#I was queued for a league match and I was like

[meownotgood]

hrfff aki in the new trailer with angel.. im sick….. im SIIIIIIIICK!!!!!!!!! IM SICK MAGS HELP MEEEEEE RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! i cant wait to see them both again especially aki ive missed him so much :((( that was all i could think about during the new trailer.. love waking up to new akis he looks so biteable and scrumptious

- 🐙

listen im so happy we got to see aki again but the fact we only got like two small clips of him is starving me so badly. I look at the five screenshots I have of him, and I shake with excitement and longing because I want to see him MORE. and hear his voice again... like... what the heck............ give him to me now

[nerdofspades]

Bruce looked at the pop-up on the Batcomputer's screen.

"Explain," he growled, glancing down at Tim.

"Not much to explain," Tim answered, pulling up lines of code. "It showed up ten seconds ago."

"I'm starting a full diagnostic," Barbara said, voice filtering through the speakers. "So far, I'm not seeing anything."

"And yet..." Time trailed off glancing at the window again. It had a video queued up to play and the words "IMPORTANT: PLEASE WATCH. DO NOT DELETE" in large text at the top.

"There's a new folder labeled 'a gift for Batman,'" Tim said. "Not something any of us made."

"Clearly."

"I'm still not finding any viruses, corrupted files, or spyware," Oracle said. "The new folder was programmed to stay in a hidden partition for a few days after it was placed. Then, obviously, the pop-up to catch our attention."

"Folder also has a text file named 'security notes,'" Tim said. "Maybe our new hacker is friendly?"

"It's starting to look like it," Oracle agreed. "The video is clean. It should be safe to watch."

Bruce sighed. "Then let's see what they've got for us."

-

The video opened with a dark room. The background hidden in shadows, while the foreground was well lit, letting them clearly see the tired teen in the center of the frame as he took a heavy swig from his mug before putting it down.

"Pulling up facial recognition."

He ran a hand through his messy black hair and then down his face, pinching his nose and hiding the bags under his blues eyes for a moment before he dropped his hand and finally looked at the camera.

"I really don't want to do this," he said, "but you need it." He glanced longingly off screen in the direction of the mug he'd put down.

"First of all, I think I should apologize for hacking you. Or asking my friend to, technically. I just. You need to know about this and I didn't know of another way to get it to you that would be secure.

"I did at least make him promise to make a record of how he got in so you can patch that.

"That out of the way... to business? I'm Danny Fenton, for the last year or so I have also been the hero Phantom in Amity Park. My parents are Jack and Maddie Fenton. They are ectobiologists and ghost hunters. While extremely biased and not actually that good at catching ghosts, their tech is easily the best in the business."

"That's a positive match."

"Running a search on Phantom."

"I- fucking shit." Danny put his head in his hands again, running them back through his hair before leaning back, almost collapsing into the chair.

"This kid has... gotten into some shit."

"Everyone knows you're the League's strategist, Batman. And. I'm strong enough. I can handle my problems, that's not what I'm worried about.

"It's been about a year and I've already been mind controlled once." Danny laughed. A dry, broken, almost desperate laugh. "And that was just some lowlife that wanted to rob jewelry stores. I'm still not worried about. It's not why I'm sending you this. The magic relic he used is broken and gone now."

"Well that explains one of his problems."

"The others?"

"An attempted kidnapping and fairly standard property damage. I want to see some footage of those fights before passing judgement."

"Even more standard given he doesn't seem to have a mentor. Batman, he was fourteen."

"No. I. I've seen a version of the future. One where I go mad. Where I snap. And the Justice League can't stop me.

"I don't know if I- he kills everyone. I don't know who, if anyone, makes it out. But it's not anyone that could really do much. I... I saw ten years after he- I snapped. Earth was little more than rubble and ash. Only one city was left holding out and it was about to fall- was falling when I got there.

"I've managed to change the time line. What broke him didn't happen here. But. I can't guarantee nothing ever could.

"So. Yeah. Next best thing is making sure you're prepared. All my powers. All my weaknesses. Everything I know of that could possibly hurt me. Schematics and blue prints for anything you could need to fight me, track me, keep me out, keep me contained. All nice and giftwrapped for your convenience.

"Uh... that's everything. Why is it always so awkward to end a video? Hopefully we never see each other? I guess? Pretty sure us actually meeting is gonna be a bad sign.

"You know what. I'm gonna turn this thing off now before I say something stupid."

-

"Batman, who's 'Phantom'?" Superman asked, glancing up from the Watchtower computer he was working at. "Aren't we supposed to vote on new members?"

Batman grunted. "He's not a member, just someone who understands the need for contingencies."

"You know what, I'm not gonna even ask."

"Probably for the best."

[bonedo-enthusiast]

game on 𐂐◯𓇋 (lrw)

desc: you decide to try out riwoo's favorite game, which ultimately ends up leading to more than you bargained for!

warnings: not proofread by someone else, soft dom!riwoo x sub!reader, afab!reader but no pronouns used, pet names used (sweetheart, honey, baby), thigh riding, fluff, smut, mdni! + lmk if i missed anything! <3

wc: 1,804

one of riwoo’s many quirks was that he played league of legends. a lot. being his partner, you decided to try out the game to a.) see what the hype is about and b.) potentially bond more with riwoo. after you created your account, you spent the next few weeks practicing playing the game whenever riwoo was out of the house. you did find that you enjoyed playing it (even though you got mad a lot), but you wanted to get better at it before bringing it up to riwoo. every time you debated giving up, you pictured riwoo’s sweet smile which spurred you on to play another match.

on one particular day, riwoo was heading to the grocery store and asked you if you wanted to tag along. normally, you would, but you decided to take the time to play league. about thirty minutes later after riwoo left, you were zoned in on the game when all of a sudden you felt a hand on your shoulder. you jumped in surprise, whirling around to see riwoo, who had a big grin on his face.

“y/n… is this why you’ve been making me go everywhere alone?”

you felt a bit guilty at that sentence but nodded. “but i wanted to improve first before i told you…”

riwoo’s eyes flitted to the screen. “you’re being attacked!”

you whirled around and quickly tried to kill the enemy player but they ended up killing you instead. you let out a groan and riwoo giggled. “can i join you, sweetheart?”

“but i’m so bad… i don’t want you to see me like this.”

“nonsense. everyone starts from somewhere.”

you sighed and scooted over to make more space for him on the couch, but he stopped you. 

“i want you to sit on my lap.”

“your lap?”

“yeah. i want to have you close.”

you complied, standing up then sitting back down on top of riwoo’s lap. he wrapped his arms around your stomach, holding you in place. 

after you respawned, you resumed playing, killing a few enemy players here and there. every time, riwoo would place a celebratory kiss on your cheek. 

eventually, the match was over, with your team losing.

“ugh, i hardly ever win.” you complained. “whatever. do you wanna do something together?”

“i want you to continue playing.” 

“but it’s pissing me off.”

“come on, please?” riwoo frowned. “i love watching you.”

“okay, fine. i’ll do it for you. but just know i’m not gonna enjoy this.”

“how about i make it enjoyable for you?” riwoo asked, snaking a hand underneath your shirt. 

“w-what?” you felt yourself getting a bit warmer. 

“you look so sexy playing my favorite game. wanna make you feel good.” riwoo shifted you onto his thigh and smiled at you, his hand rubbing circles on your stomach. “mind taking off your pants and underwear, honey?”

you bit your lip and nodded before pulling down your bottom attire in one go, taking them off and throwing them aside. then you sat back down on his thigh, already feeling yourself getting wet. 

“i haven’t even done anything, cutie.” he giggled, having noticed the wetness and heat from your cunt. “you just like me that much, huh?” 

“don’t tease me.” you whined, queuing for another match and trying to subtly grind on his thigh.

riwoo grabbed your chin gently, guiding your face so that he could kiss you. “you’re gonna do great.”

as the game started, riwoo placed kisses down your neck and cupped your bra, massaging your boobs gently. you let out a soft moan, squirming as you tried to grind against him, the fabric of his jeans adding a pleasant bite. 

“pay attention, y/n.” riwoo said softly. “don’t you wanna impress me?”

you huffed and tried to focus until riwoo’s hand slid down your bra, his fingers brushing over your sensitive nipples. “a-ah!” 

“so cute.” riwoo murmured, kissing the back of your head.

you died in the game then and you put down your controller, getting off of his lap and turning around to face him. “i wanna kiss you.”

“but you’re playing a game.” riwoo said, smiling.

“i have twenty-one seconds until i respawn.”

“ooh, twenty-one seconds? alright.” riwoo patted his thigh and held his arms out. you got back into position, facing him this time, and crashed your lips into his needily. you held onto him with one hand and the back of the couch with the other, using both as leverage to grind against him harder. 

“f-fuck…” you groaned, throwing your head back. riwoo took the opportunity to place more kisses against your neck, sucking and nipping at the skin there. he reached around you to unclasp your bra, his hands wandering over your bare skin, not bothering to take off your shirt.

“you’re so pretty like this, y/n.” riwoo said, kissing your jaw. “make such pretty noises for me…” 

riwoo’s jeans now had a very noticeable wet patch, the fabric only getting more wet by the second. you let out a high-pitched moan as riwoo dove underneath your shirt, his tongue swirling around your nipple.

“r-riwoo, i don’t think i’m–f-fuck–gonna last m-much–nngh–longer!” you moaned, your body only getting hotter and hotter. 

“good ‘cause you’ve already respawned.” riwoo murmured from underneath your shirt before continuing making out with your tits. 

“oh, fuck, riwoo i–i’m cumming!” you gasped, your back arching as you grinded down on riwoo’s jeans. the fabric got even more wet as you came, you whimpering from the sensation as you came down from your high. 

“you did so good.” riwoo cooed, kissing your cheek. 

you smiled at him then looked down at his thigh where you were still sitting on him. “oh fuck, riwoo… i’m so sorry. that’s so gross…” his jeans were visibly sticking to his skin due to your wetness.

“no it’s not. it’s so hot. you’re so hot.” he kissed you again before leaning back on the couch. “now come on. your teammates are probably wondering what’s going on with you.”

you rolled your eyes. “oh who cares what they think?” you got off of his thigh, turning around and about to sit back down on his lap when he stopped you. he reached down and unbuttoned his jeans, pulling them and his underwear down his thighs. his cock sprung up, the tip angry and red from the lack of attention. 

“why don’t you help me out while you play? hmm baby?” 

needless to say, you lost that match too.

a/n: i don't usually imagine riwoo as a dom but ahhh i rlly like this concept!!

