#(yes his collar has a maple leaf on it)

[zecoritheweirdone]

hehehehehhooo,, decided to draw some hermits as the mystery skulls animated gang!! why? uhhh mostly just 'cause.

special thanks to the ibaaf server for helping me pick the roles! gem is vivi,, false is arthur,, pearl is lewis,, and etho is mystery!!

better pic of pearl under the cut, where you can how lazy i am,,ms ksmsksjs

[idontgiveaflyinggrayson69]

Dog Park

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​

Requested: Yes – McMo Anon

Fandom: NHL  

Relationship: Pre-Established; Travis Dermott x Reader

Summary: You meet Travis and Niylah at the dog park.

Word Count: 1k

Warnings: None.

Travis loves to take Niylah to the dog park. She gets to have fun, run around, and be socialized, which is super important for younger dogs. Travis also gets to see and meet new dogs and there really isn’t anything better than going and seeing a bunch of happy dogs running around. So, Travis gets to make Niylah’s day and teach her while also having a blast. It’s a win-win.

Mostly, Travis goes to the dog park in the offseason. He has more free time and the weather is nice and he can go back to Newmarket where the dog parks aren’t as packed as in Toronto. Plus, people aren’t coming up to him all the time in Newmarket to meet him and sign things and take photos. He gets to just be Travis, not Toronto Maple Leafs’ Travis Dermott.

You took your own dog to the dog park in the summer, too. You loved going to the dog park and seeing all the dogs, it always brought a smile to your face. You were just walking your dog on the path in the park, watching all the other dogs around you play with other dogs, or catching balls and frisbees with their owners, just doing their thing when a small sandy pup came running up to you and your dog out of nowhere.

The dog was so cute that you just had to kneel down to pet them. The dog smiled at you as you started scratching behind their ears and you couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful the dog’s eyes were. A moment later a man came running after the dog, a frisbee and leash in his hand. He was on the larger side in a hot way and he had one of the nicest heads of hair you had seen.

“I am so sorry. She doesn’t usually do that.” The man said with a smile, reaching for the dog’s collar with his freehand, not that it mattered because his dog was not going anywhere as she was very much content getting attention from you.

“Don’t worry about it.” You laughed, still on your knees giving his dog some love. “What’s her name?”

“Niylah. And I’m her dad, Travis.” He replied, still smiling at you. You had to admit he had a really nice smile.

“Such a pretty name for a pretty girl.” You said, still scratching behind Niylah’s ears. You laughed when Niylah gave you a kiss right on the mouth. “You’re such a sweetheart, aren’t you babygirl? Yeah you are. I’m (Y/N), and this is (dog’s name).” You said, gesturing to your dog who was just standing beside you. The leash was looped loosely on your arm but you knew that you didn’t have to worry about them going anywhere.

“A pretty name for a pretty girl.” Travis said, copying your words about his dog, making you blush.

You looked up at him, finally pulling your eyes away from Niylah and making a point of running your eyes down his body the best you could since he too was kneeling. “Her dad isn’t that bad either, though I think she has you beat for eyes.”

Travis shook his head with a laugh, his smile widening “You have no idea. I can’t say no to her eyes.” He said, running his hand down her back. “She has me wrapped around her little paw.”

“I can imagine.” You replied before standing and giving your own dog a pet as they were feeling a little left out of the attention. Your dog wagged their tail at the action so you gave them a some more attention.

“Do you and (dog’s name) want to play frisbee or something with Niylah and I?” He asked you, standing as well but keeping his hand on Niylah’s collar.

You thought about it for a moment before nodding. “I think that would be great.”

Travis smiled, “wonderful.”

So, Travis let go of Niylah’s collar and you walked beside him with (dog’s name). You guys chatted as you walked to a free area of the park before you unclipped (dog’s name)’s leash and let Travis throw the frisbee. He had a really good throw.

After spending about an hour playing with Niylah and Travis, you really had to get going, which is what you told Travis before you called your dog over and clipped the leash onto their collar.

“Hey, do you maybe want to grab coffee sometime?” Travis asked as you were preparing to leave the dog park.

You looked up surprised to hear him ask that. “What?” You asked him, not really believing your ears.

“Do you want to grab a coffee with me sometime?” He asked, a smile playing on his lips.

You smiled knowing you had heard him correctly, “I would love that actually. Can I see your phone?”

Travis pulled his phone out, unlocked it and opened the contact app before he handed you his phone and you typed in your contact information into it. “Text me, okay?”

“You got it.”

You started walking away from him and you managed to get about a hundred meters away from him when your phone vibrated in your pocket. You stopped walking to check your phone and saw you had a text from a number that wasn’t in your phone.

The message read: “Hi, it’s Travis from the dog park!”

You looked over your shoulder at Travis and held your phone up.

“I was just making sure!” He called at you with a bright smile. It was a smile that you knew you could get used to seeing on a normal basis.

You shook your head with a laugh and kept walking.

You and Travis ended up texting all evening and you guys met up for coffee the next day.

[smugzayn]

Quarantine (4)

The first period goes like this. 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” you answer in response to Harry’s question. “The puck just has to pass the blue line first.” 

“And otherwise it’s a foul?” 

“No,” you laugh. “It’s not soccer. It’s offsides and the whistle is blown to stop play.” 

Harry sits back in his seat, pushing his hat back on his head and sweeping a hand through his hair in confusion. 

You never realised how much you would enjoy seeing him in Toronto Blue. He refused to wear a jersey, so you forced him to pull on a blue Leafs sweatshirt and a matching hat. You had tried every trick in the book. 

“Ta-da,” you sang, holding up a large, Auston Matthews’ jersey. The shipment had just arrived this morning. “It’s for you - number 34.” 

Harry stared at you blankly, looking like he had never seen you before in his life. 

“Look, look, look,” you jumped up from your bed excitedly and spun around to show Harry your jersey, number 16. “You can be Auston and I will be MItch and then -”

“Not in a million years.”

“But - but,” your bottom lip popped out in a pout. “I ordered it just for you -”

“Well, return it.” 

You crossed your arms across your chest, pouting unashamedly. He caved, like he does, and walked over to wrap you up in his arms. 

“Baby, I love the thought, but I am not wearing that.”

You wrapped your arms around his torso, leaning into his touch. “I can make it worth it,” you suggest, leaning your hips forward ever so slightly. 

You jumped a little at Harry’s sudden bark of a laugh. “Are you bribing me? With sex?” 

He pulls you back and takes your face in his hands until he can stare down at you. His fringe flops in front of his face, and the dimples next to his mouth look like two deep caves. 

“Maybe?” you smirk in a way you hope is seductive. “Is it working.” 

In the end, it didn’t work. You gave away your leverage long ago when Harry realised you were putty in his hands. All it takes is a look, or a certain touch, or a coy phrase and you’re ready to go. He knows how to play your body too well to try and bargain anything. 

It’s unfair. 

So while you think Harry would look amazing in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, he still rocks the sweatshirt well. He, however, doesn’t understand the game a lick. 

“Damn. So, they can just do that then?” 

You watch Zach Hyman roll back onto all fours and gingerly pull himself back to his feet. A questionably high hit had just leveled him at center ice. 

“There not suppose to,” you mutter, standing up and booing quickly with the fans around you. “HOW’S THAT NOT INTERFERENCE?” you yell until Harry pulls on your arm to drag you back into your seat. 

The second period goes like this. 

“Yes!” you roar, accidentally flipping the bowl of popcorn on your lap to the floor in your celebration. “Mitchy! Mitchy! Mitchy!” 

You high five the people around you, watching the sea of blue and white cheering excitedly with arm pumps, and claps, and guttural screams. Then, you look down to see Harry still sitting next to you, a confused, yet interesting look on his face. 

“What the hell is happening?” 

“We scored,” you yell, plopping down in your seat and grabbing on to Harry to shake him. “You’ve got to celebrate!” 

“But there was all the fighting in front of the -”

“It was a scrum,” you correct, snagging the beer out of Harry’s hand to steal a sip. “It’s just part of the game.” 

“It’s violent.” 

“It’s amazing.”

“You like all this, then?” He waves his hand at the ice. “The hitting, and bleeding, and the sticks in the ribs, and the throwing people on the ice. You like all this?” 

You look at him like he’s crazed. How can you not love it?

You nod your head, leaning in to kiss his exasperated face. “I love it.”  

The third period goes like this.

“What in the hell? This is legal?” 

You pump your arms at the two guys who have thrown their gloves to the ice and are holding each other by the collar. 

“Get em’ Clifford,” you yell, cheering as the Leaf hits him with a strong right punch and levels him to the ice. The stadium erupts, you shout jovially, and Harry stares at you in horror. 

“You’re violent.” Harry looks concerned like he’s realising he’s dating a monster. “You cover your eyes at bloody scenes in movies! You pass out when you donate blood! You even went to bed mad after I killed that spider in the house!”

“This is part of the game,” you argue, smiling at him in delight. 

“Yeah,” he sputters in disbelief. “Part of the game- sure. Lads bloody knocking each other’s teeth out and you’re screaming them on like a madwoman. Bloody insane.” 

After the fight, Harry only questions your sanity once more when you nearly go red in the face screaming about a no-call on a trip. Why does the league hate the Leafs?

“Unbelievable,” you mutter, throwing your hands up. “Completely blind out there.” 

Harry just stares at you. He didn’t think it was a trip he tries to offer, but you glare at him until he stops. He can barely track the puck, you have no faith in him seeing a penalty. 

After the game, it goes like this.

“Did you have fun?” 

Harry looks exhausted. You think it’s mostly because of you. You’re a handful on most days, but splash a little alcohol in you, put you in a roaring crowd, and put the Leafs in front of you and you walk the line of being out of control. 

“I had - It was...interesting,” he decides, grabbing your hand and leading you through the crowd out to the valet. He pulls his hat down low to keep a low-profile. 

“You loved,” you tell him. “You were smiling from ear-to-ear when Matty scored the OT winner. “ 

Harry laughs. You’re sure he has no idea who Matty is - what a shame. 

“I loved watching you,” he explains, taking his keys from the valet and opening the door for you. 

The quiet of the car is nice after the deafening sounds of the arena. 

Harry falls into his seat across from you, slamming the door behind him. 

“Should we get playoff tickets?” he asks, casually setting his hand on your upper thigh and squeezing playfully. “Maybe a box.” 

“Oh my god!” you nearly scream, turning in your seat to stare at him. “Are you serious? Please tell me you’re not joking. Please, please, please -”

He holds up his phone. Showing you an exchange with his personal assistant. The box, the tickets, and your heart were all bought halfway during the first period. 

“I fucking love you.”

[masterpost]

[Quarantine 3]

[sadlittletiger]

Permafrost Heart, Ch. 2

The Medic

“I shall possess this woman... I will even dare ravish her from the God whom she adores. What delight, to be in turns the object and the victor of her remorse!”

 - Dangerous Liaisons

______

It was just after 9:30 AM, and she was on her fourth cup of coffee.

He’d watched her every time she made her way to the little kitchenette. She used a white mug with a pattern of pale pink roses around the base. She filled it halfway with coffee, then to the brim with half-and-half. She grabbed a handful of sugar packets, tearing them open and pouring them in two at a time.

She reminded him of a little field mouse - quick and plain and skittish. Her hands fluttered over the countertop, sweeping away grains of sugar. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She sniffed. Rubbed her nose. Bounced on the balls of her feet, stirring the coffee, spoon clattering noisily against the ceramic.

She never stopped fidgeting.

He could see every last twitch from where he sat. His desk was made of pale maple, scuffed and worn, and the RPD had been generous enough to put the monstrosity just beside the coffee station.

Not that it mattered. Wall to wall, the office was nothing but a dusty hellhole.

He leaned back in his chair. The leather creaked and the springs groaned. The phone to his left beeped, red light blinking with an incoming call, and behind him, the copier let out a terrible grinding noise.

“Shit,” someone muttered.

He linked his hands behind his head, gaze still firmly fixed on Rebecca Chambers. She fit in well here - scrawny, simple, forgettable.

Dull, he thought, watching as she popped the spoon into her mouth, sucking it clean - an entirely sexual action that she somehow made entirely plain and dull. As dull as the rest of them.

The fact that Alex had selected her as a target was almost disappointing. It could barely be called a game at all. She might be a little shy, yes, but that was nothing. He’d wear her down in a matter of days. She’d protest, of course...blush at his advances, lower her eyes...tuck a strand of her nondescript hair behind her ear…bite her lip to keep from smiling…

“Captain?”

Redfield hovered beside him, casting a hulking shadow across his desk.

Wesker turned his chair a fraction of an inch.

“Here’s, uh...here’s what Irons needs on the McPeters case.” Redfield leafed through the file in his hand, shuffling papers. “No...hang on. Not that one…”

Wesker watched Chambers’s face crack into a bright, gleaming smile. She said something, the barest squeak of her voice carrying over the din of the office, to Officer Valentine. She offered Valentine a carton of creamer.

“I had it a second ago.” A sheet of paper brushed Wesker’s arm. Then another. Redfield had opened the file across the corner of his desk, shuffling through a messy pile of forms.  Wesker ignored it, his dark stare still locked on the girl who leaned against the countertop, whose face lit up almost cartoonishly at her coworker.

“It was a 9.2...no...yeah, 9.2.10, or maybe --”  

“That will be all, Redfield.  Thank you,” Wesker said, pushing the file away without so much as looking at it.

“Uh…,” Redfield trailed off, sounding confused as usual.

“Actually --” Wesker narrowed his eyes.  He turned sharply towards his subordinate, his chair squealing in protest.  “What do you know… about that girl?”

Redfield blinked. He glanced in the direction of the kitchenette, frowning. “Ji-- Valentine? I...I dunno. We haven’t really...talked.”

They had fucked, Redfield and Valentine.  Were currently fucking.  Absolutely, without a doubt. It was obvious and disgusting and insufferable. If he had to witness the two of them exchange longing stares over their respective desks one more time...

