Fabricant451

Pines Holler - A Small Town SoL Sandbox RP [NOT Accepting]

They could 👀

@Sugar and Spite

Well I'm sold

Pines Holler - A Small Town SoL Sandbox RP [NOT Accepting]

So someone could, in theory, apply to play a bad guy? Well if that ain't a buttery biscuit.

What shows/movies are you watching?

I think 2024 was pretty good for media. There were some great movies and some pretty decent television shows.

They just werent on Netflix because Netflix shows are bad

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

I think Marvel Rivals is fun but some baffling decisions (giving certain characters a seasonal boost, for instance) and their commitment to saying 'fuck balance' is kinda gonna hinder it from being a serious competetive scene before long. Like I can't imagine why you would ever want to have Black Widow on your team when Hawkeye can just do what she does but better in every way.

Also, some of the ults are just bullshit, like Luna's ult lasting fucking forever and Jeff's ult's hitbox being the size of the fucking moon.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

I liked Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I won't be replaying it anytime soon

BHHS: Limitless

^{Timestamp: Saturday, 5:45pm
Location: Yani’s van, the route to the school
Kisho, Yani, and Leila
@Aces Away and @Fabricant451}

____________________________________________________________________



____________________________________________________________________

With one of their latest beats testing the limits of their subwoofers, Yani drove towards the address Leila had texted them after they parted ways yesterday afternoon, all but bouncing excitedly in their seat the closer they got. They were trying not to vibrate out of their bright red suit with the excitement of going to pick up the beauty that was Leila Webb, but they couldn’t help the constant excited movements. When they got closer to their destination, a hand that was not theirs reached out and turned the volume down to a level acceptable for driving through a neighborhood.

“I can’t believe you got a date and still made us carpool,” Their brother spoke up, speech less formal in the privacy of the van. “Are you sure it’s not going to upset her?”

“Why would we drive to the same place from the same place?” Yani asked incredulously, seeing no difference from when they would drive into school together. Not to mention, the way their brother reacted when his car’s infotainment system lit up with a message from Theo of all people on their way home from the game last night, Yani wasn’t sure they could let their brother behind the wheel again so soon. When Yani should have been up all night thinking about their kiss with Leila, instead it was the absolute disregard Kisho gave to everything else as he lunged to disconnect his phone from the screen before it could read whatever Theo had sent him that had kept Yani awake, wondering just what the hell was going on between those two. They’d all known each other for years, but Kisho and Theo’s relationship has been weird ever since highschool and Kisho refuses to talk about the red headed boy at all when Yani tries to ask. Even Wakiya’s more subtle attempts were evaded, and this morning Kisho had gone as far as to snap at his step-sister to mind her own business before immediately apologizing and disappearing into his room. Yani was worried for their brother.“Why would she be upset? You’re my brother, not a surprise date!”

Kisho scowled at his sibling. In truth, he’d been planning on showing up to the dance a bit later than most and hoped that would let him avoid his friends just a bit longer. Avoiding most of the actual event but getting there with time to spare to head out with Ethan and whoever else was making the journey to the vineyard seemed like the best course. He’d spent the morning throwing up in his bathroom over the thought of betraying Benji on Theo’s orders, of saying something as heinous as the other dark haired boy drugging Theo’s drink. He had been planning on talking to Benji at the dance and nudging him towards a conversation with Yani, because if anyone understood imprisoned parents on account of white collar fraud, it was his sibling. Instead he was planning to avoid not just him, but all his friends as much as possible. If no one tries to talk about last night, Kisho won’t be asked anything. He won’t have to say anything. Dammit, he can’t say anything. He was loyal to a fault to all the Elite aside from Theo and Alvaro, and even thinking about the position he was currently in from a single text from his tormentor felt like he was being torn apart. He was already wilting under the stress. So yeah, he had planned avoidance above all else until he had a chance to breathe and process and properly freak out over what the hell he was supposed to do.

But no, Yani had routines, and driving to the school together was one of them, regardless of any detours or who was driving, or if it was even for school. As Yani pulled up to the house and hopped out to go knock on the door and collect Leila, Kisho made his way out of the passenger seat and into the back of the van, hanging up his paisley designed suit jacket before lounging on the bed in his dress shirt. He grabbed whatever book he’d left next to the nearest speaker from the last time he’d been stuck in the van for a while, hopeful and ready to disappear while Yani fawned over their new girlfriend on the way to the dance. He could tell his sibling was concerned, last night he was almost a second too late in disconnecting his phone from his car and it could have been all over right then and there. Yani would know Theo had him under his thumb and would want to know why, and then they would have found out how weak Kisho was. Yani would never understand the lengths he would go to to keep Theo's blackmail on him a secret, because they were comfortable and openly them and everyone loved them too much to disparage them even if given a reason.

This night was going to suck.

Yani made their way up the driveway and knocked on the door at a respectful level before taking a step back while smoothing out their suit sleeves and trying not to bounce on their toes. They’d texted Leila when they were on the way with an ETA, so the girl would likely be at the door quickly. They hummed excitedly.

This night was going to rock!

Leila still couldn’t believe her luck. When she got home the previous day the first thing she did was splash water on her face to make sure it wasn’t some incredibly vivid dream and then her mother asked why she was splashing water everywhere and Leila’s response was somewhere between a squee and a tea kettle. That night, while sleeping as restlessly as a little child on Christmas Eve, Leila kept thinking back to the van. To the kiss. To Yani. Leila was someone’s girlfriend and it was someone cool, beautiful, musical, and…perfect. Her mother, in all her dry witted cynical snark, said this was the ‘honeymoon phase’ but Leila paid her no mind because after the honeymoon came the rest of a couple’s life.

The Saturday before being picked up saw Leila scrambling to get ready. She woke up at noon in a panic, managed a very light brunch, and then took an uber to a salon for an emergency straightening of her hair. It wasn’t until there was barely twenty minutes left before Yani’s arrival that Leila had a moment of peace - and it came with looking at herself in a mirror. At the start of the year, Leila wasn’t even sure she was going to go to Homecoming - they never even played good music at school dances - but now…they could’ve played the chicken dance for three hours and Leila would only hear Yani’s voice. Her mom, realizing that prom photos were more valuable, still managed to take a few pictures of her daughter in her more culturally traditional Homecoming outfit that by the time the the knock came at the door, Leila was already told just to be back before the sun came up.