[voidcat]

i. welcome to summoners rift

characters: narumi gen, gn!reader

a/n: the game i had in mind while writing this is league of legends.. boo i know. anyways i tried to keep the LoL terms down so itll be easier to understand. reader is implied to be a part of first division- part time operations leader but more involved in data collecting and medical side of things, (I’ll decide fully later)

. i need to make this pathetic loser suffer in games so bad its not even funny anymore... first of many more fics to come im afraid

The first few times to play it safe and because it’s what you’re used to, you take a generic support class— Seraphine got crowd control, enough damaging spells to trigger a DoT or do some extra last minute damage, provides shield, speed and health.

A well balanced support and pretty, Narumi cannot help but think as the Seraphine on his screen hits ctrl+3 and dances for the third time while waiting for the opposing team to make a move. You seem to know what you’re doing, you placed wards, dance when it seems idle but keeping your attention enough to cut it when you suspected an ambush few times. Plus it’s one of the most recent skins you got for the champ so he knows you know how to play the champion, despite your low score on her-

After all, not everyone has been playing this damn game for 5 to 10 years now, a newbie is no problem as long as they know how to play and show it. You leave the minions to him, heal him at critical moments the enemies thought he was dying so he can attack back and get them one by one— you’re good, and you’re especially good with him.

By the time the entire team gathers on the same lane, pushing to the opposing team’s base, you send your ult at the perfect moment, charming four enemies at once and creating the dream situation of any player.

Well, the rest of your team slowly dies because of heavy damage over time they took but it’s alright. The screen says in big letters: PENTA KILL! With his champion icon right under it, and in the game chat even the opposing team congratulates him, saying it was insane game play.

Then Narumi hears that same melody since the beginning of the game whenever you hit the dance animation and a new message in the game chat:

> victory dance for that lovely penta ( *｀ω´)

Reading the message, he watches your champion dance with his eyes glued to the screen, heat rising up to his face… absolutely adorable is what it is. Standing there with his champion, he then hits ctrl+3 as well to join you on the dance, letting the minions carry on.

The game is about to end, the opposing team begs in the chat to not end, to keep playing, meanwhile his team makes some jokes referencing early minutes of the match. Then at the last second, Narumi quickly types in and hits send.

The chat box reads: ‘support diff’

Before queuing up for another game, his hand acts on impulse and invites you to the lobby.

And to his surprise, you accept!

The sound of message notifications reaches his ears short after and he quickly reads over.

>awww >seems like someone enjoyed my presence;P

Adorable and cheeky, this just might be his best in game interactions by far. without a word, he queues up another game and another, the night goes on.

messages from you in-game keep on coming, at one point he thinks to himself "what he hell is a fryslan bop" to which you just send a keyboard smash followed by a "its a song lol"

so you are a chatter, he gathers quickly. not often but when you do, you send in a lot. he soon catches up to when you're actually talking versus spamming a song's lyrics while having Seraphine dance in your stead.

until you cancel the queue start up and send a message.

>gotta go >its late >booo >we jst got started >work tmr sry T-T

with a sigh, he watches as you leave and tries playing another match, but for some reason during the entirety of the match, he has no fun.

when you log into your game accounts in the evening, relieved to have an easy day, you notice a few friend request. "kaijuslayer"

you click accept and before you can open another tab, you instantly receive a lobby invite. its unreal how quick this person is... and how much he enjoys gaming, apparently. with no plans for the night and no desire to do anything else, you accept the invite.

Narumi is over the clouds to see not only has his request being accepted but also his invite too. gaming is more fun when you are winning, and thus playing with people who know what they're doing. you pick the same champion again and accomodate to his various picks, supporting him however he needs. it's perfect, it's distracting. while the two of you wait for the client to find another match, you begin to talk. since it's a friday, he tries his shot and asks if you'll stay for longer this time.

>nah >my v much serious v grownup job has saturdays too >and awfully early waking hours >sucks to b u> v serious v grownup huh >yea? >im starting to suspect u might b a child >OLIFSDJFIGOJSDOLŞGJSDFOLŞG >the calls coming from inside the house

before Narumi can send a reply, the 'match found' screen pops up and the two of you leave it there.

the match starts off smooth. he's farming a good amount, the two of you reached level 6 before the others, and as the opposing lane tries an ambush, you hit them with your ult, charming them in the process. as narumi begins to unleash his combo, your slowing down waves slither there gently, quitely. then follows your shield and speed buff, and right before his very eyes, your now-powered-up-double skill hits the enemies and the screen reads: "TRIPLE KILL" with your icon next to it.

as much of an ideal support as Seraphine is, Narumi remembers the fact all too painfully that Seraphine was first released as a midlaner... a very much capable AP damage unit if built that way. a part of wants to see, and a part of him is afraid of what he might see if he goes to check which items you have purchased- or if it was a brilliant calculation by itself.

as Narumi stares at the screen, Seraphine dances again, sometimes ending the animation to go around him. seeing him frozen for far too long, you ping him few times. as if his misery, and his kills stolen wasnt bad enough already, your team's jungle has the audacity to send a message to in-game chat. 'supp diff'’

complimenting his support? his duo? Narumi begins to see red.

as you begin to teleport back to the base, you send an emote of one of the characters, tongue poking out, winking and doing a peace sign.

and on his side of things, narumi gen cannot find it in him to stay mad at the turn of events- because just look how endearing and cute you are! it's alright if you took a kill or two by accident, you're still his support, his duo after all!

despite the... technical errors, the game ends in another victory and with you doing a victory dance again, now pinging him if he's staying idle until he joins you as well. his heart cannot take it. it's too much... and as if you are dead set on being the final blow, you send cute emotes, and whenever he sends one back, you reply with another, it goes and goes until the matches end.

a flood of message notification sounds brings him back to earth again.

>heeeey >r u gonna start the queue some time this year? >oh btw pick a color

puzzled at the last message, he says a color, not expecting much out of it. until he sees you have picked another skin with the chroma he said. candy and teeth- you are so adorable and charming, so bad for his poor health. waiting in your lane, you begin the dancing animation again and narumi grins at the screen, watching you dance.

oh no, this is bad. this is pathetic even for him now... he cannot be possibly finding some gamer maybe across the country, someone he never saw nor even heard the voice of charming...

maybe that annoying part time operations leader was right about his... pent up frustration... if he's this down for a game model supposedly representing a person, maybe you had a point when you implied he goes to seek some action and revive himself of whatever's been building up down there.

there is no way he can let anyone learn about this- worst of all, you. with your stoic face and condescending eyes, you'd never let him live that down.

Him! Narumi Gen! the first division captain and the strongest anti-kaiju combatant! he'd rather die than give you the satisfaction of knowing he's so desperate to get some sort of friction he's starting to mix an online person with the character they're playing.

aggressive pings snap him out of his running thoughts and he realizes he's a little behind game-play wise.

now, looking over at the match stats, it doesn't seem all to unsalvageable. he better get to it, there's a match to win and a lovely duo to impress.

[cher-rei]

afterglow- pt 2 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold × fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

[wc: 2,1k] [part 1] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 11] [part 12]

genre(s): friends?? to lovers, work romance, fluff

warnings: swearing

notes: guys I totally forgot that curtis has a girlfriend help💀 so I'm just gonna remove her completely and in here they're not together... it's for the plot I swear

"what the fuck?!"

"jamie!" your sister's voice echoed through the house to your bedroom that early wednesday morning. it was normal for her to scold at you whenever you swore anywhere near her. which was all the time seeing as the two of you shared an apartment.

you didn't bother apologising as usual though and sat up straight in your bed, your blankets dishevelled and a look of confusion plastered on your face. "no way," you gawked at your phone screen and ran your fingers through your hair to try and comprehend what had just happened.

"there's really no reason to be shouting at 7 in the morning." you brushed your sister's comment off, the older girl taking it as a sign to join you on the edge of your bed to see what had gotten you all riled up.

she let out a heavy sigh as she moved you over so that she could sit with you. "speak woman. I don't have all day."

you took a breath and turned to look at her, eager eyes staring you down for any sort of explanation you could give her. "Okay so basically I just woke up and obviously my first instinct is to check my insta and twitter notifications because I got a bunch."

she gave you a look. "which isn't anything new. probably just a few followers or something."

you pointed your index finger in her direction. "exactly. but then--"

you turned your phone in her direction, your twitter feed showing up. "--I saw that I was being tagged like crazy. only to realise that this whole liverpool pr thing is blowing up."

maya gave you another look. as if you to say 'what did you expect?'. she began to get up from the bed but you quickly caught her wrist and pulled her back down again, urging her to stay for the rest of the story.

"jamie," she sighed. "you have an entire fanbase, of course they're going to go crazy over something like this."

you shook you head. "that's what I thought. but then I decided to go check my instagram notifications because apparently..."

you turned your phone screen to maya, displaying your follower list and lo and behold right at the top, your most recents followers queued up.

"what the fuck?!"

you jumped up at your sister's reaction. "that's what I'm saying!"

jude bellingham was one thing. but the entire liverpool squad?? there was no reason for that to happen at all. you were just some random twitch streamer on the p.r team, nothing more.

was it because I kicked the ball on monday?? it was so because I kicked that ball on monday.

you weren't going back to the training center for a while though. there were too many errands to run and meeting to sit through. and today's meeting at 10 was sure to pile even more projects on your table.

the match on saturday against wolves was going to be a premier league match so a lot of preparation had to be done for the interviews. yesterday's meeting already gave you a headache so today was going to be something for sure.

"is jamie not coming in today as well?" curtis asked no one in particular while his eyes roamed the hallways, yet there was no sight of the girl anywhere.

from beside him, trent quirked an eyebrow and nudged his arm. "you're on a first name basis already huh? you work fast."

curtis scoffed at his comment, recalling mpnday afternoon's events all to clearly after jaimie had left. "hey I'm not the one who stalked all her socials the second she left."

"what?" trent raised his hands in defence. "she looked familiar so I had to check."

"who looked familiar?"

the two jumped up at the sudden question, their glares shot at dominik who had pushed in beside trent who only shook his head, not bothering to brush off dominik's arm that was slung over his shoulders.

"the new p.r girl," he answered and put his phone away.

"jamie?"

trent shot him a weird look and then to curtis who was smiling from ear to ear with an 'I told you so' look. "what so you're all just on a first name basis? how did that even happen?"

the conversation carried on until they got to the field and even during their warm-up session. but it still seemed off to trent who grew more an more confused whenever someone chimed in with an "are you talking about jamie?"

it didn't make sense to him. they barely knew her or had any decent conversations. what difference did asking about where she was from or how many siblings she had make? but either way, the team wondered why trent has such a big issue with it.

