------ Ellie's Birthday ------- "Yo, Ellie! Happy birthday!" "Oh, Carrie! Hehe, thanks!" "Hey, I heard that your hat was a birthday gift. Who was it from?" "Oh, it's a long story." "Eh, I have some time to kill." "Alright... where do I start..." Hm, I think it would be best to start at the beginning. It all started when I was around 7 years old. You see, Leon was bringing Hop to Wyndon for a day trip, and they invited me. I, of course, accepted, being naturally curious about the city as someone who grew up in the country. Hop was absolutely over the moon when I accepted, bragging about how he would personally tour me around the city. Haha, in reality, he only had visited Wyndon one other time, and was just as lost as I was. We boarded the train, and it was after I woke up in the middle of the ride where I first saw the Wild Area. Ah, it was absolutely gorgeous, as if it was taken right out of a movie. Me and Hop's faces were glued to the window. I'm sure the sight was absolutely priceless, judging by Leon's expression when we looked back. Even after all these years, that memory is still as clear as glass. When we got off the train, me and Hop were greeted with another wonderful scene: the bustling streets of Wyndon. Of course, nowadays, the scene is a lot more mundane for me. But for my younger self, it was like stepping into another world. We spent the day exploring the streets, trying Wyndon delicacies, watching Mr. Rime performers, and we even got to see a battle in the stadium live. Hop would brag about how one day, the two of us would be in that stadium, battling. [Of course, he wouldn't have predicted the outcome of that battle.] As we walked back to the stadium at the end of the day, my attention was caught by a lovely hat in a display window. It was a pleasant and simple blue beret. But, they didn't have those things back in Wedgehurst. I fell in love immediately, staring at it and admiring it. Hop noticed my amazement immediately. He ran over to me and saw the beret. "Hey, Ellie, that would look awesome on you!" "Really?" "Yeah! It really looks like something you would wear." "True, but it's pretty pricey." "Yeah…" "I know! I'll save up for it! If I help mum out at the shop, maybe I can get it by the end of the month!" "Oooh, good luck!" Around a week later, it was my 7th birthday. We were going to have a barbecue party at Hop's house to celebrate. Hop looked really excited to give me his present, for some reason. It was only until later when I learned why. "Ta-da! Now you don't have to waste the rest of the summer working for your mum!" "Woah, thanks… wait, how did you afford this?" "Oh… I just decided I didn't need that new console after all." "You what???" "Hehe." "You little-! That's it, on your next birthday, I'll get you an even more expensive present! I'll work really hard this summer to buy you the bestest present ever!" "Oh yeah? Not if I get you an even bestester present next year!" "You're on!" "Challenge accepted!" After that day, I never stopped wearing this hat. After all, why would I just throw away such a valuable present? "Hehe, Ellie, I didn't think you were the sentimental type." "What the heck do you mean by that?" "It's a secret!"
zooming code: @Colorsnatch music: Postwick Theme (Pokemon Sw/Sh) Happy anniversary to this wonderful project that was awesome to work on! It's been a wild ride, and I'm really grateful for all of the support I've gotten on this platform. Although I'm not posting much on here anymore, know that I still cherish the memories I've made on here. okay that was rlly sappy haha Anyways, now for some updates! At the moment, I'm not working on First Flight yet. Haven't found the motivation to fix up the code, and the art definitely needs a rework :/ As for Pokemon: Angel itself, things are going smoothly! I've hit a roadblock in the third chapter, which is why I haven't posted anything new on Ao3 for a while, but I should be back on my track pretty soon. Anyways, for the people who are still following the series here, would you guys be interested in a short summary/sneak peek of the other stories in the Angel AU? I'd be willing to share, but as much as possible I'll try not to ruin any big twists. Still, if you really want to go in blind, then you don't have to read the summary project. I'll hide the summaries so you don't accidentally read them while checking out the updates. Alright, that just about wraps everything up. Thank you for everything, and I hope you all keep looking forward to more content!