#also I had so much fun today we went to an arcade and got like 600 points

[velmashaircut]

I went to an escape room today with my friends, the theme was Creepy Carnival and it was SO SCARY OH MY GOD.

The room was dark, we had a small flashlight and there was creepy music playing the whole time. Occasionally we’d hear weird noises like creaking doors or a clown laughing and we’d shit ourselves and huddle together and scream. After we solved a stage we’d be too scared to open the door to the next room cause we were so sure someone was going to jump out to scare us.

In one room we were trying to solve a puzzle and one of the doors suddenly slammed open and a man in a clown mask just came out to scare us I screamed so loudly like I don’t ever scream at all but I was shrieking so much my throat hurt after.

Even tho it was scary af i had so much fun and want to go again

[st4rwon]

dates w skz

maknae line x reader (separate)

hyung line ver.

warnings: none that i’m aware of!

jisung 지성

han takes you on arcade dates at least once a month

he is definitely a bit competitive

but likes to let you win just so he can see your pretty smile

both of you have every two player game they have

tried to win you things from the claw machine to impress you

but half the time it doesn’t work

loves to buy you stupid things with the tickets you earn

he’ll buy you stuffed animals, yo-yos, tiny trinkets, you name it

you have a small area on your desk where you keep all the stuff he’s gotten you

“we should definitely name him sam” you said, smiling at the bear jisung had gotten you “what the fuck, no” you shot his a look of disappointment “what’s wrong with sam?” “it’s hyunjin hyung’s english name, there’s no way you’re naming him that” “aww you jealous ji?” you said poking him as his cheeks heated up “whatever, let’s just think of a better name for our child” you giggled at his words “alright you baby”

other members under the cut!

felix 페릭스

picnic dates!! or cafe dates

always comes to pick you up with a bouquet of flowers (each time they are different and they always have a meaning to them) and some chocolates

such a sweetheart

constant compliments

“you look so pretty baby” “ooh that necklace is so pretty! isn’t it the one i got you?”

makes sure you’re enjoying the date and always caters to your needs

“oh you’re not feeling well? well let’s just stay inside then, i’m sure we can still find something fun to do”

makes you smile so much that your mouth hurts

“felix how did you find this place??” you said looking at the beautiful flower field around you. “i have my ways” he giggled “i’ll take it as you like it?” felix questioned “like it? i love it! i get to spend the day with my favorite boy and be in such an amazing place place!”

seungmin 승민

night time dates

seungmin really enjoys the atmosphere at night

it’s quiet, you can hear the insects, and the wind blows just enough to keep you from getting hot

he likes taking you on walks, sometimes around the neighborhood, or around the park

he likes the fact that he is able to see your face illuminated by the streetlights

though whenever he finds you to be a bit too cute he moves away so that his blush is hidden

little does he know that you’ve caught on to this and mentally give yourself a pat in the back for getting the kim seungmin embarrassed

you and seungmin walked hand in hand, walking towards the park that you typically went to. it was by the convenience store so the two of you would typically grab some snacks and go sit in the field. “minnie” you spoke, grabbing your boyfriend’s attention. he turned his head towards you in response, “you look so pretty today” you said grabbing his arm, pulling it next to you. seungmin lifted the mask further up his face, “no darkness for you to hide your blush today” you snickered. “you knew?” he questioned, “of course! i always pay attention to you” you said proudly, but before you could speak again you felt yourself falling forward, you held tightly onto seungmin’s arm. he swiftly pulled you up with both arms, now it was his time to laugh. “maybe most more attention to yourself pretty”

jeongin 정인

100% shopping dates

all the time!

tbh you guys actually don’t buy many things

it’s just fun to be around each other and try of different clothes to see what styles look good

you’ve definitely bribed him to buy matching clothes a couple times

but how could you not? they were so perfect for the two of you!

whenever you go to the mall, you’ll both run around different stores until you get tired and end up in the food court

jeongin is so happy to have someone that loves his passion for fashion just as much as he does

he’ll also keep in mind what your eyes are on, so that he is able to buy them as future gifts

“innie you need to try this on!” you said dragging him towards a rack, “ooh i love the color” he said, picking it up by the hanger. you both walked over to the dressing room and tried on your respected clothing. “looks nice…” jeongin said, as you twirled around showing him your outfit, “but i feel like the color clashes with you, it doesn’t fit your personality. the outfit you put on earlier complimented your skin tone perfectly! it really brought out all my favorite features on you” “really??” you asked surprised, “i thought it pointed out some of my flaws…” you mumbled. “baby you’re flawless in my eyes, and trust me with this. this color suits you really well! lets find some more” jeongin smiled. “let me go change back,” you said turning to the dressing room, “wait you haven’t tried on your clothes yet” you frowned. “it’s okay, i can always shop later. i wanna get something special for you first”

please don’t spam like posts, repost, translate, or use my work without my permission. all work is fictional and only used for entertainment purposes. © azurez 2023

[axemetaphor]

so today was a friend of mine's birthday and we went to a bowling alley about it. now I'm still too fresh off top surgery to bowl, but the thing is, this bowling alley was also an arcade. so after bowling everybody flocked to the arcade, and we all fucked around, much fun was had, et cetera.

I had about 200 points after, because I only spent $20 and I'm bad at games, but the good news is I didn't really want anything from the prize selection. I mean you know everything good is at least 500 points.

however they did have. those little green army men figurines for about 5 points a pop.

so I turn to another friend of mine and I go, hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if I just bought as many of those little green men as possible. and this friend, who always encourages my worst ideas, looks me dead in the eyes like, "you have to now that you've said that."

and it's only as I'm walking out of the arcade that I'm like, hang on. what am I going to do with these. the initial thought was to put them in my workspace at my grad school but there's way too fucking many of them. my bad influence friend also got 3 with their leftover points. there's 43 of these little men in total.

after a little bit of brainstorming with said Bad Influence Friend, the obvious solution is to put them all on top of my doorframe.

the doorframe only holds about half of them. so we decide other people deserve a little green man of their own!

including the underclassmen, of course

I'm so excited to hear who notices them all first tomorrow. I won't be in until Monday evening so unless my friend spills the beans, or someone goes to look at my grad space, no one will have any fucking clue where these lil dudes came from. just imagining the bewildered looks on my professors' faces..... glorious.

[mysterious-ocarina]

Rose-Colored Boy

young!Scott Summers x reader

A/N not as long as my other ones, but I had to write it. he's so underrated. also the title is a good Paramore song

Main Masterlist Requests

(1.2k words)

“Mom!” You screamed out. You watched as your mother faded into dust at your fingertips, your dad looking at you in horror.

“What have you done?” Your father yelled at you.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” you cried, getting on your knees in front of your father. You tried to grab ahold of him but he turned to dust in your hands too.

“NO!” You screamed, waking yourself from your dream. Your roommate Jean stared at you with sadness and pity. She knew of this dream, or what you both know is a memory.

With tears in your eyes you offered an apology, “I’m sorry for waking you.”

“We both know that I wasn’t asleep,” she tried to joke with you. You both tended to be insomniacs, it’s what made you both perfect roommates. “Was it about that day?”

You gave Jean a look of sadness before sighing, “Yeah.” That was the day that Professor Xavier found you, the day you found out what you are. Noticing what time it was, you decided to get up. You put on your gloves and got ready for the day.

You had unique, yet destructive powers. With just the touch of your hand, you could destroy and hinder any living thing. If the person you touch is human, they turn into dust. If you touch a mutant, you momentarily take away their powers. You don’t have much control of your powers so it only lasts for a minute or so, but you still don’t like using them. That’s why you wore gloves, so you wouldn’t use them accidentally.

“Do you want to go to the mall with us today?” Jean asked you, trying to help brighten your day. You weren’t really in the mood to go out, but at the pleading look on Jean’s face, you couldn’t say no. She wiggled her eyebrows at you before replying, “Good, wear something cute so you can impress Scott.”

“Now why would I want to do that,” you asked, with a roll of your eyes. She didn’t have to read your mind to know about your feelings for the charming boy or that you were in denial about having feelings for said boy. “Just because I think he’s pleasant to look at and pleasant to be around, doesn’t mean I want him.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” she teased before making her way to the garage, where your friends were waiting. You quickly put on your cutest outfit and followed her down.

At the garage, you found your friends all in a group. You smiled before exclaiming, “Everyone’s favorite girl is here!”

“Maybe Scott’s favorite girl,” Peter teased you. You just blushed and ignored him. Thankfully Scott didn’t seem to hear the remark, or he just pretended not to.

You jumped in the front seat next to Scott, and smiled at him.

“Good morning, precious,” he offered you, with a bright smile. You briefly wondered what he would look like if he winked at you.

“Good morning,” you blushed under his gaze. You turned to look at Jean and Jubilee who giggled and winked at you.

The car ride to the mall was filled with the usual laughter and fun that came with hanging out with your friends. Your day was already better.

At the mall, you split up in your usual pairnings. Jean and Jubilee went shopping, Peter and Kurt wandered to the food court, and you were left with Scott.

“Arcade?” Scott asked you with a smile.

You guys always went to the arcade together so you replied with an excited, “Of course.”

You had your usual bet of who could get the most tickets. Scott always won but you didn’t really mind that much.

“So what does a pretty lady want me to get her with my tickets?” Scott questioned. With heated cheeks you pointed at a fluffy pillow shaped like a heart.

Scott handed it to you with a smile, “The perfect choice.”

When all your friends reconvened, the girls wouldn’t stop teasing you about your prize.

“He always gives you the prizes he wins,” Jubilee sighed dreamily. She was quite the romantic, always telling you how perfect you and Scott would be together. You just rolled your eyes at her antics.

Later that day, you were looking for Scott but you couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Peter,” you called out when you saw him in the kitchen. “Do you know where Scott is? I can’t find him.”

“Last I saw him, he was out by the lake,” he replied before speeding off.

You went outside, heading towards the lake. You watch Scott from afar. He was staring off into the distance, looking deep in thought.

“Hey,” you softly spoke, not wanting to startle him. You sat down next to him, “What are you doing out here?”

“I was just thinking. It’s so calm out here,” he said, looking down at you.

You laid down and stared up at the clouds, “What were you thinking about? If you don’t mind me asking.”

You looked at each other before whispering, “I was thinking about you.”

You sat up and blushed, “What?”

“I was thinking about what you look like. I realized that I don’t know what you look like without a red tint. I don’t know what color your eyes are. What color outfits you wear. What you look like when you blush,” he rambled. It sounded like he’s been wanting to get this off his chest for a while.

“Can I try something?” you asked, pulling your gloves off.

He watched, immediately understanding what you were trying to do, “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Do you trust me?” you whispered. He gave you a nervous nod.

You lifted your hands up to his face. You placed them on his cheeks calmly telling him, “Take off your glasses, Scott.”

He took his glasses off but kept his eyes tightly shut. You knew what he was scared of, so you reassured him.

“It’s okay, Scott. You could never hurt me,” you whispered.

With a shaky breath, you watched as he slowly opened his eyes and stared at you.

He was admiring how you looked, “You’re beautiful.”

You flushed at his compliment, making him smile brightly at you, “So that’s what you look like when you blush.”

“Whatever,” you felt yourself heat up even more.

Scott thought that this is the most beautiful you’ve ever looked and decided to do what he’s been wanting to do since he met you.

