#literally a gift wrapped copy ability that feels like it was made for me specifically

[sweet-star-sketches]

WIPs from March 10th and March 31st, 2022 kirby gijinka brainrot part threeeeeee this isn’t really a series so much as my ramblings in doodle form but part 1 and part 2 if you want lol

[cardandpixel]

9 Board Game YouTubers I Follow & Why (plus a few others)

In the literal dim and distant past when I started boardgaming (honestly, the biggest threat was tallow wax on your board), the internet was still accessed by whatever IP address you could remember off the top of your head (there’s no place like 127.0.0.1 as they sayI) - and the only TikTok was the clock ticking, waiting for half of Louise Nurding’s left leg to download only to realise it was Anne Widdecombe and you’d hit the wrong link on a BB. Boardgames had some quiet and shady corners of the internet, in those same Bulletin Boards, there was one for HeroQuest and Space Crusade when they came out. But sadly, if you wanted to see a boardgame being played or learn the rules, you either had to go round to your friend Tim’s house where he had a new chits-for-days wargame going, or sit down and actually read the rulebook yourself. As a result, I bought some interesting games in my time, including a game called Operation Overlord - a mighty chit-tastic WW2 N African campaign monster that I bought in desperation from the Games Workshop in Manchester on the first morning that it opened in 1979 (?) as we were so far back in the queue that there wasn’t a space marine to be had for miles. But now, we have a plethora of kindly folk available on our blistering shiny Windows NT 486sx machines to inform and delight us in full 8-bit glory. Everything from reviews, buying guides, rules tutorials and even painting & crafting guides, we can be bathing in just about whatever aspect of board or wargaming we so desire in an effort to stave off the clattering realisation that it’s been over 3 months since we spent any quality time with another breathing soul outside our houses. The question gets frequently asked on boardgame FaceAche forums “What YouTube channels are worth my time and why?” so in an effort to throw my own towel into that controversial ring, here’s my pick of probably 9ish, maybe more by the end, but let’s start with 9 in no particular order..... 1) 3 MINUTE BOARDGAMES

One of the first board games ‘er across the table (TM) and I bought together was a copy of Gloom from a little games and comic shop halfway round the world in Hamilton NZ, Mark 1 Comics. As we were achingly close to moving to NZ a few years ago, we’ve kept up with many aspects of what might have been our life over there, so it was a delight to discover Jarrod (and now Stephanie) on YouTube, a friendly and familiar accent reviewing board games. But it’s not just the NZ vibe that I love, Jarrod does a great job of cutting thru the hyperbole and bloat often associated with trying to keep YouTube vids ‘long for the algorithm’ (ugh) and just gives very pragmatic reasons for a game either joining or leaving his collection. He has a great approach, and it’s nice to see him finally on camera instead of the disembodied voice. Great reviewer, and Stephanie is utterly hilarious. 2) THE BROTHERS MURPH

Mike & Nick are two of the most engaging brothers on YouTube let alone just in the boardgaming community. Their series on thrift shop finds has dredged up some hilarious and often tragic specimens from the grand days of Palitoy, MB and Parker Games.  They are also masters at ‘speed reviewing’ often piling reviews of 50 or 60 games into the same number of minutes. I think I favour the ‘don’t outstay your welcome’ approach to YouTube in general, and the Brothers Murph are at great ease with this philosophy and yet they take on simple party games thru to the heaviest euros with the same distillation equipment, and yet their reviews are never trivial or throw away. We had the chance to chat to Nick at Airecon this year and he was a lovely guy, slightly blown away by the fact that people liked his channel. He’s also an awesome artist too.

3) ACTUALOL

There are many reviewers on the web who have cost me a fair amount of money, the worst being Zee Garcia, however, a close second is Jon Purkiss aka Actualol. Jon has a terrifying gift for finding games, and especially ridiculously affordable games, that I buy on spec and then end up absolutely loving. Jon has a light and breezy style which is instantly engaging - I also really want his comfy chair (surely in exchange for a nice review on here Jon???). His videos are tidy and concise and yet still convey a deep enthusiasm and joy for games. His reviews very clearly portray what the setting of the game is and what you’ll be doing, without getting embroilled in the rules. He always has great footage of the game on the table (please reviewers - look at the ratio of your face to the game you’re talking about - less than 10% game and i’m walkin’) and often favours the less pricey end of the market which suits me fine. Brilliant games I love thanks to Jon include: Second Chance, Magic Maze and Ninja Academy

4) OUR FAMILY PLAYS GAMES

There’s not much to be said about Mik & Starla Fitch that cannot be gained from watching a mere 3-4 minutes of their channel. For sheer exuberance aimed squarely at a love for bringing families together via our glorious hobby, you cannot top these guys. If you are ever - EVER - feeling slightly lacklustre about gaming or losing your mojo for whatever reason - heck if you are just feeling slightly down, treat yourself to 10 minutes in the company of these two excellent human beings. Their reviews and playthru’s have all the humanity you need in a game and after five minutes you are thinking “Is the US too far to go just for a gaming evening?” We’d both utterly love to sit across the table from these lovely people and just play, and I can’t say that about every reviewer, I’ll be honest. Their reviews are often centred around unloved classics (watch their vid dedicated to why they love Catan as an example - you’ll be clicking Buy Now before your know it) and also some great quirky unknowns that I’m trying to hunt down even now. They’ve just had a brilliant couple of boosts from both a spot of Good Morning America recently, and becoming reviewers for the mighty Dice Tower. I’m immensely grateful for a tweet by Rodney Smith for pointing me in their direction, my social media is a much brighter place with the Fitch family in it.

