#i named all my pokemon after fridge models

[pokemonratingblog]

My experience with (and review of) Pokemon Red.

As part of the entire gimmick of this page, I am replaying and ranking the pokemon games in order.

First, I did what any reasonable person would do and picked bulbasaur. I named it "SmartFridg" because the naming scheme for this run is fridge models and there was not enough space to write "Samsung Smart Fridge". After that, I instantly caught a pidgey, naming it "KFpkmnFPBEA". There comes a huge issue, being that there is no way to input numbers into usernames in gen 1, so I just substituted the numbers from "KF86FPBEA" with the Pk and Mn symbols. With that out of the way, I swept Brock with my bulbasaur, went to Mt. Moon, caught a geodude and named it "PFEpkmnKYNFS". I then proceeded to take the dome fossil (better than helix. fight me) and then sweep Misty with my ivysaur.

With the 2 pushovers out of the way, I caught a drowzee and named it "LFXSpkmnpkmnpkS", I beat Gary's ass, did the SS. Anne stuff, beat Gary's ass again, and then challenged Lt Surge. The Lt Surge fight was awful, It took me like 12 tries to get the rng for the gym puzzle (and then I swept Lt. Surge with my somewhat underleveled geodude because all of the fights in the early game are pushovers). After getting my rightfully earned Flash HM, I taught it to my drowzee because I couldnt be assed to catch something else to teach it to.

I then ventured through Rock Tunnel, where my geodude evolved into a graveler and I had to face the divine wrath of 1000 zubats.

I then fought Gary in Lavender town (not before completely forgetting to heal :3), wherein his first 2 pokemon fell to my graveler, every one of my pokemon except my still somewhat underleveled drowzee fell to his gyarados, and my underleveled drowzee earned a medal of honor for his brave service in sweeping the fuck out of 3 pokemon who were like 5 levels up on him each. This drowzee will never leave my team. Also I went up the tower forgetting I need the silph scope so it was kind of an embarassing walk back down.

Notably, after the lavender town fight, I did some grinding and evolved my drowzee into a hypno.

I then fought Erika in Celadon City. This fight was… also a pushover. It wasn't a clean sweep like the first 3 but it was pretty damn easy. Keep in mind I'm like 2 levels down on her pokemon and my team consists of 4 members and an oddish I caught to use cut. Using the TM i got from erika, I taught my ivysaur mega drain to replace it's vine whip.

I went to the celadon city department store. I tried to buy some great balls. but it turns out. my inventory is full??? I decided to use a rare candy to clear up a spot. I am really glad they removed the inventory space limit in future games.

I went to the game corner rocket hideout. All these collectible items and I'm struggling with the storage in my backpack. I know I can put my items in the pc but I was too lazy to do that. I used the thunder wave TM I got earlier on my hypno, and the dig TM i got earlier on my graveler. I got a double edge TM and used it on my pidgeotto. This seems closer to a battle of attrition, with how these rocket grunts manage to have 5 fodder pokemon at once. I oneshot them all but they know I'll eventually run out of PP.

I started the Giovanni fight. I won in 4 turns spamming dig with my graveler. Absolute joke of a boss fight. Graveler was only 1 level up on his pokemon too. I press the graveler button and I win.

With silph scope in hand, I re-enter the pokemon tower to kill someone who's already dead. Oh and also beat up a bunch of fodder trainers that have no reason to be here. This is giving Johto vibes. Though the pokemon aren't single digit leveled, which kinda sets it apart from Johto's fodder spam a bit.

Once I got the pokeflute, I decided to catch myself a snorlax for my 5th team member. I named it after the iconic fridge, the Xbox series X. Ofc that's more than 10 letters, so I had to shorten it to "Series X"

After making it through the gauntlet of fodder trainers, I reached Fuschia city. In Koga's gym is where I first saw a trainer actually switch pokemon. However, these switches were fucking stupid and unneccessary, which led to the trainers still being fodder. Onto koga himself? He was fodder. I swept him with a Lvl 34 hypno. It's worth noting his ace is lvl 43, and the rest of his pokemon range from lvls between 37-39. This was probably the easiest gym leader i've faced yet. I'm really not buying the lie that this is somehow a difficult game when so far this game has been easier than X and Y. The only difficult part of this game so far is trying to deal with the clunkiness and slowness of everything, which can be easily solved with emulator speedup.

I entered the safari zone. Finding this HM was utter hell. Why did they hide an important HM in the middle of bumfuck nowhere? why did they lock it under a sidequest with no indicators as to where it could be hidden? why is it in the one place that has a timer? this is horrible game design. I had to use google for a lot of things in pokemon red (imagine what this game was like when it first released!), but this has to be the most egregious example. After getting surf, I taught it to my already very powerful snorlax.

On the way to the Seafoam Islands, my Ivysaur evolved into a Venusaur. However, I decided to backtrack because I remembered that I completely forgot that I needed to fight Sabrina and team rocket. Venusaur probably won't be useful for sabrina, but I intend to beat giovanni's ass with it twice.

Entering the silph co. rocket fodder emporium, I swept every trainer with my graveler. Gary proved once again to be the only difficult battle anywhere in this tower, and that's once again because I forgot to heal before his fight. I swept giovanni with my graveler's earthquake. I thought maybe i'd need venusaur for Giovanni's fight but I was wrong because even with a lucky poison proc early into the fight he only got my graveler to half hp by the time his 4 pokemon were dead. How the fuck does this guy lead a criminal organization.

Entering the sabrina fight I was promised a difficult fight. It took 2 attempts. All it took was quite literally the smallest hint of strategy to win this fight. If this is the peak? I have no hope for the future fights.

