#fr there are things I like about this game. things I love even.

[prettygirl-gabi]

Chapter 5: In the Spotlight

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: none

Paring: Paige Bueckers x !photographer fem reader

Fandom: Women's basketball

Summary: being the "babysitter"= fun...right?

Welcome to the chapter 5 of Through The Lens. I hope you all enjoy and there is more to come...stay tuned my loveies!! 🏀💕📸

The whispers started as soon as I entered the gym for practice the day after the Villanova game. People were staring, their eyes darting between their phones and me. A couple of players from the men’s team even snickered when I walked past.

I didn’t understand what was going on until KK intercepted me by the bleachers, her expression somewhere between amused and concerned.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

She sighed and held up her phone. On the screen was a blurry video of me walking into the locker room at Villanova. The caption read: “Paige Bueckers’ mystery girl? 👀”

I groaned, my face heating up. “Are you kidding me? This is so out of context!”

“Yeah, but people love a good rumor,” KK said, scrolling through the comments. “Most of them are just shipping you and Paige.”

“Shipping us?” I echoed, incredulous. “We’re not even—”

“Relax,” she cut in, her tone gentle. “It’s just noise. Don’t let it get to you.”

But it did get to me. All day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone was watching me, judging me. By the time practice ended, I was ready to throw in the towel on my entire final project.

I went straight to Coach Geno’s office, my camera bag slung over my shoulder. He looked up from his desk, his brow furrowing when he saw me.

“Y/N, what’s going on?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” I said, placing my project proposal on his desk. “The rumors, the stares—it’s too much. I didn’t sign up for this.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Let me ask you something. Why did you choose this project?”

I hesitated. “Because I wanted to challenge myself. To tell a story that mattered.”

“And do you think you’ve done that so far?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

He stood, walking around his desk to stand in front of me. “I see potential in you, Y/N. You have an eye for this—an instinct. Don’t let a bunch of gossip derail what could be an incredible project. Push through. Finish what you started.”

I nodded, his words sinking in. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Later that evening, I found myself in the gym. The empty court was a welcome reprieve from the noise of the day. I was adjusting my camera settings when the sound of sneakers on hardwood made me look up.

Paige.

“Hey,” she said, her smile soft. “Mind if I join you?”

I shook my head, and she dropped her bag on the sidelines before walking over. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” I replied, letting out a bitter laugh.

“Let me guess,” she said, crossing her arms. “The video?”

I nodded, surprised she even knew about it.

“People are ridiculous,” she said. “But you can’t let them win. Come on.”

She grabbed a ball and motioned for me to follow her to the three-point line. “Let’s work off some of that pressure. I mean granted im kinda banned drom practice though.”

“I’m terrible at basketball, and yeah you are banned.” I warned.

“Then it’s a good thing you’ve got me as your coach, speaking of coah i asked fo sit with you..so like you're my babysitter” she said with a evil grin.

The first few shots were laughably bad, but Paige was patient, adjusting my form and giving me tips. By the time I finally sank a three, I was laughing so hard I almost dropped the ball.

“There you go!” she cheered, throwing her arms in the air.

“Beginner’s luck,” I said, but I couldn’t stop smiling.

She pulled out her phone, recording me as I took another shot. “For posterity,” she said when I gave her a questioning look.

“Hang on,” I said, running out to my car to grab my personal camera. When I came back, she was dribbling the ball lazily at half-court.

“Let’s use this instead,” I said, setting up the tripod.

We spent the next hour goofing off, filming everything from trick shots to ridiculous commentary. Paige even tried to reenact her infamous Villanova assist, but it ended with her tripping over her own feet.

As it was getting late we headed back at my dorm, we poured Shirley Temples into a giant pitcher, the fizz of the soda filling the room.

“To surviving rumors and bad basketball shots,” Paige said, holding up her glass.

I clinked mine against hers. “And to you, for teaching me how to shoot a three.”

She laughed, leaning back against the couch. “You’re a natural.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe again.