Before you could say anything, you felt pressure on your lips and you froze. Once you realized that Scott was kissing you, you eagerly kissed him back. You thought that this moment couldn’t have been any more perfect, but of course Scott had to be charming and prove you wrong.

“Your eyes are the most beautiful shade of y/e/c that I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.

He watched you flush one last time, before putting his glasses back on.

From inside the mansion, the girls watched you and Scott laugh and kiss, wondering how it took you both this long to get together.

[my-castles-crumbling]

I think we just went on a date? Maybe?

I’m a little confuffled to be honest. Also, is confuffled not a word? For some reason i really thought it was. Doesn’t matter though, the point is, I think me and Daisy might’ve just gone on a date. 

Oh yeah, it’s Purple anon btw.

So it’s like 11:30pm where I am now, and I spent the latter part of the afternoon and then the evening with her and now i’m lying in bed something just hit me.

We hang out a lot. Last year, when I came out to my parents, it got awkward. I got mad they didn’t accept me and they got mad that I was doing this to them when they’ve been so perfect to me, and so I decided not to go with them on our family holiday. I thought a bit of space would do us good. 

Usually, when we go on a family holiday my dad takes me to arcades. No matter how old you are, you should always love an arcade. But I haven’t been to one in a while, since I skipped out on the holiday and it felt dumb to travel to somewhere just for an arcade. 

Anyway, i’ve been stressed with revision and last week Daisy had asked me to make sure i was free this evening for something she had planned she wanted to do with me. That’s not uncommon of course. So today, at 4, we left our place and she took me to this park we love to go to. She used to try and feed the ducks here, but she took me once and I told her off for feeding them bread. I bought her duck food and now every four months or so we go out and feed the ducks. 

(I made enemies with this swan though- it’s a long story).

So, we fed the ducks and then she dragged me on this train, kinda far, to this city. Where she’d found an arcade. An arcade with all the games I love playing. (A mix of old fashioned arcade games like pac-man, skill games like mini-basketball, and childish two-pence machines- gotta have them all). 

I had the best night. It was amazing. 

(I won a bunch of tickets and got her this cute bear she’d been eying since we walked in… she blushed and got all cute). 

And then after we’d been there a while she took me to this restaurant i’ve been craving recently (it’s a chain and the one near us closed down recently, I must’ve mentioned missing it). 

The funny thing is I don’t even remember telling her I missed the arcade. That I really wanted something to calm me down at the moment, and that I wanted something silly like an arcade. 

It didn’t occur to me until I got in the shower once we were home, like an hour ago, and thought about the day. Not only did she notice all the things I missed, and tried (and succeeded) to make me this lovely day to cheer me up, but… it wasn’t exactly like we usually do things. 

Maybe i’m reading too much into it, it’s probably dumb to think she’d be into me anyway. It’s just, I like to think i’m observant (I got A and her partner together- and they were being STUPID- also the fact that she actually wrote you? Sneak, didn’t even tell me she had some old tumblr account) and I thought it felt different than usual.

But it’s stupid. It was weird cause I had the most fun i’ve had in a while and I felt really at ease, in a way I haven’t really when it comes to things to do with my parents lately. 

I know you said i’m “going to have to face their lack of acceptance for me at some point” and knowing A she probably told you my family are assholes or something, and you’re probably both right. 

Logically I know the way they’re treating me isn’t right. But I don’t know what the right way for me to treat them is? 

They’re still my support system. I still call my mum when i’m sad and my dad when i’ve broken something. And if I blow up on them now, they might not come back. I don’t know if i’m ready to be… alone. 

At least in that regard. 

But I don’t know, since i’ve been talking about it recently. With you, and A. It’s made me look out for it I guess. Have you seen heartstopper before? You know when Charlie and Nick have cute little moments and the little artsy flowers and leaf’s flow around them, and there’s little sparks in the air, it was like that.

Except maybe it was only like that for me. Maybe she didn’t feel anything at all. 

And my aunt, my mum told her about me when I came out to my parents. My mum basically just told the whole family. I thought she’d be cool since she’s a lot more modern than my parents. But she said to me i’d fuck up all my friendships and ruin my future if I jumped to conclusions and got crushes on my friends. Her husband, my uncle, he said it was assault, to view them like that. 

I don’t even think I view them like anything, you know, given i’m demi I barely even think about sex with people, so I guess it says something about where his head goes. 

And no matter how many times I have this conversation with people, they always end it saying they know only a man will fall in love with me and me with him and eventually I will “do it right”. 

I don’t know if I have a James Potter in me to channel, to be honest. But A, she always tells me that my doubts come from people whose opinions I know are wrong, so I should try and remember her words when i’m freaking out. Given she’s always right and all (at least that’s what she claims). 

So I don’t know, is it weird if I ask Daisy if it was a date? A very small part of me thinks it was supposed to be and I missed the memo. 

And if that’s the case then I really kinda suck.

ALSO DID I MENTION SHE HELD MY HAND!!!

I can hide my emotions damn well but the one thing I cannot hide is my blush, it’s very annoying. We were walking from the arcade and chatting about how much fun it was, she was picking a name for that bear I won her, and she laced our fingers together. 

SEE! Date behaviour right? Plus, the restaurant was quiet and she seemed happy and kinda nervous the whole time.

But what if i’m wrong? She’s a touchy person, maybe she just wanted contact. 

She’ll be so weirded out if I ask and then i’m wrong and it’ll be like- like my parents are right and i’m the weird one, like they say I am, bothering my friends and pressuring them. 

I don’t know. God I feel like i’m just shoving a bunch of shit on you now. It shouldn’t feel like this, because writing about Daisy, it’s easy, she’s beautiful and funny and adorable and literally the kindest person I know, but as soon as I try and explain how i’m feeling, my parents come up and then i’m suddenly being weird.

I guess that says something huh? Shit, maybe I need therapy. 

Ugh, who has the time though? “Therapy is for the weak hearted” - a quote courtesy of my parents. Though then again i’m not supposed to listening to them, am I? Damn, it’s like living on a seesaw in my mind or something, always going back and forth.

(also i’m totally half way thru a breakdown cause i just spent like 3 min searching up the word jigsaw again and again cause it felt wrong… before I remembered they’re called seesaws… so yeah)

AHHHHH the update I've been waiting for! Okay.

Hahaha yeah, A wrote to me. We're conspiring to get you together with Daisy :D

As far as your family....family is hard. I think it's possible for them to love you AND be homophobic assholes. I think it's possible for you to have had a great childhood AND not be supported now. But I just feel like you need to work on accepting that they're not as perfect as they seem, because if you don't, you might miss out on an opportunity to be with Daisy.

Okay, I need you to read this so carefully. If this wasn't a date, I need to seriously reevaluate so many things in my own life. Because YES this was a date.

Ask her. Ask her if it was a date!!! Please!!

(Also therapy=good. Ignore what your parents said.)

[guvato]

Tamalog Day 6

We started the day at 7AM, i went to bed and before sleeping i fed everyone, Picochutchi wasn't very hungry but she was bored, so we went to the Arcade and played quite a lot, i played until her Happy bar was full, fed her a Cactus Steak and called the Sitter to look after her while i slept. On the Pix, Haretchi evolved to Himetchi, i was quite surprised cuz i spent all day yesterday waiting for her to evolve, but she only evolved this morning, but hey, no biggie. As soon as Himetchi woke up, we went to the restaurant and she had Pancakes for breakfest, then, we went to the Arcade and since today's theme is nature, we picked some fruits and she flew on the Rocket, i then called the Sitter and went on to wake up Milktchi. Milktchi was quite hungry early in the morning and only had one Cheese Dog left, so we went shopping and bought pretty much everything in the shop, she had 1 Curry and 1 Quiche, then i gave her some pets until she was Maxed out and went to sleep.

Waking up at 1PM, knowing two Tamas were safe with the Sitter, i went straight to the Smart to check on Milktchi, she was Sick, i became extremely worried since i thought i had miscalculated something and y'know, care mistakes are a bad sign, so i went to look and apparently it was due to poop, though her fondness meter was pretty low, enough for her to be sad at the top right corner, her food meter was as 3/6, so i believe her sickness was really due to her pooping while i slept and i took too long to clean it, gotta watch out for that. The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill, i gave them food whenever they were hungry, played a bit with each of them and did my daily prize draw which Himetchi got 1st place and won 200G, we also explored on the Pix and Tama Searched on the Uni, making really good progress on both of em, i also cooked a Hotdog on the Pix using my leg and the arm of a chair, i am trying to take my time with the Pix's features, cooking one food a day and trying to explore once at different locations to also take some photos of many places with different Tamas, it's been really fun. Picochutchi said 2 days jn a row that the Antenna is working fine which is great, i wonder what would happen if it didn't work, she sang a song for me at 5PM which is just too cute and i love it, we also went to the garden where Rinsetchi was hanging around, she played with it a bit and them went on with her day. Milktchi went to TamaWork and did some dancing since we blew all her Gotchi Points with food, and having the money to restock when she goes out of food is a strategy i often employ, just making sure i don't have her eating Onirigi all day cuz i was too lazy to play at the arcade that day, i also discovered today (about 4 months of running the Smart every day mind you) that there IS a Sitter option on the Smart, it's the second option in the Care menu, 'Rusuban' which means roughly 'House-sitting', and oh boy, do i feel bad i didn't know about that sooner.

Come night time, Picochutchi went into the tamaverse, displayed her new outfit and played the first match of the Wave Riding event playing for the Macarón team, which first impressions are really good, probably my favorite TamaVerse game since Dragon Jump, and we placed 1st baby oh yeah, after that we gave our Tama Friends some hearts i left her to do whatever cuz she was doing good already. Himetchi was okay so i let her just chill a bit, just gave her a bath and she cleaned the house, when i least expected it, she went to sleep. Apparently the Pix works from 7AM to 8PM, which aye, fair enough, it has too many things to do so i don't mind them going to sleep pretty early, better too cuz less battery usage i guess? idk. Milktchi had more Curry and some Nikujoga, used the Cleaning Robot to tidy up the house and took a bath, after that she asked me for help to fall asleep and went to sleep. Before going to sleep i fed Picochutchi some ham sandwiches and just like the others, gave her a bath and cleaned the house, she then just went to sleep peacefully probably feeling like the MVP of the day, as she was the number 1 Wave Rider for this Tama Day.

[mgc02]

I enjoyed writing all four characters together and experimenting with the dynamic this time. Enjoy chapter 2!

Chapter 1 is here ⬇️

Dad swap

Chapter 2

Stolas had a nice fun day planned with Loona. He learned from experience she was probably too old for a trip to Loo Loo Land. So instead he was going to take her shopping and let her pick the stores. Then they would go out for lunch and maybe visit some museums. He was really excited to get to know her better and earn more of Blitz's trust. Hopefully if things went smoothly Blitz might take his advice on not letting Loona take her anger out on him so much. Stolas was fairly certain that tough love was the answer.

But, still, he was aware he didn't know the full extent of what she had been through. He intended not push her today. After all, this was only a test run to see how they handled looking after each other's kids. He woke Via up and told her to get ready to spend the day with Blitz. "Dad, are you sure this is a good idea?" Octavia seemed a bit nervous. "It's ok sweetie, Blitz is very excited to spend time with you. And if you need anything feel free to call me." She agreed calming her nerves a bit and went to get ready.

