#he was just next to a Pokéstop

[gladiator-gladiolus]

Instead of house price being based on size/view, it should increase depending on how close you are to a Pokéstop. Imagine living right next to one, farming Pokéballs every few minutes- THATS not okay. I have to walk 20 minutes to get to the one closest to me.

[renaerys]

how about I thought you left.” with the greens?

50. “I thought you left.”

Co-opted for BTM universe, sorry not sorry.

This fic is part of a prompt challenge that is now closed to new requests, but you can read all the completed submissions here. Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we’re getting creative here.

xxx

Peace and quiet were exceedingly rare in Butch’s home these days. Between Brisa in full-on sullen teenager mode, Bruce overrun with energy and exploding all her toys, and Bud teething on Butch’s shoes, he had a full plate as primary caregiver while Buttercup was out mommy’ing Citiesville solving all its murders.

Small wonder that he had learned to cherish the moments he had truly to himself late at night and early in the morning. He settled in for the early morning moment with his phone, set up a lure at the Pokéstop in the Cooper’s Market located on the first floor of his apartment building, and began his daily shit in the master bathroom.

A wild Treecko appeared against the closed toilet door, drawn to his lure, and Butch grinned. “Get in, you slimy little dude.”

It took a couple tries to catch Treecko, but he managed and sighed. The toilet water splashed as he dropped a satisfying deuce and reviewed Treecko’s information in the app.

“Jesus Christ, did you finish off the curry this morning?”

Butch startled and dropped his phone. “Buttercup, what the hell?!”

“Because it smells like a spicy diaper in here,” she went on.

“I thought you left!”

“I forgot my ring, so I came back. Could’ve warned me I’d be walking into goddamned Chernobyl. Would a courtesy flush kill you?”

Butch flushed, but not because she’d asked him to. His cortisol levels were up, his morning peace was ruined, and he was out of toilet paper. “Goddamnit—pass me some TP!”

“I’m not getting anywhere near that toilet!”

“Oh, for fu—I have poop in my ass!”

“Okay, Jesus!” Buttercup chucked a new roll of toilet paper over the top of the door, and it bounced off Butch’s head.

“Thanks a lot!”

“You’re super welcome!”

Butch grumbled a string of curses as he finished up in the toilet and let himself out to wash his hands. When he looked up, Buttercup had a can of Glade she sprayed everywhere. Somewhere in the apartment, something that sounded suspiciously like Bud hamster balling in an energy shield through the lego palace Bruce had managed not to explode yet echoed through the walls, followed by a very sleepy Brisa yelling, “Daaaaad, they’re awake!”

“Great,” Butch said. “All that yelling must have done it.”

Buttercup put the Glade away as he slipped past her to deal with their youngest, but she caught his wrist. “Hold up.”

“If I don’t stop her, Bud will blow a hole through the wall.”

“I’ll deal with her. Go make yourself some coffee.”

He peered at her, suspicious. “What about work?”

Buttercup shrugged. “I told Ty I’d be in a little late today.”

She never did that. Butch slipped his hands around her waist. “Really?”

She pinched his nose. “I don’t have all morning, but enough for you to get the most out of that lure.”

He grinned and hugged her. “I love the shit out of you.”

She winced at his unfortunate choice of words. “I’m going to let that one slide. Get your ass moving before our daughter razes the whole apartment.”

Buttercup went to deal with their rambunctious Super kids, and Butch passed the next ten minutes blissfully alone in the kitchen as the coffee maker sputtered and filled the space with the rich aroma of hazelnuts. He pulled out two mugs today instead of just one. Maybe, if he asked nicely, Buttercup would hang out for a few more minutes and have coffee together.

“Daaaaaad!” Brisa yelled. “Have you seen my Eleventeen hat? I can’t find it anywhere!”

“I found it!” Buttercup said. “Bruce had it under her bed!”

“Ugh, Bruce!”

Butch smiled and poured himself a cup of piping hot coffee and relished in a rare morning of not my problem.

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

[lycheesugar]

I Choose You

Jackson x Reader AU

Genre: Fluff? Crack?

Inspired by this post

Warnings: There’s a bit of a cringy sexual innuendo in the beginning, but it's not what you think... please bear with me

With that said...

“At this rate, we’re going to get nowhere.” You exclaim impatiently.

“Babe, have some faith in me.” he says, his voice dropping to a husky tone as he tries to concentrate.

Your heartbeat begins to quicken as you urge him to go faster, your senses overwhelming with exhilaration as adrenaline courses through your veins. The thought of Jackson coming through for you aroused great satisfaction in your heart, seeing the lengths he would go to ensure that both of you would be happy.

“We need to be fast. Keep going straight, don’t you dare slow down right now.”

Your excitement brings you towards the end of the seat as you two get closer.

You knew you were safe with him. He was protected and equipped with good insurance. Jackson was a responsible driver.

“Okay, so where is it?” he questions.

All night you have been countlessly checking your phone, watching the Pokémon GO avatar from the account that you shared with Jackson run across the screen as you drove between the busy streets of the city, milking out all the items you can from each pokéstop you pass.

Both of you were huge Pokémon fans since you were kids. Having almost completed your Pokédex in the game, this was the moment you’ve been waiting for, for years. You were one pokémon away from completing the Pokédex.

For some reason, Squirtles were extremely rare where you and Jackson lived. When you first saw it appear on the map, you quickly alerted Jackson and began your expedition to capture- er, befriend it. Since it was rare, you needed to be quick.

“Take a right. It should be by the park.”

Returning your focus to your phone, you went through your avatar's bag, going through your items- checking for berries, and using all your coins on purchasing ultra balls.

You use your last incense as you got closer to the park, willing to do whatever it takes to get that Squirtle. Its will be yours.

As the two of you reach the park, you quickly unbuckle your seatbelt and sprint to the swing set, when you see some kids swiping away on their phone, quietly and intensely.

You shake your head and remember that you are on a mission. And so you lift your hand to check your back pockets, only to find it empty.

You turn to face Jackson, rubbing the back of you head as if trying to soothe a sunburn

“You left your phone in the car, huh?” he says, a smile breaking through his features as his eyebrows creased.

Behind you, you could hear the kids cheering and talking excitedly amongst each other, as you let out a nervous laugh that lead to fake crying.

Jackson walked up to them.

“Hi there,’ he says sweetly.

“Did you guys just catch a Squirtle on Pokémon GO? That's really cool!”

The kids converse happily with Jackson and high fives eachother for a bit before he returns.

“They caught it right?” you question, already knowing the answer.

Jackson sends you a small smile chuckling lightly before throwing his head back in laughter and you join in as you both slowly walk back to the car, waving goodbye to the kids.

“I cant believe after all that chasing, you left your phone in the car.” Jackson giggles.

“Hey, don’t think that I didn't want that Squirtle! I was desperate, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be,” you shrugged, turning to face Jackson as you walk down the sidewalk.

“But seeing those kids happy makes me happy as well. There’s always a next time.”

“It’s okay y/n, you already caught me.” he says, throwing his arm over your shoulder and sending you his signature wink.

“Your Pokédex is complete.” he ends,

“Good grief, Jackson,” you chuckle.

Quickly, he runs and jumps onto one of the large stones that borders the parks, before turning around, throwing his arm back then forward again to point at you.

And in the most dramatic voice he screams to the top of his lungs:

“Y/N, I CHOOSE YOU!”

________________

Thoughts?

June 8/19

First one ayyyyyy

[blackuigryphonvr]

#Niantic #Wayfarer #PokemonGo -#Bullies #Harassment

Usually, when people get weird rejections it’s often passed off as “lazy reviewers” whom just pick something random. But, lazy people usually go for the things that are the least effort... they’re lazy JUST because they want to get an “Upgrade”. There’s a fundamental flaw in this process.... it’s also NOT as tho Niantic is unaware.....

But...... it’s funny how I’ve found a strong correlation to the PokéStops submissions I put through that got accepted, and the ones that didn’t.

I hereby testify that all of the ones that went through were ones I never mentioned on social media, and the ones that got rejected were ones I DID mention were my submissions.

Why?

Because we’re a community. We share the intel, the techniques, the methods, and resources.

I also noticed that intel I publicly gave out so others could also submit a nomination when Wayfarer went live, were also rejected under suspicious illogical reasons....

However, after multiple tries, and the glossy luster of the new Wayfarer wore off, those slacked off periods ended up having the submissions going through....

But, since everyone kept insisting it’s just “lazy viewers” I went along with it.... but I also noticed that areas that went through were usually places and areas I did NOT tell anyone about. But areas that I did publicly divulge WOULD get rejected because it was specifically something I PUBLICLY WANTED.

This pattern was very strong.

Then, when I got a rejection reason accusing me of harassing people, abusing Niantic’s system, and basically accusing me of being a Nazi, I blogged about it last week.

I also vented about it on social media.

1 key 🔑 point I said was that we knew months ago that the usual reason that a PokéStop submission could be rejected also according to OPR Ingress players was a bad photo. 📷 Being that I’m actually a photographer 📸 I worried about my exposures being bad, and often reshot the photos to be sure persons, minimal cars, and animals were out of the shots, lighting was good, composition was Level, etc...

And I mouthed off that if they’d just picked photo rather than accuse me of being a Nazi, plus the fact that it got rejected in hours when there was nothing wrong with my submission, I wouldn’t have caught on that a pack of haters were plotting to sabotage me.

There were other odd behaviors of people being rude to me since June, and it ramping up this month in Discord. People I didn’t even know, and weird inside jokes of people laughing at some kind of inside jokes, blocking me, and posting photos bragging about how I was blocked. People “liking” those posts and laughing at me because in their private DMs they are trashing me.... OBVIOUSLY. I also noticed there’s persons I can’t “like” posts to, nor reply to... and I don’t even know who they are. I can see their posts, but they don’t seem to see mine... and the head of the Discord was pressuring me to tell him who.... I just don’t want these punks to be kicked out. Yes, they’re jerks & immature.... but I don’t think they should shut out of the community over it... or banned from playing the game.