"did you guys know that jamie's a twitch streamer?"

"what the hell?" trent groaned in obvious frustration when ibou chimed in while they were doing their laps around the field.

"what? are you just going to call her 'ms carter' for the rest of your life?" ibou asked again with a low chuckle which got a small shrug from trent.

"obviously not. it's just that she's a staff member and has a job to do." he turned his head to look at curtis who seemed fed up either the mini lecture that he was getting, but he felt that it needed to be said.

"she's not here to be your friend or--"

"--I fully agree with you trent. I'm glad some of us have common sense," harvey retorted out of nowhere.

seriously. they didn't even know he was there. the smallest of the group was adorning a look of determination as he jogged alongside his teammates. one that screamed, 'I hate jamie carter.'

ibou scoffed from beside him. "oh shut up. you're just mad because she's taller than you."

the group couldn't hold back their laughter as they watched harvey go quiet, a look of defeat on his face as she shook his head to the side. he'd get her back. one day.

but with trent's issue, everyone's argument was that they were just trying to make her feel comfortable. and he could give them the benefit of the doubt there, he knew how fans tended to react to situations like this and their presence in general was probably a lot to her.

but there was no reason to be involved with her personally. okay so what if he was the first one to follow her on Instagram?? when dominik saw that he was stalking her account his first instinct was to take trent's phone and follow her, just to tease him.

but then everyone followed her so that was kind of pointless.

after a bit more back and forth banter curtis let out a sigh. "but either way, she's friends with jude in a way or something." he gave trent a cheeky smile and the right back couldn't help but roll his eyes, knowing very well where he was leading with this.

"and any friend of jude, is a friend of mine," he finished and put his hand on his chest causing ibou to laugh but oh boy he wasn't finished just yet.

curtis took a moment to clear his throat and looked behind their group to see dominik running along with darwin and cody, laughing about what ever.

"if this is like any movie I've watched, then someone is walking out with more than just a premier league trophy."

that earned him a harsh slap on the arm from ibou but he didn't care and instead ran up in front of trent, now taking the liberty to jog backwards to take him head on. "what do you say? are you going to keep that 'ms carter' thing up until she becomes mrs alexander-arnold"?

"boys!"

everyone immediately halted at the sound of virgil's voice booming from the front with robbo and salah. "am I going to have to chase you to make you run any faster?"

you sat in the meeting room that afternoon with your laptop in front of you and your attention drawn to the front where the projector was with the media teams director, marvin colesmen.

he was a a slender man no older than 40, with blonde hair that was styled to the side. he wore a polo shirt underneath his blazer with a very obnoxious pair of socks as well.

"regarding our performance, we're doing fairly well but there's much room for improvement. but let's all thank clara for the last minute camera replacement last week since the last one broke."

everyone at the table immediately turned to look at someone who you remembered to be shaun. all he did was roll his eyes, and judging by the death glares he was receiving he definitely broke that camera.

mental note: don't break anything. ever.

"ms carter?"

your head snapped to the front at the call of your name, a bubble of anxiety filling your stomach now that you were put on the spot.

"do you have any thoughts on anything I've said?"

thoughts?? I don't have any thoughts??

"uhm..." you sat upright in your chair as you trailed off to formulate a response. "I think that more attention should be drawn to the team's more laid back promotional content."

great answer.

marvin tipped his head to the side at the response in intrigue. "care to elaborate?"

not really.

you licked your lips as you thought. "coming from a supporter, the occasional training video and interview don't really attract attention."

you watched as marvin urged you on with a nod. "and I think we should expand our content to something more entertaining. it'll be more rewarding for them team that way as well, I'm sure they're tired of answering the same questions every other week," a small laugh left your lips but you immediately stopped.

the room was dead silent and the atmosphere was a little too hostile for your liking. it was obvious that everyone was waiting for marvin to either shoot you down mercilessly or agree with you. but the experience was nothing short of terrifying.

the director nodded his head and continued to mutter something to himself before sending you a smile. "I'm giving you a week to come up with entertaining alternatives. if you convince me enough, I'll give you what you need since you'll be with the team from next week onwards unless I need you. you'll be joining them on the trip to molineux saturday morning as well. I'm sure the fans wouldn't mind seeing you in the booth either."

what's that supposed to mean?

when the meeting was finally over you didn't waste a second and rushed to pack your things and get in your car. you needed to hurry if you wanted to miss the rush hour traffic but of course you were wrong and sat in the car for an extra 40 minutes. lovely.

by the time you got back home, you felt as if every bit of energy had be drained from your body. you dropped your keys onto the counter in front of the door and kicked off your shoes.

"jamie?"

you let out a groggy "yeah" and dragged yourself to the kitchen where your sister was finishing up supper. you didn't say much and took your usual seat on one of the barstools and rested your head on your arm.

"so," maya poked your head. "how was work?"

as an answer you gave her a mumbled run down of your day, and by the time you were done the only words she heard were "broken camera".

she let out a hum regardless to show that she was paying attention and continued to stir the pasta in the pan. "well a kid fell down the slide today. I know I'm the teacher but I still laughed."

you couldn't help but cough up a laugh at her sudden confession. you looked up at her with a smile and she slumped her shoulders. "I just hope no one saw."

by the time you had gotten out of the shower. finished your night routine and ate dinner you were surged with a sudden burst of energy and needed to get it out. after a bit of scrolling through your socials and interacting with your followers and a much-needed poll on instagram, you decided to start a twitch stream.

and boy did it lead somewhere.

[gwynndolin]

can you explain the surrender button take?

The existence of a concede button in a game like chess, for instance, is there as a stopgap to prevent games from going on for too long when the losing player knows there is no way out of their losing position. However, it takes a pretty knowledgeable player to actually see when these positions are lost, usually requiring them to look many moves ahead to realize that there is practically no position from which they could win.

I would bet my life that 99.9% of players in online competitive video games are not knowledgeable enough to recognize a lost position. I have seen so many games of league where there’s been an entire extra minigame of hitting "no" on the surrender button every six minutes, only for the game to end up being turned around and resulting in easy wins; whether from our champions scaling into the late game better, or the enemy team getting cocky and throwing.

There are just some people who get a whiff of losing—they go 0/2 in the early game, miss some gold in lane and fall behind, or we lose one team fight—and they decide that it’s over for the whole team. Then they bring the entire team’s morale down by spamming the surrender button at every opportunity.

I literally don’t care if the odds are heavily in the enemy team’s favor and we’re going to spend an extra 15 minutes struggling to win. You queued up for a game! And I’m going to play that game whether I win or lose because I want to play the game. Part of the game is losing and learning from that loss. If you won every competitive match you played, it wouldn’t be a game anymore.

I understand that another reason for the surrender button is for when a player on your team has an issue in real life or something similar. But my other hot take is this: just take the loss and possible ban and leave! If it’s important enough for you to walk away from the game, it’s certainly more important than a placement loss in ranked or a 24-hour ban.

Overall, I think the surrender button is a net negative for the game in almost all cases. And if there were an option to automatically decline surrender votes i would absolutely have it turned on

[51faces]

Level Up in Friendship

Dreamcatcher's Yoohyeon x Female Reader

Yoohyeon, the talented vocalist of Dreamcatcher, had always enjoyed gaming, but she'd only slightly ventured into the world of League of Legends—until now. It was practically a rite of passage in Korea, where the game was a cultural phenomenon. Feeling a little adventurous, she decided to give it a go again.

Her first few games after a long time were a disaster. Losses piled up, and her teammates were quick to hurl toxic insults her way. The frustration bubbled beneath her calm demeanor, but Yoohyeon remained composed, deciding to give it one last try before calling it a day.

She queued up, this time paired with a stranger named Y/N, who was assigned to support her as she played ADC. Despite their best efforts, they still lost the game. Yet, in stark contrast to her previous experiences, Y/N was different. As the other players in the chat began blaming Yoohyeon, Y/N defended her, calmly reminding everyone that it was an unranked match and the score didn’t matter. 

Yoohyeon felt a wave of relief. Someone was on her side. She appreciated the kind gesture and, on impulse, sent a friend request to Y/N. To her delight, Y/N accepted, and from that moment on, they started playing together almost every day. It became a routine—a comforting part of Yoohyeon’s otherwise busy schedule. Slowly but surely, they began to open up to each other. They shared little details about their lives, like their names, the cities they lived in, and favorite foods.

One evening, as usual, Y/N headed to the local PC bang with a grin on her face, anticipating her nightly gaming session with Yoohyeon. But just as she was settling in, a message popped up on her screen. It was from Yoohyeon: Sorry, I have a fan meeting tonight. I won’t be able to play.” Y/N’s heart sank, but she smiled to herself and shrugged. She decided to solo queue instead.

Meanwhile, Yoohyeon was at her fan meeting, greeting fans and signing autographs. But her mind kept wandering back to her regular gaming time with Y/N. Once the event ended, she glanced at the clock—only an hour and a half had passed since their usual playtime. Feeling restless, she headed to the nearest PC bang, hoping to squeeze in a quick game before the night was over.

By sheer coincidence, Yoohyeon sat down next to Y/N, though neither recognized the other. They had never seen each other’s faces, only knowing each other as voices in the game. Y/N felt the presence of someone beside her and turned her head slightly, her eyes widening in surprise. The woman sitting next to her was stunning, causing Y/N to fumble her game and unintentionally lose it for her team. Her mood sank briefly, but it instantly lifted when a message from her gaming friend—Yoohyeon—pinged on the screen.

Feeling bold, Y/N typed back, asking if Yoohyeon wanted to transition to a voice call. They had never used voice chat before, so it was a big step. To her relief, Yoohyeon agreed. At first, it was awkward, but soon, the conversation flowed naturally, and they chatted easily about everything from game strategy to life. Y/N casually mentioned how she loved grabbing fried chicken, takoyaki, and jjajangmyeon with cheese on top, when she came to the PC bang, and Yoohyeon laughed, teasing her about the amount of food. Y/N proudly declared she could finish it all.

As they continued to play, Yoohyeon began to notice something strange. Whenever she died in the game, the girl sitting next to her reacted at the same time, as if they were playing together. Her suspicions grew when she saw the same dishes Y/N had mentioned being delivered to the girl beside her. Then, to confirm her hunch, Yoohyeon casually suggested over voice chat that they take a stretch break after playing for a while. The moment she said it, the girl beside her stretched too.

