#Geography competition game

[a-tiny-sloth]

actually my cishet guy trait is that i'm like one boring afternoon away from becoming one of those geoguessr guys

[sunboki]

— TEASER

You and Han Jisung are the ultimate best friends. While he’s busy nerding away, you’re filling him in on the latest and greatest drama. That’s until he brings up crushes. And I mean, what’re you supposed to say when he asks you that? It’s not like Jisung’s your crush… right?

📓 » Han Jisung x f. reader

GENRE┊non idol au, friends to lovers, (kinda) enemies to lovers, two idiots being oblivious, fake relationship au, highschool au, angst, fluff, slowburn

WORD COUNT┊estimated to be around 5k-6k words

WARNINGS┊profanity, lack of communication, childish pettiness, stupidity at insane levels

AUG’S NOTES┊if you don’t have a date this valentines, just know we’re both in the same boat ☹️ hopefully some hanji will help!!

THE BOYFRIEND STATUS TAGLIST — OPEN

The first night of your downfall all started in mid-January.

All was well and had been going well, until it wasn’t.

You’ve known Han Jisung since second grade, starting with having to apologize for knocking over his castle and him proceeding to cry even louder in the sandbox, snotty in his red and white striped shirt.

You swear that shirt is still in his closet.

And when he was wimping away in a corner, you were the one that got him out of his shell. To this day you’re convinced you’re the first person to ever witness the true Han Jisung, who starts slapping things when he laughs really hard, who gets overly competitive during board games, who keeps hundreds of mind-blowing tracks he’s produced to himself, and who (you wouldn’t admit it) has one of the prettiest smiles in the world.

Freshman year of high school you met Jisung again in your Geography class.

Initially, it took you a moment to recognize his face, having changed quite a bit over the years. And certainly not a bad kind of change. Although, his nerdy personality was all the assurance you needed to figure out it was him, apart from that he switched to contacts, grew his hair out more, and looked, y’know, “older.”

Older as in: what happened to you? ..Why are you so attractive?

But you won’t get too far into that.

Through the years he tutored you. Jisung had a knack for studying since day one, and despite occasionally looking like he could pass as a dropout (usually the week before finals), no one else could maintain better grades than him.

So, on a night both you and Jisung were slouched over your desk, procrastinating school work by rating people at school from most to least kissable, he turns to you, face halfway illuminated by your lamp.

“Do you like anyone?” Your boba-eyed friend asks while you aimlessly scroll through your camera roll in search of the photo you’d been talking about, mumbling a quiet “of course” in response.

Jisung makes an unconvinced noise and clasps his hands together, leaning forward.

“No like, like like anybody.”

Finally escaping your ‘rating people’s kissing-capabilities’ headspace and now entering into your ‘is this the question i think it is?’ one, you wipe your sweaty palms on your jeans.

It’s a strange question, not a Jisung-question, and you find yourself growing increasingly nervous the longer he stares at you.

You’ve never even thought about it really, so why are you so sweaty? Why does your heart feel as if it may just beat out of your chest, why is your mouth so dry?

Questions.

Clearing your throat and secretly praying it didn’t give away your piling anxiety, you feign a roll of your eyes, tapping your fingernail on the cool desk.

God, why are you so nervous?

“Um, nobody, why?” You retort, ignoring the scrutinizing squint of his eyes watching you.

It’s never like this. You’re the one that teases, gets him all shy, stumbling over his words. So now you suddenly feel like Jerry and he’s Tom.

Abnormal.

“C’mon, there has to be someone you think is cute,” He whines, and before you can stop it one word smacks you upside the head.

You.

“It’s Minho!” You shout, hurried and barely audible as if trying to tune out your inner panic.

Han looks stunned.

Han as in best friend, not crush. Right.

What were you thinking?

“..Min.. Minho?” He phrases slowly, evidently surprised.

Being completely honest, you’re just as surprised as he is. Minho is attractive, sure, but never in your life did you consider him like that.

Oh how you wished you could erase all of this from ever happening.

It doesn’t make sense. Because it’s not like you’re into Jisung. Or are you?

Nope. Nuh-uh. You were just caught off guard and unprepared. Not to mention it was an unexpected question, that’s all.

Fuck.

You like Jisung. There’s no point of lying to yourself anymore. From the start of seeing him again, those “friendly” gestures weren’t friendly anymore, they were intentional, pursuing. Walking from class to class together, constantly checking your texts, meeting his eyes only to smile like fools.

“Yep. Minho. That’s the guy,” Cutting each sentence shorter than the last, you nod fervently, avoiding his gaze.

Both soaking in utterly hellish silence, the tension was likely seeping through the cracks in your door at this rate.

He really shouldn’t have ever brought this up, and you shouldn’t have said Minho. So on the bright side, at least you’re both at fault here in the grand scheme of things.

“..Alright then.” He shrugs and goes back to writing down notes, ignoring how the room feels a hundred degrees hotter and that every inch of your soul is drenched in a cold sweat, plagued with the situation you landed yourself in.

What has gotten into you?

sunboki, may 2022 ©

[rottenpumpkin13]

Given the geography of the ff7 universe, some form of the Olympic Games could exist, but of course, it’s a thing that Shinra would probably fund and control. Say Shinra does host a form of Olympics in Midgar, and it’s to show-off their soldiers’ strength and skill. What kind of events do you think our bois would be competing in? How well does it go, and what kind of events do you think they’d excel/ or flop in?

Things That Happen At The Olympics, A List

• Zack takes part in the athletics event. When the sprinting event rolls around, he runs so fast that he doesn’t stop even after crossing the finish line. Angeal has to chase him down the track.

• Sephiroth and Genesis go head-to-head in table tennis. Both are equally skilled and determined to beat the other, so the match goes on for three hours. It would have gone on longer, but Kunsel in the audience can’t take it anymore, and throws his helmet on top of the table to end the match. The cameraman curiously pans to Kunsel in the audience, but somehow he still has his helmet on.

• Genesis participates in archery. He steps up to the firing line, he's sophisticated, he's confidend, He declares, "The arrow has left the bow of the goddess," releases the arrow, and misses miserably. He struggles to keep from swearing, trying to maintain an air of good sportsmanship, but the look on his face is something Sephiroth will forever hold dear in his heart. He literally made this face -> ( : ౦ ‸ ౦ : )

• Sephiroth keeps winning gold at sports he's never played in his life and it's driving Genesis nuts.

• Sephiroth participates in javelin throwing. He deliberately turns and hurls it toward the crowd, aiming to pierce Professor Hojo. He misses, but receives a round of applause from all of SOLDIER.

• Angeal participates in weightlifting but is visibly flustered, unable to keep his composure as Zack, Genesis, and Sephiroth shout and whistle at him. Something about Angeal’s toned skin glistening in the sun, with sweat dripping down his abs, drives them feral.

• One of the break dancers gets sick, so Zack jumps in and begs the board to let Cloud compete.

Zack: Pleeease, director?? He's really good! We promise!

Lazard: I appreciate your confidence in your friend, Zack, but this is a competitive program, and I can’t risk us being embarrassed.

*After Cloud wins gold*

Lazard: I'm not even going to ask.

• Competitive cooking is part of this Olympics. Angeal is the chosen participant, but when he sees others failing their dishes and throwing them out, he protests by grabbing the discarded food and stacking it on his station to highlight the waste. They try to drag him out, but Angeal fights back by using the leftover food as a weapon, throwing it at security and yelling, "AT LEAST WE FOUND SOME USE FOR THEM!"

• Kunsel’s career as a commentator is short-lived when he’s announcing a basketball game. He says, "And Zack goes for the ball! At least this one won’t ghost him after a bad date," and is promptly dragged off the mic by Director Lazard.

• Sephiroth is selected for dressage but withdraws from the competition at the last minute because he, quote, "developed a deep bond with the horse and cannot bear to have him compete merely as a show animal."

• The guy who was supposed to participate in the shooting portion gets sick, so Zack begs Director Lazard to put Cloud in his place instead. The participants keep disappearing and Lazard is growing suspicious. Anyway, Cloud wins gold.

• Years of childhood fencing training pay off as Genesis takes home the gold medal. He will not stop talking about it for the rest of his life.

• Zack participates in freestyle swimming, zooms through the water but miscalculates and slams his head on the inside of the pool. This goes viral on the internet not because of Zack's injury, but because the cameras capture the moment Sephiroth stops swimming to help, approaching Zack’s floating body and blood in the water slowly, like a shark, with only his eyes visible above water.

• Sephiroth participates in pole vaulting but uses the pole as a javelin, launching it into the crowd, aimed at Professor Hojo.

• Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal face off against Zack, Kunsel, and Cloud in tug of war (the guy who was originally supposed to be in Cloud's place mysteriously disappeared and Lazard is growing anxious).

Everyone assumes AGS is going to win, but somehow, it only takes 0.3 seconds for KZC to pull them over the line. At one point, Cloud pulls so hard that Sephiroth just becomes a silver blur being violently yanked forward.

• Zack is about to win gold at surfing but gets wiped out by an entire school of fish.

• Life-saving is one of the sports. Sephiroth and Angeal are paired up to rescue Genesis from drowning, but they can’t agree on the best method. While they argue, Genesis theatrically "drowns" but by the time they finally compromise, Genesis is drowning for real. Cloud jumps in and saves Genesis, winning gold. Lazard takes out his special pills.

• Drama that happens at the olympic village includes:

- Zack breaking his cardboard bed three times because he has the tendency to literally jump into bed at the end of the night. He gets a reputation for picking up dates and rolls with it "because it gives him street cred"

- Genesis practices his flute when be can't sleep, a hobby that deeply disturbs his neighbors, namely Angeal who has four times barged into the room, grabbed the flute and threatened to shove it in places that intrigue Genesis.

- Everyone notices there's never any apple muffins available. Until they discover that Zack has been hoarding all of them in his room, stockpiling enough to last the entire event.

