#but every time before I go to a place that sells video games I'm like ''haha wouldn't it be funny if I found game xy? nah will probably

[darkdragon768]

COMMON GROCERY STORE W

I FOUND WARIOWARE GOLD

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 92 (Conrad's First Love)

cw: Conrad getting pretty spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and not with Heather; references to human and drug trafficking (not depicted).

Follows the events of this post.

As she passed him to put away her gloves, a stunning redhead at Pappy Murphy's Boxing Gym caught Conrad's eye. Though he'd been deep in another bout of anger and self-pity over the death of his mother years earlier, he stopped his workout. Every inch of his being compelled him to talk to her.

She turned with a smile before he could stammer a single word. "Hi, handsome. Did you want a better look?"

He nervously introduced himself and she told him her name. "Ximena." The word floated from her lips like a song. He was instantly smitten.

"Ximena, could I buy you a drink?"

They spent the day in a local pub. He told her everything about his mother's death and his distance from his father in the years since. She listened, but she had a lot less to say about herself. "I live here with my brother. I'm a student, and I'm the only caretaker he has. Our parents aren't around anymore, and it's been just Rafa and me for years."

He could hear an accent when she spoke, and most people in Britechester weren't locals, so he made an assumption. "How long since you moved from Selvadorada?"

Surprised by his guess, she turned defensive. "I don't talk about Selva."

He liked her too much to press and push her away, so they spent the rest of the day flirting and discussing their interests until Ximena invited him back to her place. "You make me laugh, Conrad Gordon. My brother's still at school and I want to get to know you better without all this noise. I hate the music they play in here."

Once Conrad followed her out of the bar and back to the small home she shared with her kid brother, Rafa, he started following her everywhere.

He lost his virginity to her a week after they met. That night, she told him why she left Selvadorada.

"I was going to die or they were going to kill me. I wouldn't let them sell me to anyone anymore, so I made a plan and left with my brother in the middle of the night to come here."

She showed him the scars left by the cartel, and a resolve to keep her safe coloured his already steadfast affection. He let her cut his hair when she said she wanted to show him how freeing it felt to change his look. "It's nice not to recognize the person in the mirror, sometimes," she said.

She told him she was a student, often meeting him at Larry's Lagoon to study but usually distracting him into other activities. One afternoon, she introduced him to an old friend, Jimmy Stefano. "Can you help him out around campus? You're in the same major."

Something about Jimmy Stefano rubbed Conrad the wrong way, but he assumed it was jealousy. Despite this, he would already do anything for Ximena and agreed to take Jimmy under his wing.

He called his father to say he planned to stay at school for Spring Break. "Sorry, I know I said I'd come home to see you."

Stephen Gordon laughed him off, but masked slight disappointment. He had no idea whether his son was flourishing or floundering at college, unsure how he'd been coping so far from home. "Don't worry, son. I'm just glad you sound happy. You're making me and your mother proud."

He skipped classes to spend time with Ximena, but made no mention of this to his father, of course. He spent time with Rafa when Ximena said she had late-night classes, taking him to the park to play pirate captain versus sea monster, and talking endlessly with him about video games.

Rafa wanted to become a pirate captain in Sulani or a game tester in San Myshuno. He had almost no memory of life in Selva before his sister left, but he knew it was "the bad place." He liked spending time with Conrad because he said his sister was too strict. "She just loves you," Conrad assured him. "Parents have to set rules, and she can't just be your sister. She has to care for you like a parent, too."

He realized then how important it was to be a model for Rafa, who needed guidance as much as anyone his age. Conrad had always had his father, but who did Rafa have besides Ximena?

Conrad discovered how she paid for an entire house for her and her brother by accident, stumbling on an argument between her and Jimmy Stefano near the campus fountain. "The deal was thirty pounds for three grand."

"They said if I didn't have five grand they'd only give me fifteen. They had guns, Ximena."

"They all have guns! Knives, too. Get your own and figure out how to use it. Watcher, please, don't screw this deal up for me, Jimmy."

"Who has guns?"

"The cartel," said Jimmy, so nonchalant, yet it still hit Conrad like a missile. His stomach turned as he read Ximena's expression. Every lie she'd told him unravelled with a look.

"Are you really a student here, Ximena?"

"No. They're my customers."

He'd had his suspicions, but he'd always told himself he was wrong. Ximena was supposed to be perfect. Hoping against hope, he still tried to play the fool. "What do you mean?"

She dragged him back home to tell him the truth - how she'd bargained with the cartel to escape a life of servitude to the men who ran product all over Simlandia. She refused to serve them, but her way out was to join them instead.

Conrad was angry, but he couldn't stay mad at her for long. As they lay in bed that night, she asked, "Are you going to break up with me because of what I do?"

"Not a chance. I love you."

"I love you, too." She smiled, resting her head on his chest as he ran a hand through her newly blonde hair. "You look nice without glasses, Conrad."

"You already gave me a haircut, Xime. You don't like glasses?"

"Conrad, you're very sexy. But you hide it and it's silly."

"If you're going to give me a makeover, what should I get you?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Ximena, I want to give you everything you could ever want."

She blushed. "I want you, Conrad. But since I already have you, maybe...jewelry? Like a ring."

"You don't wear any rings."

"Because none are special enough, Conrad."

He smiled. "Alright, that's one idea. But say I wanted to surprise you, what else did you want?"

"You could join me running product for the cartel. Our lives would be made, and we'd always be together."

"I don't want to run product for the cartel, Ximena. But I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be there for you. Rafa, too."

"Right, but what if I go? Rafa loves you, Conrad, almost as much as me. But what if the cartel moved me somewhere else? Would you come with me? Maybe you could be, like, my security. No running, just keeping me safe. Always with me and Rafa."

He'd do anything to protect her, but he didn't answer her that day, refocusing on his studies until he returned to San Myshuno at the end of the semester.

He'd missed his father more than he expected, and they went for walks in warm sunshine by the Spice Market. They talked about school, and Conrad talked about Ximena - leaving out details of her career and focusing instead on her relationship with her brother. Conrad rarely asked his father about work, but Stephen hinted he was inching closer to retirement. "Chester's daughter Nancy is ready to take over the company, but Chester's not quite ready to retire. I think she's plotting a coup, but you didn't hear that from me."

"What happens to you if she pushes out her own father?"

"Hopefully, a retirement package. Chester may not be ready, but I think I am."

On one of their walks, they passed a jewelry store, and Conrad made a beeline for the ring counter. A confident salesman smiled as the Gordon men walked inside. "Welcome. What are we shopping for today?"

"I'm just looking," Conrad said. "What rings do you have?"

The salesman beamed. "Are we thinking of an engagement?"

Stephen eyed his son carefully, but Conrad shook his head. "Not right now. Just like, for an accessory."

"I don't know, son. A ring says you're ready for forever."

Conrad took his father's words to heart, considering what forever with Ximena might look like. He wanted to be with her, but he wasn't ready for a ring. He left that day with a nice bracelet for her, instead.

"Even leaving with a bracelet as nice as that one...she must mean something. I'd love to meet her."

Conrad nodded. "She might be able to visit this summer, if she's not too busy with work," he said.

Stephen smiled and the Gordon men continued their walk, strengthening the bond nearly severed by grief before Conrad returned to Britechester for another semester. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOT FUN FACT: Conrad got crab lice from Ximena when they slept together for the first time, which is gross but also fitting I guess. And yet I didn't make it canon because it didn't quite fit the vibe. Plus, he wasn't supposed to find out that early on that Ximena was problematic.

WCIF Poses Used? Various from packs Old Souls Love Differently by @simmireen (when Ximena is blonde), Our First Time by @eclypt0sims (redhead), The Kiss by @simmerberlin (black hair) and Nights Like These by @sakurasims-world (also redhead).

WCIF Jewelry Store? Jewelry Store by Guinifere on the Sims 4 Gallery. Very elegant interior and comes with crafting tables, a vault, charging stations - very nice lot! Needs dressing up with completed jewelry on the counters and in displays to look really spectacular (and I of course went the lazy route), but I wouldn't if I was playing a retail career, and this is a great lot for someone who wants to be a jeweler!

[callmearcturus]

Paradise Killer is 6 dollars on Steam until May 16 and I am here to hard sell you all on it because it's one of the best games I've ever played.

I'm gonna go beyond giving you a bunch of punchy keywords and telling you it's queer as hell and making meme-y jokes, and I'm going to actually tell you what this game is.

So top-level, WHAT IS PARADISE KILLER?

Mechanically, Paradise Killer is an open-world murder mystery. There is zero combat but a lot of exploration of a very unique location. The majority of your time is going to be walking about Paradise 24, looking for people to discuss the case with and for clues that are scattered around the world.

One of the most interesting concepts in Paradise Killer that is both mechanical and narrative is deciding What Is Your Truth? What Is A Truth And What Is A Fact? From the moment you start the game proper, you can turn 180 degrees and begin the trial and decide who the killer is, before talking to anyone about the case.

For example, getting into the actual crime scene takes a lot of puzzle solving to unlock the sealed room where the victims were killed. But maybe instead of examining the crime scene, you talk to everyone on the island and think you have a good idea of what happened.

Meaning: It is perfectly valid to decide you have the answer to the mystery and just go complete the trial whenever you personally are ready. YOU decide when this ends.

Which frankly I think is a cool-as-fuck concept. Also, I fully believe if three different people find EVERY CLUE and talk to EVERY SUSPECT and hear EVERY PIECE OF EVIDENCE.... they might decide on three different truths entirely. And THAT to me is ingenious mechanical design I have not seen anywhere else in a video game.

Okay let's stop burying the lede and talk about the world of Paradise Killer.

The non-batshit version:

Paradise Killer takes place on a big, beautiful island, the 24th Paradise. The architecture is a delightful mix of black obsidian obelisks, brutalist monuments, opal crystals to slumbering alien gods, garden paths, luxury yachts, and a whole lot of gold and neon.

Neo-occultist urban residential vaporwave-core. If you are like me, you will be taking a lot of screenshots. My wallpaper on my computer is Paradise Killer.

Your interactions with the cast are done in visual novel-style, though I feel I have to shout out this isn't your stock Ren'py UI experience. Every single aspect of the way the game looks compounds the vibes even further.

And the characters are infuckingcredible.

(Notice the different font? This game has A FUCKTON OF ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS, including dyslexic font options.)

Sammy Day Break, born under the sign of Shadow Zero, is the local distillery and bartender for the Syndicate. Talk to him about what's unique about the whiskey he's made on Paradise 24, or about the good old days of the Syndicate.

Is Doctor Doom Jazz, born under the sign of Cosmic Deceit, really that carefree about what happened? Is his willingness to rekindle his fling with Lady Love Dies just a diversion to hide something? Well, he's one of the most cooperative witnesses on the Island.

Crimson Acid has been through a helluva lot since the last time she saw Love Dies. Blessed by the gods with her stunning rack (of horns! OF HORNS!), she's become quite the idol now. So why is she also an information broker? And can you figure out what her true feelings for Love Dies are?

Between all of these conversations, you can explore the island and collect RELICS and BLOOD CRYSTALS (the local currency) and CITY POP SONGS.

Okay so the Slightly Batshit Version:

Shinji: The Syndicate worships alien gods who want to drown the world in war and blood. Lady Love Dies: I don't see how that makes us the bad guys.

You are LADY LOVE DIES, born under the sign KISS ME TO THE MOON, the INVESTIGATION FREAK. She was exiled to the Idle Lands several cycles ago for falling prey to the seduction of the god Damned Harmony and endangering the entire Syndicate. Only now, with the death of the Council on the eve of Paradise 25, is Love Dies summoned back to solve the murder.

The Syndicate are a group of functionally immortal humans from all across history who are trying to create the perfect bubble of reality, their utopic Paradise where they can safely revive their dead gods. They were granted many powers and boons by their first god, Silent Goat, and hope through rescuing more gods they will grow in power.

How do you create a bubble of reality to do all this totally ethical shit? Easy! You abduct a bunch of normie humans to live on your island to use as a mass sacrifice to generate energy to fuel the creation of each Paradise. If only the outsiders would stop getting in the way!

Paradise Killer's world is delightfully out of its goddamn mind and half of the fun of the game is just picking up little nuggets of information about each member of the Syndicate, the gods, why each Paradise failed (there was an outbreak of vampirism that took out like three of the Paradises???), and just the way this universe works.

Okay this post is already too long but I'm begging you all to give Paradise Killer a chance. It's gorgeous, it's funny, it's mechanically really interesting, it's chill as hell, it has an incredible soundtrack,

and you should try it.

I'LL SEE YOU IN A PERFECT 25 . . .

[tiny-pretty-sana]

push and pull | jeongyeon x jihyo

[request 1] [request 2] pairing: jeongyeon x jihyo genre: plot with smut and a bit of angst warnings: nsfw (+18), minors dni tags: ceo!jeongyeon, ceo!jihyo, service top!jeongyeon, rival relationship, enemies to lovers (kinda?), betrayal, happy ending, other twice members w/c: 18.4 k a/n: first time writing smut, i'm nervous!! i'm also nervous bc i made jeongyeon a woman in stem and i'm not so i just used big words randomly. i tried to turn those requests into this and i hope i made justice to what you had in mind even though it took me longer way than i expected. feel free to leave any comments, feedback or suggestions 🖤

"You could have sent me a message" is the first thing Jeongyeon says to the woman who just entered her office bowing ninety degrees with a serious face. "This better be important, Mina-ssi, no one should see you enter this building" she says, warning the young woman.

She just nods as she looks for the right words thinking about the dialogue she has been practicing in her head since she decided to address this issue face to face without intermediaries. At first she hesitates, but decides to be clear instead of beating around the bush.

"Excuse me Jeongyeon-nim, but I think this will interest you" she finally speaks and the other waves her hand inviting her to sit across the table of her huge office, making her take a seat immediately before continuing. "ZoneTech is starting to work on video games."

As soon as those words leave her mouth, the Signal Systems CEO's face changes and her body takes on a different posture, her jaw tightens and her fists clench tightly. On the other side of the big desk Mina, analyzing her every move, notices her obvious frustration. For a few seconds she remains silent waiting for any question or comment from the other woman, but this one, who is somewhere between surprise and anger, does not utter a single sound beyond a breath that deepens and accelerates as the rage invades her. This is a personal attack. It’s not the first time something like this has happened; after all, this whole war has been going on for more than half a century.

In 1942, friends and partners in business, Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, opened a home furnishings store. At that time, the country was going through difficult times with the Japanese occupation and the subsequent Korean War that led to so many years of political instability, but thanks to Yoo's creativity and Park's sales skills, the business not only survived but grew from a humble store to a small and promising company. In the early 1960s, a new era of prosperity would come for the country and for these entrepreneurs as well when they expanded the business importing and selling  household appliances, founding Zone Systems. Unfortunately, due to constant disagreements between Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, this pioneering company would not reach its fifth anniversary, as the partners broke their alliance and created Signal Systems and ZoneTech, respectively. Against all odds, taking different paths was the key to success for both.

Today, Signal Systems and ZoneTech have established themselves as the most important companies in the country, having a great influence on economic, political and cultural development. Despite the impressive achievements of each of them individually, it is impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other, the reason for this is not the shared origins but the numbers, data and rankings always place one behind the other with slight difference, if one year the market has been dominated by ZoneTech, it is most likely that the following year those numbers will be surpassed by Signal Systems. If you ask any technology expert, economic expert or ordinary consumer which brand is better, the answer will never be unanimous.

And it is a really complex answer since both cover the same businesses such as consumer electronics, technology, finance and, in recent years, have incorporated entertainment. The only thing that makes them different is that SignalSystems is known for creating and using the most advanced technology always wrapped in the most sophisticated designs, while ZoneTech stands out for making that technology accessible to the general public with more affordable prices and more practical designs.

This is how a disagreement between partners has now become a war between the largest South Korean business groups, a battle that has been going on for six decades and in which four generations of the Yoo and Park families have already participated. A dispute that is now at its peak since the great-granddaughters of the two businessmen, Yoo Jeongyeon and Park Jihyo, took over as CEO, and, like their ancestors, they were friends before they were rivals.

"How do you know?" is the first thing she asks.

"Well, as you know I am a programmer. This last month they have been doing individual interviews to workers from each of the departments telling us that they are looking for new ways to organize the work teams according to our interests, aptitudes and skills, since they want to release different products next year and they need the highest efficiency" she begins to explain confusing Jeongyeon, who doesn't quite understand what Mina is trying to say with all of this. Still she listens to her carefully trying to get answers.

