"There wont be anything to worry about Smiley. Itache's been gone or nearly 2 years so I'm sure he'll have forgotten or got over you."
"I appreciate the fact you're trying to help me k1tty, but I'm not in the mood."
"Why not?"
"I'm just not." I moved the meat loaf around the plate with my fork. Who in their right mind would eat meatloaf? The only reason I got it was because I was too late for pizza.
"Well, your mood is most certainly going to get worse."
"Now why would that be Itache? Because as far as I can figure, nothing can get be more worse than loving your sisters boyfriend and him not loving you back." I was on the brink of breaking fown
"Well, I'd disagree. Here comes your worst nightmare." I turned and groaned. Itache strutted over, a grin on the face, as if he just won Div 2, and he sat next to me. This wasn't how I imagined my Monday going.
"What do you want Itache?"
"Well, that's not how you should greet a friend after 2 years of no contact."
"There was a reason for that," I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing." Itache raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway, how have you been?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Had he just asked me, the girl who trod all over his heart, how SHE was doing?
"Erm…I'm okay thanks. You?"
"So," he said in a whisper, leaning closer to me, "Do you still love our baity pocket?"
I knew it was too good to last.
"Why? It isn't any of your business."
"I think you'll find it is. One, he's my brother who is seeing your sister in case you have forgotten. Two, you refused to love me because you loved him. And three, I'm a nosey person." I rolled my eyes.
"Well one, I know he is dating ev and he's your brother. Two, for the millionth time, I'm sorry I didn't feel the same way but you cant help who you fall in love with. And three, your last reason is stupid. If you're nosy you must be a gossiper, so that's less of a reason to tell you."
"So you're still in love with him then?" I stayed silent. "Fine." He stood up and looked at me. "And you're right. You can't help who you fall in love with." Then he walked off, leaving me to ponder. K1tty looked at me and took her headphones out.
"Well?"
"I…I think he still loves me." K1tty's eyes widened and it went silent between us.
"Bugger me." I raised an eyebrow at k1tty.
"You need to stop watching 'Titanic'."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I have to pray that Itache doesn't tell K1lled."
"Well, you could always beat K1lled to it." I look at K1tty who is putting her headphones back in.
I hate it when the cat's right. It always means trouble for me.
Crap. Double Crap.
"I...Itache sempai?" I say quietly.
"Yeah."
Okay, now is it possible to have a heart attack, brain shutdown and suffer a breakdown at the same time? Well, if not, I'm a medical marvel.
"Oh my god." I drop my bag onto the floor and stare at my locker.
By this point, you're probably wondering who Itache is. Well, lets just say its tricky. He's K1lled's brother. Twin to be more exact and only 6 minutes older than K1lled.
And you're also probably wondering why I am reacting so badly to this news. It can't be that bad right? Well, WRONG! (besides we need some drama right)
That birthday, 2 years ago, when I knew I had fallen in love with K1lled, Itache said something to me. I had only known him 4 months but heck, I'd only know K1llee that long. When I was with K1lled, hanging out, Itache would be there too, being the annoying guy. We weren't friends to the extent K1lled and I were, but we got quite close and got along fairly well. Then on my birthday, Itache cornered me in my garden and confessed something to me.
He loved me. He said we would be the best soldier duo in the world.
Well, you can imagine my reaction. I was in love with K1lled who loved ev who loved K1lled back whose twin brother was now proclaiming his love for me. And I had only just turned 14.
So it was a sticky situation that I didn't know how to get out of, not having a lot of past romantic experience (or any) and all that. So I just told Itache I didn't love him, I loved K1lled. BIG MISTAKE! So learn a lesson from this: Never tell a guy's brother that you don't love him, you love his brother. Make sense?
So, Itache feeling down and crushed by me, threatens to tell K1lled. That was something I didn't want to happen for obvious reasons. He was besotted with ev as she was with him and I couldn't ruin that. So I asked him to keep quiet. He refused obviously, due to the fact I had kinda ripped out his heart and virtually ran over it with a steamroller.
But he didn't get the chance to tell K1lled anything. Their parents split a week later and Itache abandoned TechE to go pinoyland. Now he was back. And he had unfinished business he would probably want to finish.
I'm not even 16 yet!
"Smiley? You okay?" I was brought back to earth by k1tty who had just placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh god. What if he tells him? What the hell am I going to do?"
"Well, firstly, clam down because K1lled is coming this way. Second-"
"What?" I picked up my bag and threw my books in, slamming my locker shut.
"Smiley?" I spun around and come face to face with a concerned K1lled. "You okay?"
"Why didn't you tell me Itache was back?"
"I didn't think it really mattered."
"Well, it just would have been nice to know. I thought we were best friends."