Yoohyeon’s heart raced. She leaned toward the girl and tapped the girl's shoulder, "Are you playing League of Legends?" Y/N, caught off guard, nodded without thinking, her headset still on. In the next second, she heard Yoohyeon’s voice through the headset and in real life at the same time.

The realization unfolded slowly, each moment deepening their astonishment. They locked eyes, the initial shock gradually transforming into shared laughter. The weight of the coincidence settled over them, making the night feel even more special. Setting their game aside, they moved their chairs closer, immersing themselves in conversation. They talked and laughed late into the night, reveling in the remarkable twist of fate that had led them to sit side by side in that PC Bang.

When they eventually left the PC bang, they stood outside awkwardly, neither wanting to say goodbye. After a brief pause, Yoohyeon broke the silence. "Here, take my number," she said, handing her phone to Y/N. The gesture left Y/N in stunned silence. "If I’m ever around again, I’d love to meet up. Oh, and by the way…" Yoohyeon hesitated before continuing, "I realized you never recognized me. When you get home, search up what I’m about to text you."

With that, Yoohyeon hurried off, leaving Y/N standing there, baffled. The curiosity was too much to bear, so Y/N immediately checked her phone. The message read, Yoohyeon of Dreamcatcher. 

Y/N stood there on the sidewalk, staring at her phone in disbelief. She had looked up Yoohyeon of Dreamcatcher just like her friend had suggested, but none of it made sense. She’d never heard of Dreamcatcher before. The images that popped up showed Yoohyeon on stage, dazzling in elaborate outfits and surrounded by screaming fans. It was hard to reconcile this with the down-to-earth gamer she’d spent so many late nights with. Still, famous or not, Yoohyeon was just… Yoohyeon.

As she made her way home, a soft smile spread across Y/N’s face. It didn’t really matter if Yoohyeon was part of some famous group; to her, she was just her gaming friend—the person who laughed at their losses and shared funny stories in between matches. That was all that mattered.

Later that evening, as Y/N sat in her room, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon: “So, did you look me up? 😆”

Y/N laughed to herself, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Y/N: “I did… but I gotta admit, I have no idea what Dreamcatcher is. I feel like I’m missing something big?”

The reply came quickly, and she could almost hear Yoohyeon’s amused chuckle.

Yoohyeon: “Haha, that’s okay! Honestly, it’s kinda refreshing that you didn’t know. It makes it easier to just be me when we hang out.”

Y/N smiled, a warmth spreading through her chest.

Y/N: “Well, whoever you are on stage, you’re still the same person I carried through all those League games. That’s all I care about.”

A moment passed before her phone buzzed again.

Yoohyeon: “And that’s exactly why I’m so glad we met. Next time, let’s hang out in person. No screens, no games. Just us.”

Y/N’s heart fluttered at the thought.

Y/N: “I’d love that.”

From that night on, their bond deepened. They still played League of Legends regularly, but now they also video called after their games, chatting late into the night. Yoohyeon often called from her dorm or hotel rooms while traveling for work, and Y/N from the comfort of her home. Though they lived in different cities, these virtual hangouts felt like their way of closing the distance.

On those calls, they’d talk about everything—from small moments in their day to their dreams for the future. Sometimes they ate together too, sharing their meals over video as if they were sitting across from each other, while Yoohyeon playfully teased Y/N about her massive portions, usually with her own simpler snack in hand.

For Y/N, Yoohyeon wasn’t an idol; she was just her friend, her partner in the game, and someone she could trust. It didn’t matter that they didn’t live in the same city or that Yoohyeon was constantly busy with her Dreamcatcher schedule—what mattered was that their connection was real. Even across the miles, they had found a way to be part of each other’s everyday lives.

Months after months have passed since that fateful night at the PC bang, and Y/N and Yoohyeon continued their gaming sessions, effortlessly strengthening their bond. They became inseparable online, chatting about life, sharing laughs, and enjoying each other’s company without the pressure of Yoohyeon’s idol life looming over them. Y/N still didn’t fully grasp Yoohyeon’s fame as part of Dreamcatcher, but it never really mattered. Yoohyeon was just her friend—fun, kind, and easy to talk to.

One day, Y/N received a message that caught her off guard.

Yoohyeon: "Hey, guess what?"

Y/N:"What’s up?"

Yoohyeon: "I’m coming to your city again soon! We have a fan meeting there in a couple of weeks."

Y/N: "Oh, really? That’s awesome! Wait, is that what you meant by ‘work stuff’? 😆"

Yoohyeon: "Yep! And I have a surprise for you… I saved some tickets for the event. You should come!"

Y/N: "Me? At a fan meeting? I wouldn’t even know what to do! 😅"

Yoohyeon: "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you feel right at home. I promise it’ll be fun."

Curiosity tugged at Y/N, so she agreed. A couple of weeks later, she found herself standing in line at a Dreamcatcher fan meeting in her city. She felt out of place among the die-hard fans, who excitedly chatted about their favorite members and shared stories of attending concerts. Y/N, still unfamiliar with the world of K-pop, smiled nervously as she moved closer to the front.

Finally, it was her turn. When Y/N stepped up to Yoohyeon’s table, the moment felt surreal. Yoohyeon, sitting there in full idol mode, saw her and her face lit up instantly with a warm smile.

“You made it!” Yoohyeon said, her voice soft but full of excitement. Y/N couldn’t help but grin back.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to miss this,” Y/N replied, still in awe of the setup—the stage, the flashing lights, the adoring fans waiting to meet Yoohyeon. It was a world Y/N hadn’t fully understood until now.

As Yoohyeon greeted Y/N, a few of the other Dreamcatcher members, who were observing from a nearby table, couldn’t resist teasing her. Jiu, with a sly smile, remarked, “Yoohyeon, I see you’ve got a special guest today. Did you make sure to save her a front-row spot?”

Sua added, with a hint of mischief, “You’ve been talking about this one quite a bit. Is she your new favorite?”

Yoohyeon’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she laughed nervously. “Oh, stop it! She’s just a friend who’s been really supportive.”

Siyeon chimed in playfully, “Just a friend who seems to get all the insider info. I’m sure you’re not giving her special treatment or anything.”

Yoohyeon tried to laugh it off, though her smile lingered longer than usual. “I just wanted her to see what I do when I’m not gaming.”

Y/N, oblivious to the underlying teasing, felt a mix of embarrassment and amusement, her nerves easing as she saw the playful interaction between Yoohyeon and her bandmates. It added a layer of warmth to the experience, making her feel more at ease.

“I know this is probably all really weird for you,” Yoohyeon whispered, leaning in slightly. “But I’m glad you came. I wanted you to see this part of my life.”

Y/N smiled, feeling a little more at ease. “It’s definitely different from the PC bang.”

Yoohyeon giggled. “A little, yeah. But no matter where we are, I’m still me.”

The brief interaction ended, and Y/N moved aside, watching Yoohyeon continue to greet her fans with the same warmth and energy she always brought to their gaming sessions. It was a strange feeling, seeing Yoohyeon in this setting—a world where she was a star to so many people—but Y/N still saw her as the same person she had laughed with during late-night games.

After the fan meeting wrapped up, Yoohyeon spotted Y/N waiting near the exit. With a grin, she made her way over, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

“I told you it would be fun,” Yoohyeon teased.

Y/N laughed, shaking her head. “It was definitely an experience! I had no idea so many people loved you.”

Yoohyeon smiled, her expression softening. “It’s a little overwhelming sometimes, but it’s nice. They support me, and it means a lot.” She paused for a moment before adding, “But you… you make things feel normal, and I really appreciate that.”

Y/N’s heart warmed at her words. Even in the midst of all the fame, Yoohyeon was still just her friend.

“So, now that you’ve seen me in action,” Yoohyeon began, nudging Y/N playfully, “how about we celebrate? Fried chicken, takoyaki, and jjajangmyeon with cheese, just like when we first met.”

Y/N’s eyes lit up. “You remembered my order?”

“Of course!” Yoohyeon said with a grin. “Best duo, remember?”

“Best duo,” Y/N agreed, laughing. “And next time I’m in town, the food’s on me.”

As they walked out of the venue together, Y/N realized that despite the spotlight surrounding Yoohyeon, their friendship remained unchanged. It didn’t matter that Yoohyeon was a star on stage—she would always just be the friend who shared late-night games, funny banter, and their favorite meal combo.

And as they left, arm in arm, Y/N knew that no matter how many miles separated them or how busy their lives became, there would always be time for their little traditions—gaming together, laughing over their inside jokes, and deepening the bond they had built from that first match

[lgcbk]

⸻ NEW TRIMESTER ( plot call? tracker? ramble? all of the above really )

heyo.... look who's back from their disappearing act? now that i've finally survived the past few weeks of school, work, and life with lots of kicking and screaming, i can finally unleash the havoc that is bk on the masses i mean, get back to my regularly scheduled dash lurking and post a new trimester plot call! i figured there's no better way to start than with a new pinned post / tracker, so here we are. current threads and a plea for new ones under the cut. kthnxbye.

⸻ SPRING BOYS !* ( deadline june 17 ) *ty all for your infinite patience!!! i had planned to do a lot more but in an effort to avoid another overwhelmed moment, i think i'm going to cool it on my spring boy's plots, but i'm down for more non-event and trainee mission threads if anyone's still in need!

TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM ( activity / team match ) - @lgcyeonwoo GIVE & TAKE ( preparation / breathe ) - @lgcakio A FOR EFFORT ( activity / school's in ) - @lgcxnoeul TOUCHE ( preparation / breathe ) - @lgcseojin 'REFLECTION SOLO' - in progress

⸻ TRAINEE MISSION 013 ! ( pt. 2 )

minor leagues - @lgcjihan stunt men - @lgcsaem ( queued ! )

⸻ NON-EVENT THREADS*

RUN AWAY - @hyunsoolgc

*clean sweep! my hiatus kind of zapped my muse for a lot of old plots and i know a lot of threads cleared for the new trimester, so i've dropped all threads minus those that were close to being completed and new starters that were posted for me. if i missed your starter, or you want to continue one of our old threads just hit me up in the ims/disc and i'll update this asap. otherwise, if you'd like to plot up something new, a quick bk refresher is here & here ( will i ever finish a plots page? the world may never know - ) if you wanna brainstorm something up!

