#i need my biggest toy inside me stat

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: The 4 Biggest Differences Between Raising Pokémon And Digimon As Pets

  This article written by Daniel Dockery was originally published on August 2, 2019

  Sometimes, visiting your childhood home can be like an archaeological excavation. You sift through the eras of your life, some embarrassing (Why did I own so many tropical print shirts? Why did I spend middle school dressed like a sixty-five-year-old dude vacationing in Beaufort, South Carolina?), and some baffling (What was I planning to do with all of those commemorative state quarters?). But sometimes, you find things that you immediately want to take back to the present with you. In my case, it was all of the little Pokémon stuff that I amassed as a kid: The KFC stuffed toys from the commercial that revealed that Colonel Sanders chose the Blue version ...

    ... The many trading cards, the "How To Draw Pokémon" book from the book fair that I'd trace over and then tell all of my one friends that I drew it on my own, the falling apart Pokémon Red/Blue Prima strategy guide where the writer revealed in the first paragraph that Pokémon was consuming his life in a way that he never thought possible ...

  ... And the Pikachu, Charmander, and Meowth electronic toys that I got for Christmas one year, the first two saying their names and the last one speaking Japanese, which baffled me as a kid because I didn't know what anime was. But most importantly, I found the Pokémon Pikachu Virtual Pet, a little yellow device that's shaped to look like a Game Boy. And inside of it is a Pikachu that you can walk with and give gifts to. And after a quick battery replacement, I found that it still worked. 

  It was fate. Because, later this year, I also discovered the twentieth-anniversary release of the Digimon Digivice Virtual Pets in a Gamestop. So, because I'd only ever raised Digimon in the video games and am terrible with money, I bought one. And now I have two tiny monsters that I can take care of. Why hang out with other people when I've got all the companionship I need right here:

    But I soon learned that there is a BIG difference between raising Pokémon and raising Digimon. For example ...

  YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE PIKACHU MAD

    Back in its early days, you could count on one thing with Pokémon: Pikachu HATES you. Sure, eventually you'll earn its respect through battling or risking your life for it, but at the beginning of the anime and in the Pokémon Yellow game, Pikachu begins its journey hoping that maybe you'll just release it or get lost and starve to death in Viridian Forest. That's one of the reasons why Pokémon: Let's Go was such an odd experience sometimes: Pikachu just unconditionally and immediately accepts you as soon as it meets you. It's the only time you'll ever hear me complain about "kids these days" having it too easy. Ugh, Generation Z with their TikTok and their memes and their Pokémon that LIKE them. 

  Luckily for me, I got the Pikachu of the late '90s in my virtual pet. Unluckily for me, Pikachu was very aware that I had not played with it since the Clinton Administration, and it was pissed. See, the Pokémon Pikachu also doubles as a pedometer which counts your steps. So while everyone else is wearing their FitBit, I'm rocking a Pikachu that absolutely can't stand me on my hip. But the more you step, the more points you can acquire. And you give those points to Pikachu as gifts, and Pikachu will do a little dance and grow more pleased with you. As it turns out, though, no matter how many points I amass on the treadmill, it probably won't make up for the two decades that my Pikachu spent in a desk drawer.

  Currently, it's got its back to me, which means that at least it's on the screen (It can actually leave you, forcing you to restart or hide from you). Meanwhile, my Agumon in the Digivice is much less fickle. It's pretty content as long as I feed it and train it and make sure that its battles don't kill it. Oh, and it likes it a lot when you pick up its poop. And it should, because ...

  DIGIMON ARE ALWAYS POOPING

    A common feature of virtual pets is that you have to clean their droppings. It provides a cool life lesson for kids, teaching them to not take dumps on the floor all the time. But I did not know that Agumon, my sweet, simple lizard bro, would just crap, like, so much, y'all. I mean, all it eats is meat on the bone and protein vitamins, so it's not like it's getting too much fiber in its diet. It's pretty keto. But every time I switch it on to see if it's okay or has evolved, it's been pushed to the side of the little screen because its own habitat just can't handle how much it's pooping. 

  Meanwhile, Pikachu doesn't really go to the bathroom. It does have a bathroom though, as after it eats dinner and before it goes to bed (there's cute little animations for each), it brushes its teeth. So unless it's like one of those tiny NYC studio apartments where the landlord's like "Ya got a bed and a sink, so good luck with your butt," Pikachu does own a toilet. 

  So that's nice to note: Pokémon will clean up their business after they're done. Digimon will look to you and say "I have pooped four times. The walls are closing in. Help me, father." 

  PIKACHU IS WAY MORE STUBBORN WITH SCHEDULING

    Pikachu has a bit of a Type A personality — it likes its routine. Usually, in the middle of the day, if you shake the device, Pikachu will come marching in or sometimes ride a little scooter onto the screen. But if Pikachu is doing something, like eating or sleeping, shaking the device actually makes Pikachu less friendly toward you. You have to wait for Pikachu to finish its food before it even considers going on a walk with you. 

  Meanwhile, if you're like "Go back to bed, Agumon, you've been awake for four seconds," Agumon will do it. If you want to wake Agumon up to train for battle a dozen times, it's ready at all hours of the day. In fact, one of the only things that a Digimon isn't up for is that it won't eat anymore after it's full. After you've filled it with mutton and pills, it shakes its head "No," at which point you probably switch over to training with it for another hour.

  DIGIMON HAS A TON OF HIDDEN INTRICACIES

    One of my favorite things about Digimon games is their intricate approach to evolution. Sure, you could digivolve Dogmon now into BigDogmon. But, if you raise the friendship stat a bit, and level up some more, you could digivolve Dogmon into BigDogWithCannonsmon. I think it's awesome, and it carries over to the virtual pets.

  However, because they're virtual pets and showing more than three letters on the screen at one time would cause the device to explode, you don't get a lot of explanation as to how to do it. Like, my current Agumon could evolve into the classic Greymon, or, according to the Digimon wiki, one of six other monsters. So I could get a Seadramon, but because I haven't been taking notes, I will never know how.

  Meanwhile, Pikachu is perfectly content with being Pikachu and with being flippant with you. You'll never have to worry about finding a Thunder Stone or learning that it's been replaced with a Koffing or something. Instead, all you have to worry about is your best friend suddenly starting to hate you out of nowhere.

  And that's ... better?

  Did you ever own either of these virtual pets? Let us know in the comments!

      Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!

By: Guest Author

[sweetheartjeongguk]

blow me (a kiss) (m)

pairing: min yoonji x fem!reader

genre: fluff, mild angst, smutty smut, high school au

rating: nc-17 (explicit sexual themes and cursing)

warning(s): brief mentions of vomit, smoking & alcohol, jealousy, insecurity, explicit sexual themes (characters are of age), loss of virginity, jungkook doesn’t know when to shut up but they thank him for it later (but still will beat his ass for one corn chip)

word count: 7.1k

summary: yoonji refuses to believe that she’s in love until one day, she just might have to prove herself before someone else does. 

part I | part II | part III / masterlist

Yoonji refuses to believe it. Nope, she couldn’t care less.

Nope, nope, nope.

“Yeah, they said something about her going to the party with Jimin?” Namjoo replies to Nayeon, her mouth stuffed full of rice and meat.

Somehow, Seokjin still looks at his girlfriend with the biggest heart eyes the universe has ever seen. But then again, Seokjin has made it his mission to let Yoonji know all about her so-called “emotional constipation”.

Fair play, Kim.

“Didn’t he break up with Sana last week?” Nayeon frowns in confusion.

“Jin, you’re friends with him.” Namjoo finally swallows the mushy wad of food. “Is it true?”

Yoonji ignores the uncomfortable itch in the pit of her stomach and tries to focus on finishing her own food before the bell rings for her next class to start. 

“Jimin did mention to us that he wanted to find someone to go with to Seulgi’s party on Saturday, but I didn’t think that he would ask her.” Seokjin hums. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, it makes sense why he’d ask her. They’ve been spending a lot of time together afterschool ever since Mr. Kang made them partners for the anatomy project.”

“Oh, doing what?” Namjoo asks innocently.

Obnoxious giggling erupts from Yoonji’s right.

“Probably exploring their own anatomies.” The youngest of the group, Jungkook, snorts as he goes to take a sip of his milk.

Suddenly, all eyes are on Jungkook as he squawks in pain, spewing the milk across the table and slamming his knee against the underside of the table.

“Oops, leg twitch.” Yoonji deadpans.

Jungkook awkwardly turns back around to Taehyung who hands him a napkin before Yoonji could threaten to break one of his limbs (again). Namjoo sends Yoonji a knowing look that read “stop harming the poor boy” and “I know why you did that”. Like always, Yoonji goes back to chewing on her rice.

Out of sight, out of mind.

However, it’s kind of hard to keep what is bothering her out of sight when it’s everywhere she goes.

In her biology class, in her P.E. class, and afterschool in the parking lot. Even in her dreams.

You’re constantly on her mind, and Yoonji hates it.

It’s too warm and bubbly inside her gut, almost as though she’s a little kid waiting in line for a rollercoaster, finally brave enough to get on only to realize that it was a huge mistake.

Yoonji has two choices – forget you and suffer through the horrors of high school life until graduation or suck it up and make the first move before Jimin could.

Ever so the pessimist, Yoonji prefers to play it safe and suffer in silence. Namjoo, ever so the enthusiastic enabler, has another idea.

“Hey, Y/N! Jimin!” Yoonji’s shoulders stiffen immediately. “Come sit with us!”

“Hi, guys! Sorry we’re a little late, lunch line was long, and Old Man Jung wouldn’t give me another milk carton.” You sigh dramatically as you drop your schoolbag onto the crusty cafeteria floor.

Yoonji’s heart flutters at your dulcet tones, almost as if honey drips from your lips.

She wonders if they would taste just as sweet.

“What’s up, man?”

Yoonji twitches at the blond-haired boy who slaps palms with Jungkook and Taehyung, performing a stupid handshake that they no doubt made back in middle school. His cheery smile might distract you, but Yoonji could see through the façade – the stupid façade that she has decided she hates with all of her might.

“Hey, Yoonji,” you greet sweetly as you settle into your seat in-between Namjoo and Jimin, right in front of Yoonji. “you ready for the stat exam on Friday?”

The mention of the dreaded math exam drags Yoonji back into reality. Yoonji groans as if in pain and smacks her hands over her face in frustration, uncaring that she may have wiped away the winged eyeliner Namjoo applied that morning. At the sound of Namjoo’s huff of contempt, she probably did.