"At first they were normal questions about our work interests and whether we had hobbies related to our work, but when I mentioned my liking for video games they seemed interested. The questions started out generic... what kind of video games I play and so on, but then they asked me if I think the company would have the capacity to create their own games and if I would be interested in working on that hypothetical project" she seems to conclude.

The CEO, with an increasing anger, gets up from the desk without knowing what to do with her hands and tries to calm down her nerves before speaking "I want information, I want data and I want documents that prove what you tell me, that's what I pay you for, not for you to come to me with assumptions''. At no time she raises her voice, but her tone is stern and threatening, although not enough for the programmer to lose her signature serene demeanor.

"I know, that's why I didn’t come until now" she replies "I was handed this morning" she says as she takes a folder out of her briefcase and puts it on the table.

Seeing that it is a folder with the orange logo of the rival company neatly printed and partially covered by a red and black stamp warning that it is confidential information, she returns to her chair and takes the papers in her hands. A quick read is all it takes for Jeongyeon to come to the same conclusion as her informant "ZoneTech is going to create a video game" she mutters to herself. As she reads her jaw tightens again and her fists clench the pages until she stands up and begins to scan each page. When she has a copy of the thirty pages that make up the document, she places them back in the folder and returns it to its owner.

"You may leave, Mina-ssi" is the last thing her boss says and she does what she is told, taking the folder and her briefcase, not without bowing before walking through the door.

Once she is alone in her office, she goes through the papers again, this time more carefully and without losing detail. Unlike Park Jihyo, she does get involved in the development process of many products, as both her hobbies and her studies have always leaned towards engineering and programming and not on business and economics like her rival. In fact, the ten video games that have been released in the last three years under the Signal Games brand were Yoo Jeongyeon's own idea and creation, who saw an opportunity in this market in which the company never dared to venture before. Perhaps this is why she gets the best of her for the first time and grabs the phone.

"Dahyun-ssi, I need the usual apology basket for Miss Im, but this time write ‘thank you’ on the card" she asks her secretary.

Just a few meters away from the door of her office, Kim Dahyun tries to hide her surprise and takes note of the instructions given by her boss "Okay, you will have the basket ready in an hour. Should I also add the usual bouquet with flowers that mean friendship, or would you rather I also exchange them for thank yous?"?"

"Mhm… good point, Dahyun-ssi, I hadn't thought of that. Use both of them and add some blue if possible, I trust you. When it's ready, send everything to her home and also free up my schedule for the rest of the day. Thank you very much."

Of course, the favor she asks to her longtime best friend, Nayeon, costs her more than a basket of her favorite foreign snacks, three packages of the best meat on the continent and of course the latest model of the Signal System cell phone. ₩ 10 billion for his next movie is exactly what it costs her. That is the price of Jihyo's personal phone number. For anyone else it would be crazy, but for the CEO, who was putting her friend in such a compromising situation after the latter had for years stayed out of the fights between them, the price seems more than reasonable.

The negotiation was not easy, but as soon as Nayeon had the basket on her doors and the first payment for the financing for her next film project, Jeongyeon received a message with the phone number. Minutes later, at the other end of the Central Business District, Park Jihyo smiles with satisfaction when her phone lights up with the name: Yoo Jeongyeon.

"I was waiting for your call, Jeongyeon-ssi" is what Jeongyeon hears after a single tone.

"Then I'll save the explanations, I have an offer. It will have to be face to face and just the two of us. As soon as possible. I want neither intermediaries nor interveners."

"Where will we meet? You know perfectly well that if we are seen in the same building the effect on the stock market would be immediate, but if we do it in secret and the press catches us it will be all over the news making all kinds of assumptions and spreading all kinds of rumors. And I don't think your father would like that, would he?" she says with a sarcastic and mocking tone.

"Jihyo-sunbaenim, I'm not for your stupid games right now" she says with a tone that denotes that her patience at the moment is at its limit. "I'll take care of the place, it will be neutral, casual and public enough so as not to raise more suspicion than is necessary. Try to keep it discreet and of course don't wear or bring anything that would imply that this is a business related meeting" she makes clear with a serious tone that only provokes Jihyo more to keep pushing Jeongyeon's buttons.

"And why would you and I be in one place if not for work?" she says with obvious sarcasm in her tone that doesn't go unnoticed by the other one. 

"We can just be some old friends getting together to catch up" as soon as she says that a loud and snarky laugh is heard but no words precede it, so she keeps talking. "I'll send you the address, see you there" she declares.

"Wait!" she says before she can cut the call "Did you have my contact saved or did your spy give it to you?" she adds but before she gets an answer she hears a few beeps indicating that the call has ended.

That’s how the first private conversation the two have had in four years ends, a conversation that leaves both of them with such a strange feeling. It's not as if they haven't spoken during all this time, they have actually crossed some words on more than one occasion during all kinds of events acting as complete strangers with empty words without any purpose beyond showing a cordial and polite relationship in front of colleagues, business partners, politicians and the press. Now, although the conversation was brief and straight to the point it felt personal somehow with the warnings, the sarcasm and the challenging undertones of the conversation that is never present or at least not so obvious in the formal and aseptic talks they usually have in front of others.

It was almost like going back to that usual bickering between the two that used to annoy Nayeon during their high school years when the three of them were inseparable friends. However, the difference was that this time it did not come from playfulness but from the current hostility that exists between the two businesswomen.

There was a time when things were different. It had always been Jeongyeon and Nayeon until the first week of their senior year when they were approached by a short girl with big bright eyes that introduced herself to Jeongyeon even though they both perfectly knew well who the other was and with determination told her that she would be as good or better then her. From that day their friendship but also a friendly competition between the three of them began. By the middle of the school year, Jihyo had already surpassed the highest grades and top scores in all the clubs and sports that up to then belonged to his unnies Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

This situation, far from distancing or confronting them, made them get closer and become great friends. Despite the rivalry that had marked the relationship between their families, Jeongyeon did not mind because she expected the new students to beat records and records just as she had done since she arrived. On the other hand, Nayeon enjoyed having someone as competitive as her while Jihyo did not really care as she considered Jeongyeon her greatest competition and example to follow because, like her, she would inherit a big company and had to be as good as her. This was not the case with Nayeon, who, although she had an impressive academic record like the other two, she was the daughter of an actor and a writer, so outside of school their competition was a simple game with no major meaning for both of them.

Needless to say, many things have changed over the years and nothing is the same now. Nayeon has been there for both of them as a friend, confidant partner in crime and sometimes even as a wingwoman, but they are no longer '3mix' as they used to call their small squad. Now they are just Nayeon and Jeongyeon on one side and Nayeon and Jihyo on the other.

Two days after the call, the two find themselves staring defiantly at each other in one of the best restaurants in the city. The older one arrived early and was already seated in a more distant and private corner of the establishment when Jihyo arrived led by some waiter. As soon as he left, they exchanged a cordial greeting and the first words.

"So a restaurant," is the first thing Jihyo says with a provocative smile as she takes a seat.

"Can you think of anything better? I thought you usually like my ideas quite a bit" she replies immediately without thinking much and as soon as those words leave her mouth she regrets it, she has come here to look for solutions not to make the whole situation worse.

"It's not a complaint, but don't think that by inviting me to dinner I'll take you up on your offer" she replies in the same defensive tone.

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes at Jihyo's unassertive attitude, although she understands that she herself has not been very welcoming so far. They haven't even ordered yet, so there's still time to change the course of the conversation and the dinner, so she intends to do her best to leave this restaurant with a closed deal and not a fight that will make the problem grow even bigger. And she knows for a fact that falling for Jihyo's games will only make things worse.

As if the waiter had heard her thoughts, he appears with the menu giving them a chance to make a fresh start and forget the little run-in they had just a few seconds ago. They both take it, thanking the waiter and strat going through the expensive and exclusive dishes, looking up from time to time to stare at each other, as if making sure that they are really at the same table about to share a dinner, just the two of them with no one else around. The last time they did something like this was so long ago that it seems like a dream, as if those memories are not theirs. Jeongyeon looks at her trying to read her, long ago a single grin, frown or sneer was enough to guess her mood or if something was on her mind, but now it almost feels like the person in front of her is a complete stranger.

Jihyo is no longer the enthusiastic, competitive, playful but insecure and innocent teenager who used to call her unnie with those big bright eyes, those cheeks that made you want to pinch them and her characteristic long brown hair. Now she has an ambitious and confident woman in front of her, still with reminiscences of her playful personality, it is obvious that she still likes to play games, but they are not innocent anymore.

She knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to get it, that is something she has made that clear to Jeongyeon these past years with her mind games, strategies and foul play. The sparkle in her eyes has disappeared and they are no longer so expressive, the gaze is cold and she feels like she is analyzing each and every one of her moves. Her appearance seems to have changed according to her personality, it is obvious that she looks much more mature, she is now a 26 year old woman, but it is not only the passing of time, her look is also a statement.

Her hair is shoulder-length, a little longer than hers, and dyed black. Her features are more defined and her jaw is sharp, her characteristic cheeks have disappeared with age, but her mole is still on the tip of her nose. Actually, her whole body is much more defined even though the black blazer style dress she wears covers her arms, Jeongyeon got a glimpse of her toned and tanned legs before she sat down.

"You look great, Jihyo-sunbaenim" she compliments her to break the ice and tries to show that she didn’t come here looking for a challenge or a fight.

This catches the younger one off guard, surprising her, none of the thousand scenarios of the encounter she has been creating in her head these days had prepared her to receive a kind comment from Jeongyeon that seemed sincere. She has always been a person with a cold and distant attitude, saying nice words, giving or receiving displays of affection is not her thing, or at least it wasn't. Maybe she has changed too, Jihyo thinks to herself.

"You too, you look good, Jeongyeon-ssi" she replies with a small smile without showing her teeth and takes the liberty to tease. "I see your style has been refined, I hope your dad didn't have to burn your sweatshirts like she used to promise."

The comment makes them both relax and the tension dissipates slightly with their soft laughter, for a moment they seem to know each other and it’s like nothing has happened between them just for a few seconds.

When they were teenagers and were forced to attend all types of social and business related events, it was common to see Jeongyeon wearing a sweatshirt among the elegant women's dresses and the boring men's suits. That always annoyed her father, but also the young Jihyo who would always lectured her about the importance of etiquette and reminded her that in the future she would be the heiress of an important company, so she should dress like one.

Now Jeongyeon is in front of her and still keeps a somewhat more casual style than expected from the CEO of one of the biggest South Korean companies with her blonde highlights in some parts of her hair and her characteristic tomboy style, now much more sophisticated. Black pants, a beige shirt with a brown turtleneck sweater underneath. Comfortable and discreet, but it really suits her.

Jihyo shakes those thoughts out of her head when the taller one asks if she would like to have the same wine as her. Usually, Jihyo would order a beer, but in a restaurant like this it's more suitable if she orders wine, especially when Jeongyeon points out the wine she chose would go very well with her meat. It kind of hurts her pride but she knows she is right.

After the waiter takes their order they continue a conversation so superficial that they will surely forget it before dessert, however they do not take their eyes off each other analyzing and memorizing every movement, no matter how subtle it may be. It is not until they drink their second glass of wine that Jihyo dares to talk about the reason that has brought them here, or rather to ask what it is.

"I’m guessing you didn't invite me to dinner to talk about wine," Jihyo says with a slightly sarcastic tone. "What's that offer you mentioned? It must be very interesting for you to have dared to call me and even put Nayeon-unnie in the middle of it."

At this Jeongyeon nods "Always straight to the point, some things never change" she says receiving a shrug in response. "Well let's get down to business then...". She takes a a long sip and says "Forget about video games and in return Signal Entertainment will disappear from the industry with the only condition that the group becomes part of your company, with no cost, those girls have worked hard and are succeeding, it wouldn't be fair to them" she states in the shortest and most concise way possible.

For the first time since they sat down, Jeongyeon can read Jihyo's expression, the surprise on her face is more than obvious, but it soon changes to one of satisfaction. Her strategy was working like a charm, even much better than she expected.

"I knew the video game thing would get you to react right away, but I have to admit I'm getting more than I intended" she says amused "Actually some things never change, you're still the same nerd you were in high school" she laughs.

"Do we have a deal then?" she asks, ignoring her remark.

"Not so fast. If I remember correctly your Itzy girls debuted a year after ZoneMusic debuted StrayKids...if we brought our own video games to market we'd be balancing the scales don't you think?" she says, unable to help grinning. "Why would I turn down the chance to beat you on your own ground?" she adds defiantly.

"I didn't want to get to this part of the deal, but if you don't accept it I will file a lawsuit against ZoneTech for plagiarizing our technology and using it in your products on more than one occasion."

"I didn't know you were capable of taking risks, it seems that there are also things that change" she says completely carefree and even amused, for her this is a game, but for Jeongyeon it is not.

"I promise you I don't want to do it, but if necessary I will go all the way because it's a won case."

"You seem very confident, you know the best law firms would fight over the case and it wouldn't stay in court. It would be all over the media and it would end up becoming a public trial."

"I know, and that's why I want to avoid it. The evidence is more than obvious, without getting too technical, your products have always come out later and I have proof that you have spies in my company."

At this last statement, Jihyo lets out a wry laugh "You say that as if you don't have your own spies lurking around my company, in fact we are here because of one of them, aren't we?"

"I don't know, can you prove it?" challenges Jeongyeon. "Because I have recordings and audios that prove that discarded programs, software and designs have been stolen from me and then used by your company" as she says this, thebCEO can see her rival's face change even though she tries to hide it as best she can. "I have more than enough with the information, I don't need my... informants to steal and if they did I would like to think they would do it better than this girl, I don't know if you are familiar with the name Son Chaeyoung, short, dyed black her and plenty of tattoos."

Of course she knows who the girl she is talking about is, the same way she knows that Myoui Mina is the one who gave her the video game information, but there is no way to prove it since that information was shared with fifty other workers. Fortunately for Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon has better plans for her if Jihyo accepts her offer, her work as a designer is so good that she intends to come to an agreement with her before she ends up working for ZoneTech, but unfortunately for Park Jihyo, the tattooed girl is not so good when it comes to computer science, espionage and keeping secrets. Chaeyoung was recently caught on the servers floor trying – unsuccessfully – to steal a software program, and who caught her was none other than Minatozaki Sana, ZoneTech's receptionist, but a computer scientist and shadow informant for Signal Systems.

According to the Japanese woman, despite her boss Yoo's request not to go into details, she only needed to unbutton a couple of buttons on her shirt and a couple of innuendos for the short girl to end up on her bed showing her all her tattoos and confessing to her what a designer was doing with a laptop and a bunch of cables on the server floor in an attempt to impress her.

This same story, although omitting quite a few details, is what Jeongyeon tells Jihyo to show her that she is not playing a game and that she is totally being serious, but Park is stubborn and the conversation continues until dessert arrives. The older one assures her that any judge would eventually be on her side, she even invites her to check with her own lawyers before giving her an answer. She also assures her that she would not like to have to solve it in court because it would be a long and tedious process for both of them regardless of who wins. She reminds her of the fuss that would be caused and that the legal process itself would be nothing compared to having the media on their backs for months digging up dirt of the company, their family and even personal issues that may or may not be a lie would come into play. And in this sense, they both know that it would only be enough for their personal interests to be exposed for their public image and status to be seriously damaged.

Jihyo is confident that she could get some good lawyers and the possibility of a billion won lawsuit does not worry her; however, the damage it could cause to the company's image and her family's legacy and especially the work her father did, worries her and is what makes her consider Jeongyeon's words. If the theft of information and espionage were to come to public knowledge, she should prepare herself for the worst.

"Think about it, Jihyo-ah," Jeongyeon says, dropping the formalities, once again rendering the other speechless, she just takes a sip of her wine instead. "I know I have no right to ask you to trust me, but we were once friends and I wouldn't want this senseless family war to continue for another sixty years."

"And your way of ending it is to sue me?" she says in disbelief.

"It's not like that, I've offered you a deal that you know would benefit both of us. You've always loved music as much as I love video games, we both win".

All of this is not enough to convince her when she does not trust the person in front of her, there is something that makes her distrustful, it seems all too simple to end four years of hatred between them. Why now? Why all of a sudden? Is this all about stupid video games or are they just a way to build bridges between companies? Is this all a strategy? Is this all a strategy? are some of the questions that go through her mind.

"How do I know I can trust you?".

"First of all, Nayeon-unnie would finish me off if I tried to hurt you, carrying out the lawsuit would mean ending a friendship of over 20 years. But if that's not enough to convince you, I can show you all the evidence I could present against you, so you can see that I'm serious about this. Obviously it would be stupid to give them to you since I would be helping you prepare a good defense, but if you come to my place I will show everything to you. Even the security videos and recordings of Son Chaeyoung. You just have to set a day for me."

