#figuring out their designs and facial quirks were a fun challenge

[palilious]

Felt like attempting the main 6 companions in my style

[cherry-valentine]

Spring 2021 Anime Season

Mars Red is one of two series this season set in one of my favorite periods, the Meiji era. It’s a vampire series that deals a lot with the politics of war as the Japanese military is attempting to establish a vampire unit, supposedly to compete with the British vampire unit (because of course that’s a thing). It focuses on a human military officer named Maeda who is charged with recruiting and managing vampires. Maeda is the type of character I really enjoy. Handsome, a little older than most anime protagonists, chain-smoking, overly serious, and voiced by Junichi Suwabe (who has to have the sexiest voice in all of anime). The series has a classic, romantic feel to it. Its take on vampires is somewhat traditional (they evaporate in the sun, drink blood, sleep in coffins, have super strength and speed, etc.). If it brings anything new to the table, it’s the concept of vampires having different ranks, from S-class down, and how lower ranks naturally fear higher ranks. Still yet, the classic vibe works in the show’s favor. Combined with the historical setting, it gives the show a certain charm. The art is lovely, from the backgrounds to the character designs, and the music is a high point. It easily has the best ending theme of the season.

Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity) is a unique series. I’ve seen a lot of people comparing it to Mushishi, but with an overarching plot, and that assessment is pretty accurate. The show follows an entity that comes to be known as Fushi. It begins as an orb, and as it makes contact with other objects and creatures, it learns from them and can possibly take their forms. Among the forms it most often takes are a white wolf and a young man. Originally, it’s a somewhat empty shell, incapable of communicating, but as it meets different creatures and learns, it develops a personality and begins to speak. The series is, overall, about Fushi’s journey through this world and all the experiences it gains, both wonderful and tragic. There’s a subtle beauty to the series, with an early focus on nature, but it also has scenes of trauma and violence. The animation is fluid and the facial expressions are amazing. There’s an overall natural feel to it that, like others have pointed out, reminds me of Mushishi (though it’s definitely faster paced than Mushishi). The show also likes to make you cry, so keep that in mind.

Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood is the other series set in the Meiji era this season, albeit an alternate version of it that has a strange form of technology. To be honest, I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details, but it seems to be about a group called the Nue who work for the government to fight against a growing rebellion. The main character is Sawa, a member of Nue who has some sort of special powers involving her blood, which allow her to transform and battle monsters, or whatever else stands in her way. Her goal is to get revenge for the death of her entire clan (implied to be wiped out because of their power). Sawa is a decent heroine, a woman who craves vengeance and is determined to get it through any means, but is, at her core, a compassionate person who would rather live in peace. It’s this internal conflict that makes Sawa compelling (even if it’s not entirely original). The other characters are interesting, particularly Tsuki, whom I won’t talk much about because it would involve spoilers. The plot and details can get a little convoluted, but the action and animation are solid. When Sawa transforms, the art style changes, and it’s a really cool visual effect. The music is also nice.

Shaman King received a remake this season. I was a huge fan of the original, and so far I’m enjoying the remake, but to be honest, I’m having trouble seeing the point. The art is almost the same (just a lot shinier), the voice actors are the same, the plot is the same. Maybe it’s just that it’s been so long since I saw the original, I’m unable to remember the details and so I can’t tell what’s different. But to me it feels like I’m just rewatching the show. Which is fine, because I loved it to begin with. Maybe it gets different later on. Maybe it more closely follows the manga. I’ll keep watching to find out. For anyone new to the series, it looks like the remake is a solid place to start if you want to get into it. I won’t go into plot details for a story this old, so I’ll just say it’s a top tier shounen fighting series with a unique art style and some very memorable characters. If you like that sort of thing, and missed the original (or you just want a refresher), definitely check it out!

