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myglogic · 4 years ago

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My Home (Han Jisung x Reader)

Pairing: Han Jisung (Stray Kids) x Reader

Genre: Fluff, a little bit angst, enemies to lovers (not really tbh)

Word count: 4,2K

Summary: A well-deserved vacation was expecting you and your friends. You happen to meet a guy named Cody on your Hawaii vacation. But Jisung is not happy about that.

A/N: Hi! this is my first skz story on this blog with (hopefully) more to come! I didn’t really correct this, so there might be some grammar mistakes. The usual. Hope you like it!

Finally. After a long workday in retail, you got your well-deserved vacation to Hawaii with your closest friends. You are all university students and everyone worked their asses off for this vacation. You hoped that this vacation would let you relax a little. You wanted to sunbathe, meet new people, and have fun. Your friends Chan, Changbin, Jihyo, Taehee, and lastly Jisung were all coming. You didn’t even know if you could call Jisung your friend though.

You loved all of your friends but with Jisung it was a little different. Han Jisung and you were… how could you describe it best? You had a rather playful relationship. You sometimes really didn’t like him, he was loud, pushy but at the same sweet and cared for everyone. It was as if you had a little competition between the two of you. But no one knew what the competition was about. You wouldn’t say you hated him but you would have preferred it if he wouldn’t go to Hawaii with you. He makes fun of you all the time and sometimes you just want to tape his mouth shut.

Chan assured you that he would try to control him. You knew that it was a little too much to ask of him. You were basically asking him to babysit Jisung. You hoped that he would behave himself.

You were working your last shift at the small clothing boutique close to your apartment before your vacation. You already shopped the essentials like a cute bathing suit, sunscreen (LOTS of sunscreen), some cute sunglasses. Mentally, you couldn’t wait to get out of this stupid store. You heard the little bell on the door and looked up to see Jisung.

“Yo, Y/N!”, he shouted and smirked as he walked up to you. “What are you doing?”, he said. He had a smoothie in his left hand which he gave you.

“Thanks.”, you said and accepted his smoothie. “As you can see, I am waiting in an empty store just to get paid.”, you huffed, clearly bored.

Jisung laughed a little, “Well, I can’t wait for our vacation! Oh, by the way, don’t worry about me. I heard the babysitting thing.”

You hit his shoulder, “As if you will leave me alone.”

“Who said anything about leaving you alone? I will be by your side 24/7!”, he said and pocked your cheek, as he bent over the counter. “I will never leave you!”, he said in a dramatic voice.

You put your hand on his mouth, “Shut up! If my boss hears you, she’ll think that I flirt with the customers!”

You wanted to remove your hand but felt something wet on your hand. “Did you just lick my hand?! Ew!”, you started punching his shoulder. “That’s disgusting!”

Jisung giggled, “You’re cute, Y/N. I wouldn’t mind you flirting with me.”, he smirked and tried to defend himself from the punches he was getting from you.

That was how it was between the two of you. Jisung sometimes was a huge flirt but you never took him seriously. Yes, you did find him attractive but you would never tell him that. He messed with you all the time, maybe something was entertaining about this but there were days where you wanted to be left alone.

“I would never do that. In Hawaii, I will find a cute surfer guy and flirt with him instead.”, you said proudly, as you looked at the clock. Just 20 minutes left.

Jisung’s look darkened a little, “No surfer guy would date you. Or even flirt with you.”, he said, with a distaste in his voice.

“Are you jealous?”, you laughed. “Idiot. I’m there to have fun, one person will flirt with me for sure!”

“Yeah, whatever.”, he said, cutting his sentences short. “I’ll leave then. See you at the airport tomorrow.”

Before you knew it, you were on the plane sitting between Chan and Jisung (who was drooling on your shoulder because he took some sleeping meds). You took pictures to blackmail him later on. Taehee and Jihyo were taking pictures and Changbin tried to photobomb them. Successfully. You were really grateful to have such friends. Even on your darkest days, they knew how to cheer you up. You all needed this vacation badly.

You looked at sleeping beauty on your shoulder and softly removed a piece of hair out of his. His hair was dyed blonde, just for this vacation. He said that he wanted to compete with the bright Hawaii sun - just to see who could brighten up the beach more. While he was sleeping, you thought that he looked very peaceful. You could watch him for hours like this. Chan, of course, noticed you touching Jisung’s hair and just smirked at you knowingly. According to Chan, you and Jisung will end up together someday. You profusely refused to believe that.

After the 14-hour flight was over, you went to your big ass hotel room that you got for six people. It was really luxurious and the hotel was amazing. You had the perfect ocean view from your room and you were here to see those things. But before you could go out and explore, you and your friends threw yourselves to the first soft-looking surface to sleep for another three hours. Yeah, economy flights to Hawaii weren’t the most comfortable ones.

After everyone freshened up, you and the girls decided to go down to the beach, whereas the boys decided to check out the pool of the hotel. The beach was lively, there were nice beach bars, people playing beach volleyball and a lot of abs. For real, it looked like a gym if you took a look at some of the bodies on the beach.

You decided to get a cold cocktail to cool yourself down and sat down at one of the stools. As you waited for your drink, you noticed a nice-looking guy who was staring at you, but not in a creepy way. The bartender told you that the guy who was looking at you paid also for your drink. Take that, Jisung.

You smiled in his direction and the brunette guy sat down next to you. He had brown hair with green eyes and was probably one of the most attractive guys on the beach right now. “Hey, I couldn’t help but notice you…”, he said and smiled at you with a dimpled smile.

You blushed a little, “Hi… My name’s Y/N, and yours?”

“Cody. Nice to meet you. You’re not from here, right?”

Cody was his name. You thought he was really cute. But not as cute as Jisu-, you stopped yourself before finishing that thought. What the hell? “Yeah, I came here with my friends from Korea so… What about you?”

“I’m from the States. California, to be exact. I haven’t met anyone as beautiful as you in Cali, though.”, he continued flirting with you.

You moved a little closer. “We don’t have guys like you back home too, I guess it must be fate that we meet here, huh?”

You continued talking to him and you really hit it off until you felt someone tapping on your shoulder. “What are you doing here alone and where are the others?”, Jisung said, looking skeptically at Cody.

“I’m not alone. This is Cody, Cody this is one of my friends Jisung.”, you said and smiled brightly, also giving Jisung a look that said: Go away, I’m having a blast here.

Jisung rolled his eyes and sat down next to you, “Wow Y/N, you’re quick. Meeting new people already!”

You rolled your eyes, “Hey, Cody. Here is my number. How about you call me and we do something together? I will be here for a week.”

Cody came close to your face to whisper, “I’d like that. But next time, come alone.”, he said and winked at you. Then he got up and left.

Then you turned to Jisung, pissed. “Okay, what was that? I clearly gave you a signal to leave!”

Jisung rolled his eyes, annoyed at you bickering with him. “Really? That dude is no good news, Y/N. I was just scanning the situation. You don’t know him.”

You sighed, “Look I appreciate it but really. I can take care of myself. So, where are the others? Over there is a party, let’s dance!”, you said, offering Jisung your hand.

He sighed and took it. “Don’t embarrass me with your dance moves.”

You grinned, “It’s on!”

On the dance floor, you danced the worst possible way, making Jisung move more and more away from you. Just as he was out of the dance floor, you took his hands and pulled him back in, which made him stumble a bit. He stood close to you, the close proximity between you making you feel differently.

Jisung then put his hands on your waist. “Let me show you how to really dance!”, he said and made even weirder dance moves. You both were dancing the night away, laughing, and having fun. But he was really by your side the whole time, just like he told you he would. The next time you had to get rid of him to meet Cody alone.

But right now, you were having the time of your life with Jisung not annoying you for once. It was weird. The way he held your body, the way he looked at you. There was something in his expression that you couldn’t decipher. You had a warm, fuzzy feeling your stomach now. Jisung was giving you his most earnest, brightest smile right now. Maybe it was because of that.

“I hope we don’t get a dancing ban.”, Jisung said, still laughing.

“I don’t even care. They can stop us from dancing on this floor but the embarrassing moves will live on in our hearts.”, you said and smiling at him.

“Spoken like a true queen!”, he said, agreeing with you.

Throughout the next few days, you met Cody more often and he seemed really sweet. Just the summer romance you were looking for. Of course, things with Cody weren’t ever supposed to be serious but you have always imagined finding the perfect guy on a summer vacation. Just like in the movies he was way too perfect for you and sadly the distance separated you. Well, you at least imagined it to be like that.

You really didn’t know anything about him but you honestly didn’t care as long as he didn’t want to murder you. On the first evening you met Cody, Jisung coincidentally was there too.

You met him at the beach where you wanted to swim together a bit. Jisung sat down on his towel. He wasn’t next to you but his eyes were on you and Cody the whole time. How annoying. He then called your other friends over. Jihyo winked at you for finding such an attractive guy on your first day which earned herself a glare from Jisung.

On that evening there was a bonfire. You sat down next to Jisung during that bonfire. “Hey!”, you said, happily.

“You sound happy. Did Mr. America do that?”, he said sarcastically.

“Nah. Not only him. I’m just enjoying everything.”

Jisung made you two some burned marshmallows. “Well, I hope this can make you happy too!”, he said and gave you a hot marshmallow. “Be careful though because-“

Before he could finish his sentence, you put the marshmallow in your mouth, making you squeak a little because of its temperature.

“… It’s still hot.”, Jisung finished his sentence. “Stop panicking dude! Let me help”, he said after seeing you frantically breathing. Jisung softly blew in your mouth to make the marshmallow cool down faster. He moved closer to you to do that.

This must look stupid. That was what you thought. You were burning your mouth and he was trying to help you like that? You must admit he looked cute doing that but you for sure didn’t look cute burning your mouth.

“Better?”, he asked and smiled at you.

“Y-Yeah. Thanks.”, you said swallowing the marshmallow. You didn’t know why but even small gestures like this made your heart swell. Jisung might be annoying but he is the sweetest boy you know.

“No marshmallows for you.”, he said and then put his arm around you. “It’s a little cold.”, he said and used that as an excuse to move closer to you.

You blushed a little, “Huh. Yeah, it is.”

That night you spent like that and every thought of Cody left your head.

On the second day, you invited Cody along to spend time with you and your friends. Cody got along with your friends, except for Jisung, because he didn’t even look at him. You went hiking to the Koko Crater Arch Trail to see the beautiful scenery of Hawaii from another point of view. Cody was with you the whole time, helping you to hike safely by holding your hand if the trail got too steep. Jisung was behind most of the time, not talking a lot. He was acting weirdly and you didn’t know why. But because you were busy trying not to break your leg, you couldn’t talk to him.

The others walked ahead already leaving you with Cody alone. “So that friend of yours… Jisung, was it?”, Cody started as you walked slowly side by side.

You nodded, “Yeah? Why do you ask?”

“He doesn’t seem to like me. Does he have a thing for you or something?”

You burst out laughing, “What? Jisung and me? No, he doesn’t even like me as a friend! I mean we have the same friend circle. It’s not like we hate each other but yeah… That would be weird. Why do you think that?”

Cody laughed at your reaction. “Oh damn, sorry! It’s just whenever I come near you or even touch you, he glares at me like he wants to kill me.”

“He is just a little protective sometimes, especially since we are in a foreign country, I guess. But he is like that with the other girls too.”

“I don’t think so.”, he said and took your hand. “So, nothing is going on between the two of you?”, he asked.

You turned to him, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. “I am single, that I can assure you.”

He gave you a full dimpled smile, “I guess it’s okay if I do this then?”, he said and moved closer to you, his face inches away from yours. You gave him a nod and closed your eyes. The next thing you felt was his lips on yours. It was a little rough and he wasn’t the best kisser but hey, it was still sweet.

What you didn’t know was that a pair of eyes saw the whole thing as well. Jisung’s eyes widened. Chan sent him to look for you and Cody since you were separated from the group. But he didn’t expect you to lock lips with said boy. He felt angry and sad at the same time. He didn’t know what to do so he just took a deep breath and waited for you to stop exchange saliva.

You stopped kissing him, looking up at him. “That was nice.”

“It was. I hope that we’ll be doing more of that later?”, he asked you cheekily.

You smirked, “If you earn it, sure.”

“Kinky.”, he said and laughed with you.

You then heard someone clearing their throat. Jisung. Your eyes widened a little. You don’t know why but you panicked a little. Did he see you? “Oh! Since when are you here?”, you said wanting to find out if he saw all that.

“Just arrived.”, Jisung lied, not wanting you to feel uncomfortable. “Chan thought you guys were lost so… Should we go? We should be at the scenic point soon.”, he said awkwardly.

You just nodded and took Cody’s hand. However, as soon as you saw Jisung stare at your hands you subconsciously let go and hiked the rest of the trail with the two boys.

After that day things got very confusing between you and Jisung. The boy who swore you that he would stick to you like glue was nowhere to be seen. Usually, he was hanging out by the pool with Chan and Changbin. As soon as he saw you, he put on headphones or suddenly had to go to the hotel room. Something was off.

One evening you sat down with Jihyo and Taehee to ask them if they knew what was up with Jisung. You explained the situation and both looked at each other as if they knew something.

“Why are you looking at each other like that? Do you know something that I don’t know?”, you asked them, looking at them curiously.

“This isn’t something that we should tell you so… I’m sure that the problem will be gone soon.”, Jihyo assured you and patted your back. “He has a lot to think about. Give him some time.”

Taehee nodded, “You know him. Everyone has bad days.”

You didn’t question the situation more. You knew they wouldn’t tell you more. Jisung and you had to talk sometime.

You and Cody however were in a “honeymoon” phase just like two people in a fresh relationship. You both knew that this relationship wouldn’t work out but you wanted to spend time a lot of time together. It wasn’t really a relationship but more like fooling around? But these last few days Cody acted a little weird. He was more distant than before. You didn’t spend all of your time with him but your friends still felt a little neglected.

Your vacation was about two weeks and before you knew it you only had three days left. After debating a long time, you have come to the conclusion that you needed to talk Jisung. He was once again hiding somewhere but with the help of Chan you found out he was at a beach bar. You quickly found him and sat down next to him.

“What’s wrong with you?”, you said, quickly addressing the elephant in the room.

Jisung’s eyes widened at the sound of your voice. He turned to you. “Hi to you, too?”

“Shut up. You are totally avoiding me! Why?”

“You always tell me to leave you alone. Why are you bothered now?”, Jisung said with a fake disinterest in his voice.

“This is not the same situation and you know it!”, you said in a serious tone.

“Can you stop talking so loudly? We are at a pretty crowded beach.”

You then stood up and took his arm to go to a more secluded part of the beach. “Can I shout now?”

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is but I ordered a cute cocktail with these little umbrellas in them so…”, he said and wanted to leave but you pulled him back. He stumbled back and now your proximity was even closer.

“I just… I didn’t imagine that most of my vacation would end up like this… You are ignoring me.”

“I didn’t imagine my vacation to be like this too, Y/N.”, he huffed.

“If you would tell me what your problem is then maybe I would understand you better!”

