#if i lose my next 50-50 im just. i dont even know . HOW

[narwhalandchill]

i. havent won a 50-50. Since patch ONE POINT SIX . 💀

like First i get stuck doing a thing at work for like 2+ hours so i couldnt go take a coffee break and pull the second the banner dropped like id planned but it was fine whatever i was helping a coworker its cool. So then like at the End of the day im in the break room sitting at w a couple of ppl still around so i cant like react to it outwardly or anything . finally doing my scuffed mobile pulls just hoping for one W for once and a quick jade and. What fucking happens . like this shit cant be fucking serious 😭😭😭😭

Anyway then this happened at 25 pity immediately afterwards so i guess its like. Fine but actually . What the hell is the shit luck streak im on with 50-50s.......

i didnt even watch the pull animation play w this one 💀💀💀 i just skipped it and cue jade jumpscare . thanks ig idek what id have done if i genuinely couldnt get her day 1 despite prefarming actual 6/10/10/10 mats (mostly bc i was too busy to farm anything else than those on auto but eh)

im not even like a jade fan rly i think her design is a letdown its just the kit thats cool sjjsfsjdk and like free PF clears is neat i Do Love Me a FUA bullshit. i rly wish her design was more inspired than it is bc theres potential there and great elements like the black lace and hat but they just had to go the mid route all the way 🙄🙄 i like her VA also and her character is cool in theory its just a shame 2.3 was written like dogshit her included so...... but its ok i will appreciate her nonetheless .

[heyitslapis]

its times like this when i really wish i had an SO's shoulder to cry on

Because I think i factrued/sprained my foot the other day it happened wednesday but its still pretty swollen and pops when i try to walk on it without hobbling. i know i signed up for health insurance through work. i wrote down the insurance company name as Bayside and I have my personal insurance id number but the card never came in/got lost in the mail (and i already called for one replacement that never came so idk if theyll send me a third) so i cant confirm the insurance name nor call them, but i need to because ive called/visited 5 health care facilities around me and NONE of them have even heard of Bayside. So im calling the phone number that my manager provided me with telling me that was the insurance company. I keep calling the number (and mind you ive called them before to try to get a second insurance card sent to me but that was in like April) and i get that its saturday but theres no answer and the stupid automated machine wont let me leave a voicemail. the automated answering voice on the phone also says that theyre called National Benefit Plans by SafetyNet and google says the phone number im using belongs to National Benefit Plans out in San Antonio Tx (i live no where near there). I found National Benefit Plans' website on SafetyNetPlus dot com but National Benefit Plans doesnt have their own website, just through SafetyNet, and also the SafetyNet website says on a side panel that "this is NOT insurance" and instead keeps saying "health benefits" instead so idk what the fuck ive been paying for for the last 6 months tbh and im having an emotional breakdown bc i dont want to fuck my foot up for life just cause i couldnt figure out my health insurance/benefits shit

[celestiallyslimy]

a big, unorganized rant on ai (from a human artist) 1. lack of effort and meaning ai art doesnt really have any meaning or effort to it. real artists need to put at least some effort into their art, effort that typing onto a keypad and selecting areas to edit cannot amount to. and even with minimal effort, there's still some meaning to it. a comfort character? that has meaning. maybe that character is from a show thats sentimental to the creator. an oc? how much time was put into that character's design and lore? even miniscule things can have meaning to someone. but ai? just type what you want to see and it's done. not happy? select, type again, and repeat. artists can just make what they want to see appear. if someone is up to put a lot of effort into something, (lets say an archer in the woods, for my example), this is what may happen; 1. make a sketch 2. start lineart 3. colour 4. shading 5. background 6. extra details and then, ai generative "artists" can type "archer, woods, bow and arrow, forest" until they find something they like. and then, they have the audacity to call the image they did not make "art". if someone said "i had a dream about an antro cat demon with insect limbs" and someone else drew that, who is the artist? the person who drew it. yes, the original poster made the idea, but they didnt create the result. all they made was the prompt.

for my next point, i'll be using the scream (1893) by edvard munch

the reason that the scream resonates with today's audience is because it portrays anxiety, terror, and fear. in fact, munch felt this himself[1]. will ai ever be able to feel this despair? no. it can only learn what people percieve the emotions as. it's called artificial for a reason. 2. low quality im assuming most of us know the basic concept of what lankybox is. i've never cared much, but from what i know, it's two content farmers hopping on popular trends to gain follows and views. the content lankybox makes is lazy and effortless. it's pumped out constantly, and just doesnt have anything to it other than cheap entertainment. but, ai image generators will type an idea; which takes little effort, and just adjust. it can take a few seconds up to a couple of minutes. now, i'm not doing the math, but with 12 hours on the clocks, that could be maybe hundreds of images generated in a day. annually, artists might make up to 50 pieces[2]. so, even though content farms are insulted and criticized for pumping out constant effortless videos (10 a day), ai art is considered fine because someone wrote it? someone scripted the brainrot videos too.

3. replacing jobs this is probably the most commonly talked about part of the ai controversy, but most companies say stuff like "we strive to create an ai model that will make increasingly more realistic artworks that look human!" and when artists raise concern about losing their income, they say "you wont be replaced!". yeah right. out of 2000 executives, 41% expect to employ less people thanks to ai[3]. and that's not even only about artists. this is mostly about artists but ai sucks in general.

i could write more but i dont feel like it tldr; ai replaces jobs (removing income from families), is pretty much a less worse content farm, and is incapable of doing what a human could ever do.

[crguang]

I want to let you know that I actually squealed when I saw that there was a new part of wasted w longing, so that was embarrassing. I giggled so much, love me some domestic fluff, I also gasped so hard at the ending that I started choking. can't believe you updated while I was in class so didn't see it until later.

kafka is so smug I hate her, I want to kiss her on the mouth so bad she's such a weirdo, but at the same time, I'm mad at her, I'll forgive her if she comes home early on my pulls tho, and also some kafka groveling, very excited to see that. also the writing is so good, like at the end I was questing everything about r's encounter's w kafka. and you said replying to someone else's ask that kafka cares atp. wdym atp? istg I love angst but I can't handle angsty endings being w out kafka also you said himeko is going to show up again, and I know that'll be funny. the cliffhangers are killing me, but I'm really excited for the next part, the plot is plotting. also the way at the beginning I literally said out loud, "oh she just got shot, it's okay."

the wanted poster is so funny, like whoever wrote it down must've seen footage of her shooting people as she breaks into somewhere and thought, damn, she is hot as fuck, and tbh that was my thought process when I watched kafka's trailer the first time.

hope your first day at uni was good! if you made me loose my 50/50 I'll---

-🌠

not the squealinggg thats so cute im flattered. it’s funny whenever yall say i post when yall are busy because it’s always 4 to 6 am here i have a horrible sleep schedule 😭 i loved writing the more domestic part cause that’s the first time they actually spend time together without sleeping together and it was kinda cuteee, if you ignore the getting shot part.

“i hate her i wanna kiss her on the mouth shes such a weirdo” is exactly how i feel about kafka im so glad im not alone… also, i meant that at this point of the story kafka already knows that she likes R; she goes out of her way to look out for them, she stares a lot, wants to help them through their dilemma and other stuff that’ll come later. in her mind shes not in love with them but she does like them. i think due to her closed off nature, a lot of the little hints of how she feels are in the way she looks at R and since this is written from R’s (sometimes unreliable) perspective, i mentioned how they can’t read her eyes yet so to them there’s no reciprocation right now. and now that they’re mad at her everything she does will feel disingenuous when it might not be. it’s tricky to write bc as readers i want people to be able to tell that kafka cares even when she’s being a little shit while also staying true to how R sees things. i do think it’ll become much more obvious starting from the next chapter tho cause there will be some grovelling involved lmfaoo.

also this was literally her at the end:

r: i will call the police on you.

kafka: i am so attracted to you right now

its funny, R is always making themself available for her and has been doing that from the beginning so kafka’s very used to this behavior and its the reason why she’s so fucking smug. but now she’s seeing a new side to them that she really likes. they’re standing up for themself and i think it’s a quality that she’d find really attractive in a person. but yeah it’s fun i love this series mainly because the idea mostly came from anons so i love hearing what yall think about it.

my first day at uni was nice!! im looking to getting my shit together honestly, i feel like an actual adult now so hopefully it helps with my mood as well and makes it easier for me to be productive cause i dont write fast at all. if you lose the 50/50 bc of me i’ll write whatever you want as consolation prize

[tenaciouschronicler]

August 28 2024 2009

Time to loot the loot!

First up some books. The first we all saw, COLONEL SASSACRE'S DAUNTING TEXT OF MAGICAL FRIVOLITY AND PRACTICAL JAPERY, but way more worn and potentialy deadlier. Next is the FATHERLY GENT'S SHAVING ALMANAC, currently useless to John with his lack of need but very important to Dad if he locked it in the safe. But I want to bring attention to the newspaper clippings.

Very worn with the only visible date being Monday April 13, 199X. Apparently some years back meteors also rained down shortly after 4am. The ones in the paper were not the only occurrence and, suspiciously, were downplayed as 'not foreboding' or 'not really a big deal' despite creating casualties. A Crocker facility and a residential space have suffered damage. Not sure why Dad would have kept this but with the repeating 4/13 there has to be some importance. Probably a cake mix shortage knowing his love of baking.

But just to rip us back from thinking too hard on it John finds a note from Dad on the wall:

SON.

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, IT MEANS YOU ARE NOW STRONG ENOUGH TO LIFT THE SAFE. YOU ARE NOW A MAN.

AS SUCH, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO WHAT IS INSIDE. I KNOW YOU WILL TAKE THIS RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU.

Youll have to excuse me as I SOB MY HEART OUT!!

Behind the note is the safe code, 02-49-13.

A couple of things happen that made me lose it laughing so hard but it should be noted one of my many questions has been answered. A blank card has only a string of 0's while a card containing a card is a sting of 1's. Each code generated is probably some sort of fusion of binary and hex though Im not even gonna try to think of what the formula is.

Ok so, in normal John fashion he captchas the card but only having three means...

Instead of changing his modus and adding the card to the deck, John punches the 2xCaptchacard bringing him to a grand total two usable cards.

John: Throw hat down in disgust.

Goodbye, hat. (HOW EVEN?? The bounce in that hat is off the charts!)

Not learning his lesson, John captchas the punched card creating a 3xCaptchacard...

Sweet Catch, Rose! The panel below this with Roses cursor slowly bringing the PDA back to John just reeks of passive agression. Do you think before you act, John? Of course not you only do...

John: Take PDA.

The two card sylladex: inventory of dumbasses.

At this point I had to stop reading from how hard I was laughing. Even putting this together is making me giggle in delight.

Luckily the tome is too heavy to get much air and instead crushes the imp unware of its fate.

Under the cut is a bunch of stuff regarding Johns leveling.

Now the level up panel had me questioning some things. Last time we saw John level up he was only at PLUCKY TOT but now we are at PESKY URCHIN. Looking back he sucessfully killed two imps during the pogo ride, presumably the EXP for the other 3 levels

Looking at the panel where Rose is building she now has 80 grist she can work with when last it was only 50. John also gained a bunch of boondollars and now has MAN GRIT. So what info can we glean from all this.

My guess is one imp slaying gained two levels while the other gained one. The next level will either again be one imp or require two imps for enough EXP. Level ups may take climbing more rungs before giving rewards, my guess is it happened at ANKLEBITER.

Rewards are also not equal among levels. The new CACHE gain is at 40 and seeing as the other two were 10 and 20 respectively means ANKLEBITER increased the cache by 30. But GEL is only at 15. In this way GEL is harder to grind for, with longer spans between gains. We cant know for sure though without seeing the whole cache list. BOONDOLLARS dont seem to have a pattern. John gained a whopping 415 which is not a pretty number to split between three levels. This last kill saw a gain of 200, so who knows what the criteria is for this. Again MAN GRIT is new so its up in the air how this one will function. Overall it seems to me right now rewards are at every second level at minimum.

*Editing to add current proposed limits: GEL 30, GRIST 120, MAN GRIT 5

[scholarhect]

ok i can’t say ALL of my thoughts but i still have things i want to say.

