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bonnymori · 3 years

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𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

Word count: 2760+ (i'll try to keep bigger lengths such as this one!)

Synopsis: You meet a new classmate who's working along Nanami, you think he's fun to be around, it stands the same to him about you. Later, feelings unravel.

Contents/Warnings: (1) Itadori Yuuji x gn!reader (2) FLUFF, TONS OF FLUFF - and some comfort (3) With the small participation of... Ino Takuma!! I really like him too, that's why <33333 (4) This is pretty platonic, but also not? (5) Ending turned sorta cliché... but I liked it u.u

A/N: This boy made me run rampant... to fhe point it's not single attraction anymore I just wish him happiness (smh if only my parents knew...) also next post will be Toji's fic pt. 2! Y'all see the first part is almost reaching 100 kudos????? I'M SO HAPPY EHSODJWKDKSJD- thanks for all the new followers and the support!! <33

Ever since his fake death, Itadori has been training alone with the help of Gojo - and now, he works along a freshly new face, who belongs to a senior, founds out ex-salaryman named Nanami Kento. He's far a thousand times more strict than Gojo. Itadori doesn't really likes the change, because Nanami is a person he can't get along. This whole guy's appearance scream "work 4 life"; he has proved different, now he screams "work is shit - but I gotta do it because others won't".

They've just finished cleansing the outside of a movie theater off a few curses, when Itadori hears shouting from far behind them. Two figures approach, waving excessively. He quickly picks on Nanami's tired sigh beside him.

"Nanami! We figured out you'd be here! Our mission has been finished and we wanted to catch up to have lunch together!" A male clad in a full black outfit shouts, he has brown hair and a beanie on top of his head, looking quite content.

The other person simply trots next to him in silence, approaching with a friendly smile. They notice Itadori faster than the male, smile widening and quickly waving hello, suddenly eager to reach up to them. The gesture makes the pink haired boy perk up, curious to why the other person looked so joyful. His question is easily answered, when they tug on the man's sleeve and motion to him.

"Ino, we have a third buddy!" The dude looks at him with widened eyes. "So nice to meet you, I'm Y/N L/N! It's great to see new faces around!"

Itadori smiles at your energy, knowing already he would click with you very well.

"I'm Ino Takuma, sorry for not noticing you before! Your uniform looks cool." Itadori exchanges a few compliments with Ino, before the man turns to talk with Nanami, leaving him and you together.

"Yes! I'm Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuuji-desu! My type of woman is Jenn-"

You turn to him. "So, are you a first year?"

"Geh? Weren't you dead though?!"

"I was!- I am!- Please keep secret."

"Okay!"

"Ahem." Nanami coughs, drawing attention. "I requested you two to not come after me today. Itadori here is the reason why."

"That's no problem, we're very capable of keeping secrets." You threw your arm over Itadori's shoulder, him nodding along with you.

"Oh really, then remember to keep quiet about it. I'll let this slide." The group of students nervously at Nanami's intimidating tone. "But, I'll get to have my break alone."

"Gah!" Ino exclaimed, watching Nanami walk away; he also left the responsability of taking care of Itadori for you two, leaving without a word. "It really had to be today, when Nanami would take us to his favorite bakery..."

"Crybaby." You teased. "Itadori here can't go outside where anyone can see him, he's dead. So, we were to order food either way because he shouldn't be left out."

"Augh okay, it would be unfair."

"So, where are you staying Itadori?"

"At Gojo's state!"

"Whoa, I've never been there before." Ino commented, waiting as you sent a message to Ijichi to pick them up.

"He's my teacher, a very cool one!"

"I imagine! Ooookay, once we get there I'll get the food."

Itadori felt as his chest would burst of excitement, finally there was people around him again, he couldn't be less happy about it.

"Sharing is caring!"

Itadori laughed as you wrestled with Takuma for some fries, netflix long forgotten in the background, as watching the banter was way more entertaining. Most of the time, Ino rambled a lot about Nanami, while he rambled a lot about Gojo. The guy even showed him the cool scar under his beanie. He felt kinda upset after explaining the exchange was just temporary, his stay under Nanami's wing wasn't decisive, and therefore, he was more like a classmate than a partner.

Itadori also learned a lot about you. He was surprised to find out that you, although energetic, was the one to speak the lesser in conversations. His surprisement grew even bigger when you told him you're a exchange student from Kyoto, arriving Tokyo about the same month as him - thankfully, you were to say for good.

Conversations flowed easily in the air, until a voice from the doorway barged in.

"Yuuji-kun! Don't forget about your lessons! Hi kids! Bye kids!" Gojo said playfully, throwing the familiar punching bear to Itadori before leaving.

"What's this thing?" Ino asked.

"It's to help me control my cursed energy. So while I watch the movies, if I don't charge it with cursed energy it punches me square in the face. I thought I had mastered this thing already, but he insist I keep training with it." Itadori grumbles.

"At least it's cute." You commented, taking a sip of your drink.

"Until it punches you in your face without warning!" The pink haired boy barks.

The talks died down, the three of you eating quietly when another movie is played on the screen. Itadori didn't bother reading the title, it was a plain one about a zombie apocalypse that got him extremely bored, yet he kept watching still so the plushie didn't punch him in the face again; he's been keeping a record since all his last cursed energy training lessons were a sucess to this day. When his head started nodding and eyelids dropping Itadori can't remember well, about fourty five minutes of movie perhaps? Make it fifty, the second slumber took over his body completely.

When he awoke once again, it was near midnight, the clock on the wall told him so. He also noticed a soft and warm surface supporting his head, figures, it's your shoulder he's resting into, he feels an arm around his own shoulders and your cheek placed upon his hair.

"Hey, it's late." You immediately notices he's awake, calling out softly. "You should sleep on your room, or something, better to your spine."

He chuckles when you poke his side. "But I'm comfortable here."

"I'm surprised, you just met me today, and now is sleeping on my shoulder."

"I'm not, that happens often to me."

"Sleeping on people's shoulders?"

"No! Making friends quickly." Itadori likes your gentle warmth, your hug, everything makes him feel at home. "I met two more people before you for two weeks, but they can't see me, because I'm dead."

"So I'll keep you company, that's my new mission."

His eyes widen at that, a oh so little blush covering the tip of his ears.

"For how many time I slept anyway?" He asks.

"About two- no, three hours. You missed two movies, and this one is about to end."

"And you stayed here the whole time?" He motions to your shoulder.

"Yep. That reminds me I gotta pee."

Itadori grumbles, but quickly lifts himself off you, respecting your needs. That gives him some time to look around, he notices Ino is gone, and the plushie sits quietly at the other side of the couch, unmoving.

"Y/N! How did you manage to make it quiet down?" He's beyond bafflet.

"...que."

"What!"

"I said!" You arrive quickly at the doorframe, hands still wet from when you washed them. "I used my innate technique."

"Oh! How is it like?"

"It's kinda funny, gimme a moment." You left to wipe off your hands, coming back in a second. "So, just like Shoko, I produce reverse curse energy, but it's quite different than hers, I can't heal people. That's why we often call it positive energy instead. I can use it to soothe off negative energy, so the bear has no cursed energy right now."

"How does it works on people?" He felt very curious about everything, asking away like a kid.

"Since everyone has negative energy, it just makes you sleepy really. But when it comes to curses it's really practical, I can either weaken it or, if the curse is like grade three or four, I can slap them off existence completely by wiping all their energy." You were naturally proud of having a such versatile power, your own energy swirling with pride around you.

"That sounds amazing! Is it why I fell asleep though?"

"Nah, only if I did it on purpose. I guess you were just tired, hope you don't mind I decided to let you rest today."

"No way, it was a good nap."

You nodded. "By the way, Ino left to attend to a drinking party, he paid for our food."

"Drinking? Is he old?"

"Yeah, he's twenty." You chuckled, already expecting that kind of reaction.

"No way! He looks young just like us!"

"That's totally my reaction after I learned he's twenty!"

After that day, you started visiting Itadori weekly to daily, after exchanging numbers he made a little group with you and Ino, naming it the "Nanami trio". But really, he exchanges more texts with you in private, be them memes, cool images he wish to share, etcetera. Although, Ino wasn't left excluded, he ofter brough his xbox to connect to Itadori's tv room and you all would spend hours playing together; he just didn't spend much time with both of you as much. And that was okay.

For a few days, your connection with Itadori died down when he didn't reply to your texts. They would remain unread for some time, the longest being half a day, until he would spam apologies then move on with the topic. That became a routine until one day when you came over to check on Itadori unnanounced, needin to ease off your worries about the boy, only to find him sobbing in the middle of a hallway, staring ahead and beyond, his back to you.

"Ita-?"

"Egh!" Startled, he scrambled to wipe his eyes, turning to you. "H-hey, um, hi."

"What happened?"

"I- he-" His eyes didn't met yours, knuckles white in a death grip. You notice he has a few bandages thrown over his face and arms. The way his shoulders are drawn, as if he wants to shrink into himself is something you've experienced before.

"Something hard to talk about?"

He nods almost immediately, head still facing down.

"It's alright, come with me." You reach for his hands, grimacing slightly when his forceful grip is now on your hand, yet you don't comment on it. He follows you through the state wordlessly.

You two stop on the same tv room, sitting down on the couch. You then guide his head to your shoulder, gently massaging his scalp with the free hand.

"It's alright."

Those two words are chanted like a prayer for the next half hour, at some point, Itadori twisted his body towards yours and unknowingly caged you between him and the sofa arm. He embraced you with a force you didn't have in you, like he didn't want to lose one another. Painful or not, not a muscle moved on your body. He needed a shoulder to cry on.

Thirty minutes passed like seconds, you peered down only to find the boy confortably napping against your bosom; at some point you just became the cold side of the pillow to him. That's alright. It brings you joy to be the mom friend anyways. So you decided to join the sleepland aswell, arms still secured around his shoulders and the back of his head.

It feels like the nap hasn't been long, though, because you can feel Itadori's grip loosening and therefore, you're awake.

"Sorry if I broke any bones, in advance."

"Wow, and you only warn me now."

He laughs at your comeback, hands still secured around your waist.

"I'm surprised you let me uh, cuddle you for comfort - and sleep. I don't understand it? You just make me sleepy." He rambled, keeping eye contact with you while his head still rests on your chest.

"That's a piece of cake when you have younger siblings who seek for you every night they get a nightmare."

"Does that mean I can come to you again if I have a nightmare?" There it is, his togepi-kirby cutesy face.

"Are you four?"

"That's mean!" Itadori blushed, squeezing you on his arms. "I like the contact. It puts me at ease."

"Mm, do you want to talk about it?"

He gulped. "No, not really."

Your peach haired friend remained silent, and so did you. It seems he doesn't intend in letting you go soon, or he just really forgot to mention it. It gives them time to think, your younger sisted used to do that sometimes, back in Kyoto.

"Y/N, wanna watch anything?"

"Sure, have you watched Parasyte before?"

"No, let's give it a try then!" Itadori glances at the remote, then back at you - making you confused over his hesitation to move. He notices you noticed it, chuckling nervously. "To be honest, I don't wanna let go."

"It's hurting my back."

"SORRY I'M SORRY!" He jumped away from you like a cat would jolt away from a cucumber, making you snicker.

"It's okay, I just wanted to change positions."

And to tease you, but he didn't need to know that part.

He glared at you with a small pout, typing the initials of Parasyte on the search bar. Outside his line of vision, you were grinning like a idiot, his sweeteness took a tow on you. All the people of Tokyo you met really held a way different spirit from your classmates in Kyoto, Itadori being the nicest of all. It's surprising him being Sukuna's vessel to begin with; being honest, you felt drawn by it.

"Y/N, it's startiiiiing." He cut your daydreaming short, slumping on your side and propping his head on your shoulder.

"This again?" You throw an arm around his shoulders, very much like the first time he cuddled himself on you.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who wanted to change positions. Guess I'll just make some alterations since I'm awake this time!" One of his arms went behind your back and circled your waist, hand resting at your hip.

"It's definely different, since the other time you drooled on me."

"Hhgh, okay okay! Let me enjoy this." For perhaps the actual first time, you're able to watch without exchanging words with one another.

And this time, it's you who's head loll to the side, nose buried on his soft rose perfumed hair. Itadori doesn't comment on it yet, his free hand moves under your legs to lift your whole body up efortlessly when he senses you have fallen asleep.

"I remember you said it's bad for my spine, I wouldn't mind it... yours however."

The boy makes a beeline to the guest room, he sighs when there is no choice but open the door with his foot. Inside, he places you carefully in the soft bed.

Before he could leave, a hand reaches up for his sleeve.

"Itadori," He turned, looking at you. "Make me company?"

He giggles softly - you think it sounds like a highschool girl. "You should start calling me by my first name!" Itadori rambles as he climbs on the bed, arms wrapping around your waist in a motion you're familiar with.

"Yuuji, I'm tired, let me sleep."

"But I wanna talk more..." He pouts. "Also, are we, um, dating?"

You wriggle around, bringing his head down to peck on his forehead, teasing. "Correction, I want to date you."

"Uh, oh." A blush coats his face so quickly, you'd say someone dumped a bucket of red paint on his face.

"Is that a no?"

"No!"

"So it is a no."

"Christ, will you stop teasing for a second, I'm trying to talk here." He makes an angry version of his togepi-kirby face, you can't help but grin.

"You amuse me, but okay. I'll do it for you."

"Thanks." He blinks, the blush slowly fading away. "You know, I lied, not about the contact, I like the contact nonetheless-"

His hand moves to play with yours, such as tapping his tips against yours, or meassuring the palms.

"-it's you who brings me comfort."

It's also your turn to blush, that line was seriously charming.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, we're dating now." You respond, a little eagerly. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

This is the best person I could ask for, Itadori thinks, keeping his eyes open as yours shut during the kiss, whom I won't change for anything else in this world.

When you both separate, Itadori feels drowsy and sleepy. His face fits perfectly on your shoulder as always.

"Goodnight, my favorite person."

#itadori yuuji x reader #itadori x reader #itadori yuuji fluff #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #jjk fluff #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fanfic

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lovemesomesurveys · 2 years

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Do you have a christmas tree in your room? Not this year. I just have a few tiny little decorative ones. Do you like sweatpants? I’m more of a leggings person. What time was it when you last ate? Around noon. What is your favorite uncle's name? I don’t have a favorite uncle. Do you like Mac N' Cheese or Ramen better? Ramen all the way. I eat it every night.

Do you own any of those thick rubber bracelets with words on them? I probably still have some from years ago. I was really into them at one point. Ok, enough with randomness. What do you look like? What color of eyes do you have? Brown. Is your hair curly or straight? It’s too short to be anything right now, but naturally I have wavy hair. Are you tall? No. Do you have any moles? Yeah. Freckles? Yep. How about any scars? I have a lot of scars. if so, where? All over. Do your eyebrows bother you? They could use some shaping and tweezing, but meh. I don’t care enough to do anything about them right now. Do you have lots of acne? No. Have you ever had braces? Yes, but not for my teeth. Do you have a retainer glued to the back of your teeth? No. I didn’t even know that was a thing. Is your tongue long? No. Is your earlobe connected to the side of your face? It is. Is your hair an unusual color? No, it’s currently my natural dark brown color. Is your forehead unusually large? I wouldn’t say that, but I do feel like I have a big forehead. Relationships? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Nope. Whats his/her name? -- What his/her middle name? -- What color of hair do they have? -- What kind of label do they have? -- Are they nice? -- Are they abusive? -- Do you love them? -- How old are they? -- Do they love you? -- Whats your favorite thing about them? -- Do they go to your school? -- When was the last time you saw them? -- How long have you been dating? -- How did you meet? -- Is anyone mad about you dating? -- Do your parents know? -- Do you even really know them? -- School... :P What is your favorite class? I’m done with school, but my favorite classes were always English courses. Oh, and most of my psych courses in college. Favorite teacher? My 4th grade teacher, who also ended up being one of my 8th grade teachers. He was awesome. What grade are you in? -- Are you young for your class? -- What do you usually wear to school? I wore clothes. Do you get good grades? I did. Are you a troublemaker? Nah, I was the goody-goody kid. What is your label at school? I didn’t have one. Are you SpED? Huh? Techhh... :D What is your favorite show? I have several. Do you watch Adult Swim? Nah. How about Cartoon Network in general? No. Adventure Time? No. The Regular Show? No. MAD? No. Robot Chicken? No. Shake it Up? No. Jessie? No. ANT Farm? No. ICarly? I saw it here and there. Victorious? ^^^ Spongebob? I’ve seen several episodes, or at least parts of them because my brother was really into when he was a kid. Do you have a phone? What kind? Yeah, I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Do you have any kind of tablet computer? No. How about an ipod? I have an iPod Touch, but it’s been stored away and unused since like 2012. a Laptop? Yes. A TV? Ye A wii? Not anymore. An Xbox? Yes. A Ps3? No. A ds? Not anymore. A dsi? No. A dvd player? Not anymore. We could use our PS4, though, if needed, but with all the many streaming services available now and On-Demand I haven’t watched a DVD in quite awhile. A gamecube? No. Please, tell me, you've played any kind of Mario game. I’ve played several Mario games, they’re my favorite. What is your favorite Movie genre? I like a variety. Everything. because i'm too lazy to sort. Where are you from? California. Where are you now? Still there. Who is your best friend? My mom. Do you like llamas? Sure, why not. Are you a vegan? No. Do you like sheep? Sure. Do you eat/drink dairy? Yes, some. Are you bored? I’m good doing surveys right now and listening to ASMR. Why are you doing this? I want to? Are you talking to anyone right now? No. Do you have facebook? Yep. Myspace? I’m sure my profile still exists out there somewhere unless it’s been deleted from inactivity for well over a decade now. Is Myspace even still around at all? pinterest? Yes. Aim? AIM died a long time ago, it’s no longer around. Aol? No, not since like the early 2000s. Yahoo? My email is Yahoo. Hotmail? No. youtube? Yes. Have you heard of olanrogers? Nope. Gradual report? No. Fred? Oh, these are YouTubers. Yeah, I remember Fred. Thecomputernerd01? No. Nigahiga? No. Chester See? No. Dtrix? No. Kevjumba? No. Do you watch abdc? No. do you even know what that is? Nope. Do you like nickelback? I do. I don’t understand why it’s considered “uncool’ to like them. Do you sing? Not well. What are you in singing? soprano, alto, tenor, bass? I don’t sing well at all or know anything about that, I just like singing along to songs. Are you a male or female? I am a female. Do you think Ben 10 is cool? I didn’t watch that. Have you heard of stumbleupon? No. Do you get emails from any websites? Yeah, from the various ones I’m subscribed to receive emails from. Are you subscribed to any magazines? No. Do you hate "if so" questions? No? Do you like nike? Yeah. Air jordan? No. adidas? Yeah, I have a quite a bit of Adidas clothing items, shoes, and accessories. osiris? No. converse? Yeah. Do you like country? Some. do you live on a farm? No. Will you finish this? Uh, there’s two more questions after this I think I can do it. Do you like pie? Just cheesecake. Are you cool? Nope.

#personal #text #survey #surveys #categories

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brianc521 · 4 years

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Late

- Better Late Than Never - {Part 1} A/n: This is my first time posting only OG characters. I’d love some feedback, and truly appreciate the support. Meet, Jacob, Jason, Ellie, and Hadley! Thanks so much!

“Okay,” Jacob claps his hands together, “So her favorite movie is already in my Xbox.” He points to the gaming system in the storage compartment under the TV in the living room. “It just needs to be turned on after her play time. If you’re lucky she’ll fall asleep to the movie, might make bedtime easier, so I would suggest turning it on like a half hour before bedtime. Chicken nuggets for dinner, they’re already in the oven. They still have like 15 minutes or so, just give her a warning at 5 minutes so she can clean up her toys and wash her hands.” He nods, looking around to make sure he didn’t miss anything. “Oh!” He points to the green beans on the stove. “She needs to eat all of her green beans and cornbread to get a snack okay? I mean it, all of it.”

“Dude, you literally do this every night. I know how to take care of my niece.” Jason rolls his eyes.

“I just, it’s the Dad in me okay? I just have to go through the list to make sure her routine isn’t that much off with me gone for the night.”

“I understand that. But we’ve done this long enough now that we have our routine. She’s playing with her Barbies right now, at 5 minutes before dinners ready we’ll both clean up her toys and wash up for dinner. We’ll use her Frozen plate that has the sauce spots so she can have ranch and barbecue without them touching. Then we’ll both do the dishes and clean up the kitchen so that way we can play fairy princess together before jammies and Monsters Inc. Ice cream when the movie starts, brush teeth and hair after ice cream and then we finish the movie after that. Bam she’s asleep by bedtime.” Jason ticks off his nightly routine with his niece by memory.

“Okay.” Jacob breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, you’ve got it.”

“Go, you’ll be late. The new girl starts tonight, so you know it’s gonna be crazy. Teri’s gonna have your ass if you aren’t there on time.”