5) RAHDO RUNS THROUGH

“Heeeeey Everybody”. One of the first board game reviewers I ever caught on YouTube was the inimitable Richard Ham aka Rahdo. And I’m so glad I did. I would genuinely never sit down and try and learn a game from one of Rahdo’s playthrus, they are what I imagine being in a wind tunnel full of 50 tonnes of feathers is like. BUT and this is crucial - if I want an idea of what a game is going to feel like to play, there is no finer deliverer of the remote game experience than Mr Richard Ham. His unique ability to explain how a game is going to work, turn by turn; the decisions you will make; the things you’ll have to consider; the short and long term goals; are all brilliantly covered in one of Rahdo’s videos. His ability to make different choices for his ‘ghost partner’ Jen (who does exist in real life, we have bought jewelry off her, she’s lovely) also adds a real dynamism to the games, showcasing the flexibility in a design for different play strategies. Rahdo tends towards 2 player games and usually at the heavier end of the scale, but if there’s a game you are thinking of buying, check Mr Ham out first! 

6) WATCH IT PLAYED

It’s often been said that Canadians are some of the politest folk on the planet, but when it comes to ranking Canadians, well, I’m sure they’d be too humble to rank each other so I’ll have to. Rodney Smith is the loveliest man in the world. There, end of article. But it’s true. We’ve been watching Rodney since we first got confused about the rules for Mice & Mystics (which we still got wrong but that wasn’t Rodney’s fault) and his ever chirpy, ever positive approach to his rules rundowns is utterly remarkable and frankly, enviable. And it’s his attention to detail and clarity for explaining rules that have rightly made Rodney one of the most important resources in the gaming hobby. If you have ever struggled over a rulebook and haven’t raced to Watch It Played, I will guarantee you will have spent far longer on that rulebook and lost way more hair than you ever needed to. We had the great honour of playing Rajas of the Ganges with Rodney at Airecon in 2019, and I mugged up on the rules sooo much. Regular imbibers of this rag will know my sloth for reading rulebooks is legendary but fortunately ‘er across the table (TM) loves them. But, for the 3 days running up to our trip to Harrogate, I did nothing but read that rulebook - this was THE Rodney Smith, you can’t get a rule wrong with Rodney. But of course, nerves kicked in and I could barely remember the rules of Snap, but the nicest man in the world could not have been nicer. Really, quantum mechanics has proved it. He was just the same man off the computer telly. Funny, engaging, warm and happy to chat as well as play (which I was also really nervous about doing!), if you don’t watch Rodney, are you really internetting?

7) TABLETOP MINIONS

“Pachow” From boardgames to wargames. As well as my slight addiction to cardboard, my other opiate overlord is 28mm plastic miniatures. Specifically those involved in tabletop skirmish games like Malifaux, 7TV, Fallout Wasteland Warfare, GuildBall and a smattering of others. Though recently more focused on the frankly insane amount of content being released by Games Workshop, Tabletop Minions is presented by the splendid Uncle Atom. (In fact, I identify his content so much as Uncle Atom’s stuff that I honestly had to double check the name of the channel for this article!). My plastic habit uncle (sounds so wrong, but so true) has possibly the gentlest delivery of anyone on the internet. It’s not so much content, as therapy. I know the net is awash with AMSR channels at the mo, but if you don’t want to listen to some overmonetized southern californian with some bubble wrap and a large capsule condenser mic, just hop over to TTM and listen to the Uncle for 5 minutes. He’s like a soothing bubble bath of content about painting figures, philosophy of the hobby, general art & design principles, and great life advice. He also wears a fez.

8) GIRL PAINTING

“Hello Tchoobies!” I painted my first 28mm figure when i was about 12ish - it was, ironically, a space marine of some sort - the old clunky Ral Partha ones. It looked terrible, but each model got a bit better till I stopped for some reason a few years later. When I got into Malifaux a few years ago (ie decades, several of them, later), I knew I was going to have to get back into painting; heaps of grey plastic does not a skirmish game make. (Little did I know I would have to revisit my microscopy days either when assembling damn Bayou Gremlins!)  Two channels were recommended to me, the Esoteric Order of Gamers (more later) and Girl Painting. EOG put me on the path to believing I could paint again, but Alexandra at Girl Painting actually made me believe I could learn to do it well. GP’s approach to painting figures, terrain and vehicles is based on solid art theory. Her explanation of colour relationships and the colour wheel is something I can quote to this day. All of the techniques that I lean on so heavily in day to day painting both for table and display I learnt from Girl Painting. Correct use of washes, wet blending,  non-metallic metals, shading, drybrushing, highlighting, model reading, all of it from studying intently, often with a brush actually in my hand while watching the channel. I cannot recommend GP enough if you want to put paint to plastic. Whatever your ability, you will learn something from this hidden gem of a channel.

