in games. Reason I never finished it is it got too complex for my skill at the time. Wtf is perspective?

2019

Title: Dog Show

I'm going to be honest I have no idea what I was thinking when I drew this. Brionne looked too much like a dog I guess.

Title: Gen 8 Drawing(Unfinished name)

This one hurt to scrap after so many hours but I was so unhappy and embarrassed with it. I wanted to make a big draw for Pokemon Sword and Shield but cause I was so focused on making a pretty picture instead of anatomy, composition, and flipping my canvas.

I swear I can draw humans better now! >.<

2020

Title: Escort missions

Ok so here's an interesting story behind this. You know how controlling partner pokemon especially escort pokemon in PMD1 sucks? Well I decided to take on a bunch of jobs in Fiery Field where not only has a bunch of traps but also you have to quick save before entering meaning if you mess up you lose everything. This is pretty much what happened. I was almost finished escorting that Surkern, who was pain my ass, where a warp trap happened and everything fell apart. I wanted to throw my DS Lite so bad. Later on decided to vent out my in a comic. However I never finished it cause it got to complex.

One note though this comic is half truthful. I'm the one who fell in the warp trap cause I didn't have that trap ability and that Surkern kept wondering around and ended up in a fight. I ended up deleting that mission cause I was getting paid jack shit.

2021

Title: (N/A)

Don't remember much. Just how I was feeling at that point struggling through school. I was also trying out using 3D for perspective and using Procreate.

2022

Title: Dad and Looney(Unfinished Name)

Just a quick doodle I never finished and was messing around in Procreate. I think it later lead to Free Hug.

The next few draws were cause I was on a Timber and Makasin drawing spree that didn't turn out the way I wanted it too mainly cause I was in a slump during that summer. I would like to go back to them at so point.

Title: In her arms

Title: Piggyback

Title: Voice of Reason

Title: Reading a book(Unfinished name)

I was close to finishing this one but never felt like finishing it.

Title: Clip Studio Shitpost comic(Unfinished name)

This was back in Clip Studio announced their subscription for standalone Windows and Mac versions going forward and everyone got pissed off including me. I made a quick comic to vent but later got bored of it.

Soon after the company tried to put out the flames and gave everyone who bought a copy that year a free copy of v2 and a trial for update pass but I still use v1.13.2 copy and sometimes Procreate. The update pass still sounds dumb to me. If you pay for a new major version you should continue to get feature updates until the next major version comes out. That's what Affinity, Toonboom, and Final Draft does. Least they didn't go full out Adobe. Yet...

Title: Mindscape

Idea I had to expand Saneki's backstory with his curse. Later turned into one of my many school project ideas but never did anything going forward. I just now realize I gave my dude a bakery. 0_0

2023

Title: Slay Ride

Little Chaggie idea I had but I was getting deep into my semester and Winter was coming to an end.

Title: Snowy Ride Remake

Back in early 2015 after I adopted Holly I had a simple draw of my at the time main oc riding her in the woods. It aged badly and I wanted to remake it with Saneki instead. 8 years later when I was starting to remake it I needed an idea for a school project and decided to go with it thinking I could knock out 2 birds with one stone. However I had to follow a strict set of rules including a limited color pallete and using Photoshop which I hated. It didn't have the settings or brushes I was used to which lead to this. From that forward I began to hold a grudge against Photoshop like I do with Animate. Someday I would like to take another shot at this without involving Photoshop. -_-

One the bright side I did learn some color theory and perspective tips. ^^

Title: Cowgirl Loona

This was my first attempt on Cowgirl Loona before I swapped over from Clip Studio to Procreate and finished it this earlier year. Just wasn't happy with what I was going for and felt like Procreate could get this done better.

2024

Title: N/A

I recently decided to can this. I thought of a cute idea of Stella at a hellhorse show but had no idea how I wanted to present it and this is all that came out of it.

And that's pretty much what I feel like showing. Looking back I think it's just more of a lesson in drawing. Not everything turns out the way you want it too. Either you didn't think everything through or just got bored with them and wanted to move on. Sometimes it's not worth putting in more hours in something that isn't going to turn out the way you hoped. But that's no to say everything you do should be scrapped. Sometimes It just needs reworked. Cowgirl Loona and Carousel Alastor went through hell but I got them out cause of the lessons I learned from continuing to draw. But also I want to stop focusing on the little details cause not everyone is going notice. Have you seen the many tangents in my earlier stuff.

Ok that's all for now. Like I said taking the time to finish up my final semester so I can soft reboot my socials afterwards. See ya in May!

[enhypia]

JY ; almost lovers

almost lovers answers questions with the choice of drinking instead of answering

pairings: sim jaeyun x gn!reader

genre: fluff, angst if you squint

words: roughly 1.4k

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

~guides and warnings~

italics - reader speaking

bold - jake speaking

[enclosed] - interviewer speaking

italicized bold - both reader and jake speaking

[enclosed bold or italics] - question (depends on who's speaking)

heavily inspired by: rec.create lie detector games, cut truth or drink

warning: contains and mentions of !!! drinking and swearing

i don't promote underage drinking, save your livers

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

hello~ my name is jake!

and i'm (y/n)

and we're almost lovers

[you guys were invited here today as almost lovers for a fun little drinking game, you guys aware of that right?]

yes we were

[okay, for this game, questions will be asked and if you refuse to answer, you drink, it's that simple. should we start?]

yup!

i'll be drinking regardless if i answer or not btw

why?

it's free alcohol

[how long have you guys known each other?]

since middle school ??

yup, so like 6 or 7 years ?

[wouldn't you be childhood friends then?]

oh no, jake and i weren't friends

*jake laughs and (y/n) grins

we really weren't, we were just somehow always put in the same classes

classmates, that's literally just what we were

ah i got it, we just knew of each other's existence

yup that

*both laugh

[how did you guys became almost lovers then?]

oh it's the classic project partners thing

we became seatmates, and like for that whole school year almost every teacher assigned seatmates as partners

it's like they all collectively agreed to it

yeah so we just eventually got close and ,,,

chaos ?

chaos.

*both giggle because jake's giggle is contagious

[why didn't you guys get together?]

we were both cowards and dumb with feelings

and jake had to move back to australia

and i had to move back to australia

[so if jake didn't move, you guys could've been together?]

,,,, i honestly do not know

yeah same

jake was the popular dream guy, i wasn't even dating him back then but so many rumors spread

i'm sorry about that really

don't worry, it wasn't your fault

*you pat him on the head making him smile widely

[how about we start the q&a between you guys?]

yeah, let's go~

*both nod and played rock paper and scissors to determine who gets to ask first, jake wins

okay! first question

*jake picks up a card and laughs in disbelief

why?

[do you still find me attractive?]

*(y/n) bursts out laughing

i don't know if i should be offended that you're laughing or what

no, because it's ridiculous!

whY?

jake i literally compliment and hype you up whenever we meet

*jake blushes

so yes i still do find you attractive because you ARE attractive.

*(y/n) smiles teasingly

*jake rolls his eyes

*(y/n) picks up a card

oh wow

[did you see ever yourself loving me?]

*jake takes a shot

you know that just makes you sus

it's not like you don't know the answer?!!

that's the point! i do know so you could've just answered instead of drinking

shut up *jake grumbles

*you take a shot to make him feel better

the answer is yes btw, i did see myself loving them

*(y/n) almost chokes

*jake laughs

it's different hearing it out loud

*jake g i g g l e s

just read the next question

[do you think it's my fault that we didn't become a couple?]

pffft-

i mean

yeah yeah, but for me i'm blaming australia

sure buddy.

*jake :O

but no i don't think it was your fault, like we said a while ago, even if you didn't move, we were still dumb with feelings and we probably would've prioritized our future than a relationship. it wasn't the right time i guess??

*jake nods in agreement

[sorry, was it ever clarified between you guys that you had feelings for each other?]

oh yeah! we knew about it

yeah bUT AFTER I CAME BACK FROM AUSTRALIA ???

*(y/n) laughs

we met up when he came back and i just went "oh did you know i liked you back then?" and then jake just -

*(y/n) can't finish the sentence because (y/n) remembers the scene perfectly and is laughing hard

*jake groans

thAT! he groaned like that and basically slammed his head on the table.

yeah and you gaped like a fish after i told you i liked you back then too!

*jake :P

*(y/n) :O

i did not

yes you did! you went *jake imitates a gaping fish

yah! *(y/n) hits jake's arm lightly

*both laugh

*(y/n) reads the card and takes a shot after

why are you drinking? i'm the one answering

i know, i just needed that shot to prepare myself

[do you still have feelings for me?]

*jake turns red and reaches for a shot

moving on-

i'm answering

*(y/n) error404 please restart

*both cannot look each other in the eye

i don't know honestly? i still am kind of dumb with feelings but the reason why i say i don't know is because i'm trying to make sure that what i'm feeling for (y/n) is real?? like i actually do like them and not with the feeling ??

*(y/n) nods understanding what he meant

because wouldn't that be unfair to (y/n) ? saying you have feelings for them when you aren't really sure? i don't want that, i don't want to hurt (y/n) in any way or form

*(y/n) downs a shot and covers their face in embarrassment

why~ ?

*(y/n) narrows their eyes at jake and just hands him the card to read

*jake laughs

okay let's go,

[do you still think about what could've been?]

goddammit

*(y/n) takes a shot

*jake is basically just laughing at everything at this point, but that's okay he's cute when he laughs

yes, i do. i think what plagued me the most were 'what if?' questions. when i see my friends getting into relationships or hearing them talk about someone they've been seeing. i would often ask like "what if we just had confessed earlier?" "what if you never moved?" "what if we actually got together?" things like that

but i think my hardest 'what if' was "what if we just tried?"

*please put jake in rice he is not working

*he raises his glass to do a cheers

here's to painful confusion !

and dumb feelings~

*both take a shot

[question for both: do you regret that you guys didn't get together?]

honestly, no? i feel like if we did, we would be two completely different people right now?

yeah, i like who i am and who you are right now, so i don't think i regret it either.

and we were shit at romantic feelings

we aren't kidding, we really were

i feel bad for everyone who had to witness that phase in our lives

rip

*both laugh

[freestyle! ask any question you want]

hmm,,

don't think too much

no <3

*(y/n) rolls their eyes

okay, okay, i have one

this better be good sim.

[you said a while ago that it wasn't the right time for us before. how about now? do you think we're finally at the right time?]

.........

*(y/n) is speechless

*(y/n) downs a shot

jake don't ask me out on television

*jake bursts out laughing

i don't know jake, you tell me, you're the one confused with feelings.

... .. ... .

*(y/n) realizes what they said

*jake literally 👁👄👁

,,,, what?

*(y/n) clears their throat

huh?

nu uh, what did you just say ??

i haven't said anything yet?? are you okay?

*(y/n) looks at the crew around them that were covering their mouths preventing laughs and squeals

you definitely said something that meant you have feelings for me!

i did not! you need to get your ears checked

*(y/n) is blushing and is avoiding jake's intense look

[that's one way to end, huh?]

oh yay! we're done, good job everybody!

*(y/n) is hurrying to escape like a pokemon

*jake is still dumbfounded, poor guy

[is he okay?]

don't worry about him, he's rebooting

*jake glares adorably at (y/n)

we are talking after this

sorry i have plans, i need to water my dog

*(y/n) teases jake making him facepalm

[i think i smell another feature, but maybe as couples next time?]

*both blushes at the statement

that's all up to jake, director :D

*jake :O

honey, close your mouth, you'll catch flies

*jake wakes up at the term of endearment and his blush deepens

yah~ !

*(y/n) grins widely and waves to the camera

bye~

»————-　♡　————-«

bonus: youtube comments (peep last one)

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

a/n: AAAA ENHA CB !! the enhypen dimension opens owo <3 anyways, i made jake's lighter since i couldn't make it angsty, he's too precious, i must protect him. also, my jake timestamp (oh worm?) received a lot of love, thank you !!! i hope you like this one as well~ sunoo's will be uploaded next !! please look forward to it <33

[snowinthe-south]

My blog isn’t dedicated to one subject in particular. So this is a short “about me” as well as a list of my usual "content" that I reblog, or once in a while post about. I'm making this because I've suddenly started getting followers recently and want them to know the kind of trashcan fire they're getting into.

As far as my posts/reblogs go, I’ve literally had this blog since I was 14 years old and more cringe than I am now... so some of my oldest posts are probably questionable.

About me:

I love to write and I hope to publish my own books someday, as I’ve had several plotted out for quite some time now. Alas, I enjoy reading other books more than I enjoy finding time to write... I love to read so much. I love art of all kinds, I do digital art and also traditional mediums; watercolor, oil, acrylic, sketching, markers, colored pencils, ink, etc, I love learning new art tricks. I love the VOCALOID software and have been using it since I was 13, I’m partial to my girl, SeeU. I enjoy the occasional video game. I love animals, so so much. And I adore music and will listen to anything once, so my playlist goes from broadway to K-pop to the 50′s to today’s hits- you get the idea.

I’m a 25 year old girl from the United States, specifically, North Carolina. I've been a a pharmacy tech for around 6 years, and I recently graduated with my associates degree (general studies/transfer degree), and I'm hoping to save up and get my bachelor's degree in disciplinary studies (focusing on fine art, history, and English) in the next few years. I prefer to remain slightly anonymous on here, going by Snow rather than my name, because I guess I’m embarrassed of myself and my interests? I don’t know. I mean, I don’t share anything dirty or “bad” but I’d die if my mom ever found this... weird, huh? I have a “real” blog as well, where I’d like to share some of my art or writing and I do use my real name and everything.

Now, here are a few of my favorite things- meaning I probably post/reblog about these things.

BOOKS:

There are far too many to name, but these are the favorites that come to mind:

The Book Thief (my favorite)

Wizard of Oz

The Great Gatsby

Pride and Prejudice

They Both Die at The End

The Raven Cycle

A Dog's Purpose

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Hunger Games

The Inheritance Series

GAMES:

This includes video games and mobile games.

Pokemon

Fire Emblem (including FEH)

Legend of Zelda (Only familiar with OoT, MM, BoTW, and have yet to finish ToTK)

Portal/Portal 2

Team Fortress 2

Twisted Wonderland

Fictif (primarily Last Legacy)

The Arcana (pre-D*rian)

Touchstarved (I am a proud backer!!!)

Mystic Messenger (haven't played in over 3 years)

Obey Me (casual interest/don't keep up with it)

To The Moon

Finding Paradise

Baldur's Gate 3 (current hyperfixation of 7 months and hoping to play 1 and 2 soon)

Dragon Age (Origins, working on 2 and don't like it, will play Inquisition and read the books eventually)

SHOWS/MOVIES:

I don’t keep up with many shows or movies anymore, but again, favorites that come to mind are as followed:

Phantom of The Opera

Death Note (favorite)

RWBY

The Princess Bride

I Love Lucy

Only Murders in The Building

Goblin; The Great and Lonely God

Hetalia (my second anime- will always love it, don't come after me because of it)

Spy X Family

Crash Landing On You

Once Upon a Time (never watched the last season)

The Dick Van Dyke Show

This is Us

Jane The Virgin

The Great Gatsby

MUSIC:

I listen to everything and anything, but these artists are some of my favorites:

BTS ( absolute favorite)

Halsey (also my favorite)

Zara Larsson

Connie Francis

The Temptations

Boyz to Men

PVRIS

Jack White

The White Stripes

Dolly Parton

Hadestown (musical)

The Phantom of The Opera (musical)

Hamilton (musical)

Wowaka

Musicals:

Phantom of The Opera (all time favorite, loved it when I was 5 years old, my first tattoo was the mask, want a chandelier tattoo, got to see it live before the Broadway show closed and bawled my eyes out)

Love Never Dies (I DON'T CARE IF IT IS BASICALLY CANON FANFICTION I LOVE IT)

Wicked

Hadestown (have seen it twice on tour!)