- nobody told me how hard this tour went on set design WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!! was losing my mind the whole time. soooooooooo fun. it was everything. what the fuck

- i got srar AND smfs so basically i win and everybody else loses

- ^ also i was legitimately like laughing giddily through like half of smfs LOL i was fucking delighted. bro i was delighted as fuck

- 8 balls were both nothing i was actively hoping for but they were both fun songs & i had fun. saw some guys moshing during abap, good for them. also yelling “I’M AN AMERICAN I’M AN AMERICAN” in the middle of the london crowd was kind of a fun silly moment for me, i have to say. all in all a positive 8 ball experience. i’m still mad at oomf who got ginasfs and xo though

- there were a bunch of times they made the crowd sing in the beginning but then at a certain point they just never did it again, so i wonder if we were a disappointment…….

- btw my seats were definitely the best i’ve ever had at something like this before & it was sooooooo cool :)

- the thing is. people tell you not to take too many videos, you have to live in the moment, are you even gonna watch those videos? but you DO. you do watch them. & you always wish you had more. which is why i used FOUR gigabytes of iphone storage today. man you gotta do what you gotta do

- i missed nothing nowhere because i was in the merch line outside the venue for 50 minutes (it’s always a trap!! there are merch stands inside and the lines are shorter, and you can hear the music when you’re in line! but every time it’s like… well what if they DONT have merch inside this time) but pvris was fun! remind me again why i tried & failed to get into pvris a while back. maybe i should try again

- i mean im sure they just have to play saturday last because it’s SATURDAY but a fun little effect of it is looking around & seeing people who were just jamming out to centuries realize they don’t know this fucking song. and leave. and then you have half a row to yourself for saturday. real ones still believe every time we sing two more weeks OR SOMETHING

- also i was self conscious at the beginning bc i was there alone so i was like.. are we dancing? are we singing? but i started singing at one point & just didn’t stop. i hope i didn’t ruin the videos of the people next to me. but man. i was singing. & yes at the end after the people on one side of me left i was fucking vibing in that space having a ball in this bitch absolutely fucking vibing

[lemonstars8583]

Aaaaaa congested on beating doors! The iPad kid carry!!!

I haven’t managed to beat figure 50 yet because even though he’s blind, I’m deaf and blind. Can’t see in low lighting and horrible at judging how far it is.

I kinda unironically like screech as a enemy in the game and theyre my favorite. I find it fun looking around for the fucker whenever they pop up, the dark rooms are a bitch to get through but light is very helpful. Seek’s chase is fun as hell even if it’s a 50/50 change of me surviving through. my least favorite enemy is halt, mainly bc I suck at dodging the teleports and the eyes took like, half of my hp earlier. Granted I only encountered halt twice but still…

I kinda do a list of the entities and how they all got banned from helping the seek chase. But I’m in school so it’ll be another 5 hours to go :(

the glitch’s only purpose is to teleport slow players or bring them to the next room if it fails to load and that’s a really interesting. It clearly damages the player but it’s helpful at the same time.

If it ever becomes canon, it’ll have a pretty interesting story. But I’m not betting on it and I don’t mind that glitch isn’t canon, just means more headcanons more mean

hgjjhhhhjkjh Jack and Rush just bullying Seek for being short. No wonder why Seek divorced Rush and took the kid, it can’t reached the plates in the cabinets.

yeah keeping an eye on figure can be kinda hard, i get that lol. i usually like to go over to the library desk and stand up and look around for it to get a feel of where and where not to go! i also have never attempted the quick-time closet thing once lmfao i just crouch the whole time i know i will mess it up so i just Do Not Hide

also yeah screech is a good entity, annoying, but it's meant to be lol. the only time i hate it is when its a dark locked room. those already suck so much because you can see shit and on top of that you have to look around for screech lol, also yeah halt was hard for me at first but then i found out you can just. walk backwards. you dont actually have to turn around lol so that's helpful

which glitch being canon would be cool, it being non-canon is also really interesting to me, it adds a sort of 4th-wall-breaking aspect to the game, like youre having an encounter with the code itself because things arent running as smoothy as they should be, whether it be faulty room generation or a player lagging behind a little too far

ALSO HSAJFDJ IM LOSING MY MIND AT THAT LAST BIT LMFAO the thought of rush and seek being screech's parents divorced is still incredibly funny and slightly cursed to me (thank you weird brain) but the reason of thre divorce being that seek could not reach the plates in the cabinet is just ZDGVSFHJK LIKE ?? LMFAO DAMN

[midknitefox]

fallout 4 positng again I'm borwd

I'm halfway through a thing of frosting don't. don't come at me bros.

HANCOCK APPRECIATION MOMENT. I have an obsession. stepped on a mine and he went "are you okay? see any more?"

my HEART.

who couldn't love this man your first interaction is him stabbing the fuck outta a guy who tried to scam you. it's beautiful, really. get yoself a man willing to stab someone for u when you haven't even met yet.

slash jay dont

don't stab people pls this is fiction

-----

I think nick is better in a fight. oh god

this guy has a mini gun NOPENOPENOPENOPEOPENOEPEMOPNO

-----

i died

-----

I killed someone and he said "you handled yourself pretty well, sister"

explodes

HANCOCK STOP NOOOO

HE'S RUNNING INTO THE ROOM WITH THE MINIGUN GUY

-----

He fucking stabbed her to death what the actual fuck how did he not die (legendary gunner???? wtf????)

-----

I stole the minigun

perfect for me (Hancock keeps giving me drugs, and he likes when I get hooked on em. I refuse to buy more drugs so until he gives me more drugs I have no drugs. sorry it's not my fault jet is so useful </3)

Hancock I'm glad you're proud of yourself for getting me addicted to everything under the fucking sun. ily <3

oh I'm overweight now. minigun too heavy </3

throws it at Hancock

-----

does fallout 4 do the same thing as skyrim where if your companions inventory is full you can make them pick stuff up and it'll still work

I dont actually know

Hancock though is now carrying two miniguns (Ashmaker and Junkie's) and a fat man. and I think he has 2 rocket launchers for some reason? not sure.

-----

I'm so glad I have NO AMMO.

I'm out of 10mm, .44, and the only weapon I can use rn is basically my deathclaw hand

which isn't bad but it's up close and personal . in a gun fight.

I have a shit ton of .38 and .45 (755 and 489 respectively) but no guns for those :/

and now that I think about it I'm out of ammo for both my flamer and cryo thing so idk why I'm carrying them wtf

-----

maybe I'm overweight from the

yknow

50 fucking mirelurk eggs

why

-----

unrelated but I watched the show the other day. so good.

genuinely it felt more like the game than anything else I've watched

like . tlou was good. but it didn't feel like the game. fo felt like the game. there were moments that were just. perfect.

random radaways around, the time slowing down slightly in battle feeling like vats, so good

ok rant over (I would love to rant about it more if anyone wants to chat I'm lacking people to talk about it with other than my mother and that's kinda sad)

-----

I had to step back from a fight due to low hp and Hancock walked up next to me and destroyed them with the minigun I gave him

so real ❤️

-----

AH GRENADE

I sploded. rip

-----

STUCK ON DEBRIS 💔💔 WORST DAY EVER

-----

I picked up a coffee cup and got too much weight

no I refuse to drop the deathclaw hands and hide I lug around

I feel like this is fo4's version of the dragon scales and bones from skyrim </3

..maybe a little lot less heavy . but come on where else do I put em

-----

AYO HANCOCK

"I didn't say we were finished" in the middle of battle

mMMMmmMMM?????????

I'm so gay

-----

advanced lock vs a skyrim veteran with 90+ lockpicks, who will win

-----

yum

-----

FUCK YOU TOO

sobs violently

I can't believe I'm being forced to drop junk on the ground I'm so sad

-----

ok but

why

-----

I have so much jet...... Hancock I love you

-----

consequences of my actions (i had to drop more junk)

....... I blame the castle.

-----

HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT DRUGGED WATER

FUCK YEAH

-----

God I can't handle the dlcs being glitched.

PURPLE GUY!?!??!!?

sobbing. fr

-----

I'm about 2/3 of the way through this frosting send help

I need to put it away

-----

I was fixing my blanket and I didn't pause the game but hancock started doing knife tricks

im.

losing it.

-----

IM SORRY?

i

hate this dlc (not really)

-----

fuck mirelurks

I have mirelurk trauma (the castle quest)

-----

dies

-----

"not a lot of folks would travel with a ghoul, not even one with my charisma" i would any day yes pls ily

"just say the word if you wanna take a little Chem break" I WOULD LOVE TO.

I went to talk to him and i hit "talk" and he went "for you, any time" or something and I'm losing my shit

"seems to me like you're my kinda trouble" when I hit relationship 🥰

random but I love his voice it's just

idk something about it is really nice to me even though it falls into the category of voice types that I usually don't really like

-----

this has become me obsessing over Hancock holy fuck

-----

you've gotta be fucking kidding me

SHE CANT FIT AJAHWISHSH

halfway through her hp bar took about 200 bullets

ALL I GOTTA WORRY ABOUT IS THE LITTLE BABIES SHE SHITS OUT AHAHAHA

-----

........I don't have enough ammo for this like genuinely

[narwhalandchill]

Nuzlocke update wahoo

so uh it appears that precisely Because i was like. scared shitless going towards elesa. that it ended up just a straight fucking sweep that was Brutal 😭 to her. i overprepared Again

(tw: MASSIVE pokemon nerd moment)

bc like. i was there thinking abt worst case scenarios and how none of my new encounters since route 4 (darumaka, yamask, minccino, gothita, cottonee) seemed to leave me with any better options than what i had before aka. myyr the drilbur that cant even evolve for the level cap and just pray i hit those 1hkos on dig and that rock slide (better known as rock miss in some circles) hits emolga and that static and paralysis doesnt fuck me over. but then its like. even putting aside how i Dont want to lose this mon bc excadrill is so good. if myyr falls the answers i would have left against whichever elesas pokemon remained were still ehhh like. zip the herdier with eviolite and dig?? and emolga remains a problem still.

so yeah i was stressed tf out bc. bitch i remember elesa terrorizing me as a kid and that zebstrika never stopped being scary as hell. so i ended up just. looking up if theres maybe some well known and used nuzlocke strat there and. Well. not exactly but an ancient reddit thread had a comment w an Interesting suggestion

So. turns out theres an NPC on route 4 in black 2 that trades a cottonee for a petilil. a mon whose (stone) evolution . Happens to learn a very funny silly move . called quiver dance . within elesas level caps.

.....and im just. hey why the fuck not. so bye bye peony the cottonee it is. hello petulia the petilil (based NPC nickname btw thats so cute) who learns giga drain at lvl 26 and then with sun stone becomes lilligant who gets quiver dance at 28.

and you know what this girl has?????????????

atk reducing spd boosting nature and THIRTY-ONE IVs in special atk 💀💀💀 on a quiver dancer??????????? this is a weapon of mass destruction holy Shit. (her speed stat aint half bad either!!!!!)

anyway i was still getting stressed abt it bc like. chances were in the actual fight if i lead w lilligant elesas emolga will just volt switch straight to zebstrika who has flame charge so i. unironically went to relic castle to get enough defense EVs to survive 3 flame charges if necessary too JSJSJSKSKDKSK and bc i didnt know (and did not look up at first) the IVs her team would have i just assumed worst case scenario aka all 31s meaning the initial damage calcs looked Way scarier

bc the way i was looking at this was just. ill obviously have to lead w lilligant (bc a sweeper needs to setup 1 to 2 qdances depending on how many turns i get before zebstrika is in) and have myyr who was originally meant to be the Star against elesa be more the. emolga cleanup crew and/or emergency hidden ace. And bc i actually fucking planned this shit all out so it Could Not Fail (or close to it)

scenario 1: emolga wastes a turn on like. pursuit before volt switching zebstrika in. i get 2 quiver dances up and just win (+2 boosted SpA giga drain from lvl 30 lilligant w miracle seed is just a 1hko every time. Yes i calced it). Almost unfairly easy

scenario 2: emolga volt switches immediately (most likely) and i only get one quiver dance. this means giga drain is 2hko against zebstrika. i will outspeed on the next turn bc petulia at +1 and then i take a flame charge (leaving me outsped w zebstrika at +1 speed). and whats scary is that while i would survive a crit flame charge on that turn (non crits are ez). i Would die to the second one afterward bc zebstrika is faster again. so then itd have to be like. myyr to the rescue. alternatively my giga drain Could high roll the dmg & get zebstrika into hyper potion range which means free quiver dance turn as elesa heals and we outspeed and win again.

but like. okay. these odds are acceptable. best case scenario petulia sweep worst case scenario petulia gets crit and myyr just needs to clean up a fairly scary +2 speed zebstrika thats Luckily below 50% hp. im also still giving zip the eviolite and teaching it dig so we have a 3rd hail mary in the back.

