#How to find Zeev when he gets lost

[peachhcs]

Blurb about the gold medal win? Maybe smug afterwords?

i was gonna add the 2nd part of the request with the smut but i tried writing it like five times and i just couldn't fit it in the way i wanted to, so here's a small blurb that alludes to it instead

keep requesting things! also will was for sure white girl wasted after last night and i'm sure samy was too

au masterlist

will searched for samy after the chaotic gold medal celebration ended and it was only close friends and family left in the stands trying to snap pictures of their players. he spotted his parents waving him over, so he skated up to the glass. his mom had her phone out wanting will to smile big for her. he did as told before waving to them and his sister.

"congrats, kid!" his dad exclaimed.

"you did amazing, will! you should be proud of yourself!" colleen added and will just smiled. he held up the piece of hardware so his family could see up close even though they weren't strangers to a gold medal by now.

"have you seen samy?" will wondered thinking she'd be with his parents still but she wasn't.

"i think her and vote tried to escape the crowds looking for you!" grace explained and will quickly looked around the stands in hopes of finding either of them.

"you better go find her! we'll meet you back at the hotel!" colleen exclaimed before pulling the rest of them along. will skated back to his teammates who quickly ratted on his back, their adrenaline still chasing the high.

"can you believe this shit? we got fucking three of these now!" zeev exclaimed when he caught up with the blonde again.

"fucking tell me about it," will raved as he followed his teammates off the ice back to the locker room. he could hear the screams of the fans and paps trying to get photos and quick interviews about the game. the security ushered everyone forward, shouting things in swedish and english to keep moving so they didn't back up the tunnel.

the hockey player continued looking for his girlfriend through the crowds and still didn't see her. her and vote must've been deep in the chaos of everyone either trying to get out or find him like his mom said. either way, he knew he'd see her back at the hotel and celebrate with her then so will wasn't too worried, but he did wish he could've at least hugged her or something...

a sharp, familiar voice voice caught his attention just before he disappeared inside of the locker room, "will!" he knew that voice anywhere knowing he could pick samy's voice out of any crowd.

the boy spun on his skate, eyes widening when he saw her and vote pushing their way to the front of the crowd of fangirls. she waved him down and without even thinking, will ducked past the security to reach her. he felt someone try and grab him, but will was stronger and fell out of line right to where the two were.

"baby! there you are! i was looking for you," will enveloped her into his arms in a loving and excited spin. her giggle was music to the boy's ears over everyone else's screams.

"hi, sorry. we got lost trying to find you. congratulations! i'm so proud of you, you did so good!" samy exclaimed, cupping his cheeks as will finally stopped spinning her and settled on holding her instead. he grinned from ear to ear and grabbed his medal so she could see it up close.

"look at this thing. i have fucking three of these now! can you believe it?"

"i can't believe i get to tell people my boyfriend is a three time gold medalist. they'll be so jealous," samy joked as she carefully dragged her finger along the pretty piece of hardware. the boy was beaming admiring her and the gold medal.

this was probably all a guy could ask for honestly. his girl and his gold medal from playing the sport he loved.

"i couldn't have done it without you, you know. you made it all worth it," will found her gaze again. he watched samy's cheeks deepen into a darker shade of red they already were and both of their hearts skipped a beat seeing how the other looked at one another.

"thanks for letting me share it with you," will's media training went out the window for the moment as he leaned down to connect their lips. he didn't care about all of the fans still watching them or the paps taking a hundred photos of the moment or the way his teammates who stuck their heads out the door to watch the exchange whistle and holler in excitement for their star player.

everyone's cheers just made the hockey player kiss her harder—the idea of everyone watching him stake his claim on his girl sending a feeling of satisfaction and possession through his system. after another moment, samy carefully directed his lips away from hers when she remembered everyone was still watching them. a bright blush sat on will's cheeks, but he wasn't embarrassed. he let his gaze drink in her appearance, basically letting himself check her out in front of a hundred fans. his usa jersey looked damn good on her and not to mention her little jean skirt that drove him crazy in the best way.

"hey, smitty! better wrap this up!" cutter called from the locker room. will finally snapped from his daze while zeev just whistled again.

"fuck, i better go. i love you. i'll see you soon, yeah?"

"yeah, go. i love you, too. see you back at the hotel," samy reached up to kiss him one last time before stepping back into the crowd with vote.

will waved to everyone as he finally headed into the locker room. the guys were immediately on him for his public display all while will took it with pride.

"damn, smitty. you sure know how to work a crowd," cole chirped a bit.

"yeah, he's gotta make sure all everyone knows which girl belongs to him. didn't know you had that in you," cooley joked.

"oh he's had that in him since we were 16. you know they're like teenage sweethearts, right?" zeev nudged will's arm.

"he was like that in boston, too. everyone knows that girl's been his," cutter snickered too.

"i should've known, then. better save some of that for the hotel room later tonight," cooley laughed and that finally made the sharks player blush.

"oh he's blushing! you got him there! $20 you don't last half an hour when we get back to the hotel," cutter roared which earned even more chirping from the other guys in the locker room.

"oh shut up," will mumbled.

"hey, if she was my girl, i wouldn't even last ten minutes," cooley said and that erupted an entirely different conversation about the specifics of will and samy's sex life.

"i bet you last five," nazar added his two cents.

"well whatever happens must be good because i've seen the way his back looks after a weekend visit," cutter seemed to have all the jokes tonight because will eyed him.

"glad to know how jealous everyone is of me and my girlfriend," will rolled his eyes as he shedded himself of his jersey which finally got some of them to lay off the subject of the two.

"well you owe us $20 if you disappear somewhere tonight," cutter ended the chirping with a small wink.

will couldn't even deny that. he already knew he was disappearing with samy later because as soon as she walked out in her game day outfit earlier, will wanted it off of her. he was in for a long night.

[hochmvt]

The crisp Montana air greeted Isaiah as he stood outside the door of the motel room, looking around at the blue morning light and looking back at Zeev again, who was leaning in the doorway looking at him. The American was still a little dazed, headed straight for his car and sat down in it, putting his backpack on the passenger seat and looking at his cell phone. Sebastian hadn't called yet, so he checked the time once more, realized he was too early anyway, hesitated for a moment and mumbled a quiet “Ah, fuck it...” before getting out of the car and walking back to the motel room, knocking firmly on the door. Puzzled, the Sundawner had looked at his boyfriend, asking if he'd forgotten anything, but Isaiah didn't answer and kissed him again, blindly placing his car keys on the side table next to the door and putting his free arm around his lover's narrow waist. “We got fifteen minutes,” he spoke breathlessly against his lips, smiling up happier and kissing Zeev's neck as he laughed softly and ran his fingers through the podcast host's unruly, blonde hair.

