Hana and Billy, backdated to 5/5/18
May. 5th, 2018 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ax_dva posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ax_mainHana and the other Billy meet.
Billy flopped himself down on the common room couch, teleporting people as a side job was actually a little harder than it had seemed originally and he was kinda wiped. He had to be back home in time for dinner, but Teddy was with his mom and Tommy was who knew where, so he had no real reason to stay.
But he sighed happily as he let his body sink a little more into the cushions. He didn’t have to get up right now.
Hana came into the room humming and bouncing along to the music blaring over her headphones. She was really getting into it, dancing happily, when she spun around and saw that she was not alone. “Oh. Hi.” She grinned brightly and waggled her fingers in a wave.
Billy blinked when he realized someone else had come in and could stop a small smile from forming when he watched her dance. He gave her a small wave when she finally noticed him and moved to sit up so he wasn’t taking up the entire couch. “Hi. What are you listening to? Looks like fun.”
“Twice,” Hana answered, plopping down into the couch next to the door and offering him an earbud. “Wanna listen?”
Billy looked at the earbud, surprised she was just offering and then grinned as he nodded. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and moved closer to her so the wire wouldn’t stretch, taking it gently from her hand and placing it in his own ear. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t listening to English and glanced at her. “What language is this?”
“Korean.” Hana sang along with the next line, then smiled and said, “Like me.”
Billy smiled at that and nodded, listening the the music a little bit longer before holding out his hand to her. “I’m Billy by the way.”
“Hana,” she replied, taking his hand. “Or D.Va. I’ll answer to either.”
“Hana.” He repeated, committing it to memory. He let go of her hand and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked over at her. “So, did you just arrive?”
Hana paused her music and hung her headphones around her neck. “Nah, I’ve been here since March.”
“March?!” He asked in disbelief. Dear God! Had he had his head up his ass that much that he hadn’t even noticed. He quickly moved to rub at his eyes and offered her a sorry look. “Good lord, I apologize. I guess I haven’t been paying that good of attention lately.”
“That’s alright,” Hana said, clearly not bothered by it. “It’s summer vacation. Everyone’s distracted. Plus, my job keeps me pretty busy.”
“Job?” Billy questioned with a tilt of his head. “Do you work for the school?”
Hana giggled at the thought of her being a teaching assistant or a tutor or something. “I’m an Internet personality. I record and live-stream myself playing video games.”
Suddenly Billy was a whole lot more interested in this job she had and he leaned in a little closer, eyes a little wide. “Holy crap. Like I mean, I knew people could make money doing that but I’ve never met someone who actually like did it. That’s amazing. Any kind of genre?”
“Lots of kinds. I’m a variety streamer,” Hana replied, kinda regretting that she didn’t have any of her business cards on her. “I’m best known for Overwatch, though. I used to play competitively.”
“Oh wow.” Billy laughed breathlessly. Wait till Teddy heard this! He’d Probably be just as star struck. “Okay, so I have to ask. How many times did you have to practice when you played competitively? Did it become like...work or was it always fun?”
That was a good question! Hana had been interviewed lots, and she wasn’t sure if anyone had ever asked her that one before. “We practiced three nights a week on the off-season, and four to five during the season. It was hard sometimes, but that’s kinda true about anything. No matter how much you love something, sometimes you gotta work at it.”
“You should get that written on t-shirts or bumper stickers.” Because it was completely true. “So, why’d you stop competing?”
“I wanted to devote more time to live-streaming.” Hana had loved competing and she missed it sometimes, but she loved live-streaming even more. “It’s way more involved with its community. I love that I get to share what I love with people, and getting to talk basically one-on-one about it with them.”
“Huh. That’s really cool. I’ve watched a lot of gaming streams, especially if it’s for horror games I’m too chicken to play myself.” Billy smiled. “Do you have a YouTube channel?”
“Yup! And a Twitch channel,” Hana confirmed. “Just search for the letter D dot V A underscore plays. If you like to watch scary games start with my Alien: Isolation play-through. That’s a good one.”
Scary. Oh man. Scary games were something he liked, but could barely get through himself which was what made play throughs great cause he could see the end with out having to do the work. “Okay, you have to be real with me. How much do you scream while playing? Cause I get more freaked out when the player suddenly jumps or yells.”