Anyway then i look up the actual in game IVs for bw2 gym leaders and in non-challenge mode theyre all set at 12 💀💀💀💀💀 so like. Scratch all this with the new IVs a +1 boosted giga drain is actually a roll for a 1hko not a guaranteed 2hko KSKSKAJEKSKSKDKEK which means even if i dont 1shot with just one quiver dance elesa Will heal and thats +2 boost.

so yeah i walk in to the gym slightly relieved slightly embarrassed of yet nonetheless taking some pride in my first foray to Proper big nuzlocker strategy planning and looking up damage strats (might be needing those in the future fr) . even if it was due to making way too scary assumptions abt elesas team stats lmao

anyway the fight itself was uhhh. Truly anticlimactic. emolga did volt switch on first turn but petulias +1 giga drain just Casually rolled the 1hko on zebstrika after all and then proceeded to eviscerate flaaffy and then i let myyr handle emolga just for some exp 💀💀💀

Anyway. Well if nothing else this is absolutely a teammate i will be utilizing again . Very soon in fact. Clay watch the fuck out ive created a monster.

Like did my girl calla (the OT NPC) even know what kinda godlike power she was casually handing to me there???? 😭😭 guess she rly wanted a whimsicott

but like. Hell yeah we continue after deathless elesa and with a new powerful companion thats a W for sure SHSKDKSKFKJS

current team btw (i kinda like these cards for a visual update of sorts tbh). fig evolved so i can finally stop looking at golbats ugly design <33 crobat is so much better man

[spiritual-meat-grinder]

i need to stop wondering about death but the question keeps running through my mind if not by suicide, then how? it seems impossible for me to die on accident even thinking about it feels like im pushing against fate itself bones cracking skin falling off through the sheer force of it i try to knock her down, get her the hell away from me, but when she steps back i stop dead in my tracks i take in the sleeves in hot weather, the haunted eyes, the demons crawling in her skull some things never really change do they? fungi takes root in her skin and it stays to fester in mine i thought i'd be dead by now the next death date is in 3 years then after that it's another 7? 12? then another decade and then i lost count i had a plan a plan carved into hard rock and slammed into my brain, numbing my mind to the thought of dying i dont want to die anymore and some people wouldnt believe me when i say that, some people would think that if i cant think about the future i must be right about to step into oncoming traffic and become just some guts splattered on a windshield but i promise you, although im lost, im not a loss you have to count yet im here im alive im still alive alive when i thought i wouldn't be and although i cant always believe it, i believe i'll make it past 18 even past 30 past 40 50 past my life i can do it ive made it this far and i still cant imagine that future, still feels like im losing my mind but i keep it as numbers on a page numbers that are nothing because i take it day by day now and now i can even say i wont be dead next month, im doing better, a lot better than i was i promise to live so i can see the news tomorrow and tomorrow ill promise again and again and again and again before i know it decades will have passed before i know it ill have lived my life

[iloveyouw]

12 Nov 2022

I understand ur dilemma. and where all of this conflicted thoughts are coming from. i 100% do. i always think in ur position and otw home i rmb thinking how i would feel unfair and fucking hurt if the roles were swapped. and i cant robbed that off of u. ur bright future with someone else that deserves u. i cant be selfish i dont have the right to. and i hate that my brain run on emotions not logic. i take a step back and think but when it comes down to it the cogs churn on its own based on how i feel. i hate it. i wish i werent so emotional. but emotions were why i put on a fight. they were also the reason why i did all of those unspeakable things. emotions are what im afraid of. im scared to feel. im scared to face it. it has been a running theme since i started taking meth. like i already was an emotional one but the meth just made it more, prominent? i get affected by everything. dont even know if its good or bad. the scales so tipped that i think its bad. 

to be logical is to let u go, remove me from the equation thats causing u all this hurt. to be logical is to be happy for u now that i fucked it all up. to be logical is to move on, find someone that treats me right although they will never be u. to be logical is to stop taking meth and theres not even a because to this sentence its just rhetorical. to be logical is to stop and think.

but im not. im rash. i run on my emotions. its like clockwork. its a cycle. its good and its bad. i am selfish but i can be selfless. i hurt because i love alot. i cant stop loving u. and forcing u out of my life was not how i should run things. that was logical, at that time where a speck of hope was so hard to find. but thats not how i live. i live dangerously. i risked many things. and all the little decision i made, are seeds planted in my life for me to bloom today. they may be great decisions, but there are a fuck ton of horrible ones that i dont even dare face it like the people who used me, and people i reluctantly say yes to, even the opportunities, even the "what could have beens" i feel horrible about myself, so ashamed, not because these men were gross, these are obvious, but the amount of times i let myself down just because of meth. thinking it was my protector, my only god. it was my shield for the longest time. im feel free now that i let go. 

these things are clear now what i should let go and what i should not. everything except meth i should let go for the past few years. everything. i always said, yknow when my parents die i dont think i can handle it i will definitely go back to meth. i must go back. i want to treat them right, spend time with them. but the only thing i let go was my parents. i said, if i dont take meth now then when im 50 then take meh? i really can stop taking meth? im gna regret not doing this now when i can. just 1 more month wont hurt. until i get back up on my feet next year, next year, next year, next year. and 4 years past just like that. i lost everything when i didnt let go. 

i did not expect to see the day i stop meth this soon ah honestly. back when i stopped for 400+ days, it felt like i just "chanced upon", "accidentally", "it just happened". 

but im not letting u go like that. ironically, if theres 1 thing i learn is to hold on to things. just the right one this time. see all these men that i thought gave me what i wanted, and thought i was the one gaining. i was losing. i was always losing. weight, losing, dignity, losing, self worth, losing, health, losing, hair, losing, self love, losing. there wasnt a day that i was high that i was fucking actually like high and winning. for so long i thought i was and its so embarrassing that i once thought like that. and i think with jacob, it was the feelings that got spilled over, the "chanced upon", "accidentally", and the "it just happened"s that spilled over. yknow what i mean? it was the "losing" that i thought was "winning" that got spilled over. it was alot of how my messed up mind thinks. 

i think i live dangerously but with caution now. and im sorry i still get emotional when u talk to monica or mabel now. it still fucking sting. that was all i ever wanted. i wanted u to chase me. maybe it seemed like u did. but when u tell my stories about how u chase ur exes and the things u tell these girls now. i so fucking wish it were me or i get to experience that. it feels like ive nv had a shot. we just "chanced upon", "accidentally", and "it just happened". i just again couldnt fucking see it. just because it was organic and not forced, i became complacent and greedy. and i feel that spilling over again, why am i being greedy now. and how could i? i really wish i am not powered by my emotions. its so logical and obvious that i should not go near u in public or touch u like that or act like i do. if u were the one that did it i really dont know how i will handle this. and i thank u everyday for giving me the chance to express my love for u and letting me help u mend, even though its clearly very confusing for u. i say i dont want anything from u, want to fix u before u go onto ur next love. its true. i fully mean it. 100%, actually. but i cant help to feel absolutely shit and fucking jealous over the man i love, the only one i want. the only one i really truly want. none of these 20 over something men has ever given me, or made me feel, or treated me, the way u do. its magic. (not energy) because that was probably how u felt when i broke the news to u and lied and hide to u. i am sorry. id do everything differently, and itd be close to 500+ days now. but this reset feels right. this reset on the number feels more genuine. i hope i can reset it for u too. and i understand if u cant see me the same way. im sorry i thought our love was unrequited. and im sorry for always wanting more. im sorry for fucking things up. but i mean it when i say asking u to come back is just not it. not my goal. but i will always be jealous of that girl. the same way i do before i fuck it all up, and the way i do now. except now i face it lor... i fucked it up until like that. (hehe until)

And I don't mind waiting every day

When it's the right time

We'll come around again

pt2

i.fucking.hate.that.u.like.mabel.i.hate.it.i.hate.myself.i.hate.that.u.think.shes.an.out.i.hate.that.its.not.me.i.fucking.hate.myself.for.doing.those.things.i.cant.stop.u.i.fucking.hate.that.i.cant.stop.u.must.be.tough.for.u.but.i.hate.living.in.fear.thinking.when.u.gna.do.it

and it feels like ure all in ready to do it. u havent really deny that u dont want to do it havent u. u seem motivated. and i have to face this punishment i deserve. but fuck its fucking hateful and its directed all at myself. u wont love me anymore and i am 100% sure. and i really fucking hate myself for this. goodnight. 

[piplupod]

.

[flwrkisses]

i know, i love you — cyj.

hi guys! thanks to everyone who showed support to my past couple txt headcannons! i can't wait to work on some more for all of you. so! i got two lovely requests that were very similar. so i decided to blend them together!

genre: angst, some fluff at the end.

warnings: mentions of drinking in a party situation, cursing. fem! reader. *was not proof read*

summary: in which y/n comes home late and yeonjun isn't too happy about it.

finally getting to your apartment, you let out a sigh of relief. the ache in your feet had finally subsided as you threw your heels aside, not caring if they had landed where they were meant to go. you were beyond exhausted and ready to go to bed, make up and all but you knew your boyfriend would never let you do so. the clock read 3:15 am, it was way later than when you expected to be home but you figured it didn't hurt anyone to go out once in a while. you were a hard worker and this night out was a treat for working so hard in the way you always did.

"where the hell were you?" a familiar male voice said from behind you. you jumped before hissing at the burning sensation in the arch of your foot from the shoes you refused to take off all night. "junnie, baby i didn't know you were awake." you relaxed your features as you walked over and wrapped your arms around his frame and yet, he stiffened under your touch. "i called you like 50 times y/n." he stated firmly. your boyfriend was beyond pissed off with you. while you were having a fun time with friends late at night, his mind was going crazy thinking about things that could have happened to you. it wasn't fair to him.

"relax, i told you i was going out and i'd be coming late." you rolled your eyes. you were tired, ready for bed and being hit with unnecessary panic. "i'm going to bed." you announced just before strutting off, not caring what yeonjun had to say. you had fun, and that was all that mattered to you. if your boyfriend wanted to fight with you about it he could save it for the next morning when you werent dying to sleep. as you changed and washed your face you noticed the reflection in your bathroom mirror of your empty bed. "yeonjun?" you called out before drying your face with your towel and yet there was no answer. "junnis baby please!" you pleaded as you walked out of the bathroom to he met with his figure sitting at the end of the bed putting on his shoes.

"where are you going?"

"out."

the short cut response set a fire going in your chest. you knew he was angry but, he would never speak to you in such a way. "no this isn't fair—"

"no what's not fair is not knowing where my girlfriend is at 3 o'clock in the morning! y/n you hardly go out and when you do i lose you for hours!" he sighed and looked out you, his brows furrowed in sadness and worry and his lips lightly parted. "i-i dont care if you go out but i need communication baby, you can't believe how many sick fucks are out there at this time. i just want to know you're safe." he explained and shook his head. you could tell there was more he wanted to say so you decided to stay quiet. "it's not fair..." he pleated, his tone switching as he realized his thoughts. "i can hardly sleep when you don't communicate with me, what if i was asleep and something happened to you? hm? what if i don't hear my phone? what would happen then?" he asked.

guilt flooded your thoughts. as much as you hated to admit it, he was right. if there was one thing yeonjun did it was protect you, even if he wasn't there. he'd check in on you with texts every couple hours, make sure you're still at whatever bar you mentioned and even would offer to drive you and your friends home if you guys drank too much. "i'm sorry..." you sighed and ran a hand through your hair. "i didn't have my phone on me... im sorry."

"great, im sleeping at my studio tonight." he said as he got up, you almost forgot how easily he towered over you. the last thing you wanted him to do tonight was leave you alone. "yeonjun please stay, we hardly ever get nights like this." you sighed. it was true. nights where the both of you were able to sleep in eachother's arms were rare and often a luxury for the both of you. but, yeonjun was seriously upset and you know he was insanely vicious when he got this way, sometimes even saying horrible things he didn't mean just to make a point.