They met at a diner for breakfast all four of them. Loona didn't say a word the whole time. Via picked at her food. Granted it wasn't the usual quality of food she was used to. "Octavia please eat sweetie." Via gave an annoyed look and hesitantly took a couple of bites. "Well Loona I have a great day planned for us. I hope your up for some shopping and you get to pick where we shop" Loona simply rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders not speaking. Stolas tried to brush it aside.

Blitz also tried to engage with Octavia. "Yeah... yeah! I got lots of great stuff planned for us too. There's this great arcade that the local Gen Z'ers have been spending all their parents money in. I thought you'd might enjoy that. They even have parental warnings on some of the games." Stolas decided he was just gonna ignore that last part. "I guess that could be fun" Octavia spoke smiling slightly as she seemed to come out of her shell a bit. It looked as though that Blitz knew more about what was fun to teenagers than he did. He certainly hoped he was not going to be the boring parent.

"Well, if everyone is finished, I say we pay the bill and get started." Stolas decided began to write a check. "I'm sorry, but what's this extra charge for lettuce and tomato... that came on the burger-you know what? Nevermind." They got ready to leave. Stolas said goodbye to Via and gave her a quick hug. Blitz said goodbye to Loona hugging her in a death lock and nuzzling her before she had to forcefully shove him off. She growled at him angrily.

Hmmm, Blitz is a little overly affectionate and she doesn't look like she cares for that, Stolas noted. Although he admitted he wished Blitz would be that affectionate towards him. He and Blitz kissed goodbye and waved each other off. Now it was just Stolas and Loona. And Blitz and Via were off on their own adventure. Time to start the day. Let the expiriment begin!

[taruchinator]

🐺 General Audiences

🐺 2k Words

🐺 Written for the @fnafchibizine!

‘Happy Birthday, Cassie!’

The lopsided cursive writing made of icing dripped from one side of the chocolate cake, making it appear soggy and unappetizing from any and all angles. Its candles having burnt out hours ago didn't help the case either, but that was okay.

It wasn't like Cassie felt like eating a whole cake on her own.

“Man, did I get the wrong memo? Didn't know we were doing a funeral today.”

FNAF? In MY account? More likely than you'd think! 🤭 Hey everyone! Alice here! Today I come with another special piece written for a zine: The FNAF Chibi Zine, to be precise! 💖

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do for a cutesy project like this one in writing form, but then it hit me that I could get away with adorable goofiness and kids getting to be kids (the calm before the storm ig lol)

Something I've wanted to do was explore Cassie and Gregory's relationship, so that's exactly what I decided to go with! This can be seen as either platonic or romantic, tbh. I just love me these babies (even if Greg is possibly an evil psychopath 🙃).

You can also download it for free so consider checking the official account!

Cassie had never been particularly interested in video games.

At school, it was one of the things that separated her from the rest of her classmates in the social hierarchy, with everyone always showing off their newest consoles or big hit releases. As if she didn't need more help in sticking out like a sore thumb.

Despite owning a pretty decent handful of games, she was never the competitive type, so she didn't pay much attention to them—but that all changed one day when her father got a new job in the city as an engineer for the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.

The man would pick her up after last period, and together they'd head over to the massive hall attraction, where Cassie was free to roam around wherever she pleased while the adults got to work. A few of the other employees’ children would be there too. She tried to befriend them at first, but eventually stopped once she realized they would laugh and talk behind her back.

That's when the Arcade Cabinets came into play.

With the restaurant’s powerful 80’s aesthetic, it was no surprise to see an area dedicated to these gaming devices from an older time. Once she'd explored every inch of the building and none of the animatronics were available to spend time with her, Cassie figured she'd give these guys a shot.

To say she enjoyed them would be an understatement.

Before she knew it, the brunette would find herself wandering into the gaming area more and more frequently, going from one cabinet to the next to try and figure out which one she liked best. It was surprisingly ‘Balloon World’, despite her complaints of not finding a single Roxy themed arcade cabinet.

And even though she was having so much fun, there was something that slightly piqued her interest.

At first she didn't even notice it, but after constant playthroughs of the same games, Cassie saw a pattern in all of them—they all had the same acronym as the top score player. Curious to know if this was a factory defect, she went looking into other games, even ones she didn't normally play, only to keep finding the same name over and over.

“GGY…” She mumbled the three letters as she placed her palm against the joystick of Princess Quest. For someone to have the high score in not just one, but all the games in the arcade, they'd have to have been playing here for a very long time. And yet, Cassie was never with more than a few kids at a time in this area, and rarely did she see them again unless it was weeks afterwards.

So now, only one question plagued her mind every time she walked into the building—who was this mysterious ‘GGY’?

Two hours.

That's how long Cassie had been waiting to play Midnight Motorist.

When she arrived at the Pizzaplex earlier that day, she'd planned on trying to beat her previous record, only to find a boy she'd never seen before already there. Usually she wouldn't mind this, after all it was a public place and many kids spent their time here too. It wasn't the first time someone was playing in a cabinet before her.

For them to take two hours playing in said cabinet however, was a different story.

“Um, excuse me?” Cassie dared to take a chance, gently tapping the boy's shoulder in order to get his attention. “Are you almost done?”

“Ugh! Wait your turn, will you?” The boy immediately flinched away from her touch, and was almost startled out of the track in-game yet was quick to steer himself back in the right direction. Never once did he take his eyes off the screen to acknowledge her.

This annoyed her slightly. “I have been waiting. You've been playing for hours! And I should know; I went to go see Roxy's performance as soon as I got here and you're still here!”

The boy seemed to share her annoyance, but something told her it wasn't for the same reason. “Who cares? I was here first, so don't get in the- wait no, no, no! Dang it!”

Undoubtedly thanks to her meddling, the car on screen crashed against one of the obstacles, causing an instant ‘Game Over’ to appear. Yet despite that, Cassie couldn't help but notice that the boy still managed to beat the previous high score, which only made her wonder how much longer he would've lasted here if she hadn't said anything.

In reluctant grumbles, the boy started writing his initials on the scoreboard. Cassie didn't even bother listening to what he was saying once she saw the familiar letters that were scattered all over the arcade.

“Ya know? You're lucky I don't have any more tokens on me, cause I'd definitely keep playing if I did! I was about to get to the secret level before you—” The boy's rambles were quickly cut short by the brunette's gasp.

Her expression quickly morphed into that of awe as she invaded the boy's personal bubble, causing him to back up again the cabinet with a look of confusion on his face. “You're ‘GGY’?! Oh my God, I've been dying to meet you, I'm a huge fan! I'm Cassie!”

The mystery of GGY was something that started eating at her for a while now, so getting to meet the face behind the name was incredibly exciting, even if said face belonged to a boy who was somewhat rude at first meeting.

It was only now that they were face to face that Cassie got to have a good look at him—He had shaggy brown hair, a blue striped shirt, and khaki shorts that exposed legs covered in bandages. He also appeared to be around her age, yet still, he was completely unfamiliar to her.

Sure, Cassie didn't know every kid that frequented the Pizzaplex, but she had a fair idea of the usual guests considering this was the place she spent most of her time at, perhaps even more than her own home. Maybe he just moved into town?

“It would explain his terrible social skills…” The girl mused to herself, still waiting on the other's reply.

He seemed to be stuck between being mad and confused, cornered like a wild animal not knowing how to respond to the interaction. Honestly she couldn't blame him—her dad always said she gave off a strong aura, which some people might find too invasive.

The mystery boy didn't seem to think so though, as he finally decided to snap back into reality and started pondering her question. He rubbed at the back of his neck and avoided eye contact, but Cassie didn't mind at all.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks as the boy averted his gaze in what was unmistakably fake annoyance. “I-I'm… Gregory.”

Cassie couldn't help but smile. She had a feeling this boy was going to be interesting to hang out with. “Nice to meet you, Gregory!”

‘Happy Birthday, Cassie!’

The lopsided cursive writing made of icing dripped from one side of the chocolate cake, making it appear soggy and unappetizing from any and all angles. Its candles having burnt out hours ago didn't help the case either, but that was okay—it wasn't like Cassie felt like eating a whole cake on her own.

Party decorations were plastered all over the walls of the empty room, with everything from balloons to streamers to confetti, and yet none of it made the sight seem any less depressing.

After all, what could be sadder than a little girl celebrating her birthday all alone?

Roxy had been there with her the first few hours, giving her hope that her classmates were probably just running late or maybe got distracted by the ball pit and arcade games on the way. “They'll be here any minute!” Roxy had said.

But when the minutes turned into hours, there was nothing left in the brunette’s heart other than pain. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, messing up the awesome make-up Roxy had done for her earlier that day, Cassie couldn't contain the soft hiccups escaping her lips, no matter how hard she tried.

“Man, did I get the wrong memo? Didn't know we were doing a funeral today.”

That voice was one Cassie had grown accustomed to when coming to the Pizzaplex. It would usually bring both joy and annoyance with it, yet this time she felt nothing but shame as she buried her face deeper into the cocoon of her smeared sweater. “Why are you here, Greg?”

Cassie could hear Gregory's footsteps as he made his way around the food table and towards her. The sound of rustling paper and shuffling could be heard before she felt a tap on her shoulder. Tentatively lifting her gaze, she was surprised to be greeted by both a napkin and a flustered looking Gregory.

The boy coughed into his empty hand as he motioned the napkin in her direction. “What do you mean? You think I'd miss my friend's birthday party? Sorry I'm late. Had to get your present ready…”

That's when she saw it—a small paper gift bag resting on the table in front of them. It had a tag attached to it with Gregory's name on it, albeit rather clumsily written.

Cassie didn't have time to react before her friend decided to take initiative and start wiping the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. He gently dabbed her eyelids too, trying to get rid of as many tears as possible as he kept talking. “I wouldn't get my hopes up though. I won it at the prize counter a few weeks ago cause it reminded me of you, and your birthday just happened to be coming up so… yeah. Sorry if it's kinda lame.”

Finally getting a hold of the napkin Gregory was using, Cassie blew her nose into the piece of paper as she felt more tears starting to build in the back of her eyes.

She knew he was an orphan, and didn't have any money to his name, so of course getting her something from the Pizzaplex would be the best solution. But just the idea of him playing games and spending all of his tickets just to get her this gift, was more than enough to warm her heart even if he didn't think it was worth getting worked up over.

Which was why she was quick to grab the bag and open it up right then and there despite Gregory's protests.

Inside, nestled between some stray pieces of confetti, was an adorable Roxy-Talkie. She'd been eyeing it on the prize counter for a while now, so maybe she wasn't so subtle about it and the boy was quick to notice her interest.

A soft beep broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn and find a smug looking Gregory holding a Freddy-Talkie. His voice echoed on both her right ear and the Roxy-Talkie's speaker. “This is Captain Gregory speaking. Lieutenant Cassandra, do you copy? Over.”

Rolling her eyes at the use of her full name, she pressed the button to reply in feign annoyance. “I copy Captain Doofus, over and out.”

“Hey! Is that any way to treat someone who didn't just get you a present, but also went out of their way to get a matching one for themselves?” Gregory's voice rose in pitch and all Cassie could do was giggle in reply.

“I mean, let's be real. You got one just to annoy me.”

“So what if I did? That's proof that I care, Lieutenant.”