Jisung clenched his jaw and now he looked at you with anger his in eyes. “Really?! You really don’t see anything? That Cody guy is playing with you! You spend more time with him than your actual friends!”

“Is that the reason? Cody? Jisung, I am an adult who can take care of herself! I can do whatever I want!”

“You really don’t get it, do you? I’m just looking out for you!”, Jisung shouted back at you.

“I don’t need you to look out for me.”, you said, clearly angry. “That doesn’t explain why you have been avoiding me. The others told me this too. But they talked to me unlike you.”

Jisung took a deep breath to calm himself down and then looked at you. “I told you the reason.”

“No, you didn’t! You are a coward, Han Jisung! That’s what you are!”

Out of anger Jisung walked up to you and took your face in his hands. In a matter of seconds, his lips were on yours. At first, you didn’t know how to react but you quickly closed your eyes. Unlike with Cody, Jisung knew how to kiss you properly. It felt right to kiss him. You couldn’t quite understand what was going on. But right at this moment, you didn’t mind Jisung kissing you.

You felt his hands wrapping around your waist, pulling you closer to him. His lips moved at the right pace and no matter how cheesy it sounded, it felt like you two were missing puzzle pieces.

You stopped kissing after realizing what was happening. You looked at him with wide eyes. “Why… why did you do that?”, you whispered, your forehead pressed against his still.

He was quiet for a few seconds. “I was hoping… that I could finally make a move. I wanted to use this vacation to finally tell you how I feel. I know things have been really weird between. We are not exactly friends but we don’t hate each other. And from one to another I noticed that I really like bickering with you, talking to you… just thinking about you made me happy. Especially after our little dance competition on the first night, I wanted to tell you this.”

You flushed. Your cheeks felt hot. “Really?”, you said. That was the only thing you could say right now.

“But after I saw the whole Cody thing I lost my whole confidence. Dude, how can I compete with someone who consists of muscles? And you were all lovey-dovey with him… I just… I don’t know. It scared me so I stayed away from you as far as I could. To be honest, I saw him fool around with another girl too. But you looked so happy, I didn’t want to ruin it.”

You sighed. “Is that what you meant when you said he is playing with me?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry.”

You felt like you should be sadder about the fact that Cody was fooling around with other girls. But you didn’t. You had your fun with him and it was never serious. But Jisung’s confession made you feel things that you never felt before.

“Don’t apologize. I’m sorry that I made you feel shitty this whole time. This vacation was supposed to be perfect.”, you sighed.

Jisung noticed that you never really answered his confession. Maybe, you didn’t like him back so you avoided talking about the kiss. Jisung sighed, “Well, we should get back then?”

You nodded. “Thank you for talking to me.”

The last three days were fun. You confronted Cody about the whole “cheating” thing. It wasn’t really cheating but you told him that you didn’t want to see him again. Things between you and Jisung were back to normal. Almost. You enjoyed the last days with your friends and it was the most fun you’ve ever had. You went swimming, drinking, dancing. Before you knew it the last night arrived.

During your last night, you asked Jisung to meet you at the balcony of your hotel room. Jisung saw you in your flowy summer dress. His eyes sparkled even brighter as soon as he saw you. You were leaning on the balcony railing and Jisung did the same.

“Hi.”, you said, blushing a little.

“Hi.”, he answered awkwardly.

“Look… I just wanted to tell you that I didn’t forget about your confession.”, you started. “It’s just I needed a little time to think and to process everything.”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured, Y/N. It’s okay if you don’t like me back.”, Jisung assured you with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“No! What are you talking about?”, you said, giggling a little. You moved closer to him. This time you put your hands on his cheek. “I like you a lot, Han Jisung.”, you then closed the distance between you.

Once again, kissing him felt nice. His soft lips on yours were the best feeling in the world. This kiss was shorter but still sweet. “I just needed to sort this thing with Cody out because I fully want to commit myself to you, you know.”

Jisung’s hamster-like cheeks were now on fire. “You are the best, do you know that?”, he said and gave you another long kiss. “It feels nice to kiss you whenever I want to.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe that this is happening right now.”

“Me neither, Y/N. So… Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?”, Jisung innocently asked.

“Of course. My boyfriend.”, you said and hugged his torso tightly.

On the plane ride back home your head was on Jisungs shoulder and his head was on top of yours. Your fingers were entwined and you were sleeping peacefully. You didn’t only go home with your new boyfriend. He was your home too. You never noticed before but he always was your home in a way. Only yours.

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pokenimagines · 5 years ago

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So, this is a request for someone over on my discord. Here you go, Timelock! Also, Gatoraid sponsor me! I mentioned you like five times in this fic!

Discord - Request Info - Ko-Fi

Raihan: Drunken Stands

Warning: Slight NSFW Elements but not really? Waking up after a one-night stand and being hella hungover. That’s about it.

Your head was pounding, and you came to a conclusion, laying in the oddly comfortable and spacious bed, that you definitely overdid it a bit last night. You groaned as you rolled over, hiding under the covers from the sunlight that was threatening your eyelids. You didn’t want to deal with the day yet. You just wanted to continue sleeping this thing off until you felt well enough to get up and get some water and pain killers.

That was when you felt it. The movement, in your bed, early morning. You slowly opened your eyes, not remembering letting any of your pokemon out last night, but then again, you barely remembered the previous night anyways. As you opened up, you noticed the dark sheets of the bed and remembered how soft it was. That was your rude awakening to this not being your bed. Your bed wasn’t that soft, specious, or that exact shade of black now that you recalled.

You groaned a bit as you shifted, and the soreness you felt was the final indicator of exactly how your night officially ended. You would regret this at a later time. Hangover be damned; you needed to wake up and get the hell out of this dudes house. You didn’t know where you were, and the slight outline of a body through the blurriness of your eyes under the covers wasn’t helping you much.

You slowly began sitting up, fighting back nausea as you rubbed your eyes. You were now out from under the covers and able to see exactly who you managed to sleep with. You turned your head and had to stop for a moment. You were now staring in tired, almost dead to the world, teal eyes. This…this was not good. This man…the one who’s staring at you now in just as much shock as you were, was your friend. Raihan. Also known at the dragon type gym leader over in Galar.

“…Rai…?” You asked, still mentally screaming that you drunkenly hooked up with one of your best friends last night. You knew you had gone to the bar with him and a few other gym leaders, but to think you’d end up going home together. You’d need to piece all this in your mind together. He looked just as mortified and hungover as you did. You knew for a fact that he definitely was in the same boat of ‘How the hell did this happen?’.

“Wha…fuck…” Raihan groaned, moving his head into the pillows as you laid your head back down. On the upside to all this, since you knew the guy pretty well, you were no longer in a hurry to escape from this bed. Your hungover self could have a small moment to rest again.

“Ya, I know…I know…think Leon knows what happened last night?” You manage to get out, still feeling like absolute ponyta shit. Raihan was slowly reaching for his phone, not even lifting his head from the pillow as he felt around for it. Once his hand found it, he slowly brought it over and turned his head, unlocking it and grimacing from the light, “Dude…you look like shit.” You finally laughed out, regretting the movement as it made your head spin.

“So do you…now hush. I’m looking through my photos.” Raihan said, raising a hand to put one finger of your mouth so you wouldn’t say anything else. You huffed as you swatted it away as you looked over at him.

“While you do that, I’m getting us some water and medicine. Still in the same spots as usual?” You asked him, finally sitting up again. You needed to get something done to work on getting this hangover under control.

“Ya, grab me a Gatorade as well? It’s in the fridge. You can have one, too.” He said as you slowly stood up and noticed you were still butt as naked. You looked at the ground, not even seeing your clothes. Where the hell did they start coming off? You shrugged as you wobbled to his closet and stole a shirt and some boxers from him. As you put them on, you caught him staring at you from the corner of your eye.

“Eyes to the phone, Rai. You don’t remember it, so you don’t get to look at it.” You joked as you threw the shirt on. You heard him mumble something as you left the room. It took maybe then minutes before you stumbled back in: toast, water, Gatorade, and some pain killers. You had a pot of coffee brewing as well. He happily grabbed a piece of the buttered toast, nibbling on it while drinking some Gatorade, his eyes still focused on his phone.

You sat back down next to him, leaning over to see. You saw several blurry photos of the night, you and him taking several selfies with one another and with some friends. A few had you guys kissing in them. They actually weren’t too shabby of photos in all honesty.

“You manage to find your clothes?” He asked, opening his messages and sending a text out to Leon. Probably seeing if he felt as shitty as you to did and if he remembered all that transpired.

“Well, my shoes were barely through the door and looks like the underwear came off in the kitchen. We had a wild ride…surprised we were coordinated enough to do that.” You said with a laugh, and you watched Raihan smile into the pillow before slowly sitting up.

“Do they need to be washed?” He asked, scratching the back of his head and letting out a yawn. You both still looked like shit, but the pain killers were at least kicking in by now.

“Already ahead of you. Both our clothes smelled like tequila and bad drink decisions. I don’t know what we were drinking last night, but apparently, it was over both of us.” You said with a laugh, leaning against the headboard and drinking some Gatorade.

“Tequila is only involved in bad drinking decisions. You never see someone talking about their crazy, wild night after having wine.” He said, the blanket falling over his chest. You couldn’t help but stare at his abs for a second, appreciating the beauty before you, before hands went over your eyes, “Hey, you don’t remember, so you don’t get to look.” He said, repeating your earlier words.

“I now see how cruel that was of me to say.” You joked as his hand came off. He was now smiling properly, and you felt your heart soar at the sight of him. How the hell did you manage to snag someone so hot at your best friend? Not to mention sleep with him. The man who you happened to have a bit of a crush on. You were snapped out of these thoughts as his phone vibrated. You leaned over and saw Leon basically wrote a novel, with horrible punctuation, might you add.

“Looks like the last thing he saw of us was me dragging your drunk ass into a taxi. He assumed I was taking you home. So much for that. In my defense, if I wasn’t so fucked up, I would’ve.” Raihan pointed out, and you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t defend yourself, I know you’re not the asshole to take advantage of a drunk girl unless you ere equally as drunk. Let alone take advantage of a friend. So…what now?” You asked him, looking over. You were still a bit sore as he shifted, and you happened to see the exact reason why. Well, …that explained a lot. You watched him laugh as he covered himself up.

“Not ready for a round two right now, maybe later.” He joked as he ruffled your hair up a bit, “Also, I’m not sure. Never accidentally slept with a friend when shit-faced before.” He commented as he looked you over, “Did you want to try and forget it happened or…” He almost looked disappointed at the thought.

“Why forget it? That doesn’t make for a good story.” You winked as you finished the bottle and tossed it over at his trash can, cheering mentally as you made it despite your state, “Besides, you still need to buy me dinner now.” You said, and he looked confused.

“Oh, and please tell, why?” He asked that charming and sharp-toothed smirk was plastered on his face, the one that made tons of women over the region swoon.

“I’m a classy bitch, if you want to fuck me, you gotta buy me dinner first. We’re just doing it out of order this time.” You couldn’t help but laugh at the end of it.

“No fair, I don’t even remember it, and I still gotta pay. Rude.” He huffed at you. You couldn’t help but lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek.

“If you’re a good boy, I’ll remind you why after dinner…or breakfast…or lunch?” You suggested, hoping you wouldn’t get turned down. You had one hell of a crush on this man after all, and if you guys already fucked, there wasn’t much else to lose. If he questioned it, you could say you still had some alcohol left in you.

“Okay, this seems like a much better trade-off…” He had stopped while looking at you, a bit unsure, “I need to ask though, is this the start of a friend with benefits kind of deal, or something more? I gotta make sure to have a clear indication. You’re my friend, and I don’t want to fuck this up.” He said, and you couldn’t help but blush at those words.

“I…let’s see where it takes us? I’m not sure either. Never did the whole ‘friends with benefits’ deal, and honestly, I’d rather strive for something more, but if it ends up like that?” You said with a shrug. Raihan smiled as he threaded his fingers through your hair.

“That sounds good to me…I’ll be honest I’m hoping for something more as well. Right now, though…kinda just wanna lay back down and sleep.” He said finally. You raised one eyebrow, thinking on the coffee you were brewing…well, you could always have iced coffee later.

“Same…now lay down, you’re warm, and I’m using you as a pillow now.” You said, already laughing as he laid down with an arm out for you. Honestly…this morning wasn’t as bad as you initially thought when you woke up.

#pokemon #swsh #Pokémon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh x reader #pokemon sword and shield x reader #raihan #pokemon raihan #pokemon raihan x reader #raihan x reader #swsh raihan

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theshadowspecter · 5 years ago

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Nuisance

(Bloom: this is probably the longest chapter. Not sure, didn’t track number of words. Also, there’s only a handful of chapters left!)

Abigail ran until she could see the outskirts of the forest, the desert that separated it from Dead Bird Studios in the distance. Slowing to a walk, she spotted a nearby moss-covered boulder and took a seat to try and gather her thoughts. In just a few days her contract would be up. If she wanted to save her soul, she would have to keep bringing others to Snatcher. It's not fair! Abigail huffed, all I wanted was to see these woods, try to learn about it's history. Is that too much to ask?

With a sigh, she hopped off the boulder and made her way back toward Dead Bird Studios. Maybe after getting a good night's sleep she could focus better on what to do next...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking past the entrance to the studios, she glanced in, only to see a gaggle of owls around something. Letting herself inside, she walked up to the lot of them “hey! What's going on?” she asked casually. There was a group gasp as the owls noticed her, before they all scattered with cries of “its her!” “Help!” and the occasional “hoot!”. It took a moment before she realized that all the owls had fled further into the studio, leaving her alone with what, or more precisely who, the owls had been so enraptured by.

“Conductor? You're alive?!” she was pleasantly surprised to see him, and he didn't look too bad for someone who was flung sky-high out of a forest. Sadly, Conductor didn't return her warm welcome. “Aye, no thanks ta yew. How could yew?! Leadin' innocents to their doom?! I trusted yew, I even let ye become an honorary bird!” Abigail tried to explain herself, but Conductor held up a wing to stop, “don' try ter explain yerself. Dat ghost already did. Now yew go back an tell dat peck-neck of a spook dat no bird is ever goin' ter be steppin foot in Subcon Forrrrest again!”

Abigail wanted to argue. She wanted to say this wasn't her fault, but she knew, deep down, that it was. If she had never went to Subcon, she wouldn't be in this situation. Feeling guilty and shameful, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Conductor called after her, “An' yew are no longer an honorary bird, neither! So don' come back!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the incident with the Conductor, she had gone back to Mafia town to try and get back to her old home...only to have to pull away from the docks to avoid the Mafia trying to attack. Apparently the boss still had it out for her. Feeling rejected, she went back to the only place that still seemed to welcome her: Subcon.

On the banks of the forest she stood, looking out over the ocean. What now? She pulled her contract out of her jacket I only have a few more days before this is up. She had never felt so trapped, so hopeless. She gave a shuddering sigh so is this it then? Do I just wait for the contract to end? I'm no longer welcome at Dead Bird or Mafia town, and I don't know anyone in Alpine or the Metro either...noticing the sun was setting, she rolled the contract back up and started to head off into the woods. She would spend the night here and in the morning collect her thoughts and make a plan. She soon found a decrepit and abandoned tree house, which she climbed into. Though old, it was still pretty stable, and she soon let exhaustion take her.