9) ESOTERIC ORDER OF GAMERS

Another dang fine antipodean and another slightly unusual channel. I have a terrible, terrible memory when it comes to rules. In our early days, we also had a a lot of games with seemingly very over-bloated rulebooks - FFG games basically. I suddenly realised what I wanted was to lift the lid of a box and find in the lid, a summary of the important stuff i needed to remember about the game. Apparently I was not the only one. In 2013 a chap known as Universal Head started publishing an amazing series of rules summaries which condensed down some of the bloatiest rulesbooks down to often one or 2 pages of A4. It was a (pardon the pun) gamechanger for me. I can’t count the number of games in our collection that have a friendly sheet of A4 now as the first thing you see when you open the box. They are brilliant. And he’s still doing it to this day. I would argue that the more useful leg to his activities is the website rather than YouTube channel, but his channel does have the aforementioned brilliant figure painting tutorials, unboxing videos and some crafting stuff. The website is definitely the place for the rules summaries and also a fantastic resource for build-it-yourself foamcore box inserts. Though Folded Space have now made box inserts pretty affordable, there’s still no feeling like the satisfaction of building your own, and I would argue that some of EoG’s designs actually make more sense than some of the Folded Space ones anyway. AND THE OTHER ONES (Who probably don’t really need the exposure, but hey, only 11 people probably read this so......)  Why aren’t these on the list above? Just because I wanted to highlight some of the more marginal channels above or more specialist rather than the pure reviewers. SHUT UP & SIT DOWN Possibly my favourite channel on YouTube, whose name sounds more like a menacing Yorkshire greeting than a boardgame channel. SU&SD seem to be a real Marmite issue on the board game communities. And I genuinely don’t understand it. Yes, their reviews are often really funny but honestly, if that’s all you take away then you are missing some amazingly detailed and thought provoking work. Quinns and crew’s reviews are some of the most measured and balanced reviews in the gameyverse. Their reasoning for the conclusions they come to are incredibly well thought through and often very surprising based on the tone of the rest of the review. They have steered me to some games I would never have looked twice at and steered me away from some very shiny games that I might have blown a lot of money on otherwise. Flagposting great alternatives is also a signature of their reviews, and that again has often lead me to some fantastic games. We don’t always agree (their recent review of 10 Oink Games was savage imho) but we always disagree for the right reasons. Again, I would argue their website is actually a better overall resource, especially their podcasts which are superb, but all their content is fantastic.

in a highly similar vein I would add NO PUN INCLUDED. Efka & Elaine produce some of the most thoughtful and intelligent boardgame review content today, and often for some of the deepest and most complex games. The joy of boardgaming is that it is highly subjective and there are lots of times when NPI like/dislike a game that I do/don’t, but they are engaging and warm enough as presenters to hit you with a gentle subtext that says “It’s ok - I know we like this game, we get that you don’t, it doesn’t make any of us bad people, just people y’know, have a sandwich with us”  Efka criticising a game reminds me of when Dennis Healey once described an argument with Geoffrey Howe as being ‘savaged by a dead sheep’, though not in the cynical manner of the original. The criticism is loaded with that crucial dose of ‘hear me out’ that is sadly lacking in 90% of all other reviewers out there. Efka & Elaine are no GoggleBox reviewers, they are the real deal - they genuinely understand how games work and why. The sheer moral turmoil that Efka expressed over the cultural issues in Rising Sun was some of the most thoughtful YouTube content I have ever seen. I just wanted to do a little shout out to Johannes & Sunniva at BOARD GAMING RAMBLINGS - I don’t have as much to say as they are relatively new on my radar, but I have really enjoyed their content so far and find them to be like one of those adorable gaming couples that you might see every once in a while at your gaming group and have a blast with, and then not see for months and go “Awh - I really miss Johannes & Sunniva - where’d they go?” that feeling, you know the one. Adorable, with a hint of the esoteric. Also, a quick but important mention to the other titan of boardgame rules explanation that is Paul Grogan of GAMING RULES!. Like Rodney Smith, Paul is meticulous about rules explanation and is really clear and simple to follow, even for very heavy games, which Paul tends to do more of than Rodney, which is probably why I end up watching Paul slightly less, but certainly not for any less quality. Paul has such a reputation in the industry that he now works closely with many designers and publishers to help craft the best rulebooks around as a consultant. So that’s it - congrats for making it through folks. Didn’t think it was going to run this long, but turns out.... I quite like a lot of the YouTubers I watch - who knew? Until next time... happy gaming y’all.

[hoyoungy]

Download Complete | Jungkook

genre: fluff, comedy, “virtual”/dating app au | jungkook x reader summary: Serendipity is a dating app that helps you find your perfect match through an in-depth questionnaire. once you complete the questions, the program finds your match and you can download them with just a touch of your finger! you now have a virtual Jungkook at your disposal until you meet the real one, but when will that be? word count: 5510 a/n: i’m not... sure... where this inspo came from... probably black mirror... warnings include swearing. bits of namjoon in the beginning. as seen on my ao3

A sunny morning was a great way to start to your day. Drinking a fresh cup of coffee, eating a simple breakfast, and watching hours upon hours of your favorite cliche romantic drama was the only way you wanted to spend your birthday.

For you, any birthday celebrated after you turned twenty-one was just a small reminder that you were one year closer to sweet, sweet death. Not in like, a bleak way - it was more in the biological sense. You were still in your twenties, but even so, you could feel the soreness in your muscles and your skin aging. You swore you gained a gray hair every time a customer at work asked you something dumb.