"i don't want to say something i don't mean and make this worse if i stay okay? you said sorry and im glad you did, i just need to cool down."

pouting a bit you looked at him, you noticed the obvious exhausted frustration in his eyes and softened a bit. the last thing you wanted was to let him drive like that. as much as he protected you, you often times protected him. you just had to get him to go to bed. "baby, come on lets go. we're both exhausted and it wont do us any good. we can talk about it in the morning okay?" you leveled with him as you placed a hand on his cheek. that same hand ran back to the nape of his neck and up into his hair.

"please?" you whispered as you gently scratched the back of his head. he sighed in return, accepting he was going to bed right there with you. gently, you sat him down and took off his shoes, changed him to a lighter shirt—something you knew he'd be more comfortable in. his eyes tiredly followed your every move. "you know i love you right?" he asked softly. a small smile came to your lips as you finally settled yourself in front of him, looking down at his seated position. "i know, and i love you too... i'm sorry for not communicating jun... i really am." 

"it's fine, i was being psychotic." he chuckled tiredly before letting his body weight push him back to lay on your shared bed. "it's not psychotic, you just want to make sure im okay." you responded, crawling into bed and laying your head on his chest. "i'm here now though baby, you can rest~" you hummed softly and played with his hair until his breaths became a bit deepened and his muscles relaxed. he was finally asleep.

thanks for reading! i go on vacation today so, posts might be slower for the next week!

- m.

[espressogal]

spent so much money on skin care and makeup and im going so crazy over not being as active last year but idk if im burnt out but im just not losing weight the way i used to and idc as much but i do but also im in my last two weeks of undergrad what the fuckity fuck and i wanna do well and im resigniing from all my jobs and i need to find a job but no ones getting back to me and its so exhausting and im so tired and so done and its so hard to make friends but i dont even want that many friends but i feeel like i neeed friends bc im 22 and time is running out i mean i know its not but it feels like it bc i guess im comparing myself to everyone and i dont have it figured out idek who i am how am i supposed to know what to do with life if feel the weight of the entire world on me my 20s was supposed to be fun and figuring myself out but why does it feel like hell why does just enjoying my time feel like torture maybe its bc im so focused on the idea of enjoying my time im not realizing that the times im supposed to enjoy my time im worrying about enjoying my time so im wasting my enjoyed time on stressing and its making me feel like im wastiig my time and why do i feel like this im only 22 but also how am i 22 i was only 18 yesterday and 16 the day before when did this all happen why am i closer to 30 than 13 why are my friends talking about getting engaged why is everyone moving out why cant i move out without the gut wrenching feeling of leaving my family behind i was supposed to get close to them by now but im now i have independence but i dont i wanna leave this city but ill leave a part of me behind like an unfinished chapter that i forcefully ended i need to finish this chapter and make amends with the past and unlearn my trauma responses and forgive myself but how am i supposed to do all that and also become the girl of my dreams and who even is the girl of my dreams she changes after meeting every new person that enters her life or when shes infatuated by a new character or influencer who makes their life seem like a fairytale but anyway theyre all bullshit anyway social media is fucking fake everyone wants to seem perfect and put together and happy and for what?? whatver man whatever makes you cope i mean if i looked perfect and was rich i guess id do it too and it would be nice to get paid for being fake perfect but who wants to be fake perfect anyway i cant imagine living my life and making money based on how other people perceive me i cant imagine what that would do to ones self esteem oh wait i already do that except i dont get paid huh funny isnt it anyway i have a headache and im so so so sleepy these days like my system is running on cbd maybe i shouldnt have bought a pack of 50 edibles but my antidepressants arent doing jack shit but making me feel horrible so its weed or its anxiety man i wish therapy was free where am i gunna go whwen i graduate i need a psychiatrist but theyre held up until next year i need it so just stop man oh wait i just got an email my sephora order is shipped im happy now

[quokkacore]

with great power I [lee jeno]

summary: there are two things jeno loves most about his life. one being spiderman, the other being you, his best friend. there’s just one issue: after your father’s death, you decide you hate both spiderman and yourself.

pairing: lee jeno x reader

genre: superhero au, high school au, coming of age, best friends to strangers(ish) to lovers, fluff, ANGST, minor crack

warnings (for this chapter): language, violence, gun violence, the mafia, parental death, police presence, sexual references, bullying (ily san im sorry), the dreamies being dicks to each other, police corruption, towards the end jeno experiences something similar to sensory overload, americanized names, pop culture references, VERY jeno centric

song rec: we go up - nct dream // any song - zico // 21 questions - waterparks // talk (remix feat. megan thee stallion & yo gotti) - khalid // sunrise - ateez // i really like you - carly rae jepsen // dare - gorillaz // stray kids - the tortoise and the hare

word count: 10.5k

a/n: this is so late...... i blame attack on titan. but hey!! better late than never :] a huge thanks to @doderyscoffee​ for beta reading <3

main masterlist // story masterlist

chapter one: jeno and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

Jeno despised Tuesdays. He was pretty sure that Tuesdays despised Jeno as well because all of his worst days just so happen to be Tuesdays. He was 96% sure that, if there was a god, his day off was on Tuesdays, or that the planets aligned in such a manner on Tuesdays that it caused universal despair and misery. If he was to take Donghyuck's word for it, his chakra attracted negative energy the most on Tuesdays.

When Jeno was 5, his goldfish Pippin had died on a Tuesday. When he had his ass handed to him on the playground by San Choi in the third grade, it was a Tuesday. And in the seventh grade, he'd failed his Spanish test, missed his bus and walked home in the rain only to find out that his Aunt Sunny was at work, he'd left his keys in his locker and that had to wait an hour before she got home to unlock it for him, all on a Tuesday. 

And wouldn't you know it, here he was, late for the first day of senior year, which was, of all days, a godforsaken Tuesday.

In his eternal wisdom, he'd stayed up gaming with Renjun until two in the morning, and because of it, slept through his three alarms, one set at six-thirty, the other at 6:45, the last one at 7:00. 

He'd woken up at 7:17, to the sound of his elderly neighbor's pet chihuahua barking at a pigeon, checked the time, immediately panicked, sped into the shower, gotten dressed in a haste, grabbed a few granola bars from the pantry, and ran out the door while trying to jam his backpack closed, and managed to catch the train at 7:40, which took about twenty minutes to get to his stop, plus a ten-minute walk to school, and class started at 8:10. Not to mention he’d have to stop by the office and pick up his schedule. At best, he’d be five minutes late to his first class. But tardies were tardies, regardless, and the last thing he needed was to lose his perfect attendance streak. 

He fished out his phone while standing on the train, waiting for his stop, scrolling through Instagram, and liking random pictures. A ping! from his phone caught his attention, then two, then a third. He smiled softly when your name popped up on his screen.

[7:48 AM]

y/n: pssst

y/n: shithead

y/n: where r u ????

[7:49 AM] 

y/n: i can sEE u online on ig u know

jeno: …… i'm on the train

jeno: woke up late

y/n: YOURE GONNA BE LATR

y/n: LATE*

y/n: ON THE FIRST DAY OF SENIOR YEAR

[7:50]

jeno: probably, yeah

jeno: it's the school district's fault, why would they make the first day of school on a fkn TUESDAY 

y/n: ohhh yeahh its terrible tuesday

y/n: [sent an attachment!]

[7:51 AM]

jeno: SHUT UP

jeno: you're not funny >:(

jeno: how dare you laugh at my misfortune

y/n: au contraire im hilarious

jeno: meanie :(

jeno: im gonna be late i hate it here

jeno: it'll end up on my permanent record and i'm not gonna get into college and then i'm gonna die,,,

[7:52 AM] 

y/n: sometimes ur worse than hyuck i swear 

y/n: FIRST OF ALL permanent records dont even exist !!!!!! its propaganda duh

y/n: also ur literally never late 

y/n: im sure o n e tardy wont do anything chill

y/n: dont be stupid youll be fine

Don’t be stupid. Too little, too late, he thought, already having got off the train at a previous stop. Now, he was looking for an unoccupied street or alleyway, which, for once, was easy, taking a deep breath before he did the exact opposite of what you’d told him not to do. Don’t be stupid. 

The buildings are low, he thought to himself, it’ll be easier to see me. 

Don’t be stupid.

Too late!

Thwip!

Jeno didn’t hesitate to use the web fluid to pull himself up onto the wall, climbing in a haste, before running and jumping onto the next building. He quickly built up a quick pace, using the web fluid occasionally to swing onto a building slightly out of jumping range. 

Signs in English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish flew past him as he seemingly flew over the Queens traffic, leaving Flushing behind and crossing quickly into College Point quicker than he would if he took the train. He glanced to his left and caught a view of the bay, and far across it, the LaGuardia airport watchtower.

Jeno had lived in New York City his entire life. He knew Queens like the back of his hand, knew every dingy alleyway, every sketchy street, which restaurants to avoid if you didn’t want to get food poisoning, which convenience store aunties were the nicest and didn’t pinch his cheeks too hard. It was his home, and most likely would be for the rest of his life. 

But seeing it like this, flying past him below as he glided with ease from building to building would never cease to be a sight to him. It was like watching from the perspective of an outsider, seeing people in their cars, walking along the street gave him a brand new perspective. A Jeno’s eye view, he called it, since he was pretty sure he was the only one in New York City.

Another noise from his phone brought him back to reality. He shook his head, stopping briefly to catch his breath and fish out his phone briefly. 

[7:57 AM] 

y/n: let me know when u get here !!!

No time to respond, he put away the phone and continued his trek to school. He had less than ten minutes to get there. But he knew he was already at least five minutes away, much quicker than he would be if he had decided to stick to the train. He smiled a bit to himself, feeling ever so slightly smug.

The hustle and bustle of the city definitely proved challenging to find a place to land without many eyes, but he figured it out eventually, landing behind a dumpster in an alleyway behind a restaurant that he knew was about three or four blocks from the school. He figured it would be a lot better to take it on foot from here. The notebooks he was carrying in his backpack bounced up and down with every step he took. 

After what seemed like forever, the gates to the school appeared in his view, and Jeno felt a joy in his heaving chest, something he would have never thought would happen upon seeing the absolute hellhole that was Samuel Morse High School. 

[8:06 AM]

jeno: just did >:D

Picking up his schedule was both quick and insanely long. He couldn’t stop himself from tapping his left foot while the secretary found his schedule and handed it to him. “Kibum, please hurry,” He muttered, and Kibum raised an eyebrow at him, but his gaze was teasing. “That’s Mr. Kim to you, in school at least.” 

He handed Jeno his schedule a few seconds later. “Tell your Aunt to come pick up her casserole dish, by the way. She left it at my house after my last viewing party.”

“The Bachelor?”

“Please. We’re too classy for that. Drag Race.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Jeno,” Kibum said, staring up at him from his desk, his gaze now much more serious, “Get to class. Happy first day of senior year.”

“Thanks, Mr. Kim.”

He managed to make it to chemistry class at 8:09 with seconds to spare. His eyes quickly scanned the room upon entering, hoping his friends were in the class with him. He caught a few familiar faces, most of which, like San Choi's, he wished to avoid. No one paid him any mind. Everyone was still speaking to the people next to them, no doubt exchanging stories of summer vacation. 

  A hand shot up towards the back, waving at him. A smile stretched across his face as he registered your face, feet not hesitating to carry him towards the empty seat next to you. His heart skipped a beat at seeing your smile, and he tried his best to ignore it.

“Hey,” You greeted, “That was fast. I thought you said you were gonna be late.”

Jeno shrugged, eyes landing on the dark shade of the lab table. “The train was a lot faster than I expected, apparently.”

You wrinkled your nose. “Why do you smell so bad?”

“I, uh… ran a little.” 

You grimaced, and Jeno tried to casually sniff at his slightly sweaty clothes. It’s not that bad. “I still don’t understand why you won’t let me drive you to school. You’re literally next door.”

“I don’t know,” He answered, rolling his eyes, “Maybe it’s because when it comes to that truck, you are absolutely insane. You won’t even let me drink water in that thing.”

The truck in question, a faded red 1998 Chevrolet S-10, had been your gift to yourself for your 17th birthday. You’d spent two summers saving up to buy yourself a truck, and that was what you were able to get for what you had. To say it was a huge piece of junk on wheels was an understatement. 