Opening the door, Leila was ninety percent smiles. Yani was there, this was real, they were going to the dance together, and this was likely going to be the greatest night of her life. “You look…” Somehow, amazing didn’t seem to cover it. Beautiful. Cool. Gorgeous. All these words and more but none of them could adequately describe what Leila thought of Yani in that moment, seeing them in their red suit. “Unbelievable…” It would suffice. And it was true; Leila couldn’t believe that Yani was here. For her. That soon they’d be dancing together. If this was the honeymoon phase, she wanted it to last forever.

“What? Me? You look like a goddess!” Yani exclaimed, eyes wide as if they couldn’t take in enough of the sight in front of them at once. In opposition to Yani’s intense, almost fire engine red suit, Leila was draped in fine cloth richly colored a dark raspberry and adorned with floral beading across her torso. The oil heir fumbled excitedly with the box in their hand before holding it out for the other to view. Luckily for them both, the corsage matched well with the girl’s outfit and Yani couldn’t be more pleased with their luck. “I am quite lucky, but I feel bad now,” They smiled so she knew they were joking. Taking the lid off the container to fully expose the corsage, Yani took it from the box and tucked the box beneath their arm. Holding the corsage in one hand, they held the other out to Leila so that they could put the floral arrangement on her wrist. “I am handing such gorgeous flowers over to be worn by a beauty they could never match! I do a disservice to both you and the corsage.”

If it was possible to swoon twice, Leila was doing it from Yani’s thoughtful words and even more thoughtful application of the corsage. Leila’s eyes looked to the corsage but inevitably they were drawn to Yani; it was still surreal that it had been barely a full day and she felt like a completely different person. Being in a relationship changes people, suddenly all those sappy romantic movies her mom secretly devoured made a lot of sense. Leila, too, would do crazy things if it meant keeping the smile on Yani’s face burning bright. A smile that Leila didn’t even think she was worth being blessed with. “Well…I hope the flowers won’t mind being the third most beautiful thing between us.” In Leila’s eyes, Yani was, of course, number one just as she was sure the reverse was true for Yani. “They are beautiful, though. And you are too. This is already the best night ever.” Leila wanted nothing more than to hold Yani’s hand after the corsage was applied and skip - metaphorically in this case - down the path towards their chariot; she would settle for holding their hand or locking arms or anything to keep the distance between them close.

“I feel bad for the others at the dance, they don’t have you as their date.”

As Leila had hoped, Yani did not release her hand after applying the corsage, they simply changed the way they grasped it until their fingers were intertwined and Yani was now by her side instead of infront of her. The DJ began leading her slowly down the driveway towards the awaiting van with the never ending smile still overtaking their features. They were practically glowing underneath Leila’s compliments and the way their date was blushing was setting their heart beating and striking a new song into their soul. They could already hear the fantastical intro tripping into a resonating build that mimicked the heat rising on Leila’s skin.

“I do not feel bad, personally,” They spoke confidently, face tilted towards her. “Maybe that is a bit selfish but I have with me exactly who I want. I do not care if it upsets anyone else, so long as we are both happy,” The grin was less all encompassing now but the energy was all still there, it was just that even Yani couldn’t smile forever, everyone needed to relax their facial muscles. Plus as they neared the car, Yani was brought back to the ground from their place on cloud nine and remembered the third person chilling in their van. Slowing down as they reached the vehicle, Yani let their date know the situation.

“So listen, my brother, he is in the back so that you can have the passenger seat. I did not want him driving alone and he has been acting weird,” Yani revealed with a level tone, impressing on the gorgeous girl beside them that they weren’t trying to throw off the date or surprise her with anything. Well, anything aside from the flowers waiting for her in the cup holder, but Yani had promised to bring flowers yesterday and they were a person of their word. “I was just…a little worried, and made him come with me instead. I am sorry if this makes you uncomfortable in any way.”

Leila didn’t want to pry into the sibling affairs; whatever might have been causing Yani’s brother to act weird for him to know and deal with and Leila wasn’t going to let anything keep her from having a wonderful evening. She wasn’t uncomfortable about it, at the very least, and nodded her understanding of the situation. “It’s okay, he’s your brother and you care about him. I totally get that. And honestly, I don’t think I’d even notice my own shadow when I’m around you.” The music-lover hoped she wasn’t laying it on too thick or too sweetly, but she was just being honest. Being on cloud nine was a wonderful experience and one she hoped others could experience just so they could feel a fraction of the bliss she felt in the moment. “But I hope he is okay.”

Me too. Samyan thought but didn't say, instead grabbing her hands and clasping them within their own against their chest, looking into Leila’s eyes so she could see their sincerity when they said, “You are wonderful.”

And she was. Everything about Leila had Yani wanting to lean in to experience her just that little bit more, left them reeling with the beat of life she sent pounding through their oversized heart with so little as the thought of her. For a musician, Leila was the best sort of danger that could be asked for; a muse radiating so much inspiration that it could leave Samyan dizzy from the rush. Not to mention the rush they got when kissing her, no matter how chaste it had been. It was like nothing they’d ever experienced in any other even vaguely romantic encounter from their past and it was something they wanted to experience over and over again. They didn’t think they could ever get too much of one Leila Webb. Thanking the girl with a quick kiss to her cheek, Samyan led her to the passenger side of the van and held the door open, hand out to once again help the princess-for-a-night into her temporary chariot. They fast paced their way back around once she was situated and hopped into the driver’s seat, turning to their brother in the silence.

“Did you say hi?”

“Hello, Leila,” Kisho spoke up with a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment behind his novel as he remained reclined on the mattress. Sure, he’d waved when the girl glanced back at him, but he didn’t realize verbal interaction was going to be required here. Catching his sibling’s steady gaze, he frowned at their imploring look and continued with the apparently required niceties. “You look lovely tonight, how are you?”

The best outcome was that the ride wouldn’t be awkward; Leila was confident that a little awkward ride to the dance wouldn’t spoil her mood but even so she definitely preferred things to be…normal. As she settled into the passenger seat, a thought rolled to the front of her mind: what if she made it awkward by treating Kisho as a third wheel? The absolute last thing she wanted was to cause a rift between the siblings - especially if Leila had every intention of being a present figure in Yani’s social life in the days, weeks, months, ahead. With that thought burning a hole in her mind, Leila turned to give Kisho the friendliest of greetings: a slow nod of the head. It was Yani who broke the ice between their brother and Leila and Leila was glad for that. Despite how bubbly Leila was when in the privacy of her room or when she was just feeling the music in her brain, she was absolutely terrible at small talk and greetings; she was worse when meeting people for the first time and they never quite knew if they had to shout at her (they didn’t) but they always did.

Always.

