#i wrote the original draft on feb 8th lmao

[quaddmgd]

Did I ever talk about my love for Tekken? There was this post about games you played for more than 300 hours, and after GTA VC and LCS... it would definitely be Tekken 5 and 6 for me.

Anyway, my Tekken brainrot laid dormant deep inside of me for most of my teenage years and early adulthood. To be honest I entirely skipped Tekken 7 due to its performance on my PC at the time and its reliance on DLCs. I did manage to beat Tekken 4 in 2023 (the only one I've been missing until 7, but I quickly went back to not thinking about the franchise at all. That was the case until Tekken 8 demo dropped.

I downloaded it and played for a bit, not understanding what's going on story-wise at all, but instantly falling in love with its fluid 4k60 gameplay and new Nina design (she was always my main after all). It made me hungry for more Tekken and when I was talking about it with my s/o, I just had to check whether Tekken 7 finally received a 60fps patch on Xbox Series X. It didn't, but I ended up buying it anyway to satisfy my hunger for the franchise.

Played it a bit, finished the story and overall I had fun with it. I wasn't really satisfied with the story mode, but the gameplay was pleasant enough. I liked some of the new characters and overall it felt like a fulfilling return to the brainrot. That's what I thought before finding out that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is backwards compatible on Series X.

I ordered a physical copy and instantly got hyped. I wanted to play it since its release but it costed so much at the time... and after some time I forgot about it, probably due to GTA V coming out. Flash forward a few days, I received my copy and ran back to my house to play as much as I can before my night shift starts.

You gotta understand - it was and still is the ultimate Tekken game for me, mostly due to how many characters it has. I played every mainline Tekken game (and Tag Tournament) before playing TTT2 and to play as Jun, Michelle, Violet, Ogre and Kunimitsu in one game meant a lot to me - I really appreciate OG Tekken characters, even though Tekken 3 and 5 are my favorite entries. If I was to talk here about how much grind in Tekken 5/6 I endured to make certain characters look like the OGs, this post would end up being insufferably long.

Many story-based games take up all my time and attention but I'm still playing it and I'm really close to getting all the endings. I set most levels to have my favorite tracks form older Tekken games and I'm especially enjoying my time with Jun, Kunimitsu and Michelle.

Now that fighting games are one of the most anti-consumer genres in modern gaming, a few years will pass before I'll get Tekken 8. I'd have to spend $100+ on ultimate edition, only to wait years for all of its content to arrive anyway. And since a month after its release they started introducing shops and battle passes, my enthusiasm got tempered even more.

But I'm so happy to be back and Tekken 7 and Tag Tournament 2 (and the older ones) will do it for now! Especially TTT2, it's really a blast!

[hongjoongspoetry]

hongjoongspoetry's tumblr wrapped, 2024

Thank you @bvidzsoo for the tag!! 🩷

2024 review

2024 was the year I really got into writing for ateez. I've been writing fanfics since middle school and used to be in a lot of different fandoms. I used to post on wattpad, but was never consistent or managed to finish any of my stories. Ateez is the first group/fandom that I've really kept writing for a long period of time and not lost interest in, plus I've also managed to write complete oneshots and am almost even done with my first series (ever)!!!

Total statistics of 2024

- no. of fics: 8 - wc: 151.3K - no. of wips: 9

Genres explored in 2024

Horror, action, romance, dystopia, historical, sports fiction, slice of life, comedy, pirate fics (that one's in the drafts but it was written in 2024), can't forget the golden trio of fluff, smut and angst!!

first fic of 2024: Reassuring Words and Mellow Touches

- posted: feb 17th - pairing: Idol!San x F!Reader - comments: I believe this was my first ever ateez fic and it was actually "self indulgent" too. As stated in the author's note, I have a fear of giving birth and it's known in my primary family, but no one takes my fear seriously. So, back then, wrote the things I needed to hear in the moment and it was to have someone be understanding of my feelings.

longest fic: Bones, Blood and Teeth Erode

- posted: oct 8th - pairing: non idol!Yunho x F!Reader - comments: I never imagined to write something pushing 40k words!!! I'm actually amazed and proud of myself for finishing it. It was certainly a challenge as BBATE wasn't anything I've written before.

last fic: A Love Written in Gold | Chapter 1

- posted: nov 8th - pairing: Proletarian!Hongjoong x Nobility!Reader - comments: I'm so excited for this fic and everything I've planned for it!! I was originally not going to post it until Cold Hands, Warm Heart was done, but I couldn't hold myself from writing lmaooo.

top 3 most popular fics of 2024

Reassuring Words and Mellow Touches

- posted: feb 17th - pairing: Idol!San x F!Reader - comments: so this is getting quite repetitive 😭 it is what it is lmaoo, im just happy people could find comfort in my writing. Back then, I didn't expect it to get the attention it did or that people would reach out and tell me how much they feel seen.

Too Sweet

- posted: apr 24th - pairing: Upcoming rockstar!Yunho x F!Reader - comments: This fic is entirely inspired by Hozier's Too Sweet. I was obsessed with that song when it came out and I think I listened to it on REPEAT. I just had to write a fic to it and at the time, it was the longest fic I had eve written!

Baby, Love Me Lights Out

- posted: sep 21st - pairing: Idol!San x GN!Reader - comments: okay so this one, I just wrote it for shits and giggles 😭 that was the day I learned just how much atiny love drunken san lmaooo.

mina's personal picks

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

- posted: jun 3rd - pairing: hockey player!mingi x figure skater!reader - comments: this is my fav fic (series) from 2024! I've always wanted to do an ice sports fanfic, but never really had the time nor like "knowledge" to do it when I was younger lmao. I have so many ideas for this fic and this universe overall because the other boys will have their own stories later on, so they are all connected!! AND we get small cameos/easter eggs in each series of what the other boys' fics will be about! Although there are a lot of readers who liked CHWH, I'm still a bit sad it didn't get more recognition as I did put in a lot of thought behind it, but I'm still happy its almsot done. Mainly because it's my first ever series and well, I just love the characters I've created

A Love Written in Gold

- posted: oct 8th - pairing: Proletarian!Hongjoong x Nobility!Reader - comment: Okay, so season 3 of bridgerton really sparked this idea of writing a bridgerteez fanfic and I just had to write something for my bias! I'm a sucker for the forbidden love trope so this was the perfect fic to use it for lmaooo. No, but this is also a fic I have so so so much to planned for and I really can't wait to share it with you!! It's also really fun to write, which I can say I don't feel the same for some fics. If you have time and love bridgerton, I advice you to give it a chance!

2025 goals

One of my goals for 2025 is to write more and publish more fics than I did in 2024, but I don't know if I will achieve it as I'm swimming in work from uni hahah. If not, then I at least wish to finish my series cold hands, warm heart and a love written in gold before 2025 ends. I also want to start writing the next instalment Puzzle Pieces!

No pressure tags: @ennysbookstore @solaris-amethyst @seongwars @desirehorizon @everyonewooeverywhere + anyone else who wants to do this! 🩷