Lights flashed down on set. The curtains pull back, and I bowed to the cameras. "Hello, everyone! It's your old pal, Brad, better known as PM64! It's that time of the year again! Snow, peppermint, presents, peppermint, family, tradition, peppermint—"

"You said peppermint thrice."

I paused and glared at Ryder, who reclined back on the couch. "I like peppermint, okay? It's the only good thing that comes from people celebrating Christmas a whole month in advance!"

Ryder shrugged. "Whatever. Continue."

I cleared my throat and turned to the cameras again with a big smile. "As I was saying, it's that time of the year again! Our sixth annual Christmas special, hosted by my esteemed OCs and me!"

Ryder waved. "Hey."

I jumped over to my armchair and fell back into it. "Man, it feels like the year has gone by in the blink of an eye."

"That's probably because you've been hauled up in your house doing online college courses," Ryder reminded with a smirk. "Tell me, do you still remember what the sun looks like?"

I glared. "Haha, very funny."

"I'm surprised you're still doing the special this year. Aren't you busy with homework and junk?"

"Perhaps, but I have a lot planned for this year. Fun topics to explore, questions to answer, and something special I'm sure everyone will be keen on hearing about…as soon as I put the finishing touches on everything. I have a month once this chapter drops, so I should have everything figured out before the 25th."

Ryder shrugged. "If you say so. Anyone, what are the big plans for this year? You usually have something special for each session, and I'm sure everyone's keen to know what this super special something is."

I grinned. "Let's just say I've been inspired by something that has kept me preoccupied through the year."

Ryder nodded. "Right, right. You've been mostly playing videogames, right?"

"My recent obsessions included Skul: The Hero Slayer, Pokémon Unite, and Metroid Dread. Definitely looking forward to the new Pokémon games and Triangle Strategy when that comes out next year. Really makes the monotonous day fly by." I shook my head. "But I digress. We should probably get this party started."

Ryder picked up a remote and called down the ceiling monitor. "So, want to take bets where Laura decided to vacation this year? I have bets on Italy."

"Heh, or maybe she's on the Isle of Armor this year."

"Or maybe she's right behind you."

Ryder and I jumped and turned around, spotting the android Pikachu hanging off the back of the couch in a green sweater and blue beanie. "Laura?!" we gasped.

She grinned and flashed the peace sign. "Surprise! I'm vacationing with you chumps today!"

"I…huh." I relaxed and smiled. "Well, glad to have you in person today, Laura."

"Same here." She flipped down onto the couched and folded her arms behind her head. "You guys got any batteries or motor oil I can snack on? I'm ready to chill."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to be here. You're the only artificial creature who is ever on this series."

"Speaking of, who did you invite this year?" Laura asked.

A knock of the door followed after. "Well, why don't you see for yourself?" I stood up and opened the door. "Well, what a surprise. Another fan favorite of everyone! Melissa Penworth!"

Melissa hopped inside and waved to the audience. "Hello, everyone! So nice to see you again. And thank you so much for all your kind words in the reviews." She held her blushing cheeks. "You all are so nice."

Laura snickered. "She's easily impressed."

Melissa yelped and turned to the android. "AH, uh…L-Laura? Is that you?"

"Yo."

"Wow, uh…never expected to see you in person."

She groaned. "Something tells me I'm going to get that a lot."

Ryder shrugged. "What else did you expect to happen?"

Melissa sat down on the couch. "I am just happy to have become a regular around here. Brad has done such a good job balancing his school life with his writing." She frowned. "Though, you still have not updated those side projects. What were they again? Ultimate Arena? Laura's side story? Ryder's Fear? That one with Team Shatter Star—"

I groaned. "Look, I can only focus on so much at a time. My brain's usually wired to handle something that's of the utmost importance, and I have yet to find time to update the likes of those stories. Ultimate Arena especially since most of it is fight scenes, and I can only do so many of those at a time. Maybe when things start winding down I'll finish those up. I just updated Laura's story, so that's a start. Perhaps over the winter break. Okay, maybe not finish them, but sit down and at least update them to show I haven't forgotten about them."

Ryder waved it off. "Take your time. You already have an insanely consistent upload schedule as is."

A knock sounded on the door. I went over to open it and smiled. "Ah, now here are some familiar faces. Everyone, Quinn and Artemis!"

The Charmeleon-Darkrai and Sylveon-Scrafty entered into the house and waved to the audience. "Hello, everyone," Quinn greeted.