As the night wore on, we sat there talking, the camera still sitting on the coffee table. Part of me wanted to grab it, to capture this moment. But another part of me knew that some things were better left undocumented, kept just between us.

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-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

Tag list: @sayurireidotcom , @astroeliza , @paxaz535 .... (more to be added)

[sstarfruitz]

I really like the idea that the Narrator *chose* Stanley to be in the parable and that it could’ve been any other employee if they had just caught the Narrators eye a bit more. I especially like to imagine that if it *was* any other employee in the parable, they would’ve reacted like how an actual person would react if they woke up without a voice or free will LMAO.

All the other employees would’ve reacted with trying to scream and immediately panicking and having a crises that they’re stuck in this huge building, whereas Stanley is the only employee weird enough to just. Accept it and start walking around exploring.

The Narrator was lucky enough to pick the only employee weird enough to deal with the Parable in the first place.

Everyone else would be so terrified of the narrator and the fact that there’s this huge omnipresent voice telling them what to do, meanwhile Stanley is the only employee who would just be so okay with it like he is in the game. Mess with it, even. Actively disobey it. Everyone else would follow the narrators directions too petrified to do anything else, meanwhile Stanley is like “Omnipresent non-physical voice who can control this entire world and reset it is telling me to go left? … nahhh, imma go right…”

And the funniest thing about this idea to me is that Stanley wasn’t programmed to be this way by the Narrator or anything. He’s just genuinely like that, and was like that before the parable, and the Narrator just so happened to strike gold by randomly picking the weirdest guy in the office

And I also like to imagine a scenario where one day the Narrator gets so fed up with Stanley’s antics that he decides to switch the employee for a bit, then immediately switches back to Stanley when the others would just have panic attacks as soon as they realized their situation. He doesn’t tell Stanley why the Narrator switched back so soon, cuz he doesn’t want Stanley knowing he is the only employee out of hundreds that is actually willing to play along with him

They’re fr just two weirdos against the world I love them sm

[mylove-thresher]

(didn’t reply for a while bc this week was. Way too much for me. Felt like shit physically and mentally. Especially mentally. And I wanted to wait for the weekend to decompress and finally have like. Actual interactions and that kinda stuff lolz. Feels good to feel more like myself after this week. Also if anything I say sound weird or whatever it’s bc I been having a headache this entire week 😭)

I’ve had shitty friends before (they were more like bullies to me tbh). I cut all ties I had with them a few years ago to move on and honestly I’m too scared to even get in contact w them ever again bc I seriously don’t think they changed at all in during that time 😭 (I think one of them tried resending me a friend request on discord but she was possibly the worst one of them all so I’d dint even consider accepting it). I don’t believe in irl redemption arcs when it comes to them 😔. Maybe ur friend could’ve changed tho

tbh I’ve been desensitized to a lot of stuff for a solid part of my life but it’s mainly horror and all that stuff not THAT 😭 I think I’d quit the internet if I read that a few years ago 💀

those Pokémon games were so good I’m going to tear my entire room apart because I never got to play them ughhhhghhhghg 😭. 10 year old you was going through the hardest times vro smh 💔/j. (I will… You’ll be seeing it all over the news… I will steal one of the libraries near you……)

tbh I feel like no character in jjba completely represents me so I kinda just kin a whole bunch that share fractions of my personality?? (I am a bunch of worms in a trench coat) And omg I just remembered she ra. I LOVED she ra. Now I don’t remember any of the lore (or at least most of it) 💔. I remember my dad just doing the Dad Standing Up Watching TV Pose™️ and just when I was watching it in the living room. And then a very Homosexual™️ scene came up and my dad just LEFT 😭. My ma actually loved he-man a lot she kept saying the intro part in Spanish like she a soundboard 😭.

but yeah it probably is canon that Bucciarati is the favourite. I mean. Why wouldn’t he be. He has sm good rep and tha banger ass fit Fr fr

I do not know what the musk rat man is and I’m scared of knowing 😭 (or maybe ik but don’t remember). Honestly thinking about posting art there kinda scares me? Posting art on here scared me at first too but… different kinda scary vibe idk…….