Redfield’s face contorted into a grimace as he droned on. “I mean, we talk. We work. A lot. Together. She’s...easy to work...with…”

“Not her.”  Wesker interrupted, rolling his eyes.  “The medic.”

“Oh,” Redfield’s shoulders dropped.  He stammered for a moment, regaining his composure.  “She’s… really young.  I think.”

Wesker stared blankly up at him.

“Eighteen?” Redfield croaked, shifted uneasily. “Maybe?”

“I’m aware.  What else can you tell me about her?” He pressed through nearly clenched teeth.

Redfield took a deep breath, furrowing his brow in a nearly thoughtful way.  “She goes to that Pentecostal church up on Ennerdale.  The big one in the warehouse.  It’s all she talks about.”

Wesker hummed in agreement.  “And?  Anything else?”

“She’s really smart.  She has a full ride to Raccoon University.”  Redfield shrugged.  He seemed to be searching around the office then, looking for an escape from the strained conversation.

“What could she possibly be studying?” Wesker snapped.  

She hadn’t mentioned being a student during the hiring process. Had it been a throw-away line in her profile? Something “insignificant” to Umbrella’s incompetent fucking management? A damned student, at the only college in Raccoon.  So many connections she would have made, so many more people to notice her missing; it was sloppy, extremely sloppy, almost amateur.  How could they have missed it?

“Internal medicine, I think?” Redfield stepped back, tapping the spine of the manila folder against his thigh.

“Internal medicine, you think,” Wesker mocked, glaring.  She hadn’t said a word about it.  Not one word.  How dare she--

“Yeah.  She’s pre-med or whatever.  You know, like E.R.”

Wesker glowered at him, silent.

Redfield licked his lips, slowly inching away.  “The TV show?  E.R.? It’s about a hosp-”

“I know what it’s about, Redfield.” Wesker pushed away from his desk, the drawers rattling and the chair creaking with the sudden movement.  He stood, tugging hard at his tactical vest.  He hooked a finger into his collar and undid the first button of his dress shirt. “Take the file to Marini. He’ll give you the form. Don’t bother me with anything so trivial again.”

Wesker shouldered past him, not bothering to wait for Redfield’s response. He leveled his sights squarely on Chambers.

Pentacostal. Pre-med. Barely legal. Alex might as well have offered the girl up on a silver platter. An overworked, overwhelmed, infuriatingly modest prodigy.

Rebecca Chambers laughed - giggled - at something Valentine said. She raised her steaming mug to her lips, smiling behind it, eyes bright and wide and deliciously, utterly, perfectly vapid.

He crossed the space to the coffee station in four long strides.

[manrocket-mo]

You and Mo adopting a puppy together in Toronto

Ya’ll I know we’re all mopey and really sad and I hope this helps even a teensy bit.

When the Leafs’ community relations team reached out to you and the other wives and girlfriends to ask you to be a representative at the Toronto Humane Society adoption event pre-game, you knew that you should’ve sat this one out. It wasn’t that you hated animals, it was quite the opposite.

You wanted a puppy so bad, you and Morgan but you both always kept a level heads about yourselves. With Morgan’s schedule in-season and you being in your last semester at university, it just wasn’t a good idea. But every time you went back to Vancouver with Morgan and you saw him with Maggie, and every time you went out and you stole some puppy time away from strangers, the part of your heart that wanted a puppy grew and grew.

But who were you to turn down an opportunity to not only steal some more puppy play time but also do good in the community on behalf of your boyfriend? So you stupidly agreed, your Rielly jean jacket slung over your shoulders and a bag of treats ready to go for the good boys and girls awaiting you.

“Have a great game, babe,” you smiled readjusting Morgan’s lapels before pressing a kiss to his lips. He smiles into your peck and before you could pull away, lifts you up.

“Mmm, don’t be late,” you mumble, cupping his cheek. “I don’t want Babs mad at me.”

Mo chuckles before setting you down on the counter.

“As if Babs could ever be mad at you. He loves you!” You roll your eyes at him and place your hands on his broad shoulders. “Mmm, you’re wearing your jacket.”

You grin at him. “I have this thing today and I have to represent this guy, so I have wear this little thing.” You shrug your shoulders but the smile ripped across your cheeks told another story.

His grin matches yours. “I love seeing you wear my last name and my number,” he whispers seductively against your skin, his hands tracing the 4’s along your sleeve. “But more than anything, I love knowing that you’re representing us in the community. It means so much to me.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek, sweetly.

“Of course. Anytime.” You press a kiss to his lips once more before you shooed him, jumping off the counter. “Now, you really gotta go! You’re going to be late by your standards.”

Now it’s his turn to roll his eyes at you and leaned down to give you one last peck on the lips.

“Wait!” You yelled after him before he could walk over to grab his keys. “Don’t forget your pin!” You grab the blue Leafs paw print pin off the counter and moved back to your boyfriend.

“I got it.” You stood there in the foyer of the home you shared with Morgan and pressed the backing into the pin so that it hung perfectly on his suit. “Perfect.”

You caught Mo giving you the heart eyes again. “Thanks, babe.”

“You’re welcome! Now go get, ‘em. Score me a goal!” You teasingly swatted at his butt, directing him to the door. “Come on, come on.”

Mo laughs and leans back before you could close the door on him. “One more?”

You giggle, pressing your lips against his once more before pushing the door shut.

An hour later and you were on Maple Leaf Square out of treats and completely in love with the pup in your arms.

“Y/N,” Aryne chastises. You stick your lip out in a pout and give her puppy eyes, similar to the ones the little chocolate lab in your arms had been giving you the entire time you held him.

“Aryne…” you whine. “He’s sooooo cute.”

“Mo is going to kill you,” Steph sings knowingly.

“Yeah, but he’ll have a little friend to comfort him once they lower me into the ground,” you mumble stroking the pup’s soft fur.

“Ma’am, I think that family over there is going to sign up for that puppy, if you want to let them..” one of the humane society representatives said reaching out.

You panicked, clutching the puppy to you, your eyes searching for Steph’s. She giggled at you, knowingly. She knew from the very beginning how this would end. Truthfully, so did you.

Morgan would surely kill you. That was for sure.

You looked down to the good boy in your arms, so warm, so content and once he looked up at you, it was over.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll adopt him.” You were determined and moved toward the sign up sheet for the little devil and picked it off the table. “Where do I sign?” you ask, one arm holding the dog and the other a pen.

Steph laughed loudly from behind you, earning an elbow to the ribs by Christina. “Wait til Syd hears about this!”

You roll your eyes but sit at the adoption table where you begin the paperwork, smiling for a photo when you finish up.

“…can we not post that til tomorrow? I need to tell my boyfriend what I just did.” This time the circle of wives and girlfriends surrounding you laugh in unison at your expense.

“And here you go… here’s his crate, some puppy food, a couple of toys and some treats. And not to forget, his first little bandana. Mac with the number 44, is that right?”

“Aww, MAC!” Steph cooed as she grabbed the crate for you.

“Yes, thank you.” You grabbed your belongings, slinging your purse over your shoulder while clutching to your new puppy.

“So what are you going to do?” Christina wonders as she reaches over to give Mac a scratch between the ears.

“I’m going got go home and figure out how to explain what I just did to my boyfriend when he gets home.

You get another phone call, your third that you send to voicemail out of pure guilt. You watch as Mac runs around the office and can’t help the shame you feel as your phone buzzes with another text.

You pick up your phone and send him a text without looking at what he sent.

I’m okay. Don’t worry.

You put your phone down. You knew Morgan would be home at any time with the game ending almost an hour ago, even sooner now that you weren’t there to greet him post-game.

When the front door opens and slams shut, you get off the floor and creep toward the door.

“Y/N!” Morgan yells, looking for you.

You push the door of the office open and shut it softly behind you.

“Mo, I’m here.” You watch as he turns to you and in three long strides pulls you into his arms.

“I was so worried! You didn’t answer my calls and my texts and Steph said you never made it to the game and you weren’t there waiting for me and—“ he was panicking, he was worried.

You grabbed his face in your hands and spoke to him. “Morgan, I’m here. I’m okay. I’m here, okay?” You nod with him. “I’m here.”

“Why’d you leave?” Morgan asks confused.

You shake your head and you’re sure it does nothing to relieve his worries. “Morgan, you’re going to be mad at me and that’s okay. I deserve it.”

Mo’s blue eyes grow. “Y/N…”

“Morgan, you need to be calm when I tell you.”

He nods quietly but before you could build up the courage to spill what you did, there are the sounds of little paws on hardwood, little puppy barks.

“Morgan, please don’t be mad.” You lean down and away from Morgan to pull your new little pup to you.

“Momo, meet Mac…” you smile sheepishly, looking up to take him in giving you a look of relief.

“That’s it? This is why you thought I’d be so mad that you didn’t answer my phone calls?” He’s skeptical.

“I thought you’d be so mad you’d break up with me for being irresponsible…”

Morgan lets out a breath and puts his arms around your waist. He can’t help but laugh at the look that must be on your face.

“I’m not mad, okay?”

You nod and pull Mac to you. “Look Mo, he even has a 44 on a Maple Leaf on his bandana! You can’t be mad! Look at that face!” You angle Mac’s little face up so Morgan can look at it and as soon as Morgan leans down, Mac takes a lick at his face.

“Mac, eh?” Morgan reaches over and pets his soft, chocolate brown fur. “Mac is going to make Maggie a very jealous girl when we get back to Vancouver for the summer. She’s not going to be happy with me.”

You smile, your heart and ovaries bursting as Morgan takes hold of Mac and nuzzles his fur.

“How old is Mac?” He wonders.

“10 weeks and he’s all up to date with vaccinations and has had a full work up by the vets and I’ll take care of him, you won’t even have to worry—“

Morgan silences you with his lips.

“I’m not mad at you,” he promises.

Suddenly Mac yelps and starts wiggling out of your boyfriend’s arms, prompting him to be set down on the floor.

“Oh, you wanna play, Mac?” Morgan gets down on his knees and calls for Mac when he turns around and goes to the other room where he knows he has toys.

“I’m glad we got a little gremlin of our own, even if you pretended you were strong enough to go to this event. I was really starting to miss Mags again and I want you to have someone when I’m away.”

You settle down on the floor next to Morgan hearing the jingle of Mac’s tags against his collar as he ran back a toy almost the size of his body being dragged from his mouth.

“So the right call?” you wonder, bumping shoulders with your boy. “Because this family was eyeing him and..”

“Ah, right call? Still out there as questionable,” Morgan teases, his arm going around your shoulders, pulling you to him. “But good call? I’d say so.”

He quickly presses a kiss to your temple before patting the floor in front of you both with two hands, signaling for Mac to jump into his arms.

“I’ll let Maggie make the final decision when she meets our little guy in a few weeks.”

Mac lets out a little bark and you and Morgan laugh pulling him closer to both love on him.

Y/IG/H

Toronto, ON

Liked by morganrielly and 2,927 others

Y/IG/H Mags has a baby brother and @morganrielly didn’t kill me! Everyone meet Mac Rielly! #Bub

View all 392 comments

morganrielly How could I be mad with that face on Bub??

marner_93 Mo daddy and Mac daddy

stephlachancee STILL laughing but cuteeee 😍

sydneyesiason Steph wasn’t kidding! 😹Can’t wait til he meets Jax!

MO SOFT/THIRST NIGHT! (cont’d)

[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 5 | Morgan Rielly

A/N: Here we are, 4600 words later, because I don’t fucking know how to write succinctly.  Guest appearances by Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen!

Morgan was hardly ever anxious.  He was usually cool, calm, and collected about most things, even on the ice.  Bad or missed calls by the referees,

He was officially nervous.  

It all started when Auston Matthews came over to his place.  Auston was in town for a few charity events he agreed to do, and on an off-day in-between, he went over to Morgan’s house to play video games and catch up.  Though they had spoken regularly, they had barely seen each other since the end of the season – just the occasional FaceTime.  It was good to be together again; good to be playing video games and shooting the shit.  

Then Auston got hungry and, well, everything went downhill.

“Dude, I’m starving,” Auston said, putting down his controller on the coffee table in front of him and springing up from his seat on the couch.  “You got anything in the fridge?”

“There’s some chips in the top right cupboard,” Morgan said, continuing to play the game.  He always had chips on hand.  It was his trademark.

“Any beers?”

“Uh…” Morgan honestly couldn’t remember, but at the same time, he was extremely close to getting his targeted kill count so he wasn’t exactly paying the most attention.  “I can’t remember.  Just fuckin’ check.  Go wild.”

Morgan heard the crinkle of the chip bag and the fridge open, Austin moving some stuff around.  “Um, excuse me,” Auston said.  “What the fuck is going on here?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Since when the fuck do you use Tupperware?” Auston questioned, turning to look at Morgan.  “You never use your Tupperware.”

“Matts, what the fuck?” Morgan digressed, pausing the game to look at his friend.  In Auston’s hand was the Tupperware Bee gave to Morgan for the leftovers of the fish tacos.  Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.  “I use Tupperware.”

“No you don’t,” Auston said, looking directly at him.  “You made me buy it with you, and now we both never use it.  Why are you…” his thoughts trailed off as he connected dots in his head.  His eyes bulged out of his head when he came to his realization, his mouth even dropping a bit.  “Bro.”

“What?”

“Who is she?”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.  “What are you talking about?”

“Who’s the girl?”

“There’s no girl, Matts,” Morgan gulped.  

“Bullshit!” Auston yelled.  “You never use the Tupperware we bought, and now all of the sudden it’s being used in your fr…THIS ISN’T EVEN OUR TUPPERWARE!” he screamed even louder, feeling completely betrayed.  “Ours has red lids and this one is BLUE!  Is this her Tupperware?!  Oh my GOD!”

“Matts, calm the fuck down, for fuck sakes!”

“NO!  I can’t calm down!  Do you know what stage in a relationship you have to be to bring someone else’s Tupperware home with you?!”