- Sephiroth testing the fire alarm one night to see if it actually works, pulling it and then having the brilliant idea to turn this into a fire safety lesson or really he just wants to end the Olympics early because he's so over it, so he sets fire to the hallways.

- The combined sight of Sephiroth fleeing the scene with a cat no one knew he had adopted, Zack running out of his room with a wheelbarrow full of muffins, Angeal trying to save his cardboard bed by running through the halls with it over his head, Genesis playing the flute as everything burns around him, makes Lazard quit on the spot.

[dukecollinsbf]

guess.

if u guessed EVEN MORE OF MY DARLIN OC HEADCANNONS UR CORRECT. sum nsfw

sorry to all. im obsessed w him.

he loves zombie movies. and zombie games. call of duty zombies with his brothers used to be his shit. he was also very competitive. like, before he even hits the floor in the game he's yelling at his brothers to revive him. (im projecting :P)

after being with the pack for a few months, julius was convinced he'd never be a part of the pack like the rest of the teens were. they all already formed their bonds, found themselves in groups; they were a family. julius was just... there. even when asher would force julius to hang out with them, julius would feel so out of place and would just sit quietly

this feeling only grew stronger as he grew older and STILL didn't have any close bonds within the pack. he was fully convinced asher was trying to include him out of pity and it pissed him off. he HATES being pitied

he ALMOST got a tattoo for quinn cus he was young and fully conviced he and quinn were forever

now he has a tattoo of sams name

he also copies sams accent. and milos. and porters. not to be mean, but cus they like the way they talk! they did it with quinn too and he didnt take it well

he punched another pack member for making fun of him once. lol

HUGE RESTING BITCH FACE.

again, guyliner. one of the pack adults (i cant decide which) and julius x that one scene from the dairy of a wimpy kid movie

"are you wearing eyeliner??"

julius also had a crush on rodrick heffley. he wanted him AND wanted to be him.

"IM SORRY WOMEN :/"

he orders food then overthinks the interaction. "wow... i stuttered while asking for cheese on my sandwich... this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

not julius, but sam uses emojis properly. especially the sad ones. julius thinks its so cute.

also sam dad bod and chst hair and

me^

as mentioned in past post, he was sent to an empowered tti. he DID escape, but he didnt get to finish highschool cus of it. he makes fun of himself for being a dropout even tho it wasnt even his choice.

again, projecting, but he has an issue with telling others to kts or threatening to khs.

when he was a kid and he found out ur teeth dont fall out til youre like seven he cried cus he wanted money

this is alrdy agreed upon by the fandom but hes a WHORE. and HOT.

hes taller than sam... IM BOUTA BUST

one time when sam went in for a kiss julius turned his head away and went SWERVEDDD and sams face was pure shock and betrayal

he rubs his cheek against sams

bright eyes and sam that one meme

"why does julius call u babygirl?"

"how bout we stop talking for a little while."

baggy jeans.... compression shirt... or.... tight tanktop.... *busts*

slurty waist....... msucles....

neck tattoo........................ and others cus he TATTED

he wears rings too and he has a necklace he like NEVER takes off.

i alrdy said this too but im saying it again he has heterochromia (my twin) hes so sexy im gonna kiss my own oc

BJ KING!!

he bites. in a freaky way and in an intimate way

like he loves sam sm he js needs to bite his bicep or titty pec

he used to smoke. like A LOT

early sam and masc darlin was a homoerotic friendship. i know that sexual tension was crazy.

garfield lover. youll never like garfield like HE likes garf.

HE SUCKS AT GEOGRAPHY SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the end (for now)... do yall have hcs for my oc cus ill eat them up and send u a million dollars. but also just gimme darlin hcs

AGAIN IM SORRY IM SORRY IF UR SICK OF ME LMFAOO

[meiideryz]

map to my heart.

pairing: wong hendery x reader

length: 1.06k

tags: alternative universe, university/college au, friends to lovers, indirect confession, mutual attraction, tooth-rotting fluff, best friend! hendery, assistant librarian!reader, based on true experience.

note: i was inspired by a conversation i had with my ex-crush when i was with them in the library where our lesson on a subject took place

"how well do you know your geography?" hendery's voice was gentle and low, keeping himself quiet in the back of the library with students who cannot be disrupted.

he watched you looking at the library globe before your eyes met with his. after finishing an activity that his professor had given him, he was able to freely look around, and there he saw you at the back with the globe you were spinning at a slow place. it was a fortunate meeting, knowing how well you often visit the library since you were an assistant in helping the librarian after all.

“do you know your geography?”

this time, you returned the same question to him, and of course he knew. he just wanted to test how good you were, and with a smile on his face, he responded. “of course, would you like a challenge?”

“i'm down,” hendery loved how there was no hesitation in your tone, and he especially loved your competitiveness when it comes to interests you both have in common. “only because i can totally win over you.”

“oh? really?” his hand made its way to touch the globe, preparing himself for a little game of spotting the country. “give me a name, then.”

“laos.” you said, and he smiled at you.

“easy,” he began spinning the globe in front of him, looking for the location you had asked him to find. “if you know countries from asean very well, then there's no difficulty in searching for it.”

pausing the sphere, hendery's forefinger pointed to the land just above thailand before he gave you a victorious grin. “see? now try looking for sri lanka for me.”

he heard you let out a huff, watching you already turning the spherical ball, and when you showed him that you had already spotted it, he gave a fake sound of a terrible whine which almost made you laugh. covering your mouth with your palm, your other hand made its way to his arm with a light smack. both of you suppressed a laugh, knowing how much they could get in trouble if they ever disturbed the library, with him being thrown out and you enduring another scolding session from the librarian.

“you really should stop making weird noises if you don't want to be thrown out from here.” giggling in a whisper, he couldn't help but fall in love with the way you beamed at him.

hendery was so, so in love with you.

he moved to stand beside you with his head leaning closer to your ear, saying, “shoot me a name, sweetie.” 

you hummed, pretending to think for a little long time. gazing over your hand ghostly touching his knuckles, the little butterflies flew around inside his stomach. the fingertips of your hands running over his then the surface of the globe before he heard you utter out, “cyprus.” 

nodding to your next challenge, he made his way to look thoroughly around the ball. a chuckle left his lips, feeling as if he was starting to sweat despite the cold breeze of the air-conditioned room. “maybe i’m reconsidering your knowledge on geography, after all.” your voice softly echoed in his ears. he wasn’t going to give up so easily for some country he wasn’t familiar with. 

continuing to search, he whispered to you, “from what i remember, it’s close to romania, am i right?” 

“close.”

hendery droned out a steady continuous sound, staring at the map of europe in front of him. if it was close to what he stated earlier, and the name sounds close to some greek mythology name. “then i'm guessing it would be near greece, so…”

forefinger gliding through the map, he eventually found cyprus below turkey. another victorious win, he smiled at you. “there.”

“you’re not as bad as i thought.” your compliment had earned him another good slap in the heart, and it would always make him do somersaults every time you do. with the way you look at him like that, with that contagious smile and laughter, he could never stop feeling things for you.

“okay, my turn.” you said, “give me a name.”

“show me…” hendery trailed off, his body moving backwards to face your back. watching you turn around, you let out a small gasp as you were taken aback when he caged you in between his arms. “hendery, what are you doing?”

“show me where the map to my heart is.” his voice was serious, and yet there was still a glint of delight in his tone. the smile never wiped off from his face while he stared into your eyes. sure, it was abrupt and unexpected, but he wasn't being playful in a way that would annoy you, and his seriousness was giving a turn.

“i…” now you were the one who was tongue-tied, and him being the patient person he was, he waited for you to respond. it was simple, if you reject him at this time and moment, he would respect that and back off this instant.

"the question is just simple," without wiping the smug off his face, he let out a fake yawn that is not loud enough to disturb the other students in the library at the front. "show me where it is." with the way he carefully and audibly emphasized each word, you started to laugh in such a nervous state.

"a-are you joking right now?"

"huh, what's that?" he brought his hand to his ear, pretending to not hear you despite being a short distance away from you. that smile of his never dropped.

“sweetie if you're just gonna stand there and stare at me then i might as well win this challange—”

“i think i know where it is.” you quickly uttered out, breaking your silence. he was curious to know what was on your mind, and so he crossed his arms against his chest, lips curling up to put up a smug look.

“really? i'm curious to see if you actually know it.”

“well, if i can remember, it starts from here…”

he observed the way your finger reached out to point your own chest where your heart is at rest before making out a line until your palm was against his chest to his beating heart. hendery sucked up a good amount of air at the contact, his gaze still never left yours.

“...to here.”

©MEIIDERYZ 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[dozing-marshmallow]

OKAY OKAY, hello again!! loved the nibling reader you wrote and just had to write it again!!! (if you couldn't tell im a sucker for platonic family hcs <3)

this time, this request is quite angsty?? ig nibling!reader getting their feelings hurt (either by duncan, heather, or whoever you decide to choose!) you can decide if they either run to chris to cry to, or if they run away to a more.. deserted(??) area of the island. (bonus points if after reader feels better, leshawna comforts them <:]) thank yeww!!

HIYAAA!! Lovely seeing you again with another appreciated request, and to hear that you are happy with how I interpret a Chris nibling reader! It means a lot ! <3 

As always, have an enjoyable reading experience! 😊

ANGSTY! CHRIS MCLEAN’S NIBLING! READER HEADCANONS

Heather was on the chopping block.

She needed to do something urgently. The day wasn’t getting any earlier. Everyone was itching to cast her name out of the competition.

Immunity wasn’t in her favour this time.

She needs to find a reason asap to not be kicked out tonight. That there was actually someone around that was a much bigger threat to everyon-

...Everyone?

...

Jackpot.

“You know that...toy Chris’ nibling has? I need you to get it for me.” Heather beseeched bluntly to Lindsay, hours before the elimination ceremony, in the whistling privacy of the forest.