“Oh, this old thing?” She was, of course, being modest, but the outfit had been purchased in advance by her mother - though she figured it would be worn at a wedding or some formal event that wasn’t a high school dance. Leila figured her mom was just happy that it was getting worn at all. “Thanks.” She couldn’t hide the soft blush. She liked getting complimented, who would’ve guessed? Before answering the question, Leila stole a glance towards Yani in the driver’s seat, and the blush deepened and when she spoke, her words aimed right towards the dashboard. “I’m…really…really…good.” Words were difficult all of a sudden. “Are you…doing good?” She turned to ask Kisho, concern clear as the sky in her query.

“That’s wonderful,” Kisho had raised an eyebrow at the girl’s blushing admission to the dashboard and his sibling’s responding blinding grin towards her, not at all surprised that Yani had finally found someone that could fall just as fast and hard as they could. Closing his book and tucking it back up on the shelf as Yani started the van up and pulled out of the driveway, he took the moment where he wasn’t directly facing Leila to let all the emotions that her simple question dredged up flicker across his face. Was he doing good? Ha! Absolutely not. He was one wrong move from his entire friend and support group imploding and the puck was his to shoot. Why hadn’t he gone to any of his friends about what Theo had over him in the past four years since it happened? Why did Theo have to have gotten that blackmail in the first place? Creepy fucking psychopath.

None of those thoughts were on his face when he turned to his sibling’s date with an ineffective smile meant for deflection.

“I am doing well, thank you,” He lied right to her face, ignoring the way Yani’s eyes had sharpened on him from where they were watching him in the rearview mirror. It was a warning just as much as it was a denial of his words, and he resisted the childlike urge to stick his tongue out at Yani in response to their gaze. It’s not like he was going to be honest with her about his mental state right off the bat, this was small talk after all. The childish feeling passed as Yani’s attention was pulled back to the road before them. “Are you excited for the dance? Yani would not stop talking about you after school yesterday.”

“It’s true, and I am excited still!” Yani admitted shamelessly, taking their eyes off the road just to make ridiculous puppy love eyes at Leila for a mere second.

“Excited…” Leila paused, as she was suddenly finding herself doing more and more while in Yani’s presence - and how could she not when those beautiful eyes were looking right at her, and shook her head accordingly. “Doesn’t really cover it. You might think it’s funny…but I couldn’t sleep much last night because of tonight.” The numerous wrinkles in her bedsheets from tossing and turning in delight was a testament to that. “I think my parents got tired of me talking about yesterday, or at least my dad did. My mom kept insisting Yani was imaginary right up until they rang the doorbell.” Not having the burden of watching the road, Leila took the chance to look towards the driver’s seat, at her date for the evening and hopefully many evenings to come, and smiled.

“Are you hoping to dance with anyone tonight?” Leila just hoped the question to Kisho wasn’t taken poorly.

Kisho hoped she didn’t take his abrupt laugh too negatively, and judging by Yani’s eyes in the mirror his sibling was more upset for him from his response rather than at him. It wasn’t Leila’s fault for asking a question that Kisho felt had an obvious answer, given he’s basically never been seen with anyone outside his boys or his sibling in his entire highschool career, but that hadn’t stopped his reflexive response.

“Sorry. No, I am not,” He answered, trying to think of if there was ever a person that the mere thought of kept him up at night. In a good way, at least, as he already had his own personal nightmare keeping him awake last night. Judging by the way Leila and Yani looked and were acting versus how he was, he had a feeling it really wasn’t the same experience at all. Must be nice. “I would not expect to see much of me once we arrive.”

“Do not pull a disappearing act,” Yani pouted, but the steel in their eyes told him it was a warning too. Rolling his eyes, Kisho gave into his previous impulsive urge and stuck his tongue out at his sibling, grabbed his novel back off the shelf, opening it up to show his intended activity for the rest of the car ride.

“I will not be disappearing on you, Samyan,” Kisho assured, flopping back onto the bed with his book, reaching above him for the headphones connected to the back stereo since his were still somewhere up front. “I am only ever a message away, but do not act like you do not want time alone with your stunning girlfriend. I am not upset about it.”

Samyan eyed their brother as he disappeared back into whatever fantasy world he was reading about, ultimately deciding that he’d done well considering he hated small talk and that it was time to let him be free.

“He is right, you know,” Yani glanced to Leila again, voice a bit lower now that it didn’t have to reach Kisho’s ears in the back. “You are stunning, and I would like to give you much if not all of my attention tonight. You deserve it.”

When Leila saw Kisho reach for the headphones, she knew exactly what that meant; on road trips with her parents, Leila did the same thing. Nothing got rid of the awkward car talk quite like drowning things out with music; the one downside was that her parents knew her hearing situation just as much as she did and they never quite bought the ‘I can’t hear you’ excuse when she tried to get out of discussions on low test scores or arguments about visiting family for holidays. In this instance, though, she wasn’t upset. It was clear that Kisho was…going through something and she was hardly equipped to help him through it when all she had to offer was sympathy, empathy, and platitudes.

“It’s a good thing I’m like a flower.” Leila began the comparison knowing the end result was a little on the cheesy side; fortunately it didn’t seem like Yani was lactose intolerant when it came to Leila. “Your attention makes me blossom.” What a strange and wonderful thing being in a relationship was, it made her talk like she was writing Hallmark cards but it made her feel like she was in a Jane Austen novel…without the classism. “I apologize in advance for my dancing. I have never danced with someone before. Just warning you now in case my lack of coordination ruins my allure.” She was kidding, of course, as if the curve of her lips didn’t make that clear. “I think with you, I would even be able to tolerate the bad songs they will probably play tonight.”

“Are you saying you have not fully blossomed and you are this staggering?” Yani gave a dramatic gasp and gave a gentle swoon in their seat before grinning at Leila. “How lucky I am! Also, not to brag, but I believe I am equipped to lead us in any actual dancing. It is sort of a requirement to know how to dance given the amount of Galas and other social or business events we have been dragged to nearly since birth,” The oil heir assured easily. “I believe you would find the flow quite easily, just as I am sure not much more is expected of any slow dance at a highschool aside from swaying.”

Yani would dance however Leila wanted to tonight, and they would savor every moment of it. There wasn’t a single thought in the DJ’s mind about disappointing the girl they were lucky enough to now be dating, only thoughts on how to make this an unforgettable experience for the both of them and hopefully kickstart their relationship with a bang. As they turned onto the road that would have them going straight until they needed to turn into the school’s property, they held out their hand to their girlfriend. Girlfriend, ha! They loved saying that, man!

