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#ignore that i forgot his gamer headset
melonsharks · 2 years
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your favorite streamer who’s also coworkers with your best friend just gave you a shoutout live on stream
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upsidedownwithsteve · 9 months
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can i request grumpy gamer Eddie & sunshine reader who just wants to sit on his lap?
Fluffy goodness, maybe his friends who are playing too get really confused when he suddenly really soft and gooey when talking to his gf
i absolutely loved the gxs period fic!! It was so cute 🥺
thank you bby! 🧡
Eddie was losing. Badly. Eddie hated losing.
You’d watched him from his bed, his back to you as he sat on his chair, shoulders tensed, his comically large headphones smashing down his pretty curls. You couldn’t see his face, and you’d been flipping through one of his music magazines for the majority of the game tournament, but you knew he was pissed.
“God fucking damn it, Gareth! He was right there!” Eddie jammed his thumb into the controller, pressing buttons at random just to exert some of his frustration. “We’re losing to a bunch of kids, man, this is pathetic.”
There was a garbled response from Eddie’s headset, an indignant voice blurring with the distinct staticky glee of Dustin Henderson. “Su- it, Mu-son! Told you we cou- ick your a-”
Eddie didn’t get to reply because you’d pushed the magazine to the side, padding barefoot across the room until you could push at his chair and drop yourself into his lap. The boy blinked, feeling guilty that he’d almost forgotten you were there, too wrapped up in his game and annoyance. But you curled into him, bare legs folded up, feet tucked under his thighs. Your pyjamas were tiny things, soft shorts that were a happy, bright orange, your T-shirt an old thing of Eddie’s that you’d tie dyed in his front yard last summer.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie murmured and you could feel him relax underneath you. He forgot about his game, the headset, his mic. “M’sorry, been neglecting you, huh?”
You didn’t mind, not really. Eddie spent a lot of his time with you, and since Mike was visiting El in California for the month, and Jeff was at his grandmothers in Houston, they’d swapped their weekly Hellfire meetings for an online game night instead.
You just hadn’t expected Eddie to get so worked over a game where most players danced every time they shot someone in the head.
“Christ, Henderson! Are you doing the fucking running man over my corpse?”
“A little,” you said, pouting even though it was mostly for show. You liked the way Eddie’s frown smoothed out when he looked at you, how he dropped his controller in favour of running his warm palms over the tops of your thighs. You sighed, forlorn and dramatic. “You’re awfully grumpy.”
From the headset, you heard Dustin snort. “He is, isn’t he?”
Eddie scowled again, shoving the thing off his head and pulling you closer all in one motion. The game was still playing, a new round starting but Eddie’s played remained static.
“You should fix it,” he murmured, squeezing his arms around your middle as he pushed his face to your neck, grumbling playfully as he pretended to gnaw at it. “Need some lovin’ from my girl.”
You squeaked, pushing at his forehead when he didn’t relent, the faint scrape of stubble tickling your skin. “You do?” You were beaming, a bright, wide thing that Eddie swore could stop the world from spinning. “C’mere then.”
Eddie grinned back, the controller slipping from his knee to the floor as he pulled your over his lap, your thighs slipping and spreading over his. He gave your ass a little tap, humming happily, a million miles from the boy who was scowling and swearing at his computer screen five minutes ago.
“Kiss,” Eddie demanded, full lips puckered, eyes twinkling.
You smoothed your hands over his cheeks to oblige, holding him gently as you leaned in, both of you ignoring the sounds of protests and distant explosions from the mic at Eddie’s feet.
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delcakoo · 1 year
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Ooo, soft hoursss. What about Niki with a s/o who's love language is physical touch but he's not really used to that so every little thing they do makes him super flustered. Am I explaining this properly? Probably not. Do I care? Just a little. ╥﹏╥ (Also, if you do decide to do something for this can you make it gn or masc. I forgot whether you do male readers or not ᰔᩚ)
I LOVE THIS IDEA and it gave me a chance to write gamer bf!riki content LMAO ty for the req 🫶! honestly i think i write confident/cocky niki too often so this was fun jshdjd
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10:42PM — “i need backup, they’re pushing on bottom!” your boyfriend shouts into his headset from across the room, the aggressive clicks of his mechanical keyboard bouncing through the bedroom.