“Um, sure?” The blonde’s voice high pitched from stupidity agreed,“But why can’t you go ask yourself? (Y/N) doesn’t bite! Not people!”

“Because Lindsay...I...gotta make sure I’m presentable! My hands need to be in perfect condition.” It was a strange excuse, but Lindsay was narrow.

“Ohh, right! Gotcha.” If anything, she found relatability in such empty words.

Too easy,“When you get it, come straight back here. You can remember that, can’t you?”

“Ohh, totally! In geography, I-“

“Go get the teddy.” Heather interrupts dismissively.

“Okay...” she watches moody Lindsay’s height get smaller and smaller as she disappears more and more to carry out one last request.

You were sitting on the sand with your legs spread out when you saw the pretty blonde girl approach you,“Hi Lindsay!”

“Hii (Y/N)! Is that Mrs Maple?” She pointed at the stuffed bear, dressed in a shirt of the Canada flag.

You nod,“She’s having a suntan!”

“Oooo, she’s a lot like me! We both love being trendy!” Ask to get the teddy, ask to get the teddy,“Could I hold her? I...wanna see if we’re really on the same wavelength!” She zealously asks.

You hesitate. You never really let that happen.

You hold Mrs Maple by her underarms and stare far into her black eyes, before you nod and hand her over.

“Thanks! Aww... It’s such a cute bear!...Oh...wait...” She remembers her objection,  and gawks back at you,“I think I hear her talking! She said she wants me to uh, get some syrup for her! Gotta go!”

Before you could protest, she races away. 

That’s weird... Mrs Maple is shy when she meets new people...

Oh! It must be a coverup for a game of tag.

Thus, you got to your feet and ran the same way she did, following her footprints in the sand, smiling. Challenge accepted!

“Hey...! Heather!” She wheezes, holding the teddy to her,“I got it!”

“Good.” She hears a distant “Wait up!” which melts a glare on her face to Lindsay,“You let them follow you?”

“Ohh... I didn’t know they would. But they sound like they’re having fun!” Lindsay found much virtue in it.

“Yeah... A lot of fun.” The wicked glimmer of Heather’s smile shifts to the blades of a pair of scissors she sharpened out, offering them to Lindsay,“Cut the head off.”

...

Lindsay is mortified.

“Wh-What?!” She stutters, clearly having the full ugly picture confidential to her up until now,“I don’t understand, I-I thought you wanted it to see it!”

“Yeah, and to mutilate it.” She snaps the scissors together,“Take.”

“I can’t! I won’t!” She yelled, holding Mrs Maple to the other side,“This teddy is (Y/N)’s whole astronomy, and she didn’t do anything to deserve decapitation! Besides, I-I was the one that took it so, it’d make it look like it was my idea!”

“Right on.” Heather snarled, Lindsay’s out of nowhere refusal not being part of the plan- she could threaten her position in the alliance, but eh, not much of a point if... Oh well. She did do the difficult part so there was nothing hard about snatching the teddy right from Lindsay’s hands and rapidly tearing the head off faster than she could blink.

“Heather! What are you doing?!” She screeched.

The sick image of stuffed cotton overflowing from both ends of the teddy to the ground.

Mrs Maple’s head was now a teddy of its own.

“There.” She pushes the two pieces back into Lindsay’s shaking hands,“Now you can give this back. Or should I say, these.” A malicious smile raises on her pale lips.

“Oh my God... You’re gonna be in so much trouble!” 

“No. You’re gonna be in so much trouble.” Heather reiterated victoriously,“Later!”

She sprints away.

“Hey! Come back, this is your doing!” official that Heather wasn’t going to come back, Lindsay bites down on her bottom lip as she desperately tried useless methods of fixing it such as seeing if the head could stay on the neck by itself or licking her finger to try stick the separated body parts together.

Nothing worked.

I...I didn’t know bears bleed white fluff!

“Lindsay...?”

The one voice she wished she didn’t hear then.

She swiftly hides her hands behind her back and faces the small child, whose shoes and hands were dirty from running and falling, twitching on a nervous smile,“(Y/N)! Y-You’re here! That’s so...great!”

“Could I have Mrs Maple back now please? Her social battery must be so dead by now...” you asked, coming towards her wobbly from running so much.

“Oh um, well, see uh...” her falling on her words didn’t help her case. Hey! She can’t do these things under pressure!

Your face drops,“You...lost her?”

“No! She’s...” she sighs, divulging her heavy hands,“Here. I-I can explain-!”

Immediately, your eyes stung deeper than a wasp’s.

She was showing you your worst nightmare.

Someone you trusted.

“What...?” It was rather unsightly. It... This couldn’t be happening...

“I promise I didn’t do it! It was Heather! It was Heather’s idea, I swear! I didn’t know she wanted to do that!” Lindsay broke down to plead her innocence, guilt stronger than her mascara.

Pulse bellowed in your ears,“Heather...did this?”

A sweet baby returning lifeless by the neglect of the babysitter. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,“I...It’s okay...It’s...okay.”

Proving wrong after five seconds of eerie silence, by the destructive wave of your cries. Before Lindsay could try consoling you (try being very needed), you ran away.

How could you do that? Trust Lindsay of all people? You’ve never had a greater ocean of self hatred flood your insides.

Oh man it did not feel nice.

Chris didn’t predict his nibling to run to him bawling, so he was very caught by surprise. It took him time to properly ask what was wrong given that he had to fully acknowledge that you were hurt, tremendously.

You’re so overwhelmed, you can barely speak. Your wails hold you by the throat and your face never more pinched. All Chris could do is hold you and wait for you to calm down enough to vocalise the root of your distress; whoever was responsible for that was done for.

You hiccuped,“M-My ted...ted... H-Hea...Heath...Heath...”

“Yeah, I can’t understand you,“ he nods at Chef to get a cup of water. Once obtained, he gently urged you to take your head off his body so you could drink it.

Already, your breathing was restoring back to normal and your mouth was empty.

“Better? Alright.” He pats a tissue to your face,“Tell Uncle Chris what’s gotten you all choked up.”

The evocation of it was enough to get you bawling again, and you felt that you had already burdened your uncle enough by disrupting his chat with Chef. So you decide to put the first line of context into words,“I gave Mrs Maple to Lindsay and...” then deciding to show him the pieces. He could figure it out, he’s smart.

“Oh sweet child.” he takes them in his hands, wrinkles forming under his dilated eyes in pure perturbation from what he was seeing. No wonder you were so devastated! He’ll admit, he kinda expected something like this, but not by the intention of other people,“Lindsay did this?”

“I... I don’t know...” your head is light,“She kept saying it’s Heather’s fault, but... I’m still upset I gave it to her in the first place...”

“We’ll check the camera footage, but either way, somebody isn’t going to go through just elimination tonight.” He’ll make sure of that. He takes his sight off you to place the parts of your beloved teddy down on the table, being very gravely mistaken for something else.

“Don’t throw her away!” You shriek, pulling onto his shirt of dark turquoise to prevent him from such,“Please, I’ve had her for a long time! Don’t make me get rid of her!”

He’s once again dismayed, but his tone grew resistance this time,“We won’t be doing that. It’s just the head that came off, soo we’ll sew it back on and maybe clean her. She’ll be as good as new.”

You wipe your nose,“Really?” Thank God.

He nods, stroking the top of your head,“I’ll have Chef work on it right away. As for me, I have other business to attend to. It’s all gonna be solved, I promise.”

Your tears were no more,“Thanks, Chris...” you’re serious. You don’t know what you would’ve done if he wasn’t there,“Do you think we could...play board games tonight?”

“Totally!” Best uncle ever,“We’ll do all your favourite games and we can stay up allll night. How’s that sound?” 

See? Chris wasn’t exactly the best at people comforting, but when it came to the very few people he held dear, that’s when he’s serious.

Knowing how teenagers were, especially of Heather’s textbook, he couldn’t expect a lecture to turn her heart.

But he did enforce a warning to them that harassment was off limits on those who weren’t participating.

How?

You don’t want to know.

“Hey sweetie.” Leshawna came and sat next to you during your wait for your uncle to tell you he’s free to begin board game night,“How are ya? Feeling a little bit better?” By this time, Mrs Maple was one piece again. 

You’re way too disturbed to treat her the slightest of play,“Yeah... I just... I never felt so sad in my life. I practically watched someone close to me die. When...I saw that...she was torn in two, so did my heart.”

“Aww.” she curves her hand around you and rests her head on yours,“Sorry you went through that, some people can be so miserable. You ain’t meant to be feeling all this sad, gloomy things we teens do. You just a kid!”

“I’m never giving Mrs Maple to anyone again.” Your decision thrived of bitterness.

“And that’s completely fine. She’s your toy, no one should force you to do anything you don’t wanna with her. It’s alright to be hurt, but you gotta make sure that the way you handle it is the best way to let you move on sooner.”

“Is...Is Heather going home tonight?” you needed to know. It may have been there, but you needed to hear it.

“Oh, totally. Girl dug her own grave and now, she may need to retake her passport photo.” Leshawna chuckles at the thought,“I mean, to go after a kid who did nothing and still be too much of a chicken to own up? Way out of line.”

“Will I always have to meet someone as nasty as her...?” Your puffy eyes set back to the newly placed stitches on Mrs Maple’s neck.

Leshawna sighs, rubbing your shoulder,“Unfortunately in this world we live in, there’s all kinds of sick freaks and Heather is just one of them. But you shouldn’t waste your life worryin’ about them, because there’s also really great people in your life that will always wanna look out for you, and it’s them you really wanna spend time on, ain’t it?”

“Like you?”

She smiled,“Come here, sugar.”