Absentmindedly and still (or rather again) a little dizzy, Isaiah stroked Zeev's bare skin, drawing fine, invisible circles on it with his index finger and gently kissing the top of his boyfriend's head. The sun shone through the closed, semi-transparent curtains of the motel, making the dust of the room dance in the sun, and for quite a while he studied the witcher's fine, relaxed features. The way his chest rose and fell due to his calm breathing, his head resting on his chest, his eyes closed and a blissful smile on his face.  Isaiah had never really believed in fate: What a depressing thought it must have been, would one's whole life consist of a predetermined path that one simply followed blindly, with no influence on the outcome of the grand scheme of things. For him, his own story was more of a mess, a conglomeration of coincidences and his own decisions, which people liked to call fate in an effort to make sense of the chaos. It was human nature to find meaning and structure in nonsense and disorder. Meeting Zeev at Spindleweed's just over two years ago, tracking down a nightwalker near Sundawn, taking pictures in front of space-witch portals and picking daisies off a field while they were not only getting to know each other better, but already falling in love, felt more like they were meant to be together. Maybe they carried dust of the same collapsed star, fragments of something millennia old, constantly moving towards each other; in everything they did and were. Maybe none of this was a coincidence. Maybe some things—perhaps even some people—were actually destined to find each other in the vastness of space-time. To live, dream and love under the same sky as he did was no coincidence. It was a gift.  “What are you thinking about?” Zeev had asked him and Isaiah had woken up from his daydream (he didn't know how long he had been stuck in his head, it could have been minutes), lost himself for a while in his lover's shimmering golden eyes and kissed his lips gently. “You could join me, you know? It's always good to have you listen, you ask great questions and- sometimes you look at things more rationally than I do. I'd love to have you around and just... listen, if you want to.”

They had arranged to meet Sebastian at the Inverness Bar & Supper Club, a rustic, quaint diner (and the only one) near Joplin. Even though it wasn't Zeev's first time in America, there seemed to be times when he slipped into a bit of culture shock whenever he experienced a new facet of the country. Today seemingly was one of those days—especially as he reassured himself about the place they were supposed to meet at and got quiet afterwards. On their 15-minute car ride, he had filled Zeev in on everything he knew about Sebastian and what he had shared with him. Which wasn't much, especially since his messages were confused and the phone calls even more so. “Hey man, it's a pleasure... That's Zeev, he's just gonna listen in today and helps me keeping track of everything,” he had greeted the brunette, offering him one of the seats near the window and as he sat down, he analyzed Sebastian in detail. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days, all the shine had gone out of his eyes, which wandered paranoid and apathetic around the room. He was nervous. Even if Isaiah believed everyone he met for the time being (the leap of faith had become an unavoidable necessity), Sebastian had certain qualities and traits to him, that suggested he was either schizophrenic or simply suffering from a bad trip. Isaiah communicated this neither verbally nor non-verbally to neither his guest nor Zeev. Instead, he invited Sebastian for a meal and a drink; the menu was at his disposal and he had modestly opted for a cheeseburger and a coffee. Isaiah had also ordered a coffee for himself and hot water for Zeev, pulling out the small bag of one of Zeev's tea blends (sleepy tea, but it was the only one he had with him) and handing him his infuser, smiling lovingly at him and then reaching for his notebook, stroking his messy hair and looking up at Sebastian. Stage 1 of his interviews was basically about building up a relationship of trust with his interviewees anyway. Most of the time, this happened all by itself because he didn't dismiss their stories as nonsense, but listened to them attentively, asked questions without judging their explanations and was one of the few who didn't tend to dismiss them as a lunatic.  He had experienced this himself often enough. So he was polite and courteous, inviting everyone to dinner, asking each time if he could do anything good, creating an intimate atmosphere of trust that was only reinforced by his open, kind and friendly nature.  “Sebastian... I know that sometimes it's hard to talk about the things that scare us in a coherent, chronologically correct order. We often tend to jump back and forth, if you do that's perfectly fine, I'll try to follow you as best as I can, but maybe we can try to pin down what happened together. I write everything down and– try to give as much detail as possible when you share what happened. Even the things that might seem irrelevant to you: whether you took a different route to work, whether you had an obscure encounter that stuck with you, anything. No detail's too small. I'm listening to you and I believe you, okay? You're not crazy and we'll figure out what's going on together...”

“I know,” Zeev whined, throwing his arms around Isaiah’s neck. “I’m just complaining because I’m needy and greedy, hurgh.” Apologetically, he softly embraced his boyfriend’s lips, tasting of peppermint, and sucked lightly on his lower lip, underlining the previous statement. Some claimed that this feeling would fade after a while. At the beginning of a relationship in particular, it seemed that people could hardly let go of each other, their days were focused on each other, decisions were made in the interests of the other, every single thought revolved around the other. Zeev was sure to have never left that so-called honeymoon phase, for his thoughts usually circled back to Isaiah, even when occupied with entirely different matters. He missed him when he wasn’t there and he still giggled like a teenager, whenever he received a message—or needed a hot minute to calm his senses due to a rather inappropriate content. 

The most beautiful part of it all was: Isaiah was just the same. They had countless messages of just recently and long ago to testify their undying need for each other. It wasn’t unlikely that this behaviour stemmed from the fact how their relationship had started. Closeness on limited time, future uncertainty and a longing hard to comprehend. Zeev didn’t know how he had managed to survive all these months separated when being with him felt as natural as the sun in the sky; a place where she belonged, speaking her farewells but always certain to return again. More than once people had asked how long they’ve been a pair, surprised by the answer, undoubtedly due to their perception of long-time relationships dulling down into a routine. In a sense they had those, but they always included one another. It was never an obligation nor a duty. Saddening to know some people treated each other like that, if Zeev was honest, but at the same time he appreciated what he and Isaiah had even more. Being able to feel a love as pure, fulfilling and safe as this one, would never be taken as granted by the witcher. He’d annoy the hell out of Isaiah, if he weren’t sure that his boyfriend knew of his gratitude. 

Lastly, he showed mercy and let go of Isaiah, hopping into the shower, draining the sweat, marvelling at the delicious and pretty bluish stains Isaiah had left across his chest. Something he found great pleasure in feeling whenever they parted for jobs or private matters. Like meaningful and valuable jewellery, crafted for him only. Isaiah knew how much he liked it and he made great use of that mouth of his to grant him these unspoken wishes. His. 

While he dressed up he watched Isaiah pack his belongings. “I will roam the area and see where we could have a nice dinner tonight,” Zeev declared, slipping the tight fitted soft cotton shirt over his head, flipping the collar and freeing his collarbones. “If you’re up for it. You can shoot me a message though if you prefer take out.” As much as Zeev enjoyed their occasional date nights in which Isaiah loved to take him to some fancy—and not impudent expensive—restaurant, Zeev found great pleasure in staying secluded from the rest of the world, existing for and with Isaiah only. Especially when it meant the taller blond’s head remained somewhat calm and collected. No food on earth was worth overstimulating his boyfriend. That was something exclusively reserved for Zeev, too, bound to certain activities he tried not to push too far into the front of his brain. Not so close to Isaiah’s departure and having showered just recently. 