“Oh, finally! A guest!” Roxy walked into the room at the perfect time, looking at the duo of children with a delighted smile gracing her robotic muzzle. She turned to address Gregory. “Welcome to the coolest, most badass birthday party of your life! Not just because I'm here, but you also get to hang out with my best friend Cassie!”

The boy simply stared with a pointed look. “Are all these robots such suck ups?”

“Hey! That's Roxanne Wolf you're talking to! Plus she's right—it's my birthday! So if anyone gets to be a Captain, it's me.” Cassie smirked in the boy's direction, trying her best to look as cool as possible despite all of the crying she'd done mere minutes ago.

Gregory chuckled, but didn't protest. Instead he returned the grin as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “As long as I get free cake, you can do whatever you want, dweeb.”

He ran away before the brunette could even react, already by the sweets table with Roxy close behind him. Still, she couldn't contain the smile from spreading across her face as she watched his excited form.

Maybe no one else showed up, but the person who truly mattered did.

And that was more than enough in her book.

✦𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬!✦

[senjuushi]

Event Translation — Brand New Journey ~Italy Expedition Volume~

Episode 8: Galleria Umberto I

—After their one full day of sightseeing was over, (Player Name) and the others returned to Naples.

A recently built arcade stands right in the middle of a street lined with shops both new and old. 

Marks: There are so many people out, even though it’s nighttime. 

Carcanore: Hey, look, it’s Galleria Umberto I. 

Marks: ...? What’s that?

Benetta: This shopping gallery. It was built in the 19th century, during the large-scale redevelopment of Naples that followed the cholera epidemic. 

Benetta: After that, problems such as deterioration did come up, but it’s still the foremost shopping gallery in Naples, and always bustling with people. 

Carcanore: The domed ceiling is fifty-eight meters tall, and isn’t the mosaic on the floor gorgeous? It depicts the twelve constellations. 

Carcanore: You can find everything from fast-food restaurants to menswear stores with a century of established history here. There are other such galleries and shopping districts around, but I think this one is the most “Naples-like” of them all. 

Benetta: Precisely. —ah, that reminds me. 

Benetta: I have some business at the shoe store. Did you receive the items you ordered? 

The boutique Benetta went to was one of an ultra-luxury brand. 

Cutlery: H-Hold on a second! Is this... Salvatore Gamoferra*!?

Carcanore: Yep, Benetta only wears Gamoferra shoes.

Cutlery: I thought you were wearing super well-tailored clothes...! How much do your wardrobes even cost...!

Benetta: Sorry to keep you waiting. 

Marks: Is this store really that impressive? 

Cutlery: It’s a first-rate brand! It’s beyond expensive. 

Benetta: We hold Bella Figure in high esteem, and that means maintaining a pristine appearance.  

Benetta: Wearing products made by a trusted brand that represents Italy is only natural. 

Benetta: All of your clothes are from this brand as well, aren’t they?

Cutlery: Eh! Seriously!? You gave clothes like that to tourists who were just passing by...

Benetta: I couldn’t bring shame to my guests, could I? Especially when they saved Bonito’s life. 

Carcanore: Anyway, wanna take a little break and hit up a bar? There are some places here that are famous for their cannoli. 

Benetta: Before that... Bonito. 

Bonito: Yeah? 

Benetta: Go put these shoes in the car, please. It’s not becoming to walk around with a large number of shopping bags. 

Bonito: ...a-ah! No problem at all. 

Carcanore: ......

The bar was crowded with a large number of people. Tourists and residents of Naples all mingle together. 

Master: 

Today’s been fun. 

We were able to enjoy Italy to the fullest thanks to you. 

Carcanore: We should be thanking you too! You gotta come again sometime. I can show you around way better next time. 

Cutlery: Yeah. ...I thought bars like this only served alcohol, but there’s all kinds of food here too, huh?

Carcanore: Yep, everyone here in Naples has their favorite bar. 

Marks: The pubs in England feel totally different. This place is lively, but still relaxed... 

Benetta: That’s also Bella Figura.

Marks: Really?

Benetta: Indeed. Well-becoming behavior is also essential. 

Benetta: That’s why, even when going to bars, it’s unheard of to dress poorly or disgrace yourself with intoxication. 

Benetta: My gun, as you can see, also honors beauty. 

Benetta placed his gun on the table. The upper third of the slide is missing, and the barrel is exposed. 

Marks: ...the barrel looks off. What does that mean for how it functions? 

Benetta: It means that it’s beautiful. 

Marks: ...beautiful... Master, do you understand? I don’t get it at all. 

Benetta: It’s fine if you don’t understand. ...is Bonito not back yet?

Carcanore: Should I pay now? Umm... I wonder if I have one for this place.

Carcarnore pulled a pouch out of his bag— stuffed full to bulging with its contents.

Cutlery: What’s that?

Carcanore: Hold on a sec... got it! 

The pouch had all kinds of discount coupons inside, and Carcarnore took one of them out. 

Carcanore: I got this coupon half a year ago! The expiration date is... wow, just in the nick of time! It’s today, how lucky~♪

Cutlery: ...is this Bella Figure too?

Benetta: No... 

Benetta: Carcanore is a fine person, and fundamentally Bello. However, I don’t think this frugal behavior is ideal... 

Carcanore: I can’t help it. Even I don’t know why I do it— it’s just my nature, at this point. Or maybe a habit? 

Carcanore: Also, can you cut it out with the “frugal behavior” jab? I just understand the value of money! Isn’t it smart to think like that?

Benetta: I’m not going to answer that. 

Bonito: Sorry for the wait! The shoes are in the car now. 

Bonito finally returns. Instead of sitting down, though, he took a step back. For an instant, (Player Name) feels a chill run down their spine. 

Marks: —nh! 

*gunshot*

Benetta shot Bonito. 

Cutlery: ...huh?

Notes:

*“Salvatore Gamoferra” is an altered version of “Salvatore Ferragamo”, a real (and also highly expensive) Italian brand.

[bi-naesala]

A regular day

(Written for @p3akishinjiweek day 4: Everybody Lives/Shinjiro Lives AU | Role Swap AU)

Canon divergence, Role swap, Hurt/Comfort, Repressed feelings, Past relationship

Shinji goes to find Akihiko with a mission: today, they're going to have some fun together, whether he wants it or not.

(This particular brand of role swap has been insipired by this art, this one, and this one.

Basically, Miki doesn't die in the fire and is recruited by SEES with Akihiko and Shinjiro, but Akihiko's persona goes berserk and kills her.)

(AO3 link)

(Fic under the cut)

Finding Akihiko has become Shinjiro’s specialty. He’s become so good at it and even if you blindfolded him, his legs would still take him to the place where he’s currently hiding.

Well, it’s also true that Aki doesn’t run from him anymore…

… But that doesn’t mean he’s always happy to see him.

That seems to be the case that day, because as soon as he hears Shinjiro’s steps – he could recognize their sound anywhere – he turns towards him, a frown on his face.

All the words die in Shinjiro’s mouth, and for a moment, all they do is to stare at each other, while the air becomes tenser and tenser by the second.

It’s Akihiko the one who breaks the silence, and he does so with a sigh. “Shinji, whatever you have to say, I don’t have time for it.”

He doesn’t seem particularly busy, but Shinjiro decides against pointing it out. He’s not here to start a fight, not today.

“What if I told you I wanted to go to the arcade?”

Akihiko visibly recoils from the surprise. Shinjiro has to use every ounce of his willpower in order not to laugh.

“To the arcade?! Why?” Akihiko asks, still in shock.

“Do I need a reason?” Shinjiro shrugs, but from the way Aki raises an eyebrow at him, it’s obvious that he’s still unconvinced.

“C’mon, how many times have we gone there without a reason?”

“That was before,” Akihiko points out, carefully choosing his words. That’s true, after Miki’s death, they’ve stopped hanging out like they used to – and not because Shinjiro didn’t want to – but still…

“Doesn’t mean we can’t do it again,” he says, stretching a hand towards the other. “So, are you coming or not?”

To tell the truth, he doesn’t really have a plan; he just got up, that day, deciding that he and Aki were going to spend some quality time together, just like they used to do before everything went to shit.

It’s being a quite stressful period for Shinjiro, and he can only imagine how worse it is for Aki, so why not have some fun? If you ask him, he thinks they deserve it.

Still, he’s not so naïve to believe that Akihiko won’t try to argue, so you can imagine his relief when he actually takes his hand without complaining.

“Alright, why not?”

They really end up going to the arcade, and they manage to have a good time too, despite their rustiness.

Shinjiro’s pretty sure a group of kids is making fun of them for their abysmal scores, but he doesn’t care. He still makes sure not to tell Akihiko about it – admitting he hasn’t noticed them – just in case he’d start a fight. Causing a scene and getting kicked out isn’t something they need – that would sour the mood incredibly.

A spark of their previous playful rivalry reignites, as they try to best each other’s score.

In the end, Akihiko’s the winner, but that’s only because Shinjiro’s distracted by the fact that he’s grinning. He’s grinning, for fuck’s sake! How long has it been since even the shadow of a smile had graced those lips?

It’s a far cry from his usual sour expression; it makes him look younger – more like his age – and more carefree. Shinjiro wishes he’d always smile like that.

“Wow, Shinji, you suck,” Akihiko teases him, but he doesn’t mind. Anything to make him have some fun.

His “plan” consisted in having a nice day at the arcade and then going back to the dorm – he has so much to do – but since it looks like Aki doesn’t have any intentions to leave his side, he decides that, whatever he needed to do, he can do it later.

Aki takes precedence – always has.

They could go to Hagakure – another one of their usual hangout spots – but they always go there. They should change it up.

“I bet you can’t handle Wild Duck Burger,” Akihiko challenges him, aware of Shinjiro’s widely-known and often voiced distaste for the fast food chain – honestly, any sensible person who cares about nutritional values instead of stuffing your face full with garbage would agree with him.

Aki knows it, that’s why he said it. Shinjiro has half a mind of telling him no, but you know what?

“And I bet you that I can.”

Challenge fucking accepted.

He tries the damned burger, all while Akihiko watches him intently – is he expecting him to throw up, or combust into flames as soon as he takes the first bite? – and he even manages to finish it. It wasn’t as evil as he thought it would be, but he still doesn’t want to know what the hell they’ve put in it – it mustn’t be anything good.

“Wow, you actually did it.” Why does Aki sound so surprised?!

Shinjiro scoffs, crossing his arms, offended. “I fight Shadows, for fuck’s sake. Why wouldn’t I?”

Akihiko doesn’t say anything, he just keeps looking at him like the fact that he’s an absolute powerhouse in battle – which is true, by the way – counts for nothing here. Little shit.

“Fuck off.”

Akihiko laughs.

After lunch, they find their way back to Paulownia Mall, as Shinjiro thinks about something else they could be doing… Oh, wait! How long has it been since he’s last fed her? With everything that has been going on lately, he completely forgot.

Well, he’s found out what he wants to do now – better take care of it immediately, before he forgets again.

“Hey Aki, wait here a moment,” he says, already making his way up to the pharmacy.

Akihiko, of course, noticing where he’s heading towards, follows him.

“Why are you going there?” he asks. “Do you need medicine?”

“Ugh, didn’t I tell you to wait?”

“I’m serious.”

He does look serious, dead serious in fact. Is the idiot convinced he’s sick, or that he has some sort of secret injury he needs to take care of?