Well..... it’s been getting weirder...

After my post exposé of how people were ganging up on my nominations, probably scouring anything local to my area, presuming it’s mine, or connected to my intel, the very next day another submission went through within less than 2 hours!

So.... to me, it seems as tho they’re stalking my social media, realized they were busted, felt guilty, then pushed that other one through. I’d also publicly said THAT area was one I was currently suspending any further activity from submitting anything to....... I never said I didn’t have any left in my cue tho.... so, either that pack of them hanged up to push it through based on guilt.... OR THEY THOUGHT SOMEONE ELSE MADE IT.

But, get this.... I publicly TOLD everyone in the Discord server that it got accepted.... so, I kept waiting for it to show in game.... it usually shows either the following day at 2PM, or the day after that at 2PM.... but days went by, and NOTHING was there...

I wondered why.... because I so meticulously planned everything out... I left instructions in both submissions, because 1 was bear the previous one, but were near the edges of 2 different cells.....

So, by the end of the week, I checked the PokéStop......... AND IT WAS MOVED.... meaning SOMEONE MOVED IT AFTER IT HAD ALREADY BEEN PUT IN THE GAME.... THEY ALSO moved it into the OTHER CELL, which cancels out that other POI from showing in BOTH Ingress but ALSO Pokémon Go...

Then, I realized that ONLY OPR could do that....

But, didn’t OPR get shut down????

So, I publicly asked.....

Then, as I was outside playing Ingress I noticed that OPR shows that I have “agreements” in my stats and several, even tho my Level was only 6, then Leveled up to 7.... so, is OPR still there?

In OPR higher level players get personal preference biases to the final say of Portal/PokéStop submissions and can move them....

Apparently, we can suggest a PokéStop point to be moved also.... but, in Ingress if someone does it I CAN SEE THEIR USER NAME!

Oh! And I SAW WHO DID IT!

I recognize this player!

This player started used to have a lower level than mine, but is NOW Level 8... meaning they can move stuff, and change things...

But............... this person IS ON THE OPOSING BLUE TEAM. The Resistance Team. I’m on The Enlightenment Team.

So... is this whole thing based on a BEEF IN INGRESS???? Well, at least THIS suspect seems to be connected to it.

Well, I called this person out.

This person KNOWS that I play BOTH Pokémon Go AND Ingress as the same name AND my social media is the same name. Implying that they are cyber stalking me, and have an enterage.

This saboteur person ALSO can read the Discord and is in there.

I recently vented on social media that this person flubbed up. Because accusing me of abusing Niantic’s system, being a bully, a Nazi, and harassing people just by making a PokéStop submission, and it happening incredibly fast not only was dubious but it’s a TELL that I’m being actively sabotaged by a group of bullies that have it out for me, for some unknown reason....

Plus, I just HAPPENED to mention on Tuesday that I KNEW who the player was in Ingress, and I’m ONTO THEM, effectively calling them out....

Well, yesterday (Wednesday) in the evening THIS SPECIFIC PLAYER decides he wants to start playing again....

As you can see.... he hasn’t touched my portals much since November.... but, interestingly enough.... he did actually start playing THE MOMENT my new PokéStop by Marylou’s went up..... weirdly coincidentally.... but also, I added in 2 submissions there.... which 1 was a goddess and the other was a male Buddha... but SOMEONE combined them as a DUPLICATE even tho they ARE NOT. YET ANOTHER WEIRD COINCIDENCE..... oh, and it’s VERY OPR...

So.... when I’m in game, and I realize that THIS GUY was the one who MADE THE EDITS BECAUSE INGRESS TELLS ME WHO DID IT AND I CAN SEE HUS NAME, then I out him n call him out on Tuesday.... Wednesday he comes back out WITH A VENGEANCE!

Do u have any idea how much time it takes to put up all those portal fields in Ingress? But, it also takes quite a while to take out the opposing teams’ stuff. I know. I’ve been playing for a year. Well, there’s pages upon pages of him trying to take me down! He must’ve been out there for 2 hours in the sub freezing cold!

I use Mods on my portals.... maybe u should look that stuff up, dude. Just sayin’.... 😆

U guys aren’t even that good at sabotage. You constantly screw up.

What? You didn’t think that Ingress would tell me who did what edit?

I also put you, and like a hot head, you come after me for revenge basically ADMITTING that it’s YOU! You are SO BUSTED!

I KNOW ITS YOU!

I know u stalk me.

I know what you’re doing!

Oh.... and THEN THIS HAPPENED!

See.... u guys JUST CANT HELP THE FLAWS IN YOUR BRAIN. Typical bullies....

I got a rejection on something that was stuck in the cue for a long time... and honestly THAT ONE seemed fine and reasonable to me. It was one I submitted just to see what happened. To check quality control. It was the Satellite Radar Dish from the Cold War. I had a feeling it probably wouldn’t go through... and it didn’t. I’m OK with that. And the reasons given were all thoughtful ones.

But THIS yet again just shows how brainless, impulsive, reckless, and Sadist u are.

Remember when I said on social media that I wouldn’t have ever caught on that I was being sabotaged if they’d JUST picked Bad Photos as a reason? Yeah, I JUST recently publicly said that this week & last week.

But, since it’s CLEARLY a pack of bullies, and SOME can’t help themselves because they’re weak minded and have no self control over emotions, impulses, and ego, they ACCUSE MY SUBMISSION NOMINATION of a PokéStop AGAIN of being harassment.... which u can clearly see is no such thing.... but they ALSO accused me of having a bad photo!

BTW I’m a photographer and a cinematographer....

I’ve NEVER EVER had a rejection that claimed I had a bad photo EVER. I found that especially weird, since according to the several lives steams I sat through when Wayfarer went public was that it was the most common reason. So, I would and did worry about it often... then, I mouth off about this in the past 2 weeks, and ANOTHER STRANGE DIRECTLY CORRELATING COINCIDENCE just HAPPENS to be BAD PHOTO AND ACCUSE ME OF A CRIME AS HARASSMENT.

FYI: this type of photo is known as a backlit landscape l.

ARE U KIDDING ME?

Does ANYONE in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM actually believe that this is Harassment???

OF COURSE NOT!

You guys ARE SO BUSTED!

FYI: Ingress isn’t actually real. It’s just a game. Grow up.

If I must say, I’ve noticed that several players that have access to Wayfarer often chicken out. So, there’s a small handful of us that collaborate and share input, intel, techniques, methods. We’re so good out scouting out POIs that it’s not even a contest. We’re wizards at digging through archives, resources, data.

It’s really a shame that there’s nasty folks out there screwing up.

If we get stuff in game, and we’re very good at troubleshooting and working around problems & obstacles, YOU could actually play on the POIs we added in game.

Honestly, we’re really good at it because we do our due diligence. If Niantic let us loose in a spot anywhere on the globe with unlimited submissions, we’d Turn This Mutha OUT!

You sabbatuer bullies can only stop us to a point. You can’t stop us forever, and you can’t keep us down.

I know who u r!

[memorylang]

L.A., Graduations and “La La Land” | #54 | May 2021

This May was such a packed month that for the first time in a while, I decided to take two blog posts to contain its adventures. I’d even planned to have some of its tales spill into my June post, making this really more of a 'Part II of III.' This specifically would focus on the graduation season, mid-May. And while I’d hoped to have debuted these stories six months ago (November 2O2I now), I’m glad to have at least gotten these together! From the end of these tales you’ll know why I’d that wait, though.

Previously On...

As I’d written in my first May 2O2I tales, I’d randomly seen an article on Friday, April 3O, noting how people can visit dozens of real places from the film, “La La Land.” I felt surprised to think that people can swing by my favorite film’s iconic locales. I found the prospect enchanting.

The next Monday, May 3, I received a message from my sister Becky requesting whether I or our siblings would come to Los Angeles for her graduation, May 15. I missed out on her high school graduation since I was abroad in China, so this time I offered to fly in.

A friend with whom I’d recently reconnected mentioned living in L.A., I remembered. Later, after an unrelated video call with her that Monday, I said I’d be in her city. I asked for recommendations. She suggested Hollywood.

Suddenly, her suggestion reminded me of that “LA LA LAND” article! I felt enthused. I could see not only my sister and my friend but also real locales used to film scenes from my favorite film. Somehow I hadn’t noticed before that the title’s name contains “L.A.” three times.

Reno Graduations

That Thursday before the trip, May 13, the family of my sister Vana’s boyfriend Ben came to visit us in Reno. The parents and oldest brother remembered me from my Class of 2OI9 graduation activities, for the middle son Nikko was one of my parish friends. I felt touched that they remembered. I suppose in hindsight that perhaps being memorable wasn’t so hard since only four or five of us graduated from the church that spring.

The next morning, Friday, May 14, I came to our campus parish to celebrate first the live-stream graduation of Ben. When Ben and I were in school together, he was my Knights of Columbus mentee and successor as both Chancellor then Deputy Grand Knight. He officially started dating my sister Vana after I graduated. So, our families have grown closer. His family ordered a hearty brunch from Taiwanese 1OI, where my family had gone last year after Vana’s confirmation.

Later that Friday, we celebrated the Baccalaureate Mass of student coordinators and friends from my undergrad. We celebrated Abui, Cristian, Jesús and Ben! The next morning, Saturday, May 15, my youngest siblings and I arrived at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport to fly to L.A. for our sister’s graduation.