Godzilla Singular Point is a true delight. I’m a huge Godzilla (and kaiju in general) fan. I’ve watched every single Godzilla movie, as well as all the related movies (the Mothra films, Rodan, etc.), but I never watched the previous Godzilla anime that was on Netflix a few years ago. It just didn’t sound like something I’d like. Singular Point, however, is right up my alley. Set mainly in a small seaside town that’s suddenly attacked by bird-like monsters known as Rodans, we have two geeky protagonists using their intelligence to figure out what’s going on while more and more monsters appear. Mei and Yun are excellent heroes. They rely on their wits rather than physical strength, which is a refreshing approach. It’s also interesting that they have little to no face-to-face interaction. Instead, they chat with each other via text as they work separately. They often challenge each other with science questions. It’s adorable. The show’s overall feel is fairly upbeat and energetic. The colorful art and peppy character designs by Kazue Kato (who did Blue Exorcist) help with this feel. It should be noted that Godzilla himself doesn’t fully appear until halfway through the series. It says a lot about the quality of the show that I don’t actually mind that at all. Some of the science stuff does go over my head, but the general plot is easy enough to follow and the action is very well done. It also has fantastic music, with my favorite opening theme of the season. Even if Godzilla isn’t your thing, consider giving this series a shot if you like nerdy science types as heroes.

Burning Kabaddi is a sports anime about an unsual sport. I’d never heard of it before now, and if people in the comments were not talking about the very real sport, I would have assumed it was made up for the anime. The show is aware that the sport is obscure, so it takes great pains to explain the rules and details so that we can all follow the action. The story centers on Yoigoshi, a soccer prodigy who decides to drop all sports once he gets to high school due to all the drama and angst that surrounded him (mostly due to his teammates being jealous of his talent), and pursue a career as a streamer. All the various sports clubs at the school want to recruit him (especially the soccer club, of course) because they’ve heard of his skill and he has an athletic build. He rejects them all, but the Kabaddi club is strangely relentless. He ends up being manipulated into joining (the vice captain of the team straight up blackmails him by threatening to show his online streaming account to the whole school). Despite this rocky beginning, Yoigoshi actually starts to enjoy playing Kabaddi, and more importantly, begins to bond with his new teammates. It’s pretty fun stuff that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The art is serviceable for a sports anime and the music is fine. The series isn’t going to blow your mind, but it’s a fun way to spend twenty minutes every week. Worth a watch if you have a weakness for hot blooded sports anime.

The World Ends With You finally got its anime adaptation and I was so excited. The game is one of my all-time favorites. So far the anime is pretty good. The art is a near perfect replication of the bold, thick-lined art of the game. The battles are exciting and cool. Best of all, the anime often uses music from the game. This is important because the game has one of the best soundtracks, ever. Every time I recognize a song from the game, I almost squeal. If I had a complaint, it’s that the pacing feels a little off at times. It feels like the anime is rushing through the story, but that’s understandable. In the game, it took longer for everything to happen because you were walking from place to place, fighting battles along the way, stopping to scan NPC’s, shopping at stores, spending time in menus, etc. The anime has to cut most of that out, so naturally things are going to move faster. The result is that you don’t get to spend as much time with these characters, and so you feel less attached to them. Anyone watching the anime who didn’t play the game might feel like the emotional beats are lacking. I feel like this anime is definitely meant to be enjoyed by fans of the game, rather than newcomers to the story. But if you are a fan of the game? You should be watching this every week. It’s an excellent refresher on the story, just in time for the second game to come out this summer. Super high on my watch list.

Boku no Hero Academia has a new season. To be honest I don’t remember what number we’re on. This season, so far, focuses on a tournament-style competition between the two main hero classes. I would much prefer the plot to move on to something more exciting involving the villains, but I suppose they have to throw arcs like this in every so often just to remind everyone of which characters have which quirks. The plus point is that instead of being an individual competition, it’s team-based. What this ultimately means is that characters that are viewed as weaker or having more obscure quirks actually get a chance to shine. These are characters who definitely aren’t going to win one-on-one battles. In an individual tournament, it’s pretty much a given that characters like Deku, Bakugou, and Todoroki are going to win most of the matches. But in a team, everyone has to work together. The end result is that the lady characters, all of whom have fairly weak or situational quirks, finally FINALLY get to actually do stuff! Even better, in several of the match-ups, the girls have taken the lead in planning and strategizing. It’s been pretty nice to watch. The girls from the other class have been very proactive as well. I really wish the girls could do more in “real” battles with villains, since it’s clear that they can step up when they need to. Who knows? Maybe this is a sign of good things to come.

