#1) always keep a distance from famous people/athletes

[rolandkaros]

.

[nanaminokanojo]

"Petty" | Oikawa Toru X You

CHAPTER COUNT: 1/1 CHARACTERS: Oikawa Toru X You | Haikyuu Characters (mentions) WORD COUNT: 3,300+ GENRE: fluff | romance | aged-up characters | university au | oneshot TRIGGER WARNING: profanity | strong/mature language | alcohol use SPOILERS: n/a

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photo/fanart credits to @/oikawalovesyouu on Twitter

"He's self-centered but he's insecure so naturally, he's petty."

Oikawa couldn't shake that comment off his head as he slammed yet another ball into the opposing court, aggressively wiping on the sweat on his forehead. The university gym was already deserted with all his teammates gone yet he was still doing jump serves as if he wasn't already so good at it. He just needed an outlet.

In his head, he was already thinking of counter arguments to what he heard being said about him. It was one sentence. One! And yet he was working up all his brain cells to think of a lengthy rebuttal to every single word in that single statement.

First of all, he wasn't self-centered. He doesn't just think about himself, or so he likes to think. He was sensitive enough to read the room most of the time and he can actually bring the best out of his teammates to the highest degree. An insensitive, selfish prick wouldn't be able to do that without proper observation and lack of awareness for others.

Secondly, he didn't think he was insecure. He didn't have to lift a finger to get the attention he wanted, and it was human to feel envy for those who are better than him because there will always be someone better. It’s just an inevitability he has to deal with.

And lastly, he wasn't petty. He's always been reactive, he knew that, but that was just reaction if not retaliation to those who want to belittle him. That's what he thinks anyway.

But why you had to say those things about him as if you were a female version of Iwaizumi – his best friend who seemed to get off of being too cruelly honest and straightforward about what he thought of Oikawa – was something he didn't understand.

Of course, he was aware of your blatant frankness. He loved that about you. You were just very insistent on your individuality and you had very strong opinions which you stood by without regard to anything. Most of the time anyway. He actually got a kick out of people's reactions when you say something without filtering your words especially when you were children, but like they say, it's never funny when one becomes the receiving end of anything negative.

The larger dilemma was that you were the only girl he sincerely liked, so much so that he was willing to lay down his pride just to have you and call you his. Solely and irrevocably his. But if you thought of him that way, then maybe you actually hated him. It bothered him to no end.

"What the hell did I tell you about over-exertion?" Oikawa heard that familiar deep voice from the direction of the entrance, and before he knew it, the ball crate was being wheeled away from him. "Enough. It's off season."

"Just letting off some steam," Oikawa stated, smiling Iwaizumi's way despite himself.

"You can do that at Kuroo's party," the other male said with finality. "Be out in fifteen." His last words were laced with a threat, and Oikawa didn't have a choice but to do as he was told. The former was right. If it's just to vent out, he could definitely do that at the party.

He couldn't be more wrong in his life.

The moment he entered the premises of Kuroo's house, the first thing he saw was you. You came in just after he did, but you bumped against him without even apologizing as you walked ahead, waving at someone else. You saw him there, but you walked off anyway as if you didn't.

"What the actual fuck?" he couldn't help but blurt out when he saw just who you were talking to.

You've always been agreeable to him as his childhood friend, but you were ignoring him on top of saying bad things about him to your friends. And now, you were talking to Ushijima Wakatoshi whom you knew he disliked with a passion.

The male simply got on his nerves for the fact that he was better at him in the sport they both played. Oikawa also hated how much the guy hounded him to join their team back in high school, talking about how he would be better off. Like how is it better to be in the same team as Ushijima was when he would just outshine him?

His mind started to run amok with questions. What could you possibly want from Ushijima? Better yet, what did he want from you? Since when were you even close to him? Oikawa almost wanted to throw up seeing how you were being buddy-buddy with the cold fish of a guy, actually managing to melt his severe expressions into a soft smile. Were you going out with him now? He couldn't take it.

Without thinking, he grabbed the shoulder of the person who was holding a tray of drinks, taking two shot glasses in his hand, and telling the person to stay where he was standing. He was able to down six shots while standing there, but before he could drink more, Iwaizumi came into view.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded gruffly, telling the poor guy with the drinks to scram.

"Not now, Iwa," he snapped, walking towards the direction of the stairs, rudely telling everyone to get out of his way.

He stayed there for almost an hour, trying to calm his nerves but ending up going feral over this couple who were making out as they pushed the door to Kuroo's room where he was lying down on the bed. To say that he killed their mood was an understatement as he harshly told them to fuck off. Nobody dared cross him being the famous star athlete that he was at the university you both attended. It was, however, useless if he finds himself losing even outside of court to Ushijima who was his equivalent in the neighboring school when it comes to volleyball. It left him with a bitter taste at the recesses of his mouth.