you lay unceremoniously on riki’s bed, scrolling through social media and yawning every so often. normally, you’d probably complain that the boy should be giving you his full attention, but considering the two of you had spent all day together at the arcade, you decided to let him enjoy his little game for the remainder of the night.
however, this doesn’t mean you couldn’t get a little closer for moral support.
one of your favorite things about riki was that every time you initiated any kind of physical touch, he lost pretty much all his confidence and turned into a blushy mess. perhaps it was because he’d never been in a relationship before, or just because it was you (it was a mixture of both).
the way he’d quickly divert his eyes after a kiss and pretend nothing happened, or when you gave him a hug and he’d freeze into a rock hard statue never failed to amuse you.
you had a feeling that eventually, riki would get used to the idea that your way of showing love was physical touch and use it to his annoying, teasing advantage, but for now, you decide to savor the power you have over him.
“hello am i on mute or something? i’m literally the only one defending down here!” riki continues to blabber, lifting a hand for a split second to push away his black bangs before quickly returning them to his keyboard.
meanwhile, you’ve thrown your phone onto his side table, creeping up quietly behind the focused boy. your eyes glance down to his fingers that move swiftly up and down the keyboard, then to his torso attiring a plain black t-shirt.
his eyes meet yours for a millisecond before they’re back on the computer, murmuring out a ‘hi babe’.
with his big headphones on, you know he won’t hear your response. so instead, you pull his arm away from his keyboard to give yourself just enough time to slip into his lap, back pressed right against the comfort of his chest. riki becomes inert instantly, and the beating of his heart increasing drastically makes an amused smile rush to your face. you think you hear one of his friends yell at him, wondering why his character had suddenly stopped moving just as he has now.
but riki ignores them, pulling off his headset. the poor boy doesn’t know where to put his hands, awkwardly gripping onto his gaming chair’s armrest as he looks down at you in his lap. “wh-what’re you doing?” he gulps.
you gaze up at him with a raised brow, “is this okay? i can get off if you’re not comfortable.”
he quickly shakes his head in disapproval, even going the extra mile of placing his hands around your waist softly. “no i- i like it.”
“oh, you like it?”
he blushes furiously at your teasing, cheeks blossoming an apple red. “that’s not what i meant! i just- i don’t mind, i guess.”
you decide to not embarass him further, chuckling smugly as you get more comfortable in his hold. “keep playing, then.”
so he does. and over the next hour, riki gets more and more comfortable having you in his lap, even building the confidence to rub your sides and leave soft pecks on the top of your head everytime he wins a game.
“can you watch me play like this more often?” he requests quietly.
“like, in your lap?”
you already knew that’s what he meant. you just wanted to hear him ask again.
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neolovesneo · 2 years
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I was wondering if you could do a gamer boyfriend!hyuk where he's been on the computer playing games with the members all day and you want to cuddle so you ask to sit in his lap while he plays and he left his mic on so the members hear and tease him (so a bit of crack/comedy too) for being soft for y/n 🥰💕 thank you so much and I love the works that you've put out so far and am so excited to see what you put out in the future <3
MY BEST VIEW.
gamer!boyfriend!haechan | fluff | boyfriend au
note ; ANON YOU'RE SO SWEET TYSM T^T also i LOVE the gamer!boyfriend!hyuck agenda sigh i think about it almost everyday... and i hope this fic is ok!! tysm for requesting and waiting :') + mentions of nct’s chenle, jisung, mark, & jeno! ^^ + requests are now closed!
taglist ; @soobin-chois (lmk in comments, asks, or dms if you'd like to be added to my taglist! ^^)
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"Ugh, I'm so good at this!” Haechan cheers, grinning from ear to ear as he stretches in his chair.
The words "Victory!" are displayed brightly on his screen for the umpteenth time today, a close competitor with Haechan's dazzling smile.
"You won again?" you ask, walking over to look at his computer.
"Yup!" he giggles, clasping his hands together by his face like a swooning little girl. "I'm just so good at this, you know? I've won six matches straight!”
His infectious smile gets you smiling too, but it doesn't last long when you notice another match begin to load. "Are you still going to play?" you ask.