"What up, losers!" Artemis exclaimed. "Long time no see, haha!"

Ryder smirked. "Ah, you two. How's life after Gappei Village for you?"

Quinn nodded. "Pretty good so far. We were spending time with Artemis' mother. And by spending time, I mean I was sitting in the kitchen with a hot cocoa while they got into another bickering match."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "What can I say? Old habits die hard, and I ain't quitting while there's still breath in that old hag." Quinn facepalmed.

I sighed. "Right, glad to see you both are as spirited as ever. Help yourselves to some hot chocolate and cookies." They nodded and walked over to the couch. "We should have a few more guests coming this way soon enough, then we can get started."

Artemis bit into her cookie and snuggled up to Quinn on the couch. "So, um…" She swallowed and asked, "What exactly is the big plan for this special? What topics of interest do you wish to talk about?"

I smiled. "Well, for sessions 1, I have a little something in mind. Anyone who has read 'Bandits of the Forest' will know I like to use complex words to describe each chapter. That's mostly thanks to a word-a-day calendar I have by my side while I'm working. Part of the challenge there is matching up words to the chapters to see which fit the situation best. However, I want to take it one step further. One of my favorite things to research is names."

"Names, eh?" Laura asked.

"Most names have some sort of meaning attached to them, from the obvious to the more complex. Some I've picked were purely done because I liked them, but others were carefully picked for their meaning connected to the character. Heck, some possibly obscure meanings of words caught me off guard with how well they fit a character, even when I already gave the character the name. That's something worth talking about that gives an extra layer to every character."

Melissa smiled. "Ooh, that does sound like fun."

"Indeed, it is." I heard a knock of the door. "Hold that thought." I went over and opened the door. I smiled and said, "And welcome the last of our guests! Wes Ravenfield and Krystal Frostwood!"

The Umbreon and Delibird entered the house and waved to the audience. "Hello, everyone! Glad to be here!" Wes exclaimed.

"Let's light up this part, woo!" Krystal cheered.

"Glad you both could make it," I said. "Help yourselves to the food and refreshments. We'll be getting started shortly."

"Can't wait, comrade!" Krystal exclaimed before rushing over to the table.

Wes plopped himself down on the couch. "Ah, brings me back to when I first made my debut on this series. Good times, good times."

"Indeed," I said.

Laura waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, great stuff. What's session two going to be about?"

"It's more of an announcement than anything, but special nonetheless." I shrugged. "I'll go into more detail before I officially say, but since I'm getting to the point where I'll have to venture out on my own, perhaps it's time to do something special after all the years of being on this site. I should have it ready before Christmas. Hopefully."

Ryder smirked. "I think I already know where you're going with this."

I smirked. "And let's keep that to ourselves until then. Anyway, since we have all that covered, what's say we—"

"YOU!" I froze for a moment, then spun around as the door flew open, letting the howling winds through. An elderly Charmeleon and Pikachu hobbled through the door, with beards that reached down to their feet. The elder lizard raised his cane at me and howled, "You will pay dearly for abandoning us!"

"AAAHHH!" I scrambled behind the couch for cover.

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Diego, Chase. Take those off. You look ridiculous."

The pair glanced at each other, shrugged, and removed their beards. The Charmeleon, Diego, stuffed his hands inside his pockets and smirked. "Hey, just because Halloween is over doesn't mean I'm not entitled to a little scare."

"That looks more like trauma," Laura grumbled as she looked at me shivering behind the couch.

Chase smiled apologetically. "Eh, sorry, Brad."

Diego waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. No hard feelings or anything. We're not here to haunt you or whatever. We just wanted to join the fun after so long."

I finally lifted myself out of hiding and sighed. "You two, I swear…just sit down." The brothers fist-bumped each other and walked over to the couch. "Okay, I think that's the last of the guests…and hopefully the last of anyone who wants to take revenge on me."

Diego laughed. "It was a joke, relax!"

"Uh huh. Well, nice to have you two back for the time being." I sat down in my chair. "So, to recap. First session, we'll talk about some of the fun names I came up with for individual characters since their conception. For the second session, I have a big surprise for everyone! Maybe you can guess before the 25th, or gleefully wait in anticipation. The sky's the limit, I say!

"Either way, we'll be taking in questions. Two per person as usual. Cutoff date is next week."

Laura pumped her fist. "Let's get this Christmas special started! Woo!"

"Agreed! Let the festivities commence!"