As we waited at our flight's gate, I procured on my phone the livestream of our Kansan cousin Caleb getting hooded at the completion of pharmacy school. I took screenshots and shared these with our aunt. To my delight, when I commented I’d be willing to pay extra to trade someone to finally have my own $2 bill, my youngest brother Tony cheerfully accepted my offer, and we made the trade. Then we boarded for L.A. I’d scheduled to stay an extra day to see friends and embark on my “La La Land” adventures.

Lang Family in L.A. Lands

My siblings and I disembarked our plane at the LAX and made our way outdoors to the pedestrian waiting areas where we could stand. We waited there for Dad and Tita to drive to pick us up, as they had been driving from Reno to L.A. and were just arriving. I remembered trips abroad when I’d traveled alone. This time, I traveled with my youngest couple siblings. While we waited, I used my phone app to spin the daily PokéStops in our new city. Vana helped a Korean couple who approached her book an Uber.

After Papa and Tita picked us up, and we sat an awful' long time in traffic. If I hadn’t already, I finished my daily Duolingo lesson, read my daily Bible chapter and probably checked my emails and messages. I wish that I wouldn’t check my email so much, though. I try to work less when I travel.

We reached my sister Becky's school and began wandering. My folks and I found our sister in a public space she called the Rose Garden. She was taking photos with her fellow graduates from the University of Southern California (USC). Apparently white was a popular dress color for female graduates. I wasn’t aware till Sister pointed it out. We took family photos. Then my siblings and I bid our sister, Papa and Tita adieu, for Sister had only two guest tickets.

USC Side Stories

Our youngest brother Tony wanted boba tea, so we walked from campus while I live-streamed on my phone the graduation speeches. From Pot of Cha, we got our bobas then returned to campus. I showed my siblings the pretty exterior of the water and brick Leavey Library. I recalled spring 2OI8 when I had visited here with my sister Becky in our undergrads. I spent some time in this library working on projects. A USC student recognized me from my service to him as a Nevada Boys’ State counselor during his delegate year.

Our sister Vana wanted to use a restroom, so she visited a nearby Starbucks. There instead she received a map marking public restrooms on campus. So, we began navigating the campus in search of an open restroom. I enjoyed seeing between the buildings epic trees along the way. The Music Complex ultimately delivered us.

Business addressed, I decided to take my siblings to see the towering Annenberg Communication building that I found cool. Unfortunately one couldn’t see its absurdly large screens from outside, but I enjoyed at least finding it again. It was in there that I’d gotten to read online more about the Chinese university where I’d study through the U.S. Department of State that summer in Xi’an.

My siblings and I heard cheers nearby and saw track and field events happening behind a gate. We congregated by the fence for a time watching. I felt the campus odd to have field events concurrent to a commencement. Still, the metaphorical gladiators seemed to fare well.

After peeking through those fences a while, my siblings and I returned to one of the grassy areas with epic twisting trees. We were apparently right across from the USC Bookstore. So many squirrels squirmed about. I kept my phone livestreaming graduation festivities. We checked Messenger to see time updates from our sister Becky. We saw her friends Colin, Sofia, Alyssa and Danielle heading up and saw her too. I snagged many a screenshot on my phone to send our group chat. In just three years, Sister had her bachelor’s, summa cum laude like me!

Evening Oddities

After Sister graduated, Brother and I ran to the house where she was staying, while the folks drove. When Brother and I last visited Sister in L.A. last year to drop her off, she’d been living in an apartment. So, this house was different. We placed our things where we would be, then the fam went forth into the night. Youngest Brother led us through the Chinatown area of seemingly fewer palm trees.

We first tried visiting a karaoke bar yet found it bizarre. The back stairwell felt a bit like a Six Flags’ ride’s metal alley, except we saw no lines here. We didn’t raise our expectations high. When we entered, we didn’t find a receptionist ready. We did, however, see suddenly a woman in a tight dress appear and say that she’d come just to drop off a large cake. She then left. Then from an elevator outside by the stairs came a man pushing an empty shopping cart into some section of this karaoke place. A large van was somewhere below.

The desk clerk at last mentioned something about Fridays and higher prices. Well, we left. After leaving, we realized the day was Saturday. Still, we assumed that perhaps the two days had the same rates. We’d committed anyway to doing karaoke when our L.A. sister would visit Reno the week after. So, we cut our losses.

We walked to what my brother had looked up might be another boba place. Well, the one that he’d found on Yelp had either closed or relocated. We found another, I Love Boba, instead. My sister and I split a shaved ice that had many sweet things in it. I liked how the cashier showed us how to poke the ice to mix the ingredients. She seemed adorable in her delight to show us how to properly enjoy the treat.

On our walk, Sister Becky told me about “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a show, which according to L.A. billboards was having a new show soon. Our family ate outdoors at an Oaxacan restaurant called the Guelaguetza. Its seating reminded me of Austin, Tex. 2OI8. I hadn’t heard of Oaxaca, but I learned that it was in México. Coincidentally, I’d talk to someone not long after during a virtual meeting with The Overseas Dispatch who mentioned going to Oaxaca.

That night, my siblings, papa and tita departed for their own place to stay before brief national park trips on the road back to Reno. I readied for bed at my sister's place. Sister's friend Colin visited, too! I felt delighted to see him again in the flesh. He’d visited us in Vegas back in January and had been fun to chat with. I rested well for the coming adventures.

“La La Land” Adventures

I’m a huge “La La Land” fan. I’d organized my remaining L.A. days around how to see at least six to eight sights. I saw nine. Ultimately, these were Chinatown, the “You Are a Star” mural, Fern Dell Nature Trail, the Observatory exterior, Colorado Street Bridge, the mural under the overpass, the 1O5-IIO interchange, the Lighthouse Cafe exterior and the Hermosa Beach Pier.

The morning after Becky’s graduation was Ascension Sunday. Since my sister and I wouldn’t leave her place too early, I decided that a shorter trip would be a helpful start. So I browsed potential sites on my phone and noticed that L.A. has a Chinatown. Being Chinese-American, I enjoy visiting cities’ Chinatowns. I also recalled that “La La Land” has a track called “Chinatown.” So, L.A. Chinatown would have to have been a setting. I added it to my list.

Arguably Chinatown wasn’t that essential to the “La La Land” plot other than looking nice. While we wandered it, Sister explained how in U.S. history Chinatowns had adopted their amalgamated architecture to make themselves tourist destinations against governments’ criticisms. I felt a bit dismayed but understood. These alleyways more closely resembled Disneyland caricatures than genuinely authentic looks.

I loved how right when we arrived I saw a mural commemorating “Rush Hour,” a franchise I’d seen when I was little. Beneath the ol’ faded lanterns and along the paths, I had a joyful time. Toward the center, I saw the backside of a statue of a person sitting. I assumed it might be 孙中山 Sūn Zhōngshān, the Republic of China’s first president. I was right!

Beside us from the statue was a bakery, Wonder Bakery. I missed Chinese bakeries. I said to my sister that if they had any meat-filled 包子 /bāozi/ I’d probably buy one.

As it happens, the shop didn’t have meat-filled bāo. The cashier said how earlier that day, someone had just come in and bought the dozen. I asked how long it might take for them to make more, and the woman replied that it could be an hour. I mentioned that we’d be taking off before then.

To my surprise, the woman gave us free egg tarts! I decided to get a pineapple bun that I was eying. Its puffy look reminded me of similar ones that I’d buy in my Mongolian city. I offered some of this bun to Sister, but she didn’t care for some. She had her egg tart, though! Sister and I then hiked to a nice look-out near the Hollywood sign. On our drive from there to where I’d meet with an ol’ friend, I felt pleased to see on our right the massive “You Are a Star” mural.

On my adventures around the city, I also felt delighted to see Emily Stone on billboards for Disney’s “Cruella.” While I’m not so interested in the franchise, I found it amazing to know that Stone’s leading the high-profile film. I’d first seen her act in “The Amazing Spider-Man” but really felt inspired from both her performance in “La La Land” and her interviews about the film. Stone’s billboards reminded me of her character Mia Dolan’s aspiration to go big in Hollywood. Billboards of Dreamworks’ new 3D-animated “Spirit” film reminded me of my Peace Corps Mongolia sitemate Emilie, who’d loved the original. The billboards looked cute. Generally, massive billboards remind me of Chicago 2OI7 and my undergrad years studying ads.

From Griffith Park to Pasadena

My sister dropped me off in amazingly tall-treed Griffith Park, where I’d meet up with Margaret, a friend I hadn’t seen since spring 2OI8 when she’d graduated early. Margaret had been such a supporter throughout our undergrad, especially my freshman year when I underwent the Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults. In L.A., as we chatted about our travels in Asia, she took me up the beautiful Fern Dell Nature Trail to the Observatory exterior. She captured a photo of me hopping with unrestrained glee on a path before both the observatory and the Hollywood sign. It would become my Facebook banner cover to capture my delight of having gotten my second COVID-I9 vaccination that month.

Back at the car, when Margaret and I tried to leave, her Prius had trouble starting. Thankfully someone stopped to help us. Then I got to ride with my friend! I love Priuses. They’re cool cars, environmentally friendlier and super common in Mongolia! My friend then picked up her boyfriend Awaab, and together we visited the tranquil Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery nearby in search of famous folks like Walt Disney. I found the hilltop building’s interior enchanting, as were the views from in and beyond the park. I would surely spend more time there like my friends. Though we couldn’t find Disney’s grave, my friend took me to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where I found Disney's star instead. Then my friend drove me by the iconic Colorado Street Bridge to Pasadena, where I’d dine with one of my Returned Peace Corps Volunteer friends from the cohort above me. I hadn’t seen him, my Byzantine-loving friend Nick, since our spring 2O2O evacuation from Mongolia.