You felt safe enough to let Mrs Maple join in. Leshawna...she’s amazing. And would make a great big sister, if she wasn’t one already.❤️🩹

[15-lizards]

Imo there is not enough Valyria content out there so I would LOVE to see your thoughts/headcanons on what the geography, city, fashion, etc. looked like

okay this ones a little difficult because even though Valyria is clearly inspired by Rome, I don't like roman (aka greek) architecture for them it just doesn't really fit to me. Honestly its hard to assign any real life inspo because the existence of dragons would have had some major impact on the society as a whole, architecture included

However, if I had to pick a type to ascribe to Old Valyria, my first choice would be a twist on Hindu architecture. I am absolutely obsessed with the sheer amount of details on the buildings (especially the Meenaskshi Temple at the bottom, everyone please go look at more pictures of it it's gorgeous). It's incredibly complex but also tends to be very symmetrical, the styles perfected over hundreds and hundreds of years. I also really love the idea of the spaces being open and well lit, it fits well.

Another alternative is traditional Chinese architecture, with the added bonus of dragon motifs that are already there :D Another type of architecture with an intense focus on details, symmetry, and how the design of a space affects a person. Architecture is a reflection of where a society is in their development, and I find that this could be a good inspiration for Valyria, an advanced culture with the excess time and resources to build things like these.

Woof okay clothing is all over the place I need to brainstorm and tighten my focus on different inspos (also I wish I could draw well so I can blend these styles properly but alas...anyways we ball). The main thing is mediterranean cultures I know that much. The Iberian Peninsula, Rome, Greece, the Minoans, Malta, Cyprus, etc etc all the ancient clothing and traditional costumes from around the Mediterranean Sea. Valyria was in a warmer, damper climate, meaning lots of loose fabric that could let air through but wouldn't weigh you down. Also doubling as shields from the sun. You get the gist I use this type of clothing all the time.

Okay Random Cultural Things Time

Art and literature? honestly really important because while yes this was a conquering civilization, they needed their exploits to live on in wall frescoes and written epics and dramatic pantomimes. I think they were literate, and probably spread written Valyrian to all the colonies, so that they were easily assimilated. People particularly fond of their dragons had pictures of them made and statues sculpted so that they would live on after their death.

Sports and entertainment also pretty big as well. Valyrians were a highly competitive people To Me so I think that riding, swimming, wrestling, racing, and other games were popular with the people, even those in the higher classes. Also fuck it I bet they raced their dragons. A really tall amphitheater where rich men lost money as they watched dragons circle around the ring. Or fight in midair, if the dragon riders were prisoners or sentenced to death.

As for religion, the Valyrians worshipped the gods that gave them dragons, but also tolerated the other faiths of the places the conquered, just in order to ease tensions (and because they had no dragons so why would they worship dragon gods). I like the idea of Roman household gods, with small altars in every home. Statues of the gods of the home, along with any gods a particular family might favor, along with ancestor veneration and dragon veneration. Dragon skulls and dragon masks on the walls baby!

[watercolor-hearts]

For the ship thingy: Maxiel please 🥹

Max/Daniel

who hogs the duvet

Daniel, because we all know he doesn't like to be cold and Max doesn't like to cuddle for too long because it gets too hot, so Daniel needs the duvet to stay warm.

who texts/rings to check how their day is going

I think they both do but Max does it more frequently, especially when Daniel's having a hard time mentally because he cares about him and wants Daniel to know that he's there for him.

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts

I think Daniel is a bit more creative, Max likes to give traditional gifts, wine, flowers and things like that.

who gets up first in the morning

Daniel. For some reason I have a feeling Max likes to sleep/isn't a morning person but I might be mistaken.

who suggests new things in bed

Max. 😃 My guy couldn't wait to bring the massage candle and the temperature play into the bedroom for the first time.

who cries at movies

I think it depends on their mood and on the topic of the movie. If it's something sad about cats, max might cry, but I think overall they don't really cry at movies. Maybe only if they're already sad.

who gives unprompted massages

They both do but I think Daniel gives more because he likes touching Max's soft skin.

who fusses over the other when they’re sick

They don't make a big thing out of being sick if it's just a cold or something, but they both like to be there for the other to make it a bit easier.

who gets jealous easiest

I don't think they get jealous. They trust each other.

who has the most embarrassing taste in music

Max. Daniel thinks his taste in music is better. 😃 (But they both like Martin's music.)

who collects something unusual

Max. Geography nerd flag boy, I'm sure he collects something unusual. 😃

who takes the longest to get ready

Daniel, probably. Max just puts on jeans and a white t-shirt and he's done. 😃

who is the most tidy and organised

Now that's difficult. I think they have a cleaner so they don't really have to worry about not being tidy and organized.

who gets most excited about the holidays

Daniel, probably. For Max it's good if ha can just be at home, play on the sim and be with the cats.

who is the big spoon/little spoon

I think Daniel's the little spoon most of the time because he needs the warmth from Max, but sometimes Max gets to be the little spoon if he needs it.

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports

They're both competitive.

who starts the most arguments

I don't think they argue a lot. Maybe only over small things sometimes but those are never serious arguments.

who suggests that they buy a pet

Max, probably. Never enough cats.

what couple traditions they have

I don't really know.

what tv shows they watch together

I don't know what tv shows are popular nowadays so I can't really answer this. I don't think Max cares too much about tv shows.

what other couple they hang out with

Maybe with other F1 couples if they go on a holidays together or something.

how they spend time together as a couple

In every way they can. Sometimes it's just having dinners together, sometimes it's going on dates, holidays, things like that.

who made the first move

Max. For sure. Have you seen how down bad he's been for Daniel since the beginning?

who brings flowers home

Max, sometimes.

who is the best cook

None of them. They prefer ordering food.

[txttletale]

i'll actually in a limited capacity defend the overwatch league's regional teams gimmick but the execution was bad. having regional teams could have been hype. like--during astralis' 2018-2019 csgo run, danish esports fans went fucking insane for them. and like of course they did. there's inherently something exciting about having a team you can in some way 'identify' with. and geography does create natural sports rivalries and pre-writes your stories.

there were two glaring bad problems in the dumb way blizzard did this though. one is forcing teams to come up with brand new branding. this was a horrible idea. it forced well-established esports organizations with strong fanbases across different games like cloud9 and optic to try and build new brands up from scratch. they realized this with their call of duty leage where they let teams play as 'atlanta faze' and 'optic texas' but yknow. kind of too little too late

the other one (and this is also the glaring fatal flaw in the overwatch league's entire silly, silly business plan) is the idea of a global league. now if you don't know much about esports you might think 'wait whats wrong with that. its gaming you can do it online players can be anywhere'. however that's not true! first of all, esports--well esports doesn't make money, esports when managed correctly is essentially a loss leader for the game it's an esport for--but esports makes a lot of its money on live events. yeah, people go to see esports games:

much more importantly, ping is a huge factor in esports. the higher the level you're playing at, especially in a game like overwatch that's full of twitchy hitscan aiming, the more a 10ms latency difference can make or break a game. you need to be running in-person events in order to have a competitive esports league and to make a good chunk of your revenue.

and that means that a global esports league runs into the exact same problem a global normal sports league would run into and the reason why that doesn't exist, which is travel logistics. the overwatch league has a london team, a san francisco team, and a chengdu team. these cities are very far away from each other [citation needed] and although overwatch league people will often blame covid for ruining their plans, i honestly think it actually saved them by preventing the horrible idea they had for how the league would work from actually happening. imagine all the problems that travel causes in a league like the NBA--jet lag, exhaustion, the obvious budgetary expenditure. now imagine that the travel itinerary also includes flights across the atlantic and/or pacific.

that's not even all! the thing about esports is that, because practicing for ten hours a day doesn't physically destroy your body like it would for regular sports, esports players and teams... do that. if you spend seventeen hours on a plane from paris to hangzhou for a match that's seventeen hours where you're not practicing. when you arrive, you can't just stay at a hotel--you need to be able to practice in the days leading up to the match too, especially because it's esports, which means the game can change. if you miss some practice as a sports team, you're gonna be rusty--if you miss some practice as an esports team, the rules of the game might have literally changed since your last practice session.

the result of this, by the way, is that the london and paris teams have never been actually based in europe--and that right now the dallas team is based in korea. it is very silly. every other multinational esport ever invented has created regional leagues--league of legends has a league for korea, china, europe, north america, pacific, vietnam, brazil, japan, and latin america. but blizzard entertainment are god's special little gamers and they weren't going to let something like 'the ocean' get in the way of their global league dream.

and ultimately this means that the entire local team concept was pointless. most of the teams aren't locally based. and even if they were -- the madcap way they play against each other mean that those city affiliations don't matter. when manchester united play liverpool f.c., even if you are not a big football fan, if you're from manchester you presumably have an opinion of liverpool and liverpudlians, and vice versa. there is an emotional hook to latch on to. if manchester united were to play khon khaen united, you would probably say 'where the fuck is khon khaen'. for the localisation to work, the overwatch league's london team needed a manchester or glasgow or dublin or amsterdam or brussels team (etc.) to play against. if you're invested in the esport itself and the players, you can get invested in a philadelphia-london or chengdu-houston rivalry--but the localisation aspect of it isn't doing the work it should there.

tldr: the overwatch league was a bad idea ever since the moment it was announced. people are too harsh on the team localization idea but the way it was executed was hot garbage and it's no wonder this entire venture failed badly

[archangeldyke-all]

girl.. wife!sevika and reader who competitively watch jeopardy together every night. like literally shoving each other (playfully) out of the way to see the tv better and shouting answers over each other... this is a goddamn dream.

CUTEEEE

men and minors dni

lobbing pillows at each other, gently nudging and wrestling on the couch as you half argue half laugh as the timer on the tv counts down.

when sevika's right, she always gets up and does a victory lap around the living room, cheering for herself and flipping you off.

when you're right, you kick her and tease her and watch her grumpily sink into the couch, swearing that the game is rigged.

when neither of you are right, you'll throw chips or popcorn at the tv and boo, directing all your competitive rage at alex trebeck's (rip) smiling face.

she downloads a trivia app onto her phone to get better at your nightly watches. you make fun of her when you catch her studying, laughing each time she gets something wrong, but proudly kissing her when she gets something right.

sometimes, you guys will make bets or decisions based on who wins jeopardy that night.