"We are you idiot," K1lled laughed. God that cute laugh. Okay, stop there Smiley. You'll go off on one again. "Well, Itache's back and he's mentioned you a couple of times."
"Oh." I could feel nervousness creeping through my veins. "Anything else?"
"No, not really. He just asked how you were and if you were seeing anyone. To be honest, the way he kept asking questions, I kind of got the impression that he has a crush on you." And my stomach drops again. I look up at him but he refuses to meet my eye.
"K1lled?" He finally looks at me but doesn't smile. His face is serious and it worries me. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Then he turn's and heads off to Maths without me.
I eventually caught up with him and he acted as if nothing had happened. Which annoyed me greatly. I wanted to know what made him react the way he did when he said Smiley might have a crush on me. Then it struck me. Well, hit me in the middle of a very bad headache. And I realised at the same time that I can be very slow.
Did K1lled fancy me?
Part of me said yes but part of me dismissed it. He didn't like his brother much so he could have just had a bad taste in his mouth. But maybe he didn't like the idea of Itache crushing on me because he was. But he always seemed so in love with ev, so why would he crush on me?
God, men can be so complicated sometimes. So can life for that matter. There should really be a book about all this.
And what's the cause of this current headache? Itache! Why did he come back? He was hell bent on telling K1lled last time so what if he hasn't changed?
Crap.
What if he still loves me?
My other best friend I mentioned before: k1tty. She's like a packet of living jellybeans but that's why we love her. Gossip Queen and resident romantic nutter, she's the only person I feel like I can talk to. Now you're probably wondering why I would confess my secrets to a gossip queen. Well, she can keep some secrets, especially when it comes to me.
"Smiley!" Speak of the devil. Turning around, I see the beaming brunette bounce right up to me and link my arm with hers.
"Hey k1tty."
"So…?"
"What?" I ask as she leads us to my locker.
"You said anything to him?"
"No. And I told you I'm not going to because I don't want anything to get ruined. Or anyone to get hurt."
"But you can't go on being his best friend and not telling him. Its cruel."
"Maybe so, but I just cant okay."
"Fine." She looked away and lent against the lockers. "So, want to hear some news?"
"Not really but I know you're going to tell me anyway."
"Right," k1tty said, acting as if she was going to give some great speech. "Newbie."
"And?"
"Tall. Handsome. Spitting image of K1lled." I stop putting my books in my locker and look at her, her face serious (which I will have you know is rare for k1tty).
"And?" I ask hesitantly.
"Its Itache."
I drop my history book.
Crap.
This problem just got a million times worse.
// Type "prec" in console to unload P-REC; type again to reload.
// You MUST unload P-REC before you open Casual or Competitive Mode Menu.
alias prec "prec_unload"
alias prec_unload "plugin_unload prec;plugin_print;alias prec prec_reload"
alias prec_reload "plugin_load addons/prec;plugin_print;alias prec prec_unload;exec binds"
// Press <KEY> for winger auto-switch & jump.
// Auto-Crouch Jump
alias +rj "spec_mode;-duck;+cr;alias checkrj +cr"
alias -rj "-cr;checkduck;alias checkrj none"
alias +crouch "-cr;+duck;alias checkduck +duck"
alias -crouch "-duck;checkrj;alias checkduck none"
alias checkduck none
alias checkrj none
alias +cr "+jump;+duck"
alias -cr "-duck;-jump"
alias none ""
// Winger Switch & Jump Script
alias +wjump "slot2; use tf_weapon_handgun_scout_secondary; use tf_weapon_secondary; +rj"
alias -wjump "slot1; use tf_weapon_scattergun; -rj"
bind <KEY> "+wjump"
It was that usual afternoon,
floaty would log in on steam immediately as soon as he got home. So that he could hop into AsiaFortress SG #10 | Jump Advanced | Tempus Network's server to start his daily dose of rocket jumps practice. Rocket jumps are not just a game mode to him, it's also his passion, his fuels, his affection. And tempus means something more to him, it was here at tempus, where he first met meejaey, his bff, crush and senpai.
"Maybe if I stay here longer, meejaey would eventually come online and jump with me." Floaty giggled at himself like a Japanese high school girl.
5 hours has passed. Meejeay still has't came online, floaty still stuck at stage 9 of jump_beef. Floaty starting to get depressed, he couldn't get through the jump without the support and cheering from his fellow jumping partner Meejeay. He wondered where did Meejeay go...
Finally, at 8pm Singapore time (GMT +8), Meejeay ( Rank 89/24537 demoman ) has joined the sever. Floaty could not contain his excitement, he spammed meejeay with 30 steam messages explaining how he missed him, how desperate he was without him.
Normal people might found it annoying. Nevertheless, meejeay found all these so sweet so pleasant to him, because he knew, floaty would only do this to him, not anyone else.