The thing smelled like mothballs no matter how many air fresheners you bought it, the engine sounded like an old man having a coughing fit, and there was a very suspicious stain in the backseat that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times you scrubbed it. But for some reason, you treated it like it was your own baby. The amount of times you’d yelled at Jaemin for trying to put his feet on the dashboard was too high to count.

You mirrored his movement, eyes rolling as you sighed. “At least let me drive you home after school today. Maybe you can stay and we can finally watch Blade Runner.”

You’d been trying to get him to watch the film for almost a month now, begging and pleading because you insisted that he’d love it. He offered an awkward stare, before opening his backpack and pulling out a notebook. “Can’t,” He mumbled, “I’m headed into Manhattan. I have my internship afterwards.”

“Oh, yeah,” You said nonchalantly, eyebrows shooting up as you remembered, “Park Industries.” 

He was about to reply when Mrs. Baker, the chemistry teacher, finally entered. She’d been working at SMHS for 30 years and had never, apparently, been nice, if his Aunt Sunny’s stories were anything to go by. However, she had apparently always spoken as if she smoked two packs a day. She was rambling about the importance of making the most of senior year academically, adult responsibilities, college, and whatnot. You and Jeno exchanged glances often throughout the monologue, hoping it would end soon. 

“Enough of that,” She said after what seemed like an eternity, “Everyone quiet down, I’m going to call roll.”

Names were quickly called, and Jeno was ready to pull out a pencil and start working with you until Mrs Baker demanded a switch in seats, beginning to call on random names in an effort to deter everyone from speaking. 

"Please not with Choi, please not with Choi," Jeno muttered under his breath, glancing warily at San, who was staring ahead, looking bored. 

San had had it out for Jeno ever since day one, in first grade. For some reason, everything Jeno did seemed to annoy the other boy. He wasn't funny enough, or too nerdy, or too quiet. Jeno was always too much or too little for him. 

You touched his forearm, and he looked towards you. 

“You’ll be fine,” You said softly, trying not to alert the teacher, “You’re not gonna get paired up with him, and you can take it to the office if you need to.” “Yeah, because I’m sure Coach Peralta would be thrilled if someone tried to get his precious midfielder in trouble.”

“Choi, San,” Mrs Baker’s voice rang throughout the room, and Jeno braced himself for the worst, eyebrows furrowing with worry. 

“You’ll be sitting with… L/N, Y/N.” 

Jeno’s shoulders slumped, but your face remained impassive. You picked up your stuff, and pouted silently at Jeno in apology, before making your way to the front. 

“Lee, Jeno,” Mrs Baker called a few minutes later, “You’ll be sitting with Jang, Yeeun.”

He breathed out a sigh of relief. Yeeun is nice, Jeno thought to himself, I could sit with Yeeun. She wasn’t part of his main friend group, but he had tutored her in math during sophomore year in exchange for her helping him with Spanish, and they’d been pretty friendly ever since. 

“Hey,” Yeeun greeted as Jeno sat down, and Jeno smiled at her. 

“Remember, these will be your assigned lab partners for the rest of the semester. No changes, no exceptions.” Mrs. Baker sat down at her desk, before beginning to talk about something Jeno didn’t really pay attention to.

You exchanged glances with Jeno, and he gave you a look of sympathy as you gestured at San with your eyes. San was talking to you about something—probably bragging about some soccer achievement—but you weren’t paying him much attention. Jeno swallowed something growing in his throat as he looked at how your hair looked today. 

It was nothing relatively new, the same hairstyle you used on most days. But still, there was a bit of a shine to it. He wondered vaguely if you had changed your shampoo, the other day you’d been complaining about how itchy your normal shampoo made your scalp—

“You still haven’t told her about how you feel?” Yeeun asked quietly, and Jeno’s head snapped back to look at her, eyes wide.

“W-what? Me. Like Y/N…” He laughed nervously, trying to keep his voice down. He scratched the back of his head, avoiding Yeeun’s accusatory stare. “You’re hilarious, Yeeun. Tell another one.”

Yeeun shook her head. “You’d better hurry before someone else snatches her up, Jen. She’s not gonna wait around for you forever.”

 “I don’t like her, Yeeun.” 

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Hey! Jeno Lee!”

“Hey! Jaemin Na! What do you want!” Jeno answered as he sat down, mimicking Jaemin’s tone next to him.

“Well, for starters, a million dollars, and second, a date with Yiren Wang, but I doubt you can help me with either of those, so...”

Jeno glanced at the rest of the table. Along with Jaemin, Mark,  Renjun, Donghyuck, and you were watching the interaction between the pair. “Where are the munchkins?” Jeno asked, noticing Chenle and Jisung’s absence. No one could really call them munchkins anymore. That nickname dated back to middle school, before the two underclassmen had gone through growth spurts.

“Eh, they should be here soon,” Renjun said, chewing on a french fry, “How’s your day been?”

“Pretty good so far, I guess. I got AP Calc with Mr. Washington later, though. That man wants me dead.”

You rolled your eyes. “He doesn’t want you dead. I’m telling you, you and Hyuck have been spending way too much time together. You’re being more dramatic than usual and Hyuck’s being more… weird than usual.”

“And just what is so weird about being enthusiastic about senior year, Y/N?” Donghyuck asked, shaking his head, “It’s our last year in this hellhole, I’m excited that we’re finally getting out of here. And besides—”

“Please don’t bring up the fact that you’re abandoning us next year.” Chenle seemingly appeared out of nowhere, sitting next to Renjun, Jisung following quickly behind him.

“Hi, Sungie,” You said with a smile, and Jisung smiled back. “Hi, Y/N.”

“What were you saying, Hyuck?” Jaemin looked at Donghyuck, who had taken the quick interaction as an opportunity to take a bite of his sandwich. His wide eyes darted to the slim boy, cheeks stuffed with chicken. 

“Oh,” He replied after swallowing, “This is gonna be my year. I’m getting male lead for the winter musical and no one is gonna stop me.”

“Do you even know what musical you guys are doing yet?” Mark asked, “What if it’s like… Shrek?”

Jisung made a face. “There’s a Shrek musical?”

Mark nodded, and Renjun laughed.

“I don’t know about male lead, if it’s Shrek. You should try out for Donkey,” The Chinese boy joked, “With those front teeth, you’re a shoo-in.”

The entire table was silent for a moment, before snorts and chortles started pouring out from everyone except Donghyuck.

“Fuck you, Huang.” 

Renjun flashed the friendliest smile he could muster. “Not if you paid me a million dollars.”

The subject remained on extracurriculars, everyone in your group except for Chenle and Jisung now wary of college applications. Donghyuck had been in theater ever since middle school, Renjun was in the robotics club and the debate team with Jaemin, who was also in the student council. Mark was on the math team with Jeno, and you had founded the film club. 

"You're not gonna believe who asked to sign up for film," You huffed, looking kind of confused. The rest of the table looked at you expectantly, and you pursed your lips, almost as if you were trying not to laugh.

"San Choi."

Renjun scoffed. Jaemin raised his eyebrows before letting out a single, humorless laugh. Jeno made a face, poking his plastic fork at you. 

"What is San Choi doing asking to sign up for film?"

"Fuck if I know. He said he needed one more extracurricular if he wanted to get into some college in Florida and he liked going to the movies, so he wanted to try out film."

Mark rolled his eyes. "I swear there's nothing in that guy's head but hot gas. It blows my mind."

"He's a dick," Chenle grumbled, "I'm still not over how he and Wooyoung taped Jisung to the flagpole last year."

Jisung scowled. "I thought we agreed to never bring that up again."

“Do you think they’ll finally calm the fuck down this year?” Jaemin wondered, looking wistful.

You took a sip of your coke and shook your head. “Doubt it. They’re not the hateful eight for a reason.”

The mood at the table turned tense, until Jaemin frowned at his french fries, before sighing and clapping his hands together dramatically. “I would like to hear,” He mused, “About the nuance that theatre gives the cinematic masterpiece that is Shrek when converted into musical form.”

Donghyuck beamed. “Oh, it’s amazing. You see…”

If it was difficult to get Donghyuck to stop talking in general, it was impossible when it was about theater.

The conversation continued on until the bell rang, and the eight of you had to go your separate ways. Jaemin and Jeno had the same class, so they both walked together down a relatively calm hallway. Jaemin looked both ways, before finally lowering his voice. 

“So, you’re going to see Mr. Park today?”

Jeno nodded, looking down at his shoes. “He said he wanted to give me an assignment. Says there’s something big going on.”

Jaemin’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Did he say what kind of something?” 

Jeno shook his head, pouting slightly. “I’ll let you know tomorrow.” 

Once school was out, Jeno was getting ready to get onto the subway once again, this time heading towards Midtown. It was only day one and, as Jeno had predicted, Mr. Washington probably was out to get him, because he’d swamped the class with homework.

As he left the school, he spotted you in the parking lot, leaning against your car door, texting someone. He glanced at his phone. He still had plenty of time, he figured. He walked over to you, and when you looked up, you smiled. 

“Hey!” Your voice had that signature tone of enthusiasm to it, and Jeno smiled back immediately. 

“Hello,” He sing-songed. “So, I was thinking… are you free on Friday night?”

You looked somewhere above his head, furrowing your eyebrows before you perked up again and nodded. “Yep! Why?”

“I’m free after nine. Maybe then I could come over to your house? So I can finally get you to stop harassing me about Blade Runner.”

You grinned, pumping your fists enthusiastically. “Hell yes,” You answered, “Do you want me to get like, some frozen pizzas or something?” 

“Pizza sounds good,” He said. “Who are you even waiting for?” 

You made a face that made it seem as if you’d just gotten a whiff of rotten milk. “Well—”

Your response was interrupted when the school doors slammed open, and eight figures poured out, carrying themselves with confidence Jeno both envied and despised. He frowned, trying not to react at their loud whooping and laughing. The Hateful Eight.

“Oh.” Jeno averted his gaze, meeting your eyes again.

“Yeah. If you don’t hear from me later it’s because I jumped out of my truck because I don’t wanna work with—”

“Well, hello, gorgeous!” San’s voice filled the parking lot, and Jeno took a deep breath. Your mouth stretched into a tight-lipped smile at the unwanted ‘compliment’. 

“Hey, San.” Your friendly passive aggressive tone almost made Jeno smile. “I’ve been waiting here for like, fifteen minutes. You could have just given me your number and asked me to send you pictures of my notes, you know.”

He shrugged, turning his body so that his back was turned to Jeno. “Sorry, babe. Coach wanted to talk to us about the upcoming season. When he gets going, it’s hard to get him to stop. And besides, where’s the fun in just asking for pictures when I could come here, talk to you, and take the pictures myself?”

You didn’t respond, but rather pulled out your backpack and began digging through it. When you pulled out your notebook, you handed it to San, who flashed a wink at you. You barely held back a gag. 

“Thanks, Y/N. I’ll just be a minute.” 

He walked over to the hood of your truck, and just as you were about to continue your conversation, two figures slung their arms around both of Jeno’s shoulders, causing him to flinch. 

Out of the fifteen soccer players on the team, San and his best friends—seven of them, to be precise—were the worst. The others were pretty nice. But right now, seeing two of those seven surround your best friend made you uneasy. 

Wooyoung was loud. He was also a temperamental brat. His dad owned three used car dealerships over in Brooklyn, so naturally, he thought he owned the entire world. He wasn’t someone who would get too physical in fights, like San, or Jongho, or Yeosang. But when he was angry, he could easily get you to jump into the stratosphere by yelling at you once. Over the years, he’d made several teaching assistants and substitute teachers cry, only getting let off with a slap on the wrist every time. 

 Yunho was terrifying for completely different reasons. He was friendly, but a little too friendly to the people he wanted to control. He could read people like books and could easily manipulate whoever he wanted. But he wasn’t afraid of getting physical either, especially not when he was built like a goddamn Power Rangers Megazord. 

All in all, they definitely weren't anyone you wanted near you, near your friends. Especially considering how much they had it out for your friends. 

"Hey, buddy," Yunho said, looking down at Jeno with a wide smile. "How was summer vacation?"