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] All the captains of the participating IPL teams in the 18th edition pose with the trophy. Image:IPL Season 18 is upon us, and it is perhaps pertinent to take a look at the journey thus far. First things first, the IPL has resulted in an unprecedented windfall for the BCCI and for franchise owners of all the competing teams – a number that has now gone up to ten. It is this unprecedented success of the IPL, repeated for 17 straight years between 2008 and 2024, that helped consolidate India’s position at world cricket’s centre, while completing the process of financial takeover of the game. Apprehensions The BCCI’s decision to put iconic cricketers under the commercial hammer in February 2008 met with vociferous opposition from more than one quarter. Moralists and politicians throughout India were up in arms against this public auctioning of the country’s biggest stars, even threatening to raise the issue in Parliament. The BCCI, however, was unfazed. They believed in the spectacle and were willing to travel the distance. Could you imagine the thrill in seeing MS Dhoni being sold? How exciting was the prospect of possessing the man who had won India the T20 World Cup? You could now buy them in an auction. The very thought was enough to rouse fan passions and, more importantly, investor interest. A Success Story like No Other There’s little doubt that April 18, 2008, will go down in cricket history as the date when the game changed forever. Modelled on Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL), the IPL had come at a time when the Indian economy had opened itself to global riches and big corporates were trying to make India home and in search of lucrative investment platforms across the country. The IPL, for many, was the answer. At one go, it gave them a foothold in a market of a billion-plus and generated eyeballs that millions of dollars spent on advertisements wouldn’t.   Add to this the fact that for hundreds of millions of cricket fans, filling stadiums was hardly difficult with proper marketing and hype. With celebrity owners like Shah Rukh Khan and leading Bollywood stars doing their bit in earnest, fans had more than cricket on offer for a few hundred rupees—a great evening out at a reasonable price. In addition, with fans thronging the grounds or picking their seat in front of the TV set, sponsors queued up and paid millions for ten-second slots, on in-stadia hoardings and team apparel.  The story goes on Over the course of the seventeen years since the inception of the IPL, I have spent time with multiple teams and owners and been amazed at the kind of passion the league generates. For example, the entire senior management of one of the teams used to leave the hotel together around 2 pm on match days to offer pujas for the team. They would never be a minute late, and the kind of discipline shown in performing this ritual was unbelievable! That the team did not have the greatest results is a different matter altogether. Team owners, men and women who run big corporations, are not as tense in their business meetings as during the IPL games. The future We already have multiple IPL unicorns. And with Indian cricket growing in strength and people’s consumption patterns turning more and more aggressive, there is no doubt IPL as a brand isn’t going to lose sheen in the next decade. Also Read: “The sound of the ball on the bat is something we long to hear”: Sachin Tendulkar The post As the IPL turns 18, Indian cricket is unrecognisable from the pre-T20 days appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] All the captains of the participating IPL teams in the 18th edition pose with the trophy. Image:IPL Season 18 is upon us, and it is perhaps pertinent to take a look at the journey thus far. First things first, the IPL has resulted in an unprecedented windfall for the BCCI and for franchise owners of all the competing teams – a number that has now gone up to ten. It is this unprecedented success of the IPL, repeated for 17 straight years between 2008 and 2024, that helped consolidate India’s position at world cricket’s centre, while completing the process of financial takeover of the game. Apprehensions The BCCI’s decision to put iconic cricketers under the commercial hammer in February 2008 met with vociferous opposition from more than one quarter. Moralists and politicians throughout India were up in arms against this public auctioning of the country’s biggest stars, even threatening to raise the issue in Parliament. The BCCI, however, was unfazed. They believed in the spectacle and were willing to travel the distance. Could you imagine the thrill in seeing MS Dhoni being sold? How exciting was the prospect of possessing the man who had won India the T20 World Cup? You could now buy them in an auction. The very thought was enough to rouse fan passions and, more importantly, investor interest. A Success Story like No Other There’s little doubt that April 18, 2008, will go down in cricket history as the date when the game changed forever. Modelled on Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL), the IPL had come at a time when the Indian economy had opened itself to global riches and big corporates were trying to make India home and in search of lucrative investment platforms across the country. The IPL, for many, was the answer. At one go, it gave them a foothold in a market of a billion-plus and generated eyeballs that millions of dollars spent on advertisements wouldn’t.   Add to this the fact that for hundreds of millions of cricket fans, filling stadiums was hardly difficult with proper marketing and hype. With celebrity owners like Shah Rukh Khan and leading Bollywood stars doing their bit in earnest, fans had more than cricket on offer for a few hundred rupees—a great evening out at a reasonable price. In addition, with fans thronging the grounds or picking their seat in front of the TV set, sponsors queued up and paid millions for ten-second slots, on in-stadia hoardings and team apparel.  The story goes on Over the course of the seventeen years since the inception of the IPL, I have spent time with multiple teams and owners and been amazed at the kind of passion the league generates. For example, the entire senior management of one of the teams used to leave the hotel together around 2 pm on match days to offer pujas for the team. They would never be a minute late, and the kind of discipline shown in performing this ritual was unbelievable! That the team did not have the greatest results is a different matter altogether. Team owners, men and women who run big corporations, are not as tense in their business meetings as during the IPL games. The future We already have multiple IPL unicorns. And with Indian cricket growing in strength and people’s consumption patterns turning more and more aggressive, there is no doubt IPL as a brand isn’t going to lose sheen in the next decade. Also Read: “The sound of the ball on the bat is something we long to hear”: Sachin Tendulkar The post As the IPL turns 18, Indian cricket is unrecognisable from the pre-T20 days appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[jamesv-t]

Football Survey 2024

This is now becoming a tradition! See past entries at #football-survey

Top 5 games of the year?

Arsenal 3 Bayern Munich 2, 18th December, Borehamwood (UK)

Germany 4 Austria 0, 17th July, Hannover (Germany)

Damaiense 0 Braga 4, 11th January, Lisbon (Portugal)

Arsenal 4 Valerenga 1, 16th October, London (UK)

Lewes 2 Worthing 1 (aet), 28th August, Lewes (UK)

Total number of matches?

Eight, same as last year.

First match of the year?

SF Damaiense 0 Braga 4, 11th January. I took myself off on a weekend break to Lisbon to enjoy some sunshine, and took in a game while I was there.

Last match of the year?

Arsenal 3 Bayern 2, 18th December, final UWCL group game.

Most surprising game?

The Arsenal vs Valerenga game was surprising, as I hadn't seen Arsenal play in such a swashbuckling, attacking manner in months. This was possibly related to them parting ways with the manager just a few days before and the team being let off their leash a bit; or instead, facing a team who weren't just content to sit in a low block and frustrate Arsenal but tried to make a game of it and attack!

Most disappointing?

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1, and Arsenal were Gillingham-esque in their play.

Farthest travelled?

Parque Desportivo do Sport Clube Damaiense in Lisbon, 1920km/1140 miles from my front door.

States attended games in?

Cheerful, grateful, euphoric, bored, knackered and achy.

Stadium most visited?

Lewes's Dripping Pan, twice.

Worst injury?

Blisters on my foot walking back into town from the Germany game in Hanover.

Most expensive ticket?

Arsenal vs Bayern was £45 but due to the game being bumped down to the reserves' ground because a later cup draw for the men took priority, I got it refunded and spent £12 on the match instead.

Player seen the most?

I saw a number of Arsenal, Chelsea and Lewes players at least twice; but I saw Sjoeke Nusken three times, twice for Chelsea and once for Germany. In those three games her side won all three by an aggregate score of 10-1.

Best new discovery?

I’ve really enjoyed watching Alessia Russo play; thanks to this picture she's the best player I've ever seen wearing a Gillingham shirt. Also, somewhat begrudgingly given she plays for Bayern, enjoyed Giulia Gwinn too.

Bands seen this year that also broke up this year?

I’m not sure how to make this football related, but I’m open to suggestions.

Friends made at games?

No long-term friends, but due to a stunning lack of self-awareness to when other people are uncomfortable around me, and a brazen amount of confidence, I've ended up striking up conversations with people around me at most games I've been to this year. In the lounge before the Arsenal vs Valerenga game I ended up chatting to family of both the opposition keeper and their star player!

Footballers met?

I took the same train back westbound as Worthing striker Sophie Humphrey after their game at Lewes. Also shook hands with Laura Weinroither and Lilli Purtscheller after the Germany vs Austria match after ambling my way into the Austrian Football Federation part of the stand like a drunken fool.

Best souvenir from a game?

I got a scarf from the Dama game in January in club colours of maroon and dark green which really compliments my autumn tones.

Longest time in line?

I’ve not really queued up at any games.

Games seen from the front row?

I stood in the front row of the North Bank for the last game of the year; I've also not been upset with any of my views for the games this year.

Most games in one month?

January and August tied for two games apiece.

Most games in one week?

Two - a league game and a cup derby in three days at Lewes.

Biggest crowd?

Arsenal vs Valerenga was around 5,000.

Smallest crowd?

Lewes vs Worthing had an attendance of 212 people, and I'm 100% sure that I was the only person there who was not related/friends with a player. This, however, was beaten by a crowd of 78 people at Saltdean United vs South London. I counted them individually during a lull in the first half.

Any drunk encounters?

I took full advantage of the German bier culture before and during the game in Hannover, which lead to the brazen confidence which saw me wander into the Austrian FA's area post match!

Highlights:

One of the worst moments last year was realising that the women's game didn't need my support and plunging into a mental crisis because of it. After taking in smaller, local women's games in Sussex this year I've slightly tweaked that view, for the better. Instead of "they (women's football) don't need me anymore", it's become "they (Arsenal) don't need me anymore, but there's other clubs who are small enough that I could easily make a difference by going to a game and buying a drink (or several). We've spent the year trying to buy a property in Worthing; it's 15 minutes walk from the Worthing home ground and so if (WHEN) we move in, I'll become a supporter of Worthing's women's side. (Every time I've made inroads into supporting them before the move, within a week a spanner has been thrown into the works of moving, so I'm trying not to jinx it!)

The Germany/Austria game was a highlight in a summer packed with cracking gigs. The swashbuckling attack, Giulia Gwinn, more Brand supremacy, meeting some players and holding conversations with other fans in a language not English - I had a wonderful time!

SF Damaiense 0 SC Braga 4. A thoroughly entertaining game which saw Braga score a penalty, get a second straight from the Dama kickoff, then lose their keeper to a blatant handball halfway between her penalty area and the centre circle - all in the first fifteen minutes!