“I do not believe I told you what I preferred to be referred to as, but you may call me your partner or however you wish to phrase it, as I am sure you guessed. I just wanted to clarify as you clearly told me you liked to be called girlfriend,” They checked on their brother in the rearview once more and saw him doing his best to ruin his vision by keeping his book mere inches from his face, headphones still firmly in place. “Considering I have musical partners as well, any neutral term is fine by me if you wish to avoid confusion.”

The thought of how to refer to Yani had only entered Leila’s mind the night before, in the waning moments of elation before she managed to steal what sleep she could; by the time she woke in the morning she realized that partner was perfect already. Still, it was nice to have that confirmation just to avoid any potential awkwardness that could’ve come - though she expected it mainly from the adults in her life who were stubbornly clinging to the belief that it was still the eighties and nineties or whatever. “Partner is good, as long as you will continue to call me yours.” Leila was starting to understand how all the musicians of the world were able to write such timeless love songs or why heroes of old tales always fought for the heart of a maiden.

“I didn’t know you went to a lot of Galas.” She circled back to what Yani had mentioned in passing. There was likely many things she didn’t yet know about her partner, but they would come in time. Yani was someone that Leila wanted to share and make memories with, good, bad, messy, and everything in between. “But I can picture it. Were these Galas things you wanted to go to or things you had to go to?”

“I will call you mine as long as you will let me.” A simple promise. “Our oyaji is very philanthropic,” Yani supplied, memories of hiding under the cloth draped tables with Kisho and other company heirs and heiresses their age bubbling to the surface. As they got older, they showed face more often and actually became a part of the scene. While Kisho wasn’t the most talkative, he knew how to schmooze and work a room in high society, and Yani was exuberant and business minded while never losing their wild streak. The elders took them in with thinly veiled patience while those around their father’s age were more interested in hearing about their plans and ideas, while Hiro Fujimori- always proud of his children interacting and networking- would stay back a step and watch them work while glaring subtly at the crotchety older crowd. “Thank you for asking, but we do not mind them. We had to go to them when we were young, now it is just habit and good practice for any business oriented futures. We are required to go to one gala per season and if we do not, we are to spend a day serving the community in some way.”

Hiro Fujimori was a community man just as much as he was a businessman, and he has strictly enforced his ethics into his children throughout their life. It wasn’t a bad thing, he had an amazing work, family, and community ethic that his children wanted to emulate far more than they had ever been forced to. Their father was a man to look up to, especially in the years since Kisho and Yani had been born.

“They can actually be quite fun, if you know who to gravitate towards, I would love to take you to one,” Yani continued as they neared the turn for the school’s property. “Many of the kids and teens tend to sneak off and find different spaces to decompress from the, ah, pomp and circumstance. Kisho has a special pocket in his suits that fit his handheld system, the little ones crowding around him while he plays Mario or Kirby is just adorable.”

“They are cute, I suppose,” Kisho piped up from where he’d removed the headphones as Yani took their final turn and headed for the parking lot. “The thumb sucking is disgusting, though.”

“They are children.”

“They are bacteria factories before you factor the things they touch everything with being coated in spit.”

“You are just delightful.”

“It is a gift,” The boy deadpanned as Yani pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. Removing their seatbelt, turning around and sticking their tongue out at their brother, Yani couldn’t help but grin. They grinned even wider as they caught the warm glowing gaze of their girlfriend.

“Are we ready for this?”

“Woohoo.”

“There was no excitement in that!”

“It is the best you are getting.” Kisho slid open the side door and crouched down, about to hop out and avoid the running board completely. Pausing for just a moment, he leaned back with an eye roll and gave his sibling and Leila as genuine a smile as he could muster at the moment. “Have fun tonight, you both look adorable.” And then he was hopping out of the van and walking towards the school with his hands shoved in his pockets. Yani threw their door open and waved emphatically at his departing figure.

“Love you!!” They called across the parking lot, Kisho sighing and lifting an acknowledging hand into the air but not breaking his stride. Yani then scrambled out of the van fully and all but skipped to the passenger side door, opening it with a flourish and holding a hand out for Leila to grab. Looking their girlfriend in the eye and smiling, Yani asked more directly. “Are you ready for this, beautiful?”

Leila was listening with rapt attention as Yani discussed the galas, not just because she had asked and was interested but because she felt she could listen to Yani discuss anything. For once she was truly glad to have to focus on the lips of someone as they spoke in addition to her implant because it meant she got to look ever so longingly at the lips she had kissed. As Yani spoke, Leila understood that the two of them came from different worlds, Leila had never gone to a gala nor was she expected to. Her mother had been to film festivals and awards shows but the only stories told to Leila after the fact was a resounding “it’s even more boring in person than on tv”. But there was no resentment or jealousy or negative thoughts about the difference in upbringing and expectations; on the contrary Leila was flattered and honored that Yani would even extend the offer to take her to one in the future. An offer she surely couldn’t refuse if it arose.

It was with a deep breath that Leila prefaced her response when the van parked and a hand was offered to her. Her first dance. With a partner. No pressure. No nerves. Just pretend that it was just her and Yani. She could do that. And the thought of it brought a smile once again to her face, one that widened when her hand was closed around Yani’s as she was helped onto the ground. “More ready than I’ve ever been.” It wasn’t a terribly long walk from the parking lot to the dance proper, but so long as Leila was holding Yani’s hand and being led towards it, she wouldn’t have minded if it took the entire night to make their entrance. Would that time could stop, but fortunately for Leila the memory of this night would last forever.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

'Okami' treats you like you're a fucking four year old & it wasn't entertaining enough to push past it's slow pace.

@SleepingSilence

Man, Okami is one of the best games of that generation. Unfortunate that you don't vibe with it.

Anyway, Astro Bot is the best platformer in years and is GOTY.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

Black Myth Wukong being used as a sword against the imaginary culture war sucks shit because a review can give it a fair 3/5 score and the worst ghouls possible will somehow spin it to mean reviewers hate Asian people.

BHHS: Limitless

_{TIMESTAMP: Sometime after the game
Andrew & Amy
@Hey Im Jordan & @Fabricant451}

____________________________________________________________________


____________________________________________________________________

By the time his mother had answered the phone, Andy was already locked into the backseat of the car he’d arrived in. The window between himself and the driver was closed, and Andy held his head in his hands as he spoke in a miserable tone. “Mom? I think I screwed up.” Andy had never even had a truly one-on-one conversation with a girl before, let alone horrendously fucked one up. He just didn’t have the sauce of his brother or father, and now that it had gone this bad? He was already planning to make sure he never had a solo bolo conversation with a girl again.