“Seriously, Matts, you’re gonna have a hernia over Tupperware.”

“Stop deflecting!  Who is she?  What’s her name?  Why didn’t you tell me about her?!”

“Matts, please,” Morgan rolled his eyes, trying to brush him off.  

“Nah nah nah nah, I will shut this game off if I have to.  Either you tell me what the fuck is going on or I’m stealing your phone when you nap and finding it out for myself.”

Morgan looked Auston dead in the eye.  He knew Auston wasn’t bluffing.  Auston would go so far as to spike Morgan’s drink in order to get to the bottom of this is if he didn’t fess up.  “We met at a restaurant,” he practically mumbled.

Morgan couldn’t describe what Auston did next.  It was a sort of fist-pump into the air, but he was still holding on to the Tupperware container, so it looked like he was celebrating the Tupperware.  He practically threw it back into the fridge and slammed the door before running and plopping himself back onto the couch, forgetting the chips altogether.  Morgan rolled his eyes.  “You are honestly the fucking worst, Matts.”

“When am I gonna meet her?”

“Never if you keep this up,” Morgan answered quickly.  

Auston convinced Morgan to meet Briony.  Morgan prayed to every god imaginable that Auston wouldn’t embarrass him, or more important, embarrass Briony.  Later, when Morgan met up with Freddie, he begged Freddie to join them.  Freddie would provide some decorum at least.  It wouldn’t turn into a complete shit show.  

Freddie made a point in asking why, after only a month, Morgan didn’t put up more of a fight in denying Auston in meeting Briony.  Freddie understood how private Morgan was.  He understood how much Morgan liked his privacy, despite being a Toronto Maple Leaf.  He knew how much Morgan liked to be alone.  Everybody on the team commented on it.  Babcock commented on it.  The team doctors and physiotherapists commented on it.  Even the equipment guys commented on it.  And now Morgan had agreed to let Briony meet Auston, the most recognizable Leaf on the team…when he could have just said no?  

‘But I like her’ Morgan had answered.  ‘I mean, she’s going to have to meet everyone eventually, right?  Especially if this becomes serious.’

‘Usually people are honest and tell the other what they and their friends actually do for a living before getting a girl to meet them’ Freddie called him out.  Morgan couldn’t win because he knew Freddie was right.  But he made Freddie promise he wouldn’t say anything to Bee.  He agreed reluctantly, only because Morgan was a really good friend.

Were they moving too fast?  Morgan knew people who moved faster…much faster.  But were they?  It was a legitimate question.  It was just over a month since they had first met.  They’d slept together once after a few dates.  He hadn’t met Angie, Bee’s “person…you know, like in Grey’s Anatomy?  She’s my person” because she was currently in Kingston with her boyfriend Mason.  This would obviously be the first night she would be meeting any of Morgan’s friends.  He thought the pace was fine.

Okay, maybe he rationalized it because he really liked her.

Bee looked at herself in the mirror once again, the luxurious bathroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto providing good enough lightning that, for a second, she thought she looked half-decent.  She had on her work clothes – a pair of cropped, tailored pants, a flowy heart printed top, flats instead of her usual Tom’s shoes – and she couldn’t help but feel a little bit self-conscious about it all.  When Morgan said he had friends visiting in the city and they wanted to meet her, she readily agreed, thinking it would be something small at his place.  When he later told her they were meeting up at dbar at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville…well, that’s when the nerves started to hit.  

She had agreed to meet Morgan and his friends at dbar, since they were all apparently coming from work and she was grading the last of the exams in the solitude of her apartment.  The fact that she was even going out during Labour Day Weekend was new for her.  She knew everybody in the city would be out tonight.  She didn’t like to go out on these types of nights.

Angie would always make fun of Bee for how much she liked being alone.  Bee guessed it was a quirk she had, something she developed while growing up.  When Bee was old enough to realize that her mother was an alcoholic, she would escape to her room (when she had her own room) and do anything to distract herself, sometimes even repeatedly doing her homework over and over again so she wouldn’t have to face her mother.  When she was old enough to leave the house, she would – she’d take a walk around the neighbourhood or sit aimlessly in the local park while her mom binged alone or with “friends”, preferring to be alone rather than witness her mother succumb to the alcohol.

It really solidified itself when she finally turned 16, when she won legal emancipation from her mother.  If she was going to do this – life – all on her own, then she needed to be focused, with no distractions.  And if she was going to make it, she needed to work hard.  And work hard was what she did.  Alone.  Nobody to support her, nobody to cheer her on, nobody to guide her.  She did it all by herself.  Alone.

Now Bee had to begin reconciling the fact that she also liked being with Morgan.  That she was willing to go out in order to be with him; that she was willing to go to places that made her slightly uncomfortable if it meant she could have fun with him.  It was a weird sensation, walking both sides of the feeling of wanting to be alone but wanting to be with someone else.  She didn’t know how to justify it – all she knew was that she would continue to.  

When she exited the washroom of the Four Seasons and walked around the building to wait in the lobby of the bar, she checked her phone again to see if Morgan had texted her.  He hadn’t.  She settled into the plush bench near the hostess, pretending to be on her phone.  She wasn’t going to dare approach her.  The hostess would probably laugh her out of the entire Yorkville area.

“Excuse me, are you Briony?”

Bee’s body stiffened as she looked up from her phone slowly.  She saw a man – a very ginger, very tall, very big man – staring down at her, a soft smile on his face.  He was dressed smartly: a pressed pair of slacks with desert boots, an unbuttoned collared shirt, a stylish sport jacket that fit impeccably.  He was completely colour co-ordinated.  Who was this man and how did he know her name?  “Uh…yes?” she squeaked out, still trying to take all of him in.

“I’m Frederik.  I’m one of Morgan’s friends.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, jolting up from her seat immediately.  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.  Morgan didn’t tell me your names or what you look like and I had no idea who I would have to look for and --”

“It’s okay,” he laughed, extending his hand for her to shake.  His hands were massive.  They were like mittens.  She was pretty sure they could wrap around her entire head.  She was also pretty sure he had a least a foot on her height wise.  Where the fuck did this guy come from?  “Morgan and Auston will be here soon.  Auston said they just gave Morgan’s car to the valet.”

“So Auston is the other guy’s name?” Bee clarified.  Frederik nodded his head.  “And you guys all work together, right?  That’s how you know each other.”

“Exactly.”

“How long have you worked in the sports industry?” Bee asked, trying to make small talk.

“The sports industry?” Frederik chuckled slightly.  “I’ve only been here since 2016.”  He nodded his head to motion for Bee to look behind her, and when she did, she saw Morgan making his way through the door, his typical slacks and button down t-shirt on.  She was starting to feel overdressed.  His companion, who she could only assume was ‘Auston�� walked in with a beanie and what could only be described as extremely-expensive-and-tailored-but-still track pants.  Track pants.  Bee felt like she was in the twilight zone.  Did Auston not know where he was going?  Were they going to be denied entry now?  

Morgan made a beeline to her, enveloping her in a hug.  Auston looked on with a bemused look on his face.  “So you’re Bee,” he said once she had turned towards him.  

He, too, had at least a foot of height on her.  She wondered if they planted themselves in manure every night to grow.  She’d heard that saying once and thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever, but seeing the sizes of Frederik and Auston – now she wasn’t so sure.  “I’m Bee,” she nodded her head.  “Frederik tells me your name is Auston.”

“So it is,” he smiled, shaking her hand.  “Morgan’s told me so much about you.”

Bee stiffened at the words.  “Good things, I hope.”

“He’s mentioned how good your fish tacos were once or twice,” Auston winked at Morgan, who looked like he was going to stab Auston right then and there.  “Good on you for getting this guy to go out, by the way.  Usually he just likes to be alone.  Have you ever been to dbar before?”

“No.”

“You’re in for a treat, Bee.  It’s one of the best bars in the city.”

As they made their way towards the hostess Bee earlier tried to ignore as much as possible, she watched as Morgan tried to discreetly elbow Auston and mouth to him ‘Behave’.  “Table for four please, under Auston Matthews.”

“Of course,” the woman smiled, clicking a few times on her computer screen.  “Welcome back to Toronto, Mr. Matthews,” she nodded, then turning her attention to Morgan and Frederik.  “Mr. Rielly.  Mr. Andersen.  Did you all have a good summer?”

Bee gulped.  What was going on?  How did she know who Auston was automatically?  How did she know Morgan?  Frederik?  Did they really come here that often?  Could they really afford to come here that often?  What the hell did she get herself into?

“The best, doll,” Auston smiled, the first to follow her into the restaurant.

They were seated much like she and Morgan were at Cibo – in a booth in a back corner where nobody could really see them unless they specifically walked that way through the restaurant.  Morgan sat on the same side as her in the booth, immediately grabbing her hand underneath the table and caressing it tenderly.  Frederik and Auston shuffled into the other side.  The waiter that attended to them asked if they all wanted their usual, which they all did, which made it awkward for Bee because she was still trying to get over how fucking expensive the cocktails were so she had to choose on a whim.  

“So Morgan tells me you’re getting your Master’s,” Frederik said in his soothing voice, and it was only then that Bee realized he had an accent.  “Where are you studying?”

“I’m at U of T.  I’m getting my Master’s in Financial Economics,” she explained.

“Where’d you meet Mo?” Auston piped up.  

She looked over at Morgan quickly.  “He sent a drink to my table in a restaurant.”

“He what?!”

“I did not!” Morgan denied emphatically.  “How many times…I did not send a drink to your table!  You got pranked!”

“You’re a lot smoother than I thought,” Auston commented.  “In all the years I’ve known you, you would have never done something like that.”  Auston turned his attention to Bee before adding, “He must’ve thought you were really cute.”

Bee couldn’t help but blush.  She thought the last word anybody would use to describe her would be cute.  “So how long have you known Morgan, then?”

“Well I’ve been in the Toronto sports industry since 2016,” he smiled, glancing over at Morgan quickly.  “Mo became one of my best buddies.  Showed me around the city, took me to all the good places to eat.  He totally became the dad of the group.”

“The group?  So there’s more of you?” Bee asked innocently.

“There is,” Auston nodded his head.  “You’ll meet us all in due time.”

Bee’s nerves quickly dissipated the more she got talking with Auston and Frederik.  She learned that Auston was originally from Arizona and that Frederik came all the way from Denmark.  Even Morgan relaxed the more everybody got talking, his stiffness making way for more relaxed body language.  They sat and talked for what seemed like hours.  The one time Bee looked down at her watch – 11:15pm – told her that they did talk for hours.

Bee was able to discern a few things about Auston and Frederik during her time with them.  Frederik was definitely more sophisticated (hello colour co-ordinated outfit), a lot calmer than Auston, and seemed to genuinely listen to what Bee was saying.  She appreciated his soft smile and the way he would roll his eyes at Auston.  Auston was definitely the playboy.  He seemed cocky, fun, and confident – definitely the guy you would want to show you a fun night out in Toronto – but still humble enough to know when to apologize, to say please and thank you, and to leave a very generous tip to the waiter after he picked up the exorbitant bill.  

As they made their way out of dbar, Morgan’s arm draped around her waist, she couldn’t help but notice the stares from other patrons.  She wondered if the same stares happened when they had made their way into dbar.  Stares made her self-conscious.  Stares made her feel like she wasn’t supposed to be there; that she didn’t belong in such a swanky, upscale, expensive place.  Stares like the ones she was seeing just made her want to be alone.  There was one part of her fighting to say she had the right to be there just like anyone else; but the other part of her just wanted to curl up into a ball.  

Right at the moment they were going to walk out, a man approached them with a giant smile on his face.  Judging by the way he was dressed, Bee assumed he was the manager or someone important to the bar.  “Matthews!  Rielly!  Andersen!  How are you guys?” he asked loudly.

“Hey Joe,” Auston smiled, shaking his hand politely.  “Good to see you, man.  It’s been a while.”

Joe moved on to Frederik and Morgan before focusing his attention back to Auston.  “You guys just heading out?  Was everything good?”

“Great as always,” Frederik offered politely.  

“It’s so good to see you guys again.  You make sure all the other guys know they’re welcome.  We’re gonna take good care of you guys this season.”

“You always do,” Morgan offered.

“Let’s get another one for the books,” Joe said, quickly taking his phone out of the pocket in his suit jacket and handing it to Bee.  “Do you mind?”

Bee was taken aback for a quick moment, looking at Auston – who was still smiling – at Fred – who was pursing his lips together, trying not to look at her – and at Morgan – who looked so anxious it was as if he would throw up on cue.  Why did he want a picture with them?  Why did he…why did he want a picture with them?  “Yeah, of course.”

They posed quickly and she took the picture, Joe the only person smiling from ear to ear.  Auston and Frederik were smiling politely but she didn’t think whatever was going on on Morgan’s face constituted as a smile.  She gave the phone back to the man quickly.  “D’you guys mind if I tag you?” he askd the boys.

“Go right ahead,” Auston said on behalf of the group.  “We’ll see you again sometime soon.”

Bee stayed silent as they waited for valet to bring Morgan’s car around.  Frederik was on his phone, typing away on the Uber app.  Bee kept looking at Morgan, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact.  She wanted to ask what that was about, but she didn’t want to ask in front of Auston and Frederik.  There were a million different thoughts running through her head, and she didn’t know which one to verbalize.  

“Am I…I mean, do you mind if I get a ride home?” she asked quietly.

Morgan looked at her as if she was crazy.  He squeezed her hand.  “Of course you’re getting a ride home.  God Bee, you’re something else.”

“I didn’t want to make an assumption.”

“I’d drive you to Vancouver right now if you asked me to,” he said quickly, and Bee knew he meant it.

“Mo-daddy, you gonna drive me home?” Auston chuckled, the over-priced alcohol clearly getting the better of him.

“No.  We’re going to take an Uber,” Fred answered for him.

“But Riles promised he’d drive me home!” Auston whined.

