#to be clear there are still players on the teams in “actively praying for your downfall” and “oh you exist” that I like

[starrstruckcanuck]

Been thinking of making a tierlist of my thoughts on all the teams for a while so here it is!! As you can see, I am indifferent to or hate most of the league... 😶‍🌫️🫣 which is why I generally say I'm more of a Canucks fan than a hockey fan lol

[kuroopaisen]

heart attack || bokuto koutarou

➵ your hot roommate likes to walk around without his shirt on. 

wc: 2.8k

warnings: implied f!reader, swearing, pure chaos

a/n: @stelleum jac darling, happy birthday! i tried writing you shipfic but i chickened out and wrote this instead (mayhaps i’ll finish the bkak fic one day, but for now it will sit in my drafts hh). i’ve already wished you a happy birthday so i won’t write you an essay here (although i’m fully capable of it), but i love you, and i’m so grateful to be counted amongst your friends. you bring such light and laughter with you, and i honestly feel like i’ve learnt a lot from being your friend. i hope you find this fic delightfully chaotic (just like you), and that it manages to make you smile a little -- you deserve nothing less (also big shout out to remy and ren for reading over this disaster fdsljk)

“he’s doing it again.”

“huh?” oikawa’s voice crackles from the other end of the phone.

“he’s walking around the house shirtless.”

it takes oikawa a few seconds to catch up. “oh, right. your hot roommate.”

you two have had this conversation many a time over the past two weeks. you’d quickly surmised that bokuto koutarou would be the death of you. probably by heart attack. oikawa had found that idea stupid.

“what do i do?” you ask, chewing on your lip.

“you could always ask him out.”

you scoff at the absolute certainty in his voice. “how dare you assume i wouldn’t shrivel up and die if i so much as attempted that?”

you don’t need to see your best friend to know he’s rolling his eyes at you. “why would you shrivel up and die?”

“what if he says no?”

“he’s not going to say no.”

“but he could.”

“you’re hot, it’ll be fine.”

“but you haven’t seen him, tooru,” you huff, waving off his assurances like they’re nothing. “pictures don’t do him justice.”

“i can’t believe you’re an adult…” oikawa sighs.

“you’re one to talk.”

“at least i can talk to people i find attractive,” he grumbles.

“he’s going to be a professional volleyball player,” you stress. “you know what they’re built like.”

“you were friends with us all throughout high school, and yet i don’t remember you ever talking about any of us like this.”

“the only one of you worth talking about is iwaizumi.”

a moment of silence. “that’s fair.”

“anyway, that’s all besides the point,” you grumble.

“do the other guys know about this?” he asks. you don’t like the playfulness in his voice.

“as a matter of fact, they don’t.”

“why not?”

“if i told them, they’d meddle,” you stress. “directly.”

“you can’t stop me from telling them.” you can tell from his voice that he’s grinning.

“i’ll block your number and never speak to you again.”

oikawa doesn’t need time to decide that it’s a viable and realistic threat.

“wait, are you hiding in your room again?” he asks.

“duh.” you roll your eyes. “i wouldn’t be talking about this in the living room, would i?”

---

meanwhile, bokuto’s sitting on the couch, quite shirtless as he twiddles his thumbs.

when kuroo had first told him that the best way to win his roommate’s heart was to ‘just walk around shirtless,’ bokuto had been a bit doubtful.

of course, kuroo hadn’t won the heart of his partner by walking around shirtless, but boukto was loath to completely disregard his friend’s advice. he does, after all, have a partner, so perhaps following his advice isn’t the worst idea.

but you’d scurried into your room almost immediately upon catching sight of him, and bokuto fears that he’s frightened you.

he likes to consider you friends. sometimes you’ll watch movies with him -- on occasion, you’ll even commit to a full anime series (even though he needs you to explain what’s actually going on half the time) -- and there’s a certain ease of conversation between the two of you. in his mind, it’s only natural that he should develop a little bit of a crush. 

unfortunately that line of common sense didn’t follow through to the next step of actually asking you out. 

---

your sheer embarrassment goes head-to-head with your insatiable hunger and loses.

you peek through a crack in your door, trying to ensure that the hallway was clear. perhaps you could survive seeing him in the front room, but an encounter in your cramped little hallway was bound to end in humiliation.

you manage to skitter into the kitchen quietly, every one of your senses on high alert for the enemy (see: bokuto koutarou’s god-like body). 

you spy the back of his head on the couch from your new vantage point. if you’re quiet enough, chances are he won’t notice that you’re in the kitchen. if the universe really gave a damn about you, then it would let you be invisible for a few seconds. 

“hey!” bokuto calls from the couch, holding a hand up.

“hey,” you mumble as you make an active effort not to look at him. damn him and his masterfully sculpted biceps. they’re almost enough to make iwaizumi jealous. almost.

you dash over to your pantry, opening it up and rifling through a couple shelves. you don’t have the mental or emotional fortitude to stand around and cook a proper meal right now, so the next best thing is instant ramen.

“whatcha looking for?”

you almost shed your skin in fright.

there’s a warmth hovering over you, and you’re far too aware of what it is.

“something to eat.” you can only hope that those words came out legibly.

“oh, yeah, there’s not really much,” he shrugs, tilting his head at you.

you’re still not looking at him. has he done something wrong?

“ah,” is all you can muster in response.

“did you want to order in?” bokuto asks, a certain lightness to his voice. it’s similar to the tone he uses when he wants to pick what you guys watch on a saturday night.

“uh—” oh no. “i—i don’t—um—”

what are you trying to say? you don’t know. bokuto has no chance of deciphering it.

but, he simply beams at you. “i’ll pay!”

sure, he has more money in his bank than you could ever dream of having ��� damn professional athletes and their egregious pay checks – but you still don’t want him to pay for you.  

“it’s okay,” you manage to say, holding up a hand to wave it off. 

you don’t expect him to take said hand. 

“please, let me treat you,” he grins. “as a thanks for helping me out with the bills last week.”

ah. that’s right. bokuto may be a sports star in the making, but he’s horribly lacking in the common sense most people rely on to make it through the day. 

“okay.” 

it’s very hard to say no to him when he’s looking at you like that, with his golden eyes all big and round and his fluffy hair falling around his face. damn him. 

you let him fiddle away with one of the delivery apps – you admittedly aren’t paying much attention to what he’s ordering – and entertain yourself with the bare walls of your kitchen. 

maybe you could sneak back to your room until dinner came? 

“how was your day?” bokuto asks brightly, effectively trapping you in a conversation. 

shit. 

“uh– fine?” you swallow. “my lectures felt like they wouldn’t end, but i survived.” 

“good thing you did,” he beams, tilting his head at you. 

you blush, trying to ignore just how handsome he is. “how was practice?” 

sure, you want to turn your tail and run, but you really don’t want to hurt his feelings. 

“it was good!” he grins. “tsum-tsum’s been less annoyed with me recently!”

“oh, that’s great!” you mean it. from what you’ve heard about his team, this ‘tsum-tsum’ seems like he’s the sort of person who’s hard to keep up with. 

“he almost gave me a compliment today,” bokuto said, voice brimming with pride. 

“really?” ‘tsum-tsum’ doesn’t seem like the type to give compliments, but bokuto always has a way of seeing the best in things. 

“yeah! he said my cross-court shot wasn’t half-bad!” 

you’re not quite sure if that counts as a compliment, but you won’t pop his bubble. 

“and omi didn’t flinch as much when i patted him on the back, either,” bokuto nods. 

“do you still use that hand sanitiser i gave you?” it had been a mindless little gift, one you’d bought after finding out he works with a germaphobe, but you are curious nonetheless. 

“of course!” bokuto nods enthusiastically. “it’s my lucky charm.” 

your breath catches in your throat. does he not understand what saying something like that could do to a person? especially when it’s coming from the world’s best himbo? what are you even supposed to say to that?

for the first time today, the universe takes pity on you. 

there’s a loud knock on the door. 

bokuto perks up. “i’ll get it!” 

“wait!” you call out instinctively.

bokuto pouts at you over his shoulder, frozen mid-stride.

“you’re shirtless.”

bokuto blinks at you for a moment. “is that a problem?”

three more brain cells stop fighting the good fight and perish. “no?” you frown. “yes?” he’s staring at you. “maybe?”

he’s still staring, a unique concoction of confusion, earnestness and disappointment in his eyes.

“it’s… a lot,” is all you manage to sew together.

“a lot?”

“you’re… a lot.”

“i’m a lot?” bokuto looks like he doesn’t know whether he should be upset by that statement or not.

“yes… muscles.” it’s official. you want to die. there’s no coming back from this.

bokuto glances down at his chest for a moment, a perplexed expression on his face. well, he is beefier than most, and none of his teammates are quite as built…

“just let me get it,” you breathe, well-aware of just how red your face is. after what is bound to be a horribly awkward dinner, you’d need to hop online and look for a new place to live.

you take a deep breath as you open the door, hoping, praying that this exchange, at least, would go smoothly.

you freeze as you look at the delivery boy’s face.

no way.

“holy shit,” makki grins, eyes crinkled and red cap slightly askew.

“no.” this is the last thing you need right now.

“this is where you live?” he asks, trying to pop his head through the doorway.

“uh—” you push him back instinctively, mustering up all your strength to budge the headstrong six foot asshole currently trying to force his way into your apartment.

he freezes, and you know the worst has happened.

“is that your roommate?” he asks, taking a step back with an infuriating grin on his face. “or are you getting some?”

“oh my god makki, i’m going to—”

“do you know this guy?” bokuto’s suddenly behind you, hands clasped behind his back and head tilted to the side.

“unfortunately,” you mumble, trying to keep your expression as neutral as possible. if makki catches even a hint of weakness, he’d press at it relentlessly.

you look him up and down, frowning. “i thought you were working at a tech shop or something.”

he shrugs. “i lied.”

“why?”

“i dunno,” he says, as if lying about your part-time job is the most casual thing in the world. “it sounded more impressive than ‘delivery boy’.”

it’s not like you expected any more from him, but even this feels a little strange.

bokuto’s stomach grumbles from behind you. you remember that he’s right there – and makki’s staring at him.

“why is he shirtless?” makki tilts his head to the side. “who is he?”

“my roommate,” you admit through your teeth.

makki stares at him for a few seconds more, a smirk spreading across his face. “is this why you won’t let us come over to your apartment?”

change of plans. time to pencil in a murder for seven o’clock. after your scheduled self-implosion, which is bound to happen any moment now.

“give me my food.”

“not until you answer my question,” makki grins, holding the takeout bag above your head. damn him and his height.

you glare at him, fists clenched at your sides. “i won’t hesitate and you know it.”

the threat of a knee to the balls is usually enough to make any man quiver. but not makki.

“really?” he smirks. “in front of your hot roommate?”

“i’m going to kill you—”

“i can’t believe you’ve been keeping him from us,” makki tsks, holding out a hand to bokuto. “nice to meet you. i’m a friend from high school.”

bokuto shakes his hand tentatively, a bit behind on exactly what’s going on here.

“and you are?” maki asks, a disgustingly sweet smile on his face.

“bokuto.”

“nice,” makki nods, looking him up and down. you know this will be immediately reported in the group chat. you’re never going to live this down. and, makki now knows where you live. you expect that you’re going to get some unwanted visitors very, very soon.

“get out of here,” you grumble, taking full advantage of makki’s distracted gaze and grabbing the bag out of his hand.

“hey!”

“have a nice night!” you call, pushing him out of your doorway with one hand. “i’ll leave you a bad review!”

“no, don’t—”

the door slams in his face, and you feel like you can breathe properly for the first time in the past ten minutes.

that is until you remember that bokuto’s standing right behind you. 

“should we eat?” he asks, a little too close to your ear than you would like. 

you flinch, taking a step forward. your nose presses against your front door and you curse every conceivable deity that comes to mind. 

“yes,” you nod, lightly banging your head on the door. perhaps it’s what you deserve. 

“okay,” bokuto says slowly, as if he’s not sure about what to do next. “i’ll get some plates.” 

you take a moment to catch your breath. all you have to do is make it through, what? the next twenty minutes? surely you could manage that. surely. 

bokuto’s already over by the couch, two plates in hand, and still very, very shirtless. that’s the reason everything’s gone tits up today. because he wouldn’t constrain his pectorals behind a thin wall of blended cotton. 

but you sit yourself down on the couch after unpacking your food on the coffee table. you sit yourself down on the couch, unsure if you can find the strength to start eating. 

bokuto plops himself down next to you. it’s almost like he’s vibrating with excitement. why does he have to be so damn hot and cute?

the two of you sit on the couch in total silence. 

bokuto stares at you. you make a pointed effort to look anywhere that isn’t him. 

“are you okay?” he asks, a genuine pout on his face. 

“can you… can you put a shirt on?” it feels a bit like an admission, or some kind of surrender, but this has gone on too long. 

“oh, okay.” bokuto hops up, watching you for a moment before dashing off. 

once he’s out of sight, you sigh, resting your head in your hands. what is going on? when you’d gotten back from university, you hadn’t expected the day to go like this. 

bokuto reappears out the corner of your eye, now modestly covered with a white shirt. it’s almost worse, honestly – the shirt really compliments his tan. 

“are you okay!?” his voice pitches as he moves towards you, placing a hand on your back. 

you flinch, dropping your hands from your face and closing your eyes. “yeah, i just…” honestly it feels a bit like you’re in purgatory. but that might sound a little dark. “it’s just been a weird night.” 

“i’m sorry.” you can’t see bokuto’s frown, but you hear it in his voice. 

you finally brave a proper look at him. somehow, his hair looks more deflated than usual. 

“i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable,” he specifies, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“uh–” you swallow roughly, unsure of where to go with this. “thanks? i guess?” 

bokuto pouts at you, his gaze flicking down to the floor. “i was just trying to impress you.” 

every single thought skids to a stop. what? what? he was walking around shirtless because he was trying to impress you? well, it worked, but he probably didn’t expect it to leave you speechless. 

“you… were trying to impress me?” the words feel strange coming from your mouth, but you manage to meet his eyes. 

“yeah,” he nods, his own cheeks darkening. it’s nice to know that the embarrassment isn’t one-sided. “my friend told me it was the best way to win you over.”

whoever this friend is, you intend to have a very stern word with them.

“you could just… ask me out,” you blink at him, unsure of how to proceed. 

“i could?”

“yeah?”

“would you have said yes?”

“i–” you clear your throat, breaking eye contact. “i guess?”

“so… that’s a yes?”

“yes?” 

bokuto stares at you, cheeks even redder than before and mouth slightly agape. 

“what?” you stare back at him. is he broken? has his brain finally given up too? 

“do you wanna go on a date?”

“i–” it’s your turn to have your mouth hang slightly agape. 

“please?” he asks, eyes going round and sad. 

“sure,” you blink. you? bokuto? a date? when? how? what–

“woo-hoo!” bokuto cheers, pumping his fists in the air. “alright!” 

oh man, this boy is definitely going to be the death of you. probably by heart attack. but, maybe that’s not the worst fate. 

[wowtobio]

Hello! Can I ask headcanons for a new female Inarizaki manager? Someone is cute as a princess and takes care of them as a mom. Something like they relationships with her, how she supports them at matches, how they protect her etc. I need more headcanon about Inarizaki!

✧･ﾟ:*Being Inarizaki’s Female Manager*:･ﾟ✧*

yess i love them sm :’) thank you for the request love!

warnings: none

(credit to the artist of this amazing art!)

When you were first introduced to the team as the new female manager by Kita, majority of the members couldn’t help but be skeptical. It’s not like they wanted or needed a manager so it was strange that you appeared out of nowhere. 

Not gonna lie, you definitely felt un-welcomed when you first stepped into the gym. The squeaking sounds of shoes met the gym floors and the echoes from the hard impact each spiked ball landed shook you up a tad bit. And feeling their darkening stares that added to the menacing aura within the gym did not help at all. 

Naturally they were weary of you, just assuming you were a Miya fangirl wanting to get closer to the twins. Your recruiter, captain Kita was the first person to make you feel welcome to the team. Although he spoke to you in serious tones, he was straight to the point and voiced that he trusted you, which smoothed over your jitters. 

Atsumu was super flirty with you, Ginjima acted rough and passive towards you, Omimi kinda scared you with his intense looks, Osamu and Suna barely spared you a glance, and Aran and Akagi actually greeted you every now and then. 

You just went with the flow, and after a bit of doing serious work that actually helped the team they were like “oh shoot, maybe she is the real deal” 

Despite their coldness, you would still look after the boys. Making sure they were hydrated by providing them water always, scolding them for their injuries before patching them up, etc. They were caught off guard at your motherly behavior, but they slowly warmed up to you. 

Atsumu was still flirty as always, however his words and actions were more genuine and he showed that he cared for you. And, Osamu spared you some glances and he had light conversations with you about your favorite foods and even offered to cook for you!

Suna warmed up to you after you offered him a chuupet and Aran would “save” you from Atsumu’s endless flirting and poke fun at him for you. 

You’re very good at putting people in their place (mostly atsumu) and you are not afraid to stand up to their fangirls. Shutting them up and shooing them away if they cause too much noise in the gym. You shoot them glares if they talked smack about you. And that was probably the first thing the boys noticed about you that they realized you were different.

The members take turns on walking you home just to ensure you get home safely. You would stop by the konbini and get a snack or drink with whoever decided to take you home. You bonded over the snacks, finding out their quirks and what makes each guy unique.

During matches, you always had a thorough game plan with extensive amounts of research to back it up. It surprised the team at first and when it worked they thanked and celebrated your hard-work afterwards to some dinner. 

And you’re a silent cheerleader, being manager and all sitting next to the coaches you can’t exactly scream your heart out though you want too. But your eyes would always have a certain gleam and you would smile brightly when they impressed you, those looks are one of the reasons Inarizaki’s boys vb team fight for.

Team dinner’s are CHAOTIC, especially when they won. Nothing can calm them down, not even your constant exclaims to calm down and to be respectful while eating in a public place haha nice try. Despite your scolds, you still feel warm on the inside watching your boys celebrate.

On the other side of the spectrum, if they lost and were down in the dumps you never fail to brighten up the mood with your sweet smile and comforting words to the boys. They treasure your grin and with it they all feel better and motivated to win next time. 

Someone’s on your nerves? Always report to Kita. You won’t even blink an eye before you see that someone in the corner with double the drills. 

Oh yeah, meet your new personal body guards. Man pray for the next person that eyes you weirdly or insults you. The volleyball team do have a reputation, so once people found out that you were associated with them many would steer clear. Even if you were talking to a guy, that guy would feel knives at the back of his neck from the intense glares from Atsumu or even Ginjima. 

If someone made you cried? They no longer exist. At. All. What happened to them you may ask? Kita and his team have nothing to say about it. 

Gestures and acts of kindness you commit for them. Such as making their favorite onigiris for them (which are eaten in less than five secs, they loveee your cooking), washing their clothes and always folding them neatly, and always lending an ear to listen to their endless rants about each other haha. You’re not the only one who have their limits when it comes to these guys. 

Small gestures are also their thing. Atsumu’s annoying you? Kita’s already shut him up don’t worry. Need help carrying clean laundry? Aran easily carries two baskets. You don’t know what outfit to wear at a party? Atsumu’s already got three different options he wants you to try on. Need help prepping after practice snacks? Osamu’s got tips and tricks and will lend a hand. And if Kita gives you too much responsibilities as manager? Suna will bluntly tell him to lessen it for you.

HEADPATS. 

All day everyday, the boys just love to pat you on the head. They just think you’re so adorable and must be protected at all costs. 

But at the same time, you look out for your boys too because you only want the best for them like the proud mother you are.

It was a rough start at first, but you feel blessed to be able to manage an amazing, talented group of volleyball players. You consider yourself lucky to see the raw, burning passion in their eyes before practice and games. And you appreciate how much they care and look after you as much as you do them. 

They’re your boys! And they’re happy to be considered yours :)

And! Atsumu always steals your phone and spams it with selfies and pics of his fellow teammates. Phone’s flooded and your current homescreen is the image up above ^^ hehe 

-

a/n: work and ap exams got me drained but exams are over so i’ll have more time to write now :) sorry everyone for not being active this past week, i still love y’all!