Isaiah had kissed him good-bye, turning towards the door, ready to leave, but Zeev wasn’t having it yet, pulling him back with his hand wrapped around his upper arm. As Isaiah stumbled slightly backwards, he got caught by a hand on his neck, pulled down towards Zeev who took the liberty to imprint the taste of his lips for him to remember till his return. Perhaps his other hand had snaked to Isaiah’s backside just to squeeze a handful of his ass, smiling against his lips as he felt the other’s chuckle. “Stay safe, be magnificent,” Zeev mumbled against the corner of his mouth, parting reluctantly, opening the door for his boyfriend, patting his ass encouragingly when he walked past. 

The “guy” Isaiah had agreed to meet followed the name of Sebastian Clinton, seemingly not much older than thirty-two, but it seemed hard to tell by his unkempt outer appearance. His brunette hair was messy, his face seemed sunken in, his eyes visibly colourless even in the sparse lighting. Unfortunately, the smell of alcohol couldn’t be considered faint and considering the nervous twitch of his eyes, it wasn’t unlikely there had been other substances involved. He wore dark clothing; the hood of his pullover drawn over his head, his hands fidgeting nervously inside the pocket. He seemingly searched for something in close proximity, always glancing behind him, his eyes unfocused, unable to look Isaiah in the eyes. It seemed he’d rather be anywhere but here—or existent at all. He sunk deeper into the seat, trying to disappear entirely unsuccessfully. When he spoke, he seemed to whisper only.

"I-I-It hasn't f-followed me." He nervously scratched his cheek.

[cellerityweb]

Serious Games Indeed – Raising Awarenes, Changing the World

Games have the power to entertain us and make us forget our everyday routines, if only for a moment. They also have the power to change our mindset as well as the world … even if only a little.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

A girl is lying in bed, all dressed in white. Her pale skin shivers occasionally. Her lips are red as roses. I comb what little is left of her smooth black long hair as she looks at me and whispers: »I love you, don’t worry.« Irit, my sister, died of cancer at age 10.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

I’m in elementary school. It’s the fifth grade. I’m walking by my class and suddenly I hear a loud brawling sound. I turn around the corner by an old classroom structure that’s made of bricks, cracked asbestos and iron – only to see my good frail friend getting beaten all bloodied and gasping for air. I shout out »Stop this!« with all my might. They stop for a second to look at me and return to the beating. I decide to act. I break a wooden branch with sharp thorns and wave it in the air, whipping the two bigger boys to tears. My friend looks at me, covered with dirt and blood and whispers: »I’m ok man, don’t worry.«Zeev, my good friend, died at sea, caught in a whirlpool he couldn’t evade, age 26.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

I’m standing on a steep hill in the South of Lebanon. The outskirts of Bint Jbeil. I gaze upon troops firing bullets at each other. A tank is heading deeper into the road surrounding the village, only to move on top of a powerful landmine. A heavy hand touches my shoulder, startling, holding it tight. A bearded reserve soldier, named Rami, whom I just met an hour ago, an observer in the intelligence core, is being accompanied by his squad behind him. We joke for a minute about how all of this is just like a scene from »Age of Empires« game – »We will win this game bro, don’t worry«. They go over the hill to the other side for their mission. 30 minutes later, a Katyusha rocket hits them directly. Rami, age 30. Killed while serving his country.

Having experienced the ugly face of war first-hand, Tsahi is on a mission – with video games now being his weapon of choice.

My Road for a Gaming Chalice Begins

14 years ago, I was on the verge of leaving my job as a Cyber Security Expert. I loved my job but something in my day-to-day routine was missing. I felt I was missing my true calling and knew that I wanted to do something far more influential. I wanted to change the world with my knowledge. My passion can be blazing hot when I truly put my mind to it. I decided to be a game developer, and with that, my life changed completely.

My first job was as a game programmer at probably the best TV channel for children in Israel, called »HOP!«. How appropriate it was, as my games carried this very sense of hope that I wished to plant in every single one of the titles game I made. Each one carried a fracture of my wounded but slowly healing soul. Soon enough, I became the CTO of the company and carried multiple campaigns for children with disabilities, phobias or just children who wished to know more of the world and learn through playing. After hundreds of games and campaigns, I finally started to work on projects with Sesame Workshop and it was love on first sight.

As a delegate visiting foreign planets, the player’s focus in ‘Quandary’ lies on ethnical decision-making.

Other brands soon followed, including amongst others: »Carebears«, »Strawberry Shortcake«, »Garfield«, »Pocoyo«, »«Justin Time«, »Maya the Bee«, »The Smurfs«, »Fireman Sam« and »Lazytown«. Every moment of my time was filled with color and sweetness. But I wanted more. I moved from company to company, trying to find my own salvation as a sleepless paladin roaming the land on a quest for the Holy Grail, to create a game that not only teaches but also educates, and makes you truly understand someone or something completely different. I established a game studio from scratch for »BabyFirstTV«, creating hundreds of games for toddlers to teach basic English, math, colors and sounds. I led a huge project for Compedia, one of Israel’s eldest Edu games companies, where I taught Hebrew to children abroad. I worked in Tabtale as their game designer, and created games as a freelancer for BBC, PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network and countless others. But what I was looking for was much deeper. I was looking for a place to help me create serious games.

Serious Games – Why so Serious?

By definition, a serious game is a game whose objective is not solely or purely entertainment, but which is also meant to teach, and raise awareness for the said topic, and in many cases to shock and provoke thoughts. I never liked that name, however, I agree that it is one of the names that are most suitable for the cause, and at the very least, differentiates it from other pure entertainment games. But what makes a good serious game?

‘Bury My Love’ is a story about Nour, a Syrian migrant who is trying to find her way to Europe.

The first time I was playing »This War of Mine« by 11bit Studios, I was hesitant. I knew already that this is not going to be a pleasant experience for me. I understood this is about war, and war is filled with pain and casualties. But I never thought that I would find myself completely frozen after playing the game for two hours. I lost my first team member – I lost Katia and immediately stopped playing and needed some fresh air. It took me four additional times to start again and play the game to the very end.

What I found quite unique about This War of Mine, is that it was extremely realistic, and would not make any discounts for the player. You need to be responsible, but every decision you make is hard and you know it will affect someone. You play people who have a face, a history, a name and personality. This is more than just a bunch of pixels on the ground bleeding the same way as all the other bodies. This is, or was, Katia. And it was because of me. And because of them.

Damn these wars.

After that version they released another expansion, »The Little Ones«, which was even harder to play. I’m the father of Tamar, my almost 6-year-old daughter, and I can’t even imagine spending time with her under such harsh conditions. It’s a fact that I will defend her under any circumstance. But in this game, I, as the player, saw how my method of playing changed. I walked the thin line between risking too much while also getting more food and supplies for two people. Facing the questions from the children in the game, this was wicked and hard to read and respond.