“Auston, we are taking an Uber,” Fred said definitively.  He looked at Morgan before looking at Bee.  “It was nice to meet you Briony.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Frederik,” she said politely, letting go of Morgan’s hand so she could hug him.  “Get home safe.”  She turned to Auston who had given up on his fight, though valet was pulling up with Morgan’s car.  “It was nice to meet you, Auston.”

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of you,” Auston said, his filter apparently gone as he hugged her.  “Mo will eat anything you put in front of him, including an entire ice cream tub if you let him.”

“MATTS!” Morgan yelled.

“See ya!” Auston waved sarcastically, running away to hide behind Frederik.  Bee climbed into the passenger’s seat of Morgan’s car, watching Auston and Frederik as he drive away.  

Bee was silent as Morgan began winding through the streets of Yorkville, eventually finding his way to Bloor Street.  It was the first time she had been in his car, and she noticed the Porsche logo on his steering wheel.  She took a deep breath in.  Okay, so maybe they all made good money.  Great money.  Maybe they made enough disposable income that they could go to places like dbar regularly and get to know the manager.  Maybe they all had really good jobs and were able to go out on the town a lot.  Maybe they could all expense it to a company account.  And if there was a group, like Auston said, maybe there were a lot of them.  All going out on the town.  All expensing their nights to a company account.  

But they why would that guy want a picture with them?

She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice Morgan had already arrived at her apartment.  Bloor Street at 11:30 at night wasn’t as busy as Bloor Street during the day, she thought.  

“Briony…” Morgan’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Why’d that guy want a picture with you guys?” she asked, her voice a whisper. 

Morgan gulped.  There were butterflies in his stomach, knowing that everything would change now.  The night had been perfect up until that point.  It was now or never.  “Because uh…we all play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

He looked over at her quickly and couldn’t discern the look on her face.  “Like the hockey team?” she asked, as if there was another professional team in Toronto called the Maple Leafs.

“Yeah…like the hockey team.”

Bee nodded her head slowly, looking away from him momentarily.  She mulled over the new information in her mind for a few moments.  “So you, Auston, and Frederik…are you guys, like…good?”

Morgan couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.  “Some people say so,” he answered her question as diplomatically as possible. So it was adamantly clear she had no clue about hockey.  She had no idea who Auston Matthews was.  No idea about “Steady Freddie”.  Did he tell her she just had drinks with the franchise centre?  A franchise centre who had girls practically fighting their way to get his attention?  “So you’re telling me you’re the only person in Toronto who doesn’t watch hockey?  Didn’t watch hockey growing up?” he tried to inject some humour, hoping it would diffuse the situation.  

“Watching hockey requires having owned a TV growing up,” she said curtly, reminding him of the poverty she grew up in.  

This was going to be a harder conversation than he imagined it would be.  He was an idiot for thinking this would go smoothly.  “Briony --”

“So when you told me you worked in sports, what you really meant is that you’re a professional athlete.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” she asked, trying not to sound angry.  “I wouldn’t have minded.  Better finding out straight from you than from someone demanding a picture with you or an autograph or something.”

“You wouldn’t have minded?” Morgan repeated.

“No!” she exclaimed.  “Morgan, you’re still a person.  You’re a person before you’re a professional athlete,” she stressed.  “You’re…this whole time…this whole time…it’s almost been a month, Morgan.  How did you even hide it for so long?”

Morgan shrugged his shoulders.  “Luck, I guess.”

“The people at the restaurant where we met – they didn’t know who you were?” she asked.  He shook his head.  That one was actually luck.  “And Cibo – nobody knew there?”

“The guy who led us to our table, he knew.  He always handles, like, VIP bookings or people.”

“How did he know we were there?”

“When you were in the washroom, I told the hostess my name and she called him and he came right out.”

Bee huffed.  On one hand, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She didn’t watch hockey, and she wasn’t in tune with the names, the news, the games and the trades, but she still understood how much the Leafs meant to the city.  She still understood their power and influence.  On the other hand, she should have known better.  The clues were there – at this point, they were glaring at her, so obvious that she could only think how stupid she was to have not picked up on them.

“Talk to me, Briony.”

She looked at Morgan.  “I just wish you would have told me earlier.  I wouldn’t have cared.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do people like…usually care?”

Morgan nodded his head.  “Yeah, they do.  A lot.”

“So, what was it?  You didn’t want me to care?” she asked.

“No!” he exclaimed quickly.  “No no, that’s not it at all. ��I just…God, I feel like I’m digging myself into a hole here,” he sighed, trying to find the right words.  “A lot of people recognize me.  Most, actually.  So when the drink thing happened at the restaurant and you were like ‘what do you do’ and I clued in that you had no idea I was Morgan Rielly it just felt…nice,” he tried to explain as coherently as possible.  “Like, you were talking to me because I was…I don’t know, a guy.  A guy reading the same book as you.  You weren’t talking to me because I was Toronto Maple Leaf Morgan Rielly, and it just felt nice to be seen like that.”

He watched as Bee furrowed her eyebrows the more he tried to explain himself.  “And you feel you’re not seen like that enough.  As just a guy,” she used his words.

“Yeah.  Exactly.”

“So what happens now?”

Morgan got scared by those words.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, the mystique of you being just a guy is over.  Now that I know who you are…what happens?  Does this stop?  Do you move on to another girl who doesn’t know you’re Morgan Rielly?”

“Absolutely fucking not,” he said immediately.  “I would never…no,” he stressed.  “It’s not about that Briony.  It was never about the mystique or trying to fool you or anything like that.  Whatever bad thought you might be thinking, it’s not…there’s no way I would do that to you.  To be honest, I don’t…I don’t know what happens next.  The ball is in your court.”

He was surprised to see a smile grow on her face.  “What a pun, Morgan.  Shouldn’t it be like ‘the puck is in your zone’ or something?” she giggled.

Morgan couldn’t help but laugh too, realizing his words were so stereotypical for an athlete to say.  It definitely diffused the situation.  “What I’m trying to say is are you...I don’t know, okay with me being a professional athlete?”

“I already told you I don’t care.”

Morgan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  How did he find this girl?  Where did she come from?  “Then this doesn’t stop.  I definitely don’t want it to stop.  Do you?”

Bee shook her head.  “No.”

[willow-of-hingashi]

A New Town’s Light [RP]

 (( Rating: PG ))

 (( Genre: Slice of Life, Drama ))

 (( Cast: Kikyo Hagane of @the-firetouched​ and Nobuyuki ‘Ichihiko’ Ienaka ))

 Maple leafs rustled in the wind outside, pitter-pattering as they landed delicately upon the stone pathway. The sleeves of Nobuyuki's layered kimono were folded over his hands as he moved towards the entrance to the onsen, mail in tow. He shifted through it as he slipped off his zori in the genkan entrance, stopping in his tracks when he found one observed one scroll-holder that stood out. It wasn't unusual that he received the occasional scroll from the Far East, but this one bore the Ichimitsu Okiya's kamon; a stylized paper lantern inside a circle.

 With tabi-covered feet, Nobuyuki shuffled into the ryokan's main foyer, halting when he opened the scroll to read over it. He only got halfway before he want to summon the resident shikomi. "Kikyo," he called as he rounded the corner where the door to her working quarters sat. ["Stop what you're doing for a while. I have a message here from the otou-san."] A long pause. ["He wants to speak with you. It's important."]

 Kikyo was humming and scrubbing the wood floors before Nobu came around the corner. She sat up at once and, once he spoke in Hingan, she nearly jumped to her feet. Her first instinct is to smile, of course, but that falters as soon as she is given word that she wishes to be...spoken with. Even at a mere 17 summers, she knew that could be troublesome indeed! Or perhaps it is a good thing?

 ["O-of course, Ichihiko-sensei. What does he want to speak with one such as myself about...?"]

 Finally, a small frown. Was she being rejected once again?

 Unfurling the scroll on its jikugi, Nobuyuki kept his gaze on the Hingan characters before him. ["It's about your career,"] he replied. ["First, I need to explain some some things to you. Let's go into the ozashiki hall."] Quite expectant of Kikyo to follow, he started to make off.

 With her carrying on, Nobuyuki continued. ["You're starting as a shikomi, and then a minarai. Your misedashi is your official debut as a maiko, where you will perform dances and serves clients. The shikomi period normally lasts a year and you spend a moon as a minarai. Your nameday changes things a bit, but. . ."] He drew a short breath. ["The otou-san wants you to start as a minarai before your nameday. You'll only spend a moon as a shikomi. There is a reason for this."]

 Just before they entered the hall, Nobuyuki paused and turned to Kikyo. ["Do you know the process of who leads an okiya? You understand the need for an heir, right?"]

 She quickly tries to store away her cleaning materials before dashing after Nobuyuki, following with her hands folded in front of her all polite and nice like. She tilts her head to his questioning.

 ["Of course, all great houses need heirs and I am sure okiya are no exception,"] she says brightly. Though it fails to dawn on her the reason for this questioning. ["But I am not sure how okiya decide this, no."]

 She watches him carefully as they go. Does Otou-san mean to pick Ichihiko-sensei as his heir? Does that mean their training will be short? She is unsure how to feel! Luckily, she manages not to frown too much.

 The shoji door to the ozashiki hall was slid open quietly. Nobuyuki allowed Kikyo to get inside and get comfortable before he continued. ["Well, in truth, Ichimitsu Okiya is not among the largest houses of Igarashi Hanamachi, but the geisha there do have many relations to more prestigious okiya. Masami Okiya and Umecho Okiya have bigger reputations in Nagoya."] The Hyur slid the door shut behind him and moved to take a seat. ["Because of this, finding an atotori is harder. Many geisha left Ichimitsu Okiya and even Masami and Umecho because of the Red Throat outbreak. Only a few among those became jimae geisha, or independent from their okiya."]

 Upon one of the cushions, Nobuyuki lowered himself into a seiza. ["The otou-san of Ichimitsu Okiya is Mitsu-no-Ichinori. His surname is based on the okiya's name. It denotes that he was selected as atotori. . . however, that was long ago. The okiya needs another atotori."] His serious gaze landed on Kikyo. ["The otou-san wants to consider you for the next atotori."]

 Kikyo listens quietly and with some intensity, as is her way. She slips in past Nobuyuki only after being given express permission via his gesture, and then sat upon a cushion with a seiza of her own. At least that was one thing she was well-practiced in: sitting in the proper way for long chunks of time for meditations. She trains her eyes on Nobu's collar to try and focus hard on what he was saying. And then...when he reaches the end...

 She can't help her mouth from popping open in shock. She tries to recover from this quickly, covering it with her small hand.

 ["M-me? But this one is...I am just..."] She looks to the table and scrambles for a polite way to go about this question. Her fingers tighten against her work shift. ["I do not doubt the wisdom of the Otou-san of Ichimitsu Okiya, of course not. I simply..."] She looks then to Nobu. ["Why are you not considered, sensei, if it is not too rude to ask?"]

 The only sign Nobuyuki gave of his reaction to being reminded he wouldn't be chosen was the purse of his lips. Not that he held any ill will towards the okiya father, as they had a cordial relationship. ["Likely the same reason other okiya turned me away,"] was his only answer. He wasn't looking forward to cluing at his heritage. ["It's nothing to worry about."] He gave Kikyo a polite smile. This was despite the clear fact most okiya picked an atotori later in a geisha's career, though it was plausible Kikyo was unaware. ["Ichimitsu Okiya is likely seeking a younger atotori because of the few number of geigi there."]

 In a rare display of visible confusion, Nobuyuki's brows furrowed. Why a Koshu-based okiya would consider an ijin was beyond him. Not that he was against it! It was rather his surprise that the otou-san cast aside previous xenophobia. Luckily, Nobuyuki's expression didn't last long. He righted it to content neutrality. ["The otou-san wants to meet you in Kugane,"] he continued. ["As you likely learned, ijin aren't allowed anywhere outside of Kugane in Hingashi. The meeting, he looks to hold at the Shiokaze Hostelry. He's never been to Shishu so he'll likely have an entourage from the okiya with him."] Briefly, Nobuyuki's expression softened. ["Don't take this as a means to be too strict on yourself, alright? Certainly put on your best show, but don't see yourself as unworthy so soon. That's for the otou-san to decide."]

 She fidgets with her hair, braiding the ends over and over again in a sight of girlish nervousness and dismay. As soon as she notices this, she squeezes her hands together upon her lap until her knuckles turn white. Well, whiter than they already are...

 She has so many questions but knows it is rude to ask. If ijin cannot leave Kugane (a lesson she DID learn the hard way), how would she ever run an Okiya? Why did she interest the Otou-san? Why did other Okiya turn Nobu away? Her young mind is awash with curiosity, but she's long since learned the dangers of it. So she nods. Even so, she cannot help but notice some of Nobu's own confusion and perhaps...dismay? No? Was she imagining it? She frowns in turn.

 ["Of course, Ichihiko-sensei."] And after a moment, she can't help but add: ["My success will be your success, too. You will be teaching me. And in Doma, there is no greater honor one can bring but to bring success to those that reached their hand toward you."] A bit of an awkward phrasing in the Hingan dialect, but hopefully the point came across nonetheless. ["Maybe we will surprise everyone!"] she adds, in a more characteristic display of optimism!

 Nobuyuki looked to Kikyo and gave a smile that reached his eyes. ["I am, of course, honored to be able to teach the possible atotori of Ichimitsu Okiya,"] he declared. ["Nonetheless, I'm happy to be teaching you in general. It is my pleasure to share the joys of gei with others. If the otou-san permits, I could be selected as your older brother. For a maiko, a relationship to her assigned older sibling is one that lasts forever. She does not stop seeking guidance from her older sibling, even when she becomes a geisha. Is it not exciting?"]

 Firmly, Nobuyuki bowed his head in agreement. ["I have no doubts we will certainly surprise a number of those within the okiya. For my erikae, instead of kurosode, I wore a white kosode with embroidered hydrangeas. I wanted to be fashionable, to emanate the styles the tayuu were wearing that summer. I think it did surprise a number that attended, to sway away from such tradition. It is likely your chance to do the same. You'd be the okiya's first ijin maiko and their first ijin atotori, above all else."]