86 is a new mecha/sci-fi anime based on a series of light novels. The setup is fairly cool: In a country where everyone has silver hair and eyes, the people live in what looks like a utopia. There is a war going on outside their protected land but all combat is performed by automated robots, so there are no human casualties... or so the government would have the people believe. In reality, there is a district that exists on the outskirts of the country called 86, where people who don’t have silver hair and eyes are sent to pilot the robots and fight to protect the country that shunned them. Most of the pilots are children or teenagers. The mortality rate is high. Only a few people in the government know of their existence, mostly military types that include “handlers”. These handlers each take on an 86 unit and communicate with them through a system called “para-raid”. Using this, they monitor the battlefield from their safe positions and issue commands. Naturally, most handlers view their units as nothing more than tools in the war, and most 86-ers view their handlers as privileged snobs who know nothing of actual battle. The real plot kicks in when Lena, a young Major, becomes the new handler for a particular 86 unit. Lena is sympathetic to the people of 86, but it’s going to be hard getting her notoriously rough unit to accept her. The plot is a bit complicated and the show deals with some weighty themes (racism, privilege, war, child soldiers, death). Lena is a likable enough heroine and the members of 86 are all interesting and fairly well written. The music is fine. The art... well, it’s pretty to look at, but it feels a bit generic to me. A bit too shiny. The mecha designs are great, but I’m not crazy about the character designs, which feel like they could be from any other modern anime. I also find it sad but hilarious at the same time that the women’s military uniforms are clearly designed for fanservice (they include mini skirts, thigh-highs with garters, and a short jacket that opens up just above the chest to show the tight shirt underneath) while the men’s uniforms are just totally normal military wear. To be honest it’s just too stupid to actually be offensive, so it comes across as comical. Thankfully, the interesting setup and plot carry the show, making it good enough to overlook the generic visuals.

Moriarty the Patriot has a new season... maybe? I think it’s technically still season one, but with a split cour. Regardless, it feels like a new season so I’m treating it as such. The series focuses on famous Sherlock antagonist Moriarty, here represented as a trio of handsome brothers (though one of them is clearly the protagonist and the leader of the group) who work as “crime consultants” and basically help the lower classes wage class warfare against the nobility. This season shifts the focus away from the individual crimes Moriarty concocts and instead focuses on larger-scale conflicts that involve government conspiracies, corrupt cops, etc. We’re also treated to a lady James Bond (finally!), fixing one of the very few complaints I had about the first cour (that it lacked strong lady characters). The show remains very compelling, with beautiful art and excellent new opening and ending themes.

Best of Season:

Best New Show: Godzilla Singular Point

Best Opening Theme: Godzilla Singular Point

Best Ending Theme: Mars Red

Best New Male Character: Maeda (Mars Red)

Best New Female Character: Sawa (Joran)

[xaeneron]

A Smol Nerd Talks about Backstory and Character Development

Hello frens,

I had someone ask about how I write character backstories, but since they included their discord information in the ask, I thought it might be better to answer that privately and put up this as a public post because the more I wrote, the more obnoxious it got. And because I thought it was interesting! I don’t claim to be an expert at any of this, especially since this is purely a hobby to me, but I do absolutely love character design and development and it makes me happy that the characters that I’ve put time and effort into are encouraging others to develop their own. So this is absolutely a post to skip if you’re not interested, but read on if you’re curious as to how my weird little brain works.

Essentially: Bits of insight into how I write character backstories, which blends a lot into character development and creation. Not really a step by step process, more word vomit.

...under a cut because holy fuck it got long. I’m sorry, I talk too much ><

Visualizing Characters

I’m not sure there’s really a starting place beyond “I would like this character to exist,” but I think it’s important to first stress how I view my characters in perspective to myself. No one method works for everyone, but it is kind of relevant to my own process. 

My friends in undergrad made fun of me for this constantly, but for me, characters sort of...how do you put it, take up space in the mind. Even though they are functionally me since I created them, they’re...not? They exist as their own entities, telling me what they like and don’t like, what they’d like to do next, etc. Ive, who has dominated this space for years, has a tendency to claim any music that I listen to as his own (so I associate it with him), throws parties, and wants to play and write more stories when I want to sleep. I get that this is a really weird way of looking at characters because I’m essentially blaming myself for keeping myself awake, but I think it’s the best way to describe how I see the characters that I create. They’re friends that talk, and they develop their own opinions instead of me dictating what it is that they say (even though...well, I am. I’m sorry this is really fucking weird LOL).