[srose-foxfire]

“First Impressions” Part: 5 (Damirae)

Damian was glad his school day had finally ended. He was grateful he didn’t have to stay after for study groups, all he wanted was to be in his room and polish his sword. That was one of his favorite past times, his grandfather was an excellent swordsman though his father didn’t agree at it first he allowed Damian to receive lessons from his grandfather. Lessons in which were quoted as ‘self-defense,’ being a Wayne and the heir to his father’s company could one day misfortunes in which someone could try taking his life for money. His own father had to deal with similar hardships in the past and made sure his children received training in protecting themselves. Bruce had just hoped Damian had been taught by someone else, other than Ra’s Al Ghul.

Damian stretched out as much as he could in the limousine, while Alfred drove them back to the manor. He looked out the window, in four months he was going to graduate from Gotham Academy, then go off to Gotham University. Time seemed to pass more quickly now, before he even realizes it, he will be named CEO of Wayne Industries. His life goal’s, for the past few months he been debating if he could maybe have more than just inheriting his father’s company. Damian may never say it out load or even speak to his family about it, but Damian dreamed of having a family of his own. A wife and children, he would give his life for. Damian closed his eyes for a moment and just imagined what his future could be, and then she appeared. Raven.

The young Wayne unlocked his phone and opened up his photo gallery. He scrolled down to find the picture he had taken that one winter night. Raven had dared him to take a picture of their drinks together. It was silly thing but for her, Damian would do anything. Raven had been standing so close trying to make sure he got a perfect shot, at some pint Damian wanted to tell her she could lean onto his shoulder for comfort. But that idea quickly died.

Damian sighed, making Alfred look at him from the rearview mirror. “Everything alright, Master Damian?”

“Just lost in thought, nothing to concern yourself with Pennyworth.”

“Alright then. By any chance are you going to work on any school assignments when we arrive?”

“I finished every assignment already, I wanted to keep my weekend free so I can focus on other matters.”

“So, I assume you will be free?” Alfred shot Damian a quick glance over the rearview mirror again and the young Wayne only nodded at him. “I was wondering if you would help me with a small favor Miss Cass had left me with before she had left to buy some items for tonight.”

Damian didn’t want to do some chore Cass should had taken care herself instead handing it off to Alfred. “Sure, what would you like me to help in?”

“If you could help me entertain Miss Raven, till your sisters arrived?”

What?

Raven was at the manor? Well that changes things. Damian did everything he could so he wouldn’t start grinning. Now that, would cause Alfred to question why the mention of his sisters’ friend would please him so much.  

When they arrived at the manor, Damian literally sprinted the steps towards the main doors. He speed-walked towards his room and threwhis bagpack not caring wherever it landed. Not wanting to waste any time, he didn’t bother changing out of his school uniform and ran to the one place he would always find Raven cooped up. The manor’s library. As he neared, he started slowing his pace as thousand thoughts bashed one another in his mind, what could they converse? Could they read a book together, could they talk about how their week had gone by, or-

Damian stopped when he heard that little battle tune, he knew too well thanks to Jon. He peeked his head from the doorway and found Raven cross-legged on a couch, looking down at her phone as she cursed under her breath. The game she was playing announced her hero had been slain, she let out an annoyed grunt and moved to place a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Damian came in and leaned against the doorway crossing his arms. Raven hadn’t noticed his presence just yet as she went to continue playing. She looked so cute. She was dressed in black tights and a navy-blue skirt, with a tucked in long button-white sleeve. Damian had to contain a chuckled when he noticed Raven was wearing miss-match socks. He liked the idea that Raven felt safe and comfortable to be in Wayne Manor, feel she can be herself with his whole family. Damian looked up when he heard Raven cursed again when the game announced she been slain again.

“I wouldn’t have imagined you be a gamer.” Damian said so calmly.

Raven looked up from her phone, “oh, hi Damian. I’m not much a gamer but Jon kind of got me into this game.” Damian could had sworn he saw her cheeks just flush a little. Raven sighed heavily in defeat, she looked up to Damian as he raised a brow. “Actually, I hear you’re a good assassin so maybe you can help me with my assassin hero? I keep getting myself killed.”

“My pleasure.” Damian walked over and watched as Raven scooted so he could sit down. Damian had to hold his breath in to make sure he still was in control of his body. He was afraid he start turning red or worse his heart would beat so loudly all of Gotham would know his secret affection towards her. Damian carefully took Raven’s phone and looked at what she was planning to do with this particular hero. “Well first mistake you did was you didn’t choose the correct battle spell; assassins rely on jungle in order to build quickly and cause more damage.”

“So, this spell is useless for her?”

“Somewhat, you used a spell that mainly used by mages and supports. What were you planning to build?”

“Cut me some slack! I normally mage so I had no idea what would be best!” Raven lightly punched his shoulder as she watched him sell some of the items she had previously build and prioritize buying other items.

“Next time build for these items; this one specifically will help you greatly to deal more damage and make use of her passive, she deals allot of damage when she is in stealth.” Damian demonstrated the assassin’s passive and gaining him a kill, a player from the enemy side got neared hoping to avenge their fallen comrade. Damian activated the assassin’s ultimate skill with little health, but now with greater power output was able to kill the enemy hero.

“You’re a better teacher than Jon. Thanks Damian.”

“I’m surprised you think so, Jon was actually the one to get me into this game.” Damian peeked over to find Raven was awfully close to him. He cleared his throat, “are you’re here for a sleepover?”

“Mm.” Raven continue to lean closer, her head was practically laying on his shoulder now. Damian was praying his face wouldn’t flush or that she wouldn’t hear his heart wanting to beat loudly. “Can I actually confess something to you?”

Damian helped the team win the match, he then handed Raven back her phone so she could receive her awards. “Please go ahead.”

“I am not sure if I will be welcomed after today.” Raven said silently, “when your sisters arrive, I plan to tell them the truth about Jasper Sky. I’m afraid they may get very upset with me and not want to be friends anymore. Which I understand, I did lie to them.” Raven turned off her phone and stared straight ahead, lost in thought.

Damian could tell this scared her, he didn’t know if she needed this from him, but he had to let her know she wouldn’t lose everything after today. He wanted to make sure Raven knew she still had a friend. “I will be your friend, so you still have me. Besides, if you tell them the truth and explain why you had to invent the perfect boyfriend like Jasper Sky, I’m sure they will understand. My sisters aren’t the type to hold grudges.”

“I hope you’re right, I like being friends with your sisters and… I like being your friend too. Damian, I want you to know that I am here for you as well. So, don’t hesitate in asking me for help.”

Damian could only nod at her, Raven turned her phone back on, she clicked a tab that allowed her to view the builds for each of the hero’s she played with. Damian watched her save the build he had built for her and saving it. He could only continue stare at her. Realization kicked in. Damian needed to tell her, now more than ever he needed to come clean of his own feelings for her. “Raven I-”

“We’re home!” Stephanie called out down from the hallway. Great his sisters were home.He almost had the chance to, to what? Tell Raven he loved her right before she may lose two friends? What was going on in his mind?!

“Rae-rae where are you?” Stephanie called out again somewhere down the hallway.

“She’s here Steph!” Both Damian and Raven looked up to find Cass at the doorway, holding plastic bags filled to the brim with facials masks and other cosmetics Damian assumed were for their sleepover. “Rae, I hope you’re excited for our slumber party! Sorry Dami no boys allowed. Well unless you let us give you a complete makeover.”

“Not in a million years.” Damian said so sternly.

“C’mon Rae, let’s get this party started!” Cass shouted cheerfully and she did a little wiggling dance with the bags swaying back and forth.

Raven exited the game and opened the messaging application, “I will be there in a bit, let me just send my mom a quick text and let her know that you guys arrived already.”

“No problem, Steph and I will get my room set-up. Don’t take too long.”

Damian watched his sister exit and then turned to watch Raven smile turn into a frown. “You okay?”

Raven clicked send to a message she had previously written out, she then looked up to him. Her amethyst eyes were on the brink of shedding tears. “Can you be there? I mean can you wait outside in case it goes bad and I lose them as friends? I don’t think I will be able to do this alone and I-”

“Raven.” Damian went and grabbed her hands in his. He gave her a gentle smile before pulling her in. He let go one hand and wrapped it around her back, pressing Raven tightly against him. “I am here for you.”