The problem with Subcon is that it is always night. So when Abigail woke, she had no idea what day or time it was anymore. Despair started to settle in, what does it matter what day it is? I can't bring anyone else to Snatcher. She took the contract out again, this pecking paper is going to be the end of me!

She absent-mindedy glanced at the contract again before something caught her eye. It wasn't a loophole that would save her, not even a bit of fine print she could tweak if she knew the ins-and-outs of law (which she didn't). It was simply an addendum, one that she had personally requested and forgot about. A ghost of a smile on her face, she left the tree house and headed for Snatcher's. Hopefully he would have calmed down by now.

She actually found the specter out in the forest, way up in the trees. She knew he could sense her, and waited for him to come down, which he did momentarily, holding a Subconite in his grasp. He placed the minion on the ground and it took off the moment its feet touched the earth, “thanks boss!”

Snatcher gave a small wave back before turning to Abigail, clasping his claws together in eagerness, “SO WHO DID YOU BRING ME THIS TIME?” Well, he seems to be in a good mood, Abigail thought, also noticing that his wounds had healed, hopefully this'll work...

“I brought myself.”

“GIVING UP? SUCH A SHAME.“

“Actually,” she said, holding up her contract, “you owe me a history lesson. Remember that addendum?”

Snatcher scowled, “THAT BIRD FRIEND OF YOURS DIDN'T COUNT.”

Feeling bold, Abigail countered. “actually, 'after the next delivery of a person or persons into the forest, the Snatcher will impart his knowledge of Subcon history to the contractor.'” she read off her contract. “You might have not gotten Conductor's soul, but I still delivered!” Snatcher glared at her and she triumphantly smirked back. She had him on this, and she knew it. It was all she had going for her, this whole thing happened because she wanted to get some history, and peck it all if these were her last days alive she was going to get what she was owed!

The ghost was the one to break the stare down with a laugh, “YOU'RE TRULY A NUISANCE, YOU KNOW THAT? BUT HEY, A DEAL'S A DEAL. FOLLOW ME.”

Abigail followed the shadow specter to his tree home. While Snatcher looked through a small bookcase, she took a seat on the futon. Picking a worn leather-bound book without a title, Snatcher floated over and took a seat in his chair. “I'M GOING TO READ TO YOU A LITTLE BIT FROM MY JOURNAL. KEEP IN MIND, THIS FOREST HAS BEEN MOSTLY QUIET FOR A VERY LONG TIME, SO THERE'S NOT MUCH TO TELL AFTER A CERTAIN POINT.” With that, Snatcher sat back, flipped open the book, and began to read:

*************************

When I first laid eyes upon Subcon, all I saw was white. The blizzard that had wiped out the area had left its mark. Being a spirit with fire attributes, I was able to melt away the snow and frost.

At first it was only me and the forest, and I enjoyed the solitude. Then, slowly, other spirits started to appear. [As if on cue, a single dweller floated in to listen. Snatcher gave it a brief nod before continuing] Turns out that these were the souls of the children of Subcon, who had perished in the blizzard. Lost, confused and frightened, these masked dwellers started following me around.

It was also around this time that another being made themselves known: Moonjumper. [“Moonjumper?” Abigail asked. Snatcher sighed, “YEAH, AND LET ME TELL YOU, HE WAS A THORN IN MY SIDE FOR A LONG TIME!” Clearing his throat, he continued] It became obvious very early on that 'Moonjumper' was actually the prince of Subcon. He had also perished in the storm, but his will to live kept him around as another spirit. Just like I have fire magic, the prince had powers to: those of manipulation. Forcing others to do work against their will. [“Wait a minute!” Abigail called out, “you do the exact same thing!” “AH, BUT YOU'RE WRONG! I GAVE YOU A CHOICE, DIDN'T I?” “Some choice, sign or die,” she huffed. “YEAH, WELL, MOONJUMPER WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN YOU ANY CHOICE AT ALL. ANYWAYS,” he went back to the story]

Well, Moonjumper wasn't too happy about me taking over, you see. Lucky for me, though, he was a wimp! Hardly any magical strength at all. Unless he could manipulate me, he wasn't going to win any battle for this place, and I'm too powerful to fall for his mind tricks. The Dwellers, however, are much easier to control. Again, luck was on my side that the little children's spirits knew better than to go near that creep. Yep, for the moment, it appeared as if Subcon would be mine with hardly a fuss.

What I didn't plan on, however, was that the queen would still be alive....more or less. Basically a mass of dark magic had warped the queen and caused the storm, but back then I didn't know that. [“You couldn't sense something like that?” “SUBCON BACK THEN WAS A MESS OF DARK ENERGY. THE AREA I HAD THAWED FOR THE DWELLERS AND MYSELF WAS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THE MAGIC WAS SOMEWHAT STABLE.”] Imagine my surprise when Moonjumper and the queen launched an attack. Nearly destroyed my part of the forest. It turned out that the dead prince, weak as he was with magic, was a formidable strategist. He used the queen's powers to attack, and I could barely keep them at bay. This kept up for some time, they would attack and I'd hold them off, but I knew my power wouldn't last forever. Fighting them took energy, and I had no way to replenish it.

It was around that time when some fool wandered into my forest. I can't quite remember how he died, but once I consumed his soul I felt my powers restoring! I suddenly had a plan, but it would take time.

I gathered all the Dwellers and made them each an offer: join me and help me save my forest. Most of them agreed, some didn't, but that was fine. I had more then enough help, and with contracts signed and tidied away, I set to work making those lost souls new bodies.

[Again, as if on cue, a small gaggle of Subconites wandered in. “Are you telling her about us, Boss?” one asked. “Oh, I like this part” another added. “YEAH YEAH, HUSH. NOW, WHERE WAS I...” Snatcher continued as the small group sat on the ground around the futon]

With my new minions, the next part came easy. All they had to do was bring more souls to Subcon, and I would take care of the rest. It really only took a couple weeks to amass a suitable amount. I challenged the Moon creep to another battle, and he agreed, unaware of what I had planned.

That battle was one for the history books...too bad there aren't any! Structures were blasted, foliage frozen, but I still had the upper hand. I had become so powerful that I was able to obliterate the dead prince so hard he was sent into the Horizon, which is a type of realm between here and the stars above. [“So...he's still up there?” Abigail asked, pointing. Snatcher nodded, “UNFORTUNATLEY. ACTUALLY KILLING OFF A GHOST, EVEN A WEAK MAGIC USER LIKE HIM, WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH TIME AND ENERGY, SO THIS WAS THE BEST SOLUTION. EVEN NOW HE COULD GRAB A SOUL FROM THE HORIZON, AND USE ITS POWER TO RE-MANIFEST. THAT'S WHY MY MINIONS AND I ARE WELL AWARE OF EVERY SOUL THAT ENTERS MY FOREST.” With that, he went back to the book]

The only loose end left was the queen. Unfortunately, most of my power had been spent banishing Moonjumper, and by that time word had started to get around to stay away from my forest, so there was a drastic drop in the number of souls I could obtain. Turns out that wasn't going to be a problem. See, though the queen had a lot of magic, her mind had been twisted and warped into a fine point of insanity. So, without Moonjumper to control and command her, she couldn't do anything. But she was still unstable and had to be dealt with. I managed to trick her into setting up barriers around her manor, and that's where she remains, trapped in those icy halls.

***********************************************

Snatcher closed the book, the Subconites got up and scampered out with the occasional, “thanks for the story, Boss!” called out, while the Dwellers floated out silently. Abigail sat there for a few moments, thinking about all that she had just heard. What an amazing story! It made sense why Snatcher took souls, it was in order to protect the forest-his home-and it's inhabitants from attack.

Snatcher floated back over to the bookcase, “I HOPE THAT HISTORY LESSON WAS WORTH IT,” he reached for another object before turning back to her. Abigail's peaceful demeanor quickly transformed into one of fear as she realized the ghost was holding a jar with a glowing golden ball of energy-her soul-trapped inside.

#ahit #ahit au #shadow specter #shadowspecter #Snatcher

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thesweatzone · 5 years ago

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BACKSTORY and FITNESS PROGRAM

BACKSTORY:

I have always struggled with my weight. I was never overweight to a point where I would have troubles with my health but it did limit some of my abilities and it lowered my self-esteem. I was really overweight as a child but then my rapid growth caused me to look slimmer than before and I was only round. Basically I was and still pretty much am skinny fat.

About two years ago I decided I wanted to become skinnier, so I started working out more. I realized now that being skinny is far from my goal and I truly want to be healthy and have a strong body but working out did give me solid foundation on which I explored my interests in sports, which I never liked before. I found the ones I actually enjoyed and the ones I did not enjoy quite that much. I started losing some fat. But then I became lazy and the fat came back.

This repeated itself many times throughout those two years. I slowly realized my biggest problem were my eating habits. I was really picky when it came to food and I always chose the wrong one. I also binged, then ate very little for a while and binged again. I even contributed to the weight gain with drinking smaller amounts of water than I should have and my sleeping schedule was all over the place. I realized only working out won't do that much. At least not for me.

I slowly started incorporating better foods into my diet and changing up my lifestyle but I never committed enough to see it through until the end and obtain obvious results. I was also very confused where and how to start, because there is so much information out there about what is right and wrong. The main problem was that I didn't give any program I created for myself time so that I could actually see results and see if it works.

RIGHT NOW:

Now I want to stick to my plan for longer than one or two months at a time. I want to achieve results that will last and work on my confidence too. I am currently 173 cm tall (which is roughly 5,8 feet) and I weigh 65 kg (roughly 143 pounds). Though I am tall I feel like I am quite heavy since I do not have that much muscle mass so the lbs are higher than I wish they would be, because of fat. I have stubborn belly fat while I'm not really visibly round in any other areas of my body as much. Of course you cannot spot reduce (I will write about that in one of my future posts too) so I will have to lower my body fat percentage and gain a lot of muscle mass in general to see the belly fat disappearing too, since I am striving for a stronger not skinnier body.

Right now I'm in a good place, though I still have many things to focus on to perfect my daily routine. I've been working since the start of the year (6th January, 2020) and lost 4,5kg (roughly 10 pounds) in five weeks. I constructed a workout and diet plan for me as well as I could, since I haven't got that much control over a lot of things going on in my life because I'm still in school and have work to focus on besides my fitness goals, though I am trying to make them a bigger priority in my life.

Some people said that this program seemed a bit challenging for a beginner when they took a first look at it. That's why I wrote a short paragraph in which I spoke about my work out habits above. They are not that bad and I tend to work out quite a lot so I’m not in such a bad shape - food will be a bigger issue for me. If the program seems though for you and you do your workouts completely differently, I encourage you to continue doing it your way. The same goes for if you think it is too easy. I designed this the way I did, because I know what I am capable of right now and what I would like to be capable of in the future.

MY PROGRAM:

Duration: 8 months (until the end of August)

Goal: Build strength and muscle mass, achieve a flatter belly and leaner physique, gain confidence, build better habits

Workouts:

I've tried many workouts on the internet already and I decided to follow some good fitness channels on Youtube and follow their work out videos, since I don’t have time to go to an actual gym. I will link them in some future posts. I made a weekly workout schedule too.

On Mondays I do half an hour to an hour of yoga targeting my core (abs), on Tuesdays I do body weight exercises targeting the legs and the glutes, on Wednesday I have another day of body weight exercises targeting the abs and on Fridays I have weightlifting to strengthen my arms and back.

I also have one active rest day every week when I am allowed to do nothing or just some light cardio. That is Thursday for me, because I arrive home late (around 7 p.m.) and it's the day that is the most tiring for me in the whole week.

On weekends I have one scheduled full body workout on Saturdays. I usually do pilates or some HIIT workouts. On Sundays I can take a day of if I feel like it, because I don't want to push myself over the edge but if I feel alright I do an hour of cardio.

Speaking of cardio, it is one of my favourite workout categories because I love to run, dance, hike, swim… and these are all workouts that fall into the category. I try to do cardio at least three times a week even if it isn’t scheduled (just because I actually enjoy doing it) but if the weather is nice I take a walk everyday anyway, since I like some peace to think and be alone.

Through the week I work out at around 6 p.m. and on the weekends in the morning or at least before noon.

Dieting:

For me it is really hard to meal prep since I am in high school and I have a lot of my meals prepared for me by other people. I evaluated my eating habits and realized I consume too much sugar and carbs and my diet lacks fiber. I can’t completely follow a low-carb diet but I will be aiming towards consuming less carbs and try to eat food which is low in sugar and high in protein and fiber.

I also challenged myself to eliminate all sugar I could from my diet for at least 40 days but I can happily say that I'm already on day 45 (I started on the 6th of January) – I decided to just continue with it and try to reach 70 days. I planned it for a long time and I can say I am quite satisfied with the outcome. I've tried including a lot of healthy foods, vegetables and high protein foods and minimize foods with a lot of carbs but there are days when I just don't have the option to eat anything but something high in carbs or not as healthy as I would wish it would be.

If you want to, I will definitely write a post about what I eat in a week after I test it out, see how effective it is and perfect it completely.

I have already tried intermittent fasting (will be explained in future posts) in the past once and it worked miracles for me. I felt more energized, way less bloated and I felt better in general. I will incorporate it into my diet again I decided to do a 16:8 ratio – I eat in a time frame of 8 hours. That equals 16 hours of fasting where I don't consume any food I just drink a cup of green tea in the morning.

Drink:

I used to drink very small amounts of water throughout the day but I carry my water bottle with me everywhere I go now and I try to drink as much as possible. These are my main rules for drinking:

-drink 2 water bottles of water a day

-one cup of green tea in the morning (or lemonade)

-don't drink milk in the evening

Sleep:

I try to go to sleep before 11 pm and get up around 6 or 7 am. For me it is pretty hard, because I am a night owl, but I do try, since I see a big difference in my energy and ability to work efficiently throughout the day.

…

That is how I designed my workout and diet program. All details will be specified in further chapters since it is still a bit rough around the edges (especially the diet part), but I cannot meal prep since it is really hard for me to prepare my own food.

I thought I should explain what and how I'm doing everything, since I will be writing about it. This is a basic overview and I didn't really go into detail. If you want me to be more precise, especially about my eating habits and how I'm trying to change them, I will make a post about it. This is just my story and my program. I can't guarantee any of these things would work for you or your body but maybe you will get any idea or find some useful information. You now know my story and my goals.

I always struggled with my self-esteem and body image but I am on the path to changing everything and I want to share the lessons I'm learning and my story with you. I hope it motivates you and you can see you are not alone. You should also remember that even though my measurements and fitness goals don't match yours and you maybe see different numbers than me, you aren't working any less hard or doing anything wrong nor should you be discouraged. We are all on our individual journeys and you have the exact same chance of reaching your goals as I do or anyone else reading this blog.