Hamilton (definitely had a phase, still enjoy it, first musical I've ever seen live, saw it on tour once)

Ride The Cyclone

The English Death Note musical that only had a demo tape for Act I (I WILL NEVER GET OVER IT)

Little Shop of Horrors (I thoroughly dislike anything but the 2003 cast though)

[nmbr1kpfan]

hi guys im into homestuck again and i have too many headcanons of dave that i simply cannot keep to myself cause im a loud mouth its under the read more

also i tried really hard not to like STEAL anyones ideas cause idk where some of these came from but i saw them before and ive been thinking about them ever since

I HAVENT FINISHED HOMESTUCK YET SO SOME OF THESE MIGHT BE BS IGNORE ME IF THEY ARE LMFAO

dave strider is a bisexual demiboy albino poc 

he watches slime makeup mixing videos with karkat and laughs when karkat screams cause the colour is gross at the end

his fav colour used to be blue cause its the opposite of red and he didnt like his eyes, but now he said fuck u and reds his fav colour

he also had a phase where he despised the colour red, absolutely hated it

his eyes are like a bright red and he can see fine colourwise but bright light hurts and he squints, which is why he wears sunglasses (he also wears them cause he doesnt like his eyes but-)

DAVE MOST DEFINETLY SOUNDS LIKE GEORGE WATSKY, everytime i listen to seizure boy by watsky all i can think is “this is literally dave”

i feel weird explaining why cause i dont wanna trigger someone but he would have anorexia or BED (i have an ed im not just pulling this out of my ass so you know) even though he is skinny because of this hes naturally thinner than average 

relating to the last one he would hide apple juice in his closet i swear all he consumes is apple juice

god this guys horrible at expressing his emotions, he had to keep up a poker face his whole childhood so its just default setting and now he doesnt know what feeling is what and why its happening

dave definitely has insomnia cause (nightmares, not being able to get to sleep, not being able to stay asleep, the whole shabang)

i feel like he would fuck with a dress. like he makes a makeshift dress from like random clothes around and is like hell yea this is sick yk

secretly loooooves cats 

even tho hes albino he has some freckles you can see very faintly on his nose bridge, cheeks, and shoulders

maaaaaaad voice cracks. he gets super embarrassed by them

LMFAOO HE WOULD PROBABLY BE A SOUNDCLOUD RAPPER 

I JUST FUCKING KNOW THIS GUY WOULD WEAR THE SHIT I WORE IN MY TOP PHASE LIKE CONVERSE A FLANNEL JEANS AND A BAND TEE I JUST FUCKIN KNOW IT either a band shirt his like brand cd shirt or a random shirt with a pun on it cause its ironic also he has like 3 pairs of black skinny jeans

this guy would have a thing with old consoles. like ps3 ps2 gameboy ds any of that type of shit and he would bug people to come play games with him on them (his fav gam would def be crash bandicoot)

hes gotta do shit at like an exact time or else he wont do it like eating, playing a game, showering, ect

when he gets upset or like tired his southern accent would come out more

sometimes i see him having snakebites (the peircings not like actual bite marks from a snake) and sometimes i dont but i thought i would just throw this out there he def has earrings tho

most of the time all he does when it comes to laughing is a low chuckle, but when he finds something like absolutely hilarious he laughs super fuckin loud i feel like he would start wheezing too

in the winter he forgets just how utterly COLD it is so then he goes out in like jeans a tshirt and a hoodie and practically dies

he wears headphones or earbuds all the time youll never catch him not wearing them (and hes definitely listening to his fav rad beats, might start rapping too if youre not careful)

EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT POKEMON BUT I JUST FUCKING KNOW THIS GUY FUCKS W DIGIMON AYYYYYY digimons the shit and he would love it. dont get me wrong tho he likes pokemon too idk what his fav digimon and pokemon would be tho for digimon maybe tentomon or agumon

he has trouble with like rambling so when he realizes hes beein rambling he gets like hurried and flustered (?? idk if thats the right word) trying to find a good time to end the conversation

i couldnt find any way to word what i was thinking really well so i went to go look for someone else who explained it well and i found this here u go dave mf strider https://bunsoldblog.tumblr.com/post/19906628739/trigger-warning-many-disorders-potential-mental

uhhhh thats it ig ok bye

[sword-and-stars]

Thank you @dilfdarthvader for tagging me! You’re a babe.

How many works do you have on AO3?

59 (what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

368,447 (what the fuck again but this time with added screaming.)

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

SO many but if we’re just going off of AO3, it’s ATLA, Game Of Thrones, and Tales of Vesperia.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Good Vanilla (ATLA, zukka)

Safety First (ATLA, gen)

All The Gentle Creatures (ATLA, gen)

For Hearth And Home (ATLA, gen)

Hallowed (ATLA, zukka, explicit)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

So this is actually pretty embarrassing. I used to try and respond to all of them, but it became something that started to give me a lot of anxiety, so I let myself let it go. It’s one of those things where I know that most commenters don’t really care if they get an author response back and I’m way better at responding to asks or dms if somebody wants a personal response. It’s been better for my mental health.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t really write angsty endings. I’m pretty allergic to them, actually, and I don’t like reading them nor do I like writing them.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Okay so the current one is obviously my ATLA x Pokemon crossover but I’ve also written Glee x Doctor Who (don’t @ me) and DBZ x Harry Potter. Take your fuckin’ pick.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I’ve definitely received hate but none of it was actually given in comments? So it’s less that I’ve received hate on a fic and more that I’ve received hate for who I am as a person? I don’t think very many people have the balls to be shitty to me in my comments in public.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes! I guess the soft and full of feelings kind? I��ve written m/f smut, m/m smut, f/f smut. Soft smut, kinky smut. I’m a bitch of many talents.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not yet and don’t any of you hoes think about it.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I believe somebody wanted to translate Truthfully into…Russian? I’m not sure if it ever happened. I’ve had quite a few fics podficced, though!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have. I used to do a lot of co-writing with a friend of mine before our friendship imploded. We wrote several Vesperia fics together and I do regret that I’ll never finish them.

What’s your all time favourite ship?

All time? That’s so hard. I plead the fifth.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I had so much fun writing the outline for School Of (Boiling) Rock that who knows if I’ll ever actually write it.

What are your writing strengths?

I’m very good at dialogue, introspection, and emotion. I’ve been told that I’m excellent at packing a lot of feelings and detail into minimal sentences.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes. I’ve gotten better at them, though, since I’ve made myself write more of them! They’ll never be something I particularly enjoy, but I can manage well enough.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If you have to have translation notes for more than a word or two or the meaning can’t be conveyed through syntax, you’re better off just using italics instead. It’s actually a pretty major pet peeve of mine to have a gajillion translation notes in the fic. If I need a dictionary to read and enjoy your fic, there’s a problem.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Dragon Ball Z. Don’t look at me.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

What could be my favorite fic hasn’t actually been posted yet. >:) out of the ones I’ve posted, I think my favorite might be Equivalent Exchange or Mass Times Acceleration.

Tagging @kurikaesu-haru and anyone else who wants to do this!!

[currywaifu]

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: mutuals 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: miyoshi kazunari/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 1.9k words, 2 images

𝐚𝐧: me? back w/ fluff? it’s expected at this point! his speech is hard for me to replicate, but I rly do love Kazunari so I hope I did this scenario justice! I, uh, got too excited at the prospect of “insta mutuals” oops~ hope you don’t mind the additional media TT

The Insta notification that popped up on the top of your screen distracted you from the game you were playing. Normally you’d flick the notif away, but as soon as you realised what it was about, you rushed to finish the rest of the stage.

You and Kazunari have been Insta Mutuals for nearly a year now, ever since he hit you with a follow and you proceeded to stalk his readily-available socials. 

The two of you had been liking and commenting on each others’ posts for weeks on end, starting off with you praising his most recent graphic design work to him sending a paragraph of heart emojis on the most recent fan art you drew.

Somewhere in between following each others’ spam accounts to tagging each other on Insta story games, he finally slid into your DMs and the rest was history. Sort of.

You knew what people said about online dating, or even just long distance relationships in general, but try as you might it was hard not to fall for Kazunari.

The more you talked to him, the less he stayed as your “funny artist mutual” and soon enough he progressed into the “still funny but also really sweet and cute artist online friend, 10/10 would date if asked” category.

You didn’t bother stifling your laugh as you looked at the message he sent you, immediately liking his selfie before saving it on your phone.

Okay, no. He can’t just hit you with an “I do wanna meet u already” and then take it back but not fully commit to it!

You waited for him to respond through text, but instead got hit by your ringtone blaring loudly at such an ungodly hour. At the sight of your contact nickname for him, you eagerly answered his call. You rushed to get the first word in, him doing the same unbeknownst to you.

“Kazu-“

“Babe, I-“

The both of you paused, his eventual laughter easing up your tension as you let out a giggle of your own. You mentally told yourself not to be so nervous— Kazunari and you would have this conversation eventually anyway; besides, it wasn’t as if you didn’t want to see him in person. It was quite the opposite, actually. You just figured that conversations like this needed to happen in call, at least.

“Shoot, should probs shut up so Mukkun doesn’t wake up,” Kazunari commented, his voice volume already lowered, “do you wanna go first?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you replied with resolve. You gathered up your thoughts, formulating the next set of sentences that would leave your mouth, before ultimately deciding on one question. “I just need to know first… how serious were you about meeting up irl?”

“I mean, that wasn’t what I meant when I sent the message? But like, it’s still valid, you know?” he paused, but when you didn’t say anything he decided to continue, “it’s not the first time I’ve thought about meeting you. I think about it a lot, actually.”

It was a bit of a shame the two of you chose to voice call instead of video call. You would’ve loved to see your boyfriend’s face just about now, though you supposed it wouldn’t be a good idea to have a heart attack a quarter to 4 in the morning.

Plus, you weren’t sure you could handle him teasing and throwing compliments at you due to your clearly visible elation, if the upwards stretch of your lips was anything to go by.

“Babe? You still there? Did you pass out, or…” In reality it had only been a few seconds, but still you didn’t want to leave him hanging. Not when the two of you were talking about something that meant taking the next step in your relationship.

“I’m still here, Kazu,” you reassured him. Your voice shook slightly, a sliver of your excitement slipping through the cracks. “I’m the same. Like, no lie I was shocked we brought it up like this, but, um… I’m ready, and if you’re ready, too, I want to meet up with you.”

“Wait, wait, wait— hol’ up! So we’re finally going—“ he laughed for the second time tonight, a fuzzy-wuzzy warmth escaping as its sound equivalent. “Wahh! Of course I’m ready! Can’t wait to finally see what a cutie you are irl♪ Hngg, how am I supposed to sleep now? I’m too hyped up!”

You rolled your eyes, despite understanding exactly how he felt. His infectious cheerfulness amplified the blossoming commotion occurring inside your brain. Despite not making any official plans yet, the prospect of finally meeting up had you frenzied.

Still, one of you had to be at least slightly responsible. While you wouldn’t claim to know his daily schedule, if Veludo Arts was anything like your university, he should be as swamped with workload as you were. Actually, maybe that was the reason he was up so late? That’s how it was for you, anyway excluding the fact that you took a break to stamina clear.

“It’s nearly 4 am… do you wanna continue planning this tomorrow? Err, rather, in a couple hours? After our lectures end, maybe?” You asked, though by the tiny whine Kazunari let out you had a feeling he wasn’t going to agree so quickly.

“Ehh? Why don’t we do it now? I have so many ideas about where we could go, and what we could do… oh! I could introduce you to everyone in Mankai! I’m sure they’d love-“

“I’d love to meet them too,” you cut him off, tone as firm as you could manage at this time, “and I want to hear your ideas, really, but I just know if I let you keep talking the sun will rise before we’ve even decided on a date.”

You chuckled as Kazunari let out a sound of protest, though you had a feeling he knew you weren’t wrong about your assessment. “Zuzu~ Let’s go to sleep now, okay?”

His phone microphone picked up on an audible gasp. “Ehh, how come you rarely call me Zuzu? It’s cute when you say it!”

“Because it sounds like a nickname you’d give to a Pokemon!”

“Uwu, maybe I’ll get Itarun to lend me a copy? Then I’ll catch the cutest Pokemon and name it after you~” you nearly groaned at how fluffy he was being. Seriously, he was distracting you from your agenda of going to sleep!

“Kazu! Stop flirting with me at 4 am or we might not fall asleep!”

Though you couldn’t see him, you were 200% sure he had a wide grin plastered on his face right now. “Me? Using tactics to get you to keep talking with me? Never,” he claimed, professing his false innocence.

“Well, I’m not falling for it! I may not be able to physically tuck you in bed right now, but I can in spirit!”

“Oh!? Then can you give me a goodnight kiss in spirit, too?”

At this point, you were sure that even with just a poke on the cheek you’d be able to feel the heat beginning to envelop your face.

As Kazunari finished laughing, you let the quiet lull of the night seep in the conversation for a few moments before gently breaking it.

“I’d rather give you a kiss irl, though.”

And just like that, you claimed victory over the game he started. With how Kazunari sputtered, a part of you worried that he’d disturb his roommate’s slumber. Still, an even bigger part of you was smug to have him speechless for that much of a duration.

“Babeeeee,” he drawled, “you’re so, so, so unfair… I, like, really want to hold you tight right now…” he murmured, the rustle of his bedsheets discernible through the call. You found yourself nestling onto your bed, too, snuggling up to a soft pillow.

“Soon,” you suddenly yawned, your tiredness seeming to have settled in the comfier you got on the bed. “We’ll have a lot of time to plan tomorrow and the days after, yeah?”

Kazunari let out a hum in agreement, a comfortable silence following suit.

“Kazu?” You muttered quietly, careful not to disturb your peaceful atmosphere.

“Yeah?”

“I love you. Good night,” you said, heart aflutter as you heard his response.

“I love you, too, cutie~ sweet dreams♪” he said in an unbelievably soft tone, before ending the call.

After quickly connecting your phone to a charger, you fell back atop your bed and hugged your pillow tight, already anticipating the day you’d be able to hold Kazunari in your arms, and you in his.

…

Morning come, you hastily prepared for class as you always did. You fell into your usual routine— as soon as you were out of the bathroom, you selected an outfit and went over the things you needed to bring to uni today.

You stopped for a minute; taking a quick selfie to post on your story and emphasise your exhaustion to your close friends, before making yourself some breakfast. Within less than 5 minutes, your phone pinged— a recorded message from one of your favourite people this early in the morning.

"Mornin' piko☆ You're looking cute as always today♪”

There was no way you would admit to how many times you replayed it to Kazunari, but even so it was a good way to keep you positive for the rest of the day.

You don’t remember Veludo Way being this rowdy, though it was hard to trust your memory when it’s probably been years since you’ve last visited. Somehow, it was not tough to imagine Kazunari walking around and performing here— the liveliness of the streets difficult to not associate with one of the liveliest people you knew.

While the original plan was to meet up at a cute and trendy cafe you saw all over people’s SNS, the two of you agreed to meet up somewhere less crowded and more meaningful to him— the theatre which he’d performed at multiple times in the past.

As you saw the building from a distance, you wondered when you’d be able to see him on stage, too.

A shout of your name pulled you out of your thoughts, and you couldn’t help yourself from running over to meet up faster with the figure that was jumping and waving around in your direction.

Had you any sense left, you probably would have told him that you didn’t want him embarrassing himself in public, but in reality it was quite apparent that you were just as excited to finally see him in person.

“Kazunari!” you can’t help the little shriek you let out as you finally embrace him, only joyous laughter and each others’ names escaping the both of your lips. When you finally got a good look at Kazunari, you nearly wanted to bury yourself into his shirt again.

Everything still seemed so unbelievable. That this was real. That it was finally happening. It almost felt like the dreams you’ve had of this moment many times before.

“How are you so beautiful in person, too?! It’s totes like I’m falling in love with you again♪” Kazunari exclaimed, squeezing you one more time before finally settling on holding hands with you. “Ahh! I super, duper love you!”

Except it wasn’t. There was nothing imaginary about his warmth, and the way his words made you feel, and the beaming sunshine of a smile he aimed at you.

“I love you, too!”

want to order again?

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 8: Rinkah’s Burning Loins

My Castle

After fully dedicating ourselves to Hoshido, the game finally really begins. We’re given access to a customizable castle in the Astral Plane where our army waits between battles. We can talk to our units, giving them minor stat boosts or new weapons. Right off the bat, we have a farm and spring to give us resources, rooms for Corrin and Lilith, and a Hall of Records.

In Lilith’s spring, we can feed her to make her level up. Different foods affect her stats in different ways. Note that, although Lilith now has stats, she isn’t usable in battle. Other players can invade our Castle through spotpass, which I’ll discuss in a later entry, and Lilith is only usable in those battles.

Lilith

Lilith is a weird squirrel dragon thing that floats around clutching a random ball. She used to be our stable girl and is now our pet. I think she has a crush on Corrin. Her design is unique and cute, I like it. Gameplay wise, she can only use a modified Physic staff. I don’t dislike her personality, but she feels like a throwaway character added at the last minute. She raises a ton of questions that I doubt will ever be answered.

In the Hall of Records, we can see descriptions of all the units we’ll ever recruit, rewatch cutscenes, read unreadable poems, and play around with a relationship tester. The relationship tester is randomized, by the way, which kinda makes it pointless. That said, it told me that Corrin expects betrayal from Rinkah, while Rinkah’s loins are set afire by Corrin. This is now canon, I have decided.