Knowing that he needed to provide context, before she got concerned, Andy launched into a rant. “I took a girl to the game. She found me while I was practicing in the music room, and then I sang a Limp Bizkit song to her. With the acoustic guitar, y’know? Then, E came in and she got mad and left. But then we texted later and she wanted to go to the game and eat funnel cake… so, I said yes and then we had funnel cake but THEN, she got mad at me. So I kissed her. And I don’t think she liked that. And then her friend — well, used to be friend, I guess she got dumped by her friends. Is that a thing girl friends do? Because that’s what it sounds like happened — showed up and talked a lot and she got all teary eyed and then she left.” He let out a big breath and lifted his head from his hands, instead resting it against the black tinted windows. “I’m not cut out for this. Girls are hard. Are they even worth it!?”

He stopped. And then he started again, cutting her off and hoping to make the conversation as productive as possible. “I smoked weed for the first time.”

Japan was beautiful this time of year, though truth be told it was beautiful every time of year - and Alicia Green would know. Her parents had assumed she would eventually grow out of her weird phase of life where she watched anime obsessively, but then the worst possible outcome happened: she met someone who loved it when she talked about her obsession - especially when he could listen from behind while she watched a show. Alicia had been to Japan more times than most people had been to their favorite restaurant. She never needed a reason, sometimes it was to buy a collectible that was only going to be on sale in the country, other times it was just because there was a long weekend coming up. She loved the country and, unlike most who obsess over anime, she learned the language and respected the customs. Every time she came home, she came back with another physical anime blu ray or a statue of some character that frequently included a busty female character or a robot, and things meant only for Henry’s eyes.

Alicia never felt homesick when she was abroad, but when the phone rang before noon (in Japan time, of course), she initially assumed the worst. Had Henry burned down the house? Had Ethan gotten someone pregnant? Seeing that it was Andy who called, Alicia didn’t know what to expect. He was the quiet one. The ‘nice’ one. She didn’t have favorites but Andy’s rather drama free filled life made it far easier to trust him. By the time he finished speaking - before Alicia could even say hello - she still didn’t know why he was calling.

“You’re going to have to slow down there, Andrew.” She always called him Andrew. It was only when she said his full name that he ever had to worry. “You went on a date?” Her brain was still stuck on the ‘took a girl to the game’ part of the call; the other part of her brain was busy looking through the selections of a doujinshi section at a manga store. She would no doubt have to take the call outside shortly and put her perusal on pause to head towards the door. “Who’s the girl? Do I know her? What’s she like?”

Andy felt like half of what he’d said wasn’t even being responded to, but he couldn’t blame his mother. When Andy called Alicia, it was usually to make travel plans. Andy traveled a lot. It happened when his grandmother was parading him around to show off her little prodigy to all her rich and curmudgeonly… acquaintances. ‘Friends’ was the more natural word, but in his head, Andrew could not imagine his grandmother having friends. He wasn’t even sure if his grandmother considered him a friend. He’d been expected to figure out his own travel plans for the past few years. The first time, he had reached out to his father.

Bless his heart, Henry Green was not equipped to do things like ‘planning,’ on his own. In fact, he had his own personal assistant that typically handled things like that. That didn’t stop him from trying for his son though! One solo plane ride (first class!) to the wrong country with no hotel to stay in later, and Andy learned that his mother was the planner in the family. Now, Andy traveled in a private plane, arrived to a driver, and was driven to a hotel where he was taken care of and able to ‘focus on the music.’ (his mother’s words, not his)

This call, however, was not to plan travel. This was the first time in his life that Andy had reached out to his mother first, but he felt his father would be as equally unequipped to handle a woman who didn’t do everything he said as he was to help him plan a weekend trip. Andy adjusted his glasses. “Yes, I went on a date. Her name is Amy Kwon. I don’t think you know her, Ethan doesn’t like her.” Though Andy didn’t realize it in the moment, ‘Ethan doesn’t like her’ would either be a winning endorsement, or turn his mother against the girl before he even managed to fully make her his. “What’s she like?” That was hard. His experiences with Amy were confusing. They were encouraging and dismissive at the same time. He didn’t know what he was doing - but he had a suspicion that maybe, just maybe, neither did she.

“She’s… difficult to understand. People at school bullied her a lot, she used to be like… a princess. Now, she’s more of an ice queen.” Andy was grasping at straws with his limited understanding of the school’s hierarchy, but he was hopeful he made sense to his mother. “Tonight… she was more like a princess than an ice queen, at least for a little while. I just want her to be like that more often. It seems like she likes me sometimes, but then… Poof! It all goes away and she’s calling me ‘Little Green’ again or something. Girls are hard. Are boys this hard?” Andy had never thought about that.

“She used to be a princess?” Alicia repeated the statement, on the other end of the phone Andy would no doubt be able to hear the eyebrow of his mother raise in curiosity. In her experience, posturing like that was never genuine; this Amy Kwon was probably still a princess somewhere, but was going through a phase. Of course, she didn’t know the girl personally but she had her own experiences with princess types and the key to their heart was strawberries. It probably wasn’t universal, though. “You’ve got a Taiga Aisaka on your hands.” Everything in life, according to Alicia, could be broken down into anime terms. What was the point of still being an obsessed anime watcher if she didn’t apply life lessons to her family from them? Whenever Ethan or Andy had said they didn’t want to study for a test, Alicia made sure to remind them that Naruto didn’t beat Neji in the Chunin exams by not studying his opponent.

“You didn’t call her an ice queen, did you? Here’s the thing, Andrew, when a girl is told by everyone around her that she is or isn’t something, eventually she starts believing it. You just have to show her that you don’t think she is what everyone says. No one goes from princess to ice queen without something major happening in their life. Girls aren’t hard, Andrew, boys are just stupid. Now, what did she say to you before leaving?”

Andy often found himself wishing he liked anime more. He knew it would help him connect with his mother better, but for the life of him he couldn’t get into it. At least not enough to know who Taiga Aisaka was, as he put his phone on speaker and Googled. God willing, there would be a thread on r/characterdiscussions about whoever the fuck this was. After seventeen years of it, the process of anime comparisons was like a walk in the park. The first Google search of ‘Taiga Aisaka’ was completed by the time Alicia was asking if Andy had called her an ice queen. He brushed those responses off, but his tone showed he was reading. “No. I don’t think she’s an ice queen, I think she’s misunderstood. I want to help her.” By now, the search had been refined, and Andy found himself on the Toradora! subreddit. He scanned the words, and found that he only needed the topmost comment to make it make sense.

Toradora! spoilers? I guess?