Whenever I start doubting myself I just avert my thoughts somewhere else because I am positive we all can do this. Remember to love yourself no matter your weight. We are all beautiful and what we are doing and the changes we're making are only to better ourselves physically and mentally but our weight or appearance doesn't define us nor does it define our worth.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

-M

#health #healthy eating #healthy recipes #fitness #fitwomen #fitbody #fit #lose weight #goals2020 #body goals

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strawberryjeonginnie · 6 years ago

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Felix Felicis

Part One || Part Two (coming soon)

Genre: Fluff, bulletpoint, Hogwarts AU

Additional: gender-neutral reader, unspecified house for reader

Warnings: none

Summary: Perhaps you have a small crush on Hufflepuff’s cute seeker, who seems to bring luck wherever he goes.

It was your 6th year at Hogwarts

And the end of your time at one of your favorite places on earth was looming over your head,,,, a lot

Like, it was deadass giving you anxiety. Because who the hell wants to grow up? Not you, that’s for sure.

And during that time, you found solace in art. Literally all you did was draw

Your friends were kind of worried ab your health because you had just started to hole yourself up and you weren’t seen anywhere except for classes

(You were always in the courtyard and sketching in a spot they didn’t know about)

So eventually, your friends (Chris in particular) were done with your bullshit

You!! Needed!!! To!!!! Spend!!!! Time!!!! With!!!!!! Them!!!!!!!!

They’re fucking needy, okay?

They decided the best time to get you out was during a Quidditch game between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor

And since both Chris and Jisung played on the Gryffindor team, you couldn’t just tell them “no”

So you dragged your ass out to the game, ready to cheer on your very pushy friends with Woojin and Jeongin

that’s when you spot him

Oh god, it felt like the air got knocked out of your lungs, he was so beautiful

His smile, his freckles, his eyes, his lips

Who let this boy be so goddamn perfect?

“(Y/n), you okay??” Jeongin asked. Woojin elbowed him in the side and nodded towards where you were staring

“Ooooh, that’s Felix! He’s the Hufflepuff seeker!” Jeongin laughed, poking your cheek

You slapped his hands away, and glared angrily at Jeongin.

“Don’t poke me, you buffoon,”

I mean

You definatly thought Felix was cute

Possibly the cutest boy you had ever seen

But like hell were you gonna let Jeongin know that. That would definatly lead to a lot of teasing

Looking back to the field, you could see Felix’s wide smile as he waved to the Hufflepuff crowd, who cheered wildly. This boy was definitely going to steal your heart

“You know, all of us are friends with Felix,” Woojin said. Your eyes got wide and you turned to him

“Really?”

“Really. And he’s super nice too. I could invite him to sit with us at lunch one day, if you’d like,”

You nearly kissed Woojin

“yeS PLEASE,”

Woojin = best wing man

Hufflepuff ended up winning the game, much to Jisung and Chris’ dismay

(And you were lowkey really happy but you could never tell them that)

I mean,,,,, how could you not be happy????? You got to see Felix’s beautiful smile again

And he was such a good sport too

He congratulated the Gryffindor team for doing so well, and your heart just soared

And when lunch rolled around the next day

There he was

Sitting at your table

“(Y/n), come here!! I want you to meet my friend Felix!” Chris waved to you, signaling to the spot next to Felix.

Sitting down next to him, you felt star struck

He was—and this is a complete understatement—the embodiment of an angel

And when he spoke it was like the gates of heaven opened up and god shot you in the heart

Not religious???? You are now

But there was something that you noticed about Felix,,,,

He was so goddamn clumsy

He’s????? Literally the seeker for the Hufflepuff team??????? How is he so clumsy

How many times was the boy gonna drop his fork or trip over his words????

Someone please help him

Regardless, it was really cute :(

He kept stuttering bc he would get embarrassed and you had never wanted to hug someone so bad in your life

“I’m sorry I’m so clumsy,,, I literally have no clue how I’m seeker on the Quidditch team. It has to be luck or something,” Felix whined after the third time knocking something over

That reminded you of something...

“Felix Felicis!”

Felix looked confused for a moment before realization crossed his features

“I never realized that before!” He smiled

“I mean, you basically are Felix Felicis. With how clumsy you are, yet how amazing of a seeker you are, maybe you are liquid luck,” Chris says, making Felix chuckle.

“Or maybe I’m drinking it,” He wiggled his eyebrows

Chris looked so,,,, so,,,,, mortified,,,, until he realized it was a joke

Dumb thot thought that Felix just confessed to cheating

You and Felix teased Chris about that for a while until lunch was over

“(Y/n), it was nice meeting you! Maybe we could... maybe we could meet up again tomorrow for lunch??? In the court yard??”

His face was so red

And mayhaps yours was as well

“I-I would love that,”

That night you were panICKING

What if you fuck it up???? What if you say something stupid?????

I mean

You’re always gonna say something stupid

But that’s beside the point

You really didn’t want Felix to think you were stupid

Little did you know, Felix was panicking over literally the eXACT SAME THING

He thought you were so cute and funny and wow he really liked talking to you

He had always liked you from the stories he had heard from the other boys

Naturally, he was absolutely ecstatic when Woojin invited him to sit with you guys!!!!

But now,,,, Felix has a little crush

And Felix can’t keep his damn mouth shut around attractive people

So now :) he gets to have lunch with you :) alone :)

When lunch rolled around the next day, you were so tired

You hardly got any sleep bc of the anxiety of waiting

But!!! There you were!!!! Dead as fuck waiting to have lunch with a cute boy!!!!!

When Felix walked up,,,,, you suddenly didn’t feel as anxious

He looked dead as fuck too

“Hey, (Y/n)! I’m sorry if I’m late, I didn’t get much sleep last night,”

“You’re fine! Too much work?”

“N-No... if I’m being honest, it’s because I was nervous about doing something dumb around you,”

Oh shit did he really just say that

“If it makes you feel better, I was worried about the same thing,” you smiled. Felix swore his heart just burst

You were so attractive and your smile was so nice and he really just wanted to hold ur hand

And

This bitch couldn’t stop his mouth

“You’re very pretty, by the way,”

Fuck fuck fuck

He was panicking, you were panicking

It was a great time

“You’re not so bad yourself,” you winked. Felix almost sighed with relief. Maybe he hadn’t fucked up too bad after all.

#skzwriters #straykidswriters #forskz #lee felix #hufflepuff felix #hogwarts au #fanfic #fanfiction #fluff #bullet point #stray kids imagines #imagine #x reader #reader imagine

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alexanderglghtwood · 8 years ago

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look at us, burning down in flames for kicks

have some domestic and fluffy and slightly sexual malec - for @jacehvrondale because i promised her fluff after my last fic - thanks to @softshumjr for helping me edit once again

Alec had just gotten out of the shower when he noticed the time. It was nearly five thirty already. He panicked slightly, remembering he’d promised that he would have dinner ready when Magnus got home from doing a few jobs across town for the day.

He knew Magnus wouldn’t mind that dinner was slightly late, but he’d made a promise and then forgotten about it, which didn’t sit well with him. Quickly, he threw on a pair of boxers and one of Magnus’s dressing gowns before making his way into the kitchen.

He cursed Magnus for only owning extremely short robes, and then he cursed himself for not taking Magnus up on his offer of making space for more of Alec’s clothing.

On Magnus the robes just barely covered everything important, but Alec was slightly taller than him so there was no use even trying to be modest, he couldn’t cover everything.

Not that it mattered much, Alec was alone in his boyfriend’s loft. And it wasn’t like he and Magnus hadn’t both walked around the loft wearing less than he was now, so he normally wouldn’t really be concerned with covering up, but he was going to cook something and, when he wasn’t fighting while covered in stability runes, Alec was quite clumsy and he knew he’d most likely burn himself.

It didn’t take him very long to cook the meal, but it took long enough that he wasn’t quite finished when Magnus walked through the front door and called out, “Darling, I’m home”.

Alec looked down at himself, momentarily concerned by how little he was wearing, before realising that it was just Magnus, his boyfriend, and that he didn’t care.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Alec called out before turning back to the stove and focusing on the meal he was preparing. He’d only recently learned how to cook, he figured that he was going to have to learn how to at least do the basics when he came of age and his parents started spending more time in Idris. And once it became clear that Izzy wasn’t going to get any better at cooking, he decided it was time to learn for real.

It was easy really, just finding a few recipes online and practicing. Once he’d started, Alec found that he really enjoyed cooking, especially for his boyfriend, who lit up with excitement the first time he came home to a meal Alec had made himself.

As they ate he’d talked about how he couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken the time to actually cook for him. He said that most people just expected him to use his magic to conjure up some takeout, which was perfectly fine, but he’d forgotten how much he enjoyed the sentiment that came with having someone cook for him.

Magnus walked into the kitchen. He set his bag down on the floor by the door and started to speak as he stood up straight. However, he froze mid word when his eyes landed on his boyfriend’s half naked body standing in front of the stove. His hair was still damp from the shower he’d clearly taken earlier and, when he turned to face Magnus, he noticed that he had a five o'clock shadow. It made his face look thinner and his cheekbones more prominent.

Magnus let his eyes trail over Alec, from the shaggy, damp hair clinging to his forehead, to the purple bite marks trailing along his neck and collarbones and chest, to the dressing gown that had fallen open and the fact that he was only wearing tight boxers underneath it. He felt his breath get caught in his throat as he moved forward, making his way over to where Alec was standing, and pulling his boyfriend’s body close to his own.

As soon as he was close enough to reach, he pressed his lips against Alec’s, one of his hands moving up to cup Alec’s jaw. The stubble was rough under Magnus’s palm and against his chin as they kissed, but Magnus wasn’t bothered at all, actually, he kind of liked it.

Alec chuckled softly as he pulled away from Magnus, “It’s nice to see you too.”

Magnus blushed lightly at Alec’s teasing tone and rolled his eyes, “Oh shush. If you’d come home to me walking around half naked, you would have done the same thing.”

“Magnus, you walk around naked all the time, I think I’m used to it by now.”

What Alec didn’t say was that Magnus was completely correct. He had, on multiple occasions, done the exact same thing that Magnus just did. The difference being that usually Alec was coming home late at night from a mission when this would happen and it was usually followed by them showering together, partially to clean the dirt and grime off of Alec, and partially because Magnus always ended up turned on when he thought about Alec out in the field, kicking some poor demon’s ass.

Alec wasn’t really sure what it was about it that turned Magnus on so much. He thought maybe it could have something to do with the fact that he was quite strong and very good at his job, but the more likely reason was something that made Alec feel kind of sad when he thought about it.

Magnus may have had other relationships in the past and he may have been with thousands of people in his unnaturally long lifetime, but he’d never really had someone like Alec. He’d never had someone strong and capable who actually wanted to do things for him and to take care of him.

He admitted one day, rather sadly, that most of his past relationships, or at least the long term ones, had been more about what Magnus could do for the other person. None of them cared much about protecting Magnus. There was an exception of course, Camille. Though neither of them were sure if she really counted, since she also liked to spend her time manipulating Magnus, but they mostly stayed away from that subject. Magnus didn’t like to talk about it much, and when he did it, usually ended in teary eyes and crushing hugs.

Alec pushed those thoughts out of his mind and turned back to the stove, where the pot of water and noodles was just starting to boil over.

Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec’s cheek before turning and walking towards the bedroom.

When he came back out ten minutes later, wearing sweatpants and a thin T-shirt instead of his usual work attire, dinner was ready and waiting on the table. He sat across from Alec, who still had yet to put more clothing on or retie the dressing gown where it had opened, not that Magnus was really complaining. Alec’s bare chest was exposed and Magnus couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Magnus was vaguely aware of Alec telling a story about the last mission he went on and the new, creepy demon he saw. There had been a lot of those since Valentine started doing his experiments. But he wasn’t paying as much attention to his words as he should have been, instead he was focused on Alec’s chest and abs.

“Earth to Magnus,” Alec called out when he realised Magnus wasn’t really listening to him. “You okay over there?”

Magnus blinked and nodded, finally looking up to meet Alec’s eyes. “Yes, darling. Sorry about that, I got a bit distracted,” he said, motioning to Alec’s uncovered chest.

Alec blushed, quickly pulling the dressing gown closed and tying it so it wouldn’t fall open again.

“I never said it was a bad thing,” Magnus said, grinning playfully. That made Alec’s skin flush an ever darker shade of red.

“Maybe if you finish all your dinner and you’re lucky then I’ll take it off completely.” Alec spoke quietly, but his tone was teasing, and Magnus didn’t miss the way he chewed on his lower lip for a moment before he said it.

That one little comment was all the motivation Magnus needed to finish his meal quickly. When he was done, he looked up to see that Alec had also finished his food and was sipping his wine. Magnus leaned back in his chair, wine glass in hand, and looked at Alec. He took a sip, his eyes never leaving Alec’s.

“So I’ve finished. It was delicious, by the way. Thank you, my dear.”

Alec nodded, “You’re welcome. So what now?”

“Well,” Magnus said, his voice low and seductive, “I believe you said you would take that off.” He gestured to the short robe Alec was wearing.

Despite the tie being done up it had still managed to slip open a bit while he wasn’t paying attention, revealing a small, but nonetheless captivating, section of Alec’s toned chest that had a couple of slightly purple bruises Magnus had left the night before.

Alec’s cheeks flushed for the second time that night, and they got even redder when he noticed Magnus’s eyes glued to the exposed skin. He set his wineglass down on the table and reached down to undo the tie. He didn’t miss the way Magnus’s eyes followed his movements.

He paused for a moment, his hands on the tie, and took a deep breath, then he pulled the tie loose and let the robe fall open.

He leaned back in his chair and fought the urge to cover himself back up. It didn’t matter how long they’d been together or how many times Magnus told him how much he loved Alec’s body, the feeling of Magnus’s gaze sweeping across his bare body still made him squirm.

He fought off the uneasy feeling though, because as weird and foreign as it was, he really liked the way Magnus looked at him.

Alec stood up and shrugged the robe off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor at his feet, and around the table to Magnus’ chair. He leaned back against the table in front of Magnus and just waited.

He didn’t have to wait for very long because soon Magnus stood up and pulled Alec’s body close to him, pressing their lips together as soon as he was close enough.

Alec’s hands fell to Magnus’s hips as they kissed, his fingers sliding under the hem of his shirt. With their bodies pressed together, chests touching, Alec could feel the heat of Magnus’s skin through the thin material of his shirt and it made him crave for the feeling of their bare chests pressed together.

He slid his hands up Magnus’s sides, pushing his shirt up as he went, until eventually Magnus had to break the kiss and lift his arms so his shirt could be taken off.

As soon as his shirt was off, Alec spun them so that Magnus was pressed against the table instead. Alec reached back and moved the remains of the dinner they’d shared out of the way before leaning down slightly and grabbing the back of Magnus’s thighs, lifting him up just enough so that he could sit on the table.

With Magnus on the table like this he was the same height as Alec, which made it easier for him to wrap his legs around Alec’s waist and pull him closer. Then they kissed again. But this kiss was different from the previous one.