In Corrin’s room, we can change their hairstyle and invite an ally over to chill. I chose Kaze. He complimented Corrin’s piano skills, which she apparently has, then stared at us, blushing, while thanking us for saving him from Garon.

So, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. In the Japanese version you get to rub units while in close up mode. Like Pokemon Amie except...with people. This was removed in the English version. A lot of Fire Emblem fans were pissed, crying about censorship because Nintendo of America had the gall to remove the minigame where you rub Camila’s tiddies while she moans. And I’m going to say a hot take right now: they made the right call. That stuff was weird and indulgent. It was the living embodiment of the fanservice focussed design that plagues modern Fire Emblem games. Good riddance.

Inviting allies to Corrin’s cool sex treehouse boosts our support levels. I suppose it's time I mentioned that. In Fire Emblem games, units form bonds from fighting next to each other, unlocking short conversations that flesh them out as characters. Units also fight together better when they have high supports. Now, here’s the fun thing about supports:

There are more than 600 supports in this game. Not support conversations, support lines, each of which is made up of three or four conversations. And, because God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never finished, I’m going to read all of them.

Admittedly, I’m not going to unlock all of them. S-Rank conversations result in marriages and each unit only gets one. It’d take a few dozen playthroughs to get all of Corrin’s S-Rank conversations and I don’t hate myself that much, so I’m reading the transcripts from the wiki. I think I’m going to do four supports per Entry; that’ll leave me with a few extra by the time we reach the end, but I’ll just do a support grab bag entry or something.

Before we do supports, let’s finish up improving the castle. I built a weapon shop and a statue of Corrin that boosts her max speed. We are limited on the number of buildings we can build, but that isn’t a big deal yet because the only other option was to build a stave shop.

Support: Corrin/Rinkah

C: Corrin attempts to discuss battle tactics with Rinkah, but Rinkah blows her off and tells her to stop trying to be friends. Rinkah does acknowledge that Corrin’s authority and that Corrin saved her life, but tells the princess leave her alone.

B: Corrin pesters Rinkah until she explains why she’s so aloof. Rinkah explains that, the Flame Tribe keeps a great flame burning in the center of the village to honor the God of Fire. In the past, outsiders have extinguished the fire. One such instance was followed by a volcanic eruption that decimated the tribe. As a rule, the people of the Flame Tribe are wary of outsiders. Rinkah also explains that she’s working for Hoshido because her father commanded her to, much to her chagrin.

A: Rinkah explains that she would have preferred to die an honorable warrior’s death than be captured and resents Corrin for sparing her. Corrin says that she’s glad Rinkah is still alive, because it means Rinkah and her can be friends. Corrin also says that, despite the chaos of war, she believes in fate and its ability to bring people together. Corrin encourages Rinkah to use this opportunity to learn more about the outside world and bring that knowledge home with her. Rinkah begrudgingly agrees.

This is how the conversation will end on my playthrough, but if Corrin has a penis, you can get an S-Rank proposal conversation. I’ll be listing all of these off along with the normal conversations.

S: Rinkah comes to Corrin, blushing, and tells him that he has been a constant reminder of her shame and regret over being captured. But, over time, these feelings were replaced with love. Love that she hated, because Corrin is an outsider. Corrin says that he’s loved Rinkah since the day they met and only told her to be friendly to other people as an excuse to spend time with her. Rinkah states that, from now on, she will remember her capture as the happiest day of her life and the two get married.

Review: I really like this support line. It expands Rinkah’s backstory and culture, ties it into Corrin’s own isolation and belief in fate, and deals with the tumultuous meeting they had in Chapter 2. The confession comes out of nowhere, admittedly, but I do like Rinkah grappling with her mixed feelings of hate and love. Solid support.

Support: Corrin/Jakob

C: Corrin comes to Jakob to ask for a favor. Jakob interrupts her by humorously listing off the things he would do for Corrin. Things like slay dragons for her, which is actually kinda offensive now that I think about it. Corrin begs Jakob to allow her to be independent and Jakob refuses. Corrin explains that she’s his boss and he tells her that servitude is his reason for living. Jakob explains that, when he started working for Corrin, he was incompetent, and her kindness towards him made him indebted to her. The two compromise on the agreement that Jakob will teach Corrin how to make tea. After Corrin leaves, Jakob mumbles to himself that things might get apocalyptic.

B: Corrin repeatedly tries and fails to make a decent cup of tea. Both of them get some funny lines in, with Corrin telling Jakob that she can’t hear him because she’s ignoring him and Jakob saying that, saying that they’ll run out of leaves before Corrin makes decent tea. They meaning the nation in this case. Corrin eventually makes a passable cup, after Jakob secretly adds in sugar.

A: Jakob admits to Corrin that he messed with her tea and she laughs it off, admitting that she knew all along. She apologizes for being stubborn and accepts that she still needs Jakob’s help sometimes. Jakob says that he falls apart without Corrin. Corrin says that the two of them are alike in that way and Jakob literally faints from joy.

S: Jakob is acting more distant than normal. When Corrin asks him about this, he admits that he’s fallen for her and resigns from his duties as butler, because it is improper for him to have feelings for his mistress. Corrin begs him to say because she needs him and admits that she loves him too. The two of them get embarrassed and Corrin fires Jakob, giving him the new job of husband.

Review: This was a hilarious support that really made me appreciate Jakob’s snarky yet loyal personality. He is the perfect butler. The conflict of Corrin wanting to be independent and Jakob wanting to take care of her is a good dynamic that made me appreciate the relationship between these two characters. I do like them more as a platonic couple than a romantic one, but Jakob quitting his job because falling in love with Corrin is improper is a nice character moment.

Support: Corrin/Kaze

C: A villager gives Kaze a bunch of radishes because he’s super hot. And I mean, he is. Kaze apparently doesn’t realize that he’s hot until Corrin explains it to him. Kaze mentions that he dislikes the attention because he isn’t a good person before running off.

B: Corrin asks Kaze to follow her around so she can figure out what’s bothering him. Kaze says no, so Corrin annoys him until he agrees to hang out with him. Then he runs away again.

A: Kaze admits to Corrin that it was his fault that Garon kidnapped her, because when he was a child, he noticed the Nohrian soldiers that killed Sumeragi were in the city but said nothing about it. I don’t know how that makes Corrin’s kidnapping his fault, you’d expect there to be soldiers guarding a king. And the fact that Kaze was there means that there were also Hoshido soldiers, which means there was no reason to be suspicious of the Nohrians. Also, Kaze was a teenager at the oldest, so he should probably get some leeway. Whatever. Kaze apologizes to Corrin and Corrin, in turn, apologizes for making him live with guilt for fifteen years. Corrin also points out that Kaze led her home, meaning that they’re even now. Kaze compares Corrin to Mikoto because of her kindness and pledges to serve Corrin as her loyal retainer.

S: Corrin and Kaze joke around about Corrin’s kidnapping. It’s cute. Corrin mentions that, now that she’s spent so much time offscreen with Kaze, she likes him even more. Kaze blurts out that he loves Corrin, despite being her bodyguard, and the two propose.

Review: I found this chain a bit lacking, to be honest. The first two conversations were filler and the origin for Kaze’s guilt complex is kinda dumb. Kaze’s relationship with Corrin defines him as a character. He is so guilt ridden over her kidnapping that he would betray his country and his family to protect her. Later parts of the game hinge on this relationship. But, three of their four conversations are dull. I do like Kaze’s guilt complex as a concept, and think becoming Corrin’s retainer alongside Jakob and/or Felicia and a way to repent, but it isn’t enough to save this support line.

Support: Kaze/Rinkah

C: Kaze gets a bunch of candy for being hot and shares it with Rinkah, who secretly loves candy.

B: Kaze continues to give Rinkah candy.

A: Kaze continues to give Rinkah candy.

S: Kaze reveals that he’s been giving Rinkah candy because he’s in love with her.

Review: This one was a big let down. The fact that Kaze and Rinkah are introduced together made me think it would be about their capture, but no. It’s just Kaze giving Rinkah candy for four conversations straight. And it’s cute fluff, but it’s nothing more than that. There is something interesting below the surface with Rinkah hiding her love of candy to protect her image, but it’s never really explored.

So, off to a mixed start with the support conversations.

Birthright Chapter 7: A Vow Upheld

Team Corrin heads to a Hoshidan fort where Sakura is tending to wounded soldiers. We are introduced to Sakura’s retainers, Subaki and Hana. Suddenly, the fort is attacked by Nohrian forces. Corrin and Azura point out the ridiculousness of them attacking immediately after they arrived. Sakura freaks out because the fort is being used as a hospital and has no military value. So apparently Nohr is now being evil just to be evil.

Subaki and Hana agree to help Corrin defend the fort and argue over who’s more important to Sakura, much to her annoyance. Subaki and Hana give me a good opportunity to discuss a few interesting things about classes in this game. First off, unlike in most Fire Emblem games, classes are NOT gender-specific, as demonstrated by Subaki being the first male Pegasus Knight in the series. Secondly, the classic Fire Emblem classes were divided between the two nations. Nohr got Mercenaries, Hoshido got Myrmidons. Nohr got Wyvern Riders, Hoshido got Pegasus Knights. Etc. I really like this, it gives the two countries different feels in combat both aesthetically and mechanically. Finally, a lot of Hoshidan classes were renamed to be more Eastern, shown by Hana being a Samurai instead of a Myrmidon, or by Sakura being a Shrine Maiden instead of a Cleric.

Subaki

Subaki is a Sky Knight, this game’s equivalent of a Pegasus Knight. He can fly over terrain and has good speed and resistance, but is decimated by arrows. His personal skill buffs his hit and avoid when he has full health. Design wise, I like how ridiculously smug he looks. Personality wise, he seems over-competitive yet fiercely loyal to Sakura.

Hana

Hana is a Samurai with high speed and skill. Her personal skill damaged nearby enemies when she scores a kill. Her design is fine, if a little bland. Personality wise, she seems over-competitive yet fiercely loyal to Sakura.

Starting with this chapter, we have a prep menu, where we can choose which units to use and rearrange them on the map. We can bring our whole team in with us, so it’s a little pointless, but it's nice. Worth noting that you can have units start in pair up via this menu, unlike in Awakening where you had to pair them up after the battle started.

At the start of the battle, the chapter’s boss, a Cavalier named Silas, shouts out to Corrin that he’s her childhood best friend. She does not remember him even slightly. Okie dokie.

This map is decent. It’s a bit short, but it features a lot of good bottlenecks. The Dragon Veins can be used to open heal tiles, which is a bit pointless because you have two healers. When Silas and Corrin fight, he reiterates that they used to be friends. Corrin says that she can’t remember her past. And that confuses me, because I was under the impression that she got amnesia when she was taken to Nohr, which would have been before she met Silas. Unless he’s lying.

After the battle, Corrin refuses to kill Silas. She interrogates him about why he was so hesitant to attack them and he explains that, when they were children, he helped Corrin sneak out of the walls to have a picnic. The guards tried to execute Silas for this, but Corrin stopped them, because apparently guards listen to small children. Because of this, Silas feels he owes a debt to Corrin.

Question. Why was this random child allowed to play with the super secret hostage princess? Whatever.

Corrin eventually recovers a vague memory of Silas and asks him to join the gang. She explains that Garon is crazy and evil and that’s enough to make him swap sides. Silas is now officially the most sane character in the game. I mean, he should have probably realized this stuff before being sent to destroy a hospital for shits and giggles, but still.

Also, Silas mentions that Corrin’s favorite food is surf and turf. Perhaps this symbolizes how Corrin is stuck between both kingdoms? Or maybe it’s a random throwaway line. You be the judge!

At the end of the chapter, Saizo and a new character named Orochi show up, wounded, and report that Takumi and Ryoma have gone missing. Uh oh.

Team Corrin decide to help search for the missing princes. Sakura decides to come along, despite Corrin and Kaze’s objections. Silas also decides to come along and Saizo points out that he totally could be a spy or traitor. He’s a dick, but he is infinitely smarter than Kaze.

[baiqi]

high school yearbook, pg.4

♡ characters: gavin, mc/reader, minor ♡ description: the fourth time you meet gavin, you get an official introduction. ♡ word count: ~2100 ♡ ao3: archiveofourown.org/works/22485736 ♡ previous: otomestan.tumblr.com/tagged/hsy%20fic/chrono

“C’mon, you never want to hang out with my friends,” Minor whines.

“Your friends,” you reply, going out of your way to step on a satisfactorily crunchy patch of snow, “are too loud. They make my head hurt.”

It’s the fourth day in a row Minor has pled with you to join his gang of sophomore buddies. He always waits until you're walking home from school so you can’t escape, hoping one day he’ll get you to agree. Obviously, you're more stubborn than he expected.

“You can’t diss all of them just because Tyler said your glasses are kinda stupid.”

“My glasses aren’t stupid!” 

“Well, I know that. So does Quinn.” Minor chuckles at a memory. “You should’ve seen the way they jumped Ty’s ass for making fun of you. Did he ever apologize for that?”

You puff out your cheeks, but nod. The boy had approached you the day after the incident, embarrassed and seemingly genuine in his apology. Naturally, you forgave him; that didn’t mean you were inclined to meet Minor’s friends again anytime soon.

“I don’t think they’re mean, I just don’t think they like me very much.” You fidget with the hem of your sweater while you wait at a crosswalk. “Quinn is the only one who tries to include me in conversations.”

“That’s because they all have the attention span of a cat smelling catnip. It’s nothing against you, I promise.”

You're shaking your head before he’s even finished his sentence. “I don’t want to go ice skating with them. Not this weekend, at least. Winter break starts in two days and midterms have been really hard, I just want to relax for a few days. Okay?”

Disheartened, Minor makes a show out of sighing dramatically, lolling his head to one side. “Yeah, okay. I get it.” 

You know he’s not truly upset, but you still feel the nagging urge to tack on, “But if you really want, I’ll go with you and one friend to do something this week since we’re out of school.” You pause thoughtfully. “As long as it’s not Tyler.”

Minor side eyes you, one eyebrow raised in mild disbelief. “Really?”

“Really. I have ballet Tuesday afternoon and piano lessons Thursday morning, but any other time is fine, I think. I’ll check with Dad.”

He beams like the sun and eagerly starts suggesting things you can do, and you can’t help but giggle at how easy to please he is.

---

As promised, you show up to the arcade in New Light Mall at one o’clock to meet Minor and his friend. He wouldn’t tell you who he was bringing no matter how much you asked, claiming it was a surprise but that you wouldn't be disappointed. Which, regardless, makes your flight instinct take effect as you stand awkwardly by the entrance, phone pressed to your ear and waiting for Minor to answer.

He doesn’t answer, but only because he’s already jogging up to you, mauve-colored eyes shining expectantly. 

“You made it!”

You tuck your phone into the pocket of your coat, his presence momentarily settling your nerves. “I said I would, didn’t I?” Your hands follow your phone as you attempt to nonchalantly ask, “ Has your friend shown up yet?”

The smile that graces Minor’s face is borderline wicked. “Yup. He just demolished me at Street Fighter when you called.” He inclines his head, starting to walk off. “C’mon, this way.”

Near the back of the arcade is where your and Minor's favorite cluster of games live, among which are classics like Mario Kart, Pac-Man, and Pokemon Snap. At the Street Fighter machine, with his back to the two of you, stands a tall boy with chestnut hair, hunched slightly over the controls. He doesn’t acknowledge you as you approach, intensely interested in his match, handling the joystick like a professional.

Minor clears his throat loudly. “Hey, bro.”

The other boy doesn’t turn around, only responds with an aggravated “What do you want?” as he taps the brightly colored buttons of the machine.

Your eyes widen a fraction of an inch in recognition. Your insides feel like they’re being twisted into balloon animals.

“Don’t be an ass, dude, there’s a lady present.”

“Minor, I--”

A loud noise of defeat plays from the machine, cutting you off. He turns to face you at the sound of your voice, frighteningly familiar (and gorgeous, an annoying part of your brain sighs wistfully) eyes locking with yours, and just like two weeks ago when you'd caught his eye across the alley, you're paralyzed. 

Minor’s friend...is Gavin?!

Blood rushes to your face so quickly you feel lightheaded, subconsciously taking a half step backwards to balance yourself. Your mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Is this some kind of joke?

After a second, Gavin’s gaze slides from you to Minor. Though his expression is carefully schooled to show disinterest, there’s a bite in his voice that only Minor catches. “This is your friend?”

Smugly, Minor replies, “Uh-huh.” He looks at you, head tilted. “Gonna introduce yourself?”

You give him a sharp look out of the corner of your eye. You distinctly remember having a conversation with Minor about Gavin’s “transaction” in the alleyway, and he definitely never once mentioned being friends with Gavin. Were you not so shocked at the situation you've found herself in, you'd be having quite a few words with Minor.