You laugh heartily, “I feel the same way. If you want, we can study together beforehand?”

Yoonji perks up instantly at the idea of spending an entire afternoon with you. Perhaps this will be her chance to step her game up and finally tell you the truth, hopefully ending with the ultimate happily-ever-after.

Get your head out of your ass, Min.

“Just not tomorrow though, Jimin and I are going to see Infinity War.” You roll your eyes playfully. “He’s been whining about it ever since the first trailer came out.”

You nudge Jimin’s shoulders who breaks away from his conversation with Jungkook to shove you back with an equally teasing smile. You are completely oblivious to the dramatic fall of Yoonji’s grin and the sympathetic glance from Namjoo before she turns to her boyfriend as he retells his story about eating ten lobsters in one sitting during his family vacation last year.

Despite all the people crowding around her, Yoonji still manages to feel like an outsider.

“Y-yeah, that’s fine by me. Wednesday then?” Yoonji scratches behind her ear.

“Totally, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

She wouldn’t miss it for the world, huh? Suck my nonexistent dick, Park.

“Oh!” You exclaim abruptly. “Are you going to the party on Saturday? Everyone’s coming – me, Namjoo, Seokjin, Taehyung, Jimin…”

Your voice slightly trails off as you shove a spoonful of rice into your mouth while talking with the girl in front of you. Yoonji grins as she reaches over to flick away the grain of rice that attached itself to your lip. Realizing what she just did, she coughs and pulls her hand back into her lap, acting as if nothing had just happened.  

Namjoo snorts as she watches from her seat. ‘Whipped!’

“Eh, parties aren’t really my scene.” Yoonji forces a casual shrug. “Plus, someone has to watch over Holly over the weekend.”

This is a slight lie – Yoonji’s brother Yoongi would be at home all weekend with her, being (somewhat) capable of taking care of the little dog. At the same time, however, Yoonji knows her brother well enough to know that his carelessness might lead to Holly running out into the streets and Yoonji being the one to chase after him because his legs would just so happen to start cramping.

It's a miracle the boy is still functioning as a human being.

“Oh yeah, how is he? I miss seeing him around the neighborhood when you’d walk with in the morning!” You coo at the thought of the cute little chestnut brown poodle.

“H-he’s good.” Yoonji coughs. “Still doesn’t know how to use the bathroom outside, but he’s getting better.”

“Yeah, maybe next time you can bring Holly when me and Jimin go to walk our dogs! It’s been really nice weather so far.” You suggest brightly.

“M-maybe…” Yoonji’s voice fades into a low mumble.

Yoonji is brought out of her self-pity mode when the lunch bell rings, signifying the end of the period and the transition into the second to last class of the day. You pout when you realize that you haven’t finished your food.

“Come on, babe, off to English.” Jimin said teasingly as he takes your tray from you and leads you away to the exit.

Babe.

Yoonji watches pathetically as you wave goodbye and follow Jimin out of the lunchroom to attend your English class.

“See you later, Yoonji,” Namjoo calls out. “Don’t be late.”

Yoonji wishes she could ignore the double meaning behind her best friend’s words.

Wednesday comes faster than Yoonji had anticipated. The butterflies swarming the pit of her stomach can’t seem to calm down, even after Yoonji’s quick smoke outside the schoolgrounds during their lunchbreak.

Not one of her best habits, but it does its job for the meantime.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late!” Yoonji turns in time to watch you dash across the parking lot. “Mr. Lee kept us late because Jungkook thought it was funny to dump a milk carton on the stack of homework.”

“Sounds like a drag.” Yoonji’s lips slant in sympathy.

She grabs your backpack from you, ignoring your refusals and tossing the bag into the backseats. The two of you slip inside and drive back to Yoonji’s house for some much-needed studying for the devil test you two had in two days.

It’s probably not a good idea to study just two days before the exam, but who studies nowadays?

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Yoonji drawls as she unlocks and push through the front door, “that’ll be 50 dollars.”

“Wow, Min, you trying to drain me of my savings already?” You tease back, kicking off your shoes and putting on the cute yellow house slippers that waited for you by the shoe rack.

“I got to make a living somehow, sweetheart.” The nickname slips before Yoonji could stop herself, but you thankfully don’t mind it.

Unbeknownst to Yoonji, you loved it.

Holly greets the two of you at the top of the stairs, yipping happily at the sight of his owner and a familiar guest.

“Hi, Holly! Did ya miss me?” You giggle as Holly licks your cheek, his little tail wagging intensely at all the love he’s receiving.

“Hey, don’t steal her away from me.” Yoonji scolds sarcastically.

Yoonji can practically hear Namjoo in her head. ‘Min, you corny bitch.’

Patting the poodle one last time, you follow Yoonji into her room, laughing at the amount of paper stacked on her desk and the massive laundry load inside a wicker basket just waiting to be folded. Her bed is neatly made, but you can spot a bra or two peeking out from underneath the bed. Yoonji’s lucky that she stashed away her small collection of…special toys…in the closet – she couldn’t imagine the embarrassment if you found one of them poking through.

“So, you ready to fail this exam on Friday?” You sigh as you plop down on Yoonji’s mattress.

The image of you undressed and spread out across her bedsheets, begging for her – whining for her to do something – pops into her head with no warning.

“…Yoonji, you good?”

Yoonji shakes out of her thoughts. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just tired from today.”

“You’re telling me.” You yawn tiredly. “I can’t wait until graduation. Then – we’re finally gone! Goodbye hell school!”

“Yeah…” Yoonji trails off. “Gone.”

Yoonji hasn’t given much thought to where she’ll go after graduation, but all she knows is that she wants to make music. Whether it be producing, songwriting, or working in a recording studio – she couldn’t care less. The atmosphere she feels when she’s hearing new music and making her own tracks is unbeatable.

Knowing you, you’d be onto bigger and better things – maybe settling into a big city in a country where there’s always something to do and new people to meet. You’d be happy there while Yoonji wastes away in a town that threatens to swallow her whole every day.

At least you’d be happy.

“I’m thinking about applying to the college that’s about two hours from here, but then again I don’t want to move so far away from you guys!” You theatrically twist your limbs on her bed as if in a tantrum.

Yoonji rolls her eyes jokingly. “I don’t think you should plan your life around us. Do what you feel is right, and we’ll keep in touch regardless.”

“You promise?” You mutter softly.

“Of course…” Yoonji trails on awkwardly, fiddling with nonexistent dirt underneath her already to-the-nub fingernails. “Besides, it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Aw, Yoonji, I knew you had a soft spot for little ol’ me.” You wink teasingly.

Yoonji almost wishes that she could use this moment to confess and to just let go of the baggage weighing down on her chest.

But life’s imperfect that way.

No matter how much we want something, the world has a funny way of telling us no.

“Ha ha, you wish.”

You and Yoonji busy yourselves with studying and homework, only really seeing and talking to each other on Friday when you have your math exam in the morning. You spot her from across the classroom and send her two thumbs-up, mouthing “Fighting!” with a cheerful expression. Everyone is nervous about the exam, but at least you take the initiative to stay positive – something Yoonji struggles with on the daily.

After sitting through the horrid hour exam and downing two and a half cups of coffee in one sitting – Namjoo finally makes Yoonji to drink water and eat a bagel – she walks with Namjoo to her car, textbooks secure in her arms and keys clutched between two fingers. The day is finally over, and Yoonji could practically taste her afternoon nap.

“How’d you think you did?” Namjoo swings her housekeys in a back-and-forth motion, nearly smacking Yoonji in the arm but thankfully redirecting her aim when she catches Yoonji’s glare from the corner of her eye.

“Probably terrible. Like I always say, math is the worst subject ever to be created besides P.E.” Yoonji drones robotically.

“You’re not wrong about that.” Namjoo trails off as she drags her eyes across the parking lot, almost in search of something.

“Her and Jimin seem to be getting pretty serious.” Namjoo says abruptly as she spots the two of you walking together towards Jimin’s car.

Yoonji glances at you for a minute. For the first time, Yoonji hates your smile. She hates how you direct it towards someone like Jimin, someone who had never given you the time of day until after he broke up with his girlfriend and went to go look for “fresh meat”.

It is selfish thinking, and Yoonji knows it. You weren’t hers to claim – all she could do is hope for something, some kind of sign that her feelings aren’t for naught.

Life’s looking a bit disappointing as she wishes to erase the look of happiness shared between you and Jimin, the look of happiness that she wishes she could have for herself.

“I suppose so.” Yoonji clenches her jaw.  

Namjoo stifles a disappointed sigh at the lack of response. She decides that she needs to step it up a bit.

“Don’t you think they’d look really cute together?” Namjoo coos excitably, “I heard from Jin that he’s trying to go to the college she’s going to, so mayb—”

Slam!

Namjoo’s heart nearly flings out of her chest at the sudden bang, almost like a gunshot. She didn’t notice that she and Yoonji had already arrived at Yoonji’s car – the loud noise from Yoonji slamming her textbooks down on the roof of the car.

“Yeah, cute.” Yoonji spits. “Couple of the year, I’m so happy for them.”  

Her eyes tear up from anger, but she would be damned if she is going to let herself cry in front of all these strangers in the middle of her high school parking lot. These motherfuckers didn’t deserve to see her tears, especially not Park Jimin.

“Let’s go.” Yoonji sniffs, not bothering to look at Namjoo as she slips into the driver’s seat and start the car, desperate to leave the memory of your smile behind in the parking lot.

Social media booms with Instagram updates and Snapchat stories the next day about the “totally insane” party Seulgi is hosting at her house with the help of her four best friends. Yoonji stays off her phone to avoid seeing the texts from Namjoo teasing her about not being game enough to attend and worst of all – seeing photos of you with Jimin.  

Namjoo was quick to apologize for taking the joke too far, to which Yoonji forgives her. She knew that once Namjoo started apologizing, she was going to burst out into ugly tears. Yoonji brushes this off by her usual devil-may-care attitude. She knows that her best friend means well (most of the time), but like a lot of pain, it lingers.

It is like a papercut that doesn’t seem so bad at first until you pour alcohol over it. Suddenly, it’s almost unbearable.

“Hey, loser, what are you still doing here?”