I feel like my friends are on the same wavelength as me (brainrot) but they just don’t coordinate things well bc sometimes I be telling them to lock in and go to the school library quickly during dinner (lunchtime 😭) to advance on a project or whatever and they just yap or get caught up in meaningless stuff. (Also a new girl joined our friend group and she’s super funny and I like her as a friend but they just leave me behind to hang out w her? I’ve been acting a bit cold lately bc of that but I feel lonely :( ). It’s just kinda annoying how we can’t get shit done w seriousness instead of ultimately avoiding it and doing it last minute. It feels like I practically have to be the group mom around them and I just wish they were a bit more responsible

My friends just don’t listen that much 😞. Like I could tell them the same thing in the same day thrice and they still would act like I never told them. (Also you just made me remember Heaven’s Official Blessing exists 😭. One of my friends read that years ago and I did not understand anything) I listen to them yap to me ab their fav books even if I don’t know anything ab them bc I don’t read their booktok stuff and I definitely think it’s not the best writing but I still gaf yknow. If you ask em what book they’re yapping ab tho? I could never tell you bc they all sound the same 😭. My friends watched part 5 during the breaks and none of them finished bc they had “other stuff to do” even tho they procrastinated the homework we had during the holidays. (Few days ago they said they were watching other series instead of part 5 even tho they promised they’d watch) (I just want to be friends irl w a jojo fan bro :( ). Oh and that’s kewl lolz it’s kinda like a gift exchange but it’s series instead of gifts (I have never done a gift exchange idk what I’m saying rn 😭). (Bro is on that mischievous tomfoolery antics)

You should totally ramble to me about ships you like :3 However many you like I’m just curious uwu

(I didn’t answer this as soon as I got it bc I was thinking about what to say lolz 😭)

tbh I like most ships as long as it’s not problematic or I find them weird/that they don’t have much chemistry. I also don’t mind poly or platonic ships (duh). I’d be sitting here all day yapping ab the ships I like/am okay w bc frankly it doesn’t have to strictly be character A X character B, I think it could also be character A X character C, etc. as long as it’s not any wrong. I won’t be going apeshit(/neg) over ships that I don’t like as much or have like a 2 year age gap. I mean, I think it starts to get weird when there’s 4 years of difference. I think people do too much when they hate on less popular ships smh if it’s nothing weird then let ppl have fun w their little kitty witties smh 😞

Huge yapping starts here vvv

Some ships I like tho r a lot of Ghibli movie couples in general bc they’re just super cute and I love the writing Ghibli does for its characters (I want what they have.). I also like Yukito/Yue X Touya and Syaoran X Sakura from CCS but that doesn’t mean I don’t also like Tomoko X Sakura (pretty sure Tomoko implied to like her anyway). I also like some other side ships from CCS but I barely remember their names bc it’s been so long since I’ve watched it and Netflix took it down 💔. CCS ships r cute in general I think, I’ve never seen any problematic ship (except that one girl X her fucking teacher. Pookie. You’re like 13. Don’t date ur teacher. And she was so pretty too bro why did they make her a questionable character 😭). And now. Getting to jjba my beloved. Since I unfortunately focus so so so much on p5 those are the only ships I’ll yap ab 😢. Huge honorable mention to Jonathan X Erina (jonaeri) tho they’re super cute together even if a lot of ppl said they barely have screen time and stuff :3. Anyway. Part 5. I honestly don’t care much about ships in la squadra as long as they had some form of interaction y’know (I don’t pay too much attention to La squadra anyway 💔). Usually ppl get really divided when it comes to Bucci gang ships tho. Honestly I’d rather see them all as a friend group that see each other as siblings to avoid all that shipping, but I admit I really like some pairings, like fugonara, bruabba, giotrish, futrish, naratrish, etc. I really don’t mind it that much (I don’t rlly ship mista w anyone bc I just don’t think there’s anybody matching his freak 😭). I mainly ship fugonara as you can see just bc to me it makes a lot of sense even if I also see them under platonic light. If there’s fugo, there’s narancia, and if there’s narancia, there’s fugo. I just find that rlly cute :3. I also like their backstories and how they tie together and the narancia death scene ripped my heart out in the anime so (IM CRYING AGAIN JUST FROM THINKING AB IT STOP 💔). Again that doesn’t mean I dislike the other ships, I just don’t pay much attention to them or think they had as much chemistry or time together. I love seeing my fave characters tho, so it’s not like I won’t like the content if there’s like gionara or something. Honestly I like seeing ppl have fun w their cutie patooties as long as it’s not too controversial, once again. It’s rlly a shame that ppl can jump at each others throat bc they disagree on a mere ship. It’s literally not gonna alter your life. Also, bc I say a ship some bucci gang characters doesn’t mean I don’t also ship them platonically. (I’ll type it like it’s ao3 tags lolz. Pretty sure & instead of / is for platonic, right?) I rlly like Narancia&Mista&Fugo (torture dance trio is literally the best friendship ever to me bc wdym you did a coordinated dance w ur homies to torture someone that’s so cool). There are also a few others, but they don’t come to mind rn (and there’s a f,y in my room annoying me.) You know what I think I gave jjba way too much attention. I also like Mimi X Sheshe (my fav lesbians fr 😍) from mermaid melody pichi pichi pitch. They tried censoring them by making them “sisters”, but they were blatantly and very obviously lesbians. Like vro. They are touching each other so homoerotically and have complimenting colours. And I think that’s most of it…