I entered the seafoam islands. It's random encounter and boulder puzzle hell. I could just use repels but they dont auto-renew in this gen so it's more trouble than it's worth. The boulder puzzle was fun. I missed the great ball on the articuno twice and failed pitifully at catching it. And then I died because that articuno also happened to be the hardest fight I have faced up to this point. Realizing I had no interest in catching articuno anyways, I decided to head directly to cinnabar island.

I did the pokemon mansion stuff, did the blaine puzzle, and… I swept Blaine with a graveler who was 3 levels down.

Onto Giovanni.

I enter giovanni's gym, Venusaur in hand, ready to see what the 8th gym has to offer. Ready to see if this pushover main villain has what it takes to not be a pushover for the 3rd time in a row. And then he was a pushover for the 3rd time in a row. I swept him with a lvl 38 venusaur. Keep in mind that his entire team is in their mid 40s and his ace is lvl 50. His nidoking and nidoqueen still had fucking poison sting. This game being this fucking easy is infuriating. I thought that coming into the fight underleveled would give it a fair bit of extra challenge but I guess knowing basic fucking type matchups is enough.

I meet Gary by victory road again. I end up taking a loss to his alakazam. Fair, considering my highest level pokemon is 10 levels down on his alakazam. I did a bit of grinding and made a new strategy, beating gary's ass again.

I went through victory road and fought the elite 4. they were all pushovers except for lance, who took me a 2nd try. Lance was a surprisingly hard and fun fight.

And now here we are. The champion, Gary. This fight was very hard and took me 4 tries. This is among the only genuinely difficult fight in the game, despite the fact that all 3 of my losses came from that damn exeggutor abusing gen 1 sleep mechanics. But despite this, I beat him with a team of 5 pokemon who were 20 levels down. Here are screenshots of my team.

the oddish was only there to use cut. How would I rate my experience with this game? 5/10 PROS: Great region design fairly diverse amount of options, especially for a gameboy game great rival CONS: Extremely (and i mean extremely) easy. Definitely easier than x and y. the only fights that weren't piss easy were the gary fights, the lance fight, and the sabrina fight. and even then they were still quite easy. Extremely slow. Without emulator speedup i'd have died of old age before finishing this game. especially in regards to grinding. Quality of life is a dead art to these developers. everything felt super clunky to do. all of the quality of life features pokemon is known for only came in future generations.

[admutual]

any hayley or steve childhood headcanons hell add stan if thats ok!!

oo !!

hayley ones:

hayley was always bringing weird animals inside and trying to convince stan and francine to let her keep them. multiple instances of her running inside, covered in dirt, and holding a garter snake begging ‘please please can we keep her??’ while steve screams in terror.

that hc i mentioned of francine always standing up for the other kids ,, hayley inherited that trait. my god she was The Most protective kid during her school years, she absolutely refused to let anyone get walked over when she knew they didn’t deserve it.

hayley was a wolf girl growing up,, change my mind. and black wolves were always her fave.

hayley definitely read animorphs growing up. those books shaped her and her fave character was cassie,,, also once she got more comfortable with living with roger she bullied him for not looking as cool as an andalite or a hork-bajir.

hayley went through an emo phase during her middle and high school years. she tried really hard to get an emo fringe, she was always blasting mcr and the used and three days grace, and her first job was at a hot topic.

hayley and stan were obviously tight-knit buds back in the day. like ,, she’d set up tea parties for them in the backyard, going out to movies was almost a weekly activity for the two of them, they were always planning picnics together,, they were really close. also every time they went to familyland together, hayley was always trying to drag him along with her to the more Extreme rides. francine kept telling her she’d go since she knew stan wasn’t the biggest fan of those rides like she was, but hayley kept insisting and it’d always end with stan near traumatized. big cia man goes on scary missions daily but he can’t handle a little roller coaster.

hayley’s hair was . pretty often a Mess when she was young. it was staticky, always sticking up at some angle, she often got too excited that she never took the time to comb out her hair in the mornings. plus it’s always been a habit of hers to play with her hair whenever she gets too excited or nervous, so even if she got it all straightened out it’d still turn into a mess by the end of the day.

hayley was always covered in scrapes and bruises. there was never a day where she didn’t have a bandaid somewhere.

she was a really tall kid during elementary school. she was almost always the tallest kid in her class. around high school everyone outgrew her though and now she’s . really short compared to most people her age, but yeah when she was little . Tall Girl (2019).

hayley skateboarded in middle school, and she was really damn good at it. she got in loads of trouble for skateboarding on school property and she thought she was the coolest kid for doing it.

stan and francine tried really hard not to curse around hayley when she was little (once steve came around they gave up trying), but occasionally something would slip out and hayley would always parrot it. stan looking at a bill and muttering ‘shit’ and then in the living room hearing what is obviously a toddler screaming ‘SHIT’

hayley, like steve, was always kinda lonely during her school years. steve eventually found friends in snot, barry, toshi, and roger too once he moved in, but hayley never really learned proper social skills as she was often pushed away for being the loud rowdy ‘annoying’ kid, and they always viewed her attempts to try to get close to others as too ‘desperate’. she has found friends in her adulthood, but yeah during her childhood she mostly just stuck around her family.

hayley was That Kid who would always use those fake clip-on earrings you’d get from claires, as well as cutting up the spiral from her notebook to use as a fake lip piercing, and she’d spend all day trying to convince her classmates ‘yeah no it’s real’

hayley liked stealing her dad’s camera and using it to film fake vlogs. they have multiple reels that go from cute family videos, to hayley making lps vids and fake cooking tutorials.

hayley drew a lot growing up and francine still has dozens of her drawings magneted to the fridge. hayley’s always cringing and asking her to take them down, but tbh francine’s never going to.