Yoonji rolls her eyes at her brother who stands at her doorway, holding a can of beer and his cell phone in both hands. He had come back from his friend’s house a couple hours ago and wanted to take advantage of the supposedly empty house until their parents come back the next morning from their trip to Yoonji’s grandparents’ house.

“What does it look like, genius?” Yoonji retorts, taking one look at her phone and rolling her eyes at how she nearly goes to grab it.

Nobody’s even talking to you, they’re all busy getting wasted and hooking up.

Yoongi rolls his own eyes before striding inside her messy room and plopping down on the edge of her bed. “Well, I heard that Seulgi’s hosting a party that all your friends are at. Why aren’t you there, stupid?”

“Not my style.”

“Y/N’s there.”

Yoonji shoots a dangerous glare, but Yoongi is unphased. “How do you know about her?”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere, genius.” Yoongi smirks devilishly. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that you’re lusting over her tits—Ow!”

“Hey!” Yoonji punches his arm, satisfied in his squeak of pain. “I don’t like her just for her tits.”

“Oh?” Yoongi questions. “But you’re not denying that you like her?”

“U-uh, no, I don’t.” Yoonji stutters.  

“I knew it,” Yoongi claps his hands in satisfaction. “you like her – tits and everything else in between.”

“So just fuck her personality, then?” Yoonji deadpans as her brother hops up in excitement.

“Come on, man!” Yoongi stomps his feet childishly. “Go out and get some ass! We’re almost graduating, and you still haven’t talked to her about you-know-what.”

“Because she doesn’t like me, dumbass.” Yoonji grumbles, picking at a frayed thread on her sweater.

“Wow, first I’m a genius, now I’m a dumbass.” Yoongi laughs sardonically. “You are a certified terrible liar, just like Dad whenever he tells Mom that he remembered to send Grandma her birthday card.”

Yoonji scoffs as she stands up to go sit at her desk, logging into her computer to pull up the tracks that she has been working on since the beginning of the schoolyear in hopes of getting some real work done. She is in dire need of forgetting this entire week and focusing on more important things like her budding music career (or lack of, according to Yoongi).

“Fine then…” Yoongi takes a swig from his beer can and moves to the doorway. “But just so you know, I heard Jimin was gonna ask Y/N out tonight and maybe even to go back to his place... if you know what I mean.”

Yoonji nearly smashes her keyboard.

“Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you!” Yoongi yells as he escapes her room and heads downstairs to continue his Tokyo Ghoul marathon.

‘Even Kaneki and Touka are better communicators than she and Y/N are, and homies haven’t even talked to each other throughout the whole third season!’

Yoonji stares blankly at the computer screen, manipulating and adding the finishing touches on her tracks. She hopes to send it to the record label she wants to work at this summer – and hopes to sign with them in the near future.

Wishful thinking but a goal nonetheless. Her guidance counselor would be impressed.

As Yoonji saves her work and shuts the computer for the night, the image of your smile floods her vision once more. Suddenly, it gets harder to breathe inside the stuffy bedroom. The image of Jimin touching you, being inside of you – enough is enough.

No more waiting, no more stalling.

By the time her car parks alongside the driveway of Seulgi’s house, the bass of the music is already rattling her body. It’s as though the whole neighborhood packed themselves inside the house with a sprinkling of teenagers both inside the house and outside on the lawn. Red solo cups once filled with strong concoctions of 1% juice and 99% alcohol litter the driveway, and Yoonji gags at the vomit and shit lining the sidewalk as she enters through the front door.

‘God, this is why I don’t go to these parties.’

She unapologetically shoves through the half-drunk crowd in the hallway in a desperate search for the familiar face. Jungkook and Taehyung are busy playing beer pong – and utterly failing – in the dining room while two girls from Yoonji’s Art History class make out on the couch, hands gripping at each other’s bodies as the music switches to a sensual Weeknd song.

“Yoonji! You made it, you big grinch!”

While Namjoo is indeed Yoonji’s savior in this weed-drenched, sweaty hell pit of a party, she is not looking for her.

“Hey, yeah, great to see you too.” Yoonji rambles quickly, “Where’s Y/N?”

“Oh,” Namjoo chortles mischievously, “what for?”

“It’s important!” Yoonji groans. “Just tell me!”

Namjoo hiccups drunkenly as she points down a hallway teeming with party-goers. “She was sitting outside with Jimin last time I checked...”

Without another word, Yoonji shuffles past her drunk best friend and semi-dashes down the hallway, avoiding the couples grinding against each other to the beat of the music and the single men trying to shoot their shot with her. Just as she is about to give up searching through the freakishly tall crowd blocking her way, she notices a lone individual on the balcony.

You.

As she inches closer to the glass door of the balcony, Yoonji mentally prepares her little speech for you.

While it wasn’t a long shot that she is pretty much deeply in love with you, she doesn’t exactly think that ‘Hey, Y/N, I’m totally in love with you and if you want to fuck my brains and then cuddle me afterwards, that’d be great!’ would be a good opener to begin with.

“Hey, you…”

You turn your head in surprise. You had been in deep thought for the past hour, your night with Jimin cut short after his mother called him to alert him that they were coming home early. In a frantic escape, Jimin yelled a quick goodbye and left you on the balcony, a blunt burning lamely between your fingers. Hearing her out of all people after your brief moment of solitude creates a fuzzy feeling inside your gut – a feeling you knew all too well ever since you moved to the town.  

“Didn’t expect to see you here.” You flick away the sad stub into the empty flower pot on the coffee table. “I didn’t think parties were Min Yoonji’s style.”

“Well, here I am…” Yoonji jokes lamely. “Should I not be here then?”

“No…” Yoonji’s lips turn down into a pout. “Wait, I mean, yes, you should be here. With me. H-here. Yeah.”

“Where’s Jimin? I thought you guys came together.” Yoonji questions carefully as she goes to replace the seat he had been occupying an hour ago. She didn’t want to seem too interested in his whereabouts, but it was suspicious how he just up and left without taking you with him.

Yoonji is ready to fight a bitch if he did anything to hurt you.

“Oh, he had to rush home to avoid getting killed by his parents.” You laugh quietly, running a hand through your messy hair. They came back from their Maldives trip early, and Jimin left his brother at home with leftover pizza and no supervision.”

“Oh, t-that sucks.”

What a romantic, Min Yoonji. Women just swoon at your every word.

“Yeah, but it’s okay, I understand. I’ve just been sitting out here, thinking.” You stare up at the full moon shining brightly into your pupils before turning back to face the brunette. “Now, why is the infamous Min Yoonji here instead of sleeping in on this glorious Saturday night?”

“Oh, well, the t-thing is…” Yoonji stammers gawkily. “I have s-something to say…to you.”

“Oh?” You perk up. “What about?”

“Us.”

“Oh.” Yoonji feels her heart plummet to the ground. This is already such a bad idea. “What about…us?”

Here goes nothing, Min. You can do it.

“I—”

“Hey guys! What’s going on out here?”

Yoonji clenches her hands into two tight fists at the intruders, their snarky smiles plastered on their sweaty faces. It’s almost as if destiny is telling Yoonji to go fuck herself and give up already.

What’s the use anymore?

“Hey, Jungkook. We’re just hanging out and talking.” You smile politely.

If Yoonji had just looked a little closer, she would see how you strained your voice, holding back your irritation at the appearance of your two dumb but strangely lovable friends.

“Oh shit!” Yoonji doesn’t like his condescending tone. “I see what’s going on here.”

Jungkook starts giggling like a madman to himself. Taehyung rolls his eyes but keeps his silence as he watches the conversation – more like telenovela – unfold.

“What’s so funny?” You mumble irritably.

“Did she tell you that she’s in love with you yet?”

Yoonji just might throw up. Right here, on Jungkook’s expensive sneakers. Fat chunks and all.

“Oh, man, did you not get that part yet?” Jungkook slurs as he notices your eyes bulge from your head. “Oh well, now you know. She’s been thirsting over your tits for the past year and a half.”

Yoonji hates how the embarrassment comes too natural to her. Tears flood the corner of her eyes, and Yoonji is too weak to stop them this time. It’s like nothing she tries works out and instead, she’s forced to watch you crush the pieces of her broken heart.

“I’m sorry.” Yoonji chokes on a sob as she stumbles past Jungkook’s heavy shoulder in a mad dash back inside the house and to her car.

After this, she doesn’t know if she can look at you again. Maybe her parents will understand why she wants to drop out of high school and become a hermit living at home for the rest of her natural-born life.  

“Yoonji!” You cry out, barreling past Jungkook and Taehyung as you chase after her.  

“Way to go, Jungkook.” Taehyung snorts. “Can’t wait for your ass to get kicked on Monday.”

“Hmm?” Jungkook hums drunkenly. “They’ll thank me soon enough.”

“Yoonji, wait!”

Out of pride, Yoonji continues towards her car, clutching to her car keys for dear life. Ignoring your desperate calls behind her hurt, but being outed before she could confess to you in her own way hurt even more.

“Yoonji, please stop!”

A tiny hand grabs at Yoonji’s elbow, pushing her back against the car door. Yoonji is slightly surprised at your show of strength, but it quickly disappears at the sight of your distress.

“What do you want?” Yoonji mutters, her eyes staring at the piece of gum stuck to the asphalt.

“You can’t just leave, especially not after a bomb like that…”

“Look, I’m s-sorry if I make you uncomfortable.” Yoonji stammers past the tears that threaten to fall from her eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, and I understand if you’re disgusted and never want to talk to me again.”

Your own eyes widen, “Yoonji, no, don’t think that! I’m…”

With a deep breath – in and out – you start again. “You don’t make me uncomfortable. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.”

Yoonji quirks an eyebrow in confusion, sniffling as she waits for you to finish.

“Every moment I’m with you, I feel whole.” You swallow the lump of nervousness building up in your throat. “You’re the only person in this entire town that makes me feel this way.”

Yoonji freezes. She couldn’t believe your words, but when she looks into your eyes, all she sees is truth. Pained truth that not even you could smother behind a fake smile.

“Not even Park?” Yoonji mumbles, sounding like a kicked puppy.

“I know what everyone thought we were a so-called “thing”, but they were wrong.” You sigh as you take another deep breath before releasing the major Bomb of the night.  

“The fact of the matter is that I’m gay as fuck and I’m in love with you.”

If Yoonji was drinking water, this would be the perfect moment for the most epic spit-take. You nearly giggle at her dumbfounded expression – cute pouty lips and bulging eyes.