At least you didn’t peak in high school, right?

Oh, but how could you forget the best part of your birthday - all the birthday greetings that reminded you that you were still single. And you know which greetings were especially meaningful? The ones from your passive-aggressive aunts. They always texted you or left messages on your social media like, ‘Happy birthday, my beautiful niece! This year will be a great year in your love life, I just know it!’ or ‘You know, you and my coworker’s son are the same age and both love the same flavor of potato chips! I can set you up if you’d like ~’ or your personal favorite, ‘Another year, another vacancy in your vagina. You should put up an ad on craigslist! Ha ha!’ (She was the Vodka Aunt, trademark)

Being single on your birthday used to be the least of your worries. You missed when your biggest problem was figuring out what kind of wine paired best with your favorite cupcake. But as the years passed, even wine and buttercream couldn’t fill the lonely void in your heart.

But honestly, who has the time and patience to casually date these days? No, that was too time-consuming and energy-draining.

On your television screen, you saw the handsome leading boy chase down the crying, beautiful girl on an empty, rainy street.

“Let go of me!” she cried when he grabbed her wrist.

He pulled her towards him, pressing his chest to her back and held her tightly as she cried freely with the rain. “I can’t let you go. Please, Hyeri… Don’t leave me…”

“Dammit,” you muttered to yourself as you wiped away your own tears. “Gets me every time.”

Your phone rang, interrupting your intimate moment.

“_____, a package has been delivered!” the message read.

“A package? I didn’t order anything…”

You opened your front door and a small, neatly wrapped box with a bow on top stood at your feet. Glancing to your left and to your right, no one was in sight, making the package seem extremely suspicious. You know you shouldn’t be taking a mysteriously wrapped present, but your curiousity was itching at you. What did you have to lose, anyways?

Inside the box was nothing but a silver disc with a big, red button in the middle that just screamed ‘push me!’ If you weren’t scared of this gift before, you definitely were now. What would happen if you pressed the button? Would your cat blow up? Would you be sucked into a virtual reality? And what if you didn’t!?

A small card was taped at the bottom of the box the disc was in. You probably should have looked for who it was from first before opening it…

‘Happiest of birthdays to you, _____! Press the button to see your surprise. - Kim Namjoon.’

“What the fuck, Namjoon,” you swore. A gift from Namjoon meant that literally anything could be possible if you pressed the button.

With hesitation and a knife in hand, you pressed the button.

Loud, techy clicking noises echoed through your home. A screen of light projected from the disc and reflected your image in pixels. Every move you made, the pixels moved, too. You didn’t dare go near the wall of pixels, afraid that they would merge with your skin cells and melt away your membrane. What the fuck did Namjoon give you…?

“Welcome to Serendipity,” a gentle voice said. “Are you a New User or an Existing User?”

“Serendipity? Where have I heard that before…” you muttered.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“U-Uh, new user.”

“Welcome, New User! Serendipity is a network where thousands of people like you receive their very own virtual partner!”

“Wait, what -”

“Our in-depth questionnaire aims to match all single users around the country with their perfect someone. Your answers, along with your DNA, will be saved into our database so your partner can download an exact copy of you to have in their house! While you’re busy at work, out with your friends, or simply sleeping, your partner still has the ability to interact with the virtual you that they downloaded. This allows all users to experience the wonders of being with their perfect match at their own expense. What’s the catch, you ask? The time it takes to match you with someone is indefinite. Please be patient and trust the system. Are you ready to trust the system?”

All the information thrown at you felt like a bucket of cold water. Now you remember Serendipity - Namjoon had been working on this project since college. Since his preference for a partner was way too specific, he wanted a system that would find his match for him.

“Yes,” you answered hesitantly. “I’m ready.”

“Excellent. We will now build your profile. Estimated time for completion: three hours. Are you ready to build your profile?”

“Three hours!? Why does it take so long!?”

“Our questionnaire is extremely detailed, allowing us to find your perfect match as quickly as we can.”

“Ok, fine. Yes, I’m ready to build my profile.”

“Excellent. First, what is your name?”

“_____.”

“Setting name to _____. When is your birthday?”

“Today.”

“Happy birthday, _____! Serendipity is the perfect gift for you.”

“… Asshole,” you cursed Namjoon.

—

“Question 499: do you separate your whites from your colors when you do laundry?”

“Yes, I’m not a savage,” you sighed. You were starting to get annoyed by all the scattered questions - half of them were deep and really made you think about yourself while the other half were questions like this one. Why did your partner need to know about how you did you laundry?

“Saving answer. Last question.”

“Oh, my god, finally.”

“What are you looking for in a partner?”

“Stupid question, but didn’t Namjoon create you for the purpose of this question…?”

“Trap Lord Kim Namjoon included this question so I could better match you with your partner.”

“Really, that’s what he told you to call him?” you deadpanned.

“That is his name.”

“Oh, you poor thing.”

“Is that your final answer, _____?”

“No! No, it’s not.” You sighed and thought about the question seriously. If you were still in college, young and looking for love, you could answer this question in a heartbeat - sexy, smart, and funny. But as you aged, your opinions and thought process aged with you, no longer looking for such a shallow and simple being. So really, what did you look for in a partner?