 She listens dutifully, though her face brightens further as she sees him smile for real. She clasps her hands together before her chest. ["Oh, truly? An older brother? I have had only younger brothers all my life! I would be so excited for this! Yes!"] Her excitement can be heard in how her words become a little more sloppy in the Hingan dialect. Her eyes sparkle. Wow! The potential!

 At the talk of clothes, she turns thoughtful. She did not have a lot of opinions or knowledge about fashion, other than finding the dresses of the geisha so beautiful and refined. ["That does sound most elegant,"] she says in agreement. ["I love many flowers. I love peach blossoms most of all...I know that geisha uphold the traditions of Hingashi. But many things are changing in the world, yes?"] A surprisingly insightful bit from the young woman, if a bit obvious to any learned person. ["There must be a way to be traditional and accepting of the future..."]

 ["Perhaps this is what the otou-san is looking for,"] Nobuyuki commented, his hands folding in his lap. ["Someone new, full of bright ideas for the okiya. Yes, I can see that."] He looked down to the scroll for a moment before rolling it up. ["We'll be meeting with the otou-san in a moon. As the one responsible for your training, I will cover our boat tickets across the Sirensong Sea. After the meeting, your shikomi period will come to an end and you will be minarai until you turn eighteen. You will join me for ozashiki and tea ceremonies, watching how I do things and speaking only when spoken to.]"

 Placing the scroll back into the holder, Nobuyuki then tucked the holder up into his kosode sleeve. ["My career started somewhat outside of tradition,"] he replied. ["I was ten, not five, when I started training. It was because of my grandparents' jobs that I didn't enter an okiya at a 'typical' age."] He didn't clarify. It could have been for financial reasons, for all Kikyo knew. ["Now I'm following the newest trends of Hingan fashion and arts. The customs may stay the same, but the ijin have brought a lot of newfangled ideas. Maybe there's a new art form you will practice that others pick up?"]

 Many emotions rattle through her at once. Excitement and worry; pride and fear. She nods seriously at the description of what is next to come. ["Of course, Ichihiko-sensei. I will make you proud,"] she says. ["I will be very quiet and refined, as taught!"]

 To the rest of it, she tilts her head. She tries to copy his very fancy stance, sitting nicely with his sleeves and hands folded, but her sleeves are purposefully pinned up for cleaning purposes so she does her best, folding her hands in her lap and sitting up a little straighter. For Nobu's sake, her naivety comes in handy; she knows not what to ask about his grandparents' jobs other than perhaps to assume that money was a factor, which she certainly understood. She smiles brightly. ["Oh, like the kupos -- er, moogles! And the beautiful leather riding boots...oh...I do so like those....they seem so elegant...oh, and the paintings! I saw an ijin's painting at the market once...it was um...impressiony?"]

 She means impressionist.

 ["What is your favorite ijin thing?"] she asks curiously, before she can stop herself.

 Nobuyuki was used to sitting for long periods with his back straight, his position proper. Even his facial expressions were under control and refined, but the question about his favorite thing of ijin caught him off guard. However, he wasn't offended. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised. ["I might have to think a bit on that one,"] he admitted. ["Perhaps it is the people? Some are brash and loud and very strange, but. . . many are caring and it is very apparent they wear their heart on their sleeve. They are mindful of protecting people's face, even if their own is at risk sometimes. It's a bit endearing."] Namely, a certain Lominsan mercenary came to his mind, her kinky orange hair and freckled visage easy to envision. ["Selecting a thing is hard. . . maybe it's predictable of me, but I quite like foreign fashions. Eorzean cocktail dresses and patterned stockings and heeled boots are very lovely."]

 Considerate of his own fashion, Nobuyuki raised a sleeve to his mouth. His kosode was a fall orange colored, decorated with yellow ginkgo leaves and seasonal autumn flowers. Granted, he was largely pulling up his sleeve to conceal his small smile. ["Ah. . . and I think you mean 'impressionist.'"]

[havingonlydreams]

i am never going to use this tumblr for posts again

alright so since i finally got out of testing today and i learned how to scroll frame by frame through youtube videos, i am going to reward myself by doing an unnecessarily thorough breakdown of the quanzhigaoshou live action trailer imagery(watch cn fanbase beat me by a country mile)

nighttime cityscape/highway scene fades out

team happy walks into one side of an arena, wearing competition uniform (i will explain this later)

we switch to team excellent era, coming in through the opposite side of the same arena, also in competition uniform. their side of the arena is lit in red, not blue. are they playing at the same time? is this happy vs ee? :shrug:

also, why tf is a backpack part of all these uniforms? how much stuff do esport players need to carry anyway? did a backpack company sponsor the production??

panning shot of signs, looks like they’re for huang shaotian or blue rain

that’s cruel, br-fen. why does captain get no love :cry:

shot continues moving, now the signs are for han wenqing

based on lighting, i don’t think they’re the same shot

fade out to scene of arena packed with fans and players

if I’m getting these signs right, looks like it’s (right to left, moving with the camera):

team void, tiny herb, tyranny, blue rain, excellent era

so, all stars

honestly, the scale’s kinda small. thumbs down to location scouting – the weird lighting polyhedrons confirm that it’s the same arena as the one from the happy/ee shots in the beginning, so expect ~location weirdness/ambiguity~

unnecessarily synchronized card insertion

based on the card logo, i wanna say tiny herb?

ee responds in kind!

tyranny puts headphones on in unison. the headphones are white. also, i think this is their casual uniform. based on the giant maple leaf in the background, i would say that this is an away game with ee, but the worn metal and circle room in the background look more like tyranny’s supervillain clubhouse

now ee is playing. this shot looks like ee turf – they’ve got white-backed seats, and that weird angular lighting motif. also they’re wearing black and blue headphones because ~product placement~

i say turf, not arena, because there don’t appear to be any actual player booths in these two shots, the set design looks like what we’ve seen for the clubhouse pics (this is because the production couldn’t afford to film all of the games in actual arenas, isn’t it)

also, ee is wearing competition uniforms.

now tiny herb is playing on what looks like the same set, but with the background lit in red, not blue. maybe they’re playing against ee? also from this angle I can clearly see that they are *headsets*, not headphones, which means that vc is not banned by this version’s alliance. some dude in blue is hanging out in the background, probably an official of some sort. I am not sure whether this is their casual/competitive uniform

a guy in ee uniform sweeps his hands across a keyboard with unnecessarily colorful backlighting

~product placement~

ye xiu (yang yang) stands in front of ‘glory pro league’ hologram thing with his back turned, wearing the happy casual uniform

mouse shots! keyboard shots!

face shot! (of ye xiu, wearing casual uniform (puma!) and headset (white))

group shot of happy walking down arena hallway, wearing competition uniform. this is where I explain this bit. so as far as I can tell, every team has (2) uniforms: a casual uniform, which looks like a tracksuit and those enormous thick sweatpants had an ugly, ugly, baby, and a competition uniform, which looks dorky as hell. all of the female characters manage to elevate the terrible costuming by being beautiful, but are dragged down by the fact that apparently the alliance uniform for women mandates a miniskirt, because apparently no one has gotten cold legs in an arena, ever. (to be fair to the costume department, its not that they did a terrible job, its that their job was to replicate esport uniforms, which are a hot mess)

the main difference between happy’s casual and competitive uniform, btw, is that the casual one has a high collar and the puma branding, and the competitive has this funky sweater? not-collar thing

idk fashion words

also, ye xiu is wearing a mask because Reasons

(the reason is that judging by chen guo, this is from the challenger league arc, and the producer/director/writer/whoever decided to move around certain things)

boom! ee vs happy in the big arena, baby~~~

one dude from each team is standing under the spotlights, probably sx and yx by process of elimination

presumably!yx is NOT wearing a mask. maybe it gave him acne

pan across team happy getting ready to play in their booth? idk where this is

i see at least three types of headsets in this shot, and wei chen, who is not wearing his. maybe he got knocked out early?

now it’s the weird circle room that was in that early shot with tyranny! advertising on the ceiling lights, nice

I … have no idea what’s going on here. giant ee leaf on the sides, bunch of logos I can’t make out in the back, there are just *way* more people in here than any match would call for

like I think the dudes in the middle are wearing ee casual uniforms, but everyone else seems to be wearing black tracksuits? i don’t even know

ye xiu, geared up in full hobo gear (long coat&hoodie), storms out of the ee club set that was previewed in earlier set pics.

keyboard and mouse action!

ye xiu playing in the ‘storage room’ on a gaming laptop. also, he’s changed into a *different* hoodie

I have no clue what brand the laptop is; it’s the same as some of the monitors in a couple of earlier shots, might be Chinese?

yu wenzhou cameo

ye xiu hobowalking sadly in the snow (ngl, the hoodie make me laugh a little)

excellent era (w/su mucheng) walking into some stadium wearing casual uniforms. they are piss ugly

(the uniforms, that is. also ee minus mucheng, but who’s counting?)

happy coming from the opposite direction, also in casuals

and they pass each other! dramatically!

probably!yx taking a glory badge out of a box. can’t make out the details, but it says ‘1’ at the bottom, so these are probably the drama replacement for championship rings

tang rou focus shot! also, if that’s her line in the vo, I am *very* pleased

“turn all of the ‘can’t be done’s into ‘can do’”

yu wenzhou shot in casual uniform

ye xiu on The Motorcyle (pfft)

chen guo prepping for a celebration at Happy! she is Very Excited about that champagne tower. not sure who the two messing around with balloons in the bg are

tang rou in a cab looking upwards –

-to su mucheng, walking inside a stadium while wearing ee competition uniform

huang shaotian smiling at yu wenzhou while the rest of br preps. also, the blue rain competition uniform is an Abomination, which you will not appreciate until seen face on

ye xiu, whispering ominously ‘this is the last match’ as happy leans in around him

wei chen and… steamed bun? who is making a weird face, thumbs up

‘good luck’ whispers wang jiexi

and steamed bun *grabs* the challenger’s league cup, lifting it to wild cheers

chen guo and the crowd are ecstatic

partayyyyyyy

‘I will NOT give up’ says han wenqing, man who nobody, ever, has thought would give up

han wenqing and huang shaotian fistbump as tyranny and blue rain walk down a hallway, both dressed in their competition uniforms. zhang xinjie is confused. yu wenzhou is smilingly tolerant of the fact that hst is fistbumping right across his chest (huang shao is going to DIE, later)

okay so,

uniforms

tyranny’s looks fine! maybe the best competition uniform in the alliance (the bar is not high)

they’ve got a pretty normal chevron pattern across the front, some stripes. about the only problems are that the pants are a *little* too tight, and that some tyranny members are absolute maniacs who zip their jackets up all the way so it looks like they’re wearing the worlds weirdest collared shirt

blue rain …

so the closure is not that bad! pretty unconventional, an asymmetric zip with two fasteners across the top and some kinda … shawl collar? idk. I actually like it

but the pattern … i feel like someone said to the costume department, ‘you know, all of these uniforms have too many straight lines in their designs. we should add some curved lines. give the curves to blue rain! they’ve got no girls, so it’s the only way they’ll get any!’ and then they doubled down by adding raised piping for emphasis

that, and the way that uniform material looks like some kinda spandex-velour mix … it reminds me of the star trek:the next generation uniform! also, the casual uniform does the same curved line thing except in the opposite direction, and as a cutout, so its even worse

chen guo cheering in crowd

maybe a projection screen? tyranny and ee logos up on the wall

and happy logo SLAMS shut

ye xiu with his hoodie looking sad and pathetic in the snow up at happy

happy in competition uniforms coming downstairs (chen guo, so challenger’s league)

also damn, happy internet café is *swanky*

I mean, my eyes would hurt from the glare after a while, but it’d be pretty

EXCELLENT ERA

trophies. looks like seasons 1,2,3 going down to the left

sun xiang at the whiteboard lecturing ee. he is the only one not wearing the casual uniform. where is your piss ugly uniform, xiang xiang? this is a team endeavor, you’re not allowed to not wear it. it builds morale

BLUE RAIN

yu wenzou smiles

huang shaotian … fake guitars? with … something that’s been bundled up

TINY HERB

i guess this is why they redesigned the logo, so it would match the aesthetic and could be slammed shut like this, but i still don’t like it

honestly, tiny herb training room aesthetic is incredibly beautiful and soothing

but still way too much white, what the hell ppl, don’t you know about eyestrain?

‘today we’re training how to put our headsets on, synchonizedly’ sponsored by hp

also apparently that *was* the tiny herb competition uniform earlier, since this is the casual one. hmm. a bit too olive drab. tyranny’s still winning

signature wang jiexi EYES shot

TYRANNY

tyranny training room looks a lot less like a supervillain lair when brightly lit! go figure

now it looks like an overexposed supervillain lair *set*. progress!

captain han is ANGRY

hands clasp in front of happy members in the bg. tang rou is def not paying attention

is ye xiu wearing a mask AND a hat??? dude, chill

happy walking into crowd of fans&paps … somewhere. why is steamed bun kneeling next to the door? :it is a mystery:

group cheer! no ladies

group … orange juice! with su mucheng! damn, qiao yifan’s tall.

confetti in the stadium, and reporters charge forward

judging by teams and signs, this is all stars, so reaction to ye xiu’s dragon raising its head?

‘beautiful!’ ejaculated ye xiu

key and mouse action ~~

and the crowdteam happy goes wild!

team fist pump! someone has put their phone on their chair. I hope they don’t sit on it

ye xiu putting on headset in happy internet café. cant tell if this is hobo!hoodie or hoodie no.3

ye xiu :eyes:

key press. wtf program starts up with ‘s’

cgi is cgi

everything looks super gloomy and overcast ~ i hope they do more varied environments

and we see lord grim! they’ve gone for a really…tarnished metal? look for the MMU

like, I would not mistake it for an umbrella.

yang yang face

THE KINGS AVATAR

  Okay, so if you were looking for anything of actual substance in this, looks like they’re doing ch.1 - 1052 at least, probably 1-1060, so the end of the challenger league arc.