Raven whimpered and was clearly fighting off her tears. She was able to wriggle one hand free and wrap it around him tightly. “Thank you, Damian.”

~~~~~~

A/N: I hoped you all enjoyed this update. Again we are drawing near to the end to “First Impressions”. I am very excited to share with you all what I have planned for this particular fic. What started out as a one-shot turned to multiple parts. Anyone wondering the mobile game I been referencing is called “Mobile Legends” (I am currently very much into 😅) Next update will be for “Under an Autumn Moonlight” and afterwards the first two chapters for my Dark Robin Au Fic. 

Till next time and thank you all for reading!

~~S.Rose 

[dragoler]

Embrace the Void - An Optimistic Outlook

This is a theory post about Hollow Knight and contains spoilers, so if you haven’t completed the game you should probably not read this post. This was originally posted to Reddit but i’m putting a copy here too. It is my belief that the Embrace the Void ending does not spell doom for Hallownest as is often believed, and here I want to present the evidence as to why. Much of this information will be common knowledge, but I've included it to support my greater point.

Firstly I want to establish that the Shade Lord (or Bill if you're so inclined) is indeed the Knight and not a dormant god or amalgamation. The ancient civilization that predates Hallownest is said to have worshiped no god, instead worshiping the void itself, taken from Lemm's comments on the Void Idol:

Inspired or mad, those ancient bugs. They devoted their worship to no lord, or power, or strength, but to the very darkness itself.

Lemm is not the most reliable of source, but this is supported by the Abyss statue that holds the void bowl when the Knight dream nails it before acquiring the Void Heart:

...Void... Power... Without unity...

Void here is considered a power, but without unity void becomes nothing more than a writhing pool of liquid with some very interesting properties. Now, I have seen it argued that void has a mind of it's own due to some of these properties, but the game actively tells us that it does not. The original description for the Hall of Gods reward statue depicting the Embrace the Void form used to read ‘Void Given Mind’, but ‘Mind’ was quickly changed to ‘Focus’ in a patch. This makes it clear that Team Cherry wants to avoid the association of void having a mind, at least when it comes to an ‘untarnished’ entity. So what causes that weird mind-like behavior? Well, lets talk about what it naturally does first. Void is naturally adverse to light, this is evidenced by a lore tablet found in the king's void workshop:

VOID, yours is the power opposed.

The king is a being of light, so it makes sense for him to consider it opposed to him. It is also evidenced by the lighthouse in the Abyss being used to suppress the void sea, preventing it from lashing out. Void also consumes soul, evidenced by the apparent need for the lighthouse keeper to be kept supplied with the stuff (though most bugs cannot utilize it for spells, if a bug were to become low on soul this may be a way to top up without the use of a hot spring), but also naturally shown by the Knight's capabilities (this could also be attributed to their status as a higher being) and how the shade cloak consumes soul projectiles that pass through it. The soul totems built by the civilization who worshiped the void are another possible avenue of evidence, they were likely constructed from void in its solid form and are used to contain soul. As soul is said to be found in the air, it's possible these totems would be able to extract it as well. From the Deep Focus charm description:

Naturally formed within a crystal over a long period. Draws in SOUL from the surrounding air.

Going back to the Abyss lighthouse, the strongest piece of evidence for the void having its own mind comes from the lighthouse keeper's dream nail dialogue:

...Turn it off?... Cannot...

My King. I'm sorry... The sea calls...

It is apparent that the void had exerted its will over this bug, but here I get into the most important property of void: void is impressionable. Void starts empty but it does not necessarily stay this way, the king used molds to shape void to his will for the creation of the kingsmoulds and wingmoulds, but it can do this organically as well. The most obvious example of this is the Hollow Knight who was "tarnished by an idea instilled", which is strongly hinted to be the bond formed between it and the king. A more extreme example of this exists in the Collector, a seemingly rogue, armourless kingsmould who for whatever reason spent a lot of time around another bug who imprinted upon it. Evidence for this comes from the dream nail dialogue of the husk you find the Love Key on:

Too long... spent together. We become as one...

This is all evidence for void being shaped by others, so what of the lighthouse keeper? Well, this bug was in the unfortunate situation of being right next to an ocean of the stuff. Husks found in proximity to void have void in their eyes, giving evidence that the void manages to get inside of them. Although usually it's just a small amount it is enough to kill them, and in this case, also influence them. Void is opposed to light - void vapor infiltrates the mind - void tells bug to turn the light off.

Okay that was a bit of a tangent but back on topic. After the Knight acquires the Void heart it gains control over the void. Shades no longer attack, tendrils no longer lash out and the Abyss statue changes its dream nail dialogue:

...Lord of Shades...

Furthermore, Bardoon has this to say:

Ohhhmmmm... Tiny thing... It evolves beyond that Wyrm. Such union in a single being. A strength before unseen. Would it too challenge nature? It could perhaps defeat it.

Pretty much everyone agrees that the Wyrm is a god, so if the Knight has truly evolved beyond the Wyrm, that should make it a god at this point as well. Gods in Hollow Knight are not very clear-cut from other bugs, they tend to be more powerful and longer lived, but still remain mortal and vulnerable to the ravages of time (at least when in the physical realm) and physical harm. The Godseekers in particular muddy the water on what can be considered a "god", but even without them there is a contrast in power between the higher beings. Despite not gaining any additional physical prowess, the Knight attaining godhood at this point, particularly as it was already the offspring of higher beings, would not be a far-fetched concept.

So if it is already a god, why did the Godseekers not notice? Because they weren't looking for it. The Godseekers attune through the dream realm by connecting to the minds of bugs, but the Knight is mindless. The Godseekers were only able to find the Hollow Knight because of the Radiance within:

O Gods of Hallownest, graciously thee open the way to this greatest of Pantheons! Thy voices grow closer and thy resonance draws Us ever higher!

Pray will We, Attune will We, until that spark of divine light shines from the deepest darkness!

And still they fear it for its silence:

O bound one, thy silence nearly deafens Us. Foolishly we feared thee, yet only by thine providence shall We find the one We seek. The God sleeping within...

Which is their deepest fear of all, taken from the tuner memory dream nail dialogue:

What gods, to save Us of Our silent mind?

So where am I going with this? Well if the Knight was already a god, then why should its behavior change so dramatically just because it gained a bigger, scarier form? I want to bring attention now to the Dream No More ending. The start of the cutscene that plays during this ending is very similar to the void breaking out of the Godseeker during the Embrace the Void ending, but here it comes from the Black Egg instead. If the scene had cut before showing the void dripping down from the lanterns then anyone would be forgiven for fearing the worst, but it doesn't. After the Black Egg dissolves into void, we see a pool of void disappear from around Hornet, then Hornet wakes up alive and unscathed. Why doesn't it consume her? Because the Knight is in control of it. Later, we see the siblings in the Abyss peacefully returning to their rest, giving us a bitter-sweet ending.

Now to add onto this i'm going to start analyzing the Knight's character. Not much direct characterization is given besides ‘it is empty’, and obviously everyone's Knight is going to act differently depending on how it is played, but there is characterization that can be inferred. Firstly, from what the Knight does regardless of what we want it to do. The Knight always slows to a walk when around Dirtmouth, NPCs and certain sites of significance, I interpret this as it being respectful (interestingly it also slows down around the Radiance statue at the top of Hallownest's Crown, so it seems to understand the religious significance of the site even though it is opposed to the deity). Also in this category are the endings, one of which I've already gone into and i'll get to Embrace the Void and Delicate Flower later. Next would be actions the player can chose to perform, and most players will for gameplay reasons. These include saving Sly, saving Bretta, freeing the grubs and placing the Grey Mourner's delicate flower on her dead lover's grave site. Lastly are choices you get that you don't have to follow and there is no benefit to doing so, these would include giving flowers to other NPCs and sitting beside Quirrel at the Blue Lake, and Marissa at the Pleasure House. The Knight is also a rather aggressive character, but with a few exceptions it only attacks creatures who are infected or insane. The exceptions to this would be if it is attacked first (Hornet, Dung Defender) if it challenges a boss to combat (Mantis Lords), is requested to attack (Nailsmith), it enters a non-lethal dream fight, or the one being attacked really deserved it (Millibelle).

The Knight is not incapable of performing bad actions however. It can leave Zote to die to the Vengefly King (though it cannot kill Zote actively), it can cause Hornet to be trapped with it inside the Black Egg, it can dream nail away passive ghosts and the worst crime of all - it can murder Menderbug! On balance however, the Knight is a generally benevolent character.

I think it's time to address the Vessels in the room, literally - the cutscene you see after completing the Pantheon of the Knight for the first time. This one is strange, it depicts the siblings as though they are alive alongside the Knight and young Hollow Knight before an exchange occurs - the Radiance roars, her light is revealed above, and then the void rises up to meet her. What is odd about this scene is that the Knight can see it without having the Void Heart, but I think I have an explanation for it. When the Knight defeats the Pure Vessel for the first time it becomes attuned with it, by proxy of relation this attunes it with the minds of its other siblings as well. in Godhome, characters attuned within the dream are represented in living form unless they become "gods" while dead, such as the dream warriors and various animated husk bosses. The Knight seeing the siblings together, followed by the void rising up to pursue the Radiance is an indication that they all share a common desire to snuff her out, even when the Knight doesn't have control over them. This can be taken as evidence that the shades are a part of the Shade Lord but I do not think this is the case. As mentioned above, characters attuned to the Godhome enter in best form and none of these siblings are attuned as shades, so they show up in Vessel form (The Hollow Knight presumably shows up in this second form only due to the Knight's attunement with it). Furthermore, no shades show up to assist the Knight in defeating the Radiance at the peak of the Pantheon of Hallownest, meaning the Shade Lord could only be composed of the Knight and the raw void you see rising up during the fight.

So now for the Embrace the Void ending itself. Upon defeating the Radiance we see the Shade Lord descend from above and wrap the Godseeker up in void tendrils, then the scene cuts to her physical body leaking void before the void bursts out of her violently. We cannot know exactly what the entity was doing here, but it's likely that embracing the Godseeker was a means for it to escape into the physical world. The Godseeker does not seem to be afraid of the Shade Lord but rather in awe of it, and there is evidence that despite how devastating its emergence appears, like with Hornet, she survived the ordeal:

Punish this shell, o God of Gods! Blast Our frail, worthless form to ash. We welcome thine fury! Desire beyond desire!

This dialogue is taken from the Godseeker game mode which is set after the Embrace the Void ending, she also thinks this in dream nail dialogue:

We bequeath our all. Our shell. Our mind. We are naught but vassal before thee, o glorious God of Gods!

The Godseekers are a collective hive-mind contained within the body of a single individual. The Godseeker you interact with in Godhome is the lead Godseeker and her shell is her own, so when she refers to ‘Our’ shell she is almost certainly referring to the physical shell they all share. Unless the Godseekers have lost all touch with reality and now only exist within the dream, this indicates that they still have a living body. Although their attitude towards the Knight has shifted... dramatically, they still appear to be perfectly aware of everything that is happening.

After the above mentioned scene we see Hornet watching the infection wither from the Black Egg temple, and then she is startled by the emergence of the Hollow Knight, now free from it's restraints. The Hollow Knight being alive as its own entity serves as further evidence that the Shade Lord is not composed of the siblings shown in the Pantheon of the Knight cutscene, as the young Hollow Knight was a part of that. At the end of this scene, the player gains the Embrace the Void achievement which has the description ‘Ascend the Pantheon of Hallownest and take your place at its peak’. Your place, it is the Knight specifically who is at the peak.

Possible counter points:

You cannot leave Godhome in Godseeker mode, which could be taken as evidence that Hallownest was destroyed. The Knight's physical form has been irreversibly altered, however just like Godseeker their dream form can be different, so they can only exist as the Knight within the dream world now.

Why did the Embrace the Void ending cut away from Godseeker when it did if not to imply something terrible happening? Dramatic effect, uncertainty, possibly you are meant to draw parallels with the Dream No More ending yourself. I'm only here to shed doubt on the Shade Lord being a malevolent entity, not to definitely state that nothing bad will happen.

Why can the Knight bring the Godseeker a delicate flower if not to protect Hallownest from what would emerge? The Knight doesn't know anything about the delicate flowers, as mentioned in dialogue from the White Lady:

There is rare power hidden in those frail petals.

To hold it so close, one must surely be unaware of its nature...

It is my belief that up until this point the Knight had been protected from the flower's power by its ‘holy shell’ born from the White Lady and Pale King. Upon shedding this shell and becoming one with the void, the flower reacts by banishing the Shade Lord along with the Godseeker who still harbors it.

What about the roar of the Shade Lord we hear in the scene after the Pantheon of the Knight? If it hadn't been pointed out to me that this was a roar and not just the noise of the void rising up I wouldn't have even noticed honestly. You have to take information found in the game files with a grain of salt, this can be foreshadowing or the ‘voice’ of void even when not united, though void having a ‘voice’ at all is a rather contradictory idea...

So in conclusion, given what we can extrapolate about the Shade Lord and the nature of the player character, I don't think there is good enough evidence for it to become a malevolent entity within Hallownest. Thank you for reading and please tell me if I've missed anything!

Tl;DR: Bill is the Knight, Bill is a cool guy, please don't be scared of Bill.

[for-ests]

Mine: Sugawara Koushi x Reader

Word count: 1, 877

Summary: The only place you had ever felt safe was in Suga's arms. You just had the dilemma of actually admitting your infatuation, one that you were convinced he felt too.

Why did it seem so easy for everyone to admit their true feelings except you?

That's what was constantly on your mind whenever you thought about Suga. He had a bright future with an impressive resume, a successful straight A student, and vice-captain of the Karasuno volleyball club. He was a talented young man, one that you had been crushing on since you had become friends with him.

Meanwhile, there was nothing you found special about yourself. You were normal, average build, average looks. You were smart, but not smart enough to be known for it.

That's what you thought at least. It was your own confidence that was holding you back. You craved for some sort of recognition, even if it was rejection. You weren't sure how long you could go on with your feelings bottled up inside. It had been months since your realization.

Your friends urged you to tell Suga how you felt, assuring they saw how much he liked you. Maybe you were blind to his flirtation, though you were sure he had never done so.

"I can see it in his eyes, Y/N. He likes you." They would say, their true motives clear with their comforting smiles. "You've been friends for months. You've been over to his house countless times. What's the big deal? If he says he doesn't like you in that way, at least you'll know."

At least I'll know. You sighed, slipping into your coat. You had invited Suga for a late night stroll in the park. It was somewhere you felt comfortable, a private yet public space where you could leave if you needed to. Rejection was what scared you, it's what had been holding you back for the last couple months. You just hoped he was having the same problem. You knew how shy he was.

Suga was someone you held close to your heart. You wanted to keep him in your life, regardless of how the night was going to play out. Uncertainty filled your mind, not knowing if you could gain the confidence and admit your adoration.

Don't mess this up. Was the final motivational tactic you tried to use on yourself. Your friends had hyped you up, but they didn't know Suga like you did. He was not fond of confrontation. Yet, you were tired of waiting. If he could not gain the courage to admit his feelings, then you would push him over the edge with your own.

You exited your home, satisfied to see that the sky was clear. Darkness enveloped the suburban neighborhood, your path lit up by the moon and the stars. Smiling, you realized that the atmosphere was chilly, yet warm enough to refrain from shivering.

You only lived minutes from the meeting spot. You just prayed he would show up, knowing how busy he was with homework and club activities.

You tried not to think too deeply about the moments that led up to your breaking point. The shared laughter, the constant and overbearing hugs, the chaste, secretly-more-than-friends hand holding. You had even cuddled with him once, in the most pure and innocent way.

Suga would touch you in ways that would make your heart race, but would stop when he realized what he was doing. It was like he was trying his hardest to deny that he could love you.

On the contrast, it seemed he couldn't stop himself from staring at you, eyes filled with indications of affection. You knew you saw it when you caught his gaze. The astonished parting of his lips, the way he would apologize frantically even if you had reciprocated the action. What more did you have to do? You thought you had made it obvious.

There were even moments where the two of you had almost kissed. You remembered them like they were yesterday. You just couldn't fathom why he refused to act on them like you so desperately wanted him to.

Did Sugawara not want to let you in?

You shook your head, trying to dispel your overwhelming thoughts. But you couldn't help that your mind was consumed with those worries. You thought you knew him better than anyone- at least, that's what he told you.

"Y/N?" Suga's voice called from across the park.

You lifted your head, failing to realize that you had arrived from how loud the voices inside of your head were. You could feel yourself sweating as you watched him stand up from the wooden bench. Suga was early.

Your breathing started to calm when you saw his smile. Oh how wonderful it was.

"Hey!" You called, picking up your pace until you were standing in front of him. Tripping over your own hesitation, you embraced him tightly. You wondered if he could sense how nervous you were.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his hands curling around your waist. Over the last few weeks his touch had gradually moved lower and lower.

"I'm good." You sighed, wanting to bury your face into his chest and never let go. That craving grew stronger each time you saw him.

Yet, you released him, swaying on your feet as you tried to think of something to break the ice.

"You just called me out of nowhere." He laughed, scratching the back of his neck out of habit. "Though I'm happy you did."

"I just thought you would appreciate a break from school." You tittered, locking your arm with his. "Shall we?"

Sugawara nodded, grinning bashfully. You yearned for it to be because of you. You wanted him to know that you could be his escape.

You rested your head against his shoulder, guiding him down the pathway that was covered in fallen leaves. There was not a sound to be heard, only the occasional crunch of earth under your feet. Snow would fall across the landscape any day now.

Lamps dimly lit the back path, and you could hear the trees rustling with the gentle breeze. It was peaceful, perhaps romantic. But that thought could only be shared.

A conversation started once you had appreciated your surroundings to the fullest. You let Suga vent, his thoughts surprisingly dark and pessimistic. You were saddened to hear them, yet you listened closely. His mind was spinning, the stress of his workload seeming to become too much to bear. Practical exams were closing in on the both of you, along with the life-changing decision of choosing the perfect university to attend.

Worry filled your heart. Sugawara's internal dilemma made your unrequited love seem much smaller than you were making it out to be.

The two of you came to the edge of the path. A bench was placed by the shore of a small pond. Sounds of frogs and insects bounced across the water.

"Are you sure that was the best way? You're also a strong player..." You asked him softly, yet he was still bothered by your question. The third-year tried to mask his disappointment that he was no longer a starting player.

Suga let go of your arm, turning his attention to the pond that stretched in front of you.

"I know it's the only way." His words held a deeper meaning, but you did not want to pry. He stared out into the darkness, seeming to find peace within it. Suga was normally optimistic and entirely confident in his decisions, but right now, he was the complete opposite.  "It's the only way my team can win."

He was holding back again, much to your dismay.

"Koushi—" You reached towards him, growing cold without him by your side. "You can tell me anything."

"I know." His voice was hoarse. He turned his head to you, and you saw tears glossing his eyes. "But-" he paused, fists clenching at his sides. "You can't say such nice things to me... and..."

Suga's voice trailed off until he was just mouthing the words. The third-year bit his lip, turning away in embarrassment. Your eyes widened in disbelief, was he trying to confess?

"Koushi, look at me." You demanded, brushing your fingers against his jacket before pulling your hand back. You didn't want to assume, your friendship was still on the line.

He turned back to you, fully. You couldn't tell if the pink that dusted his cheeks was from the cold, or from the intensity that was pulsating between the two of you.

"Y/N, I don't know how to say it." Sugawara's gaze spoke volumes, seeming to confirm everything you were wishing for.

"You don't need to." Your voice was soft and forgiving, breath misting into the frigid air. You took his hands with a newfound confidence, tugging him as close as you could. "All you need to do is show me."

You were gripping onto him by this point, almost begging for him to make the first move.

"I..." Suga faltered, relaxing slightly from your touch. He hesitated, searching your eyes for an answer. You smiled in return, blinking away your sheepish tears. His large hands eventually came to cup your cheeks, his fingers feeling like ice against your burning skin.

"I don't deserve this." He sighed, but followed through with the action you so desperately craved.

Sugawara closed the already small gap, his lips brushing against yours in a chaste kiss. It was so light that you could barely feel it, yet all you could feel was him.

There was a moment of hesitation between the both of you. You could hardly believe it was happening. "Koushi-" You gasped, before he brought his lips completely over yours, the words dying in your throat.

Your stomach erupted with butterflies as you tightened against him. His lips were softer than you could have ever imagined, and they gradually began to move in sync with yours.

The sensation was overwhelming, yet you cherished every second of it. You gripped onto his jacket with entail, steadying yourself as your knees threatened to buckle underneath you.

"Y/N," Suga breathed your name in a heavenly manner, almost moaning against your lips. You knew he was enjoying it, yet you couldn't bring yourself to further your actions. You were in a park after all.

You pulled away after hearing him gasp your name again. Your eyes flickered away sheepishly from the vehemence you didn't know you could express.

"I'm sorry." You said.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." The conviction in his voice caused you to turn. "I've had feelings for you, for as long as I can remember."

"M-me too." You breathed unsteadily. This was not what you were expecting.

"I should be the one who's sorry. I was too afraid. I could tell you wanted something more, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

You wrapped your arms around him before he could apologize further. "It's okay." You whispered into the crook of his neck. "It doesn't matter anymore. You did it, and that's all I wanted."

The third-year exhaled deeply, seeming to breathe in the faint smell of your perfume. Suga pressed his lips gently against your cheek in thanks. "Does this mean I can be your boyfriend, officially?"

You managed to laugh. "Of course, Koushi."

He took your hand without another second to spare. "I just needed to make sure that are mine."

“I’ve been yours for a very long time.” You admitted, glancing away in embarrassment.

The warmest smile lit up his face, masking the guilt that had previously been there. “Good.”

[ikesenlemonadestandstories]

Level 18

Hi guys! How’s life? Hopefully March treated you well. We’ve officially entered April (which is a wild thought). Here’s to hoping this new month is more wonderful than the last!

Tagging @loudartanimeeclipse

Master List here, or check out Ikesen AFK in the tags

Warnings: none?

Level 18

You were being petty. For the past month, you ignored and refused every single attempt to message or contact you in and out of the game. Rose was the only exception, as she was your co-worker and had attempted to stick up for you. After nearly a month of feeling annoyed, you thought about quitting, this was supposed to be for fun, an outlet that had turned into a constant source of fatigue.

Finally, you put your mind to a task. Story mode. Excited and your eyes on a new prize, you hammered it out, finishing the final chapter in a few weeks without a hitch. Now what? You joined in raids with unknown players, jumped into maps and quests by yourself. Most of the time, that went okay, other times you just rage quit because who designs a battle to be that infuriating?! That was it, you were logging off for the day.

Just as you had made up your mind to finish your activities and trade out your items in the shop, your message box pinged. Interesting, you had blocked everyone but Sasuke and Rose from last month’s group chat. Your eyes went wide when you saw the name pop up again across your screen.

EdoPorcupine5661 → Hi

He hadn’t been there that day! You forgot to block him! Crap!

EdoPorcupine5661 → Partner event in ten minutes. Meet me at the bridge if you want.

You waited for another message, but it never came. At least they weren’t hell-bent on harassing you, that in and within itself gave them brownie points. After thinking about it for way too long, you shrugged and rapidly transported to just outside of the bridge. You didn’t want to be tricked into an ambush by a former team. When it proved to be just Edo, you walked over and jumped into the event.

The map itself was challenging. The both of you were transported to a dungeon that was not only crawling with opponents but pressure levers and teleport points. There was a certain bit of strategy involved, and that meant being careful of your weaknesses, out-maneuvering the other challengers in the dungeon, while also praying you didn’t accidentally send yourself unguarded into a den of overpowered monsters.

Thanks for the invite ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → Sure. Do we have a plan ← Wild Cyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → Don’t hit the lever next to the green teleport square. Beyond that, don’t die. Roger that ← WildCyt0m3try

Beyond the first few messages to flush the plan out, it was silent. Edo had never really been much of a talker, and for once, you were thankful someone had nothing to say. The both of you advanced forward through the map, hitting the levers that came into view and making sure Edo was close enough that they could see when you chose to use a teleport tile on the floor.

EdoPorcupine5661 → That one. Don’t hit that switch. Sounds good ← WildCyt0m3try Can I ask why? ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → Huge monster dungeon on the other side. We’d have no chance. No chance indeed. ← WildCyt0m3try Do i wanna know how u know that? ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine → Tried the map with OneEyedDrag0n earlier. His curiosity has me down almost 6000Q and two bows. Well that’s a yikes, we’re just gonna avoid that one then… ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → See I knew there was a reason I liked playing with you. I’m flattered! ← WildCyt0m3try I’d send you a swooning emoji if I could ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine → Don’t. It’s a win-win. You’re not annoying or incompetent and it’ll annoy the living hell out of everyone else that I played with you. Watch out, they’ll brand you as a traitor ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → You’re acting like their childish behavior bothers me. It does. You’re literally always annoyed with them lol ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → Shut up Never ← WildCyt0m3try EdoPorcupine5661 → Bye Byeee~ ← WildCytometry5661

You smiled as the tiny green ball by Edo’s name went dim, and the chat room suggested he may be offline. Despite the fact that you were still working through this partner event. Oh well, you wouldn’t bother him. That had been fun and engaging. The mission now successfully clear, you split the earnings and rewards and logged off. Sitting on your couch, you couldn’t help but hope he asked you to play again sometime. Until then, though, you really needed to find another team, hopefully with far less serious participants than your previous ones.

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Health and Sports Team Building- Prologue

Here it is, the fruits of my labor and my passion project I hinted at in my update post the other day. I’ve been always meaning to write an event around my Housamo OCs (btw I have fan OCs for this game) and after some planning and delving more into how they’d fit into the world that is Housamo I decided to write this kind of event. Yoyogi has my favorite cast of characters as you may know, and I feel they’re the perfect cast for events like this since they tend to shine well when it comes to friendship and such. I hope you guys will bear with me and this project of mine for about 5 parts or so.

~~~

“Have you peeked through a window before? It could be for any number of reasons- because something caught your eye, maybe you were looking for something specific or maybe just on a whim. What did you feel? … I see. While it depends on what you look at, I often find myself curious. I can’t really say I know why. But I just want to see what’s going on… what it’s like on that side of the window. Maybe I’m just nosy. Or maybe… uh, it’s nothing…”

~~~

It was quite the busy week at Yoyogi Academy now with summer closing it’s doors and autumn in full swing. Plenty of the student and faculty were quite excited for a certain day that was coming up and quite a longstanding tradition at the school. This day was really one of the handful of days Yoyogi students excelled at- the national Health and Sports day, so naturally the school was alight with excitement and everyone buzzing around to get their preparations in order. There was one student in particular who had been eagerly awaiting for a chance like this…

He had finished packing all his repaired work orders into his ever reliable duffel bag and put away all his supplies back into their proper closets and shelves. It was definitely a hefty workload to manage as of late, but somehow Tatsuya managed to clear it all before club practice ended for the day. You see, Tatsuya is a member of the Yoyogi Kendo Club. However it’s a club consisting of only two people, one of whom already had arrangements with Tennis club, so as of late he found little reason to attend practice. Even less with the fact they don’t attend competitions as nearly as often as they should given their low head count. His peers live and breathe off these competitive natures which he understood and totally supported, but he didn’t have that edge with Kendo. He had begun to question why he didn’t have any attachment to the sport recently which led him to smaller revelations…

As he was locking up the room a familiar voice called for him. “Tatsuya!” He turned to find Yui, his club mate, peer, and close friend, coming to him from down the hall rather excitedly. “Oh, you’re all done for the day?” Tatsuya nodded in response. “Perfect~. That means you can come out with us. Since we finished practice early, the seniors and a few of our classmates invited me out for some food, wanna tag along? You can be my plus one~.” She made sure to add extra emphasis on that last bit as though it was supposed to be incredibly enticing.

“I’ve got these orders to deliver.” Tatsuya answered with his usual calm manner.

“Well, duh. We’d go after you’d do all of that. We could even lend you a hand. If not, then I don’t think they’d mind the wait.”

“Nah, it’s alright. I wouldn’t wanna make them wait on me. You enjoy yourself though.”

“Oh…” Yui was disappointed in his response, but she did her best to not let it show beyond her initial reaction. “A-Alright then. Just um… text me when you’re done. I’ll bring you something on the way back, yeah?” Tatsuya gave her another nod and watched her off. There wasn’t any super serious reason or thought process why he turned her down. As of late they hadn’t been hanging out as frequently, in no small part to Tatsuya’s workload ever since classes started back up. Not only that, their peers have really started taking a liking to Yui and he wouldn’t want to drag her down or embarrass her. After all, he was the dorky kid brother in her eyes.

Tatsuya went about his deliveries practically routine at this point. Often giving the uniforms to the team captains or instructors around campus, and delivering individual orders personally. While his work couldn’t hope to compare to Ms. Arachne’s, he still helped students maintain their clothes for as long as possible. While he rather enjoyed spending hours working on these sort of things, the one part Tatsuya absolutely dreaded was the delivery part of the day. Not necessarily because he had to run around campus and praying his clientele hadn’t run off for the day, though still being a minor annoyance, he more dreaded what would happen if he did find them.

Wow, thanks! Another great job done by the Den mother!

You really are like a Den mother you know? It suits you!

I can see why the upperclassmen call you Den mother, thanks!

“Den Mother…” Tatsuya found himself murmuring it with a displeased tone. It seemed that stigma was starting to bleed into the underclassmen as well. He didn’t mind helping his peers or the heavy workload, but did they really have to call him that? What a frail title that was. How gentle and unintimidating that name was. He could’ve had a cool nickname like a superhero or something more run of the mill for his talents. But no, his peers had to start calling him Den Mother…

On his way around campus he noticed one of the underclassmen coming back onto campus seemingly out of breath. He recognized them as Kyuma Nakatsugi, a baseball player from the first year class. Out of concern Tatsuya rushed over to the first year rather quickly. “Ah, Noboru! D-Don’t scare me like that!”

“What are you doing, Nakatsugi? I thought baseball practice wasn’t on today.” Tatsuya asked, still keeping his usual demeanor.

“W-Well, I...” Kyuma struggled with coming up with an answer for his upperclassmen. In part due to how tired he was and not being the best liar when on the spot.

Tatsuya noticed him struggling and decided to cut to the point. “Never mind all that, you’re exhausted. Here, let me help you to the infirmary.”

“N-No, it’s fine really.” Kyuma panted out. “I just forgot my water and… didn’t realize the jog without it would be this intense.” Typical attitude of a first year. Totally ignoring the necessities when starting out new regiments. Taking pity on the first year, Tatsuya reached for his own water bottle and silently handed it to him. Kyuma’s eyes lit right up. “Oh wow, thanks!” He said before gulping it desperately. When Kyuma had sufficiently quenched his thirst he let out a big sigh and panted one final time. “Thank you, Noboru! You’re really kind. I’m starting to get why Gunzo refers to you as Den Mother.” There it was.

“No need to thank me. Just don’t forget your essentials when you go to train or whatever.” Tatsuya sighed. “You can keep the water bottle, I have a spare.” With that Tatsuya went on his way briskly. While it was subtle, Kyuma couldn’t help but notice a twinge of something in Tatsuya’s expression. Maybe it was because Tatsuya forced out a smile… Anyways, now that he had water, he didn’t want to keep David waiting…!

Tatsuya was able to shake off most of the frustration from the day. He had to stop by the infirmary today anyway, not because of a delivery, but a… requirement of sorts for the upcoming Health and Sports day. He entered the Nurse’s Office making sure no one really saw him enter on his lonesome. The school’s medical doctor, Mineaki Arima. He was rather busy as his desk with numerous papers flitted about. “Instructor Arima?” Tatsuya said as he wandered inside.

“Ah, Noboru. All done for the day I’m assuming?” Tatsuya nodded. “Good, good. Please have a seat.” Mineaki gestured to the chair right in front of his desk. As Tatsuya did so, Mineaki fished out for a particular file he had kept away in his desk. “This is the list of all your approved activities…” Judging by Mineaki’s tone it wasn’t something to be happy about.

Sure enough, the list was a lot smaller than what he was anticipating. “Seriously…? Only that much?” His heart sank at the list. Just a mere handful of activities.

“I’m sorry, but those are all the activities I was able to approve you for. Your health comes first, after all.” Mineaki explained. “Even then, I wouldn’t recommend you partake in all of them just because I’m worried about the strain you might put yourself under.” As he tried to soften the blow with concern, Tatsuya had fallen silent, eyes unable to tear away from the list. “Are you alright?”

“…Thank you for getting me this much.” Tatsuya said rather softly.

Mineaki took a moment to think before he spoke again. “To drop formalities for a second Tatsuya, I do understand where you’re coming from, but as your doctor I can’t put a risk to your health. Please just try to enjoy yourself during the day.”

Tatsuya paused for a moment trying to process what was being said. “I guess you’ve got a point. I’ll do my best.” While it may not have been the best chance in the world, it was still a chance.