“Someone who is… kind,” you started. “Someone who can cheer me up without trying. Someone who can make me laugh without trying. Someone who I can fall in love with so effortlessly.” A dreamy sigh escaped your lips. “Oh, and he has to be smart.”

“Is that your final answer?” Serendipity repeated.

“Yes,” you smiled, satisfied with your answer.

“Saving answer. Questionnaire complete. Thank you for taking our in-depth questionnaire! Your answers are being evaluated and we will match you as soon as we ca - MATCH FOUND.”

Your ears perked up and you swear you’re hearing things as Serendipity tells you that they’ve already found you a match in just five seconds. MATCH FOUND in big, bold letters blinked across the screen of pixels, screaming that they’ve found the very one for you. You didn’t want to wait weeks or months to find your match, but you thought you’d get at least a couple of hours to really take in the fact that you were relying on an operating system Namjoon, of all people, created.

Our of sheer panic, you call your friend.

“Birthday babe!” he greeted you. “Did you get your present?”

“Are you fucking with me right now?” you asked sternly. “Like, are you hacking into the system and looking at my profile?

“Are you doing the questionnaire right now? Cool! How are the questions? Do you think they’re in-depth enough?”

“I just finished it.”

“Oh, that was quick.”

“Yeah, and it said it already found my match.”

“Wait, what!?” Namjoon screeched. “No fucking way.”

“Yeah, way! Wanna bet? It didn’t even finish congratulating me on completing the questionnaire! I got a match in five seconds. You’re fucking with me, aren’t you!?”

“No no, I swear I’m not! What the fuck, maybe there’s a bug with the update?” You could hear him tap his keyboard vigorously on your end. “How could you get a match before me!? I fucking programmed this bitch!”

“That’s what you get for messing with my love life,” you scoffed, although you have to admit that this was one hell of a present.

“Oh, please, I bet you’ve got bats sleeping in that cave of yours, you needed Seren.”

“I hate you.”

“So who’s the unlucky lad?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m too scared to find out.”

“Don’t be scared. Trust the system, remember?”

“How, um, reliable is Seren, by the way? Like, what are the statistics of how satisfied your users are with their match?”

You grew worried when Namjoon took a while to answer. “With what we have right now, it seems that at least 94 percent of users are satisfied or overly satisfied with their match.”

“What about the other six percent?”

“About 90 percent of the six percent ‘meet’ their match once and never log in again. The other ten percent are those who are dissatisfied with their match.”

“Ten percent of six percent seems like a lot for some reason…”

“You’re thinking way too much into this. It’s just a dating app. It’s not literally forever and your match is not really your true perfect match - only like, 95 percent perfect.”

“Can I redo the questionnaire and get a different result?”

“No, that defeats the whole purpose of taking it in the first place,” he chuckled. “Just try it out. If you don’t like it, then just don’t log on ever again.”

“Wouldn’t I be screwing them over? Leaving them in the dust like that?”

“I’ve gotten complaints about that from the 90 percent of the six percent. I’m making an update where if your partner hasn’t logged on in over a week, then the pairing resets and you have to wait for Seren to match you again.”

“I can’t believe this is your legacy when you die.”

“Isn’t it great?”

“Ugh, ok, thanks for this amazing gift, Trap Lord Kim Namjoon.”

“I will never get tired of hearing that. Let me know how it goes! If it goes well, you owe me big time.”

“Will do,” you said as you hung up.

You sighed and stared at the blinking pixels in front of you. Seren hadn’t said anything since it told you that a match was found. How were you supposed to move forward with this?

“Am I supposed to… touch it…?” you asked.

Slowly, you brought your index finger to the pixels and tapped the bolded words. Oh! It was solid. Like a big screen.

“Please place your hand here,” it told you, showing an outline of a hand.

The hand outline was much bigger than your hand, but you did as it told. A warm, tingling sensation ran up and down your palm as light peaked between your fingers.

“Fingerprint scanning complete. Full body scanning complete. Profile complete. Would you like to meet your match now?”

“Yes,” you lied.

“Downloading your perfect match… Download complete. Opening file…”

The pixelated screen in front of you disappeared and seconds later, a boy stood in front of you. Not pixelated, not robotic - no, this had to be a real human being standing in front of you. You could see every single chocolate-coloreed hair on his head, pores on his face, and life in his eyes. With wide eyes, you approached the boy stretching in your kitchen.

“Your perfect match is Jeon Jungkook!”

“Good lord, Namjoon really outdid himself this time…” you said, still slowly scanning your match.

“Ugh, it’s about time!” he scolded. “I’ve been waiting for you for five months now!”

A blush creeped up on your cheeks when you heard his voice. It didn’t sound fuzzy as if you were talking to him over the phone or through video chat. It sounded like he was in the room with you. Jeez, even his voice was cute…

“This is so cool!” you squealed. “Sorry that you’ve been waiting long. I just signed on today.”

“Just today!? Man, I knew I should have waited.”

“So… I still don’t understand how this works,” you frowned. “Is the virtual me in your house right now? Doing and saying the exact same things?”

“Not exact, but close. When I go back into the disc, the screen pops back up and it shows a detailed log of what the virtual you did with the real me and the results should be similar.”