Jeno gnawed on the side of his cheek as he considered his answer. "Um, it was okay." He looked at you to catch your eyes darting between San, Yunho and Wooyoung, like you were analyzing the situation. "I kinda stayed in and played video games most of the t—"

"Cool, cool," Yunho answered, carding his free hand through his bleach blond hair. "What about you, Woo?"

"Oh, dude, it was so cool," He bragged, "I went to Brazil for like, a month. I went clubbing with Instagram models and shit, it was wild."

You stared at him as he patted Jeno on the back rather aggressively. "Where did you go? Have you ever even left New York?" 

You knew the answer. Only a few times when the debate team went to compete in different states. Jeno spoke up again. "Well, yeah a few t—"

"Doubt it," Yunho scoffed. He craned his head back. "San, you done yet?"

"Almost!" San answered. Yunho turned to face you, and for some reason his smile seemed genuinely kind. “What about you, Y/N?”

You never understood why it was that the soccer team hated your entire friend group, but seemed to tolerate you. It made no sense.

So you shrugged. “Not a lot, I guess. Did my summer reading. Hung out with my friends.” You flashed a reassuring smile at Jeno. “Right, Jen?”

Immediately, he relaxed a little bit. “Yeah.”

San appeared from behind Yunho, Jeno and Wooyoung. “Thanks, Y/N. I owe you one.”

You waved your hand, wanting them to get rid of them quickly. “Don’t mention it. But next time, just text me for my notes. I have to get to work, so…”

“Oh! My bad,” He answered with fake remorse, before unlocking his phone and handing it over to you. “Here. For next time.”

You stifled a deep sigh, punching in the numbers hesitantly. “Just for homework, got it?”

San took his phone back, holding a hand over his heart and raised his head. “On a gentleman's honor,” He declared, and you bit back a laugh. Jeno looked like he was going to hurl.

“San!” The team captain—Hongjoong—called from a few feet away, “Are you guys done yet or what?”

“Coming!” San yelled back.

“Alright, we’ll let you go,” Wooyoung said, patting Jeno on the back again, a bit too harsh for comfort. “Bye, Y/N! See you around.”

 The three of them stalked off, leaving you and a very frazzled Jeno. “Dicks,” You muttered once they were out of earshot. “You good?”

Jeno shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine.”

You tilted your head, frowning. “Jeno—”

“I gotta go,” He said quickly. “I’ll see you later?”

You nodded, offering a lopsided smile. “Yeah. Be careful!” 

Jeno offered a deep bow, fluttering his eyelashes. “On a gentleman’s honor,” He sighed, adding a very bad British accent to it. You burst out laughing, eyes squeezing shut.

You didn’t catch the way Jeno’s shoulders relaxed at the sound.

I want you to know now

Baby, it could go down

I don’t wanna talk about it

Baby, let’s just go now

The train ride into Midtown didn’t take too long. He spent it digging through his backpack for his Park Industries lanyard, listening to music and thinking about you.

When you talk right to me 

You gon’ have to do me

Every time you think you’re leaving 

You running back to me

You’d met Jeno when you were six. Truth be told, he didn’t really remember. For him it was like you weren’t there at one point and by the time you were, you were thicker than thieves. It was a difficult time for him. He had just lost both of his parents, and was moving in with his Aunt Sunny and his Uncle Jinki, who were barely out of college at the time. He’d had to move to a new school and basically restart his entire life. You were the first sense of stability in his life for months. 

Your mom lived next to his aunt and uncle. So naturally, you went to the same school and went on the same bus. And somewhere along the way, you two clicked. You’d introduced him to Renjun, Jaemin and Donghyuck. You were there to comfort him whenever he got pushed off the slide by San or Wooyoung. 

He was there for you when your stepdad and stepbrother moved in when you were nine and you weren’t sure how to deal with it. He was there when your mom died when you were thirteen. He’d introduced you and your friends to Mark, Chenle and Jisung. 

And you were there when his Uncle Jinki got killed when he was fifteen. And because fate had an especially cruel sense of irony, it had happened on a Tuesday. You didn’t know, but at the time, he had just gotten his powers. Your comfort and words unknowingly had a secondary effect: he made the decision to use them for good, and… well. The rest was history. 

Can we just talk? Can we just talk?

Talk about where we're goin'

Before we get lost, lend me your thoughts

Can't get what we want without knowin'

Just like when he met you, he didn’t recall an exact moment where he realized he’d fallen in love with you. He knew there was a world where he loved you, but wasn’t in love with you. And he knew that there was a world here he’d fallen in love with you—he was living in that world now. He realized he was living in that world maybe when he was sixteen, and had been stuck in it ever since. 

You were it for him. He’d had crushes before. But never something like this, where he was so aware of your presence around him. It wasn’t the way he was hyper aware of someone like San, or like Yunho or Jongho. It wasn’t out of anxiety or fear, where a shift in mood activated his fight or flight. He was aware of you in a way that only people who truly know each other do, where he could pick up on subtle changes in your behavior, but not out of fear. Rather, out of a desire to take care of you and to not have you worry about anything. 

I've never felt like this before

I apologize if I'm movin' too far

Can we just talk? Can we just talk?

Figure out where we're goin'...

As the train rolled into the station that was a fifteen minute walk from Park Tower, Jeno put away his headphones and took a deep breath.

The “Jeno Tingle” as his Aunt Sunny called it—Jeno hated the term—had taken him a few years to gain control of. And while he could never truly turn it off, he could at least tune it out enough to be more at ease. The only time he did so was at school or when he was studying, just because he wanted to feel normal, and because being aware of everything going on around him really messed with his concentration. 

Jaemin didn’t understand. “If I was able to tell whenever Seonghwa was behind me because he wanted to scare me into doing his chemistry homework, I’d never turn that shit off,” He’d said once. But truthfully, Jeno didn’t really care. Because while yes, he was still slightly scared of the “hateful eight”, he knew damn well that if things got to be too much, he could kick their asses if he wanted to. 

It was his friends he worried about. He couldn’t be around them 24/7. You, not so much. He knew you knew how to fight. Even worse, he knew that San had the hots for you so you were off limits to the rest of them, be it bullying or flirting. But for everyone else… Well. He couldn’t hover over them like some guardian angel. 

Now that the “Jeno Tingle” was on, it allowed him to sense everyone within a certain range around him. He could zero in on certain sounds with ease, and his reflexes became heightened. Halfway on his walk up Park Avenue, he jumped away from a chihuahua on its leash a second before it started barking at him.

When he entered the first floor lobby of the Park Building, he scoured the crowd of employees and visitors until he landed on one familiar face. 

He'd met Doyoung about a year after his dad started dating your mom. Things between your parents were starting to get serious, and Doyoung was four years older than you were. When they moved into your house, Doyoung as your new stepbrother became the de facto chaperone and babysitter. If you wanted to go to the mall with Jeno, he had to take you. Every time you dragged Jeno to the movies, Doyoung had to go also. 

To an extent, it wasn't that bad. Doyoung was cool, and he was smart—he was the one who got Jeno interested in computers and chemistry. He graduated high school at 16, and finished his bachelor's degree at 19. He'd also interned at Park Industries, and secured a job there almost immediately after college. 

To an extent, he was the whole reason Mr. Park knew who he was, because of one incident. It was relatively soon after he started the whole vigilante thing. Jeno, still figuring out how to maneuver on the webs that shot out of his wrists, had accidentally crashed into your backyard late at night, when only Doyoung was awake. He was standing in the back door while he was waiting for his dog to finish peeing. 

Initially, the older boy had freaked out, thinking that it was a burglar or something. When he yelled out that his dad was a cop and was asleep in the house, Jeno panicked, and pulled off his mask, holding up his hands.

“Woah, woahwoahwoah! Doyoung! It’s me, it’s me!” 

Doyoung’s eyes had widened to the size of saucers, paying no mind to the dog as it sauntered up to Jeno, before turning onto its back in a request for belly rubs.

"You're the spider guy everyone's been talking about!?"

"Spider man," Jeno had answered, voice cracking as he dusted himself off. He cringed at the sound of his voice. "...and yes."

Of course, his cover was blown, and he'd begged Doyoung not to tell anyone, especially not you. And while Doyoung had promised not to tell you, it didn't stop him from telling his boss. 

That had been almost three years ago now. The rest was history, and after that Jeno didn’t have to run around in bright red sweatpants and dollar store swimming goggles. Now, he had a nanotech suit that allowed him to activate protocols of the suit through voice commands using something top-secret Mr. Park called D.R.E.A.M technology. Direct Response Engaged As Machine—yeah, Jeno didn’t get it either. 

Doyoung offered Jeno a smile as he escorted Jeno past security, showing them his employee clearance pass. "Hey. How have you been?"

Jeno shrugged, recounting his day in minor detail as he was led into an elevator labeled authorized personnel only. 

This elevator only went up to the 35th floor, seeing as everything past that was only cleared for a certain list of people approved by Mr. Park and his security team, and everything past the 90th floor were Mr. Park's private living quarters. 

Now, as Doyoung led him to another elevator to head up to the 85th floor, which was always where Jeno got to meet with Mr. Park—which wasn't often, maybe once or twice a year—he wondered where he would be if he hadn’t surprised Doyoung that night. He would probably still be using those ugly red sweatpants as part of his disguise.

"How's Y/N?" Doyoung asked. 

"Oh, she seems okay. That guy who hates me keeps coming onto her though. He's a huge douchebag."

Doyoung frowned. "He's not harassing her, is he? Because if he is—"

"He just won't stop flirting, even though she clearly isn't interested," Jeno said bitterly, "He isn't physical or anything. Trust me, it wouldn't end well for him if he was."

Doyoung wasn't quite sure how to respond to the younger boy's dark tone. He looked down, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“So… how’s the apartment?” Jeno asked. Doyoung perked up instantly.

“Oh, now that Taeyong’s moved in and did his interior design thing, it looks great. He’s really done a great job at it.”

“When am I gonna meet this guy? He sounds cool.”

“He’s really cool,” Doyoung hummed, cheeks heating up. “Things are getting really serious.”

Jeno smiled at how flustered Doyoung, who was normally so level headed and calm, became at the mention of his boyfriend.

“You guys sound like a really good couple,” He said. Doyoung chuckled, waving his hand. “Oh, well—” 

 The elevator dinged, and Doyoung sighed. “I’ll tell you later. C’mon.”

The hallway it opened up to was lined with pictures of the company's history, starting from pictures of black and white of people in vintage clothing, to pictures in sepia tones to finally pictures of the current CEO at locations around the world: Chanyeol Park.

Jeno walked behind Doyoung as he led him down the hallway, before stopping in front of a door, and a friendly looking man in a suit. 

Junmyeon was a part of Chanyeol’s Security and Intelligence team, and often sat in on these meetings with Jeno. The chain of contact also included him. If Jeno couldn’t contact Doyoung (which rarely happened), he’d contact Junmyeon. And if he couldn’t contact either of them, or it was an emergency, only then could he contact Chanyeol. So far, that had only happened once.

"Hey, Junmyeon," Doyoung said, "Mr. Park's 4:30 is here." 

Junmyeon nodded, before smiling at Jeno and giving him a wave. "Hey, kid."

Jeno offered an awkward grin. "Hi, Mr. Kim."

Junmyeon rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Kid, you're making me feel ancient. I've told you a million times, just call me Junmyeon."

Jeno shuffled awkwardly, before nodding at the older man, watching as he pressed a button on his earpiece. "Hey, Yeol. Jeno's here."

The muffled response was barely heard, but Jeno automatically understood what Mr. Park said. Junmyeon turned to open the door, and let the pair inside. The “office”—if it could even be called that—opened up to more of a lounge, than anything. A wall of glass overlooked the Manhattan skyline, but Jeno knew that from the outside it looked only like a wall, due to camouflage technology developed by Mr. Park himself. As Doyoung and Junmyeon stayed back, closer to the door, Jeno took a few steps toward the man in question.

Chanyeol was standing a few feet in front of the glass window, working on a holographic model of a new piece of tech. His face was turned downward in a concentrated frown. He barely spared the teenager a glance as he said fondly, “Hey, kid.”

Jeno was used to this. Chanyeol wasn’t cold per se, but he wasn’t warm at all. He knew that Chanyeol cared about him, even if he didn’t really show it in a conventional way. Chanyeol was a very… eccentric man, so he had his own way of saying and doing things. 