[hockeytexts]

Puppy Love- Auston Matthews

I feel like this is needed in the Toronto Maple Leafs fandom, it’s super cute.

“Babe!” Auston had called out to you while you laid in bed, he was very happy compared to how he had been in the past few days. You knew that this was a good thing, he was getting better after his loss and becoming more like himself. 

“In here Aus!” You called back out to Auston, makeup brush in hand due to you getting ready for the day already. You had plans to go out with your friends for a random day out in order to give Auston some space, but seemingly Auston had other plans. 

“Oh great you’re already getting ready, let’s go somewhere” Auston suggested, making you quirk an eyebrow up in confusion as he seemed excited. You soon were just staring at each other before you just shrugged and nodded your head at him.

Silently agreeing before texting your friend that you were spending the day with Auston instead, continuing your makeup and getting ready for a day with Auston.

“Babe oh my gosh” You said through a laugh as he had spilled his coffee everywhere while you two were walking around downtown. You took a napkin from out of your purse before helping him clean up and make sure it didn’t spill anywhere else besides his hand.

“Thank you (Y/N)” Auston said before kissing your cheek and taking the napkins to throw them away, soon the two of you continuing your walk.

“So you’re leaving soon and I’ll be in Toronto” You pointed out, still trying to process the fact that you’d be alone for three months while Auston was in Arizona. You agreed to watch over his apartment while he was at home so he had nothing to worry about here, but not ready to be alone.

“Mitchy is moving in with you, you will have him and I could probably come back a few times” Auston suggested trying to appease you. You sighed before shaking your head no and checking out an outfit in a store window quickly as you sipped your drink.

“The Mitchy part is fine but you are not to come back to Toronto, I’m staying so you can get a break and be normal. Have fun with your family and relax, plus you have injuries and part of healing is not traveling” You scolded him as you held his hand. You truly felt like his mother sometimes, but you cared about to Arizona boy and you wanted him to have no worries this summer.

“Fine but I don’t want you to be lonely” Auston had suggested before the two of you passed an animal shelter causing Auston to stop making you stop with him. He looked through the windows at the small animals inside of the shelter, seeing the small animals and taking him inside with you. 

“Auston what are you doing?” You said before aweing over a small dog you had saw, looking at all the cute animals that were begging to be rescued. 

“(Y/N), will you become a dog parent with me?” Auston asked making your eyes widen, this was a huge step in your relationship due to the fact an animal was pretty permanent. Sure it wasn’t a baby or marriage, but it was a pretty big step closer to one of those and you were happy he wanted that with you.

“Yes Auston let’s become dog parents!” You agreed, both of you happily looking through all of playpens where the animals were kept. A worker soon coming up to the two of you asking if you had any questions or ideas about pets in the store.

“Auston oh my god” You said as the worker was showing you around, soon pointing out two Jack Russell Terriers in the corner of the shop not interacting with anyone but each other. You went up to the two dogs, knowing that they were kind of perfect for you the moment you saw them. 

“Are you sure about these two? They have been here the longest but it’s only because no one will adopt both of them” The worker explained while the three of you walked over to them. You leaned into Auston and looked up at him, hoping that he would agree with your choice of dog but knowing he would due to the fact that you used that move on him to get what you wanted.

“I kind of like them, we will take them both” Auston said while looking at you with a smile, happy to see how excited you were for the two dogs. You soon just smiled as the worker just shrugged her shoulders and let you guys interact with dogs slightly while she got the paperwork.

The both of them immediately coming up to you and licking you, before going up to Auston as if they were saying thank you. Auston soon just smiling as the dogs went back to you and gave you more kisses, soon Auston just signed the papers while you were playing with the dogs. 

“She’s a definite keeper, she has a heart that I think you definitely should appreciate since no one else would’ve pointed out these dogs and accepted them like she just did” The worker pointed out to Auston while the two of them talked, causing you to overhear their conversation. “Trust me, I definitely know how special she is and I could never thank her enough for everything” Auston said before looking over at you with love.

You smiled and waved back before the two got everything settled, Auston coming back over to you with the papers signed and a collar for both of them. “Auston I’m so in love with them, I can’t wait to show Mitchy” You said excitedly as you put a collar on one while Auston put a collar on the other. 

“That reminds me, we have to name one Mitchy” Auston said causing you to laugh at your boyfriend, of course that would be one of the dogs names. 

“Fine then the other one can be called Tily” You causing Auston to look at you in confusion but just accepting the dogs name. The both of you saying thank you to the worker before leaving the shelter with your two new dogs on leashes, both of you elated with each other.

“You got two new dogs!” Mitch yelled with excitement as he put down one of the boxes of his stuff, it was a slow move for him. You smiled as Mitch started snapchatting the dogs, looking at them and putting various filters on the dogs.

“Yeah guess what they’re names are?” Auston said as he smirked at Mitch and looked at you almost ready to laugh. You held a smile as he thought about the possible names you two had picked out for your now little family.

“Is it chips and salsa again? Those were pretty good names Auston” Mitch complimented Auston, the two dogs finally opening up to Mitch and letting him pet them. Mitch soon leaning down and petting the dogs, soon picking up Tily and holding her in his arms.

“The one you’re holding is named Tily, I picked it out for the girl” You said before going over to Auston as he picked up Mitchy in his arms smiling as the dog licked his nose. Mitch just started to play with Tily, the two seeming to get along pretty well.

“So what’s the other dogs name?” Mitch finally asked the question you and Auston had been waiting for him to ask. Both of you turning to each other with a smile as you nodded for Auston to answer him.

“So I named the one in my hand, his name is Mitchy” Auston said before Mitch smiled and continued to interact with Tily until the named clicked in his head. “You named your dog after me are you serious?” Mitch asked almost offended causing the two of you to laugh.

“Hey I couldn’t help it, it’s the first thought that came into my head” Auston said before Mitch rolled his eyes soon just taking Tily into his room.

“Come on Tily, let’s go watch tv away from your asshole parents” Mitch said before walking off with Tily in his hands, going into his new room.

“That was great honestly, I’m so happy to be a dog parent with you (Y/N)” Auston confessed before kissing you on your forehead and putting Mitchy down as you two started dinner together in your kitchen.

[nhl-imagines-posts]

Morgan Rielly - Perfect

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs

Requested: Yes: Can you do a Morgan Rielly one based off the song Perfect by Ed Sheeran?

Edited: Yes

Word count: 873

Summary: Based off the song Perfect by Ed Sheeran

Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UQzJfsT2eo

~

 I walk down the stairs, breathless and ready to see all of my friends.

Thoughts about how I still have to get this or that ready still fly through my head but as I reach the bottom step and see my longtime boyfriend, all of those thoughts leave my head.

I blush at his expression.

He still gives me that look he gave me the first time he laid eyes on me in high school.

My best friend called them heart eyes but I brushed her off, not believing such an attractive man could like me.

But he did.

And he still does seven years later.

“Hi,” I walk up to him, kissing him on the cheek.

“You look so beautiful,” he kisses my own cheek, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer to him so he can bury his face in my neck. “What did I ever do to deserve such a perfect girlfriend?”

“Morgan,” I giggle, a blush rising on my cheek.

“You two are so cute,” Steph coos at the same time Mitch says, “Gross, dude.”

She hits him on the arm as I pull out of my boyfriend’s grasp, making him pout.

“I love you,” I remind him, leaning up to peck him on the cheek before walking into the kitchen to pull some food out of the fridge.

“I love you too!” He shouts after me.

~

The welcome back party for all of the Maple Leafs turns out to be a big hit.

The kids play in our yard with toys we bought especially for them while the adults converse, usually making fun of the boys.

I’m bending down to talk to Kanon Bozak about our favorite dinosaurs when a familiar tune comes out of the speaker I set up.

I look up to see Morgan with my phone in his hand, an innocent look on his face but I roll my eyes anyway, knowing that he changed the song so our song plays.

“There comes a time in life when we finally get to choose, and I choose you,” I watch him mouth, knowing he’s probably singing along.

I laugh, looking back at the little boy as he tugs at the hem of my dress to get my attention.

“Sorry kiddo, I’ve got to steal her,” a voice says from behind me.

Before I can process anything, Morgan swings me into his arms and walks to a secluded patch of grass near the speakers.

He sets me down and sets his hands on my hips.

My arms wind around his neck as he tugs me closer to him.

I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes peacefully as we sway back and forth to the beat of the song.

“You just stole me away from an almost two year old because you got jealous, Mo,” I remind him.

“He was getting all of your attention, what was I supposed to do?”

“Wait your turn,” I pull back to fix the collar of his shirt, my eyes sliding up to meet his.

He gives me a gentle smile and my heart swells at how much love I can see in those blue eyes.

Suddenly I’m aware of how I must look to him.

My hair is frizzy from the heat of the Toronto summer, my makeup is smudged from sweating, and my dress has a stain on it from when Auston accidentally spilled orange juice on me earlier.

“What are you thinking about?” He whispers, not wanting to ruin the intimate moment.

“I must look like a mess,” I admit.

He doesn’t say anything, just smiles at me.

But as he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear I hear him say to himself, “You look perfect tonight.”

I rest my head on his chest again, closing my eyes and breathing in his cologne.

As we sway together, I want to savor the moment but I can’t help to think of all of the uncertainties.

“When hockey season comes are you going to ignore me again?” I question, remembering how destroyed I was last season.

We only had one rocky time in our relationship, and that was last season.

The Leafs had a clear chance at winning the cup and it was shown at the beginning of the season.

Morgan kicked his hockey effort into high gear, ignoring me for sometimes three days straight.

It was only when they lost in the playoffs that he realized how much damaged he caused.

He’s been trying to fix it ever since.

“Never, I’d never do that to you again,” he plants a soft kiss to the top of my head.

We let the sound of the song take over our conversation.

“Are you sleeping over?”

“If you want me to.”

“Of course I do,” he replies like it’s obvious. “One day, we’re going to move in together. Then we’re going to get married and have tons and tons of babies-“”Only if you’re doing the pushing,” I interrupt.

“You know you want my babies.”

“I can’t deny that, Rielly,” I pull back to smile at him.

He kisses my lips. “And I wouldn’t want anyone else to spend the rest of my life with.”

[galpalpetraral]

secret

900 words, post-acwnr

It’s been Erwin’s for years, the sloppily-cut running trail through the woods. A gnarled and curling branch at the edge of the training grounds marks its beginning. The whitewater river two miles away marks its end. Not even Mike knows about it, not even Shadis, and Erwin plans to keep it that way. He likes having a place to go where no one has to follow, where he’s the only one suffering for his orders.

For years only an early meeting or the most severe of illnesses kept him from rising before dawn and breaking in the trail. Over four miles he stamped down the earth and parted swatting branches overhead and let his mind go blessedly blank of anything but the dewy morning air soothing his hot lungs. Sometimes the forest was so quiet he could almost hear his father’s voice again.

Just over this ridge. Watch out for those roots. You’re almost there.

It’s a soggy late spring day, ideal running weather, and Erwin needs this. He hardly slept the night before. When pressure gets to Shadis, Shadis takes it out on his officers with increasingly unproductive, uncooperative meetings lasting well into the evening. With every pounding step he forgets the slipping funds, the sponsors lost.

His calves sting when he stops at the river, hooking his hands behind his head. He catches his breath, then kneels by the river, scooping a handful of rushing water and wetting the back of his neck. It’s near-frigid and feels good, soaking into the collar of his sweat-sticky shirt.

“Hey.”

Erwin nearly tumbles into the river at the voice, cutting through his nerves. He turns and stands. Levi is sitting on a rock near the line of trees, twirling a broad maple leaf in his hands.

“Shit, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Levi. It’s–you didn’t.”

His heart races, faster than it ever did when he ran. He’s never been easy to surprise, not until Levi.

“How did you find this place?” Erwin asks.

“I used to be following you, remember? For a while I thought if the expedition didn’t work out I could kill you here. Figured now all that’s over I might as well show myself. It’s a nice spot.”

He talks about it so casually, so flatly, shredding the leaf into thin slices with slim fingers. Erwin shivers. He’s sure it’s only the sweat cooling at his neck.

“Yes. It is.”

Levi stands slowly. He stretches toward the sky, the mingling clouds threatening another bout of rain. 

“Ready to head back?” Levi asks.

Erwin has more questions, but they can wait. Levi’s been patient enough for him.

Levi keeps a brisk pace, Erwin soon finds. He pushes himself to keep up the whole time, focusing on the sprinkling of new rain in Levi’s hair to stop thinking about the ache in his knees. He remembers his trainee years, when he could sprint endless laps of steep stone stairs as a warm-up. He’d laugh if he had breath in his lungs to spare.

Levi isn’t a chatty running partner, and when they get back to base he leaves Erwin with a pat on the elbow and a “See you at lunch.” He leaves Erwin with a stitch in his side and a settling confusion.

It’s another week before Erwin sees Levi on the path again. This time he meets him at the edge of the grounds, two canteens in his arms.

“You don’t drink enough water,” Levi greets him, shoving a canteen at Erwin’s chest. “It’s stupid. You could’ve collapsed from dehydration and died in those woods and no one would find you until summer came and the smell carried to headquarters.”

Erwin twists off the top of his canteen, can’t help the smile that cracks at his mouth. “Good morning, Levi.”

They run to the river at Levi’s pace, in perfect silence. The morning is infernally warm, heat prickling from his scalp to his ankles as soon as they get started. Levi hardly breaks a sweat but his skin is flushed, radiating.

They refill their canteens at the river, the metal running icy at the touch of fresh water. Erwin sits to rest and drink. Levi presses his canteen to the back of his neck, humming deeply, the first revealing sound he’s made all morning. It’s like a spell is broken, or a new one is cast.