"I want to see them now," she replies resolutely.

This time it is Jeongyeon who is caught by surprise, she did not expect to receive such an immediate response. It is rushed but true to her word, Jeongyeon pays for the luxurious dinner and they both leave the restaurant catching some curious glances and hearing some murmurs in the background.

"I guess you didn't come driving in those heels" says Jeongyeon as she looks up and down her perfectly sculpted legs "I can give you a ride and then I'll have someone drive you back to your house". 

She takes some time to actually give her an answer. Under normal circumstances, Jihyo wouldn't accept the favor as she prefers to do things her own way, but under normal circumstances she wouldn't be going to her former friend's house on a Friday night either, so she agrees and they both leave in the same car after Jihyo gives her driver and bodyguard the night off.

The drive to Jeongyeon's house is longer than expected but they barely exchange a few words and just stare at the road while listening to music. The music is soft, perfect for driving at night. The volume is loud enough so that they don't have to engage in conversation, but none of them are able to pay attention to it when all they are able to hear are their own thoughts. They have met again, they have talked after a long time, the deal, the lawsuit… but also the compliments, the teasing and the bickering. There are so many things to think about and so many feelings to process, they don't even know how they feel about what's going on. 

At last they arrive, Jeongyeon's house, unlike hers, is on the outskirts of the city, in one of the most expensive districts of the capital, although her own luxurious duplex apartment in the city center probably cost the same as this huge, modern house. It really suits her, Jihyo thinks as she gets inside, led by the taller one. She's never been much of a sociable person, but she doesn't like to be isolated either, and though she may boast a simple lifestyle, she wouldn’t give up the comforts that her family's money and status have brought her. After all, that is how they both grew up and it is all they know. It is in an area away from the hustle and bustle of the city but not far away you can see luxurious homes and the occasional mansion. The interior as well as the exterior has a modern and contemporary design with the newest and most advanced technology in every corner from the living room to the kitchen where they are now.

"Beer right?" she asks, earning a confused look from Jihyo, when they were friends she wasn't old enough to drink and lately they hadn't shared any context casual enough for her to know about her fondness for beer. Jeongyeon seems to read her mind and while opening the fridge she simply says "The cans that Nayeon-unnie keeps in her fridge" she clarifies, of course that was it, although the two pretend the other doesn't exist on a daily basis, when they are spending time with their friend sometimes it is inevitable that she briefly mentions the other or or remember her existence, especially when there is a space in Nayeon's fridge reserved exclusively for the beers and soju she usually drinks with Jihyo.

Despite cutting off any personal relationship between them, they have never stopped being present in each other's lives either for work or for their best friend. A fact that makes Jeongyeon's decision decisive, this situation must end no matter what, we can't go on fighting all our lives.

She offers her the beer and instructs her to follow her to her office, once there she asks her to turn around to open the strongbox where she has all the evidence she would use in case the lawsuit goes through. When she is able to look again she finds before her a series of folders stacked one on top of the other rising about 20 centimeters above the table, several hard drives and also CDs. Jihyo assumes that they are actually the same contents in different formats, knowing the cautious nature of the woman next to her, it is an assumption but also a wish. In front of her is what could bring her career, her company, her family and her legacy to an end. It is at this exact moment and without yet diving into the documents that she becomes fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

She could try to defend herself against every attack and will do so if necessary, but she is not so arrogant as to think she would come out unscathed. She knows full well that the damage it would cause would be fatal even if she could strike back with every blow, and that would mean the end for ZoneTech and for Signal Systems as well.

"Go ahead, take a seat" Jeongyeon invites her knowing that she is in full control of the situation right now.

"Can I see everything?" she says looking directly at Jeongyeon and from the expression on her face, Jeongyeon doesn't know if she is genuinely asking her permission or if she is testing her to see if this is not some trick.

"If you're going to go through all the documents, I guess we'd better get comfortable. Let's go to the living room."

So that is what they do. After reaching an agreement for Jihyo to leave their cell phones away from her, they both get comfortable in the living room, each one with a beer in one hand and several folders in the other. Although the tension is not the same as it was at the beginning of the evening, neither one of them trusts the other, the tension is in the air. Jeongyeon, in addition to making Jihyo leave her cell phones in another room, doesn't take her eyes off her and the latter can't help but look over the documents to see what the other is doing.

From time to time Jihyo, not being well versed in the subject, asks Jeongyeon some questions and she has no problem in resolving her doubts. Soon they open the second beer and between the questions and the occasional accusation of plagiarizing each other's products and marketing strategies on both sides, they also start to mention some anecdotes from the past and on occasion they share things about their current life without going into details.

It's getting later and later, but the activity, conversation and beers keep them going for the time being. Jeongyeon is actually taken by surprise by Jihyo's determination, she is really willing to read every single document, she is already on the fourth folder and still has three more to go plus videos, recordings and images. The older one could leave the other one going through everything alone while she does something other than look at her while attentively reading documents with a frown on her face, making the same expression that appears on her face when she tastes food she likes, just like she did sometime during dinner and a few hours ago with the first sip of beer.

She could give her space, but at the end of the day, it's not as awkward as she'd hoped but she also knows she has to be cautious because any misstep could ruin everything. And, although she'd never admit it, she'd rather be talking and catching up by pretending for a moment that their friendship never broke up, rather than explaining stuff about technology on a Friday night after two glasses of wine and a few cans of beer.

"Are you really planning to read the whole thing? Aren't you tired?" she asks with honest concern.

"If you want me to leave, just say so," she says, finishing the can of beer in one gulp. "But I need to know what I'd have to deal with. I don't think you'd be thinking about sleeping either if you were in my situation."

"That's not what I mean, I mean if you're not tired of all this – aren't you tired of trying to outdo me at everything?"

At this unexpected question Jihyo just bursts out laughing "Oh my god, I didn't have you down as someone this self-centered. Do you really think this whole situation is about me trying to prove I'm better than you?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious, in fact, if memory serves me correctly, the first thing you told us after saying your name to us is that you would be as good as us in everything. Soon after that I remember you had the highest grades in high school and beat our records in soccer, archery and athletics" as Jeongyeon recalls, on the other side of the couch, Jihyo looks at her in disbelief frowning and holding the bridge of her nose while listening to her. "I know that was like a game, it was our thing and you outdid me in everything, but we are adults now, we can't be playing games or fooling around. I think it's time to accept that this isn't getting anywhere, no one is winning here."

"Are you drunk already or are you still just as dense?" is what comes out of Jihyo's mouth almost unconsciously and she instantly regrets it and takes a breath before starting over. "Sorry that came out harsher than I intended. What I mean is that you haven't really changed, have you? You've always understood numbers, computers, video games and all that like no one else, but when it comes to people..."

"What do you mean?"

"This has never been about me trying to be better than you or beating you, well now it is but it's not about you, it's about doing my job and keeping my company at the top" she states and adds “and certainly the fact that it's you makes it all the more entertaining”.

Jeongyeon ust rolls her eyes at that last remark.

"You should know better after what happened" she says without going any deeper into the subject because it's not necessary for the other to understand what she's referring to. "It's really frustrating that you don't realize the things you have right in front of your eyes, I've never known if you're really unaware or if you're faking it" she sighs. "Knowing that I would be in the same high school as the heiress of the rival company and my family's enemies, needless to say I wanted to be better than you, but you didn't treat me as such so before I knew it we became friends and we were getting closer each day.  I only saw you as my rival the first week, it didn't take you long to become my role model".

"Role model?" is surprised Jeongyeon as she approaches Jihyo, feeling curious to know the younger girl's side of the story and to know what she means when she says she doesn't realize things.

"Think about it, your future and mine were going to be quite similar. Heiress to one of the biggest companies in the country, the first woman to be in charge and you were older than me. You had the best grades, records in most sports, captain of the soccer team and participated in dozens of clubs. I looked up to you and wanted to follow in your footsteps because I knew they were the right ones, I didn't want to beat you, I aspired to be as good as you".

Jihyo's heart is racing as her story progresses because even though nothing new is going to come to light. There are things that are still unresolved, conversations that were never had and wounds that remain unhealed that she doesn't want to think about. Her heart doesn't race much faster than Jeongyeon who knows as much as she does what she's about to hear.

"But we both know it was more than just admiration, I loved you and just wanted to be good enough for you. I-"

Right when Jihyo is in the middle of her confession, a wave of feelings hits Jeongyeon throwing her to the lips of the woman in front of her looking at her with those big and expressive brown eyes. It takes a few seconds for Jihyo to realize what is happening but when she does she doesn't move away, instead she lets herself go and closes her eyes ignoring all the alarms going off in her mind. It's a timid kiss, their lips don't even move until Jeongyeon takes the lead. At first her kisses, like her movements, are delicate and tentative giving Jihyo room to stop her at any moment, but this doesn't happen.  They both know that the sensible thing to do would be to stop, but they don't know how to do it, they can't do it. It seems that tonight the two of them are letting each other break through all the walls and for a moment they forget about the world and their problems. It feels too right to be a mistake.

Their lips feel so familiar it makes their hearts ache. Their mouths taste like beer, memories and regrets. The taste of the past on their lips is so strong that it makes them pause.  For a few seconds they exchange glances, catch their breaths and look for any sign that makes them stop or a gesture that invites them to continue. Jihyo is the first to speak after coming to her senses.

"What the fuck Jeongyeon?" she wonders out loud.

All that confidence she had when she threw herself at the younger one's lips vanishes right after hearing her words. 

"I'm sorry!" she exclaims with hesitant and nervous gestures. "I thought... I shouldn't have-"

This time it is Jihyo who interrupts her, but not with a kiss but with a statement that surprises her even more. 

"I thought you hated me," she admits. 

"What? I have never hated you, Jihyo" she replies somewhat more relaxed and looking into her eyes with honesty. 

"I have...sometimes I still do" she confesses leaving Jeongyeon stunned. 

"In that case it's better to stop here and forget about what happened. I'll take you home" she says, trying to brush it off and getting up from the couch, obviously trying to show indifference to Jihyo's words but she can see a slight pain in her eyes.

When she is about to get her car keys she feels a hand around her wrist and then turns around and sees Jihyo looking up at her with an amused smile "You didn't let me finish, I know we shouldn't do this, the last time we kissed things didn't end well" she says more as a reminder to herself than to Jeongyeon "that's what makes me want to hate you, no matter what you do you're always going to drive me crazy. I hate that you still have this effect on me." 

Hearing her words Jeongyeon's whole body heats up and she can feel her cheeks burning as she hears the low tone of Jihyo's voice, she doesn't know what to reply and the other one isn't sure if she wants to hear what she has to say. Before she can give her an answer she pulls her arm pushing her towards the couch right next to her. 

Are you sure?" asks Jeonyeon "We can stop if you want, at any time and we can forget about everything that has happened since you walked in the door."

"Unnie..." she replies lowering her tone and leaving Jeongyeon speechless, she no longer remembered how the word sounded coming from Jihyo's mouth. "Let's forget everything that happened before we walked through that door, just don't hurt me this time" she pleads with a sigh, letting herself look vulnerable like she never did before. 

In front of her is no longer the successful and intimidating CEO who occasionally makes her job impossible. Gone is his cold, distant and inaccessible image. It is simply Jihyo, who asks her to guard her heart, to tear down her walls to let her pass and remind her that she is the woman who never fails to make her heart race, who takes her breath away, who makes her head spin and gives her butterflies in her stomach.  

She knows perfectly well why all she is asking her not to hurt her, she doesn't need to explain it to Jeongyeon to understand what she means. But before she can give her an answer as reassurance, other than nodding her head, it is Jihyo who makes the first move.

This time it is not so sudden, the movements are smoother, they take their time to place themselves in a more comfortable position, still keeping a safe distance between them. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want this to come to an end, she wants to savor every moment without rushing. She touches Jeongyeon as if she wants to check that she is really there, that she is not a memory and that she is not going to vanish from one moment to the next as she has done so many times before. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want it to end. She touches Jeongyeon slowly as if she is memorizing every fold of her clothes with her hands, as if she is afraid that it is really a dream that could vanish at any moment. The taller one lets herself be touched without putting up any resistance, she lets Jihyo take the lead, she knows she needs control right now and is willing to give it to her – for now – .

The younger one gently caresses her cheek, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and moves her hand down to her collarbones. Her fingers slowly snake around his neck and when she squeezes lightly at last Jeongyeon reacts by letting out a soft whimper. As she maintains her grip, his eyes travel from his own hand to the lips of the woman whose neck she grips as delicately as she does precisely and then to her eyes, where he sees something she hadn't seen before. Immediately the grip on her neck tightens a little more and Jihyo moves until she ends up on her thighs, straddling her. 

"If you hurt me it's over" this time it doesn't sound like a plea at all but more like a threat and Jeongyeon has a feeling it won't be the first one she'll hear tonight. 

"Yes ma'am" Jeongyeon whispers, unable to help but smile, far from being uncomfortable in the position she is in.

As soon as these words leave her mouth, Jihyo releases her neck to grab her shirt and crush their lips together in a hungry kiss. This time it's deeper and more passionate, but full of emotions like the first one of the night. Their lips explore each other again with kisses that are increasingly impatient, heated and wet creating sounds that fill the silent room.

Shortly their tongues start to get involved exploring every inch of their mouths moving in perfect synchrony. As they devour each other it is not their tongues fighting for dominance, but them fighting for control until Jihyo caresses the roof of her mouth with the tip of tongue leaving Jeongyeon at her mercy making her forget all about her little power game as the first moan escapes from her lips. Hearing the sound echoing against her mouth, Jihyo's hands clinging to his shirt pulling her closer and feels the heat coming off her skin as she wraps her arms around her neck. 

They kiss for what feels like hours pausing only to catch their breath or let out soft moans against each other's mouths. But their hands have barely explored each other's skin and not a single button or zipper has been undone yet. When eager kisses are not enough Jeongyeon's lips move from her mouth to her jaw and down to Jihyo's neck as she caresses the naked caramel skin of her exposed thighs.

When Jeongyeon starts tracing kisses all over her neck, Jihyo can no longer ignore the growing wetness between her legs especially when the kisses are accompanied by soft bites and licks that go all the way down to her chest, driving her crazy. 

"Take off my dress" she commands with a whisper against her ear before nibbling it, sending a shiver down Jeongyeon's spine. 

Then Jeongyeon without taking her mouth off her neck undoes the buttons of her black blazer style dress which fortunately stays closed with only two of them. This is the only moment when they stop kissing to help Jihyo undo her dress and throw it on the other side of the couch. This time they lock their eyes instead of their mouths, as they do so, they can't help but smile seeing each other's red and swollen lips. In Jeongyeon's case the image of Jihyo on top of her makes her mouth dry. The path her gaze follows begins at the hungry eyes and is followed by her glossy, wet lips, her neck painted with red marks that will soon begin to darken to purple and her body solely covered by a set of lacy black that leaves her breathless. It is the first time they have seen each other like this and Jeongyeon needs a few seconds to process this view.

She has Jihyo sitting on her thighs dressed only in her underwear which, despite being black, doesn't quite hide the wet spot between Jihyo's legs. Knowing that she is the reason for that wet spot makes Jeongyeon feel her own and squeeze her thighs in seeking some relief, this action doesn't go unnoticed by the woman on top of her who doesn't take long to tease her about it. 

"Do you like what you see? Tell me what you want" .

Jeongyeon just nods and stares without missing a single detail of her defined muscles, of how her chest rises in sync with her breathing and how her abs tighten as she continues stroking her thighs. It's impossible to have Jihyo in front of you like this and not want everything with her. 

"I-I want you" she stutters against his mouth.

It's not the response Jihyo expected to receive, but it satisfies her enough to return to kissing Jeongyeon impatiently, her kisses are accompanied by the subtle grind of her hips against her thighs. His hands run through her hair and grab it to guide his mouth to her chest but before working on her chest Jeongyeon is quick to unclasp her bra finally releasing her mouth-watering breasts to capture them with her mouth eagerly. The moan that escapes her as she feels the warmth of his tongue brushing against her nipple hardened by both the cold and the growing pleasure invites Jeongyeon to continue her ministrations and give attention to the other breast with one of her hands brushing her finger softly over the nub just to end up trapping it between two fingers, pinching it with a little pressure.

Her other hand, which just seconds ago was caressing her thighs, moves to her lower back keeping Jihyo in place but also testing new limits by sliding her hand inside her underwear. A touch that gives Jihyo goosebumps in anticipation for what is to come.   

Bodies exploring each other, blood rushing through their veins and breaths racing. The sound of wet kisses, labored breaths and muffled moans from each other's mouths is all they hear, but all their senses are getting the attention they need to push them further into each other.