Meejaey proceed to enter their own little mumble channel "Love nest of MJ x FlTy"
"Why are you so late today darling...what happened.." Floaty moaned to Meejeay.
"I was preparing something special for you, its your birthday today bae... don't you remember?" Meejeay whispered back in his sexy Japanese young boy voice.
"I bought you this strange specialized killstreak Original with white sheen. Hopefully it will remind you of my gigantic pickle whenever I'm gone." Meanwhile Meejeay gift wrap the original and himself in order to deliver to floaty
"I...I am speechless LKldsjflksjfoiqjfoqfjqofiq" Floaty mumbled back while getting turned on.
.
.
.
And then they fucking hard core e-sex ed.
While alteria, ely and 26 were in spectators watching them crawling over each other and listening to their mumble coms. They were delightful for them as well.
.
.
Meejaey and Floaty are now both rank 69 in tempus. God bless this power couple.
The day after K1lled told me he was leaving, I woke up at half 6, an hour earlier than I am meant to. Can you tell how in love I am with this guy? He causes me to lose sleep. And when that happens, its something serious. I guess I couldn't get used to the fact he was leaving. After two years we had become really close and the prospect of him not being there was an incredibly depressing one.
It was one i couldn't just accept
I got up and did the usual routine (do I have to explain?) and sat alone in the living room. It was only 7:15. Ev wasn't due up for another 15 minutes. I used the time to think. Maybe I should tell K1lled how I feel? But then there were so many complications.
There's ev to think of, she'd hate me. She really loves K1lled. Then there is the fact that he may not feel the same way. He does not love me. This thought made me even more depressed.
I sat there with my coffee in hand, letting it go cold. Time passed and ev's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. I sat up and looked busy. I took a sip of my coffee and pulled a face. It had gone stone cold. 'Only you Smiley.' I put the cup on the table and ev walked in.
"Morning," came her voice. "How come you're up so early? School isn't going on for another hour and a half."
"I couldn't sleep," I replied.
"How come?"
'I was busy thinking of how I could tell your boyfriend that I love him.'
"Headache."
"Okay." Ev then disappeared off upstairs. I put my head in my hands and sat there staring at my feet. I hadn't spoken to K1lled since yesterday evening and I didn't really want to see him this morning.
'Just faze him out of your life completely. He's taken. By your sister.'
I shook my head. God I hated those arguments that occur in the brain.
'Or you could just tell him. Then ruin everything.'
Yeah, now it was time to get the panadol out.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Its five minutes before we're due to leave and ev is still doing her make-up. Honestly. I want to leave before K1lled shows up. Aren't I just the world's best friend?
"Ev! Get a move on!"
"Okay! Okay!" Then came the knock at the door. "Smiley! Grab the door!" I rolled my eyes and braced myself. I knew it was him.
Now came the really hard part: opening it. I could just leave it and pretend we had already left. But he knocks again. I could imagine the expectant look on his face. Damn him and his cute face. Sighing, I pulled open the door and came face to face with him, his blue eyes boring into my lavender ones.
"Smiley!" I stood stock still, not knowing what to do. God, I hate myself.
"Hi K1lled," I say quietly, moving aside to let him in. He walks past me and stands by the couch as I close over the door. I feel his eyes on my back and I don't want to turn around.
"Why didn't you call last night?"
"Did I have to?"
"You said you would."
"I thought you would be chatting away to ev and I didn't want to disturb you." I could hear a slight catty tone in my voice. I didn't mean for that to happen.
"What's wrong?"
'I love you and its killing me.'
"Nothing." I walk past him and grab my bag. The sooner I'm out of here the better.
"Smiley?" I don't look at him.
"Hmm?"
"There's something wrong isn't there? Tell me."
Now, if this were some Hollywood movie, this would be the time where the heroine decides whether to carry on acting as if the world was fine and dandy but continued to secretly love him, while allowing it to kill her on the inside…or…she would end it here and now, severing all contact and basically tell him to get lost. And the moment has come. I have to decide.
It's kind of like the moment in Titanic when Rose is on the lifeboat and Jack is standing on the deck. The lifeboat got lowered and Rose has to either stay stuck in this boat and never see Jack again or jump back onto the ship and live happily with the man she loves.
I guess I'm about to jump back on the Titanic. Or something like that.
"Nothing's wrong K1lled," I said, putting on a fake smile and praying he cant see through it.
"Then why didn't you call?"
"I was busy. Besides, I heard ev talking to you until all hours so its not like I could." I look at him and see him staring at me, his head tipped to the side slightly. God, he has no idea how cute he is when he does that.