“I know.” Jacob nervously runs his fingers through his dirty blonde locks. He’s styled his hair up in a cute but messy manner. He’s just recently gotten it cut, way short on the sides but long on the top. It’s become really popular with his patrons at the bar. “Ellie! Come give Daddy a hug and kiss goodnight! I’ve gotta go to work now Baby.” He calls out.

His four year old bundle of energy comes racing down the hall. The plastic tiara adorning her messy golden hair is falling halfway off her head. Her blue princess dress hangs off her right shoulder since the velcro has come undone on the back of the dress. Her white shirt underneath reads ‘To Cool for School’ with a cartoon monkey hanging off the O’s in ‘Cool’.

“There’s my Gorgeous Girl.” He smiles, couching down to catch his daughter. He chuckles when she collides with his chest, her giggles spewing from her bright pink lips. He takes the opportunity to re velcro the back of her dress. “There, a Princess must always wear the best dress.” He pulls back, placing a kiss to her forehead.

“No!” She huffs, flexing her shoulders and bringing her elbows together to pop the velcro back open again. “Dad, I can’t play with it velcroed, it’s too tight. I can’t move.” She explains, brows furrowed.

“Time for a new dress already?” He sighs, tilting his head at his adorable girl. She looks at him with her bright blue eyes, dark lashes framing the doe eyed look.

“No.” She shakes her head, nose scrunched. “This one fits just fine if I don’t velcro it.” She shrugs, as if that solution is the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well can I at least fix your tiara?” He asks with a small smile, trying not to show how his heart is breaking at her words.

She nods her head, making it droop that much further off the side of her head. He laughs softly, quickly catching the bejeweled plastic and righting it. He makes sure the small little comb like features on the ends brush into her hair. He’s learned that those are there to help hold it in place.

“You’ll be here for breakfast? She asks softly, sparing a glance up at her Uncle Jason who’s burnt pancakes more times than not.

“I always am.” He grins, leaning forward to kiss her nose. “Be good for Uncle Jason okay?”

“Okay.” He nods, jumping, making her dress poof around her legs. “Have a good night at work Daddy!”

“I’ll try just for you.” He smiles, caressing her cheek.

Jason stands behind them in the kitchen, arms crossed while he leans against the doorframe. He watches the interaction between the father daughter duo, like he does every night, and can’t help but be in awe. He’s never seen his twin brother so in love with something before. Watching Jacob’s infatuation with his daughter brought a whole new perspective of life over Jason. It truly was watching someone mature overnight. Something everyone thought would never happen to Jacob.

“I love you.” Jacob whispers to Ellie, a soft smile on his face.

“I love you too Daddy.” She whispers back, mirroring his smile.

“Okay, I really have to go.” He stands, looking back to Jason. “I mean it with the green beans and cornbread.”

“Yeah yeah, I got it.” Jason waves Jacob off.

“No more ‘Cool Uncle Jason’ who lets her have anything she wants. I’ll be checking the garbage in here, in the bathroom, outside, and the clever little spot you have on the side of the house.” Jacob raises an eyebrow at his brother.

Jason’s eyes go wide, face blank now that he’s been caught dumping her uneaten food.

“Okay, I got it. Go!” He pushes his brother into the garage.

Jason and Ellie stand in the driveway waving at Jacob as he gets in his green 1995 Toyota Camry. How does the poor car still run? No one knows, but it was all Jacob could get when he traded his bike in.

Teri is standing in the doorway that leads to the back break area when Jacob rushes in. If looks could kill, he’d be dead 80 times over by the look Teri is giving him. He’s 5 minutes late. He thought he’d have enough time to rush into the local Walmart before his shift, and he would’ve been on time if some group of 15 year old boys hadn’t been fucking around in the self checkout and slowed him up.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” He acknowledges, putting his hands up in surrender as he rushes past his supervisor.

“It’s 6:07.” She says, eyebrow raised, hands on her hips.

“It’s 7 minutes.” He sighs, stuffing his sweatshirt into his locker, leaving him in his black work shirt. It’s a tight cotton shirt that stretches nicely over his biceps. It makes it easy to extra tips with a simple flex to the right customer. Who says girls are the only ones wearing tight shirts to get tips?

“You’re training the newbie tonight Palmer, I needed you on time.” She says, with a harsh voice. He wishes that she’d stop calling him by his last name. The last person who did that was his football coach, and that just brings up a slew of bad memories.

“I’m here Teri, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“What was the hold up this time?” She asks, tilting her head as she waits for his next excuse. A man’s late a few times and now he’s got a reputation. He rolls his eyes before he turns to look at her.

“Stopped by Walmart.” He answers lamely.

“Palmer!” She hisses. “I can’t accept that answer!” She looks over her shoulder watching out for Fletcher, the owner, who’s still in his office with the door open.

“I needed to get Ellie a new Princess dress okay?” He hisses back, watching her face soften. “The one I got her a few months ago is too tight and falling apart from how often she wears the damn thing. Before I left she was reassuring me that the one she has is fine as long as she doesn’t velcro it. Teri, that’s my baby girl, you know that. I can’t give her much right now, but the least I can do is take last nights tips and get her a new fucking dress.”

Teri’s eyes go wide when he spits the information out. She narrows her eyes, pointing at him as her hip juts out. “You were gonna put last night's tips towards an oil change on that piece of shit you drive that precious girl around in! We had a deal Jacob! You told me you’d get the oil change.”

“Tonight's tips will go towards that.” He lies through his teeth, rushing to dump his phone and keys into his locker as well so he can get out of this conversation.

Teri sighs, knowing that’s not the truth. “Let me talk to my brother in law. He’s got a little shop a few miles out of town. He might be willing to do some work off the clock for a case of beer or some of your family moonshine.”

“No, Teri no.” He shakes his head. “I’m not using your family like that. I promise, tips from tonight go to the oil change.” He says as he clocks in.

“Yeah?” Teri challenges. “Then what money are you going to use on Monday to get groceries?”

He sighs, looking down at his holey shoes. “I just wanted to get her a new dress Ter.” He shuts his eyes before looking up at her with a sad face. “She’s four and she already understands what living without means.”

“Then let me talk to my brother in law. I want Ellie to have everything she wants. I want her to live the most amazing life, and to have the prettiest of Princess dresses. Just make sure you have a batch of moonshine handy and I’ll make the call. You then can hug me and thank me for it. But most importantly that car is getting a fucking oil change or I won’t schedule you until it does.” She threatens.

It’s an empty threat, they both know it. Teri would never not schedule him, this is the most secure job he could ever have.

“Thanks Ter.” He sighs, nodding at her. It can be so defeating for him to be living this way. He wishes he could give his Gorgeous Girl everything she wants, without having to break bank to do so.

“It’s now 6:12 and we’re still not on the floor. Get your shit together Palmer, it’s gonna be a long night.”

With that Teri walks away from Jacob, head held high, heels ever higher. Jacob follows, looking like a kicked puppy on his way to more punishment. He stops by the sink to wash his hands before joining Teri and the new girl standing next to her.

Looking at them is almost comical. Teri is very Joan Jett. She’s got dark jett black hair, teased and messed up. She’s never been caught dead in the bar in anything other than her lucky black leather pants. She usually pairs them with a dark blood red tank top, that shows off her very big and very fake boobs. She’s got a full sleeve of tattoos on her right arm. Her eyes are always lined thickly with her famous black liner, shadowed with a silver shimmer, and the look is finalized with the longest lashes known to man.

The new girl? Polar opposite.

She stands out with her auburn hair. The neon in the lights makes it change color from how it reflects off. In one angle it’s gold, in another it’s bright red. Her hair is pulled back into a tight, professional ponytail on top of her head. Her bangs are clipped back in the middle of her head, she’s given them a little poof to add some height to her hair. She’s also in a tight black shirt like Jacob, but she’s modified hers. She’s cut the bottom, making it a crop top. Accompanied by blue jeans. They’re decorated with rhinestones on the back pockets, and they’re distressed looking.

Either way Jacob can’t help the way he appreciates the look. They cup her ass quite nicely, and it takes him a minute to remember what being a gentleman means. He snaps back to reality when Teri calls his name. He looks up with pink, embarrassed cheeks. It was suddenly like he was back in high school again.

“Palmer, this is Stevens.” Teri says, pointing to the new girl, whose back is still to him.

“Ter, I think it might be easier is you said our first names?” He jokes, shaking his head at the fact that she’s so determined to call everyone by their last names.

“Okay,” She rolls her eyes. “Jacob meet Hadley.”

Hadley? He thinks to himself. Unique name, something he’s only heard once in his life. There was a girl he went to highschool with. One he had a major crush on. She was cute, very small compared to him. She always wore her hair down, as if she was hiding behind it. His favorite part about her was how she always had a book in her hands. He never saw her without one. She was quiet, smart, a little nerdy. He never really spoke to her, mainly because their circles never mixed. She never spared him a second glance, and he didn’t blame her. He knows now, and knew then that he was a douchebag in highschool.

He walked around like he ruled the school, because, well he kind of did when it came to social status. He was all the cliches rolled into one. The quarterback, the bad boy, the cute blonde hair blue eyed boy, and a twin. Him and Jason were the kings of campus. Jason dated the head cheerleader, he dated all the others, at the same time.

So he never ever blamed Hadley for not looking his way. She deserved so much better than him.

“Jacob Palmer?” Hadley speaks up, snapping Jacob from his flashback. “That’s funny I went to high school with a kid named-” All words halt on her tongue when she finally turns to greet him. Her eyes go wide and her jaw drops a bite.

Jacob just about passes out. There standing in front of him, looking better than he remembered is the girl of his dreams.

“Hadley Stevens.” He breathes out.

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daydream-hobii · 5 years

Text

Shadows & Wolfsbane | Chapter 20 [FINAL]

Genre: Poly!AU; Werewolf!AU; Shapeshifter!AU; Fluff; Angst

Pairing: BTS x Female!Reader; Alpha!Reader, Beta!Seokjin, Alpha!Yoongi, Alpha!Hoseok, Alpha!Namjoon, Omega!Jimin, Beta!Taehyung, Beta!Jungkook

Summary: Y/N is the youngest Alpha in her compound, owning a whole village. She was born by two Omegas, and originally wanted to be killed, but things were changing in her universe. At the end of the year, each Alpha can pick up to 30 new warriors, wolves that have been training, and the youngest always starts. Y/N never really chooses, asks for the ones who were unwanted such as the old or disabled. This time, she picks the strongest seven players among the warriors, and the other Alphas aren’t too happy, but she chose them for other reasons…. Hopefully, they’ll help her with the predicament she’s found herself in….

Warning: Mentions of Abuse, Sexual Assault, Depression, Anxiety; Suggestions of Smut; Read with caution <3

Word Count: 1,235

Author’s Note: Welcome to Chapter 20! I’ll add links later since Tumblr is being dumb…. I have finally finished this series!! I hope you all loved the ending, I’ve left it a bit... open? Buuuut, don’t fret! A new series is coming very soon! Thank you to everyone who has loved and supported this series. <3

I walked through the door, straight to the elevator. These buildings weren’t too tall, but Sooki decided that we could be the first to live in this new building, and we’d get the penthouse suite. It was large enough to fit us all.

The boys and I got off on our floor, walking to the only door in the small hallway and opening it. Taehyung was still pouting about losing our game, and Jungkook ran straight to the couch, plugging in this device called an Xbox, Jimin not far behind so he could watch. Ever since one of the human boys showed video games to him, he’s been obsessed. Another gift from Sooki.

I saw Seokjin sitting at the island with Namjoon, who had green bruises all over. He was still healing, Hoseok too, but they were much better than when they started. I walked over, pecking both of their lips, causing them to smile. We’ve been, technically, dating for about a month, but it genuinely has felt like a century.

“How are you boys feeling?” I asked, walking to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle, taking a sip.

“Much better,” Namjoon said. “Even more so now that you’re here.” Seokjin shoved him slightly while I laughed.

“Such a cheesy man,” I said, walking over and kissing him. “Where’s Yoongi and Hoseok?”

“In bed. Hoseok wasn’t feeling too good, and Yoongi wanted to sleep some more,” Seokjin said, smiling. “As well as just cuddle with him.”

“Alright, I’ll go see them,” I replied, smiling back. Taehyung walked over to the two boys, still pouting. Seokjin grabbed the back of his neck, pecking his lips.

I walked down the hallway, stopping at Hoseok’s room. We each had our own room, but in mine there was a bed big enough for all eight of us. We all slept together in at least one room, whether it be two or three of us in one, while the rest in another, or just all of us packed into my room. I carefully opened the door, peeking into the dark room. Night vision is a trait that blends with our human forms, so it was easy to see the two figures in bed.

I walked over, sitting on the bed next to Hoseok and smiling. His nose twitches slightly, a small smile growing. I reached over him to hold Yoongi’s hand, while using my free one to push the hair on his forehead back, laying my hand against it.

“Hello, Jagiya,” Hoseok cooed, his voice groggy from sleep.

“Hey, sweetie,” I replied, continuing to push his hair back and run my fingers against his scalp. “It’s a little past lunch time, are you boys hungry?” Yoongi just mumbled into Hoseok’s shoulder, hiding his face slightly and squeezing my hand.

“I could always eat,” Hoseok said, making Yoongi groan. Hoseok lifted his hand, brushing my hair behind my ear, resting his palm on my cheek. “How was your morning?”

“Good, the boys wanted to play hide and seek,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“Tae lose again?” Yoongi questioned, talking into Hoseok’s shoulder.

“You can thank Jimin and Kookie for that,” I replied, giggling softly. “Why don’t you two come eat. Namjoon and Seokjin cooked some lunch.”

“Alright, let’s go, Yoongi,” Hoseok said, making Yoongi groan. I stood, holding my hand out in case Hoseok needed it. Yoongi rolled off the bed, rubbing his eyes cutely.

Hoseok was able to stand and walk on his own, but he still held my hand for a bit of support. We walked out, Yoongi tailing us. The living room and kitchen were exactly how I left it. The three boys at the island chatting, and Jimin and Jungkook on the couch. Hoseok walked over to the island, sitting carefully next to Namjoon, who pecked his temple. Yoongi went to lay his head on Jimin’s lap.

“Ready to eat?” Seokjin questioned, Taehyung eyes sparkling from hunger.

“How about we all eat in the living room, just chill?” Namjoon suggested, making us agree. Jungkook turned off the Xbox and turned on the television, which had, like, a million channels. Wolves were really missing out in the technology department.

Everyone got there food before me, I just held my water and admired them all. Even with Namjoon and Hoseok covered in green bruises, they all still looked gorgeous. My heart fluttered as I stared at them, causing Seokjin to walk over, kissing my cheek and heading to the living room.

Just before I could follow, the doorbell rang, followed by a knock. I paused, looking towards it, the boys following my gaze. I walked over, peeking through the peephole before opening it, Sooki and Dex striding in. Dex acted like he owned the place, plopping into a chair at the island, while Sooki walked respectfully.

“Hello, Alpha,” She said, making me nod.

“Hello, Sooki. What can I do for you?” I questioned, curiosity buzzing through me.

“We have another mission,” Dex said, smirking and winking. “A community in Germany, a Beta reached out to us.”

“No,” Hoseok said behind me, making me look. All the boys had stood up, standing behind me and looking angry. I flashed my canines, making them falter slightly. Hoseok, Yoongi, and Namjoon stood their ground.

“Y/n,” Sooki started, keeping her eyes on me. “We need your help. I told you, you’re special. You’re a leader. People will follow you, especially the wolves.”

“This is to help more of us?” I asked, eyeing her. She nods.

“They’ll follow you,” Sooki said.

“Yeah! You are kick ass!” Dex exclaimed. “Everyone’s been talking about your achievements. Your pack has some really good words to say about you.”

“She’s not going,” Yoongi growled, scowling.

“Boys,” I warned, looking at them. “When do we leave, Sooki?” I asked, looking back to her. There was a chorus of growls behind me.

“How about tomorrow evening?” She questioned, making me nod. “See you then, Y/n. Boys.”

Dex and her took their leave, Dex winking at me before leaving. I turned to look at the boys, who were both shocked and angry.

“Why?” Jimin asked, wide eyed.

“We are apart of an army now,” I explained. “We have to help as many people as we can, both humans and wolves.”

“But why you?” Jungkook growled, glaring at the ground. “After everything we went through!”

“Boys, please,” I said, calmly. I watched all their expressions soften, their scents becoming calm. “What if there’s more people like us that need help? You’d want to, right?” This made them all pause and think.

“She’s right,” Seokjin said, nodding. “but you’re not going alone.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I replied, smirking. “Jungkook, Yoongi, and Taehyung, you’ll be with me. Seokjin and Jimin, I’d like you to stay and keep the two Alphas calm.”

“I don’t feel right with this,” Namjoon mumbled, scratching his chin.

“I know, baby,” I said. “but you two are still healing. We’ll be okay.”

“Promise!” Jungkook said, flashing a toothy smile.

We all went to eat once more, enjoying the moments we had before the four of us left to Germany. The traitors have become our family, one that watches over us and helps others, while the community we called, “family,” has become the enemy. We were at war, and even if this was happening before, the war for the eight of us has truly just begun.

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fandomgarbitch · 5 years

Text

One Kiss (Ethan Dolan)

Most girls would describe Ethan Dolan as irresistible, charming, and the dream boyfriend. Me? I would describe Ethan Dolan as repulsive, egotistical, and probably the most annoying human being on the face of this earth. I know what you’re thinking, if you hate him so much why don’t you just stay away from him. I would except for the fact that he is my bestfriends twin brother.

Grayson Dolan and I have been bestfriends since the good ole elementary school days. Believe it or not I used to be friends with Ethan too. That was until he dated Meredith. She changed him. He was no longer the cool down to earth guy he once was, instead he was this jerk who was so full of himself it was impossible to be around him now. Meredith ended up cheating on him, but Ethan only got worse. He was only capable of caring about one person. Ethan.

“Grayson, I’m here.” I called as I walked in their luxurious home.

Ethan sat playing fortnite on the xbox. I rolled my eyes as he noticed my presence.

“wow did you miss me that much already?” Ethan smirked not looking away from the television.

“as if.” I scoffed rolling my eyes.

“keep rolling your eyes baby maybe you’ll find a brain back there.” Ethan joked.

I could feel the steam coming from my ears.

“you know Ethan being a dick won't make yours any bigger.” I smirked.

Ethan stopped playing, putting his controller down before standing up to face me.

“oh trust me it’s plenty big. I could show you sometime.” Ethan said smirking back.

Ethan could push my buttons like nobody else could.

“It’s really too bad your dick isn’t anywhere near as big as your head.” I snapped back.

“oh babe in order for me to be insulted I’d actually have to value your opinion.” Ethan said putting a hand on my shoulder.

I quickly shook it off.

“wow Ethan, it must be difficult, exhausting all of your vocabulary in one sentence.” I glared, putting my hands on my hips.

Ethan let out a hearty laugh.

“how about we skip the fighting and just get to the makeup sex.” Ethan said smirking again.

I was about to respond when Grayson walked out of his room.

“I see you two getting along again.” Grayson said rolling his eyes at our bickering.

“oh we’re getting along quite nicely aren’t we baby?” Ethan asked smirking at me.

“you must’ve been born on the highway, that’s where most accidents happen.” I said causing Grayson to bust out laughing.

“uh Grayson you do realize we’re twins who were born at the same time, so if she’s saying that to me technically she is saying it to you too.” Ethan said causing Grayson to stop laughing.

“ouch.” He whined looking at me.

I laughed a little at the little pout on Grayson’s lips.

“let’s go to breakfast, I’m starving!” I said clapping my hands.

“can I come?” Ethan asked.

“NO!” Grayson and I yelled at the same time.

Grayson and I went to breakfast every friday morning, it was like the best friend tradition that we had. Ethan sighed watching Grayson and I walk out the door.

“how are you guys twins? He’s so frustrating!” I said throwing my hands up in exhaustion.

Grayson laughed as he started up the car.

“you know he only teases you now because he knows how much it bothers you.” Grayson said pulling out of the driveway.

“so I’m not supposed to respond to his ridiculous comments?” I asked giving Grayson a look.

“exactly, and he’ll stop.” Grayson said.

Grayson and I looked at each other before busting up laughing.

“yeah that’ll never happen.” He said making me agree with him.

Grayson pulled up to the restaurant and we ordered our usual, pancakes topped with fruit.

“so how was your date with Thomas?” Grayson asked cutting in to his stack of pancakes.

“ugh horrible, I think I’m destined to be alone forever.” I groaned resting my head on my hand.

“forever? I don’t think so.” Grayson said.

“seriously I’m going to be a lonely old cat lady.” I said laughing.

“oh come on, if a guy doesn’t want you, don’t force a cat to be with you.” Grayson said making me choke on my bite of pancake.

“you asshole.” I laughed throwing a blueberry at him.