Shinjiro didn’t really want to let him know about… well, this, but he supposes he doesn’t have any choice now.

“I just need… cat food.” The last part is barely whispered.

Akihiko narrows his eyes.

“Cat food? Don’t you have a dog?” he asks, confused.

“Yeah, yeah, we have a dog too,” Shinjiro replies. Thinking about it, he should get something nice for Koro-chan too, before he makes it back to the dorm. “But this is different.”

He doesn’t say anything else, not that he needs to: from the amused way Akihiko is looking at him, he must’ve put two and two together already, even without him confirming it for him.

“You’re such a softie,” he comments, in fact. It’s clearly meant as an insult, one of the many he throws his way; too bad that Shinjiro’s gotten used to them, so they don’t faze him anymore – most of the time, at least.

“Shut up,” he says, with no real heat in his voice though.

Shinjiro purchases the cat food without any hitch, if you exclude Akihiko’s presence, but there’s little he can do about that.

“Can you wait for me here?” he asks again, once they arrive at Port Island Station.

It’s not that he doesn’t want him there, but there’s a reason why he wants to be alone to feed the cat he’s befriended: the problem with this little kitty, is that she’s extremely untrusting of strangers – must be her survival instincts kicking in – which means that, with Akihiko with him, she might not show up, even if she’s come to trust Shinjiro.

“No way, I want to see this,” Akihiko replies, the stubborn idiot.

Shinjiro sighs. “Fine, don’t complain to me when she doesn’t show up, though.”

They walk towards the back alley.

Much to Shinjiro’s surprise, she makes her presence known immediately, and loudly too, from the way she meows as she approaches them.

“Hello there, little one,” Shinjiro greets her, crouching to the ground and stretching a hand for her to smell. “Long time no see.”

He opens the food can and lets the cat eat it. He had bought a small bowl to leave there so that she wouldn’t eat from the ground, but some assholes stole it; he should buy another one, it’s not like he doesn’t have the money for it…

Akihiko crouches beside him, watching the cat intently. As soon as she’s finished her food, she turns her attention to him, rubbing herself against his knee while purring. Huh.

She’s acting way too familiar with him, which is weird if this is the first time she meets him. That can only mean one thing…

“Aki, you sure you’ve never seen this cat before?”

“W-What do you mean?” Akihiko asks, face getting redder by the second. He’s so easy to read, sometimes.

Shinjiro can’t help but to smirk. “Nothing, nothing at all…  It’s just weird that she’s taken such a shine to you. She never does it for people she doesn’t know.”

“Lucky me then, huh?” Akihiko deadpans, but he still stretches a hand towards the cat, giving her light scratches behind her ears.

“Some shitheads thought it would be a fun pastime to throw rocks at her. I just made them reconsider…” he admits, then.

He’s omitted the violent part, Shinjiro’s sure of it, though for once he can’t find it in himself to reprimand him.

“Assholes,” he comments, in fact, to which Akihiko nods. For once, they’re in agreement.

“I did think she was too well-fed for being a stray. I should’ve imagined you were involved,” Akihiko says, then. “Such a softie indeed…”

Shinjiro shoves him with his shoulder, only to be shoved in return, which prompts him to do it again, this time with more force, until it escalates, because of course it does – neither of them are known for backing out from anything, after all.

They end up on the ground, roughhousing for a bit, making the cat escape, probably in search for a safe place. The poor thing must’ve thought they were being serious, but they’re playing around more than anything else: they aren’t being as aggressive as usual, and they’re not trying to hurt each other too much. Compared to other fights they’ve had, this one’s pretty tame.

“Okay, okay, enough!” Shinjiro exclaims, laughing, after Akihiko pins him to the ground. There’s a playful sparkle in his eyes that makes his heart melt – why can’t he always be like this?

“You surrender?” he asks, still not letting Shinjiro go.

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, sure, I surrender. Now get off before someone calls the cops on us.”

It’s something that has, unfortunately, happened already, during one of their brawls, and that’s an experience neither of them wants to repeat. Even just being reminded of it is enough to convince Akihiko to let him go; he rolls to the side, and then he gets up, dusting off his pants.

Shinjiro would’ve followed him, too bad he’s too busy staring at him – “like a creep,” Takeba would say.

He can’t believe that, for once, everything’s been going according to plan: he just wanted to spend a normal day with Akihiko, and spending a normal day they did, with nothing bad happening.

“Earth to Shinji! Are you okay? I haven’t hit you that hard.”

When Shinjiro’s eyes find their focus again, he sees Akihiko leaning towards him, a confused look on his face. He shakes his head.

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry…”

He begins pushing himself up when Akihiko extends a hand to him, with the clear intent of helping him up.

Shinjiro doesn’t think twice before grabbing it.

“So, what no—"

Before he can finish, Akihiko throws himself at him.

At first, knowing him, Shinjiro expects a fight – he never knows when to quit, huh? – but he’s stunned when he realizes that what he’s doing is hugging him.

It’s so tight that he can hardly breathe, but he wouldn’t change it for anything in the world: it’s been ages since they’ve hugged.

“Thank you… Shinji,” Akihiko mutters, before burying his face against Shinjiro’s shoulder.

For a moment, he’s afraid he’ll start crying, but Aki has stopped doing that a long time ago; he kind of wishes he would do it again, instead of keeping everything inside without letting anyone in, not even him.

He doesn’t know what to do; he wants to hold him close, he wants to caress his hair, he wants to kiss him, just like they used to, but he’s afraid of being too much: what if Aki can’t handle it? What if he runs away? Shinjiro won’t forgive himself if that happens.

Eventually, he closes his arms around his frame anyway. Oh, how he’s missed this, and he mustn’t be the only one, because as soon as feels him returning the hug, Akihiko’s grip on him gets even tighter.

Why can’t he just come back to them? Why does he insist on being alone, when it’s obvious that he doesn’t want to be? Why does he keep punishing himself?

Shinjiro wants to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he understands that hurting himself like this won’t make up for Miki’s death, but he knows that doing so, now, would only make matters worse.

They already had this discussion, right after Aki had left SEES; he found him at what, with time, has become his usual alley, all battered and bruised, and tried to get him to come back, at least for a medical check-up.

“Do you think Miki would want to see you like this?!” he tried, hoping that bringing up his sister would get him to take better care of himself. Damn him and his mouth, he shouldn’t have said anything, because all he managed to accomplish was to make him angrier.

“She wouldn’t want to be dead either!” he had shouted, ready to vent all his anger with his fists… only to stop once he had realized who he was about to attack.

Shinjiro had tried to reach out for him, but Akihiko had managed to push him and run away. He had never run away from anything, until that day.

After that, it took Shinjiro a week before he was able to find him again, and it was then that they stroke an accord: Shinjiro would never mention Miki again, and Akihiko was never going to pull a disappearing act like that ever again – Shinjiro had been so afraid something bad had happened to him.

He knows he should keep his mouth shut, and yet he can’t help but to mutter:

“I miss you.”

Akihiko remains silent, which only cements the idea that he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. Shinjiro’s about to apologize, when he speaks:

“Me too… Shinji, me too, really, but…”

He pulls away from the embrace. Shinjiro already misses the closeness.

“I can’t come back, not yet.”

That “not yet” catches Shinjiro’s attention. That’s not something Aki’s ever said, not until now at least. Does it mean that he might join them again in the future? He wants to ask, but he doesn’t want to push his luck further.

“Can we still see each other in the meantime?” he settles with, instead. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle not hanging out with him until he decides he’s ready for SEES again.

There’s a shadow of a smile on Akihiko’s face. “Never said we couldn’t.”

Oh thank fuck.

“Not that it would matter either way, with your stubborn ass,” Akihiko continues, then, and… is he teasing him, the little shit?!

“As if you’re any better!” Shinjiro defends himself, because really, Aki’s even worse than him. Everybody else would agree on this, no doubt.

As much as he’d love to argue with Akihiko more, he’s noticed that it’s gotten quite late.

“… I should leave.”

Not that he wants to, but sooner or later he has to go back to the dorm. That’s a shame, though: he’s been making so much progress today with Aki!

Speaking of him, at least he’s not taking it personally, which makes Shinjiro feel a little less guilty about leaving him alone.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” he says, in fact. “Unlike your brats, I can handle being by myself just fine.”

Shinjiro would tell him not to speak of them like that… if only it wasn’t true. Really, sometimes he feels like a father, and he just recently turned eighteen!

“What are you going to do now?” he can’t help but to ask.

Akihiko rolls his eyes. “Nothing dangerous, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll just hang around and see where the rest of the day brings me.”

It doesn’t exactly instill confidence in Shinji, but it’s better than him actively looking for a fight. He is good at surviving on his own, he has to give him that much – even though he wouldn’t need to if he just came back.

“Ok, so… See ya?”

Akihiko chuckles, shaking his head.

“Sure, see ya, Shinji.”

Shinjiro begins walking away, only to stop and turn his head to get one last look at Aki. He’s still smiling.

For a moment, it’s like the view in front of his eyes and the image of a younger Aki – the one that Shinjiro holds dearly in his memory – overlap. It’s hard to distinguish the two.

It happens all so suddenly that it scares him, before he gets a grip on himself. Now it’s not the time to reminisce, even though seeing him like this makes him very happy.

He loves him, he loves him so much it hurts, and he wants to protect him, to keep him from the rest of this fucking world, since it’s so hellbent on hurting him.

He wants… and yet he knows that, in the grand scheme of things, what he wants doesn’t matter.

If he can’t get Akihiko to join SEES back – for now – at least he can make sure he doesn’t get in too much trouble, and be there for him when he needs it, which is exactly what he’s been doing, and what he’ll keep doing.

Aki doesn’t think there’s a happy ending for him, so he has to do the believing for the both of them.

It will get better, and he will fight for it, everything else be damned.

No matter how hard it will be, they will have their happy ending.

[calypso-finale]

Hundred Sixteen. Part 7

I woke up tired, like I need sleep now “my god” my hand on my back as I made my way into the kitchen “morning sister” Ti is awake “oh you awake, how come? Make me something too, just some eggs or whatever” I am hungry as shit really “yes well I am meeting Damson family today and I can’t sleep, but I wanted to ask now you’re here” sitting on the bar stool “go ahead, did you see Aziel go? I didn’t” it’s about ten now so he should be in school “I heard him wanting to wake you, he said to Grace that is my mommy I can, and Grace had to talk him out of not waking you or going into the room” I grinned “sounds like Aziel but go on, what is it?” Ti turned to me “can I bring Damson over?” raising an eyebrow “for sexy time?” she sniggered “not that, but you never know but it’s your home and I want to ask permission, I want to like do something if not I can book an Air BnB or something?” I chuckled “It’s fine but you need to tell me when because I don’t want to be here and I want to give you that space, I can take Aziel France or something, or do something give you space for that. So let me know, you need too” she clapped her hands “thank you so much Rylee, means a lot” she is appreciative “you let me know too, can’t be mad with that but I rather not be here, Aziel will end up ruining it too, go for it. Have fun, make it cute” I clicked my fingers “oh god, I am so nervous seeing his family, what if they don’t like me!?” she spat “oh they will, I mean from what I heard they are a good family, they are just like Damson, and Damson is funny. So you will be ok, be you. I know they will love you, you’re beautiful, you’re rich, you have brains and funny. I mean that was just recent because before you ain’t have no brains” I said “bitch shut up!” she spat “but yeah don’t worry about it, be you. And I mean it, we better do that double date, I think it will be cute. Also I get to know Damson more, Oakley likes him so it’s nice, we can have games night because I know Damson likes games too and also Oakley too, but I was thinking we can like go to an arcade first, go to a bar, then get some food, come to the house. What you think?” she nodded her head “perfect, the boys will love that, you know they are big kids” I am excited for it “you know I realised mom and dad don’t know how to tell Imani off, like they are just scared to say anything to her in case she has a mental breakdown” I pulled a face “fuck her, I hate her. I don’t want to know” after all that, I am done.