Where the first one had been fast, all pushing and pulling and eager hands on hot skin, this one was was slower and deeper. It was the kind of kiss that left you breathless and unable to think straight, that left you with a wrinkled shirt collar and weak knees and bitten red lips. It was the kind of kiss that left you with a warm feeling in your belly and the promise of something more to come. And when they both pulled away, their eyes still closed and their breathing uneven, Alec understood exactly what he was being promised.

Just the thought of it made Alec’s heart race. The idea of sex was just as strange and disconcerting as the idea of being undressed in front of Magnus was. That is to say, it made Alec feel moderately uncomfortable, but it also made him feel like his entire body was on fire, in the best way possible.

He felt even hotter in the places Magnus’s body made contact with his own. His hips where Magnus’ thighs were wrapped around them, his back where Magnus’ fingers left trails of heat up and down it, his neck where Magnus was pressing his lips to one of the more sensitive parts of his body, the blocking rune that covered a large part of the left side of his neck. He found himself getting lost in the feeling of Magnus’ lips on his skin, trailing down his neck, over the marks that were still there from the night before. He stopped at Alec’s collarbone and nipped at the skin there.

Alec used his his grip on Magnus’s thighs to lift him up off the table and carry him into the bedroom.

He laid Magnus down on the bed and climbed on top of him, pushing his thighs apart enough so he could rest between them. Magnus immediately pulled Alec up so he could reconnect their lips. Magnus had his hands in Alec’s hair as Alec dragged his hand down Magnus’s side until he reached the top of his sweatpants which he proceeded to push down as far as he could without breaking the kiss, leaving Magnus to kick them off the rest of the way.

After that, the only thing that was left to get rid of was their boxers, which were quickly removed.

Once they were both completely naked they let themselves get lost in the feeling of their bodies pressed together, of hands in hair and lips on necks, of hands dragging against sensitive skin and the indescribable feeling of being as close as possible to the person you love most in the world.

When Magnus woke the next morning Alec was still asleep and the morning sunlight was streaming in through the windows where they’d neglected to pull the curtains closed last night, warm and golden. It made Alec’s pale skin glow.

Magnus was laying on his back, one arm resting on his stomach, still bare from the night before, and one arm lying across the pillow next to his. Alec had his head resting on the pillow so that Magnus’s arm was under him, resting in the crook of his neck. If Magnus closed his eyes and drowned out the distracting sounds of the city outside, he could feel the beating pulse in Alec’s neck, thrumming against the inside of his arm.

Alec was laying on his side, knees pulled up slightly, almost like he was trying to curl up into a ball. His arms were up near his face. One of them was just resting there, his nose pressed against the inside of his wrist. The other was sitting a little lower and his hand was resting on Magnus’ forearm. The sight made Magnus smile. Here was Alec, someone who was usually so closed off and private, laying next to Magnus and letting himself be seen in his most vulnerable state, asleep. He still couldn’t believe that he was the only one who got to see Alec like this, who got to see how beautifully vulnerable he could be.

Magnus allowed himself another minute or so to watch Alec’s sleeping face before forcing himself to get up and wander into the bathroom so he could take his morning shower. Usually he would be quick in the shower, wanting to get back to the comfort of his bed and his boyfriend’s arms as soon as possible, but today he had a knot in his shoulder that he wanted to try to work out with the help of the hot water, so he took a bit longer than normally.

When he finally got out of the shower and made his way back into the bedroom, Alec was gone. There was only a moment of disappointment before Magnus saw Alec’s clothing from the day before still on the floor and heard the sound of something cooking in the kitchen.

Magnus grabbed one of Alec sweaters off the floor and a pair of boxers and got dressed before quietly walking out to the kitchen.

He’d barely made it halfway across the room when Alec spoke, “Babe, I’ve already told you it’s nearly impossible to sneak up on me.”

Magnus groaned, “It’s not fair. You always manage to scare me so easily,” he said, pouting as he went over to lean on the counter next to the stove where Alec was making bacon. “That’s just because you’re one of the jumpiest people I’ve ever met, which is saying a lot considering I know Clary.”

Magnus crossed his arms and pouted until Alec leaned over slightly, just far enough that Magnus had to lean a bit too to get a kiss. Magnus groaned at this, but gave in after about two seconds and leaned in and pressed a kiss to Alec’s lips. When Alec pulled away, Magnus was grinning.

Alec turned back to the stove and Magnus cleared a space on the counter where he proceeded to sit.

They were quiet for a few minutes while Alec finished with the bacon and Magnus busied himself picking at the loose threads from one of the holes in the sleeves of Alec’s sweater. When Alec was finished, he turned off the stove and came over to stand between Magnus’s legs. He grabbed a piece of bacon for himself and handed one to Magnus. They ate their bacon between giggles and kisses and Magnus trying to annoy Alec by tickling him.

Afterwards they made cups of coffee and went back into the bedroom to get ready for the long day of magic and demon hunting that was no doubt ahead of them both.

And if Alec was a few minutes late to the morning briefing because he got distracted making out with Magnus against front door, well no one needed to know.

#my writing #shadowhunters #shadowhunters fic #shadowhunters fanfic #shadowhunters fanfiction #malec #malec fic #malec fanfic #malec fanfiction #magnus bane #alec lightwood #fluff #domestic #mostly implied sex

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miss-pettigrew · 8 years ago

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(1)a BUNCH of long asks coming your way, i'm so sorry I just love discussing KS with other people so I run my keyboard down lol.... so I finally read your latest post on KS. Anyway, I thought it was mind blowing on the point that the current story is almost always being narrated by Bum, so perhaps all the images are in Bum's perspective--which makes complete sense to why Sangwoo is always 'yaoi' sized compared to poorlittle Bum. I threw my hands up in surrender to you after that paragraph

Firstly,here’s the rest of the asks:

To move onto my question, actual penetration seems to be the next step between Bum and Sangwoo in their 'physical relationship'. But part of me thinks that Sangwoo will never do it with Bum. Many times in the past chapters, Sangwoo has expressed dislike for homosexuals. Hell, he even dresses Bum as a country gal to (imo) remove any masculinity from Bum and sort of 'project' this image that Sangwoo is holding hostage a woman, not a man (imo again).

There was only one time (I think) during a sexual act when Bum and Sangwoo exposed their dicks to each other, which was that one BJ scene where Bum gets Sangwoo off and pulls out his own dick. Honestly I can't remember if that was accurate or not cuz it's very hard for me to read those earlier chapters (I get so nervous and disturbed omfg). But going back to that BJ scene, Bum is still dressed like a girl as well.

So for my question (finally) I know you said that Sangwoo will /most likely/ give Bum some sort of sexual reward after all this, but do you think that Sangwoo will some how 'feminine Bum' in order to justify their sexual acts? Perhaps slapping that bra onto Bum?? Another question that just came into my mind was this.. it's goes back to your point about how Sangwoo looks so much bigger and whatnot.

You've said that you're not a sensitive person in your post and I also agree with that for myself. I've seen a lot of things in the past and I don't get too affected by it all. I usually can shrug off things pretty easily. But what I can't shrug off is rereading those earlier chapters.

As I stated in my past question, I get deeply disturbed and really anxious even /thinking/ about the situation that Bum is going through (don't get me started with the arc where Sangwoo was acting kind to Bum--I was hyperventilating the entire time). Do you think that because the story is most likely viewed through Bum's eyes, that the anxiety and panic or any emotion anyone gets when reading these chapters is a mirror to Bum's?

It's probably an obvious answer but I'm curious to reading your response. And also, if you believe that it is a mirror, what about during the short time Ji Eun took control of the narration? Is there something different? Sorry again if these are stupidly long asks and that I spammed you with all of them, but you pose such good analysis that I feel like I wanna dive deep with you on it as well LOL... ANYWAY THAT'S IT I'M GONE NOW LOL.

Secondly - hehe, thank you! I really am enjoying this even if it is slightly embarrassing how much I think about all this stuff. It’s interesting because nowadays I don’t normally need to wait for anything - media wise (except videos games but that’s on me). Like, with Netflix, all the episodes come out at one time and there’s no time for speculation or analysis. Until YOI, I hadn’t waited on anything, so I found myself reading a lot of meta and analysis and I guess I figured this is the time to get involved and do my own.

Thirdly, this is a great ask, and there’s stuff in here I hadn’t really thought about and there stuff in here that I have so I’ll do my best with both of those.

So that next step question? It’s an interesting one, and one that I don’t have any final opinion on, but rather a few directions I could see where it could go. Because you’re right, Sangwoo is homophobic and that does manifest in the sexual encounters with Bum. And yet, he also just clearly doesn’t give a fuck as long as he’s getting something out of it. So it’s a very unique mindset to be in when it comes to sex. Because nothing outside of how Sangwoo thinks, feels or reacts matters. He’s not completely homophobic because society, as a whole, tends to be homophobic. But because he sees it as a... difference? weakness? something to take advantage of and look down on. Like for him, it’s just so weird that this little freak likes men wow he’s such a freak but that also this freak surprises me and will do anything for me and I’m into it.

So the panel that keeps coming to mine is the “have you even had sex yes” panel with the dildo. And that concerns me because, well for one, Bum has had sex - and I don’t think a single time has that sex been consensual - just rape. And he and SANGWOO have had sex? And I sort of talked about this before, but clearly Sangwoo doesn’t consider what they’ve as “sex” despite it definitely being yes. So maybe he’s just one of those penetration=sex or maybe what he and Bum are is completely outside of anything he would normally define. I’m not sure.

So, my concerns lie in how does Sangwoo expect Bum to participate in this sexual portion of the murder? If he involved Bum as anything more than shock value for Jieun or will he try to have him lose his supposed virginity? Eh, probably not but maybe. And I realize I’m not answering your actual question here so let me get to a point.

I, personally, hope that “penetrative sex” is not the next step in their sexual relationship. Now - or ever. Because Sangwoo will hurt Bum. There is no gosh darn way he knows how to sleep with other men. He’s probably never even heard of lube - women are supposed to be doing all the work for him here. Plus, prep and going slow, like we have literally just seen how little time or care he takes when sleeping with someone because with Jieun he sort of just gets right in there - at least according to my reading of their intercourse. Time is a funny thing when it comes to sex scenes though. But, to get to your point, penetrative sex sort of makes sense when it comes to Sangwoo and his idea of power and control and homophobia. He simply wants to Bum submitting to him. That’s really what any sort of sexual interaction with Bum requires, I think?

But you bring up a good, and interesting point. Bum has never been sexually naked in front of Sangwoo. And I think that’s on purpose. But not necessarily because Bum being naked would remind Sangwoo that he’s in fact, a man, but he had no problems messing around with his flat chest before. So the lack of boobs aren’t an issue. Instead, it might be more, he just doesn’t consider Bum’s pleasure a priority. He just assumes Bum’s gonna get all the pleasure he needs out of pleasing Sangwoo and that’s not really Sangwoo’s priority to solve.

So if he and Bum do have sex again post-Jieun (and I expect they will) it’s important to note that it’s not really a “reward” for Bum. But rather something Sangwoo will want to do because he feels close and intimate with Bum and wants to get his rocks off again, and Bum is expected to go along for the ride. And that’s the thesis of this. I’m so sorry how much I ramble. I guess, in short, the feminization won’t really... come into play here? Or rather it will but because submission is the key.

To your second question, I’ll put the thesis right up front.

AB-SO-FREAKING-LUTELY. Like, y’all, that’s the entire point of reading this story. And that’s why I started off my whole meta series over how GOOD Koogi is as a story-teller because she does a near flawless job of getting you into Bum’s head/mind without you having a single clue. Why were we all so upset at Sangwoo sleeping with Jieun? I even admitted if gave me the actual feeling of that time I was cheated on because for us, we had just been cheated on too, through Bum. Even though, taking even half a step back - um, they are not in a romantic, consensual, healthy relationship. Sangwoo can and will have sex with whomever we wants. But for Bum, not one whole chapter ago he made Sangwoo tell him what he and Jieun had done together. And for him, his assurance that Sangwoo had not slept with Jieun has been both betrayed and thrown right in his face, can we’re only getting a taste of that betrayal. Bum is breaking, and we are along with him.

I can’t decide if I think Bum knows what’s coming. If he’s going to have to help kill her. I have a feeling he doesn’t, especially now when the fact he’s watching Sangwoo sleep with her is all he’ll be able to process, and obsess, and destroy himself over.

Every step of the way, we are meant to feel a little what Bum feels. That’s good, psychological horror at its finest. All of our sane rational selves know that this story is horrific, and abusive and something none of us would want any real part of. But hip hip hooray this is fiction and the point of fiction is to explore parts of ourselves (and I mean this holistically, like us a species) in situations and relationships and terror that we hope to never find ourselves in. That’s why humans have told stories since the dawn of time (and to like, pass down history and shit but you get my point).

And as far as Jieun, I mentioned it briefly before, but Jieun is 10000000% a foil/mirror for Bum. Break down their roles in the narrative and they are the EXACT. SAME. PERSON. Both love(d) Sangwoo, they’re devoted to him. They WANT him. Both have consciously placed themselves right into Sangwoo’s hands. And like, think about that dinner scene. People are making such a fuss because Jieun is being “mean” to Bum. But she’s acting like literally anyone would. She’s acting like Bum would if the roles were reversed. Nevermind, she’s acting like Bum IS ACTING because they’re both jealous, and possessive and wanting Sangwoo’s attention and affection.

We got into her head because narratively, we’re basically still in Bum’s. No, Jieun and Bum are not the same person. But the distinction we’re meant to see, I theorize, will be the moment when Jieun finds out who Sangwoo really is. I seriously doubt she’ll react like Bum did. I imagine she’ll reject Sangwoo instead of getting on her knees and confessing love for him - like she even has the opportunity.

I admit to being a little bit disturbed by the fandom’s overall reaction to Jieun. But in the same note, I doubt most are stepping back to see her as a mirror to Bum because Bum doesn’t see that. He sees her as a threat to him and to his relationship with Sangwoo. So I get the defensiveness on the part of the fandom, especially since most of y’all seem to be pretty young and it’s hard for your brains to take a step back. Hope that doesn’t offend, but it’s true because I was a teenager once too and I know what it’s like. lol.

This was long, but it’s also sort of my brand. Hope this was good!

#killing stalking #killing stalking spoilers #killing stalking chapter 17 #this is v long #sorry not sorry #a-elocin

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blahrutocs · 8 years ago

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some monty facts you probably dont know cause i never talk ab him basically:

+ he will actually get offended if people call him nice, he does most of his nice stuff in secret, he’ll walk old ladies across the street but if u catch him he’ll tell u he was

+his place is kind of chaotic, i always picture like 90 posters, two dressers but still clothes on top and hanging up in various places.... a bunch of makeup scattered everywhere.... random ass bottles of facial glitter in the kitchen.... stim toys everywhere n powertools just like.... hidden under the couch or placed in the middle of the coffee table, not for any real reason, it's mostly aesthetic. he cant fix stuff. he says thts what he's friends w/ ana for.