Still, Minor doesn’t seem fazed by the accusatory and, frankly, betrayed way you're glaring at him. Barely three seconds pass before he’s nudging your shoulder. “Anyone home?”

You resist the urge to swat at him. 

“I’m--”

“I know who you are,” Gavin cuts in.

Unbidden fear fills your veins with ice. Shoulders curving inwards imperceptibly, you shrink into yourself in a subconscious effort to become smaller. A vision of his piercing gaze mixed with the phantom feeling of wild winds tangling your hair makes your heart race.

“...Y-you do?”

“Your name’s MC, right? Minor talks about you often.”

Minor’s self-satisfied smile immediately dissolves into a scowl, though you don’t notice due to the relief flooding through you. He must not realize you were the one he saw across the alley that day. That doesn’t erase all your worries, but it does lessen the knot in your stomach. Whatever trouble he may or not have been in that day, at least you won't get roped into it.

“Yep, that’s me,” you say shortly, afraid to talk too much at the risk of coming off annoying. 

“My partner in crime.” Minor slings an arm over your shoulder. “The peanut butter to my jelly. The second pea in the pod.”

You push him away by a hand on his cheek, rolling your eyes. “The Mario to his Princess Peach, actually.”

“Without,” Minor is quick to add, “any of the lovey stuff.”

“Uh-huh,” Gavin says slowly, like he’s taking stock of the situation he’s found himself in. He doesn’t smile when he says, “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

You bow your head briefly. Your earlier relief at not being remembered is now tinged with a sense of disappointment that you can’t understand. “You too.” 

“Anyway,” Minor cuts in, throwing an annoyed look at Gavin for ruining his plan, “The Mario Kart machine added two more bikes, which means we can have a three-way race! You in?” At your hesitance, he sings, “Someone unlocked Shy Guy~” 

Despite your best efforts, a smile still spreads across your face. “Fine. You got me.”

Surprisingly, Gavin doesn’t immediately take the lead when the first race begins. You aren’t the best at this game so you'd expected him to at least be better than you, but he stays sandwiched between you and Minor. Occasionally you're able to pass him, holding onto second place for a little while before he overtakes you again. But he never gets very far ahead of you - unlike Minor, who takes his little Dry Bones and disappears from view before the second lap of any race begins. 

There’s a moment in the second race of the Grand Prix where the automated Bowser on your tail slams you with a red shell and sends you spinning into fifth place. After you grit your teeth and lean forward angrily on your plastic bike to get back into the race, you notice Gavin, or more accurately his racer Link, has somehow ended up behind you. You spare him a glance that he does not return, then focus on the game again. Still, you're aware of how he stays one position behind you for the rest of the race.

Minor notices it too because at the end of the race (where he once again comes in first and you and Gavin come in at second and third respectively), he sits up and frowns at Gavin. “What the hell, bro? Stop coddling her, she knows how to play.”

You keep your mouth shut, elbows propped on the handlebars as you watch the boys. Was that what Gavin was doing in the last race? He’d barely said two words to you since you arrived, what would he care what place you came in?

“I’m not coddling anybody,” Gavin replies indifferently. “Are you gonna ready up for the next race or what?”

Minor looks like he wants to say something else - you know the way he scrunches his nose well. Though you can’t see Gavin’s face, he must give Minor a sharp look because he grumbles under his breath and turns back to the game.

The rest of the Prix goes much the same way: Minor takes a strong lead, you try to play catch-up, and Gavin stays one or two positions behind you. Even when you purposefully drive off the course at one point as a test, Gavin always winds up nearby. It’s almost like he’s playing bodyguard, though you can’t figure out why.

As the final results are being announced, you get a call from your father ushering you home. You want to argue because you're actually having fun despite your expectations of Gavin, but the worried tone in your father’s voice makes you reluctantly agree to come home.

Tuning back into Minor and Gavin’s arguing (or rather, Minor’s arguing and Gavin’s apathy), you raise your voice. “Hey, guys, I have to go.”

Argument with Gavin forgotten on a dime, Minor deflates. “Aww, what? Is your dad being a buzzkill again?”

“He’s not a buzzkill!” You retort defensively. “He just worries a lot.”

“Yeah, fine. Want us to walk you home?”

“No, that’s okay. I rode my bike here.” You smile at them, hands clasped politely in front of you. You feel a bit shy all of a sudden. “Thank you both for today. I had a good time.”

For the first time all day, the aloofness slips from Gavin’s face and is replaced with thinly veiled surprise. Then as quick as it showed itself, it vanishes. He looks to the side, ears reddening, and doesn’t respond. 

Your smile dims a little at his apparent dismissal, but you shake it off to look at Minor. “I’ll let you know when I’m home, okay?” To Gavin, you say, “It was really nice meeting you. You're... different than I thought you'd be.” You don't stick around to explain yourself, hurrying out of the arcade.

When you're safely out of sight, Minor rounds on Gavin with a smack to his arm. “Acting like you’ve never met her? Really?”

Gavin’s eyes flash when Minor connects with his arm. “I haven’t ever met her,” he says evenly. 

“Oh, shut up. The girl you ran to the bus stop with in the rain? The one who saw you in the alleyway with Lynn? You know that was MC!” 

“Even if it was,” Gavin says, knowing full well that Minor is right, “she obviously doesn’t remember me, and she doesn’t need to.” Imperceptibly, his posture slouches. “She’s too nice to get roped into my bullshit.”

“First of all, I know she recognizes you at least from the alley because she told me about it. Second, she’s a lot tougher than you think she is.” Minor’s expression softens. “She obviously had fun hanging out today. If you like her, then just talk to her. What’s the worse that could happen?”

As usual, Gavin clams up. He tugs at a lock of hair, which is how Minor knows he’s thinking deeply about something. He could be like that for a while, so Minor pats his back and heads for the Street Fighter machine again.

“Alright, big guy. Come fight your feelings out.”

For a few seconds, Gavin watches Minor walk away with a sour look on his face. Then he sighs, decides begrudgingly that he does still want his company, and follows him.

They don’t talk about you again, even though Minor can tell Gavin’s still thinking about you. He just ribs Gavin’s sub-par skills and talks aimlessly about whatever crosses his mind in an attempt to lighten Gavin's mood.

When they go their separate ways later that evening, Gavin quietly but genuinely expresses his thanks. Minor jokes that he better step up his game before someone else swoops in to steal you away, and Gavin retracts his thanks with a scowl and an attempt to pull Minor into a headlock. 

Still, they make plans to get together again soon; it leaves both of them feeling at ease.

[schlepped]

Warm In Winter

Hi. So yeah, before his birthday is over, I would like to post a birthday one-shot of Double B because i miss them a lot. 

English is not my first language so there might be grammatical errors. hope you enjoy it!

- - -

On one of the meaningful days for Hanbin, he scoffed as he found himself working on some paperworks. He should’ve spent the day like any other weekend he always been, cuddling up with Jiwon while watching movies together, but the funny thing is both of them need to work on something.

Not fair, he thought to himself. But he finishes his work a little earlier than he had expected and he’s watching the gray sky with flashes of lightning dancing vigorously through his office window while holding a paper bag that contains the newest so-called-zombie-apocalypse-game-that-only-Jiwon knows what inside the bag. He’s been whining for the past few weeks about how much he wanted the video game.

“He’s going to like it,” he mumbles.

He steps out of the building with drizzles pouring down from the sky, making small droplets on his light blue shirt then turns into a heavy rain within seconds making him rushing to the nearest bus stop while hugging the paper bag to make sure it is safe without any watermarks on it.

Rain. Hanbin never really like the rain. He doesn’t hate it but he doesn’t like it either. Like if there was a parameter to measure his liking for rain then he would have placed in the middle. He’s not good at resisting cold—thanks to the rhinitis—Winter December’s breeze is sure is cold, with -4 Celsius degree and 8 km/hr wind velocity, it’s cold enough for Hanbin staying outside.

He pulls his phone and finds there are no new notifications and an alert of low battery on his screen. He sighs while looking at the 7% on the upper right side of his phone. Hanbin grows in anxiety as there is no sign of Jiwon to pick him up leaving him restless with his battery slowly decreasing to zero.

***

On the other side of Seoul, a man is rushing to start an engine of his loud-monster, a Ford Mustang GT in the basement. Worriedness etched evidently on his face as he hears a voicemail answering his call instead of the owner.

The road is wet, with loud thumps of rain droplets falling on his car windshield like a clockwise ticking. He sees Hanbin standing alone at the bus stop as his cars slowly getting closer and stops right in front to call him.

“Hanbin!” He shouted and a smile appears on Hanbin’s face as he hurries into his car.

The smell of rain welcomes him when Hanbin opens the door and there he is, sitting awkwardly hugging a paper bag on his arms.

“Hi.” He said shyly.

"Hey."

Jiwon looks at him for a moment before turning away, trying to reach a hoodie with his long hand in the back seat. “Open your shirt.”

“Huh? My shirt? All of sudden?”

Hanbin is flustered, but then realizes what he meant by opening his shirt when Jiwon throws him a hoodie on his lap.

“Your shirt. It’s wet.”

“Okay. But please look somewhere else.”

Jiwon turns his head into another direction but Hanbin knows he’s smiling smugly on the other side, “what? I’ve seen all the parts of your body. Just open.”

His cheeks feel hot at the moment Jiwon said his first sentence. Even though it’s true, Hanbin himself still finds it amusing and embarrassing at the same time. But he still pulls his shirt up when he knows Jiwon sneakily peeking on him.

“I said don’t look!”

“Okay! Okay! I won't look!”

Jiwon’s apartment is…. messy like the usual. Nothing new. A pair of dirty socks in the doorsteps, clothes hanging on the sofa. They’re necessarily “Jiwon” thing.

They straightly go into Jiwon’s room and he pulls a t-shirt and a boxer from his drawer and put it on the bed.

“You can take the shower first.”

Hanbin nods and Jiwon walked out, closing the door behind him and just like that, Hanbin is left alone in his room. No matter how much he’s been into his room, a strange feeling still lingers on him since it is Jiwon’s private area. He doesn’t want to invade much so he goes to take shower right away.

Scrolling through his phone while looking up to some weird yet funny memes, Jiwon finds Hanbin standing on the door edge.

“Hey. You’re done? And by the way, are you hungry?”

“Yeah. I’ll make the dinner, you can just go shower.”

The dinner is served by the time Jiwon steps out of his room, rubbing his hair roughly with a dry towel. It’s just two over-cooked instant Ramen and two cups of hot water to warm themselves on this rainy night.

Small talks hovering while they eat their dinners, like how was their day and stuff. It went so quickly. The next thing Hanbin knows, they’re sitting on the sofa, watching La La Land on Netflix.

“You’re not going to your Mom’s. That’s new.”

Jiwon looks at him, “Yeah. I just wanted to spend the day with you tonight.”

“Do you really think it would be okay?”

“Why it wouldn’t be okay?”

“I feel like I ruined your family traditions.”

Hanbin swallowed his saliva. Hard. He knows this will start an argument but before he even back to the reality the words already slip out of his mouth and he feels regret after seeing a flash tense on Jiwon’s face.

“Hanbin. Why you always think like this? Even though I don’t get to celebrate it with my family, it’s just for this year only. And it’s my day. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. I get to choose whoever I want to spend my day with and I choose you. Doesn’t it mean anything to you?”

“It means everything to me. It’s just, I don’t want to get in the way… I… you know.”

“Okay. You need to stop to think everything is your fault. You’re not ruin anything. This is purely my choice. I choose you to be my partner on my birthday. So what? I spend my time with my family every Sunday. I gotta have time to spend with you too like we always do every Saturday. And for some reason, God puts December 21 on Saturday. So it’s our day. I don’t want to hear any complaints from you. Can we just focus on the movie?”

Hanbin goes silent. His mind is processing every word coming out from Jiwon’s mouth. Slowly building his thought that he’s the one Jiwon chooses to spend his time with on this day.

“For the sake of this argument, let’s just say that I’m Ash Ketchum and wants to spend his day with his lifetime partner Pikachu. Alright?”

A smile cracks on Hanbin’s face. “Now you’re saying that I’m Pikachu? Can’t believe you’re using Pokémon to get on this.”

“There’s no other way. Besides Pokemon is the only thing I remember since there was Pokémon on TV this morning.”

“You’re weird.”

“That’s one way to say it, Hanbin.”

Jiwon leans his face close and the next thing he knows, he’s kissing Hanbin’s soft lips gently. Like a Japanese cotton sponge cake, his lips taste sweet and soft. The kiss grows intense as he slips his hand underneath Hanbin’s t-shirt tracing his skin softly, giving a sensual tension for Hanbin to let out small gasps between the kiss.

His hand slowly going lower and lower towards the V area outside his pants, stroking it slowly and bitting Hanbin’s lips at the same time. One at the time, clothes are scattering on the floor leaving Jiwon and Hanbin only on their pants, both panting while resting their foreheads on each other.

“Do you want me to go down?” Jiwon asks cautiously, biting his lip.

Hanbin nods, “yeah. Please.”

Jiwon kisses him on the neck, slowly leaving kiss marks all over his neck as he goes down to the torso reaching down to his ‘Nihilism’ tattoo. And his hand opening the zipper while pulling it down and stroking Hanbin’s cock through his underwear.

A loud moan is echoing the room followed by heavy breathes and long gasp, and Hanbin’s begging for him to go inside. Touching it for real, skin to skin.

He slips his finger inside Hanbin’s panty and finds his boner on its position, tense as ever. He rubbed it slowly, occasionally messaging it. Shivers strikes down to Hanbin’s spine as he feels he’s about hit his limit.

“Ah! Shit! Jiwon I’m about time to-“

“Shh. Hold it for a second.”

Pulling down his underwear, Jiwon goes closer to his boner to suck it up and twist it with his tongue. And a moment later he hit his limit as cum flushes out.

Hanbin tries to catch his breath before fixing his position and looks at Jiwon in some-kind of expression Jiwon unable to apprehend.

“Do you… want me to do it too?”

He’s slightly taken aback at his blatant question, but nods. They’re switching places with Hanbin’s on top and he’s on the bottom.

Jiwon lets a small moan out of his mouth as Hanbin pulls his pants down, looking at his tensed boner. He plants light kisses on his cock, before kissing it more gently and rubbing his balls with his hand.

Never once he thought Hanbin will be this good at sucking. He’s almost blackout when his tongue twists his cock and thrusting it in and out of his mouth. He becomes speechless as the minute goes by, but every minute feels like a year.

This feels like a heavenly punishment yet the best gift he’s ever received this year.

“FUCK!”

Hanbin stops, looking up at Jiwon with his big doe eyes and it makes Jiwon desperate as he wants it more and more. Why the hell did he stop when he knows he enjoys it?

“Do-don’t stop.”

He smiles before continuing sucking his cock while giving hand-job by rubbing and messaging his balls gently. Jiwon finally comes to his limits with his cum flushes out on Hanbin’s mouth along with Jiwon’s long moan echoing across the room.

Hanbin pecks his lips while lifted strands of hair from Jiwon’s face.

“Fuck. That was- amazing.”

“Amazingly bad or?”

“It was amazingly good.”

Hanbin gets up and pulling up his pants, then goes to the pantry. He gives Jiwon the paper bag he was carrying with him since he’s still in the office.

“I’ve been wondering what is this.”

“Open it. It’s a present. I know you like it so just open and tell me what do you think about it.”

He opens the gift box and his face lits up when he sees his most-wanted video game placed inside the box. “God! I can’t believe you got me this. Are you serious about this? Don’t you hate it when I play video games and started ignoring you? Whoa… you’re really amazing. Still can’t believe you give me this for my birthday.”

The way his talk started to turn into rapping makes Hanbin chuckles softly. Child-like smile, with his voice pitched-up, he is really excited about getting that video game. He knows the consequences by giving it as a present, but there’s nothing more that makes him happy than seeing him happy.

“I’m going to take it away from you if you’re going to ignore me.”

He pouts, “No way. I’m going to hide this really well so you won’t find it.”

Such a big baby, he laughs at his own thoughts.

“What? What?! Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing. Just.. you know, you’re such a baby.”

“Well. I am your baby.”

“Yeah. A big one.”

[pkmnsdarkqueen]

Tell Me (Lysandre, the choice is yours)

Drabble Me

-Original ask open-

It was one of those nights at the bar where the place was technically closed down, but open to it’s shadier cliental. While playing some pool with Kimi, the main bartender, and with others watching some teasing had started about Karen’s well romantic life. It had all been in good fun, and Karen even slipped in a few jabs at herself to add to it. Besides since Karen dished it out all of the time she was good at taking it back. It was when she finished the game there was something unusual about her actions. 