One other game that was giving me a punch in the stomach was »Valiant Hearts: The Great War« by Ubisoft Montpelier. The game is a puzzle-based game with four chapters, that is inspired by letters written during World War I and has several characters who help a young German soldier find his love in this story about survival, sacrifice and friendship. The story is woven through all characters and their grave sacrifices, courage, values of comradeship and love. Emotionally, it had such a huge effect on me, even weeks after I played the game. The game reminded me of my grandfather’s stories and that I was be able to visualize his stories through the eyes of the characters, making them more reliable and memorable.

‘The Enemy’ is a VR experience created by former war photographer Karim ben Khelifa.

Additional games that left a huge impression on me: »1000 Days of Syria« is a text-based game that is played from three different points of view, using three very different characters. In »Nanu Planet«, you play Parchi, an explorer that was separated from his love Puchi. You guide him through puzzles and riddles, in order to find each other through the use of metaphors and allegories, telling the player the story of a divided Korea, its history and reasons for separation. »Bury me, my Love« is a narrative-driven interactive fiction about Nour, a Syrian migrant who’s trying to find her way to Europe. »Insight Spark – Journey to the Fire Mountain« is a digital adventure describing two tribes – the mountain men and the forest men – who are hostile towards each other. The players select their avatar from the forest men tribe, and define traits that effect the outer visibility – not inner! – and its powers. When a dark force aims to take over their world, they embark on a journey to find a magic gem to save the world. When the game starts, the players are rewarded for behaving according to their tribe rules and culture, which makes the rivalry between the two tribes remain. As the game progresses, the rules change and the players are rewarded for thinking outside the box through, breaking through different stigmas and thereby encouraging social interaction with other groups and cooperation. And then there’s »Quandary« which provides a thorough playing of a delegation to a new planet, a framework for how to approach ethical decision-making without telling players what to think.

But not all serious games – or games for change, as the marvelous Asi Burak named his association – are painful and harsh. Some aim at creating hope, connecting people and changing how we treat each other, no matter our differences.

Games for Peace – And What’s Next?

Living in Israel was never easy or simple. This place, that some may say is holy or unique by its history and relationship with the surrounding countries, had always been a complex Pandora’s box, and no one wants to really open it wide and look it straight in the eye. Israelis and Palestinians – they look the same, eat the same food and almost speak the same language. But for the love of it, we can’t stop quarreling about land, rights, future plans and who is stronger, or who has suffered more. My generation wants peace. Not just a lip service but a true companionship. Not with the extremists. This is never a good thing, not in religion, not in politics and not in any field of life – extremism is dangerous. My generation plays games. We see this as a way of life, especially those of us who work in the gaming industry. We use games to help us shop, navigate, compete, learn and live in an easier way. So why not deal with conflicts using games as well?

‘1000 Days of Syria’ is a text-driven narrative played from three different points of view.

Four year ago, I joined the board of an interesting nonprofit association, called »Games for Peace«, where the idea was simple but very clever: we would make Israeli and Palestinian children meet in a computer game. We used the Minecraft engine as a basis for our platform. Then we let the children build together, defeat obstacles as a team and learn to get to know each other. No one knows if the other side is Jewish or Muslim, since we show all messages to each side in their own language (yeah, we made that as well). Eventually, after playing together for several months, they met in the real world and their bonds have strengthened. This model has been tested in several other places around the world, and is now nominated for two awards and entered the final stages of two glamorous competitions. There has been a change in the children’s attitudes towards their conflicted rival! But along the good, there is also the bad. All it takes is one incident of terror, one fight to regress this process backwards. Eventually, if not maintained, the great achievements gained in the game process are lost.

My own take on this was always to think of the long run. Touch the delicate fibers of the conflict, not just the popular, politically correct corners. In order to solve a problem or conflict, both sides need to expel all the rubbish inside in order to confront each other, learn about their false conceptions, start to build a connection with the rival side and start creating together.

Additionally, as we’ve seen at Games for Peace, this is not an isolated environment. The teacher must be part of the process, since sometimes, the great unbelievers are the teachers. And what about the parents? What about when the child gets back home, back into a different reality it has to deal with. So, the parents needs to be in the game, involved as a character with its own objectives. And what about my friends? And my Rabbi? My Imam? Yes, the road is long, but at least we are leaping forward in great bounces, with great courage and open eyes.

Serious Games and AR \ VR

We mostly discussed PC and mobile games, but we can’t ignore a huge revolution growing right under our noses. It’s the most common buzzword nowadays: AR\VR. Some will even dare to say Mixed Reality, but it’s a great way to make your player feel empathy, immerse in a world of imagination or realism, and understand more than ever the consequences of a player’s actions. Having a gamified layer on top of your reality or watching it with added game objects through your mobile phone or Meta Glasses is fantastic, but what other use can it bring to the serious games market? Well, instead of watching monsters popping out of sewer holes or defeating flying saucers, or even checking statistics of buildings around you, one could use it as tool to view real statistics on homeless people. Or how about using your mobile device to see how other people around you would look like after not having eaten, slept or washed themselves for days or possibly weeks? And what about conflicts? Could we simulate bullies at school, being the one having to stand up to them? Can we simulate a battle between two religious rivals only to try to pacify them using our game tools?

Indeed, the options vary, but VR is even mightier. Despite the side effects, one can assume a role of a general in an army, a foot soldier, a drug dealer in the Brazilian favelas, a Palestinian Citizen in Gaza, or an orthodox Jew in Jerusalem, and grow empathy towards that character, with actual emotional response and almost the ability to touch the world. One such good example is the VR experience »The Enemy« by Karim ben Khelifa, who has been a war photographer for many years, and decided to create an emotional experience, where each side is one part of the conflict, trying to understand and grow empathy towards each other by playing the rival character.

Will the future tacticians or soldiers fight their wars only in VR? Or is this a tool that must be embedded into the curriculum as part of a grand peace study, hence building a young generation of sensitive, empathic, non-wearing people?

Serious Games as a Business – But What About Funding?

Let’s face it: making games is awesome, right? Making serious games and social change game experiences is noble. But values can’t help you keep on going. In order to fund your growing game company, serving more players is crucial. Game developers need to think from the get-go about their business model and how their game would be funded. When we speak about serious games, the situation is even more delicate. One needs to explore grants by the European Union, like the »Horizon 2020« program or other governmental grants. But grants are a slow, bureaucratic, require tedious work and the developers need to be prepared in advance. Only a small amount of projects is selected, so this goose won’t lay any golden eggs. Of course, we mustn’t forget crowdfunding, although it shows that only 10% of the funds for serious games are crowdfunded by campaigns on Kickstarter, fig, indiegogo and the likes. It’s necessary to remember that a good campaign requires qualified and dedicated personnel with a good funding back-up to make this a quality run.

The secret lies within mixing possible solutions, addressing governmental as well as private grants such as the »McArthur’s Foundation«or the »Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation«, and combining all of this this with meeting with Angels or VC’s that are into serious games, and trying to think on how this game can fund itself. Is this going to be using the Humble Bundle model, so it could fund charities and drive more traffic to your game? Are you teaming up with a big brand without damaging the game’s image and using their marketing resources and well-known name? As always, the funding of games is difficult and you need a great combination of a good game, a great cause, lots of luck,and a heart that’s in the right place.