"Hmm," was his reply. He gave me a lob sided grin and opened his arms, expecting a hug. But how could I, knowing what it would do to me. But I did it anyway. Like I said, if being friends with him is the only way I can get close to him then fine. These hugs are one of the greatest perks.
"You had me worried there for a moment."
"Why?" I say as i snuggle into his shirt.
"I thought you hated me."
"I could never hate you."
"Yeah. I couldn't get through these next few months without my best friend."
Now ladies and gentlemen, I would like to discuss those two words: best friend. This is what makes this situation 10 times worse. I love my best friend. But not only that, but this is all we'll ever be because I'm too much of a coward to tell him how I feel and face the consequences.
"Yeah," I simply say.
If only he knew what he did to me when he called me that.
That leads us to the present day. He's still with ev and it's their 2-year anniversary in 6 days. And I dread that day.
Actually, I'm surprised they've lasted that long. With ev's track record with pockets, I wouldn't have placed my bet on 2 months let alone years. Its not that she's a tart or anything, its just that she's had difficulties staying with one person for longer than 3 weeks without whining that they overextend. But here we are, in 6 days it will be their 2-year anniversary and on the day after that, my birthday, but it also marks 2 years since the day I fell in love with him. And in those 2 years, I haven't plucked up the courage to tell him how I feel.
At the moment I'm sitting on the couch watching stvs, K1lled's choice of course. Yet, my attention isn't on the television. My eyes keep wandering over to him, his attention solely on the twitch stream showing the AFC 11 Div 2 Grand Finals. He always got like this when he watched this. His dazzling blue eyes are glued to the set, a single tear streaming down his face as the light illuminates his light chocolate brown hair.
God, I sound like a fan girl.
But something is different today. This time last year, he wouldn't shut up about how it was going to be his and ev's 1-year anniversary in a couple of days. But now, when their 2-year anniversary is around the corner (which I think is more important), he seems strangely quiet. This worries me.
"K1lled? Are you alright?"
"Hmm." I was taken back. Even though his "favourite" programme was on, he always gave me a proper answer. What's happened to him?
"Are you sure?"
"Hmm." I sit up straight. Now I'm officially worried. Maybe I should send him round to k1tty's for a bit? Or maybe not. I'd never inflict that upon any male. Except maybe konma. But I suspect he's got a crush on her anyway.
I reached over and put the television on mute. K1lled turned to look at me, his forehead wrinkled.
"What was that for?"
"Tell me what's wrong and I'll turn the mute off."
"Nothing's wrong. Stop being paranoid." Well, that's a first. He's never spoken to me like that before. I fell back into the chair and didn't look at him. For some reason, I felt incredibly guilty for the way he was acting. I should have stopped pestering him. I should have left him alone. I looked at my feet. Anything but him. Then his hand went under my chin and made me look at him. I never heard him cross over from the chair. I couldn't help but gasp.
A frown was placed on his face.
"Smiley…I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologise for. It's my fault. I shouldn't have asked. I'm so sorry."
"You're my best friend." My stomach churned as he said that. "I'm glad you're worried about me, if that makes sense. It means you care. And I shouldn't have bitten your head off. I've…just got a few things on my plate at the moment."
I listened intently as i counted my rapid heartbeats
"I'm moving to the Netherlands to play in ETF2L"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Have you ever had a moment when you felt like the whole world was crumbling around you? Well, I had one of those about an hour ago. When he told me, I felt like the ground had given way. I knew he wanted to go there so badly, but I hadn't really thought about it. About what it would be like when he was gone. But in that moment, it felt like he had already left.
And now here I am, sitting alone on a swing in the central park. K1lled had left soon after he told me. I told him that I had to go to my grandmother's house.
I hate lying to him.
And I hate myself for the fact I love him so much.
I hate the way he's in love with my sister.
I hate the fact he's going to leave here.
And I hate the world for making my life so confusing.
Do you want to know who I am? What my life is like at the moment?
My name is Smiley. I'm a 16 year old male roamer and live with my 16-year-old sister, ev. I play in AFC Div 2. I have a brilliant group of teammates and an excellent best friend.
It may look simple, but it's far from it. This excellent best friend I told you about, well he dates my sister. The problem…I'm in love with him, and he doesn't have a clue. And it's tearing me to pieces.
When I, Smiley, first met him on that dull night, everything changed for me. You could say he became my first crush. But it wasn't to be, he fell for my sister.
Now I've become accustomed to seeing him with her, holding hands and making out. And to make things worse, we've become what are called 'best friends'. Now any hope I ever had of there being a 'him and me' has vanished. But if being best friends with him is the only way I can ever get close to him, then I can live like that and die a fairly happy woman. But I can't get rid of the feeling of longing inside me: I long for him. When I see him with my sister, I always wish it was me in her place, me holding his hand, me running my fingers through his hair, me making him smile. But it never was. It was always her. It was always him and ev.