I don’t wanna make this any longer than it is so um. Yeah. This was a ramble. I didn’t realize it was so long lolz. But yeah it’s basically that :3

[infectvd]

Besties I'm on my fourth or fifth(?) full replay of T.LOU2, and I swear every time I replay it with the intention to try and like it more or be more gracious to it, but every time (without fail) it just makes me feel worse about it. Like . . . the building blocks are there, but the way this narrative was put together was Trash and I don't feel guilty for saying that anymore bc I really have been trying to give it so many chances to change my mind over the past three years and look at it from different perspectives, but I always come to the same conclusions.

[deadrlngers]

ocs as patron saints

i was tagged by @katsigian and @ecofear to take this quiz for some of my ocs, thank you both so much!!! loved doing this sm, two things i love obsessing over: saints and ocs <3

patron saint of relics. patron saint of remembering. patron saint of holding something close. patron saint of holding on for too long. for a saint, a relic is often a part of the body, kept for some physical memento of their holiness. they are all in your hands, now: does it feel like remembrance? does it feel sanctified? are the dust and blood as precious as they're supposed to be?

patron saint of bones. patron saint of frameworks. of structures. of solidity. patron saint of things that break. patron saint of things that are left behind. the bones survive long after the body, the building: what is there left for them, when the rest has gone? what do bones do, with nothing to hold around them? who holds the bones?

patron saint of heartbreak. not of comfort. not of condolences. there is a heart and there is a fissure, a fracture, something that starts to splinter and break open. you're the patron saint of the way a heart is rent open. the way it tears itself apart. patron saint of the rift. patron saint of the gash. when they say to "open your heart" to somebody, you are the patron saint of bleeding out.

tagging (under the cut!):

@marictheirins @mojaves @ruvviks @devilbrakers @dragonaqe

@pinkfey @aezyrraeshh @shadowglens @risingsh0t @ncytiri

@baelavelaryon @kibellah @pawnguild @roguette @hexmaturgy

@tethrras @lucaanis @auricfog @thedeadthree

and anyone else who wants to do it!!

[sanasanakun]

Jimithon Mouthwashing is such a good representation of untreated, enabled NPD like it makes me want to squeeze the life out of him. I'm endlessly fascinated when watching him interact with his crew, surroundings, and himself because he's so fucking lost in his own sauce. It's insane. If I'm being real, it makes him my favorite character in the game.