hayley’s always loved being outside at night. occasionally she’d sneak steve out with her to play in the backyard and it’d always lead to them in the treehouse, and stan catching them because they kept shining their flashlight against their bedroom window.

steve ones:

steve’s definitely adhd, autistic, and dyslexic. (the latter’s literally canon, and the two former ones are hcs that to me feel so obvious that i’m always a little hesitant calling it a hc). i really like imagining his parents being really patient with him in this area, even stan learned to be more composed and gentle with him when it came to this, and the two of them helping him find ways to cope. francine especially enjoyed nights helping him read.

steve’s interest in birds has been with him for pretty much his entire life, i like to imagine it’s always been his biggest special interest. also i’ve noticed there’s random scenes where stan’s displayed a bit of an interest or at least an appreciation of birds, so i kinda like to imagine stan used to take steve to the park for birdwatching trips when he was young before steve started going with roger. sometimes francine and hayley would tag along, but mostly it was just stan taking steve out and listening to him ramble about all the birds he’s spotting,, every time steve had a bad day stan’s immediate solution was to take him to the park.

when roger first moved in, he and steve were inseparable. steve was obsessed with learning everything about him and his species and his home planet, while roger saw steve as the one safe person to be around (francine, hayley, and klaus were still anxious towards him while stan was too strict and controlling for him). for a good few months until he started bonding with the rest of the fam roger would get really mopey whenever steve would go to school or leave to hang with his other friends, and the second steve walked through that door roger would excitedly hug him and try to lead him off to go do something together.

@a-d-lesbian got me into the hc that steve’s a theater kid and like ,, i’m always thinking about steve getting a tiny little background role in a 6th grade christmas show that they were required to do as a class, and he just loses his mind. he convinces stan and francine to let him invite the grandparents, he has francine film every scene he’s in where he just . Stands There. and then after the show when they get home he makes them all rewatch them all because he’s really damn proud of himself.

steve’s fave books growing up were always xenofiction. stuff like warrior cats and guardians of ga’hoole and redwall. he loved that shit. like i’m just imagining him trying to get his friends to larp warrior cats but none of them read it so they don’t know what he wants them to do, and he keeps assigning them warrior cat sonas and calling them by warrior cat names at school,, and he keeps calling god ‘starclan’ (which makes stan. Mad). am i projecting? that’s a secret, i’ll never tell.

steve was absolutely the Anime Kid in middle school. the amount of times he got yelled at for naruto running in the hallways was far too much. and his faves were fruits basket, nichijou, and k-on.

i’m so obviously projecting with my steve hcs here but i’m not gonna stop and i’m gonna say steve’s a trans guy. i know it makes no sense in canon, but canon’s dead it’s mine now. anyways he’s known since around the time he started middle school, and stan and francine love him and support him and i don’t have much else to say without getting Too Projecting, but yeah steve’s trans.

steve was pretty socially anxious growing up. he did get better as he grew older obv, but when he was little he was A Mess in school.

steve loved making flower crowns when he was little. he learned how to in his 2nd grade art class and just obsessed over it for a good few years and he was always making them for the fam. francine, stan, and hayley didn’t mind, they thought it was cute. i can see hayley learning to make them too and the two of them exchanging crowns,, and francine probably learned how to make some too during her college years and steve would always get really excited whenever she tried making some with him. poor roger though, once he moved in, steve took him as his new model and roger was forced to suffer through sitting in the hot sun while steve covered him in flowers.

steve never stopped singing. oh my god, stan loves him but he eventually reached a point where he started hiding their disney movies because steve would always loudly sing along and he just wanted some peace and quiet to work.

i like to imagine klaus has a sibling-esque relationship with pretty much the entire fam, but especially with steve. he was always pretty protective of him despite not really being able to do anything if he got hurt, and klaus was always there to talk to whenever steve needed it.

steve’s always liked to help francine bake. originally it was just so he could claim the mixer of batter before hayley could, but he quickly got really invested and he still loves helping out.

and in general for the both of them:

steve was the type of kid who bonked his head against the table a little and would spend the rest of the night crying while francine comforted him,, while hayley was the type of kid who could fly down the stairs and leave an actual dent in the wall and she’d still jump up assuring everyone ‘i’m okay!!’

hayley and steve used to play pokemon together growing up. hayley was more casually into it while steve was more obsessed (i like to imagine it was a special interest of his growing up). nowadays hayley doesn’t play it too often, but every now and then some big news will happen like new starters getting revealed, and steve will show her and hayley still can’t help but get at least a bit excited each time.

francine tried to do cute little family halloween costumes a few years. the idea of them doing an addams family group costume is precious.

francine always took them out for christmas photos every year. just dozens of photos of the four of them in the tackiest sweaters. they don’t do it as often anymore (or at least they don’t take as many photos outside of a few while they’re setting up the tree) but they still have framed photos of them that they set on the fireplace mantle every year.

listen …….. there were definitely multiple instances when they were really little of stan coming home from work ,, and steve and hayley excitedly tackling him,,,, and stan dramatically acting like he’s being attacked and losing ,,,

despite roger being a Dick, he was super protective of the two of them back in the day. either of them come home from school with a bruise, and roger’s already planning out an elaborate revenge scheme.

as for stan ,,

i’m adopting @stancine’s hc to say he was definitely a country boy. i kinda like to imagine his uncle on his mother’s side lived on a farm, and stan was really close to him growing up and it just sorta became monthly to take weekend trips to see him.

stan loved horses. he was definitely a Horse Kid, and his fave breeds are clydesdales and friesians.

sheep too!! one of his favorite yearly activities is during the springtime when his uncle helps him out with shearing the sheep.