-he's v good at video games. kind of unnaturally. its strange. even games that are pure luck he almost always wins

-he was born when his older brother montgomery (gomer) was 13 and when his bro met him he asked his parents to "return it to where it came from" which is p much their whole relationship summed up,

+it is believed that monty used to steal his brothers videogames. no one knows what happened to them after that. if they were eaten or just thrown out or what but like, just. gone.

-one year he went as his older brother for halloween, which consisted of a mustache, a sweatervest, khakis and frowning a lot and also yelling “MONTY!” his parents thought it was so cute, gomer hated the whole thing .......so much......

+they moved from quebec when monty was five, and gomer chose to stay behind w/ an older friend until it was time for him to go to college. in one timeline he has a fiance who is possibly pregnant? and monty and him still don't get along, which if anyone asks monty says it's Specifically because of his horrible Moustache and beard that he refuses to shave.

+he's cousins with sal!! sal planned a queer prom (almost singlehandedly) of which monty was voted prom queen. ana was prom king. they were sort of just... genderless titles honestly, sanchez videotaped it, it got weird

+he cuts his own hair and also a few others in the group + he hates braiding but he always ends up having to help sal when he’s redoing his twists, which hes super dramatic about btw

+all four members of the group (maya, sal, ana, monty) always have at least a small bit of pink in their hair.... they also have matching necklaces w/ eachother’s initials on ‘em that they made at this artsy event at school or smthn....

+he really likes the colour pink for decor but his fav colour is red

+he has a comic book he’s been working on for a while... he’s had some of the charcters since he was like, 8. it’s developed into kind of a magical queer adventure story. all his friends help him w/ critics and stuff, he prefers going to ana just bc the others only ever point out shit like spelling mistakes and it annoys tf outta him whereas ana and he can be like “lets be real this shit’s gotta go” bc they’re both able to be more like... stoic i guess? it has a decent following, around 700-800 people on average......... they have long conversations about it, ana has some characters of his own but no coherent story arc he wants them to follow....

+he’d def be slytherin tbh... he’s super cunning and resourceful

+altho in their group ‘best friend’ is considered more of a tier, he’d probably say ana was his bff if push came to shove

+actually pretty insecure

+he can hack........ not like, super scary level stuff, mostly just stuff to mess w/ people cause he’s a dick. he thought it’d be cooler than it is. he blames hollywood..........

+politics stress him out, so most of his opinions are entirely (if not completely) satirical

+i dont know much ab his parents or what they do but i do know they’re both fairly carefree ppl. when he was younger, they were both carefree and obsessive, so they’d let him do whatever he wanted but on their terms. his older brother resented him a lot for some reason. his parents bought a house near his dad’s brother (sal’s dad) s he’d be close to family while they were out. the guest room was converted into a room for monty for a while until he was finally old enough to be left alone in a house when they weren’t there. they were home on most weekends, but gone almost all of the time besides that.

+sal’s grandparents aren’t 100% on board the gay train so whenever they visit they pretend to be straight, which is annoying since like... they both have pink / partially pink heads, so........ hets gonna het

+his first language is (quebecer) french, he feels a lot more confident when he speaks in it.... he plans to teach his kids french if he ever has them and has a very suppressed desire to hae a small ceremony in montreal..... he doesn’t mention it tho cause he’s Super Tough and Vulnerability is Bad,

-he sleeps w/ a weighted blanket!! he gets really anxous at night. he’s also got a lap pad which he brings with him whenever he’s having a real bad day...... maya made him them

-he can dance ballet

-he needs his glasses, but like........... does that make him wear glasses? no. also, the glasses he does own are bright yellow and giant circles..........

-the first one in their group to discover anime..........no one was ever the same.......

+very good chance he has an oral fixation, he has a stim chew necklace... i imagine it smthn like this but maybe w/ size difference..i dont think he chews tho?

-hes observational n kind of obsessive...... also very quick on his feet.

-natalia is the only one who’s ever beat him more than once consecutively and now he’s obsessed with defeating her once and for all.........

-he’s very academically gifted but like, none of his teachers liked him bc he was always talking and distracting ppl like.... it was a lot,

-he has a sweet tooth

- he is very short and Very in denial of it, i picture him wearing big shirts and sweaters a lot... a lot of really cool coats....... also his fashion style is pretty androgynous but i still picture him dressing in super bad baggy clothes tho

-doesn’t know how to respond to ppl being genuinely nice to him? mostly he’ll just cry

-he has a cat (momoko) who really likes jumping on people when they aren’t looking

- his fav animal is a polar bear

- he and sal have both had a crush on ana, though luckily for him sal got over his...... monty is frustrated and bothered like, all of the time. he’s just sitting there....watching him take ironic selfies like ~why do i like this man~ ~i am suffering~

-he and his friends make up a lot of convoluted games.... like there’s the opposites game, where friends will ask questions and they have seven seconds to answer the exact opposite of what they’d answer truthfully. (the other players decide if it’s accurate or not) it usually ends up in a political or philosophical debate but they have fun. monty and sal invented it, ana’s the best at it. there’s also doublesided truth or dare which is typically a drinking game....... you ask someone something, and if they answer then you have to answer the same question (or be punished) if they don’t, you can choose a punishment for them. punishments and questions can both only be used once, the drinking game could be punishment + shot or shot = punishment..... they get bored a lot, once they even played w/ the punisher being able to choose the punishee’s drink specifically.......

-cutting ppl off is harder for him than he pretends it is........... he acts like he can cut you off in the flick of a wrist but he Cannot,

-is very rarely still tbh

-he always sits in chairs very weirdly i think.......... he cant just sit in it straight forward he’s gotta be like upside down or sideways or both like he’s. Why? he’s basically a cat.

-he’s agnostic

-he can’t ride a bike and refuses to learn, he always just hitched on someone else’s bike..... it isn’t a problem of balance or anything he just does not want to for w/e reason

#monty #ocs #text #long post #montana/#other characters mentioned

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talldrink-o-h2o · 6 years ago

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Lifestyle: Buying a New Car

I grew up in Michigan, which you can read about extensively in this post. Everyone in Michigan either was employed by the auto industry (working for the Big 3 – GM, Chrysler, or Ford, as the case was in the ‘90s) or had family who worked in the auto industry. To this day, I know I’m in Michigan because of the lack of foreign cars on the road. I remember people would make racial slurs to my mom for the three years she owned a Toyota Camry, because it was more acceptable to say a racist comment than to drive a foreign car.

As a side note, I went to school in East Lansing from 2004 to 2008. This was when it was becoming mainstream to pay an obscene amount for drip coffee, a trend which continues to this day. East Lansing was home to a startup coffee chain called Beaners. I shit you not. Beaners experienced massive growth in Michigan and started to look to national expansion. They tried to enter into the Texas market. Allegedly the Texas powers-that-be said you can’t have a coffee shop that is named Beaners in Texas. Turns out that this is a racial slur for the migrant workers. Calling a shop this would alienate a good portion of the population. The company has since changed its name to Biggby (pronounced “Big B”) and claim the change had nothing to do with how offensive the name was. Which shows why people in Michigan thought it was okay to tell my mom she drove a rice racer because her car was Japanese.

But I digress. My aunt and grandfather both had worked for GM and my mother’s childhood best friend’s husband was a co-owner of a car dealership (did you follow that?). A person who retires from GM is granted a discount for him/her and their family for life. Because of this, it was insane for our family not to drive GM cars.*

When I turned sixteen, Katrina had conveniently totaled the little Mazda MX3 my dad had bought for her from a woman he worked with. The woman had kept it in mint condition, barely putting miles on it, and my dad got it for a song. One missed stop sign and the car was kaput. Because Katrina was a senior in high school and would be going to Michigan State the next year where she wouldn’t be allowed to have a car, my parents thought it’d be prudent to get us a car we could share for a year and then I could have it to myself my senior year. That’s how we got a year-old silver Pontiac Grand Am. And aside from feigning heartburn at the injustice of it all,** that car would take us all the way through college and follow me to my first year in Minnesota.

The first spring I lived in Minnesota, I had agreed to give my car to my sister, who had finished her MBA and was moving out to Virginia for her first job. This meant I needed a new car. Up until this point, the most I had ever spent on any single purchase was a $200 purse. I came out of undergrad with $20,000 of student loan debt and dumbly chose to live in a brand new apartment in the coolest neighborhood that literally cost more than one of my paychecks. I had no money to put down on a car and the idea of buying anything, let alone taking on yet another loan, made me sick to my stomach. I stayed up many nights talked to Steve about it, whom I had just started dating, and whom has always been much more frugal than me. For instance, he lived with his dad for a few years after undergrad so stockpiled an amount of cash. His favorite activity on the weekend is to determine just how much we’ll be able to save in the coming year and at what age we can retire. He offered to co-sign the loan for me, something I’d obviously need, being “cash poor” as the lady at the bank would later describe me to my dad. On principle, I couldn’t have a man I just started dating as my co-signer (I couldn’t think to the next week, why would I be beholden to this dude for five years?) so I had my dad sign.

The car I chose? A year-old silver Pontiac G6 with 22,000 miles on it. This is the car that replaced the Grand Am, because even though I no longer lived in Michigan, why would I ever buy anything other than American? Also the idea of doing research and going from dealership to dealership seemed daunting and not the same pastime activity in Minnesota as it was in Michigan. Don’t worry, this wasn’t an exact replica of the car I had just driven to my sister. This car was a very practical two-door, my statement to the world that I wasn’t planning to get married or have kids cause they couldn’t fit anyway. I chose it because I thought the trunk was cute. “I like its butt,” I told the salesman.

Fast forward to November 2018. I still have the G6. In the 9.5 years I’ve had the car, I’ve put a whopping 45,000 miles on it, meaning I never drive the thing. The furthest distances she traveled were two trips to Michigan, three trips to Milwaukee, and one time to Chicago. Only recently did I start driving her with any regularity, which is because I finally got access to Target’s restricted parking lot (you can reminisce about my first month parking there here). On an average day, my driving is 3-5 miles round trip. It’s less than two miles total to get to and from work, and if I throw in a class at OrangeTheory, I top out at five miles total.

Do you remember what it’s like to drive around in a 2009 model? There’s no back-up camera. There’s no keyless engine start. There’s no input for a phone to connect and certainly no Bluetooth. The dashboard is digital but not a touchscreen. It’s basically the Stone Age.

But back to money. A lot of people will say that they don’t buy cars because they don’t invest in depreciating assets. Which like, fuck off. If you’re leasing your BMW 5Series every three years that means you’re paying $500+ per month every month with no end. You’re pissing away money that could be used on literally anything else.

I always said I’d keep my car until it was ten years old or hit 100,000 miles, whichever came first, which, based on my habits, is clearly going to be the former versus the latter. Also, though, I really don’t like having a car payment so my intention was to drag this baby out as long as I could and start doing some initial research this spring.

But, like any long-term relationship, my car required some TLC recently. I was driving her when the “Service Tire Monitor” light came on. At the time, it was winter in Minnesota and air pressure in tires is a real thing, so being able monitor the pressure is something, but this seemed more like a nice-to-have, versus a need-to-have. So I put it off. I should also note that the only other time this light came on, I was driving down the road (not the highway, thank God) and the car just completely shut down in the middle of traffic. It was able to turn back on but it did it again a second time. As I learned while running, the symptom is not usually the cause and the car’s computer had to be reset – nothing to do with the tire monitor at all. One might think that story would have led me to quicker action this time around, but it did not.

On a November weekend, I went to a suburb for new running shoes (as discussed here). I was forced to take the scenic route home, because the road to the highway was blocked by some random festival. I had to go through a neighboring suburb where I could catch the highway. As I got close to the highway, literally every light on my dashboard – Check ABS, Check Airbag, Traction Control Off – started flashing.

I was nervous, but not overly concerned, and called Steve, who was watching Purdue football. “All the lights on my dashboard are on and flashing,” I started in.

“Uh huh,” he said, distracted, over the sounds of football in the background.

“Well, I just wanted you to know that if I die, this is why.”

“Okay – I’m going to go back to watching the game,” he hung up, unconcerned.

I figured that since things were going nuts and I clearly needed to reset my car’s computer, I might as well call Firestone. I explained what was going on with my car and asked if they’d have any availability today.

“No. Actually the earliest we can get you in is Monday,” the Firestone man informed me.

“Can I just drop it off today? She’s no good to me – actually,” I cut myself off. “My car is shutting down now. I need to call someone who can help me. Bye.”

My car completely died in a busy intersection. I tried to turn my car to the side street but only managed to be at a sight angle causing a backup in traffic. I tried turning the car on and off many times over, but nothing was happening. Now, I was panicked. I put my hazards on and started sweating. I called Steve, unclear what to do in this situation.

“Now don’t get mad, but, did you try turning it off and on?” Helpful.

“Yes. Duh. Many times. It won’t go back on. I have my hazards on but people keep honking. What do I do?” I was starting to freak, picturing that my death would not be because my car blew up on me, but rather because the cars behind me would not notice and crash into me.

“Uh…well…umm…” I could hear his brain working but also thought that maybe something was happening in the game.

“I’m going to call someone who can help me. Bye,” and I very aggressively hung up the phone on my husband.

I was able to get a tow truck and three really kind men who were walking by pushed my car out of the intersection and into a parking spot. One even started yelling at the people who were honking as he helped. Like the completely sane, rational, strong, independent woman I am, after the men saw I was safe and went back about their day, I started crying.

To move the story along, my tow truck friend Kyle delivered my G6 to the Firestone I had called previously. I called to alert them and miraculously they now had time to fix my car that day. Steve came and got me – I apparently told him the wrong intersection so not only did he have to leave the game, he was sent to the wrong place, so he scolded me for that upon arrival. I apologized but also reminded him that I was a little distracted.

All in, my car needed a new alternator, battery, spark plugs, and fuel flush. It cost me $1000. Everyone told me that was high and Steve had been able to get them to drop off a whopping $50, but as I asked everyone who offered their armchair quarterback advice, what leverage did I have?

The following Tuesday morning, I was driving my car to OrangeTheory when the Service Tire Monitor light came on, again. This time, I was no fool. I called the Firestone guys on my way back home post-class and they told me to bring it in. The man on the phone let me know that checking tire pressure is complimentary.

Great, sir, but when the air pressure needs to be checked, a light comes on that says, “Check Air Pressure,” not “Service Tire Monitor.” I had to explain this twice, but they ignored me and sent me out to the garage to have a mechanic check the air pressure, because what do I know? I’m just the girl who cries when people are kind to strangers and who overpays for auto repair.

Turns out my air pressure was just fine, but, wouldn’t you know it? One of the tire monitors was out. Don’t worry, that was another $250.

All in all, I decided that I at least needed to get my money’s worth and drive my car through the spring, which will be its ten-year anniversary. Then I will begin the hunt for a new car.

On my list? Unfortunately, Pontiac has since been discontinued by General Motors. An Audi Q5, Jaguar E-Pace, and Infiniti QX50. For the first time, I’m going foreign. And I will be looking to lease, not only because that car payment is so much cheaper, but also because, when the Service Tire Monitor light comes on, someone else will pay the $1250.