We ate at the Panda Inn, which Nick explained was an origin point for the Panda Express franchise. The food tasted great. My friend commended me for still wanting to return to Peace Corps Mongolia. He caught me up on the education roles he’s held since our evacuation the year before. I felt surprised to learn that one of our fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteers was in the Bay Area, where I hoped to visit the next month.

After dinner, Nick took me down some streets on which he spent many of his years living here. Unfortunately, we ran short on time to see the Rialto Theatre because of sunset, but he drove us across the Colorado Street Bridge. It reminded me of a smaller bridge in Reno that I’d walk near Idlewild Park, the winter when I’d see “La La Land.”

Nick delivered me to the hilltop of the Griffith Observatory, where I reunited that sunset with my sister. I loved having gotten to see that iconic, domed observatory in both the day and night. I felt delighted by how it acknowledged the films shot there. Sister and I proceeded around the park experiencing the “Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK.” The cosmic choir reimagined for me the lovely nature in darkness.

From Griffith Park, Sister took me back to the Walk of Fame so I could find by night Bruce Lee’s star and the Chinese Theatre. These satisfied me greatly. On our way out, Sister had trouble getting onto the freeway, so we wound up looping around such that I encountered a bonus “La La Land” sight, the mural under the overpass. This serendipity delighted me immensely. As we returned to the house, I admired the exterior of a building that looked like fire. Then we slept.

Last L.A. Morning

The next morning, my last day, Sister took me to the beach. Options included Manhattan Beach, my sister’s favorite, and the Santa Mónica Pier, apparently an iconic one. I specifically chose instead one that would ensure our route would pass through the 1O5-IIO interchange. This interchange was where filmmakers shot the iconic opening to “La La Land.”

I felt amazed next by how easily we found the Lighthouse Café exterior after parking. My last stop would be the Hermosa Beach Pier. I loved the moody wind and slate waves. The pier felt pleasant. L.A. in the distance, its other piers visible, seemed vast. I recalled Panamá City’s coast.

Sister wanted to grab a bite to eat before we left for the airport, so I decided to treat her to a burrito bowl and got a burrito for myself of the same flavor. While I felt like I probably could have done without, I also preferred not to feel hungry on my return flight. So, I accepted to get the bite. Contrary to our dad’s annoying claims, I enjoy treating people when I’m feeling it. So, I felt glad my sister accepted. She’d given me a rad time in L.A.!

I returned to Reno, satisfied with my trip. Though I didn’t spend time listening to the “La La Land” soundtrack while in L.A., as soon as I returned to Reno, I started listening to it again. I don’t see myself living in L.A., but my Peace Corps friend persuaded me that Pasadena and similar sites are nice. Time will tell where I wind up!

Fam Karaoke in Reno

That Wednesday would mark the 2Ist birthday of my youngest sister, the day which would also mark my full inoculation from COVID-I9, May 19! That Saturday our L.A. sister would come to Reno. And during the spring semester, the Reno Newman Center the student coordinators had hosted a karaoke event. So, we’d decided to celebrate Vana’s belated birthday party with Becky and karaoke. Rounding out Easter 2O2I, Pentecost would follow the Sunday after, May 23.

Our family friend Chisato, who worked in the @One of the University’s Knowledge Center, checked out karaoke equipment for us, which we hooked up to the large telly Dad had mounted in the living room. We gathered on the couches that they had transported from Vegas at the turn of the New Year. This room felt much fuller than during last summer, when Dad just bought the place. Siblings began their songs.

I opened with “Waving Through a Window,” which I hadn’t sung before in full. Since Ben had told me that a trailer for a “Dear Evan Hansen” movie went live, I felt in the musical’s mood. I remembered too back in Glee Club spring 2OI7 when I’d first heard a close friend perform it on what I didn’t know would be the week before my mom was killed.

The sisters sang some Shania Twain and hoped to get Dad to join in. I think he did for some, which amazed me! The siblings, Ben and I sure enjoyed belting out “Hamilton” together. I recalled rapping “Hamilton” some days at Newman with Ben’s older brother Nikko. Here, my sisters were very carefree, our tita was supportive, and I felt relatively free from Dad’s judgment.

I even decided to try my hand at “Some Things Never Change,” the pleasant opening of “Frozen II” I’d first heard just over a year before and had looped listening to many times throughout 2O2O. I later sang a handful of “La La Land” numbers for my first time, including “Someone in the Crowd” and “Another Day of Sun.” “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” was a classic for me, and my performance on its difficult notes received praise from the fam. I’d a fun time.

And Now This...

I felt glad to have gotten to be in the States long enough to attend these graduations. Since I’d gotten my second vaccine dose and had renewed my Peace Corps documents, I predicted, hope-filled, that reinstatement could be on fall’s horizon. Summer 2O2I felt like the start of a bright end to this pandemic.

Indeed, May 25, we received an email from the Peace Corps. I felt ready to find out my next steps and know the date when I leave. Yet this message set in motion another set of feelings, one that would become for me some three months of crisis.

We would not return to Peace Corps service in 2O2I.

And so my stateside stories continue. Tune in from November 2O2I to find out how I’d spent the past six months since then. If you’ve seen me in the past six months, you surely have some stories already! Regardless, I’m ready to share.

You can read more from me here at DanielLang.me :)

[darkmus]

darkmus - Let’s GO Charmander Hunting

Omake for [Do not trespass while playing Pokémon GO.] I’ll be turning this into a series on Ao3 this week.

Happy Pokémon GO Community Day!! Hope you all get your Surfing Pikachu. 

~~~

Joey’s confession left Kaiba feeling apprehensive and all the elation he’d had just moments before seemed to dissipate. There weren’t as many people playing Pokémon GO these days and far fewer who he’d actually like to spend time with, aside from his little brother, so he had been excited to find out Joey played. But now that he knew Joey was Valor…

Joey claimed that being on opposing teams wasn’t a big deal but did it matter?

The three teams did have different mentalities, and there could be something said about player compatibility because of it. Valor gave off a vibe of being too brash and arrogant, so opposite to calm and logical Mystic.

The whole situation left him feeling a bit like Romeo and Juliet.

He liked Joey. A lot. So maybe it was fine that they were on different teams…

“You know this place is a Charmander nest right?” Joey said, changing the subject slightly.

Kaiba’s eyebrows rose.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Joey showed him his phone, where he was currently trying to catch a high CP Charmander. He curved an Ultra Ball and caught it.  

“Geez, fucking finally,” Joey muttered under his breath before letting out a sigh. He looked up from his phone and gave Kaiba a smile that made his breath catch in his throat.

“You… uh… wanna catch some after lunch? Well, maybe catch this one,” he said, motioning to Kaiba’s phone, “then eat lunch, then catch some more.”

Kaiba smiled back, his stomach filling with butterflies.

“… Yeah.”

Kaiba fumbled his phone out of his pocket, trying not to show his sudden nervousness, and opened up the app. Joey sidled up next to him, and Kaiba felt the butterflies starting a riot. By the time the Pokémon GO loaded and the Charmander appeared, they were in full revolt and Kaiba had a hard time doing his usual curveball bonus. After missing three times, he switched to a regular throw and thankfully it caught.

Pleased, but flustered, he looked up to see Joey looking at him with an amused smile. Behind him at the table, the waitress was looking for them.

“Our food’s here,” he motioned.

Joey perked up. “Oh, great! I’m starving!” he said eagerly.

They walked back to the table and sat down.

“I want to see your stats later,” said Joey before digging in.

When they finished eating and paying, they walked outside and spun the ugly griffon statue Pokéstop. There was another Charmander waiting for them and they caught that one too.

Joey swiveled around in the app, trying to find where the other Pokéstops were.

“Looks like there’s a bunch over there,” he said.

Kaiba nodded. “That’s by the golf course. Each hole must be a Stop or something.”

Joey beamed at him. “Let’s go!”

~~~

“Damn kids!” yelled an old man, as Joey wildly drove them away on the golf cart, laughing.

“They’re never going to let us back here,” joked Joey.

“They will,” said Kaiba with a smirk. “My dad gives them too much money to ignore us.”

Once they reached the next hole, Joey parked the cart on the green. The current party was just teeing off, so they were still a bit away and no danger.

The Charmander at the hole didn’t have a high CP, but once ground up would give Kaiba his 124th Charmander candy. Joey had finished a little while ago and was just along for the ride. It was sweet that he wanted Seto to get enough candy for a Charizard too.

Kaiba still couldn’t get over the fact that Joey had wanted to go on a date with him. He’d actually been nursing a supposedly unrequited crush on the blond for some time now, so it was doubly shocking when Joey offered. (Though in the back of his mind, a thought did pop up, needling him, that perhaps Joey was only using him to get access to this country club… but if that was true, he might as well enjoy this while it lasted.)

“I’ve got enough candy now,” Kaiba announced.

“Awesome!”

They climbed back into the golf cart but before they started back, Joey turned to him and smiled.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” he said, gorgeous chocolate eyes shining. “I had a great time.”

Kaiba’s heart sank; this was the beginning of the end, wasn’t it?

Joey leaned in and kissed him. Kaiba returned it half-heartedly.

“Oh, right!” Joey exclaimed when they broke. “Can I check out your badges?”

Kaiba warily showed him his phone.

“Oh, if you want to unlock the Ice type silver badge there’s a Jynx nest in the park by the Domino Aquatic Center. We should go; maybe even tomorrow?” Joey asked excitedly. Then he paused. “Unless, you know, you’re busy…”

Kaiba blinked at him. Joey still wanted to hang out with him later? His heart did a slight bob.

“I am busy…” he said reluctantly. “I promised my brother that we would go Christmas shopping.”

Joey deflated a bit.

“Well, are you still free today? I know it’s getting a bit cold, but I wouldn’t mind going now.”

Kaiba swallowed. “Uh, sure.”