It's a little scary to say, but watching Jimmy is like seeing a mirrored version of myself two years ago before I truly committed to treatment for my NPD. He's like a shadow. The opening line "I hope this hurts," which I believe comes from Jimmy right before the crash, is such a poignant statement. It's a simple line, but I can tell you from experience that the desire to hurt others when in a narcissistic rage is overwhelming. It's such a good line to sum up Jimmy's character in that moment. Luckily, in the real world, I had my friends and family there to catch me when I hit my lowest, even though I'd hurt them so many times. Jimmy probably could've used friends to force him into therapy (cough cough Curly cough cough)

[gladiatorcunt]

han solo wants what atton rand has

[jils-things]

eeeekk hi again everyoneee!!! i'm gonna allow myself today to post one art because i miss sharing my stuff on my blog :]]

red sprites: (x)

[todayisafridaynight]

We rlly don’t need another majima game 😭 please give other characters a chance he already had the spotlight in 0😔

lord if i speak on goro majima.

[gu6chan]

maybe its sample bias but i think it's kinda funny how most people I've seen who've played drakengard because of nier are making ending e THE endgoal and more often than not the main if not only reason they're playing the game at all and when they finally get it they're like "this is it the single most impactful, greatest moment of all gaming. im wiping tears from my eyes this is it" and then you see the drakengard fans who've played drakengard because they like drakengard and you ask them about ending e and they're like "eh. it was okay, i guess"

[jackass-jones]

Honestly though I think it’s really a bad sign when I look at Shin Tsukimi and literally feel like he’s a self insert 😩

[gio-cosmo]

I’ve finally finished P3R!

So now of course I must write paragraphs abt how much I loved it. Spoilers below the cut!

I can say without any hesitation or doubt that P3R is by far the best game I’ve ever played in my life.

They truly did such a wonderful job with remaking this game, so much so that it really makes me look forward to the possibility of more persona-remakes in the future. I’m so thankful that they stayed true to the original story, but improved where it was necessary. I’m blown away by every detail they put into this game, and how they managed to make even the menu screens absolutely beautiful.

I’ve always tended to get a bit sappy/emotional about games I really like, but I genuinely do believe that the persona franchise, specifically p3 and p4, have changed me as a person. They’ve effected me emotionally, and helped me navigate the meaning of my own life. I got invested within the persona franchise at a very young age (I think I was in the 5th grade lmfao 😭), and it was the first game series I really fell in love with — and that was only through watching playthroughs on YouTube at the time. Looking back on it, I think that it’s what really sparked my passion for video games, and also game development in general.

I started getting back into the persona franchise about 1 and a half, maybeeee 2 years ago, and being able to reconnect with the games and fall in love with them all over again has been such a crazy cool experience. Playing P3R after playing the original p3 was such a joy, and I can confidently say it emotionally impacted me just as much as the original did, if not more.

It’s not often I feel the urge to replay a game right after I finish it, usually I have to give it a break for a bit, but I’ve already started my New Game+ run of P3R and I’m not feeling even remotely burnt out, which I think is another example of how much I absolutely adore this game.

AAANYWAYS if you’ve read this far hi!! Rambling and getting overly emotional about video games is my one and only talent fr so thanks for listening 🫶

[sweetcitrusboi]

Watching gaming dudebros have full-on heart attacks and stroking out over tasm2 not winning or any of their basic ass shooting games and running around talking about how “nobody played Alan Wake 2 or BG3” when in fact a shitload of people did play both games and yall refuse to branch out and play other games and yall live in a bubble of just Fortnite, Cod, and other games just like it, and now you’re going out of your way to be unhinged individuals online about it instead of showing good sportsmanship and congratulating the amazing games and teams behind them that did win an award.

[orcelito]

I officially finished my 4th iwatex game, and am somehow already halfway through my 5th

I have 96 hours logged. I started playing this game only 10 days ago.

Heck.

[maliro-t]

some game design thinky thoughts.

[cosmicrhetoric]

im undecided on how i feel about berserk cause on one hand some of it really hit hard and i like the main Question of god and fate etc. that the series is about but on the other hand man idk 😬. i do think the funniest possible outcome of me trying to read this is actually just playing dark souls instead