Obviously I’m not saying that this can or would work for anyone, but it’s just how my brain works. It helps me visualize them, along with details like how their voices sound, the facial expressions they tend to make, the tone that they take when saying the same phrase as someone else, etc.

Assembling Personalities...

I know the original question was essentially just about backstories, but backstory writing and character creation bleed into each other a lot. Enough that I don’t really think you can do one without the other, and why as a result I’m kind of writing about both.

So that being said, when assembling those characters, I tend to go piece by piece and let things happen, instead of distilling in all the characteristics I want them to have. That’s a pretty surefire way to make a Mary Sue, and I have plenty of experience with making Mary Sues. A lot. It’s embarrassing. ;A;

Let’s take Ive, for example. His initial personality when I first made him was a happy-go-lucky, debonair, massive flirt without a care in the world. He waltzed through life, never getting attached to anyone or anything. A fairly simple and shallow character base. As I played, pieces just kind of came together - some from the Commander’s in-game characterization, and some from my own ideas. I let him pick up different facets of his personality over time, some good, some bad.

This works because Ive’s personality wasn’t set in stone from the get-go and changed drastically as time went on, but if you do have a personality you have your heart set on, then make sure your character responds to new challenges accordingly. Consistency is key, and the way they act in the present can also help you road map their past, figuring out how they got to where they are. And who knows, if you take another look, they might surprise you.

...Including the Weird Shit

Sometimes the tiniest quirks help make characters memorable to you, and help shape who they were and grow up to be. One of my OCs, Beck, is an obfuscating idiot who legitimately knows his way around a blade and is insanely clever when he wants to be. He also has a random deadly allergy to mangoes. Does he have a story that he (somewhat) fondly looks back on where his adopted daughter chases him around with a mango in retaliation for making fun of her? By golly yes he does. Is it important to the overall narrative? No. But does it establish more of his relationship with his daughter, even when she’s an adult? Yes. It also is the sort of anecdote that can snowball - what was he saying that was bad enough for her to chase him with tropical fruit? How did she even get a mango in the first place? Does she have a crush on someone? What sort of person is that? Is it someone new in town, or is it a stranger? What makes them different? Is Beck just assuming, and if so, is it because he’s dense or because he’s just trying to be a doting father? Even little things count, especially when sometimes it’s the anecdotes and sides stories that help make the world and characters you’re creating feel more real.

Write What You Know

This is pretty common advice, but it’s also pretty solid advice. It’s also something that I do often. None of my characters are straight self-inserts (arguably), but many of them have one or more facets of my personality, which makes it much easier for me to write them. Anyone who knows me personally will attest to this, particularly when you begin to note the amount of deadpan snarkers that my cast contains. My primary OCs (who don’t show up much here unfortunately) range from politely snarky to full on deadpan. Ive and Etiery are prime examples of this, while Richter also has his moments. Sharing traits with you helps writing their dialogue and motivations more organically, because again, it’s not what you want them to do, it’s how they would react as a living individual. If you’re not a naturally sarcastic person, it’s going to be harder to develop and accurately write a sarcastic character, etc. (Flashbacks to when I was a kid and my attempt at sarcasm and wit was “Go home old man, nobody needs you.”) Not impossible, of course, but something to keep in mind.

It’s not just personality, either. Rayne (one of my OCs) and Etiery are a chemist and engineer respectively because that is what I am. Part of the way their brains work stems from the fields that they choose to specialize in, and as someone in that field, I do have a certain amount of experience in thinking from that perspective. It’s okay to base characters on yourself or people you know, or take bits and pieces from people here or there. Again, it grounds you, and if you can write a realistic personality, you can write a more fleshed out backstory for said character, taking into account their motivations and decision-making.

Balancing Story vs. Personality

Part of storytelling is, well, getting across the story that you want to tell. In that, characters are instruments to help you move that plot forward. But if you’re fleshing out your characters, you also want the plot to be a vehicle to help them develop. Really, it depends on the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it, but if you’re like me and you focus first on characters, then my mindset is probably more applicable.