Talk about plot twist of the century.

“Should I have not said that?” You laugh hoarsely, suddenly feeling tiny underneath Yoonji’s wide gaze.

“Wait, hold up…” Yoonji shakes her head vigorously. “You’re telling me that all this time, I shouldn’t have been threatened by Park because you hate dicks with a passion like I do and you liked me anyway?”

A snort escapes your lips. “What a crude way of asking, but yes…I am hella gay and do indeed hate dicks with a passion. And yes…I like you a lot.”

This is the best moment of Yoonji’s life. Hands down, the best moment in her life. She doesn’t know if it’s acceptable for her to jump up and down like a little elementary school student, so she asks for the next best alternative.

“Can I kiss you?”

Your mouth curls into a dark smile. “What are you waiting, Min?”

The drive back to Yoonji’s place consists of hasty kisses at stoplights and not-so innocent thigh caresses. Yoonji thanks the Lord that she decided to wear a skirt to the party, for your soft fingertips trail her inner thigh teasingly. At the same time, she wishes you’d stop teasing or else you two would find yourselves in an embarrassing car wreck pretty soon.

‘I don’t think getting fingered and having an orgasm from the heavens is a good enough excuse for my parents as to why I totaled my car.’ Yoonji scoffs in her mind.

“Can’t wait until I can get you home.” Yoonji shifts impatiently at your sultry words, pushing her hips forward in an attempt to brush your fingers towards her core. You retaliate by slipping your hand back down her thigh, resting a palm on her knee.

“You’re going to pay for that.” Yoonji’s knuckles grow white as she grips onto the steering wheel tighter than usual.

“I hope so.” You wink cheekily.

At this point, Yoonji doesn’t give a shit if Yoongi is still in the house. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll just stay in his own bedroom and listen to his music on high. Once the two of you are inside, the nervousness that left Yoonji back after your confession floods her veins.

What if you didn’t want to have sex? What if you wanted to take things slow and you’re just testing her in order to see if she’s truthful to her feelings?

However, your hands up her skirt confirm your true intentions.

“Bedroom?” You press a soft kiss against her jawline, trailing up until your lips reach hers with a soft smack.

Yoonji intertwines your fingers and practically drags you up the staircase and into her bedroom, thoroughly locking the door in case Yoongi decides to come wandering in. In a flash, she presses your body up against the door and captures your lips with hers. Your mouths sloppily slotted together feel as though they were meant to be, working in harmony to create a warmth inside both your chests and your panties.

“God, you’re such a good kisser.” You breathe weakly. Yoonji is glad that you are just as affected as she is – reminding her that you want this as much as she does.

Your fingers trail down to cup Yoonji’s round cheeks. You can’t help but groan at how soft yet so firm they feel against your palms. Yoonji blushes at your tight grip and works hard to hold back a whimper as you massage her ass, spreading the cheeks apart with each knead.

“This ass is mine now.” You bite and tug down on Yoonji’s bottom lip as a claim of ownership. “Can’t wait to fuck it.”

Yoonji needs to stop choking every time you say something or else she’ll risk a very early death even before she can lose her virginity.

Speaking of, it is happening. Somehow, the nervousness lessens with each touch. If it is to happen tonight, Yoonji’s happy that it is with you.

“Lie on the bed for me, babe.” You kiss her button nose before stepping back to tug your sweater and jeans off and unceremoniously drop them to the floor.

This leaves you in the sexiest lingerie Yoonji has ever bared witness to, the red lace perfectly cupping your breasts and the matching panties accentuating the curve of your ass.

‘I can get used to this.’

“You like?” You whisper as you straddle her thighs and put your hips flush against hers. “I wore it for you, baby. Do you like?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good.” A seductive smirk appears. “Now take them off me.”

Yoonji doesn’t hesitate to switch places with you, laying your body out on the sheets while she hovers over you. Her fingers hook around your nearly transparent panties and tug them down, flinging them off onto the floor with the rest of your clothes. With the same smirk, you spread your legs to reveal the darkest of temptations hiding between your plush thighs.

You were so soft and pink that Yoonji doesn’t think that she’d be able to stop herself anytime soon.

“G-god, you’re so sexy.” Yoonji nearly sobs at the silky wet perfection inches away from her face.

“Want a taste?”

Oh, does she ever?

Yoonji relishes in the musky scent of your lust permeating from your wetness. This is the most intimate thing Yoonji has ever done with a person and considering the fact that she’s doing it with you? Let’s just say that Yoonji has nothing to complain about for the next 100+ years.

“God, you smell so good.” Yoonji’s tongue peeks out for a small taste of your slick. “You taste even better.”

You curl your fingers in her hair, tugging as her sinful tongue traces around your clit and down your slit, collecting the growing wetness that seeped through. Yoonji has absolutely no clue what she is doing at all, but judging by your desperate whines and sharp grips of your nails on her scalp, Yoonji keeps at her pace.

“Y-yes, Yoonji, fuck me with your tongue.” You cry out, uncaring if anybody can hear you.

Yoonji tries not to laugh at the image of Yoongi being completely mortified for the rest of his life.  

Flexing her tongue to a point like she’s seen in the amateur pornos she watches, Yoonji digs deep inside your pussy, moaning at the velvet sweetness that caresses her tongue.

“Oh my god, please don’t stop,” you sob with pleasure as you grind against her tongue, “it feels so good!”

“Come on my tongue, baby.” Yoonji demands in desperation. “I want to taste all of you.”

It doesn’t take long for you to reach your blissful end, releasing all over Yoonji’s tongue. While it’s not sweet like the romance novels Yoongi teases her for reading, it’s certainly an addiction that Yoonji can’t wait to taste again.

“God, I came so hard.” You reach up to wrap your arms around Yoonji’s neck, pulling her down to place your soft pink petals against hers. “You’re so good with your tongue.”

Yoonji smiles as she pulls away from the kiss, “Maybe I should write my next rap about my so-called tongue technology. You can feature on it as proof.”

You fake a cringe. “I won’t let you fuck me again if you do.”

Yoonji stammers a comeback, but you pull her closer, chest against chest. Lips against lips.

“Can I have you?”

Yoonji is too weak to deny you. More so, she’d be a fool to reject you.

“You’ve always had me.”

Without another word, you shove her onto her back and straddle Yoonji’s hips once more.

“Why are you still dressed?” You grunt impatiently.

Yoonji is quick to fling off the offending clothes, blushing as she watches your eyes scan over her naked form.

“You’re so hot, I can’t believe I was so nervous to ask you out.” Yoonji’s heart soars at your confession. “I’m kind of glad Jungkook’s dumb ass blurted it out because I don’t think I could’ve waited this long.”

To know that your feelings are mutual and that the apprehension she had felt throughout your whole friendship was equally shared makes Yoonji want to never wake up from this wonderful dream.

A finger trails against the small valley in-between Yoonji’s breasts. She was never that endowed which she has always felt insecure about – but to you, they are the cutest things you’ve ever seen. Shadowy gaze trailing down, you stare shamelessly at her crotch. It’s almost as if you’re formulating something in your head, and Yoonji is curious to find out.

At this moment, you suddenly jump off Yoonji for a moment and head over to her closet and pulling out a medium-sized box, more specifically the box marked “Don’t touch!”. Yoonji squeaks at how fast you located her “secret stash” – she thought she hid it pretty well.

“I saw this poking out of the closet last time. When you went to the bathroom, I went to go look at it and what do I come to find but your cute little collection…” You smirk as you open the box and pull out Yoonji’s favorite – a violet purple dildo with an attachable harness.

“Cute…who’d you buy this for?”

Yoonji hides her tomato red face behind her palms. “U-uh, I bought the wrong one, I didn’t mean for—”

“Liar.” You laugh darkly, but it doesn’t sound mean or accusatory – if anything, it riles you up even more. “Turn over for me, baby. I’ll put this to good use…”

Yoonji listens obediently, earning her a nice smack on her left cheek. She yelps in surprise, but it’s clear to the both of them that she loves the brief pain that accompanies the soothing pleasure. Reaching inside the box again for the strawberry-scented lube (you nearly coo over Yoonji’s cute innocence even in the dirtiest of things), you slick up the dildo with one hand while one finger from the other hand prods teasingly at Yoonji’s entrance.

“I know it’s your first time, so I just want to know if it’s okay?” You relish in Yoonji’s quiet whimpers as the finger slips inside. “I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”

“Y-yes, fuck…Please fuck me.” Yoonji holds back a sob at the euphoria she felt as one more finger inches inside of her, her tiny hole stretching out deliciously.

She had always found herself disliking fingering because she could never seem to get herself off in the way she wanted. That’s why she had always stuck with the good ol’ trusty vibrator – she just needs to press it to her clit, and boom – coming in under three minutes.

This time, the tense atmosphere and the image of you completely fucked out after Yoonji eating you out makes the feeling much more intense and enjoyable.

“You’re such a good girl, Yoonji.” You catch her earlobe with your teeth, tugging gently on Yoonji’s little hoop earring. “Will you be a good girl for me and take my cock?”

Yoonji whimpers her response, too eager to mutter out a proper response.  

With a satisfied grin, you pull your fingers out to rub against her clit while you continue slicking up the dildo until you’re absolutely determined that it wouldn’t be painful for Yoonji.

“Are you ready, baby?” You pull away to run the head of the dildo between the seam of Yoonji’s pussy before lining up at her entrance.

You wait for Yoonji’s nod of approval before pushing in slowly, a small portion of the length disappearing between Yoonji’s wet folds. Yoonji lets out a cry of pleasure. There’s some weird discomfort and stretching but nothing she couldn’t handle after a couple moments of adjustment. The sight of Yoonji’s pussy stretching around the large cock as you bottom out nearly shatters your composure.

Shaking away your moment of weakness, you start a slow pace – pushing in and out while holding onto Yoonji’s hips for dear life, guiding her back and forth until she’s practically fucking herself on you. Yoonji whimpers at the delicious drag of the silicone length inside her.

Even though it is just a dildo, Yoonji imagines that it is actually you inside of her – fucking you and waiting for her to come before releasing your seed deep within her.

Squelch!

Yoonji’s cheeks burn crimson at the sudden wet sound echoing throughout the room.