She retreated  to her ‘office’ soon after it was done. Usually Karen, despite admitting to not being a large party person, would stay around the entire time for these events saying she felt more comfortable here. The second flag was how her umbreon during the game kept glancing over at her before quickly leaving the DJ booth to follow her. 

When he knocked on the door she opened it saying it was fine for him to come in. For the sake of space and keeping things secret her ‘office’ was simply a store room with a folding table and chairs to sit in. Ones that were perfect for her height at least. She gave a small snicker which she tried to cover as he tried to get comfortable. 

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t laugh.”

“No it’s fine, I mean you haven’t asked me how the weather is up here yet so you’re doing better than most people.”

“You have no idea how badly. The only thing  stopping me was how unoriginal it likely was to you by now, and I needed that perfect moment for it to come off as ironic.”

As he got settled she wondered why he’d followed. had something happened she didn’t know about? Was he wanting to ask her something? Maybe just talk? She wondered criss cross on her own chair to give her umbreon a good lap to sit on while she pet him. 

“You seem to be trying to leave early, everything alright?”

Ah, it was the second option, and it was about feelings. She should of hidden better. The umbreon nuzzled her hand at the minor spike in worry from her. Even the smallest shift to a negative emotion he picked up, and tried to account for when he was close to her. She appreciated the gesture though didn’t think there to be too much cause for concern. In fact maybe it was a good thing he stopped in to ask about this. She needed to be better about telling other people how she felt. Especially ones about self doubt. Not everything could be fixed by toughing it out, she’d noticed that fault in herself when talking to Will about why she started the bar. 

“It’s nothing serious, I’m self reflecting is all. Talking about romance and all that mushy junk is complicated for me.”

“You were talking a big game out there about all of the people you’ve made out with.”

It all started so childishly with dumb bets about having to kiss certain people depending on who won the game Kimi teasing about her finally getting Karen a first kiss. Then Karen bragging about all of the people she’d made out with, and asking if Kimi was trying to add to her version of a body count. The two continued back and forth like that laughing off, and even clapping at the other’s zingers if they were good enough. 

“Yeah well...it may of been true but it was more of a deflection to match the energy of the room.”

She sighed frowning as her head hung low to look at the pokemon in her lap. 

“She said she’d get me my first kiss because the truth is while I may of made out with plenty of people I never wanted to do it, well not really. It was when I was a criminal still, and I figured out pretty early my life I was attractive by general worldly standards. I saw my mom use her looks to get what she wanted when I was a kid, I saw in my criminal days how people used it, and learned if I played things right I wouldn’t even have to sleep with anyone. Just get them alone enough to knock them out, or dance around the topic enough so that Will could get what we needed. That was the other advantage, I could convince people to talk. Sometimes I still have to use those tricks if I feel I need to. You know the only good thing the Masked Man ever did was prevent me from doing any of that until I was of age.”

There was quiet that settled in after she chuckled from the final line. The tunes from the music still leaking under the door were the only thing keeping it so silent that Drake’s purring could be heard. Ah, she really should stop laughing when saying such depressing things it seemed to leave mix emotions on the other’s face.

“I’ve kissed, I’ve made out, I’ve been held. close, but I have yet to enjoy any of it. I always feel...disgusted really when doing it. Like I the only thing I want to do is claw and tear myself away from the person at any cost. If it’s the only way to get the job done though then I put up with it. I don’t want it to feel like that. One of these days I’d like to kiss someone and it feel nice like everyone says it does. The thing is I honestly have no idea how to do that.”

She let out a laugh again, dammit, as she turned her head up. 

“I mean yeah I can seduce someone, but my association with seduction is using a person. If I really care about someone the last thing I want to do it use them. A kiss, or any romantic affection is supposed to mean you care about the person which is the opposite of using them. The other thing is that I’ve seen happy couples. My dad and step mom are head over heels in love so is the old couple that helps me run this place. I know what a healthy relationship is supposed to be like, but I can’t figure out where the starting line is. Then there’s the other issue of me being attractive which should come as an advantage, but the problem is that people expect because of that I know what I’m doing likely having years of experience. I also know I’m naturally suspicious about new people so trying to not assume they’re interested because of my looks or position alone in stressful. Sure I know people in my coworker circle from this region or others are safe bets, but then I have to talk about my past which is an entirely different can of weedle to deal with, and I should stop rambling shouldn’t I?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

He answered genuinely. Lysandre had his head resting against his hand as his elbow laid on a shelf supporting him. It maybe a relaxed position, but Karen knew he had been genuinely listening the whole time. She felt something stir in her stomach as her mind reminded her that she’d admitted her dating problems to the captivated audience being him. Karen wasn’t sure what that feeling was, embarrassment was the closest emotion she could pin it to which was possibly why her cheeks felt warmer. 

“I mean.....I can relate to some of what you were saying.”

“Oh well now you can’t say that without going on a rant yourself! Go on if I have to share something as embarrassing as being 35 without having my first real kiss then you ought to share something otherwise it’s simply impolite.”

She jested.

Besides.....I like listening to your voice too.

[iceprincessmiyu]

Same anon as before, I just saw your ideas post so how about this! New Years in Wyndon. Leon and Hiki spends the day sight seeing and shopping. At the end of the day Lee brings Hiki to the Ferris wheel to watch the New Years fireworks. They’re at the very top of the Ferris wheel and Leon gives Hiki a gift. He gives her a promise ring and a charmander bred in a loveball so she knows she will always be in his heart 💞

So I’ve actually already written a story where he gives her a Charmander, (here) but I thought of another special gift he could give her along with the ring! This was really fun to write! Enjoy!!

Every year around the holidays, Leon had off from Christmas Eve to New Years Eve. For the past two years since they had started dating they had made it a tradition to fly Hiki from Circhester to Wyndon so they could spend that week together, with Christmas Day spent with his mom and Hop. This year was a little different from the others, however. This was the first year that they had been public about their relationship, which meant they could spend this time together out in the city, taking in all the festivities it had to offer. 

On New Years Eve, Leon noticed Hiki slowly growing more and more sad as the day went on. Over the last couple days, all she could talk about was getting to see the fireworks with him at midnight and even dropped a few not-so-subtle hints about how she was looking forward to that special midnight kiss… so why didn’t see seem happy? He hoped what he planned to ask her that night would cheer her up, but they were still hours away from that happening. He needed to know what was bothering her so much.

They stopped at a food stand to grab a snack. While they were sitting side by side on a bench, eating, he heard her sigh to herself and decided it was as good of a time as any to ask what was on her mind. “Everything okay, Love? You’ve been awfully quiet today. Aren’t you having fun?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m having a lot of fun!” She responded before flashing him a smile. It wasn’t a lie! She really was enjoying her time with him.

“Then is there something on your mind?”

And there it was again. That almost depressing sigh. “It’s New Years Eve, Lee…”

He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Of course it is! And we’ve both been looking forward to tonight! That’s why we’re here! So… what’s the problem?”

She stared at the ground in front of them and kicked her legs back and forth. “Tomorrow… you go back to work and I have to go back to Circhester. It’s almost over…”

“Ah…” So that’s what this was about. If only she knew about the gifts he wanted to give her at midnight… Then she wouldn’t be worried at all!

Hiki looked over to him with a glaring pout. “That’s all you’re going to say?” Why did he even ask if he wasn’t going to try to make her feel better.

“Huh? Oh!” He shook his head, a little embarrassed that he got caught up in his thoughts instead of giving her an actual response. But he couldn’t exactly tell her what was on his mind. Not yet, at least. “No, I was just… thinking. I’m not ready for it to be over either, but shouldn’t we try to enjoy what time we do have left as much as we can?”

She felt a little guilty for snapping at him like that. She knew better than to think he was being inconsiderate, but he did seem a little distracted, himself. “Yeah, that’s a good point. Sorry for being so mopey.” She rested her head on his shoulder and he put an arm around her.

“Don’t worry about it! We’ll just have to make today extra fun!” He kissed her head before standing up and holding out a hand for her to take. “Come on! There’s lots of games we can go play! I’ll win a big stuffed Pokemon for you!”

She giggled at the thought of it. He may be really good at Pokemon battles, but when it came to carnival games… he wasn’t so talented. But when he set his mind on something, he didn’t stop until he succeeded. She took his hand and stood, but before they could walk away, she tugged on his hand to pull him into her for a hug. “Thank you…”

—

After hours of games and laughs, Leon finally won a stuffed Scorbunny for Hiki. It wasn’t exactly the giant one like he had planned, but it was still big enough for her to cuddle in her arms as they walked together and she couldn’t have asked for a better prize. She was just happy that he won it for her!

“You know, there isn’t very much time left until the fireworks… We should probably find a good place to watch them from!” Hiki told him. “I’ve heard the grassy area in front of Rose Tower is a good place to go!”

He chuckled, already having something arranged for them. “I know of somewhere even better than that!” He took her hand and led her toward the ferris wheel, which had an awfully long line.

“The ferris wheel? But don’t you see all of those people waiting in line? There’s no way we will get on before midnight!”

“You worry too much, Hiki! Just trust me on this!” He told her with a wink. As it turned out, he arranged things with the festival staff to be able to get on at just the right time, which would leave them at the top the moment the clock struck midnight. Being the Champion had its perks.

Once they got on, Hiki laughed a little. “Now that’s just unfair! All those poor people down there waiting in line to get on and we just get to cut the line?”

“I’m sure it will be okay! I’ve had this planned for weeks! The staff probably warned them before they even got in line!”

Her eyebrow raised. “Weeks, huh?”

His cheeks turned a little red. “Well… yeah! It’s a special night for couples! So I… ahem… I wanted to make sure ours was extra special! Especially with what we talked about earlier.”

She smiled and reached forward to take his hand since they were sitting across from each other. He was a lot more thoughtful than most people like to give him credit for. “That really means a lot, Leon!”

He smiled back at her and rubbed his thumb over her hand. It was almost time… He checked his watch. 

11:58PM

He took a deep breath and pulled out a small gift box from his pocket. And Hiki’s jaw dropped slightly. “W-Wait… We were exchanging gifts?? I didn’t bring anything to give yo–”

“Hey, it’s okay!” He gave her a big smile. The one where he shows his teeth, that always made her heart melt. “This is kind of for both of us in a way, anyway!”

She eyed him suspiciously with a smile on her own face, hardly able to contain her excitement and removed the ribbon. She opened it and found a dainty ring with a red stone in it. “Lee… this is so pretty.” He had never bought her jewelry before. It definitely wasn’t a proposal ring or she probably would have passed out. But what made him decide to get it for her?

11:59PM

“It’s… a promise ring. I know we don’t always have a lot of time to spend with each other, but I wanted you to have it to remind you that no matter what, you’re always in my heart.” Before he could even finish, there were tears in her eyes. He chuckled and helped her put the ring on her index finger, then wiped away a tear from her cheek. “Wait, not yet! That’s not all!”

Hiki sniffled. “There’s more?” she asked, only feeling more emotional because of that, rather than calmer. Besides, how could anything top that?

30 seconds…

He cleared his throat, trying not to get emotional himself at the sight of her tears. The ferris wheel stopped, with them at the very top as he continued. “There’s something else in the box…” He was starting to get a little nervous.

20 seconds…

Hiki blinked and looked down at the box again and removed the small pillow that the ring was resting on. “A… key?”

From down below, they could hear the sound of people counting down the seconds. “Well… I’ve been thinking… and I even talked to your Aunt Melony about it, and now that we don’t have to hide our relationship from anyone anymore… if it’s okay with you…”

10… 9… 8…

“I’d like you to… move into my apartment with me.”

7… 6… 5…

Hiki stared at him, her eyes wide. She didn’t even have any words to explain how it made her feel. But she knew exactly how to show him.

4… 3… 2…

She quickly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him right on the lips.

1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Fireworks started to go off in the distance as they kissed, making the moment that much more magical. When she finally pulled away from him, he laughed and put his hand on her face. “So does that mean you will?” 

She laughed too and placed her own hand on his. “I’d love to! Thank you… This was the perfect way to end the night.”

[tigerlover16-uk-2]

Thank you, Sun and Moon

I know I'm a day early with this, but I wanted to get this out while I was still motivated. So, here we go.

To give an idea of what the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime means to me, let me start by going into my history with the anime.

I started watching Pokemon since the day it first aired in the UK. Back then, i remember Pokemon feeling like it was the biggest thing in the world, and for me it remained that way as i grew up.

I followed the show through the original series, Advanced Generation to well into Diamond and Pearl, and I always loved it. It was a constant presence in my life, and while I don't think I usually called it my number 1 favourite show, it was something I cherished and enjoyed more than most others. And at the time I was watching Diamond and Pearl and finding it possibly the best season yet, I was convinced I'd be following the series for pretty much the rest of my life.

And then, somewhere halfway through DP, something odd happened... I started missing episodes.

Like, id missed an episode of the series once in a blue moon due to extraneous circumstances, but I never actually took a break from watching the show, even when it was in reruns.

And yet for some reason, for a couple months, I couldn't be bothered to keep up with the anime. I'd later sum up that I was feeling burn out, but it felt odd how I'd just randomly seemed to lose interest when I'd been really enjoying Diamond and Pearl up until then.

Eventually I did start watching newer episodes again, but the same thing happened during the league arc, of which I only remember reading summaries on bulbapedia and only actually caught the last battle against Tobias. Something which... kinda bothered me. Not to a great deal at first, but the aftertaste felt more and more sour when I started watching the next series, Best Wishes.

I'll say right now, this is where I really started to question the quality of the Pokemon anime. I stopped watching the series after the dub got a few episodes past where the cancelled Team Rocket vs Team Plasma two parter would have aired. I did keep following plot summaries and checking new episodes pages on bulbapedia for a while, but that eventually lessened as I came to a realization.

The story was going nowhere. The show was just running in circles and making excuses to keep Ash's journey going in perpetuity.

I suppose maybe that should have been obvious already, but up through Diamond and Pearl, for all it's own backtracking, it still felt like Ash's journey was progressing and that the show itself was evolving and getting better in a number of ways. That we really were getting closer to seeing Ash becoming a master.

But between Tobias randomly being thrown into the league to eliminate Ash in a really lazy manner that felt unnatural compared to the last two times he'd lost a league, and a lot of the blatant bad writing decisions I was seeing like Zekrom showing up out of nowhere to nerf Pikachu so it could lose to Trip's Snivy, it really made me question where the story was going... if the show was even trying to tell a consistent story anymore, and they weren't just spinning their wheels and repeating the same patterns over and over again with no sign of ending or really moving forward.

At this same time I'd also been looking into the production history of the show and seeing what other people were saying about the anime online. I learned the show was originally supposed to end with Kanto and Ash winning the league, and I began looking back and noticing all the dropped plot points and mishandled story moments.

The GS ball plot never being resolved properly, the stuff with Ho-oh in Johto amounting to pretty much nothing, the mishandling of the Team Aqua and Magma plot, and a bunch of other things that made me realize...

This show is kind of a mess. There really isn't any kind of a plan or an end point. They're going to keep forcing Ash to lose at the league, reset his progress and keep running in circles because they don't want to do what Digimon and Yu-gi-oh did and let the story end and getting a new protagonist.

Needless to say, this coming at a rough time in my life where I was pretty miserable and becoming increasingly cynical with the world as well as more critical of media I watched, and in conjunction with what I saw people were saying about the show, left me feeling VERY disillusioned with the Pokemon anime.

Because I loved Pokemon, I thought it was the greatest franchise in the world and it had infinite potential. Surely, the anime should be better than this. Surely, Pokemon deserved better. SURELY, it should have been a great show for all ages like Shudo wanted it to be, and not some cheap commercial for the games?

I think the thing that broke me completely was Newtwo in the Genesect movie, because the anime's original take on Mewtwo is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and his story through his movie, Mewtwo returns and the birth of Mewtwo short and radio drama was what younger me had always thought represented how great Pokemon could be at it's best, and that the series was something meaningful...

And here OLM were giving us a boring copy of that character minus the nuance.

Did they even care, I thought? Was I just stupid for liking the anime as much as I did for so long? Was it even worth hoping things could get better?

By the time it was into XY, I had given up on the Pokemon anime and become disillusioned with it as a whole, spending the next few years bitter and pining over a better version of the series that only seemed to exist in my mind. I didn't even bother to keep up with reading about new episodes on Bulbapedia anymore, I didn't have a clue what was going on. And I was sure I didn't care, and I never would again.

What reason was there to be invested in a series that clearly had no faith in itself, and certainly no regard for people like me who had had faith in it and wanted a good story.