also stan loved camping. he loved going out on walks through the woods and he especially loved fishing, but the second the sun went down he cowered in the back of the tent next to his mom because he was terrified of the noises coming from outside.

stan was a really quiet kid growing up. he sucked at properly standing up for himself, that’s kinda the reason he’s so harsh on steve for accepting mistreatment because he knows how hard it is and he doesn’t want his son to go through the same shit he did.

mother’s day was always one of his favorite holidays. he’d be obsessed with planning the whole day around trying to make it perfect for betty. making her breakfast in bed and saving up his allowance to buy her a gift, and he’d always make elaborate art projects for her every year.

stan . tried to learn how to ride a motorcycle in high school. it was this random obsession he got for no reason where he just really wanted one, but he always panicked whenever he got the chance to try one out. never even got his permit because he was so scared.

stan had a lot of pent-up anger as a kid that he never even recognized as anger until he got older. because of that he often broke his toys on accident because something wasn’t working correctly, and sometimes he’d snap at teachers on accident. obv he still had a problem with it but at least now he knows what’s going on and can at least try to work on dealing with it.

betty used to read to stan at night when he was really young. they didn’t have many books around so it was just stan listening to her read the same four dr. seuss books over and over. he didn’t mind though.

stan’s always loved writing and a good chunk of his free time was writing little short stories. he took a creative writing class in high school and he almost immediately became the teacher’s pet.

stan was a pretty lonely socially inept kid and i like to think growing up he tried getting a lot of his ‘advice’ on how to interact with others through television. one time he tried to get a girl’s attention by doing the ‘throwing pebbles at their window’ trope, but he fucked up and got too big a stone and threw it too hard, and just shattered this poor girl’s window. and stan spent the rest of the night crying in his room before caving and turning himself in.

i can see him being really into superheroes when he was younger. just him bounding around the house with a blanket for a cape, acting out random scenes he read out of the latest issue he bought.

stan was obv a dog kid. he’d often find himself going to the adoption shelter near his house just to see the dogs there whenever he was feeling down. and his fave breeds were golden retrievers, pit bulls, and shelties.

god i have tons more for all of them but i’m gonna stop because this is already long enough as it is.

[ulrichtech-blog]

Hey It’s Gonna Be Okay || Emory&Kaleb

TAGGING → Kaleb Ulrich, Emory Sinclair @emory-sinclair

LOCATION → Emory’s Apartment

TIME FRAME → Tuesday December 13th, Night

WARNINGS → Sex Talk, Safe Sex 

NOTES → Kaleb goes over to Emory’s after getting tested that day for food and a movie. 

Emory had completed all of his chores for the day. He had nothing planned for the afternoon, and wasn't in the mood to turn in. He knew didn't have to be back at the base until later the next day, and he wasn't in the mood to chance trying to sleep only to wake up screaming. Then proceed to try and drown out his dreams with drinking. Emory walked over to his kitchen counter and picked up his phone. He opened his messages and sent a text to the last person he'd spoken to "You doing anything tonight?" he wrote.

Kaleb had finally settled in his apartment, getting ready to relax and just watch some television or more so listen while he was playing on his 3DS. It was emotionally draining all day. From being nervous on taking the test, to taking Jaron to his appointment then having to explain to Simone. He just wanted to relax at this point. His phone buzzed while playing Pokemon, he hit pause on the game as he saw the message from Emory. Smiling immediately. "No, I'm not. What's up?" He replied back

Emory didn't have to wait long for a reply. One that worked in his favor. "Thought you might want to do something together? Go out? Stay in?" he typed out. Emory had no preference for what they did, since he found he enjoyed Kaleb's company either way.

Kaleb read the following text once it came in and the thought of hanging together was great but he didn't want to go out at all. "Lets stay in, I can bring over a movie this time. Since The Proposal didn't work out. You like Dane Cook?" Kaleb replied as he was already shutting down his DS and then getting up to grab the movie he had in mind. He enjoyed his time with Emory, very much so. But then the thought of the events today rang in his ears. He would have to tell Emory what his day was like and also worry on the male's health as well.

Emory saw the typing bubble pop up on his screen and waited for the rely to come through. His phone chimed in his hand, as the text appeared on his screen. Emory was perfectly fine with staying in. "Sure, we can," he quickly replied. Emory tried to think who Dane Cook was, but chose to go with his brains first instinct. "Would you judge me if I said no?" He made his way over towards his fridge.

Kaleb didn't want to change from his sweatpants or his Star Wars Christmas sweater so he slipped on some shoes and made way with the movie in hand. Going to the elevator and taking the ride up to Emory's floor. "Slightly haha" he replied only to add in another little text after that. "I mean, he's not the best but he had a good rom com in his prime time"

Emory was standing in front of his open fridge. He contemplated whether or not he should put on a shirt as the cool air from the fridge had the hair on his chest slightly standing. However, he knew Kaleb had already seen him naked and he was plenty comfortable in just sweats. Emory went back to trying to decide what he wanted to eat when he received another text. He was getting ready to reply when another followed. "I honestly don't know many of their names. I just watch them. It's sort of an army thing." He reached in the fridge and pulled out a few things. Placing them on the counter. "Have you eaten?"

Kaleb hated how slow the elevator was taking. But going from the first to the fourteenth floor was a bit of a stretch. Seeing the box for Emory's text pop up on his phone again, he nodded to himself. "What is an Army thing? Going shirtless all the time?" Kaleb typed out the reply with his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. From the follow up one, he was about to add in his next one when the ding of the elevator alarmed him he had made it. Soon the doors opened and he stepped out. Walking over to Emory's door and instead of knocking just texting "I haven't eaten all day. Now open the door" Sending it with that wide smile emoji attached to it.