When he finally emerged from the room, deciding to get more drinks, he was still in a foul mood, glaring at anyone who would get in his way towards the kitchen. But his plan was all but forgotten when he saw you standing by the archway that led to the kitchen, leaning there as you nursed a plastic cup against your chest.

For the first time that night, he was actually seeing how beautiful you were, dressed in a crop top and tight-fitting jeans which were tattered in most places. As per usual, you were stuck in your own bubble, bobbing your head to the music as if you weren't aware of all the adoring looks you were getting. Well, you were a person who didn't know her strengths and denied them when he tells you. It was just unfair how he always has nice things to say about you but you didn't think the same way about him.

He closed the distance between the two of you, placed his forearm above your head, towering over you, that infamous smirk plastered on his face.

"Hey, baby," he said in a low tone, leaning down until your faces were just inches from one another.

"Hello, darling," you returned, smiling slightly. "I've been looking for you, but Iwa said you ran off somewhere."

"Have you now?" He eyed you seriously. "Weren't you just ignoring me a while ago for Ushijima?"

He wasn't able to elicit the reaction he wanted from you, and instead, you smirked at him. "Eh?" you responded in a dragged out note. "I wasn't with Ushijima for the sake of ignoring you, Toru. The world doesn't revolve around you."

He stood back in indignation, your opinions of him coming out to the surface. "So why were you with him?" He was aware that his tone made it seem like he had any right to be questioning you of your actions. He had been vocal about his attraction to you, but it wasn't as if he was your boyfriend. Still, he couldn't care less at the moment.

"None of your business, sweetheart," you told him, your words at odds to the saccharine smile you flashed him. He found himself disconcerted especially when you reached up and started fixing his fringe. "What are you acting so jealous for?"

Ah, he thought. It wasn't his place to be feeling that way but he didn't want to respond to your question in any way. So, like he did earlier, he stormed off, sticking to his original plan to get wasted.

He didn't want to say things he will regret even if you were being hot and cold. For a while now, he had the feeling that you were toying with him, but whenever he was around, your actions towards him were always the opposite of your words about him as of late. One time you'd be telling him to go away, but as soon as he does, you're grabbing his arm, telling him to sit still beside you. You'd be complaining to him one second that he was being an annoying brat and then sit on his lap peppering his cheeks with kisses. You'd be with another guy but tell him you're looking for him. You were confusing to say the least.

Oikawa didn't know what happened after he walked away from you. But when he finally came to, he had a throbbing headache and he wasn't in his room. He looked around him, straining to keep his eyes open as he took in his surroundings, shooting up from the bed when he realized he was looking at the familiar layout of your bedroom.

He had been there a million times ever since you were kids, and he had been a witness to all the changes your little corner of the world had gone through. He couldn't help but smile despite his feelings and headache at the thought that what was once a room that looked like it was made of cotton candy was now in scales of black and white, surrounded with things that were just so you.

But after all the changes, you still had that framed photo of you and him in grade school, where he was kissing you on the cheek while you grinned wide for the camera. You were wearing the matching shirts your crazy moms got you, and he knew you still kept them somewhere in your room.

Yes, he told himself, I was there before anyone else. You’ve always been the closest to him even when Iwaizumi came into the picture. Even then, he didn’t seem to understand you well enough to actually lay emphasis on the fact that you’ve known each other since you were in diapers.

Just then, you walked into the room, holding a glass of fizzy water. You were wearing only his old volleyball jersey, padding barefoot on the floor. You specifically asked for it when you both graduated from high school and you've been sleeping in it since then.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," you greeted, sitting down on the empty space of the queen bed which he noticed was also slept on. "Drink up."

"What am I doing here?" he asked after downing the whole glass in one go, setting it on the nightstand.

"I took you home. Your mom would have killed you if she saw how fucked up you were last night." You brushed his hair from over his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my head's about to explode," he muttered.

You clucked your tongue. "Why did you have to drink so much anyway?"

Instead of answering you, he laid back down on the bed, turning away from you. He had every intention to ignore you after that, but it wasn't long before he felt you coming closer to him, propping your chin on his arm while you draped yours over his waist.

"You're sulking, Toru."

He took the pillow from under his head to hide his head under it. "I don't wanna do this today, Y/N."

"Do what? What exactly are we doing?"

The audacity to ask, he said at the back of his mind, biting his tongue. He didn't say anything and just stayed still.

"Hey, I asked you a question," you continued to badger him. "You've been acting off since a week ago. What's up?"

He refused to satisfy you with a response thinking you ought to realize what it was exactly that you two had been doing, dancing around each other yet skirting around the real issues between you. You couldn't be that oblivious of his affections and you weren't exactly passive either.

Nevertheless, you always had a way of turning things to your favor, and before he knew it, he was falling off the bed after you kicked him off it, nearly landing face down if it weren't for his fast reflexes.