“That’s crazy! Do you go wherever I go? Or wherever the disc goes?”

“I go wherever the disc goes and within one thousand meters from it. So you could take me out on a fancy date, if you’d like,” Jungkook winked.

“I can barely afford a fancy dinner for myself, what makes you think I have the money to pay for two?”

“The fact that you have this program says you have money.”

“I actually didn’t pay for this, it was a gift.”

“Wow, you got matched on the first day and you didn’t have to pay for it? Unbelievable,” he pouted cutely.

“How much was it?”

“Like, $500!”

“What!? Jesus Christ, Namjoon made you pay that much?”

“You know the creator, too!? Priviledged…”

“I’m… so sorry… that you paid $500 only to be matched with me…”

“Yeah, so you better make it worth my money.”

“One last question.”

“Hm?” he asked, taking a seat in your kitchen.

“I don’t have to feed you, do I?”

The cutest laugh you’ve ever heard in your entire life escaped his. You noticed the way his eyes curved with his smile and you felt your tiny, cold heart burst. “No, but you do need to charge the disc.”

“Simple enough,” you smiled back. “Cheers to being matched.”

Day one with Jungkook was spent getting to know each other like you were on your first date. It was a lot of back and forth simple questions that made you feel excited that you were back in the dating scene. You felt young again - like you could stay up all night just talking to him. Though you don’t think you’ll ever get over the fact that he’s just a downloadable version of the real Jungkook.

Before the both of you knew it, the day had ended and it was one in the morning. You and Jungkook sat on the couch together, finishing up the romantic drama episode you left off on before you were prompted with the weirdest birthday gift you’ve ever received. He only laughed at you as you wiped away your tears.

“It’s like I’m dating an old woman,” he snorted.

“Are you into that?” you teased. “You do look quite young to me.”

“I might be. Should I call you Noona?”

“I’d rather die.”

“Don’t you have work or something tomorrow?”

“Oh, shit, I do! And it’s already one!” you panicked, quickly cleaning up your living room. “How did you know I have work?”

“The virtual you just told the real me your schedule. Just thought I’d relay the message to remind you. My my, who knew my match was so irresponsible,” he smirked.

“How considerate of you.”

It was almost cute how sarcastic the two of you were together. Maybe he was your perfect match afterall.

You sighed as you stood in front of him again, just like you did fifteen hours ago. He waited patiently for you to log off, avoiding making eye contact as you intensely stared him down.

“You can go to bed, you know…” he said awkwardly, scratching his messy brown hair.

“I feel bad for making you go back in there…”

“Would you rather me sleep with you instead?” he winked.

“Never mind, goodnight.”

“No wait, I’m just -!”

He didn’t get to finish as you pressed the red button to log off of the network. Only the sound of your television filled your home. Reflecting on your incredibly eventful birthday, you could at least admit that this wasn’t the worst birthday you’ve ever had.

You went to sleep with a smile on your face and excited for what days with a virtual Jungkook would bring you.

—

Usually, after a long day at work, all you wanted to do when you got home was crawl under a blanket and inhale fifty pizza rolls. But tonight, the very first thing you did was pulled out the silver disc and pressed the red button.

“Welcome to Serendipity. Are you a New User or an Existing User?”

“Existing User.”

“Welcome back! Continuing with User _____… Jeon Jungkook uploading…”

Jungkook’s image flickered by the disc as the welcoming screen sunk back into the disc. The Jungkook in front of you wore different clothes than yesterday. Upon being projected, he gave you a bright smile and a wave.

“Honey, I’m home,” you greeted.

“There’s my Jagi ~!”

“Please, don’t call me that.”

“Seriously!? I thought everyone loved being called that!”

“Hate to break it to you, but I’m not everyone.”

“Fine, we’ll be boring and call each other by our real names.” Jungkook followed you to your bedroom like a puppy and hopped on your bed. “So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“Plan?” you asked. You never really had plans to do anything at all. When you were done with work, you just kind of let the day take its course. What else were you supposed to do? Though it wasn’t like Jungkook knew that.

“Do you normally just work and that’s it?” he asked you.

“… Yeah, basically. I’m usually so tired that I don’t want to go out.”

“That’s not fun. You haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”

“Oh, shoot, I totally forgot to go to the grocery store!”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Jungkook hopped off your bed and left your room first, expecting you to follow his lead.

“We? What do you mean we?”

“Take me with you.”

“Can I… do that…?”

“Just bring the disc. Other users do it all the time! Trust me.”

“Trust you or the system?”

“Both,” he winked, walking straight through your front door, scaring the shit out of you.

It was weird when you first logged onto Serendipity and had a cute boy be projected into your home. It was weird when you had said boy sit in your car and sing to you with a voice of a literal angel. But it was weirder having him out in public with you without anyone else knowing that he wasn’t real. Jungkook walked beside you and the cart casually as you walked like you stole something. You were still getting used to having someone around you so often.

“Why do you look like that…” Jungkook asked.

“This is weird,” you hissed. “This is so weird! What if they touch you, do they just walk right past you!?”

“They could, but they won’t. I look real enough.”

“How do I know who’s real and who’s virtual?”

“Ha,” he chuckled evily. “You don’t.”

“Oh, my God.”

“Feeling a bit existential crisis-y?”

“Just a little.”