Emory had put a few slices of bread in his toaster and was cutting into and avocado, when his phone chimed again. He picked up the phone and laughed. He didn't think he had a habit of going shirtless, but maybe he did or maybe it was Kaleb's wishful thinking. Either way he was getting a shirtless Emory. Before he could respond he received another text demanding he open the door. Emory walked over to the door and opened it wide for Kaleb to walk in. "You forgot to say please," he teased, "But I'll forgive you. Oh and don't mistake my lack of a shirt as an answer to your question. I meant romcoms are an army thing."

Kaleb waited for the door to open, only to be greeted by Emory who ironically wasn't a shirt. But that was totally fine with Kaleb. He had seen much more of the man before and he didn't mind looking at all. Pulling his lip in a pout, he then said "Please?" only to laugh lightly as he stepped into Emory's apartment. Soon taking off his shoes and leaving them near the door. "U-huh. So you not having a shirt on is just a coincidence?" Kaleb seemed to question further but shrugged at it as he showed the movie. Employee of the Month. "But that's interesting, they play romcoms for the army. Is it to balance out all that goes on around you or just they just show off whatever movies they have?" He asked, really interested in what goes on for Emory and his life.

Emory smiled back at Kaleb as he closed the door. "It would seem so," he replied to Kaleb's question on his lack of clothing. Emory took a look at the movie and did not recognize it. He shrugged his shoulders as he made his way back over to the kitchen. Emory popped a slice of smoked salmon in his mouth before speaking. "The army doesn't show them. I mean they do have plenty of movies we can rent depending on what base you're at, but most of the guys tend to choose or request them. I'd suppose the former. Really most guys like it because it requires no thinking at all when we're off duty." Emory slide the bowl of pecans he poured out over towards Kaleb.

Kaleb would classify the movie as a rom com, it definitely had the comedy down with Dane Cook as a star, but it also had it's cheesy romance in the end and for Kaleb to like it. It had to be good. Seeing as Emory slid the bowl of pecans to him, he took a couple in hand and started eating one by one. "Got it, so it's more to just get lost in the movie and not think." He nodded to Emory. Chewing slowly on the pecan as he watched the man make the food. "I bet you get this a lot, but thank you. For serving our country and being ten times braver than us that stick around here."

Emory took the now toasted pieces of bread out of the toaster and placed them on a cutting board. He lightly drizzled olive oil on eat piece. "Exactly." He placed several slices of smoked salmon on each piece of toast followed by the avocado he cut. "You would be correct, especially when I'm in uniform. I'd normally say you're welcome, but you're my friend." Emory looked at Kaleb directly. "You never need to thank me. I joined for selfish reasons, and stayed for selfish reasons. The first of those being my twin." He reached looked back down and placed pecans from the bag on top along with feta cheese. "I'm no braver than the next guy."

Kaleb's eyes went from the food to Emory's face as he heard him say he didn't need to thank him. It was puzzling for Kaleb but he was still going to thank him. "Whatever reasons you did it for, you still went in, readying yourself for all the worst possibly scenarios. I think that is really brave" Kaleb told Emory with a soft smile to match up his tone. "You have a twin? One of you is already a handful. But two?" He chuckled as he questioned Emory

Emory dropped the part of the conversation involving him joining the army by not responding to it. "If you're still hungry. I have Digiorno in the freezer." He slid a plate with what he'd just prepared over towards Kaleb. "Not that kind of twin. We're fraternal. He looks more like our elder brother in my opinion. And neither one of them like guys, so yeah."

Kaleb watched the plate slide and held his hand to catch it. Soon to pick up the toast and take a bite out of it. Finishing it before speaking. "Oh no, this is good. Thank you though." He replied politely to Emory. "Ah, gotcha." Nodding his head. "My older brother is not into guys either. At least I don't think. I haven't seen him in years and as for my sister I don't know who she finds attractive. I would say I'm the only gay one out of the family" Kaleb joked about himself

Emory leaned against the counter and took to eating his plate as he listened. "You're not close with your family?" he asked curiously.

Kaleb reached for a napkin as he heard the question. "Well I'm close with my siblings. My sister lives in the building but after getting out of high school we kind of drifted apart." Kaleb explained as he cleared his throat. Family was always a tough subject to talk about

Emory nodded his head. "Who's your sister?" He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a decanter. "Want anything?" he pointed to the number of drinks he had inside. "You don't have to talk about your family if you don't want to." He poured himself a water and what Kaleb requested then walked back over to the counter. " I'm close to my family, and sometimes I don't like talking about them. And I know not everyone is the same..."

Kaleb smiled just thinking of his sister. "Her name is Julianne. She's been out doing some modeling. She does it to get money for college at the moment, she's going for her nursing degree" Kaleb looked over to Emory as he went to the fridge. Kaleb soon answered the question. "Water is fine." Nodding as he continued to eat. "I love my siblings and lets just say, we've been through some rough times. New York maybe my hometown, but Denver feels more like home" Kaleb shrugged off the topic of family. "Where are you from?"

Emory placed Kaleb's water in front of him. Emory smiled as he listened to Kaleb speak of his sister. He drank from his own before answering. "A small town in Tennessee called Centerville."

Kaleb took the water with a polite smile. Drinking a little as he listened to where he was from. "Centerville? It wouldn't happen to be in the center of Tennessee would it?" He then made a funny face as the temptation of saying a bad pick up line was there. "You know.. you're the only TEN I see!" Kaleb chuckled

Emory placed his head down on the counter. The fact his body shook was the only indicator that gave away that he was laughing. He look up at Kaleb with s stupid smile. "Shut up," he joked. "Where did you get your sense of humor?"