"Y/N!" he whined, remaining seated on the floor as he clutched on his head. He half expected you to laugh at his predicament, but when he met your eyes, he regretted it, seeing the serious expression you had.

"You should know by now that I hate it when I am denied things I want to know especially those which involve me," you told him, cocking your head to the direction of the bed. You sounded menacing, so far from the gentle voice you always used when talking to him. "Stop being a brat. Get back here and talk to me properly."

"You're the one who kicked me!" he protested as he stood up, doing as he was told nonetheless, sitting up and leaning on the headboard.

"So, what's your problem?"

"I'm jealous of Ushijima," he returned promptly his brown eyes also taking a severe quality to it as he eyed you.

You arched a brow at him. "What's new about that?"

"At least before, he didn't have you, too. Now..." He sighed. "You're friends with him now? What was that about last night?"

"Are you serious right now? I had business with the guy."

Oikawa scoffed. "What business are you talking about that he's all smiles at you like that? He only ever smiles around his girlfriend –"

"Exactly," you countered, openly savoring the look on his face when he realized just what he was saying. "He ordered a huge consignment of rare live flowers for his girlfriend so I informed him it had been delivered. Our family as ikebana* artists and horticulturist do that for a living."

"What?"

You shrugged. "You're assuming things again."

Oikawa blinked, feeling defeated at your sound reasoning, but he still has bones to pick with you. "That's not just my problem with you. What are we really, Y/N? I don't get how you're ignoring me and suddenly being sweet. I'm getting mixed signals here. And don't think for a second that I didn't hear about what you told your friends about me."

He narrowed his eyes at you, smirking when he saw how your eyes rounded, finally able to take you off guard like you usually did to him. For once, he wanted you to lose your footing and come clean about what you really thought about him…how you really felt.

"Hmm. What exactly did I say about you?" you asked, the caution in your tone obvious.

"You know it, Y/N. Don't you dare make me jump all the hoops!" he stated, losing his temper.

You shook your head, not understanding where his choleric attitude was coming from. You knew better than to level your irritation with his, and you were so used to his antics that you found yourself almost unaffected by his crusty demeanor. "I really don't know what you're talking about, Toru."

He glared at you. "You told them you think I'm petty because I'm self-centered but I'm insecure. Ring any bells, sweetheart? And don't lie, I heard it myself."

You ran your hand over your face, frustration emanating from you. At the same time, you wanted to laugh because he looked like an angry kitten instead of the fully grown man he supposedly is.

Oikawa didn't know where your exasperation was coming from when he's supposedly the one feeling it but then you nodded.

"I did say that."

"How could you?" he complained, aware that he sounded like a juvenile dipshit but he didn't know how to react to your lack of denial for it. In the end, he just wanted you to say you didn't mean it even if he already got hurt from hearing it.

"How couldn't I, Toru? That's the truth," you stated, no bars held and your voice ringing clear in the air between you. You were really merciless when it came to voicing out what ran inside your head.

"Well, shit, Y/N. Why didn't you just tell me to my face?" He was about to stand up, but you pushed him down, sitting astride his lap so he wouldn't move. He refused to look at you but couldn’t move at the same time cause he didn’t want to hurt you in any way although he didn’t exactly want you close at the moment. "Get off while I'm being nice about it."

"Iwa and I never fail to tell you every day," you started, placing your hands on either side of his face, gently making him look at you.

"You both hate me?" he asked weakly, unable to imagine life without the two of you beside him.

"No." You shook your head. "Toru, no. Of course not. That's just how you are, isn't it? We never asked you to change. We just couldn't help noticing it, and if we don't tell you, who will?"

Oikawa Toru. So used to being fawned over that he doesn't know how to react when he is being criticized. He could admit to that, but it still hurt hearing you say that.

"Sweetheart, I did say those things about you, but you didn't stay long enough to hear the rest."

He pouted, looking away from you. "And what is it?"

You tilted your head so you would be in his line of vision, grinning the moment you realized you had him. "That despite all that, you're a generally kind person who cares a lot for your friends, your team, for me, and even if you don't know how to show it, deep down, you're a sensitive soul. And I adore that about you."

"Really?"

You scoffed. "I love you, Toru. I thought we had an understanding."

"As friends, you mean?"

You rolled your eyes at him, but didn't say anything further, closing the distance between your lips, kissing him fervently and intensely in case the message didn't come across just yet.

He gasped against your lips, caught off guard as usual, but kissed you back with as much fervor, dominating you shortly after your mouths made contact. He nipped and sucked on your lips before shoving his tongue into your mouth, immediately finding yours and delving in to taste you. Oikawa grinned when he rendered you into a panting mess, reveling in the way your hands possessively held him close.

"I waited so long for this," he said against your ear.