Ti makes some good eggs “you got bags under your eyes, what happened? You both got a little freaky” I pulled a face “he is knocked out asleep, I suffered” I spat “how?” I sighed out “he fucking scared me, so like it kept me awake after that. So we went to the room, and he took his clothes off and whatever, and I laughed at his little booty, but he was all happy. Even though he didn’t want too, he was so excited to be little spoon, but me, I wanted to be little fucking spoon but forget it. So that’s it, he slept as soon as. And his damn hair, I need to braid it, so annoying. His damn hair has grown out again, but anyways everything was ok, I was falling asleep eventually then he started talking like grumbling, he said no and nudged me away, I said what? All confused, and his face is all scrunched up but he is asleep, then it hit me that he may be have a bad dream or whatever so left it but this guy just started moving so much like I had to move back, he was everywhere, it scared me he was shouting and then he jumped out of bed just scared, like he was scared and he was staring at me and I am scared thinking what the fuck, and he just started walking backwards and breathing heavy so I just jumped off the bed towards him, I have to coax him back to me, he is just in this state, so I said Oakley it’s me, you’re ok. He is out of breath, like he just was running. I kept saying it’s me, it’s ok and I held his arm and just pulled him into me, and I felt him calm down, but he was sweating bad, scared me, my god” Ti stared me all wide eyed “holy shit, did he catch a ghost or something, I mean he is doing weed you know and like maybe he is having night terrors, that’s what it is. He looks like he lacks sleep, shit Rylee” I shrugged “well he didn’t speak a word, went to the bathroom, I am scared and thinking what, and he came back he said I am going, I said no. Refused him, I said no come to bed, sleep it’s fine. So he fell asleep again but this time he slept like atop of me, like between my legs, I did get a little sleep, but I was not on it, I didn’t like it” shaking my head.

Ti poked her bottom lip out “you know what, it sounds like he is having night terrors, bad dreams and he doesn’t sleep because of that, I don’t know. He has a lot on so like mom said, be there for him. Take that burden for him too, I think he is hurt by dad too isn’t he so yeah, just hold on. Was he ok after that?” nodding my head “after scaring me, if I didn’t move I think he would have kicked me because he was everywhere, like that wasn’t it. But he is sleeping, he is there sleeping like he has never slept before, but I just feel sad and I think being apart I can’t watch him, I can’t see what he does but I know he is taking a lot on so his mother, I am trying to do it through her, being there for her. I have to go fucking Ireland now but if I can do that then it will make him happy, I don’t know” I sighed out “but I am happy we made up” I grinned “I am too, because I am like how the hell we going to double date, Damson would think what the fuck” I chuckled “also I am going to be coming off anything in regards to contraception. I am putting my big girl pants on and I want to do it, I want a family, I want to give him that too so yeah. If it happens then it does, I don’t want to be pregnant getting married though” I laughed, Ti eyeballed me “you don’t” Oakley said, looking behind “oh god” I said, “I was talking about Ti” I lied “alright, already?” is he that dumb “don’t even listen to a dumb bitch” Ti said, Oakley looks relaxed “you want some food” I asked him “erm, I have to go. Juke erm, he should have come out of operation now, need to see him” letting out an oh “but let me feed you before you go, I can come with you” he shook his head “nah, it’s fine. Honestly, you and Ti are gossiping so have fun” he leaned down and kissed my forehead “ok but I need to speak to you” this boy is running, Ti shrugged as I pulled a face at her, let me get him.

Grabbing his hand “mhmmm” he turned to me “why are you rushing to leave” I asked him, he smiled “I am not” he just said, “but you are, you slept well?” he nodded his head “thank you, but just hard. I apologise about you know, what happened” shaking my head “no, don’t apologise silly. No, I want you to come and sleep here, and I want you to talk to me more Oakley you need to talk about it” he shook his head “I am not ready yet” he admitted “I know, when seeing a therapist and he said if I want it to work with you that I need to talk to you but I am being open and honest that I am not ready right now” nodding my head “I am here for you ok, please come to me” he looks more stressed now that I asked “also I want to braid your hair or shave it” he laughed “thought you would never ask, but I got you. I love you yeah, I am sorry about last night. This is just a regular thing, but I usually be alone with it, thank you for hugging me” wrapping my arm around his neck “stop saying thank you, stop!” I spat “when you are ready then you know where I am but see Aziel too, he last saw you mad” he nodded his head and took in a deep breath “I want my end goal to happen so bad” he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up off the ground, he really loves me “and it will” I said, I just need him to talk to me.

I frowned at Rachel texting me “oh Damson asked if you want to come for a quick drink at the Bar, I don’t know he invited you” that is different “really? Aren’t you meeting his family today” Ti shrugged “I need to see Rachel though, she text me said can I come now if I can, when does he want us to meet?” That is random for her “in an hour and a half maybe, you could see her still” she got a point I can’t “I’ll come for a drink, I will just get changed. You don’t mind in coming right? Oh you want to borrow a dress too, come. Let’s go upstairs, I want to leave before Aziel comes home, how come he wants me there? Did you question it” walking up the steps “I did, he said morale support, he’s random like Oakley” rolling my eyes “they are friends for a reason” that is true “so are you wanting sexy or potential marriage? Leg showing, or what” looking behind me “I need it to be potential, like I need his mother to love me, his family is Nigerian so yeah, I need them to like me but he said your family is loud so is his so I think I will be ok with subtle sexy” I chuckled “I have a dress where I haven’t even worn but I cleaned my closet and get rid of it but I have others, you want me to do your make up too?” Walking into my room “aww really? Thank you, please. I am so nervous that I feel any look won’t be good” I don’t mind doing her makeup “well check out things too but let me know what you like or don’t, I have plenty of things, I think you should do hair in a bun, gives a little dominance too, a little va va voom” I can tell she is nervous, I see it on her face “but you get away with it, because your face is softer than mine, so yeah, I think that is best” I will dress her like she is my child “what if I went for a bodycon” I shrugged “if you feel comfortable then go for it” she needs to be comfortable in it.

Ti is laughing because she is dressed up, beautiful of course but we made a quick stop at Rachel home, Tion is with us “ladies, ok for me to wait there” he said “oh yeah, we will be out. Hey” Rachel has opened the door “hello, I’m glad you came. Oh are you going out?” She asked, “not really, my sister is but like I’m just going for a drink or two, but I kind of don’t drink anymore because of everything so it will be me sipping a mocktail, you don’t mind my sister?” I asked “oh it’s ok, you’re ok. Please come into the living room, I know you girls now” making my way over to the living room, this home is just not the same now. Feels a little soulless, which is sad. It’s a nice home he got her too “sit here” I said to Ti “you want tea or coffee?” She asked “oh this is about to be one of those” I laughed “you know dear, but do you? Any drink” we both shook our heads “I will just get mine, be back” Ti looked at me “what do you mean one of those? Is it a sign” I grinned “when the British bring out the tea and coffee it’s about to be deep, it makes me laugh every place I go too I see my sons things” Ti pointed “aww the picture of him, he looked two there. Oakley the Chinese” looking at the picture above the fire place “this is why he doesn’t like smiling, his goes Chinese, is it one or two sugars today Rachel?” She laughed “two, it’s needed. Juke is home; but he can’t move, he is back with mom now, he’s asleep. I just had Oakley come too but he was wanting to run and didn’t want to stay. I found some cute little apartments in Dublin, I am not having a big home no more, just two bedrooms and be with my family and that’s it. I will show you, but I called you over really, is that I want to take Juke with me but he won’t come at all and I fear he will roll into bad things. Now Oakley he has cut him off with money, but he sees him, as he cares and this home will be on sale soon. I know you wanted him to get him an apartment but if you can talk him into getting him just that, I can’t leave Juke like this” does Rachel think I have that power “I can try of course but he is very mad with Juke, he cares but he is mad with him as he doesn’t listen. I can try” did she really make me come here for this.

“I also have something to say, me and Neil never got married, we never really could. He’s dead now and honestly, he’s selfish. And” she paused “he was a burden, as much as I was the bitch like people think. I worked hard, I did love Neil I fell for him, I did. But he was the one a born liar when he got married outside of me once I had Oakley” my face dropped “Neil I feel he got turned off by me when I got pregnant, then to find out he got married behind my back, he had two lives. And he admitted it to me and then I wanted to kick him out, and he went missing for a few then he came back and said I left her, and we divorced, so he was married for a year, a lie. Just recently, I think when Neil was going through his depression he admitted to me that he would never marry me because he was still married to this woman, that is apparently living in Spain and she ran off from him, I am not shocked because Neil is like Juke, he will lay his hat where he can be fed and so on, the nerve of him to kill himself for feeling that way, he admitted that to me and it hurt. Like thanks, but yeah. It put me down a lot, but he admitted that before he killed himself. Unsure if he has kids but like a letter came, and it’s from the lady herself, stating she knows who Central Cee is and that she wants half of what Neil left for her daughter, he’s left nothing but shit. I am just in a shit situation right now and I needed someone, he was always selfish. You see Juke and that’s him, I can’t believe I even had Juke to be honest” she laughed, I am shocked “Rachel!” I spat “my god, so you telling me. Let me break it down, once you got pregnant with Oakley he was going missing and things, and you felt he didn’t want you and during that time married this woman, I think he knew this woman beforehand, oh my god and now she thinks she can come take anything? Nah, I will break her neck. Ignore her, you’re leaving anyways so she can write all she wants, Neil is done, you go back to Ireland, and you live the life you missed” Rachel smiled “I just needed someone to speak too, to vent too. I don’t want to say it to Oakley because I look at him and he just looks fed up, and I don’t like he is just everywhere, I need you to stop him living alone, he has night terrors. Wadz told me and then I asked, and he told me to shut the fuck up, and then he apologised. Wadz says he just stays awake constantly, having energy drinks, weed I mean Oakley does clean living, always. But he will pull off he is ok, he’s not” I sighed out “I want to get out of his hair, so I am not his issue. And I dislike Neil put Oakley in this” Neil is a low-key jerk, I always thought he was ok and quiet, he is a lie.

I have a headache and I want to go home but Damson asked, I can’t just say no but all this is so much, what the fuck. Oakley will be devastated, forget his dad being a bum he is also a cheater and a liar “are you ok?” my sister asked “stressed, I am not happy to know this but least we know where Juke gets his laziness from” rolling my eyes “but I am here for Damson and this is fancy, Mayfair bar too” Ti grinned “thank you for coming, I don’t know why he wanted you to come but he knows how nervous I am, I am more nervous then I was with Taylan, maybe because I do like Damson” I cooed out “I can see it sister” Tion opened the car door for us “come on, get up” I pointed, she shuffled out as I climbed out of the car “get to see your man, he is about to devour you after this girl” Tianna and I cackled, I am here for her. Walking into the bar with Ti, I can see Damson from here, he just waved us over “ok from here?” Tion said, I nodded my head as we walked over “wow, wow, wow. Amazing” he said seeing Ti “I have a surprise for you too” he pointed at me and then moved to the side “Oakley?” I said confused “Lee” he is also confused “I came here thinking I wouldn’t see this guy, but here he is” Oakley stood up “he invited me” Damson frowned looking at him and Oakley looked at him “yeah, I did my bad. I just you know, I thought the gang could you know just have a few drinks on me” he smiled, I am so confused, was he supposed to be here.