“You weren’t so bad today,” Levi says. “You’ve been working on your pace this week, haven’t you?”

He has, every day. Levi’s brought out something of his competitive boyhood spirit, something he thought had been mangled into cold ambition years ago.

Levi’s eyes meet his, and for a moment neither speaks. Erwin holds his gaze and thinks absurdly of the rocks in the river, shining dark and sculpted smooth by the cutting rapids.

“Here,” Levi says.

He walks close enough to touch, his body slicing away the rays of rising sun as he stands over Erwin. He plucks Erwin’s canteen out of his hand and smooths disheveled hair away from Erwin’s temple. Then he presses the canteen there against Erwin’s heated skin, the coolness and gentleness startling a sharp sigh from him. Levi’s fingers stay in his hair, shifting into light almost-strokes.

“This doesn’t have to become a thing,” Levi says. He nods vaguely at the woods, the path. “If you like your alone time. Hell, I get it.”

Erwin knows penance. He wonders if this is Levi’s. He wonders how to tell Levi his penance was never necessary. That Levi could never hope to place in a contest of their sins.

“The faster I get,” Erwin says, “the less likely I’ll die out there, I figure. A slow old man like me could use all the help I could get.”

“Alright, then,” Levi says, almost stiffly, like it’s a pact sealed. He lowers his head and steps back, handing Erwin his canteen. The rigid corners of Levi’s mouth have relaxed minutely, almost settling into a smile.

They run back in the growing heat of the day, and when they part ways there’s no one else to disturb them. It’s a secret he finds he doesn’t mind sharing at all.

[strifetime]

PliroyWeek | Day 5: Soulmates

Jean’s body is a temple, adorned with hand picked pieces of the finest art. Each work has a deep meaning that reflects Jean’s history, aspirations—his very self. He’s proud of each one and doesn't shy away from showing them off.

But before Jean ever got a tattoo, his temple was (and is) home to a peculiar but common mark: the mark of his soulmate.

Soulmate markings have always interested Jean. There were so many kinds: plants, animals, objects; and they were so amusingly animated that one could tell what a person’s soulmate was thinking or doing, or even see their own actions in the mark.

Typically, every person has one. Jean’s one mark was a kindle of six kittens that would romp around his whole body until they shifted into one large cat that looked like a leopard or a tiger. He’s had them for as long as he can remember, and loves seeing what antics they get into—what antics his soulmate gets into.

But, there are times when marks could disappear or a person could get multiple marks. In Jean’s case, his father pointed out to him that he had flowers on the back of his neck, after practice, one day. Jean had thought his father was joking until he took a picture with his phone and saw for himself that there actually was a mark in the form of a small group of flowers sitting low on his neck.

Jean’s first thought was that he would never see his kittens again—would never meet his first soulmate, ever—but to his surprise he caught sight of a tiger using one of the tattoos on his bicep as a bed.

And the two marks stayed with him, even as he dated Isabella. His flowers would multiply and overrun his neck and shoulders in her presence, while the cluster of stars at her collar would shimmer and expand and create their own constellations.

This sort of reaction meant that they were soulmates. Matching marks were known to become highly animated around each other.

...But they were also known to move between their host and their mate, at some point.

Through the years that Jean and Isabella dated, they had plenty of contact with each other, but neither of their marks left their skin to visit the other person. Neither of them voiced it—and no one mentioned how Jean’s first mark continued to stay on him but seemed to be avoiding his newer mark, but they assumed that their marks were “late bloomers” in that aspect.

Until one day when Isabella met someone whose vines on their wrist and fingers twisted their way onto her skin, when the two of them accidentally knocked their hands together while reaching for the same book on a display.

That’s how she and Jean learned that they were more of platonic soulmates, instead of romantic, and chose to take a break from each other to find out more about their romantic soulmates.

And this helped Jean learn why his first mark had never left.

-----

The first time Jean noticed his first mark acting strangely was at Skate Canada. While he stood on the podium with Yuri Plisetsky and Emil Nekola, posing for the camera, he caught site of a paw that looked to be waving just under the cuff of his right wrist. As discreetly as he could, Jean glanced at the bare shoulder on his right and managed to see something resembling a paw waving back in his direction.

...No way.

“JJ, are you serious?” Isabella whispered into the receiver as she finalized plans for a JJ Girls meet and greet for the following afternoon.

“Yes? I think so. It looked like something waved back,” Jean sighed, laying spread out on his hotel bed, exhausted from skating and dwelling a little too hard on this discovery.

He lifted his arm to bring a resting tiger to his face. “Don’t you think so, big guy?”

“...Anything from your mark?”

“I don’t know what sort of answer rolling away from me means.”

Isabella chuckled, “Maybe it’s just as tired as you are. Get some rest! I’m sure you’ll figure this out, soon enough.”

-----

‘Soon enough’ was at Rostelecom. His mark had spent the whole competition being… antsy, to say the least. It growled and snarled, and would stalk around Jean’s chest or hide behind his tattoos like it was eyeing prey.

Jean wondered what was bothering it (and his soulmate).

(Yuri.)

(He didn’t know if playful teasing would help either of them, but that’s what Jean resorted to, and he hopes it did some good.)

By the time he stood on the podium posing with his second gold medal, the tiger had returned to its multiple kitten appearance and Jean could spy many ears and eyes poking out from under his wrist cuff. He followed their line of sight to see part of a large head of fur and eyes peek and duck from the shoulder of Yuri’s outfit.

Both marks played this game of hide and seek until the cameras left. As the skaters left the podium, Jean caught Chris in a brief congratulatory side hug, and for Yuri he patted his shoulder. But Jean let his hand linger for a second too long and one of the kittens took the chance to leap onto Yuri.

...Oh, God.

“So you two really are soulmates!” Isabella smiled at the details Jean had told her, back in their hotel room.

“Yeah, but after trying to get one of these little guys back, I’m not sure how I’ll talk to Yuri again,” Jean shook his head, looking at the kittens playing around the maple leaf on his arm.

“When the times comes, you’ll get the push you need.”

-----

Jean wasn’t expecting to be literally pushed by Isabella after the GPF in Barcelona, but he can’t deny that he needed it. They were down in the hotel lobby for breakfast and another round of sightseeing when they noticed Yuri and Otabek chatting by the hotel doors. The last time Jean had a chance to talk to Yuri, his fans were around and Jean knew it would have been a bad move to announce that he and Yuri were soulmates around all of those girls…

Isabella nudged Jean in the direction of the Russian skater, smiled, and even performed his signature pose.

“Just talk to him, JJ! It’ll be fine. Even Otabek is there.”

Jean could see her mark of stars work its way to the back of her hand, forming a tiger shape. He could even feel his own marks reacting—the flowers might as well have taken over his neck and most of his chest, while the kittens were pawing at his fingertips trying to drag him in Yuri’s direction.

Jean took a deep breath and strode over to the pair.

“Yuri, Otabek! Could I interrupt you guys for a second?”

Yuri crossed his arms. “Can you not?”

Otabek waved slightly to Jean, and that prompts him to continue. “I’ll try not to eat up a lot of your time. I was hoping I could offer you something, Yuri.”

Yuri gives Jean a quick once over before trying to walk off. He stops when Otabek speaks.

“Yura, humor him.”

Jean’s surprised and grateful when Yuri turns back to face him.

“Fine. What is it you want to give me?”

“If you take my hand, I can show you some adorable kittens not too far from here. I’m sure they’ll love meeting you,” Jean smiled, holding his hand out for Yuri to take it.

“...Really?”

“I promise. Quelques chatons pour mon chaton.”

Yuri stared at Jean’s hand, then glanced back at Otabek who gave him a shrug. He huffed, reluctantly put his hand on Jean’s and it immediately became home to six scampering kittens who wasted no time in exploring this new territory. They both gawked at the scene. Yuri started rolling up his sleeves to see where they would travel, but when they reach his elbow, his lion mark decided to greet them.

Jean started smiling and tried to form words about starting their new relationship, but he stopped when Yuri pulled his hand away from his.

“You’re not getting these back. Let’s go, Otabek.”

There was a soft chuckle that went unnoticed as pairs of feet thumped away from Jean. Isabella came up behind him, looking at the running pair then bringing her attention back to Jean.

“...Did Yuri just take your mark?”

Jean nodded.

“Are you going after him?”

Jean looked at Isabella and cracked the widest smile she had ever seen on him. They both started laughing as they ran out of the lobby and towards the direction Yuri and Otabek went.

He couldn’t believe his luck. Landing on someone like this for a soulmate.

But this was his soulmate, and even if Jean had to chase him to the corners of the Earth, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

end.

[judefan813-blog]

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[elasianstar]

the world on a turtle’s back Chapter 2

Sunday afternoon and time to head down to the lair for game night with the turtles. After the day I'd spent with Raphael I couldn't keep myself from thinking about the big guy. Yeah he was hot headed from time to time but he was really sweet. He doesn't talk much, mostly speaking through glances and body language, but I don't mind. The silences we had shared were mostly comfortable. Maybe Mikey was right, maybe Raph is just a big ol teddy bear, though an incredibly violent one.

Realizing the time, I pulled my glittery owl shirt out of my dresser and pulled it on over my fighting leathers. I obscured my wings and ran out the door. My bike Niltsi was in the building's basement garage waiting for me.

the golden feather painted on its black tank glimmered in the neon lights as we sped through the streets of New York toward the garage where the turtles kept the shell raiser. Donnie was under the garbage truck when I pulled in and heard the motor.

“Hey Casey, Raphael is down in the lair.”

“Hey Donnie, it's not Casey.”

“Elasia!”

In his surprise he accidently smacked his forehead on the exhaust, luckily it wasn't hot. When he saw me getting off my bike he whistled low and pinched the tip of his tongue between his lips in thought.

“This is Niltsi.”

“Didn't think you were into motorcycles. You have to show that thing to Raph, he's an old motorcycle junkie. You might get him to show you Raijin. Just don't mention it to Leo.”

“Will do, thanks Donnie!”

Once I was down in the lair I was quickly attacked by a flying ninja hug from Mikey, luckily I was used to it by now and the 250 pound turtle didn't knock me off my feet like he had the first few times.

“Hey Mikey.”

“Heya, Angelface! You ready for game Night? We got sorry, monopoly, clue, cards against humanity, uno….”

“Wait like board games?”

“Yeah it's family game night!”

“I thought you meant video games.”

“Nah, the last Sunday of every month Splinter sets up the board games for a family night, no training allowed, no fighting, just a good night of games and snacks!”

Dragging me off to the dining table he showed me the mismatch of salvaged games laid out. The boxes were banged up and the pieces looked to have belonged to several copies and editions of certain games but they were all complete and playable. Near the end of the table sat 5 small handmade figures not unlike those used to play dungeons and dragons. the first one was sculpted from clay and painted with ink to look like a tiny Leonardo, the next was carved wood dressed in actual cloth and made to look like Raphael, the third was a metal Donatello complete with a small solar light where his projection system usually sits, the fourth was a 3D printed Mikey painted to look like an old cartoon character, and the sixth was a small glass splinter. Each statue displayed a different medium and art style but each was masterfully made.

My thoughts were interrupted by loud barking as I was swept off my feet from behind.

“Addie’s back, how are you feeling girl!”

A large roan American Staffordshire terrier was jumping and pawing at mikey's plastron before noticing me and slobbering all over my face.

“bleck, ok ok down girl.”

A deep rough voice stopped the dog.

“ANDROMEDA.”

The happy pit ran over to her master, sitting somewhat calmly at his side as he grabbed her pink spiked collar. A blown glass galaxy hung in place of a tag.

“She isn't supposed to jump but she's kind of excited.”

Wiping the drool off my face I knelt in front of the dog at Raphael’s side and gently scratched her.

“It's alright, I get a fair share of dog drool at home, I'm used to it. She’s an absolutely gorgeous American Staffie. I've never seen one with a roan coloring before, it's a beautiful genetic anomaly, and the brown and green heterochromia in her eyes. She's a beautiful little lady, yes she is!”

“Raph rescued her as a puppy when we busted a dog fighting group in queens. She's actually been at the vet expecting a litter of her own.”

The dog showed no signs of having recently given birth and the somewhat heartbroken look on Raph’s face spoke volumes.

“What happened.”

He knelt down next to the dog who pressed her head up against him with a whimper.

“April took her in for her checkup and the vet said that she wasn't producing the hormones needed to birth and nurse the pups, more likely than not she would have reabsorbed the whole litter. They did a cesarean and managed to save two but 8 didn't make it. The two babies are going to stay with April and Casey so they can get store bought formula.”

I didn't know what to say so I just placed a reassuring hand on Raph’s where he had stilled petting Andromeda. His eyes darted over to meet my own for a second before he patted Addy and sent her off to say hi to her other uncles.

“Did they at least let you see the babies?”

“yeah, they were just as small and soft as Addy was when I found ‘er. Named the baby girl Cassiopeia, and the boy Orion. Vet says they'll be fine. Addy had to stay topside for a while to heal up but I'm glad I've got her back.”

“She’s a sweetheart that's for sure. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but have you considered having her spayed. With the two genetic anomalies of her coat and eye colors this most likely was caused by another genetic mutation, especially if she was improperly cross bred to be a fighting dog.”

“Yeah the vet already thought that would be best. Didn't really tell me the reasonin’ behind it though. That makes sense though.”

...

“Is that your cafe racer in the shop?”

“Yeah got it in ‘78, harley Davidson XCLR 1000cc, named it Niltsi after the navajo wind god. Donnie mentioned you've got your own, Raijin?”

“Yeah it's an old Indian I found in the scrap yard when I was 15. Donnie and I fixed it up and Mikey touched up the paint for me. Leo doesn't know…”

“Yeah Don already told me, my lips are sealed. Can we go see it?”

Just then splinter and Leo came in from their sanctuary.

“Ah Elasia, Michelangelo told me he had invited you. I hope you enjoy our little get together.”