"if i get this one right, you have to do the dishes." you'll say.

or, "whoever wins this one has to give the other person head."

when the hour is up and the show ends, no matter how heated and competitive your nightly routine has gotten, you both cuddle up against each other and flip through the channels until you find something else that interests you.

sevika's great with geography and history based questions. you're convinced she's got the world map memorized in her head.

you're better at pop culture questions, and sevika always whines when the categories have celebrity, movie, or music based questions.

you guys don't really keep track of points or whose winning, it's more about the playful banter and impressing one another with your obscure knowledge.

sometimes, (most of the time,) when one of you pulls a random fact out of your ass to answer a question and get it right, the other will be so impressed that the rest of jeopardy will be spent making out and groping each other on the couch, occasionally pausing to whisper out answers against each other's lips when you overhear a question one of you knows.

taglist!

@lesbeaniegreenie @fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa

[bumgall]

Are "spelling bee's"—as we were taught by Author and Charlie Brown to be understood as being—still a thing? I feel like they could be more compelling if there was more variety to the challenge then just saying a word and waiting for a kid to spell it. There could be things like: "In British-English, spell cheque," or: "How many 'e's' are in 'arguments?'" More advanced competitons could even introduce phonetic spelling bee challenges as well...I suppose it starts to sound like more of a game show, which might trivialize the competition in the eys of parents & educators...To that I refer back to "Where In The World Is Carmen San-Diego?" —A game show that took seriously multiple fields of study: geography, geopolitics, history, etc...So yeah, make spelling bees a game show. That might actually be all that's needed to revive America's public interest in them...

[sunboki]

You and Han Jisung are the ultimate best friends. While he’s busy nerding away, you’re filling him in on the latest and greatest drama. That’s until he brings up crushes. And I mean, what’re you supposed to say when he asks you that? It’s not like Jisung’s your crush… right?

📓 » Han Jisung x f. reader

GENRE┊non idol au, friends to lovers, (kinda) enemies to lovers, two idiots being oblivious, fake relationship au, highschool au, angst, fluff, slowburn

WORD COUNT┊5.1k words

PLAYLIST

WARNINGS┊profanity, lack of communication, childish pettiness, stupidity at insane levels

AUG’S NOTES┊valentine’s day with ji :(( take this as my tribute to hurting my own feelings with this fic 😭

THE BOYFRIEND STATUS TAGLIST — CLOSED

The first night of your downfall all started in mid-January.

All was well and had been going well, until it wasn’t.

.

.

.

You’ve known Han Jisung since second grade, starting with having to apologize for knocking over his castle and him proceeding to cry even louder in the sandbox, snotty in his red and white striped shirt.

You swear that shirt is still in his closet.

And when he was wimping away in a corner, you were the one that got him out of his shell. To this day you’re convinced you’re the first person to ever witness the true Han Jisung, who starts slapping things when he laughs really hard, who gets overly competitive during board games, who keeps hundreds of mind-blowing tracks he’s produced to himself, and who (you wouldn’t admit it) has one of the prettiest smiles in the world.

Freshman year of high school you met Jisung again in your Geography class.

Initially, it took you a moment to recognize his face, having changed quite a bit over the years. And certainly not a bad kind of change. Although, his nerdy personality was all the assurance you needed to figure out it was him, apart from that he switched to contacts, grew his hair out more, and looked, y’know, “older.”

Older as in: what happened to you? ..Why are you so attractive?

But you won’t get too far into that.

Through the years he tutored you. Jisung had a knack for studying since day one, and despite occasionally looking like he could pass as a dropout (usually the week before finals), no one else could maintain better grades than him.

So, on a night both you and Jisung were slouched over your desk, procrastinating school work by rating people at school from most to least kissable, he turns to you, face halfway illuminated by your lamp.

“Do you like anyone?” Your boba-eyed friend asks while you aimlessly scroll through your camera roll in search of the photo you’d been talking about, mumbling a quiet “of course” in response.

Jisung makes an unconvinced noise and clasps his hands together, leaning forward.

“No like, like like anybody.”

Finally escaping your ‘rating people’s kissing-capabilities’ headspace and now entering into your ‘is this the question i think it is?’ one, you wipe your sweaty palms on your jeans.

It’s a strange question, not a Jisung-question, and you find yourself growing increasingly nervous the longer he stares at you.

You’ve never even thought about it really, so why are you so sweaty? Why does your heart feel as if it may just beat out of your chest, why is your mouth so dry?

Questions.

Clearing your throat and secretly praying it didn’t give away your piling anxiety, you feign a roll of your eyes, tapping your fingernail on the cool desk.

God, why are you so nervous?

“Um, nobody, why?” You retort, ignoring the scrutinizing squint of his eyes watching you.

It’s never like this. You’re the one that teases, gets him all shy, stumbling over his words. So now you suddenly feel like Jerry and he’s Tom.

Abnormal.

“C’mon, there has to be someone you think is cute,” He whines, and before you can stop it one word smacks you upside the head.

You.

“It’s Minho!” You shout, hurried and barely audible as if trying to tune out your inner panic.

Han looks stunned.

Han as in best friend, not crush. Right.

What were you thinking?

“..Min.. Minho?” He phrases slowly, evidently surprised.

Being completely honest, you’re just as surprised as he is. Minho is attractive, sure, but never in your life did you consider him like that.

Oh how you wished you could erase all of this from ever happening.

It doesn’t make sense. Because it’s not like you’re into Jisung. Or are you?

Nope. Nuh-uh. You were just caught off guard and unprepared. Not to mention it was an unexpected question, that’s all.

Fuck.

You like Jisung. There’s no point of lying to yourself anymore. From the start of seeing him again, those “friendly” gestures weren’t friendly anymore, they were intentional, pursuing. Walking from class to class together, constantly checking your texts, meeting his eyes only to smile like fools.

“Yep. Minho. That’s the guy,” Cutting each sentence shorter than the last, you nod fervently, avoiding his gaze.

Both soaking in utterly hellish silence, the tension was likely seeping through the cracks in your door at this rate.

He really shouldn’t have ever brought this up, and you shouldn’t have said Minho. So on the bright side, at least you’re both at fault here in the grand scheme of things.

“..Alright then.” He shrugs and goes back to writing down notes, ignoring how the room feels a hundred degrees hotter and that every inch of your soul is drenched in a cold sweat, plagued with the situation you landed yourself in.

What has gotten into you?

Why Minho was the first name you said couldn’t be explained, and, with your amazing fortune, Minho happened to be Jisung’s friend in their shared engineering program.

Any name. You could’ve said any name.

Great.

“Psst!” You hiss, lingering behind the door, waiting for your victim to finally finish his day-long conversation with Mr. Hong.

Said victim (a.k.a Minho) delivering a venomous glare from the corner of his eye, you gesture for him to come nearer (much to his obvious dislike) once the coast had cleared. Thankfully, the classroom was a distance from Jisung’s, providing ample time to strike your plan before they joined sixth period together.

A plan that had been devised throughout the many hours you spent sleeplessly investigating your ceiling last night.

“I need your help.”

Wait for it. Here comes the questions.

“Is this about Jisung?”

Before you can open your mouth, he cuts you off.

“You got in trouble again, didn’t you?”

You sigh.

“I-“

“Are you pregnant?”

“SHUT— up.” Grabbing a strong hold onto your one opportunity to speak, you clamber both him and yourself into the nearest seat, dreading this experience the longer Minho stares daggers into your soul.

The idea is a stretch, but if the boy in front of you cooperates, at least a few bases might get covered.

“Minho, I need your help with Jisung.”

Anticipatory eyebrows (looking freaky similar to a cat) urge you further.

“Alright, first things first,” You huff, fishing in your bag prior to sliding the notebook in front of him. His eyes widen, breathing an esteemed “wow” upon reading each line.

“Rules For Our Fake Relationship”, The title reads in messy sharpie marker. A silly, first-grade clique idea, although, if wielded correctly, could very easily quell your.. “problem” for a bit while you brainstormed the next step.

Problem being, how can I make sure, at all costs, my best friend doesn’t know I’m in love with him?

“You really thought this one through, huh.”

“I do what I have to.” Cracking your knuckles and stretching your neck, you ignore Minho’s judgemental eyeball and begin setting down some basic rules.

#1 Under no circumstances should we ever kiss.

He seems to whole-heartedly agree on that one, pretty much gagging at the thought.

#2 No one but us is allowed to know this is fake.

The rest is history, so by the time you’ve reached twenty and he adds a “No acting lovey-dovey around me” rule, you realize you might as well make this a “Rules For Worst Enemies” list instead.

But just as you hand him the pen, awaiting his signature with an eager gaze, he deflates, popping the cap back on much to your displeasure.

“Before I sign my life away to your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, you have to promise me something.”

“..Okay.”

Please don’t say your credit card, please don’t say your credit card please don’t say your credit ca-

“No matter how long this,” he gestures to your page-full of rules, “lasts, you have to find a way to explain yourself to him before Valentine’s Day, deal?”

Valentine’s day gives you a full two weeks to keep up your act, and as much as you want to deny and tell him that would technically break Rule #2, you doubt he’ll agree any other way. It’s Minho for goodness sake, you could throw a brick at his head and he’d wake up in the hospital the next day still remembering to feed his cats.

You’ll make an excuse.. or something like that.

Fine.

“Deal.”

Finally signing the bottom of the notebook paper, the bell rings for your next class to begin and your hand has already started to cramp horribly, a telltale sign your job here is done.

Stashing the illegitimate document in your bag and parting in opposite directions, your movements halt when Minho shouts your name, his flannel-clad form sporting a mildly smug grin.