Kaleb had to put his food back on the plate before he tried taking another bite. He was in fits of laughter himself and seeing he got a laugh out of Emory only made his smile grow more. "Would you believe me if I said from memes? And also googling bad pick up lines?" He said as he chuckled. "You like them though! Right? I mean I know they are bad, but they could work? I know I'm terrible at flirting, but it's my way of being me.."

Emory nodded his head. "I would believe you." He finished the remaining bit of his food. Looking up directly into Kaleb's eyes, "I like you just the way you are Kaleb. Seriously. Your jokes and all. I'd hate if it you ever tried to be anyone but yourself."

Kaleb went back to his food so he could finish it and as he did, he covered the plate with the napkin he used. Soon making eye contact with those sweet gray orbs. Leaning in, his smile was soft as he responded to Emory. "That means a lot to hear. For a while I thought I had to perfect because I was uncomfortable in my own skin."

Emory listened to Kaleb's response. He couldn't relate to the other man's sentiment entirely, having never not been comfortable in his own skin. Confidence was something he'd always had, something his parents instilled in him. However, his mind as of late wasn't in the best of places, which made him uncomfortable sometimes with his own thoughts. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking his words through carefully. "Perfection is unattainable when held to someone else's standards, but perfection also has a malleable definition if you forget the outside world and only focus on what works for you. I mean there's only on person's thoughts we have to live with our whole lives, and that's our own," Emory shrugged his shoulders, then smirked at his thought that followed. "I hope you're not uncomfortable in you skin now, because I happen to like it."

Kaleb couldn't help but think over what mistakes he's made, what he has done and seeming to be this bad person in his head all because he wanted to be perfect. How he felt when he first came out and was discovering this new side of his sexuality was game changing but now he was okay with everything. He was happy being himself and when hearing Emory paraphrase about the definition of perfection, it struck to his heart. Nodding to Emory with that smile still attached. "Well normally I focus on everyone's thoughts but my own, but you're right. Perfection is unattainable. I'm more comfortable now then I was before. I think I have you to thank for that."

Emory quirked a brow at the man. "Me? Why's that?"

Kaleb bit his bottom lip. “Well not just you, there have been other guys I’ve been with. However now I don’t feel like I have to be the best gay guy out there. Or be great at dating, know the history of musicals, Broadway, and know about all the struggles with being gay.” He clarified, even explained a little how his journey was in Kaleb’s mind. “I can still be my dorky, pun loving self and just be with someone I like. Have someone I can talk to, which I would say you’re a great friend.” Kaleb smiled awkwardly. “And very good in bed too”

Emory nodded his head as he listened to Kaleb. He smiled when the man said he'd considered him a great friend, followed by a chortle when he comment on his skills in bed. "Well if we are talking about stereotypical gay guys, I fail completely. My idea of a good time shooting, drinking, killing animals, and hiking. Not to mention sex. In fact, I actually never came out to my family. My twin was the one who blurted out at the kitchen table, when my mom was talking about who I should take to an event, that I liked guys. To which my dad turned to my brother with the most dead-ass serious face and said in the heaviest Scottish accent, 'We already know. Now shut up and eat your food, cause no one was talking to you.'"Emory tried to imitate his dad's voice and hand gestures. He had a smile on his face. "I don't think my brother realized then that for me I didn't care what was under the skirt, or in that case kilt, just the person. My parents though they didn't care as long as we were happy and doing right." Emory looked Kaleb in the eye and smiled. "I'm happy you've gotten a better hold of what it means to be you, and that I could help in any way. Just know I'm still happy to help even if its under the covers." He winked.

Kaleb stood straight and moved to take his plate and Emory's to the kitchen sink. Just so he could be doing something and also move closer to the man. Now on the same side of the kitchen counter, Kaleb listened to Emory relive his moment of 'coming out' which made Kaleb laugh lightly. Crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter, his eyes met with Emory's once again. "You are so lucky to have great parents" Kaleb had muttered out accidentally. He normally kept his thoughts to himself and when it came to family and parents, he didn't have that. He didn't have a supporting mother and he didn't know his father. None of the siblings knew their fathers. "Someone had hinted to my sister that I was seeing this guy. He lives in the building, but-um I was seeing him and I was so nervous telling her and all she said was as long as you are happy, I'm happy for you. I have yet to tell my brother. He lives in South Caroline." Seeing the wink, Kaleb nudged Emory playfully. "I'm all for the help under the covers" Winking back as he rubbed his bottom lip. "But.. not tonight or at least a couple of days from now."

Emory was about to ask what Kaleb meant by him being lucky regarding his parents. However the man continued with what he was saying. Not want to be rude Emory kept his mouth shut, but put the thought filed away in his brain for later. He listened to the male describe his coming out. Though he wasn't happy it wasn't under Kaleb's terms, he was happy to know that his sister took it well and could only hope his brother would do the same. Emory shifted his weight as he leaned against the counter to better face where Kaleb has moved. His head cocked to the side when Kaleb informed him there wouldn't be the possibility of the two men getting intimate in the near future. "Is there a reason I'm being put on sex time out?" he asked as he wondered if he had missed something. "I mean I'm perfectly fine with you not wanting to, but did I do something wrong?"

Kaleb had slightly dropped his jaw when Emory questioned the not having sex part. "Oh no no no, you didn't do anything wrong. You are great, no matter what, some of the best sex I've had. What I should say is um..." Kaleb rambled off before he could even get to the point. "You didn't do anything wrong it's me. And before I start talking about anything else, you get checked right? Like you get tested and cleared? From any STD's. If not you probably... well not probably but I would definitely suggest you do." Kaleb mentioned as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

Emory's brows furrowed more at Kaleb's rambling. He couldn't even acknowledge the compliment to his skills in bed because he was far more focused on what had the other man going on in such and anxious manner. "I get tested every three months. I'm not one for surprises or not knowing, not to mention my health is a job requirement. Not to mention, I always use a condom. Why?" Emory still had a perplexed look on his face.