Essentially though, find a balance. You might need someone to do something for the sake of the plot, but think about if the one you’re picking is a good candidate for it, or if it’s better suited for someone else. If no one fits, maybe you need to take a look at the story step you’re making, or at the characters you’ve created. Remember also that although it’s easy to look at things objectively as an author and say things like “that’s so obvious, they shouldn’t go that way,” a character may still make that choice in the moment. Judgment - present, past, or future - can be questionable as it happens.

Pay Attention to the Timeline

This one’s pretty straightforward. One of the easiest things to mess up is to make your character too old or too young to be doing the things that they’re currently doing. Check and double-check. If you’re writing into an established timeline like GW2′s, make sure your character’s timeline fits with the established lore (unless you are very specifically breaking it for some reason). Ive, for example, is not one of the older generations of sylvari, but he is older than the sylvari protagonist in-game to account for his extra time spent training to compensate for his lack of eyesight. Keeping track of when events happen, often simultaneously, will help you decide how characters act and react - Etiery would not have been so kind (relatively speaking) to Ive had she met him before her fallout with her father, and as a result, they might never have become best friends, or friends at all.

Look at Things from All Angles

It’s important to look at a character and ask where they got certain characteristics from - are they naturally this kind/sarcastic/flirty/angsty/mean/etc., or did something happen that catalyzed that? If you’re writing backstory to explain that, take a look at the world you’re in or that you’re building - does the story you’re telling fit reasonably? Really challenge yourself to stay within your (universe’s) rules, instead of being tempted to bend them to make your character (and their story) exactly what you want. All universes have rules, and unless it is a specific plot point to break them, make sure you follow them! Making impossible loopholes to make sure your character has a degree by age 12 or can resurrect someone perfectly when the magic is explicitly stated to not exist can weaken your story and your character!

Richter is a good example of my personal thought process, being a glasses-wearing necromancer whose backstory is a street rat. He’s tall and awkward as an adult, so it’s not unreasonable that he was once a tall and gawky kid, the kind of kid whose arms are too long and everyone picks on. How does a kid like that survive on the streets? One of his major traits is the fact that he’s a bookworm: if he was orphaned, where did he learn to read? If he had parents long enough to teach him rudimentary reading skills (which he did), how much practical experience did he lose out on since he spent less time alone on the streets? As someone with a strong moral compass, Richter had to find a way to justify committing crimes to survive. A child like that would probably be too frightened to ask Grenth’s clergy or anyone at the schools in Divinity’s Reach (which he could not afford) to teach him in necromancy. How does he learn as a result? Is he afraid of his powers? Do people treat him differently because of them?

It’s kind of what I mean when I say pieces start falling into place. Start with a detail that you want for sure, and build up from that while maintaining its feasibility in the world that you’re working in.

And Don’t Ignore the Random

Seriously, I think this is my favorite part. Sometimes the things that you don’t expect sneak up on you and make it in. Fun fact for anyone fond of Ive: he originally wasn’t blind. OG Ive had nothing physically wrong with him. One day I was showing my friend my GW2 characters, including Ive in his full Rubicon set. I was nervous that she wouldn’t think it was as cool as I did, so I joked (although I would have anyway) that I didn’t know how he would see with the brim of the hat pulled so low. She replied, “Well, what if he has the hat pulled so low because he’s blind and it doesn’t matter to him?”

I chewed on that idea for the next day and a half, and suddenly a lot of things fell into place - why Ive and Eet get along as well as they do, more justification for Ive’s growing, below-the-surface jaded personality, an obstacle for him to overcome. I drowned in feels and texted her, and to this day it is still very much her fault that Ive can’t see. 

His lack of vision is now one of the central pillars of his character, and it’s something I hadn’t even considered before my friend mentioned it in jest. So don’t ignore random inspiration!

[starry-kfics]

a perfect match [myungjun]

word count:  1902

warnings:  none

extra info:  you’re like,, 4 years older than your friends whoops

author:  krys

“Fight me, you attractive stranger”

♡

The successful clinking of the puck shot into the goal triggered a chorus of yells and laughter from you and your friends. You, the air hockey champion of the night, celebrated another win against your opponent, who was currently preparing herself for a spicy ramen penalty.