"Yeah, why?" Haechan replies as he turns back to his screen, repeatedly clicking on his mouse out of habit while he waits for the system to find a new opponent for him to game with.
"Nothing." you lie.
Haechan frowns at this, swivelling around in his chair to face you again. "You sure? It doesn't sound like it's nothing." he asks concernedly, taking your hands into his and squeezing them.
"Well… I don’t want to disturb you, but can we cuddle while you play?”
Your question comes out so soft, it’s barely audible, and neither of you miss the random voice crack that occurs in the middle of your sentence.
"You’d never disturb me, bubs!" Haechan splutters incredulously, already reaching out for you to sit in his lap with grabby hands. "Come here, we can cuddle for as long as you want.”
Instant comfort and joy washes over you the moment you get in Haechan's lap, the familiar warmth of his body much like the comfort of hot chocolate on a cold winter night.
"Comfy?" Haechan asks softly after you’ve swung your arms around him, head resting against his shoulder. You hum happily in response, but a sudden concern pops into your mind.
"I'm not blocking your view or anything, right?" you question.
At this, Haechan chuckles, obnoxiously poking his tongue into his cheek with a smirk.
“Oh, you're the only view that matters to me, baby girl." he teases, quoting one of the many frat boy memes he's seen online.
You burst out laughing at this, but someone's else much louder laugh cuts you off.
Sounds of Chenle struggling to breathe through his laughter ring in your ears from Haechan’s headset, followed with Jisung shrieking about how "That was so gross!" close by.
Mortified, Haechan's face flushes as red as the empty Red Bull cans on his desk when he realises what was going on - he forgot to mute his mic.
"No, that was like, so sweet!" Mark protests, protecting Haechan like always. “It’s like, a teasing form of like, affection, we should leave Haechan alone.”
“It was not sweet.” Jeno butts in. "I need ear transplants now, that was so cringy."
Haechan groans as the rest of his friends tease and bicker on, hiding his face in your shoulder even though they couldn't see him.
"Stop it guys, this is embarrassing." he mumbles into his mic.
You can't help but giggle at your usually-bold boyfriend’s reaction, making him sit back up so you can look at him properly in the eye.
“You’re the only view that matters to me too, baby boy.” you compliment cheekily, ignoring the now deafening shrieks of Haechan’s friends as you take his headset off and kiss him; soft lips against soft lips and heart racing against heart.
You could stay here like this forever.
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© neolovesneo, 2022.
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calpalirwin · 4 years
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Pretty Girl, Handsome Boy
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A/N: So Mikey has felt a little underappreciated in my opinion, so I did something about it. Enjoy!
And away, and away we go!
~~~
“Ah, shit! Fucker…” you grumbled, setting your controller down in frustration as you waited to respawn.
“Whoa, you’re a chick?”
“Fuck!” you grumbled again, fiddling with your headset. You hated when people found out you were a girl in the gaming universe, but you had forgotten to mute your mic before playing. 
The chat at the bottom of the game starting blowing up in the realization of a girl in their midst. The same shit you were used to- comments ranging from about how it made sense how much you sucked now to more lewd comments about other things you could suck. 
“Fuck this,” you said, picking up your controller to take yourself out of the game and find a new match. You reached up to hit the switch on your mic to mute yourself. 
A notification popped up in the corner of your screen to let you know someone by the tag Mikerowave_X had messaged you. 
“The fuck?” you said aloud, opening the notification. Why did that tag sound familiar?
Sorry about those assholes, the message read. 
Nah, it’s all good, you typed back, forgot I wasn’t muted. 
They’re still assholes. You were playing just fine. Better than some of them, even. 
Haha, thanks. 
I’m Mike, btw. 
I could tell. Clever name. What’s the X for?
It’s a Final Fantasy thing, lol. 
Sick! I’m Y/N. 
Nice to meet ya, Y/N. 
Nice to meet you too, Mike.
What else do you play?
Oh, loads of stuff. I’m not too picky. 
Cool. We should play sometime. 
For sure. I use the same gamer tag on all my accounts so just hit me up, you typed, not quite sure why you were opening yourself up to play with someone you didn’t know, but figuring if push came to shove you could always block the dude. But something told you you wouldn’t need to; that this Mike character was a good guy. 