“Hi, Mr. Park. Um… you wanted to talk to me?”

“Yep! Needed some help from the friendly neighborhood Spiderman… A little birdie told me about something going on in Queens.”

“Queens?” Jeno asked, gripping the straps of his backpack. “You mean, other than the usual stuff?”

“Other than the usual stuff,” Chanyeol repeated, nodding. With a wave of his hand, the hologram disappeared, and another one appeared in its place. This time, instead of a 3D model, a few pictures and another, smaller 3D model appeared. Chanyeol turned to face him, frown deepening. He pointed at the model—a long, shiny oval-shaped purple stone. It reminded Jeno of an amethyst, but instead of turning white at the base, it turned to an iridescent jade tone. “You know what this is, right?”

Jeno nodded, remembering seeing the rocks all over the news when he was a kid. “That’s… that’s a Chitauri stone. From the invasion a few years back.”

Chanyeol nodded, standing up straight. “These stones have the potential to power weapons with no need to recharge, or change them out. They’re an infinite, extremely strong power source, Jeno, and in the wrong hands can be very dangerous.”

Jeno took a deep breath, feeling his stomach sink slowly. Chanyeol sighed. “Cleanup of the city after the invasion was long, and difficult, and obviously the government and the company weren’t able to get everything. It caused a black market to pop up. Now, the NYPD has been investigating it for years, but they have their limits… that’s where you come in.”

“M-me, Mr. Park?”

Chanyeol gave him a crooked, reassuring smile. He pointed at one of the pictures, which was of a man who most likely didn’t know he was photographed. He was walking somewhere, face looking angry and stern.

“You don’t know who this is, right?”

Jeno shook his head, and Chanyeol turned his head to nod at Junmyeon. “You’re up, tough guy.”

Junmyeon huffed, before walking up to Jeno. He put his hand on Jeno’s shoulder as if he could tell that he was growing anxious. 

“Jeno, that’s Henry Duke. From what we understand on the intel team, he’s one of the cornerstones of the alien tech black market. He’s one of the top dogs. From what we understand, he likes to be present for all major negotiations that his group makes. A source of ours told us that there’s going to be a negotiation on Friday night not too far away from LaGuardia. We want you to go out there and just get a feel of what’s going on.”

“Just watch them, right?” Jeno looked at Junmyeon, who patted his back reassuringly. “Just watch. Don’t engage unless you absolutely have to.”

“You can do that, right?” Chanyeol said quietly, crossing his arms. “Because if not, then it’s totally—”

“Yeah, of course I can! Friday—shit, Friday. At what time are they supposed to be meeting up?”

Junmyeon furrowed his eyebrows, before answering, “Around eight or nine.”

Jeno bit his lip, thinking about the promise he’d made to you. It would just have to wait, he supposed. Chanyeol rarely asked anything this big of him.

“Alright,” Jeno agreed, “I’ll do it.”

Chanyeol grinned, clapping his hands together. 

“Perfect.” 

They discussed logistics briefly after. Doyoung would be on call with Jeno, his custom made suit allowing them to communicate, letting Doyoung see everything Jeno was seeing via a video feed coming from the ultra thin lenses placed in the white eye sockets of the mask. Doyoung would then report to Junmyeon, who would report to Chanyeol, who would probably report to the FBI. Jeno was only to engage if absolutely necessary.

After that, he set out on patrol. He usually found some discreet place to hide his backpack, and then went all over Queens looking for trouble, quite literally. Around five thirty, he stopped a robbery in Murray Hill. Then, around seven, he stopped a man from stealing a woman’s purse in Elmhurst. Nothing too much.

Around eight, he finally headed home, this time dressed normally, using the train and not web fluid. He walked home, tired, knowing that he’d immediately have to do that cursed AP calc homework. When he got home, he opened his backpack pocket to look for his keys, rummaging between his notebooks and other things. 

Shuffling through his stuff, he furrowed his eyebrows as he couldn’t find them. Thinking back, he remembered this morning, when he’d left in a rush… and had very obviously left his keys on his desk.

“Shit,” He muttered to himself. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, remembering that Aunt Sunny had said she’d be working overtime tonight. He could very easily sneak in through his window, but he was pretty sure he’d locked it the night before, and it was too early. People’s lights were still on—anyone could see him if they just looked up, and then he would be screwed. 

Huffing and zipping his backpack up, he marched up to your house, before ringing the doorbell. He shifted his weight back and forth, from his heels to the balls of his feet, until the door opened up. A familiar man with a face just like Doyoung's, but older, with graying hair and arms scarred and muscled from years of working on the police force stood in the doorway.

“Jeno?” Your dad offered him a warm smile. “Hey, kiddo, what’s up?”

“Hi, Mr. Kim,” Jeno said, smiling back. He shifted nervously. “I, um… I left my keys in my room this morning, and my aunt’s working late, so… could I… maybe wait here? Y/N’s home, right?” 

The man nodded. “Of course, of course. Come in!” 

Your dad had always been super friendly, even from the day Jeno had first met him. You'd told Jeno once that he was the only real father figure you'd ever had. Once everything settled after him and your mom got married, you started calling him dad altogether. And since you and Jeno were practically glued at the hip, he got along with your dad almost as well as you did.

“Okay.” Jeno stepped in and set down his backpack at the base of the coat rack next to the door, as he’d done a million times before. Jeno stepped into the living room, and sat down on the couch. He folded his hands in his lap and looked up at your dad.

"I think Y/N's in the shower, but she should be done soon. You can just wait here if you want… have you eaten anything yet?”

“Uh, I had a granola bar on the train, but that’s it.”

“We have some leftover pasta here, if you want—”

“Thanks, Mr. Kim, really! I’m fine.”

Your dad nodded, sitting down on his recliner. “So, have you started your college list, yet? Y/N said you wanted to stay here in New York.”

Jeno nodded, pushing some hair out of his face. “Well, yeah. It would make things a lot easier, I think. I might want to apply to NYU, but I think I’ll just go to community college, or something.”

Your dad shook his head. “You’re a pretty smart kid, Jeno. I think you could get into Columbia if you set out to. Plus, Chanyeol Park doesn’t give out internships to anybody. That’s your secret weapon.”

Jeno smiled. “Well, you’ve got a point.” 

Your dad gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Come on, trying won’t hurt!” Your dad made a face, and then rubbed his knuckles. “Have you been working out? Those muscles weren’t there the last time I did that.”

Jeno laughed, trying to think of an excuse. “Oh, a little bit? The house needed some fixing up over the summer, and I wanted to help Aunt Sunny, so…”

“Jeno?” 

He turned immediately, eyes landing on you at the base of the staircase. You’d changed into an old t-shirt and pajama pants. Your hair was slightly damp. “What are you doing here?” You asked, with a curious smile.

His shoulders slumped, and he grinned sheepishly. “Terrible Tuesday strikes again. I forgot my keys.”

You grimaced. “Brutal, dude. You wanna come up?” Your eyes moved to your dad. “Or am I interrupting guy time?”

“Oh, definitely,” Jeno answered, playing along. He took a cocky tone as he rested his hands on the back of his neck. “Your dad was just telling me about how much the NYPD needs me.” 

You stifled a laugh. You dad seemed to be holding back a laugh too. "Hey, you're joking, but if you keep working out like that, and if by some impossible chance, the college thing doesn't work out… We might just be able to catch Spiderman if we finally got some brain cells on the force."

"Ugh, dad," You groaned, unaware of Jeno's gut twisting, "Not again."

"Yeah, Mr. Kim," Jeno said, scratching the back of his head, "He's not that bad."

Your dad shook his head. "Look, I don't hate the guy. In all honesty, crime rates have dropped since he started doing his thing. But he thinks he's above the law, and his methods can be a bit… unorthodox sometimes. He’s been undermining us for years and his tech is state of the art. Makes me wonder about what we should do to modernize the force."

Jeno looked downward, wondering what would happen if your dad knew the truth.

"Well, I guess we may just never find out. Jeno'd make a horrible cop. He couldn't hurt a fly if you paid him a million dollars."

But you came to the rescue as you grabbed his backpack, and soon enough he was up the stairs with you, heading into your bedroom, laughing to yourselves when you heard your dad jokingly call out, "Fifteen inch distance, you two! Door stays open!"

He sat on your desk chair while you lay on your bed, limbs splaying out. 

"So you left your keys."

Jeno groaned. "Don't remind me. I was in such a rush to leave, that I… I forgot. I'm so stupid."

You rolled your eyes, rolling over onto your stomach to look at him. "You're not stupid, Jen. You made an honest mistake because you were in a hurry." 

Standing up, you walked over to him and leaned against the desk. "Seriously, Jeno. What's gotten into you, lately? You freak out about every little thing. It's starting to worry me." 

Jeno shook his head. "I don't know," He admitted. "I think I'm just scared about how after this year, everything changes. Renjun’s headed upstate. Jaemin’s going to Boston. You want to go to LA. I think Hyuck and I are the only ones who want to stay here. I just… I don't want things to change." 

Your expression turned sad as he continued. "Everyone is expecting great things from me. You're smart, Jeno. You can get into an Ivy. Or, you have a Park internship, you'll be fine. What if I don't want things to be fine? What if I want them to just stay the same?"

You stayed silent for a few moments, trying to think of what to say. Jeno was relatively level headed for someone your age, but even he had moments of doubt and panic. It made moments like these difficult.  You sighed before grabbing him by the hand. Wordlessly, you tugged him over to the bed, sitting him down and leaning your head on his shoulder. He could feel the dampness in your hair seeping slowly into his shirt.

"I guess I understand what you mean," You mumbled, trying to reason with him, "But come on. You wouldn't really want everything to stay the same. You can't tell me you want to keep getting AP calc homework. And I definitely doubt that you'd want to have your ass kicked by San for the rest of your life."

Jeno looked at the floor. "You're right. But you know that's not what I mean—"

"I know," You huffed, "I'm just saying. Change… it's inevitable. The longer you fight it, the harder it is."

Jeno nodded. "This sucks."

"It does," You agreed, taking his hand in yours. "But at least we have each other's backs, y'know?"

Something of a smile appeared on his face. You were so close to him, leaning on him, stroking his knuckles with your thumb. He hoped you couldn't hear his heart pounding in his chest. 

"We really do, huh?" His voice turned quiet, with a bit of a sleepy lull to it. He allowed his head to rest on yours. "You're so comfortable. Can I like, use you as a pillow for the rest of my life?"

You giggled. "I'll consider it on two conditions."

"Oh, you'll consider. How generous of you."

"Yes, I'll consider. Now, do you wanna hear my terms or not?" 

Jeno raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead," He said, before putting on his best Marlon Brando voice, "Make me an offer I can't refuse."

Snorting, you lifted your head off of his. "Okay. One, you finish your calculus homework here before Sunny gets home."

He pursed his lips. "Okay, I could probably do that. What's the other one?"

"Let me drive you to school for the rest of the year." 

Jeno stared at you, and you nodded, eyes wide. "Trust me, Jen. You wouldn't need to wake up so early! And plus, you can't text the guy manning the subway asking him to give you five minutes because you need to find your keys."

Jeno gnawed on the inside of his cheek. You did have a point, and to be honest, he could probably refrain from putting his feet up on your dashboard.

"Deal." 

You grinned. "Awesome," You answered, before nodding towards his backpack. "Now get to work, Einstein."

The rest of the week wasn't that bad. Yes, you were absolutely batshit insane about your truck in the morning, but he soon realized he didn't really mind. Not when it allowed you both to spend some twenty extra minutes together in the mornings, and they were spent joking around and listening to your extremely varied playlist. 

On the other hand, he was saddled with more and more homework, greater and greater expectations. The looming threat of Friday's mission rolled around, and it made Jeno feel like time was passing much too slowly but also way too quickly. There was so much on his mind. He had chemistry with you on Thursdays in the afternoon, which also meant that San was there. Which also meant that sometimes, his heightened senses would pick up on San dropping a tacky pick up line which made Jeno want to punch him in the jaw.

Finally, finally, Friday afternoon rolled around. As he bid you goodbye and promised to see you later, he tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach. The feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong. He went out on patrol, ready for Doyoung to set up the call and tell him where he needed to go. It didn’t help that there wasn’t a lot for him to do that day. Crime had seemed to slow down altogether. 