“Uh…that wasn’t me! I-I mean, it was me, but I didn’t…”

You burst into laughter, rubbing her hips in a loving manner that sharply contrasts your dominating behavior from just five minutes ago. “I know, baby. It just means that you’re all nice and wet for me…”

“Y-yeah,” Yoonji moans into the pillow, focusing on reaching the end of her pleasure while ignoring the awkward wet sloppiness echoing each time your hips connect with the back of her thighs. “I’m all wet for you, just for you…”

“You wanna come, baby?” You reach down to rub at her abandoned clit, satisfied in her loud mewl. “I know you want to, you’ve been waiting this for ages…”

Her carnal desire begins building to a wonderful crescendo, encouraged by your dirty whispers into her ear and the light touches against her clit as you continue fucking the dildo into her tight entrance. You watch in heated amusement as Yoonji cries at the overwhelming pace as you grasp her hips and force to fuck herself on the toy to climax.

There is something about seeing Yoonji so desperate to come that you feel as though you could come untouched at any moment. You are pulled from your muddled thoughts when Yoonji cries out, her entire body trembling as she comes down from the immense high. You begin a rough pace as you fuck her through until she smacks at your thighs after overstimulation takes over.

“Oh my god,” she pants, “what have we been missing out on?”

A giggle escapes as you wrap your arms around her sweaty body, uncaring of the sticky wetness that stains your skin and the sheets below. Yoonji calms her breathing down before flipping over and wrapping a bare leg around your waist, tucking her head between your cleavage.

“Y/N?” Her whisper is nearly inaudible.

“Yeah, baby?” You mumble tiredly, sleep starting to take over.

“I love you.”

You smile.

“I love you more.”

[lobsters-on-their-heads]

OB Rewatch: The Redesign of Natural Objects

I so want this to be symbolic of Sarah Stubbs’ relationship with Alison Hendrix.

As always, there are SPOILERS for the ENTIRE series ahead!

I loved

The shots of Siobhan out stalking Duko. Somebody make this into a poster with some inspirational Irish saying at the bottom.

That Alison and Felix communicated to defeat Duko. She has people she can count on who know her secrets.

Adele's back! Yay! “I don't want anyone friskin' you. It's not as fun as it sounds.” Heh. And I just love this shot of her.

“Cosima, it's good to see you again!” “Um, yeah, I'm a bit conflicted about it.”

“Yo, Rachel.”  “Yo.”

Cosima recognizing and using her value to the Susan and Rachel team. She doesn't have a whole lot to lose at this point, but she has what they need.

Great contrast of Jesus Christ Superstar with Donnie in the cell. I don't know the musical, but people have pointed out that Alison's playing the role of Judas. (See, they told us that knowing Bible stories would help us understand other stories, and they were right!) Plus, this shot of Alison is the best shot of her for the entire series.

“Yes, I'm sure you're excited about your contribution, Ira.”

I liked

When MK says, “There’s something you should see,” she immediately follows it up with what that something is. It’s refreshing.

“I could build us all coffins. Shall I start with the smallest first?”

As soon as Scott said he wasn’t working with Rachel, Cosima went with his assessment. Because he’s her partner.

Spot on music for Donnie's opening scene in prison – Sonny Curtis' “I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)” After all, “I needed money 'cause I had none” does sum up why the Hendrixes got into drug pushing in the first place

The finch desktop wallpaper is a nice touch.

“She even cheats at Agricola.” Oh, Scott. I'm curious HOW one cheats at Agricola, though.

The person Art trusts to talk to about Duko is Raj, the sweet guy who got Beth and Sarah all that equipment.

Alison says Shit! And Scheisse!

Both Siobhan and Sarah trying to dress Felix like he's not the biggest fashion stickler of the entire Clone Club.

Alison's terrified hesitation as she talks to Felix on the phone. 

I didn’t like

Donnie is such a fucking idiot. He's learned nothing from working with drug dealers. Has he even watched TV?

I hate any time a character tells another character how “crazy” they’re being. If the characters and plot are strong enough (and in this case, they are), the audience can gauge the craziness for themselves. Telling us is just talking down to us. 

What the fuck, Rev. Mike?? “I'm sure the children will be just fine with proper therapy.” Alison, get thee to a different church, now! I kind of wish they'd made Rev. Mike a Neolutionist. It'd make more sense than him just being a shitty reverend.

Cosima's hair is under the ear protection/ head set, rather than tucked behind it. That bothers me.

Other notes

Both Rachel and Ira are wearing gray at the beginning – Rachel dark, Ira light.

By the end, though, Rachel’s back in white, and a shirt very similar to the one Susan’s wearing. Ira’s still in gray, though.

Thank GOD Charlotte was removed from Susan Duncan's “care” before Susan could fuck her up any further. The way Susan pits siblings against each other, obviously keeps Charlotte away from kids her own age, and invests nothing in social or emotional education.... And Charlotte's little smile when Susan says, “Ira, have you shown Rachel your toy soldiers” says everything about Charlotte's comprehension of the game at hand.

Rachel’s comment that she has “a long perspective on our ailment” gets fleshed out (sorry, bad pun?) in Season 5. 

Alison heard the term “fly in the ointment,” and thought of Sarah immediately.

Alison had that mini bottle of vodka completely open when Felix startled her and she dropped it. Nothing like vodka-infused mascara, eh?

“Beth told me about you. How's your illness?” MK makes it sound like Beth told her about Cosima’s illness, which makes no sense. It could be an intentionally strange construction, though, since MK’s coded as neuro atypical.

Rachel has an eye vision of the inside of the yurt with the Messenger, but no Delphine. Indicates Delphine (a) is in on the visions and helped orchestrate this one, (b) is out of the yurt and the Messenger just helps himself, or (c) just sits back and puts up with anything and everything that happens on the island, even if it's in her personal space. I’m betting on (b) or (c). Still, how cool could it have been if Delphine showed up in her eye vision, slowly moving her thumb into Rachel’s field of vision.

This shot, by itself, could make an interesting dental hygiene ad.

If Duko’s niece is the reason he's doing all of this, it's telling that he says she's “like, ten.” Most of us, I think, would be able to give our beloved nieces’ and nephews’ ages at the drop of a hat, no hesitation or “like” involved.

I have questions

Is the safe house a former bakery as well as grocery? Those look like bakery or pizza ovens to me.

What happened to the Threatening Neo after Neolution collapsed at the end of the series? I’m guessing he stayed in prison, but did anyone tell him they collapsed?

Art was totally opposed to Siobhan killing a cop, until he was fine with it. Was it Duko going AWOL, or his threat to Donnie, or his trying to get Sarah that swayed Art?

Who had Kira's ears pierced, and when?

And what was Rev. Mike doing with that stack of hymnals?

What denomination are the Hendrixes? Not Catholic because we would have known by now, and because they call him Rev. Mike, not Father Mike. I think these symbols indicate a particular denomination, but I don't recall which.

Why is Rev. Creepy helping with the rehearsal? Don't they have a musical director for that?

Why is poor Scott the one who has to clean the blood from the comics shop? And why is he using such a stiff brush? A damp cloth and some bleach oughta do it.

I have questions in general about the state of Cosima's reproductive system. She says they couldn't get her cells to create a usual culture (though she doesn't give a time frame for when that was attempted). Fortunately, her disease isn’t real, so I’ll never get my questions answered.

Where and how did Sarah have her eggs removed? How many did they take? Did she get that oophorectomy after all? Did she enjoy it?

I would have liked to have seen

I wanted to see some discussion of how they've already looked for Delphine. Sarah's claim that “we'll find her” should have been met with a response of “How? We’ve already checked everywhere” or some other expression of frustration.

Someone get Tatiana and Terra Hazelton a Broadway musical, STAT.

[floofsta-x]

Rise Before the Fall, Pt.1

parts;; One (You are here) | Two | Three (coming soon)

genre;; Science fiction, fandom – Pacific Rim!AU

pairing;; Jooheon x I.M [Jookyun, Rapper Line]; PS there’s also Kiho in here, and mentions of Hyungnu and Minhyungnu

⚠️ warnings;; violence of course [THEY’RE FIGHTING GIANT ALIENS???], fluff, bucketloads of angst, depression due to terminal illness, and some smut eventually

words;; 5497 (5.5k)

title;; The final track of the Pacific Rim OST, Drift – Blake Perlman & RZA

author’s notes;; Ahhh! I am so excited to be able to share a bit of this with you at long last! This is the first part of a Jookyun miniseries, but trust me when I say that I also have a larger, more inclusive work on the way involving the rest of the boys and this gigantic extended universe–that’s honestly gotten way too out of hand. But I will deal with that as it happens. Anticipate! I really hope you enjoy this small offering while you wait ❤︎

    It is June, 2017.

Almost two years ago, the first Kaiju emerged from the deep-sea rift known as the breach. Massive, terrifying, toxic, indestructible by conventional means, and hellbent on destruction, it ravaged a great part of the Californian coastline before finally meeting its end in the form of a nuclear warhead. There was great rejoicing. Everyone believed the threat to be over. The world sighed in relief and went on with the everyday, content to think that the terror was a singular event, a freak of space and time.

Yet, when the next reared its ugly head and leveled a good part of Tokyo, and the third headed for Sydney, Australia, the brutal truth had to be accepted. There was no end in sight. So, a council of world leaders from the nations of the Pacific Rim put their heads together. They needed a match for the towering Kaiju, the alien monsters. Thus, the Jaeger was born: a hunter, a soldier scaled up to the extreme of the alien threat. It was a crazy idea, but one that was eagerly received in light of such dire circumstances.

To be able to kill the fast-moving, agile Kaiju, scientists employed experimental technology. They hoped that the Jaegers could be controlled via mental power alone. The idea was that by syncing a man’s brain and the warrior, they would able to move as one, and naturally. Scientists quickly learned that one person on their own could not handle the load. When a second added their willpower, though, things ran a whole lot smoother.

Given the green light to proceed with production, within months, a small fleet of Jaegers rolled out. A governing organization for their maintenance and command was created, too: the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps. The Jaegers could not operate without pairs of pilots, and so teams from around the world were meticulously chosen and trained. They were the first on the front lines, and ultimately also the first to realize that humankind’s gamble was paying off. One Kaiju was killed at the hands of a Jaeger. A second, six months later. The next, four months following.

Now, there is an emergence about every 5 weeks. The ragtag teams of rangers and Jaegers that exist at various points around the Pacific Rim have managed to check them off as they have come, but there have been unforeseen consequences for many. Innocent civilians have died of Kaiju Blue, from attack, and from fear and panic. Mark 1 and 2 Jaegers have gone down, killing pilots, experienced and inexperienced alike. The world is tired, though the human spirit fights on.