“Yes I'm excited to play some games, I already told Mikey that I'd kick his butt in clue.”

Splinter laughed touching my shoulder in a fatherly way.

“I'm afraid to say that won't be too hard. My youngest son is gifted in many ways, conventional problem solving is not one of them.”

“Daaaad!”

Leo was helping Mikey move the snacks out of the kitchen, with Addy on their heels, he bumped his little brother with his elbow reassuringly.

“Don't sweat it Mikey, you know you're the king of pictionary.”

“Did someone say clue? Just let me put up my spot welding mask in the lab and I'll be right there!”

Donnie ran off to his lab, tossing the mask through the door before rejoining the group. Unable to escape now Raph grabbed my hand, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

“I'll show you the bike later, just have to get through a few hours of games.”

Nodding just enough for him to notice I made my way over to what has been dubbed my seat at the end of the table, and joined in on the debate over what game would be first.

“We can't play sorry Elasia doesn't have a lead piece.”

“Well then Donnie we can use something as a stand in, like a dice or the monopoly car or something.”

“Actually Leo I have something that will work pretty well.”

Digging into my bag I pulled out a small obsidian raven statue with golden eyes, setting it amongst the 5 figures of the hamato family.

“That's cool, did you make it?”

“No my brother Gabriel made it, he's into stone cutting. You should see the maple leaf pendant he carved out of garnet for his mate, it's gorgeous.”

…

L-“Sorry Mikey!”

M-“uuuwaaaa, chrrrrr. Leo you suck!”

E-“Uuuwaaaa, chrrrr.”

Four sets of eyes snapped on me as I covered my mouth. What did i say!?

M-“you speak turtle!?”

L-“your voice sounded exactly like mikey’s how did you do that.”

E-“I didn't mean to I just mimic sounds sometimes! I didn't….”

S-“Corvids are commonly known for their exceptional mimicry skills, it makes sense that Ms.Elasia would demonstrate that trait.”

M-“What's a corvid and what does mimicry mean.”

R-“It means that she can copy sounds and voices moron.”

S-“Corvids are birds like crows and ravens Michelangelo. Elasia seems to be a hybrid of a Raven as you are a turtle, or I am a rat

M-“Cooooool, can you do it again?”

I anxiously peeked at each of the four turtles, they seemed like they genuinely wanted to hear me mimic something else.

E-“Can you do it again?”

Mikey’s eyes went wide at the sound of his own voice leaving my throat and the other three looked mildly impressed.

M-“Do Leo, Do Leo next!”

L-“Mikey, that isnt..”

E-“Mikey, that isnt…”

M-“Awesome!!! Do Donnie.”

E-“I need a sound to focus on, Donnie?”

D-“ummm, I guess saying anything would work right?”

I tried something, “Right anything would work.”

D-“Interesting, it seems to be more than simple repetition, once you get a voice down can you say just about anything?”

Closing my eyes tight in concentration I tried to say something unique in Donatello’s voice.

E-“I've never tried that before but due to the repetitive sounds and cadences of the English language I could probably figure it out once I had enough data.”

R-“Damn, that's impressive.”

I tried to copy Raph’s voice only for a breathy croak to leave my throat.

E-“I guess Raph’s voice is out of my register, I need to expand my low range.”

M-“Awwww now my prank plans are ruined.”

E-I wasn't going to help you start a fight between Leo and Raph anyway Mikey.”

He legitimately pouted.

M-“But Elasia, think of the pranking potential!!”

S-“I am thinking of who will possibly win this game, now my sons, Ms.Elasia, if we could continue.”

ALL-“Hai sensei”

It was Splinter who eventually won but what he didn't know was that i saw him move his pieces with his tail while the brothers had been distracted.

The night was going great, Mikey and I teamed up during pictionary and kicked butt. Donnie won the game of clue, predictably playing as Professor Plum. Leo pissed everyone off in the first few rounds of monopoly when he somehow managed to get both of the high roller properties. Raph killed trivia pursuit, constantly answering every question correct except in the the entertainment sections.

Now we were playing scattegories, Mikey, Leo, and Splinter v.s Raph, Donnie, And I. Mikey kept triggering me to make noises during my turns causing me to have trouble answering my cards, in retaliation Raph had started putting him into a headlock and covering his mouth on our turns.

“Ok Elasia This is the last Round and we need 10 points to win, Oh this card is actually fitting, and a little ironic. In 60 seconds name as many biblical angels as you can. GO!”

“Cassiel, Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Lailah, Xapham, Zuriel, Jophiel, Afriel…”

Mikey wrestled free and started making the most obnoxious sounds he could.

“BEEP!... Honk!...RACAAAAW!!!...”

“Five seconds!!!”

“R...RA..RAH...RAPHAEL!!!!!”

“TIME!”

Raph snatched mikey, smacking him over the back of the head while yelling at the smaller turtle. Donnie was searching for each of my answers to calculate points.

R-“You dirty lil’ fuckin cheat!”

D-“That’s ten we win!”

R-“What?”

L-“No that can't be right she only said 9 angel names, recount Donnie?”

D-“No look Leo, right here, the comprehensive list of biblically named angels…”

L-“Well dang, I wouldn't have guessed…”

M-“No she only said 9 names, I stopped her.”

D-“The tenth name was Raphael. It says here that he is the patron angel of healers in Judaism, and one of the four archangels. John 5:1–4 references him, ‘an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under.’ In the bible of Islam he is known as the burning one.”

M-“Raph’s soul heart thingy was burning when you did your magic healing stuff!”

R-“No you guys got it all wrong I ain't no angel… I...”

E-“No, you aren't an angel, but no one can deny that you’ve been touched by one. You are the best of your brothers at stitching up wounds, relating to the healing abilities of your namesake. Your soul is one of few that are somewhat stably related to the element of fire. though you demonstrate the stereotypical emotional flare ups you work quite well with the more mundane aspects of your element for someone with almost no training in the discipline. Plus the angel Raphael is the spirit most closely related to the idea of guardian angels, all four of you fit quite well into that roll for a lot of people in this city.”

Raph looked visibly uncomfortable with all of the attention so i was quick to move the subject to someone who would quickly divert the attention.

“And you Mikey, Your name Michelangelo literally translates to ‘Of the angel Michael’. Michael is known as the leader of the army of God and the divine good. It is prophesied that it will be Michael who rises against Lucifer in the time of the end. He is known as the defender and is often associated with children or those of a youthful disposition.”

“Awesome!!! I’ve got an angel too! What about Leo and Donnie?”

I noticed Raph escaping to the snack table, glad I diverted that one.

“Well Leonardo means Lion bold. It doesn't have a biblical connection but there is a link to the constellation Leo, the lion killed by Hercules during his great trials. The bright star at the chest of the lion is called Regulus, it is also known as the King star. It’s believed that all of the greatest leaders are born under the lion.”

Leo puffed at that, shooting a glance toward Raph that practically boasted his supposed celestial disposition toward leadership.

“As for Donatello, It's derived from the Latin Donatus which means “Given” in the context of being a divine gift. It is also loosely translated as ‘to pardon’ or to forgive. It speaks of a kind and charitable nature.”

Donnie blushed, fiddling with his glasses in embarrassment.

L-“Elasia, you forgot your name. What does it mean?”

“Well in my people’s tongue it means the guardian of stars. In our mythology Elasia is the name of the daughter of the moon goddess Lunis and is responsible for guiding the souls of the dead into the night sky. The name is also synonymous with night or darkness, which is why it was adopted by the survivors of the great war as the name of the unified civilization of species.”

L-“So you're named for you people's grim reaper or angel of death figure. I guess that explains the skull charms you wear.”

I nodded, fiddling with the brass Raven skull at my throat.

M-“No our Elasia IS ELASIA. Why else do you think she has all of those wicked soul powers and stuff. She said herself that she lived multiple lives!”

R-“Mikey shut yah trap, can't you see you're makin her uncomfortable?”

M-“Sorry Angelface, I didn't mean…”

I gave Mikey a small hug when he knelt in front of me.

M-“It's alright Mikey, and don't worry we're still friends and super awesome gaming buddies.”

M-“Awesome, wait how did you know i…”

I just smirked tapping my temple.

M-“Jedi… I knew it”

It was then that my alarm went off.

“Well sorry guys, if i'm going to get any sleep before work in the morning i'm going to have to head back. It was really fun, we should definitely do this again.”

“Hey Elasia, one question.”

“Yeah don?”

“This job of yours, its a human surface job right?”

“Yeah i'm internshiping with the local forensics unit, why?”

“How do you manage to hide your, physical differences?”

I dug around in my bag, pulling out a blue glass bottle with a cork.

“This, its a potion used to concentrate the natural obscurants of my people. It doesn't make my wings go away but it does make them look like something else. The effects are only temporary though and the enchantment is very easy to break if necessary.”

I took a quick swig and pulled my wings against my back where they melted into a dark tribal tattoo. with a quick shake however they became wings again and a thin opalescent blue dust fell to the floor.

“It's not the easiest stuff to make and it's a bit painful. but it’s a viable option for those who have to interact with humans on a daily basis, especially if they have features that aren't easily hidden by other means.”

“Would it work for us?”

“I'm not sure, each person who uses it has to tailor the recipe to their species and individual biology in order to get the right results. I could look into it. I really should be going though.”

“I’ll walk you up.”

“Thanks Raph.”

…

When we got to the garage Raph led me to a dark and cluttered back corner, revealing a cleverly constructed trash cave just big enough for what was hidden inside. A modified Indian “Big Base” Scout with a deep burgundy and cherry red accented paint job. It was gorgeous.

“Damn, talk about a beauty, and he’s an old classic, 1948.”

Raph grabbed the handlebars like he was handling the love of his life as he rolled it out of its cubby and parked it at my feet.

“It's not entirely original, Donnie and I had to make some modifications and figure out how to build some parts from scratch so that it’d fit me.”

I had already gotten down on the floor of the shop and was curiously poking around the mechanics of the bike.

“Yeah it looks like you lengthened and reinforced the frame, and the suspension obviously, adding in the liquid cooling system was definitely a smart move, I can hardly see your additions on the cosmetic pieces, a human would never notice. This is really well done, How does he ride?”

“It’s a little heavy on the handling, nothing i can't handle though, gets a bit rough around 80 MPH.”

“But that’s expected of older models, even my XLCR gets a little shaky at higher speeds and its what 30 years newer?”

“I could… Drive ya home, if ya want. I mean so ya can hear what the engine sounds like.”

“That would actually be pretty nice. Doubt I'll hear it over the growl of MY bike though.”

At this i cocked my hip and snapped a sharp turn, swaying as i moved to mount Niltsi. Switching it on i revved the engine hard, the roar causing a smirk to pull at my lips, especially in response to the gigantic smile on Raph’s face. Starting up his engine he quietly rolled it to meet me at the mouth of the garage. Checking that the roads were clear our eyes met, a silent nod signaling the peal of thunder caused by both bikes speeding off down the road at the same time.

At first we kept pretty equal but as i started to pull ahead a bit Raph started to speed up, pulling ahead of me and starting a race. Narrowing my eyes i shifted my position so that i was lying as flat as possible against the tank of my Harley and raised my wings into an angle, the increased aerodynamics of the position causing me to rocket past Raph as my engine roared in victory. Raph decided if he couldn't beat me in speed then he’d beat me in style, as our bikes settled in next to each other he slowly began to raise up onto the seat of his Indian until he was riding the machine like a skateboard. One of his large two toed feet controlling the handlebars while the other maintained his balance and position. I couldn't help but throw my head back with laughter, leaning back in my seat and throwing my hands up as i steered with the toes of my riding boots. Soon though we reached my apartment and pulled the bikes into the alleyway parking behind the building.

“That was so much fun! I can't believe you surfed on that thing!”

“That thing you did with your wings was pretty cool, what do you call that?”

“Its called stooping, its a position used to increase diving speeds in falcons.”

In our excitement we both jumped around the alley, burning off adrenaline until we somehow ended up nearly chest to chest, the smiles on our faces bright and open.

“Your hair is all fluffy.”

Without thinking Raph smoothed his large hand over my short hair in an attempt to right it only for it to pop right back up. I couldn't help but notice how nice the sensation felt and to laugh at his frustrated expression.

“It does that when i'm excited, it's called plumeing….its a bird thing.”

“Like a parrot. Its cute.”

Realizing what he said his face immediately fell back into its intimidation mask and he moved to get back on his bike.

“Wait Raph….”

He started the engine and drove away as quickly as he could.

“Its ok…..”

When he disappeared from sight i spread my wings and with a few flaps landed on my apartment balcony. From here i could just make out his headlight shining between the buildings. I gently ran my fingers through my hair, copying the motions he had made.

“Goodnight Raphael.”

…

Raphael's POV

How fucking stupid am I! We were having so much fun, the night was going great and I go and ruin it by being a sappy anxious jackass! She probably thinks I'm a dopey dweeb!

Pulling quietly into the shop I hid Raijin back in the pile and stormed through the lair toward the dojo. Mikey tried to ask me how it went but I just growled low in my throat and pushed him away as I stormed past.

I needed to beat my anger into something.

After about an hour of destroying another training dummy I moved to the free weights. I needed to cool off.

What if she really meant what she said tonight? I mean she said nice things about everyone but I think that might have been a distraction tactic. Couldn't have my brothers calling me angel, or for Mikey to staple wings to my shell in my sleep. She looked so happy tonight, laughing and speeding on that beaut of a Harley. And her hair did look really nice all sticking up and wild, it was soft.

Throwing the bar back on the stand I rubbed the heels of my hands down my face. It couldn't happen I needed to stop fooling myself. Staring down at my hands I imagined her own looking so small and delicate against my rough green skin. No it would never work.

…

Elasia’s POV

The next day at work all I could think of was his smile and the feel of his hand in my hair.

No he would never like me like that, we're just friends, I need to stop reading so much into it.

I wore my red flannel tank top anyway.