When the time finally came, and the sun was beginning to set, Doyoung rang in at about 7, telling him the location. An old warehouse near LaGuardia airport, hidden from prying eyes. Jeno made his way to the place, avoiding security cameras Doyoung warned him about, and found a place to hide. There was a hole in the warehouse roof, which allowed him to peer right into the building without being seen. It was about thirty feet from the ground.

“Why is it always old, abandoned warehouses?” Jeno grumbled. He heard Doyoung laugh quietly. 

“Beats me,” Doyoung sighed. 

And so they waited. Jeno wondered vaguely if you were still working. He wasn’t sure. They made time talking quietly, until a black SUV rolled into the warehouse. “Woah, Doyoung,” He murmured, “Hold up.”

Jeno leaned forward, but quickly realized he probably wouldn’t be able to hear what was being said. “D.R.E.A.M, activate Heightened Intelligence Protocol.”

Activating Heightened Intelligence Protocol.

The protocol allowed Jeno to use the lenses over his eyes to zoom in on specific targets, as well as use a microphone embedded in the suit to pick up audio from far away and feed it directly into his ears.

He watched as three figures got out of the car, a fourth remaining in the driver’s seat. The trio stood in front of the car, and Jeno recognized the man in the middle as the man Junmyeon had been talking about.

“Alright, there’s Henry Duke,” He said, “The one in the middle.”

 “Got it,” Doyoung replied, sounding satisfied. “Now all we have to do is wait for the other party.”

“Did Junmyeon’s sources say anything about who it would be?”

“No. They weren’t able to find that out. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Jeno’s eyes never left the man. “Do you think it’s something international?”

Doyoung sighed. “I’m not sure. If it is international, then you need to be even more careful.”

“Got it. I think—Wait, here they come.” 

A second vehicle, this one another black SUV, rolled up not too far away from the first car. The lights turned off and the engine sputtered to a stop, and four men stepped out of the vehicle.

Jeno’s stomach dropped, and of its own accord, his mouth let loose a quiet, “What the fuck,” as he registered the person leading them. 

“What?” Doyoung asked, before realizing what—who—he was looking at. “...Is that my dad?”

“I think it is,” Jeno whispered, fingertips suddenly numb. Who was he kidding? They both knew who it was. 

“So,” One of the men next to your dad said, “You show us yours, we’ll show you ours?”

Henry Duke clapped his hands together with an impish grin. “I suppose. Reagan, get the case.”

One of the two men standing beside him started off toward the trunk of the car. “It caught me off guard when I heard that the force wanted to purchase these. Almost made me wonder if this was your attempt at a sting operation.”

“What made you change your mind?” Your dad asked. Jeno swallowed at how cold he sounded. This wasn’t your dad, and it didn’t seem like Officer Kim either. This was someone Jeno had never met before. 

“Honestly, Kim?” Duke raised an eyebrow, shrugging. “It was you. Your cooperativeness and willing to feed us information, as well as your… insurance agreement. And besides, you made a very interesting point when you said that the Avengers Initiative and Park’s alum Spiderman is ruining the way the law operates around here. That type of bitterness… hard to fake.”

Your dad huffed. “We’re fucking tired of it.”

The man leaning against the car your dad had stepped out of scoffed. “If this helps us catch the little asshole, then so be it.”

Jeno frowned. “I’m not little—”

“Jeno, shut up!” Doyoung snapped. 

“—Alright, then.” The man holding the briefcase—Reagan—clicked it open, as if it were a prize reveal on The Price is Right. Five guns, all modified to hold glowing Chitauri stones were placed carefully together side by side.

“You know the basics. No radiation. Keep it away from security scanners and x-rays. They will blow up. And second of all, these are at half the price, along with the promise from the chief of police that my business won’t be touched, and will only be distributed to officers in on the operation and have agreed to turn off their body cameras when they decide to use these weapons. Should this not be a sting operation, we’ll be back here to negotiate.”

Jeno leaned forward, watching anxiously.

“Yes, sir,” Your dad answered, nodding. “We have the money here.”

“Hand it over, then.”

That was when Jeno made his mistake. He leaned forward too much, and proceeded to fall right through the hole, bringing down some scraps of the roof with him. As he tumbled through the air, the zoom on his lenses caused him to grow dizzy as he had no idea what he was looking at. He caught himself before he could fall, clumsily commanding D.R.E.A.M to go back to turn off the current protocol. His vision returned to normal, and he swung up onto a rafter holding the warehouse up.

“So, we have company.” Duke didn’t sound as amused as he had before. His face turned into a sneer. “Get him.”

In less than a second, before Jeno could say anything, five guns were pointed directly at him. He managed to swing away before any bullets could hit him. 

“Jeno, get out of there now,” Doyoung ordered. 

“What about the guns?” Jeno asked, swinging to another rafter. “They know I’m here, I might as well get them before I go—”

“No! Jeno, listen to what I’m telling you. You’ve done more than enough, and you need to let it g—”

Your dad aimed, and a bullet fired right at Jeno’s chest. For a second, he forgot that the chest area of the suit was lined with bulletproof material. While it didn’t shoot into his chest, it ricocheted right off him, and since he was in motion, it somehow caused the bullet to bounce back in the direction in which it came. 

The wind was knocked out of Jeno, but it was nothing compared to watching the bullet land in the middle of your father’s chest. On the other line, he heard Doyoung yell, followed by the sound of something falling. And then, as he made his way back towards the hole he’d fallen out of, he couldn’t rip his eyes away from the body as it crumpled to the ground. 

The others around him scrambled to get back into their respective cars. Jeno was back on the roof now, trying not to hyperventilate. “I’m sorry,” He gasped, “Do—Doyoung, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t want to—”

“Jeno, you need to get out of there, now,” Doyoung said, voice raspy. “GO!” 

So he did, and Doyoung cut off the call once he was out of the vicinity. Jeno didn’t blame him. He swung across buildings, feeling numb as he looked for the apartment complex roof where he’d decided to hide his backpack.

When he finally did, he changed in a hurry, before slumping against the wall and forcing himself to take deep breaths. 

Doyoung’s dad—your dad—was dead. And it was all his fault. 

He cried on the way down the staircase. He cried on his way to the subway. The entire time, he ignored people’s stares. Suddenly everything was too loud, and if he met someone in the eyes he’d just about break down in the middle of the station. 

As he got onto the train, Jeno thought about all of the things your dad had done for you, and for Jeno. All the times he'd taken you both to Coney Island in the summer when you were younger. The year Pokemon Go came out he took the both of you driving around in his car so you and Jeno could catch as many Pokemon as you could. 

He’d formally adopted you when you were thirteen. You were his daughter in nearly every sense of the word, regardless of blood. And now he was dead, because of a stupid mistake that Jeno had made.

What would you say if you knew? He didn’t want to know. Checking the time on his phone, he saw he’d gotten a message from you just three minutes ago.

[8:36 PM]

y/n: lemme know when ur outside!! :)

“Fuck,” He murmured, wiping his eyes. He knew he needed to stop crying before he got to your house, and he had about ten minutes before he got to his stop, and then another five minute walk to the neighborhood. He focused on taking deep breaths and taking long swigs from his water bottle in the meantime, trying to tune out the sound of other people talking and the sound of the train on the rails.

The walk was the longest five minute walk he’d ever taken. The flashing lights of convenience stores did nothing to calm him down. As the stores in his peripheral vision began transitioning into suburban homes, he felt his heart speed up again. The constant movement as he walked meant he missed his phone vibrating in his backpack as you rang his number.

After what seemed like an eternity, two familiar houses came into his line of vision, and his shoulders slumped as he spotted you on your porch, looking small and teary, curled up into a little ball. In one hand, you were clutching your phone.

His stomach twisted as he put on a confused tone, even though he knew damn well that you knew. “...Y/N?”

You stood up, running to him and burying yourself into his chest, crumpling into his arms. You would have fell over if Jeno hadn’t held both of you up. 

“Jeno,” You sobbed, “You’re n-not go-onna believe it.”

He brought a hand up to caress your hair, holding back tears of his own as he asked a question he already knew the answer to.

“Y/N, what happened?”

taglist: @decembermoonskz @itsapapisongo @lenaluvs​ @crescentjen​

[yakocchi]

A Special Anniversary with the Prince // Voiced Mini Stories

time for the one bmp1-themed event for the next couple of months yea i grumble abt bmp2 all the time but i still play and check schedules. dont get it twisted, i know whos the real clown in this relationship

i think this is supposed to be a small event to celebrate the former bmp1 social (GREE) anniversary, which was aug 29. bmp2’s anni is in sept, so this is a small period of time they can recognize it i suppose

these events are so faccin short holy crud i cannot stress that enough. im used to bs, but it feels rude considering how bmp1 is only like a side... thing. yes, theyve been gradually rereleasing season 2 on bmp2 platforms over the course of this year, but thats just a port man. also not a very good port given that even when u shell out all ur cruz for the sweet story it doesnt get saved to the album + i dun even want to hear of it until they materialize a zain season 2 out of thin air. i know hes prob supposed to be a one-shot route (like jin) but he’s a good guy yea good guy by sf9 pls stream

quicc translations behind the cut

Glenn (CV. Ishikawa Kaito)

[G]: “Pretty... No; while the fireworks are pretty too, of course, I was talking about you.” [G]: “...Ugh, what are you saying, me?” [G]: “But if I don’t properly express how I feel, then I won’t have my feelings expressed period.” [G]: “Today, you’re... crazy pretty.”

⋆ sorry idk the proper prince-like equivalent of essentially “hella” ;;

Zain (CV. Hirakawa Daisuke)

[Z]: “Even in a place like Nobel Castle, one gets to see fireworks on several occasions, but…” [Z]: “There is nothing that could surpass seeing the fireworks with you like this.” [Z]: “Could you not hear me over the fireworks?” [Z]: “Then… (kiss)” [Z]: “With that, my feelings have been expressed (to you), no? [Z]: “…Your red face— Is that due to the fireworks?” [Z]: “I jest. It seems… that my feelings have been properly conveyed.”

Joshua (CV. Namikawa Daisuke)

[J]: “Bring out your hand. I mustn’t lose sight of you in this crowd, after all.” [J]: “This is also… pest repellent.” [J]: “As there isn’t a man who wouldn’t think about looking at you with that yukata on…”

Edward (CV. Okitsu Kazuyuki)

[E]: “There is quite the variety of fireworks, hm.” [E]: “Ah- the one over there is a rose, is it?” [E]: “Haha, I’m elated by simply watching lovely fireworks like this, but,” [E]: “As for me— Coupled with these grand fireworks," [E]: “Being able to see a smile appear to blossom on your face, makes me feel happier than anything else.”

Keith (CV. Kondo Takashi)

[K]: “These fireworks are huge.” [K]: “Well, I mean, Oriens’ fireworks are a bit different from Liberty’s…” [K]: “They stand out as more of a modest beauty than a flashy one— they resemble you…” [K]: “—No, ‘was nothing. Forget it.”

Roberto (CV. Kimura Ryohei)

[R]: “Hey, hey, in Oriens,” [R]: “They say, ‘Tamaya!’ when viewing fireworks—” [R]: “Right?” [R]: “Let’s shout it together!” [R]: “Ready, set— Tamaya!!”

Wilfred (CV. Sakurai Takahiro)

[W]: “When the fireworks end, can the two of us sneak out for a bit?” [W]: “Hm- Can’t hear me over the fireworks?” [W]: “After this, can we sneak out-…?” [W]: “Still can’t hear me?” [W]: “…Haah… One thing left to do…” [W]: “…(kiss)” [W]: “Get it now?”

Yakov (CV. Yasumoto Hiroki)

[Y]: “Your eyes are more brilliant than the fireworks here.” [Y]: “I find it more entertaining to watch you over that of the fireworks as well.” [Y]: “I never tire of seeing your expression change rapidly from this to that in such a way.”

FIN

i have nothing left to say tbh. uh well ive been playing ed’s sequel for no real reason (guess i want the campaign stuff. i guess). RYAN........ if he was given a budget of 50 extra dollars hed be a cutie tbh like bmp1 leonardo. which is why leonhart makes the big bux

on another note, ive seen the anni page and it seems like an event that involves the bmp1 cast appearing (as side charas to the bmp2 guy obv) may be in order ........ill be waiting