They became the 'cute couple that lived next door to each other'. AFC resident lovebirds. And she never shut up about him. It was always 'K1lled this' and K1lled that'. Then I'd hear it off others. 'ev and K1lled did this' or 'aren't ev and K1lled so cute together'. And yeah, I was jealous. But he never knew all this. He never knew that I felt a slight hatred towards my sister because she was the one he chose, not me. He never knew that his best friend was in love with him.
Since K1lled started dating my sister, we grew close. I saw him everyday. You could say we 'bonded'. That's when we became best friends. We hung out together when he wasn't with my sister. We became known as a dynamic soldier duo. When he wasn't seen with ev, he was hanging out with me at the park or doing mge with me
I guess I knew I was first in love with him when he gave me that mousepad for my 14th birthday. That was two years ago next week. I've had a crush on him since we had met 4 months earlier for that try out. But him getting that chain did it for me. I fell in love with him right there and then.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That fateful day, we had been hanging out at the mall. It was a week before my birthday and we had gone shopping because there was nothing else to do. Ev had been placed under house arrest until she finished her English assignment so he came with me. We had just left the bookstore as we walked past the gaming store. That's when I saw it. In my opinion it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. A beautifully crafted artisan mousepad. My breath was taken away.
"Wow," was all I could say.
"What?" K1lled asked as he looked over my shoulder. I pointed to the pad and he let out a whistle. "That's beautiful."
"But it is beautiful." I then looked at the price and it was my turn to whistle. "150 dollars! That's a whole months wages!" I sighed and turned away. "Well, some things aren't meant to be."
"Cheer up," he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I turned away so he couldn't see me blush. "Come on, I need you to help me buy a present for ev birthday." My blush faded as quickly as it had came. Jealousy stirred within me.
He dragged me around different shops, always asking my opinion on presents. As much as I love to spend this time with him, to hold his hand as he dragged me off around the stores, I couldn't help but feel a pit growing in the bottom of my stomach. He was doing this for her. How I wished I were the one he was buying that present for.
He went back to the mall the next day and bought me that mousepad, he told me. He said that I had looked at it with a sense of longing and he just had to buy it for me, regardless of the cost. I've only used it during AFC matches. I didn't want to ruin it. It was too special for that. It was because it was from him.
By now you probably think I'm some stalker dude who can't get enough of this one guy and does everything in her power to get close to him but it never works? Well, you'd be right and wrong at the same time. I'm not a crazy stalker dude, no matter what k1tty says, but I can't get enough of him and no matter what I do, I'm always seen as the best friend.
Ray woke up alone in a desolate room, the feeling of loneliness creeping up to him slowly, but surely. This feeling was nothing new to Ray however, as he's been accustomed to being alone for all his life. Getting up from the cold bed that knew no warmth, he staggered towards the bathroom to get cleaned and dressed. Gazing at the mirror, all he could see reflecting from it was a disheveled young man that had no purpose in life. It was always the same story in the morning; After seeing such a pitiful state, he vowed to change, but yet he was not resolute enough to do anything about it. No one could blame him, what else did he have to live for? He was alone in this world, with no one to enjoy the greatness and joyous thing we all have come to know as life. “I’ve long since given up….”
“Ray? Let’s go for breakfast!”
That’s right, the only thing he had in life anymore, that prevented him from doing anything foolish, was his friends. Keith, his schoolmate and best friend, was always trying to get him to do things other than staying at home rotting away. Sometimes shutting himself away from the world was the easiest way to continue surviving, nothing that can bother him, nothing that can remind him of the suffering he once felt…. Escaping was the easiest route to take, but also a most cowardly one. Getting dressed, he went to get the door where Keith had been patiently waiting. “Geez, you should at least comb your hair, you look like you just woke up!” Keith mused as he tossed Ray a peculiar black bag. Upon opening and inspecting the bag he found that it was full of daily necessities, and with them a little note which read “Please use all of it.” He carefully placed down the bag on the nearby table before coming back to ask Keith.
“Why are you doing all this for me?”