“Great!” Joey said with a huge smile. “I think I only need like, 40 more Ice types for the gold badge…”

Kaiba boggled at Joey as he started the ignition. Joey was crazy, but maybe that was a good thing…

[kotamagic]

Pokémon Go: Gyms Reworked!

The Pokémon gym rework is finally out!

Oh wow! They didn’t really take that long with it, did they?

Nope, and I’m glad that they didn’t because as soon as I found out that it had been released, you bet your ass I was down at the park to try this shit out.

There are ups and downs with it, like any change to the game, but for the most part, I like what I’m seeing.

Do explain.

First of all, getting into an allied gym is a MILLION times easier! No more training or battling to wedge your Pokémon onto the roster. If the gym is your team’s color, pick a Pokémon and load ‘em on!

Any Pokémon?

Pretty much. There is one limitation: only one of a particular species of Pokémon on a gym at any given time. That means you won’t see 3 Blisseys or 5 Vaporeons on the same gym at the same time. You can have, say, a Chansey and a Blissey, but not two Chanseys or two Blisseys.

That’s great news! No more ‘tank walls’ to scrape your way through while battling a gym!

Well, there CAN be a Blissey and a Snorlax on the same gym at the same time…..

True, but let’s hope that that’s the worst of it.

The next thing that is important to note is that getting the opposing team OFF of a gym just got a whole lot harder.

The news can’t ALL be good, can it?

Nope. Because it’s so easy to drop Pokémon on a gym owned by your team, it makes things so much harder for an opposing team to take it over. A member of Team Valor could be whittling down a Team Instinct gym, and just when s/he thinks the gym is about to be theirs….. Oh no! There’s two more new Pokémon on there now! Damn it!

That fucking sucks!

To be fair, if one aspect of the gyms is going to be much easier, it stands to reason that another part of it is going to get much harder. But there’s another thing that strengthen a gym as well: Berries.

Berries?

Yup. See, every Pokémon on a gym has a “Motivation Meter” in the shape of a little heart. When a Pokémon gets beaten in battle, it loses some motivation. When it loses all of its motivation, it returns to the trainer. Before this happens is where the berries come in.

When you visit an allied gym, if you see that the Pokémon on the gym have lost some motivation, you can give them berries to restore some of it. For lack of better terminology, it’s like training at a gym in order to boost its prestige in the old gym system.

That’s definitely an interesting feature. What else is there?

Gyms now have pokéstops built in!

For real?

For real! Now you don’t have to wander far from the gym to restock on items! It also increases the number of places where you can resupply on items, so if you’re in dire need of stuff, it’s not so far between stops to get them.

The next thing I’d like to mention concerns the earning of pokécoins for the store.

They changed that too?

Yup. Rather than collecting once a day, you automatically get pokécoins for approximately every hour that a pokémon stays on a gym. It seems like a slower process, but honestly, it’s one less thing to worry about because you don’t have to log in to the game to collect them.

That’s actually better, in my opinion, because it means that you can earn pokécoins at any point throughout the day, not just a splotch once per day.

Oh! That reminds me of something I forgot to talk about when I mentioned the berries!

What is it?

When you give berries to Pokémon on a gym, you get Stardust!

You mean you can get stardust from something besides catching and hatching eggs?

Yup! It’s not very much, to be fair, but if you’re REALLY generous with your berries, then you can get 20 stardust for every berry that you give to your allies.

LOVE IT! TELL ME MORE!

Well, like any game or modification to it, there are going to be some problems…

Such as?

Do you remember when gym sniping was a thing?

Ugh! That was fucking awful! You piss through your time and resources to get the enemy team off of a gym, only for them to be back on it less than 2 seconds later! But they did away with that when they realized that it was a real problem, didn’t they?

They did, but since the rework, the problem has unfortunately returned. I worked at an enemy gym for a while, and while I was counting on the one-minute exclusivity period to get my Pokémon on the gym, someone sniped their little fucker in there.

Ok, THAT shit has got to go! They have to fix that issue because that shit is wrong as fuck!

You’re preaching to the choir. Hopefully there will be enough complaints to Niantic that they will fix that quickly.

There are also some hangups when navigating through the gym. Going in and out of a gym sometimes causes the gym controls to be stuck on the map screen. Additionally, moving from the main screen of the gym (the part that shows the Pokémon on it) to the pokéstop part of it causes similar problems. There are similar quirks when moving from the main screen to the berry-giving screen.

Despite all the good stuff, Niantic still has some work to do, don’t they?

It’s a work in progress, but at least the majority of it is working and working well. I cannot complain too much since, for the most part, the rework is a massive improvement. I look forward to more good stuff like this in the future.

Do you think that people will be playing this at ConnectiCon like they were when the game was released last year?

I don’t know if it’s going to be AS crazy as it was last year, but I have no doubt in my mind that there ARE going to be people playing it.

[awesomeveracity]

So today after church, my family and I were on our way to our Abuela's house for dinner/lunch just like we do every Sunday. Now, my Abuela's house is near a large park that is usually pretty busy on Sunday with soccer games and cookouts and whatnot. We are just about to turn the corner of my Abuela's street when my dad says, "Guy's running with a Pokéball..." I'm thinking, well there are a lot of pokéstops here, sure, Dad. He still calls text messages "emails" and movies "cassettes" so maybe this is just his way of saying "those kids over there on their phones are playing Pokémon" But my dad hits the brakes and this dude sprints across the street clutching a giant piñata-Pokéball. Brotha runs straight onto my Abuela's street where we turn. And he chucks the piñata over a fence into someone's back yard. I tell my sister to roll down the window and tell him "that's not how it works!" She doesn't. She clumsily tries to pull up Snapchat. But it took us too long to process what we saw to do either one of those things in time. Now two cars, one packed with a bunch of angry Mexicans and another one with a lady and who I assume was the unlucky birthday boy, pull up behind us trying to get around us to this kid. They didn't see that he had chucked the ball, he was around the next corner, shoes in hand, faster than a high school track star. We rolled down the window to talk to the lady while the other car sped off after the kid. My mom kindly told her where the piñata was, and my sisters and I were in hysterics. Once we got into my Abuela's house We wondered what would happen to this kid. Who was he and why did he steal their Pokéball? My dad half hoped he would get his ass whooped, said he deserved it, but then was like "if he's smart he'd jump fences." I mean we've all had that friend who made stupid but hilarious decisions, right? And we didn't know what would happen if he got caught by the angry guys in the other car. Anyway, my mom retold the whole story to my Abuela in Spanish and even though my Spanish is a limited, I definitely understood the end when she said, "Gotta catch them all!"

[lifesalitbook]

Things to Praise God for Today

My dad waking up early and driving me to the bus station, even though he just got back from China last night

The bus driver letting me slide even though the fare was $2.50 but I only had $2.00

Finding the courthouse with no problem

Having a nice chat with a potential fellow juror about cases he had to serve on (one was about a guy stealing a bike from a convenience store, another was about a guy committing arson on his own establishment to collect the insurance money, the third one I can’t recall)

Postponing my jury duty service date to next month so I can go in for work at my afterschool program today

Getting change at the courthouse café for my return trip so I didn’t need to purchase something

Walking around Downtown LA and collecting some Pokéstops

Nothing happening when I used a public park bathroom and a couple of homeless guys had long knives out on the sink

Getting off a stop a little farther away from my house so I can walk and hatch an egg (it was a wonder Nidoran♀!)

Taking a nap in the middle of the day

My students finishing almost all their homework (almost all of it)

Finding the Gym by my afterschool had an open slot, and running out to snag it before I could be missed

My friend receiving the Watery Grave in the mail (it’s a $60 card rn)

Playing a game of EDH/Commander online with friends

Losing that game to a mistake that cost me my victory (praise God for losses that keep pride from getting to my head)

Dumplings for dinner

Cooking fried rice for tomorrow’s lunch

Planning the worship set for Friday night fellowship

Writing down a list of praises to God, allowing me to realize my life can be full of joy if I see the way He wants me to

[entergamingxp]

Pokmon Go Fest 2020 plans laid out, as Niantic talks future of its game and company • Eurogamer.net

“We see the fabric of our country being stretched, past the breaking point.”

Last year’s Pokémon Go Fest events attracted around 300,000 ticket holders to the parks and city plazas of Chicago, Dortmund and Yokohama. This year? Well, 2020 is a little different.

As every game developer deals with the added challenges of 2020, it feels like Pokémon Go maker Niantic is having to adapt more than most. The start of the year saw a swathe of live events – including the UK’s first Safari Zone in Liverpool – postponed. Then Niantic was forced to make sweeping changes to Pokémon Go itself, necessitated by what felt like a unique and sustained existential threat to the kind of social, outdoors gameplay Niantic was founded to promote.

But Niantic adapted, added new features, changed others. And as world headlines moved from reporting on 2020’s pandemic to the wave of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Niantic stepped up to provide what many praised as the best response anywhere in the games industry: a slew of internal promises and an eye-opening minimum pledge of $5m from this year’s Go Fest 2020 ticket sales.

Speaking in a recent Zoom roundtable call attended by Eurogamer, Niantic founder John Hanke praised the Pokémon Go community which attended its live events as being a “rainbow of players” of all races, genders and socio-economic backgrounds.

“Right now we see the fabric of our country being stretched, past the breaking point,” Hanke added, saying that Niantic’s playerbase and its aim for encouraging safe social interaction was needed now more than ever. “If we can bring joy to people right now, we want to do that.”

Go Fest Dortmund 2019.

Go Fest 2020 details

So, here’s the headline news on Go Fest 2020. As previously announced, it’ll run as an entirely virtual event on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th July, wherever you are. Tickets go on sale in-game from today, priced $14.99 or local equivalent (“plus any applicable taxes and fees”), and will be available to all worldwide.