I did start listening in again towards the end of XYZ when i kept seeing so many people gushing about how great it was and how competent Ash had supposedly become. For a minute i almost got caught up in the hype that he might win the Kalos league, and that the writers had finally learned their lesson.

And then Ash lost.

I remember shrugging my shoulders and going "oh well" and then moving on with my life. I didn't even feel mad, I'd already resigned myself to what the outcome would most likely be, so what was the point in getting worked up when I don't even care about the show at all, right?

... Right?

I still remember the tepid reactions the trailer and announcements for the Sun and Moon anime got at this time. I'll admit, when I first heard the premise would involve Ash going to school I laughed and thought it was a stupid idea.

... but watching the various announcements and teasers for the show, something about it... intrigued me. I watched the first 5 episodes shortly after they aired and found myself enjoying them, but after that I got a bit distracted and didn't watch any more of it for a while.

A similar thing actually happened with XY, where despite my frustration at that point I did try to give the series a chance, but I quickly got bored, dropped it and stopped paying attention to the show as a whole until much later.

But unlike back then, I actually did pay attention to what was going on in the show, and what I was hearing did sound generally optimistic. I think it was a mix of the 20th movie coming up and the announcement of the Kanto two parter that convinced me to really sit down and watch the whole thing. And what I saw... was pretty darn good, I must say.

I was surprised with myself. I'd given up on the show, hadn't I? All the damage was already done, wasn't it? No matter what Sun and Moon did to shake things up, the show as a whole would still be inevitably tied down by it's status quo in the end, and nothing that happened here would matter or mean anything come the next series, right?

And yet, here I was. Having a good time and finding Pokemon Sun and Moon a pretty fun series overall. And I started to realize how much... just how much I'd missed the anime. How despite my insistence that I'd moved on and didn't care anymore... I never really had. I still wanted to love the series.

From that point on I kept watching Sun and Moon on a weekly basis, and eventually re-watched the entire series from start to finish, including everything I hadn't seen from BW and XY.

Slowly over time, my resentment and bitterness started to subside. For while so many of my problems with the show remained, I realized I could still have fun with it even though it wasn't perfect.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I won't pretend Sun and Moon was a perfect series. It had it's dull episodes and missed opportunities, just like all the series that came before it. There was plenty of stuff I thought could be better... and yet, the show never felt like it got bad or stopped being overall enjoyable despite those occasional gripes.

It didn't so much feel like the writers were just repeating all the same formulas and going through the motions anymore with Sun and Moon. There was a sense of fun to the show, a consistent level of joy and quality and, dare I say, PASSION to the series that I appreciated and kept me coming back to it.

And when the show was in top form, it honestly blew me away at times. I'll never forget the feeling of watching episode 108 and the scenes with Mallow reuniting with the spirit of her mother and thinking to myself "... THIS is a real episode of the Pokemon anime?"

I was happy. For the first time in so long, I felt content with the anime and not embarrassed to like it. But even then, I was thinking I'd have to like the show in spite of it's gaping, frustrating faults. I never dreamed the show or the writers would have the courage to break the dreaded cycles that pushed me away from it in the first place.

And then, only a few weeks ago now, the unthinkable happened... Ash Ketchum won the Alola league.

I'm still gobsmacked by it, honestly. I literally didn't think I was going to live to see the day. I'd resigned to the thought that the writers would always force him to lose... but against all my expectations, he did it. Ash won a pokemon league from the games.

And then just to really seal the deal, they even let him beat Kukui, a champion equivalent trainer, AND Tapu Koko right after that. Something that I never would have thought was possible to see happen in the Pokemon anime.

Honestly, watching that four parter, it felt like if you swapped out Kukui and Tapu Koko with Lance and Ho-oh, that could have been the ending I always thought the original series should have had... and it was GLORIOUS.

So now I'm sitting here, eagerly looking forward to the next series and feeling captivated by it's all regions premise and deviations from the formulas we'd come to expect as the eternal standard for this show, and I can hardly contain my excitement.

Because for the first time in a long time, Ash was finally allowed to achieve something extraordinary besides the obligatory "save the world from the current gen's villains" plot. For the first time since Diamond and Pearl, it feels like the story is actually moving forward into the next phase and the show is evolving.

For the first time in a long, long time... I look forward to the future of this series.

I could go on. There's plenty more I could say about Sun and Moon as a whole, discussing it's story, the characters and the writing, but... Honestly, there'll be plenty of time for that in the future. And for now, I feel like ive said all I needed to say.

At the end of the day, looking back on it all, I don't actually know if I'd call Sun and Moon my favourite Pokemon series. There's things about the Advanced Generation and Diamond and Pearl I liked more.

But Sun and Moon is, without a doubt, the Pokemon series I'm the most grateful for.

So, without further ado...

Thank you, Sun and Moon. Thank you for being a fun, charming, wholesome kids show. 

Thank you for being entertaining and a joy to watch these past few years.

Thank you for being creative and not completely repetitive.

Thank you for fulfilling a childhood dream of mine I never thought could come true.

Thank you for helping Pokemon to evolve and move on to a new era.

Thank you, Pokemon Sun and Moon... for restoring my faith in the Pokemon anime.

Though I'm sure there'll be many ups and downs in the future, I swear I'm going to stick with this show until one of us kicks the bucket. And I'm content with that now.

It's late and I should go to bed. Hope the final episode tomorrow is a good one.

[afreakingdork]

Review: Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!

I just... man I just don’t like this game. This is really just a way to collect my thoughts and have a quick reference to show people when I say I don’t like this game. There are some fun parts, but overall a bastardized version of the original Red/Blue and even Fire Red/Leaf Green... Just skip over this if it ain’t your thing, otherwise go down below to listen to me rant incessantly over a children’s game... 

Negatives

OMG I caught a Charmander early on in the game which was great, but I did not realize that Charmander no longer learns Metal Claw at level 13????? I’m pretty sure they added that attack to Charmander in Fire Red so that you could have an easier time fighting Brock. I don’t really see a reason to take it away in future games... In the end I caught a Bulbasaur too so I just easily blew through Brock’s gym, but I don't understand why they would give Charmander a move and then take it away in another Kanto remake? Even if my assumption was correct about Charmander from Fire Red then you are still at a disadvantage in Let's Go because both Eevee and Pikachu are still at a type disadvantage. If I can get a Charmander that early on what's the point in taking away one of its moves? (I checked up on this: I guess Charmander doesn't learn Metal Claw in any other game? I have been trading my Charizard from Fire Red up all my games so I had no idea...)

Why can't I get a bike... Just cause I can ride Pokemon?

Why isn't Cerulean Cape a hot date spot still???

This game has been nerf'd beyond comprehension. It seems that since X and Y the games have been getting easier and easier. I think X and Y had the perfect balance, especially after Black and White which just trudged along for me like wearing rain boots in foot deep mud. Sun and Moon are so easy and there is so much BORING tutorial that I still have yet to finish the game. I like that they tried mixing up the Pokemon formula in Sun and Moon, but they are treating these games too much like games not necessarily for children, but almost for toddlers. I doubt a 5 year old would even want to read as much as they force you to read in Sun and Moon anyway. Also TM's aren't one use only anymore? HM's don't exist at all and human's are supposed to be able to use them? WTF. It was supposed to help you be more discerning, now you have so many fail safes...

Man come on RivalBryan, you are embarrassing me... 

Why does DickFaceMcRivalPants (whom I named Bryan because he deserve that bland ass name) get to take sweet baby Cubone after I worked so hard to rescue it!!!!

Why are there so many fire hydrants in Saffron City...?

WHY IS SO MUCH PERTINENT INFORMATION ONLY AVAILABLE TO YOU SO LATE IN THE GAME?!?!?!! They have the information signs for catching multiples all the way after awaking Snorlax and Saffron city! I was trying to figure out why the game was encouraging me to catch multiples and giving me a ridiculous amount of Poke Balls, but I had no idea why!

WHY THE FUCK DO ERIK AND SARA IN FUSCHIA CITY EVEN HAVE FUCKING NAMES??! YOU CAN'T EVEN HELP THEM FIND EACH OTHER!!!!!!

The go park sucks. Why'd they remove the safari zone when you think it would be a better function when it comes to the Pokemon go catching style? Honestly I figured it would be like it was in Diamond and Pearl when you trade Pokemon over from other games and have to ‘catch’ them again in the small park. Also the connectivity to the mobile app blows.

Why am I having the same conversation with Bryan in front of the Viridian City gym that I just had with him at fucking Cinnabar island like 5 fucking minutes ago?!?!

What did that flower picking thing have TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?

UGH, THIS ONE IS A LITTLE BIT ON ME BUT I THINK MORE ON THIS GAME BECAUSE I FUCKING NEVER FIGURED OUT THAT I COULD LEARN FLY OR WHATEVER STUPID ASS NAME IT HAS IN CELADON CITY BECAUSE WHILE THIS GAME HOLDS YOUR STUPID MOTHERFUCKING HAND THROUGH EVERYTHING IT NEVER TOLD ME THAT BASTARD WAS THERE SO HERE I AM FUCKING BEATING ALL 7 FUCKING GYMS AND NOT KNOWING HOW TO FLY ASS DUMBASS MOTHERFUCKER.

Bryan gives me more money for fighting him then I got from fighting Giovanni for the final gym badge...

Fighting Professor Oak was GOING TO BE A POSITIVE, BUT I GOT THE RUG PULLED OUT FROM UNDER ME AND WEAK SAUCE BRYAN IS THE CHAMPION????? THAT DUCK IS A BUTTHEAD WHO RAN FROM GHOSTS, NEVER DESERVED CUBONE, AND NEVER SHOULD GET ANY CREDIT BECAUSE I SINGLE HANDEDLY BEAT TEAM ROCKET AND YET SOMEHOW AFTER THAT PROFESSOR OAK HAS THE AUDACITY TO LOOK BRYAN IN THE EYE WITH ME RIGHT FUCKING NEXT TO HIM AND SAY YOUR KIND HEART IS THE REASON YOU LOST TODAY'S BATTLE!!?!?!?!?!??! LIKE NO, FUCK YOU PROFESSOR OAK, AGATHA WAS RIGHT YOUR A FUCKING BUTT ASS DUFF BECAUSE I WORKED HARD AND I EARNED THAT WIN BY DRAGGING BRYAN'S FACE ALONG THE FLOOR OF THAT CHAMPION’S ROOM. YOU ARE INSINUATING THAT I WENT EASY ON HIM!!?!?!? FUCK HIM, AND FUCK YOU TOO!!!!!!

Positives

I like being able to see and dodge the Pokemon in the tall grass. It really adds to the immersion in the game.

I like playing with that lady’s slowpoke.

Can I have these posters irl?

I like that I can play with another person, but the way it was advertised was way more intense then what it actually ends up being.

Blaine’s HD and upgraded quiz makes life worth living.

He even personalized his statues... The attention to detail is OUTRAGEOUS AND I LOVE IT

The only thing I hate about Blaine’s segment is I’m absolutely LIVID that I can get and carry around Lt. Surge’s fucking autograph, BUT I DON’T GET TO KEEP A BLAINE DOLL?!?!?!?!?! BULLSHIT. I NEED A BLAINE DOLL IRL. 

Good Joke

Flying around on Charizard's back is the best feeling ever.... so amazing. 

Verdict: 

Would I recommend this game...?

[saccharineomens]

I want to know all the answers from your 100 question meme

Something you find romantic? Answer whichever #'s you feel comfortable answering; I want to know all your inner musings 😝

cat why do you do this to me

i’ll be sticking them below a readmore, then!

1.  Is a kiss considered cheating? Yes! Unless you’ve communicated with your partner that it’s okay.

2. Have you ever faked an orgasm? Nope

3. If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Hmmm this is a really hard decision. I usually say telepathy, but I like shapeshifting, too. I loved the Animorphs books as a kid, even though I didn’t read them all.

4. Do you think you are going to be rich in 7-8-9 years? Monetarily? Nah. But I like to think I’ll still have strong, rich friendships and I think I’ll have enough money to live comfortably alone. 

5.  Tell us some funny drunk story. I just don’t really have one rip. Drunk people are hilarious but normally I’m the DD. I’ve got several pleasant stories, though! There was a time me and my best friend went to a pub and drank cider and played board games and video games until closing time. Afterwards we stopped at an Insomnia cookies, a storm caused the electricity to go out, and we got a half dozen cookies for free. (well, I felt guilty, so I left them a very large tip.)

6.  Why are you no longer together with your ex? I was going through college, it was long distance, and I felt he deserved better. We keep in touch, though.

7.  If you had to choose one way to die, what would it be? Well, painlessly, of old age, in my sleep, of course. But if that’s not an option, out of all the ways of dying, freezing to death seems the most humane. You just get tired, cold, and sleepy, and then you just...don’t wake up.

8.  What are your current goals? Graduate, mostly. Long-term I’d like to live with friends in a big house and my cat, and have enough free time to garden and craft at my leisure, and have the ability to travel wherever I’d like. I’d like to work on a game or movie I’m really passionate about, and I’d love to become a director someday.

9.  Do you like someone? I mean, I like a lot of people, but I assume this means romantically. So, kind of? I find a lot of people attractive and have a ‘if they wanted to date I’d be down’ feeling, but I don’t have serious feelings for anybody specific.

10. Who was the last person to disappoint you? Hmmm I have a terrible memory. Myself, perhaps? I have a really hard time with getting up when my alarms go off. Sleep inertia’s a big problem for me. This has led to me being late to classes and rushing to get ready, which is stressful.

11. Do you like your body? Ehhhh. I guess. It could be improved, like by not having health issues. 

12.  Can you keep a diet? Ha! No.

13. If the whole world listened to you right now, what would you say? I hope you have a wonderful day. The universe doesn’t care about us so be excellent to each other!

14.  Do you work? Constantly, every day. I work to learn new things, accomplish school assignments, make money, feed myself...All my life is is working, right now.

15.  If you could choose only one food to eat to the rest of your life, what would it be? Salad! Because anything can be a salad. Tuna salad, fruit salad, salad with salmon...

16. Would you get a tattoo? Oh, absolutely. The only reason I don’t have any is because of money. I have like five small ideas and one very large one that i’d like across my back. 

17. Something you don’t mind spending all your money on? Food, my family, and my friends.

18. Can you drive? Yes. Do I have a license? No.

19. When was the last time someone told you you were beautiful? Probably sometime in the past month by my mother, but she’s just about the only person who does.

20. What was the last thing you cried for? asdfjal;ksdjfs it was Treasure Planet. Jim and Silver’s relationship is just [clutches chest] so beautiful.

21. Do you keep a journal? Sort of, sporadically. 

22.  Is life fun? Yes!

23.  Is farting in front of people irrelevant? I mean, I prefer you excuse yourself, but more or less yeah.

24.  What’s your dream car? My sib got this really nice Prius used at a good price, and it has a lot of room and it’s a hybrid, so Nice. I don’t tend to pay much attention to cars, as long as they’re comfortable and low-waste.

25. Are grades in school important? I admit that they’re important to me, but that’s something I have to unlearn. My worth isn’t determined by other people.

26. Describe your crush. Ugh. I’m bi, guys. I get crushes on people all the time, every day. Saw this really pretty redhead in the cafeteria over a month ago, and I saw her again yesterday. She’s a couple inches taller than me and has really pretty curly hair, but I didn’t really, like, stare, so I couldn’t describe her face well past ‘cute nose’.

27. What was the last book/movie that really impressed you? Nothing jumps to mind. I guess I’m still falling over myself after seeing Mad Max back in like 2015, that was just the coolest experience ever. I find delight in just about every movie I watch, though. The second Jumanji-sequels movie was just as fun and amazing as the first. Klaus was just incredible in so many ways. 

28.  What was your last lie? I...really just do not remember. Probably telling myself “I’m gonna do my laundry today” a few days ago? Whereas I DID do my laundry today so HA

29. Dumbest lie you ever told? I saved this question for last and it’s late and I honestly can’t remember anything, asdjls sorry. My memory’s awful y’all. 

30. Is crying in front of people embarrassing? Oh absolutely. I mean it wouldn’t be if they weren’t uncomfortable with it, but they always are.

31.  Something you did and you are proud of? I did my laundry today? washed dried folded and everything. I also braved the nighttime neighborhood around my school to solo a Pokemon raid, which was cool. I’m proud of my animation done at the end of the last semester, and of how my teddy bear modelling is doing this week.

32. What’s your favourite cocktail? How am I supposed to choose this? How can you ask me to choose this? I’d have to line them all up and try one by one, honestly, before I could tell you. 

33.  Something you are good at? I’m pretty good at drawing anatomy and expressions, I think. I’m good at baking/cooking, although I lack creativity in the kitchen. I also think I’m a pretty good listener, and a good friend? 