Since you were on a holiday vacation, your friends have planned the day out to hang at the Gala Mall, a three-block outlet that was known for its high-end boutiques. Instead of shopping at the pricey, brand name stores, however, your group has decided to spend their day window shopping, eating at the top-of-the-line food courts, and messing around in the mall’s ginormous arcade, all the while doing crazy tasks for money.

To explain, near the beginning of this endeavor, your trust-fund friend Karin brought up a proposition: she would dare someone to do something, and if this dare was completed successfully, then she would buy that person anything they wanted in the mall. This has caused some of your friends to carry out some of the most hilarious and socially-embarrassing challenges throughout the day, just for a designer fur coat.

“Karin, you need to dare (Name) to do something, or else we’re all going to have to eat that nasty, spicy ramen.” Hyesung pleaded as Sohee and she passed by the girl, wallet in hand and the air of defeat portrayed through her actions. The “nasty, spicy ramen” was one of the entrees featured on the arcade’s menu, in which has become the current penalty for any given challenge. In your opinion, Hyesung’s adjectives for the dish were too kind, since your mouth has been pulsating with heat for the past seven minutes.

Karin looked up as she finished posting a video on Snapchat. “Oh, don’t worry, I have something in store.” Karin replied with an angelic smile to you, in which you huffed in amusement.

“Um, no, I would prefer for Karin to have to eat the ramen; she deserves it.” Yoona spoke up from her side of the air hockey table. You could tell that she was still salty about her failure of a dare given from the youngest of the group.

“Guess I’m going to have to call that hot barista from the coffee shop and ask for a cup of snake milk then.” Karin bantered back, soaking in the amused reactions from everyone else and avoiding the hand of her unnie.

“Um, wee-woo, wee-woo, alert to the door. All eyes on deck.” Yukyung suddenly said in a rising tone as she reached for Yoona’s shoulder for support. You looked in the direction that she was staring, and coughed out a quiet “Oh, Lord.”

Walking into the arcade were three guys, two shorter than one, and all of whom were agreeably attractive. You didn’t have to look at your friends to know that they were most likely ogling the newbies, sizing them up and checking them out.

You scoffed and looked away. It was fun to check people out when you’re with friends, but you were a little bashful to be so upfront about it.

“Guys, let’s go, I want to play the racing games now.” you brought up to the girls, wanting to change the point(s) of interest before any attention goes to your area.

Yoona shrugged the fawning Yukyung off of her and nodded, joining your side. “Yeah, and Hyesung should have her order of ramen by now, so let’s go to the eating area and watch her reaction.” Karin turned around and exclaimed, “Yes, good idea! Let us go there right now!” Karin and Yukyung both bolted to the eating area, giggling all the way through.

“Well, they were fast to agree with me.” you said with a huff. Yoona smiled.

“I think they wanted to go over there because that’s where the guys were heading” she informed as you two followed the trail of the youngers.

Yoona left your side once the eating area was in sight, which was conveniently placed next to the racing games. Once situated at one of the driver’s seats, you leaned to peek around the machine and caught Hyesung’s first bite of the cursed noodles. You laughed out loud from her face freezing up from the taste, not caring if your reaction was a bit strange to an outsider.

You swept your eyes across the eating area and accidentally made direct eye contact with one of the three guys. In that heartbeat, you carefully observed the other man, taking in all of his facial features. Your snap judgement screamed that your friends were right: he was very good-looking. Feeling ambitious, you tilted your head cutely and gave a wink before leaning back into your original position in the seat.

You quietly squealed to yourself and shook your head. Your friends’ playful attitudes were getting to you. To forget your silly behavior, you inserted two coins into the machine and began to choose your race car. However, in the middle of your second race, a hand surprised your concentrated state. You looked up to the suspect as your now-crashed car was being towed away.

“Hey, (Name), guess who who has figured out your dare.” Karin said in a sweet tone. You groaned as the youngest of the group pulled you back to a table in the eating area.

“Yah! We’re going to talk about (Name)’s dare now!” Karin announced, not caring that she was being rude to her unnies.

“What do you have in mind?” Sohee asked as she rested her head in her hands. Karin leaned forwards, her sly smile and giggly tone showing that she had something good.