Oakley got up to go to the bathroom as the drinks came, I have been dying to smell his coke he says is just a coke, grabbing the drink to smell it “no way, I knew it. Damson did you know he was here” I said placing it down “that is for her” Damson pointed, the lady got my Mocktail “honest truth please” I said to him “look I just got out of the cab, he was walking here too. So I didn’t know, but he was coming here, I just failed to say I invited you here because I just invited you because I know Tianna is nervous and I thought some sisterly company would do, I don’t know. I agreed with my friend because he is my friend, that is all” he put his hands up “has he been drinking a lot or?” I dragged that “he has been taking a while to drink that, let’s just say. My friend don’t drink” he laughed “ok” I just said “but anyways, back to you both. Tianna, you are going to do amazing sweetie. You really are, like come on. Who doesn’t want a bad bitch like you in their family” Damson laughed “a bad bitch, you’re ok” Oakley came back and sat back down next to me “I need to go, I have something on right now” looking to where he is looking, his friend is here “so you tell me why you was in a bar” I questioned “to get a drink” I frowned “not to meet anyone right? Oakley I swear to god” he shook his head “I just wanted some peace, like why am I going to cheat for? I got you, don’t be stupid. I have to go though, thank you for the drink” he dapped Damson “Ti, good luck for tonight” I am mad with him, I don’t know, I just know he is off “Lee?” I turned my head “bro, come on man” his friend said  to him “alright” watching him walk off “you think he is cheating? I know he isn’t, he is just in that zone of his” Damson said, Oakley did look back at me and it made me so sad, like what is happening with him “his dad wasn’t a big part of his life but he was his dad, he just needs time” I shrugged, I am sad.

[fireintheflames]

An IRL Update!

It’s been a little over a month since the last time I did one of these, but hey! Better now than never! This is going to be long and tangent heavy, so feel free to keep scrolling.

Today’s Topic: Positive vibes, and some venting about the struggles of Sisyphus

Start with the good! Garden is all planted, and so far exactly 2 of the about 50 plants have not made it (an anemone got too dried out before I got in in the ground and squirrels ate one of my petunias)! I’ve been using watering it through this drought as my main “break” from work (for those of you not familiar with the Midwest, we are having a very dry spell here. We still have lots of ground water from the really wet April, so just need to be smart with water usage rather than stopping completely! I water manually with a can, and then soaker hose around the trees.). I work a remote, heavily screen focused analyst job, so getting out and seeing the plants grow has been very nice! Today I picked the first of our low bush blueberries, and they tasted like success. (Highly recommend lowbushes if you have pines, they like the acid and grow naturally in sandy pine forests! They also only get a few feet tall, so they work great in gardens. Plus tiny blueberries!)

We’ve been having action packed weekends, doing some traveling and going to events! Midland does a huge art festival downtown in June, I save up all year to buy way too many mugs! Also picked up some copper and bronze wall art to help liven up the place. It’s fun talking with the artists, a lot of them do demos and such as well! the arts center has a booth, good chance i will be taking more classes with them in the fall! Been to a few pinball tournaments, I now have my official International Flipper Pinball Associating Ranking (#22657th; I’m not very good at pinball). I had a hankering for losing some money and went to the big Round 1 in Detroit to play the crane games, discovered a hidden talent for some of the timed drop games (won myself a Jolyne figure first try!). My lad is scary good at crane games, I think arcades should pay him to walk around with all the plushies he won for advertising purposes! he won me a big dinosaur, which now has a place of honor on the couch. Went to a minor league baseball game last night, which I found I really enjoyed. Gotta get grass seats and walk around between innings, it’s very relaxing! And July is already gonna be jam packed with concerts and family visits and camping, so gonna stay busy!

On to the Sisyphus. I feel I have been really struggling to keep up with just the day to day necessities of living. If I have a“task” to work on, I seem to struggle on the finishing the actual execution of it. For example, laundry, I have no issue throwing a load of laundry in now that I know how the damn washer works (it has a hideaway soap dish, and it is not labeled). I just seem to forget it’s there, and then I remember like 2 days later and have to redo it! Or I forget to clean out the lint trap on the drier. Things never get folded, when the pile on top of the drier gets too big I move it upstairs (when the pile upstairs gets too big, I despair instead). Or I do a bunch of dishes, and miss one in my office for a week. Or I put the food away from grocery shopping, and forget to put the bread in the freezer (we buy a local brand that doesn’t use preservatives and goes bad instantly. Makes great toast and sops up sauces like nobodies business though.).

It’s like nothing I do is ever quite right, and while I love my guy very much he is definitely “casually critical” person. Like, not mean, just points out things. (I don’t want to imply he isn’t helping. He does way more than I do around the house.) So not only do I keep messing up, I keep having someone I adore point out me messing up! Which makes me feel like if I can’t do it right anyway, I might as well not do it at all (which is neither healthy nor productive, this house is too much for either of us to stay on top of alone. 100 years old means a lot of problems). Like, while i was living on my own I wasn’t good at staying on top of any of these things then either, but at least I was the only one acknowledging it! And I was the only one affected by it, which doesn’t work anymore now that we live together. So it didn’t feel like the place was a monument to my failure at things I know I can do, whereas now it’s like “and here we see the pile of recycling that should have gone out last week! If you look left you will see the boxes left from the move we don’t have room for! Look upon my mugs, ye mighty, and despair!” I just don’t feel like I’m pulling my weight, or doing a good job when I try to. And if I buckle down and focus on one thing and do it “right”, I turn back and everything else has multiplied! As illustrated below:

It’s just really frustrating, because I know how to do things! I lived on my own for 3 years, I can cook and clean! It’s like somewhere along the way I just...lost how to stay on top of it. Like, it legitimately feels like I was better at these things when I was 15! I kept better house as a moody teen then I do as an adult!! I try to implement systems to make it easier, but the minute I get stressed they all just fall apart. The only one I have managed to maintain is keys go in the key bowl I have used literally for 5 years (I painted it at an event in college, it’s since chipped so I can’t use it for food. I also used to lose my keys a lot, until I realized I was just putting them on different tables every time and then throwing mail on top of them). And no food in the bedroom, because I lived that life before at the last place and it’s not great (snacks + blankets + phone = depression + ants). So if anyone has any suggestions for improving my ability to actually do basic fucking chores or at least feel less like shit for doing so, please share.

[2dkapsddr]

May 18th, 2024 - Arcaea, ProSeka, ONGEKI, CHUNITHM, DanEvo, DDR A20 PLUS

FINALLY!!! THE TIME HAS COME!!! ANIME IMPULSE TIME W/ MY FRIEND!!!!!!!

as it turns out, we may or may not have arrived 2 hours before opening time, so we may or may not have had to wait in line for 2 hours until the gates opened and we were free to wreak havoc. but in the meantime, i tried to grind out some of my arcaea stamina and finally tried out Party Vinyl BYD-10, which - to my surprise - was actually a really fun and good chart??? ik this one is really widely hated so i was surprised by how good it actually was, no idea where the hate comes from now. loved it so much that i ended up getting an EX after a few tries!!! (same with Quon BYD-10, which i also played for the first time and ALSO really liked!!

here's me briefly using my friend's hands as a phone stand and clearing the funny hold note song while i was at it LOL

but eventually, after waiting a full 2 hours in line and being hyped up by the staff there, the floodgates opened and we were allowed to dive right into the chaos... of ANIME IMPULSE!!!! while my friend wanted to go straight to the VA signings, i had my eyes set on playing one game in particular for the first time...

you may have noticed the title of a unique game that hasn't appeared on this account so far. why's that? originally i meant to play it at sakuracon earlier this year, but i was drawn too much to chunithm and other games to pay it any mind (and also the lines for the cab were too long). but finally, being one of the first to see the cabs, i was able to jump right on it and, for the very first time in 2dkaps ddr history... play O.N.G.E.K.I.!!!!! ...of course, i kinda sucked at it, but that didn't stop little ol' me!!! (this GP system is so confusing though)

aaaaand that's all!!! (for ongeki, that is)

afterwards, i hopped on chunithm to experience it again in all its beautiful 120hz glory... but i then came to the realization that i was proooobably gonna be stunted by this Hellish glare being casted onto the screens (from all the skybridge windows). yes, what you see on the screen in each score is exactly what i saw while playing. yes, i had to set my field wall to 6 to make it even a slight bit readable, no, it didn't stop me from getting some fucking INSANE scores today like holy SHIT HOW DID I DO ALL THIS

first was just a 990 on a 14, nothing special, cool cool, but then i tried shukusei shinpan on my card for the first time (previously only got to play it in guest mode) and got a really good 995 at first??? followed it up with a 998 or something like that (not pictured) before... at long last... after so many grueling attempts and so much trouble posed by the evil screen glare... it actually happened...

I ACTUALLY GOT IT!!! AFTER SO LONG!!!! SHUKUSEI SHINPAN (MASTER 15) 1,000,155 SS!!!!!!! 15 SS #1!!!! MY FIRST 15 SS EVER!!!! AND IN AOYAGI TOYA COSPLAY!!!! (the score is somehow actually more visible in the selfie because of the glare being lower LMFAO)

BUT THAT'S NOT THE END OF MY SESSION!!! NOT EVEN *CLOSE*!!! THERE'S *WAY* MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!!!! examples? why, of course!! 8-EM (Master 14+) 999k into 1.001M SS, followed by a sightread SSS on Inpaqq (Master 13+), and then an almost-SSS+ Full Combo on BlythE (Master 14)!!!

went to the artist alley for a little while with my friend, trying to find stuff to buy but almost coming back empty-handed (though with a few exceptions of purchases since . yaknow .) but once i got back from my spree and went to the arcade with my friend again, we hopped back on danevo and i IMMEDIATELY took the opportunity to sightread and get this really funny AA on Memeshikute Master (pictured)

back to chunithm, where i got the really funny thought of "what if i hit rainbow while i was at this con?" looking through my options and really having nothing better to do (other than spend More money at the artist alley), i gave it a go, intense cloudy glare and all. this gave way to... a lot of really damn good scores, actually! SS on a lot of 14+s that turned out to be 14.9s when i looked them up... it was really surprising to see myself perform at this caliber honestly LOL

oh also, an almost S+ on World Vanquisher (Master 15), a 995k on Contrapasso -inferno- followed by a 999k on it somehow LMFAO (Formerly Master 14+, now Master 15 as of Chunithm New Plus (please get me updated aghh)), a first try 992k S+ on POTENTIAL (Master 15), a sightread 997k S+ on We Gonna Journey (Ultima 14+), a clean SS first try on Viyella's Tears (Master 14+), and then a 985k S on ANU (Master 15)!!!