~~~

“Have we… met before?”

[daysswithyou]

Fallen Chapter 8: Mission accomplished

previous / next

Characters: DAY6 Young K x OC (Rachel)

Genre: angst, fake dating, high school romance, fluff, romance

Warnings: Mentions of blood

-----

You barely have time to process anything before you were sucked right into the monster’s belly. The crowd had pushed you along into the gymnasium, Esther’s grip on your hand almost lost as the crowd swelled. After extricating yourself from the crowd to reach your seating area, there was the additional challenge of getting to the seat itself. The gap between the seats were narrow and you stepped on a few toes in the process, considering yourself victorious when you were finally able to plop down in your seat with a huff. You’ve never been to a match before, so you took your time to observe your surroundings. The seats right above you were steadily filled with the entire crowd bathed in red. Some simply wore red to show their support, whereas dedicated fans of the school’s basketball team were decked in the jersey of their favourite player – and unsurprisingly, you saw a few with the huge words “B.KANG” stencilled on them.

Of course… their star player. Everyone loves him.

The reminder of his immense popularity made you queasy, your throat suddenly turning parch dry. You were involuntarily here today to see him get slammed around on court and watch helplessly as injuries get inflicted upon him. You clearly didn’t have the stomach for this – you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. You scanned around for an escape route but unfortunately, you were trapped in by people from all corners and besides, hearing Jimin’s voice booming through the speakers meant that the game was about to begin. You had no choice but to resign to your fate and you sunk further into your seat, crossing your fingers for good measure as you prayed for his safety.

Please let him be ok today… no more bad injuries…

“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, to the 31st National A division inter-school basketball tournament!”

The previously silent crowd now erupted into a cacophony of cheers around you, your school supporters using all sorts of props they had available to rise their volume above the opposing school. Not wanting to seem out of place, you let out a little hoot from your seat, your sound immediately fading out as you worried for the imminent future. After the screaming died out on its own, Jimin carried on with her introductory speech of both teams, building anticipation for the upcoming match.

“Known as the black horses of this season, they are the team that has risen through the ranks steadily, beating out their opponents initially with close scores. Yet, they surprised us once again, and secured an impressive 10-0 win over their semi-final opponents last week, setting a personal best for their school. Without further ado, let’s welcome Chung An High School!”

This time round, the crowd on the other end of the gym erupted into wild cheers as their basketball team made their way on court, all decked out in suave black jerseys. It was obvious that they had superior height over your school players, which would definitely tilt the game in their favour, even if it’s for a little bit. The thought of one of them tackling Brian Kang had you digging your nails into your palms, the feeling of fear intensifying and crawling under your skin. Jimin carried on with her speech, not giving you much time to be distracted by your emotions.

“With an impressive track record each year, the next team is one that never disappoints. Just like the years before, they knocked out their opponents during the preliminary rounds and secured a spot in the finals after star player Brian Kang secured the final goal for them, winning last week’s semi-final game with a score of 12-11. Let’s now welcome the defending champions of the A division inter-school games – Seoul National High School!”

From your front row seats, you got a good view of captain Sungjin leading the team in, and for a split moment, pride swelled within you when you saw the red jerseys the team so proudly wore, and felt the energy radiating off from the crowd behind you. The infectious energy reached the team, and you could see some of them smiling at the sight of the immense support they had from their student body. The only exception to the joyous mood was Brian Kang, whom you easily spot right in front of you, courtesy of your front row seat. Gone was the playful glint in his eyes that was ever present – his eyes were hard as glass now, the steely gaze filled with determination conveying one unmistakable message: the conviction to win. He sized up his opponents one by one, his dangerous stare sending shivers down your spine even from the long distance away.

He could become a killing machine today – or be killed.

Both teams met at the centre of the court, shaking hands with one another. With the distance closed now, it gave you a clearer view of Brian, and the faint purple tint still around his shoulder.

The buzzer lights up with the timing, and both teams position themselves accordingly around the court. Being the tallest, centre Jae is sent right into the middle of the court for the tip-off with the opposing team, the two forwards Brian and Sungjin right beside Jae, ready to intercept the ball when it comes flying. Wonpil and Dowoon take their positions as shooting guard and point guard respectively, their eyes trained on the ball as well. Like Brian, gone was Wonpil’s usual smile; his lips were now set in a thin line, his body ready to react to any changes on court. The drastic change in Wonpil shocked you more than Brian; it is very clear that things were getting serious now. Instinctively, you sat up straighter in your seat, breathing shallowly in anticipation for the next move.

The moment the empire tosses the ball up in the air, everything become a blur of activity. Jae successfully catches hold of the ball, making use of the reaction time of the opposing team to swivel on his left foot to face Brian before tossing him the ball. Ball in hand, Brian dribbles as he makes a beeline for the hoop on the other hand, Wonpil and Sungjin following him closely on both sides to make sure that no one gets the chance to intercept the ball. When Dowoon is finally in sight, he tosses the ball forward to him, before getting behind Dowoon to defend him. The opposing team is still far behind the pair and Dowoon takes the chance to shoot an uninterrupted three pointer from the arc line, earning the first goal of today’s game. On cue, the buzzer lights up 3 – 0 in favour of your school, and wild cheers erupted behind you, the boys breaking out into a smile for the first time of the day. They’re off to a good start, and no injuries so far. You were silently hoping that it would stay that way, but that was wishful thinking. The opposing team gathered in the corner to discuss their game play, eyes darting to Brian every now and then. He was right in front of you now, taking a swig right out of the open bottle in your hand.

“How’s your first game so far? That was cool, wasn’t it?”

“It was but…”

You trailed off, the uneasy knot in the pit of your stomach only intensifying at the current happenings. Head tilted up to drink from the bottle, he lowered his eyes to focus on you, raising his eyebrows to signal you to continue.

“Just be careful. You’re still nursing an injury.”

“I’ll…try.”

Handing the bottle back to you with a smile, he jogs on court again, positioning himself behind Jae again to intercept the ball when it comes. Jae gets hold of the ball again after the tip off but this time round, the other team is already prepared. One zooms in front of Brian the moment the game started, effectively blocking him off from the rest of the team. Sungjin’s open, so the ball heads in his direction. Brian snarls at the lost opportunity, but wastes no time in chasing after Sungjin, making himself available if needed. This time round, the Chung An team catches on quickly as well, blocking Brian’s every move. Sungjin is now surrounded by the other team, with no team members open for him to toss the ball towards. Acting fast, Brian ducks underneath his opponent to reach Sungjin, but no one saw him coming.

From Brian’s left, a black figure came charging out to grab the ball, his full force slamming into Brian. The impact sends Brian skidding across the court, his shoulder and ribcage taking most of the impact as he falls sideways. You swore you heard an audible crack when his shoulder slams against the hard floor, and judging from the way that he’s cradling his shoulder from his spot on the floor, you knew you were right. The empire gets ready to call for a timeout, but Brian rises from the floor before he can make a move, rotating his shoulders lightly to get the blood flowing. Sungjin frowns at the sight, knowing that Brian’s injury is much worse than he lets it appear to be. Yet he can’t pay Brian much attention because the game has started again, and they need to defend their title.

You keep your eyes on Brian the whole time, noticing the scrunch on his face when he breathes a little too heavily, and how he doesn’t swing the injured shoulder as much when he runs. The time is ticking, and the game gradually reached the halfway mark, but neither team are making progress. Chung An hasn’t scored a single goal from the beginning, and Seoul National only has a 3 point lead from Dowoon’s initial score at the very beginning. The margin wasn’t enough to guarantee them their win, and the team was getting antsy. Half the game has passed, and each team only has half the time left to secure their victory. The atmosphere in the entire gym is tense, and everyone is following every move happening on court with their sharp, hawk-like gaze.

Once again, Brian has the ball after Wonpil successfully escapes from each opponent by keeping low, tossing a low ball that Brian catches with ease. Charging across the court, Brian successfully breaks through each human barrier to finally reach the hoop, jumping high to dunk –

Only to have the ball snatched from him in mid-air.

Using his superior height, Brian’s opponent snuck up from behind, slapping the ball away to prevent it from reaching the goal. The sudden attack made Brian lose his balance, and he landed wrongly. By now, the ball was on the other end of the court, and the attention has already shifted away from Brian. So, you were the only one that saw, and consequently the only one hurting for him.

When he landed, his ankle stuck out in such an awkward manner before rebounding back, and there wasn’t a shadow of doubt in your mind that he has just sprained his ankle. But being Brian Kang that doesn’t know how to give up, he merely limped for a short while before running full force to give Jae some backup. But he was too late, and Chung An scored their first three pointer, equalising the game. They had 10 minutes left on a buzzer – either one side scored within the next 10 minutes to win, or both teams head into overtime.

You saw Brian curse under his breath before running up to take a position beside Jae, whom now had the ball. The ball flew around the court for the next few minutes, both sides trying unsuccessfully to land the winning goal. The game is now down to its last 3 minutes, and somehow the ball is in Brian’s hands again. Something had a lit up a fire within him and there was no stopping this raging fire now. Charging forward once again, Brian got so close to the goal…only to be hit in the face by something, and have the empire blowing the whistle to signal a foul, giving Seoul National a free penalty throw.

Sungjin was right by his side, holding onto his face as he turned it from side to side to inspect the damage. Brian was still slightly dazed by the contact, unable to form a coherent sentence all of a sudden.

“Sungjin- Hyung- what- what- what just happened?”

“I think, you just got punched in a face by an opponent.”

Brushing his thumb lightly against Brian’s cheekbones, Sungjin earned a hiss from the younger male, and a rough swat of his hand away from his face. Darting out his tongue to moist his lips, Brian can taste the coppery blood seeping from the split in his lip.

This, he can still handle, but why does the side of his face feel warm and –

“Shit Brian, you’re bleeding.”

“Yea I know, but hyung it’s just the lip, it’s – ”

“No, it’s not fine you idiot. I meant your split brow, not your lips.”

That was when Brian felt the first droplet land on his eyelid, the sticky liquid threatening to glue his eye shut.

“Ok let’s get you off court. You need stitches for that.”

“No hyung, let me make the penalty shot.”

“This isn’t up for discussion Kang. You’re – ”

“Please, they got that goal just now because of me. I lost the ball, let me make up for it.”

Sungjin doesn’t want to let Brian on court again in his battered state, but he knew Brian would never forgive himself if he wasn’t the one making the penalty shot. Brian Kang has to be the one to secure their victory. When Sungjin’s grip on his shoulder loosens, Brian knows he’s won the argument. He stands as Wonpil passes him the ball before assuming his position just behind the free throw line.

Just this goal… this is all we need…

Raising his arms above his head, Brian makes sure he gets a firm grip on the ball before aiming it at the hoop. All eyes follow the ball’s trajectory as it sails through the air… before landing cleanly through the hoop. The score panel switches to 4 – 3 in your school’s favour as the buzzer buzzes, signalling the end of the game.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the champions for the 31st National A Division inter-school basketball tournament – Seoul National High School!”

On cue, everyone behind you stands up in their seats to give the school team a standing ovation, and from your spot in the crowd, you watch as the boys bow and wave at the crowd to thank them for their support. But after a few short bows, Sungjin is right by Brian’s side to help him off court, deeming him more deserving of his attention than the audience. Looking upon the sight, you dashed across the court to help Sungjin support Brian, slipping under his body to gingerly lift his arm onto your shoulder, not minding the sweat that was now staining your outfit. Brian pauses in his step, snapping his head to look at you through his good eye; the other was now completely glued shut by the blood. He was stunned by your kindness; he didn’t expect you to care this much for him. This pause gave the cameras enough time to catch up with the star player that they all wanted to interview, the coaches and Sungjin moving them aside so that they can have Brian inside to get treated. The live stream now cuts to you and Brian, capturing the little moment that the two of you have. Your faces were now on the big screen for everyone to see, and you’re aware that this was the perfect timing to put your deal with him into action.

Leaning forward, you press your lips lightly against Brian’s, giving him a peck and being cautious to avoid the area where the split was. Your sweet act earned a few cheers from the crowd and the boys but not everyone was pleased. Two people, in particular, seem to be fuming mad. Turning towards the back, you catch Jaebum and Ayeon’s eye, having marked out their positions since the start of the game. They were the only two that weren’t smiling, and once the cameras were out of sight, you smirked. It gave you immense satisfaction to know that you were the one behind their misery; they must certainly be feeling outraged at the fact that you managed to upstage them.

Mission accomplished.

[seoulscenarios]

College AU! Jacob Bae

-Major: history of art

-Minor: none

-Sports: star basketball player, also occasionally plays for the volleyball team when he can

-Clubs: not an active member in any club but breezes his way through many, he went to reading club for a time bc they were discussing Murakami, went to painting club bc Kevin wanted someone to go with him so he ended up going, but he’s part of an acoustic band with Kevin and Sangyeon and they perform late night sets in coffee shops and bars around the university area

-Many people often wonder why Jacob studies history of art when he could have easily entered college on a sports scholarship but quite simply, Jacob didn’t want to have to rely on doing well academically to make sure his college tuition was being funded and would much rather prefer to do it on his own

-Basketball was one of his favourite pastimes, loving nothing more than being on the court and feeling the adrenaline rush through him

-But art invoked a passion within him

-It reminded him of going on class trips to the museum and being absolutely floored by the Botticelli paintings and Ming pottery that decorated the rooms, it reminded him of going to New York and Paris with his parents so he could see the famous modern art scene of New York and the classic sculptures and the Louvre

-Simply put, art was life to Jacob

-He loved nothing more than visiting museums and galleries, feeling absolutely inspired and awed by the way the artist could evoke so much emotion in one painting or sculpture or drawing

-Except…. Jacob couldn’t really do art himself so that’s why he opted for history of art

-(it also meant he could annoy Kevin, a fine art major, with “boring” facts about Kevin’s favourite artists or time periods for art)

-He was beyond thrilled when he got a placement to work part time in a local art gallery that supported the new and upcoming artists in the area, giving guided talks or sometimes even presentations on new pieces that came in

-He’s just an enthusiastic boy when it comes to showing off art

-Jacob seems quite quiet in class though, always towards the back of the room taking notes diligently as most of his fellow classmates fell asleep in their laptops or were blinking rapidly to stop themselves from falling asleep

-He never really answered the questions the professors asked, much preferring if someone else answered them or just prayed that they never picked on him

-Only speak when spoken to was Jacob’s mantra in lectures

-Seminars and tutorials were where Jacob thrived, shyly giving out his opinion on northern European portraiture or discussing the Quattrocento period with his tutor after the rest of his peers had left

-Jacob could often be seen with a nice thick tome on Hellenistic art, glasses threatening to slip down his nose as he devoured the knowledge that lay on the pages, thick jumper with the sleeves rolled up and a coffee that was slowly losing its’ heat as Jacob was too busy learning about Lysippus, Apelles and Pyrgoteles and highlighting his favourite passages

-He was just the epitome of nerdy art history student and so many people in the art department were shocked to learn that he was the same Jacob Bae that led the college’s basketball to national victory amongst all the colleges in the country

-They just couldn’t fathom that their precious, quiet art history student was the same one who was arguably the best point guard player in the college leagues

-It was just a crazy concept to them

-So when a few of Jacob’s classmates decided to go to one of his basketball games to see whether he was lying or not, they were in actual shock as he flew around the court, stealing the ball so quickly that if you blinked you probably missed it and even occasionally scoring hoops if he could get a clear skill

-Most notably though, he could assess the opposition and quickly figure out their strengths and weaknesses, leading his team to victory as he navigated the game

-His classmates found him afterwards and asked just how he could be so different and he just shyly explained that he uses his analysis skills he gained from studying art pieces and just applied it to observing real life situations

-Who said that art history didn’t have real world applications??

-They couldn’t deny that though

-Jacob is EXTREMELY attentive and observational

-He can almost instantly know how one of his friends is feeling through even a text, a small frown decorating his features as he receives a “:)” from Sunwoo after he knows the younger has just submitted an assignment and he’s almost instantly by Sunwoo’s side, wrapping the boy in a hug whispering sweet nothings into his ears or just rubbing soothing circles on his back

-He never pushes his friends to tell him what’s up, knowing that they most certainly don’t want to open up fresh wounds so he just sits them down with a cup of tea and sits with them until they want to talk to him

-Jacob really is an angel, just his presence can calm and soothe his friends whatever mood they’re in

-They’re always so grateful for him, showering him in praise and Jacob just blushes and protests this because he thinks it’s just normal

-They’re also his biggest supporters at his basketball matches, all with boards with his name on (created by his roommate, Kevin) and creating chants that they all screamed from the bleachers, fully embarrassing him as he leads his team to yet another victory

-When they all run down after the team wins and crush him into a big hug, he can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of love as he’s surrounded by his best friends

-So just how do you meet basketball star and art history student Jacob Bae?

-Funnily enough, you’re kinda friends/acquaintances with him

-You see you’re actually a fine art major and just happen to be best friends with Kevin

-Too many times you’ve been dragged by the wrist by Kevin, letting yourself be taken by the enigmatic boy as he blabbered on about some art exhibition or something

-Occasionally Jacob is also dragged along with you, always shooting you a soft smile as you both endure Kevin’s outlandish behaviour as he wonders whether it would be illegal to cartwheel in front of the Mona Lisa

-You’ve never really spoken to Jacob though, just exchanging a few shy greetings or just shaking of the heads as you try and stop Kevin from running his mouth too much

-The thing is, you actually have a gigantic crush on him and Kevin was the one to figure it out

-The first time you saw Jacob was when Kevin had dragged you to the first basketball game of the season in your first year of college, saying that his best friend is on the team and that you should come along

-Sports were never your thing growing up, being your very typical art student who had no coordination and too many memories of footballs and basketballs being thrown in your direction and ultimately hitting you, but you could never refuse Kevin anything and especially not when he was already leading you to the bleachers and before you knew it you were surrounded by his rowdy friends with boards with a name decorated all over them

-Jacob?? This must be Kevin’s best friend, you thought as you took a seat next to a pink haired boy who seemed to be a bit confused as to why he was there

-(in the break of the game, you learned this was Chanhee and he really didn’t get sports but he was friends with Jacob so he went even though he could’ve been studying some advance algebra for an upcoming mathlete competition)

-However, as much as you were trying to focus on the game, your eyes kept being drawn to a silver haired boy that darted around the court, your jaw dropped slightly as he stole the ball off an opposing player and nimbly passing it to his teammate who then scored

-You literally couldn’t take your eyes off him, the way he moved so effortlessly and pushed his hair back and the brilliant smile that came every time his team scored

-All in all, you were just a bit more than taken with the boy

-Unbeknownst to you, Kevin had noticed the way you were so enraptured with a certain silver haired player and a wicked plan formed in his head

-After the game, Kevin dragged you to meet his best friend and pulled you towards the silver haired player

-Except he tugged you a little too hard, a little too fast and you tripped over your own feet, right in front of your newest crush

-Wincing, you heard a soft gasp and a hand wrapped around yours and tugged you upwards and you were suddenly face to face with the silver haired boy

-“Are you okay? You fell pretty hard, no thanks to Kevin” he asked you, concern evident in his eyes

-“Y-you know Kevin?” you asked, not even bothering to answer his question even though your knees were throbbing slightly

-“Unfortunately, he’s my best mate and roommate,” he laughed out, “but are you okay though?”