"Make up for all those times you missed out then," you told him with a smug grin.

"Heh. You asked for it."

He flipped you both over on the bed making you burst out in a fit of giggles, kissing you stupid, his hands touching everywhere he could reach, your clothes and his mixing in a pile on the floor while he made sweet love to you.

Oikawa Toru. He's self-centered but he's insecure so naturally, he's petty. But he was not just that. He's also the guy you loved to smithereens because you knew that those other facets of him – the good ones – exist.

-the end-

TERMINOLOGIES:

*ikebana (活け花) - traditional Japanese art of arranging flowers

My first try at Haikyuu...god d*mn you, both, @kenkinori and @ushiwaikuroo !!! XD

Before anyone comes after me, the characters are aged up as specified in the story. The beauty of literary creativity!

Thank you so much for reading. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it.

© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY FURUDATE HARUICHI’S “HAIKYUU!”. [20210704]

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 8 - Winter Comes Again (Part 4)

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Nakasendo is one of the five routes of the Edo period that connected Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto

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The Ageo City Half Marathon was held in the middle of November, just when everyone was beginning to put on their thick coats.

At the Ageo Sports Park track and field stadium, the university athletes that had been invited arrived in succession in microbuses. The members of Chikusei-sou arrived in Ageo City in their usual white van. This time, the landlord, who had been recovering at home from his stomach ulcer, accompanied them. As usual, he didn’t want to get into a car Kiyose was driving, so Hanako took out Yaokatsu’s pickup truck.

The stadium looked like a Roman colosseum from the outside. Plastic sheets were laid out along the road, securing places for each school to change clothes or rest.

There were food stalls set up in the sports park, creating a festive mood, and the area around the park was crowded with spectators and participants.

The landlord gave instructions while munching on the takoyaki he had immediately purchased.

“Today, our goal is to get used to the atmosphere of a road race, so you don’t need to focus on speed. Just run as fast as you can without forcing yourself.”

At that, the landlord glanced at Kiyose. Kiyose nodded as though to say, Exactly. Kakeru guessed what was going on: the landlord had simply given Kakeru and the others Kiyose’s instructions. Kiyose seemed to have decided to take a step back because of the friction among the residents of Chikusei-sou.

However, the twins did come with them to Ageo, as it seemed that the soccer team was able to find substitute members. Although they had rebelled against Kiyose, they didn’t break or renege on their promise, which was just like the cheerful and honest twins.

The half marathon started at 9 AM in the stadium. There were about 350 invited runners alone. Adding the citizen runners to that number, it would take time to cross the starting line even when the signal gun sounded.

At the starting line, even though he was only wearing the uniform tank top and shorts, there were so many people crowded together—in order of their numbers—that Kakeru didn’t feel the cold. In front of him there was a group from TSU; Kakeru stared at the back of Sakaki’s head for a while, but of course he couldn’t see Sakaki’s two hair whorls from his position.

Kiyose was teaching Prince about positioning and things to look out for when starting.

“Don’t get pushed from behind and fall. You don’t need to rush forward, so just get behind the runners whose pace you can match and use them as a windbreak. In your case, you don’t need to think about putting on spurts—just get into it so you don’t drop out of the group.”

Prince nodded meekly. Maybe Haiji-san is planning to enter Prince-san in the first leg of Hakone, Kakeru thought. In the first leg, of course, the first runners of the participating twenty teams would start all at once in Otemachi. At first, they would be in a cluster, so runners who weren’t timid and could compete with others while keeping an eye on the pace around them would be suited for it.

Prince-san’s time is definitely not fast compared to the level of the runners in Hakone. I wonder if it would really be effective to put him in the first leg.

As Kakeru pondered, the group finally started to move forward. By the time they had run halfway around the track and exited out onto the road, the group broke up and it became easier to run.

A quiet shopping street along Old Nakasendo. (1) The flow of the river and the green of the golf course. The skies had cleared, and the winter wind felt refreshing on his skin as it warmed up.

It felt good to run on a road that was closed to traffic. Kakeru soon got into a rhythm and simply moved his legs along. People from the houses along the street came to their doors to cheer them on and children playing in small parks eagerly chased after them.

Water was provided at three locations. Paper cups were lined up on a long table and volunteers tried to hand them out. They weren’t used to it, so it was difficult to take them; the runners were sprinting at a speed faster than bicycles. Kakeru got as close as he could to the sidewalk, but the impact of receiving the cup caused most of the contents to spill out.

Even so, the little water that remained was cool and refreshing.

Right before the turning point, he and Sakaki passed by each other. Sakaki looked at him, but Kakeru pretended not to notice. As his coach, the landlord—and by extension Kiyose—wanted him to not force himself. He didn’t think he could get along with Sakaki in any way, so he decided to leave him alone.