“Hey! Don’t fall in love with me, okay?” He yells, and you make a disgusted face before both erupting into laughter.

After a rather ungrateful attempt of explaining your tardiness to English class, you drop your backpack down beside your desk, notifications buzzing with texts Jisung sent earlier today asking about where you want to sit for lunch tomorrow and your weekly tutoring sessions amongst other things.

A frown tugged at your lips.

You shouldn’t have lied, really really shouldn't have. So deep inside you hope; pray this’ll be your solution.

Fuck.

Jisung likes you.

Scratch that, he’s liked you. Liked you ever since fifth grade, when he skinned his knee wrecking his favorite captain america bicycle and you patched him up with multiple superhero bandaids.

So when he finds out it’s Minho you’re interested in, Lee Minho who in a billion years he didn’t expect you to be interested in, he’s astonished.

Because it’s not every day your best friend who you’ve been harboring the fattest crush on tells you she’s interested in another guy, especially not your other good friend, so he feels entitled to feeling a tad bit upset.

It’s not your fault and he knows it. You don’t know he likes you because he’s too much of a coward to say anything, do anything.

But somehow, in some majestic, all-knowing way, he wishes you had said his name instead.

Whether it was Summer Camp in middle school or all those times he’d sat behind you in Algebra just to talk to you, it was inevitable. Because before either of you knew it, he was falling in love, and apparently you were falling in love too; with someone else.

“Alright, and? Are you gonna tell me, y’know, why you like her?”

Awaiting the dismissal bell, he folded, desperately needing some kind of assurance. First person he usually went to was you, but that wasn’t possible now, since it’s not like he could simply run up to you and shout out his feelings, could he?

Duh, of course he could. Which is another reason why he won’t, and why he doubts he ever will.

Hell, merely talking to you on the phone whenever Minho passes by amounts to a mini heart-attack.

Instead, Seo Changbin stepped in, and in the midst of a barely occupied cafe, Han Jisung found himself spilling his guts. Spilling his guts as in: venting and brainwashing himself into thinking he could win you over.

“I mean, everything.”

His friend makes a hopeless sort of sound, head resting on his hand.

“She’s like…” Han forks a bit of the cheesecake, Changbin’s expression spurring his cynical seat-mate to continue.

“Cheesecake.”

The level-headed of the two chokes on his drink.

“..Cheese– Cheesecake?”

Han affirmatively nods. “And I love Cheesecake.”

Changbin rises from the table with a frantic Jisung in tow, pleading for his friend to hear him out.

“Look! Look wait, Changbin please-“

He swore the man’s eye twitched.

Although, they’ve known each other for four years, and he was quick thinking up a solution.

“I’ll work out with you for a month.”

He’s never seen a man sit himself down faster.

And as a result, their two hours of utterly senseless talk turned into short-lived (yet greatly appreciated) relief, filled with bits and pieces of advice granted by the matchmaker (Seo Changbin) himself. Plus, he made a good point in advocating you weren’t going out with Minho yet, right? Meaning, despite the possibility being sparse, he had a 1% on his side.

Rain pelted the campus upon his exit, the boy clambering his hood over his head, stepping a mere foot into the watery terrain for a text to vibrate his phone.

Usually he’d ignore it, but that was before he saw the number.

You.

Han stopped dead in his tracks, hoodie slipping off his head in the process—standing there, assailing droplets drenching his form, device clutched in a numb grasp.

Guess the relief wasn’t the only thing short-lived.

Y/N : You’ll never guess what happened Ji!! Minho asked me out!

Something about Jisung is different recently. You’re not sure if it’s an effect of your (fake) relationship, but he’s just.. different.

Distant.

Perhaps you should’ve expected it. This is the first time you’ve ever been in a relationship while being friends with Jisung, and the entire point of this after all is to keep your mushy feelings hidden.

But his entire “cold” persona was starting to get under your skin.

Yesterday he’d completely ditched you to talk to Chan, a fellow producer in the same class as Jisung which, might you add, never happened.

In fact, there was a time that your best friend had gotten so immersed in a conversation he slammed right into a pole. He still has a scar on his nose from it.

More so, a few months ago, leaning against the sink in his dorm the day after midterms when you’d be stressing and obsessing over precalculus, he reached up, cupped your cheek in a hand and rubbed his thumb along your skin.

..And you tumbled head first into those silly feelings the “he’s just a friend” Y/n had locked away and thrown out the key to.

Little did you know Jisung had a spare key all along.

“Eyelash,” He had said, but in your pounding eardrums the comment sounded more like a whisper, an invitation.

That night you lay in bed, trying incessantly to fall asleep to no avail, because every time you close your eyes the scene ran on replay, except in your fairytale he had leaned forward and kissed you—

A car alarm going off outside your window knocks your daydream awry, ushering you to give up on peaceful slumber after the three-hour trial period.

So why were you upset? You wanted this; you wanted to stay as friends out of the fear he didn’t feel the same—even more so that your friendship would dissipate along with it.

Easy.

It didn’t feel fair. You felt like, even though Jisung didn’t have any romantic intentions with you, you were technically (unintentionally) assigning his position as the third wheel without so much as a single vote.

And it didn’t feel fair, because a possibility remained.

A possibility that could mean Jisung liked you, and if that were the case, your efforts, not to mention your mind, would officially drift itself into a never ending orbit.

Albeit amongst your mental warfare, school ran right on schedule, blind to the infinitely deep shithole you had dug (and wished to bury) yourself in.

Thursday’s schedule consisted of a main topic.

Senior prom.

According to your firsthand accounts, prom in high school is either the best or the worst school event in the history of events.

The popular girls stick to tiny maxi dresses with overly tall heels and massive hoop earrings—granted, you don’t blame them for the dress, they’ve got snatched bodies, but sometimes (most of the time) the glitz and glam is a lot on the eyes.

Jocks will show up in cargo’s or dress pants thinking they’re the shit while their attire doesn’t even cut it when you look at their weekly exchange of a girlfriend, but hey, that’s high school.

If you were talking about yourself, you’d say prom was, well, prom. Not horrible, not amazing either.

Freshman year you spent way too much time rewatching “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” and filling your nights treating the approaching occasion like a sacred holiday. Sophomore year you began to lose interest, and as for Junior year, you nearly forgot it existed.

The more you thought about it though, Jisung would honestly rock a pair of heels.

Anyway, that’s besides the point.

Senior year, this year, there was a change in your rotation. Change, as in, big change. A what-about-Jisung-while-Minho’s-in-the-picture change.

It’s not like you were genuinely dating Minho, yet your wack job of a situation kept you from telling your best friend (crush) who is deliberately avoiding you at the moment, the truth.

Never in your life did you think you’d string yourself into something like this. That Han Jisung, that snotty-nosed boy, would be a constant reason for your incessant headaches, occupying every expanse of your mind on a continuous loop.

And by chance, fate of some kind, you finally run into the runaway culprit, tagging along with Changbin after the lunch break he normally spent with you.

Oh how the tables have turned.

So when the boy expertly dodges your first attempt to communicate, you don’t let him go, unwilling to let another unread message slip past without sparing a word.

“Jisung- wait.”

He turns to you, lips drawn in that straight line that always forms when he’s nervous.

Hundreds of possible questions you could ask in this moment, minimal time.

“Are you.. going to the prom?”

What kind of question is that you dumbass.

Fixating you with an equally incredulous stare, he tips his head slightly, a mocking, humorless chuckle following.

“Um, yeah?”

What. The. Fuck.

Maybe it’s the way he phrased his words, his cocky attitude when responding that irked your nerves. Regarding you like you’re three years old.

And maybe that’s your flaw, feeling like you’re supposed to be the one sending him beet red instead, used to that comforting casualness, your comforting casualness.

Together.

You wrinkle your nose, ripping your hand from his sleeve like you were stung.

Jisung seemed to feel it too, although only you could tell.

“Oh.. okay. I’m going with Minho, my- boyfriend, so don't worry about me!”

Aw shit, now you’re just embarrassing yourself. Shut up and leave, girl.

Jesus, why do you feel like crying?

You’d never sprinted off faster, long abandoning sympathizing with the now jerk-face Jisung and certainly trying to abandon the two days separating prom’s date and the three from Valentines, otherwise, your explanation deadline.

Talk about pressure.

Nonetheless, shopping for something couple-clique was hell. After never anticipating you’d be shopping for two in the first place, simply finding a flattering color proved itself challenging.

Minho was ungodly picky, and you refused to wear what this lunatic deemed prom-worthy. Also, simultaneously trying your hardest to welcome whatever prom season was (an occasion that felt disgustingly uncomfortable) and staying awake to tirelessly plan on how you would behave seeing Han there left no room for relaxing.

Oh, and telling him everything before Valentines too, adding another sleepless night to your February calendar.

Insomnia much?

“Yah! The tie is what makes us look like a couple!” You groan, pressing the dark green bow tie to his shirt while his grabby hands attempt at prying you off.

February 12th arrived dangerously fast, to the point you managed to snag a somewhat-similar tie and dress shade at the last minute, a tie of which you were straining to attach to Minho while standing in an adjacent room to the packed auditorium.

He childishly whines, complaining that it’s too much before all of a sudden the door springs open, figure standing frozen in the entrance.

A figure none other than Jisung.

Best part? Your hands are pressed to Minho’s chest, stuck in a rather compromising position now that you mention it.

“Oh— sorry, um,” He steps back, frantically closing the door in his wake.

This is what you wanted though, isn’t it? Payback for how rude he’d been, for him to believe you were dating Minho, that you weren’t remotely interested in him.

Regardless, it feels like betrayal.

Your companion’s mildly concerned look speaks your mind.

In the midst of your mental tormenting session however, Minho slammed his hip into the side of the door while leaving, gritting out a hushed curse.