-Falling (literally) for your best friend’s other best friend and roommate was never in your agenda but here you were, deep into your second year of college and still not having made a move on him much to Kevin and the rest of your friends disappointment

-You just… didn’t know how to approach Jacob and explain that you have this massive crush on him and you want to go on lots of romantic dates to the movies and art galleries and you want to kiss him under the stars or after he wins another basketball game and that every time he smiles you get butterflies in your stomach and his laugh is like music to your ears and the fact that he can sing and play guitar as well means he’s pretty much perfect boyfriend material

-Kevin just rolls his eyes every time you wax lyrical about every single little thing you could point out about Jacob, snorting a little when you say he’s literally a perfect gentleman when he sees Jacob threaten Eric after he steals Jacob’s prized cereal and then consequently hitting the youngest three members of the group as the other two proceed to steal ALL of Jacob’s cereal

-Kevin’s been trying to get the two of you together for the past year and is so close to bashing your heads together and confessing for the both of you bc lo and behold, he knows that Jacob has a giant crush on you

-Though much more guarded about it, Kevin’s come to recognise the soft smile that graces his best friend’s face after you say goodbye to him and lingers for a while afterwards or the way his head perks up when Kevin is telling a story about what happened in his art class today and Jacob hadn’t truly been paying attention until Kevin says your name

-So, after a year of pining and the final match of the season coming up soon, Kevin decides enough is enough and calls an intervention

-Jacob isn’t entirely sure who the intervention is for, despite his amazing observation skills, until Changmin literally blurts out that everyone in this room knows he has an embarrassingly big, but cute, crush on you and he has to confess because everyone is sick of seeing the two of you dance around each other and you’re not even taking dance!

-Jacob just blinks and is like

-“How does everyone know?”

-And Kevin just rolls his eyes before darting his hand up in the air and proudly announcing that he did and he knows that you have a huge crush on Jacob and begins to rattle off an entire confession plan but quite honestly Jacob’s brain short wired after Kevin said that he knew you liked him

-“Hyung…. Are you even listening?”

-“T-they like me??”

-Everyone just groans and is like Y E S now game plan point break !

-Basically, as much as you’d think that 12 boys crammed together in a tiny dorm room would be able to think of a decent confession plan (especially with Younghoon being a film major and likes writing stories) they most definitely think of the most cliché confession

-It was simple: confess and kiss you right after he wins the game next Saturday

-Jacob… doesn’t really like this plan but decides to go along with it bc quite frankly, he doesn’t have any other way to confess considering it’s taken him this long to even think he had a chance

-He quietly confesses to Kevin that night that maybe a public confession won’t be good for either of them, knowing that the two of your are quite shy and Jacob thinks it would be extremely overwhelming if he confesses to you with the whole school watching

-Kevin, sensing Jacob’s distress for this kind of confession, just suggests that maybe he should write you a song because you love sappy romantic gestures and you love him even more when he sings and well, that inspires something in Jacob who instantly sits up and reaches for his guitar

-In the end, it only takes Jacob a few hours to write the song and a whole week of nerves to be able to gather the courage to sing it to you and pestering Kevin to bring his guitar to the game so he can confess afterwards

-So, game day

-You’re nervously sat watching the game, eyes never leaving Jacob as you notice he makes a few uncharacteristic mistakes and you can see he’s getting frustrated with himself

-During half-time, you decide to go down to him to offer some words of encouragement and he looks surprised to see you standing over him (the rest of the boyz can’t believe how forward you are but right now, you’re too concerned for Jacob than you are for their eyebrow wiggles and hooting)

-“J-jacob?? I-i just wanted to let you know that you, uh, pray, I mean play, brilliantly and uh, it’s not much, b-but I can see that you’re getting kinda frustrated with yourself and I just w-wanted to say that you’re doing great and, ah, you’re doing me, I mean the school, proud and y-yeah that’s all” you stuttered out, hands wringing together nervously and a blush spreading across your face as you tried to make eye contact with Jacob

-Who just smiles and lets out a sigh of relief

-“Thank you”

-“It’s nothing r-really haha”

-If you’re not busy after the game, meet me afterwards?”

-You just kinda nod and smile at him, trying to figure out the words to say when the referee calls for the next half to start and Jacob stands up, pulling you in for a quick hug before running onto the court

-Well, you just malfunction and are pretty much frozen for the rest of the game, not knowing how you got back up to the boys and endured Eric and Hyunjoon’s teasing

-But you’re entranced as you watch Jacob fly around the court with a fire burning you’d never really seen in him before and naturally so, he passes the last ball of the game to his teammate who shoots it perfectly, resulting in the winning of the championship going to Jacob’s team and you can’t help but cheer along, hugging Eric in celebration

-You just sit in the bleachers as the rest of the crowd disperses out and you’re waiting for Jacob who’s packing his gym bag

-Once he’s finished, he smiles up at you and waves you down to sit with him on the bottom row of seats

-You don’t notice it at first but when you sit down, you realise Jacob has a guitar in his hands and suddenly he stood up, playing and singing at you

-It’s not a song you recognise, leading to you believe that he wrote it and as you listen closely they resemble a confession song

-Which…. Confuses you because why is Jacob singing this to you ?? you’re pretty much clueless

-And it’s not until he finishes the song and he pulls you up by the hand and says “I really like you, I think you like me, may I kiss you?” that you realise that yes, Jacob really is saying this to you and you lean towards him and press a soft kiss on his lips, more smile than anything else

-DATING JACOB:

-Well, it’s not going to stay a secret for long especially since Kevin runs back onto the court and SCREECHES that you two are finally together and the rest of the boyz come running in to congratulate you, Sangyeon just looking on tiredly before sincerely congratulating the two of you and that he hopes you’re happy together whilst Jaehyun and Juyeon are cartwheeling round the court yelling “JACOB AND Y/N SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-N-G” before Sangyeon drags them out by the ear

-So yeah, everyone finds out in the next few hours but you’re not mad

-I mean, you did score one of the most sought out after guys on campus and even better, you’re the one who gets to kiss him after each game

-But most importantly, you can go on all those romantic dates you had dreams about over the past year

-The amount of art galleries and museum dates the two of you go on is crazy but to you they’re perfect

-One, you get to spend more time with your handsome boyfriend and two, you get to study and be surrounded by one of the things that you and Jacob both love

-You can bet your favourite acrylic paint that you and Jacob share so many things about art together

-Jacob LOVES and I mean, LOVES, to teach you about different art periods and their influence on modern art today whilst you help him paint or draw and laugh at his attempts at recreating his favourite sculpture

-Oh, and you both definitely go on art dates where you get to paint together or do a pottery class together, laughing as Jacob somehow manages to get clay EVERYWHERE whilst you’re calmly sat moulding the pot together

-Jacob just pouts as he breaks his fourth pot and you let him decorate yours before making him one that he can brag to the boyz that he made

-(They don’t believe him bc you sent them all snapchats of Jacob being covered in clay after he kept messing up)

-But you love spending time like this together, it feels so authentic and romantic to the both of you

-Especially when you have more than just photos to remember those dates together but actual, physical things that you can hang up on your walls or put on your desk and reminisce at night

-More often than not, you found yourself in Kevin and Jacob’s dorm, head resting on Jacob’s chest as he’s doing some reading for his Ming pottery class and reading the book out loud to you as you loved nothing more than just hearing his voice

-Which Kevin found disgustingly romantic and not at all to his taste so he left the dorm to go bother Jaehyun or Chanhee

-You just giggle as he huffs and loudly complains about love whilst Jacob just rolls his eyes at his best friends antics, secretly glad that it worked bc he really wanted some alone time with you

-After he leaves Jacob places the book on his bedside table and you’re confused until Jacob rolls you over so you’re underneath and you’re like… o h so this is what you wanted??

-And Jacob just shyly smiles before pressing a kiss to the underside of your jaw and you sigh happily

-And when Kevin returns later that night and you’re still there and he can see the hickies blooming on both of your necks he just shrieks and Jacob nearly throws his book at him bc he just woke you up out of your nap

-Study dates are a big thing with you two, more often than not you’re in a café or the library with a stack of books whilst Jacob is typing an essay out and you’re peacefully sketching or planning an art piece or even doing an analysis of a painting

-Just imagine Jacob with his curly hair all messed up because he’s been running his fingers through it, a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a fluffy sweater on typing away as you watch on with his hoodie on and charcoal smudges on your nose after you rubbed it

-It’s just a very wholesome relationship, shy smiles and sweet notes being left in textbooks or sketchbooks, the smell of coffee and flowers and paint all mingling together as you walk hand in hand and you finally get to kiss him under the stars as you take a walk along the river one night

-You still can’t quite believe you’re dating the star basketball player but nothing assures you more when his hand is splayed across your back and he’s pulling you closer for a kiss, laughing when he spins you around under the stars and you think that life maybe can’t get better than this

-Jacob to you, is perfection and you fall in love with him just a little bit more everyday

ahh here’s our first fic for the boyz, i hope we did them justice and please look forward to the rest of the college aus and our other works for the boyz! 

(i’ll be using their real names for these college aus so hyunjae-jaehyun, hwall-hyunjoon, new-chanhee etc.)

love, admin leigh

[celtics534]

Natural Chapter 15

Ready for some excitement? May I present chapter 15 of Natural. 

Also read on: FF.net or AO3

Harry looped around the pitch for the sixth time, praying to spot any glint of gold. He wanted this damn practice to be over so he could get home to his wife. It was their second wedding anniversary, damn it! His plan for the day had not included anything other than his bed and his wife -- well, and maybe a nice dinner out -- but then it was supposed to be right back to just bed and wife.

Instead, Harry’s coach (in his infinite wisdom) had called an emergency practice to prepare for the Kenmare Kestrels, who had been undefeated in their last five games. It shouldn’t have been so bad. Cara had called the meeting for ten in the morning, which made Harry think he would get home with plenty of time to at least do dinner, dessert, and then dessert. But no! Cara had been working them from ten to ten. They had turned on the stadium lights just to be able to see.

Harry had called Ginny on the last fifteen-minute break to tell her to eat without him. That had been four hours ago.

Gold! Harry spotted gold by Bastille’s left ankle. He sped towards his teammate, eyes never wavering from the little ball. Bastille looked over at Harry barreling towards him, his eyes becoming the size of saucers. Moving quickly, Bastille flew straight up, allowing Harry to make the catch without any obstacles. His fingers closed around the snitch, his stomach dancing in triumph.

Harry heard the whistle and descended to the grass with nothing less than pure joy filling his veins.

“Potter, that was a tricky snitch.” Cara stood in the middle of the pitch, waiting for Harry to get closer. Once Harry landed, Cara wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “It stayed near players. I’d never seen one do that before. It’s like it was heat seeking, targeting body warmth. But now we know for next week's match, right? Look at players more.”

Harry wanted to scream. Honestly, he was too tired and hungry to care about next week's match. All he wanted was to go home.

Wood came over to their little powwow, still hovering a few feet from the ground. “That was a rough one, Harry.”

Having accepted his fate, Harry nodded and sighed. “Yeah, I didn't think it would spend the entire game by you lot. Typically they don’t stick to players.”

“You’re right.” Oliver rubbed his chin. “That was rather odd.”

“Yeah.” Harry gave the men a moment to think about snitches and their ability to seek out bitches before turning to Cara. “Sir, do you plan on having a practice tomorrow?” Harry prayed the answer was no. When he had made that earlier floo call to Ginny he had placated her with the idea of them going to do karaoke in the next few days. His wife was still a huge fan of the muggle activity.  

“Eh?” Cara shook his head. “I’m not a monster, Potter. You guys deserve tomorrow off. But.” He held up a hand before the team could cheer. “Bright and early on Sunday, alright?”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry didn’t even bother to shower. He headed straight home. As he stepped out of his sitting room grate, his eyes instantly fell onto his wife. Even after two years of marriage, she still made his heart race. Ginny was sitting in the little nook in the corner of the room, a book resting on her raised knees.

Ginny turned to the sound of the floo. “Ah, is that my dear husband? I wasn’t sure he’d ever return from the war.”

“I wasn’t sure, either.” Harry set his bag beside the sofa and headed over to kiss her.

When he started to lean in, Ginny scrunched her nose and hopped up to get out of his reach. “Nope! You need a shower before you get anything tonight.”

“I thought you liked it when I make things dirty.”

“There's dirty and then there's dirty, and you, sir, are the wrong kind of filthy right now.” Ginny made a shooing gesture. “Now go.”

Harry grumbled good-naturedly as he walked away from her. It didn’t take him long to strip off his nasty, sweaty clothing and get into the shower stall. The moment the hot spray of the shower contacted with his muscles, Harry groaned in ecstasy. He hadn't realized how tight his body was. As she often reminded those around her, Ginny was always right.

He spent more time than he wanted to admit just standing under the water with his hand resting on the shower wall, his body relaxing, his muscles being massaged by the pounding pressure.

The creak of the shower door opening didn’t even register with Harry, but the cold air on his backside did. “When I said take a shower.” Ginny's arms banded around his middle. “I meant for you to take two seconds to clean off the mud, then meet me in the bedroom. I wanted to show you what the right kind of filthy is, but I guess my presentation will work in here.”

Harry whirled around and took his wife in his arms before spinning back around to press her body into the wall. His lips connected with her neck before exploring south. “They do say it's good to learn new things.”

“Then let me show you a few things, Mr. Potter.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“So.” Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at Harry. “How was the anniversary?”

Harry fought to control his blush. “It was great.”

“I bet it was.”

“Down boy.” Harry couldn’t contain his grin. “We went out to a karaoke bar.”

“Is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

“That's not - Sirius, really?”

His godfather gave him a wolfish smile. “I’m sure she made you sing your lungs out.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Just go hump a pillow and get it out of your system, you old dog.”

Sirius placed his hand over his heart. “Excuse me for wanting my godson to get the most out of his night.”

“There’s more to life than sex.”

“Yeah, food is rather good. And don’t get me started on that new song from Taylor Swift.”

Harry blinked rapidly. “New Taylor Swift song?”

Sirius shrugged. “I’m a Swiftie. I just relate to her, alright.”

“Right.” Harry ran a hand through his hair. “Anyways. Ginny and I had a good night.” His mind replayed the moment they’d walked into their little cottage after their night of drinking and singing. The way Ginny’s hands had pushed him back against the door. Then how she’d unbuttoned his jeans and lowered herself to her knees and -

Harry cleared his throat, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt, but based on the look Sirius was giving him…

“So,” Sirius turned towards the stove, flicking his wand to make the kettle land on the back burner. “How’s training going? You guys still tied for the lead with the Harpies?”

Sighing in relief, Harry took one of the biscuits Sirius summoned over. “Yeah, though the  Kestrels are giving us a run for our money. We’ve got a real challenge on our hands against them on Sunday.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“This season has been wild hasn’t it, Dan?” Mothers asked his friend. “I mean between the Kestrels coming out of nowhere to make it into the final four and the injury to Diana Goldman from the Magpies that basically knocked them for the season. It’s been mad!”

“No doubt, Phil.” Gregory took a sip from his water. “You forgot to mention Potter’s incredible catch against Portree. Merlin! I’d never seen any seeker weave in and out his teammates like that! The agility!”

“And if you mention Harry Potter you’ve got to mention his wife, Ginny Potter, who has led the season in assist and steals. In other words, the Potters are unstoppable. Imagine when those two have kids. The quidditch world will never be the same.”

“And they’ll be cute as buttons to boot, but let's not start baby talks.” Dan laughed. “I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us today. I always look forward to Harpies and Puddlemere games.”

“I heard a rumor that our favorite couple has made a bet on the outcome of the game,” Mothers stage whispered.

“Oh? What are the conditions?”

“I don’t know all of it, but I hear the forfeit has select outfits at a certain award show.”

Dan laughed. “Just another reason to look forward to tonight's game. Which will be starting after a quick word from Madam Malkin’s.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry zipped up his trousers as Ginny straightened her robes. “I love our pre-game ritual.” They were in a small maintenance closet in the Holyhead stadium, which had become their own little getaway.

“Well, we didn’t have time this morning, so I figured…” Harry could feel Ginny’s body shift as her lips moved onto his neck. “Why not make a little time while everyone else was preoccupied?”

“Genius. I knew I married you for a reason.”

“And here I thought it was just for my money.”

“Well.” Harry let his word drawl, causing Ginny to smack him on the arm. He smiled and pressed his lips to hers. “I love you, Gin.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Ginny’s smile pressed against his one final time. “I love you too. Now it’s time for me to destroy you, my dear husband.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry surveyed the pitch looking for any glint of the snitch. The match had been going on for three hours already and the score was still tied. No matter how many times Devlin made it past the Harpies keeper, Ginny came back to match. Two-hundred to two-hundred was not making their coaches happy.

As he flew around the Harpies’ goal post, Harry noticed it. The snitch was flying low, near Coleman (who had replaced Morgan this year). It was across the entire field, so Harry lay low to the broom handle and sped towards the winged ball.

Everything moved in slow motion as Harry hurried across the distance, he watched Coleman swing at a bludger while the snitch flew up. The bludger flew fast right in the direction of Ginny, who didn’t have time to roll or dodge. With a sickening crack, the bludger collided with her chest.

Harry watched in horror as Ginny fell backward. Almost as if in slow motion, she slid clean off her broom, her body in a free fall to the ground. Without a second thought, Harry dove, the snitch becoming a distant memory. Ginny was going down fast, too fast. Harry pushed the limits of his broom, only one word pounding through his head: No!

Harry’s shoes skimmed the grass as he pulled out of the dive, Ginny caught in his arms. Miraculously, he’d reached her with just enough time to avoid colliding with the hard ground. It had been hard to control the landing, and he had hurt his ankle hopping of his broom without completely stopping, but none that mattered because he had her.

Ginny was breathing heavily, pain evident in her dark eyes. “Harry.” She let out a moan.

“I got you, love.” Harry pressed a kiss to her forehead. A medical wizard ran over to them yelling at Harry to gently lower Ginny to the ground.

Harry watched every move the healer made. After a quick preliminary examination, the healer determined Ginny was fine but should go to St Mungo's to have her lungs checked due to her labored breathing.

“Will you be going, Mr. Potter?” The healer asked as he reached into his bag looking for his transport portkey. Harry glanced over at his coach and the rest of his team. They were all watching him. A silent conversation passed between Harry and Cara. Harry would be going with his wife, no matter what Cara said.

But Cara simply nodded, seeming to agree with Harry's decision. Harry turned back to the medic. “Yes, I will be.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“How do you feel, Mrs. Potter?” Trainee Jackson asked while taking her vitals. Ginny had been admitted over two hours ago. The healer's official conclusion stated multiple rib fractures, bruised lung, and an extremely bruised chest, but overall Ginny came out much better than she could have, thanks to Harry.

“Better.” Ginny tried to sit up, but Harry gently pushed her back into her pillow.

“That's good. We are just running a few final tests, but I'd say we can get you out of here before dinner time.” Jackson scribbled a few notes down on his parchment. “Healer Bones will be in soon. Do you need anything before I leave?”

Ginny shook her head. Jackson nodded at her than Harry before leaving the examination room. Once the door closed Ginny turned to Harry grabbing his hand. She had noticed his tense posture. “You okay?”

Harry gave her a loving smile. “You're the one who fell fifty feet, and yet you're asking me if I'm okay?”

“Well, I know I'm fine, but I don't know about you.”

He leaned down and kissed her temple, letting his lips linger. “That was the worst moment of my life. I thought…” He trailed off, choking up.

Ginny grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips. “Harry, I'm okay because you got to me in time.”

“But what if I hadn't?” His voice was barely over a whisper as he dropped his gaze to the floor. “What if I hadn't?”

Ginny didn't know what to say. She wouldn’t sugarcoat it for him. It would have been bad if he hadn’t seen her fall. Hell, best case scenario she would have probably be knocked out cold, with a lot more than problems breathing.

She gave his hand a squeeze. “Harry, look at me.”

He did, after a moment's hesitation. His eyes were brighter than normal and she could see a  tear track down his left cheek. She used his hand to pull him closer to her, his chair scraping on the tile flooring.  

“Don’t think about what ifs, Harry.” Ginny moved her hand to his neck, applying pressure, so his face came into close contact with hers. “You got to me and that’s all that matters, not the what ifs.”

When she kissed him, she felt his body slump in relief. When they separated, Harry rested his head on her forearm as she ran her fingers through his hair.

They stayed like that until a knock on the door made Harry raise his head. Healer Bones walked in, clipboard and quill in hand. “Mrs. Potter, how do you feel?”

“It’s like a broken record,” Harry muttered as Bones waved her wand to retake vitals.

Ginny snorted but said in a calm voice, “Much better.”

“Good.” Bones wrote down the most recent numbers. “Now, just a few things left to discuss.” Bones took a little rolling stool from the corner and took a seat next to the bed. She placed her clipboard and quill on the side table. “As you know, I’ve already mended your ribs and I’ve started concocting the potion that will help your lungs.”