Kakeru watched the Rikudou runners carefully. They had good forms, as expected, but they all looked like second-string runners. Kakeru went to ask a Rikudou runner who looked like a first year and was turning at almost the same time.

“Where’s Fujioka-san?”

The first-year seemed surprised to be spoken to out of the blue, but he seemed to know Kakeru’s name and face. “The regulars are at a high-altitude training camp in Kunming,” he said.

“Kunming?”

“In China.”

“Wow.”

As expected, Rikudou’s scale is different, Kakeru thought, surprised. He wondered if he would get diarrhea if he went to China. But Fujioka, who was a demon when it came to looking after his own health and discipline, would probably never make a gaffe like that.

The first-year runner ran ahead. Feeling like humming a tune, Kakeru maintained his pace of one kilometer per 3 minutes and 3 seconds. Fujioka would be getting stronger and stronger at the Chinese training camp. Kakeru wanted to meet him at Hakone. We’ll make it clear on the big stage who’s faster.

They returned to the stadium and reached the finish line. Kansei’s pace was moderate, so their rankings were not that good. However, they were able to grasp the atmosphere of a road race. Even Prince, who had the slowest time among the ten of them, had a satisfied look on his face after he finished running; he must have gained confidence that he could run a distance that was almost the same as Hakone’s first leg without difficulty. Kiyose’s plan to have the members who lacked experience join a half marathon seemed to have worked.

The organizers provided lunch boxes and bananas to the invited schools. Musa and Shindou went to the management tent to go get them and returned with a cardboard box full of bananas.

“There’s so many.”

Jouta and Jouji peered into the box. Hanako looked at the stickers on the bananas.

“These are good bananas,” she evaluated like a grocer’s daughter.

Bananas were useful after a workout because they provide a quick calorie intake. They swiftly peeled them and when everyone was on their second or third, a visitor approached them.

He was a man in his late thirties, dressed in the same casual clothing as the spectators.

“You’re Kansei University’s track team, right?” the man said.

“Yeff we arr,” Jouji mumbled as he stuffed his third banana in his mouth. “Why?”

“Is Kurahara-kun here?” the man asked, but his gaze was fixed on Kakeru. He seemed to have already recognized Kakeru’s face. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Kakeru stood and took the business card the man held out to him. “Shinjitsu Weekly    Mochizuki Shuuji” was written on it.

Most of the people present probably thought that a reporter had come to interview him about catching the shoplifters, but Kakeru knew better. This man got wind of my past.

“You graduated from Sendai Jousai High School, correct?” Mochizuki began. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakeru saw Kiyose immediately stand, his face quickly changing color.

“Yes,” Kakeru answered.

“You caught a bunch of shoplifters the other day, didn’t you? I saw it in the papers.” Mochizuki raised his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner, as though he was impressed. “A sportsman among sportsmen with an overflowing sense of justice—you’ve become a hot topic even in your hometown. Especially around the track team at Sendai Jousai.”

Kiyose came to Kakeru’s side and faced Mochizuki.

“Please don’t interview our runners without permission.”

“This won’t take long,” Mochizuki laughed thoughtlessly. However, there was a sharp light in his eyes. “Kurahara-kun, you competed at the Inter-High in your second year at high school and achieved good results. However, you quit the team as soon as you became a third-year. Why is that?”

“Hey!”

Kiyose was indignant, but Kakeru stopped him, saying, “It’s fine, Haiji-san.” He couldn’t run away or hide it. As long as he continued to do track, this matter would always follow him. He had been prepared for this the moment he decided to go to Hakone with the residents of Chikusei-sou.

“You’ve already looked into it, haven’t you?” Kakeru said. “I hit my coach.”

“I heard that you broke your coach’s nose. Furthermore, you rejected the university that gave you a tentative offer for track, and you quit your team, in spite of the fact that the coach had tried to keep the incident private because he was afraid that it would become a public scandal.” Mochizuki peered into Kakeru’s expression. “What were you so unhappy about? What kind of disagreement did you have with your coach?”

Kakeru kept silent. His high school coach was famous for his thorough management of his runners and his spartan training methods. Of course, there was no doubt that he was a competent coach with a good track method to match.

However, ever since Kakeru had first enrolled in high school, he was unable to get along with his coach, and he disliked how he only talked about times.

That was why, when he had witnessed the coach cursing out a first-year who was having trouble recovering after an injury in the club room, he got angry. That first-year was on a sports scholarship, and if he was forced to quit the team, that would make it hard for him to stay in school. Kakeru could only think that the coach knew that the student was in a vulnerable position and was simply tormenting him.

That might be something he thought of in hindsight, but really the first-year had just been a trigger for Kakeru; a good detonator for releasing his pent-up resentment. Because the moment he hit the coach, the only thought in Kakeru’s head was I can end it with this.