I make some assumptions about her, but they're based on the details we get about her. She has a complicated, broken relationship with her parents, so she struggles to feel like she can be loved. Her adaptation to that insecurity was to become the Palm-Top Tiger - to be dangerous and push people away. That also leads to her selfish behavior which is a kind of "take no guff and insist on having things your way because no one will do it for you." She's afraid of being alone, and she's afraid of being close to someone and then losing them. The anime is largely her story of working through all of those insecurities.

During Christmas time, we get a different view of Taiga - happy, selfless, thoughtful, easy-going. Very different from who we've seen her to be up to that point. My read is that that is who she is at her best - when she is feeling most secure in who she is and who she is with.

Captain Aric Deron

Andy read, then re-read the text in front of him. He didn’t understand how she did it, but his mother seemed to always have an adequate comparison in the world of anime. He closed the reddit thread, and listened in on his mother’s words more closely, just in time to hear her say ‘boys are just stupid.’ He paled. “She thinks I’m stupid!?” He groaned, digesting the question she’d asked. “When she left? She told me not to follow her. I think she was crying. I told you! We got interrupted. But I did kiss her.” Andy was so proud of that he couldn’t help himself but brag a little bit, before he added a sensible observation. “That when she was most princess like, I think. Right after I kissed her. But it went away fast and she told me I’m not a very good kisser.” Ouch. But he knew he had to be exact, or his mother wouldn't get it.

“No one is a good kisser when they’ve never done it before. Your father wasn’t. Isn’t.” Alicia probably could’ve kept going but even though she was an anime fan, she had the social graces to know that no one wanted to hear about the physical side of her relationship, especially her children. “She said not to follow her so I take it you didn't, which means you listened. But the fact that you’re calling me means you didn’t listen well enough.” There would be time enough for Alicia to congratulate her son on taking the step to having a normal high school experience and actually sharing a moment with a girl, but congratulations tended to come across better in person and not thousands of miles away from one another. “If you didn’t make her cry then you don’t have anything to worry about. If you did then you’re in so much trouble with her that you’d be better off taking some days off of school. But let’s assume you didn’t make her cry, then I have a question for you: Why are you talking to me instead of her?”

Andy stared at the phone that was sitting on his lap, still on speaker. Why was he talking to his mother instead of her? That was a ridiculous question! The answer was obvious: because he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know if Amy wanted to hear from. Why would she? He’d dropped their funnel cake. He’d upset her. He’d kissed her without permission. What was he supposed to do? Call her? Text her? The answers were unclear, but his mother was hardly making it clear to him. “I didn’t make her cry! And of course I didn’t follow her. Isn’t that like, illegal? To follow girls, I mean.” Andy asked the question, but he barely let it hang in the air before he followed up with a more important one. “Should I call her or text her? I don’t want to bug her. What if she hates me?” Andy still wasn’t sure how Amy felt about him. It was hard to tell! She was tough to read on purpose, it seemed. “I just didn’t want to call dad. I don’t think he’d have good advice.”

“You really are new at this.” Alicia thought Andy was the smart one, or at least smart enough to pick up what she was putting down, but when someone was stressed enough to call their mother to discuss a bad dating experience, it was understandable that the mind wasn’t thinking fully straight. “Andrew, if you don’t call her, talk to her, send her some kind of message, then she’s just going to think you’re like everyone else and that you don’t care about her. If you like this girl, don’t let her cry again. Just remember what Sanji said: “Men who can’t wipe away the tears from a woman’s eyes aren’t real men.”” There really was no problem that anime couldn’t help fix.

“So I’m gonna ask you again: why are you talking to me?”

Andy knew who that was. How could he not? One Piece was the anime both parents liked, and Andy had fond memories of being dressed up as Chopper for Halloween. Everyone in the Green household knew about Sanji, and Alicia used him to make an expert point. Andy sighed and nodded. “Alright. I love you. Thank you for your help, come back soon. Dad keeps making us watch YouTube.”

“Love you too. Don’t forget to eat actual meals, I know your dad would totally be fine ordering out all the time.”

Andy grimaced, and then tapped the button to hang up. He went to his contacts and scrolled until he found Amy’s.

He stared at it for a few moments. At first, he opened their text message history. He tried to type a message, but words didn’t come. Sentences didn’t form. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to explain that he was on her side through a text? Andy knew he was late, but he hoped that Amy was one of those people who believed in ‘better late than never.’ The car rolled to a stop, and his door was opened. Andy was out and walking through the halls as he called her, and pressed the phone against his ear. In his entire life, the sound of a dial tone had never sounded so… ominous. Would she even answer?

For the longest time it seemed the dial tone would last forever and the inevitable voice message tone would herald an end to the quest. Three rings turned to four then four turned to five. Twenty seconds felt like twenty hours. Midway through the sixth and final ring, though, the line picked up. Amy picked up but said nothing, no hello, no ‘what are you doing’, not even the sound of her breathing or sniffling back tears. There was simply silence. Loud, forever silence; a dial tone might well have been preferable. Someone was going to have to break the silence and it was clear that Amy wasn’t going to do it.

At least she picked up. There wasn’t any sound on the other end and at first he had to take the phone off of his ear and to make sure that the time was clicking up. Seconds passed by, but in the end Andrew at least understood his assignment. He broke the silence with measured words, “hey, Amy?” A safe start, though he didn’t really wait long enough for her to acknowledge him. Something told him if he had, she simply would have said nothing or worse - hung up. “Are you okay?” The question was so simple and straightforward, but Andy couldn’t think of anything better to ask her. Had anyone ever asked her that? Andy found himself biting back apologies, the urge to say ‘I’m sorry’ for how the night had gone, for being bad at kisses, for Minnie interrupting them was there, but Andy did his best to silence it. Something told him Amy didn’t need to hear apologies tonight.

“What do you want?” Four words that combined sounded worse than any slur or swear in the dictionary, made worse by the fact that Amy’s voice wasn’t barbed or poisonous, she didn’t sound mean but exhausted, as if Andy’s call was an annoying interruption that she had to endure. It was difficult to tell from the voice alone, but even from that brief response, Amy sounded like she was in a cell, the slithering, seductive tones she expressed mere hours before all but gone and replaced by a hollow, monotone roboticism. Amy might not have been crying into the phone, but her voice suggested she had been up until now.

Ouch. In a way, Andy was used to being lashed out at by Amy. At least when she barked at him, it sounded like there was some fire left in her soul. This? This was different. She sounded tired. She sounded broken. Andy should have stayed on the phone longer with his mom and gotten some idea of what to say. He was late in responding again, having to dig through his mind to find the right words to string together. “I want to make sure you’re okay.” He repeated himself and did his best to make sure there was no upward inflection; he didn’t want her to think he was asking permission to check on her. “I didn’t want to leave you alone when you seemed sad.”