Conclusions

The campaign ‘Games for Peace’ had one goal: bringing together Palestinian and Israeli kids by having them play together, without them knowing about each other’s heritage, language or religion.

Life is a wonderful game. It has its own rules, actors, and varied objectives. But in order to keep on living,

we must at the very least have our conflicts under control. We first need to challenge our own inner conflicts and then try to solve bigger ones.

But games are a great tool for facing our greatest fears, whether it is black people, refugees from Syria, homeless people on the streets or people who speak Arabic. We are all born the same way as infants, and as such, our society poisons us slowly with varied misconceptions. Games can be the antidote to that poison and this is true especially for serious games. Let’s try to use our skills to change this world and the people around us. If we can develop a serious game, let’s do it. Not just because it’s popular to say that this is what we do, but to really make a change, touch those meridian points within people that are aching, looking for answers, and crystal clear them. Games are great, but their social element – the ability to compete and to learn from each other – is priceless. Without learning or education, no conflict would be solved. So learn how to create games and make games that matter and don’t be afraid to inflict pain and empathy with it – because it’s the way to a better future!

  About the Author:

Tsahi Liberman VP Foreign Affairs, GameIS Headmaster, Titan Game Dev & Design School

Im 42 years old, raised and born in Israel. My entire life revolved around games. Basketball games, Comodor64 games, playing »Golden Axe« and »Rampage«, staying over night to play »Meridian59«, »Ultima Online« and »Everquest« with my friends. I ended up developing games and meeting people I adored, putting a smile on the face of children playing my games, as well as learning about math, languages and science in a fun way. Im father to my 6-year-old daughter Tamar, and husband to Noa, my beloved partner in this life, a gifted illustrator. I love martial arts, extreme sports and making an impact on this world by using games of any kind. Contact: Mr.liberman@gmail.com

  The post Serious Games Indeed – Raising Awarenes, Changing the World appeared first on Making Games.

Serious Games Indeed – Raising Awarenes, Changing the World published first on https://thetruthspypage.tumblr.com/

[peachhcs]

she's not her.

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

will thinks the combine will help him get his mind off samy, but that completely backfires when he realizes she's everywhere with him.

3.2k words

hiii here's the first (new) installment of the new breakup timeline of the au!! (also so long wow) i'm writing four of the major points of the breakup into fics, but if you guys want smaller blurbs about any of it, send them to the inbox. cassidy is a completely fake character here, but zeev and james are real people! (i don't know the other boys too well, sorry!!)

au masterlist

“yeah, mom. it’s going great,” will hummed as he shuffled around his room searching for his keycard despite him already being ten minutes late. 

the boy could never keep his belongings straight whenever he stayed in a hotel room by himself. how did he even manage before? the answer hit will before he could even really think about it because you know who was always with him on these things? 

he knew who and he was not going to say her name. will promised himself he’d use this week to just forget about all of his problems and just enjoy getting to know the other guys here and that meant he was not going to say—

“samy’s mom called me earlier. she asked about you,” damn it. whatever his mom was saying before didn’t process in his brain because he snapped right back into reality as soon as the name left his mom’s lips. 

and why on earth was she referring to ellen as “samy’s mom.” will knew his mom always, always called her ellen. she probably read his mind or something knowing he was trying (and failing) to not think about her this week. 

“oh. okay,” will didn’t know what to say, so he continued searching for the stupid keycard. 

“i told her you were at the combine having fun. she told me samy’s at her sleepaway camp for the week too,” mrs. smith continued even though she knew will didn’t want to talk about samy at all. 

“mom, can you not?” the boy mumbled. 

“can i not what, will? she’s still a part of this family, so i am gonna ask about her and tell you because i know you still care,” colleen had a point and the blonde hated it because she was right. 

he did care. of course, he cared no matter how much he didn’t want to. that was the hardest part about all of this. 

“i gotta go. i’m already running a bit late. i’ll talk to you later, mom. love you,” they exchanged their goodbyes as soon as will found what he wanted under a pile of clothes in the corner. 

“thank god,” the boy mumbled as raced out of his room to where some of the guys he met were waiting down in the lobby. 

will felt so new to all of this—the media, the sudden popularity, the press. these guys seemed so used to it all yet he was so lost in it all still. he spotted his new friends in some of the chairs awaiting his presence, so he mustered up his best smile as he approached them. 

“there you are, smitty. where were you?” zeev spots the blonde first, his legs hung over the armrest of the chair. 

“sorry, i lost my keycard. i had to find it before i left,” will explained a bit embarrassingly. the other guys laughed him off though and that’s when the blonde noticed a few girls mixed into the group now. a few of them sent eyes his way, whispering things to one another which made will’s cheeks flush a slight pink color, but not in the blushing kind of way. 

“come on, i’m starving. those lines got me wanting anything,” cole muttered as the group pushed themselves to the door. the five of them plus the three new girls walked down the sidewalk chatting about anything in hopes of taking their minds off food until they found something. 

“hey, you’re will, right?” the new voice caught the blonde off guard. 

to his right was one of the new girls in the group he didn’t really know. her name was along the lines of cassidy, but he wasn’t 100% sure. “yeah, that’s me,” he laughed lightly. 

“nice to finally meet you. i’m cassidy, but everyone calls me cass,” she held her hand out with a big smile. will stared at her outstretched hand for a moment, his mind running in circles. 

this could be his chance to finally forget about samy. he said he needed an distraction and this seemed like the perfect one. plus, what was the harm in a little flirting? he took her hand a moment later. 

“nice to meet you, too. you play for minnesota, right?” will wondered, watching cass’s eyes light up that he even knew that about her. 

“yeah, i do!” 

“you guys had a real good season. i was impressed,” her smile continued growing with will’s words. 

“yeah, we did. i mean, you guys were incredible, too. you dominated the ice,” she gushed a little making will flush. he knew people watched his games from all over the place, but he never paid much attention to all of that. 

not when he was always thinking about samy watching the livestream from her dorm room while cheering him on. wait. no. 

no. there was no samy. 

“thanks. it wasn’t always easy, but the fans made it worth it,” the boy hummed. cass grinned again, letting their conversation die into comfortable silence as they followed their group into a restaurant someone chose. 

the young hockey player spotted rutger and some of his buddies at a nearby table making him stop in his tracks for a second. he knew rut would be here, but he just hoped he’d manage to avoid him because he knew the older boy probably hated him knowing what happened between him and samy. 

some of the guys behind him pushed will forward again. his eyes glued themselves to where rutger sat in a laughing fit over what someone at his table said. the older boy held his chest, violently shaking from laughter and finally looked in will’s direction. the two met each other’s gazes and in a surprise gesture, rutger nodded toward the younger boy. 

that threw will off guard. he studied rut for a second longer until someone pushed him forward again and he landed in his seat. 