The simple question cut through the still air, silence permeating the surroundings. Keith took a deep breath and simply whispered something inaudible, almost as if he was embarrassed to speak of it. “I thought you needed some things in that old fridge of yours, you know? I don’t wanna always eat instant ramen everytime i come over~” The sudden change of mood caught Ray off guard, leaving him in shock. "I could have sworn i heard something different…"
As they walked along the asphalt pathway towards their favourite cafe, Keith tried to lighten the mood by telling jokes and short stories that have happened in his club meetings. Nothing seemed to work though, as Ray remained stoic as ever, managing to scoff at one of the stories of a club mate being unable to get out of the club room due to leaving the key behind in the main office. This continued until they were standing outside their destination. rose blanche, the huge signboard read, looming above them. The waiters here were nice enough to leave Ray alone, letting him savour his meals in solitude, which was something he really enjoyed. Today however, he was joined by Keith, who seemed to never stop talking. Sometimes Ray wished Keith would be able to perceive that he did not want to continue talking, and that he just wanted to silently sit and rot away. “I’ll have a Lemon Cheese cake, thanks.” Keith always ordered the same thing, without even looking for new specials in the menu. Ray ordered a Red Velvet cake, and they sat in absolute silence, patiently awaiting their orders to arrive. The suffocating silence became too hard to bear, and Ray could not hold his confusion in anymore.
Why me?
Ray blushed knowing it was a strange question, his cheeks stained red with awkward embarrassment. The words came out louder and sharper than he anticipated, and he immediately regretted his decision. He did not expect an answer, rather he did not even expect to blurt out his question. “Here’s your orders, enjoy!” The waiter chimed as she brought the two dainty pastries towards the both of them. Keith was still stunned by the sudden outburst, and he did not know how to reply. He took a small nibble of his Lemon Cheese cake, and he just gave a small grin in return…
Because i like you.
"You said this morning I was your first crush"
"When did you, y'know, realized you liked me?" Aishou connected
"It was back when we were eleven, back when I was getting bullied" Aqua confessed
"It was time those kids in my class put a gaming mouse on my desk with a note 'You can't aim for shit' remember?"
"I remember finding out who put that note on your desk and rekting their ass in MGE." Aishou replied with fire in his voice.
"What sticks out in my mind was when you found me crying beside the bike shed, you didn't say a word; you just hugged me until I stopped sobbing. I felt so safe in your arms; the softness of your hands, the way you smelt. I even peeked a few looks at your face. That's when I realized I wanted to kiss you." Aqua admitted.
his voice warm with the memory before adding "Hell that was so corny."
"I like corny you, don't ever change." Aishou replied.
"Oh Aishou, what are you doing here?"
"Well…" Aishou began but ceased talking when a jittery Aqua appeared from the hallway with an excited looking Floaty behind him.
"H-hey." Aqua stammered. His nerves wracking and feeling like an idiot in his kigurumi.
Aishou's ignitus red eyes absorbed the beauty Aqua was radiating from himself right now. If Aishou was smitten before, he was definitely hooked now. "You look cute." Aishou breathed.
"Thanks, you look amazing too." Aqua replied with a bit of shyness.
Aishou took a step forward and handed Aqua the bunch of peonies "I got you these, you always said they were your favourite." He charmed.
"Thank you." Aqua smiled. Touched by the sweet gesture. Now or never, he mentally rallied before biting the bullet, leaning in and kissing his boyfriend on the lips. Aqua pulled back and whispered to Aishou "Will you marry me?"
Aqua was hesitant but removed Aishou's hands with his paws, so his watery eyes could see; Aishou stopped breathing when he saw that Aqua's alluring muzzle was a few centimetres away from his. Aqua raised his paws and placed it under AiShou's chin then guided him in for a kiss. Aishou could hardly believe what was happening; he closed his eyes and focused his other senses on the kiss. The kiss was soft and sweet, just like him. AiShou's heart was thundering along as he felt all his face heat up; the butterflies in his stomach were dancing and his lips felt like they were melting. After what seems like eternity, Aqua ended the kiss, pulled back and admitted shyly, "I like you."
Ahh, HBZB and p00t1s; two evenly matched teams from different continents struggling not to be knocked out. It was an intensive match between the perceived underdogs of the playoff season, and lead to two of the closest maps in the season, though both were on completely different ends of the spectrum when it came to pure action.
Maps played were cp_sunshine (in Hatena, Japan) and cp_snakewater (in AFL, Singapore), now classics in the TF2 map pool.
Pregame
I only have insight to pregame for p00t1s because most of them are on my friendslist. Scrambling for players at the last second before having the main turn up anyway, not having scrimmed since after getting knocked into the lower brackets, an overall aura of defeatism and unconfidence; not exactly the most victory-inspiring aura going into the match.
HBZB were into the server long before p00t1s, but they (probably) were far from confident, having lost close matches to p00t1s previously. In addition, they'd been rolled by the revitalized Xiao roster (shoutout to teejay), and most of their stakes were on this match to not get slammed from the competition entirely.
Rosters
HBZB
Scout: ozr
Scout: LK
Soldier: Hwain
Soldier: daylight
Demo: starky
Medic: kalpushy14
P00t1s
Scout: fwishy
Scout: oro
Soldier: hirasagi
Soldier: chongy
Demo: shinka
Medic: iMauriceiNoob
Sunshine
One of the most fast paced games I'd ever had the opportunity to watch; it was just each team picking up rounds after their opponents had come out strong. HBZB and p00t1s basically traded round after round before P00t1s managed to clinch the final point in the last 40 seconds, pulling a good mid out of their hat.