As you threw produce upon meats upon junk food in your shopping cart, Jungkook judged every single item with a wrinkle of his cute, stupid nose. It was either too unhealthy or too healthy, which you didn’t even believe was possible. Jungkook was the reason you didn’t like people accompanying you while you grocery shopped.

What was worse than that was him judging the way that you cooked your food.

“Jeez, that’s a lot of olive oil,” he commented, hovering over your shoulder.

“I get that you’re just a bunch of pixels and stuff and you literally have no substance to you, but I still like my space bubble!” you screeched. “You’re also not eating any of this, anyways!”

“Are you flustered by my presence ~?”

“Yes! You are incredibly flirty, you know. Is the real you like this with other people when you log off the network?” you scoffed.

“No,” he smiled sincerely. “Those days are over.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you why you signed up in the first place. You could get literally anyone you wanted in a heartbeat, why did you let a dating app choose for you?”

Jungkook let out a soft chuckle, embarrassed by your never-ending compliments. “My looks have only given me one night stands and frequent hook-ups. Never any relationships. Stuff like that burdens the heart, you know? It makes me feel like that’s all I’ll ever be good for.”

“Now I really feel bad that you spent $500 on this,” you pouted.

“Why, is that all you’re interested in?”

“No, it’s because I’ve never dated before, either, so we might have reached an impasse.”

“At least we’re at that impasse together, right?”

You looked up at Jungkook and saw a hopeful smile etched in his sleepy, handsome face. You’ve only known this boy for two whole days and you felt like you could trust him with you life.

“Yeah,” you said. “Together.”

—

A couple of weeks passed since you’ve met Jungkook. It started off by logging into the system casually for a couple of hours, but then it quickly became to logging in five to six hours at a time. You and Jungkook didn’t even do much in that amount of time. He’d watch you clean the house while you guys talked or would go run errands with you just because. It was different, but it was nice having some company around for once.

On your day off, you logged in and was greeted with a shirtless Jungkook.

“U-Uh,” you stuttered, not taking your eyes off of the smirking projection.

“Like what you see?” he teased. “I’m all yours ~”

“Why are you shirtless…?”

“The real me is still sleeping, and I sleep shirtless. Damn, you wake up early.”

“My circadian rhythm is used to it because of work.”

“You’re still staring.”

“Well, yeah, no shit! If I was shirtless in your apartment, wouldn’t you be staring, too?”

“I’d be doing much more than staring.”

As you kept on staring, you noticed tiny little dots on Jungkooks body. In the past couple of weeks, you never stood too close to him because the thought of going right through him freaked you out. But the tiny specks made you curious. Were they glitches in the code? Smudges?

Jungkook didn’t move as you leaned your face close to his toned chest. If anything, he just flexed more, that cocky bastard.

“Birthmarks?” you asked, squinting. “Or glitches?”

“No, they’re real. Do you like them?” he asked sincerely.

“I do. They’re cute… They remind me of constellations.”

Without thinking, you slowly reached your hand to touch one at the tip of his nose, forgetting he was just a bunch of pixels. Your finger went through and you felt no sense of matter.

“Sorry, I forgot. You just look so real…” you sighed.

“I am real.” He lifted his hand and gently tapped the tip of your nose. You didn’t feel anything, yet it still made you blush. “I’m real, I’m just not here,” he reassured.

“I’ll meet the real you soon though, right?”

“Soon. I promise you.”

—

“Jungkook ~!” you screamed into your empty home at three in the morning.

You were coming home from a late night out with some old friends and you were still pretty drunk. It was twice a year when you drank and when you did drink, you got carried away. So here you were, stumbling over your shoes in your home, sloppily logging into Serendipity.

“Existing User!” you slurred.

“Whoa, look at you!” a pantsless Jungkook chuckled, scanning your sexy outfit up and down. “What happened? Partied too hard?”

“Just a little ~” you giggled. “You have a shirt but no pants this time!”

“I like playing video games without pants on.”

“That’s so cute ~”

“You didn’t bring a guy home?”

“Why would I when I have you!?” you pouted, insulted that he would ask such a question. “No one even compares to you ~”

“You’re waiting for me?”

“I am.”

“You’re cute,” he smiled, adoring the way you cuddled up in your blanket.

“Are you waiting for me…?”

You could feel some drunk tears well up in your eyes at the thought of Jungkook seeing someone else without your knowledge. You wouldn’t be surprised, though. You said it yourself - he could get anyone he wanted, and even if he said he wasn’t looking for something physical, people have needs and things happen and it’s not like you were there with him to fulfil any of that.

“Of course I am. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

You trusted his every word.

—

Three months had passed since you created your Serendipity account. Three months of logging in at least once for thirty days. Three months of late night conversations with someone you felt like you’ve known for a year. This past month, you spent all of your free time with Jungkook. Even when you signed off, you spent another hour in bed looking at the log your virtual you wrote with their day with the real Jungkook. You so quickly became accustomed to his company that coming home after work without him uploaded and nagging you about working so late made your home seem a little too quiet.

Today was a little different. No, you didn’t break your ninety-day streak of logging in - you just didn’t log in right away. Work was exhausting, your dating life was exhausting, all of it just drained the life out of you and you can’t even remember when the last time you had peace and quiet to yourself while you were conscious.