Jeongyeon has her mouth busy playing, teasing, licking, sucking and nibbling on Jihyo's breasts as her hands grab and caress her by sinking their fingers into each other's bare skin. Most of the time her eyes are closed, unable to keep them open as the sounds coming from her mouth cause her mind to cloud and her core to throb. It's an overwhelming sensation, just like the desire that drives Jihyo to move her hips seeking more pleasure as she rubs her center against Jeongyeon's body, bringing herself to the brink. She notices the beads of sweat running down her chest and being caught by Jeongyeon's tongue, taking her to new places making her feel things she's never felt before, she's doing wonders with her mouth but right now she needs her somewhere else as she notices the building sensation in her stomach. She doesn't want it to end yet and like this, she needs more, she needs her.

Using the grip she has on the older girl's hair she pulls her away delighted by the image of Jeongyeon's wet mouth attached by a string of saliva to her nipple "Fuck..." she murmurs as she shifts her posture getting off her lap. At the loss of contact Jeongyeon whines and looks at her with pleading eyes making Jihyo grin "I would never have guessed you were this needy" she says as she moves her hand to Jeongyeon's face and grabs her by the jaw to devour her mouth before whispering "Get on your knees''. The words that come out of her mouth are halfway between command and plea as she sits back down on the couch, leaving a space between her slightly spread legs for Jeongyeon to position herself.

She doesn't need to repeat it a second time as it barely takes her time to position herself on the floor on her knees and between his legs. Due to the difference in height between them their faces are almost at the same height, but that doesn't matter when it is more than evident that Jihyo is in charge, even though she is the one in a more vulnerable position as she is the one who is almost naked and with her legs spread wide open exposing herself completely. Jeongyeon looks at her wanting to learn by heart every detail of her body, but behind her gaze there is more than just lust, there is admiration and adoration. She just watches without saying or doing anything, waiting for Jihyo's next command as she feels her whole body burning and a tingling sensation in her stomach as a result of the urge to please Jihyo in this way.

Not once does her hand loosen its hold on his jaw, only loosening it as Jeongyeon positions herself and once she is on her knees under her attentive and hungry gaze she uses her thumb to ghost over her lips, a motion that Jeongyeon immediately responds to by trapping the finger between her lips sucking it and stroking it with her tongue giving her a taste of what is to come. The warm, wet sensation of her mouth trapping his finger catches her breath and the ache between her thighs grows at the image and the contact of his fingers with the walls of her mouth. 

"I need you" she breathes as she slides her finger out of her mouth to take them into her own tasting Jeongyeon's mouth.

In her eyes, as in her words, what she senses is desire, hunger and lust. She wants this as much as she does and is willing to give it to her. Without looking away she caresses her legs from her ankles to the edge of her lacy panties, taking her time and switching between soft kisses and the occasional playful nibble. When he brings his mouth to her inner thigh to deposit a kiss he inhales Jihyo's scent, makes her light-headed and sends a shiver down to her own throbbing center.

She's dying to taste it, but she is not done with the teasing until she slides a finger along her clothed core, drawing a louder moan from her throat than before. It's embarrassing how sensitive and pent up she is to make sounds like that with a single touch. From that moment on she knows it won't last long as her whole body jerks from the light touch that has allowed her to feel her wetness despite the piece of cloth that still separates her from her target. 

That's when she finally decides to completely undress Jihyo and she, feeling the cold air against her uncomfortable and growing dampness, lets out a breathy whimper. Jeongyeon shoves a hand between her legs to spread them more in order to gain better access and to take a few seconds to revel in the image in front of her. Just inches from her eyes, nose and mouth is Jihyo's glistening sex that leaves her stunned. Intoxicated by what she sees, the smell of Jihyo's pleasure and the sensation of her own pleasure she finally reacts and looks her back up into Jihyo's eyes.  

"Can I?" she says, asking for permission.

"Please" she tries to say in a neutral tone that fails to hide the desperation to receive the attention she so strongly craves.

That's all it takes for Jeongyeon to bury her head between Jihyo's tanned legs.

She starts where she left off, with kisses and nibbles on her inner thighs slowly until her whimpers sound too needy to continue ignoring them and to prolong her torture. They seem to have come to an agreement because at that very moment she notices her hands grabbing her hair again to guide her to where she needs her the most. 

The first contact is a tentative lick with his flat tongue from bottom to top that stops before reaching her clit, that's enough for a moan to escape from her half-opened mouth. He repeats the action a couple more times at a slow pace, sliding his tongue between her folds and her slit and even teasing her hole but never reaching her bundle of nerves testing her limits once again, enjoying her every reaction and tasting her wetness. His hands do the same, sliding up and down caressing and grabbing her thighs, her hips, her torso, her chest and her ass without stopping anywhere, leaving caresses with his fingertips and sometimes gentle scratches.

Despite the pleasurable but torturous ministrations, Jihyo is loving every second, every lick and every rub, her moans getting louder and louder as the pleasure washes over her and the embarrassment of sounding desperate fades away. The sounds coming out of Jihyo and the wet sounds of which she herself is to blame motivate her to go one step further, sucking on her clit. As she does so she looks up so as not to miss a single detail of Jihyo's reaction. His act catches her by surprise, but her body is quicker to react than she is and it takes seconds for Jeongyeon to notice how the grip on her hair is tighter and how Jihyo's thighs now press the sides of her head covering her ears, even then she doesn't stop hearing Jihyo's moans. 

"Oh fuck right there, stop teasing" she sighs between moans guiding Jeongyeon's head between her legs. 

She continues licking, sucking and nibbling gently making her juices drip down her spit onto the couch and onto Jeonyeon's chin who notices how her own arousal becomes uncomfortable every time she makes a move however small and feels the seams of her pants rubbing against her hardening clit making her moan against her center.

For a first time together there is no awkwardness and Jeongyeon manages to hit all the right places swirling her tongue around her clit, lapping on her juices and dipping her tongue inside her only to remove it seconds later making her pussy clench around nothing. When she doesn't like something Jihyo lets you know right away and guides you with her words or by pulling your hair, she is also not shy when letting you know she is doing the right move in the perfect place by being much more vocal and also doesn't hesitate to praise her when she deserves it.

"Yes baby! just like that!" she moans loudly as Jeongyeon draws shapes onto her clit while she easily slides two fingers inside her. 

Jihyo feels herself getting closer and closer to her high and grinds her hips against her mouth as she pulls her as close as physically possible. Jeongyeon's fingers move faster and deeper reaching new places as she curls her fingers. This has Jihyo squirming under his touch making her feel light-headed and too close to the edge even if she is still fully dressed and untouched.

Making Jihyo feel so good, hearing her praises in between her loud moans as she begs for more, feeling her warm and wet insides, seeing how she is unable to maintain eye contact because she can't help but close her eyes and arch her body has her so dizzy and overwhelmed with her own sensations. When she hears her call her "baby" she can't help but slide her free hand between her legs and apply a little pressure teasing herself and focusing on her own heat instead of her aching knees. 

The mere hint of her fingers stroking over the fabric makes her jerk and gasps, sending vibrations to Jihyo's throbbing cunt. Totally intoxicated by her choking breaths and the scent of the woman trapping her between her legs, she doesn't even realize how his eyes are piercing her until she hears "Don't you dare." That makes her gulp pull her hand away immediately, but at no point do her fingers stop darting in and out of Jihyo who looks at her with a mischievous smile. 

"Sorry" she apologizes before going down on her again.

"Now be good and make me cum please" she says a little breathless and bites her lip when she feels his tongue again. "I will make you feel so good and you will cum when I give you permission baby." 

She swears that every time she hears that pet name come out of Jihyo's mouth she is about to cum, just like she is about to do thanks to her good work. Since Jeongyeon is back to accompanying the fingering with her tongue all over her thighs, folds and clit, Jihyo is soon back to being close to her release. 

"B-baby I'm so... close. Don't stop!" she cries out what is meant to be a warning, but she can't help it when she shatters as she reaches her orgasm.

All it takes for Jeongyeon to bring her to climax is suck on her swollen nub at the same time she curves her fingers deep inside her hitting her sweet spot. Her whole body arches completely tense just before she starts to jerk as she tugs Jeongyeon's hair with one hand and puts her other hand to her mouth in a futile attempt to silence the obscene scream she just let out, she doesn't say the name of the woman responsible for her screams but "baby". 

That doesn't stop Jeongyeon who continues her movements slowing down when she notices his legs squeezing her head and that's when she moves her mouth away just a few centimeters, she can still feel his breath against her middle as she allows her some time to come down from her high and doesn't take long to fill her thighs with kisses as she cleans her up a gesture that melts Jihyo's heart who sees for the first time this loving and sweet side of her unnie. 

At that moment she realizes where her hand is and finally lets go of Jeongyeon's hair who starts to feel a slight discomfort from all the tugging "I'm sorry" she whispers before pulling the collar of her shirt to kiss her again tasting herself first in her mouth and then on her cum covered fingers looking at Jeongyeon with hungry and lustful eyes that make her press her thighs against each other.

"Stop" Jihyo reminds her "You’ve been very good to me, let me make you feel good now. Where’s your room, unnie?" she asks her in a way that makes Jeongyeon feel some embarrassment for being treated this way by someone younger than her, making her blush because she is enjoying it more than she deems appropriate.

The second round is on the bed and barely lasts a few minutes. After Jihyo practically rips off Jeongyeon's clothes and gets on top of her making herself comfortable between her legs, Jihyo takes control and starts rubbing their slick centers while their mouths devour each other in an animalistic way. She is still sensitive from her first orgasm and Jeongyeon is already on the verge of cumming just by eating her out, so they cum in no time. In any other situation or with someone else it would have been almost embarrassing, but between them the situation far from feeling awkward feels right, safe and they even joke about it but not for long.

They go fast and they go slow, sometimes gentle and sometimes rougher trying different things, discovering each other's bodies, learning what the other likes as if they were trying to make up for all that lost time and those first times they didn't have together in one night. It doesn't take them long to recover from the earth shattering orgasm they've shared either, so the second round turns into a third and a fourth until they lose count of the kisses, caresses and orgasms they've given each other. As the night progresses they become more vocal and when they go for the last round they whisper sweet nothings to each other between kisses that are no longer about pleasure but about feeling each other. When their bodies are exhausted and their eyelids begin to close involuntarily the first rays of sun are rising through the trees and mountains. 

"Don't go" she blurts out without thinking and in an attempt to regain her composure adds "Get some sleep, you're too tired to go home, it's dangerous, you could cause an accident". 

"You say that like I'm going to drive" she giggles. "Just say you want me to stay" she pushes. 

"Why would I want that?" she says it trying to sound annoyed by the accusation, but she's too tired for it.

Jihyo shakes her head and smiles getting too close to her and her lips causing Jeongyeon to close her eyes in anticipation but instead of noticing a kiss she notices Jihyo's breath against her lips saying "You're such a tsundere... it's very charming honey."

Jeongyeon almost chokes when she hears the pet name, it's not the first one of the night, but it's the first one she doesn't say to her between moans. Maybe because she knows there is some truth in her words she doesn't talk back and just says "Just stay, we'll talk about this tomorrow" she says in a soothing voice as her eyes struggle to stay open at least until she hears Jihyo's answer, but she lies on her side turning her back to her as she doesn't feel ready to look her in the eyes in case he rejects her offer. 

"I'm staying, I missed you" he whispers as he hugs her from behind, spooning her.  Once again it is Jihyo who proves that she is the brave one between the two by daring to name what she feels and say it out loud exposing herself once again and being vulnerable in front of Jeongyeon even though she has promised herself a thousand times during this time that she would never do like this again, that she would protect her heart like she hadn't done in the past.

When she wakes up she notices a warm body on her body and she doesn't need to open her eyes to know who it is, Jihyo is still there and this time she is the one in his arms. Nor does she need to remember what has happened as the mixture of smells from the room and the sheets hits her invading her nostrils. She would swear she can feel Jihyo's taste on her tongue, his fingers ghosting over the skin of her back and even his fingers running through her hair sending a shiver up her back as she recreates moments from the night before in her head. The memories cut her breath away, but her mind soon travels elsewhere and the memories of the night are replaced by a compelling need to shower and change the sheets. Some habits never die, not even when Jihyo is naked in her bed. 

On any other occasion Jeongyeon would already be throwing the sheets in the washing machine, preparing breakfast and cleaning up the mess in the living room where the paperwork is piled up among some beer cans. However,the uncertainty and the thought that this was a slip-up or an unforgettable accident that would never happen again keeps her pinned to the bed more firmly than the grip of Jihyo's arms or the leg that is currently wrapped around her waist.

The woman above her keeping her warm and all her senses alert doesn't take much longer than her to wake up, but those minutes are enough for Jeongyeon to overthink about every possible scenario and about all the paths this can take from now on making the warmth she felt in her chest when she smelled Jihyo's hair before she opened her eyes turn into an unpleasant pressure in her chest caused by the growing anxiety she tries to manage as best she can. 

"Morning, Jeong" she hears Jihyo say in a husky voice.

Looking at her she can't help but smile at the sight of the traces of makeup, this is another thing she wouldn't have allowed under normal circumstances, but the truth is that she usually didn't end up collapsing on her bed as the first rays of sunshine come out. Seeing Jihyo with her eyes slightly closed, makeup messed up, lips still swollen and some marks spread across her neck and chest makes her light-headed. 

"Good morning, Ji."

That way of calling her draws an immediate smile on Jihyo's face, she's used to being called that, Nayeon calls her that often, but on Jeongyeon's lips it just sounds different, she doesn't remember the last time she called her that way. To think that just a few hours ago he was referring to her as Jihyo-sunbaenim makes her head spin.

Jihyo dares once again to try her luck and gives her a peck on the lips, getting an unexpected response. 

"We should take a shower."

The two have different plans, but the two have their way and before getting into the shower they share a heated make out session that ends with Jeongyeon panting against her mouth as she reaches orgasm riding Jihyo's thigh.  

After sharing a shower in which they exchange kisses again and which becomes the perfect opportunity for Jeongyeon to return the favor, they both end up wrapped in the comfortable clothes of the owner of the house who prepares coffee and a delicious and abundant breakfast for both of them, while Jihyo watches her feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

Their relationship had never gone this far, neither when they were secretly in love with each other nor after Jihyo's first confession years ago. Certainly the furthest they got in their relationship beyond friendship was with that same confession with a bouquet of flowers that ended in a kiss. This is all new to both of them, but it feels dangerously familiar as if they have done it all their lives, something that frightens both of them. Neither can rationally explain that something that shouldn't have happened in the first place feels so natural to both of them as if the years, the distance and the enmity that has lasted almost five years never happened. And this time not even Jihyo is able to say out loud how normal this situation feels, fearing that it's all in her head and going too far risking being wrong and ending it all in one fell swoop, just like it happened the other time.

They talk, the conversation is not as deep as it should be given the circumstances, but it doesn't stay superficial either and they touch almost all the important points. They talk about Jeongyeon's offer or threat – depending on who you ask – and come to the conclusion that they shouldn't be mixing personal matters with work, so it still stands and Jihyo will have some time to think about it and consult with her own legal team if she considers so. On what happened last night they both agree that they got carried away without giving much thought to the possible consequences. Jihyo described it as a "moment of weakness" while Jeongyeon called it an "impulsive and irresponsible act," but neither dared to pretend it was a mistake. 

After a heated conversation that was interrupted several times by some insults, cursing, accusations and kisses they came to the conclusion that it had been a good time that both had enjoyed, but if repeated they should have a conversation beforehand that they don't know if they are ready for. And of course, Nayeon can't know anything about this, at least while they figure out what will happen between them from now on. They talk about everything and nothing, their friendship, their estrangement and the open war between them, which seems to have finally reached a point of truce. But always leaving out the taboo subject that always comes up but they don't dare to talk about, they just tiptoe around it. 

Before the situation becomes too domestic, Jihyo decides she should leave. "Can your driver take me or should I call mine to come?" she asks.

"I don't plan to go out and he lives nearby, if you want to go now it's better if he takes you home" she offers ignoring the slight but obvious awkwardness that has settled between them.

Jihyo nods and in a few minutes she is ready to go, Jeongyeon is even kind enough to give her something more comfortable than her clothes from last night and offers her a pair of sneakers that are too small for her, so she doesn't have to wear heels.

"Thank you."

"They're just sneakers, I don't even wear them" she shrugs without noticing Jihyo's sudden and unusual shyness.

"It’s not about the sneakers…” she stutters. “Just- thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me at all, I-I really enjoyed it Jihyo-ah" smiles Jeongyeon with a slight blush painting her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

"Me too unnie" she says, staying awfully close as her gaze drifts down to her lips, but she does nothing.