Hana’s face scrunched up. “Um, not much? I’m not a shrieker if that’s what you mean. I get scared and freaked out ‘cause what fun is a horror game if you don’t? But, I don’t lose my shit like some people.” She could name names, but that’d be Not Cool. Unless they were total d-bags. …Which one of them was, actually.
“Okay, I can get by with just being panicked and scared.” Billy replied, smiling at the face she made and mentioned other gamers. He would request Teddy’s presence still, just to be safe. “How’d you get into that business anyway?”
“It started as a hobby, really. I like watching Let’s Play videos and I wanted to give it a try. My parents supported it and helped me get started and it kinda just grew from there.” Hana pulled her legs up onto the couch so she could sit cross-legged. “Professional gaming, esports especially, is treated differently in South Korea than it is here. It’s a legit career.”
“That’s probably the coolest thing I have ever heard.” Billy admitted seriously, turning more towards her and copying her posture to sit cord legged on the couch. “Have you won anything major? Don’t the prizes in those competitions get crazy big?”
Crazy big was a good way to describe it. Hana was super grateful for it too. That prize money let her keep doing what she loved, and allowed her to give back to the community in lots of awesome ways. “I’ve done pretty good. Before I retired, I was the number one ranked player in the world. I was undefeated in Starcraft competitions, and I did a short stint with Seoul Dynasty in the Overwatch League and we placed third.”
“Retired?” Billy smiled gently. “I think you’re the only one our age who will be able to ever say that word. That’s seriously amazing. Is there any game you aren’t good at?”
“Retired from competitive gaming. I still run a Twitch and YouTube channel,” Hana clarified because that was a big difference, then answered, “Um, I’m not great at those hidden object games? I get super impatient.”
“Hidden object game?” Billy tried to think of what kind of gam that was. “What’s a hidden object game?”
“You know, when there’s this big scene or whatever and there’s a bunch of objects hidden in it that you’ve got to find? Oh! It’s like advanced I Spy and usually there’s a storyline.” That was the perfect way to describe it.
“Oh!” Billy nodded with a grin. “Like those Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew games? Where you have to find the clues to figure out the mystery?”
“Sorta?” Hana replied with a grimace that said it was more on the not really side of sorta. "I'll show you sometime."
Billy flopped himself down on the common room couch, teleporting people as a side job was actually a little harder than it had seemed originally and he was kinda wiped. He had to be back home in time for dinner, but Teddy was with his mom and Tommy was who knew where, so he had no real reason to stay.
But he sighed happily as he let his body sink a little more into the cushions. He didn’t have to get up right now.
Hana came into the room humming and bouncing along to the music blaring over her headphones. She was really getting into it, dancing happily, when she spun around and saw that she was not alone. “Oh. Hi.” She grinned brightly and waggled her fingers in a wave.
Billy blinked when he realized someone else had come in and could stop a small smile from forming when he watched her dance. He gave her a small wave when she finally noticed him and moved to sit up so he wasn’t taking up the entire couch. “Hi. What are you listening to? Looks like fun.”
“Twice,” Hana answered, plopping down into the couch next to the door and offering him an earbud. “Wanna listen?”
Billy looked at the earbud, surprised she was just offering and then grinned as he nodded. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and moved closer to her so the wire wouldn’t stretch, taking it gently from her hand and placing it in his own ear. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t listening to English and glanced at her. “What language is this?”
“Korean.” Hana sang along with the next line, then smiled and said, “Like me.”
Billy smiled at that and nodded, listening the the music a little bit longer before holding out his hand to her. “I’m Billy by the way.”
“Hana,” she replied, taking his hand. “Or D.Va. I’ll answer to either.”
“Hana.” He repeated, committing it to memory. He let go of her hand and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked over at her. “So, did you just arrive?”
Hana paused her music and hung her headphones around her neck. “Nah, I’ve been here since March.”
“March?!” He asked in disbelief. Dear God! Had he had his head up his ass that much that he hadn’t even noticed. He quickly moved to rub at his eyes and offered her a sorry look. “Good lord, I apologize. I guess I haven’t been paying that good of attention lately.”
“That’s alright,” Hana said, clearly not bothered by it. “It’s summer vacation. Everyone’s distracted. Plus, my job keeps me pretty busy.”
“Job?” Billy questioned with a tilt of his head. “Do you work for the school?”