Grayson picked up the blueberry throwing it back at me. Grayson and I were laughing when we were interrupted by a girl standing in front of us.

“uh Grayson?” She asked looking at us.

“uh hi, do I know you?” Grayson asked rubbing his neck nervously.

I looked at the girl, she was gorgeous, I looked down at myself feeling insecure.

“I’m Kira, Ethan was supposed to call me uh do you know what happened to him?” She asked a blush spreading to her cheeks.

I felt bad for the girl, she seemed sweet.

“uh..” Grayson started but I cut him off.

“Kira, you seem like a sweet girl, so I honestly would stay away from Ethan.” I said taking a bit of my pancake.

“excuse me?” She asked confused.

“Ethan doesn’t care about anyone but himself, he certainly doesn’t care about you and honestly, you are way to good for him anyways. If I were you I would text him to go screw himself and find a guy that is actually going to appreciate you, because that guy certainly is not Ethan Dolan.” I said staring at the girl.

“uh okay.” She said walking away confused.

“well that was a little harsh.” Grayson said looking at me.

“it was the truth wasn’t it?” I asked huffing.

“well yeah but you could’ve said it in a nicer way.” Grayson said.

“maybe you’re just too nice, that’s why Ethan walks all over you.” I said biting in to my fruit.

“he does not walk all over me!” Grayson said getting defensive.

“hate to break it to you G, but he kind of does.” I said taking another bite of my pancake.

“well not anymore.” Grayson said finishing his pancake.

Grayson didn’t say anything as he paid our bill and then stopped picking up two of our other friends Bryant and David.

“what’s up G,” David said getting in the car.

“Ethan doesn’t walk all over me does he?” Grayson said as they got in the car.

David and Bryant stayed quiet looking at each other and then me. I started to laugh making Grayson even angrier.

“relax G, just don’t let him do it anymore.” Bryant said making Grayson calm down.

As soon as we got back to the Dolan’s house we went inside and crashed on the big purple sofa.

“I’m having a party tonight, you guys in?” David asked.

“you know I’m always down for a party.” I answered.

“yeah I can make it.” Bryant said giving me a high-five.

“I don’t know man, I’m not in a party mood.” Grayson said.

“he’ll be there.” I answered David.

David was about to say something when Ethan came storming in the house.

“what the fuck did you do?” Ethan asked coming to stand in front of me.

“who do you think you’re talking to?” I sassed standing up to face Ethan.

“someone who needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.” He said getting in my face.

“look I have no idea what you’re talking about now how about you get out of my face.” I said shoving Ethan back a little bit.

“does the name Kira ring a bell?” Ethan growled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I said playing dumb.

“Oh yeah that’s funny because she said that a girl with my brother told her to text me screw you and go find another guy.” Ethan seethed.

“Grayson has a lot of girls around him you can’t prove it was me.” I said sticking my tongue out at him.

“look just because your jealous that I don’t like you...” Ethan started but I quickly cut him off.

“woah woah woah I love to shop, but you couldn’t pay me to buy the bullshit you’re selling.” I said to Ethan.

“wow if you were anymore of a bitch you could have puppies.” Ethan said

“at least then you wouldn’t be the only dog in the room.” I quickly shot back.

“GUYS STOP” Grayson yelled.

“looked I’ll see you guys at the party tonight I’m serious going to lose brain cells if I stay here any longer.” I said waving goodbye to Grayson, David, and Bryant before walking towards the door.

“don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Ethan laughed.

I turned around giving him the middle finger.

“love you too.” He said.

ETHAN POINT OF VIEW

I sat down on the couch running a hand through my hair.

“so did Kira dump your dumbass?” Bryant asked.

“it doesn’t even matter I have like a million other girls who want me.” I said pulling out my phone.

“except for Y/N she hates your guts.” Grayson said laughing.

“please all it would take is one kiss to have her falling in love with me. I just like to mess with her.” I said texting a girl Bella about the party tonight.

“I don’t know man I don’t think you could.” David said looking at me.

“I don’t either she hates you.” Bryant laughed.

I quickly put down my phone smirking at the guys.

“shall we make this interesting?” I said still smirking.

“what are you thinking?” Grayson asked me.

“a hundred bucks from each of you if in a week I can get her to admit she loves me.” I said holding my hand out for them to shake.

“well she’s my bestfriend and I know for a fact she won’t go for you so deal.” Grayson said shaking my hand.

“deal.” Bryant said doing the same.

“isn’t this kind of mean of us?” David asked.

“so you think I can do it huh?” I smirked.

“no way man, deal.” David said shaking my hand.

“one week.” Grayson said holding up one finger.

“well then I better get ready for this party then.” I smirked walking in to my room.

READER POINT OF VIEW

I seriously hated Ethan Dolan like for real where does he get off? Our fighting didn’t use to be this bad but for some reason we hate each other more now then ever before. I was worried that Grayson was going to get sick of it and cut me out of his life. Ethan was his twin and even though they didn’t get along that well either a brother always trumps a bestfriend.

“ethan dolan you will not ruin my night.” I said as I brushed the last bit of makeup on my face.

I was cut out of my routine when my phone started ringing.

“where the hell are you? you know I’m awkward at parties.” Grayson said on the end of the line.

“ha, don’t worry G, I’m on my way.” I said before hanging up the phone.

I grabbed my keys before walking to the car.

“ethan dolan you will not ruin my night.” I said once more as I backed out of the driveway.

I could see the strobe lights and hear the music blaring as I pulled up to David’s place. I quickly parked and got out to find Grayson. He wasn’t as much in to parties as the rest of us were.

“thank gosh you’re here.” He said finding me in the crowd.

“geez G just relax, have a drink.” I said grabbing two beers one for him and myself. (don’t drink underage children it is frowned upon by society)

Gray loosened up after downing a beer and then he drank another and then another.

“okay Gray I said relax don’t give yourself alcohol poisoning.” I said taking the sixth beer out of his hand.

“then you drink it cause you need to lighten up.” Grayson slurred pinching my cheek.

I rolled my eyes as he walked through the crowd grabbing another beer on his way through. I shrugged before downing the beer.

“you look like you could use another.” Some random guy said handing me a beer.

I gladly accepted before downing that one too. He handed me another.

ETHAN POINT OF VIEW

I was swaying to music, cup in hand while Bella kissed all over my neck. God this girl is needy.

“I’m going to refill my drink I’ll be right back.” I said pushing her off of me.

I walked over to the drink table scanning my eyes around the room. Grayson was passed out on the couch. I laughed shaking my head as Lucid Dreams blasted through the house. I looked over and saw Y/N dancing with some guy I had never seen before. He was getting pretty handsy as he grabbed her another beer. I decided to walk a little closer to them.

“come on baby you’ve had enough beers how about we go upstairs now.” The guy said to her.

wow, I’m an asshole but even I wouldn’t stoop that low. I knew I had to do something or else this could be bad.

“I want to dance.” she whined making me chuckle.

“come on baby let’s go.” He said grabbing her arm a little more aggressively.

“no.” She said continuing to dance.

“come on please.” He said pulling her towards the stairs.

I quickly grabbed his hand taking it off her arm.

“she said no, no means no, do you need to hear it Spanish? NO, N-O get it got it good.” I said pushing the dude back.

He was clearly fully in control of himself and was just trying to get laid from a trashed girl.

“what are you her boyfriend?” He scoffed.

“nah, but she’s important to my family, so she’s kind of important to me.” I said.

“whatever bro, she doesn’t put out anyways.” He scoffed walking away.

“you're a terrible person.” I called watching him walkaway.

I turned around to see her still dancing. I laughed at how trashed she was.

“Y/N come on I need to get you home.” I said grabbing her arms.

“Ethan, where have you been I missed you.” She said hugging me.

Now I know she was really trashed to say she missed me.

“I am here now, let’s go home.” I said picking her up bridal style.

“okay babe.” she said making me laugh.

I heard me name being called making me turn around. I rolled my eyes seeing it was Bella.

“what are you doing?” She said gesturing to Y/N in my arms.

“taking her home she’s trashed and kind of important to me.” I said.

“well how am I supposed to get home?” she complained putting her hands on her hips.

I quickly scanned the room.

“you see that guy passed out on the couch? he’s my brother in his pocket is twenty dollars take it and call a cab.” I told her before walking away.

“you asshole.” She called after me.

“you’re not an asshole you’re a really good person.” Y/N said looking at me.

I laughed shaking my head.

“you would not be saying that if you were not incredibly drunk right now.” I said placing her in my front seat and buckling her in.

“Ethan wait.” She said grabbing my hand.

I looked at her waiting for her to respond.

“you’re kind of sexy do you know that” She said gazing up at me.

“okay drunk girl.” I laughed.

oh, how fun will it be explaining this to her when she wakes up.

part two coming soon

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ellebabywrites · 5 years

Text

Judas Kiss 6 - Mark Lee

Type : Series // Angst // Fluff // Future Smut // Gang!au

Warnings : Violence // Character Deaths // Cussing

Summary : There’s only one rule. You protect your own. None of you had chosen this life, but sticking together was the only way to survive it. When one of you dies and things start going wrong, the boy that saved you once on a whim, might be the only one who can keep you together.

Author Note : Chapter 6 is finally here !! This chapter and the next chapter are a little shorter because of the build up , but they’re packed full of fluff to make up for what’s to come ... 😅 Let me know what you think lovelies!! 💛

The Apartment was nothing like the Firehouse. For starters it was an actual apartment, not hidden in another building and not really even hidden that well. The building belongs to King; the residents are King’s allies; the neighbourhood is pretty much under King’s rule. For a ‘safe house’ it was debatable just how safe it really was.

You all make your way across the street from the old brick building, looking up at it hesitantly, unsure if it was really a good idea or not to head inside. With the Firehouse being exposed now, there was no telling what could be waiting for you all.

“Are we really just going to walk in there?” Rikky asked, stopping next to Mark in the middle of the street to stare up at the intimidatingly tall building, “I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out we could be here, and let’s be honest this,” he gestures at the building, “Isn’t exactly Fort Knox.”

With an exasperated sigh Ty turns around and grips Rikky by the back of the neck, dragging him along, “Stop trying to freak the kid out,” he scolded. Behind them both Mark was frozen in place, eyes like saucers making you giggle at how adorable he looks whenever Rikky teases him. Linking your arm through his, you pull him to follow the others inside.

Once you all reach the elevator, Mark finally lets his eyes shrink back to their normal size and releases a heavy breath, while Rikky smirks at him through the reflection of the doors, earning an elbow to the ribs from Ty. “Don’t worry Mark, everyone here is good with King so we’re safe,” he says reassuringly, with a kind of authority to his voice that makes Mark believe him and relax a little.

“It’s not much and no one’s been here in forever so it’s probably a mess,” you start rambling on as Ty unlocks the door to the apartment. Before it was a safe house, this place was your first home with King, it felt like you were letting Mark into another part of your soul and you were nervous. “I think Johnny’s old Xbox is still here, but there won’t be any food and you gave me your last piece of toast at Walt’s so you’re probably hungry.…”

“It’s okay Y/N, I’ll be fine,” Mark cuts you off before you could completely freak out over the state of your old home in the middle of the hall, “I’m sure it’s more than fine.”

And ‘fine’ it was. By the way you’d all been talking about it, Mark expected the apartment to be nothing special, just a typical N.City apartment, one bedroom, maybe a separate kitchen space. What he did not expect was to walk into a modern, 3-bedroomed suite with marble furnishings and fluffy creamy rugs. There was the faintest traces of dust along some of the tables but other than that, the place was spotless.

“Ahh how I’ve missed this place,” Rikky sighs in content, throwing down his bag and launching himself onto one of the rose coloured sofas that sat in the middle of the room, “If the firehouse is the batcave, this is Wayne manor.” Rikky got himself comfortable fairly quickly, lying back with his eyes closed and leaving the rest of you to carry the bags inside.

“This place is...wow,” Mark gasped, moving in a circle to stare up at all the paintings that hung high on the walls.

Ty looked on with a smirk as he watched you watching Mark, it felt like he was witnessing one of Johnny’s romcom movies in real life watching the pair of you.

“Y/N you help me carry this stuff to our room,” Ty hands you a duffle bag before turning to Mark, “If Rikky ever gets his ass up, your room’s just on the right there,” he motions over to the doors on the other side of the suite yand follows you over to them.

“C’mere Markie,” Rikky sings from his relaxed position on the sofa, waving around his arms in grabbing motions, “come cuddle ol’ Rikky before we go unpack.” Used to the melodramatics by now, Mark can only laugh as he tries to push Rikky’s legs down to make room for him to sit. But his attempts are futile because the second he gets close enough, Rikky pulls him down on top of him, wrapping his legs around his waist, engulfing him in a tight hug.

---

No one knew how long you’d be lying low at the apartment; no one knew the damage of Bangtan’s cyber attack; hell, no one knew anything. King was keeping everything very hush hush and you were just left to wait around and see what happens; and as the days went on it was becoming harder to keep your head down.

“This is bullshit,” Rikky suddenly snapped, drawing everyone’s attention away from The Office repeats you’d all been glued to for the last few days, “It’s bullshit! Where is King? C’mon, where is he? We’ve been here for 4 days and he’s been here what? Twice!”

“Okay Rik just calm down…” Ty groans at the outburst.

“No Ty! Seriously what are we doing here?”

“We just have to wait for King to come back Rik..” Mark tries to reason but Rikky can’t let it go.

“I’m sick of waiting for King Mark! King’s been acting shady ever since Johnny died and now we’re just supposed to trust he’ll sort everything out? We don’t even know where he is or what’s going on! Y/N, c’mon this must be bothering you too?”

“I mean..” you do agree but you’re not quite ready to bring it to the whole group yet, only letting Mark know of your bubbling suspicions, “it wouldn’t hurt to find out what’s happening…”

“See Ty, Y/N agrees!” Rikky yells out childishly, “All I’m saying is we do a little recon and find out what Bangtan are planning, that way we can be prepared.”

No one can deny that. Isn’t it better to be prepared than stuck as sitting ducks?

---

It’s been another long day. King hasn’t been at the apartment for another few days and it’s been nothing but radio silence. Most of the time is spent either sleeping; playing video games or trying to come up with plan to deal with Bangtan on your own.

“No Rikky that’s not how you do it!”

“I’m telling you this is enough!”

“You put that in first, God didn’t your mother teach you anything?”

“I grew up with killers big guy, they weren’t big on laundry!”

Mark makes his way off of the sofa where he was having a nap, to see Ty and Rikky arguing over the washing machine. They both freeze when Mark walks in, holding a bottle of detergent between them, clearly mid-fight.

“What’s going on in here?” he asks groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and trying not to laugh at the sight.

“Laundry Mark. What, you’ve never done laundry before?” Rikky quips defensively, but when Mark looks to see the spilled detergent all over the floor and pile of dirty clothes leaking out of the machine, he can’t help the giggle that comes out.

“Johnny used to do all this stuff,” Ty explains, looking embarrassed at the mess they’d made, “he was kind of the expert.”

“Okay okay, let me help.”

—-

After helping Ty and Rikky do their laundry, watching their faces scrunch up in concentration as he explains every step of the process, Mark falls back down on the sofa, filling in his forgotten nap time with more video games.

It’s almost 3 hours later when the front door opens and King walks into the dimly lit room, surprised to see someone still up, he sighs deeply and avoids eye contact, hanging up his coat on the hook before making his way over.

“Didn’t think anyone would be awake,” he says, still avoiding Mark’s curious eyes. King’s not stupid. He knows what everyone must be thinking, but he can’t explain, not yet.

“I got hooked on this level,” Mark chuckles nervously, it’s awkward and quiet and he doesn’t quite know how he should be acting around King right now.

“I’m really proud of you Mark,” There’s a faint smell of whiskey in the air when he speaks, not a lot, but enough for Mark to notice and enough to make him worry. In the short time he’s known King; lived with him; learned from him - he’s never seen him looking like this. Looking so broken. “You’re a good kid Mark… you’ll protect Y/N… you’ll take care of my Y/N…”

“Is everything okay Sir? Can….” Mark chews on his lip anxiously, “Can I do anything?” King is looking at his feet, eyes sad and distant. There’s a deafening silence filling the room and Mark is at a loss for what to do.

“You’re a good kid,” King finally looks up and Mark can see the tears starting to fill his eyes. “Go get some sleep Mark,” he says, turning to walk away, looking back over his shoulder just before to say “take Y/N to Walt’s tomorrow, she doesn’t get to see him enough.”

---

Loud chatter and the strong smell of coffee overwhelms your senses as you sit in Walt’s. Mark had asked you if you wanted to get some pancakes the next morning, just the two of you, and honestly it was a relief to get out alone for a while.

“You look pretty,” Mark says, smiling over his cup of coffee to see your reaction. He’s figured out how easy it is to make you blush and it’s become a personal mission of his to make it happen at least once a day.

“You look pretty,” you repeat back to him, trying to jokingly divert attention away from the flush of your neck but failing to hide the bashful smile from your face.

“How’re you feeling today?” He always asks how you’re feeling, not how you are, not how you’re doing - but how you’re feeling, and for some reason you always find yourself being honest about it. If Ty asked how you were feeling you’d simply say you were fine; if Rikky ever asked you’d tell him you felt like Tondy Hamk was overrated, then run away from his inevitable attack for the blatant disrespect of his skateboarding hero, Tony Hawk. Even with King you’d keep your answer short and sweet, maybe mentioning a rising hunger knowing that he’d make you something yummy.

But with Mark you can be honest. You can tell him every thought that’s running through your mind, every feeling that strikes your heart, and he’ll listen. He’ll listen and be there and by the end of it you always feel better.

“I’m okay, just confused about everything still..” brushing some hair behind your ear, you give Mark a sad smile. He’d become all too familiar with the internal battle you were having with yourself over everything. King was your family but Johnny was a part of you. If King was responsible for Johnny’s death then you would have to lose him too and you weren’t sure if you could handle that.

“I saw King last night, I think he was drunk,” Mark takes note of the way your jaw twitches and gaze falls to your hands at that, “he seemed sad Y/N, like…. I don’t know, just...not okay?”

“I don’t know what to do,” you look up with glassy eyes at the boy who always makes you feel better, except this time with the fear that it’s too much, “I think King killed Johnny.” Before the first tears could even begin to fall Mark had moved to sit next to you, pulling you into his chest and holding you tightly in his arms. The thought that King could be behind all of this kills you but right now it’s the only thing that makes any sense; especially with how he’s been acting lately; there was no other explanation.

Mark rests his chin on top of your head, planting a soft kiss there and whispering promises that it will all be okay. “Don’t worry Y/N, we’ll figure it out, for Johnny, I promise.”

“You can’t promise that,” you sniffle, lifting your head from his chest to stare at his impossibly beautiful face, letting him wipe away the remnants of tears from your cheeks.

“Well I do,” he whispers back, sincerity dripping from his words and a loving smile gently putting you at ease.

“Here you go kids,” Walt suddenly appears placing two plates stacked full of pancakes down on the table in front of you, ignoring the way you’re both still cuddled up close if he noticed, “I’ll be right back with another pot of coffee.”

“Thanks Uncle Walt,” you call out as he walks back behind the counter and Mark moves back to his seat opposite you.

“You two are adorable,” Walt comments when he comes back, topping up both of your mugs, “you remind me of me and my wife back in the day, man those were the times,” Walt’s adoration for his wife was never ending and the way he often gushed about her to people was the way all girls hope to be talked about by the one they love - that doesn’t mean it wasn’t making you both blush uncontrollably as Walt continues to list the comparisons; but it was lightening the mood and lifting your heavy spirits slightly.

With a sigh, Walt puts a hand on both of your shoulders and wishes you a good meal, it’s only after he walks away that he sends you a not-so-subtle wink and thumbs up over Mark’s shoulder.

“Tell me something,” Mark says, waiting till you’d just stuffed a large piece of pancake into your mouth, just to watch the way your face scrunches up when you try to swallow it all down quickly.

“Like what?”

“Like… what are your dreams?”

“My dreams?” You almost laugh, “I don’t have any dreams.”

“What! Everyone has dreams” Mark insists, “What’s something you’ve always wanted to do, outside of all of this?”

No one’s ever asked you that before, so it takes a moment for you to think. Mark watches silently as you do, taking in every subtle look on your face as you wrack your brain for a dream. He was in so deep and he knew it, that the simplest thing as the crease in between your eyebrows when your nose scrunched, or the way your eyelashes fluttered together each time you blinked, sent shock waves straight to his heart.

“Disneyland,” You answer after a while, “the one in Paris though, not Florida.”

“Disneyland, interesting,” Mark raises his eyebrows at you in surprise, but something about the innocence of your big dream being Disneyland when your life is full of such action and violence makes him smile at you even more.

“What? Is that funny?” You question the look he’s giving you, shovelling the last of your pancakes into your mouth.

“It’s not funny. It’s cute,” he assures, checking off the second time he’s made you blush today when your ears turn a bright scarlet.