“woah, careful smitty. you okay?” james laughed a little as he walked around to his seat. the others glanced will’s way. 

“yeah, sorry. got a little distracted,” the blonde excused himself, eyes diverting to the menu to get the attention off of him. the others shrugged, returning to their conversation while will’s eyes stayed right on his menu. 

“what’s your favorite food?” cass’s voice filled will’s ears again. he looked up, her eyes already on him where she sat in the seat next to his. 

“anything, really. i tend to eat anything,” the boy mumbled with an awkward smile. 

“hey, i’m the same way. i’ve never been too picky about my food,” she returned his smile. 

“my sister’s a big picky eater. our mom was always making three different meals for the family because we were all eating different things,” the blonde chuckled as some of the nerves he had earlier started subsiding. 

the two quickly hit it off, having their own little conversations throughout lunch. will’s smile was big when cass laughed at the things he said and he laughed right back at her own corny jokes. it felt refreshing for the blonde. he suddenly didn’t have this heavy feeling in his chest anymore that he’s had since the end of may. this felt really good. 

but what did they say about good things? they never lasted long? something like that. 

will’s gaze would bounce over to where rutger still was every so often. the older boy was never looking in his direction when will looked, too occupied with his own conversations, but rut did glance over at the younger blonde when he wasn’t looking too. 

rut only heard bits and pieces about the breakup, but he knew samy was really hurt from all of it and while the older hockey player wasn’t one to involve himself in things that he wasn’t a part of, he couldn’t but watch what looked like will laugh a little too hard with that girl. 

sure, will could do whatever he wanted and rutger didn’t care. the boy did care, however, about the fact that it looked like will was trying to talk up a new girl not even two weeks after breaking up with samy. that bothered rutger because he knew if ethan or mark were here, they wouldn’t be afraid to go over and bitch at will. 

rutger’s subtle glances finally caught will’s. the blonde was in the middle of a conversation with cass when he caught the glance from the corner of his eye. rut was looking right a him with a look on his face that will knew wasn’t good. 

“you good?” cass wondered when she noticed will’s attention shift. 

the boy’s attention immediately snapped back to hers, “yeah, sorry. my bad. what was i saying?” his words rushed out together making him come off a bit nervous. 

“something about…sumer on a boat or something?” cass reminded him. 

“right, yes. yeah. so, as i was saying,” will’s mind couldn’t stop thinking about rutger’s look. it felt like a warning or..disapproval? disappointment? 

why could he never escape samy no matter how hard he tried? it was like she was everywhere. 

“every summer my family and i go to this lakehouse in michigan. my best friend and i—well, used to be best best friend would always stay up super late to see how many planets we could count. whoever counted the most by the end of the summer would buy one another something the other really wanted,” will hummed, somehow always finding ways to talk about samy without even realizing it. a small smile was on his lips at that memory because he was the one buying samy things by the end of the summer every time. 

“huh, that sounds interesting. aren’t the same planets always coming out at night though so how does that work?” cass’s expression became puzzled. 

will’s gaze snapped to hers, his face flushing again. “i mean, yeah, but different ones will come out and go away as the summer goes on. it was just some little thing..” the boy’s voice trailed off as he slowly realized that game only really made sense to him and samy because they were the ones who came up with it when they were younger. 

cass didn’t look too impressed though. the blonde’s eyes swept over to rutger again who wasn’t looking at him this time, but will still couldn’t get that look out of his head nor the fact that he talked about samy without even trying after trying so hard to forget about her this week. 

it seemed like everything will did or said led him straight back to samy. shit. 

who was he kidding? he couldn’t flirt with someone. he didn’t even know how to flirt because he never really had to with samy. 

cass’s attention drifted away from the boy and no one else was really looking at him, so will took that as his chance to excuse himself. he needed air or something to just get out of his fucking head. the boy scrambled out of his seat in a rushed goodbye, hurrying off to the bathroom before anyone could really bat an eye. 

rutger’s gaze fell on the younger boy as he retreated further back into the restaurant. he saw will’s friends glancing around for a moment before letting him be. the older brunette gazed one more time before saying fuck it and going after will. 

the blonde stumbled into the bathroom suddenly feeling hot. his hand clutched his chest where his heart wouldn’t stop pounding a bruise on the spot while his other hand grabbed ahold of the edge of the counter, bending over the sink as if he was going to puke. will squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that would slow his heart rate down, but it only heightened as his breathing picked up into heavy pants. 

“fuck, pull yourself together,” will mumbled to mostly himself. 

she’s not her. she’s not her. she’s not her. the stupid phrase replayed itself over and over in will’s mind. 

the bathroom door swung open with rutger rushing to will’s side when he saw the kid bent over the sink while panting. “jesus christ, will? are you okay?” the older brunette bent down to will’s level, trying to meet his eyes. 

“i can’t breathe,” will managed through his hyperventilating. 

rutger looked around, realizing no one else was in the bathroom with them. he wasn’t really an expert in this, never really having dealt with panic attacks before. 

“hey, yes you can. it’s okay. i’m here,” rutger tried his best, his attention back on will. 

“she’s not her,” now the blonde was crying. 

“what are you talking about?” the older hockey player grew confused. the heavy pants and now tears didn’t make it easy for him to understand what was being said. 

“she won’t ever be her. i fucked up, rut,” will got out a bit clearer this time. 

rutger quickly understood. 

“do you want me to call her? i can call her?” rut eased his tone, finishing for his phone in his pocket. 

“no, no. don’t,” will shook his head. he couldn’t call samy like this. plus, she didn’t want to speak to him ever again, making it very clear after blocking him on nearly everything. 

“will, i gotta call someone. you’re freaking me out,” the older boy said. 

“call gabe or ryan. i need to talk to them,” so rutger listened and searched his contacts until he landed on ryan’s number first. 

the phone rang three times until ryan finally answered. “rutger? what’s up?” the younger brunette sounded confused that the michigan hockey player was randomly calling him. 

“hey, sorry for the call. i-i’m with will. he’s..he’s having a panic attack i think. he wanted to talk to you,” rutger explained the situation, eyes on will who’s breathing began slowing down. 

“shit, is he okay?” ryan urged. 

“i-i think so? i don’t know. i’m not an expert in this,” rut held the phone out for will to take. 

the blonde’s shaky hand brought the phone up to his ear, “hey leno,” he managed weakly. 

“will? are you okay?” ryan’s voice was laced with concern. he never called will by his first name unless there was something serious going on. 

the guilt and shame quickly settled into will’s body. his eyes glanced to rutger standing beside him still and then his head fell. “i fucked up, ryan. i realize i fucked up now.” 

“what are you talking about?” ryan didn’t get it. 

“everything brings me back to her. no can be her no matter how hard i think they are or want them to be,” the blonde frowned deeply, especially because he was admitting this in front of one of samy’s closest guy friends. 

ryan didn’t need to ask twice who his friend was talking about while a pause came from his end as he digested will’s admission. rutger realized this seemed like a conversation he wasn’t a part of, so he just squeezed the blonde’s shoulder and nodded towards the door saying to just find him when will was done with his phone. 