Bones took a deep breath as if steeling herself. “Mrs. Potter, did you know you’re pregnant?”

The sound of a needle hitting the floor could have easily been heard in the silence that followed this question. Ginny felt her jaw drop as she stared at Bones. Blood pounded in her ears. Maybe I heard her wrong, Ginny thought. She turned to look at Harry and saw pure shock on his face. Okay, so maybe I heard her right.

Ginny looked back at Healer Bones who waited patiently. This was something she probably dealt with on a daily basis: Giving people unexpected news.  

“How long?” Harry’s voice sounded as if he’d swallowed a bucket of sand.

“About five weeks,” Bones assured them. “It’s still early stages, but everything seems to be progressing well.”

“Did - is -” Ginny couldn’t get her mouth to work properly, but fortunately Bones understood what she was trying to ask.

“The bludger didn’t harm the baby, but you should make an appointment with your family healer to discuss a plan for playing while pregnant.”

The door opened and healer Jackson entered with three vials of a green liquid. “The potions for Mrs. Potter.”

“Great, thank you, Markus.” Bones gestured for the potions to be placed on the bedside table. She turned her attention back to Ginny. “Now you take one vial a day and you are grounded for the next three days. No heavy lifting or extreme physical activity.” Bones stood from her stool. “If I may suggest, take one of these days off and visit your healer. And let me be the first to say, congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ginny sat down hard on the sofa as Harry took their coats and hung them on two of the pegs they had put on the wall near the fireplace. They had only just gotten back from her normal healer, Padma Patil, who had confirmed Healer Bones’ assertion: Ginny was pregnant.

Harry took the empty cushion beside her, his arm curling around her shoulders. Ginny moved into his side, her nose pressing into his neck. After all this time, Ginny could still get drunk off his scent.

“A baby,” Harry muttered for the fifth time that day. Repeating the phrase over and over seemed to be his way of making it real. For Ginny, it had been hearing the heartbeat of their child. The quick thud-thud-thud rhythm had filled her mind for over an hour. She had only half listened to Padma’s spiel about eating well and remembering to take her daily prenatal potions. However, Ginny had been fully alert when quidditch was mentioned.

“Typically I advise women to stop playing around the three-month mark. However, with the end of the season so close, that shouldn’t be an issue for you, Ginny. But next season will be out of the question.” Padma gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know how much you love quidditch, but it just won’t be safe.”

Ginny had agreed without any argument. There had been no debate in her mind. There still wasn’t. Her baby was coming first. Yes, she loved quidditch, her teammates, and everything being a Harpie meant, but fuck, this was her child. Hers and Harry’s.

“You know,” Ginny spoke into the silence of their sitting room. “I still don’t get how I got pregnant.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. “If you don’t know how I’ve managed to knock you up, then I’ve done something wrong. But I remember you being there, my name being chant -”

Ginny knocked her elbow into his ribs, cutting him off. “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m referring to the fact that I’m on the potion, you git!”

“Oh!” Harry smirked at her, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. “I must just have super-powers.” He twisted so his body was facing her before he moved his hands to her back. His fingers slid underneath the hem of her shirt to brush bare skin.

“So modest.” Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck as his lips moved across her body, first her cheeks then neck, down to her collarbone, and finally back up to her lips.

After a few minutes of letting their conversation lull, and their bodies humming in happy anticipation, Harry pushed Ginny onto her back to hover over her. “I know - we didn’t - plan it,” He spoke in between kisses “But - I’m so - happy, Gin.”

Ginny shifted so Harry lay between her hips, appreciating the feeling of him. She ran her hands through the messy hair and looked into the eyes she had instantly fallen for. “Me too, Harry. More than I can say.”

[rkmiya]

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ MGAS INTERVIEW TIME ˎˊ˗

the first guiding question of the interview is how sunmi expects them to do. in truth, sunmi expects them to be ranked last again on song choices alone but she wouldn’t vocalise that much pessimism on television. especially because she’s a coach. she should expect the best for her team. even though she has certain thoughts about how this was going to turn out, she knows that there’s a certain level of expectation that the korean public has. she tries to phrase it more positively with a sprinkle of the truth. “truthfully i was a little worried hearing the songs but i think the mixes were done well. the performances are entertaining. the concepts were well thought out. they can give you a full story on their concepts. so i expect them to do well.”

not number one, definitely not number one. polaris missed that mark the second they ignored hyunbin’s critique of picking a dance that was too ambitious for them. 1004 was much worse than run. she could only imagine the flare of annoyance that would grace the ceo’s features. and to think that his own trainee and upcoming idols advocated for these contestants only for it to turn out this way....sunmi wouldn’t want it to turn out badly. the best they could hope for is somewhere in the middle. she doesn’t hope for last because that would be a steep drop for how a nova team did in season three. it would be a disgrace and embarrassment. but a part of her knows they probably would end up with more critiques and would miss out on first place.

“how did you feel about the rankings?” sunmi nodded. “like they were justified. polaris was lacking in terms of flare. i personally wasn’t the largest advocate for the ats song. i had suggested something else before the settled on run. but they had their minds set on it. we can only take it as a lesson and take our critiques to heart for our next performance.”

did they pay attention to any of their critiques?

no, polaris absolutely didn’t. sunmi keeps her expression pretty straight when she says, “i made sure to reiterate to them what they should be focusing on. i’d like to think they kept it in mind when deciding their performances to make an informed decision.”

if only to be able to address the question but not fully. that way she wouldn’t have to throw any of them under the bus. though it would probably be a question as to why they didn’t listen to anything told to them. but usually viewers don’t pay attention to that. there’s no way for the judges to see the footage prior to the episode airing either.

how did it go this week?

there was no need to give a summary of everything that happened this week. it was sure to be shown on the episode if it was “juicy” enough. sunmi doesn’t feel the need to nitpick at every single moment from this week. “they’re a group of hard workers. last week we trained them on how to tweak and hone their skills. i feel like they always keep those practises in mind because they’ve all improved. they’re good kids with good personalities and they know what’s at stake. no one is joking around here.”

they were pretty serious from beginning to end. this week took a little longer to settle on choices, so she heard, but it went relatively well. there’s no point in expressing that she wished she didn’t have to be away with activities or else she would have stopped them from a few of the song choices. what was done is done. however....

“i did feel a little bad that i was busier this week so i was gone for a couple of days. i know the other coaches did just fine but i still wish i was more available for those who needed me this past week.”

do you still think kenta doesn’t deserve to be on the nova team?

now it was time for sunmi to look a little more thoughtful. as of last week, she still wasn’t entirely convinced that kenta should be in the mgas at all. now though, after two weeks with the group, she feels like he matured a bit. he might be lacking in the performance front and probably should have been sent home earlier but he seemed to have been taking things more seriously. “i feel like since last week kenta has shown a more serious side to himself. up until now, he was taking it in stride like it was a joke. he didn’t seem as focused as expected but last week and this week included, kenta has changed. he offered some good ideas and is helpful to his team. he’s more mindful so i feel like he’s thinking more like a trainee now than just some kid on television.”

who of your team surprised you the most?

“probably yewon and kenta. kenta has been incredibly proactive recently and yewon keeps impressing me with how much she’s able to do.” it was as simple as that. yewon was incredibly diverse as a performer. even though she wasn’t a singer, she was a team player, knowing that some of her centre parts would be a little more focused on her dancing capabilities as well as shouldering the rap verses as well. she was dedicated and sunmi thinks she would fit in the most in nova of all the people on the team. “yewon hasn’t stopped impressing me since i started watching the show. i think she’s aware of her strengths and has a clear understanding of her capabilities.”

“i feel like it took a little longer for it to kick in for kenta but he’s applying himself so much better when it comes to discussions and suggestions. i think he’s grown up a lot in the last two weeks. i’m certainly surprised with him because i went from not even thinking he should be on the team to feeling as though this is exactly what he needed so he could grow.”

do you have any hopes or wishes for your team?

“i just hope for them to do well and i pray that their performance goes without a problem.” she crosses her fingers and smiles.

[taelaxies]

check(mate)

“You know Y/N... The pieces are on the chessboard, not on my crotch.”

Summary: Taehyung would do anything for you to give him a chance. After being rejected, the only chance he had was to win a chess game against you - the chess club president.

Pairing: Taehyung x FemReader. Genre: Smut • School!AU  | Warnings: taehyung being a little tease.  A/N: Hey! I’m back. I’m feeling a little rusty, but I really wanted this image of my bias playing chess out of my head. Chess can be hot too, ladies and gentleman. Hope you like it.♥ Words: 4.5k

“Hey, Y/N.”

You looked up at him only for a second before returning your attention to your book.

Taehyung frowned, nervously playing with his fingers under the table.

It felt worse than that familiar anxiety minutes before a match. A mixture of excitement and fear was making his hands sweat, as if he had never asked a girl for a date before - which he had, a lot.  Maybe Jimin was right and this was a terrible idea: you were not what it was called an ‘easy target’. But he was already there sitting in front of you at the school’s library and there was no turning back now. He cleared his throat and glanced at the chess book you were reading, “How’s your chess club doing?”

Facing him again, you narrowed your eyes in suspicion. “Since when do you care?”

Truth was he couldn't care less about your stupid chess club - the only interesting thing about it was that you were its president. “You’re right, I don’t care,” he admitted. “But… maybe you can teach me how to play sometime?”

A ‘bang’ interrupted the library’s silence when you closed your book loudly and glared at him, “Ha-Ha. What do you want Kim Taehyung?”

Okay, that was it. After all those days watching you from afar at the school canteen, he had to say it just once. He chose the same words he used with many girls before: “Well… I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me? We can do something you lik-”

“Go out, like a date?”

He gulped under your judging stare, “Yeah, like a date.”

It turned out even more awkward than he imagined. The corner of your mouth lifted up as you stood up from your seat and gathered your books, “Kim Taehyung, the only thing you can date is your hand, a ball, or your team of idiots.”

And just like that, the Bangtan’s School volleyball team captain was rejected for the first time.

It was not a surprise, a part of him expected you to react like that: the relationship between his team and your nerd club was not the best since the beginning - and the both of you were now in your last year.  He did not blame you, they could sometimes act like idiots, unlike those sophisticated guys you seemed to enjoy being around. Like Kim Namjoon, your club’s vice president and your personal ass kisser who followed you like a puppy.

Well, you two were definitely ‘different species’, like Yoongi said a week later. “Forget about her, dude. That bitch thinks she’s smarter than all of us just because she moves some pieces on a board.”

“Yeah, I bet she’s fuckin’ that weirdo that follows her everywhere.” Jin stuffed his mouth with french fries, “That dimple boy.”

Jimin cringed, “Dimple boy? No way.”

“You should date Soo Young,” Yoongi continued, “she’s hot and she’s obsessed with you since first grade. I would ask her out if I were you.”

Taehyung instinctively glanced at Lee Soo Young, who was eating her lunch a few tables away. His friend was not wrong, she was a nice view indeed - with her red hair and plump lips - and she would be willing to date him anytime.  He pursed his lips as his eyes travelled across the canteen again, until they landed on your face. Your hair was shorter, your grey uniform was as neat as always, and you were having fun with something ‘dimples’ said, ignoring the dark pair of eyes admiring you in silence. Why couldn’t you have fun with something he said? He could see you beyond that boring club you loved. Couldn’t you see him beyond his team uniform?

Jungkook snapped his fingers, “Stop staring at her, it’s creepy.”

“Yeah, we need you focused on the practise today, Cap.”

The damn practise. The last thing on his mind was the practice unless it included you. He rubbed his eyes and a long sigh escaped from his lips.

Practise consisted in three steps that Coach Han loved to repeat again and again: warming up, shots and training match. The good thing was that thanks to the incredible nice weather, the warming up would be outside - surrounded by fresh air, grass, birds and the girl’s field hockey team practise which was Hoseok’s favourite view since he had a crush on its goalkeeper. For Taehyung, it was just another day leading the group across the court and setting the pace for a good warming up session. 

Perhaps dating Soo Young was not that bad idea, he thought while running in full speed. His self-esteem was lower than usual after your rejection, and maybe - just maybe, the pretty redhead could help him with that. Did that make him a bad person? Because despite her looks, he never really liked Soo Young. He sighed, and stopped - panting for breath. He took off the headband from his forehead and wiped the sweat from his face with it.  

 Coach Han clapped his hands and shouted, “Shots! NOW!”

Lee Soo Young jumped from her seat two days later, squealing with excitement because the guy she had always wanted had finally asked her out. Soon the whole school knew that the redhead from Class 4C was the new Kim Taehyung’s conquest.

If only they knew. If only you knew.

The news spread like a virus, and you heard them too - from some random girl mumbling how Taehyung was way too handsome for someone like her.  

“You think Taehyung would take me on a date? I’m better than SooSoo.” the girl said to her friend as she scrolled down on her phone. What was it about Taehyung that everybody loved? More than a week had passed since your encounter at the library, and it still seemed surreal. What did he want from you? If he liked Soo Young why would he try his luck with you of all people?

 Soo Young did not ask herself the reason of their sudden date, but that next Friday she waited for Taehyung at the coffee shop after school like he told her. She was still wearing her uniform, but she had applied some makeup on her face at the bathroom before leaving. She picked a table and ordered water, glancing at her phone and wondering if her date finished his practise later than expected.

Unfortunately for her, her date was running through the south hallway at school, looking for an specific door before it was too late - before he dated some other girl and tried to forget about you again.

The Chess Club door was the last one. There was no one there, because let’s be honest: your club was not the most popular one, it had only seven members including you. Taehyung sighed in relief, knocking on the door and praying for you to open it fast before someone could see him standing there.

“The club is closed!”

Closed? He recognized your voice shouting from the other side of the door.

“It’s Kim Taehyung!”

It took you a few more seconds to open the door and appear in front of him with a frown twisting your features, “What are you doing here?”

“Are you sure you are not interested in me? I need to know.”

Your eyes opened wide and your jaw fell. “I heard you already have your girl so, what’s the point?”

“I don’t have a girl, I just...” he rubbed his eyes and tilted his head back in frustration, “If you say yes then I don’t need other girl.”

“That’s why you’re dating Soo Young now?”

“I’m no- Wait, does it bother you?”

You tried to close the door again but his hand stopped you, “Y/N, please. I’d do anything. If you tell me to leave now, I’m not asking you again.”

“You’re so dramatic. ”

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and buried his hands in the pockets of his grey pants. He did not have an simple reason why he liked you that much, he just knew. You just know those things. He stared at some random spot above you and spoke, avoiding your gaze, “Every time I enter a room I look for your face because I want to see you, it just… It just happened, ok? I don’t choose who to like! You feel… different, and I want to know you more. Is that so wrong?”

Afraid to look at you again, he waited for you to say something - and hoped you would not shut the door in his face.

“Okay,” you breathed.

Okay? He arched his eyebrow and finally met your eyes. You were leaning against the door, with your arms folded on your chest. “I’ll give you only one chance, Kim Taehyung. Let’s play chess. If you lose, you’ll leave me alone. If you win, you can take me on a date with you.”

He was about to say he had no idea of how to play chess. He barely remembered some moves his father had taught him ages ago. You would certainly win. You were challenging him because you knew you would, and he would be forced to leave you alone after that.

Things would be so different on a volleyball court. 

He sighed, glancing at the clock on his phone screen. He was thirty minutes late to his date. What was he expecting? That you would say yes just like that before falling into his arms? However, you were offering him a chance (a very small one) instead of saying no this time. Something had changed.  

“Deal.”

He had never been inside your club, because there was no reason for a volleyball player to be there, but it was no surprise that the white classroom looked as clean and neat as you. A big calendar was hanging on the wall, with a date circled in red: ‘02/05 Scholastic Chess Tournament!’

You told him the truth before, the club was closed since the extracurricular activities had already finished. You were cleaning, there were boxes piled on a corner next to a broom.  

He watched you place a chessboard on a small table with two chairs on its sides. He pictured you usually practicing right there when you were with your fellow members. Your fingers carefully moved the pieces to their respective squares, which formed an elegant mixture of black and white.

Once the two of you were facing each other across the table, the game was ready to begin.

He chose the black pieces, so you would play with the white ones.

He convinced himself - he could do it. Or well, try.

Twenty minutes later, you were effortlessly winning. The only thing he knew was that pawns moved only one square forward at a time, and that the Bishop moved diagonally. In twenty more minutes or less, he would be done - and far away from you. You were enjoying it, a proud smirk decorated your pretty face as you expertly moved your pieces. You had a spark in your eyes he had never seen before, and it was beautiful. The same spark he had when the ball hit the floor every time he scored a point.

“Thinking of giving up?” you mocked him.

He smirked. “Never.”   

You captured his Knight with your pawn. All of your white pieces were still on the board when his black ones kept being captured every turn, and Taehyung knew defeat was inevitable.

Until an involuntary movement while adjusting himself on his seat caused his foot to touch yours. It was a very small contact that made you glance under the table for a second before returning your attention to the game again, confused.

But little did you know that for Taehyung, it was his ticket to success.

He had to test that again. Smiling to himself, his long fingers placed the Queen a few squares backwards, not really knowing what he was doing. Then, it was your turn.

He raised his foot on purpose this time, the tip of his shoe traced an invisible line up on your calf.

Oh God, you looked so uncomfortable. You shook your leg and glanced under the table again, but his foot had stopped and rested innocently on the floor. You pressed your lips into a thin line, maybe wondering if it was just your imagination. Then you realized you still had a piece in your hand but you could not remember what you were planning to do with it.

You whined quietly and simply moved a pawn.

Bingo. If he distracted you long enough, you would fail and maybe give him a chance to win.

He bit his lower lip when it was your turn again. He decided to move his foot a little higher, as much as his long legs allowed him. He thought he could do it when his foot found your knee and then-

“What do you think you’re doing?!” you snapped, dragging your chair away from the table and letting your white piece fall from your hand.

Taehyung shrugged. “Strategy.”

“Are you trying to make me lose the game by teasing me under the table? That’s your strategy?”

“It would be more effective if you came a little closer.”

“You’re such an idiot, I’m wasting my time here.” You stood up, “We’re done.”

“Oh, so you lose.”

You laughed. “Are you blind? I won. You just have a few pieces left, there’s nothing you can do with that.”

“If you get up from that chair, you’ll be the one giving up. You lose.”

Your clenched fists turned your knuckles white because of the pressure as you darted a poisonous look at your opponent. “Right.”

You returned to your seat, but stayed away from Taehyung’s legs. Your proud smirk had faded away and instead, you were biting your lower lip so hard he thought it would eventually bleed.

Your Rook captured another one of his pawns and he cursed you under his breath. At that distance there was no way he could touch you in any form. He was running out of pieces and chances.

Before moving a piece, he eyed you from head to toe one last time, your features, your white shirt just like his, your grey skirt, your bare legs…

Okay, Plan B.

“Let’s play a game.” he announced.

“We are playing a game, Taehyung.”

“We followed your rules and I agreed,” he spitted, clasping two fingers around his tie an quickly loosening it. In a blink, the tie was on the floor and a mischievous grin was plastered on his face, “Now you’ll follow mine.”

“Your rules?” your eyebrows raised as you pointed your finger at his tie on the floor.

“I’ll take off one item of my clothes each time you capture one of my few pieces left. It’s up to you if you want to win and see me naked - which I’ll understand if you want to - or if you want to give up and date me.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” “Try me.”

 If a little touch of his foot made you uncomfortable, he wished you could see your expression when he took off his grey jacket, then his shoes, then his socks and then his shirt with every black piece you captured.

Amused, he watched you struggle to stay focused on the board and not on his tan chest. Why did it look so good? Besides, you had never noticed his tiger necklace before: the silver chain popped on his golden skin.

You moved your piece but avoided capturing one of his.

“Would dating me be so bad?” he pouted.

Your eyes found his and inevitably fell on his chest, and he watched you gulp, “I had never considered it before. I never thought you were serious.”

“Can’t you see me trying here? I’m dead serious.”

How couldn’t you when you had him almost naked right in front of you? You fixed your sight on the board again, your hand hovering over your white Bishop before capturing another one of his pieces, “Check.”

Your victorious grin lasted only a few seconds until you realized that Taehyung was pulling down the zipper of his pants - the fabric rolled down his legs until the floor. “Please stop undressing asshole, it’s embarrassing” you mumbled.

“You can always lose and I’ll get dress again.”