They both giggle nervously not really knowing how to act around each other after everything that has happened in the last few hours. Now it's awkward, they have no regrets but that's not how things were supposed to have ended, they had arranged to meet to talk business. And they had done that but they also got drunk on each other's lips, sank between each other's legs, spent the night with their limbs intertwined and now they were struggling to quiet the butterflies in their stomachs. 

It doesn't take Jihyo much longer to get into the car to leave, Jeongyeon opens her door for her and before closing it she says "Think about what I showed you last night, take as much time as you need." She then closes her door, last night she had taught her many things and she knows exactly what she means but her mind can't help but go to other places, feeling her skin bristle and her stomach tighten as she remembers the image of jeongyeon emerging from between her legs and looking at her with those puppy eyes and swollen red lips covered in a layer of both saliva and her own juices. The memory is so vivid it's as if she's standing in front of her right now and she bites down on her finger to make sure she doesn't let out a moan right then and there as her thighs rub together involuntarily seeking to feel something.

When she gets home she doesn't receive any message or call, the next day neither and when the weekend is coming to an end neither. She knows that Jeongyeon sometimes needs to take some distance and be left alone with her thoughts to process things. If she herself was anxious and a bit scared about what would happen from now on it is natural to think that the other would be the same, maybe a bit more so given her reserved personality. 

Days go by and she still receives nothing making her anxiety increase. 

Of course she could write or call her at any time, at this point it is more than obvious that Jihyo is not afraid to take the lead and make the first move. But this time is different, she needs Jeongyeon to take the initiative for the first time for more than just preparing a lawsuit that threatens the future of her company, her life as she knows it and her family's legacy. 

It's a matter of pride, she knows. She refuses to pursue someone who wouldn't do the same for her but also out of fear of being rejected once again and getting her heart broken. She thought that after all she has been through and with her age she is more than ready to face rejection, but the truth is that if Jeongyeon rejects her again when there are no more external reasons to do so, it is likely that this time the pain will be much worse. 

By the time a week has passed Jihyo's uncertainty has turned into disappointment, she even comes to think that being directly rejected after receiving her first kiss was less cruel than whatever Jeongyeon is doing now. But in fact, it could be much worse.

After spending the weekend turning down invitations to meet friends because lying in bed staring at her phone with the screen off while listening to the most heartbreaking ballads is what she needs right now, Jihyo gets the news on Monday morning.

"Jihyo-nim, Hirai Momo is coming, it seems to be some kind of emergency"  her secretary Lily announces over the phone. When this happens nothing good happens, problems with products that are about to be released, system failures that were not foreseen and hundreds of other problems that Jihyo doesn't understand but which she knows mean that something is not working as it should. 

Hirai Momo, one of the software developers at the head of the department enters nervously and hurriedly with her fringe hairs sticking to her forehead from sweat, her shirt sleeves rolled up and her tie unbuttoned. She is out of breath and her glasses are covered in a layer of mist indicating the urgency of the situation as Momo seems to have come running into the office. All the signs alert Jihyo and prepare her for the worst, she is ready to hear that their new line of cell phones that are about to be shipped to every store in the country will have to be recalled due to some glitch, like that time they discovered that their new long lasting batteries exploded. She was prepared to listen to anything except for what Momo says as soon as she catches her breath without even leaning in. 

"We've been hacked." 

The initial shock leaves Jihyo frozen in place within moments but it doesn't take her long to react as she puts the pieces together, of course it's Horai Momo who's breaking the news to her that they've suffered an attack. It only takes her a few seconds to get up with fire in her eyes and stand in front of Momo making the employee swallow hard. 

"It has been stopped, but we don't know yet who has done it or what information they have stolen or altered" she says before Jihyo unleashes her anger at her, but this is not enough. 

"You better fix this as soon as possible or I will fire you and make sure you have to go back to Japan because you are not going to be hired anywhere in this country, not even to clean toilets" Jihyo threatens pointing her finger and staring straight into the face of the woman in front of her who is not able to look her back in the eyes because if she does she knows she will end up crying.

"Yes, Jihyo-nim. I'll fix it" she says bowing a bunch of times while stuttering a few apologies before walking away. 

I should have figured it out, now she feels completely stupid for falling for it. It's kind of evil and sick even for their fucked up relationship, Jihyo thinks. 

Without thinking twice she grabs her bag and leaves the office asking Lily to cancel all meetings until further notice, seeing the obvious anger of her boss she doesn't even dare to open her mouth and just nods vigorously. She has seen Jihyo angry a million times, but never like this, so she imagines that the news Hirai gave her must be very serious. 

As she is about to leave the building she catches a glimpse of Minatozaki Sana at her reception desk and unable to control her anger she heads to her desk. Sana's usual smiling expression disappears as soon as she sees her boss's gaze and she freezes in place, from the look on her face only one thing can have happened, she knows it. 

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your friend Hirai. If I find out that you are involved in this you can start packing your bags to go back to Japan because I will personally make your life a living hell" she threatens her with a stern tone, but low enough to only reach the receptionist's ears. As quickly as he arrived, she disappears from her side and exits the building where a car is waiting for her.

From the very first minute Sana got into all this she knew it was risky and she is not worried about the consequences because she knows that just as Jeongyeon promised them, she has nothing to worry about. Still there is something bothering Sana because she doesn't really know what the CEO is referring to, so she decides to immediately look for Mina and Momo to get answers. 

Meanwhile, Jihyo, who feels that she has more than enough information, gives her driver the address of Signal Systems' main building at the other end of the Central Business District. There he is greeted by a wide-eyed receptionist, Chou Tzuyu, who can't hide her puzzled face when the CEO of the rival company she works for as an informant is in front of her. However, her job at Signal Systems is to receive those who have an appointment with Yoo Jeongyeon and let her or her secretary know that they have arrived. Obviously, the name Park Jihyo is not among today's meeting list and has never been before, so the astonishment among the workers and visitors who have recognized her is generalized. Tzuyu can only fear the worst and her suspicions are not misguided when she leans on the counter asking for Jeongyeon's floor number, the way to the elevators and orders her not to warn that she is here. The receptionist who is smart enough and appreciates her life does as she tells her and also gives her a guest access card without asking any questions. 

That's how Park Jihyo gets to the top floor of the Signal Systems building where the office of its CEO, Yoo Jeongyeon, is located, nothing more than that. But for Jihyo, right now she is nothing more than her rival, one who uses disgusting tactics even for her usual game which includes espionage among other things of questionable ethics. Between the elevator and their destination is the desk of Dahyun, Joengyeon's trusted secretary and Jihyo's informant. 

"Good morning, Dahyun" she greets her with a smile that sends a shiver through Dahyun's body, who seeing the fire in Jihyo's eyes doesn't know if she should fear for her job or her life. "I come to see your dear boss, I guess she's in her office."

The secretary nods and when she opens her mouth to continue, Jihyo makes a gesture with her hand telling her to shut up and then walks with firm steps towards the office. She storms in, but what she sees leaves her as shocked as those in the room. 

"Jihyo?!" Jeongyeon's voice sounds surprised and confused. 

"JIHYO?!"  the woman with her back facing the door exclaims even more surprised and confused. 

"Nayeon?" she is so astonished that for a moment she forgets why she has come here. 

They look at each other, shocked by the situation they are in, they stare at each other without saying anything for a few seconds until Jeongyeon decides to take control of the situation as she feels her heart hammering in her chest. It's been a week since she saw Jihyo and since then she hadn't contacted her, so the last thing she expected was for her to suddenly walk into her office just on the same day and at the same time that Nayeon does. 

"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to control the trembling in her voice. 

"Stop pretending, I'm not falling for your game. You know what I'm doing here" she says harshly, very different since the last time he talked to her.

"Well... I guess" she says, looking at Nayeon with concern. The older woman looks at one and then the other like she's watching a tennis match. "But I mean, you could have texted or called me," she says, turning her gaze to Nyeon again to see if Jihyo gets the message. 

"Yeah right, the only way with you the only way things can be done is face to face or did you want to have more proof to add to your fucking folders?" says Jihyo starting to lose her composure as she feels like she is being treated like a complete idiot once again. 

"I think this is a conversation you two should have between the two of you" Nayeon says stepping in for the first time. "And I know maybe this is my fault because I was the one who asked not to know about your stupid corporate war, but I think I deserve an explanation. I thought you two didn't talk and all of a sudden you show up unannounced talking about proofs and folders."

"You're right unnie" she says, directing her gaze towards Nayeon and then Jeongyeon, looking at the latter in a way so cold and full of rage that it makes her stomach turn. "Why don't you explain it to her? Tell her. Tell how you invited me to dinner to make me a deal and how it was actually a threat. I give in to what you ask or you ruin my life, my family and the work we've done for decades." 

Her gestures are exaggerated and she doesn't take her eyes off Jeongyeon who looks at her dumbfounded not knowing what Jihyo is getting at, at first she thought she was being theatrical, she can be very passionate sometimes. It's not until she sees her eyes that she realizes she's totally serious, there's no sparkle in those big beautiful eyes anymore. Then she sees it, she has the same look as that one time, but this time she doesn't understand why.

Neither of the older girls knows quite what to answer, but they don't need to because Jihyo continues "Come on! tell her what happened later" she insists. She sounds really hurt, almost desperate, worrying both of them who have never seen Jihyo this distraught.  

"Jihyo, calm down" Jeongyeon says in a soft tone as she approaches her. "I don't know what happened, but I do know that you don't want to tell Nayeon like this. Calm down and we'll talk."

"Don't even fucking think about telling me to calm down Jeongyeon. In fact I would really like my friend to know the kind of person she has next to her. Someone capable of doing what you have done to me" at this point she starts to raise her voice.

"I'm going to need one of you to explain to me what's going on, but I understand this is something you two need to work out between yourselves" she says still in her seat as she gestures for Jihyo to come closer and when she does she grabs her hand and caresses it trying to calm her down.  "Breath" she whispers to the younger girl who is breathing fast, then looks at Jeongyeon threateningly and says "If you did something to her, this time I'm going to pick a side Yoo Jeongyeon" Nayeon warns Jeongyeon pointing her finger at her. "I'm going to leave, please don't do anything stupid, I'm serious."

Nayeon over the years has learned to stay out of her friends' fight because after trying to intervene numerous times over the years she knows that all they need is to have a conversation that they have never been willing to have. She has heard both sides of the story and knows the motives that have driven each to do what they have done and, while she has not always agreed, she understands why each has done things the way they have and would be unable to judge them for it. She also knows about spies, informants, infiltrators... or whatever they call it.  She is the first to know that they do not always act according to the image of impeccable businesswomen they portray to the world. At the end of the day they are her friends despite the feud that exists – or existed – but if Jeongyeon has harmed Jihyo in some way that has gone beyond their professional rivalry, she wants to know about it even if she has to wait for them to sort things out on their own first.

They both watch Nayeon leave the office and look at each other. Jihyo has her clenched fists and tight jaw, she is still breathing heavily and can see her veins bulging in her neck and arms. From the obvious tension all over her body she can tell that she is indeed holding back and trying not to lose control. Jeongyeon is at a safe distance and is doing her best to try to maintain eye contact and to keep her trembling hands busy and out of Jihyo's sight, adjusting her clothes and hides them from time to time in the sleeves of her blazer, a gesture she had managed to shed but which is inevitable to return at times like this.  Her calmness had left with Nayeon. She still doesn't know what's going on and is afraid of making a mistake with Jihyo that will take her back to square one or much worse. She's willing to do everything in her power to avoid it, but it's definitely a possibility considering she's never seen Jihyo like this. 

"Ji I swear- ".

"Don't even think of calling me that" she raises her tone. "Stop lying, cut the act, Nayeon is not here."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" the other tries again. "I know you're completely confident that I know but maybe it's good to talk things out for once."

"Oh this will be a good conversation because I would really like to know why you are a backstabbing bitch who is capable of betraying me again."

Maybe it's not in the best of circumstances, but Jihyo finally says it. The time has finally come to talk about the subject that both of them have been purposely ignoring. They never talked about it when it happened and neither did they talk about it at the restaurant, in Jeongyeon's living room, in her bed or the next day while having breakfast. They talked about many other things and talked about the past but this was a badly healed wound that no one dared to touch. 

"Finally you say it, I knew you haven't let it go, are you still angry about it?"

"I'm not, but even if I were you would have no right to judge me. Tell me what kind of friend would take advantage of the moment I was going through for her own benefit."

"That's not what happened, there's a reason."

"Jeongyeon..." he spits out her name while getting as close as the table between the two of them allows her. "This isn't about having different opinions, it's about facts and the facts speak for themselves. My father died, you stood by me through the entire funeral, you hugged me and promised to be there for whatever I needed" she says as angry tears build up in her eyes. "Overnight you cut off all contact with me and a month later ZoneTech released an announcement informing that Yoo Jeongyeon was taking over as CEO of the company." 

Our brains have a tendency to forget the bad times so that we can move on, but for Jihyo it was impossible to forget everything that happened during one of the darkest chapters of her life. She was only 22 years old, studying abroad about to graduate from a prestigious foreign university. One day while studying in the library for the first exams of the term she got a call from her mother crying inconsolably telling her that her father had suffered a heart attack. She still remembers the cry of pain her mother let out when she asked if he was okay, if he was in the hospital. Her father had died on the spot and there was nothing they could do. She left everything immediately and thanks to a family friend she was able to go on a private flight back to Korea a few hours after the call. 

During those days she did not shed a tear, but she knew that if at any time tears came to her eyes Nayeon and even Jeongyeon would be there to offer her a shoulder to cry on. It had been a while since the relationship between her and Jeongyeon had changed and they were becoming more and more distant, but she was the first to let her know that she was there for whatever he needed and she proved it by not leaving his side during the funeral and even during the opening of the will in which only the closest family members were allowed to be there.

No one expects to have to read the will of someone as young as Jihyo's father, not even Jihyo herself. When he named Jihyo as the sole heir and manager of the company and the family estate, he believed that when the time came for them to open her will, she would already have a successful career within the company and maybe even a family to take care of. However, that was not the case, so his daughter was forced to leave her new life as a student abroad with all her new friends and aspirations to return home and take the reins of a technology empire and one of the largest fortunes in the country while maintaining her excellent academic record as a model student in a new university.

Needless to say, it was difficult and she even paid for it with her health at times as she did not eat properly, she was overworked and under-rested. Despite having people who could do a lot of things for her, she needed to keep her mind busy because on top of her father's death there was the uproar with the press and media when some of the details of the will came to light. A few days later her friend and unconditional support during this hard process, Jeongyeon had started to avoid her and Nayeon from one day to another without giving any explanation.

The reason was discovered soon after through Signal Systems' statement, after that it was Jihyo who decided not to talk to Jeongyeon ever again unless there were cameras, potential partners or important clients in front of them. 

Jeongyeon sighs because despite having good reasons that back up her decisions, she didn't act wisely and now she knows it, but that still doesn't explain why Jihyo has suddenly stormed into her office accusing her of betraying her. Before sharing her side of the story and asking for explanations she steps out from behind her desk to continue the conversation on the couch she has for more informal meetings. When she puts her hand on Jihyo's arm inviting her to make herself comfortable, she moves her arm away and mumbles, "Don't touch me". She is hurt, maybe even more hurt than angry. 

Being aware of the younger girl's hostility, Jeongyeon believes it is a must to calm the situation down if she wants Jihyo to listen to her instead of looking for the perfect opportunity to elevate the conflict to another level, fearing that everything will end up exploding hurting the two of them and by extension Nayeon.

She takes the first step by offering her a tissue with her still shaking hands to wipe away her tears and offers her a smile. Jihyo immediately notices the shaking hands and all the alarms go off in her head, she had forgotten that sometimes in stressful situations Jeongyeon suffers anxiety attacks if she wasn't starting to have one already. Even if she feels absolute disgust towards her right now, she would hate herself if she triggered an anxiety or panic attack.

"I'm fine," Jeongyeon assures her, noticing the panic in her eyes, "but we both need to calm down and since it's too early for a beer I'll ask my secretary to make us some tea," she concludes.

Reluctantly Jihyo agrees and in a few minutes they are seated drinking tea in silence, thinking about how they got to this point. They have always had problems with communication, and although it has been between yelling, this is the first time they have been so honest with each other. Not keeping up appearances, not ignoring each other's problems, and not bottling up their feelings. They haven't done it in the most healthy or civilized way, but it's a start. 