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crazyfandomaddict · 6 years

Text

Meant To Be Part One

Pairing: Jungkook and Reader

Summary: You and your boyfriend break up after months of him being a jerk. The boys never liked him and are happy to see that things between you two ended. Jungkook takes the opportunity to get closer to you because he has always had a crush on you. The question is do you feel the same way about him? (Part 1/8)

a/n: This is the first series I have written so hopefully it isn't terrible. It will probably start out a little slow. I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Masterlist

I sighed as I sat on the couch in my boyfriends living room. He was yelling about something that happened to him at work. Whenever something pissed him off he always took it out on me. Things would never get physical but the verbal abuse was enough. I hated listening to him yell so I tried to just zone out and ignore him. Once he finished yelling he shook his head and stared at me.

"Did you even hear a single thing I just said?" I looked up at him and nodded.

"You said your boss was being a dick and embarrassed you in a meeting today."

"Yeah but what else did I say?" I looked around the room and bit my lip.

"I don't know. I stopped listening after you repeated yourself for the third time."

"You never fucking listen. That's the problem here."

"What do you want from me?! Every single time something bad happens to you, you start screaming at me as if it's my fault. If one of your friends piss you off, you blame me. If something goes wrong at work it is somehow my fault. I'm so tired of you treating me like crap!" I stood up so that I was directly in front of him.

"Then why don't you just get out? If you are so tired of me then just leave! I don't need you here!"

"And now you are just twisting my words! I never said I was tired of you! I said I was tired of how you treat me! There is a huge difference." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever just get out. We are done here."

"Fine. Have a nice life." I let out a small laugh and walked out of the apartment.

I knew that breaking up was inevitable. We were consitantly fighting and I was slowly pulling away from him but that didn't mean I wasn't hurt. For the past 6 months I fought to keep our relationship going whenever things got rough. There is only so much one person can do before everything falls apart. I decided to send a text in my group chat with my bestfriends to see if they were busy.

'Hey are you guys doing anything today? I could use some friends.' -Y/N

'Me, Tae hyung, and Jin hyung are home. The rest are busy. Come over.' -Jungkook

'Is your boyfriend being a jerk again?' -Namjoon

'I will gladly fight him.' -Yoongi

'We broke up. No need for violence boys. Kookie I'm on my way.' -Y/N

'We have your favorite ice cream ready. Hurry up.' -Tae

I smiled and drove to their house. The boys never failed to cheer me up. I walked into the house without knocking. They gave me a key months ago so that I could just walk in whenever I wanted. I heard the boys in the kitchen and followed the sound until I saw the three of them. Tae and Jk were sitting at the table while Jin pulled a few different things out of the fridge.

"What are you guys up to?" I took a seat next to Jungkook and smiled.

"Jin hyung is making dinner. We are just waiting for you." Tae smiled as he stood up.

"Dinner won't be ready for an hour so you guys go do something. No ice cream until after you eat." Jin pointed the spatula in his hand at me.

I pouted and looked up at him. "No fair. I was promised ice cream!"

"You will get your ice cream later. I know you haven't had dinner yet and you aren't going to spoil it by eating junk first."

I stuck my tongue out and followed the younger boys into the living room. Me and Jungkook sat on the couch while Taehyung grabbed three xbox controllers.

"Wanna play overwatch?" He asked as he handed me the controller.

"You know I'm bad at it. I'll play but you guys are going to have to carry me through it."

"Nothing new there. Let's play." Jk nodded to the tv and picked up his controller.

We played the game until the other boys came into the house about 30 minutes later. They all said hi to me and Jimin took my controller away.

"Hey! I was playing that!" I playfully smacked his shoulder and pouted.

"Oh shush. You were dying constantly. This is me helping you." Jimin smirked as he got a kill.

"Yeah we could really use a player that is actually good." Tae said. I glared at him before leaving to go see if Jin needed help.

"Jimin stole my controller. Do you need any help?"

"No I'm okay. Thank you for the offer." Jin smiled and ruffled my hair. He turned back to the stove and I went back to the living room.

I sat between Namjoon and Yoongi on the couch.

"Where were you two?" I asked.

"We went shopping. I wanted some new clothes and Yoongi needed new headphones because his broke." Namjoon looked down at me as he spoke.

"I needed headphones because you broke the old ones. Don't leave that part out just because you don't want to get lectured." Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"Yoongi hyung is a tattletale." I giggled and poked his cheek.

"Are you 5? Who even says tattletale anymore?"

"You just said it!" Namjoon and I laughed. Yoongi pushed me but it only made us laugh more.

"Why am I even friends with you?"

"Because you love me." I smirked which made him roll his eyes again.

"Yeah I guess."

"Hyung has a soft spot for Y/N!" Hobi said as he sat in front of me on the floor. I giggled and messed up his hair.

"I'm going to my room. Tell me when dinner is ready." Yoongi left the room. I patted his seat and J-hope got off the floor and sat next to me.

"You really should be more careful Joonie. You are always breaking things. It's getting out of hand." I looked up at him and he sighed.

"I thought I got away with it. Why did you have to bring it up again?"

"Because someone has to lecture you when you break things. The boys just get annoyed and make you replace it."

"At least I replace what I break!" I laughed and shook my head.

"That doesn't mean you should keep breaking things! Do you know how much money you could save by being more careful?"

"I will try my best Y/N."

I smiled and turned my attention to the tv. We watched the boys play Overwatch until Jin called everyone for dinner. After dinner Jungkook and I offered to clean up. I was washing the dishes and he was drying them and putting them away.

"So how are you felling? I know your boyfriend was a dick but he clearly meant a lot to you. I mean you put up with him all this time." Jk put the dish he was holding away and turned to look at me.

"I'm fine. Part of me knew it would happen eventually." I turned off the water and dried my hands.

"Just because you know something will happen doesn't mean it won't hurt." I nodded and turned to look back at him.

"I know. It’s nothing time and fire won’t fix."I smirked up at him. He looked at me confused.

"Fire? Like our song Fire or actual fire?" I giggled while shaking my head.

"Actual fire you dork! I'm just gonna take the pictures and gifts and burn them. Figured it was a good way to get rid of it all."

"Let's do it! You have a fire pit in your back yard. We can go to your house and get rid of it all now."

"We should probably tell the boys we are leaving."

Jungkook texted the group chat and we left. I drove to my house and went inside to grab our old pictures and the two teddy bears he had given me. Jk went out back to get a fire started. When I walked out the back door he smiled at me and grabbed some of the pictures from my hands. We threw them all on the fire and grabbed the bears.

"It feels wrong to burn such cute bears. I mean they weren't assholes." Jungkook pouted while looking at the stuffed animal.

"Yeah you are kinda right. Maybe I can donate them? I mean it's not like anything ever happened to them. They've been sitting on a shelf in my room since I got them."

"There is a place that takes unused toys not to far away. We can bring them there tomorrow."

"That works. Wanna put out the fire and go watch a movie? It's to early for me to sleep and I don't really wanna be alone tonight." I looked over at him and bit my lip.

"Yeah. I can sleep on the couch tonight. I don't have any other plans."

"I knew you were my favorite."

"I'll be sure to tell the boys you said that." He smirked triumphantly.

We put out the fire and went inside to watch a movie. After the movie finished I gave him a pillow and blanket.

"You sure you're okay with sleeping on the couch? You can have my bed for the night. You are a guest."

"I don't mind staying on the couch. It's comfortable. You go sleep in your bed." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

"If you change your mind just wake me up."

"Go to bed Y/N."

"Goodnight Kookie."

"Goodnight."

#bts imagines #bts jungkook #bts #jungkook #bts kookie #jungkook x reader

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obsidianarchives · 6 years

Text

Black Woman Creator: Kiesha Richardson

Raised in Philadelphia in a house full of women (grandmother, 4 aunts, and mother) Kiesha Richardson learned early on the importance of solidarity and support among women. She is the founder of Ge’NeL Magazine, a woman-operated geek and pop culture website devoted to creating high quality from a woman’s perspective to combat sexism and racism in the gaming world. She is also the owner of Ge’NeL Media, LLC, a small startup that edits and creates content for businesses and brands. When she’s not working, she’s leading her World of Warcraft guild, traveling the world and playing faux-tographer, or relaxing at home, watching Netflix or reading comics with her pups. We spoke to Kiesha about Ge’NeL and being a creator.

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

We create geek culture and gaming content from the perspective of women because most of the outlets are dominated by white men. When I go to different websites, their communities are pretty toxic and they don’t try to fix or address it. It’s just “sexual harassment is ok and it’s normalized” so I figured it was time we do something different. Through my research, I didn’t realize that there were more places for women, especially women of color, to express their geeky side in a safe space. So one of the things I wanted to do is instead of creating a safe space I want to change the narrative. Make sexual harassment, racism, and homophobia no longer normalized.

BGC: What inspired you to create this site?

I personally got tired of trying to play different games and being called the N-word or told to go back to the kitchen, or that I shouldn’t be playing games when someone would hear my voice. It just got really tiring. The last straw came when I was streaming and a couple of friends and I were just having fun, minding our own business, and this dude came into my stream channel and said “show me your n***r tits or get the f*** out.” When I talked to other women about it they would say “oh it’s happened before,” and I thought it shouldn’t be normal. So I tried talking to other organizations I was writing for and the response was “we don’t want to get political.” I thought “thanks for being an ally,” and decided to do my own thing.

BGC: Why do you create?

I create because first of all, I just love writing. It was the natural outlet for me. But I also create so I can just stop this nonsense. We don’t have to deal with this stuff anymore and we should at least get larger platforms to take notice and do something. Some of the gaming companies and developers are trying, but it’s not enough. It’s so pervasive and if you go to different forums or gaming groups and try to have this conversation, there is a lot of pushback. But when you ignore it, you’re not addressing the problem and you’re letting it spread, so we have to do something.

BGC: How did you get interested in gaming?

I’ve been gaming since I was 8 years old, in the second grade. My childhood best friend had an Atari and I got hooked on it at her house. We would exchange different cultural things; she wasn’t allowed to watch music videos so she would come over to watch videos and I’d go over to her house and play games. So we would switch off that way and I’ve been playing ever since.

BGC: When did you realize that gaming was a part of your identity more than just a hobby?

When I lived in Germany with my parents, I took a semester off of college to move. My brother, cousin, and I would have sleepovers in each others’ room and play games all night on the weekend. We would take turns playing different games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and others to see who could beat the map. It became something that was a part of us. When I ended up working in Iraq running a recreation center, I was the only one who knew how to set up Xboxes and Playstations and set up tournaments. So it was what I did and how I knew gaming was just me.

BGC: What was it like to take something like gaming to a different country and culture? Is it easier to connect or is it just another cultural exchange that needs to happen?

It’s definitely easier to connect with people through gaming. I operated the recreational center for the US and UN forces. You can’t make people forget that they’re in a war zone, because we were definitely in the thick of it, but what I could do is give people a place where they could at least relax for some time, and that was through video games. It was how we connected and how we communicated and found commonalities where there weren’t many to be found. I made so many friends that I’m still friends with today. When they would have a bad day or be stressed out, they would come and just talk about games. Video games were a way of bridging a gap in communication.

BGC: Who or what inspired you to do what you do?

I’ve loved writing from a very young age. My grandma, Nancy, always inspired me to write, even when I would get in trouble for my writing. I actually think getting in trouble for my writing made me want to write more. When I was in the fifth grade I was supposed to write a Halloween story and she said she wanted it to be scary, to “let our imagination fly.” Well, my imagination flew too far because she called a parent/teacher conference to ask if I was being abused or if anything was going on at home because the details in my story were too vivid. When my mom assured her there was nothing going on, she asked if I plagiarized and I was shocked because I did what she had asked me to do.

BGC: Something that I’ve noticed is that the things that either got me in trouble growing up or made me feel ostracized are the things that I’m not most successful with. Have you noticed that as well?

Yes, I do notice that. I’ve always been a bit rebellious and it got me into a lot of trouble. My mom used to tell me “sometimes you have to know when to close your mouth. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, just know when to shut up,” and now I’ve found that it’s helped me out a lot. Sometimes you have to say what you have to say and ask for forgiveness later.

BGC: Why is it important for Black women to create?

We need to be the authors of our own stories. For too long other people have been telling our stories and that’s something that we need to change. We need to change that narrative. I love Black men, I do, but our story isn’t always intertwined with theirs and we’ve had different struggles throughout history. Angela Davis talked about how the Civil Rights Movement left Black women out just like the women’s suffrage movement left Black women out. We need to be the authors of our own story now and it’s time, it’s important for us to do that.

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life?

Is there such a thing as balance? I’m not exactly sure yet. I want this to be my career, to be honest. When I was going through my divorce, writing was the only thing I could do. I couldn’t get out of bed. I’d always lived with depression but going through that divorce, it was crippling. The only thing I could do was write, I’d be in bed with my laptop and I could write. It was a way for me to transport myself out of my circumstance and when I think about that and how writing saved me in addition to gaming, I think the balance is just living and not letting one overtake the other. They both saved my life, creating and writing helped me and video games helped me, but I have to make sure to go outside every once and awhile I guess.

BGC: How does writing help your mental health? Do you ever find that writing hurts your mental health?

I think helps because a lot of times it’s not easy to talk about what you’re going through with other people. When I write, it’s a way for me to communicate how I’m feeling and what’s going on with me. I noticed when I first started blogging and I started writing about depression, there were other people who were feeling the way I was feeling and that was important to me. So when I do write about mental health I try to keep in mind that I’m not alone. People may not have the exact feelings but they’re feeling a similar way. When I write, I try to take into account self-care when it comes to mental health issues. So when I write, I try to make sure that other women know that they’re not alone and know that taking care of themselves is a part of taking care of their mental health. One of my coworkers once said “muting you is my self care for the day.” Sometimes you have to mute the negativity. It’s definitely easier said than done but don’t be afraid to hit that mute button. Take care of yourself and do it in a way that makes you feel good. People think self-care is one size fits all and it’s not. You have to figure out what makes you happy, no one else is going to make you happy. Things won’t necessarily make you happy, but something might. People say “material things won’t make you happy,” but shoes do for me. Figure out what makes you happy and try something new. I think that goes a long way towards helping your mental health.

BGC: What’s important to you when you’re building a community and working with other writers, especially when you’re trying to serve underrepresented groups? What do you try to focus on when working with other people?

Passion, empathy, and understanding that there is a problem that we want to address and that we are going to be the voices to do it. There is no such thing as a perfect person and there are no perfect writers. I have people on my team who have no writing experience, no writing background, but their stories are beautiful. I can work with someone who is not really a writer. What I can’t work with is negativity, internalized sexism, and putting down other women. With me being a streamer, I come across so many people, especially guys, who have a problem with women who show cleavage when they stream, but they’re marketing and are full of life with energetic personalities and these guys only reduce them to what they're wearing. Then you have some women who will piggyback on that and say they’re making streaming worse for the rest of us. How? They’re working, it was nothing to do with the boobs, I mean guys (and some women) will look, no doubt, but that’s not going to keep them watching. It’s about positivity and being understanding of all women and their struggles. You don’t have to like all women, that’s not realistic, but you don’t have to put them down. I’m not going to be negative and when I look for people to work with I look for that positivity. Are you uplifting other people or are you trying to tear people down because you don’t have your own stuff going on? Positivity. Empathy. Sisterhood. Solidarity. That’s what I want the community to be regardless of racial, ethnic, religious, or cultural backgrounds. I want women to be able to be themselves. I want to uplift us all without having to step on someone else. Having male allies, that’s fantastic. Guys who come to the site think Ge’NeL magazine is anti-male and it’s not, we just don’t want to be shit on. We’re tired of the racism and sexism and xenophobia. I didn’t know there was an entire community of Muslim women gamers but they don’t say anything because of how they’re treated on social media, so we have to uplift each other. But I’m also not going to try to let someone take over the narrative of Black women. Our story is our story and it’s okay for us all to have different stories, to just be different chapters in the same book.

BGC: Do you have any advice for new creators who are just starting out on their journey?

It was hard for me to get to the point where I was getting paid writing gigs and I can’t remember where I heard the quote but someone said if there are no opportunities create your own. So that’s what I did, I didn’t give up. I started putting everything single thing I did on my resume when it came to writing. Don’t be afraid to go to content mills to get the experience that you want or need. Research, read, you can’t be a writer without reading. If you don’t understand the content you’re trying to create or how other people view different types of content, then you’re not going be successful.

BGC: Do you have any future projects that you’re thinking about working on?

Not exactly with Ge’NeL but there is a non-profit in Augusta called Girl Warriors that takes at-risk girls and introduces them to tech and other avenues outside of the environment that they’re currently in. I’m also going to be editing a book as well.

As for Ge’NeL, I’m still trying to find more writers. Unfortunately, we don’t have a budget to pay, we’re all volunteers at this point. But I’m looking for writers, editors, and I am putting together a pitch deck to get some funding for Ge’NeL and to maybe start a stream team.

BGC: Where can we find you?

You can find me on twitter @onewildflowerz, same for Facebook and Instagram, or you can find Ge’Nel at @genelmag on Twitter and Facebook.

#magazine #gaming #writer #nerd culture #streaming

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daleisgreat · 4 years

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PSP 15th Anniversary & Neo-Geo 30th Anniversary - Flashback Specials!

A couple months ago in March, the PSP hit its milestone 15th anniversary of its North American launch, just a few months after its end of 2004 debut launch in Japan. It came and went without much hubbub in the gaming media however due to that hitting around the same time the COVID-19 outbreak started to make waves in America and that pandemic rightfully getting the bulk of the press attention. Writing about game platform anniversaries over the past several weeks has been helping me get through these wild times we are now in by reflecting on my memories of these platforms, so with that said, please join me in looking back at Sony’s debut handheld….and later on in this very same flashback special I will have a bonus addendum with my memories of the Neo-Geo since it recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

I remember when the PSP was surprisingly announced at Sony’s 2003 E3 press conference. I was there in Los Angeles covering my first E3 that year! The website I wrote for at the time, the long defunct vgpub.com, was a smaller gaming press outlet and only had one invite to the Sony press conference so our website founder, John attended the Sony conference while I and another staff writer slept in! I will never forget when John got back shortly after it ended and my colleague and I asked him if there were any big surprises (still a year or two away at this point with conferences being live streamed and with MySpace being the only major social media in 2003, there was a lack of live minute-by-minute news reporting and you would have to wait at least a couple hours until after the conferences ended to check gaming websites for news updates). John replied with an ‘oh yeah’ and proceed to hand us a little PR packet with a press release announcing the Playstation Portable (PSP) and how it would have near identical tech to the PS2 and be able to play movies with its UMD-discs. By mid-2003 the PS2 was a juggernaut around the globe and took up a little over half the market share in the home console gaming market against the Xbox and GameCube. With the PSP offering a big upgrade to the then-current GameBoy Advance out on the market and having near PS2 quality graphic capabilities, and with DVD movies being a huge factor into PS2 sales, it only seemed logical the PSP would be a sure-winner in the handheld gaming market. All three of us were buzzing about the news and how the PSP would be huge for handheld gaming and how Sony likely would take over. That did not quite happen however due to the surprise success of the Nintendo DS, but that did not stop the PSP to go on and be a viable gaming handheld alternative and have a fair amount of global success. I recall being incredibly stoked for the PSP launch, with a lot of hype going into its 20-plus launch game lineup.

I particularly remember being excited for Lumines, a new puzzler from Bandai that put a new twist on Tetris-style dropbox puzzle gameplay. It achieved this by making combo-clearing squares, instead of lines, and having a mesmerizing evolving soundtrack and graphic scheme whenever certain score targets were hit. Amazingly, the gameplay ranked right up there as top-in-class puzzler gameplay with Tetris. Combine that with its dazzling visuals and phenomenal soundtrack and it resulted in Lumines being the surprise killer-app of the PSP launch. Earlier this week I popped in Lumines Remastered on the PS4, and the gameplay is still as addicting as ever, and my anticipated quick five minute round for a refresher resulted in nearly playing an hour nonstop! From the other launch games I remember getting Untold Legends, Twisted Metal: Head-On and Tony Hawk’s Underground 2: Remix. Head-On was an all-new Twisted Metal game that was a good handheld version that also offered up online play, which was among one of the first of all handheld games to do so. I was a big fan of the hack ‘n slash action-RPGs on consoles during that era like Dark Alliance and Champions, and Untold Legends was a fun portable take on that which also offered up local wireless multiplayer. My friend, podcast co-host and also fellow VGpub staff writer Chris, along with my brother Joe, met up for a few memorable multiplayer sessions of Untold Legends.