“Want me to kiss it for you?” You automatically tease, puckering up your lips in an attempt to block out the voice in your head calling you heartless.

Well, it’s not like Jisung likes you. The only feelings you’re hurting here are yours.

“I. Would. Rather. Die.” He retaliates, nose scrunched while nursing the wound.

‘What a sweetheart’ you want to call back, but the weight on your chest seals your lips shut, and with a nervous nod you stiffly head toward the opening hall.

Something to blame. Right about now, you need something to blame that would at least provide some breathing room considering the blasting of a bass shaking the floor and just how many people are crammed in here.

Everything feels too tight, too much. Minho’s got a loose hold on your hand to keep up the act, but for who? You can’t spot Jisung anywhere.

The fake boyfriend to your side caught on relatively early, sending you a troubled expression you mirror back.

An hour in and there was no enjoying yourself, no laughing and slipping drinks somebody stole from their parents, no dancing around or sending the same compliment to seventy girls on repeat.

Han wasn’t here even after he had told you (asshole-like) he’d come. The entire reason you went these lengths.

Amidst your frustration, you spot a man in the crowd.

Aha.

Chan.

I’m not looking for Jisung I’m not looking for Jisung I’m not looking for Jisung—

“Where’s Jisung?”

You’re kidding.

Chan narrows his eyes, giving your wavering, obviously upset frame a once over.

“Jisung? He dropped off something for Felix. Didn’t he tell you he wasn’t coming?”

Again, you’re kidding.

What a liar.

And maybe you shouldn't have yourself get so mad. Jisung didn’t even know the half of it, nonetheless how far you’ve gone to secure his suspicions were out of your hair.

But you did go that far, and to think he didn’t show up after all left your tribulations useless.

Calm down, the sensible Y/n would scold.

This wasn’t the sensible Y/n.

Racing from the auditorium to the neighboring apartment complex a block or so away, you utilize the extra key he’d given to you, bursting through the door while ripping off your gloves and kicking off your mud-stained heels along the way.

Han spins around, clad in regular clothes—somewhat regular clothes apart from how incredible he looks—with his biceps straining against the sleeves of his t-shirt, glasses adorning his face, plate of leftovers in hand.

He’s been working out recently, or maybe the majority of the Jisung you’d seen wore hoodies and baggy tees.

You’ll thank whoever got him to the gym later. Presently, number one is Jisung. You and Minho can be dealt with afterward.

“Look, I know you really don’t want to hear this right now, but Minho and I broke up and—“

The words sound like vomit on your tongue, especially from the look Jisung gives you in return.

Fake, It’s all fake. Yet, it feels so real. Yes, you’re still mad, but it’s Jisung, and who are you to deny you still aren’t into him.

You don’t have to be sensible to know that.

“So?”

So? He asks. This Jisung asks, not the one who would’ve, at the drop of a hat, asked if you were alright, asked if you needed anything like a friend does. This is cocky Jisung, jerk-face Jisung.

You’re spoiled with the old Jisung, were spoiled.

But this isn’t him, this is somebody else.

Your frustration levels might breach out of your ears at this rate.

“Don’t look at me like that,” He scoffs, carding a hand through soft strands of hair. “I’m not Minho. I’m not someone you can drag along just for the fun of it, alright?”

Who are you?

Wildly, you wrack your brain for any plausible explanation.

“What- What do you mean drag you along? I would never—”

“Then why?!” He cries, slamming the plate against the table hard enough you notice a crack wedged on the side.

Breaking point.

Come to think of it, this is the first time you’ve ever heard Jisung yell.

What felt to be months and months on end of this lying and stifling came out to this, huh.

Screw it.

“Because! Because I like you, no, I love you Jisung, I love you so fucking much it kills me! Minho and I were fake! I set up all this bullshit just because I was scared of what we have disappearing, can’t you understand that?!”

He’s seething; fat, crocodile tears dotting his waterline. And you stand there pathetically, waiting to hear it, hear something.

“Turn around.”

Huh?

He raises his eyebrows expectantly, and you slowly do as told, awkwardly shuffling around till your back faces him.

His fingers sift across your back, chills spreading along your skin.

“You’ve been uncomfortable all night, haven’t you? Why didn’t you tell Min— Tell me?” He grumbles, unzipping the back of your dress and simultaneously allowing much needed air to re-enter your lungs.

You don’t need to respond for him to know, another of the many things you’ve fallen for when it comes to Jisung.

Although, another reason added to that list would be his arms wrapping around your waist, cozying to your back. And another when you shift around, your own arms slipping to his neck, savoring a hug you hadn’t realized how horribly you missed.

“Can you go back to being just Y/n and not Minho’s fake girlfriend?” He mutters, head buried in your neck.

“Yeah yeah.” You respond, voice wavering the longer you stay pressed in his embrace.

Jisung pulls back slightly, studying your face.

“Can I…” He begins trailing off, eyes suddenly laser-focused on your face.

A roaring pit of deja vu swallows you whole.

His thumb does that, that thing again. That careful caress on your cheek, that close proximity.

“Eyelash.”

Everything feels like it’s on loop.

Only difference is when he begins to lean forward, and you swear it’s your imagination when he pulls the glasses off his face, lips barely ghosting over yours.

“Can I kiss you, please?” His tone slightly breathless, you don’t have to say a word by the way you’re looking at him for Jisung to take initiative.

Yet, his feather-light peck to your forehead catches you off guard, preparing to laugh before a careful hand slips to hold your neck, maneuvering your face into a kiss you’re certain you’ll remember.

Jisung, whom, quite frankly, squealed every time the two main characters confessed their love to each other, who was emotional and fragile, was kissing you.

He kisses you, just like that stupid fantasy.

It’s messy, inexperienced, but it’s Jisung. That’s enough.

And then, even worse for your sanity, his hands slip beneath your thighs to pick you up—an action that wouldn’t have been this detrimental if he hadn’t gained so much muscle recently—but it does.

Basically breathing him in, you’re slow to separate, his teeth nipping at your bottom lip, sending chills down your spine.

Your nerves are on fire.

If anything, the world could burn and you’re certain you wouldn’t even notice, not when Jisung had you caged between his arms on the bar stool, positively enamored with every slight huff and gasp of air, the squeezing grip you had on his arms.

Ignorant to the point you forgot about his gym-partner (likely responsible for helping Jisung grow muscle, you’d thank him later for that) otherwise roommate who wouldn’t appreciate his best friend hogging in the kitchen.

Luckily, it only took the clattering of keys lodging into the doorknob to pull you two off of each other, scrambling to grab clothing while you raced to the bathroom, slamming the door behind you.

Mere seconds after your hasty escape does the man, the myth, and the legend walk in, duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

Jisung awkwardly grins, leaning back on the island as if you hadn’t just been sitting there, all pretty and perfect.

Han had always thought Changbin would be some type of dog in his past life—maybe a Rottweiler. And by the way he seemed to practically smell something was up, he was certain of it.

“Did I.. walk in on something?”

Nearly slipping half-way through his reply, Jisung (non)chalantly wiped a bout of sweat from his hairline.

“Nope! Just uh.. organizing?”

He would get weeks of shit if anyone caught on, nonetheless his roommate.

Instead of interrogating him further, Changbin grunted, bending down to pick up what the younger thought to be a piece of trash, only for one of your heels to be pinched between his fingertips, expression reading: “Seriously? Organizing?”

Color draining from his face, Jisung humorlessly chuckled, likely sweating enough to fill the Atlantic ocean.

“Did I ever tell you about my secret life as a drag queen?”

Hastily snatching the shoe away at the older boy’s face palm, his face flushing ten thousand degrees upon the cuff to the shoulder he received.

“Y/n?” His friend called loudly, met with your pitiful “here…” from the bathroom and a smug giggle from an amused gym-rat.

Yeah. Shit for weeks.

“Do you think Minho’s a good kisser?” Jisung piques, sprawled out on the couch with a bag of potato chips in hand.

The first official night of your relationship with Han started in mid-February. Tonight, you planned a movie date.

You, almost suffocating from how fast you inhaled, threw a not-so-kind slipper at him, the boy screaming avidly in response.

Through a fake relationship, pettiness, and a sad attempt at making-out, in a sense, you did explain yourself.

Hah. Suck it Minho.

“Hey! I’m just asking!”

sunboki, may 2022 ©

FIC TAGLIST. @liknws @itshannjisung @spearbinnie0327 @manuosorioh @dearly-somber @thefangirloncrack @ivydoesit23 @thisrandomgoofy15 @thisisnotjacinta @palindrome969 @shycreationdreamland @j-oneseungz @hyperpixie @eyearebee @cupidcures @gumiess @loxgirl2004

[birdsong-18]

since apparently i’m one of four people who talks about it on this app, here are some of my fav things about jet lag the game to get people to watch it:

it’s a white men hunt each other for sport game, which i know lots of people on this app enjoy

it’s also a geography game, so YEAH

it’s also a race competition with high suspense, so vibes are on point

we’ve got our three main characters, which are all incredibly endearing, including:

Sam: smartass man who somehow makes the most calculated moves and still messes up

Ben: loveable dumbass #1, absolutely doesn’t know what’s going on half the time but still succeeds.

Adam: loveable dumbass #2, thinks he knows what is going on and actually has good plans, but when it really matters he somehow fucks it up, somehow thrives through this?

and then when there are team events Adam and Ben are teamed together and share the single brain cell and it’s great

(Sam is usually paired with their guest)

The challenges are stupid and hillarious

There are some twists you never see coming

The humor is on point (for me). It’s very gen-z-esk dry humor

there’s shenanigans and planning

feel free to use this to convince YOUR friends and family to watch jet lag: the game today!

[mistydeyes]

Hiya, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with your writing (especially because you don’t leave Gaz out 😌) and Was wondering if I could get a match up for one of the cod boys?