The event will tell a new story within Pokémon Go which will begin in the weeks leading up to the event itself and continue for ticket holders through the game and via social media during the event weekend. There’s new challenge-based gameplay within the app, as well as new social features. There’s a new system designed to emulate the physical event’s various biomes. And yes, there will be a Mythical Pokémon to catch.

New Global Challenge Arena gameplay.

Over the weeks leading up to Go Fest 2020, all players will be able to unlock extra Pokémon for the event itself by completing three weekly sets of Timed Research from Professor Willow. It sounds similar to the team-based challenges we’ve seen in previous years to unlock other in-game bonuses, and you can take part whether you have a ticket or not.

On Saturday 25th July, 10am to 8pm local time, Go Fest 2020 will begin for ticket holders with a new Special Research quest and a rotating set of hourly spawns. Over the 10 hours of play, five habitats like those from the physical Go Fests will be featured hour by hour – themed around fire, water, grass, “battle” and “friendship”.

A new Global Challenge Arena in the game will let ticket holders earn bonuses for the remainder of each hour by completing tasks and seeing their progress updated in real-time. It’s the sort of thing Niantic has run before and tracked via Twitter, now packaged into the app. The sooner players unlock a bonus, the sooner it is live to enjoy for the remainder of that hour.

There’s no word yet on what Pokémon to expect, although new artwork for the event notably features the highly sought-after Gible, as well as the event-exclusive Unown. Pokémon spawns will be the same for everyone around the world, but some regional Pokémon are expected – indeed, both Seviper and Zangoose are shown, normally separated by hemisphere.

On Sunday 26th July, 10am to 8pm local time, a second Special Research questline will kick in and… that’s about all we know so far. “We want the Day 2 experience to be a surprise,” Niantic said, “so ticket holders will learn what we have in store that very day.”

It’s likely the Sunday will be your chance to encounter the event’s Mythical Pokémon (our money’s on Gen 4’s Shaymin). More than 75 species will be offered over the weekend in total.

Niantic is working to recreate the feeling of community felt while attending one of its events with further features: a virtual team lounge website with giveaways, developer interviews and event updates, plus print at home kits to make your own papercraft Poké Gifts.

A new cross-game platform named Niantic Social will also be added to the game around this time. Initially, it will let you see which friends are online in any Niantic game (Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Ingress) as well as in-game stats, with more features to follow.

Future changes, and future games

“This year is a unique situation,” Niantic event boss Michael Sterenka said when asked if the virtual Go Fest 2020 could be a template for the company’s future. In-person live events are part of Niantic’s DNA, he added, and the company has previously announced plans to run this year’s cancelled Safari Zones as physical events when possible.

“In the year ahead, we will be closely monitoring guidance from global health officials regarding larger public gatherings,” a Niantic spokesperson followed up to Eurogamer. “We very much look forward to hosting in-person live events when it’s safe to do so.”

Niantic Social, coming to all Niantic games starting with Pokémon Go.

As the company returns to a new normal, some of Pokémon Go’s recent player lifeline features will be retired, while some will be made permanent. The game’s expanded limit of holding and sending gifts will become standard, for example, while the expanded PokéStop and Gym will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Walking distances for the Go Battle League will return “in a way that makes sense”. Oh, and the rumours were true – the game’s long-held level 40 cap will be changed, senior developer Matt Slemon confirmed, although there’s no word yet on when or how.

When asked how 2020 had effected Niantic as a whole, Hanke acknowledged the year so far had incurred a “negative impact” in terms of usage and revenue, but that the multi-billion-earning company was still “doing okay”.

New usage figures for Pokémon Go included a total of 30m remote raids completed so far since the feature’s addition less than two months ago. The game has now seen more than 28bn kilometres walked, 290bn places visited in 195 countries and 20bn gifts sent (a stat which went up this year). Lastly, 1bn Go Battle League competitive matches have been completed since January.

After righting itself, Niantic will next look to help other businesses recover via a new program for Pokémon Go players to help promote a local small business near them. The Niantic Local Business Recovery Initiative will pick 1000 player-submitted locations to appear in Pokémon Go for free for a year, starting with those in the US, UK, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

Businesses will be able to appear in-game whenever they have re-opened or feel it safe to encourage customers in. There was mention of the ability to offer timed raids, or just a PokéStop to advertise the business to local players. To nominate and get more information, Niantic has set up a page which will go live today here.

And finally, there’s news on Niantic itself. Alongside growing its existing games, it has a product roadmap for 10 new launches, with the plan to debut two per year. Following up to Eurogamer, Niantic clarified this meant “two new products that will take the form of AR games or AR experiences, beginning this year”.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/pokmon-go-fest-2020-plans-laid-out-as-niantic-talks-future-of-its-game-and-company-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pokmon-go-fest-2020-plans-laid-out-as-niantic-talks-future-of-its-game-and-company-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[ianwritesfics]

DAMN the Servers

(Wrote this last summer when Pokémon GO had only been out like a week and there were still all those problems as the start to a kylux fic where Kylo almost runs Hux over (walking, not driving) while he's playing and that was how they met. I got one paragraph into the next part and never added anything more. Go me.)

“There’s a stop right up here, I swear.”

Rey looked around, trying to see anything that wasn’t on the road in the darkness. “What, on the side of the road?”

”It must be that building. Could be a church. Churches are almost always pokéstops.”

”Ben, I don’t see–” She started when her cousin jerked to a more upright position and slapped the dash.

“Here, here! Stop here!”

Of course there was a building. Ben’s night vision was something to envy, she didn’t know why she even questioned it anymore.

”Come on…” Ben’s scowl was illuminated strangely in the half light from his phone screen as he waited for the game to register the stop. “Two pokéballs, a revive, and an egg.”

“How many eggs is that now?”

”Three. I’ll have to wait to hatch this one.”

“I’m only driving you around for another fifteen minutes, do you want to head back to civilization and see what stops have reset?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” He flapped a distracted hand in her general direction and she rolled her eyes before turning the car around to return the way they had come from. “I don’t see why you won’t just keep doing this with me. I know you’re having more fun than you let on.”

“It’s nearly three in the morning, Ben, and I have to be at work by eight-thirty.” Rey didn’t mention that she’d only agreed to an hour of this madness and it was closing in on two and a half since they’d started. It really had been fun to watch her cousin get so worked up over something so silly, even if he had forced her to stop the car randomly more times than she could count. “Some of us actually leave the house for our income.”

“I leave the house.”

“Food runs and Pokémon GO don’t make you money.”

“I also go to the post office.”

”And?”

“The games I have to review go to my PO box. Reviews are how I make money. Therefore, income from leaving the house. Boom. Don’t forget the stop up here.”

She sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t love living with Ben. Really, she did. They got along, there was enough space that when they wanted to be alone it was no problem, and the games Ben got for his job were great, even with the high turnover rate. She just wished he had a life outside of his work. This was as close as he’d been since he started on the site full time and he’d probably still end up reviewing it.

“By the park?”

“Yeah.”

[blackuigryphonvr]

I wasn’t posting for a while for several reasons: I kept having a persistent problem w cyber stalkers, especially.

But I also got sick. No, I don’t have COVID19, but a slight bronchitis in my chest that’s hard to get rid of. I didn’t go to a clinic because I was scared of contracting the virus 🦠 there, and I have ample reasons not to trust the tests. My step father died of similar sounding symptoms to COVID19 but my mom claims he didn’t have it. I got my chest infection due to my own stupid fault and I know what I did. So I’m too compromised to go outside because if I got the real virus it would make me even more high risk because I have asthma. Also, a week ago my next door neighbor was severely ill, couldn’t breathe, and was taken away in an ambulance 🚑. She’s never returned and her newspapers pile up by her door next to mine. So, I was terrified to go into the hallway.

I did actually get my original legacy account back on Pokémon Go, but I was stupid n should’ve known better, n allowed someone I didn’t actually know use my Alt account in Boston whom blew through at least 8 of my passes with nothing to show for it.... maybe he/she took the Legendary Pokémon.... anyways, it got banned for 30 days.

I was mad, n I don’t talk to him/her. But I’d also gotten my legacy account back.

That’s when I made strategic efforts to go outside n play again.... including in the rain.... which is the reason I got infected because my mask 😷 got wet several miles from my home n I got stuck in a downpour....

But, about a week later, a gang of local players that hate me for some unknown reason must’ve abused the report feature because 1 moment I was catching Zubats n when I logged in a few hours later afternoon playing Wizards Unite my account was banned again....

So..... I have reason to believe who is doing it..... and why.

When I was down in Florida I got some regional Pokémon.... so, when I got my legacy account back, I was flexing them by placing them in the PokéGyms which I created. Yes. I made those locations into not only PokéStops, but PokéGyms. I couldn’t do that in March because that account was banned which was also another strange circumstance....

But as soon as that account got banned a 2nd time, very mysteriously, 2 days later I saw THIS:

So..... this says to me that the hatred focused on me has NOTHING TO DO WITH ACCUSATIONS that I’m spoofing.... because I wasn’t. I actually WENT to Florida and I got: Cordola, Carvine, and Maractus.... but u see.... Maractus is VERY RARE. Super RARE.... I got mine by chance like around Hollywood or Miami Florida because I WAS ACTUALLY THERE.

But..... we’re in the middle of a pandemic which really started getting in gear at the very end of my vacation in Florida. We left a whole day early. That account got banned on the drive home crossing the border of Florida into Georgia....

But, these guys were in the gyms daily.... and I KNOW who these players are.... they live HERE. And Rhode Island highways were shut down before Easter. So..... I was THE ONLY PLAYER in the entire area to have a Maractus. THE ONLY ONE.... so, if u were HERE the whole time.... how did BOTH of ur 2 accounts get regionals? And the other 3rd Account??? Those weren’t the regionals u could get in the summer bonus unlock event last year.