All three of us played a whole heck of a lot of PSP in its initial weeks. At this time in early 2005, downloadable audio shows were kind of catching on but it was still a few months before Apple officially dubbed them as ‘podcasts’ on iTunes. I brought up the idea to Joe and Chris to get together to record an audio show for VGpub all about the PSP launch and our initial thoughts on the games available. We had no idea how to set it up on the technical side, so we winged it and Chris brought over one of those old-school stationary, coffee table tape recorders that are kind of stereotypical in psychiatrist or detective interview scenes in movies. We hooked an auxiliary cable from it to my PC and somehow produced a digital tin-can-and-string version of what would be the pilot of VGpub’s podcast. We sent the pilot to the VGpub editors to see what they thought, but we were dismayed when hearing back they thought it was too long at around 50 minutes in length. Bummed with that reception, we wound up not posting the PSP pilot show, but eventually gave podcasting another go when that scene took off several months later after it caught on with iTunes. We had a fun seven year run on the podcast, and when VGpub sunsetted a couple years after we started, we continued with the podcast on its own site for a few more years and as part of the launch posted the long lost pilot episode. And now in honor of the PSP’s 15th anniversary, I dug out that amazingly awful audio quality pilot from my hard drive archives and uploaded it to YouTube so now you all could relive our initial highs over the PSP’s launch. You can check it out by click or pressing here, or by checking out the embed below!

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Behold our low-tech, amateur endeavor of the very first podcast I participated in that focused on the launch of the PSP. THUG 2: Remix was a nice port of the console version of that Tony Hawk game I played a lot of. It was shortly after playing this is when I realized I did not want to play PS2 ports on the PSP. While a lot of them packed in a lot of the same content as their PS2 counterparts, they suffered noticeably due to the PSP having one analog ‘nub,’ only one pair of shoulder buttons and having to dial back the graphics and/or features in order to get it running on the comparably lower-powered PSP. I realized this moreso over the next year picking up and trying out PSP versions of BurnOut, Virtua Tennis and Gun. Once again, nothing against the PSP versions since a lot of them played and looked fine on the PSP, and if I primarily was on the road or travelling I would have been thrilled with these versions. It was over this next year I realized I would rather play these PSP ports on the PS2 instead of dealing with those compromises.

Unfortunately in the early years of the PSP, it was dominated by PS2 ports and five star original titles like Lumines were few and far between. This culminated with barely getting any play out of the system and selling off my PSP a little over a year later in mid-2006. Things were looking dire for a little while for the PSP, but Sony and strong third party support from companies like Square-Enix, EA and Capcom continued to pump out games and eventually the PSP established a strong portfolio of original releases. Some of the original efforts from Sony were so strong that games like Twisted Metal: Head On, Syphon Filter and Motorstorm: Arctic Edge got remastered ports on the PS2 to keep up first party releases for the PS2 in its twilight years. I want to make sure to give a shoutout to other strong original PSP titles such as the Patapon series, WTF: Work Time Fun, both Phantasy Star Portable entries, all four SOCOM titles, Resistance: Retribution, both Pursuit Force games, Killzone: Liberation, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, both God of War titles, Mega Man: Powered Up and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. In 2012, I acquire PSP’s successor from Sony, the Vita. It featured digital backwards compatibility with a fair amount of the PSP’s library. I wound up acquiring about a dozen of the PSP games I always wanted to try this way that I missed out on after selling it. The Vita was also compatible with most of the PSone classics that were available on the PS3. This lead to me playing a lot of Final Fantasy VII a couple years ago in anticipation for the recently released and long coming FFVII Remake. This past week a fired up a few of them for a refresher on some of the PSP titles in preparation for this article. I had a lot of fun with the original Pursuit Force….at least the first couple missions anyways since that game had compatibility issues and frequently froze on the Vita.

I dusted off my Castlevania skills in my attempts at playing the remake of Rondo of Blood that is part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. It has a challenging but fair degree of difficulty in the few levels I progressed through. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops I dug a lot for its first couple bite sized missions that focused on the origins of Snake meeting Campbell. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker I consider to be the true, fully featured fifth installment of the series since it essentially has a full length story and slate of missions available. I did not play it on the PSP, but instead on the HD remaster collection that released a year later on the PS3 and loved grinding through its wide variety of missions that set the stage for The Phantom Pain. While it is not compatible with the PSP’s physical discs, the Vita is a good alternative to experience most of the PSP’s library through digital download for those still curious about the PSP’s games. On the UMD movie side of things, launch PSPs came bundled with a copy of Spider-Man 2 which I eventually watched on a plane trip. The quality of the UMD movies were undeniably good. Later on, I got sent a UMD to review of the fun underdog sports film, Dodgeball and those wound up being the only two UMDs I owned. For the first year or two of the PSP lifespan I remember game stores being flooded with physical UMDs, but a lot of them cost nearly as much as their DVD versions at the time and I am speculating that people anticipated they would only cost half or a third as much as DVDs kind of relative to how the portable-to-console game pricing goes, and when that proved not to be the case it lead to a quick exit for UMD movies on the PSP. I look back at the PSP and will fondly remember those awesome early months I had with it, and how it later redeemed itself by having a fleshed out lineup of original games. I want to also give the PSP props for becoming the only platform that easily surpassed portable efforts from other companies that tried to compete against Nintendo in the handheld gaming market like Atari, Tiger, Sega and SNK. I adhere caution when tracking down used PSPs due to reports of some PSPs being susceptible of having bulging battery packs over time. Sony released a few different revisions of the PSP, so I do not know if that is related to only the launch version, or for all versions of the PSP. This is why I recommend tracking down a Vita instead to get your PSP fix for those interested.

In the bonus addendum to this PSP anniversary flashback, I will touch on my brief memories with SNK’s Neo-Geo to commemorate its recent 30th anniversary of the original launch of the Japan arcade hardware. The arcade side of the Neo-Geo was dubbed the Multi-Video System (MVS) and it debuted in Japan in April of 1990, and following in American arcades a few months later in August. For those not in the know, the 24-bit arcade hardware had a home console version called the Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES) that launched in Japan later on in 1990 and in 1991 in America. The unique thing about the Neo-Geo is both the MVS and AES used the exact same technology so it was possible to have 100% faithful home ports. SNK wanted the home experience to as close as possible to the arcade that it bundled the system with two mammoth arcade sticks. I first remember seeing Neo-Geo games in MVS format at various arcades in the early to mid-90s. The MVS cabinet was unmistakable with it having the eye-grabbing Target-red color and the two-to-four mini-game marquees listed at the top of it. The big draw to arcade operators at time of the Neo-Geo MVS was that the games came on friendlier priced cartridges that could easily be swapped out like games in a console instead of ordering whole new arcade machines to replace them. I have seen the four-slot MVS plenty of times, but I mostly remember seeing the two-slot version more frequently in arcades over the years, and for the most part it was the same two games featured on them: Puzzle Bobble (AKA Bust-a-Move) and Metal Slug. These were the two game I primarily encountered on the MVS in my childhood arcade experiences. I was not all that great at Puzzle Bubble with its unique spin on puzzle games by shooting bubbles onto the playfield from the bottom of the screen. I did however love Metal Slug and its sequel that I also recall seeing originally on the MVS. Metal Slug was arcade bliss at the time, with charming cartoony soldiers oozing with detail and twee animations as they run ‘n gunned with an arsenal of over-the-top weaponry, villains and larger than life boss battles. Metal Slug is one of the few games where slowdown is a good thing in my opinion because it primarily happened when encountering daunting bosses and explosions that filled up the screen and it felt like the machine was doing all it could to keep the action moving.

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Jason and John from the MetalJesus crew do a fine job here giving a 101 lesson on the Neo Geo hardware and have lots of footage here of some of the best games to hit Neo-Geo.

A few weeks ago I did a quick playthrough of Metal Slug X on Xbox One since it was on Game Pass, and everything that I fondly associated with those run ‘n gunners was still there, even the slowdown! Thankfully the AES and MVS games did not remain trapped on their original expensive hardware. By the mid-2000s, SNK regularly started to output various collections of games both digitally and physically. I highly recommend Metal Slug Anthology that hit PS2 and Wii, and later got digitally ported onto the PS4. A majority of the individual Neo-Geo games got ported over individually in recent years on PS4, Xbox One and Switch. Since all these marketplaces frequently run sales on their back catalog, you can now find a lot of these games well under their default price of $7.99 each. Over the last few years I checked out plenty of original Neo-Geo games this way. I tried out too many fighting games to count by doing this, but also finally got a chance to play SNK’s arcade sports offerings that got overlooked by their many fighting games. Three Count Bout is a graphically impressive wrestling title, but its button-mashing leniency takes a toll on thumbs. I loved Dunk Dream/Street Hoop, which is SNK’s take on NBA Jam, but with a hip-hop makeover and catchy rap-filled soundtrack. Neo-Geo Turf Masters is a fast-paced, fun golf title and until recently I had no idea that the Super Volleyball game I loved so much on Genesis had a beefed up version and a sequel featuring amped up robots and robotic attacks on the Neo-Geo. The Neo-Geo is renowned for its acclaimed catalog of fighting games with several entries each in hit series like Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury, World Heroes, Art of Fighting and its flagship fighter, The King of Fighters which saw annual entries on the platform for 10 years from 1994-2003. Of all these, the ones I frequented the most of were various re-releases were King of Fighters ‘97 and ’98. Its team based fighting style made it standout from the other fighting games, and it was only in recent years with some longer sessions with KoF ’98 that I finally started to come around on it. One of these days I want to give an honest effort at getting into Samurai Shodown. I remember the gaming mags were hyping up its debut entry at the time as a major breakthrough to fighting games with its gruesome swordplay it brought to the table. I eventually picked up its anthology disc on PS2 and dabbled with a couple entries, but never too seriously and need to correct that sooner than later. A random memory is attempting to play Samurai Shodown II at Arcade Infinity in Koreatown one evening in the afterhours of covering E3 in 2003. Shortly after starting it up, someone sat down and challenged me and proceeded to properly dominate me. Looking back, that may have something to do with why I never gave it that much of a shot.

I never had a chance to play the AES home system until well after its lifespan in the early 2010s at regional retro game conventions. That was because I did not see one in the wild until then. Unfortunately in 1990, the home console market was dominated by the NES while the Genesis was only a year old and just starting to break in, so while the MVS was a bargain for arcade operators, the AES arcade perfect tech was way ahead of the times and cost exponentially more compared to the NES and Genesis at the time. Reading copies of Game Players and Electronic Gaming Monthly back then I associated Neo-Geo AES games as being the games that literally cost $200-300 individually in the back of the magazine ads for mail service game catalogs. Occasionally there would be SNES/Genesis ports of the popular games like the original Fatal Fury and Samurai Shodown, but obviously there quality was dialed back to run on the weaker machines and that was realistically all of what was available to a majority of the home console market until those anthology collections started to get released in the mid-2000s. I never owned an AES, but I was stunned by its lasting power with official games being released for it all the way until 2004. I only a saw a Neo-Geo AES for sale once at my local retro game shop all these years back around 2008 and I want to say it was going for about $200, and part of me wanted to get it for the standout collector’s item it would be, but another side of me knew the games went for insane amounts by that point and the games were already by then starting to get re-released on other consoles in more wallet-friendly anthology discs. If you have yet to dip into the Neo-Geo catalog, I would highly recommend either grabbing the digital copy of Metal Slug Anthology on PS4 for some awesome two player run ‘n gun couch co-op with a friend as the perfect way to start off. Otherwise, type in ‘ACA’ in the Xbox One/PS4/Switch digital marketplaces to see most of the Neo-Geo games released digitally under the ACA banner. While it was damn near impossible to afford to play the AES games at home during their initial release, I will close by giving major props to SNK for keeping their back catalog of Neo-Geo titles alive for current generations to discover on current platforms at consumer friendly prices! Thanks again for sticking with me in reliving my memories of the PSP and Neo-Geo with this two-for-one flashback anniversary special! Want more retro-game goodness? Then take a peek at my other flashback specials below!

My Other Gaming Flashbacks Dreamcast 20th Anniversary GameBoy 30th Anniversary Genesis 30th Anniversary PSone 25th Anniversary Saturn and Virtual Boy 25th Anniversaries TurboGrafX-16 30th Anniversary and 32-X 25th Anniversary

#videogames #psp #neogeo #snk #sony

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arigathanksgozaimuch · 7 years

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22 vs. 4

genre: fluff x 1000000. character/s: im changkyun | reader. overview: explaining love to a four-year-old wasn’t all that difficult, especially when your boyfriend is a child at heart. word count: 2974.

“Babe?” she called out while slipping her shoes off as soon as she entered the room. Tiptoeing carefully over empty soda bottles and Xbox controllers, Y/N advanced to the first bedroom and opened the door. As usual during weekends, he was still dozing off and buried under thick, white comforters.

Quietly, she climbed up the mattress and slid under the covers to wake her sleepyhead of a boyfriend. “Changkyun,” Y/N said, sliding her arms around his waist before her hand reaches for his butt and pats it repeatedly. “Wake up.”

He stirred slightly, winding his arms around her and hoisting her up to lie on top of him. The boy in nothing but his checkered green boxers groaned against her ear. “Were we supposed to go somewhere today?” Changkyun mumbled groggily. With his eyes still closed, he blindly reached for his phone on the bedside drawer to check the time. “You’re here early.”

“Yeah, well—” she started, rolling off of him with a grunt and pausing only to yawn, “—my parents are arriving in a few hours to drop Miyeon off before heading to the airport.”

“Miyeon…?”

“My sister, yeah,” Y/N replied nonchalantly, hopping off the mattress before she could fall back asleep beside him. Grabbing his blankets in handfuls, she peeled it off of him to keep him from dozing off once more. “So if you could go get dressed so you could help me out, that would be great.”

The boy whined, shifting to lie on his stomach and bury his face on the pillow. “I was supposed to sleep in today!”

“Come on, I have two tests to study for. I need help looking after the kid.”

When he didn’t budge, Y/N frowned, letting his blanket pool around her feet. “Aren’t you going to come help me? I thought you loved me.”

At her statement, Changkyun flailed his arms and legs on the bed, as if throwing a tantrum, before pushing himself up to sit over his knees. If he ever had a weakness, it would be the pouting woman with her hands on her hips standing at the foot of his bed. “Alright, alright, but you have to get me breakfast,” he said, scratching the back of his head before dragging himself to the bathroom to wash up while grumbling, “The things she makes me do, really…”

Despite his complaints, however, he found himself at her own dorm room more than an hour later, blinking back at the child who had been staring at him the entire time Y/N was talking to her parents. Wet-haired and bloated with breakfast, Changkyun tried chatting her up by asking about the cartoon character on her backpack, but Miyeon refused all advances.

“She takes quite a while warming up to strangers,” her mother explained, noticing the sullen expression on Changkyun’s face. “Eventually she’ll open up to you.”

Rubbing his nape, the boy only nodded, standing up and bowing politely as Y/N’s parents bid them goodbye. As soon as the wooden door meets the frame when it closed, Changkyun immediately went to work, approaching the couch carefully while hiding something behind his back.

“So… do you like milk?”

He placed the pink carton on the table and pushed it across with his fingertips. All his advances so far had been rejected in cold blood. He swore he had never met a girl so difficult.

“Miyeon, he gave you a drink. What will we say…?” Y/N said, trying to coax her sister into saying something other than just huffing.

“Thank you,” the girl mumbled, almost inaudibly, before quickly snatching the milk. Changkyun attempted to help her put the straw in, but Miyeon had already turned her back on him to do it herself.

Defeated, the man sank further into the couch. Y/N reached out to squeeze his hand affectionately, but her sister wasn’t having any of it. Miyeon started to whine loudly at every physical contact her sister made with her boyfriend.

Opening her arms, Y/N called out for the little girl and made her sit on her lap comfortably. “Why don’t you like him? He came with me sometimes whenever I went home to visit, right? And he always gave you presents,” she said, as if trying to make Miyeon remember. The girl only responded by shaking her head, her attention still intently focused on the TV. Y/N sighed. “He’s going to look after you for a while because I have to study.”

“Can’t I sit with you while you work?” the four-year-old huffed, finally using her words, causing Changkyun to look up from where he was slouching.

“You’ll get bored. I can’t talk to you the whole time because I have to finish my papers, and you can’t watch cartoons on my computer because I’ll be using it,” she explained, her thumbs gently caressing the younger’s cheeks. “But he can bring you outside if you want. You can go to the store with him to buy more snacks, too.”

“But—”

“But what?” Y/N prodded.

Miyeon alternated glances between her sister and sulking man beside her. Realizing she had no other choice, “Okay, fine…” she huffed, her shoulders slumped.

Changkyun jumped at the sudden opportunity and wasted no time. He hopped off the couch and knelt on one knee, flourishing a hand towards the child. “Would you, the lovable and beautiful Princess Miyeon from the land of Dorm 242, bestow on me, a lowly peasant from the land of Dorm 098, the honor of carrying you to the 7-Eleven outside the campus?” Before he could finish talking, however, Miyeon was already on her way to the front door. “…or you know we could just walk. That’s what I was thinking,” he said, getting up to follow after the girl.

He wanted to help her put her shoes on, but she was already wearing them. “You tie your shoelaces nicely. That’s cool,” Changkyun said as he led her out of the dormitory. “Your sister always gets them loose, I don’t know how. So I have to tie them for her.”

The girl seemed to know her way out of the building as she led the way, leaving Changkyun to follow a few steps behind her. Since it was a weekend, most of the students were either catching up on sleep or enjoying their free time, so he didn’t expect to meet Minhyuk and Jooheon as soon as they rounded the corner.

“Where are you guys headed?” Changkyun asked, placing a gentle hand over Miyeon’s shoulder to keep her close and within his reach.

His two friends didn’t seem to be interested in him, however, because all their attention was focused on the little girl. “We were on our way to you, actually,” Jooheon explained. “We were planning to wake you up and have you join us for brunch.”

“Nah, I can’t, obviously,” the younger said, suddenly feeling betrayed when Miyeon runs into Minhyuk’s arms. “I’m on future brother-in-law duty.”

“She’s Y/N’s sister?” Minhyuk exclaimed, lifting the child up and laughing when the latter squeals in excitement. “No wonder you look so similar!”

“Yeah, we were on our way to the store to buy snacks,” Changkyun said, frowning. “And I’m trying to make her like me.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. To test the theory, he pretended to hand Miyeon over to Changkyun. “He’ll give you a piggyback ride to the store so you won’t get tired,” he proposed, but the child whined, squirming in his arms.

The outright rejection broke Changkyun’s heart further, but it only amused Jooheon more. “Ya, she’s a girl. All you have to do is tell her she’s pretty and she’ll stop being upset.”

Rolling his eyes, Changkyun stepped a good distance away from the two boys and the girl to give Y/N a call. “Yeah, this isn’t working out,” he greeted as soon as his girlfriend picked up.

The woman snorted, unamused. She only had her phone pressed in between her ear and shoulder, as if holding the phone properly would cost her a year of backlog. “That’s the spirit!” Y/N exclaimed in the most sarcastic tone she could muster. “Come on, you’re probably not even out of the campus yet.”

Changkyun looked from left to right. “How did you know? Are you following us?”

“Tch, it’s the blood connection, you airhead. I can feel her still near.”

Now, it was his turn to snort. “What, are you a psychic now?”

“Did you bring her to the fountain? The wishing well?” she asked, completely ignoring his mockery. She spun on her swivel chair and leaned back. “I swear to God if anything bad happens to my sister I’ll chop your toes and feed them to you.”

“She’s not even looking at me!” he whined, looking over his shoulder to where Jooheon had Miyeon sitting over his shoulders while they try to chase after Minhyuk, who was having the time of his life running in slow motion. “She’s with Jooheon and Minhyuk right now.”

“Oh, well, that’s cute. At least she’s not with Hyunwoo.”

“But how come she likes them? She’s literally just met them!” he groaned, stomping his foot in irritation.

“Hey, take your time,” Y/N cooed, using the calm tone she uses with her sister when the latter is about to throw a tantrum. “You’ll probably be the best of friends when you return.”

Huffing, Changkyun pouted. “Fine, we’ll be back in a couple more minutes.” And he ended the call as he walked back to where his friends were.

As Jooheon sets the girl down, he gave her a small wave. “We have to go and eat, but we might drop by Y/N’s dorm later so we can play, okay?”

The girl seemed reluctant to wave back, even as the two boys started to walk away. Turning to Changkyun, who held his hand out for her to hold, Miyeon wore a frown as she walked by his side, ignoring his hand completely. He sighed, letting his hand fall eventually.

When they pass by the gates of the campus, Changkyun had to present his student I.D. before being allowed to leave. “Look at this,” he said, wearing the lace over the girl’s head. “I look grumpy in my picture because my mom wanted to style my hair for me. She spat on her hand and used it as styling wax.” He swore he saw the slightest hint of a smile on Miyeon’s face as she looked at his photo, but he pretended not to notice.

Being the gentleman he is, he opened the heavy door of the convenience store for her. She skipped merrily to the aisles, browsing through shelves of various snacks and drinks. Whenever Miyeon wanted something far from her reach, Changkyun came to the rescue, lifting her up to let her choose by herself.