There hadn't been a single shred of heroism in the act. He hadn't been doing it for the first-year, and he hadn’t even thought about how ashamed that first-year would feel in the club if his senpai hit the coach because of him. There was no sense of justice or compassion, just violence for the sake of his own satisfaction and pleasure—just to dispel his pent-up frustration and anger towards the coach. Kakeru had felt the cartilage in his nose break through his fist and felt refreshed.

“Committing an act of violence on a high school team, and it was at a prestigious track and field school. Since the story got leaked and you didn’t deny it, the Sendai Jousai High School track and field team voluntarily suspended its activities for a while. I’m sure there are a lot of people who didn’t think well of you at that time; not only the coach who was punched by you, but also your teammates who couldn’t participate in meets.”

“What do you want to ask Kurahara?” Kiyose cut in. “Even if what you said is true, I think what you should question instead is the school's position in not rocking the boat, as well as the results-oriented mentality that is rampant in some parts of the high school track world, where runners are managed with excessive restraint and interference which can crush growing talent.”

“Are you Kansei’s captain?” Mochizuki turned his gaze to Kiyose like he was appraising him. “Did you know Kurahara-kun committed an act of violence? What do you think of him?”

“He’s a runner with talent. But before that, for us, he’s a comrade who’s reliable as a person.”

Kakeru’s heart shook at the word “comrade.” It was as though he were in the middle of a happy dream when he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and woken up; the feeling of floating, like he was still in a dream, and the disappointment of returning to reality, and then the relief of opening your eyes to see the face of someone close to you. So many emotions welled up within him that he recoiled, not knowing how to take them in.

Unaware of the slightly shaken Kakeru, Kiyose stood his ground against Mochizuki.

“Please leave. I would like you to have your interview request approved with our PR department.”

PR department? A murmur spread through the residents of Chikusei-sou, who had been watching the proceedings from behind. Shindou and Hanako raised their hands.

“Yes.”

“That’s us.”

“We refuse your request for an interview,” Shindou said. “Exactly, exactly,” King nodded. The landlord didn’t say anything and ate his lunch. It was hard to tell from his detached and casual attitude if he was troubled or amused by the situation.

“Good grief, these bananas taste awful,” Nico-chan said, and Mochizuki gave a forced laugh as he was given a reproachful look.

“Then, one last thing. Kurahara-kun, you’re going to run in Hakone, right? Do you have anything to say to your high school coach? Anything is fine, even if it’s something like ‘Serves you right.’”

“I have nothing to say.” Kakeru quietly shook his head. He didn’t want to apologize, but he also didn’t want to boast that “Even without your help, anyone can survive in the track world if they have the ability.”

“I regret it. I regret that I couldn’t think of any other way other than knocking him down at that time. That’s all.”

The following week in Shinjitsu Weekly, there was a double-page spread with the headline “Disaster in the High School Sports World!?” With a provoking line of “What’s behind the frequent scandals…”, the article mentioned old troubles at the Sendai Jousai High School track and field team along with Koshien regulars and high school soccer powerhouses.

“The other day, K-kun was in the news for catching shoplifters. He is a runner with a promising future who will take part in next January’s Hakone Ekiden, but there are also rumors that K-kun caused a violent incident in the past. The coach of the track and field team at Sendai J High School stated, ‘That incident has already passed,’ and meaningfully closed his mouth, but…” It went on after that, and even if you didn’t know anything about track, it was easy to guess that it was talking about Kansei’s Kurahara Kakeru.

“This was clearly leaked by that coach.” Jouji threw down the magazine, annoyed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Musa said, anxious about Kakeru.

Kiyose and Shindou were busy explaining the situation to the university and the supporter’s group and dealing with them. Apparently the landlord was also going around and bowing his head, saying, “Sorry for the trouble.” When Kakeru learned about this and apologized, he proudly said, “Well of course, I’m the coach.” He didn’t say anything that blamed him.

Kiyose persisted in his stance of protecting Kakeru, so the area around Chikusei-sou remained calm. The repercussions of the article would probably die down, but it didn’t change the fact that he had caused trouble.

The residents of Chikusei-sou treated Kakeru the way they always had. In order to meet those expectations, he had to run well in Hakone. Kakeru continued to run silently.

Previous | Next

[szivtalan]

character ask: kagami, momoi, alex and himuro 👀👀👀

!!! omg thank u Ceru! u might be one of my favorite mutuals <33 (putting this under a read more just so I can speak at lengths about each individual character)

Why I like Kagami: this is where I sarcastically ask “why DON’T i like him” but that’s literally the next question so; he’s everything i want to be and more. He has the determination and the willpower to make his own dreams come true, he’s gay as shit, he’s tall and buff and well-adjusted, mature enough to live on his own at an annoyingly young age, he’s funny and dumb and a total himbo as well as an excellent advisor bc of how grounded he is.