HBZB and p00t1s shared this in common; they apparently hated offclassing; the only offclasses we saw all map were at last, with HBZB running engineer or fwishy running heavy.
The core of the game was: P00t1s' mids were complete shit, but all of HBZB's ubers were pretty much the same thing. On middles, shinka kept taking massive damage before the fights even started fullswing, and starky just seemed to be getting the better of him all the time. Without that demo presence to control scouts, Hwain and daylight's coordinated soldier bombs are just that much more effective. However, HBZB's ubers are just cringey; if they don't force out an uber from the enemy first, they're basically always pushing poor positions with a singular soldier. I don't know what it is, but HBZB seems to have a lot of faith in the Hwain bomb, sending him in with uber first to open things up. It always ended up poorly though; there were hardly any uber trades that ended in HBZB's favour.
Then you have fwishy and oro, who seemed to be outclassing ozr in the DM fights. While hira and chongy play more controlled and 'slow' styles, fwishy and oro are roaming scouts at heart, and their push-pull mechanic was beautifully in-sync at critical moments in the game, clinching out rounds for their team and securing points with supreme prejudice.
Both teams seemed to collapse when it came to post fights though, perhaps lacking decisive maincallers to pull teams out of bad situations. The reason the game was so fast paced on this map was because players kept taking risks and getting caught out, initiating a domino effect where because someone was caught out, another person gets trapped trying to save him and dies, forcing the rest of their team backwards before someone else screws up again - so on and so forth. Furthermore, neither wanted to play more reservedly once the ball was rolling, and HBZB started taking fights and trades they really shouldn't have; like, neither team wanted to grind out an uber ad at all.
I still don't think p00t1s really deserved to win sunshine, but shinka landed some MASSIVE damage at that final mid and fwishy just ran in and cleaned up. HBZB, caught off guard, couldn't get out fast enough and were just rolled all the way to last.
Snakewater
Seriously, screw this map. If boring had a name, it would be HBZB vs p00t1s on snakebloodywater. Both teams played the most passive games of their lives, and I ended up having to cast this shit.
This is an example of tiebreaker tension taken to the extreme, where both teams settled in comfortable positions and started jerking off because neither wanted to make the first move, for fear of making the first mistake. Seven minutes of nothing before a singular uber trade that ends up putting both teams in the same position anyway, and then three minutes of CCTV footage as fwishy tries to find someone to backstab from the HBZB players, who are all playing atop the shack.
Seriously though, why would you not push when you have mid and you lost the previous map? What I learned was that HBZB either play too passively or too aggressively, and can't seem to find the inbetween. Every time they picked out small advantages to push they didn't, and whenever it was a critical moment where the fight could turn against them, it did. I don't know if it's the DM of their players or poor coordination, but HBZB were just terrible at teamfights in general, and p00t1s had hira who could play the uber game much better than the HBZB.
Honestly, p00t1s should have won Snakewater so much more convincingly; HBZB had bad ubers, bad pushes and bad teamfights, but apparently their opponents couldn't seem to make the better of those situations. I would argue that HBZB started playing more passively to make up for those mistakes, identifying that the less opportunity they had to do something dumb, the less it would happen. In turn, p00t1s did the same.
And that's how the map ended up being forty minutes long (with the golden cap included), with the first round being picked up at 8 minutes left. [ResidentSleeper]
In the end, I'll just pin p00t1s' victory to fwishy and hira. Fwishy made all the plays necessary to break stalemates for his team, and hira won almost every single uber trade he took, plying out bad positions and flashing from kalpushy14. Mad props to Chongy for some direct hit streaks though.
Conclusion
Nothing much to say except: how does a game go from being so back & forth, brimming with action and packed with excitement, to one of the best sleep-inducing matches I've ever watched? Well, take two teams who are extremely momentum based - one that is unconfident in itself and the other with full confidence in its defensive playstyle; have the latter one lose by a hair, and apparently, you'll make vetia want to die watching a spy creep around for three bloody minutes.
This is some old crap I put up somewhere else that I didn't know where to put. It's no longer relevant, but it does belong here. What a conundrum, eh?
Predicted to be one of the best matches of the season, the rankings on Saloon were heavily favouring Cute Beast, but the call was that both teams were equally experienced and evenly matched.
The write-up for the match can be viewed here.
It is important note however, that both teams had not scrimmed for more than a week due to real life commitments on either side. Thus, the epic standoff between the two teams devolved somewhat.