“What about chocolates or ice cream? Don’t you want any?” he asked, looking at the bags of chips and cookies in her arms.

She glanced at the freezers longingly, but in the end shook her head. “Mom says I should eat a full meal first, but I haven’t had lunch yet.”

“It’s okay, we can eat ice cream here, so Y/N wouldn’t see, and then quickly go home to eat lunch,” he offered, already picking up two chocolate popsicles from the freezer. When the girl still looked hesitant, “I promise I won’t tell your mom. I won’t even tell your sister!” Changkyun whispered, raising his right hand up to swear.

Convinced, Miyeon nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Changkyun repeated, smiling. He took the snacks from her arms and brought them with him to the cashier. As soon as the cashier rings them up, he fished for the popsicles from the plastic bag and handed one to her, before gesturing towards the seats near the windows. “Let’s eat this here so Y/N won’t know.”

The two quietly ate the popsicles for a while, with Changkyun occasionally dabbing napkin over the child’s mouth where the cold treat gets smeared. He watched her in silence, smiling only when she catches him looking. “You know Y/N used to ignore me a lot, too,” he started, looking for a spot in his popsicle where the ice cream was melting before licking it up. “I had to work hard to get her attention, so now I’m doing the same for you.”

“You bought her ice cream too?” Miyeon asked, her voice now louder and clearer.

Changkyun nodded. “Of course, together with cookies and other snacks too.”

“You like her that much?”

"Yeah, well… no.” He scrunched his nose, suddenly deep in thought. “I love her a lot. You do, too, right?”

“So you… want her to be your sister too?”

His eyes widened in panic. “No! Not that kind of love. There are lots and lots of kinds.”

“Like what kinds?” she pried, almond eyes blinking up at him.

“Well, you love her as a sister, right? And your parents love you both as their daughters. Her friends love her as their friend. But our love — how do I say it — is like how your dad loves your mom, and your mom loves your dad. That kind of love, probably only a little less since we’re younger than your parents.”

Miyeon clasped a hand over her mouth as her face contorted in disgust. “You mean like the kissy kind?!”

When Changkyun nodded, she only let out a louder and longer “Ew!” to further express her disgust.

“Hey— when you get older and meet someone you really really like, you’ll be all kissy too!”

The girl furiously shook her head, giggling all the while. “Will not!”

He laughed at her response, gesturing towards her ignored ice cream that was already starting to melt. Her little feet couldn’t quite reach the floor yet, so they dangled to and fro while she ate. Their mindless banter about childish things continued until it was time to go. The moment she finished eating, Miyeon hopped off the stool and carried her own snacks on the way back to the campus. She was the one who presented Changkyun’s I.D. to the guards standing by the university gates. And, unlike on the way to the convenience store where she led the way and he followed, the two of them walked side by side, the awkward distance already having dissipated.

“So… you’re not mad at me anymore?” he slowly eased asking, tone light yet careful.

She nonchalantly shook her head.

“Really? So you’re going to let me kiss your sister now?”

“No!” Miyeon screeched, stopping in the middle of her tracks. “I’ll tell mom you said that.”

Changkyun crossed his arms. “Well— I’ll tell your mom you ate ice cream before lunch!”

“Hey, you said that was a secret!”

“But I’m telling if you’re telling!”

The little girl huffed. “Fine, I won’t tell.”

“Do we have a deal?” Changkyun asked, extending his hand out.

Two small hands grasped his before shaking. “Deal.”

“Okay,” he said, smiling, and nodded towards the hallway. “Let’s get back to the dorm.”

“Are your friends coming over to play, too?” she asked, climbing the stairs one step at a time diligently.

“Maybe,” Changkyun replied. He reached the top of the stairs faster, so he stayed behind and waited for her to catch up. “Are you sure you want to play with them? I’m more fun, you know.”

“Do you study with my sister a lot?” Miyeon prodded, ever curious. Unconsciously, she reached for his dangling hand and held onto it as they walked side by side. When Changkyun only hummed in response, she looked up at him and continued, “Like drawing pictures and coloring?”

The innocent inquiry had him smiling as he knocked on the door using the hand that was carrying all their snacks. “Yeah, only a little more complicated.”

Y/N opened the door with a huge grin on her face at the sight of her sister. She spread her arms out wide to welcome Miyeon before lifting her up and carrying her to her bedroom. The age gap might have been baffling — so much so that Y/N could seem like the child’s mother — but it only made them look all the more adorable in Changkyun’s eyes as he trailed behind them after closing the door.

He set the bag down on the couch and headed to the bedroom, where he could already overhear their conversation.

“He did?” Y/N exclaimed, using her fingers to comb through her sister’s messy fringes.

“Mmh! He looked funny in his I.D. picture too. I think the people from security were laughing at his face,” Miyeon said, giggling.

The two of them pretended to clasp a hand over their mouths when Changkyun entered the room. “Alright, what is it now?” he asked, feigning innocence as he sat behind Y/N on the mattress.

“Nothing!” the siblings said in unison, causing them to erupt in giggles once again.

“She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?” Y/N asked softly, leaning back against the boy’s chest.

“Nah, I’m used to girls giving me a hard time,” he replied playfully, which earned him a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

“Miyeon, can you show me what snacks you bought?” the woman asked again, now turning to her sister. But before the child could hop off the mattress, Y/N gave her left cheek a light tap with her forefinger. “Come give me a kiss first.”

Obediently, Miyeon scooted closer to her sister and pecked the older’s cheek once before pushing herself off the bed. Changkyun did the same and presented his own face. “Me too!” he blurted out, hopeful, but the girl had already run out of the room and was in the process of getting the bag of snacks, leaving Changkyun hanging.

As Y/N clutched her stomach in the middle of peals of laughter, Changkyun huffed. “Okay, we’ll work on that.”

#monbebe net #mxwriters #mxnetwork #mxweek #changkyun scenarios #monsta x scenarios #monsta x #changkyun #i.m monsta x

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deannachu · 6 years

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First Meeting

Prompt: A 19 year old is meeting their father for the first time.

Challenge: A Prompt a Day for November: I will be writing one prompt per day for the entirety of November. There aren't really any requirements or limits I've set for myself, but they will be at least 1000 words (I hope) each.

Just two hours prior, Hope thought she had enough problems to last her several lifetimes. Her first semester of her sophomore year of college had just started, and she already had about 100 total pages of reading to do, along with the miscellaneous History assignments and Biology labs thrown in for her last general education courses she was required to take. That, along with working part time waiting tables, had given her the start of what was sure to be the best migraine. She was keeping it managed, however, until she received a phone call from her younger sister, Ellie. When she answered the phone, she was driving back to her apartment, thinking of nothing but dark rooms, cozy blankets, and enough Tylenol to knock out a full-sized horse.

"Hey, sis, now's not really the best time," she answered in lieu of a proper greeting. Just three more minutes, she thought as she made a right turn at a stoplight, almost running over a couple of sorority sisters who decided to stop mid crosswalk to take a selfie. Idiots.

"I'll be quick," Ellie responded quickly, sounding not at all like her usual self. Hope narrowed her eyes at the display screen where it showed the phone call ongoing.

"Ellie, what's wrong?"

"Wrong?" she squeaked. "N-Nothing's wrong," she laughed nervously.

"Then why do you sound like you're about to give me bad news?" she inquired, silently cheering at seeing her apartment complex up ahead. Bed. Darkness. Tylenol. Bed. Darkness. Tylenol.

"It's not bad, per say..." There was a pause. "Dad'sComingToTheHouseThisWeekendWhenYouComeHomeAndHeWantsToMeetUs," she spit out very quickly.

Hope pulled into a parking spot, put the gear in park, and closed her eyes, taking one slow breath. Two. Three. She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to think happy thoughts above the pounding in her brain. Her stomach twisted, both from nausea and now the anger of processing what her little sister just told her. "Ellie..."

"Just wait," she said suddenly, sounding frantic. "You at least owe it to him to meet him. He wants to see his two girls grown and get to know them, Hope."

"I did meet him, Elle," Hope spat, shocked at how much venom filled her tone. "I "met" him when I was born and, when I was two, he suddenly decided you and I were too much responsibility for him and he left because he's a coward."

"He didn't leave because of us-"

"BULLSHIT," Hope shouted, the throbbing in her head growing worse. "He left two days after you were born. He had given mom two little girls, just what he claimed he had always wanted, and once he finally had them he left. You and I have not had one birthday card, Christmas card, phone call, or visit from him since the day he left and now you're claiming that he's sorry and regrets leaving and finally wants to meet his daughters? Nice try, Ellie, but April Fools has already come and gone."

"Hope-"

"I've got a migraine. I need to go." Hope cut her sister off and ended the call, turning off her car and sitting there in the silence for a few moments. She closed her eyes and put her face in her hands, leaning against the steering wheel. The earliest (and probably only) memory she had of her father was her 2nd birthday party, just a few weeks before Ellie was born. She remembered bright lights and bright colors, the warmth of her mother's smile along with her bloated stomach, which she constantly rubbed absentmindedly. She remembers being in her father's arms as she opened a stuffed unicorn doll from a relative in the family. He had given her a snow globe with her favorite Disney princess inside - Aurora. It still sat on her bookshelf in her room with other Disney princess snow globes. Why do you want back in our lives now? she questioned silently.

A sharp knock on her window jolted her out of her stupor. She looked up quickly to see her roommate, Bailey, staring at her with a concerned look on her face. She opened the door and stepped out, looking up at her roommate. Despite being about 6 inches taller than her, Bailey was her best friend. They had known each other since junior high when Hope befriended her on the first day of 7th grade. They were both a little quirky, loving books and games instead of fashion and celebrities like most girls their age. Bailey's hair was long and fine, the color of dark chocolate with eyes to match, while Hope's bright blonde pixie cut and half shaved head contrasted beautifully. While Hope's mother and sister shared hazel eyes, she had dark green ones that she was told she inherited from her father.

"Are you alright?" Bailey asked, clearly concerned. Hope squinted her eyes and shook her head gently. "Migraine again?" She nodded. "Come on, let's go inside. No, I'll get your bag, just go inside and go to your room. I'll bring you some Tylenol and some tea."

"I don't know why you swear by hot tea," Hope grumbled. "It really doesn't do anything for me."

"That's because you don't drink enough of it," Bailey scoffed, rolling her eyes. She led Hope inside their brightly decorated apartment and steered her around a corner to her bedroom. One thing Hope had planned to do today was clean, as her room looked like a tornado had blown through it. Books were scattered everywhere, clothing draped every available surface, and stacks of games were laid atop her Xbox and her laptop next to her TV. Her sheets were still crumpled from this morning but the bed looked inviting nonetheless. She shook off her shoes, stripped to just a tshirt and her underwear, and slid underneath the covers, relishing the softness they provided her skin and her aching head. Her blinds were already sealed against the sunlight so aside from the light pouring in from the living room it was completely dark. She could feel the throbbing behind her eyes and desperately wished it to go away. She heard Bailey's soft steps towards her and opened her eyes, reaching for the pills she was being handed.

"These aren't regular Tylenol," Hope said quietly, looking at the slightly larger pills in her palm.

"It has a sleep aid in it as well," Bailey said, handing her a steaming cup of tea. She could smell peppermint wafting from the steam. "Sleep usually helps headaches. I don't have classes tomorrow, so I'll wake you up later and bring you dinner. You just sleep and get rid of your headache, okay?"

Hope's heart swelled. This is one of the reasons why they were best friends: they just understood each other. Hope popped the pills in her mouth and swallowed them down with a hot mouthful of tea. The two were quiet for a beat before she spoke, "Ellie called me to tell me that my dad wants to meet met his weekend."

Silence.

"But, your dad-"

"He left right after Ellie was born, when I was around 2 years old. We haven't heard from him since. Now, 17 years later he wants to reconcile things with us. Why?" Hope laid on her back and stared at the dark ceiling. "There has got to be some ulterior motive. No one stays basically missing for 17 years and then suddenly wants to reconnect with the daughters he left." She felt Bailey sit on the edge of her bed near her feet. "I just don't understand."

"I can't imagine what you're going through," she said softly. "But the only advice that I can think to give you is that you'll never figure out what he wants unless you let him speak. I'm not saying forgive him. I'm not saying welcome him back into your life. I'm saying just hear him out. You'll be with your sister and your mom, right? So it's not like you're meeting him by yourself in a public place." She shifted her weight, standing up. "I'm guessing he was the cause of this migraine?"

"Most of it. The other part was just the amount of homework I have," Hope grumbled, feeling her body relax and her eyes getting heavier as the medicine worked its way through her body.

"Is any of it due tomorrow?"

"Mmmm no," she replied. "It's all due next week."

"Then stay home from class tomorrow. You have off from work this weekend, right? Just take an extra day. Use it to mentally prepare yourself. Clean your room, play some games, do your homework."

"Yes mom," Hope replied sarcastically, earning a tinkled laugh from Bailey.

"Go to sleep, I'll wake you up later with food." Bailey closed the door and all was silent. Hope's mind wandered but she refused to think about her father. Maybe Bailey is right, she thought sleepily. Her headache had dulled to only a slight ache and she could feel sleep waiting to take her. I should probably hear him out before making assumptions.

The next day she took Bailey's advice and stayed in, e-mailing excuses about migraines and light/sound sensitivity to her professors. They all shot back e-mails wishing her to get better and attached any assignments or notes she would be missing that day. That was what she liked most about her professors: they were willing to help out when they could if students were sick or couldn't make it to class. She ignored her pile of homework, her many missed calls from her sister, and even a few missed calls from her mother. They both texted her back to back, reminding her about meeting their father the next day. Her mom tried to apologize for not calling her directly, as she thought if it came from Ellie it would sting a little less. A couple of times she found herself composing angry messages back to her mother about what she thought about her wanting to meet their father after 17 years, but every time she would backspace until all of the words were deleted. This wasn't something she could talk about through a text message or even a phone call. It had to be in person.

She was going to leave this evening to make the two hour drive home. She cleaned her bedroom and did loads of laundry to keep herself occupied. Cleaning, though not something she enjoyed doing all the time, could definitely be a stress reliever at times. She loaded the dishwasher and lightly cleaned her bathroom, organizing the mess of product bottles that lined her shower and her bathroom counter. Once it seemed like she had done all the cleaning she could do, she loaded up her Xbox and clicked on Netflix, watching more episodes of her favorite show to pass the time.

She had just polished off another season along with a mini frozen pizza and a glass of sweet tea when she noticed the time. She hopped up and hastily gathered the clothes and other things she was going to take home with her just as Bailey walked in the door.

"Shouldn't you already be on the road? It's after 5:00," she questioned, staring at her.

"I got a little too invested in my show and lost track of time," Hope admitted sheepishly. Bailey rolled her eyes and set her books on the counter. There were stress lines and bags under her eyes, perks of majoring in a medical field.

"Are you almost done? Can I help?"

Hope shook her head as she zipped her suitcase. "I'm finished." She grabbed her keys along with her purse, which contained her phone, charger, wallet, and miscellaneous snacks for the road. She hugged Bailey and grabbed her suitcase. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"You better," Bailey jokingly threatened.

The two hour drive home was uneventful aside from almost getting rear-ended a few times by people who were in too much of a rush down the highway. She listened to her go-to road trip playlist the entire drive which always gave her peace of mind. She pulled into her driveway a little after 7:30, right as the sun was setting below the horizon, giving the sky a nice pink hue. Her sister's and mother's cars sat in the driveway and she could see the two sitting on the couch watching TV. Well, her sister was looking down, glued to her cell phone, but her mother was focused on the show she was watching. She stepped out of her car and shut the door, opening the trunk to grab her suitcase. She saw her sister pop up from the couch and run to the door, throwing it open.

"HOPE'S HERE!" she yelled, sprinting down the walkway and slamming into her, all 5'8" of her.

"Ellie, that hug is a little tight," she wheezed, patting her sister on the back.

"Oops, sorry," she apologized, letting her go. "I'm just so happy you're here!" Her eyes searched Hope's face, looking for any sign that she was still mad about their conversation the day before. Finding none, she relaxed, taking hold of her suitcase. "Come on, mom's dying to see you."

"Like she didn't see me last weekend, or the weekend before that, or before that," Hope replied sarcastically, following her sister inside. The house was comfortable and small, with enough space for the three of them. Her mother was allergic to dogs so they never had pets growing up. People always said that Ellie resembled their mother more, but Hope inherited her mother's good eyebrows, her small chin, and her button nose. Her mother's face was lined with age but her smile and her eyes were kind. She pulled Hope into a hug and all of a sudden she relaxed into her embrace. She missed her mother, but enjoyed the freedom she had living in an apartment while going to school.

"Have you been eating well? Getting enough sleep?" her mother questioned after she pulled away.

"Yes mom, I am," she laughed. "Bailey makes sure I don't forget to eat."

"I knew I liked her," her mom quipped. She cleared her throat. "Lunch time tomorrow is when your father-"

"You mean your ex-husband," Hope responded, her tone turning cold.

"-is coming by," her mom finished, narrowing her eyes. "I understand you're mad, Hope, but you still need to respect me. I'm your mother."

"Oh, I respect you," Hope replied. "But not him. I will never respect a man who leaves his wife and young daughters." She turned away from her mother and took her suitcase to her old bedroom and closed the door. A few moments later she heard a knock. "Please leave me alone, Ellie. I'm tired."

"I just wanted to say something," came her muffled reply. She opened the door and came inside, standing with it cracked. "I know you're less than thrilled, but at least try. If not for me, then try for mom. Yes, this is going to be hard on you, Hope, but mom is seeing him for the first time in 17 years. The man who walked out on her. Cut her some slack."

Hope sat on the bed and sighed, rubbing her face, exhaustion creeping in. "Yeah, alright. I promise I'll try."

"Thanks, sis."

Hope woke up earlier than she wanted to and laid there, contemplating just getting back in her car and going back to campus. She felt anger, dread, and anxiety flow through her body. She could hear her mother in the kitchen and her sister listening to a song on her laptop, probably working on homework. Her sister always was a morning person, whereas Hope hated mornings. She was a night owl, through and through. She pulled herself out of bed and grabbed clothes from her bag along with her toiletries, heading to the shower. The warm water loosened her muscles and calmed her mind, if even for a brief moment. She dressed quickly, pulling on her softest and most worn tshirt and her most comfortable pair of shorts. She ran a bit of gel through her hair and blow dried it. She stared into the mirror swiped on a bit of mascara and lipstick, not caring about much else. She didn't want her father to think she had put effort into making herself look presentable for him.

She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, pulling out her phone.

Bailey: So how's meeting your father going?

Hope: He should be here any minute. I really don't want to be here.

Bailey: You got this, H. Text me after. xo

She put her phone down and flipped on the TV, not really paying attention to the channel it was on. Ellie sat beside her, looking tense and nervous.

"He just pulled into the driveway," she said quietly, squeezing her hand.

"Wonderful," she remarked, not making any effort to move.

"Let's go, mom wants both of us in the kitchen." Ellie got up and held out her hand, waiting for Hope to take it. She took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, standing up.

There was a knock at the door, then the sound of the it opening. "You look amazing, Allie," a man's voice came through the house.

"I could say the same about you, Richard," their mom replied. "Come in, the girls should be here in a second."

Ellie and Hope, hands held, made their way into the kitchen slowly, unsure at what they would find. The made it around the corner and Hope paused, letting go of Ellie's hand. The man standing before her posed a striking resemblance to her own looks. His hair had bits of silver woven through it, almost as if on purpose. He was taller than their mom, but not towering. His eyes were striking green, and there was a warm - but somewhat tense - smile on his face. This was her dad. Ellie's dad. The man who had given them life.

Hope clenched her fists, feeling all of the anger bubble to the surface. Her dad must have sensed this because he opened his mouth to speak. "Hope, I know you're angry-"

"I am not angry," she said calmly, though her body was shaking. "I am pissed off. You don't get to just come around after 17 years with little warning. I don't give a fuck-"

"Hope Elizabeth!" her mom yelled, shocked by her language. She ignored her.

"-if you came by wanting to give us money, to apologize, to make up for lost time. You lost that right when you went this long with no communication. So I'm going to ask you the one thing mom and Ellie won't because they want to be civil. What the hell do you want?"

A stunned silence filled the room. Her mom had her hand over her mouth and her sister looked like she wanted to cry.

Her father stood there a moment before crossing his arms. "Hope is right. I didn't come here simply to reconcile with my daughters. Or you, Allie."

"Then spit it out," Hope said.

He sighed before continuing. "I'm in quite a lot of trouble. Gambling trouble, I mean."

Hope laughed, one angry, bitter sound. "Of course. After 17 years, the only reason you'd come back to us is because of money. You don't miss mom. You don't miss Ellie; hell, I don't know why you would, she was only a baby when you left. But me... you had two whole years with me. Was I not enough to make you stay? Was Ellie? Was mom? You had a wife and two daughters who loved you. Yet you chose to walk out on us."