Kaleb always got nervous and when he did, he would fidget with his hands. Ramble off and try to stir away from the problem but this was a big issue. Health and the idea of what the results were from the tests scared him. It scared him to think that he was harming other people. "Right, well that's good but maybe get checked again? like now maybe? Or when was the last time you got tested? I'm just saying because I mean, well a while back I may have been unprotected and I've never been tested. But I went this morning with a friend and I don't get the results until another three days so I'm just worried for your well being."

Emory closed the gap between him and Kaleb by taking a few steps closer to the man. He reached out and grabbed his hands, and just held them in his own in a calming manner. "Kaleb," his voice was calm and collected as he said the word. He paused making sure he had the other man's attention before continuing, "I'm happy you decided to get tested. Its a good practice to have. But what's got you so worried? You sound scared."

Kaleb inhaled slowly to try and calm himself. Bowing his head so he wouldn't look at Emory at first. Feeling him take Kaleb's hands in, he soon looked back to Emory, his eyes locked in with his. "I am scared. It's like first time nerves." he spoke softly shaking his head. "But I'm also worried that if something does come back on me. That I may have ruined someone else's health. I would hate myself if you or anyone else got something because I was stupid. I would feel really terrible." He would definitely feel terrible and the guilt of that would do nothing but eat at Kaleb even more. No matter what, he would think of other's well being over his own any day and he knew that was his flaw.

Emory gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, hey. It's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. I doubt you have anything, but if you do it'll be curable or treatable. And I'l be here for you either way. You're fine Kaleb. And if I've got something, well I'm to blame for that not you. I could have asked you if you're clean before we slept together. But I'm sure you're overreacting. It's easy to freak out about these things."

Kaleb's gaze went to Emory's smile, his own lips turning into a smile from the reassuring words. "You will?" He asked as he squeezed Emory's hand. Hearing he would be there for Kaleb even with how the outcome was meant a lot to him. "I would still blame me though, I mean I didn't even get tested until now and I slept with that guy like four months ago" Thinking back to at the party with Jaron when they had hooked up. "This is me being calm compared to when I was talking to Spencer about her getting tested. Trust me." He said with a soft chuckle.

"Of course. You're my friend. I've got your six," he confirmed. Emory listened to how'd he'd still blame himself along with the comment about speaking with Spencer. He shrugged his shoulders. "We're all entitled to our moments." Emory let go of Kaleb hand giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You told Spencer? How'd she take it? Is there anything else I need to know that sparked this sudden interest in getting tested?"

Kaleb felt like he could breathe normally again. All the nerves were settling down and he felt better now. "Yea well I did sleep with Spencer too so I wanted to make sure she was okay. She's clean by the way" He laughed as he responded to Emory's question. "Well it wasn't really interest. I was told by another friend that the guy I was with four months ago didn't wear condoms. Like at all. And he was my first time with a guy."

Emory nodded his head. "That's reckless. And irresponsible. I'm sorry your first didn't put more care in with you. You deserve it."

"Well no I wouldn't say he didn't put care in me. In fact it's quite the opposite, he ended up catching feelings for me and I was catching feelings for someone else. But I didn't do anything with the other person, so that caused a fight between me and the guy I slept with. Then we ended up hooking up at the White Hotels during a party" Talking about the whole situation with what happened with Jaron seemed like something off a soap opera. How did he even manage to get through that he wasn't sure? "But the next day after we hooked up, the guy packed his stuff and moved out. Because of me, which made me feel super guilty. So during that time of feeling guilty I was still trying to find myself and then I ended up messing around with people, seeing people. But he's back now and sure it was awkward at first but I'm just hoping our friendship can still be there" Kaleb spoke finally taking a breathe out of all that he just said. "In shorter terms, I probably should say, it's complicated but I've moved on.”

Emory blinked at Kaleb's lengthy reply. It took a moment for him to react. "I just meant in the fact that he wasn't responsible with you sexually. But um.... ok." Emory wasn't sure how else to respond to that monologue.

Kaleb could feel his face get red from what all he said and probably making it awkward now. Though most of the time, it was just Kaleb making himself feel awkward. "Oh right yea.. um yea. Let's just ignore I said all of that. How about that movie?"

Emory started to snicker, which eventually turned into a full out laugh. He wiped the few tears that had formed in his eyes. "Yeah, let's watch a movie."

[lins-fandom-hub]

weird asks thing

from this post

okay here we go

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Tea cups and coffee mugs! Not that I’m a firm collector. I just happen to have them is all.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

Chocolate bars.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Cotton Candy!!

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Hyper, not very cooperative, loud

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Soda bottles, though I wouldn’t mind glass cups.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Huh? I...tend to go casual, and the colour scheme doesn’t matter to me much. I’d say tomboy if I have to pick from this list though.

7. earbuds or headphones?

Headphones--if I could find a nice pair.

8. movies or tv shows?

Movies. I don’t know any TV shows.

9. favorite smell in the summer?

Freshly cut grass after mowing the lawn.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Don’t even talk to me about P.E. The only thing I remember from it was the stress that dodgeball brought around.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

Eggs, bread, oatmeal. Nothing too fancy. Sometimes I actually make a breakfast sandwich with avocados and cheese, but if said items weren’t in the fridge...

12. name of your favorite playlist?

Windows Down 2k18. Has tracks from many different artists and eras that I actually like to listen to. No classical though, that’s another playlist.

13. lanyard or key ring?