You down to play something now or were you going offline for the day?
Nah, I was just switching matches. Can’t really play once people find out I’m a girl. Ruins it for me.
Is that why none of us can find the girl gamers on these things?
Just a gamer, Mike. A girl yeah. But a gamer just like you. We don’t call you guy gamers. 
Shit, my bad. But you’re for real a girl?
Nah, I’m a middle aged dude with the voice of a prepubescent boy. Yes I’m a girl. 
Just checking, damn… can’t be too careful these days. 
Says the one who’s prob a middle aged dude himself…
Lol, I’m 24. Swear. 
Prove it. 
For real? Hang tight then. 
A few moments later a picture of a boy with a hat covering his blonde hair, with the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen and beard stubble flashed on your screen, his phone with the date and time next to him for added proof. My mate took it so we could timestamp it for ya, the message below the picture said.
Damn… you typed, immediately recognizing him, all the pieces of the puzzle clicking together: his gamer tag, the use of X being a Final Fantasy reference. No fuckin way...
Haha, like what you see?
As far as nerds go, yeah, you’re kinda hot, you responded trying to keep your cool. 
Lol, I got a song by that name. Well almost. 
Yeah, I know. 
Oh? You good?
I’m a little stunned, you admitted. 
Lol why?
Cuz you’re Michael fuckin Clifford
It’s Gordon actually. But yeah, so?
Michael fuckin Clifford is messaging me… fuckin hell this is wild!
Shh, don’t blow my cover. I’m just a gamer, yeah?
Just a gamer, yeah, okay. 
Can I get a pic of you? Shit, not like that… I just meant… ah fuck…
Lol, it’s fine. Gimme a sec. If Michael fuckin Clifford wanted a picture of you, you were gonna give him a picture. You tried to do a cute, goofy pose with your tongue poking out, making sure your TV screen with the date and time was visible in the background. Shit, that’s awful, you typed as you sent the picture to him. 
Damn…
Haha, like what you see? you teased, using his words against him
Very much so, Y/N, very much so. How old are you, btw?
Same as you, 24. 
Yeah?
What, wanna see my license for proof? I don’t lie, Mike.
Nah, you just hide that you’re a girl. 
I don’t hide it. It’s visible on my profile. I just keep a gender neutral gamer tag. Keeps the assholes away. 
Damn, defensive. I was joking Y/N. 
Oh… so you serious about playing a game sometime?
Hell yeah, I’m serious. But, I actually gotta go. Famous duty calls. 
Oh, alright. See you around then. 
See ya, pretty girl. 
Bye, handsome boy. 
~~~
You played with Mike for the next few months every time he was on. You didn’t admit it in your messages to each other, but your heart sank when you would see he was offline and it did a little jump when he was. Unbeknownst to you, his heart was having the same reaction. 
Hey, pretty girl? he typed about 4 months after the first message. 
You heart leapt in your throat. You loved that he had deemed you “pretty girl” although again, you’d never admit it. 
Yeah, handsome boy? you typed back, using his deemed nickname in response. 
We’re getting back in town here in a few days. Was wondering if we could meet up in person?
Really?
Yeah. I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well these past few months. Why not?
I don’t want to disappoint you…
Disappoint me? Aw, pretty girl…
I’m a nerd, handsome boy. What you see is what you get. No surprises. 
Pretty girl, that could never disappoint me. 
You sighed. Alright, name the time and place and I’ll be there. 
~~~
You walked into the arcade, double-checking that you were in the right place. “Pretty girl?” a scruffy voice sounded from behind you. 
You turned and looked up at the blonde-haired, green-eyed boy who had his arms open for a hug.  “Handsome boy,” you greeted, accepting his hug. You smiled into his chest as his arms enveloped you. Damn he felt good. “So, an arcade, huh?” you asked once you let go of each other. 
“Figured it’d make a good first date,” he winked. 
“Date?” You quirked an eyebrow at him, hands going to your hips. You weren’t dressed for a date. You had spent the better part of your morning deciding what to wear before opting for a simple black t-shirt and jeans. Every day attire, not first date attire. 
“Well yeah? What did you think this was?”
“2 friends meeting up?”