🤔 The way I see it, u n ur gang abused the report feature and bore false witness against me for doing something that violates TOS, THEN u put ur own Pokémon in my PokéGym to SHOW OFF! 🖕🏿Hypocrites.

Which not only means ur a spoofer.... but u don’t hate me for being an alleged spoofer BECAUSE U R ONE!

It means ur hateful sadists who ganged up on me. U smeared me. It’s a literal conspiracy n ur all in cahoots!

Well..... that’s not even the half of the story.

I also have cyber stalkers now, and people whom follow me when I’m out on the streets, including on foot, and in cars..... there’s a RED CAR 🚗 that’s the one I usually noticed. Duh!

Well..... now I have multiple Alt accounts which happens to most players that hit Level 40.

I’d honestly rather just stick to 1 Account.... but everyone locally has at least 2-5 Alt accounts on average because we all enjoy Raids together. I also actually spent money 💵 FOR REAL on my accounts, and I WOULDVE gone to the Philadelphia event this year if not for the pandemic.

I probably need to change the name of my legacy account AGAIN, because I already changed it to be BlackUniGryphon because I stopped being afraid to be me... but, now these terrorists have taken that away from me.

They’ve also attacked my kid’s social media.

Anyways, I’m really grateful to have qualified for the pandemic assistance unemployment because my iPhone 📱 broke. So, it helped me to replace that smartphone with a new one. I am SO HAPPY 😃 to have this new device.

I have also been playing a lot of Wizards Unite as well.

I’m not looking forward to changing my legacy account name at all. But, since I know I wasn’t spoofing and that account was just suddenly banned for another 30 days, it means more than a few players are literally out to get me.

I’d originally thought most of the problems came from 1 of the 3 teams, but now I KNOW it’s from 2 teams out of the 3. And THEY ARE ALL SPOOFERS!

I don’t report spoofers because they’re still a part of the community. Yes, they’re frustrating when ur a lower level new player.... and YES it’s cheating.... but they also helped lots of people with Raids last year. They’re not all bad people.

But to smear me as a bad person when I actually helped build this community, and helped contribute to the PokéStops n PokéGyms that wouldn’t have otherwise been there shows that some people are misogynists, sadists, and gatekeepers. 😡

Anyways, I did take screenshots of the stuff I was doing... so, I’ll probably be dumping that stuff soon. Especially my Wizards Unite stuff first.

[twentysomethinginorlando]

Trainer Tuesday: Pokémon Go in Orlando

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/trainer-tuesday-pokemon-go-orlando/

Trainer Tuesday: Pokémon Go in Orlando

Contrary to what the internet says, people still play Pokémon Go. It may not have the popularity it once did, but I see people playing all the time in the parks. I play all the time. I have only messed up getting my seven day streak twice in my entire time playing. That means I have only ever gone two days without catching a Pokémon or getting a Pokéstop. Yes, I have a problem. Tell me something I don’t already know. Duffy has a Pokéball hoodie and I have Pikachu and Eevee from Build-a-Bear.

Gringotts is a gym. Take that Voldemort.

Orlando is one of the best places to play Pokémon Go. The theme parks are practically infested with the digital creatures. Cinderella Castle is a gym and there’s at least four Pokéstops on the Jungle Cruise alone. I remember a friend of mine posting on Facebook about catching a Charmander in the Gryffindor Common Room, just like in his fanfiction. Busch Gardens had an event last summer where every Pokéstop in the park had a lure on it until a certain time every day and you could get discounts based on what team you were on. It was a common game for Cast Members at the hub who were people watching to play: “Lost or playing Pokémon Go?”

Even though the hype has died down and there are less events there are still plenty of Pokémon to catch and trainers to battle in gyms.

Trainer Tuesdays is going to be a series about where to catch ’em all in Orlando, and tips and tools of the trade. There are days when knowing how to recharge your phone makes all the difference in the world. There are some rides that move slowly enough to count as walking to help you hatch eggs and earn candy, and there are some that you’re going to lose all service anyway so no need to waste your battery and data.

Shamu and friend.

Now before you write this off because you think Pokémon Go is stupid, let me tell you about the time my mother saved $110 by playing Pokémon Go.

Last August I decided to spend my birthday in Tennessee for a variety of reasons, but the primary one was that we were trying to save money to take my grandmother to Disney for her 80th birthday, which happens to be about a week after mine. It was going to be a fairly short trip and a frugal one, so I decided I was just going to go to all my favorite places at home and play Pokémon. At least it would be cheap. My main concern was I did not want to be playing alone, so I got my iPad out and started my Mom her own account so I could get her to level five so she could help me with gyms. (Remember way back when and you were just starting out, and you had to be level five to choose a team?) I made her Team Valor naturally.

I had her keep playing on the iPad because I thought it would be easier for her on a bigger screen, and I remember the first night in Knoxville walking around downtown and trying to teach her how to play. I had Duffy with me in his Pokéball hoodie, I forget that a twenty-something carrying a stuffed animal draws a lot more funny looks when you aren’t at Disney.

A wild Pidgey appears!

The Knoxville Zoo, or Zoo Knoxville as they’ve rebranded but I think is a silly name, was hosting a Pokémon event that Saturday with $10 admission, lures, giveaways and the chance to meet Pikachu. I had wanted to spend my birthday at the zoo, but this seemed like a better plan. My friend Adam wanted to hang out that day so he picked me up for lunch then we met Mom at the zoo. Mom had decided buying an annual pass would be the better option even over the $10 tickets so we went to the window, and it turned out Adam had forgotten to buy his online so it was full price. (A zoo annual pass gets you in free or half off to other zoos around the country, plus admission to special events.) We paid the extra five dollars for me to have my own second pass with my name on it, and I figured out it was $25 to add a guest and $20 for a ticket, so Adam handed my Mom $20 and we put an extra guest on the pass.

A little after three, we had most of the animals covered, but the giveaway were not until five. They had three boxes set up in the center of the zoo at the educational area, one for each team. You put your username on a slip and put in the box, and the gym standings at the end of the day would determine the prizes. Adam asked us, “Do you really want to stay for the giveaway? I think they’re just zoo tickets.” “Yes, we like winning things!”

We went on a quest to catch a Pikachu that popped on radar. We went round and round in circles before concluding it was in the middle of an exhibit we could not reach, at least not without being eaten, before I dragged them to meet Pikachu. He certainly was not up to Disney standards but I was not going to pass up the opportunity.

We wandered around the zoo looking at animals we had already seen and just catching anything we could. Generally when playing Pokémon Go in my experience you just sort of blurt out whatever critter appears, so Adam said, “Ooh, Bellsprout!” My mother, in what may be one of the cutest things she has ever done, responds, “S-P-R-O-U-T. Do you not know how to spell sprout?” Adam and I spent the next minute and a half laughing too hard to explain. Admittedly, my Mom has known Adam as long as I have and I used to proof his English papers for him and he was bad at spelling…

At five we joined the crowd of people waiting for the giveaway. Each team held one of the zoo’s three gyms so the prizes were going to be determined by gym levels. Instinct had a level two gym so that put them in third place to win two zoo tickets and Mystic’s level three put them in the running for a family four pack of tickets. Valor and their level five gym was in the running for a family annual pass good for two adults and two children. The first name they called was not there, and you had to be present to win. The next name was “ilovethemouse” and Mom goes, “That’s me!” She had to show them her screen to prove it was her, but it died right as she got up there. Thankfully they took her word for it. They handed us a reusable bag with a stuffed otter and the paperwork to redeem the pass. We had just bought an annual pass and won an annual pass, all in the same day. So we headed back to the front gate where, thankfully, the same girl was still at the annual pass booth.

“So I think I’ve got a question for you that’s probably never happened before. I don’t know if you remember us, but we were here earlier and bought an annual pass. Well, we just won one from the Pokémon events. Any chance we can get our money back?”

“You’re right. I’ve never gotten this one before. Let me go ask my manager.”

To my shock, we got a full refund and got to keep our extra guest and two printed passes. So my Mom literally saved $110 because I taught her to play Pokémon Go, and she still plays whenever we’re together.

The bag and stuffed otter that came with the pass.

Next time on Trainer Tuesdays, we’ll start looking at some of the best places to catch ’em all in the Orlando area.

[darkmus]