Arsenal's final game of the year against Bayern in the Champions League - both teams had qualified for the next round, but whoever won would finish top of the group and get a slightly more favourable draw in the next round. Bayern would finish top with a draw, so the onus was on Arsenal to win. Due to the men's team being drawn at home in a different cup on the same day the game got bumped from the Emirates to the smaller Meadow Park, but this ended up working out for the best, as the packed ground was full of people who were up for the game and no day-trippers echoing around a half empty ground. Arsenal took an early lead to settle nerves, but Bayern equalised shortly before halftime with a wind assisted goal. They took an early lead in the second half but Arsenal fought back tooth and nail to secure the win!

I had a run of four games in a row where I saw a team in red playing at home against a team in blue. It wasn't planned this way, it just happened and the coincidence amused me!

Lowlights:

My first three games of the year saw the teams I went along to support lose all three, by a combined score of 10-1.

Vivianne Miedema left Arsenal. To make it worse, she went to Manchester City, who this season have a tribute kit to the playoff final where the men's side beat Gillingham. Every picture of her in that kit feels like a personal attack. (It's probably not. Probably.)

The Arsenal vs Bayern game was supposed to be played at the Emirates. I bought a Club Level ticket so that I could sit in a good spot and get a free beer at half time. Then the men's team got drawn at home on the same day, and the women's side got bumped out to Meadow Park. No free beer, no decent stadium, a significant downgrade and a reminder we still have a ways to go. To make things worse, Thameslink decided to cancel a swathe of services that evening, so if you didn't leave the ground with half an hour still to play, you weren't getting out of Borehamwood before midnight. Fortunately the game was being streamed so I stomped back to the station while listening to the commentary, and celebrated the late penalty on the station platform with several other sensible early leavers!

[hspuppets]

The Matchmaking Problem

I genuinely think the ultimate failure of modern gaming is matchmaking. Not lootboxes or battle passes, though those certainly have not helped, but matchmaking itself. There's so much wrong.

As soon as the game stops being profitable or no longer serves its purpose, the servers go down and the game is no longer functional. Paid for the game? Tough shit, it's a paperweight since you can't actually join any dedicated servers. Your game is dead and you have no way to get into it.

The game forces players of all shapes and sizes to play together, and I 100% believe that's not a good thing. There are going to be players who want to goof off and dick around on the map, sitting in corners and play with toys, and there's going to be hardcore ultra 100% tryhard players who will scream at you if you even slightly miscalculate a shot or take damage. There will be casual players who enjoy the game but want an experience somewhere in the middle, and griefers who make everyone's lives worse overall. Matchmaking lumps all of these players together, instead of allowing them to find their own communities. When you think of Overwatch, Apex Legends, or League of Legends' community, your mind tends to lean towards toxic players. This is really only perpetuated because of matchmaking forcing everyone to follow a single objective with so many different playstyles. Games like Team Fortress 2 (at least before the Meet Your Match update) don't have that issue because everyone goes to servers they like and stay there.

Matchmaking also prevents real connections from forming. As soon as your game is done, unless you're playing with friends, your group is disbanded or everyone leaves quickly to get rematched again. Communities don't grow, nobody is able to sit down in a single server and enjoy themselves, they have to dedicate all their time to a single match in a do-or-die scenario. All that time wasted in Apex trying to win, getting slammed in Overwatch just to do it over again, suffering throughout the whole match in League. You can't just leave if you're not feeling up to it or spectate/sit back to relax for a moment. You can't start a conversation casually because the match is happening NOW. NOW DAMNIT NOW. Notice also how most people tend to play specifically with a group of friends instead of join random players, and solo queuing is always considered "the worst"? Well that's a significant part of it. No community to really find your place in, so you have to play with friends to have even a remotely good time. Even then it can be frustrating.

The prioritization of esports, ranked modes, and things like that create even more toxicity. Players are so hellbent on winning that it becomes all that matters. There's winners and losers in all games, but god help you if you lose and your teammate is one of these types (Once again, all shapes and sizes). It causes disconnects, anger, rage, and frustration. Especially when you and your group of friends end up divided on rankings so you can't play together in a "serious mode" if you want to.

Games keep forcing this into multiplayer every single day, and I'm so tired of it. Where's the dedicated servers? The custom content that lets you enjoy the game as YOU want to instead of being forced to play specifically? The individual communities that let you have fun where you WANT to have fun instead of being a melting pot of tryhards and scumbags? Nothing really feels unique anymore for multiplayer.

[chaostrick]

UCL | Manchester United x CSKA Moscow | 05.12.2017

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

curtain call, m | myg

pairing(s): yoongi x reader

summary: You know that TikTok trend where girls would drop their towels in front of their gamer boyfriends? As expected, Min Yoongi didn’t until he was informed by his six troublemaking friends. In this case, his girlfriend was the pro streamer and he was the guy in the towel... so what’s the result?

warnings: rated M (18+) for language, tiny bit of crack; sexually explicit thoughts; smut (fem reader, handjob, cowgirl); very fluffy; non-idol!AU - established relationship, music producer!Yoongi x LoL streamer!reader

-

“Hahaha, oh my god, chat, did you see that? He bounced so many times from the CC, he literally went sky, holy shit!”

Min Yoongi opened the front door of his apartment to the jovial, laughing voice of his girlfriend. He shut the door, smiling to himself. Her streaming room was in the extra bedroom. The door was open, and he could see the bright RGB lights of her computer tower reflecting off the walls. He took off his black coat, placing it on the hanger in the hall closet.

“Stop cursing because it’s not ladylike?” He heard her scoff. “No, fuck you.”

Yoongi smirked. That’s my girl.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket, scrolling through social media. His friends always told him to reply to their posts, but Yoongi was a lurker. The only reason he even had any social media was because his friends set it up for him. He literally only followed six people – his six friends. Everyone else he just stalked from memory, even his own girlfriend. Mostly because he didn’t want random people following him for no reason, because they most certainly would with how popular she was.

When she had asked him what he thought of her full-time video game streaming, Yoongi told her to go for it. She had been obsessed with League of Legends for over nine years, even before she met him. At their first date, she first question was if he knew what League of Legends was.

“Uh… I got to Gold in season 2?”

Later, she told him his answer had seriously tilted her and she even considered not going on a second date.

“But you did. Because of this face.”

She had laughed and nodded.

She had been playing solo queue for a long time. When she finally started streaming her games, her channel grew slowly. She would immediately start playing after she got home from work. Hours and hours, growing a fanbase. Yoongi later learned she was startlingly good – “I was Master for a long time, got Grandmaster this season” – and when she asked him if she could quit her job, he pointed to her bank statements.

“Do you even need to ask? You might make more than me at one point and I’m Big Hit’s top music producer.”

And she did end up making more than him, at least some months, because the team that picked her up as a content creator this year was none other than T1, the most beloved (and hated) organization in Korea. Had she ever met Faker? No, but it was cool to say she was under the same umbrella as him.

Yoongi rounded the corner, knocking his knuckles on the doorframe.

“Hey.”

-

You looked up from your game, grinning. Twitch chat had just said some dumb shit, but your eyes were on Min Yoongi now. The love of your life, standing in the doorframe, looking amused at your antics and dressed sharply in a white dress shirt and black slacks with a matching black tie. Very different to your black T1 hoodie and sweats.

“Whoa, fancy, fancy,” you teased, eyes going back to the game. You pushed back one of your headset’s earcups to hear him better. You clicked rapidly, autoattacking the towers swiftly. You were about to win after a hectic Baron fight. “Why are you dressed like that, Yoongi?”

Your chat was exploding with cat emojis. They had only seen Yoongi a few times and someone had compared him to a cat once. It stuck and now every time Yoongi spoke, your chat was spammed with cats. You even had a custom white cat emote made with Yoongi’s signature black hair.

Yoongi appeared next to you on the cam, only his slacks and bottom of his shirt visible next to you. He patted your head.

“Meeting today,” he said simply in his lovely deep voice. The chat was exploding due to Yoongi’s appearance. Everyone was thirsty for him. You couldn’t blame them. You too. “Looks like T1 Curtain Call is kicking ass.”

You fired the last shot at the Nexus, earning fifty gold. Was it necessary since that was the end of the game? Absolutely not, but it gave you bragging rights. You sat back, smirking. You were in your promos to Challenger, the highest rank in the ladder. It would be really exciting if you could make it to Challenger this season.

You turned to Yoongi as you honored your support Nami. “Chat wants you to say hi.”

Yoongi stuck his large hand out in front of the camera and waved it once. “Hey everyone.”

You chuckled as Yoongi retreated his hand. You clicked on the stats for the chat to read before reentering the lobby. T1 Curtain Call. That was your in-game name, or IGN. It was named after your favorite champion, Jhin, the Virtuoso, mercenary gunman with a sniper ultimate and an obsession with the number four. Your IGN was Jhin’s ultimate ability name. You were an attack-damage carry main, also known as ADC.

You felt Yoongi ruffle your hair, messing it up under your headset.

“Going to take a shower before making dinner. Bye, chat.”

Yoongi stuck his hand in the screen again, right in front of your face.

You leaned forward to read the chat as you queued up. It was going to be a long queue, so you answered questions in the meantime.

“Ask Yoongi to play with you?” You chuckled. “Trust me guys, I’ve tried, even if it was just normals. He’s confused as shit.”

-

Yoongi worked the shampoo in his hair, feeling the hot water hit his back. Before getting into the shower, Yoongi had gotten multiple texts from the group chat. Normally he would ignore them, because he always ignored the group chat. This time, however, he saw his girlfriend’s name pop up in the texts, along with his name with multiple exclamation points. He frowned at it, opening the chat. He did not like his friends typing her name heedlessly.

It was some dumb TikTok trend.

“Hyung, you gotta do this to noona,” Jeon Jungkook had typed with multiple ‘kekekeke’ behind it. The youngest was an idiot for even suggesting this.

“Please do it,” Kim Taehyung typed with multiple laughing emojis.

“I want to know her reaction,” Park Jimin typed with a bunch of winking faces.

“The fuck is this?” Kim Seokjin had typed. “Oh my god, you have to do it, Yoongi.”

“But don’t film it,” Kim Namjoon warned. “Don’t want to make her look bad or anything.”

Jung Hoseok had just typed multiple laughing symbols. Yoongi could hear him laughing through the phone even if he wasn’t here.

It was a stupid trend where girls wrapped themselves in towels after a shower and then dropped said towels in front of their gamer boyfriends while they were playing, with varying reactions. Yoongi had sighed, putting his phone down. He shouldn’t have clicked on the chat. Those guys were loons. Besides, his role was reversed in his situation. A guy’s flaccid dick was a thousand times less interesting than his girlfriend’s perky tits and round ass. And her squeezable thighs. And her glistening pussy.

Yoongi rinsed his hair off, muttering to himself.