 Lose? You were not a loser, were you? You kept your eyes down while he sat on his chair again and spread his legs as if he was at comfort of the gym dressing room. You could not help but to glance at the growing bulge inside his black boxers, wondering which part of the game aroused him enough to be that hard. “You know Y/N,” he said, “The pieces are on the chessboard, not on my crotch.”

“Can you shut up?”

“What, you wanna see it? Is this turning you on, Y/N?” he pushed his last Knight forward as a bait for her Queen.

You were hesitating, your finger caressed the only one piece standing in your way to checkmate and he did the same with the waistband of his boxers - his silent warning for you. “I’m not responsible for what happens if you claim checkmate.” he added.

“Are you challenging me now?”

“I’ve been challenging you for the last forty minutes.”

You were players after all. True, you were ‘different species’ like Yoongi said, but the both of you loved the challenge of a good game. And you loved winning.

You pressed your finger on your Queen. The only thing you had to do, was to capture his Knight. Checkmate.

Just one checkmate.

Your eyes danced between the board and Taehyung, every part of Taehyung. You forgave his Knight’s life and moved your Queen just one square backwards.  “We can call it a tie.”

He raised his eyebrows and folded his arms on his chest. “A tie? Wow, I didn’t know you were a coward.” He bit his lip, “It’s my turn to move now, then.”

  Taehyung stood up from his seat and leaned forward, placing his hands on the chessboard and causing all the pieces to fall to the floor. “Say checkmate, come on. You don’t want to win?”

His face was so close to yours you could smell his cologne and see the veins popping from his neck. Your eyes looked for his but his dark orbs were focused on your lips when they parted and said: “Checkm-”

Kiss.

He had never tasted something like your lips. You had probably drank some sweet coffee before the game, because he swore he could savor the sugar on your lips every time they moved against his with no hesitation. Have you thought about kissing him before? He liked to think you did or maybe you were just lost in the moment, because you were as eager as he was

Your fingers traced a line from his jaw to his ear before burying them in his hair.

“What-” he mumbled in your mouth, “What were you saying?” “I think I’m letting you win, Taehyung.”

With a satisfied smirk plastered on his face, he patted the chessboard and motioned you to take a seat on it. He helped you to do it until your legs were hanging over the edge of the table as he placed his hands on the sides of your face and kissed you again - drawing circles with his thumb on your cheeks.

You just had to lower your sight just a little to see his erection begging for attention under the fabric of his boxers.

“Why are you so hard? We played chess, you always said chess is boring.” you breathed in his ear.

“It is boring. I guess watching you kicking my ass and being all smart turns me on.”

Your teeth brushed as the both of you smiled at the same time before pressing your lips together again one more time.

“Can we skip the date just for today and fuck?”

“Weeell, you won.”

Was that a yes? Because he took it as one. He covered your neck with kisses while his long fingers unbuttoned your shirt with the same ease as he did with his own minutes before. You hummed at the touch of his fingertips grazing your skin with every button he released all the way down - until your shirt ended on the floor with the rest of his clothes.

 “Oh no, no,” he shook his head when your fingers searched for the waistband of his boxers. He stepped away from you and grabbed his red tie from the floor, “you caused too many problems today with those fingers and your fuckin’ pieces.”

In a second, the tie was tied around your wrists and your hands were now useless against your back. Taehyung observed his work proudly before kneeling on the floor and spreading your legs wider. He pulled your ass closer to the edge of the table and rolled up your skirt. His length twitched when his eyes met the wet patch ruining your white panties, your particular scent filling his senses and urging him to touch you.

He was not the only one aroused by all this after all: the smart, serious girl he admired from afar was now blushed, tied, and ruining her underwear because of him. Your breasts kept slightly bouncing up and down inside your bra with every erratic breath you took and it was beautiful.

He licked his lips and rolled your underwear down until he heard it fall onto the floor. What would he do to you first? Hell, he had thought about you like this too many times to count. Having you like this, as excited as he was, looked like one of his dreams. Your thighs were quivering on the sides of his face and slyly pushing him even closer, waiting for his touch. Instead, two of his fingers entered his mouth before circling his tongue around them.

He caressed your folds, you were so wet it was ridiculous to think you had rejected him before. “Are you going to take my cock well, Y/N? I begged so much for you. Will you beg for me to fuck you now?”

You felt his fingers pressed against your entrance, rubbing up and down until you answered. You simply nodded, unable to speak at the sight of his hungry eyes glued to your heat.

The chess room was spinning around you when his digits pumped inside of you. They were harsh in comparison with your soft walls, maybe because of all his practises and exercises. He was fast and rough, as if this was a race and he wanted you to be the first to cum. Every time his knuckles hit your skin, your clit reacted at the contact and pulsed, begging to be touched and making your gasp.

“Damn, touch me Tae-Taehyung.” you moaned.

“Later.” he curled his fingers inside you and your legs trembled. His free hand travelled up to your breasts, massaging them over your bra and making you moan louder, “Is the door closed?”

“There’s no one here now, idio-” you swallowed your words when he pumped even faster and sunk his teeth on your thigh only to lick the wound after. You wanted to make him touch your clit and relief you from the pain but your hands were locked on your back and your voice could not leave your mouth.

“It’s your turn to move.”

You whimpered at the loss of contact when he stood up, licking his fingers again - but this time coated in your juices. He pointed to the floor and you clumsily left your small table to get on your knees in front of him.

When his cock sprung free and his boxers fell to the floor, you gulped. His tip was reddened and glistening with precum, God knows for how long he had been hard for you.

You tried to move your hands and he sighed. “Can’t you see you’re tied, babe? Without hands. Suck.”

Who would have thought that the guy awkwardly asking you out at the library was now guiding his dick into your mouth. He placed his palms on the back of your head when your lips circled around his tip, and your warm breath made him shiver. Slightly moving your face side to side, you flattened your tongue enough to take him deep, inch by inch, encouraged by his low grunts after his tip reached the back of your throat.

A string of saliva fell from your mouth when he paused, allowing you to breathe, before slamming himself back in.  

His hips started thrusting forward when the feeling of your mouth around him was not enough, the friction of your lips against his pulsing veins making him curse under his breath and eventually release a throaty moan.

“I’m gonna cum just with your mouth, unless you want me to fuck you Y/N.”

You wanted to answer but he slammed his dick inside your mouth again and your eyes watered. “What did you say Y/N? You don’t want me to fuck your pussy?”

Your hands fought against the tie keeping them in place, as you tried to make him understand you wanted him inside of you so bad, but then again, you could only answer with his cock between your lips. The vibrations of your words against him were too much for him to handle and pulled himself out.

“Please fuck me.”

“Are you sure? I’ll need something better than that.”

“Please, please, please, I want you Taehyung. I did since we started playing.”

“Bend on the table.”

From behind you, Taehyung unclasped your bra first and digged his fingers into the skin of your breasts, planting wet kisses on the back of your neck and your earlobe, “You smell amazing.”

You doubted that because you were covered in sweat, but that was the last thing he had on his mind. The tip of his cock was caressing your folds slowly, enjoying the soft sounds that escaped from your lips because of his sudden gentleness.

He lowered his eyes to the sight of your ass, your rolled up skirt, and his dick -  stroking it slowly before guiding it to your entrance. “Fuck.” You were taken by surprise when he pushed himself deep inside and the skin of your ass burned at the contact with his hips.

“You said I could only date my hand.” Thrust. “A ball.” Thrust. “or my team of idiots.” Thrust. “Look at you now, chess club president.”

Letting go of your breasts, his hand explored all the way down to your throbbing clit and rubbed circles on it as he pumped in and out faster with every moan that filled the room. He wished you could see the red skin of your ass every time his hip bones crashed with it. “So hot” he grunted, lowering his pace  

His cum filled you first, intoxicated by the fact that it was you who was moaning his name and “You fuck me so good,” from time to time. His mouth went dry and his legs shook with a series of sloppy thrusts that finished with him kissing your back.

However, his cock stayed inside of you while his fingers kept rubbing circles on your clit, “I want to feel you come from inside.” he whispered in your ear, pressing his chest on your back and fastening his movements.

You clenched around him and his lips parted at the feeling - it was your orgasm coating his length in your cum and squeezing it with every spasm of your body as you released the most erotic sounds he had ever heard.

“You felt amazing.”

“You too.”

None of you knew what time was it when you gathered your clothes from the floor and lazily tried to get dressed again. Did that matter anyway? You smiled at each other, sharing a knowing look as you struggled with the buttons of your shirt, the same he had unbuttoned so easily.

Your thigh hurt, your ass burned, and your wrists had marks - it had happened so fast you did not realize earlier. Was this the beginning of something? You fell for his charms (or stupidity), even when you did not want to.

“So… Tomorrow? Movie? You and me?” he asked, placing the red tie around his neck again.

It sounded so out of place after what you had done. Was he seriously asking after fucking you from behind? You rolled your eyes. You watched all the chess pieces scattered on the floor and sighed. “You won, Taehyung. Yes.” Yes.

He giggled and stood in front of you, fixing your hair “Your post-sex hair looks terrible.”

“Have you seen yourself?”

“I have this.” He took his headband from the pocket of his jacket and put it on. “See? I look hot wearing this.”

You laughed. “Did I really agree to date you?

“There’s no turning back, Y/N.”

Lee Soo Young (4:45 PM) Where r u? u coming?

Lee Soo Young (5:01 PM) Taehyung?

Lee Soo Young (5:18 PM) I hope u rot in hell

Min Yoongi: (6:42 PM) Dude. I found Soo Young at the coffee shop. Thanks for standing her up best date of my life.

Kim Taehyung (7:10 PM) Same.

[teachingoutsidethebinary]

Mistaken Identity

Prompt Request: so I had a concept that the reader was Tony's daughter, and was even like him in the sense that they had similar suits, were avengers, etc. She was best friends Steve, and had grown close with Bucky, like romantically. Maybe a mission went wrong??? And stuff happens???

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Reader, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Warnings: none really, maybe a curse word?

A/N: Thanks for the request @capttainamericaa! I hope y’all like it. As always, thanks for reading :)

One Shot Masterlist

“You’re staring again.”

Bucky’s face turned bright red at his best friend’s insinuation. “Am not,” he mumbled. He was lying through his teeth, and they both knew it.

You were standing at the edge of the conference room table, going over the most recent mission file. You were Steve’s best friend, and as a result, you spent a ton of time with Bucky too. He was enamored by your smile, your eyes, your kindness, all of it. He let out a small sigh. You looked up from your papers and he quickly became very interested in the table top.

Steve smirked as you went back to reading. “Geez Buck, you’ve got it bad. Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

The door to the conference room opened and Bucky let out a small groan. “Because of that.”

“Daddy!” you squealed, hopping up out of your chair. You lept into the arms of none other than Tony Stark.

“Hey sweetheart,” he chuckled. “I take it you liked the new suit?” He squeezed you tight and set you down.

“Yes!” you gushed. “It looks just like yours!”

The two of you continued to talk as Bucky felt a dark storm cloud cover his head. Anyone could tell you were Tony Stark’s daughter. Besides having nearly identical suits, you worked together with the Avengers. You both had the same facial features and crazy intelligence, but you were definitely more grounded. Bucky didn’t stand a chance, especially after everything that had happened in Germany. Tony had said he forgiven Bucky, but things were still tense.

“You keep acting like a chicken, and she’s going to be gone before you can blink,” Steve commented as Tony called the meeting to order.

“Shut up,” he muttered. But he knew Steve was right.

“I’m so glad we’re partners!” you exclaimed as you activated your suit. A few hours after the briefing, you had all geared up on the Quinjet. Steve had suggested that you and Bucky work together, much to Bucky’s dismay. It was hard enough talking to you when you all were just hanging out. He needed to focus, but you unknowingly made it difficult.

“Me too,” Bucky replied sincerely. “I, uh, I think this’ll be good.” He gulped and prayed that you didn’t see him sweat.

“Ooo! That reminds me!” You squeezed his shoulder and he thought he would pass out at the sensation of you touching him. “I just bought the new Disney movie! We should watch it when we get back!”

You had insisted on catching Bucky and Steve up on all the newest Disney movies. Normally, you all watched them together at a respectable hour. But sometimes, when Bucky couldn’t sleep, he’d go back into the movie room, curl up under the blanket you all shared, and fall asleep to the sweet storylines and silly songs.

“Will you sing?” he teased, feeling a bit more comfortable. Disney he could talk about.

You stared at him as if the answer was obvious. “Duh!” Giggling, you slide up your faceplate. The familiar Iron Man eyes stared back at him. “I’m going to check in up front. We should be landing soon.” You squeezed his shoulder once more and walked away, your metal shoes clanking on the floor of the jet.

Bucky took a deep breath. This was getting ridiculous. He just needed to tell you how he felt. What’s the worst that could happen? Utter rejection? Painful heartbreak?

But then again...maybe you would feel the same way. Maybe you would tell him you liked him back, and the two of you could have a future together. Maybe it would work…

That’s it, he thought decisively. I’m just going to tell her.

He heard the familiar clank of your shoes returning to the back of the jet. Bucky took a deep breath and spun around to face you.

“I like you!” he blurted out. “I really, really like you. You’re so smart, and funny, and I always feel happy spending time with you. You treat me like I’m normal, and you make me feel like I fit in around here. Would you ever consider going out with me? On a date?”

Bucky panted and his heart practically thumped out of his chest as he waited for your response. Your faceplate hissed as it retracted into your helmet.

Only it wasn’t your face he was looking at.

It was Tony Stark’s.

All of the blood left Bucky’s cheeks as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He had just confessed his heart to your father.

“Well isn’t that sweet,” Tony said dryly. His eyes glinted, and Bucky couldn’t tell whether Stark was amused or furious.

“I-I-I-I,” he stuttered. Bucky couldn’t get words to come out of his mouth. What the hell had he just done?

“Hey guys!” you called as you approached Bucky and your dad. “Whoa Buck!” you exclaimed, noticing the super soldier’s face. “You okay?”

Tony clapped a hand down on Bucky’s shoulder. Hard. “Bucky here is just feeling a bit air sick,” he said.

“Oh no!” you tutted. “You should sit down. Put your head between your knees too.” You guided Bucky to the bench and gently pressed his shoulders down so his head dangled between his knees. You rubbed his back soothingly, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

“I think Bucky should switch with me,” Tony said, much to Bucky’s dismay. “You can work with Steve, okay?”

“Okay,” you sighed. Was that disappointment in your voice? Bucky was afraid to lift his head to find out.

Tony sat down next to Bucky. “We’re not even close to being done with your confession,” he whispered.

Bucky groaned. This was going to be a long mission.

“We’re taking heavy fire!” Tony yelled over the comms. He shot a few blasts out of the palm of his hand, completely destroying a tank. Bucky took out the rest of the HYDRA operatives with his gun.

“Us too!” you responded.

“We need to retreat!” Steve ordered.

“We can still stop them!” you cried. “I can take out the last tank!” You yelped, and everyone could hear you curse and grunt as you kicked the crap out of some poor enemy operative. Bucky had sparred with you many times. He definitely never wanted to be on the receiving end of your punches.

“Don’t be reckless!” Tony demanded as he shot another blast. “It’s not worth it!”

Bucky looked up and saw you fly to the last tank. Unfortunately, another HYDRA operative saw you too, and aimed his gun at your armour. Bucky quickly took him out and left Tony to provide you with cover.

“I’ve got your back, Y/N!” Bucky announced. The two of you worked in tandem; you blasting away at the last tank, and Bucky taking out guard after guard. He knew you could hold your own, but he couldn’t risk losing you. He cared about you way too much.

Before he knew it, the last guard was taken out, and you had managed to completely disarm the tank.

“Clear,” Steve said.

“Clear here too, Cap,” Tony added.

“Area cleared,” Bucky replied.

“Tank is all clear!” You raised a triumphant fist in the air. “Nice work team!”

Now that the threat was gone, everyone split up and collected the intel they came to get. You and Steve worked inside the base while Tony and Bucky kept an eye on the perimeter.

“Thanks for watching her,” Tony said, glancing over.

Bucky’s face turned scarlet. “S’no problem,” he replied.

Tony nodded then looked away. He let out a huff and turned to Bucky. “Just tell her, okay?”

“W-w-what?”

“Just tell her how you feel,” Tony replied grudgingly. “If that’s really how you feel, tell her.” He pointed his metal arm at Bucky. “But if you hurt her, I will kill you and hide your body.”

Bucky stifled a grin. “Fair enough.”

A few hours later, you were all back at the compound, ready for some sleep. The unexpected battle had taken a lot out of you, and you were snuggled under your covers in your softest pjs as quickly as possible.

You groaned as you heard someone knock softly on your door. “It’s open!” you yelled from under your fortress.

“Y/N?”

You poked your head out to see Bucky standing in the doorway. “Hey Buck!” you chirped, your mood instantly brightening. “Don’t mind me, I’m just comfy.”

Bucky chuckled and rubbed a nervous hand on the back of his neck. “I can come back…”

“No, you’re fine!” you insisted. “What’s up?”

Bucky blushed and held up the Disney movie you had talked about earlier. “I swiped this from the movie room. Do you...do you wanna watch it?”

You gasped and made grabby motions with your hand, causing Bucky to let out a huge laugh. He handed you the movie and you scrambled to set up your DVD player. You climbed back up into bed and patted the spot next to you.

“Y-y-you sure?” he asked nervously, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Get over here,” you commanded.

Bucky held up his hands in surrender. He tried to put a respectable distance between the two of you, but you had other plans. You pulled on his arm so he in the middle of the bed. Pulling the blanket over both your legs, you cuddled into his side and gently placed your head on his shoulder.

“This okay?” you asked softly.

Bucky’s breath and ability to speak had completely left him, so he merely nodded. You both watched the movie in silence until Bucky couldn’t take it anymore. He loved having you close, loved feeling your skin against his own. He quietly cleared his throat.

“Y/N?” he whispered. “I really like you.”

“Good,” you replied with a smile.

“Good?”

You nodded and bit your lip as you looked up at him. Smiling shyly, you interlaced your fingers with his and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“Because I like you too.”

TAGS: @buckyappreciationsociety @iamwarrenspeace @melconnor2007 @yknott81 @sammnipple @snapplejuice @wificrazymisfit @serenastark @theassetseyeliner @fuckkoffcourtney @capttainamericaa @4theluvofall

[arcadeidea]

Spacewar! [1962]

Spacewar is still the first video game. Not technically: the developers of Spacewar were already aware of a playable Tic Tac Toe implementation on the very computer they were working on, which by that point was already a more-than-decade-long tradition for computers, not to mention Tennis For Two [1958]. (For greater detail on this cascade of history, watch Ahoy's fantastic and dry documentary The First Video Game.) These prior works are only trivia, though, and false starts all of them. They're what you find if you look at the past not on its own terms but on ours, applying a rigorous schema of definition aspiring to the condition of a science, searching for something specific they couldn't have known they had. Tennis For Two is the only game of that protozoic era to be relevant or even known of to anyone in the field for the next several decades, and even then all that was required of it was the mere fact of its existence (its status as a trivia item) for the sake of a something so banal as a lawsuit. They are worthy of honorary mention, but a medium is not a prescription, it is a chain of tradition. Not only is Spacewar wholly original and something only achievable with a digital computer and not an attempt at transferring a real-life game, but more importantly and ironically, it did not exist in a vacuum.

Spacewar is not something you apply a definition to, Spacewar IS the definition. Although nothing so strident and bold and definitive was intended as it would be with later games, when it was taken as a prototypical guide by those who followed, that is what it functionally became. Not to be too precious and romantic and mythologize it ("First there was nothing, then there was Spacewar!"), not to be too essentialist about it ("Spacewar contains the seeds for all what followed"), not to use it to answer What Doth Games and fall right back into the checklisting trap — but we can read the game itself as a manifesto, a collection of precepts and assumptions, and one of the creators (JM Graetz) was even considerate enough to give us an itemized list of exactly what the MIT Tech Model Railroad Group hoped to achieve in making Spacewar:

1) It should demonstrate, that is, it should show off as many of the computer's resources as possible, and tax those resources to the limit; 2) Within a consistent framework, it should be interesting, which means every run should be different; 3) It should involve the onlooker in a pleasurable and active way — in short, it should be a game.