“Well, I have decided to make (Name) here,” Karin began, glancing to you before motioning towards the the gaming area, “go to one of the three hot guys who walked in and challenge him to a match of air hockey. But!” Karin licked her lips before explaining, “First words have to be ‘fight me, you attractive stranger-’ nothing more, nothing less- and you have to flirt.” You scoffed in agony as the rest of your friends began to gasp and chuckle.

“If you win the air hocky match, then I will buy you something, but if you lose, you will have to ask for his number! And you have to call him cute!” Karin smiled triumphantly at her plan. You didn’t have any time to give your opinion, for your friends were already egging you away from the table. With a defeated groan, you prepped yourself as you weaved your way through the arcade machines.

It wasn’t that hard to find the trio, since they were quite easy to detect by ear from the occasional screaming. Conveniently, the three were spread about, playing their own games. You leaned against a retro-looking machine and crossed your arms as you thought out your game plan.

Your eyes fell on the man you subtly flirted with from before. He was playing a duck-shooting game by himself, and was obviously winning from each adorable victory jump he made. He was probably the shortest of the three, but he was the most animated. Something about how he carried himself and his quirks made him seem more approachable than the other two. Swallowing your adrenaline, you pushed off from the machine and decided to wing it.

Luckily, you didn’t have to awkwardly tap on his shoulder or anything, since he turned around when you neared. You two made eye contact, and you made sure it was direct. You noticed that the man’s mouth was slightly open, and his body had tensed up. You licked your lips.

“Fight me, you attractive stranger.” you said in a smooth tone, before following up so the tension wouldn’t be too unbearable. “Up for a match of air hockey?” You smirked as you waited for a response.

It was a miracle that the man was able to crack out a word. “Oh- uh, y-yeah, sure, I’m down.” You smiled warmly and tilted your head to the side.

“Awesome.” You let your eyes sweep up and down the man, knowingly making him self-conscious. “I heard you and our friends playing earlier, and seeing as I am the champion of this air hockey table tonight, I wanted to know if I have any upcoming competition.” You walked to the table, the man trailing behind you in a nervous trance.

“So, is there a name I should know you by?” you asked the man, drinking in his current state. Surprisingly, he got a hold of himself.

“Ah, my friends call me MJ. What should I know my opponent by?” he asked back as he picked his striker and side to play on. You giggled at his sudden confidence. You made a great choice to choose to approach him.

“(Name). I’m glad that we’re apparently friends now.” you said in a joking tone, looking up to glance into MJ’s eyes a tad longer.

“So, if I win, then I get to keep my title of air hockey champion, and if you win, then I get your phone number. Alright, ready? Let’s go!” Without letting MJ say another word, you leaned over the table to get the first hit on the puck placed in the middle. With a yelp, he quickly moved his arm to hit the puck away from his goal.

The game was intense, but only because you and MJ made everything much more extra. At some point, his two other friends came over to watch, and didn’t ask any questions about who you were or how everything started. Though, in the end, you made a hit directly into MJ’s goal, and the machine played a little fanfare to signify your win.

“Ah, that was a really close game. It was fun to watch, though.” One of his friends exclaimed, who was noticeably shorter than the other. The taller boy (who you guessed was younger than all of you) remained indifferent.

“Well, I was expecting MJ-hyung to lose. I just let him win today, that’s why it might’ve seemed like he plays well.” The taller boy instinctively screeched when MJ came to slap him on the chest. The two friends bounded away, not wanting to face their hyung’s wrath. You slowly walked to MJ’s side of the table.

“Guess that air hockey champion title is still in my hands. Sorry there, cutie.” You gave yourself a mental fist bump for completing Karin’s dare. You were still annoyed that you had to do this, but for some reason, you didn’t regret a single second of it.

MJ did a subtle double-take, obviously trying to keep his composure from the surprising pet name. “Oh, well, since you have two hands, I guess I could also give you another thing to carry, such as my phone number?” Now it was your turn to double-take. Despite the bantering you two had during the whole game, you were still surprised from his amazing comebacks.

“Ah- um, what was that?” you let out in disbelief. MJ then took out his phone, his grin being illuminated by the screen.

“If you open up your contact list, then I’ll be able to give you my phone number, cutie.” he said in a teasing voice. You suppressed your giddy smile by rolling your lips in.

“And I’m recieving your phone number only for rematch reasons, correct?” you questioned, your tone playful.

“Of course. Only for rematch reasons.”