This is the story of two young men, recruited by necessity and hardened by combat. Forged into best friends in the cockpit of their Mark 2 Jaeger, Blind Rhythm, Lee Jooheon and Im Changkyun have managed to fight their way through 3 solo kills and 1 team drop without becoming an alien monster’s gigantic toy. They’ve just been deployed again, against the biggest, nastiest Kaiju yet, and they’re going to need every bit of wit, skill and strength they can muster…

Lee Jooheon jerked out of his deep, dreamless slumber and almost instantly realized that something was wrong. The familiar, piercing sound of sirens rang in his ears and bright light pushed the dark away as the LED screen on the wall of the bunkroom lit up. Though he was still hazy and scrabbling for alertness, one thought ran through his head and one thought alone: Kaiju. And since the screen is up, we’re being deployed, then. Groaning, he rolled over and rubbed his eyes, then glanced toward the clock on the wall. 12:15 blinked back at him in blocky lines. 

“Changkyun? Hey, let’s go man. We’re up.” The messy-haired, chubby-cheeked boy groaned sleepily, wiggling a little bit to rock the bed. Doubtless, momentarily there would come a reply like “Ok, ok, you don’t need to tell me twice, Jooheon hyung.”

But there was only silence. “Come on, don’t act like the maknae. People need us–” 

Wait a minute. I don’t even hear breathing. Jooheon rolled and slid out of bed, dropping the little ways to the ground, his knees bent as he hit the floor. Glancing behind him, it hit him that his suspicion was correct. The bottom bunk was empty, sheets not even touched. 

Dread descended on him. “Kyunie…where did you go this time?” he half-asked, sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. It was a futile question, only for his own peace of mind; he knew without even having to look around that his co-pilot wasn’t here. 

The LED panel was urgently trying to blind him, but it didn’t matter at the moment. As he stood there and tried to get the gears of his brain moving, Jooheon couldn’t seem to think of anything else but his best friend and partner in crime. Changkyun meant the world to him. They had flown together for three years, first in basic training, then the Air Force, and now for the PPDC. Now, on missions, they lived in each others’ heads, but far before that, they had known their friendship was special. It had always been so natural, and though they had a few hard times they found themselves unable to stay away for long.

Apparently, others noticed too. Six months ago, an officer had approached them and recruited them for the PPDC. Jooheon and Changkyun had become part of the second generation of Jaeger pilots. Many commented on how strong their drift compatibility was. At first, both of them thought that it was a blessing. Then, they rushed through training (the Los Angeles Academy was still non-existent at that point) before ultimately command told them that they were to fill the cockpit of a Mark 2.

Blind Rhythm, they named the mech–and the duo learned very quickly how truly terrifying facing down a Kaiju was. It was without a doubt the scariest thing anyone could do, but together they had managed to keep their cool and bagged their first kill.

The next one was a little better than the first. The third went down in no time. And now they were about to be thrust into the fray again.

Once the cold of the concrete floor had seeped into his bones and he felt alert enough to think, Jooheon glanced over at the screen at long last. This kaiju–Blitzkrieg, apparently–was hands down the biggest that had ever emerged from the breach. They already had stats on it, as well as possible primary offensive strategies and mechanisms. Thirty minutes until report time, the red clock in the corner blinked forebodingly. Thirty minutes to find my co-pilot.

As he pulled on a pair of tennis shoes on, Jooheon shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then dove out the door in his boxers and rumpled tank top. He didn’t care that he wasn’t wearing socks, that his hair was a mess, that he probably looked like he had walked out of the apocalypse. His brain was going too fast, thinking of possible places to find a twenty-one year old boy–because in a few ways he still was a boy–Changkyunie.

Jooheon jogged down the corridor, purposefully passing halls of bunks and quarters. His instinct was to ask someone, and of course the first person to cross his mind was Shin “Wonho” Hoseok, head of Blind Rhythm’s J-Tech team. Hoseok-hyung was a good friend of theirs and always supportive. Many admired him for his body, but those who really knew him easily saw that he was as kind-hearted as handsome and sexy.

Finally Jooheon pulled up in front of the door he needed and knocked. Faintly, from inside, there came, “Just a minute!” 

That was fine. He had seconds to spare; also, it was a perfect moment to lean forward and catch his breath. Finally, the doorknob wiggled and none other than Wonho himself pulled it open. 

Boy, was he a sight. His dark, blue-green streaked hair stuck out oddly, and he was half-naked and adjusting his boxers, like he had just put them on and pulled them up. More than that, though, Hoseok…well, to put it nicely, it looked like someone had been having a little bit of fun with him. Lines of red and black hickeys dotted his neck and collarbone, and his lips (plus the immediate area around them) were redder and more swollen than usual.

“Jooheon-ah!” He gasped when he realized who it was. “What are you doing here, shouldn’t you should be suiting up–”

“I know, I know.” The chubby-cheeked pilot waved his hand dismissively, and before the older boy could protest he cut in, “Have you seen or heard from Changkyun? I can’t find him.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Who is it, Hoseok-ah?” In the dark, another voice spoke; moments later, someone else quite unashamedly came up behind Wonho and wrapped their arms around his torso. A lazy hand ran down his chest and defined abs. Not too much to Jooheon’s surprise, it was Yoo Kihyun, another friend and a doctor in the medical bay. So that was why Wonho had been finding every excuse to go there lately.

“Jooheonie.” Kihyun said with surprise, regaining his professional posture, though he didn’t remove his arms from around the older man’s waist. “Why are you here? You drop in 25 minutes.”

“He’s looking for I.M.” Wonho explained, patting the hand on his stomach and subtly lacing his fingers with Kihyun’s. “You haven’t happened to see him, have you?”

The black-haired, sharp-faced doctor shook his head. “No. But–I have heard people say that for the last month or so, he goes outside at night. To the lake.”

Jooheon abruptly remembered the last time they had drifted, and mentally rebuked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He had found out that his best friend took nightly trips to the small man-made lake just beyond the compound to watch the stars and moon, and also forget about the throbbing, sometimes excruciating, pain in his head, at the base of his brain. “Oh yeah. Say no more. Thanks.” He glanced between the two touchy boys at the door. “I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

“It’s alright, Jooheon-ah.” Wonho smiled encouragingly. “Just, go find Changkyunie and whip some Kaiju ass…ok?”

“Will do, hyung.”

“We’ll be here for you when you return as heroes.” As the pilot stepped back and nodded, turning to go, Hoseok thought of one more thing and blurted, “Jooheonie?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you please…not tell anyone?”

There it was. Jooheon knew that Wonho wasn’t oblivious to the state he was in. If that hadn’t done it, Kihyun’s loving gestures gave it away, and on top of that, Kihyun had placed himself straight behind Wonho because he was stark naked. It would take someone horribly stupid to not see the truth.

Jooheon smirked and nodded. “My lips are sealed.” Of course, there was also the drift, but Changkyun would totally understand. Both of them wanted Hoseok-hyung to be happy, and neither had ever seen him as radiant as he had been in the last few weeks. It was obvious, now, why that was.

With a final duck of his head to his hyungs, Jooheon took off in the direction of the exit.

Not too much later, he found his co-pilot sitting out on the end of the big dock, staring down into the water, tossing a little electronic thingy-or-other out across the lake, and catching it as it came back to him. He had invented it, probably. Jooheon couldn’t help but take a moment to stop and appreciate how ethereal Changkyun looked, sitting there with a leg up on the pier, gently bobbing up and down as the waves washed up against the floating walkway, and bathed in the light of the quarter-moon.

“Hyung.” Changkyun’s low voice rumbled as the older boy approached, and he tossed his creation out and bent his leg so that his co-pilot could sit beside him.

“Hey, Changkyunie.” Jooheon took the spot, content to relax a little and wait. He dipped a toe in the water, making ripples and watching them expand outward, the proverbial drop in the bucket of time or whatever that shit was.

Finally the older boy broke the silence. “Is it your head again?”

“It’s always my head.” Changkyun tapped the back of his neck, immediately above the first vertebrae. “Right there.”

“Yeah–I know, I felt it last drift. Weren’t you supposed to have an appointment in med bay about it?”

“I did.” Somewhere, a cricket stopped chirping, engulfing the boys in a moment of silence before another started up somewhere else. “Kihyun-ah–he and Hoseok are friends with benefits you know–ran some MRIs and told me that he’d see me again in a couple of days. He’s convincing, but couldn’t fool me. I know when a person’s beside himself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

A storm of anger clouded Changkyun’s face. “He was pitying me. Dammit, Jooheon, I wish I knew why.” For a brief moment, Changkyun tensed before he was pulling in huge breaths, letting them out, and lowly humming an indiscernible tune. His pre-combat destress routine, he called it. “But that’s not going to help me now. I’ve gotta relax.”

“So you know, then. About the Kaiju.”

Wordlessly, the younger boy lifted his phone, and pulling his earbuds out of the headphone jack, flipped on the screen and gave it a shake. Voices started blaring through the speaker: various people in command, lead techs, LOCCENT. Almost the moment he did, familiar codes and names came over the air.

“514-M. Where are J and I? They’re not in their room or in the DR [drivesuit room]. Alpha’s wondering as well. Over.”

“514-W to 514-M and 514-Alpha. I’ve seen them. They’ll be there on time. Give them space. Over.”

Jooheon chuckled and shook his head. “You scoundrel, hacking the shatterdome’s private channel.” They normally had access to the feed, too, but with a special pager that was currently sitting in a drawer somewhere back in their room and definitely not with something as insecure as a cellphone. The channel was hidden to standard searching devices and came up blank, but somehow Changkyun had managed to tweak the phone or find another devious, secret way to listen.

“I haven’t cracked the frequency that matters, though.”

“Huh? You mean the one that Marshal Hyunwoo supposedly uses to talk to H.One? You still really believe that fantasy of yours is real?”

“Then why do we have seven 514 codes? And the last one’s 514-H, huh?”

“That’s easy. It’s from when Hyunwoo wasn’t in high command yet. He was only given the title Alpha after that happened.”

“Bull. He was 514-S; that was struck from the book a long time ago.”

Jooheon groaned, throwing his head back and giving an exasperated huff. “Think about what you’re saying, Changkyun. Our hyung? Talking to the most wanted man in South Korea, the Kaiju Black Market head?”