Why would he even consider distracting her like that anyway? He rubbed soap on his arms and legs. She took her games seriously and Yoongi wanted her to win them. It would just be dumb to be the reason that she dies in game. It was her job, after all. It was true they had less sex, but that was also partially his fault. He had been working on an album and it ran long hours. He had to finish before the deadline after all. Yes, sometimes Yoongi woke up late at night with a massive hard-on and her warm body next to him, only in her underwear. Sometimes he took her hand and wrapped it around him, considering on waking her up to do it.

But her peaceful, sleepy face was too cute to wake up, so he never did.

Yoongi puffed his cheeks as he rinsed off, thinning his mouth and eyes into lines. They used to mess around, right here in the shower, where he would jerk off on her face and chest, just to watch it drip down her body. He could see her pretty face in his mind, cum sprayed across her cheeks and chin, mischievous smile on her lips. They had different schedules now, so she always showered before her stream, while he was at work.

Yoongi clicked his tongue and turned the water off, body still hot. He grabbed the white towel from the rack and dried his hair, making it stick up in every direction. He rubbed himself down, wicking the water away. It made him remember how her hair used to stick to her body after their shared showers and how he would lift it away to play with her nipples.

He huffed, seeing his phone on the bathroom sink. His friends needed help. How could they even suggest such nonsen–

Yoongi tried to wrap his towel around his waist. He could feel a draft. He looked down, raising his eyebrows.

His dick was pitching a music-festival, VIP-member-only sized tent.

Well.

He pursed his lips. He shouldn’t be that surprised. He had literally been thinking about his girlfriend’s naked body the entire time. His eyes glanced to his phone once again before he opened the bathroom door. He heard her sigh loudly.

“Noooo, that’s the third dodge! Am I ever going to play a game, chat?” she whined.

Yoongi padded out into the hallway. Technically he was already halfway there. Might as well. Was this the stupidest shit he was ever going to do? Maybe. But she wasn’t going to expect it, that’s for sure. The thought made Yoongi smirk.

“When is Jungkook going to duo with me again? I don’t know guys; he said he has finals soon so he has to focus on school.” He heard her click her tongue. “Get him on cam again? Oh, I see, that’s what you all wanted... At least let him get through university.”

Yoongi stopped at the doorframe. Her hands were on her chin and she was sighing, looking depressed at her long queue time.

“Ah, so unlucky. It must be everyone’s dinnertime.”

He called her name in the same tone he usually used.

Her head lifted and her eyes floated in his direction.

Yoongi dropped the towel.

In less than a second, her eyes grew three sizes, jaw dropping. His wet hair stuck to his forehead, shading his eyes a bit. He cocked an eyebrow, slow smirk on his lips.

“Anything you want for dinner?”

-

What.

The.

FUCK?

You heard your queue pop, but you were frozen in place, gawking open-mouthed at your boyfriend standing in the doorframe of your streaming room, butt-ass naked, cock hard as a rock, towel on the ground. Did he just..? What the…? This was Min Yoongi. Your mild-mannered, somewhat-lazy, preferred-to-be-asleep boyfriend. Not suddenly-trying-to-send-you-to-horny-jail-in-front-of-three-thousand viewers boyfriend! You blinked at him, stuttering.

“Y-Yoongi…?”

Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. Your voice was a little too breathless, a little too shocked. And slightly too needy for Twitch chat. Your face was heating up fast. You whipped your head back to the screen, realizing you missed the queue. At this point, you didn’t give a single shit.

“You know what, guys,” you said shakily, laughing awkwardly. “I better help Yoongi with dinner and be a good girlfriend.” You rose, feeling the wetness between your legs. “See you tomorrow!”

And you immediately turned off the stream, fuck, you turned off your whole damn computer, mashing the power button, and throwing one of your spare hoodies over the webcam. You exploded from your T1 gaming chair, literally shooting it back three feet into the League plushes behind you, ripping your headset off, tossing it onto the keyboard. Yoongi looked surprised, as if he expected you to be demurer about it.

Yeah, that’s not kind of woman you were.

“Min Yoon-gi,” you hissed, stressing every syllable of his name. “How the fuck do you think you can just show up naked and not expect me to want to immediately fuck you?”

Yoongi chuckled. “I wanted to see your reaction.”

You narrowed your eyes, pressing him against the door with your body. “You don’t watch TikTok. Who put you up to this? Jimin? Taehyung? Jungkook?”

His voice was low and husky. “You know the mankae line are trouble.”

Your hand snaked up into his damp hair and you pulled him down for a sensual kiss. His soft, pink lips parted and you nipped at his lower lip, grinding deliciously into his hard cock. Your sweatpants and underwear were in the way, but you moaned into his mouth, tongue grazing against his lips.

Mentally, you thanked the three mankaes for giving Yoongi this wonderful idea.

He breathed against your lips, smirking.

“How many pieces of clothing are you wearing?” he purred.

You grinned into his kiss, tongue between your teeth. “Four.”

“On brand for you.”

And then you two stumbled into the hallway, Yoongi’s hands on the hem of your hoodie, pushing it up as you kissed him over and over, whispering his name, telling him how handsome he was, how perfectly sexy he was with his wet hair and soft skin. His lips curved upwards under yours, basking in your compliments, drinking them up.

“Count for me,” he drawled, pulling the black T1 hoodie up.

You slipped out of it, sliding down, hands splaying over Yoongi’s chest.

“One.”

He tossed it aside as your hand wrapped around his cock. A sharp gasp left his lips feeling you stroke him slowly, your hand snaking around his neck and bringing his face close to yours, lips on lips. His hands curled around your waist, moving up, grasping the hook-and-eye of your black bra. All the while slowly making your way to the bedroom, nipping at his lips, sucking on his tongue.

Yoongi pinched, releasing your bra. You released his cock, letting it slide off your shoulders.

“Two,” you moaned, feeling his hands on your breasts, rolling your nipples in between his fingers.

“Hah, your body is so fucking hot,” Yoongi murmured. “Missed fucking you.”

You snickered, licking his lips. “Why don’t you actually try to wake me up for once instead of using my hand to jack yourself off at two in the morning?”

His dark brown eyes went wide, shock creeping into his voice. “W-what? How did you…?”

You pushed him through the doorframe of the bedroom. “You think I don’t notice your dick in my hands?” You reached down now, gripping it again, sighing softly at his hardness. “I’m a light sleeper.”

He sputtered at you, fingers curling under the waistband of your sweatpants. “No, you’re not.”

You grinned. “Yeah, you’re right, but this your cock we’re talking about, and I love your cock, Yoongi, fuck,” you continued, pumping him slowly as you felt his length twitch in your hands, his hands pushing down your pants, sliding down your legs.

“Three,” he breathed softly.

You took his larger hand and wrapped it around yours, stepping out of your pants.

“Go on, Yoongi. Show me what you do when you think I’m asleep,” you said softly, nudging him to the bed and laying him down, down, crawling over him, staring into his beautiful dark eyes, falling more and more in love with him every second. Yoongi bit his lip, looking back at you, shifting your hand up and down his cock, whimpering as he jacked himself off, but with your hand and your eyes on him.

“Fuck, you look so pretty,” he mumbled. “Such perfectly shaped eyes.”

You leaned down, squeezing him a little harder, a tiny gasp brushing against your lips. “That’s you, my love.”

He smirked, his free hand hooking on the side of your panties.

“Hit me with the fourth shot,” Yoongi teased, grinning.

You kissed him lightly, smiling. “That’s going to be a critical hit.”

“Better be a critical hit all over my dick.”

You laughed, reaching over to the nightstand and pulling out the drawer, taking out a condom. The two of you pulled down your black panties, Yoongi completing the final number.

“Four,” he exhaled, nearly moaning at the sight of your juices snapping against your thigh.

“Me on top?” you asked, ripping the condom open.

Yoongi’s naughty smirk grew. “You do love me.”

You slid the condom down his length, both of you gasping as his cock throbbed in your hands. You slid up, holding him with two fingers as you sank down on him, tipping your head back at the feeling of Yoongi’s cock buried deep inside.

“I’ve determined we don’t fuck enough,” you muttered, rolling your hips at the delicious sensation of being stretched out by your lover.

“I should wake up earlier,” Yoongi hissed, hands twisting in the sheets. “So we can shower together again.”

“You miss that?” You began to move, riding him deliberately slow but rough, slapping your hips together. You were leaking all over his crotch and balls, adding to the sound. “Miss me on my knees for you, wet from head to toe?”

“Hah… I was thinking about it in the shower,” he panted, feeling you lean down to change the angle, rolling the entire lower half of your body to fuck him hard, fast, intensely squeezing his cock at every descent. “You look so good covered in my cum, my love.”

You smirked, arching an eyebrow. “Yeah? Take some pictures. Show your friends.”

Yoongi laughed, that attractive raspy laugh that showed his pink gums and his pretty white teeth as you rode him, chasing your orgasm and determined to get him to his. “They fucking wish they could see this body,” he growled, a touch of possessiveness in his voice that made your spine shiver deliciously. “Bet they wish they could see you riding my dick right now, your perfect tits and ass bouncing on top of me.”

You clenched him harder and he moaned, head pressed into the pillows, eyes closing, drowning in the feeling of you.

“Ask them,” you snickered. “I already know Jimin’s answer.”

Yoongi gave you an open-mouthed smirk. “That fucking pervert.”

You slammed your hips together tightening your jaw and your core, sucking in his entire length, every contour imprinted into you, every vein pulsing into your walls, Yoongi so fucked out and gone under you, the best image in the entire fucking world. You leaned your head back, gasping triumphantly as the pleasure finally dropped, showering over you, your hips shaking, pussy throbbing all around him, splattering onto his crotch. Yoongi groaned, smacking his fists against the sheets as he shot up into you, cock swelling against your walls, choking out your name due to the strength of your orgasm. You felt your pussy milking him for every drop, draining him. Yoongi’s hips jerked involuntarily up towards you, squelching loudly and lewdly.

Fuck, you loved him.

You bent down, hand between your bodies, holding the condom down as you kissed his open mouth, tongue sliding in to stroke his, murmuring to him how much you loved him. Yoongi panted into your lips, hot erotic breaths that made you moan as you slowly removed yourself from his softening cock. He opened his eyes, half-lidded, drunk with pleasure. His voice was breathless, content.

“I love you.”

You smirked.

“Drop your towel some more, but maybe when I’m not live streaming.”

Yoongi laughed and you laughed too, because in the end it was still hilarious.