“Pretty girl…” he sighed, rubbing his temple. “Look, I’m not good at these things okay? Ash is the…”
“Wordsmith,” you nodded. “I know. Ash is the wordsmith, Cal’s the squishy cheeks who hates love, Luke’s hungover Jesus, and you’re the gamer. I know.”
He let out a small chuckle, “Yeah. But, I like you, okay? I don’t call just anyone ‘pretty girl’. In fact, you’re the only one I call that.”
“Well, I like you too, Mike, but…”
“But what? Is this too real for you now?” His voice wasn’t angry, it was almost sad. Like he was scared he was losing you. Which he was. He had grown attached to you and he wanted more than a gaming friendship with you. And here he was, ruining it. So typical. 
“A little?” you admitted, trying to find the words. “I mean, before… you were handsome boy and I was pretty girl. And… and that was enough for me. But now… you’re here. In front of me. And you’re him. You’re Michael fuckin Clifford…”
“It’s Gordon, actually,” he half-joked. “But, Y/N, that doesn’t change anything. I’m still handsome boy, and you’re still pretty girl. What you see is what you get, right? No surprises?”
“Yeah, but you’re you! Like actually you! And I’m… I’m me. And people like me don’t go on dates with people like you.”
He pursed his lips together, a wave of emotion coursing through him. He was angry, yes. But more than that, he was hurt. Hurt that he had hurt you by trying to get close to you. Hurt himself by making himself vulnerable. Maybe this is why Calum hated love so much. This shit hurt. 
You looked up at him, as his face tried to process your words and his feelings towards you. You could see the pain etched in his face. “Mike,” you said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “This has nothing to do with you, okay? I like you. A lot, if I’m being honest. But, I’m scared, okay? I’m not blind to your professional life and what that entails. It was easier before. I could ignore that you were you and just pretend you were just Mike, my friend in the gaming world. But this?” you gestured with your hands. “Well, my world’s spinning a little too fast.”
“I’m still him, Y/N…”
“You are. But you’re also not,” you said sadly, thinking that this is exactly why you weren’t supposed to meet your idols. 
“God, that’s such bullshit… I’m me, Y/N!” he shouted suddenly, his voice ringing out around you. “I’m still the dude who messaged you to apologize for assholes who think that just because you’re a girl gives them a free pass to make a pass at you. I’m the same guy you’ve been talking to for months. I’m still the same guy in the picture when you knew who I really was. And I’m still here, in front of you, trying to ask the girl I like on a date.”
“Mike… I…” you sputtered. It was too real. It was too real that he was right here in front of you. The feelings you had for him were too real. This was just… too much too fast. 
“Look me in the eye and tell me I’m not the same person you’ve gotten to know these last 4 months,” he challenged you. 
“Mike, it’s not that simple, and you know it!” You were doing what you did best, closing yourself off so you couldn’t disappoint anyone.
“Bullshit, it isn’t! Look, if this is about you being scared of disappointing me I got news for ya: you don’t. I meant every word I’ve ever said to you.”
“Mike…” you said, your voice breaking. “I can’t be the girl you want me to be. I just can’t, okay?”
“I only ever wanted you to be you…”
“And I am!”
“And that’s enough for me! Can’t you see that? Haven’t I proved that to you?”
“It’s clearly not enough if you want to date me, Mike…”
“Pretty girl, I want to date you because you’re enough. It’s not easy for me to open up to people, okay? I’m not like Ash, I can’t just make myself vulnerable and pass it off as charm. I’m not like Cal who just passes his feelings off as indifference. I’m not a cute dork like Luke. I’m just nerdy ole me who likes nerdy ole you a hell of a lot. You have made these past few months away from home more bearable than I can put into words. Yes, I love my job. I love what I do, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But it gets lonely. And it gets hard. But when I was with you, I felt at home. Like for once in my life there was someone to come home to. And that’s not a feeling I want to let go of. If this is too much, that’s fine. I get it. I have a tendency of coming on a little strong because I don’t know how to open up, so when I do it’s like an avalanche. If we need to go back to just being gaming friends, I guess I’ll find a way to be okay with that. But I like you, okay? You feel like home to me and I just need you to know that.”
“Mike… I don’t think that’s what it means to like someone…” you said, once he was done giving a voice to all the feelings you’d been having yourself. “Pretty sure that’s love.”