“Our research division gets the fresh material it does somehow. Also there’s substantial evidence for the rumor that Hyunwoo has a tryst with H.One.”

“That’s all just flying pigs and fucking lies to try to tear the Marshal down, and you know it.”

Changkyun sighed; but more because he wanted quiet and peace than anything else closely related to ‘You’ve won this one’. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Jooheon’s momentary anger at his partner cooled at the memory of how intense his pain was. Yeah, this stupid Shownu and H.One thing had existed prior, but–Jooheon couldn’t stop his friend from thinking altogether. Perhaps it made him forget the throb in the back of his head for a while or the stress that it put on him to be so young and have to fight things that could rip him apart limb from limb like nothing. Jooheon certainly had those coping mechanisms, too: rap, for instance. The occasional broken toaster or coffee pot. Looking after wizard hacker Changkyun. 

Finally, at long last, the older boy murmured, “Are you going to be ok to fly?”

Pressing his mouth into a line and sticking his tiny invention into his pocket, Changkyun nodded. “Yeah. I took some ibuprofen before I tried going to bed and I’ll have some more when we get back to the room.” He turned and pushed himself up, to his feet, holding out a hand for support as Jooheon stood. “I’ll be fine. Time to go draw some blue blood, yeah?”

“Hell, yeah.”

Just like Wonho had said, the two of them were right on time. Side by side they had their Drivesuits put on and stepped into the Conn-Pod. Once they were connected to the tangle of wires and metal comprising the command platform and feedback cradle, they made the drop onto Blind Rhythm’s nuclear-powered body. Jooheon and Changkyun felt themselves lock into the systems and start pulling weight with the Jaeger controls.

Not too long after that, a familiar, sunny voice crackled through the comms. “Welcome back, Blind Rhythm. Everything is looking smooth and clear and sunny…of course there’s no sun, but proverbially we’ll say–”

Changkyun groaned, glancing over at Jooheon and rolling his eyes. “We get it, Minhyuk…” 

“Ahem. Yes. Right. Well, the Marshal is now on deck, let’s get this Kaiju taken care of. Neural Handshake initiating in five seconds: five, four, three–”

This was the moment of truth. Jooheon and Changkyun glanced at each other one last time before they got sucked into the drift. The familiar falling feeling washed over them, of floating through each other’s memories: old ones from their childhoods, new ones from tonight, and everything in between. 

Finally they jerked back to the present. “Neural handshake holding, strong as ever…” Minhyuk noted, to be formal. For the Marshal, of course. The pilots swung into the calibration phase, before declaring that they were ready for combat, awaiting orders.

“Gentlemen, I hope you’re aware that this is a mother of a Kaiju.”

Gentle smiles spread on the faces of the two pilots at the sound of Marshal Hyunwoo’s voice. “Yes, we know that.” Jooheon responded with what they both were thinking.

“Good. Blitzkrieg is quickly approaching the miracle mile and seems to be heading for us; or, worse, Seoul. We can’t let it get past here. You are to dispatch it on sight.”

“Yes, sir.” 

The huge steel doors of the coastal shatterdome pulled apart with a groan. Blind Rhythm stepped out onto the tarmac, then into the cold, dark, but calm sea, striding out into the water, fists clenched. Jooheon reached up for a moment to flip off the comms. “Changkyun, I don’t feel as much pain as last time, but the pressure’s there–are you ok?”

“Yes, hyung, I told you.” 

The older boy’s eyes softened as he saw that his co-pilot was doing his best to contain his temper. “You realize that if you black out, I don’t think I can survive running this Jaeger by myself.”

Deep breaths, Changkyun. Ran through both of their heads. Then, You’ll still try, though, won’t you Jooheon?

I care about you, Kyunie. I’d die for you. That’s why, yes, I’ll try, if worse comes to worse. But we need to kill this motherfucking terror together.

A mile was nothing for a man as tall as a jaeger, and soon they were sitting in their target zone. “Ok Minhyuk, feed us things.” Changkyun said, eyes darting left and right. “Where is it?”

“It seems to be circling around; I think it’s sensed y–Oh, fuck!” 

“What, Min–”

“It put on a burst of super speed–closing in on you, eleven o’clock–get out of the way, fast–!”

Blind Rhythm had just enough time to sidestep before a huge, black and blue figure emerged from the sea, mouth wide open and clawed arms extended. It missed, barely, and flew on past, landing back in the water, kicking up mist and waves as it swung around. A brief moment of calm passed. Both monster and mech seemed to be sizing each other up.

“Christ–you were right when you said it was a mother, Marshal,” Jooheon muttered in awe. In addition to being the largest Kaiju they had ever seen, Blitzkrieg was agile-looking. It was ugly, too, with the body of a big cat, a slender tail with a massive, clubbed end, and the face of a Gharial crocodile–except with more eyes and several layers of long, pointed teeth in its mouth. The beast growled ominously before opening its jaw wide and making another leap for Blind Rhythm.

“Arm razor!” Both boys shouted together and flicked their outside wrists. A gap opened up down the Jaeger’s arms; long, knife-like blades reaching from fist to shoulder slid out.

As the Kaiju landed on top and knocked them over into the water, Jooheon and Changkyun threw their first left hook. Though they were aiming for the neck, it nailed the beast in the side of the head instead. Not like that wasn’t as good of a hit, though. Blitzkrieg roared in pain and shook its head, backing off. The Jaeger managed to roll over (with some effort) and scrabbled back to its feet, water washing off of the gray hull.

They only had seconds before they were set on again, the stone-like mass on the Kaiju’s tail smashing into their side. Changkyun, the left hemisphere, cried out; the backwash of pain got Jooheon’s blood boiling.

“You–you son of a bitch!” The older boy roared and straightened, reaching out to grab the tail as it came around for another hit. “Give us that!” By then, Changkyun had recovered. Quickly he grabbed just below where Jooheon’s right hand was, flicking his wrist down. The sharp blade on the side of the Jaeger’s wrist sliced clean through, detaching the club.

The Kaiju’s roars were starting to become more angry than pained; but the two boys could tell that taking off the tail had hurt. Jooheon flung the dead flesh out to sea. Then at the sight of the beast’s gaping maw coming around to snap at them, he instinctively leaned in with a shoulder. The beast attached itself there, and this time the older pilot was the one to have white hot agony flash through him. He thought that he could feel the individual rows of teeth burrow in; the beast chewed a little. “Agh! This is your chance Changkyun!”

The younger boy gritted his teeth and put his arm up against the Kaiju’s exposed neck. Acidic blue blood started running down as the knives cut into its flesh.

As the monster reared back to get away, Jooheon summoned his strength and reached up, electrical wires sparking and popping, and grabbed onto the long jaw, pulling the whole beast back toward them and onto Changkyun’s arm. In one smooth, fluid motion the latter elbowed out, cutting deep, deep into a weak spot in the Kaiju’s armor. The only thing that stopped them from taking its head off completely was its spine.

Wheezing and unable to breathe, the Kaiju stepped back, knowing that it was at its end. Blood poured out of the gash the Jaeger had created. Together, Jooheon and Changkyun reached down and grabbed the snout once more, but from the underside, surging forward and pushing the beast back, bending its neck at an extreme angle. Moments later, a snap ripped through the air, and the beast hung lifeless in their grip. Everything was silent, except for the two pilots’ heavy breathing. Blue blood dripped from the Jaeger’s hands into the sea.

Then there was a cheer from LOCCENT, Minhyuk at the forefront of it. “Kaiju Blitzkrieg has been eliminated!“

“Good work, boys.” Marshal Hyunwoo told the two pilots. “Leave the body there, we’ll have a containment dome over it soon.”

Neither Jooheon nor Changkyun spoke to each other as they strode back through the water to the shatterdome. They really didn’t need to; they knew what was running through each other’s heads. Shock lingered from everything that had just happened–and so fast.

Techs were swarming all over the damaged mech almost the moment that it reached the bay and powered down. When the pilots stepped out of the conn-pod onto the high walkway, Wonho was waiting, a huge grin on his face. His collared uniform covered up the area where Jooheon knew Kihyun’s bruises had turned purple. “Congrats guys.”

“Thank you Hoseok.” Jooheon nodded to their friend and grinned.

But Changkyun said nothing, just shuffled and stared at the floor, rocking on the balls of his feet. For some reason, after being in a Jaeger, pilots could still often feel what the other was thinking even after the neural handshake broke. The first pilots had called it a Post-drift hangover, and the name stuck. The raging one Jooheon had now told him everything. 

The painkillers were wearing off, and the throb in the back of the younger boy’s head was now unbearable. He felt like he was about to black out, but determinedly he kept himself upright. It took all his strength. He hadn’t even noticed Hoseok standing there.

Behavior like this wasn’t normal for Changkyun, and Wonho quickly picked up that something was wrong. He made a worried face and tilted his head quizzically at Jooheon.

“It’s ok.” the chubby-cheeked pilot reached over and placed a hand gently on his best friend’s shoulder. The younger boy looked up at him, in the eyes. Pain was evident on Changkyun’s face, and sunk deep into his irises. “Maybe something happened during the drift, I should take him to the med bay–”

At ‘med bay’, Changkyun seemed to come alive, and he shrugged off the hand, cutting in almost defensively, “No. I’m fine. I just need a little while.” Jooheon could see him fill up his lungs all the way, and then with a calmer tone, addressed their hyung. “Yes, thank you, Hoseok. Please take care of her.” 

“I’ll do my best.” Wonho nodded, knowing full well that he was referring to the Jaeger. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes.” Exasperation seeped back into the maknae’s tone. “I just need out of this drivesuit.” He started pulling at the release latch for the spinal clamp, behind his head.

“Changkyunie,” someone called from down the walkway, and Minhyuk came jogging to them. “Wait, let’s get back to the DR.”

The tall, slender LOCCENT officer led them there, but they made slow progress. Jooheon had to catch Changkyun on his shoulder, after the latter stumbled and almost fell in the hallway. Quietly, so that Minhyuk wouldn’t hear, Jooheon prodded his co-pilot, “Why won’t you let me take you to the medical bay? You need it.”

Changkyun let out a labored sigh. “I don’t want them looking at me.”

“We can ask for Kihyunie. You trust his hands, don’t you?”

Weakly, the younger boy shook his head. “You know, I told you earlier that Kihyun was pitying me? Everyone there looks at me like that. I don’t want to go.”