After several sips Jeongyeon's hands stop shaking, but Jihyo shifts on her seat impatiently. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you what I did to make you like this" the older one breaks the ice "as you pointed out I can be quite dense" she says shyly. "If this is all about the deal I offered and the lawsuit, I-"

"Stop! Do you really think I'm worried about a lawsuit right now when you just fucking hacked me?" she asks, losing her temper again, but she doesn't mind, it hurts so much that she couldn't care less if Jeongyeon sees her like this or if everyone in this building could hear her. "You sleep with me, and once again you suddenly disappear. Today when I got to work they hacked ZoneTech and when I got here there's Nayeon. You had it all planned" she accuses her directly as tears start to fall from her eyes. "I just asked you not to hurt me and you ruined me" she says trying to hold back the tears. 

It takes Jeongyeon a moment to process and react to all the information Jihyo has given her between screams and tears. She doesn't understand anything that has happened, but it breaks her heart to see Jihyo. Not even during her father's funeral did she cry or when he first broke her heart and now she has her in front of her telling her that she has ruined his life. It hurts her that Jihyo might actually think she would do something like that, but seeing her sobbing with her mascara smeared and her eyes bloodshot from anger and crying makes her chest hurt.

Despite her fear of how she might react, she wraps her arms around her and finally speaks “Ji, trust me one more time and believe me when I tell you that I had nothing to do with this and I know deep down you know that I wouldn't be able to do something like this. I would never hurt you" she whispers softly in her ear trying to soothe her, but Jihyo's crying only increases soaking her shirt on the part of her chest where her head is resting. 

The sobs get louder and she begins to hear Jihyo cursing at her and telling her that she hates her, but she can't blame her. It's been some unfortunate coincidences and no wonder Jihyo has thought the worst. 

"Stop treating me like an idiot, you already did it once" she manages to say between sobs. 

Jeongyeon sighs as she continues to hug her and caress her back "I think it's time to explain everything that happened" she says as she pulls away from Jihyo to look at her face and grabs her hands so as not to lose contact with her skin. She looks away, unable to look at her because of the pain, anger and embarrassment she feels.

"I told you the other day and I will tell you as many times as necessary until you believe it. I don't hate you and I have never hated you, nor have I ever wanted to hurt you. I love you, I always have and I'm so afraid of what you make me feel that all this time I thought that by pushing you away I was protecting both myself and you as well" she sighs. "Our lives are so complicated and I thought that someday these feelings would go away" she looks at her anxiously looking for a reaction in Jihyo, who still won't look at her, but at least the crying is more controlled. "I thought what I felt for you was a high school crush that could ruin everything for me, but it's not like that and running away from you and everything you make me feel almost ruined my happiness." 

Until now Jeongyeon had never been clear with her feelings, but that's not all. "I thought that by running away from me I was doing you a favor and that if you hated me everything would be easier. That's why I never gave you the reasons or explanations you deserve and now I know it was a huge mistake, but after everything that has happened I wouldn't forgive myself for pushing you away from me again, because I know that this time it would be the final one. If you are willing to listen to me, I will tell you everything, but I promise you that I have nothing to do with this hacker attack you have suffered."

Jihyo is not sure, experience, all the times she ended up calling Nayeon crying, all the times she ended up in bed with strangers and the times she got drunk looking for some relief tell her to be smarter, that this time she should be the one to end it all instead of staying to suffer another disappointment. However, the more irrational part of her, the part that still thinks there is a possibility of a future together, begs her to stay and listen to her.

She looks down at her hands between Jeongyeon and when he manages to calm her breathing she looks up at her not quite sure of what to do or what to say even though she has already made up her mind. 

"You look awful" Jeongyeon tells her in a pointless attempt to tease that almost bring Jihyo to tears again "Fuck- sorry I was trying to joke, Ji" she says nervously repeating the affectionate nickname once more. With one of her hands she tries to fix the mess of her makeup and with all the gentleness in the world she reaches over and kisses the tears still left on her cheeks. "There's a restroom over there, take your time" and Jihyo just nods, too defeated to refuse.

Just as he told her, she takes her time and manages her best to clean her face, fix her hair and clothes trying to pull herself together. After Jeongyeon has seen her like this, she feels pathetic. Until her breathing returns to normal she doesn't come out of the restroom, though her red and puffy eyes give her away. 

"About the hacking let me take care of it, we'll find the culprits and I'll do my best to fix it and prove to you that it wasn't me."

"I believe you" Jihyo finally speaks and the relief is so great that Jeongyeon can't help but let out the breath she has been holding. "This morning when Hirai Momo came to my office I assumed it was your doing, the attack has been stopped, but when I left they didn't know what its origin was or what exactly they did."

"I will talk to Momo, it will be solved today" she assures her while holding her hand. 

Before continuing with their unfinished conversation, Jeongyeon calls Hirai Momo and makes her look for Myoui Mina and also Minatozaki Sana who, to Jihyo's surprise, is also some computer expert. After listening to too many technical words, Jihyo was finally able to participate in the conversation and they ended up making a deal: if they managed to find out who was responsible in 24 hours, they can keep working in the company and they will not have to go back to Japan as she had warned Momo and Sana hours before. Jeongyeon, in her efforts to show Jihyo that things would be different from now on if she trusted her, encouraged them with the promise of inviting them to dinner at the best restaurant in the country.

Once she hangs up the phone she directs her gaze towards Jihyo "What do you say? Let's get out of here, grab some food and I'll take you wherever you tell me so I can explain everything to you. I'll even burn paper by paper all the evidence of the lawsuit if I have to because I don't plan to lose you and take the risk of Nayeon killing me."

This time Jihyo smiles and nods, taking her hand "Come on, but if you give me reason to be suspicious I'm telling Nayeon" she jokingly warns her.

So that's what they did, Jeongyeon told Dahyun to cancel everything on her schedule for the rest of the day and hoping to get lucky, she also told her to let her know if they have to cancel their meetings the next day. Of course Kim Dahyun did that and rearranged his schedule but not before opening the group chat with Chayeoung and Tzuyu to tell them everything she had overheard, especially the mention of Minatozaki Sana, Chaeyoung's situationship.

They end up at Jeongyeon's house as well, although the purpose is quite different this time. Jeongyeon explains to her the reason behind each time she broke his heart. She explains how her father did everything he could to keep her away from Jihyo, even forcing her to study abroad. She tells her that that kiss she gave her after receiving her bouquet of flowers and her confession on her graduation day was sincere, but knowing that she would be away for so many years at a university thousands of miles away she didn't want to take away her opportunity to have a first high school love and maybe to find someone who was really good for her, someone who wasn't afraid to love her. She reveals to her each of the events that led her to accept the CEO position after finding out that her father would do everything in his power to end ZoneTech by taking advantage of the instability he thought Mr. Park’s death would bring. She did that in an attempt to protect her but it didn't last long since she was forced to respond to the constant attacks that Jihyo initiated once she settled into the position. And of course she makes it clear to her that this last week of silence had been an attempt to give her space when the truth is that she was dying to talk to her, to listen to her, to see her and to feel her in her arms again.

When the conversation ends, it's already dark and Jihyo goes back to sleep in Jeongyeon's bed, but tonight they just share kisses, secrets, apologies and the promise of a future together. Before sleep overcomes them Jeongyeon whispers in her ear "Don't go to work tomorrow, let me take you on a date to make up for my mistakes and to start making up for time we wasted".

[wrightingdungeon]

Caught on Replay 4

Honestly had so much fun with this.

Please look up "It takes two" the video game when you have time because this is mashing two IPs together

MDNI Pt1 / Pt2 / Pt3

Looking down at the "Book of Love" he had checked out from the library, Harvey settled onto his couch with a sigh, adjusting his glasses. He had some time to burn before heading to Your place, so why not skim through a few pages? The day had been nice at the library, but he did need a moment to recharge, he was looking forward to a quiet moment to himself. Flipping through, a chapter caught his eye: "Love is Work." Harvey nodded to himself slightly, agreeing with the sentiment. Love wasn't a fifty-fifty split as everyone believed; it required both partners to give their all, constantly and unconditionally.

"What is love? Love is work. Hard work," Harvey mumbled the first words to himself, feeling the weight of the statement. As he read on, he found Dr. Hakim's points to be quite insightful. The doctor's words were somewhat romanticized but still held true.

He yawned slightly, closing his eyes for a moment as he stretched, his muscles relaxing into the plush cushions of the couch. "I wish love wasn't work," he murmured softly, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling, the thoughts swirling in his mind like a gentle storm.

He allowed the silence to envelop him, the ticking of the wall clock the only sound in the room. His thoughts drifted, past mistakes, future moves, just as he was about to lose himself in his reverie, a voice broke through the quiet.

"What fun would that be?"

Harvey nearly jumped off the couch, his heart racing. He looked around wildly, searching for the source of the voice until his eyes landed on the coffee table. The book... The Book of Love had a face... and arms... and a FACE, a purple mustached face!. Harvey stared, wide-eyed and incredulous, at the animated object before him. The book's eyes blinked, and its mouth moved as it continued speaking, a cheeky grin spread across its cover.

"Surprised? You shouldn't be! Love works in mysterious ways, my friend."

Harvey lifted his glasses to rub his eyes, half-expecting the strange apparition to disappear. But the book remained, grinning up at him with an almost mischievous glint in its eyes. Taking a deep breath, Harvey tried to steady his racing thoughts.

"This can't be real," he muttered to himself, but the book only laughed again.

"Real or not, I'm here to help you understand love better."

"This is insane," Harvey groaned under his breath. "A talking book. I must be going crazy." He paused, staring at the book's eager face, almost too eager.

"Worldwide best-selling expert in love, Dr. Hakim will help you!" The book declared, and Harvey's mouth fell open as it ripped a page from its body and held it up. "Chapter one: Fix your relationship!"

Harvey hesitated, his logical mind struggling to come to terms with the absurdity of the situation. Yet, curiosity gnawed at him. He always had been a man of science, seeking answers and understanding "Fix my relationship?" He echoed, feeling a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

The book nodded enthusiastically, its pages fluttering. "Yes! Every relationship has its ups and downs. The key is to understand and work through them together," Dr. Hakim's voice was full of encouragement and playful wisdom.

Harvey sighed, feeling the weight of the doctor's words. He glanced at the clock, realizing he still had some time before he needed to leave. "Alright, Dr. Hakim," he said, settling back into the couch, "let's hear what you have to say."

Listening to Dr. Hakim, Harvey felt like he should be taking notes. Collaboration, working together, and making sure communication flowed clearly. Challenges that add stress but also make you grow together. He thought about you and the moments you both had shared, the silence that grew into a bigger issue, and how he could try to bridge the gap.

"I think I will need to work a bit harder to bridge the distance between us…" Harvey sighed, looking down.

“Where there is love, no distance is too far!” Dr. Hakim yelled out, rolling his… shoulders… do books have shoulders? Wait, books aren't supposed to be alive.

Harvey chuckled despite himself, feeling a strange sense of comfort from the bizarre situation. "Ok, Dr. Hakim," he said, "you win. I'll give it a shot."

"That's the spirit!" Dr. Hakim cheered, its pages fluttering with excitement. "Remember, love is a journey, not a destination. Every step you take together, no matter how small, brings you closer."

The book hopped up, floating toward Harvey's face. “Hasta la vista and good luck, Harvey!” Dr. Hakim called cheerfully before poofing away in smoke.

Jolting awake, Harvey looked around and back to the coffee table, seeing the book gone. Sitting up, he blinked when the book slid off his chest and hit the floor. He had fallen asleep. It was all a dream… Right?

He rubbed his eyes again, reaching down to pick up the book. The cover stared back at him, ordinary and lifeless, with no mustache or arms. Harvey chuckled nervously, shaking his head at his own vivid imagination. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. He glanced at the clock again, realizing time had flown by while he was asleep and he only had a few moments to get ready.

Jumping up, he quickly whirlwinded around the house, trying to look somewhat presentable for you and not like he had just been asleep for the past hour. Wetting his hair with water and brushing it, changing his now wrinkled shirt. As he bustled about, his mind kept returning to the surreal encounter with the animated "Book of Love."

Putting on his shoes with a final glance at the clock—barely managing to get ready in time—Harvey grabbed his coat and headed out the door, stopping for one second to glance back at the book lying on his couch. “Thanks,” he mumbled softly before shutting the door.

As he walked down the familiar path to your house, the cool evening air did little to calm his racing thoughts. The sun was setting as Harvey reached the familiar wooden fence that marked the entrance to your property. Approaching the door, he took a moment to catch his breath, straightening his coat and adjusting his glasses before knocking. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing you, Harvey was glad to see your face breaking into a smile.

"Hey, come on in," you greeted warmly, stepping aside to let Harvey into your home.

Harvey stepped inside, his eyes taking in the cozy atmosphere seeing the table was already set for dinner, the fireplace flickering softly, casting a warm glow across the room. A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.

Over dinner, the conversation flowed between the two of you. Talking about the latest happenings in town, planes, and the farm. Harvey found himself stealing glances at you throughout the evening, his heart swelling with gratitude and affection. He marveled at how much he had missed your presence and how wonderful it felt to be here with you.

After dinner, you both moved to the couch, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. You settled in together, letting the wine flow. The evening stretched on, with the gentle hum of conversation filling the room. Time seemed to stand still as you both lost yourselves in the moment. There was a sense of intimacy and connection that had been missing for so long, and it felt incredibly healing just conversing together, because after all, a little more conversation couldn't hurt, could it?

[incorrectbatfam]

Got any Carrie Kelly headcanons? She is such an underrated Robin

For those of you who are new here, Carrie Kelley is technically the third Robin after Jason. She's had a couple of cameos across different universes (like as Damian's acting teacher), but the majority of her appearances are confined to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns where she is a 13-year-old girl who takes up the Robin mantle herself after an aging Bruce returns to the vigilante scene. Her canon sucks, but since I'm out here butchering the batfam anyway, I might as well revamp her characterization.

In regards to her place in the batfam, I think 13-14 is a good age for her because it helps fill in the gap between Tim/Duke and Damian, plus it adds balance because the rest of the girls skew older and it gives her more room for growth. Also 13 is prime Chaotic Weird Girl age and Carrie would absolutely be one

And I know she was briefly Batgirl in canon but can we also revamp that? There's a Batgirl void that she can totally fill but canon is like unseasoned boiled brussels sprouts. In my mind she's Batgirl but with a better costume, different mindset, and keeps her fun and distinct firecracker slingshot

Every time she goes shopping with Alfred, she comes back with another candlestick. She's up to ten now and they're all sitting in her room, fire hazards waiting to happen

She volunteers to help with the kindergarten and she's really good with kids... when she's not acting like one herself. She comes home after the first day with finger paint all over her face

A carjacker tries to break into the Batmobile and she just walks up to them like "Excuse me that's not yours"

She always keeps the dictionary up on her phone in the unlikely event she needs to prove to someone that contranyms are thing

She knows exactly what certain words mean, but pretends she doesn't and uses them wrong in the family groupchat because she knows Bruce will ask, which forces the other batkids to not only explain what a malewife is, but also correct Carrie by demonstrating how to use it correctly

She remembers every Taylor Swift song by heart and she's not ashamed

"Any pool is a public pool if you have the initiative," she says before selling wristbands for Bruce's pool

She gets the pets their own phones so she and Damian can text them throughout the day

She asks Bruce before taking any money, but the way she frames it is weird. For example, she'll ask him for a hundred bucks to buy some video games because that's the market price only to get them for $20 at a garage sale and spend the rest at on a really expensive burger

She's one of the privileged few to come across a person buying 300 watermelons in real life

Her invitations to hang out are like "Wanna come over? We can watch a movie or clean the Batcave, whatever works"

Damian is the "don't eat meat" type of environmentalist, but Carrie is the "I'll spam you with sad turtle pictures so you'll recycle plastic" type of environmentalist

She stocks up on Teen Spirit deodorant so she can say she smells like Teen Spirit

Her makeup skills are... not good. Jason mistook her for a Joker sidekick

She also snuck into Jason's phone and hid one of his Robin pics in his profile

She clips her nails during Bruce's briefings

Carrie and Duke go to the bookstore and see who can find the most Written By A Male Author book

She drinks water with a dash of olive oil

At galas she wears suit tops with skirts and light-up Sketchers

Carrie also doesn't care too much about gender or pronouns. She has a "she/they" pin on her backpack, but that's only 'cause she found it on a bathroom floor and liked the color

Her favorite nap spot is Bruce's favorite chair. It's a huge plush armchair and she's small enough to pass off as a cushion, so Bruce always has to double-check before sitting down

Carrie can read cues in other relationships, but not her own. After Kon offers to refill Tim's drink she's like "ooh he likes you" but when a kid at school gives her flowers on Valentine's day she's like "I think they were just being friendly"

She's the only Robin not to have dentists ask about broken or missing teeth

At a sleepover, she and a few other kids catfished someone on Hinge using a terrible teacher's picture

Her drawing skills are pretty good (not Damian level though) and one time when Dick was sad she drew him as the Dreamworks crescent moon kid

She's friends with the old lady that shops at Trader Joe's the same time she does every week

She puts all her phone calls on speaker. ALL. OF. THEM

She goes to Canada on a short mission and promises to bring back souvenirs. She brings bagged milk

[lobotomyd0ll]

Little Girl Lost

Getting sober from hard drugs, especially heroin really is like being reborn. I've spent years nodding off, numbing & forgetting. Each time you pull a plunger of the rig back you chip away parts of your identity... Until there's nothing left. I think that's why it's so hard to stay sober. When you realize you don't know who you are anymore it's terrifying. Your own thoughts and feelings feel foreign to you. So you run back to the one thing that feels familiar, even though its the very thing that put you in that predicament in the first place.