*This obviously didn’t stop my mom from not only owning the aforementioned Camry, but also a Ford van (not a mini-van because apparently owning a mini-van is worse than owning one of those huge vans with the sliding doors that pedophiles drive around in).

**Really my brothers should be the ones complaining. Keith, the eldest, had to buy the Beretta he drove with money he collected from the paper route. He would later inherit my mom’s Ford van, which turns out is the exact wrong thing to give a high schooler unless you want to promote kids getting drunk in the spacious back area. My other brother, Kent, drove a Dodge Diplomat which was more or less a land yacht. It had this big, cushy leather seats that could fit two people each and, unfortunately, the heater only worked sporadically – a problem in Michigan winters – and when it did work, it’d make a really loud noise. He’d proceed to hit the dashboard hard with his fist until the sound stopped. I think a barely used Grand Am to share with my sister was luxury.

#michigan #marriage

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kayawagner · 7 years ago

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Dusk City Outlaws Review

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I think the heist story may occupy a special place in my gamer heart as a tale I greatly enjoyed in media such as television and movies, and yet wasn’t high on my list of adventures to attempt to emulate in tabletop gaming. When I was a fledgling gamer, a lot of cyberpunk and espionage games were geared around modeling the heist by giving extensive floorplans, exact details of where the cameras were located, and exactly how fast the reinforcements would arrive in the case of a botched skill check.

I was never comfortable with that level of detail. Most of the time, I was the one running the game, and I never felt like I could give enough details to be fair to my players. I knew I wasn’t able to juggle all the sweeping fields of vision, patrol patterns, and response times.

I also have to be honest about another aspect of the heist. I am very impatient. I love coming up with quirks when PCs are interacting with NPCs, and I’ll come up with all kinds of side quests on the fly if they wander away from my plot. But if the players take too long planning, I get anxious. It’s not just that I’m in a holding pattern, it’s that the more they plan, the more I feel like I “owe” them something for that planning, even if they completely misread the clues and wandered off the beaten path completely.

In recent years, there have been numerous games that have addressed the heist in a much more narrative manner, recreating the tropes of the heist without the people around the table rolling out actual blueprints or timing how long it takes for someone to map a lap around the block. We’re looking at one of these newer heist-centric RPGs today, with Dusk City Outlaws.

There’s Something You Oughta Know About . . .

I initially purchased the PDF of Dusk City Outlaws, but I was provided a physical review copy by Scratchpad Games. I had thought about reviewing the game based solely on the PDF, but given the design of the game, I felt it was better to wait until I had a physical copy, and that copy was provided by the company itself.

What’s In The Box?

As you might have inferred, this review is based on the physical copy of Dusk City Outlaws. Since the box contains more than just rulebooks and reference guides, we will be going over the components of the box as well. The boxed set contains the following:

Cartel Sheets (19 total)

Specialty Sheets (26 total)

Character Sheet Pad

Player Rulebook

Judge Rulebook

Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven

Deck of Quirks (60 cards)

Deck of Enemies (40 cards)

Deck of Time (20 cards)

Advantage Dice (4)

Challenge Dice (4)

Percentile Dice (5 sets)

Heat Tokens (30 total, in both 1 and 5 heat denominations)

Influence Tokens (18)

Player Component Tray

Judge Component Tray

The books are well formatted, with big, bold headers and various sidebars explaining rules or concepts in the setting. It’s very easy to read and follow. As a lover of bullet points, I was not disappointed. The artwork has an exaggerated style that is unique and attractive, and very evocative of the setting and its mix of influences. In keeping with the name of the game, much of the artwork is in red, orange, and dark blue.

Both the Player and Judge books are larger, square format softcover books. They are both on high quality, glossy paper, but the cover is the same stock as the pages, so I’m a little concerned about wear and tear over time. The Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven is a digest-sized paperback that clocks in at 240 pages, with a heavier cover and full-color art throughout.

All the Cartel and Specialty sheets are on cardstock and feel sturdy. The cards all look amazing. The Deck of Time and the Deck of Quirks have the game logo on the back, and the Deck of Enemies has the same artwork of the adversaries on the back, without the stats that appear on the opposite side.

The tokens are on heavy cardstock and seem like they will hold up well over time. My set has percentile dice in yellow, purple, orange, blue, and green, enough for four players and the Judge to have their own set right out of the box. There are also sets of advantage dice (d8s) and challenge dice (d10s) with special symbols on them.

I was surprised by the plastic component trays that came with the set. They hold the components nicely, and the sheets and Traveler’s Guide all fit into the covers that go over the trays. The only real downside I can bring up about the trays is that if you are a compulsive sleever of cards, the Deck of Quirks and Deck of Enemies overflow their compartments a bit, although you can still seal the plastic lid on the tray.

Player Rulebook

The Player Rulebook is 28 pages, including a player reference sheet on the back that summarizes some of the most commonly used rules for players. The first two pages are a summary of the components of the game, with the next 16 pages summarizing rules and the sequence of play. The last ten pages before the summary on the back-cover deals with campaign play.

Character creation is basically picking a Cartel Sheet and a Specialty Sheet, and then drawing three quirk cards and picking the one that you like the most. Between the specialty and the cartel chosen, your character will have several things they know going into any job without making any checks, some things they can accomplish by spending influence, some gear, and a list of skills ranked at a specific percentage.

All characters start with 100 Luck, which is a buffer against being attacked, and can also be spent to boost skills. Getting help from other players, or doing something especially favorable for your character, allows you to roll advantage dice. Spending luck or doing something in less than ideal situations causes you to roll challenge dice. The symbols on the dice cancel each other out, and they don’t alter your ability to succeed, but they may let you learn something extra, do extra damage, take more damage, or build up more heat.

Once you are out of luck, Judge characters can force you out of a scene if they are making a social attack, or they can start causing you to take real wounds, if the attack is physical. When making an attack or attempting to reduce the luck of a challenge, the best thing you can do is roll as close to your skill number as possible, as the number you roll equals the damage you do in luck.

Heat builds up naturally as time progresses, but certain actions, like firing a gun or committing a crime against a noble, can cause even more heat to be generated. The Judge can then spend that heat to make life more difficult on the players as the job progresses.

The Deck of Time measures how many segments the crew has to pull their job. Each segment some heat automatically builds up, and the crew must decide if they will do legwork (learning information and setting up favorable situations), plan, or rest (to recover lost Luck or heal wounds). If the crew decides to plan, the Judge sets a timer and lets them make plans for 15 minutes of real time, then the segment is over.

The job will have a set number of obstacles that have to be overcome to be completed, and through legwork the players can find out what some of these obstacles are and mitigate or lessen them before they play the final act of the job.

Campaign play involves players earning XP as a crew and progressing story conflicts. When a crew completes a job, they get XP tied to that faction. They can spend it to gain advantage dice or to gain the effects of influence when spent. Story conflicts are broad themes that a character works towards resolving as they play, such as “I’ve got a bounty on my head.” When they lead a legwork scene, they can introduce that as a potential complication in the scene, and when there have been ten complications along that story conflict, the conflict will reach its climax – usually during a job – and afterward, the character picks a story award. Story awards often grant situational bonuses, or additional resources under the right circumstances, but can also be a means of retiring the character with some control over how that character’s story resolves.

Judge Rulebook

The Judge Rulebook is 48 pages. The first 15 pages expound on the rules from the Player Rulebook, summarize how to run scenes, give more details on spending heat, lay out how to construct a job and the challenges that comprise that job, and then present two pages of options and variants to the standard rules. There are eight pre-written jobs to use that round out the book, with a Judge Reference page on the back.

The jobs essentially lay out what the objective is and what any additional side goals may be (which can earn the crew more XP than just doing the bare minimum). There are a set number of obstacles to doing the job, and each of those obstacles has a list of information that the PCs may know or discover, summarized by information that players with a certain knowledge know automatically, things that require a legwork scene to learn, and deeper secrets. The jobs also have customized expenditures of heat that are tailored for that scenario.

This isn’t really an “expected” order of events. Once the Judge lays out the number of segments the crew has until they must pull off the job, the player leading the legwork scene explains what they want to get out of the scene, and where they want the scene to take place, and the Judge determines how many obstacles will stand between the players and their goal. More likely developments are represented with the custom heat expenditures (for example, explaining what kind of NPC is likely to show up in some areas to complicate the job for a certain amount of heat).

Legwork may be freeform in many ways, but there are guidelines for the Judge on how many challenges to put between the PCs and their goal. Additionally, the exact obstacles for the final goal are clearly expressed, and the degree of information handed out is succinct and bullet-pointed. If a character gains a boon on their successful check to find out about an obstacle, there is a clear list of deeper secrets to choose from, if the player wants to find out more by spending that boon.

Because each crew member has certain areas of knowledge, the information handed out to players with that sphere of knowledge preloads the crew with several leads to start their legwork. Given that an average job might hand out knowledge based on six or seven categories, it seems unlikely that the players will ever be starting out without some starter clues from which to make their plans.

Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven

This book is a digest-sized, 240-page guide to the setting. It gives details on the city, neighborhoods, history, and factions at play. Each chapter contains a few headers introducing broad topics, and a few sidebars, including the Thief Signs sidebars, which is usually a paragraph or two that explains how the information in a given section is relevant to the criminal organizations of the setting.

The setting has enough interesting details to make it functional, but it avoids hard dates, and the further away from New Dunhaven the lore gets, the broader the descriptions get. Elderland, the Vladov Empire, and Taona are extremely vague, other than being generally European, Russian, or broadly Asian in influence.

Even the city is mainly given “functional” details. There is a map showing what cartels control what sections of the city, but other than the broad strokes of slums, commoner, merchant, or noble district, the book seldom zooms in on specific neighborhoods, although the broader entries above have some example names for some of those districts.

The guide provides the level of detail I’ve been increasingly enjoying in-game settings — there is enough detail that two different Judges will likely recognize the city from one another’s games, but no one is going to correct you that district A is right across the canal from district B.

Between the cartel sheets and the information given out in the various jobs, much of the setting information is conveyed. If you picked up the box and wanted to play it only reading through the Player and Judge books, you can do that and not feel like you missed much vital setting information. In fact, I ran two jobs as a playtest before I finished this book.

That said, if you want to get the most out of campaign play, where characters are creating long-term story conflicts and adding recurring allies and villains to a game, it is much easier to do with this information. Many of those conflicts and ancillary characters are going to be more interesting when they aren’t drawn from the same pool of power groups that are directly associated with the jobs that are being done. I particularly liked the secret police, elite private detective agency, and zealous anti-criminal citizens organizations that are presented as complications to otherwise straightforward jobs.

Other Components

Image from and shows the deluxe tokens instead of the standard cardboard influence and heat tokens.

While the Judge Rulebook has statistics for general categories of opposing NPCs – such as minions, antagonists, minor, and major villains – the Deck of Enemies has much more specific examples, such as bounty hunters or sorcerers. These cards have artwork on the back showing an example of this type of NPC, and on the other side there are stats that the Judge can use to run them. Many of these characters have their own special rules that are quickly summarized in their stats, such as giving the Judge a new way to spend heat when they appear in a scene or adding challenge dice when a given action is attempted in their presence.

The Deck of Time is a set of cards with the time of day on one side, and a reminder of the heat generated when a segment ends. If the crew has three days to do a job, there would be three day cards and three night cards – and a visual reminder of what time of day is current for the segment is important, as some of the specialty sheets have abilities that trigger depending on the time of day.

The Deck of Quirks is one of the means that can be used to customize a character. The default method of using it is to draw three cards and pick the one quirk that the player most likes for that character. Quirks include things like having specific contacts, having a skill not listed on the character’s specialty sheet that may be useful in some jobs, or knowing something about a topic that is not already granted to the character by their cartel or specialty sheets.

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At The Table

While I don’t always get a chance to playtest a new game before I can review it, having the physical copy of the game, and knowing that it was designed for minimal preparation, I asked some of the members of my regular game group if they would be interested in a playtest. Because of this, we had the opportunity to see the game in action.

Without reading through the Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven, just flipping through the cartel cards gave a clear idea of the setting and the various themes of the cartels. Between the images on the cards and the sheets, and the available gear, the components communicated a lot about the setting without the need for heavy research into the setting.

We played through two jobs. One was a job that I outlined myself, and the other was a job from the example jobs in the Judge Rulebook. The players played different characters for both scenarios to give them a wider range of how the different cartels and specialties played. I did have a few players that weren’t happy with any of their potential quirks, so I let them shuffle and redraw their cards to pick a better quirk for their concept.

Because the game is designed to be played with minimal prep, I decided I wanted to try to come up with a job without any previous work, in addition to running a job from the book. I wrote down what the job was, what the objective was, and how many complications the PCs would have to deal with and decided I could fill in their automatic knowledge on the fly. I would come up with information on the obstacles as they did legwork.

This taught me a valuable lesson—all the well-structured answers about all the relevant topics in the example jobs let the Judge relax a lot when they are running this game. Trying to make sure you are giving out relevant and useful information in legwork scenes when you haven’t planned out the facts of each of the relevant obstacles or complications is a little bit exhaustive, because those details will become relevant once they start to connect to other details. Unlike some other games where you can abstract large sections of a heist, you are detailing the ending of the heist, and then letting the PCs back-fill those details. I would recommend that any Judge who is going to run their own jobs look at the example jobs and make sure they have a similar level of detail on all the components that are going to come into play in the final scene. You don’t have to do any complicated number crunching, just have an organized list of things that fall under the categories of knowledge, as laid out in the assumed job structure.

The characters were framed for a botched job

They had to recover the evidence that would clear them with their own cartel before the false evidence about the job was delivered to agents of the Black Council

We ended up with multiple troops of randomly summoned distractions, and a church assassin that our Forsaken made into a recurring ally once he explained the situation

The second game we ran went much more smoothly from my perspective. I ran one of the jobs from the Judge Book, and it felt like I could relax and react to whatever crazy scheme my players came up with, because I had some clear lists of information to hand out to them when they did their legwork scenes.

One of the players took an assassin and attempted to take out an NPC that would complicate the job later during a legwork scene — this went spectacularly wrong, since no one else followed him into the legwork scene, and the NPC was a major villain

Another player that received the “Seduce Someone” skill from their quirks engaged the same NPC, but this time set up a date away from the site of the final scene, with the intention of standing them up on that date and keeping them away from the climax of the job

Thanks to the previous botched assassination and other mishaps, I managed to introduce a second assassin to the scene, as well as a watch officer and his second

After a massive display of sorcerous power that accidentally set fire to part of the district, the target was acquired and the job was done

I was really impressed with how smooth the game ran when using the pre-written jobs. The players had a lot of fun and expressed that they would like to play the game again in the future, but they weren’t certain that the long-term campaign play looked as robust as they would like. I think a lot of this can be attributed to not having enough setting information to come up with deeper conflicts or recurring NPCs, and not having time to put some of the story awards into context when paging through the book. That said, characters don’t change much mechanically, gaining favors, more resources to spend, and narrative permission to do things more than any change in core abilities.

Gaining Influence

The rules for legwork, the timer on planning, and the clear format and structure of the example jobs make it very easy to roll with whatever crazy plans the players may come up with, while keeping everyone focused on playing the game and maintaining the pace.