Why I don’t: I’m... not really good with explosive people. Violent men with loud voices especially scare me, and I’d think I’d flinch around him a lot and that would make me rlly anxious.

Favorite episode: it’s a toss-up between the Seirin fam visiting his place for the first time (is it where Kuroko confesses his love to him and then passes out in his arms? idk), and the onsen episode. I also loved all his plays against Kise and Aomine. AND the training camp w him running a lot in the sand.

Favorite season/movie: season 2 probably because he’s not a jerk anymore, but he’s still on his way to shed off any asshole behavior stuck to him. And I actually liked Last Game?

Favorite line: “There’s no such thing as useless effort.” and “This is our drama and we write the plot.” because he’s so ridiculous.

Favorite outfit: all of his casual fits... comfy but manly is my Jam

OTP: AoKaga....they’re truly soulmates, star-crossed lovers, canonically brought together by fate.

Brotp/otp no. 2: KagaKuro, I love them

Head Canon: I have several collections because I think too much about this boy, but here’s something I think about his family: he doesn’t know what happened to his mom. He never asked, because it wasn’t relevant, and he didn’t want to inconvenience his dad by questioning him. Occasionally, as a kid he felt like he was missing out on something (seeing other kids with their moms, feeling like they’re being treated with much more gentle care because they have moms), but as he grew older he realized that nurturing behavior shouldn’t have been limited to only a mother, and that he was just straight up neglected without any regards to missing a parent in his life.

Unpopular opinion: I never realized this was an unpopular opinion but I’m glad he went back to America at the end of Last Game. Obviously, it’s sad that he had to separate from the others, but I felt like Japanese basketball has always been just a stepping point to him, and now that he’d beat the best of them, it was time to move on. And it also warms my heart that him getting scouted in the US gave Aomine hope to aim big, too. I felt like both of them would’ve felt trapped in Japan with their skill sets.

A wish: I want him to be happy and gay and to confront Himuro and tell him how hurt he was by how he treated him and probably do the same to his dad too

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: ....whatever I’d say Shinsun has probably written it/will write it, but I don’t want him to forget about the GoM just because he becomes a world-famous athlete.

5 words to best describe them: sweet child with anger issues

My nickname for them: not mine (it’s Sypha’s) but “Kags”, Kagami, Tigerboy, Kagababe, Baby

Why I like Momoi: she is SO nurturing and sweet and she cares so much about her boys!! I’m sorry it always turns into “how they remind me of myself” but actually I get feeling like a background character and being the moral/emotional/physical support of those who are more talented or in any way better than you. I feel a strange kind of kinship with her and also,,, feminine girls make my heart stop, and it doesn’t get more feminine than Momoi. Added: Aomine aside, the Touou team wouldn’t worth shit without her skills tbh, and she’s not in any way less than the GoM. Also, I appreciate her being the one person to try to keep their friend group together.

Why I don’t: Analytical People Scare me like!! how do u know stuff people are Unknowable!! I usually am also irked by her pointing out Riko’s breast size but I can just pretend that’s in a gay way (maybe Momoi likes girls with small boobs and she’s just bad at flirting) (also I don’t exactly liked her calling Aomine a “ganguro” but I have too little knowledge on the use of this word to say exactly why)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): uh the one where Aomine made her cry? It really came through how much love she actually has for her friends at that one.

Favorite season/movie: she was great in all of them!!

Favorite line: I can’t remember the exact quote and Google isn’t really helpful either but the one where she made Kuroko promise they’ll always play together or something? Or that they’re gonna beat Aomine?? idk?

Favorite outfit: I like all of them but mostly I just appreciate her wearing so many hoodies, she looks so cute in them

OTP / Brotp: it’s both AoMomo. I feel like the have the most special and strongest bond in the entire series.

Head Canon: She’s never been shown to do, but I feel like she wears Aomine’s clothes a Lot. Also, they definitely have sleepovers To This Day.

Unpopular opinion: Momoi is good at basketball and she loves playing!!! But try being successful in it when ur opponents are Giants and Way More Buff than you are

A wish: I wish people appreciated her more!! Both in fandom and in canon. She’s an amazing person and she has her own skills and strengths that are rarely explored or even mentioned anywhere.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: her falling out with her boys ;-; I do not want that

5 words to best describe them: strawberry sweetheart to steal ur heart

My nickname for them: Satsuki :> I feel like it’s a little too much to call characters on their first names sometimes but hers is so cute I can’t

Why I like Alex: yet again another woman with an extensive skill set. I love her persistence and again I appreciate getting disillusioned and finding your way back to the thing you love. Also it’s just sweet that she did that by teaching (again, something I can relate to)

Why I don’t: the whole “kissing children” thing rubbed me the wrong way but again, just like Momoi’s obsession with comparing breast sizes, it’s just bad/sexist writing from Fujimaki probably

Favorite episode (scene if movie): adshg any and all where she expressed that Himuro and Kagami are equally important to her <33 that shit makes my heart burst

Favorite season/movie: she only appears towards the end of s2 and in s3 so... I guess s3?