Hana giggled at the thought of her being a teaching assistant or a tutor or something. “I’m an Internet personality. I record and live-stream myself playing video games.”
Suddenly Billy was a whole lot more interested in this job she had and he leaned in a little closer, eyes a little wide. “Holy crap. Like I mean, I knew people could make money doing that but I’ve never met someone who actually like did it. That’s amazing. Any kind of genre?”
“Lots of kinds. I’m a variety streamer,” Hana replied, kinda regretting that she didn’t have any of her business cards on her. “I’m best known for Overwatch, though. I used to play competitively.”
“Oh wow.” Billy laughed breathlessly. Wait till Teddy heard this! He’d Probably be just as star struck. “Okay, so I have to ask. How many times did you have to practice when you played competitively? Did it become like...work or was it always fun?”
That was a good question! Hana had been interviewed lots, and she wasn’t sure if anyone had ever asked her that one before. “We practiced three nights a week on the off-season, and four to five during the season. It was hard sometimes, but that’s kinda true about anything. No matter how much you love something, sometimes you gotta work at it.”
“You should get that written on t-shirts or bumper stickers.” Because it was completely true. “So, why’d you stop competing?”
“I wanted to devote more time to live-streaming.” Hana had loved competing and she missed it sometimes, but she loved live-streaming even more. “It’s way more involved with its community. I love that I get to share what I love with people, and getting to talk basically one-on-one about it with them.”
“Huh. That’s really cool. I’ve watched a lot of gaming streams, especially if it’s for horror games I’m too chicken to play myself.” Billy smiled. “Do you have a YouTube channel?”
“Yup! And a Twitch channel,” Hana confirmed. “Just search for the letter D dot V A underscore plays. If you like to watch scary games start with my Alien: Isolation play-through. That’s a good one.”
Scary. Oh man. Scary games were something he liked, but could barely get through himself which was what made play throughs great cause he could see the end with out having to do the work. “Okay, you have to be real with me. How much do you scream while playing? Cause I get more freaked out when the player suddenly jumps or yells.”
Hana’s face scrunched up. “Um, not much? I’m not a shrieker if that’s what you mean. I get scared and freaked out ‘cause what fun is a horror game if you don’t? But, I don’t lose my shit like some people.” She could name names, but that’d be Not Cool. Unless they were total d-bags. …Which one of them was, actually.
“Okay, I can get by with just being panicked and scared.” Billy replied, smiling at the face she made and mentioned other gamers. He would request Teddy’s presence still, just to be safe. “How’d you get into that business anyway?”
“It started as a hobby, really. I like watching Let’s Play videos and I wanted to give it a try. My parents supported it and helped me get started and it kinda just grew from there.” Hana pulled her legs up onto the couch so she could sit cross-legged. “Professional gaming, esports especially, is treated differently in South Korea than it is here. It’s a legit career.”
“That’s probably the coolest thing I have ever heard.” Billy admitted seriously, turning more towards her and copying her posture to sit cord legged on the couch. “Have you won anything major? Don’t the prizes in those competitions get crazy big?”
Crazy big was a good way to describe it. Hana was super grateful for it too. That prize money let her keep doing what she loved, and allowed her to give back to the community in lots of awesome ways. “I’ve done pretty good. Before I retired, I was the number one ranked player in the world. I was undefeated in Starcraft competitions, and I did a short stint with Seoul Dynasty in the Overwatch League and we placed third.”
“Retired?” Billy smiled gently. “I think you’re the only one our age who will be able to ever say that word. That’s seriously amazing. Is there any game you aren’t good at?”
“Retired from competitive gaming. I still run a Twitch and YouTube channel,” Hana clarified because that was a big difference, then answered, “Um, I’m not great at those hidden object games? I get super impatient.”
“Hidden object game?” Billy tried to think of what kind of gam that was. “What’s a hidden object game?”
“You know, when there’s this big scene or whatever and there’s a bunch of objects hidden in it that you’ve got to find? Oh! It’s like advanced I Spy and usually there’s a storyline.” That was the perfect way to describe it.
“Oh!” Billy nodded with a grin. “Like those Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew games? Where you have to find the clues to figure out the mystery?”
“Sorta?” Hana replied with a grimace that said it was more on the not really side of sorta. "I'll show you sometime."