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The stated goal for this game is to be an RPG you can pick up off the shelf and play on those nights when you don’t have something else planned, and it works exactly as intended. It is easy to pick up on the mechanics, and to get an impression of the tone and themes at play. The artwork not only sets the tone, but because of the construction of the components, players will see that artwork more often than they would in other games. The rules for legwork, the timer on planning, and the clear format and structure of the example jobs make it very easy to roll with whatever crazy plans the players may come up with, while keeping everyone focused on playing the game and maintaining the pace.

Heat

The artwork does a wonderful job of showing a diverse range of characters, including people of color. The setting book even goes out of its way to explain that New Dunhaven has a much more enlightened view of gender roles and interpersonal relationships than we might even see in the real world. That said, the world doesn’t draw on many cultures for its tropes outside of Europe and Asian.

Running example jobs is great, but a Judge that wants their own scenario needs to get familiar with the assumed structure and put in a little extra work. The campaign progression rules may not be robust enough for players that like more granular advancement, or advancement that allows for more dramatic change in the character they are playing. Getting the most out of campaign play involves investing more in the setting, and while the setting is enjoyable and engaging, that runs slightly counter to the pick up and play design philosophy.

The rule summaries on the back of the character sheets, Player Rulebook, and Judge Rulebook are great, but they could have used the chart for weapons and the charts for spending boons and drawbacks to fully eliminate page flipping.

Recommended — If the product fits in your broad area of gaming interests, you are likely to be happy with this purchase.

If you even vaguely like the idea of a fantasy heist game, this is a great game to have in your gaming library. There have been many times when I have wanted to play an RPG at a moment’s notice, but even some games with minimal rulesets felt like they required too much effort to easily throw together a pickup game. While I didn’t have the opportunity to try the game with people that have done little to no gaming, with the clearly presented components and the regimented table management built into the game, I feel like new gamers could really engage with this game quickly.

This feels like a good “bridge” product, no matter what someone’s primary RPG introduction might be. It contains many elements that are present in other modern games, but those elements are introduced in discreet, easy to process packets. The specialty dice introduce the idea of a secondary axis of success and failure without making the dice interpretation complex, and the primary resolution is still the purview of the d100, which may help to keep people that aren’t fond of specialty dice happy.

The game also introduces other modern game elements, such as spending a resource to resolve certain actions instead of rolling for those actions and having a pool that represents a buffer against attacks that can also be spent as a resource. These mechanics can serve as a bridge for explaining similar concepts that might appear in other games that the players may not have encountered.

What do you think of games designed for minimal prep time, or even for pickup games? How much prep is too much, if you want to start a game at the spur of the moment? What games already exist that do something similar? What other genres would benefit from having this kind of “pick up and play” design? I’d love to hear your ideas on these topics, so please take some time to respond below—I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

Dusk City Outlaws Review published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

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swipestream · 7 years ago

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Dusk City Outlaws Review

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There’s Something You Oughta Know About . . .

What’s In The Box?

Cartel Sheets (19 total)

Specialty Sheets (26 total)

Character Sheet Pad

Player Rulebook

Judge Rulebook

Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven

Deck of Quirks (60 cards)

Deck of Enemies (40 cards)

Deck of Time (20 cards)

Advantage Dice (4)

Challenge Dice (4)

Percentile Dice (5 sets)

Heat Tokens (30 total, in both 1 and 5 heat denominations)

Influence Tokens (18)

Player Component Tray

Judge Component Tray

Player Rulebook

Judge Rulebook

Traveler’s Guide to New Dunhaven

Other Components

Image from and shows the deluxe tokens instead of the standard cardboard influence and heat tokens.

Image from

At The Table

The characters were framed for a botched job

They had to recover the evidence that would clear them with their own cartel before the false evidence about the job was delivered to agents of the Black Council

We ended up with multiple troops of randomly summoned distractions, and a church assassin that our Forsaken made into a recurring ally once he explained the situation

Thanks to the previous botched assassination and other mishaps, I managed to introduce a second assassin to the scene, as well as a watch officer and his second

After a massive display of sorcerous power that accidentally set fire to part of the district, the target was acquired and the job was done

Gaining Influence

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Recommended — If the product fits in your broad area of gaming interests, you are likely to be happy with this purchase.

Dusk City Outlaws Review published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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cristinajourdanqp · 7 years ago

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Being Keto-Adapted Is One Helluva Ride!

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

My name is Aaron. I’m 35-years-old. I live in the Lehigh Valley of PA where I am the only custom tailor. This is my story of how an innocent foray in LCHF (low carb, high fat) turned into a full blown keto lifestyle shift. What a journey it’s been and I’m only just getting started!

Ok, so let’s get the junk out of the way first. Last summer, I was freshly divorced. I had to move into a shoebox sized apartment where I fed myself a steady diet of ramen noodles, Captain Crunch, heavy imperial stouts, and copious amounts of sour candy….usually fueled by alcohol driven hunger and a new little appetite tweaker I discovered…cannabis and the munchies. It only took a few months of this type of living for me to feel incredibly sick.

When I wasn’t smoking, I was incredibly nauseous and couldn’t eat. So, I used cannabis to give myself the munchies so I didn’t feel like I was going to die. I found myself in a cycle that I didn’t like. I liked the weed, but I didn’t like the munchies. Was it the munchies or the bad food that was the problem? One night it just hit me….I hit the blunt and then thought to myself, “whoa, like maybe I should fix my diet.”

Brilliant revelation, right??

Rewind a few years back to when I was 25. I was in fairly decent shape and pretty lean. I worked out heavily and had the results to show for it. I won’t blame marriage for getting me fat, but I did indeed get fat once I got married. Steady typical SAD diet for the entire duration.

So, near the end of 2016 everyone is thinking about New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. I’m busy drinking, chasing women, and getting stoned—eating a ton of sugar and was nowhere near making that kind of resolution. I just didn’t believe I’d ever be that in-shape again. I tried working out again but it was unbearable. Geez, to even walk a few blocks on a 40 degree day made me sweat profusely so how the hell was I gonna be able to work out in a gym?! Do I just give up the booze for awhile? How about the weed? What about sugar? Admittedly, I was lost and a little hopeless but man did I love the taste of whipped cream in cappuccinos.

That got me thinking….

I had heard somewhere about adding fat to your diet and removing carbs, but from my earlier gym days, I just couldn’t make the connection. I was stuck rooted in the old, using exercise to lose weight and create a calories burned vs calories consumed thinking. Even though I never could piece together how that exactly worked, I was willing to give adding fats and cutting carbs a shot…

Enter my first foray into making bulletproof cappuccinos around mid February this year…

Delicious as ever. Never would’ve thought butter, coconut oil and stevia would taste so good in coffee. I was enjoying waking up every morning to one of these, but what surprised me was the longer period of time I could go before having to eat. I also noticed a few pounds gently slipping away and got curious…what if I add more butter to everything else? Started doing exactly that.

So, late February 2016 I was doing BP coffee every morning and butter loaded tomato soup (and crappy Campbells too!). My appetite went away, and I just let it. Little did I know that I was basically doing an intermittent fat fast. I was getting to a point where I was adding up to 6 tbsp of butter and oil plus frothed heavy cream AND egg yolks in the cappuccino but really had no idea if it was actually healthy or not, so I Googled “effects of eating too much butter” and landed on a forum post at, you guessed it, MDA.

I saw a 60-something ripped dude named Mark on the front page, plus a success story of an even older guy who was also ripped. The competitor in me thought, “Hey if these old dudes are ripped off whatever this diet is, then wtf is my excuse?!” So I read and read and read until I had the start of the puzzle completed in my mind. I knew I had to act.

Upon realizing that this was a whole foods diet, I knew I’d need to learn how to cook. What a mountain of learning that was. I went crazy. Purged my cupboards of all sugar, grains, and bad oils. Stopped eating out almost immediately and started cooking. Wow, to eat whole foods even fruits and not get violently sick to my stomach? Oh what a feeling.

By the end of March 2016, I had dropped nearly 45 lbs. My girlfriend left for a 2 week trip to Mexico in early March. She had noticed the weight loss but we had no idea what was actually happening. When she left early March, I was wearing 38s. When she got back I was in 34s.

I thought I was done there and, quite frankly, if that’s where my weight loss journey had stopped, I would’ve been quite content and proud of myself. Everyone around me was complimenting me and some even expressing concern that I was getting too thin too fast. I thought there was no such thing and I could still see good amounts of fat deposits that I would be happy to be without so I kept it up. More primal cooking and eating. I was on my way to becoming fat adapted and I wouldn’t be stopped!

I didn’t exercise once during the first 2 months. I was basically sedentary. I really didn’t have the energy to do anything but that changed pretty fast. I tried mountain biking again and felt like I was some kind of super human. However, the next few times I rode, I experienced really bad bonking and wondered what was going on. How did I have energy before but now I’m bonking periodically? I now know I was pushing too hard during the fat adaptation phase creating a demand for glucose….I used a bit of fruit to push through this.

By late April 2016, I was looking and feeling good but I was also plateaued. I could see more fat needed to come off but wondered why the BP coffee and whole foods diet wasn’t working as well. I researched more and discovered the power of real intermittent fasting.

I kicked out the BP coffee in place of lightly sweetened black coffee in the mornings then did a typical fast-breaking in the afternoon with a salad or eggs etc then a more legit meal later on in the evening. I also started sprinting.

By early summer I was wearing my jeans on an 80 degree day and realized that I wasn’t sweating hardly at all. The man that used to sweat on a 40 degree day was now borderline cold in the middle of the summer. Oh well, I saved on my AC bills and got over it. I also noticed that those jeans felt a little loose. I thought, “no way I’m actually in 32s now.” Sure enough, I was able to fit nicely into 32s. Lesson learned…when you’re on the keto weight loss slide, wait to buy a lot of new clothing.

By midsummer, I returned to my lifting habits. Thankfully, I had a base of knowledge on how to lift so I experienced results very quickly. My thinking during all of this was, “let’s see how low carb I can actually be without experiencing real fatigue.” In essence, I only wanted enough carbs as I possibly needed and not one gram more. I found myself able to ride my bike and lift with a fair amount of intensity…even in a fasted state!

By late summer (August 2017), I wondered again if it was just my new stretchy skinny fit 32s needed to be washed and dried to give them that tight-ish post dryer fit again or if, God forbid, my entire new stash of 32s was too big. Sure enough, I went and tried on a pair of 30s and whoa they fit! I figured since I can see feel my pelvic bones poking off the sides of my hips along with a full blown 6 pack looming to 8 pack abs (and also the total extinction of my ass) that I must be at that often desperately sought after “ideal body composition.” The ripped guy you see in the after pics was taken on that day.

BOOM! I knew I had arrived. I knew I was fat adapted. I had developed a system of food shopping and meal prep to fully support it. I knew my life from there on out would never be the same. Going Primal is one of the best decisions, if not the best decision, I have ever made for my personal health.

But….what about the ketogenic diet? I was very curious about it, but it seemed like a fringe version of primal to me and a lot of the recipes I looked up were loaded with strange ingredients that didn’t seem to be in line with a Primal way of eating. However, right around this exact time (about a month or so ago), I started seeing Mark posting a lot about keto and his own experiment with it. When the announcement came for the The Keto Reset Diet book, I knew I was on the right track.

The Keto Reset Diet was released on my birthday. I don’t like to read but I got it for free by starting up with Audible. Listening to the book gave me a much better understanding of how each of the various macros affect the brain and the body. I realized that my eating habits were pretty close to what was in the book so I decided then and there that I will likely stay in the “keto zone” for the rest of my life. I will be going in and out of keto for the purpose of maximizing metabolic efficiency. Wow…it seemed so crazy that it was even possible that I went from being a completely sick and depressed fat guy knowing nothing about food to a ripped fat- burning beast who’s not so bad in the kitchen in the span of half a year!

On my birthday, I posted the before and afters to my Instagram and announced that I would be adding keto-based weightloss consulting to my services as a tailor. I have a lot of fat clients who have no time but lots of money, so why not monetize my experience, make money off of helping them lose the weight and make even more money selling them new clothing?! As if I wasn’t niched out enough…

So there ya have it. Now I’m off to the keto races, and I think I’ll change a few lives and get a little richer while I’m on the way there. Yes, that means I signed up to become a Primal Health Coach.

Here are a few bullet points of the positives and negatives I have experienced along the way plus a few tips:

Positives: – Way more energy – Much better sleep – Obvious improvements to physique and exercise performance – Super speedy recovery times and no jet lag! – Effortless appetite management – Ability to fast for 24, 48, or even 72 hours…at will – Radically improved cognition – No more depression – The tug of other “addictive behaviors” significantly reduced. In fact, I quit drinking permanently on August 1st of this year. – I still partake in cannabis consumption regularly and indulge in the munchies right along with it….guilt free! It plays well with this diet!

Negatives: – Getting fat and losing weight is expensive. The food replacements, cooking equipment, and time spent figuring it all out and dialing in how much to buy and eat was a costly endeavor top to bottom. – I completely rendered a large custom wardrobe useless and had to replace all of it. So will you. – I’m definitely one of those annoying health nuts now and have had to figure out all kinds of social behaviors to manage the awkwardness. – There really aren’t many other negatives.

Tips: – Read The Keto Reset Diet – Let the diet do the work. Stay low and slow and don’t try to exercise too hard until you’re ready especially in the beginning. You will feel the energy surging through you but ignore it for a while and take it easy. – Get your macros right and don’t slouch on green veggies, salt and other minerals. – Watch your protein intake. No need to raise it to the roof. – “Fake Keto” recipes out there for replacing common comfort foods usually using high amounts of dairy and almond/coconut flour and fruit are only for the truly fat-burning, keto-adapted, carb-tolerant beasts among us. Do yourself a favor and go therapeutic keto from the start with proper macros and fats from mainly animal sources. Eat those greens! – Ditch the artificial sweeteners and train out sweet tastes from your palate at least for awhile. – Fasting protocols maybe work better for men. Women might want to start eating proper macros and let the brain/body do the work before getting into IF protocols (just my opinion). – Sprint while fasted to bust plateaus. – Got the keto flu? Eat some avocados or supplement with apple cider vinegar, pink sea salt, and cream of tartar (high potassium) mixed in water. Then get over it and go sprint. – Stop waiting and get on board the keto train! Being keto-adapted is one helluva ride!

Aaron H.

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fishermariawo · 7 years ago

Text

Being Keto-Adapted Is One Helluva Ride!

Brilliant revelation, right??

That got me thinking….

Enter my first foray into making bulletproof cappuccinos around mid February this year…

Here are a few bullet points of the positives and negatives I have experienced along the way plus a few tips:

Aaron H.

0 notes

milenasanchezmk · 7 years ago

Text

Being Keto-Adapted Is One Helluva Ride!

Brilliant revelation, right??

That got me thinking….

Enter my first foray into making bulletproof cappuccinos around mid February this year…

Here are a few bullet points of the positives and negatives I have experienced along the way plus a few tips:

Aaron H.

0 notes