...whew! that was a lot of grinding and a lot of really good scores. but i'm still not quite at rainbow... ah well, let's take a break anyways with some really glare-filled DDR A20 PLUS!!! ...oh, how i missed you... (but also how i hate this glare of yours)

a brief return to chunithm in a desperate attempt to get as much rating before the end of the day... which was surprisingly soon!!! everything closed at 7 PM, and it wasn't until it was almost too late that i realized... but as i bid farewell to the cabs and went to the artist alley to get one more thing, i got in a few more scores that were just. Insane beyond belief. so there's the SS on Apocalypse ni hangyaku (Master 14+) of course, pretty cool pretty nice upscore, but then.... out of absolutely nowhere and completely unexpected... i got a FULL COMBO ON ELEMENTAL CREATION ULTIMA 14+??? A 14.9??? AND I GOT A FULL COMBO??? HOW??????????? I WAS IN SHOCK WHAT THE HELL

even more than that, i got 15 SS #2 IN THE SAME DAY ON CONTRAPASSO -INFERNO- AFTER JUST A FEW EXTRA TRIES!!!! I WENT *OFF* THIS SESSION AND I'M STILL IN SHOCK . HOW DID I EVEN DO IT

but alas, of course, it was closing time, so i had to head home and give up on my dream to jump from 15.74 to rainbow in a single day... but from all this work, i managed to get up from a measly 15.74 rating from last con to a massive 15.94 that's in the top 100 of the server's rankings??? i'm really excited to see what i can do if given another opportunity, and it looks like i'll have one soon... but for now, i'd like to appreciate this session well done! i'll say it now while i'm writing this in the future, but due to homework and general business i wasn't able to make it to the second day of the con and thus i actually didn't have another chance to get rainbow. but it was far better for my future tbh, and i'll always have another chance for this. thanks for reading!

note: there's a few scores that didn't make it into this post due to the 30 image limit (just two danevo scores) that will instead be included in the post for monday. sorry for the inconvenience!

[zacharyja]

Thursday, May 9th, 2024

Imperial Palace and Yasukuni Shrine

This morning I woke up early and decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood, and stumbled upon a random Shinto Shrine where I decided to stop and admire the structure and architecture of the site.

Later on, after eating we made our way to the station to go to Nijubashimae Station which is a short walk from the Tokyo Imperial Palace. We then walked past the moat and outer walls of the palace and made our way down the front entrance. It was amazing to see how well the walls have held up over time and how massive of a scale everything was built up to. The palace itself was also very beautiful to look at though we could only view it from a good ways away. This palace was founded in 1437 and has been restored and renovated a few times since then. This is also the primary residence of the Emperor of Japan who serves as a token figurehead with no real power much like the King of England does today. The entire land that the palace sits on is found in the middle of a very wealthy area home to many large bank and insurance company headquarters. During the most prosperous recent times of Japan, the land was said to be worth more than the entire state of California, though they refused to sell the land and opt to keep the grounds open as a memorial of the past.

After seeing the Imperial Palace, we walked around the grounds for a while and admired everything that it had to offer, including the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.

Once we were done viewing this area we walked over to the Yasukini Shrine, which is dedicated to the spirits of those who died fighting for the Emperor since 1853. This shrine in particular is a bit controversial, as it includes commemoration of 14 convicted Class-A war criminals. The controversial nature of this can be compared to that of confederate leader statues in the United States.

After viewing this shrine and learning more about its history we were free for the day and some friends and I decided to get some Gyūdon for lunch. The gyūdon was surprisingly tasty and paired nicely with the grape fanta. Definitely hit the spot and I was tempted to get another bowl.

After lunch we made our way to Akihabara called “Electric Town” to go to a book store called “Book Off” which sells new and used books, video games, movies and much more. Once we were done looking around there we walked through Akihabara some more, which is often considered the epicenter of modern Japanese culture, and is filled with countless electronic shops, arcades, restaurants and anime stores. It was very interesting to see everything that this place had to offer, and was a bit surprising to see how different the culture is overall.

After walking around Akihabara we went back to the hotel for a bit to rest up and get ready before our plans for the night. Some friends and I made our way to a karaoke place to spend some time hanging out and singing some songs. Karaoke was fun and we enjoyed our time, I especially enjoyed the view of Akihabara from up on the 7th floor. That also had unlimited soda, ice cream, and slushies so I had my fair share of that.

Once our time was up with karaoke we walked around Akihabara for a bit before deciding that we were hungry and so the struggle to find a restaurant that could hold 8 people began. As time went on some of the people in our group decided to go on their own so we were down to 6 which is much more manageable and settled on an italian place called “Saizeriya”. The menu was pretty extensive and extremely cheap, with personal pizzas priced at about $2.45, pasta for $2.57, and dessert for $1.93. While the food was not the greatest, it definitely was well worth much more than the price point and I was thoroughly satisfied with the quality and taste of the food. I ordered a penne arrabbiata pasta with a garlic breadstick, a drink, and doria which all came out to around $7.26, which is a steal for the amount of food I got for that price. Our food was also brought out by a robot which was a plus in the coolness department. We stayed and talked for a while at the restaurant before heading home to clock out for the night.

Academic Reflection

Visiting the Yasukuni shrine today was a bit of an odd experience, it the shrine itself felt almost too normal given the circumstances of the shrines history as well as what it stood to represent. Since we discussed this shrine in class and read about it I suppose that I sort of built up some sense of importance or stigma towards the shrine and was a bit surprised to see a general lack thereof. This also felt weird as at the previous shrines we had paid respects and even prayed as most other people who visit them do, though this was different as we did not even go up to the shrine itself and instead stayed back by the entrance gate given the circumstances. None of us really felt comfortable going up and paying respects to the spirits of people who had commit war crimes and are considered Class A war criminals. So It was a bit weird in that sense and also the groups general vibes were a bit off as we all knew the history of the shrine and i’m sure most people like myself felt a bit off about it all.

[jay-scenarios]

Day 3✨

I woke up a bit later than I wanted to, but I think you were just waking up too. Hopefully I didn’t make you wait. Today is Barbie day and looking around more. Possibly that chicken cafe you mentioned, and I think Jacob is joining us for some stuff today, too. I’m very excited for the chicken cafe and the Barbie movie, and I can’t wait to see what else there is.

Cody joined us too! All four of us have been hanging out so far, and we even got Jacob to agree to watch the Barbie movie with us. It’s been a lot of fun. The arcade was fun and I still don’t know how you cheated in the bowling game, but I apparently have the best luck out of all of us in the random chance games. The boys are fun to hang out with, it’s so fun experiencing stuff you do on daily basis. Roomie outings seem pretty damn fun. Also, your malls are huge. Why on earth are they so big? This whole floor is the theatre?

Movie was really good. Pretty funny, and I’m not used to watching things that don’t require thinking. It was really nice, and I’m glad we all got to do it. Now I’m spoiling Miss Ripley as the Barbie dream house challenge plays. Learned a bit more about Cody too, so that’s cool.

We ended the day with Jeju Sauna and that was so nice. Food was good, we were chilling, and I got to try out a good handful of rooms with you. If I lived here, I’d definitely need an annual pass, and I’d probably drag you to the sauna like 2-3 times a week. Not that you’d mind lol but yeah it felt so nice to end the night so relaxed. I was able to fall asleep super fast.

Day 4✨

I’m laying here in the bed as I wait for you to wake up, and I know today is the last day, so I don’t want to start it. I know we’ll still have a good couple of hours together, but I want to stay here with you longer. I don’t want to deal with the feeling that I know is going to sit there all day. That’s why I just keep talking nonstop today, about anything. I can’t just sit in it.

Now I’m sitting at the gate. These hours flew by too quickly. I don’t want to go. Georgia feels nice, especially with you, and I don’t really care to return to Cali. It doesn’t feel the same. It’s comfortable here. We’re boarding in like 5 minutes and I don’t want to. This weekend went by too quickly. I can’t stand how short of a time we get when we hang out. I want to spend at least a full week with my best friend. It’s not fair we live so far away. Especially now that we had that realization earlier. So much just clicked, he really continues to help you through me. I can’t believe it.

We landed… in Wichita???? Apparently a storm is holding up the entire Denver airport??? So we get to wait here while it clears up. What is up with my travel this trip? The planes decided to hate me??

Okay I’m back in the house. I fell asleep before finishing this, but that’s what happens when I don’t get back until 2am. It feels like something is missing, and I know it’s because I didn’t wake up in the same room as you. If I don’t get to Korea this time around, I feel like moving to Atlanta sounds better than staying here. I wouldn’t want to learn to drive, but everything over there seems so nice.

[guvato]

Tamalog Day 17

Starting the day at 6:58AM and waking up Kuchipatchi as early as possible cuz i was absolutely dying to get some sleep, we got stopped in our tracks cuz oh wait, house was dusty, so i needed to go and put the cleaning robot to do his job since we never let those near out Tama. After a good cleaning, i put Kuchipatchi on house-sit duty, by then Picochutchi and Ginjirotchi had already woken up, so naturally i checked on them and to my surprise, Picochutchi house was also dusty and we needed to clean it up before the Sitter came by to care for her, and after a job well done by the cleaning robot, i was able to call the Sitter for both Picochutchi and Ginjirotchi, and only then i was able to get me some sleep.

Waking up at 2PM, i just went to my little "office" to eat a meal and pick my Tamas up from the Sitter, which i did and since i made sure to not care much for them in the morning, they were a little hungry and not sad, but not too happy either, so i fed everybody, Picochutchi ate some Cactus Steak, Kuchipachi had two Onigiri and Ginjirotchi had one Fried Chicken, but hey, he didn't have money after that, and i am talking zero cash, so since he wasn't feeling to well too i figured we should go to the Arcade and solve two problems at once, and after a couple games of Football, we got some money and he was happier. Picochutchi was happy enough to need just one visit to the TamaVerse to get her all jolly and maxed out. Kuchipatchi clearly didn't like eating Onigiri at this point, so i figured we also needed to make some money for him. At the Arcade with Kuchipatchi, we danced one trillion times in twenty nights and he became known as Abba, and with our cash in hand we went back home to order some food.

With evening coming and after not checking up on them much other than cleaning poops, i went on to take some care of them and they were doing fine, cuz y'know, when kids grow up it feels like they don't even need you anymore. Ginjirotchi and i decided to cook something together, and after using a Youtuber i was watching and a game's icon in my PS4's menu, we ended up making homemade cookies, and since Ginjirotchi wasn't feeling too happy, he ate them right away and liked em very much, after some cookies we went once again to the restaurant and he had some Gratin as the last meal of the day. Picochutchi had some more Cactus Steak and was feeling really happy still, so i just gave her a bath and them left her to do whatever. Kuchipatchi ate an Omelette du Fromage and danced some more at Tama Work just for some fun, after that i also left him to do whatever until it was time for bed.

I kinda messed up today, taking basically 20 minutes to attend to Kuchipatchi, but better late then never, we helped our beloved Tama fall asleep quickly and with no fear. Also checking up on Ginjirotchi and Picochutchi, i spent some time with them before they went to sleep, going to the garden with Picochutchi and letting her play with Rinsetchi a bit. For Ginjirotchi i petted him a bit and gave him some Soda Pop so he could have a good night's sleep, cuz we all know drinking Soda is awesome. After all this sweet things and a great day, our Tama Friends all went to sleep, ending yet another Tama Day. Thanks for reading and i'll see you tomorrow. Good Night <3