“i’m gonna add gabe to the call, okay?” ryan finally said as will sunk down onto the ground. he didn’t care that the bathroom floor was incredibly disgusting because he could not go back out and face his friends out there without muttering some lame excuse about leaving. 

“uh, hey?” gabe connected a moment later, confused about why he was on a call with ryan and rutger mcgroarty. 

“hey, it’s me. will’s on the call with rutger’s phone,” ryan explained. 

“oh. is everything okay?” gabe wondered, still confused on what was happening. 

“i fucked up really bad. i know that now,” will said and gabe also didn’t have to ask twice about what his friend was talking about. 

“what made you finally come to this conclusion?” ryan asked, trying not to sound bitter. he knew will was having a hard time, but he would not forget samy showing up to his house in tears after their breakup. 

“i really, really thought i could just forget about her at the combine and just enjoy myself, but everytime i talk to someone, i always end up talking about her no matter how hard i try not to. she’s everywhere in my mind. i thought i could stupidly talk to this girl..be a distraction? i don’t know, but i think i just really wanted her to be samy instead,” will admitted sheepishly. 

“yeah..that happens after having such a history with someone,” gabe said. 

“i know i fucked up. you don’t need to keep telling me that. i feel like shit about it,” will scoffed, rolling his eyes a bit. 

“as much as i hate you for doing what you did and never wanting to see samy that hurt again, maybe you should talk to her,” ryan finally said, tone softening out. 

“i can’t talk to her even if i wanted to. she blocked me on everything almost immediately,” the blonde frowned. 

“look, we all make mistakes. it’s human nature. are you an asshole for hurting her? yes. am i still mad at you for it? yes. do i think you fucked up completely though? no. maybe give it some more time and then reach out. things are still fresh, emotions are still high. we all know samy and we know she doesn’t hold a grudge for that long,” gabe gave his two cents about it as well. 

“i wouldn’t blame her if she did hold a grudge for a while though,” ryan cut in. 

“jesus, shut up, leno. i get it,” the blonde rolled his eyes. 

“look, we’re always here for you, will. I’ll be in boston next, so i’ll see you and we can talk more, yeah?” gabe spoke again before ryan and will started fighting or something. 

“yeah, thanks. sorry for bothering you guys,” will frowned a bit. 

“don’t sweat it. love ya, smitty,” that made will smile again. 

“yeah, love you i guess. just try to have a good time for the rest of the week,” ryan said and will nodded even though they couldn’t see him. 

“thanks, love you guys too. talk later,” they hung up after that. 

will pushed himself back to his feet, splashing water on his face to hopefully get rid of his red and flushed cheeks. he carefully pushed the bathroom door back open, surveying the restaurant for rutger’s table. 

the boy made his way over, nudging rutger’s arm when he was closer. the older boy looked over, “thanks,” will said. 

“of course. you okay, now?” 

the blonde nodded. he glanced to his table where a few of the guys met his gaze, waving him over. he walked towards them, already having decided he wasn’t all that hungry anymore and just wanted to be alone for a bit. 

“there you are! you good?” zeev asked seeing his friend. 

“yeah, not feeling too well. i think i’m gonna head back. sorry,” will muttered out his excuse. 

“oh, okay. feel better man. text me,” zeev said and will nodded before making his exit. 

he didn’t even look cassidy’s way. the only girl on his mind was samy and it was gonna stay like that for a long time. 

[jessiebites]

Jessie searches Zeev's face for a lie. Something to prevent his own pain, but unfortunately she comes up short, and he's sitting there going through the motions just as she is. They're both broken in a way that can't be undone, but Jessie knows that forever is only a concept to a vampire, and wounds can only heal once they're stitched and taken care of real prettily. "You don't gotta worry about buggin' me 'bout anythin', angel, y'know that right?" A raise to her brow, shifting as she's being moved by his grasp.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle a little bit of mess y'know." her whole life is mess, from the way she was brought up as a human to how she died and became a vampire. It's mess after mess, and there's not much that's going to change by intertwining Zeev into it. If anything, she welcomes his baggage just as she hopes he accepts hers, because at least neither of them would be alone as long as they had each other.

The witcher's hands treat her as if she's not jagged in her own way. Like she's not all teeth and bruises, or carnage and bloodied, and for some reason it makes her stomach sink every time it happens. It's one thing she's noticed with her time spent beside him, and she didn't know if it made her want to cry or laugh, maybe something in between. Zeev's the sun, and she's the one getting burnt to the touch everytime she kisses him, but she craves him even more despite. The feelings stirred up in her chest still unrecognizable, but she knew she wanted to stay in this bed forever, and by extension — stay with him even longer.

As she's nestled into him, the realization that she's leaving in less than a few hours hits her more than it should. She doesn't want to go back to her reality quite so soon, because being roped into bed with Zeev has made her the happiest she's been in awhile and there's nothing that would compare to the feeling of kissing and getting lost in him for even more time. A rabbit hole of her own she's gone down and can't seem to bring herself back up to earth, back up to reality where she has a business and needs to do her job because she has clients waiting to pay her big bucks in return for helping her stay under wraps. Jessie's as calculating as she is lustful for life, which can be tied together with a bow. Being a vampire does that to a person, it increases the amount of creativity she was given in order to stay alive.

"Magic ain't gonna protect me from my clients, I'm afraid. I'm just a chain in a giant web." Jessie remarks, dipping her head down to rest on his. "It's just a few days t'get things rollin' without distraction, 'sall." Because he is a distraction whether or not she wants to admit it out loud. All she wants is to tend to him when she has other things she has to do. It's the price of love, but also the price of having an intricate hobby that takes effort on all sides. She can't make bloodied pies if she has no blood, and she'd die before anything of Zeev's is touching a crust.

If anyone's going to taste him, it would be her.

"I'll even save ya some desserts that ain't tainted or nothin' cause I know you like them." Jessie snickers, nudging their noses together as she's slowly dragging her leg onto one side of him, then letting the other fall on the opposite side, her palms resting flat against his chest as she pushes herself up a little bit to straddle him with the blankets draping over bare shoulders.

"I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone, darlin'. You're so busy at your own store, you won't even notice I'm gone." Jessie jests, teeth slotting her bottom lip and keeping it there. "And when I get back, I'll make it up t'you." A gentle drift of her fingertips along his chest, circling little hearts on the little piece of exposed skin that her fingers find themselves to. "Sound like'a plan?" Jessie questions him, spoken to him like a promise. She was always going to find her way back to him, there was no doubt about it.

"But until then, I want t'spend the next twenty four hours doin' nothin' but bein' attached at the hip." Jessie snickers, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. It's quick and chaste, leaning down again to pepper kisses across his cheeks before hovering back over him. "'Cause I'm not wastin' my day with you bein' all sad an' mopey about me leavin', so take me t'the city today an' you can protect me there."