“I’m fine.” She lied. Amy didn’t need pity. She didn’t want pity. She didn’t want to be coddled or treated like she was broken or whatever reason he was calling her. It was all hollow anyway. People pretended to care only so long as they got something at the end of it; she knew the game. Hell, she had played it herself. “What do you want?” She repeated the question, this time hoping that her intent was clearer: what did he want at the end of this whole back and forth? Everyone wanted something. Even Little Green.

“You don’t sound very fine.” His tone almost fell flat as he responded to her, frustrating mounting as she repeated herself. What was he supposed to do? Repeat himself? He barely understood the rules of the game she was playing, let alone his win conditions. For the life of him, he couldn’t decipher what she wanted to hear. Honesty was the best policy, but it didn’t seem to work. He tried again, this time being more specific. “I want to help you be okay. I know I’m not very good at it, but I’m serious! I just wanted to be… helpful.” There were better words to use, but Andy was too new to relationships to know what to say.

“I don’t want anything from you. But I know what I want from me. Which is to be there for you.” Honesty was the best policy. “It’s okay to be sad, I promise.”

“Stop lying.” Amy’s voice rose in volume, not to the level of shouting, but in the clarity of voice it was apparent she was speaking through still falling tears. Andy couldn’t see it, of course, but Amy’s lips were quivering every time she spoke, as if the simple act of speaking without giving away her true state of being was an Olympic level task. “Everyone wants something. No one wants to just ‘be there’. I thought I told you to leave me alone. Go away. I don’t need your pity.”

She said hurtful things when she was upset. Andy wasn’t sure if he was going to handle it very well, but he was certainly planning on signing up for it. “I’m not lying.” His voice matched her energy, raised with such an uncharacteristic sternness to it that Andy paused after, wondering if she was going to hang up over it. “I’m not here to pity you. I want to take care of you! Why would I pity you? You’re cool. …I’m not good at this.” He hadn’t meant to say the last part aloud, but it slipped out. “I want to be there for you. I don’t want anything for it, I just don’t want you to be sad alone. I can bring you snacks.” That’s what Sanji did, and it worked with varying levels of success. Maybe that bit of his mom’s advice would work well.

“I told you I’m fine. I’m not sad. I don’t have anything to be sad about.” Not even Amy believed her words, but that didn’t stop her from saying them. The shield around her person was strong enough that she was retreating behind it fully. If she told herself that she was fine enough times, she’d believe it. And then nothing could ever make her sad. Or angry. Or anything. “Just forget about me. I didn’t mean anything I said earlier. Just…leave me alone.” It was impossible not to hear the tears in her voice on that plea.

“I can’t just forget about you! I’ve only known you for a day, but it’s crazy how you made me like, full of confidence. I’ve never been able to do anything outside of the box, but I did today. Way more in one day than I’ve done in like my entire four years of high school. You’re awesome, Amy. And don’t act like I’m the only one who thinks that. Minnie was just in our faces practically begging you to be her friend again.” He paused, wondering if his own plea was too heartfelt, but he could hear tears on her voice and it pushed him to keep talking, “it was my idea to go to the game. Then I pushed you to talk about something you aren’t ready to talk about. I’m sorry for that, but I really, really wanna make it better. Don’t ask me to leave you alone, tell me what you need to be better. I’ll do it or try my best. Please?” Andy threw everything he had into doing the one thing he knew he was supposed to: make sure the girl didn’t cry. For a brief moment, he wondered if his parents would be proud of him, but he decided to push that thought away until he knew how she would respond. Aggravated, she was like a snake. And Andy knew he was still in biting distance.

There was a pause on the other end after a sound that was similar to a tissue leaving a box followed by light breathing; whatever Amy was doing on her end required some small amount of effort. When she spoke next, the hint of teary eyes seemed to be little more than a distant memory. “What, are you obsessed with me or something, Little Green?” That was the voice of Amy Kwon on the other end, perhaps not quite as sharp as it was in person, but still enough to draw blood when slicing. “Don’t fall in love with me, I’ll ruin your life.” It was like a warning sign on a tiger pit that was more of a suggestion than a hard rule. Amy knew this. It’s why she said it.

“You still owe me a funnel cake.”

“I’m not even that little…” Andy trailed off as she accused him of being obsessed with her, but he didn’t deny it. He had called her. A lot of the groundwork, that had been him. The attraction was probably stronger his way than hers, but he didn’t see that as a bad thing, necessarily. Her warning of a ruined life fell on deaf ears. Andrew Green was already so far down the path that he couldn’t have turned back if he needed to. The wondering of what could happen washed away any fears and warnings he’d heard about Amy Kwon. She liked him; he felt safe.

“When and where do you want your funnel cake? Strawberries, this time.” He thought she wasn’t crying. Hoped she wasn’t. He didn’t know for sure, and wouldn’t know for sure until he saw her again. “We could hang out more.” He suggested, shooting a shot aimed for the stars.

“That remains to be seen, Little Green.” It was clear to Amy that she wasn’t specifically referring to his height in this instance. She was sure she’d figure that out eventually, but until then she could enjoy the way it seemed to needle Andrew. His mistake was letting her know it bothered him. How could she not focus on knowing it made him squirm and shudder? “Hang out? Are you asking me out?” Amy clicked the roof of her mouth and the disappointing tut tut was as if through a megaphone in Andy’s ears. “Be direct, Andrew. What do you want?”

Familiar feelings were creeping up in Andy’s mind as Amy came to be more of herself again. He felt some relief, as if he were an anchor keeping her sane. But he couldn’t deny it was a bit frustrating she changed between a sad girl and a succubus at the drop of a hat. Was he going to tell her that? Absolutely not, Andy wasn’t stupid. He was just navigating new territory; territory that included being called little. He wasn’t little! He thought about the possible answers to her question in his head, and found himself wondering why it always fell on his shoulders. Andy was never the decider, but Amy never gave him any other options.

“Yes! I’m asking you out. I want you to go on a date with me. An actual one, not meeting up under the bleachers to make out. Somewhere private.” Though Andy suggested privacy because he was worried Amy might have another breakdown, it was left open-ended enough it could have been for anything. “And soon. What are you doing right now?” He couldn’t help but get excited. If she said yes then she could deny it no longer: she liked him.