Right about that time, they reached the drivesuit room and Minhyuk turned to help them. Jooheon motioned that his co-pilot should get help first. Minhyuk only nodded and settled Changkyun down into a chair. In no time his slender, deft fingers had pulled the release. After that, the circuitry suit zipper only needed to be undone before he could slide out of the battle armor. 

Soon enough Jooheon was out, too, leaving both boys in underwear only. Changkyun tried getting into habit, but his best friend stopped him and gently pried the clothes from his hands, handing him a different set instead.

If anyone saw them as they went back to their room, no one interrupted. Jooheon wondered if it was a funny sight: one chubby cheeked boy in uniform, carrying another on his shoulders. The passenger wasn’t in uniform but instead in a pair of athletic shorts and a hole-ridden tee shirt. His arms and legs wrapped around the other, and his eyes drooped closed involuntarily.

Jooheon could feel Changkyun’s thoughts blank in and out as he succumbed to a mixture of pain and exhaustion. At long last he could set his co-pilot down in his bed. Jooheon pulled the sheets over the younger boy, and sat there a minute to rub his forehead before Changkyun’s consciousness flicked off for good.

The two pilots slept for a long time, and woke up feeling at least better about the kill they had managed to pull off. After that, a couple of days passed slowly. Changkyun still had excruciating pain, but the day-to-day routine they resumed, packed full of training, conditioning, and downtimes with friends, made it not as bad.

Jooheon couldn’t help worrying constantly about his best friend. He had never considered himself to be an anxious person, but now that Changkyun was struggling to live normally, he found that it was so easy to get that nauseous feeling at the thought of how sad and in pain the younger boy was. It ate at Jooheon. All he could do to keep himself level was stick to his own routine.

One evening, Jooheon returned to their bunk around six pm to discover that Changkyun wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen him in any of the usual places, so he had assumed the younger boy had already returned here. Jooheon’s stomach dropped, but he somehow managed to convince himself that it wasn’t reason to worry. Faintly, he remembered that Kihyun had called Changkyun back and asked him if he would be willing to meet for an appointment at five. Of course, Kyunie had agreed, and that was probably where he was now.

Changing into some comfy jeans and a black tee, Jooheon lounged at his desk. Taking out some clamps and screwdrivers, he busied himself in pulling apart a blender that he had found abandoned in a hallway. Many people in the shatterdome knew Jooheon’s talent for mechanics and so trusted him with various repairs. After realizing that he was being called on more and more, he started charging a small fee for his services. He also picked up appliances sometimes and worked on them, cleaning them for resale or personal use. The almost-mindless work kept his brain occupied and wiped away the stress of the day. 

The next time Jooheon looked up, the digital clock on the wall said 11:00, and the ranger’s eyes widened.

His next thought was the realization that Changkyun still wasn’t back. If he was going to sleep tonight, he would have been here long ago. Instantly, Jooheon knew where he would more than likely be. He still went out to the lake lots of times. Often Jooheon would let him have his peace, but considering that Kyunie had met with Kihyun today…a feeling deep in the pit of the older boy’s stomach urged him to go.

So minutes later, Jooheon found himself out in the night air, hands in pockets, wandering out to the water’s edge. It was a nice evening, but for some reason the wind chilled him more than normal. 

Changkyun was sitting in his usual spot: on the dock, both feet over the edge, motionless. So motionless in fact that Jooheon wondered for a moment if he was asleep. But as he heard his hyung’s footsteps approach, the younger boy turned his head to see who was there and tried his hardest to smile. 

With a jolt, Jooheon realized that his best friend was paler than the moonlight that shone down on him. The chubby-cheeked ranger plopped down next to Changkyun, their hips pressed together, body heat warming each other up. 

For a moment, sitting like this, neither spoke. 

“Is it your head again?”

Changkyun smiled weakly and laughed a little. “It’s always my head.” giving the tiniest hint of a sly grin, he lifted his hand and tapped the usual spot. “Right there.”

Jooheon didn’t have the heart to continue on. Nor did he know how to. Another long moment of silence reigned, expectant silence, unsure silence.

“Jooheonie, I’m dying.”

[recentanimenews]

The 4 Biggest Differences Between Raising Pokémon And Digimon As Pets

  Sometimes, visiting your childhood home can be like an archaelogical excavation. You sift through the eras of your life, some embarrassing (Why did I own so many tropical print shirts? Why did I spend middle school dressed like a sixty-five-year-old dude vacationing in Beaufort, South Carolina?) and some baffling (What was I planning to do with all of those commemorative state quarters?) But sometimes, you find things that you immediately want to take back to the present with you. In my case, it was all of the little Pokémon stuff that I amassed as a kid: The KFC stuffed toys from the commercial that revealed that Colonel Sanders chose the Blue version...

    ...the many trading cards, the "How To Draw Pokémon" book from the book fair that I'd trace over and then tell all of my one friends that I drew it on my own, the falling apart Pokémon Red/Blue Prima strategy guide where the writer revealed in the first paragraph that Pokémon was consuming his life in a way that he never thought possible...

  ...and the Pikachu, Charmander and Meowth electronic toys that I got for Christmas one year, the first two saying their names and the last one speaking Japanese, which baffled me as a kid because I didn't know what anime was. But most importantly, I found the Pokémon Pikachu Virtual Pet, a little yellow device that's shaped to look like a Game Boy. And inside of it is a Pikachu that you can walk with and give gifts to. And after a quick battery replacement, I found that it still worked. 

  It was fate. Because, later this year, I also discovered the twentieth anniversary release of the Digimon Digivice Virtual Pets in a Gamestop. So, because I'd only ever raised Digimon in the video games and am terrible with money, I bought one. And now I have two tiny monsters that I can take care of. Why hang out with other people when I've got all the companionship I need right here:

    But I soon learned that there is a BIG difference between raising Pokémon and raising Digimon. For example...

  YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE PIKACHU MAD

  Back in its early days, you could count on one thing with Pokémon: Pikachu HATES you. Sure, eventually you'll earn its respect through battling or risking your life for it, but at the beginning of the anime and in the Pokémon Yellow game, Pikachu begins its journey hoping that maybe you'll just release it or get lost and starve to death in Viridian Forest. That's one of the reasons why Pokémon: Let's Go was such an odd experience sometimes: Pikachu just unconditionally and immediately accepts you as soon as it meets you. It's the only time you'll ever hear me complain about "kids these days" having it too easy. Ugh, Generation Z with their TikTok and their memes and their Pokémon that LIKE them. 

  Luckily for me, I got the Pikachu of the late 90s in my virtual pet. Unluckily for me, Pikachu was very aware that I had not played with it since the Clinton Administration, and it was pissed. See, the Pokémon Pikachu also doubles as a pedometer which counts your steps. So while everyone else is wearing their FitBit, I'm rocking a Pikachu that absolutely can't stand me on my hip. But the more you step, the more points you can acquire. And you give those points to Pikachu as gifts, and Pikachu will do a little dance and grow more pleased with you. As it turns out, though, no matter how many points I amass on the treadmill, it probably won't make up for the two decades that my Pikachu spent in a desk drawer.

  Currently, it's got its back to me, which means that at least it's on the screen (It can actually leave you, forcing you to restart, or hide from you.) Meanwhile, my Agumon in the Digivice is much less fickle. It's pretty content as long as I feed it and train it and make sure that its battles don't kill it. Oh, and it likes it a lot when you pick up its poop. And it should, because...

  DIGIMON ARE ALWAYS POOPING

  A common feature of virtual pets is that you have to clean their droppings. It provides a cool life lesson for kids, teaching them to not take dumps on the floor all the time. But I did not know that Agumon, my sweet, simple lizard bro, would just crap, like, so much, y'all. I mean, all it eats is meat on the bone and protein vitamins, so it's not like it's getting too much fiber in its diet. It's pretty keto. But every time I switch it on to see if it's okay or has evolved, it's been pushed to the side of the little screen because its own habitat just can't handle how much it's pooping. 

  Meanwhile, Pikachu doesn't really go to the bathroom. It does have a bathroom though, as after it eats dinner and before it goes to bed (there's cute little animations for each), it brushes its teeth. So unless it's like one of those tiny NYC studio apartments where the landlord's like "Ya got a bed and a sink, so good luck with your butt," Pikachu does own a toilet. 

  So that's nice to note: Pokémon will clean up their business after they're done. Digimon will look to you and say "I have pooped four times. The walls are closing in. Help me, father." 

  PIKACHU IS WAY MORE STUBBORN WITH SCHEDULING

  Pikachu has a bit of a Type A personality - It likes its routine. Usually, in the middle of the day, if you shake the device, Pikachu will come marching in or sometimes ride a little scooter onto the screen. But if Pikachu is doing something, like eating or sleeping, shaking the device actually makes Pikachu less friendly toward you. You have to wait for Pikachu to finish its food before it even considers going on a walk with you. 

  Meanwhile, if you're like "Go back to bed, Agumon, you've been awake for four seconds," Agumon will do it. If you want to wake Agumon up to train for battle a dozen times, it's ready at all hours of the day. In fact, one of the only things that a Digimon isn't up for is that it won't eat anymore after it's full. After you've filled it with mutton and pills, it shakes its head "No," at which point you probably switch over to training with it for another hour.

  DIGIMON HAS A TON OF HIDDEN INTRICACIES

  One of my favorite things about Digimon games is their intricate approach to evolution. Sure, you could digivolve Dogmon now into BigDogmon. But, if you raise the friendship stat a bit, and level up some more, you could digivolve Dogmon into BigDogWithCannonsmon. I think it's awesome, and it carries over to the virtual pets.

  However, because they're virtual pets and showing more than three letters on the screen at one time would cause the device to explode, you don't get a lot of explanation as to how to do it. Like, my current Agumon could evolve into the classic Greymon, or, according to the Digimon wiki, one of six other monsters. So I could get a Seadramon, but because I haven't been taking notes, I will never know how.

  Meanwhile, Pikachu is perfectly content with being Pikachu and with being flippant with you. You'll never have to worry about finding a Thunder Stone or learning that it's been replaced with a Koffing or something. Instead, all you have to worry about is your best friend suddenly starting to hate you out of nowhere.

  And that's... better?

    Did you ever own either of these virtual pets? Let us know in the comments!

  -------------------------------

  Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[setiwehu-blog]

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