The gentleness in her gesture left a twinge in his chest that had nothing in common with the pain that had embedded itself much deeper in him and spread like the scar tissue on his palm since the loss of his family. As if it were the physical manifestation of his despair, even though it hadn't been them who had caused it. It was the realisation of his own actions, scars he had inflicted upon himself in his desire to be of greater importance than he ultimately was. An injury that made no major waves of significance, except for his own constant failure to grasp the unattainable. 

He smiled weakly at her as she obviously examined him for wounds where she would find none. Her sincerity towards his statement touched him more than he would have expected. He wasn't used to being judged by his words rather than how he looked. It still shrouded him in disbelief when she gazed at him, the gleam in her green eyes accentuated by the warm glow of the lamp. Her pale skin seemed more alive than ever in this light and he wondered what wounds she carried inside that would never show on the outside in this way. Although it was worry that was reflected on her features, Zeev couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked. A reserved part of him surmised that it was that very compassion that gave him that impression. Caring for someone else instead of just yourself was a rare commodity and many people lost it in the fight against injustice and as victims of terrible circumstances.

Circumstances that had made her what she was. They were both children of the blood, in a sense, caught in a maelstrom of moral scrutiny and the urge to preserve themselves in a world that had rejected them. 

He recognised no pity in her gaze and there was a care in her words that felt warmer than her body. He studied her eyes gratefully, smiling into himself as she kissed his forehead, realising that being alone was not a place to go, but a place to be left behind. At that moment he was not alone, yet it was only a matter of time before he would. 

Gently, he lifted his arm and traced the contours of her face, following the hairline over to her jaw and finally stroking a fine red strand behind her ear that so far had heard and understood his every word without judging him for it. 

“I don’t think you can,” he whispered drunken on sleep, even though he had hardly slept a wink since the sun had set. A pang of regret reached his core, causing the corners of his mouth to droop. “But thank you for listening regardless. I appreciate that, a lot.” How nice it would be if she could really do something about what had been haunting him for more than a year now. In Zeev's eyes, however, there was only one solution and that was to return to his family. Only then, he surmised, would all the pain dry up and everything return to the way it had once been. The delusion he had fallen prey to remained hidden from him. “I’m sorry to have bothered you with that, I’m sure you got your own wounds to tend to.” Wounds, just as impossible to track, unless one mastered the ability to look beyond what shone in the eyes to see a cascade of abuse and betrayal.

Gently, he pulled Jessie closer underneath the sheets, nestling her frame against his own, certain his reverence to the sun was no harm to her. His hands moved along her skin, his palms covering the healed but palpate scars on the small of her back as he dipped the tip of his nose into her soft hair, inhaling her scent like his favourite incense, burning bright but never down, despite the fires that had undoubtedly set. 

“Thank you,” he repeated, more quiet this time, closing his eyes just enough to relax, but not enough to drift into peaceful slumber. His mind was twisting and turning too much to grant him any sort of rest. “Do you really need to leave tomorrow?” He huffed. “I could try to keep you safe here. The woods have always protected me, they surely won’t make an exception with you.”

[sonnenreich]

Surprise adorned his fine features, as he had not expected this change of heart at all. In fact, Zeev had assumed that the professor would do anything to make him abandon the reckless idea. Admittedly, this all spoke in Wendell's favour. Zeev knew that his instincts had not deceived him when he contacted him. Now that he had received confirmation that he would go ahead with his plan, he was satisfied and smiled again. However, his previous question, which had been lost in the euphoria of approval, clouded his mind again considerably. He lowered his eyes for a moment and wrinkled his nose slightly. “Unfortunately way too quick.” His thumb stroked the palm of his left hand as he stared unfocussed at the natural texture of the table. “With that in mind, my condition can really only improve, if we're being honest. I have nothing to lose and you may have something to gain.”

And if everything turned out as he anticipated, finding a fairy door sounded like a fine good celebration. Zeev was positive that he’d soon enough find out why that one door was this important to him in particular. Had he lost someone there? Was he looking for something to obtain as well? Whichever reason he had, usually all truth unfolds itself after a certain time—Zeev just wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have.

The work with dark arts came with a price like any sort of magic, unfortunately for Zeev, he had naively assumed the fee he had given had been enough. But Zeev wasn’t willing to die, even if not afraid. He wasn’t done yet.

A fact that snapped his attention back into place, clapping his hands quietly. “Now that we've sorted that out, let's not waste time and get down to business, don't you think?” He tilted his head in an adventurous manner, his smile as beaming as moments before. “What preparations do we need to make? Do we need anything special or will our dashing good looks be enough to convince any fairy to hand out whatever we need?”

"Ah, surely you must be right." It's good, for both of their sake's, that Wendell's tone doesn't come off as sarcastic as he means it to. It's quite a mistake for anyone to believe they understand the motives of the Folk, let alone deem them of little importance. Rest assured, the motives of the Folk are almost always at odds with anyone else's. Best to assume you are in imminent danger by association with them than go on your merry way thinking all will be well. "I'm sure there is something for them to gain by your finding it."

Bambleby's eyebrows raise at the note that Zeev knows little about faeries and he tries his best to hide his grin. Yes, that much is abundantly clear. Good of Zeev to finally acknowledge that he may, in fact, have at least one weakness. "By and large, the Folk do tend to spend the majority of their time in Faerie, but there are places where the space between realms is thin or instances where coexistence becomes difficult. Then there's the ones that simply feel the need to make life as miserable as possible for their human neighbors." He gives a slight shrug as though deeming it unimportant, though his eyes are trained on the man across the table to gauge his reaction. "So many dryadologists have disappeared over the years, likely having become entrapped in the Otherlands. Though I do fear they likely were tormented to death, some part of me hopes for a brighter outcome for them." Wendell shares Zeev's sentiment, though he dares not express it. God knows he'd rather be in one realm in particular if he could.

What Wendell feels when he's close to a faerie door is surely different than what any other dyradologist feels. Then again, what Zeev may feel could also be far different than anyone with particular abilities. "Sometimes it could simply be a gap between two trees. Most have the inherent sense to avoid them, feeling the wrongness of it all. Perhaps a feeling of dread or hair standing up on the back of your neck? Or perhaps, like you say, the feeling is a little more welcoming? It depends entirely on where the portal may lead. The welcoming ones are likely far more dangerous." He folds his hands in his lap, his gaze wandering airily away as if what he intends to say next is of little importance to the conversation at large. "I would imagine those with any sort of magic should be able to sense more than just a feeling."

"Mr. Spindle, you must understand that my position dictates that I do my due diligence to prevent someone such as yourself from using faerie artifacts with ill-intent." Not his conscious, of course. His conscious is screaming at him to give Zeev a clue and watch the chaos ensue. "Hypothetically we're all dying, my friend. Are you dying quicker than anyone else you know or..?" But there's the hope that perhaps this partnership may have its benefits. He may be able to finally go home. Besides, it would be in Zeev's best interest to uphold his end of the bargain. "I will help you to locate the tears if you find the door I'm searching for. You have yourself a deal."