I use she/her pronouns and am probably what most people consider to be the bi gamer girl stereotype. My MBTI is E/INFP (just noticed we’re the same!) as I tend to swing wildly between intro and extroversion. I do enjoy being social but I’ve also got some pretty extreme anxiety. I’m not big into astrology but when people find out my big three are Aquarius/Aries/Aries they’re not surprised.

I’m an Aussie and am 170cm tall so I’m not used to being much shorter than most people (growing up I was a head taller than literally everyone so I may have developed a complex 😔) I played lots of sports growing up and am actually joining the navy soon.

My fashion sense mostly consists of Adam Sandler like attire or slutty club fit with docs. I love board games/video games/dodgeball etc and am wildly competitive. I hate cooking and suck at it completely, and my room always looks like a bomb site. I love roller coasters and the beach, but only if there’s waves. I have a degree in history/geography and am 100% a cat person. I have a care bear tattoo and would have more if I wasn’t broke. I’m a very physically affectionate person and I cry a lot over media and am very sensitive but not in a way that I’ll get upset over someone insulting me, more in a I’d cry if I stood on a cats tail. I’m very loud and once you get some alcohol in me I am the life of the dance floor even though I can’t dance.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

a/n aww thank you so much for requesting! i hate when people leave gaz out so yk I'LL always make sure he's included :) also love a fellow INTP!

How you met: Military You fanned yourself as you entered the large school building. Despite your Navy uniform consisting of a long white skirt and blouse, the Australian heat was making it unbearable. You had the unfortunate assignment of attending a career day at one of the local school's to talk about your unique career path. You were directed by the secretary to chat with a few other military personnel before the presentation. Eventually, you saw a friend from the Australian Army chatting with another man. As you approached, you noted that his uniform was significantly different than yours as indicated by the colors and adornments. "Private!" you exclaimed as he turned to you, "fancy seeing you here." You chatted regarding a few important life events before he directed your attention to the man next to him. "This is Sergeant Garrick," he introduced as you shook his hand, "Sergeant and previous Special Air Service member." You couldn't help but laugh slightly. "A Brit? What's he doing here?" you joked and Kyle returned with a smile. "Thought I see what your military is about," he began and you couldn't help but swoon with his pronunciation, "might make me consider joining myself." You continued to jab at the difference in your countries until your friend found himself in another conversation. You didn't mind being left with Kyle as it offered you the opportunity to discuss why you enlisted following your competitive nature and how you had previously gone to school for a history and geography degree. "So why are you here?" he asked but your explanation was cut off with the opening remarks from principal. You sat down next to Kyle, hoping you could continue you conversation over dinner.

A peek into your relationship: "You call this a beach?" you asked as you finally arrived at your destination. Your boyfriend, Kyle, laughed as you looked at the rocky shores of Brighton. While it was beautiful and you loved the pastel homes, it was far from what you knew back in Australia. "Trust me I would bring you here for more than just the beach, love," he reassured and directed you along the boardwalk. As you walked with your hands interlaced, you were led into a large game center. The color-technic lights of the various arcade games and crane machines lit the room as you adjusted from the bright sun outside. "Heard you were competitive," he joked with a smirk on your face and you knew today would be a challenge.

"Fuck me!" Kyle groaned as you won yet another round in Mario Kart. "For someone in the SAS, you sure don't have a lot of skills," you teased and collected your reward tickets. You and Kyle were evenly matched but it was clear your competitive spirit was putting you slightly ahead of the competition. As you wandered around, you saw a row of crane machines. "I hate those," you mumbled and it was as if a light turned on in Kyle's mind. He held your hand as you looked at each one, finally trying your luck with a machine full of Care Bears. As you complained over how they were a scam and impossible to win, a determined Kyle placed a token in and went to work. As you leaned over his shoulder, you were shocked when he picked up a large plush Care Bear and dropped it into the basket. "What the hell," you mumbled as he retrieved the price for you. "There are some things the Navy doesn't teach you," he beamed before kissing you on the cheek. The rest of the day you pondered a few things. First, what was the set of skills he had alluded to? and second, would it be possible to get another tattoo of this bear?

[lurkingshan]

get to know me ask game

Tagged by @colourme-feral, thanks friend!

RULES: bold the ones that are true & tag 10 people to do it.

APPEARANCE

blonde hair // I prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // I have one or more piercings // I have at least one tattoo (shoutout to 18 year old Shan) // I have dyed or highlighted my hair // I have gotten plastic surgery // I have or had braces // I sunburn easily (sunburned right this very moment in fact) // I have freckles // I paint my nails // I typically wear makeup // I don’t often smile // I am pleased with how I look // I prefer Nike to Adidas // I wear baseball hats backwards

HOBBIES & TALENTS

I play a sport // I can play an instrument // I am artistic // I know more than one language // I have won a trophy in some sort of competition (competitive singing, softball, geography bees--all when I was younger, I don't really compete in things anymore) // I can cook or bake without a recipe (I can, but I'm not sure I should) // I know how to swim // I enjoy writing // I can do origami// I prefer movies to tv shows // I can execute a perfect somersault // I enjoy singing // I could survive in the wild on my own (for at least a couple weeks) // I have read a new book series this year // I enjoy spending time with friends // I travel during work or school breaks (just getting back from a trip!) // I can do a handstand

RELATIONSHIP

I am in a relationship // I have been single for over a year (I intend to always be single) // I have a crush // I have a best friend who I’ve known for ten years (many more than one) // my parents are together// I have dated my best friend // I am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // I have a long distance relationship // I am an only child // I give advice to my friends (only when they want it, otherwise I am sipping on my tea like Kermit and minding my own business) // I have made an online friend (so so many) // I met up with someone I have met online (so so many, and as often as possible)

AESTHETICS

I have heard the ocean in a conch shell // I have watched the sun rise // I enjoy rainy days // I have slept under the stars // I meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // I enjoy the smell of the beach // I know what snow tastes like // I listen to music to fall asleep // I enjoy thunderstorms // I enjoy cloud watching (I saw so many good clouds this weekend my goodness) // I have attended a bonfire // I pay close attention to colors // I find mystery in the ocean // I enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favorite season

MISCELLANEOUS

I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // I am the mom friend (only sometimes, I have many mom friends so we take turns) // I live by a certain quote // I like the smell of sharpies // I am involved in extracurricular activities // I enjoy Mexican food // I can drive a stick shift // I believe in true love // I make up scenarios to fall asleep // I sing in the shower // I wish I lived in a video game // I have a canopy above my bed // I am multiracial // I am a redhead // I own at least 3 dogs

Tagging @kyr-kun-chan @blmpff @rocketturtle4 @thegalwhorants @piningintrovert @nieves-de-sugui @shouldiusemyname to play!

[kiranapassionategamer]

The Psychology of Board Games: Why We Love Ludo and Beyond

Board games have been a cornerstone of leisure and entertainment across various cultures for centuries. They not only serve as a means of fun but also engage players in ways that few other activities can. This article delves into the psychology behind the enduring appeal of board games, with a special focus on the classic game of Ludo. As we explore this fascinating topic, we will discover why games like Ludo continue to captivate and entertain players of all ages.

Board Game Fascination

The allure of board games transcends age, culture, and geography. From ancient times to modern-day Ludo apps that allow friends to play online on platforms like Zupee, the basic human connection facilitated through these games remains strong. Social and psychological factors play significant roles in their widespread appeal. These games often require cooperation, strategy, and a bit of competition, ingredients that are inherently compelling to the human psyche.

Understanding Ludo

Ludo, derived from the ancient Indian game Pachisi, has a rich history. Introduced to Britain in the late 19th century, it quickly became a household favorite. Today, Ludo apps make it easy for anyone to download the game and start playing with friends online, continuing its legacy. The simplicity and the random luck component of Ludo, combined with strategic decision-making, offer a balanced challenge that appeals to both young and older players alike.

The Psychological Pull

What makes board games like Ludo so engaging? Psychological aspects such as the thrill of the chase in capturing an opponent's token and the suspense of dice rolls dramatically enhance the engagement. Moreover, strategic thinking and planning ahead can give players a sense of control and accomplishment.

Nostalgia and Comfort

For many, board games like Ludo are woven into their childhood memories. Playing these games can evoke a comforting sense of nostalgia, transporting adults back to their youth and simpler times. This connection to pleasant past experiences is a powerful reason why many continue to reach for board games as their preferred form of entertainment.

Social Connection

One of the most significant aspects of playing board games is the social interaction they entail. Whether you're gathering around a physical game board or connecting via a Ludo app, the game acts as a medium for socialization, fostering bonds and enhancing relationships. The cooperative and competitive elements of these games can also serve as ice-breakers in various social settings.

Cognitive Benefits

Board games like Ludo are not just about fun; they also offer numerous cognitive benefits. Engaging in these games can improve critical thinking, boost problem-solving skills, and enhance memory. Regularly playing board games can help keep the mind sharp and agile, which is especially beneficial as one ages. You can also play ludo with friends online on platforms like Zupee & win real cash.

Emotional Engagement

The emotional highs and lows experienced during gameplay are integral to the board gaming experience. The suspense of uncertainty, the excitement of a risky move paying off, and even the disappointment of a loss are all emotionally engaging. These experiences can help players learn resilience and emotional control.

Beyond Ludo

While Ludo has its unique appeal, the world of board games is rich with variety. From strategy-heavy games like Chess and Go to modern classics like Catan and Ticket to Ride, the psychological draws of these games are as diverse as their gameplay mechanics. Each game offers a different way to challenge the mind, engage emotionally, and connect with others.

Board games like Ludo offer more than just entertainment. They provide intellectual stimulation, emotional catharsis, and a bridge to connect with others, making them a beloved pastime for many. As we explore the psychology of our favorite games, we gain insights into why these games continue to play a significant role in our lives. Whether through traditional boards or digital downloads like those on Zupee, the magic of board games endures, promising continued enjoyment and discovery for players around the world.