“You’re going to take me somewhere fancy. And I mean actual fancy, not the second floor of the Top Shelf fancy. You’re going to wear something nice. And you’re going to order wine.” She didn’t care that they were technically not allowed to order alcohol; Andy came from money and Amy…well she wasn’t using him for his money but she wasn’t ignorant of the fact that the right dollar amount got people to overlook little things like the law. “I’m free on weekends.” It went without saying that this weekend was off the table, but she was hopeful that Andy had a good memory. The answer to his second question came with the sound of a notification alert on Andy’s phone and with it a photo message of Amy, specifically her jaw and shoulder with a single visible strap - it could’ve been a bra, it could’ve been a cami strap, either way it was a noticeably and unusually cropped image - no doubt because her face was still puffy or something equally as damning.

“What does it look like I’m doing now, Little Green?”

He wasn’t really in a position to say no, but the idea of ordering wine when he was too young made his head hurt. He’d have to figure something out with his parents, maybe they could pull some strings or something. He’d figure it out, even though their ideas of a ‘date’ were different, Andy wasn’t going to complain about Amy undeniably saying yes. They had plans for the weekend, but Andy made a mental note to make sure he took her out next weekend. It was as he was writing something in his calendar that he got the photo notification from Amy.

He tapped it and wordlessly stared at it for a moment. Even with barely anything visible, Amy was so gorgeous. She was beyond him; they weren’t even in the same galaxy, let alone the same league, and yet… ultimately, she had picked him. Something like that did wonders to the male psyche, and Andy gave a daring answer. “Thinking about me?”

“You should be so lucky.” Amy fired back almost immediately but didn’t elaborate or explain if he was right or wrong. Keep them guessing was always the name of the game. “But I know you’re thinking about me. It’s okay. I want you to. You have my permission to…think about me.” On the other end of the line, Amy was winking, though part of her wondered if Andy even realized what her entendre was implying. He probably thought that was a sin or something.

There was a sharp inhale of breath from Andy’s end of the line, and Andy’s eyes went wide. He understood what she was suggesting, but it seemed the idea of it had sent a plethora of nerves through his body. How was he even supposed to respond? What was he supposed to do? Chills. Did he have goosebumps? Maybe. They weren’t even in person! What was wrong with him?

Fifteen seconds passed before he replied in soft tones. “I don’t really… I’ve never done…” He was shy and so nervous it felt like it took his breath away. Andy’s voice didn’t shake like it had the first time he’d spoken to her; maybe it was hearing her cry, maybe it was just the simple fact she’d picked up after telling him to leave her alone… but Andrew was at least confident enough now that he wasn’t afraid of her. He took a deep breath, and steadied himself. “You have soft lips.” It wasn’t much, but it was the best he could do. Most importantly, Andy wasn’t completely locked up. At least not yet.

“I have soft everything.” Somehow, Amy managed to make the word have six syllables the way she said it, like she was speaking in slow motion, using language specifically targeted to drive Andy wild. She wanted him to think on that, to keep it in his mind so he laid awake at night with it, the way awkward memories or panicked thoughts did. She even sealed the sentence with a bubbling titter - for the briefest of moments that laugh flashed of the before times; in that moment she laughed like a cheerleader.

And then it was gone.

“What do you mean you’ve never done…you’re a boy aren’t you? Do I have to do everything for you, Little Green? Well, just remember my soft lips, hips, stomach…for when you have one of those…restless nights.”

Did she just laugh at him? He felt a rush of emotions. Embarrassment was the chief one, but there was some pride in being able to make her giggle like that. For a brief moment, Amy sounded like the princess he knew she was. “I meant on the phone with someone else!” Andy spoke in a muffled voice with his face buried in the pillow in shame. She couldn’t see it, but it was almost possible to hear the bright pink blush that had exploded onto his cheeks. “I need more hands-on experience with how soft you are. So I can remember it better,” he explained as he pulled his head from the pillow. “I’m not little.” He protested, but at this point Andy almost felt like the ‘Little Green’ nickname was a game between them. It needled at him, but Amy put so much emphasis on it that he felt like there was a reason behind it.

“...couldn’t we just have a restless night together?”

Perhaps there was a man to be made of the boy after all. His line was so unexpected that Amy initially assumed he was getting it fed to him, but it was better for the ego to believe that she was just bringing the best out of him - even if the best would turn him very quickly into the worst. “We could, but you can’t know how soft I am over the phone. Are you trying to come over, Little Green? To prove how you’re not so…l i t t l e?” Amy made sure every single letter in the word was pronounced. It was like she had a superpower to make the most innocuous words sound like the most sensual, delectable aphrodisiac possible.

Andy felt like he’d won a battle he hadn’t known he’d been fighting when she didn’t reply. He wasn’t a very good flirter, and the small victories that he got over Amy felt like winning the lottery. Even getting her to catch herself and think about what she said was exhilarating. Did Andy have rizz? Maybe not earlier that day, but by the end of his first night as Amy Kwon’s personal little rockstar, he was starting to get it. Unfortunately, as she purred every individual letter of the word ‘little’ into his ear, Andy felt his heart rate elevate. He couldn’t even string a sentence together well enough to offer his normal defense of ‘I’m not little!’

“I want to feel how soft your entire body is.” He was again letting thought spill past his lips, the words escaping before he even had a chance to think about what he was saying. “I can prove it.” Pride. Confidence. These were new, but Andy was sitting up as he spoke. His head flew through scenarios as he tried to think about how he could get to her house.

He needed to calm down, he needed to think. His mind was rushing through scenarios and not considering possible outcomes, and eventually it landed on a bad ending. One where Amy used this night to tell him that he didn’t care about her, and had always wanted her just for her body. He thought about that, wondered how it would look and if it would even be possible to talk his way out of it.

“We can’t meet up like that tonight. I want to take you out first.” His words were chosen carefully, no longer filled with the bravado that Amy’s unchained sensuality had brought about just moments before.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” Amy only sounded mildly disappointed that Little Green wasn’t ready and willing to live up to the boastful claim of being the opposite of little, but the best part of a slow cooked meal was the taste after the anticipation had you salivating. A good predator knew how to enjoy the hunt. How to enjoy the thrill of the kill. “You’re taking me to the dance, of course. And then your little…party. If you’re lucky, we’ll spend seven minutes in heaven, Little Green.”

Andy had never felt this way about a lady before. Did his words make Amy feel special? Hers certainly worked on them. In fact, her words made him feel so special that Andy was prepared to break into her home just for the opportunity to kiss her neck. “We can take one of the bedrooms upstairs for ourselves. I have the keys.” Before he could stop the word vomit, Andy asked the dreaded question.

“Hey, are we dating now? Like… you’re my girlfriend?”

What shows/movies are you watching?

Putting LOST back on Netflix just reminds me that LOST is the greatest show ever