“Oh… well, fuck, maybe I love you then, pretty girl.”
“Maybe I love you too, handsome boy,” you said before reaching up to touch his cheek, needing to look at those green eyes of his.
“Maybe?” he said softly, as his gaze locked with yours, the tip of his tongue poking out to wet at his lips.
“Maybe,” you nodded, before your lips touched his.
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nameinbullets · 6 years
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Negative Gamers
First off, don't get me wrong - since I started playing video games, I've met some bloody fabulous people. Key shout out to the three Maori dudes with deep voices that implied heavyset figures, who immediately restored my faith in the general population of Fortnite players.
Also, special shout out to TobyJamesApps. One day, I will meet you in a game again, and you will be the one humiliated.
But that's not even where this, and I'll admit, anti-gamer prejudice comes from. See, a few years back when I was 18, I dated a guy who was a hardcore gamer. This was around the time CoD Black Ops came out, I think (I can't and don't really feel like keeping track of that particular franchise). Obviously, being a fan of first-person shooters, Alex was all over that shit like hot potatoes.
I'm a fairly curious person. If I see people enjoying something, I'll give it a go myself, especially if I'm invited to do so. Being thar my only gaming experience at this point was SingStar and Sega, I was uncertain about the controller setup, and voiced my concerns of not knowing how to play.
"Don't worry," Alex told me, "We'll be right here to help you."
His older brother and other friend nodded along each time he said this. They all said multiple times that they'd help me learn. So eventually, I caved.
An Xbox controller was put in my hands. Alex picked a character for me and gave me the weapons he figured I would use best. He didn't explain anything about the weapons and their features, just chose everything for me. He didn't even tell me how he did it. Then handed me the controller and said "press this button".
Then, the nightmare truly began.
Remember how I said I had no gaming experience beyond Sega? Yeah. I think he totally forgot that. I went straight into the player versus player match with the others, all of them against me, and they just started talking casually. No cares in the world. Me?
"Which screen is mine? Wait... you're all moving and that one isn't,, okay that's me.Sohis one moves me, right? Ah okay yeah I see. What does this one-- okay now I'm seeing feet? Oh, that's the camera. Okay so how do I shoot? Which? No that's aimin-- oh, there it is--"
I didn't get much further because that was when Alex's brother, Andrew, found me and killed me the first time. At my indignant cry of protest, he shrugged it off and said "You wanted to play!"
I figured out how to run, thank god, and found a decent hiding spot next while I figured out the controls. Problem is, the guys could see my map, which told them where I was, and they were able to find me using that info.
I never figured out how to even reload or switch guns. After actually hitting Alex on the shoulder to get his attention, I got my first piece of information from him - how to crouch. By the end of the match, I had racked up a grand total of 48 deaths and 0 kills - and all the boys had killed me several times each.
Afterwards, when I voiced my irritation to Alex, he promised to be better next time. Stupidly, I believed him. When "next time" happened, the only thing I learned was how to read the end of game score board - which told me that between themselves, the boys had focused almost entirely on killing me because I was an easy target.
This cycle went on for longer than it should have, me trying to share my boyfriend's interests only to be gunned down by him and his brother and friends, who often laughed about my "hissy fits" when I "didn't get my way". Being the type of person I am, I soon ended the relationship (turns out he was a poisonous guy anyway, he has since become next-level stalker trying to get me back).
"But that's CoD players!" was the phrase uttered by every Skyrim fanatic I encountered when that game came out. That's all good - I have my prejudice but when I meet individuals then they are treated as individuals. Meaning, I have prejudice against you until one of us says "hello". Then, it's a clean slate.
I mean, hey. I'm female. I'm used to being judged before I've even been met. But I'm used to seeing that prejudice carry over when I meet people.
Anyway, getting off track. So a bit after Skyrim dropped, so did my sister's first kid. Her partner was a security guard at the time, and father of the child. In those first nightmarish weeks of being a young parent, my sister enlisted my help since Matt was too busy with work. Upon arriving at their place most Monday afternoons, I discovered that "Work" apparently also included Skyrim.