"Listen, young lady," her father said, his tone changing drastically. "Your mother and I were married. We signed an agreement that what we owned together we would share when we got married."

"Right, but that was null and void once you left," Hope yelled. "You left because you loved money and gambling more than us. I see that now. You didn't leave strictly because of us, but the fact that you had two mouths to feed really put a damper on your addiction, didn't it. So mom gave you a choice: your family or your addiction. And you chose your addiction." She felt tears roll down her cheeks and realized she was crying. But they weren't just tears of anger; there was an underlying pain too. She didn't realize how long she had wanted to say this to her father, how long she had had it pent up inside her.

Her father's mouth was in a thin line and Hope knew she had hit her mark. Her mom had sat down while she yelled and Ellie was rubbing her back, though Hope could feel that she was shaking.

"I want you to leave," Hope said quietly, her tone saturated with venom. She knew it was too good to be true.

"This is your mom's house-"

"I would also like you to leave," her mom finally spoke, glaring at her ex-husband. "I thought 17 years would be enough to make you change your ways. I thought you would have settled down and been a father to somebody's children since you couldn't be a father to your own. But I guess I did always have too high of hopes for you, Richard." She stood up and opened the door. "You will never get a cent from me, nor from your daughters. You can come back when you decide that your family is more important than your need for money and your addiction. But now, I would like to have lunch with my daughters."

Her father stared at her mother with his mouth slightly open before letting out a resigned sigh. He turned towards Ellie and Hope and started to say something, but decided against it when he realized they were both glaring at him with tears rolling down their cheeks. "Fine. I'll leave. But it was good to see you girls again. Ellie, you're the spitting image of your mother. Absolutely beautiful. And Hope..."

"What?" Hope snapped. She just wanted him to leave already so they could have peace and quiet.

"It was nice to see you again. You really turned into a strong and beautiful young woman." He stepped through the open door and left, her mom slamming it behind him. She stood there for a second, her palms pressed against the door, breathing heavily. Ellie pulled Hope into a hug, both sisters silently crying from the emotional encounter.

After a time, Ellie spoke up, "I'm sorry, mom. I thought it would be okay."

Their mom turned around and pulled both girls into a hug. Her face, surprisingly, was not wet with tears or contorted with anger like Hope thought. In fact, she looked happier and more peaceful than she had looked in years. "Your father being here, even for five minutes, just proved that we were better off without him in the end. I raised two strong, independent, beautiful young ladies on my own."

They broke apart, her mom kissing both of their cheeks before starting to make lunch. Hope went into the living room with Ellie and sat on the couch in the same spots as before.

"Are you upset I didn't try?" Hope asked, picking up her phone to call Bailey.

Ellie shook her head. "No; I'm glad one of us had the balls to yell at him. I'm proud of you." She smiled before turning on the television. Hope could smell chicken frying in the kitchen as she clicked to her contacts and dialed Bailey's number. She answered after two rings.

"So? How'd it go?" she asked. Hope could hear typing in the background and assumed she was doing homework.

"About a well as expected," she responded, absentmindedly watching some show about vampires that Ellie had settled on.

"Want to talk about it? I'm all ears."

"Sunday night, when I get home. But right now I'm just going to spend time with my family," she responded, smiling at her sister who mimicked throwing up.

"Sounds good. See you then, Hope."

"Yeah, see you then."

#original #prompt #writing #story #november 1 prompt #prompt a day

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targetdummy · 7 years

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I’m not interesting, but I was tagged by @givemebishies to answer some stuff about. These probably won’t be that cool or interesting for anyone else to read, but here we go!

Rules: Answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions.

1. Coke or Pepsi: Pepsi. It’s sweeter, and you’re supposed to sip soda rather than drinking it like water. Plus, MJ still forgave them after they caught his hair on fire, started his painkiller addiction, and dropped him as a promoter because of the child abuse allegations, so I imagine he at least liked to drink it.

2. Disney or Dreamworks: Disney generally. I’m not a big fan of either one, but I think Disney has made more important things in their time. Kind of unfair since they’ve been around longer, but whatever.

3. Coffee or Tea: Cappuccino. And even then I don’t want to taste the coffee in it.

4. Books or Movies: I watch more movies, but I think more books have had a serious impact on my life. I don’t know though, Rocky is a freaking masterpiece.

5. Windows or Mac: What? Where is my GNU/Linux option? Richard Stallman didn’t die for this! [For real though, I use Windows because I’m peasant trash who likes to play video games without spending hours on configuration. Though, I am considering dual-booting with Linux Mint in the near future. We’ll see. And Stallman isn’t dead, that was a joke.]

6. DC or Marvel: Marvel. Gotta have my Spider-Man and X-Men. The Avengers are also much more varied and interesting than the Justice League.

7. Xbox or Playstation: Playstation all the way. I can’t even name an Xbox exclusive offhand other than Halo or Gears of War. Playstation has a more interesting history too.

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: A friend of mine kept telling me to play both, but stressed Dragon Age more. I have played neither.

9. Night Owl or Early Rise: Night owl. I feel and work better at night. I like knowing the rest of the world is asleep.

10. Cards or Chess: Cards because they are an unlimited number of games! (So is Chess technically, but I like that with cards you can more easily have a random aspect if you want).

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Are we talking ice cream? Vanilla. Are we talking brownies? Chocolate. Are we talking anything else? I don’t know.

12. Vans or Converse: I buy the cheapest shoe that feels comfortable and doesn’t make me hate myself when I wear them. I’ve never owned either of those.

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar: I’m sorry, I’m only a level 2 mage, I don’t know those ones yet.

14. Fluff or Angst: both I guess? I’m an angst lookin’ to get his fluff on.

15. Beach or Forest: Beach beach beach. I need to be warm and surrounded by water.

16. Dogs or Cats: I like cats and dogs that act like cats.

17. Clear Skies or Rain: Rain all the way. Rain for days. Clear skies are boring and make me sad. They don’t even move. I can feel rain. It surrounds me and makes me feel loved. Warm rain especially, or cool rain on a warm day.

18. Cooking or Eating Out: I prefer eating out in both senses of the term. But for real, I love restaurants. I love the feeling of being in one, and knowing that my food is being handled by someone who knows how to make it well. Then to just have it brought to me, it’s awesome. Like, I didn’t make this. I don’t deserve this. But you’re giving me this, just for some paper. It’s just so comforting. Oh, and takeout is awesome too, because it’s that experience, but with more control and less atmosphere. All of it makes me so happy, honestly, I can’t understate how awesome it is to pickup food from somewhere awesome. Shout out to my people at El Canelo, that’s the place I dream of when I’m hungry. Any Chinese/Japanese is great too. Then fast food, Sheetz and Chick-Fil-A especially can be great. All of it, man. I’m sorry, I wrote too much for this.

19. Spicy Food or Mild Food: Spicy! Specifically, spicy and sweet. It’s all a part of the experience!

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Halloween is cooler theme-wise. Japanese Christmas though 💕

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot : Yeah, I guess a little too cold, because I love the sensation of getting warm.

22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Phew, does what Dr. Manhattan have count? You know, just be god. Nah, I wouldn’t want that, that’s too much. Controlling time would be cool. Would probably be depressing in reality, but cool in theory.

23. Animation or Live Action: This really depends on the work.

24. Paragon or Renegade: I have no idea what this is referencing. But Renegade is a 1986 beat ‘em up game that I really like for one reason: it’s the start of the Kunio-Kun series that would eventually lead to Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, or River City Ransom. Renegade isn’t amazing on its own, but really cool to see where RCR got its origin.

25. Baths or Showers: Showers usually.

26. Team Cap or Team Iron Man: Haven’t watched Civil War yet, but Iron Man.

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Sci-Fi usually feels bigger than Fantasy and can include Fantasy elements without much of an issue (infinite universe, infinite possibilities), so I’ll go with it.

28. Do you have three or four favourite quotes?

Okay, these might get lengthy, so here we go:

1. (Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid 2)

“Life isn't just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies... what we've seen, heard, felt... anger, joy and sorrow... these are the things I will pass on. That's what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing. “

2. (Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen)

“Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”

3. (Shigeru Miyamoto)

“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.“

And there’s a lot more but I’m bad at remembering them.

29. YouTube or Netflix: YouTube, I watch it way more than Netflix. I like all the different voices on YouTube, how accessible it is.

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: Isn’t Harry Potter a My Immortal fanfic? I go with that one. Also, nobody will even remember Percy Jackson in ten years.

31. When You Feel Accomplished: When I’ve created something that people enjoy, and when I fulfill the needs of those I love. I haven’t been doing enough of either lately :/

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: I accept that Star Trek is superior in every way, however I will always defend Star Wars as my personal favorite.

33. Paperback Books or Hardback Books: Hardback. I am less likely to ruin it, and it looks nicer on a shelf.

34. horror or rom-com: I’m not a fan of either, but I like horror elements in other things.

35. tv shows or movies: TV shows. Individual stories that build to an overall story arc will always have more depth than a single movie. That’s why Samurai Jack is more compelling than any of the samurai movies it draws inspiration from.

36. favorite animal: Tiger.

37. favorite genre of music: Funk and its derivatives.

38. least favorite book: The Old Man and the Sea. I like Hemmingway, but it’s a book where nothing happens, the most exciting part is when he says the ocean is a women having her period, and the ending feels like actually watching an old man die. He doesn’t die in the book, that’s just how it feels.

39. favourite season: Summer. As hot as possible.

40. song that’s currently stuck in your head: ME NE’ER HA ME GUN SO ME HA TA MOO SHARP LI ME KNIFE

41. what kind of pyjama’s do you wear? Pajama pants and a t-shirt. I wear this all day when possible.

42. Handwriting or Typing? Typing. Gotta go fast. And I can’t compile my code from a piece of paper.

43. If you can only choose one song to be played at your funeral, what would it be? The Real Folk Blues.

44. What is your go to book/movie/tv show that you immediately find solace in when you feel down? Okay, I don’t know about books, movies, or TV shows, but I always find solace in any YouTube show that can make me feel less alone. It doesn’t have to be funny or interesting, I just have to feel like people are around me, talking, and being happy. Game Grumps works well for this, or most podcasts.

45. “Yer a wizard/witch, Y/N” - your reaction? I know. I didn’t learn to code just to not be a wizard.

46. Are you generally a messy or organized person? I’m an organized person who appears messy. It’s like a hashing algorithm. There is some initial data behind it, but you can’t make sense of the result, and there’s no way to reverse it.

47. What’s your go to comfort food? Anything fried. Especially fries. It just feels so familiar, so welcoming, like it can never be bad. Especially with good sauces, sweet and sour most of all probably.

48. Do you enjoy being creative? If so what’s your favorite way to create? I do. I’m not sure what my favorite way is. Writing is easiest, but making games and web stuff is so rewarding. I need to do more either way.

My question:

49: Other than Tumblr, what is your favorite website?

I have no friends to tag :D (But if you see this and nobody tagged you to do it, you can totally say I tagged you and do it anyway. I’ll vouch for you.)

#ask tag

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theareya · 7 years

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even numbers for the gaming asks!

Okay, its been 1000 years since I posted this gaming ask. But here are the answers!!!! I put most under the read more…

2. First game you played?The first game I ever played ever, in thehistory of forever, was Super Mario Bros. at my babysitter’s house, if mymemory serves me correctly

4. Longest consecutive hours you’ve played agame?Ohkay, let’s see. Without eating or bathing,but I did get up briefly to bathroom and drink water, I finished uncharted 1,2, and 3 consecutively in 120 hrs. Needless to say, I never did that again, asthe blood vessels in my eyes popped, I ate two bigmacs after, and my parentsyelled at me. Otherwise, without moving or tending to most of my basic bodilyneeds, 10 hours max as of late.

6. An underrated game from within the last fewyears?I don’t know, I’m probably biased and neverreally look online to see how the game was rated/how it’s doing. Oh! But! Ireally liked Battleborn, which was basically a game that came out like a littlebefore Overwatch? Or near the same time, actually. You also fight in teamsagainst one another with unique character abilities to obtain certainobjectives. Honestly, it is extremely well done and detailed, but very muchfalls in Overwatch’s shadow possibly due to similarity and budget D: 8. The game with the best atmosphere/scenery?I’m biased. I love Bioshock. But I also am ahuge fan of those apocalyptic, dystopia aesthetics. So, essentially, anythingalong the lines of bioshock, Fallout, and Last of us.

10. Prefer PC or console?I’ve always played on console. And I’m so bad atPC. You would think it’s a bit easier to aim a cursor to shoot at something,but I’m particularly bad at that.

12. Most bizarre game you’ve ever played?Most games are pretty… bizarre. Most of theactual weird ones I’ve only seen online on those “top ten weirdest video games”but maybe Katamari? There are definitely weirder ones… The Nightmare Within wasalso… strange. I don’t actually know what counts as bizarre anymore in thegaming world. Shrek party…

14. Do you watch playthroughs online?Sometimes, yes! If I know I am never going toget the game. For example, an xbox exclusive (I do not have an xbox) or if Ialready played the game and want to see others suffer, lmao. Or if I like thestreamer.

16. The best year in gaming you’ve experienced?… I don’t remember. I’m going to say 2011.

18. Worst game you’ve played?There are probably worse games, but I’ll go withthe most recent one I’ve played, which was Bound by Flame. It was kind of thisunfortunate mix of—attempt at—Dark Souls, Dragon Age, and other medieval games.Some parts of the gameplay were unnecessarily hard for kicks, with no way toovercome the boss aside from chipping away at the health by throwing a rock atit, while your single dead companion lay sprawled in the middle of the fieldten seconds into the fight. And of the one and a half romance options pergender you were allowed, none of them were very enticing. Spoiler** I overcamethe end fight by purchasing 10,000 potions to fight the dragon. I made itthrough just fine, only after using 600 potions. Strategy was little help, butheyo I made it through. 20. Favorite publisher and/or developer?…Sony? I don’t know… I’m terrible at thesequestions.

22. If you could turn one game into movie, whichwould it be?You know I don’t know, since any game thatturns into a movie makes me want to cry bitter tears of hate. I’m looking atresident evil specifically. But if I could turn Bioshock into a really goodmovie with the proper actors/actresses, storyline, extras, atmosphere, then …yeah.

24. Ever cried because of a video game? Whichone(s)?…Too many. Nothing gets me more invested andemotional than a videogame. I guess the only one that has made me actually cryvisible tears is Journey. The ending overwhelmed me in an inexplicable way.

26. How often do you play online? Co-op?Relatively often now, especially withOverwatch, and the fact that a lot of my friends have Overwatch as well. So,like, every other day, if not daily. Otherwise, I love co-oping with a friend mostlybecause the AI that they give to work with you tends to … suck butts. Lookingat Resident Evil… again.

28. Who got YOU into gaming?My babysitter. Haahaa. I used to hang out ather house all the time and I’d watch her play all sorts of games. She’s alsothe one who gifted me my purple game boy color :’D30. On average, how long does it take you in thecharacter creation screen?Could be up to an hour. But at least 30minutes. It depends on if I know what I want.

32. Do you cosplay?I do! But I’ve actually only cosplayed animethings. Most of the video game stuff I would like to cosplay is too hard and/orI wouldn’t do it justice. Also I’ve been parts of group cosplays generally, sowe gotta find a good match.

34. Favorite male npc?For some unknown reason, the only personpopping into my head right now is erandur, the dark elf companion, from skyrim.Like… he’s not my favorite npc, but…my mind is drawing a complete blank. And isjust repeating that name over and over in my head. Oh boy

36. Best antagonist?Albert Wesker. …Spoiler??** Look… if you gottathrow him in a volcano to get rid of him after 200 tries of “just survive longenough” fights, he’s pretty good to me. Please let him die.

38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then triedagain, and loved it?N….no? There are some games where I getfrustrated, then invite a friend to play, who is extremely over-leveled, andthen they help me… live. Does that count?40. Favorite voice actor?Okay, I love Troy Baker. How can one person beso gosh darn versatile?? For anyone who doesn’t know (I doubt that) He voicesJoel from TLOU, Booker from Bioshock, Sam Drake from Uncharted, to name theones that pop into my head. And he does like a million other voices, and sings,and is just very excellent overall.

42. A game you will never forget (in a bad ORgood way)?Resident Evil 5 in the respect that I justplayed it during a very happy time in my life with one of my friends. And itwas also when I learned that I really love co-op, as well it was a supertreasured bonding time with that friend. We legit screamed so obnoxiouslythroughout the whole thing, apologized profusely, yelled for help. Like thatgame brought out our full range of emotion while playing.

44. Do graphics matter?Not necessarily. They add a nice kick, butthere are quite a few games I can think of where the gameplay and story aremore prominent. Storyline is generally always the main thing I look for first.Storyline and characters. 46. Always, sometimes, or never use subtitles?ALWAYS. Even for NPCs. Like the setting thatsays “ALL SUBTITLES” one of the reasons is because it alerts me to enemiessometimes too as they whisper in the distance. Which is the closest thing to awarning from jump scares that I’m going to get.

48. A game you’ve always wanted to play but havenever gotten to it?Um. I’ve actually been pretty aggressive ingetting my grubby hands on the games that I want. EXCEPT. Nearly everythingthat came out after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of memories?? Like 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 5 ½,365/3 days idk there were too many?? AndI basically had almost every console except the PSP so I just kind of gave up??

50. How many games do you own?…uh… too many?? At least 200 if you total allof them from the dawn of my first game boy color.52. A game you will always stand behind, andsupport no matter what?..Fable. OKAY So, even though the game, alongwith the game company crashed and burned, I really loved that first game??Along with The Lost Chapters. I essentially based the experiences I had withFable 2, 3, Journey on how good the first game was. If I were to make someoneplay it now, they would probably think it’s pretty dumb, but I thought it was acleverly made game…54. A sequel you really want?… lmao Fable. AND/OR The Wolf Among us, becausethat’s been sitting there for far too long.56. Do you tell people irl that you play videogames?Yeah. If it comes up in the conversation. Or if…they have merchandise that I want.

58. Ever have someone walk in on a sex scenebetween you and you LI?N…o…60. The game you are best at?I know Bioshock inside and out… I don’t knowwhy I’ve played it so much, it’s a very linear game, but wuh. Also weirdly, I’mvery good at Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. And the only reason I’m obnoxiously goodat that game is because of the Chaos. I love those ridiculous little things andwould do anything to make sure they’re happy and healthy. And in order to dothat I had to play each stage multiple times to get the right power-ups andanimals to feed the Chaos…. There was a whole garden. And god.

62. Would you want to work with video games whenyou are older?I feel like if I start working with it I’llstart disliking it very much, unless I literally work as a tester… that getspaid a decent amount. Like seriously, walk in, sit down, play for… hours uponhours. Otherwise, I do not have the creativity or skill. lmao.

64. Describe your favorite video game using onlythree words?Underwater death city.

66. Game with the yummiest looking food?Final Fantasy XV. Okay, so I haven’t finishedthe game. I’m really not even that far into it, like… at all. I just saw thefood and got hungry. It’s so realistic and pretty.

68. An older game that you’ve just recentlygotten into?I guess… Fallout New Vegas was pretty old, butthen my friend bought it for me on sale, and I tried it out and it was supergood??? And now I’m really into the Fallout series.

70. Do you play any mobile games?I.. play Fire Emblem Heroes, and a variety ofother mobile games like.. Notice me Senpai, Zen Koi, Mystic Messenger, uhhh…whatever is recommended sometimes. .

72. Have any guilty pleasure games?Not really. I’m pretty prideful in every game Iplay, including my otome games.74. Which game has the best lore?…Once…. Again, BIOSHOCK. Idk there are just somany little things in the city that you can find that point to the history ofthe residents, and what happened to them. There are those audio messages and littlesecrets that everybody has in the city, leading to its fall. I just love it somuch. Skyrim is a close second, to be fair. It’s more immersive and I canroleplay more on there.

#augustussinclair #asks #ask #yay

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topfics · 7 years

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Josh Dun X Reader

Request: Could you write in imagine where you and josh recently got married but when he has finally come home from tour he barely spends any time with you and you get upset about it so you try to talk to him about it but he yells at you and a big fight happens but then you guys make up and it's cute yay? ❤️

You stand in the audience, waiting for your husband’s tour to end. Tyler begins talking about the Emotional Roadshow, and how he’s so thankful for everyone who has survived to the end. You smile as the words come out of his mouth, tears beginning to form as you start to get emotional as well. You had been there for the duo since they began Twenty One Pilots. Tyler managed to set you up with Josh, and things were going great. The two of you had fallen for each other fast and before you knew it, you guys had gotten married during break from the tour.

You were excited to see it end, seeing as you couldn’t always travel around with him to see him play shows. Sure, you loved sharing him and his talents with the rest of the world, but sometimes you just wanted him for yourself. You missed having him at home. You missed being together with him.