I've had a thousand different "personalities" before I stopped shooting up. All of them were failed attempts at trying to establish a life for myself that could never be lived because I was still killing myself on a daily basis. Each persona dying quicker than the last. It wasn't until I had spent years in therapy, without doing drugs that I finally got to know myself. People always tell you that they miss the person you used to be before you ever picked up substances. And so a lot of people strive to become the person they were before they became a junkie. The problem with that is that person is what lead you to selling your soul. The person you used to be was in so much pain they sought out a lethal relief from it.

The person you were before you got high is never going to come back. They were gone the minute you found out what it felt like to not feel at all. When you get clean you have to figure out how to live life again while trying to figure out who you are at the same time. And if you started doing drugs when you were a kid like I did, you never really had a chance to grow up either. Most addicts have some form of mental illness too. In my case I am bipolar. It took me years after getting clean to figure out who I truly am. I've been sober for 5 years now and it wasn't until about 1-2 years ago that I felt like I had finally "found myself." I hate the term "found myself" because its always used in such cliché examples, but if you are in recovery then you know that its the only way to describe what its like.

Every day I'm still finding myself. When you're in active addiction your only focus is getting drugs and doing drugs. In all that time you didn't do things that "regular" people did. You didn't explore different hobbies or watch tons of movies. You didn't binge watch your favorite tv shows or read books that changed your life. I'm not saying you never do those things while you're on drugs, but most people (like me) barely ever explore different interests because my main interest was heroin.

Now that I am sober and I am completely aware of who I am and what I love, I appreciate everything so much more now. My interests are not just interests anymore, they are my life line. My obsessions. My oxygen. I am autistic so I have a ton of special interests too, but all of my interests mean a great deal to me. Nowadays if i discover a song i like i will listen to it on repeat for 3 days. I will watch the same film 20 times in a row without getting sick of it. In my opinion, addicts never stop being addicted to something. I think us addicts will always replace drug addiction with an addiction to something else. It could be a lot of things or one big thing. It differs between different types of people. Heroin almost killed me and I wish I could take away all the pain and suffering it caused me and everyone around me, but in a weird way I am sort of thankful to have gone through it because of the way it has made me view life today.

I appreciate little things so much more than other people do. I enjoy video games that make me happy in a way that people enjoy going to an amusement park. My favorite books, characters, fictional environments and songs are all little pieces of who I am. I am so grateful for media. I'm so grateful to have constant access to it via my phone or television, etc. I love that I can write about it all I want to whoever is reading this blog. I'm not really sure with where I'm going with this post, I just wanted to share what was on my brain. I am currently trying out new forms of art and incorporating my interests into filmography, crochet, painting, etc. & I was thinking about how just 5 years ago I didn't even know I possessed the talent for some of these things. & How if I hadn't gotten sober I never would have discovered who I am. Getting sober is very freeing, but true freedom is knowing exactly who you are and embracing it. I used to try to shrink myself to make other people feel comfortable. My style was "too much" for them or the way I come off to certain people seems "weird." I decided actually pretty recently that I'm not doing that anymore. I shouldn't have to feel small because others want me to. I went through hell to discover who I am and I intend to be myself and do what I love and what makes me happy, unapologetically.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Theres a bunch of people in a discord I'm in whining that video games are ~60$ so they can't play anything/only have 1 game for their console.... and like. I get it. Games are stupid expensive these days (and don't get me started abt DLC/lootboxes/microtransactions) but at the same time... Is budgeting really that hard to do? Not to shake my cane at avocado toast but that stupid fancy dinner and drinks you just had to have at disney + the merch you bought would buy several games. (Not to mention the ticket itself.) I just feel so out of touch in that I feel like I'm the only one there that understands that 20$ can't be spent 3 times. It's not classism you won't use self-control. And it isn't capitalism's fault you consistently fail at basic math my fellow discord users.

Wait till they realize that $70 is going to be the new default price point.

But yeah, there are so many ways to save $60 for a game you want. Like, games are announced at least 4-7 months before they come out; most much longer, years before they ever hit shelves. If you put five dollars from every paycheck into an envelope you're good for at least one game per year just on that alone. More if you get paid weekly or biweekly instead of monthly. But you can also trade games in for money or credit. Most places around the US have at least one buy/sell/trade store within driving distance, and if that's too hard, there's always ebay. When you're done with a game, sell it. That's $10-30 off the $60 or $70 dollar price right there. Or wait for a sale. Most new games are on sale within a few months after launch these days anyway. There are seriously so many ways to afford games if you really want to, even when you're poor. If you can afford to plop down $200-$500 on a console, or even more on a gaming PC, you can afford a few $60 dollar games per year if you budget at all.

[kenziedrawz]

Thought up an au for the emu forth fous cards, not exactly sure what to call the set, but I'm leaning towards calling it the 'RPG town set'.

So, we begin from the viewpoint that this au is a video game. From the beginning, you think you'll follow Tsukasa's journey with the white knights.. which is absolutely false.

What ACTUALLY happens, is that Tsukasa gets 'released'(Forced to retire VERY early) due to an injury(not sure what the injury will be, it'll either be comedic or a bit serious, but not too serious) He gets taken to a... pretty much run-down village with barely any villagers and inherits the restaurant house of a deceased distant uncle. So yeah, it sucks.

The way the au works is kinda like some kind of management simulator. Basically, you run a restaurant and work on building the town after you promise the orphanage caretaker(Luka) to do so. There is a story, but the au mostly focuses on building the town for a while.

Along the way, you meet some curious folk, let's get into them, shall we?

Luka - The caretaker of the local orphanage. You(Tsukasa) meet her after deciding to wander the town. She tells you that the town used to be pretty lively, but everyone left after an event called 'the tragedy'. You promise Luka that you'll make this town the best town that the kingdom, no, that the world has ever seen!

Meiko - A traveling merchant, the town mayor's former wife. She is an adventurous spirit and can't stand the idea of staying in one place for too long. She sells things not often found in the markets, and she frequently comes to the town, coming every Sunday. It's unknown how she gets around so quickly, one day she could be in one kingdom, and the next she's in a completely different one!

Kaito - The town mayor, divorced, becomes Tsukasa's father figure. used to be in a secret operation of knights before he met Meiko and settled down. Due to a difference in desire, Kaito and Meiko divorced a year after they were married. As Kaito wanted to stay put while Meiko wanted to travel.

Nene Kusanagi - A witch and a regular at your restaurant(eventually). She's part water nymph and normally hangs around in the forest to practice her singing. You stumble upon her one day while foraging and end up asking(begging) her to come to the restaurant. She eventually gets dragged along by her Adventurer friend and ends up enjoying the food, she always comes on Wednesdays.

Emu Otori - Nene's adventurer friend. She adventures from kingdom to kingdom and is apart of the Otori trading guild. You can trade with her for rare items that she finds on her adventures, she mostly accepts food though.

Rui Kamishiro - An Archeologist and Alchemist. You meet him in the forest and take him home after he collapses in front of you. Rui is an odd fellow, he lives in the forest(? maybe he does, Tsukasa isn't sure) and is a bit of a weirdo. He seems to have an obsessive curiosity with gemstones, so much so that he'll go to any length to acquire them. Sometimes he gives these gems to you as 'gifts' or rent, as you let him stay with you while he recovers. You insist that he doesn't need to pay you back, but he insists for some odd reason.

Miku - A religious figure in the town square, she is a statue atop the central water fountain. On your first day in the town when you passed by the fountain you received a small, star-shaped and clear gemstone. Did Miku give it too you?

That's all I have for now, as I am getting eepy and need rest. I'll try to fit in a few characters outside of wxs the WD trio. Until next time :thumbsup:

[katriniac]

So I find myself simping hard for Artem Wing this morning, and decide to nurse that ache by re-reading my favorite Tears of Themis card stories.

First up is Por Una Cabeza

When I first pulled this card, all I knew was that I was getting ARTEM WEARING A FANCY MASK.

But then I read the story and was confused.

Like, really confused.

Spoilers below the cut if you haven't read this card yet.

This post has two parts. Maybe three if I decide to include the video call? So look in my reblogs for the rest of this recap!

This card's story is set BEFORE they are in an established relationship, before any love confession takes place.

So ... both Rosa and Artem are having similar nightmares at the beginning, but the reader isn't aware they are reading a dream.

Now that I am reading it through again, I can more fully appreciate the other-worldliness of the "nightmare" and understand why everyone is acting strangely with bad memories, lol.

The bright red digital clock face glaring at Tosa in the fancy hotel lobby makes MUCH more sense more that I know it's her own bedside alarm clock she's incorporating into her dreamscape.

Also? ALSO?!? TODAY, the day I'm reading this right now is December 24th! What are the odds! I totally forgot this story takes place on Christmas Eve, because they call the event the New Year's Ball. Idk why... 🤷‍♀️

Anyways, back to recapping my favorite moments:

🥹 @ Artem second-guessing himself, worrying about you, wondering if you're okay, and if it's his fault

Awwwww, Artem!

His pouting face!

That's just like him to be concerned, and to jump to the conclusion that it might be his fault. He also wants to get to the bottom of any problem you have, so he can:

Discover the root cause of "Problem X"

Understand the reason for your distress

And plan for ways to fix/avoid it in the future so you never have to encounter/worry about "Problem X" ever again

Yes, this man is a 'fixer' but he does more than put a cosmetic bandage on things. He wants to make sure you never have to experience that same hurt a second time. He wants to learn from his own mistakes and others to prevent problems in the future. He wants to control the outcome by preparing for any eventuality.

The amount of energy and effort he puts into his "Rosa Long-Game" is mind-boggling.

Okay, I could go on forever about Artem's control issues, how amazing he is, and what makes him perfect husband-material.

So let's not get lost in the weeds out here. Back to the story!

There is this sublime moment where the two nightmares meld, as if the two of them are sharing the same dream!

And they meet FINALLY, after hours of panicked searching and confusion:

So they eventually wake up, and they decide to text the other to see if they're awake, and it turns into a phone call. No biggie. Just a phone call. At 2am. Between coworkers. Talking about their dreams. 😘 Nothing peculiar about that, right?

Everyone does that with their colleagues, don't they??

😏 Sure .... sure.

Next:

We find out Artem only knows one dance.

Which isn't exactly weird... many dudes don't know any dances.

What is odd is the one dance this shy boy knows:

The tango?

One of the most sensual and passionate dances ever?

Really?

Really.

The tango.

That's your go-to dance, Artem?

Okay.

Let's keep reading:

Ohhhhhh.

*BREATHES*

We get a glimpse into their month-long practices.

30 days of being caged in Artem's arms, spending every day after work in close proximity, working up a sweat.

Oof.

And then once you're confident in the steps, the fun part of the "act" both partners must put on to sell the push and pull of emotions.

The haughtiness, the indignation, the desire, the attraction, the softening and relenting at last, all of that passion needed to put on a good show!

Yup...

...Just what two normal work co-workers do on a daily basis.

TOTALLY NORMAL. 😏

*nods*

Yup.

"Suitable tango partner"

Uh-huh.

Artem. Artem! Stop lying to yourself!!

And then there's THIS:

LMAO @ Artem wishing for a weapon to fight off anyone else who might try to take her away from him.

"Everyone will know"

*sucks in breath*

Possessive!Artem is a really really hawt Artem.

Just sayin'

🥵🤤🥴❤️‍🔥🫠😍

AND they mention his adam's apple! Okay, this might not be a turn-on for other people. But it is to me.

I can point at obvious times in my life where I've decided that a certain action/attribute is attraction or sexy. But not the adam's apple. I have no explanation for why I find it mesmerizing!

But bless the writer who decided to mention that specific anatomy in this story! Shout out to you for adding to my swoon! 🫡

End of Part 1 - Check the reblogs for Part 2

[pepperedflakes]

Asks 💕

1, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, 18, 19, 24, 26, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 44, 47, 56, 59, 60, 63, 81, 96, 98

o7 girlypop

assuming anon is who i think it is, i suppose it's only fair

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

coffee mugs, assuming it's something to do with which is most pleasant to drink from

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

i prefer to drink it from cans, but for the sake of convenience i usually do bottles

8. movies or tv shows?

answered

9. favorite smell in the summer?

pool water

12. name of your favorite playlist?

technically cheating since it's actually just a compilation of several other playlists but

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

very tough decision between swedish fish and skittles

18. ideal weather?

not cloudy enough to be considered overcast, but enough that the sun isn't beating down the entire time. also ~45°F

19. sleeping position?

on my side, usually curled around something (oftentimes one of the members of the Bug Squad™)

24. favorite crystal?

i'm partial to azurite

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

swim!! we have an inground pool at my parents' place. although i don't do it super frequently since i burn real easy

28. five songs to describe you?

messages from the stars (the rah band)

cold weather (glass beach)

call me what you like (lovejoy)

dependant on mary (psychedelic porn crumpets)

tongues and teeth (the crane wives)

32. top five favorite vines?

gaia i actually had to go find a vine comp to remember the best vines

the guy sliding down the railing of a set of stairs princess-waving with the line "you're all going to hell! goodbye! :D"

i don't have enough money for chicken nuggets

literally any vine by evan breen

guy jumping into a metal bar sampled to play the mii channel music

the kid pronouncing "who" as "whaaa"

33. most used phrase in your phone?

"psst hey"

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

liberty biberty

38. lemonade or tea?

i prefer lemonade usually :>

44. favorite scent for soap?

i bought this really nice oak moss soap for a trip one time that i haven't been able to find anywhere since

47. favorite type of cheese?

pepperjack, followed pretty closely by cheddar

56. favorite tradition?

thanks to the fact that i'm terminally online, this year i've started a new year's tradition of burning a julbocken (the party i go to for new year's every year doing a fire in the backyard at some point before the end of the night is a universal constant)

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

answered

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

something like dungeon meshi, where "high fantasy" is technically the genre but the selling point is less on the plot and more on the worldbuilding that causes it

63. five songs that would play in your club?

see question #28

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

they're both so lovely, how could i choose? (fireflies)

96. desktop background?

i'm an avid user of wallpaper engine, so currently my desktop background is a looping animation of the stage background from the boss rush section in smash ultimate's story mode

98. favorite historical era?

the only fictional piece i've written with any resemblance to real historical time periods took place in an approximation to renaissance italy. so probably that

———

[voncloudakros]

So through the second part of 2022 and into 2023 I have done a lot of self reflection, and feel I'm in a much better place mentally then I was this time last year. I have changed a lot as a person, I'm more sociable, less pessimistic, I'm enjoying things more, and enjoying more thing's. I'm not looking at people and activities in the same negative way I used to before. I'm managing my negativity and outlooks in a better, healthier way.

One of the BIG, If not the biggest catalyst for this is the fact I have been diagnosed with ADHD, which is now being treated and the difference it has made to me is incredible. And I'm not over selling it when I say that, so much of my doubts and negative thoughts are much easier to handle, to logic out and to calm now that my brain isn't going a billion miles an hour obsessing over every little thing and going over every possible outcome of the smallest interaction.

With this internal, soul searching and just idle character development chat with folk, I at first thought that I had been writing the character of Voncloud wrong, that certain details were wrong and how I had been writing in was different. I also thought he was more a Dragon then a fox because that was a reflection of me. But I realise now that its not the species but the character that's wrong, or more, out of date.

Fox/Dragon Von was a reflection of me, My personality mixed with my life and experience rolled into an avatar. It was created at a much darker time in my life, when I was as close to my lowest point as was possible. It became my outlet, my way to express all that in a character. The Feeling of failing, the need for care and for someone else to take control at a stage where I felt like I had none. Being a recluse always watching from the outside, feeling like I can't get close to anyone whilst desperate to be close.

It was a bad time.