Lanyard. Can’t get enough of them back in university.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Fuzzy Peaches.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Mermaid pose? On the floor, at least.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

A pair of black Adidas shoes my mom recently bought this year for me and my sister. Turns out that my sister wears the white pair more while I wear the black. Not that I mind.

18. ideal weather?

Sunny with no chance of rain.

19. sleeping position?

Mostly on my right side all curled up.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Depends on my mood. Sometimes my computer for fanfic novels. Sometimes my notebook if I have secrets to spill.

21. obsession from childhood?

Does Disney count?

22. role model?

Idina Menzel.

23. strange habits?

Talking to myself (a lot), singing at my desk (or humming), twirling my pencil too much. 

24. favorite crystal?

White Calcite.

25. first song you remember hearing?

Ummm...the wheels on the bus? I can’t remember.

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Walk around the park and catch Pokemon (in Pokemon GO).

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Go ice skating!

28. five songs to describe you?

“Speechless” - Naomi Scott

“Blown Away” - Carrie Underwood

“I Dare You” - Bea Miller

“Bless Myself” - Lucy Hale

“Can’t Be Tamed” - Miley Cyrus

29. best way to bond with you?

Walk through the park with me. Or talk about stuff with me. Anything, really, so long as it doesn’t bore either of us.

30. places that you find sacred?

Any place that holds a tall temple.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

a pair of denim shorts and a black t-shirt. or if it’s in the winter, a pair of jeans and a comfy hoodie.

32. top five favorite vines?

I don’t watch vines. Welp.

33. most used phrase in your phone?

Welp.

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

For a while it was this Liberty ad I remember watching while I was in the States, but that’s pretty much it...

35. average time you fall asleep?

On school nights, 12 am or so, maybe 2 am at latest. Right now, about 10 pm or so.

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

anything involving grumpy cat.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

Suitcase! Makes things feel more official. 

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade.

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon meringue pie!

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

At least once a term it’s turned into the biggest Humans vs Zombies war zone ever.

41. last person you texted?

my mom

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

jacket pockets!

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodies!

44. favorite scent for soap?

Anything floral works.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

my pyjamas!

47. favorite type of cheese?

Havarti. But that’s because I eat it so often.

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

Probably a grape. Or a bunch of grapes.

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” ~Thomas Jefferson

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

Any GIF from Hamilton the Musical.

51. current stresses?

Job searching and updating stories on Wattpad.

52. favorite font?

Comic Sans--NOPE. Tahoma or Verdana, I guess.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

Fairy smooth, I guess? Though the nails are misshapen due to my horrendous attempts at cutting them, and my pinkies are curved due to genetics passed down from generations past. Whee.

54. what did you learn from your first job?

I learned that not everyone will treat you with the same respect, and that you have to look past that flaw to give them a chance.

55. favorite fairy tale?

The Goose Girl.

56. favorite tradition?

Anything Chinese New Year related.

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Depression in the wake of my grandfather’s death; lack of confidence after my parents’ condemning; lack of concentration following a head injury

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Playing the piano, playing the violin, singing on pitch, and opening bottles with lids screwed on too tightly.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“Don’t even try to mess with me.”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

I don’t even know the first thing about Anime, so I don’t even know how to answer this.

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“That’s my girlfriend, you numpties!” ~Ron Weasley

62. seven characters you relate to?

Anna - Frozen

Rapunzel - Tangled

Katniss - The Hunger Games

Tris - Divergent

Rowan - HPHM

[insert 2 other characters here]

63. five songs that would play in your club?

“Turn Down for What” - DJ Snake ft Lil John

“High Hopes” - Panic! At the Disco

“Dance, Dance” - Fall Out Boy

“Victorious” - P!ATD

“Kill This Love” - BLACKPINK

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Webkinz.com or Poptropica.com

65. any permanent scars?

One on my right knee from an unfortunate slip on ice in the winter four years ago.

66. favorite flower(s)?

Daisies, lilies, or tulips.

67. good luck charms?

depends on whatever holds more sentimental value. For now, it’s a little Niffler that I crocheted off a YouTube tutorial (and its name is Nuggets.)

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

I typically don’t like anything too spicy, but I really hate the taste of mushrooms. Not the Asian ones--Baby Bellas, specifically. Just...no.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

Currently not applicable.

70. left or right handed?

Right handed.

71. least favorite pattern?

Huh?

72. worst subject?

Gym.

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

I’ll get back to you on that.

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

7 or 8.

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I was...five or six? Still fairly young.

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Anything that’s a mix of fries or tater tots! Those are just--mm.

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

I’m not much of a plant-grower but any small plant works fine. 

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Sushi from a grocery store, please.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

School ID photo.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel tones.

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Fireflies. What are lightning bugs??

82. pc or console?

Console--and here I wish I still had one!

83. writing or drawing?

Writing. 

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Talk radio.

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Barbie--mostly because I didn’t know Polly Pocket existed until I was like 10 or 11.

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Fairy tales. 

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cupcakes! Cookies! Can I say both???

87. your greatest fear?

People stabbing me to death with nothing but words of betrayal on their lips.

88. your greatest wish?

Hey, if I told you that, it wouldn’t come true.

89. who would you put before everyone else?

My little sister.

90. luckiest mistake?

Haven’t had any recently.

91. boxes or bags?

Boxes. 

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Sunlight!

93. nicknames?

Never had any, though someone in an old English class I used to teach thought it’d be funny to call me Crayola. 

94. favorite season?

Spring!

95. favorite app on your phone?

Pokemon GO for now.

96. desktop background?

A picture I took last summer of a monarch butterfly landing on a pink flower.

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

None? Okay, like, 3, but mostly because they’re really important numbers.

98. favorite historical era?

Music speaking, the Classical era. Otherwise, I don’t know, I haven’t studied that extensively into history.