34.  Do you like small kids? Most of the time!

35.  How are you feeling right now? Frankly, a little drained with all these questions, but determined to finish them. I’m a little hungry. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and wish I was doing homework, but I also can’t get myself to do it right now. 

36.  What would you name your daughter/son? Not sure! Every once in a while I’ll be like “ooh, that’d be a great name” and then don’t remember to write it down. Besides, I plan on adopting, and most kiddos already have names.

37.  What do you need to be happy? Money, friends, family, good food, and a place to explore. 

38.  Is there some you want to punch in the face right now? Not particularly. No one other than, well. The rich people I’m pretty sure everyone knows I dislike.

39.  What was the last gift you received? Well, anything my mom cooks for me is a gift, but the last Proper gift was from my friend @ wefflebugs , who got me a blu-ray copy of Into the Spiderverse and some coffee for Christmas  c:

40.  What was the last gift you gave? I gave my sibling @ aconfusedbird a keychain of one of the two Bubble Bobble dragons and kept the other for myself, for their birthday. Handmade from Perler beads. We’d play that game for ages as kids, and we always fought over who’d be the blue one.

41.  What was the last concert you went to? I think it was The Shins? They were so awesome!

42.  Favourite place to shop at? Well, I quite like Target. But I also adore small resale shops. They always have some really awesome things hiding there.

43. Who inspires you? Oogh, a lot of people. Like a million and a half artists I’ve met online, ones I only know their screenname for, inspire me to get better at art. James Baxter and Sergio Pablos inspire me to get better at animation. Wefflebugs’ art always has such lovely colors, which I adore. featherdragon15′s art has gotten a lot better lately, and that inspires me to keep working hard too! Not to mention they’re working for nasa which is rad af, and also inspires me to keep working toward my dreams. My sibling aconfusedbird inspires me a Lot in a lot of personal ways, like to be more kind to myself and to keep moving forward. My mom inspires me to keep gardening. roachpatrol/roach-works inspired me to get into welding, lizardlicks inspired me into wanting chickens and a small homestead. My teachers inspire me to keep working hard in school. 

44. How old were you when you first got drunk? 19, I think? I’ve only gotten properly drunk once. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat another boiled peanut, but other than that it wasn’t a problem lol.

45. How old were you when you first got high? I haven’t, actually. I don’t have a reason not to or anything, but it’s just never felt like the right vibe yanno?

46.  How old were you when you first had sex? I guess it really depends on your definition. Personally, I’d say I haven’t yet.

47. When was your first kiss? Well, I played spin the bottle when I was seventeen, which was technically my first kiss, but if that doesn’t count then it was about a week before I turned eighteen, and I kissed the guy who’d become my first boyfriend.

48.  Something you want to do until the end of this year? Play video games....I wish I had infinite time to play video games and watch movies and draw and just...enjoy my time on earth, you know? Without feeling like it had a deadline.

49. Is there something in the past you wish you hadn’t done? I try not to live with regrets. 

(50 is ‘post a selfie’ but im on a computer)

51. Who are you most comfortable around? Either aconfusedbird or featherdragon15, i think. 

52.  Name one thing that terrifies you. asdkfjal;sdf i’ve been listening to too much magnus archives and got recommended to ‘not be too scared of one thing’ if i want to avoid the creatures, so uh. hard to decide. I guess I’m scared of...hm. people who just lack the ability to create bonds with people? people who don’t care about other living things. humans can be fucking terrifying. 

53. What kind of books do you read? Oh, just about anything. Fantasy, realistic fiction, romance, mysteries, thrillers, scifi...all are great. I didn’t used to enjoy nonfiction but it really depends on the nonfiction.

54. What would you tell your 12 year old self? You’re going to have a best friend someday, and it will be everything you wanted. Things with your mother will improve when you’re in your last few years of high school. You’re going to become a great artist.

55.  What is your favourite flower? Not sure! I like many. There was this one flower i found in high school that smelled incredible, but I’ve no idea what it was. I should find it again.

56. Any bad habits you have? ...Well. Not waking up when my alarm goes off is pretty annoying. My procrastination in general’s frustrating. And, well, just between you, me, and the rest of the internet, (tw: self harm) my trichotillomania causes me constant distress and anxiety.

57. What kind of people are you attracted to? People who want to learn new things, are kind and compassionate, respect me, and have a good sense of humor. Someone I can be adventurous with.

58. What was the last thing you cried for? Well, i answered a similar question earlier, so I’ll answer for the second most recent time I cried. I was in Pennsylvania, the day I had to fly home, and when I went to check in for my flight, all the seats were taken, and I needed to pay for an upgrade if I wanted to guarantee a spot on the flight. This wouldn’t be a huge problem, except that for both of my flights to get home, an upgrade cost $70. And seventy dollars was a big chunk out of my budget for, you know, food. So I cried out of stress and frustration with the airport companies for charging me seventy bucks for ten more inches of legroom that I didn’t want nor need.

59. Is there something you don’t eat? Some food that truly disgust you? Not really! In terms of what’s normally accepted as “food” in American society, that is. I don’t care much for worms or insects. Other than that, I’m interested enough to try almost anything once.

60. Are you in love? In love? No. Am I full of love? Yes, for many, many, many things. 

61.  Something you find romantic? Oh man, anything could be romantic if done by someone I care for. I think gentleness is romantic. Quality time is my love language, so if my partner cancelled plans to spend time with me, that’d be romantic. I find romance in trying new things and going to new places.

62. How long was your longest relationship? Four months or so. It’s the only relationship I’ve been in, though, and I hadn’t intended for it to go past summer, so that was longer than I’d even planned on haha.

63, 64. What are 3 things that irritate you about the same sex? Opposite sex? Uhhh kind of hard to answer this one. I mean, i hate the culture in which men are raised to be, but I’ve heard that ‘male’ and ‘female’ brains aren’t particularly predisposed to anything in particular? Like, both men and women are capable of emotional intelligence and compassion, it’s just that our culture doesn’t encourage it in men. 

65. What are you saving money for? Food, college. I might treat myself to a school trip to Disney, but I don’t think I have the budget rn. As a student I’m kind of coasting by on the bare minimum rn, I don’t have anything i CAN save up for.

66. How would you describe your bad side? I mostly just avoid you or try to not spend time with you. 

67. Are you actually a good person? Why? I think I am. I care about other people and try to make other people’s lives easier and happier. I try every day to become more sensitive to other perspectives. I do what I can to benefit the earth for those who will come after me.

68. What are you living for? Ooh, deep stuff. I’m living for helping other people. I’m living for my friends and family. 

69 (nice).  Have you ever done anything illegal? Pfft, guys, jaywalking is illegal. So yes. I’ve also drank while underage before. But nothing really big, no.

70.  Do you like your body? Wait a second. This was number 11, too. Well, I guess I’ll change it to What don’t you like about your body? Which is my under-chin. It’s kind of a double chin, kind of not. But while most things I could change about my body, I don’t think I could change that without surgery. And yeah, I’ve thought about it. Not that I have any of the cash for it. I also wish I didn’t have (tw: self-harm) trichotillomania, so I’d have more eyelashes and eyebrows.

71. Have you ever made someone feel bad about themselves intentionally? I think I probably have, to douchebags. Like “hey, that’s inappropriate”.  

72.  Ever sent nudes? Nope!

73. Have you ever cheated on someone? God, no. Big #1 no no for me.

74. Favourite candy? I RECENTLY DISCOVERED TAKE 5′S AND REESES HAVE COMBINED INTO ONE GLORIOUS CANDY BAR, SO, THAT.

75. Is there a blog you visit every day, or almost every day? Tag it! Agh, okay. @ aconfusedbird, @ busket, @ loreweaver-universe, @ orange-plum. The four blogs I don’t actually follow, but whose blogs I visit every day. It changes around every few years. It used to be a different bunch back when I first got on tumblr. I really have no idea why I haven’t followed them. Habit, I suppose? Also, it still won’t let me tag my sib for some reason. (nvm I removed the tags, i don’t want to bother them)

76. Do you play any computer games? What is your favourite game? lmao uh, that’s kind of an understatement. I can’t list all my favorite games, but I’m very fond of The Last of Us. I have played. So many video games. I’ll chat about them anytime!

77. Favourite TV series? Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think. It’s really hard to top that.

78. Are you religious? Does God exist? Not really religious, no. I do think that there’s probably a god out there that sparked the Big Bang. I don’t really follow the Christian God because despite what every church service said, I never felt like He loved me. Jesus was a super cool guy, though. If there’s a god out there, I think they pretty much keep to themselves. Maybe have some fun watching creation, but don’t really interact with it at all.

79. What was the last book you read? Did it impress you and why? asdkfj;as i don’t remember. probably my textbook Directing the Story by Francis Glebas? It was a pretty cool book about moviemaking.

80. What do you think about vegetarianism/veganism? I’ve reblogged a lot on the subject. I respect those who practice it, but it can cause a lot of environmental harm. In theory, it’s not bad! 

81. How long have you been on Tumblr? Like eight years or so? Maybe nine? wild. I visited blogs daily before the number got high enough i was like ‘okay i’ll just make an account’.

82. Do you like Chinese food? Oh, yes!

83-85. McDonalds or Subway?   Vodka or whiskey? Alcohol or drugs? Subway, whiskey and alcohol.

86.  Ever been out of your province/state/country? Yes, yes, and no!

87. Meaning behind your blog name? I’ve had this one for many years now. I really like the word ‘saccharine’ -- inspired by @ saccharinesylph back in the old days -- and i couldn’t just name myself ‘saccharine’, so i needed something else. and I was pretty big into Good Omens at that time, and I was like ‘haha! saccharine, good, omens. saccharine omens!’ Plus, it feels like a very positive and comforting name, and I strive to be a comforting person. 

88. What are you scared of? ok i def answered this moving on

89. Last time you were insulted? uhhhhhhhhh no idea. oh, wait! i know. i was getting graded on my performance at my job late last year and i disagreed with the grade my boss gave me. It was like ‘person shows considerable care of their community and goes above and beyond to educate others’ and i was like ‘oh yeah that’s, like, my whole Thing, my whole Goals and Personality and Ideals’ and then my boss came in and was like ‘2/4′ and i was like ‘wtf??’ Apparently she felt that i just wasn’t really applying that part of myself to my job, and i was like ‘you serious? i’m doing a lot!’ but also she’s my boss.

90. Most traumatic experience? A series of emotionally/mentally abusive things my mom did during my childhood. It’s definitely had the longest lasting effects of any trauma. Permanent anxiety problems, ptsd, my self harm, the whole shebang. Don’t worry, though, like. Things are way better between us, and she’s apologized many times.

91. Perfect date idea? Going on a hike! Maybe walking on a beach. Just spending time together and talking. Eating some delicious food. Spending the entire day with each other, then curling up and cuddling at home and watching a movie. then talking some more. lots of handholding and kisses. im a super hopeless romantic.

92. Favourite app on your phone? the internet, ofc lmao. But other than that I use Animal Crossing Pocket Camp and Pokemon Go an awful lot. 

93. What colour are the walls in your room? At school a boring white, although I’ve taped some art up. At home a really pretty light blue color that I did all myself.

94. Do you watch Youtube? Who is your favourite youtuber? I do! And I like so many channels, honestly. I really like Rachel and Jun, and I really like Pop Culture Detective. I’ve seen a lot of jackscepticeye’s stuff, too. Proko, Vox, and Sinix Design are all good too.

95. Share your favourite quote. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.” -Dr Seuss

96.  What is the meaning of life? To be happy, enjoy yourself, and love others!

97. Do you like horror movies? Ha ha ha, not really. I liked A Quiet Place though. 

98. Have you ever made your mum cry? What happened? She’s cried sometimes over how she treated us in the past. Sometimes it happens because I talk about how she’s hurt me. She always expresses regret and apologizes again. 

99. Do you feel lucky or special in a way? I feel lucky with how I met my best friend. We’d had band together and kind of both thought each other as a cool person, but we didn’t really hit it off until a couple years later and she saw me drawing Homestuck fanart in Psychology lmao. The rest is history. Love you so much, Haley. I feel lucky my mom realized she was being abusive and stopped, too. Not everyone gets that. 

100. Can you keep a secret? Oh, definitely. But do tell me what needs to be secret, otherwise I won’t know. For example, my sib asked me to keep their gf busy while they bought her a present, so I tried, but then she was like ‘oh, where’s your sibling? we should find them’ i was like ‘oh no, i think they’re just buying something, it’s fine’ but she was stubbornly moving toward the checkout and i was like ‘stop, i think they’re buying something for you’ so i. kinda told a secret? i didn’t tell her what the present was though.

JESUS THAT WAS A LOT OF TYPING, LMAO. IT’S THREE AM. GOODNIGHT

[kihuis]

{02} Not so Secret Santa

Kihuis’ days of Christmas series: Na Jaemin x Reader

Day Two: Reader’s best friend rigs the Secret Santa since they know Reader has a crush on Jaemin.

Word Count: 4.5k Warnings: slight angst? just a tad emotional.

“It’ll be fun! It’s a way better idea than the white elephant game and you know it,” you’re friend tells you as you walk to your next class. You can’t help but roll your eyes again at the idea of spending money you should be saving for a random person. Granted, they aren’t random people. You’ve been part of the same friend group for years so you know everyone who would be involved but it’s just not your cup of tea. Plus, you’ve never been really good at gift giving anyway.

“I told you, I don’t have the money. I’m saving up for college, you know this,” you tell her again.

“That’s why there’s a budget. No one is supposed to spend more than ten dollars, that’s the deal. It’s not like you have to buy someone a watch or new phone or something,” Somi says as you both round the corner. The door to your Algebra class is in sight now meaning she’ll be parting ways with you and you won’t have to listen to her beg for you to join in the Secret Santa she wants to host for your friends.

As soon as you get up to the classroom, your eyes land immediately on the the pink tuft of hair at the back corner. Jaemin waves at you with a smile, your heart beat already speeding up just at a glance.

“At least promise me you’ll think about it. I mean who knows, you may even get Jaemin and you could get him something special,” Somi says, nudging you with her elbow.

“I was already planning on getting him something,” you tell her with another roll of your eyes.

“Even better, you can get him two things. Think about it.”

With that, she takes off down the hallway towards her own class. You shake your head, not willing to hold onto whatever empty promise she might have thought you gave her. 

You make your way towards the back of the room to take your usual spot next to Jaemin. He’s currently doodling something in the margins of his math notebook next to equations and formulas. You can’t but smile at how cute he looks, although he always looks adorable.

“Sup nerd,” you say as you take your supplies out of your backpack.

“Creep,” he replies, not looking up from his doodles. Even from his side profile, you can see the hint of a smile that plays at his lips while he shades what looks like a drawing of Snorlax.

“You into the Secret Santa thing?” you suddenly ask, turning your nose up as a sign that you’re not into it.

“I think it might be fun but I don’t really have money,” he replies, looking up at you. The moment his eyes meet yours, you feel your heart skip a beat as it normally does. How does one boy have such a huge affect on you? “I want to do it, though.”

“Really?” you ask with a face, showing your clear disinterest in the activity. It’s not that you want to be a Scrooge, you just don’t see the point. Gifts are supposed to be meaningful and deep. If you were to draw a name of someone you’re not as close with, it would be nearly impossible to get a gift that has significance.

“Why not?” He grins at your expression. “You don’t like the idea?”

“I just don’t see the point I guess,” you mumble with yet another eye roll. Soon, they’re going to get stuck up in your head. “Why don’t you get back to your Pokemon, weirdo?”

Jaemin giggles at your teasing and does as you suggest, turning back to his tiny drawing before the teacher begins his lesson.

As you always do, you manage to zone out of the classroom and instead let your mind wonder to Jaemin. Having been friends with each other for years, it’s not out of the ordinary that you two spend a lot of time together but somewhere between the time that you met him and now, you’d fallen for him. His smile was enough to light up your life and his laugh put you on a new kind of high. You don’t know when you’d developed your crush on him, but it was the scariest thing you could hold onto.

You wonder if he has any inkling of an idea that you like him, maybe even love him, especially considering almost everyone else in your friend group knows. Somi got it out of you one night after the three of you hung out for a movie. It was like a movie within itself, the moment you reached for the popcorn that was in his lap at the same time he did. You’d jerked your hand away where he just smiled at you. Somi had see the reaction you had and questioned you about it, where you confessed.

Suffice to say, she wasn’t too surprised.

Sneaking a glance at Jaemin, you wonder if he’s going to do the Secret Santa with your friends anyways even though he said he doesn’t have the money. He’s the type of person you know is going to get everyone a gift either way but would join in just for the fun of it. 