I saw this go on for a few weeks. If Matt wasn't at work or asleep, he was on his game. I myself told him when I was napping to "put the fucking game down and go look after your son". I had always thought Matt, like Alex, was a fairly decent guy. I was dead wrong, it seems. But my sister was happy to stay with him because it meant two working adults bringing money into the household, and in this day and age and on her wages she could barely afford to support herself let alone a kid.
The clincher came when GTA Vice dropped. Matt had been nagging my sister about getting it on preorder, and she had said no so many times. They couldn't afford it. I was out shopping with them the day it dropped, and halfway through the shopping, Matt disappeared. He returned again when we were at the register, and my sister mustn't have seen at the time, but I watched him trying to discreetly tuck a yellow shopping bag into the bottom basket of the pram. Only two stores at that shopping centre had yellow bags - JB HiFi, and GameTraders.
When they put the shopping through, the card for the joint account was declined. My sister was confused, since there should have been an extra hundred dollars in there, but she couldn't go through the transaction history. She had left her card at home, and Matt's card also declined since his Xbox membership has gone through and he'd bought a bunch of downloadable content for gaming the day before. I paid the shopping since I had money and they needed it (Sister's face when I handed over $300+ cash). As I folded up the pram and put it back in the boot when we got to the car, I pulled the GameTraders bag out, held it up so my sister could also see, and asked what Matt wanted me to do with his new GTA Vice and chat headset.
Bitchy move, yes. But gaming is not an occupation, nor should it ever take precedence over shit like food and your own kids.
I've had various run-ins with gamers since then, most of which have been negative. I will say that I have met some people who aren't anywhere near as bad as the stereotype I've been led to believe. Some gamers are genuinely good people who treat it as a hobby, an addition to their lives, and not the main focus.
It was after a lot of pushing from one of my friends that I eventually went out and spent $250 on a pre-owned Xbox One. While I was looking at the various pre-owned games that I could get in a bundle with the console, Destiny 1 popped up. After I explained that I'd like to get that to learn the controls on and get used to gaming, he said to me:
"You'll have me there to guide you and help you learn."
Naturally, I believed him. He'd proven to be a trustworthy friend so far. But that phrase was almost exactly what Alex had said to me years ago when I was indecisive about playing with him.
Nevertheless, I eventually saved up and got the console, game, and an Xbox Live membership (what do you mean it costs money?). I set the game up, and since he was asleep at the time, stumbled my way through the first two missions. Then I asked if he wanted to join me, but got no answer. I assumed he was working, so I stumbled my way through the next four missions alone, slowly figuring out the game mechanics as I went. I held off doing one of the strikes for almost a week, waiting for this friend to become available. How was I to know that there was a faction rally for D2? Moreover, why should I expect my friend to fulfil his promise when he wanted to focus on participating in said faction rally?
I got through the strike alone, thank you very much. It was hellish, but I made it. And I proudly stated that I got through it alone to my friend, who seemed to ignore my comment. I mean, okay maybe it was a bit boastful, but considering how new I am to gaming in general, I thought defeating one of the major bosses was something that deserves a congrats. Oh well.
I played through the rest of the game, before he finally decided to join me for the final three missions - which, I might add, he completely dominated in. Also, did you know you can kill your teammates in D1 by ramming them into a rock with your speeder? I didn't. That was something he showed me. That was really when it began to resonate with me how similar all of this was to Alex.
We finished the main campaign. I wanted to complain about how he basically robbed me of majority of kills and I missed out on a bunch of XP because of it, but felt like by doing that then it's just sound like me bitching even more. So I shut my mouth and told myself to be grateful he actually fucking joined me in-game.
When we finished the campaign, he told me "If you get Destiny 2 then I'll definitely play with you."
So far, I've had it for a week. I've finished the campaign (on my own), maxed out my levels, and soon I'll be able to do the hardcore stuff like leviathan rid and Nightfall strikes. I joined his clan and have been maxing my clan XP limits within a day. I've improved overall in my ability. But he's too focused on levelling his characters on PC, and apparently doesn't want to come back to Xbox to join the friend he promised to help.
Fucking... At this point, I'm tempted to leave his clan right before Curse of Osiris drops. He's struggling to find clan mates as it is - maybe ditching him to find some group that'll actually fucking help me is the best option?
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