The expressed reason video games exist as a distinct artistic medium, as anything more than a shadowplay of traditional games and sports, is to show off the power of our computers. I use that word — power — and not the more prosaic and accurate "computer resources" that Graetz used for a reason. It's 1962, and it can not be put out from anyone's mind, viewer, player, or creator, that computers would be instrumental in a real Space War of the foreseeable future. Or even a terrestrial war, which was the sole practical purpose and reason for the existence and funding of computers up to this point in history (if we take pure mathematics for its own sake as "impractical.") It's a show of force, it could even be a threat if it were leveraged in a Cold War propagandistic context against those with weaker or nonexistent computers and not with the giddy, childish innocence that it was created and received with. Better to call the spirit "utopian frivolity," though. Self-proclaimed hackers brought not only Spacewar to the system, but the music of Bach and by extension his rosy vision of the divine and human. Perhaps these programmers may have had their imaginations circumscribed and imprinted with the hitherto military legacy of computing, not to mention American culture... but these eggheads messing around saw the potential of computers reaching far beyond that, towards a hi-tech Arcadia. There's much to admire there, but it carries the unmistakable stench of classical tragedy, and Spacewar serves as a testament of the damnation from within: not just that it is a window into an imagined future of nothing but war, but that its explicit priority is the poisonous ambition to simply use more and more resources, again endemic to American culture as much as it is to future game development culture.

Things like "crunch" weren't around yet, of course. Spacewar is sometimes casually attributed to Steve Russell as the lead or main developer, as in the current lede of its Wikipedia article. The original concept was borne of three-man bull sessions with Russell, but then the very first step towards practical implementation was taken by a fourth man. Russell then created a barebones prototype, including the ships and their ability to turn and thrust and shoot (and it is not mentioned, but presumably, to die.) In response to playtesting, he added background stars. After that point, it became stone soup. Other people in the Tech Model Railroad Club would have a bright idea — bespoke controllers, accurate background stars, freshly optimized ship-turning code, death animations, hyperspace warp, and the big one, the central gravity-well star — and then just implement it themselves. The end result is a game that's simple, but surprisingly polished and full-featured, especially compared to our image of early games as clunky, primitive, blocky things. It reminds one of the hagiographic myth of early-90s Id, a very small team of friends having as much fun making the game as they are playing it, all leaving their personal touch on the work. Steve Russell was not the auteur with a hand on the tiller and an eye on his vision, but one crucial member of the team. It's all very kumbaya, non-hierarchical, no pressure, if we take testimony about its development on face value and don't chuck it out as rose-tinted nostalgia.

This stands in contrast to the game, which is a fantasy of violent domination in competition, with a definite winner. We could unpack the implications of that more, and what it all means that the very first video game was of war, but, well, we'll have plenty of chances to in the future to say the least. Two opponents, precisely balanced and equal in a space ballet, identical in every way except for visually (the distinctive silhouettes of the needle and the wedge are a minor triumph in character design.) Hey, maybe there's some Tic Tac Toe influence there! Spacewar's idea of gaming is inherently multiplayer, and that makes sense. Solo games like pinball or Solitaire card games exist, but the large majority of games at this point that inform what we understand a game to be are all communal activities. The game even came with inviting options to modify the game's parameters to suit the player's preferences.

[I must confess now: other than maybe a couple minutes at a computer museum with a partner, and a few minutes in the middle of writing this awkwardly sharing a keyboard on a browser emulator with my dad, I don't think I've properly played this. I'm just a tourist. Is this an analysis of Spacewar or of JM Graetz's The Origin Of Spacewar? This is more of a programming note than anything about the game, but part of why I'm starting this project is because I've always been on the outside looking in when it comes to gaming. I've always loved reading about games more than playing them, and this writing and canon-exploring endeavor is a hope that I can fill in the gaps and to force me to form my own thoughts. And what's the point if I can't well play the game for myself? Unless I change my mind, I'll be largely avoiding multiplayer games whenever I possibly can, because not only can securing a Player 2 in these early non-online games be an awkward or high barrier to clear for me, and not only are many of them ephemeral, and/or hard to fix in place and get a read on, such as here where the intention is that every run is different because of the guile and fumbles of your human opponent even though the game blatantly remains static, but their basic legibility depends even more than usual on practiced skill that I just haven't personally built up.]

The game is inherently hostile to your continued existence, and both players are only empowered to make it even moreso. Movement is constant, although very slow so as to facilitate strategic marksmanship over spray-and-pray. It's not an anxious atmosphere though, the edge of threat and action is what keeps the player engaged, throws them into interaction and thought. The central star is the key that makes this dramatic and dangerous gameplay: it makes it impossible to stay still, and it serves as the passive threat of death, one that can't be defeated, only negotiated. The only other gameplay element to speak of is your human opponent, but the star serves as the personification of the game itself. It shares something in common with the roulette wheel, not in the randomization which is more in play with the Hyperspace Warp Hail Mary, not even in the gravitational pull, but in the way it stands as an emblem that ultimately, you're playing the game on the terms of the game-maker and at the mercy of physics. Maybe it's only a small philosophical leap from playing against the computer's game and a player to designing a game played against only the computer.

Spacewar exists already at the fruitful intersection of abstraction, simulation, and fiction that games will never escape. You don't get to brake, but instead have to apply reverse thrust, in a nod to simulating what space flight would really be like. But you can pivot freely without applying any thrust at all as though on a Lazy Susan, so that your nose is always pointing in the opposite direction   of the thrust for quick visual clarity. Your bullets don't obey gravity like your ship does. These have their respective knowingly-silly technobabble explanations, papering over the gap between simulation and abstraction with fiction. War is its name and theme, but it's really more of a duel, boiling war down to a single dogfight. Space is its name and theme, but it's not empty and it's not infinite, it's a closed area smaller than a sheet of paper that wraps around at the edges and corners, which if I'm visualizing correctly, would resolve to a teardrop shape (which is then projected onto a rectangle, which is then projected onto a circle.) In each case, we are presented with a small slice of what we understand through the minimal text (the title) to represent an almost incomprehensibly bigger idea.

We easily understand its shorthand mostly through intertextuality. We only understand what we're looking at, and why we can regard war with frivolity, because of the pulpy science-fiction wrapper. The inspiration for the concept is explicitly cited as low-culture "genre fiction" for nerds like the seemingly endless procession of science-fiction B-movies through the movie theaters. Specifically singled out is the cheesy space opera book series The Skylark Of Space. The yearning for the combination, a Skylark Of Space special effect B-Movie, was exactly what produced the creative energy in the bull sessions to dream up the totally-unprecedented gameplay concept of Spacewar. That's right: the first original video game was genre trash born of frustrated aspirations of filmmaking. Doesn't get much more fitting an inauguration.

Spacewar spread like a folk song, not a commercial proposition. The determination was made that there was simply no consumer base, so the source was handed out to anyone who asked. Somehow or another, a fellow hacker would catch a look at Spacewar, then return to their own machine to recode it from scratch if it wasn't a PDP-1, and people would keep adding onto it themselves. That's a remarkable method of propagation that has its successors such as the Type-In game but it relies heavily on a baseline of common computer literacy that necessarily dies out as computers get both more widespread and infinitely less demanding on the user to learn how to program just to use it. I can't help but feel a twinge as Spacewar is cloned into Galaxy Game [1971], one of the first if not the first coin-op arcade video game. Money makes it ugly: Is it stealing when it was freely and casually distributed before?

[symphathy]

Lucky In Vegas

*Las Vegas is a far cry from Caldwell. While it is possible to get further away without leaving the continent, Vegas makes one hell of a hiding place. Over one hundred thousand visitors every day, give or take, makes this city a perfect place to disappear. I’ve lived here for years. It’s not home, but it is a perfect base of operations for me. And a very unlikely place for vampires to live between the sun, and the lack of basements. Probably why so many who run from society’s rules end up here. Lucky me, I’m not only the only symphath, but also the only half breed who can be out in full daylight in this city. Pulling my Ducati into the reserved parking, I nod at the security guard, who pulls himself quickly up to his full height. “Afternoon Miss Hess. Didn’t expect to see you here today.” I smile tightly as the waves of panic roll off the human, beads of sweat breaking out on his leathery brow.* Nobody ever does, Terry. Nobody except the boss. I just go where I’m told I need to be. *Easing past the open gate, I turn to stare at the guard, just long enough to make sure he’s on edge. No idea who I’m here for today, but I like to put the fear of me into everyone. I make damn good money enforcing for the various crime families and legitimate business criminals who run this town. My rules are simple enough, though people try to test them from time to time. I don’t get involved in the politics. I clean house within organizations so that I can work for everyone. Taking my usual spot close to the employee entrance, my nose wrinkles at the smell in the air. I really hope I’m not here to scare kitchen staff toking on their breaks. Zero challenge. As I step inside, a tiny blonde jumps up from her lean against the wall. She quickly smooths her suit, juggling a stack of files and manila envelopes from one arm to the other to do so. As always, her grid is locked down tight, but this is as close to jumpy as I have ever seen her.* Tina. Everything good here? *Her eyes flicker briefly to the stack in her arms before she pastes her perfect smile on her face. “Busy day, Miss Hess. While I understand that you receive a certain, shall we say... leeway, within the organizational structure, I would appreciate you not receiving personal deliveries on casino property. I believe you have rented a mailbox for such things, yes?” Arching  a brow, she hands the top envelope over, much like someone serving papers in a movie. Glancing down, I see the only markings are X. Hess in English, and Xhex in the Old Language. I level my gaze at Tina as I slide the unopened envelope into my inner pocket. She clears her throat awkwardly. “I was reluctant to accept without a proper name, but his description was spot on, and he was incredibly polite. Your first name is Alex, yes?” I resist to desire to roll my eyes, the rip hers out. She’s just doing her job, and she’s less nosy than most.* That’s an Anglicized version of my name. It’s clearly a family issue. *I stare pointedly at the files she still carries, hoping to push past this breach in protocol. My protocols, not the rules of the fussy little blonde in front of me. “Of course. Hungarian, right? Aren’t you going to open it?” A wave of suspicion rolls off of her, a rare slip. Whatever the reason is for me getting this call today, it’s big,* I take care of personal business on my own time, and I will make sure that whoever had this delivered here understands that it was not appropriate. Now. I didn’t come here to pick up my mail, so shall we get on with it? *She purses her lips, but nods once before spinning on her heel as she falls into pattern. Rattling off two dealers suspected of helping players cheat, three wait staff who may be dosing drinks, and one guy in the cage who has been accused of light payouts, I wonder when she’ll get to the main event. I take a deep breath as she nears the door out onto the floor, knowing this is my last moment of peace before the overly cheerful bells and whistles assault my ears. She turns to hand me a sheet of paper with the pictures I’ll need out on the floor, her arm full of files braced on the push bar of the door. “When you’re done with these, you’re needed upstairs. Use the VIP elevator, not the security one.” With a twist of her fingers, I see the access card tucked behind my usual to-do list. “Try not to take more than three hours. You can always go back on the floor if you need more time after.” I take the items, and with a single push, I am in the middle of all the lights, sights, smells, and sounds. My eyes skim the paper, then the room, locating who I need before I fold the page, and pocket both it and the card. If I’m not supposed to use the security elevator, that means the bigger issue tonight is with the security teams, maybe even the head or security. I can’t stick to my list. This could be a test, or someone running a distraction scam. I adjust my sunglasses as I pick a route that will take me near almost every employee. Nobody knows how I always manage to find the dirty employees, or exonerate the innocent ones, let alone how I always manage to do it so quickly. My favorite theory is the one where I used to be an interrogation expert for the CIA, but got fired for extreme brutality. Thankfully, the greed outweighs the lust in active gambling zones, and I only have to dislocate one wrist to get a hand off my ass. The desperation runs thick in these places, every human dreaming of making it big, until they’re so far down they just pray to break even. I bleed off the worst of it, fueling my bad side, and giving the humans a few artificial moments of peace. As I suspected, most of what I’ve been asked to look into is smoke and mirrors. Except the guy in the cage. People with chips in neat, tidy stacks get neat, tidy payouts. Every disorganized jumble of chips loses a few, only to reappear for one of his partners. Skimming his mind, I can identify two that are in the casino right now, though he has as many as six. That one will get some special attention after my meeting upstairs. The wait staff? They’re not dosing drinks. One of the bartenders is taking cash to dose drinks, though. I’ll leave him to the humans. A tap on my shoulder brings my head around to one of the younger servers, and I sift through her thoughts in a heartbeat. Sharp mind, terrified to have drawn the short straw to be the one who has to keep bringing me soda water, but more scared that she’ll lose her job on a bullshit excuse once her pregnancy shows. I pull out a twenty, and hand it to her as I take my drink. I have enough pull that I may be able to get her a different job here, since I happen to know of two that will be opening up. Circling through the card tables next, none of the dealers pay me any attention at all. The dealers in question aren’t monitored by the same floormen. In fact, they’re across the pit from each other. I circle again, stopping to watch a woman on a winning streak, which allows me sightlines on both dealers. There’s definitely something off, but with less than an hour left, I need to go digging if I don’t want to come back down here. Grabbing a seat beside Hot Streak, I signal the dealer, and drop the minimum bet as I scan employee grids. Nobody seems out of line. Until I take a closer look at the pit boss. I’m not picking up on his full signal set, but I’ll pull that out of his brain later. The basic ruse seems to be that he signals his floormen, who then question a dealer, distracting them for players to swap cards. If the cameras aren’t catching this, it’s because someone is making sure nobody looks closely at the footage. Forcing my way deeper into his mind, I barely glance at my cards, or my bets, for the next half hour. Finally confident I have the bulk of the scam, I give a mental shove to one of the onlookers, causing him to jump and spill his drink. Knocking my own over, I make a show of trying to clean myself up as staff comes scampering with napkins. Whatever the guy was drinking was absolutely rancid, and splashed on several people, but not me. Backing away from the shouting match that has started, I ease my way toward a wall to keep a low profile on my way to the VIP elevator. Punching the button for my floor, I ease back against the wall, quickly ticking through my options. Wait to be told why I’ve been asked upstairs tonight, or go on the offensive as soon as I walk through the door. If the head of security is in that office, my only option is attack. I won’t let that bastard try to spin this. He may not be the mastermind behind all of this, but he’s either complicit or incompetent. Keeping my eyes closed, I pull off my sunglasses to rub the spot right between my brows. The elevator is a welcome break from the noise and smells. The envelope in my pocket is burning a figurative hole in my brain, but it has to wait. I slide the shades back on as the door chimes and opens. The wide hallway has two guards at the end, flanking the double doors into the boss’ suite. Nobody inside the casino uses his name, he’s just the boss here. I wouldn’t want my staff calling me Melvin either, to be honest. It’s easy to pick up on his grid, on everyone’s really, since my aviators are the only thing I wear to disguise my sin eater side out here. Melvin, his head of security, and Tina are all inside. This place would fall apart without Tina handling the everyday shit. I nod to the goons on the door, having my read on the room before their hands even hit the handles. One whispers into his watch, no doubt announcing me, before they swing both doors wide for me. Not one to waste an entrance, I stalk right over to the head of security, wrap my hand around his neck, and slam him up against one of the pretentious pillars.* Did you really expect me to fall for your fake ass incident reports? I would have to be blind, and stupid, to miss what was really going on down there. I hope you hid all the cash you skimmed better than you hid your your scams. *Melvin chuckles softly. “I told you she was good, Drew. Didn’t I tell him that, Tina?” The piece of meat gurgles, terrified at being tossed around so easily, but at least he doesn’t piss himself. He’s turning a darker red, so I adjust my grip slightly, not looking to kill him yet.* Do you want the rundown of what I already discovered, or should I take him to the quiet room for a full confession? *And that’s when the fucker pisses himself. Of course. The quiet room is pure fiction, but hang a sign on a perpetually locked door, and rumors will do the work for you. A wave of smug vindication rolls off of Tina, and she places her stack of folders on the desk in front of Melvin. “This is a full account of all the anomalies I’ve found so far. I’m certain Miss Hess has her own observations to add, which should back up my findings.” Locking eyes with Drew, I start rattling off everything I’ve seen tonight, digging in his mind for other tidbits I could have reasonably observed. His eyes somehow get wider with every word, a large ring of white forming around the muddy hazel irises. Melvin sighs heavily. “Much as I would love to let you make this one disappear, I’m afraid I need to make a public example of him. In case we miss any of his plants when we clean house.” I narrow my eyes, and give one last squeeze before dropping the former head of security to the ground.* Let me go through them. I’ve got a few ideas where to start. *I cross my arms over my chest, ignoring the stench of urine and quiet sobbing from the floor.* Turning, I see a gleam in the boss’ eye, and Tina’s face closes up tight. “Honestly, I think that is a wonderful idea. Especially with you as my new head of security. Yes?” Funny, I never noticed how much Melvin looks like a spray-tanned weasel before this moment.* No. I will go through your staff, question them, and make my recommendations, but I will not take that job. I need the freedom to leave on little to no notice, and I don’t have that if I’m running security. *The man deflates visibly. Clearly, he hoped to get me away from my freelance ways, It’s not like he’s the first to try it. Tina is the picture of relief. She’s mentally broadcasting her top picks for head of security, and her opinion that I am entirely too volatile to be anything other than a special consultant.* Speaking of little notice, I need access to the security feeds for today. Somebody brought my personal business here, and I want to know who so that it never happens again. *Melvin is quick to agree, especially once Tina pulls out the bottom file folder filled with potentials for the security gig. The two goons from the door, who have been watching the whole time, drag Drew from the office. No doubt to clean him up before the cops get here. Too bad about that handprint bruise on his neck. Tina waves me over, handing me another access card. “This will get you everything you need. I’ll start sending in employees for you to question. They’ll have a great view of Drew waiting for the police, so that should make your life easier.” I don’t even ask about payment as she goes back to her list of candidates. They’ve never stiffed me on a transfer before, and I really don’t need the money. True to her word, the card from Tina gives me full access to the security suite, and employees start filing in minutes after I arrive. The next several hours pass in a blur of questions, and notes that have little to do with my questions. The guilty human mind goes beyond open book, straight to giant billboard for someone like me. Crossing one major shift change still leaves a lot of employees to question, but Tina shows up with a schedule to get me a face to face with everyone else in short order. She flits over to a printer as I stretch, preparing to leave. “Sorry I gave you grief about the envelope earlier. It didn’t sit well with everything else that was going on around here. This is your guy.” The picture she hands me is pure old world butler, complete with immaculate white gloves. “I know you’re not happy about him bringing this here, but could you go easy on the guy? He was so friendly and polite, he made the Canadians look rude. And anybody walking around dressed like that is clearly only following orders.” I give a nod, and say Scribe only knows what to placate her. Doggen. Someone sent a fucking doggen to find me. Someone knows where to send a doggen to look for me. Not good. I slide the picture into the same pocket as the envelope, and make my way back to my Ducati, my mind churning. Rehvenge could find me, but a simple phone call is more his style. Most of the vampires I know about around Vegas are running, not keeping a tidy household. There are a few doggen in the city, but the elegant manservant look smacks of glymera doggen. Nobility, wealth, and pompous posturing. Name after name crosses my mind, each quickly discarded, as I ride to my nondescript house in an equally nondescript neighborhood. Once my bike is parked and locked in the garage, I check all my doors, windows, and weapons before finally opening the envelope bearing my name. Emptying it onto a table, the first thing I see is a very large sum, even for me. In the Old Language are details regarding proof of kill, and an account number. My account number. The page is the only item that fell out, so I flip it over. The face staring out from the picture is the male I currently have an arrangement with for my blood needs. Fuck. Not only is someone tracking my movements, they’ve done their homework without me knowing about it. I could bolt right now. It wouldn’t be my first time disappearing. Looking around the tiny house, I see nothing to give any hints of who I am, what I am, or anything that could be used to trace my movements. If I leave the bike, I’m one more unsolved missing person on a police blotter. But maybe, just maybe, this will be the fight that finally kills me. Not the male himself, but the trap where he is the bait. I’ve spent decades looking for a way out of this empty existence. The trouble is, I can’t find it in me to go down without a fight. The entire symphath colony didn’t kill me. The human researchers had their torture facility burned to the ground for trying. I’ve lost count of how many petty thugs and mid-level mobsters I’ve put in their graves for getting in my way. This situation is different, a trap made just for me, possibly with full knowledge of my abilities. I might get lucky this time. Isn’t that why everyone comes to Vegas?*