Then you think maybe you’d get lucky and get Jaemin as your Secret Santa. You know what you’d been planning on getting him anyways so maybe it would just be easier to have him as your Secret Santa. If you got Jeno or Renjun, picking something out for them would be easy enough. You’d just get Jeno the new x-box game he’s been wanting and get Renjun another Moomin plushie.

Obviously, Jaemin’s present has already been thought out for quite some time. 

When you were both little, your mom and dad had a tree house built in your back yard. You’d always loved that tree house and Jaemin loved to come over and the two of you would go up into the tree house at night and keep your collection of mason jars full of discoveries you two had made. There were some with multiple colored and shaped rocks that you found and there were some that had treasures you’d found when you helped your mom with the garden, things like old coins and a piece of an old smoking pipe.

You’d decided to raid your attic at the house you live at now and look for one of the jars. Luckily, your dad hadn’t thrown them all out and you found one that was full of sand and sea shells from the time both your families went down to the beach for a couple days. Jaemin spent the entire time collecting the shells in the sand. At the time you’d made fun of him for it and just to be silly, he’d let you keep the shells. You decided to put them in a mason jar and keep them with your collection, loving them anyways for the simple fact they came from Jaemin.

When you retrieved the shells from your attic, you cleaned them all off and arranged them into a new, smaller jar to make a simple paper weight or decoration. Jaemin likes to collect little trinkets and knickknacks and this one was obviously special.

Should you not get him for Secret Santa, you’ll be bummed, but there’s no way you’re not gifting this to him this year.

Somi shakes the Santa hat around, shuffling the little pieces of papers that have names written on them. When Jaemin declared he was in fact interested in participating in the Secret Santa, you immediately gave in, later telling her that you’re in as well. Due to your late entry, almost everyone else has already chosen names but Somi was quick to let you know that she’d put your name in the draw anyways because she knew you’d do it anyways.

You shake your head as you reach into the hat, grabbing onto a small slip of paper. “Who’s gotten who?” you ask before removing your hand.

“I don’t know, that’s the whole point,” she replies deadpanned. “Just look who you got already!”

She seems way too excited about your choice, random as it is, but you feel your hands begin to sweat when you open the paper and see Jaemin’s name written on it. You instantly picture him in your mind, his sparkling eyes when he’s under the moonlight, his crooked lips when he talks through his excitement. Everything about him plagues you every day, every little quirk about Na Jaemin captured in your mind and heart.

“Who’d you get?” Somi asks cutely, nudging you in the ribs.

“You don’t know, that’s the whole point,” you echo, tossing Jaemin’s name into your locker before shutting it. “So when are we handing out these presents?”

“Next week after school. Your dad said we can meet at your house,” she tells you as you both start off towards the cafeteria. 

“You already talked to my dad about it?” you ask incredulously, but unable to keep your smile at bay. Of course your dad would be okay with your friends coming over and it’s clear Somi had guessed you were definitely going to agree to part take in the Secret Santa.

“Just be glad you said yes when you did. He was my last resort,” she says.

“You bribed my dad into getting me to join your Secret Santa?”

“I didn’t have to bribe. He was happy to do it,” she finishes with a sly grin. “But I knew you’d give in, you know. Especially with Jaemin doing it too.”

You shush her quickly realizing how close you already are to the table full of your friends, Jaemin obviously included. Luckily, no one heard her remark considering Haechan is in the middle of telling some story about Mark as usual, everyone immersed in his flashy movements as he describes an embarrassing encounter Mark had with a girl.

“I swear, she looked terrified,” he’s saying. “We all knew pick up lines weren’t his forte, but it was possibly the worst one he’s had to date.”

Mark buries his head into his folded arms on the table, groaning at the memory. Renjun slaps him on the back, sputtering that he isn’t all that surprised while Jaemin laughs, theatrically throwing his head back while clapping. The second the harmonious sound reaches your ears, every nerve ending in your body catches fire.

“How do you mess up that badly?” Jeno laughs, shaking his head.

“Yeah, yeah, Mark’s a loser. Okay everyone listen up,” Somi interrupts. “Who hasn’t chosen a name for Secret Santa?”

“I don’t think Jisung has yet but he’s not here today,” Jaemin says. He looks up at you with a smile before scooting to the right a bit, giving you enough room so sit between him and Renjun.

Somi settles across the table beside Mark who’s sulking after the name calling and story telling. “I’ll give him the last name tomorrow. Let’s discuss the gift exchange details.”

“Ten dollar budget. Y/N’s house next Friday. No revealing Secret Santa’s until after gifts are open. We know how it works, Somi,” Haechan rattles off, picking the pickles off his hamburger.

“Who’d you get?” you hear beside you. Jaemin leans his elbow onto the table and rests his cheek on the palm of his hand as he turns to face you, a cute smirk on his lips.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a ‘Secret’ Santa now would it?” you respond cocking your head to the side.

Jaemin chuckles, raising his brows once to tease you. Can he be any cuter than he already is?

“I’ll tell you who I got,” he says slyly, biting his bottom lip. “You’re curious, right?”

“No,” you declare, trying to hide your smile, but ultimately failing. “I for one am actually good at keeping secrets unlike you Nana.”

The nickname has always so easily flowed from your lips and you love to use it because it flusters Jaemin, usually making him smile wider and blush a bit. Your other friends sometimes use it too, but you’ve always noticed it doesn’t have the same affect on him when anyone else says it. That may be in your imagination though.

Like always, his ears begin to glow red as he rolls his eye in mock annoyance, but smiles nonetheless.

You can’t wait to give Jaemin your present.

The week doesn’t seem to go by fast enough. It’s like a normal countdown to Christmas, but really it’s just you wanting to see the look on Jaemin’s face when he opens your present to him.

The tree at your house officially has every present underneath it. Everyone dropped them of on their own time as to make sure no one knew who had what gift. Your dad was a big help in all of it, making sure you were out of the room when someone brought a present. Apparently he was very excited to be hosting such an event even though it was Somi who put him up to everything.

Finally Friday rolls around and you’re finishing up the gingerbread cookies for the evening. Haechan and Somi are already here, both licking at the leftover dough that didn’t fit on the baking sheets.

“What recipe is this?” Haechan says before shoveling a spoonful of cookie dough into his mouth.

“It was my mom’s,” you answer with a smile, taking the last batch out of the oven. “She loved to bake.”

“She was very good at it then. This is so good.”

You smile at the memory of your mother. It’s been a hard few years without her here but you and your dad are still happy despite everything you’ve been through. He’s even started dating again.

“She made Y/N’s ninth birthday cake, too. The one with three tiers,” Somi recalls. She sticks her finger into the bowl of dough and scoops some into her mouth. “You know, I think you got the baking genes from her because he’s right, this is really good.”

“Jaemin’s here!” you dad hollers from the living room. Somi and Haechan both look at you with knowing expressions, raising their eyebrows suggestively. You give them both a glare before turning back to the cookies shaped like trees and gingerbread men to transfer them onto a plate. 

“Something smells good,” Jaemin says as he trots into the kitchen. You can’t help but notice how good he looks in his blue sweater and black scarf, making his pink hair stand out in the best way it can.

“Y/N’s cookies,” Haechan says through a mouthful of dough.

“Mom’s recipe,” Jaemin assumes with a questioning look. You nod, your heart fluttering at his memory of your mother. He knows how much you thought of her and when he mentions her at all, you can’t but feel like he knows he makes your insides turn to mush.

“Are we going to frost them?” Somi asks excitedly.

“These don’t need frosting,” Jaemin asserts, grabbing one from the plate despite that it just came out of the oven. “Believe me, I’ve had them before.”

“I probably don’t make them as good as she did, though,” you mumble.

After taking a bite, Jaemin shakes his head before he nods it. “You do everything as good as she used to,” he praises.

If he has no idea the way he makes you feel, he definitely will now with your face heating up at the compliment. From the corner of your eye, you can see Haechan and Somi snickering to each other. You fight from sending them another glare and just brush off the comment.

“Mark is here!”

After everyone shows up, you all sit in the living room with cups of hot chocolate, or in Jaemin’s case, coffee, and snack on cookies while sitting in front of the fire. You can’t help but keep glancing at the tree, seeing all the presents underneath it and watching your gift to Jaemin as if it plans on sprouting legs and running away. When your dad helped you wrap it, he cried at the memory of your families on the beach, your mom in the ocean with little you on her hip. He told you it was the best memory she got to share with you before getting sick.

“I think he’ll love the present,” he told you before taking you into a hug. “It’s meaningful for everyone.”

Now you just want to run over to the tree and hand him the gift, but Somi has you all on a schedule. Right now you’re playing the ‘Two Truths, One Lie’ guessing game, Christmas edition. The person who’s turn it is has to tell the players three Christmas gifts, two of which they have actually received in the past and the last one something they haven’t. You’ve almost gone completely around the room and it’s Renjun’s turn. He’s the last player, thankfully.

“Okay. A bike, a bag of jelly beans, and underwear,” he rattles off.

“Easy. No one would get you one bag of jelly beans,” Mark says. “And every kid gets a bike at some point.”

“And Jeno literally got you underwear last year a joke,” Haechan comments before taking a sip of his drink.

“Anyone else?” Renjun asks, looking around the room. Everyone agrees on the jelly beans making him shake his head and laugh. “Well, you’re all wrong. Two years ago, I got a bag of those beanboozled jelly beans in my stocking.”

“That’s a cop-out, you can’t count what came in your stocking,” Somi complains.

“That wasn’t in the rules,” he voices.

“It’s common sense,” she snaps back.

“Wait, you’ve never gotten a bike for Christmas?” Jaemin asks. “That’s like, a childhood ritual.”

“I got one when I was five, but it was for my birthday, not Christmas.”

“Whatever, next,” Somi grunts, standing from her spot on the sofa. “I guess Injunnie wins since no one guessed his right, even though he pretty much cheated.”

“It’s called a loophole. Stocking have gifts in them you know?”

Somi rolls her eyes and hands him the twenty dollar gift card prize that can be spent anywhere of his choosing. He thanks her as he takes it, earning him a scoff. “Now that we’ve finished with games, it’s time for the Secret Santa exchange.”

Your heart rate picks up as you watch your friend approach the tree, grabbing a present at random. It’s not yours unfortunately.

“Jeno,” she says, handing him the first gift.

Jeno smiles with his eyes, as he always does, as he unwraps the gift. Just like you had planned on getting him had you chosen his name, his Secret Santa got him the new x-box game he’d been on about for weeks.

“I pretty much kept bringing it up so I didn’t have to buy it myself,” he says as he flashes the present to everyone.

“Don’t guess who got for you yet, we’ll save that for the end,” Somi tells him, heading for the tree again. She picks up another present, again, not yours to Jaemin.

After Mark, Chenle, and Haechan has open their gifts, a maple leaf beanie, a bag of chocolates, and wallet respectively, Somi picks up a small box. She glances at the tag and reads out your name.

Why you’re so nervous to be receiving a gift as well, you don’t know, but when she smiles and hands you the box, your breathing becomes heavy. You feign a smile and pick at the bow on the top, untying the ribbon that was placed around it to keep the lid on. Once you take the lid off though, you feel your heart almost stop.

What’s inside is a heart-shaped locket. But it’s not just any locket. It’s the same kind of locket that you mother used to wear. The one you dreamed of owning one day. The one she kept a baby picture of you in when she was still here. The one you’d been devastated to lose when your dad had no choice but to sell it when you’d been tight on money.

“What is it?” Chenle asks curiously.

You don’t even realize you’re crying when you look up to your friends, a single tear rolling down your cheek. The smile you wear now is real as you wipe it away and look back down at the locket. Opening it, there’s a small picture now of your mother. “It’s a replica of my mom’s locket. My dad got it as a wedding gift after they got married,” you manage to say, your voice growing hoarse a the sight of her beautiful face.

Silence fills the room as you continue to stare at the necklace. Somi probably got it for you, she’s always been one who knows exactly what to get as gifts.

“Thank you,” you mumble into the room at no in particular. “I love it.”

“Alright,” Somi says cutely to lighten the mood. She stoops to pick up another gift and you’re too distracted by the locket still to see she finally picks up your present to Jaemin. When you hear his name, you look up to watch him open it, wanting to remember his reaction.

He removes the packing tissue from the bag you’d put it in before removing the jar, his eyes immediately finding yours before breaking out into a smile. It doesn’t surprise you he knows exactly where the shells came from and that you were his Secret Santa.

“Sea shells?” Haechan asks, clearly not impressed with the gift, but you’re not offended considering he doesn’t know the sentiment.

“Not just any sea shells,” Jaemin tells him, looking at you again. “They’re special. Thank you Secret Santa.” He doesn’t even try to hide who he thinks got him the gift.

Somi, Jisung, and Renjun finally open their presents, finishing the gift exchange. You all go around the room to guess your Secret Santas. Somi guesses Mark correctly, Jeno guesses Chenle, and Renjun guesses Haechan. Jaemin is next to guess and before he says a word, he looks up to you and smiles, sending your heart soaring as always. You can’t help but smile back.

“Y/N is my Secret Santa,” he declares. You nod your head, confirming that you are. While the next few guess, you keep stealing glances at Jaemin, each time you do, he smiles back, lowering his face shyly. 

You’re shocked to hear Chenle guess correctly that Somi was his Secret Santa, leaving Jaemin as the only gift giver left when it’s your turn to guess. Your smile turns into a look of shock as you look over at him, his own smile more sincere than ever. He’d gotten you the locket that meant so much to you at one point in your life.

“How did you two get each other? What are even the odds of that?” Jisung asks. Somi chuckles at the question, but you hardly notice.

“Thank you,” you whisper, looking right at Jaemin. You wonder if he can even hear you from across the room. You’re having trouble even hearing yourself with how loud your heart is beating. He must have at least read your lips though, because he nods his head once, his eyes shining in the light of the Christmas tree.

The words of everyone for the rest of the night up until people start to leave are pretty much drowned out. You don’t even hear your dad tell Somi that her dads are here to pick her up. All you can focus on is the necklace, the mason jar full of sea shells, and Jaemin.

He’s the only guest left when your dad begins to clean up the kitchen, you and Jaemin cleaning up the trash in the living room. The locket is already secured around your neck, your mother right next to your heart where she always has been.

You’re both silent as you clean up empty plates and torn wrapping paper. Your heart is still beating harder than ever, practically slamming against your throat. It’s not abnormal to be alone with Jaemin, but right now, your friendship has so much more meaning than it did before.

“It’s not a replica,” he says suddenly, not looking up from the trash bag as he throws a plate into it.

“What?”

“That’s really your mom’s locket,” he states quietly. You absentmindedly reach up to touch the necklace, feeling your eyes fill with tears as if you haven’t done enough crying over it already. “When your dad sold it to finish paying your bills, he was so upset and talking to my mom about it. I decided to go to the pawn shop and buy it the next day.”

Jaemin doesn’t look up from what he’s doing when he says this. “I wanted to give it to you sooner but Christmas seemed like a special time to do it. I debated waiting until Valentine’s Day but I couldn’t wait any longer.” Finally, he looks over at you. You haven’t moved from your spot by the fireplace, a dirty plate in hand while Jaemin told you all this. 

“Why Valentine’s Day?” you ask. It’s an oddly specific day for such a present, the day people celebrate love. Sure, it would be worthy of the occasion but couples are usually the only ones to exchange gifts that day.

Jaemin smiles his shy smile that you’ve seen him wear so often before stepping toward you and taking the plate from your hand, tossing it into the trash bag. He can’t meet your eyes when he speaks again. “Because I was going to confess to you.”

Your breath catches in your throat as he looks up at you, his dark eyes shining when they meet yours. You don’t know what to say in return even though ‘I like you too’ seems like a good option. Instead, you just break into a smile, answer enough to his confession. Jaemin smirks and steps even closer to you, his eyes flicking once to your lips.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he says, pointing up at the mistletoe above you. You can only giggle in response and he leans down to press his lips against yours, everything coming together and playing out just as you’ve imagined it would. Your stomach erupts with butterflies and you swear you can hear fireworks as you kiss. Jaemin reaches his hand up, cupping your chin with it and swiping away at the new tears falling down your cheeks.

When he breaks the kiss, he rests his forehead against yours. “Somi was doing something right when she rigged the Secret Santa,” he says with a laugh.

Your eyes widen, only a little surprised at this revelation. “Did she know you like me?”

“I’m pretty sure everyone did,” he replies. “But you.”

You roll your eyes at him before placing your arms around him in a hug, your cheek squishing up against his chest.

“Thank you,” you tell him for the nth time tonight. “So much.”

“Thank you, too,” he whispers before placing a kiss on top of your head.

This is a Christmas for the books.