Play By Play
The first round was hard fought, repeatedly bouncing from last to last, going for a good 12 minutes before Cute Beast finally managed to take the first point. However, Pingu found a sudden burst of momentum and immediately took the next two rounds in 3 minutes, rolling Cute Beast from middle to last twice in a row.
While the next two rounds were more hard fought, it appeared to be futile. The coordination demonstrated by Pingu was almost mechanical, disassembling any attempts by Cute Beast to push out and ruthlessly seizing the slightest openings to make progress. The only thing keeping Cute Beast in the game at that point was Flower, whose sniping halted Pingu in their tracks multiple times (Flower hitting the most ridiculous headshot on And between Shocky’s legs was the highlight of the match).
Pingu picked up the next two rounds, making the score 4 – 1. The clock was winding down for Cute Beast, and in a last ditch effort, the Chinese played a super aggressive mid, jumping both soldiers in deep. It worked, wiping Pingu and capping last in a good 1 minute 30 seconds.
The score was 4 – 2 and Cute Beast had only 5 minutes left.
Cute Beast won the next mid and took second almost instantaneously, having full knowledge that every second was exponentially increasing in importance. They readied their last push, and ubered in through shutter. However, a single moment of disorganisation meant that not everyone was in at last, and Pingu had kited the uber too well. The post-uber fight decimated any hope that Cute Beast had of tying up the game, and the map declined into stats padding, the score remaining 4 – 2 to Pingu.
The second map was Sunshine, rarely seen in Asian pugs and scrims. Cute Beast had to win in order to push for a third tie breaker map.
But Pingu’s momentum had carried over from Process. They beat Cute Beast at the first mid, a scene that would become extremely familiar in the following 16 minutes. In fact, from start to finish it seemed as though there was little to no hope for Cute Beast. The first round was the longest, lasting a good 6 minutes before Pingu were able to pick an overextending player and complete the last push.
The remaining time was just a sad mess. Cute Beast were unable to win a single mid and their players were constantly caught out of position. One moment would stand out to many, whereby Hysteria and Shad0w were the only ones alive after Cute Beast had successfully completed a four man sacrifice for And. Shortly after, Hysteria jumped in afterward for seemingly no reason, leaving his medic to fend for himself (Shad0w eventually dying in the following chase), denoting a probable lack in communication and overall collapse in cohesion.
It was an excruciating 16 minutes for the 73% that had bet on MC7’s favourites. Pingu emerged victorious, taking the map 5 – 0 and moving on to the Grand Finals. Now, Cute Beast has to defeat Kusoyotech in order to obtain another shot at taking down their greatest rivals…
Log Reviews
The logs for the matches can be viewed below.
Process
Sunshine
Process was dominantly a scout’s game, with the highest DPM coming out from both Flower and Teejay: only 9 damage apart from each other.
What’s significant here is how little 10 did for Cute Beast. Arguably, he did more damage than tommy, but when you have a reputation to keep and teammates to carry (i.e. Hysteria), the damage numbers weigh more. What’s more, tommy had a KA/D of 3.3, the highest in the server. While he wasn’t outputting damage per se, he was doing fantastic in the role assigned him.
In addition to this, Fury was unable to put out the damage that he normally could. A floundering 229 DPM compares poorly to his usual performance, especially considering that he took 26% of the heals from his medic.
With Flower top damaging and top fragging on the server whilst sitting with the least healing on his team, could he have potentially done more?
All in all, the conclusion is that because two of Cute Beast’s star players were not performing to standard, the entire team collapsed around them. While Flower and RLE (who was switched to roamer from medic before the match started) were able to pull their weight impressively, it wasn’t enough to make up for the fact that the remaining fragging classes scored under 250DPM.
As opposed to this, Pingu had an almost textbook game with better slightly better and spread out damage, and with 22% healing across each of the three core classes.
All in all though, the logs don’t really demonstrate how well Pingu was playing together. Much of their victory on process should be attributed to both their teamwork and the fact that many of Cute Beast’s players kept getting caught making plays for the medic.
There isn’t much to be said about Sunshine, considering it was a 5 – 0 victory for Pingu. Three things of note were: Fury did considerably better, getting 315 DPM; Flower spent more time as sniper than as scout; Teejay was out-damaged by Tommy even though tommy got less healing, which is not something just anyone can say.
All in all, Cute Beast was shredded on Sunshine, a defeat that they’ll have to keep in mind while facing off against Kusoyotech.
Conclusion
Cute Beast play a DM-centric style, and it collapsed mainly because Pingu played the team game much better- and that a DM-centric playstyles only function when each player is in shape and performing as expected on the day itself. Ultimately, with rusty rockets and dusty scatterguns, Cute Beast were unable to beat their more cohesive opponents.