darkmus - Let's GO Kabuto Hunting

Here, have some more PoGo nerds. XD

~~~

That Monday afternoon after school, Kaiba brought Joey to the Kabuto nest, as promised.

“Ahh! Kabuto!” gushed Joey as they neared the park. The Nearby feature alerted them that there were at least two by the park’s entrance Pokéstop. “So awesome!!”

Kaiba smiled softly to himself at his boyfriend’s excitement. He parked his car along the street and they climbed out, Joey practically bouncing.

The park was less than a square mile in total area, but there were 8 Pokéstops spread around within it. If they made a loop to visit them, by the time they made a lap, the first Stop would be blue again.

It was only 3:00 PM so they still had a couple hours of daylight, though Kaiba doubted that the spawns would keep up with their demand. He wasn’t sure what they would do after this, but he hoped they could stay together longer.

At the entrance, they paused to catch Joey’s first Kabuto.

“How have you not caught one yet?” Kaiba asked.

“Well, the nests have sort of been out of the way… I don’t have a car, so…” Joey said, trailing off.

Kaiba bit his tongue. He sometimes forgot that others weren’t as well off as he was.

“Well, maybe I can drive you next time,” he offered, as he tapped on the second Kabuto.

“Really?!”

Kaiba pinked, overwhelmingly pleased at Joey’s excitement. His finger distractedly swerved off route and he missed catching the Kabuto on the first throw. He gave a little huff, mentally rolling his eyes at himself, then turned to Joey.

“Yeah,” Kaiba replied. It wasn’t really a big deal; actually it’d be nice… sort of like a Pokémon date or something. “What do you need to work on?”

“Well, I kind of want more Seel to get a better Dewgong… hopefully with Blizzard,” Joey said. “I’ve got one already that just destroys Dragonites,” he explained, eyes gleaming, “but it’s only 87%.”

Kaiba tried to quash a smirk but failed, so he turned back to catching the Kabuto instead.

They ended up making four laps until the spawns seemed to stop, but luckily it would be enough if Joey ground up the ones with bad IVs.

It wasn’t even 4:00 PM and much too early for dinner. Kaiba didn’t really know what other things couples usually did, other than dinner dates and making out, and while he would definitely not mind doing the latter of the two, he wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

Joey turned to him, his eyes shining. “Thank you.”

Kaiba fought the urge to blush.

“So… now what?” Joey asked with an easy smile.

Kaiba’s mind scrambled. This boy was too attractive. “Um…”

“You live near here, right?” Joey hesitated, biting his lower lip before continuing. “Maybe, I dunno, we can hang out at your place? It’s getting a bit cold–”

“Yes,” Kaiba interrupted before he could stop himself. He swallowed. “I'd… I’d like that.”

“Yeah?” Joey beamed. “Awesome!”

Joey pocketed his phone before looping his arm around Kaiba’s. Kaiba quickly pocketed his as well and tried to calm the butterflies in his stomach as they walked back to his car.

[ramialkarmi]

'Love Actually' director Richard Curtis is using Pokémon Go at Davos to tackle poverty — and Jamie Oliver is playing

Richard Curtis, writer of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Love Actually," is promoting a campaign to tackle world poverty by creating a series of Pokémon Go "Pokéstops" at Davos.

Pokéstops are real world locations that users interact with by downloading "Pokémon Go" on smartphones, a game which has been downloaded over 500 million times since its release last year.

Seventeen pokéstops have been placed around Davos, which is currently hosting its annual meeting of the world's political and business elites.

Each stop will correspond to one of 17 "Global Goals" set out by Project Everyone, a UN-backed agency founded by Curtis which uses high-profile campaigns to raise awareness of issues including extreme poverty and climate change.

Stops are labelled after each of the goals, which include "Zero Hunger" and "Good Health."

Olympic medal-winning sprinter Michael Johnson and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver have been spotted playing the game and Curtis hopes more of Davos' movers and shakers will become involved.He told BI he was inspired to after playing Pokémon Go with his children in London.

"It's been very interesting, because people attending Davos are quite adept on their mobile phones, and they've all heard about this game from their kids," Curtis said.

"I'm hoping a surprising number might think it is quite an amusing thing to do. I've noticed the Davos audience are quite willing to laugh at even quite weak jokes, because they're looking for entertainment!"Matthieu de Fayet, the vice president of Pokémon Go creator Niantic Labs, said the game had been designed for attendees to play while they're on the move around the Davos site.

"Whether they go to the Davos Congress, which has been turned into a "Pokémon Gym", or whether they go to the train station, each of these big locations and social gatherings corresponds to one of the stops," he said.

From spring this year, content promoting the project's "Global Goals" will be rolled out to all Pokémon Go users, which Curtis said would help bring its cause to a wider and younger audience.

"The sustainable development goals are something that the next generation will fight for, and something we're trying to make as popular as we can with young people — as well as making them important and meaningful to business and politicians," he said.

It's like advertising a movie. When a movie comes out, you glimpse a poster. Then you see an article, then a trailer — that's what we want to do with this campaign — director Richard Curtis

"It's like advertising a movie. When a movie comes out, the first time you see it, you just glimpse it out the corner of your eye on a poster. Then you see an article, then you see a trailer — that's what we want to do with this campaign.

De Fayet said: "4.5 billion people around the world have phones, and half of them are smartphones. It's never happened in the history of humanity to have such a huge platform as the mobile platform where you can reach that many billion people.

"Based on the number of Pokémon Go downloads, 10% of the planet are familiar with the game, and will be engaged around not only the game but also with these important goals," he said.

Curtis said that the playful campaign underlines a serious drive to promote issues where progress is being made.

"I'm really interested in the issues where there is progress," he said. "Complex things which happen day to day can make us think the world is full of things going backwards: there are huge issues to do with war, refugees, and so on."

"In the meantime — slowly but surely — the number of kids who die of malaria is going down, the issue of gender equality rises up the agenda, the number of children in school globally has risen dramatically, and extreme poverty has been halved in two decades."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: New Pokémon are coming to Pokémon GO — here's what we know so far

[emmaswritingdump]

Aventure à Paris

Words: 1042

Chapters: 1/1

Pairing: Marichat

AO3 // Wattpad

Summary: An adventure ensues when Marinette finds Chat Noir on her balcony- who then informs her he's getting Poké Balls.

***

Being Chat Noir comes with some benefits.

One of them is the freedom to leap around the city of Paris with a baton searching for Pokémon in the middle of the night.

Adrien smiles to himself, clutching his phone tightly, as he soars through the Paris sky and lands on top of a store.

He checks his phone again and notices a Pokéstop nearby. He takes off again in search of it.

He finally lands across the street from it- it's a quaint bakery he is very familiar with. It's the Dupain-Chengs' home.

Glancing around at the dark, empty street to make sure he's not seen, he leaps over the street and over the railing of the balcony above the bakery.

He taps the Pokéstop button and spins the picture of the bakery, getting three Poké Balls, one potion, and one Great Ball. He's about to leap over the railing again when a familiar voice nearly makes him drop his phone.

"WHAT THE [Adrien likes to pretend he didn't hear this word] ARE YOU DOING ON MY BALCONY?"

He spins around to see Marinette standing in the doorway to her room, wearing pajamas, her hair down instead of in its usual pigtails. She looks angry.

Adrien grins sheepishly and lets out an awkward laugh. "This- this bakery is a Pokéstop."

Marinette huffs, glaring at him. "You mean to tell me that I woke up terrified, thinking there was a murderer on my balcony, because you were running out of Poké Balls?"

Adrien hesitates. "Yes?"

Marinette groans and looks around. She spots a spray bottle used for watering her plants, picks it up, and spritzes him in the face with the cold water. "Bad cat."

Adrien wipes the drops of water from his face. "If you thought I was a murderer, why did you come out here?"

"I thought it was a murderer until I saw it was you. So I came to yell at you."

"Thanks."

"Any time."

Adrien smiles. This late-night, angry Marinette is far different from the one who sits behind him in class. He wants to see more of her.

"Do you want to come with me?" he blurts out before he can think.

Marinette stares at him. "What?"

Adrien smiles at her, hoping she can't see his embarrassed blush in the dark. "I figure I owe you for waking you, and I'm assuming you play Pokémon GO- I mean, everyone does, right?" In truth, he heard her talking to Alya about it at school. "I could take you around to some Pokéstops or gyms, and we could go look for Pokémon. I mean, if you want."

She hesitates, looking unsure. "I don't know, Chat... it's late, and what if my parents come looking for me?"

"It's not a school night or anything," he points out. "If it were, I wouldn't be out here. And you're right that it's late- which is why your parents probably won't come looking for you."

"Unless they think I've been murdered by a giant balcony cat," she mutters.

He raises his eyebrows. "Is that a yes?"

She takes a deep breath and smiles. "Let me go get my phone."

***

Marinette comes back with her hair in pigtails, wearing a faded Jagged Stone t-shirt and denim shorts that probably wouldn't be allowed at school. "All right, whoever you are, let's go run around Paris in the middle of the night in search of fictitious monsters."

Adrien grins and turns away from Marinette, crouching down slightly so she can climb onto his back. She climbs on, and he makes sure she's secure.

"Hold on, princess!" He leaps over the railing.

Marinette laughs as they soar through the air. Her laugh is a beautiful, endearing sound, and Adrien realizes he doesn't hear her genuinely laugh nearly as much as he'd like to.

He comes to a halt on top of a popular shop he knows is a Pokéstop from earlier in the night. The two quickly collect from the stop, and Marinette climbs on Adrien's back again as they take off once more.

They go to a few places- the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, a few shops and statues- but the highlight of the night is when they find a CP 1327 dragonite in the park near her house.

Marinette throws her hands up in victory when she finally catches it, whisper-yelling the word "yes" repeatedly.

Adrien watches her and smiles. He wonders why, after being in class with her for years, he's never seen this side of her.

She turns to him, grinning. "I think this is a good place to stop," she says.

He nods in agreement and turns around, and she jumps onto his back again.

He leaps onto buildings and over trees and finally, they are back on her balcony. Marinette slides off Adrien's back and smiles at him.

"Thanks for tonight, Chat Noir. I had fun."

He nods and smiles back. "I did too." He hesitates. "Do you- maybe- want to do this again next Friday night?"

Her sweet smile grows wider. "I'd love to."

Adrien grins at her, and with a dramatic flourish that only a person raised on showmanship could pull off, he bows, takes her hand in his, and kisses it.

"I'll see you Friday, then, princess."

Even in the darkness of 1 AM, he can see her cheeks turn pink. He turns to leave, but before he can, she grabs his wrist, spins him back toward her, and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good night, Chat Noir."

She goes back into her room, with him smiling after her.

***

The first thing he hears when he walks into his classroom on Monday is Alya's loud exclamation of "no way!"

At first he's worried Marinette may have told her friend about her adventure with Chat Noir, but then he realizes she's showing off her dragonite to Alya and Nino.

"You just found it?!" Alya exclaims.

Marinette nods happily. "In the park on Friday night."

Alya slumps in her seat. "Why can't I have that kind of good luck?"

Adrien almost laughs, knowing the discovery had more to do with an unlucky black cat than good luck.

He suddenly finds himself unable to wait for Friday night.