-

masterpost

[dontneedadictionary]

FACEIT, TF2, and YOU: What it is, how to play, etc

So you’ve heard of the hit new thing coming to TF2 but you don’t know what the heck its all about? Or maybe you’re trying to figure out how to use FACEIT to play Team Fortress 2? This is the guide for you.

For those of you interested in signing up, consider using this link. For those of you looking to learn more, please read under the cut. I’ll be giving a detailed explanation of what FACEIT is, what it means for TF2, and how to queue. 

Ok, so first thing’s first: what is FACEIT? 

FACEIT is an Esports company founded in 2012. It has been hosting leagues and community matchmaking for games like CS:GO and Dota 2 for a while. But this isn’t really too important in the grand scheme. What you need to know is that FACEIT has taken an interest in creating a skill-based, cheat free, matchmaking platform for casual Team Fortress 2. 

What this means is that after the closed beta for TF2 ends later this month (March), you will be able to queue into community maps hosted by FACEIT. These servers are heavily monitored with anti cheats so that they will not be infiltrated by hackers and bots which have currently been the plague of Casual Team Fortress 2. 

Currently, FACEIT boasts zero bots, zero hackers, skill-based matchmaking, free prizes (australium weapons and rare cosmetics), no autobalance, no random crits, no random bullet spread, and more. 

You can learn more about these things in plenty of youtube videos like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvfEmlJ_N48

But what does FACEIT mean for TF2? FACEIT poses a chance for TF2 players to experience a more serious casual setting without the current issues plaguing the game. It also means that TF2′s community could grow. Potentially, if FACEIT goes well, Valve could be inclined to improve the future of the game. 

FACEIT currently is one of the best options for people who like playing TF2 seriously. It’s not technically competitive, but it is a more competitive way to play. Consider it like playing something like Competitive Overwatch casually. You should take the game seriously, not play as a friendly, and not abandon the game. 

If you’re someone who wants more from your TF2 experience and want a challenge, this could be for you! That being said, I caution that it isn’t for everyone. It’s a very different way to play TF2 than a standard causal game is. Maybe give it a try and see if you like it! 

-o-

So how all does it work from the technical side of things? How do you play?

Well, I’ve got the guide for you! (This will get long, I’m sorry).

Currently (3/14) the client only offers a closed beta. To get access you will need to be invited by FACEIT to the closed beta. However, you may be able to get access to this by inviting a friend (I’m not 100% sure). 

If you have full access, or this is written after the closed beta has ended and the client opens to the general public: start here. 

First thing’s first. When you download the client, it may require you to verify your email and phone number before you can queue. This is a component of the anti-cheat. Additionally, it may require that you download the anti-cheat software (this will require a PC restart). I suggest downloading it regardless of it is required. This is merely to help prevent the infiltration of hackers and bots. 

The anti-cheat download can be found in the bottom left of your screen. Just download the software and make sure you log in afterwards via the same button once it has been successfully downloaded. NOTE: you cannot install the anti-cheat with TF2 or another game open. 

Once this is setup, you should be able to queue with no issues. 

From the play menu, you can queue for Solo or Team games of matchmaking 12v12 TF2. It will let you know how many players are currently queuing for the game mode if you hover (hence 21 in this screenshot). 

There are currently 8 available maps. You can select your preferences here. However, much like in competitive game lobbies, you will have the option to vote for the map chosen for the match. I’ll come back to this in a moment. For now, you need to know how to make sure you make it into a match.

When a match is ready, there is a VERY short period of time to accept the match. Less than 30 seconds to hit accept. If you miss this window, you will have to requeue. If someone else misses this window, you will automatically requeue. The client will automatically play a loud trumpet flourish and you just hit the button to check in. This is to ensure no inactive players and afks.

This is what the window looks like when you’re accepted into a game and the maps are still being chosen. Team leaders (priority towards people with premium passes) will choose and select a map for the game to be played on. If you’re not a team leader, you can request that certain maps be played or not played. 

After the map has been chosen, you will be provided an IP address to paste into your developer console in TF2. If you don’t know how to enable your developer console, please follow this guide. 

You have less than 3 minutes to connect into the match. If you make it in during this time, you will be partaking in a few moments of warmup. It’s just like pre-game in Casual TF2 servers. From here, the game functions similar to competitive. One team attacks and sets a standard. The other only has to beat that standard time or amount of points capped etc. (I believe that KOTH maps are best out of 5).

If at any point your team is really getting beaten and you feel the need to forfeit. You can type “!gg” in the chat and a vote to forfeit will start. 

If you leave the match early, you will be penalized. So you should really only queue up if you have an interest in completing the game. Even if it goes poorly, you should stick it out or use !gg. 

Once the match ends, it will automatically close. Similar to an MvM lobby!

As you play, you’ll be able to work towards points to win prizes (they’re expensive but still possible to get!) as you play the game. Here’s an example of some of the prizes.

There are also missions to help you unlock points. Here are some examples of those:

You will also be able to rank up and unlock points that way. Newer players will have to work up through the ranks. The XP to earn these rank ups comes from playing the game. You can earn your way to the Face Melting rank just by playing the game. 

An example of how the ranking system currently works is shown here from Big Joey’s youtube video.

As you can see, the higher ranks will be based on your skill as a player. There are also other things in FACEIT such as ladders and tournaments. These are more complicated and explorable on the actual site or platform itself. So I’ll let you guys check that out on your own.

Overall, there are a lot of fun things about FACEIT! Hopefully this guide helped you understand what it is, how to play, and what there is about it. Please let me know if you have any targeted questions about it in my inbox and I’ll be sure to help provide any info I can.

Have fun y’all and give it a try! This is a cool alternative to casual play. 

[bigskydreaming]

For the prompt, how about Dick deciding to try the museum curator thing again? It's probably one of my favourite jobs for him

Y’know what? I think we just found my new favorite Dick Grayson’s day-job headcanon.

Because I always did like that very brief period too, but all of a sudden, I’m thinking what if not just any museum, but a DC universe specific museum.....akin to the Flash Museum in Central City, but located in New York maybe, and dedicated to the history of superheroes as a whole, throughout the DC Earth’s history.

Imagine a museum along the lines of a specific Smithsonian Institute, or maybe more like one of the Balboa museums in San Diego that are focused around exhibits for kids and visitors from various schools and universities.......all geared towards the history of superheroes on Earth, as well as Earth’s own history in the context of its interaction with various other planets and civilizations, or different arcane dimensions, etc.

There are exhibits donated by Themyscira and Atlantis, and a whole wing dedicated to a fascimile of Earth’s position relative to other known galactic civilizations from Thanagar to Krypton and even Oa. As well as exhibits centering on Earth’s interactions with all of these. There’s a history of the Green Lantern Corps with displays profiling all known Earth GLs....not just the modern ones like Hal, Kyle, John, Guy, Jessica, Simon, etc, but GLs from centuries past. There’s a reconstruction of the Starheart and a Sentinel exhibit that links up with the Justice Society’s wing, and reconstructions of monuments made to Earth GLs on Oa itself, thus highlighting the role of various Earth heroes in galactic history. The Krypton exhibit has items donated by Superman, and tutorials on the Kryptonian language, history, etc, and there are walkthroughs of replicas of the spaceships that brought many of the alien heroes living on Earth here from their homeworlds.

Also an exhibit representing the future Legion of Superheroes, or at least the possibility of them, along with explorations into the various theories and methods of time travel....and maybe some displays from parallel Earths as well. (A nod to the fact that museums like this do exist in the time of the LOSH, but why not earlier?)

There are chronicles of various potential world-ending events and the specific heroes who saved the day each time, as well as memorials to heroes lost over the years......maybe some kind of garden or fountain where visitors who were bystanders at the sites of some of these great battles or who’d been saved by various heroes over the years can leave little notes or mementos of thank you or acknowledgment. 

There are replicas of the Arrow family’s trick arrows, and a hall dedicated to the many conspiracy theories that surround Gotham’s mysterious Batclan and which of them may or may not actually even be real. Etc, etc, etc.

And one of the primary curators of all this is one Dick Grayson, adopted eldest of Gotham’s Bruce Wayne, a known benefactor of the Justice League.....and thus its not really all that surprising that he grew up with a seeming fascination with the League and other heroes. He’s like the ultimate superhero fanboy, always happy to chatter anyone’s ear off about hero trivia, and his favorite thing is personally giving tours to the kids visiting the museum on class field trips - perks of the job, he grins at anyone who asks.

In an ironic twist that actually makes his job quite useful, both as a curator of superhero history AND a central figure in the superhero community himself......his position leads to him frequently being consulted by civilian authorities, governments, institutitions, or private individuals who have some kind of situation related to superhero or supervillain activity or which might require superhero involvement to address.....as its acknowledged that few people know more about superheroes than Dick Grayson, and even fewer seem as well connected to the superhero community as he does. If you have a question about superheroes or their history or past involvement with something, and he can’t answer it himself.....you still go to him anyway, as its a safe bet he knows who to call to get said answer.

Similarly, his job and his passion for superhero history also explains why a random civilian is so often in the company of various heroes like Troia, or Garth of Shayeris, whenever the ambassador from Atlantis is visiting the surface. Even explains how he met his one-time fianceé Starfire in the first place. There’s a representation of the Titans in one display, with the Nightwing replica deliberately off in its dimensions and proportions, and when giving tours, Dick’s been known to strike up a ridiculously exaggerated Superman pose right next to the Nightwing display. 

He tosses his hair dramatically and says: “Y’know, I’ve been told more than a few times that I actually look a lot like Nightwing myself. C’mon, you guys see the resemblance, right?”

Every time he does this, Bruce mutters something about the Clark Kent School Of Alter Ego-ing Badly, but Dick just rolls his eyes. Oh please, let’s go to the tape, he says. Bruce squints with foreboding, but Dick’s already pulled out his phone and queued up an old TMZ clip of “drunken” Brucie Wayne at some gala years ago pointing to an image of Batman and then to his own ass and loudly asking if the butts match.

“Yeah, keep trying to pin this one on Uncle Clark, Pops,” Dick laughs. “Like I really needed him to be a formative influence when it came to the “hiding in plain sight” approach.”

“I don’t remember that at all,” Bruce denies loftily. “It must have been Hush.”

Selina chooses the perfect moment to saunter by - but then again, all her entrances are artfully timed to be The Perfect Entrance. Its kinda her superpower. She peers at the phone screen for a second and then smiles nostalgically.

“Oh yes, I remember that night.” She pats Bruce consolingly on the arm and drifts off again. “It definitely wasn’t Hush. The butts did match.”