But as the night progressed, the exhaustion caught up to you and you could feel yourself breakdown. Tears flowed freely, soft sobs echoed through the walls, and all you wanted was for something - someone - to hold.

You couldn’t have the real Jungkook to hold, but his projection was the best you got.

“Welcome to Serendipity. Are you -”

“Existing user,” you mumbled.

“Welcome back! Continuing with User _____… Jeon Jungkook uploading…”

“What the hell? What time is it?” you heard him say. “Jesus, I’m only coming out now!? It’s like 11:30!”

“Sorry,” you mumbled again from under your blanket.

“Are you ok?” he asked, sitting next to you on your bed.

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Can you lay here with me instead?” you asked.

“Of course.”

You and Jungkook laid side-by-side on your bed, staring up at your empty ceiling with nothing but the soft music you put on playing in the background. He wasn’t the real Jungkook, but he seemed real, and right now, that’s all you needed.

“I would hold you if I could,” he whispered to you.

In that moment, you could feel yourself effortlessly falling.

“Me, too,” you smiled. “Can you sing for me…?”

“Anything for you.”

—

“I don’t have them with me, but I bought you flowers,” Jungkook said when you uploaded him after coming home from work.

“Why did you tell me then?”

“The real me bought the virtual you flowers.”

“How is it that the virtual me is living a better life than the real me?” you muttered bitterly. “What were they even for?”

“Today marks one hundred days together! How could you forget?” he pouted.

“Damn, already? One hundred? It doesn’t even feel like it.”

“Crazy, right? One hundred nights of watching you stuff your face with Chinese takeout, dancing with you in the kitchen, and staying up until three in the morning when you couldn’t sleep.”

“I can’t believe you stayed with me for this long.”

“Honestly, neither can I. But you make it easy for me to stay.”

You hated Jungkook’s smug smile whenever he got you to blush.

—

“What are your thoughts on all of this?” You asked Jungkook as you spent another night laying in bed next to each other.

“On what?”

“On this. Serendipity, you and I - was it worth it?”

“Every penny.”

You didn’t respond as you absorbed the fact that Jungkook was just as happy to have you as you were about him.

“What was your answer to the last question?” he asked you, referring to the questionnaire.

“I asked for someone kind. Someone that could make me smile without trying. Someone that made falling in love feel so effortless.”

“You’re so poetic,” he complimented. “Did Seren do a good job matching you with me?”

“She did,” you admitted. “I don’t know how, but she did. What about you? What did you ask for?”

“Someone who made love easy. That’s all I asked for.”

“Did I do a good job?”

“I didn’t log in over a thousand hours to tell you that you did a shit job, did I?” he teased.

“I would hope not.” You moved closer to the pixelated boy on your bed. “I really like you.”

“I have a surprise for you tomorrow.”

“The real me or the virtual me?”

“Both? You’ll see. But you have to promise me something.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t log in tomorrow.”

—

The wait was killing you. Honestly, it was eating you up inside the whole day. You were lucky you didn’t have work, otherwise you’d do a shit job because you were so distracted. You tried everything keep your mind occupied, everything in your power to not log in and bother Jungkook about what he had in store for you, but nothing was working.

“Fuck it,” you cursed. “I can’t be home.”

Grabbing your coat, you rushed out of the house with nothing but your keys, phone, and the silver disc that held your perfect match. You needed fresh air.

But when you opened the door, you dropped everything in your hands.

A Jungkook stood in front of your door. It wasn’t your Jungkook - no way it was, you didn’t log in today. But he can’t be the real one… How did he know where you lived!?

“Hi,” he greeted with a shy smile. That silky smooth voice was definitely Jungkook’s. “_____?”

“U-Uh… Yes?”

“Surprise ~”

“No way,” you said. With a quick swipe, you smacked his arm to see if it would pass through. You regretted it immediately when your hand stung from his hard muscle.

“Yah, what the hell!? I travelled all the way from Busan to get hit!?”

“Holy shit.” You ignored his cries as you brought your finger to the tip of his nose again. Your finger didn’t pass through. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“Is this how you greet the man of your dreams!?”

“Are you stalking me!? Have you known where I lived the past six months!?”

“No! You can thank Trap Lord Kim Namjoon for helping me.”

“How!?”

“I asked him to.”

“Isn’t that like, violating the terms and conditions? And my privacy? And, I don’t know, the law!?”

“I said I would do anything for you, right?” he grinned.

“You are a piece of work,” you sighed. The smile on your face kept growing you kept staring at the real Jungkook.

Jungkook tucked a piece of loose hair behind your ear. His hands were warm and his touch made your entire body tingle with anticipation.

“I like the real you better,” he said. Cupping your face with his hands, he leaned in and pressed his lips to your forehead. They were soft to the touch. Your senses were having a hard time functioning, still unable to believe that this was really Jungkook.

“Are you staying for the night?” you asked.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”

As romantic as that sounded, he could only stay the night, since that was all he had time for. The two of you spent the whole night touching each other, holding each other, and kissing each other, entangling yourselves beneath the sheets. Both of you refused to let go of each other, afraid that if you did, you’d wake up from what seemed like a dream.

The future for the two of you was still uncertain, but it was worth going through the uncertainty together.

Namjoon was going to have a lot of fun with his bragging rights.