The crowd began to sing along with Tyler to Trees and you made your way backstage. You smiled at Josh from the wings and put your hand over your heart. The song always had a special place there. The drums were being brought out to the audience, and Tyler and Josh took their rightful place above them. They held the drumsticks up together, and starting banging away as the Clique went nuts. Confetti started to stream down and the song gradually came to an end.

Josh and Tyler went back on stage to take their bows. Tyler held up the microphone to his lips and decided to say one last thing to end the Emotional Roadshow Tour.

“Thank you to everyone who has come out to support us throughout this journey. We love you guys so much and we’re so thankful this music means just as much to you as it does to us. You guys are amazing. We are so incredibly lucky to have the Clique by our side. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, or our wonderful team.”

Josh grabs another microphone and looks over at Tyler, who gives him a nod.

“We’re Twenty One Pilots and so are you. Goodnight everybody!” they both exclaimed before making the symbol with their fingers. After waving and taking their last bow, they went inside the wings to change and leave the venue.

You smile at Josh and welcome him with open arms. He smiles and walks over to you, picking you up and spinning you around a couple of times before setting you down. He kisses the top of your head and you look up at him.

“I’m so proud of you, Josh. That was such an incredible show. It makes me kind of sad it’s over, but I’m also happy because at least that means I’ll get to have you by my side for a couple months before you set off again!”

Josh nods his head in agreement and grins.

“Of course. I miss my wife. I’m glad you could come to this last show though. Means a lot, babe.”

“How could I not be here? It was the last show of the tour. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” you stand on your tiptoes and kiss him once more before letting him get dressed.

You sigh happily to yourself before you headed back to the car. After a few minutes, Josh came out of the venue and got into the car, driving back home with you. As soon as you open the door, Josh immediately plops down on the couch, turning on the TV.

“Are you hungry?” you ask as you set your purse on the counter.

“Nah, I’m just tired.” he replies as he turns on his Xbox.

“It doesn’t seem like it.” you laugh as he begins to play a video game.

“I’m just not hungry, alright? Don’t worry too much about it. I’ll probably play a few rounds then hit the shower and go to bed.” he answered, his eyes not leaving the screen once to look at you.

“Alright…” you reply quietly as you make your way to the bathroom to wash up before bed. It was late and you were exhausted. You wondered why Josh didn’t immediately go to bed. Instead, he went online to play with his brothers and friends. He didn’t seem tired at all. But you didn’t question it, and you decided to lay in bed and wait for him to come inside the room.

It felt like hours before he finally showed up, and you barely even noticed. You were already half asleep and by the time he finished his shower, you were completely out.

The next morning you were up early to make breakfast. You had requested some time off from work to be with your husband. You smiled at him as he walked down, rubbing his eyes. His hair was a mess and it caused you to giggle.

“Morning sunshine.” you commented. “What time did you actually go to sleep last night?” you questioned as you put a nice helping of bacon, eggs, and pancake onto his plate.

He groaned a bit and grabbed a fork, taking a bite of bacon before he spoke.

“I honestly don’t know…” he mumbled. “Pretty late. You were completely out by the time I got to bed.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I was trying to stay up to wait for you but I guess that concert took way more out of me than it did you.” you chuckle.

He laughs a bit but doesn’t respond, continuing to eat his food.

You purse your lips at how silent he still seemed. It was unlike him, even if he was tired. Was he angry at you?

“Are you okay…?” you ask cautiously. “You seem upset.”

He looked up from his phone and shook his head.

“No.” he responded bluntly.

“You aren’t as talkative as your normally are… So I thought there might be something wrong.”

He shakes his head again.

“Nope. I’m fine.” he says as he looks back down at his phone. “Oh by the way, I’m going out tonight with some friends. I probably won’t be home for dinner.” he recalled. “Some old buddies of mine are in town so I thought I’d go out and spend some time with them.”

You looked at him with sad eyes.

“Alright…” you whisper. You start to clean the dishes, the sadness filling your body. His first night home and he didn’t want to spend it with his wife. I mean, yeah you didn’t have a problem with him going out. You weren’t a controlling partner by any means. But you had hoped he would want to spend some more alone time with his wife.

The rest of the day went by slowly, seeing as Josh didn’t really take his eyes of his phone. If you asked him a question or simply tried to talk to him he would respond with one word answers. It made you upset, but you let it go. It was only going to be today, right?

Wrong. You were very wrong. Almost a whole month went by with Josh being finished with tour, and almost every night he would be gone. It left you alone and you didn’t know what the hell was going on. So, you decided to confront him about it.

“Josh, can I talk to you?” you ask.

“I’m about to leave what is it?” he responds coldly.

You take in a deep breath to calm you down before you explode.

“Is there a reason you keep going out? I mean you’ve been home for almost a month now and I haven’t even gotten to spend one night with my husband. It’s kind of frustrating. You don’t ever really talk to me anymore and you’re always either on your phone or playing video games and it’s like I’m not even here.” you croak.

Josh looks at you and rolls his eyes.

“What are you talking about? I’m always with you. I don’t know what you’re going on about. Is it a crime to want to go out with friends sometimes?” he retorts.

“Well no, but you haven’t been with me. At least not for this whole month after tour ended!” you shout. “I was hoping I could spend time with my husband after tour because I missed him so much but it obviously doesn’t seem like the other way around.”

“Okay seriously? You had to bring this up now? Look, I gotta go. I honestly don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of nothing. This is stupid.” he barked. He grabbed his car keys and jacket, walking out of the room and leaving you alone once more.

“JOSH!” you screamed after him. “Seriously?!”

Josh slams the front door on you without saying a word.

Your mouth hangs open in disbelief. How could he be making it seem like you’re the bad guy? That you’re the asshole in the relationship? That didn’t seem fair at all. You couldn’t believe the nerve he had to say those things to you. You were simply trying to have a civil conversation about the matter, and he begins to be all dramatic about the situation. You didn’t even know if you had done something to set him off? If you did he never said anything about it.

You shut your eyes and decide to pack a few things to live with your parents for the next couple of days. You didn’t want to be around Josh. It hurt you to see him push you away, and it was stressing you out. You didn’t want to push him to talk to you, and you certainly knew if you stayed the two of you would just having a shouting battle.

You grab a piece of paper from the notepad in the drawer and pick up a pen.

“Josh,

I’m going to be at my parent’s for a couple of days. I don’t know what I did to set you off but I need to clear my head. I don’t want to keep shouting at each other because that’s going to lead to nowhere. So when you’re ready to talk, you can come find me.

(Y/N)”

You grab your keys and drive away, tears now falling from your eyes. Shortly after driving, you pull over to wipe your eyes and calm down a bit before you get into an accident. You take a few deep breaths and you shake your head a bit before continuing to your parent’s house.

You take your bag out and walk to the door, ringing the doorbell. Your mom answers and gives you a reassuring smile, pulling you in for a hug.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie.” she begins stroking your hair as you cry into her shoulder. “I know it’s tough now, but things will get better. It’s all a part of being married.” she cooed.

You nod your head a bit before heading to your old room, plopping down on it and curling up into a ball. You cry yourself to sleep, not noticing when your father comes in to put a blanket over your body.

----------------------------------------------------

Josh’s POV

I walked into the house, noticing the silence that hung in the air. I noticed that (Y/N) didn’t cook anything to eat, and nothing seemed out of place since I left. I walked over to the kitchen counter and saw the note she left.

I don’t really know how I feel. I guess at first I was even more upset that she was making this such a big deal that she had to go to her parent’s place. I didn’t care that much. So I let her be. I didn’t call or text her, I just decided to give her space to get over it.

The next couple of days were hard. It was weird to not have a body to hold, or hear the laugh of an angel. I missed her voice, how peaceful she was when she was asleep… I missed her home-cooked meals and how she always told me they were made with love. I missed playing video games with her and how she would get frustrated when she couldn’t get a good score. I missed her hugs, her kisses… the way her nose scrunched up whenever I did something stupid…

I sighed to myself and realized that I was in the wrong. I was going out a lot. I didn’t really spend any time with her at all after the tour ended. I was too busy with my own life. I was constantly going out with friends… I never stopped checking my phone or playing video games. I never once went out on a date with her since I got back. I was being selfish.

I sighed to myself and took my keys, driving to (Y/N)’s parent’s house. I had to make this right. I had to get the love of my life back before she decides to leave me for good.

I ran up to the front door steps and knocked rapidly, not stopping until someone answered the door. My eyes soften as I see it’s (Y/N). She folds her arms and looks at me with weary eyes, stepping aside so I could walk in.

I accept her invitation and walk in, immediately looking at her.

“I’m so sorry.” I begin. “I know I’ve been an asshole for the past few weeks, and I am truly so sorry. I was being selfish and I was taking you for granted. I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way, shape, or form. I don’t even know what was going on through my head. I wish I had a solid explanation of why I was acting the way I did, but I don’t. I think a part of me is still getting used to the fact that I’m married now, and that life isn’t all about me. It’s about the both of us. It’s about being together. I was just too dumb to figure that out until now. Until I had that fear of you leaving me.”

She looks at me and gives me a small smile.

“Josh, it’s fine. Yeah… I’m not gonna lie it sucked. It hurt. And it hurt to see that you were so oblivious to my feelings. But it’s all a part of being married. We gotta work through the hard parts and enjoy the fun parts. If we had a marriage where we didn’t have any arguments, I’d say that’s pretty unhealthy.” she laughs a little. “Luckily, my parents knocked some sense into me too. I shouldn’t have left. I should’ve just stayed so we could talk it out.”

I smile in relief.

“I guess we’re both a bit a fault then, huh? Me a little bit more than you?” I scratch the back of my head. “I’d like to have my wife back home, if that’s okay with you.”

She smiles and nods her head, walking over to me and giving me a tight hug.

“I’d like to come home too. I love you, Josh. So next time we get in a fight, let’s work it out, okay?” she asks quietly.

I simply nod my head.

“I think it’s good we had this fight. It makes for good change when it comes to the future. I promise I won’t just leave again.” I say, giving her a kiss on the top of the head.

“I love you. Forever and always.”

#Josh Dun #josh dun x reader #josh dun fanfic #josh dun au #josh dun blurb #josh dun oneshot #josh dun imagine #josh dun preference #josh dun fic #Twenty One Pilots #twenty one pilots fanfic #twenty one pilots imagine #josh dun imagines #tyler joseph #tyler joseph fic #tyler joseph one shot #tyler joseph imagine #tyler joseph au #tyler joseph blurb

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terryblount · 4 years

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Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – PC Review

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remake of the three original fun-loving, cartoon-like Spyro games, originally created by Insomniac Games in 1998, 1999, and 2000 for the PlayStation. However, before discussing this modern ‘reignited’ collection, I need to go back to the late 1990s and share with you my personal history with Spyro.

Back in the Nintendo 64 Days

For his 7th birthday my brother received a Nintendo 64 from our grandparents. This was our first home console, and with this gift we now we had the ability to play so many yearned-for games which, until that moment, could only be played in our most improbable dreams. Indeed, now the two of us no longer were limited to my GameBoy and an old PC, and seeing games in full 3D (limited as it was back then) was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a unique moment in my gaming life.

Spyro the Dragon flying majestically in astounding 3D graphics!

Thinking about that moment, now, makes me almost cry. I had never seen something like that before, and what was even more amazing was that I could also explore such huge, colorful, and incredible worlds thanks to the invention of the analogue stick. I ate up so many games. Super Mario 64 was unprecedented, Mario Kart 64 was so fun, and Banjo-Kazooie was difficult. Through all these games, I felt like my only limit was the time per day I had to explore them because there was always a new corner to discovery and enjoy.

The freedom of flying, with modern graphics, recreated from the original 1998 gameplay.

Besides feeling like the cool kid with my Nintendo 64, I also remember thinking that only Nintendo could possibly provide me with such vibrant worlds. But I realized how wrong I was when, a few years later, I went to a friend’s house and become initiated in the ways of the original PlayStation.

Enter the PlayStation Glory Years

When visiting my friend (thanks to our mothers being busy socializing), my friend and I could play all night long, and we could choose from his wide collection of games since he was one of those friends who had all the games you can’t ever afford. (For the record, my personal PS1 was bought some months after launch, but I just got a few games and lots of demo discs.)

It’s a dinosaur or something who talks and says things!

I remember one night in particular in which my friend (named Matteo, in case you were wondering) decided that evening that we should play a new game he received (probably from his grandparents), which according to him was the real Super Mario 64 competitor on Sony’s console. You guessed it… that game was Spyro the Dragon.

Prior to this night, I had only gotten a chance to see a few screenshots of the game on some of the earliest videogame websites and in some Italian magazines, so I didn’t know much about it. What I did know was that there were no other free-roaming 3D platformers available around that time on any other home consoles, apart from the N64 with the aforementioned Super Mario 64.

There were some other games that tried to be open in their world design. I had the chance to try a PC demo for a game called Croc (which was great!), but it wasn’t very open like Mario. Crash Bandicoot (on the PlayStation) was obviously a great game, but it was built to be “on-rails”. The Tomb Raider series was certainly a thing, but those games were still limited to the confines of the caverns and hallways you were in.

Spyro lets you enjoy the freedom of open 3D platforming like never seen before (in 1998).

Introducing Spyro: A Decent Mario Competitor

With all these things in mind, we now come to my history with Spyro the Dragon, itself (himself?). Sure, Mario was (and likely always will be) the real platformer king, but back in the late 1990s I really wanted to find a decent competitor in order to widen my choice of games to play. And Spyro delivered.

I recall booting up the game. Spyro magically started to live when the disc was inserted into the PlayStation, and it was love at first sight, sound, and play. From the start the humor was there that really made me laugh. The bright, vivid colors popped out at me, and the game was one of the best looking at that time. (Keep in mind that many of the ‘hot’ PS1 games were ‘mature’ with dark colors and themes.)

Spyro’s full of colorful characters who sometimes carry around creamy cakes!

Last, but not least, for us Italians, it was one of the first times where the whole game was completely dubbed with Italian voices, thanks to Italian voice actors. If I wasn’t already smitten with the game before, this last selling point was all it took to totally fall in love with Spyro, the pretty-friendly Dragon!

Thanks to all of Spyro’s charms and much more, the developers, Insomniac (who recently, in 2018, put out the universally acclaimed smash hit Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4), strongly entered the videogames industry, and Universal (the publisher) made lots of money.

The new graphics are just as impressively beautiful and vivid as they were back in the day.

Much more importantly than fame or money, many players finally got to enjoy a real open-world 3D platformer on a console other than Nintendo, and there clearly was an appetite for this style of game. Consequently, Spyro, in his cool purple dragon style, sauntered himself through two additional Insomniac-developed chapters also on the PS1.

Hard Times for Old Heroes

Unfortunately, Spyro soon declined in popularity as game design evolved past the joys of simple 3D platformers. A couple PlayStation 2 titles (2002 and 2004) were developed and were moderately memorable. Other spin-off titles were also made to milk the franchise.

Then there was an attempt to revive Spyro in the 128-bit era by Activision (who bought the rights and owns them to this very day). This led to the creation of less interesting and semi-forgettable titles, including a dubious 2006-2008 rebooted trilogy with big-name voice actors and a planned movie tie-in (yuck).

Given Spyro’s rocky years, Activision shifted gears and directed one of their wholly-owned studios, Toys for Bob, to create a new type of game that mixed real-life collectible toy figures with videogames. This new vision would become the insanely successful Skylanders series. So in 2011 Spyro found himself becoming a ‘collectible toy’ video game designed to be inoffensive and accessible with RPG ‘hooks’ to keep the player engaged (and buying toys).

It’s ironic, then, that Skylanders began as a spin-off of Spyro but soon came to completely eclipse the Spyro brand. Soon enough, Spyro was mostly forgotten about as Skylanders went on to create an entire genre full of collectible toy creatures and mildly interesting ‘children’s’ videogames over the 2011 to 2016 period. Quite a fall for Spyro from being the up-and-coming threat to dethrone platforming-king Mario back in the early 3D days.

Finally, Spyro Returns, Reignited!

Having been dormant for some years now, and thanks to the trend in remaking old 3D classic games, Activision has finally brought back the original Spyro in this modern remake of the three very original games, much like how Activision remade the Crash Bandicoot saga in the ‘N. Sane Trilogy‘ in 2017. To accomplish this remake, Toys for Bob was called back to the action, which is fitting since they’ve had years of experience with Spyro-inspired games since 2011’s Skylanders series began.

Spyro can smile again, having been returned to his glory days in this modern remake!

First released in 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One, this remake has been a huge success from both critics and players, in part because it has allowed so many of us to relive old childhood memories in modern accommodations while retaining the appreciated ’90s gameplay mechanics. Accordingly, sales were huge, and Activision has successfully ridden the wave of instant nostalgia and given fans a real blast-from-the-past treat.

How Faithful is the ‘Reignited’ Remake? Very!

As far as the faithfulness of the remake goes, Toys for Bob have created a very faithful product, with the same story, worlds, and enemies of the originals. This is very much a 1:1 remake, much like its reboot-cousin, Crash’s ‘N. Sane Trilogy.’ With this reboot, from the first moment when you boot the game, it’s like traveling through time with some magic trickery.

Happiness and sunshine is what Spyro feels now having been given a quality remake.

Everything is there, in the same place I remember it, with all the same gems and chests right where I left them some 20 years ago. Even all the enemies are in the right places, with the same movements and noises. Indeed, all the gameplay and mechanics are basically identical to the original games. Even the beloved dragonfly character Sparx is faithfully recreated, who shows how much health is still available before collapsing and losing a life (you’ll understand when you play the game).

The only big difference in this remake is the technical, not structural, changes. Under the hood, the game hums along with excellent performance thanks to the Unreal Engine 4 engine, and all the modern effects create a visually pleasing, if still simplistic, style. The game engine also provides lots of configuration options to fit the power of various PCs, and the semi-cartoon visuals mean the game looks good even on lower settings.

Overall, this remake is ultra-faithful gameplay-wise but also has excellent additional details to make these original games come alive in ways never before seen. All the new aesthetic details are a treat to behold, even if they don’t change the underlying gameplay, and the few minor gameplay tweaks are welcome.

Very strong art and graphics create a new view of these old treasured games.

The Same Gameplay: Both Good and Bad

Delving into the actual gameplay, it should be noted that it’s both good and bad that this remake is so faithful to the originals. There’s no denying that these games are dated in design with gameplay that has aged a bit badly, but as long as you know what you’re expecting, you’ll likely find lots to appreciate.

As far as the structure, all three games maintain the world hub and its respective world zones scattered around it. Just like before, the player needs to collect all the gems, free all the dragons, and find all the stolen eggs using Spyro’s powers.

There’s just a few new additions here and there: for example, Spyro now has a new way of moving, inspired by feline movements, which make him smoother than before. The same treatment was used for every 3D model, allowing cleaner movements, making the game easier to appreciate in our time.

Out exploring, enjoying the smooth movement (but the gameplay is a bit stiff).

An Italian Aside

For the readers out there from Italy, let me once again say that we yet again have a completely localized game with redone (and superior) voice acting. Gone are the questionable accents of the original games, so the localization efforts deserve praise.

Game Difficulty: Not Hard

Let’s bring up Crash Bandicoot again. That series was cruel and difficult despite its happy cartoon-like design, and both the originals and remake were obviously aimed at experienced players. Spyro, on the other hand, was always aimed at younger players, and both the originals and remake have much easier controls and laid-back design.

Mind you, Spyro can still be a tough game at times, but it’s only ever difficult, not nightmarish, and most of the game is easy to explore and enjoy. Basically, Spyro is the type of game everyone (including kids) can play through and reach the end, feeling satisfied at the result.

It would have been nice to have some way to select or unlock more difficulty options in this remake, but whether you’re young or old there still is enough challenge to keep most players focused. Still, you can decide for yourself if the lesser challenge is a plus or minus for you, personally.

Concluding the Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Now I’ve taken you on my person journey through Spyro, leading up to this recent remake. I’ve enjoyed my time with this modern Spyro, and it’s been like a homecoming for me, reliving my old cherished memories. However, even if you’re never played Spyro before, there’s much to enjoy. The game is colorful, smooth, and interesting with a cartoon-like story and charming characters.

There’s much to love in this charming game world, if you don’t mind old game mechanics.

Make no mistake, this Reignited Trilogy is nothing more or less than a totally faithful, high-fidelity remake of the first three games (some would say the only legitimate Spyro titles). New players might not be willing to endure the old-school mechanics and simple challenge, but with the right mindset it’s really enjoyable to play.

At the very least, it’s nice to have Spyro back in a nice modern three-in-one package, reliving his 3D platforming glory days.

Faithful to the original trilogy

Remastered graphics

Easily customizable

3 games for the cost of 1!

Suitable for all ages

Probably too easy for some

No additional levels

No original graphics mode

No bonuses or extras

Playtime: 12 hours total (and counting). Mathieu has not completed the game, but he’s still playing it to collect all the gems!

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit laptop computer, with 16GB of Ram, Nvidia 1050Ti.

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