I have move passed that life, I have outgrown my avatar as it were. I have been obsessing a little over my Sona and character to the point of madness, not that I don't enjoy developing characters and what not, but It was getting frustrating until I realised I need to reboot. Redo the character based on me now.

So moving forward I am making a new Voncloud. One based on my current self and happier times from the past. As a child and probably into my early teen's Tigers were my thing. Alot of my influences or go tos were tigers. Video games, programs, tattoos you name it.

As such I will be recreating myself/sona/character as a White Tiger. Same name, and some of the same traits but most importantly, a fresh Start.

The Fox/Dragon Von will still be around but it will be retired as my avatar as it were, it is a chapter of my life that is now closed, and will remain as a reminder and a creative asset should it be needed.

So yeah, big ol change and update for you.

Cheerios!

[theabstruseone]

Counterpoint: The game has been out for just over one calendar month. In 2023.

First off, all the references you're talking about for Skyrim and Fallout 4 didn't pop out fully formed immediately after release. It took years for all of those to solidify into the memes and cultural touchstones they ended up. Not only did people need time to play the game for themselves, they needed time to talk to other people about the game and share their experiences and find the similarities between playthroughs that popped out to most people. There really has not been enough time for those moments to show up.

Second, it's Two Thousand goddamn Twenty-Three. I don't know if you've noticed, but the world isn't the same as it was in 2011 and 2015 when Skyrim and Fallout 4 respectively came out.

For one, you're over a decade older. I'm not going to speculate on OP's age, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say likely in their 20s or 30s. Notice that the big touchstone moments are all from the most recent games released - Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. No mention of Oblivion, Fallout 3, or Fallout New Vegas which also had their share of memes and shared moments. So OP was likely in their late teens or early 20s when Skyrim and Fallout 4 came out. A time in people's lives when they tend to have more free time as they're either in school or still early in their professional lives. That means not only more time for gaming but also a social circle with more time for gaming. As you get older, that sort of free time evaporates quickly due to other commitments and responsibilities so squeezing out a few hours a week to play a game is a luxury. For massive, spawling 100+ hour games, that means far fewer people in your social circles have likely gotten very far into the game to hit those moments.

For another, the social landscape has changed. You probably don't talk to at least some of your old gaming friends because they've gone off the political deep end and every conversation with them is about some uncomfortable talk about current events or social issues you don't want to confront them over. Or they tried to hard sell you on NFTs or cryptocurrency or a protein shake MLM or something.

Online communities have been broken up due to algorithmic manipulation on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. If you're not already looking for Starfield content, the algorithm isn't likely to feed you more of it. And if you're not engaging with the content that is there, fewer people are going to see it. And that's not even getting into the problems with communities broken over the years with the loss of forums, Vine, a huge amount of the Tumblr userbase, the people fleeing TwitXer, and so on.

Meanwhile, the people who were making the sort of shitpost content that spawned these memes in the first place have been effectively drowned out of sites like YouTube due to the algorithm and the flood of shittily-made clickbait content.

And on top of all THAT, there's been a massive anti-spoiler cultural shift over the past several years. Big open-world games like Starfield are few and far between outside the repetitive "climb the tower" Ubisoft-style games and the majority of the fun of those games is exploration. The people playing those games want to experience that exploration and discovery for themselves before engaging in videos and discussions about them. So people have been rather good on avoiding spoilers...which slows down the development of the sort of memes and in-jokes because nobody's talking about it yet.

It's kind of funny to claim a "Fall of Bethesda" when the game managed to top sales charts for multiple storefronts including Steam even though the game is free with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Enough people still bought the game that it was not only the best-selling game on release but was only beaten in concurrent players by Counterstrike (because nothing's going to beat Counterstrike).

Compare that to the similar open-world, exploration-focused game Baldur's Gate 3. That game's been in early access for 3 years and been out for over 2 months and literally the only memes are thirsting over the companions. Even the bear-fucking preview video fell off the cultural radar around the time the game actually came out.

And finally, my third point...Starfield was the smoothest, most bug-free launch of any Bethesda game in decades. Sure there are still little physics bugs here and NPC pathing issues there, but the sort of game-breaking, quest-softlocking, crash-to-desktop type bugs that came at launch for Fallout 3/NV/4/76 and Elder Scrolls Oblivion/Skyrim have been pretty absent. And a LOT of the early funny clips and comedy moments came from those hilarious bugs. Since there aren't any major bugs to laugh at and make compilation videos of, a lot of that early memeing just isn't there.

If you don't like Starfield, more power to you. Not every game is going to be for everyone. Go find a game that will be more fun for you. But it's frustrating and annoying when "I don't like this" isn't good enough and people have to pull out complete nonsense like this to somehow prove it's objectively "bad" and that all the people who are enjoying it are having fun wrong.

I think the biggest sign of the grand “fall of Bethesda” or whatever is the fact that Starfield officially released a full calendar month ago today and I literally have zero idea what it is about or what happens in it. absolutely zero cultural osmosis seems to have happened, which would’ve been unthinkable for a Bethesda RPG like ten years ago

[goombasa]

How Open is Too Open?

So, ever since the whole Kindle and Amazon Ebook gold rush, Amazon's Ebook store, and to a lesser extent their Audible shop, has been inundated with low-effort, low-quality, and poorly researched books.

This isn't news. It's basically been a problem since the day the doors were flung open for anyone to publish whatever they want, and Amazon has an impressively high tolerance for low-effort spam. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that fantasy romance porn is easy enough to find, but I could do without all the ‘mindfulness’ and crypto mining BS that gets shuffled out onto the store.

Amazon is far from the only place where this is a problem, of course, but it is probably the biggest example. Steam is another good example, as after paying the fee for a developer's account, you can go as far as just uploading a game with a missing executable and it will still be up on the storefront for a while until someone complains enough about it.

So my question, given this situation with platforms allowing anyone and everyone who can type out a username and password to upload something for sale on what is, ostensibly, a professional storefront, is are these platforms too open.

I like the fact that they're open. I like the fact that artists who otherwise wouldn't have been able to get their creations in front of a large audience now have that ability. We're living in a world where indie games are more prevalant than ever. Some would even say that indie games are thriving far more than the AAA space is at this moment in time. Independent authors like Chuck Tingle have managed to make a living writing the sort of stuff they want to write, that certainly would not have managed to land in a traditional publishing space, where a company is essentially taking a massive risk by publishing something, and wants a guaranteed return on their investment. It's inspiring to hear stories about a struggling artist finally getting their due, seeing the successful launch of a project they might have been years into.

But for every good and heartfelt story, there are plenty of talented folks who fall by the wayside, because their voice gets drowned out in a sea of spam and low-quality products meant to glut the market and brute force a profit. After all, if you publish 100 games on steam at fifty cents each using only free or store-bought assets, its only a matter of time before SOMEONE starts buying them, right?

I'm not really sure what sort of answer there is for this. It's an incredibly thin bridge to walk. Quality control on an open ecosystem is very difficult, especially on open ecosystems that are basically the only games in town. Yes, there are other self-publishing and self-printing companies out there, but even the ones that aren't strictly vanity presses are not going to reach as wide an audience as being on the amazon storefront. and Itchio is an excellent indie game site, both for video games and tabletop experiences, but again, it's not really a direct competitor for Steam. At the same time, a lack of quality control on these bigger sites mean that quality products are often drowned out before those large audiences get a chance to even see them.

Unless, of course, you have the scratch to pay for promotion, which is another service that these bigger marketplaces offer, and of course there are plenty of outside companies that want to help sell your stuff, for a price. Because of this, people who already have money to spare tend to be the ones who rise to the top of the constant, churning whirlpool of these markets, creating an extreme imbalance. You're always going to see what these markets want you to see.

I am glad for things like the Cozy Games directs and Guerrilla Collective showcase we get every year because I'm willing to bet that almost all of those games would slip through the cracks if there wasn't a means of getting them in front of a wider audience. But not everyone gets that chance. Space and time are limited, even if there aren't any restrictions on posting. Getting eyes on what you create is tough. Human curation is all but impossible, considering that said curation would inevitably err on the side of bias that would see the more quality experimental stories or games pushed to the side and would no doubt slow down the process of things making it to the storefront.

Now don't get me wrong, there ARE standards that have to be met, but most of them are mechanical in nature, basic stuff that anyone would probably already be doing; making sure that your book is properly formatted and in the right document type, making sure you game actually has its executable, making sure that your audiobook meets the proper compression requirements and mic quality. That last one in particular at least requires you to have a semi-decent microphone if you plan on actually narrating books, but the text can come from anywhere on the kindle store.

I'd like to know what you all think. Do you think that places like the kindle store and steam are too accepting with their open door policies and do you think there's a happy medium that they should be striving to hit? Because again, I love the fact that they're open, I love that anyone can push their art out into the world and potentially make at least a little bit back for the time spent creating it. But when something I'm publishing is swirling around in a slurry of spam, I wonder if it's even worth it.

Bottom line, everyone should make their own website to host their stuff again. Y'all should check out Neocities, it's really cool.

Okay, bye!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Get Out

My kid brother posted this meme on Facebook stating that the best games from the PS2 era were Resident Evil 4 (Which, f*ck no, that port was trash!), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Need For Speed: Underground 2. Personally, i disagree. My list would be Persona 3 Fes, NBA Street vol. 2, and Tekken 5, in that order, with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City coming in at a close fourth place. Why isn't San Andreas on that list? Because i f*cking hate it. Now, don't misunderstand me, as a game, it's unassailable and deserves all of the shine it gets. Mechanically, what Rock Star was able to do with that title, pushing the PS2 to it's absolute limits in order to develop a true classic of the genre, is definitely worth mentioning. I give them full marks for that. No, my beef is with the actual content of the game. The very idea of San Andreas is offensive to me, and the fact that it's so popular only compounds that ire. That's my life. I was the black kid who grew up in the ghetto during the Nineties. That's a lived experience for me and, even though it's a game with made up scenarios that go way over the top towards the end, it still felt like disrespect. Rockstar made light of all that violent sh*t, all of those horrible experiences I endured at an age where I should have only been concerned about toys and cooties, and sold it. That sh*t wasn't fun. It wasn't a game. I ad two guns pulled on me before I made it to the sixth grade. The firs time a cop saw me as a threat, I was four years old. I've been to three separate house parties that have been aired out. That means shot up for those of you who aren't from where I'm from. When you're in it, its life. It's every day sh*t. When I got out of it, when I survived my statistical death and/or incarceration, looking back on all that sh*t, it was f*cked up. It shouldn't be a goddamn video game. I know people who weren't fast enough to get out of those parties. I know people who were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and cat a wayward bullet. That sh*t isn't something i can just “turn off” and walk away from. I carry those experiences with me everywhere. They informed my entire life, for better or worse, so to see a goddamn video game portray them to the masses with suck flippancy, is f*cking infuriating.

San Andreas wasn't a loving satire like Friday or an introspection like Boyz n the Hood. It felt like the Rockstar developers just watched a bunch of hood films and made one themselves. It felt like a bunch of white boys watched Menace II Society and said, "I want to do that." So they did. And then it got worse. San Andreas got so big because suburban white kids made it that way. I'm not one to hoard my culture from anyone. Black people make dope sh*t. From music, to fashion, to food; Out culture is f*cking dope. Literally, when people say anything about “American” culture, it's almost all black. We created Blues. We created Rock n Roll. We created Rap and Hip Hop. We made Nike a thing. Friends exists because Living Single f*cking killed. The CW exists today because we, as black people, supported them for years in the ratings. Same with Fox. Blackness, black people, are the backbone of everything “American” and we have to survive in a country that fetishizes our struggle, but hates us for that struggle. “Everybody wanna be a n*gga, but don't nobody wanna be a n*gga.” Paul Mooney, rest in peace, was speaking truth to power with that statement and San Andreas is the physical manifestation of that sentiment. Much like everything we produce, white people co-opted it and decided to make it their own. My lived experience was turned into a goddamn video game for white, suburban, consumption and, just like my music, they took that sh*t and ran. Motherf*ckers made that sh*t the best selling game on the PS2. Think about that; San Andreas sold MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of copies, topping all-time best selling charts because of white dollars. Now juxtapose that against the content of said game and tell me I'm talking out my ass.. San Andreas sold so well so non-black kids could detach themselves from the reality of that life, and safely cosplay as poor black kids from the hood. If games are a form of wish fulfillment and escapism, then these privileged white kids were making light of me entire goddamn life! Pretending to be a gang-banging gangster was a game to them. Running from strays was fun for them. Moving drugs and getting caused by cops was this make believe life they could just save and walk away from when they were finished. How is that not wildly f*cked up? It's super weird to me more black folks don't take issue with that. I'm not saying San Andreas is racist or that you're a bigot for enjoying it, I'm saying the game, itself, is problematic as f*ck and if we're looking back to hold ourselves accountable, I feel like this thing should really be addressed as well.

[smokeybrand]

Get Out

My kid brother posted this meme on Facebook stating that the best games from the PS2 era were Resident Evil 4 (Which, f*ck no, that port was trash!), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Need For Speed: Underground 2. Personally, i disagree. My list would be Persona 3 Fes, NBA Street vol. 2, and Tekken 5, in that order, with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City coming in at a close fourth place. Why isn't San Andreas on that list? Because i f*cking hate it. Now, don't misunderstand me, as a game, it's unassailable and deserves all of the shine it gets. Mechanically, what Rock Star was able to do with that title, pushing the PS2 to it's absolute limits in order to develop a true classic of the genre, is definitely worth mentioning. I give them full marks for that. No, my beef is with the actual content of the game. The very idea of San Andreas is offensive to me, and the fact that it's so popular only compounds that ire. That's my life. I was the black kid who grew up in the ghetto during the Nineties. That's a lived experience for me and, even though it's a game with made up scenarios that go way over the top towards the end, it still felt like disrespect. Rockstar made light of all that violent sh*t, all of those horrible experiences I endured at an age where I should have only been concerned about toys and cooties, and sold it. That sh*t wasn't fun. It wasn't a game. I ad two guns pulled on me before I made it to the sixth grade. The firs time a cop saw me as a threat, I was four years old. I've been to three separate house parties that have been aired out. That means shot up for those of you who aren't from where I'm from. When you're in it, its life. It's every day sh*t. When I got out of it, when I survived my statistical death and/or incarceration, looking back on all that sh*t, it was f*cked up. It shouldn't be a goddamn video game. I know people who weren't fast enough to get out of those parties. I know people who were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and cat a wayward bullet. That sh*t isn't something i can just “turn off” and walk away from. I carry those experiences with me everywhere. They informed my entire life, for better or worse, so to see a goddamn video game portray them to the masses with suck flippancy, is f*cking infuriating.

San Andreas wasn't a loving satire like Friday or an introspection like Boyz n the Hood. It felt like the Rockstar developers just watched a bunch of hood films and made one themselves. It felt like a bunch of white boys watched Menace II Society and said, "I want to do that." So they did. And then it got worse. San Andreas got so big because suburban white kids made it that way. I'm not one to hoard my culture from anyone. Black people make dope sh*t. From music, to fashion, to food; Out culture is f*cking dope. Literally, when people say anything about “American” culture, it's almost all black. We created Blues. We created Rock n Roll. We created Rap and Hip Hop. We made Nike a thing. Friends exists because Living Single f*cking killed. The CW exists today because we, as black people, supported them for years in the ratings. Same with Fox. Blackness, black people, are the backbone of everything “American” and we have to survive in a country that fetishizes our struggle, but hates us for that struggle. “Everybody wanna be a n*gga, but don't nobody wanna be a n*gga.” Paul Mooney, rest in peace, was speaking truth to power with that statement and San Andreas is the physical manifestation of that sentiment. Much like everything we produce, white people co-opted it and decided to make it their own. My lived experience was turned into a goddamn video game for white, suburban, consumption and, just like my music, they took that sh*t and ran. Motherf*ckers made that sh*t the best selling game on the PS2. Think about that; San Andreas sold MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of copies, topping all-time best selling charts because of white dollars. Now juxtapose that against the content of said game and tell me I'm talking out my ass.. San Andreas sold so well so non-black kids could detach themselves from the reality of that life, and safely cosplay as poor black kids from the hood. If games are a form of wish fulfillment and escapism, then these privileged white kids were making light of me entire goddamn life! Pretending to be a gang-banging gangster was a game to them. Running from strays was fun for them. Moving drugs and getting caused by cops was this make believe life they could just save and walk away from when they were finished. How is that not wildly f*cked up? It's super weird to me more black folks don't take issue with that. I'm not saying San Andreas is racist or that you're a bigot for enjoying it, I'm saying the game, itself, is problematic as f*ck and if we're looking back to hold ourselves accountable, I feel like this thing should really be addressed as well.