Favorite line: its so Bad that u literally can’t find the iconic quotes of these iconic ladies anywhere but... her story on finding her passion again through teaching kids, and anytime she mentions her fondness of Kagami and Himuro.

Favorite outfit: her iconic olive green coat with the short red shorts... wtf was that I loved it.

OTP: she doesn’t really interact with people her age but I’ve heard she’s shipped with Masako Araki and I’ve seen some seriously good fanarts and like... Yes Good I’d Love To See It

Brotp: I feel like her and Himuro would be that sassy pair that Kagami tries and fails to contain and they get into all sorts of weird, absurd situations asdjs what I’m trying to say is Kagami has to bail them out of jail from time to time

Head Canon: fck me if I’m wrong but she’s the lesbian single mom of the two gay kids she reluctantly adopted from the streets

Unpopular opinion: it’s more like another headcanon, but she can dunk and she taught Kagami how to do it.

A wish: I’d love her to coach the Seirin fam more!! Pls let her be part of her children’s lives (she could also judge streetball games between the goms it would be fun)

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: anything about her being romantically involved with her pupils makes me.................no

5 words to best describe them: Beautiful Beach Blonde Basketball....goddess

My nickname for them: Alex!! sometimes An Icon

Why I like Himuro: em dash Asdgsdj I’m joking, I’m becoming more and more fond of the boy. Once I realized that he shouldn’t have been the “bigger person” in that situation and one year doesn’t really mean much when you’re that young and that hurt, I realized he’s actually a good and hard-working kid and I’m sorry for giving him so much shade. Also I really like his snark and sass, but that might not even be canon at this point tbh

Why I don’t: I’m still sort of irked by him beating down on Kagami because he was envious/mad, but I realized the aspect of that situation that Really got to me was how devoted Kagami still was to him after all that. That devotion was what felt toxic, nothing that Himuro actually did to him.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): the time they met up w Kagami just to exchange a dramatic socially distancing bro fist and a few encouraging words.... gays be Like That

Favorite season/movie: I really didn’t mind s3 Himuro

Favorite line: apparently he’s said some iconic stuff that I don’t remember (and my sources don’t seem really legit) but I’m gonna say “let’s see you become number 1, bro” because again, that’s just so ridiculous and endearing. On one hand he really went from loathing Kagami to rooting for him and wanting him to reach his full potential and on the other, honey ur  like 17 stop speaking like That

Favorite outfit: his knitted V-neck sweaters and the black coat with the white fur.... boy’s got all the fashion sense that’s missing from Kagami

OTP: can I say.....AoHimu asdfh I ship 3/4 of these characters with Aomine what does that say about me

Brotp: KagaHimu. They can be sweet, but I’ve only ever seen Jake write them really well

Head Canon: I’ve been entertaining the idea of....trans Himuro.....

Unpopular opinion: everyone thinks that Kagami is the violent kid and Himuro is the chill, sweet child who’s somehow wound up with this mess of a fiery tiger, but it’s actually Himuro who taught Kagami how to fight and Kagami learned quite a lot of aggression from him

A wish: I feel like Himuro should’ve gotten a separate episode to explore his thoughts, feelings and past. He had so much potential as a character Is2g

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: him quitting basketball would fucking destroy me. I’d be devastated for others too, but it would really pull on my heartstrings if he just dropped the only thing he’s been so passionate about.

5 words to best describe them: gender-non-conforming emo child

My nickname for them: Himu, Tatsuya, Tatsu

[nfldunn]

     𝙸 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴—𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖎 𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖉     roswelltask 002     ( @rocketfm )

𝑂𝑅𝐼𝐺𝐼𝑁𝑆 & 𝐹𝐴𝑀𝐼𝐿𝑌.

Full Name:   Gunner Raleigh Dunn

Reason for name:   Mostly stereotypical toxic masculinity, Gunner’s father wanted a “strong” sounding name for his son, believing that it would make him strong.

Nickname(s):   Gun, Dunn, QB, Midas

Date of Birth:   November 1st, 1988

Age:  32

Gender + Pronouns:   Cis-Male, He/Him

Place of birth:   Rockport, Massachusettes

Parents:   Sandra Burns-Dunn & Brock Dunn

Siblings:   N/A

Relationship with family (close? estranged?):   Estranged. Only currently speaks to his cousin who lives in England, as far as biological family is concerned.

Pets:   N/A

𝑃𝐻𝑌𝑆𝐼𝐶𝐴𝐿.

Height:   6 feet, 1 inch

Build:   Athletic, Muscular

Nationality:   American

Ethnicity:   3/4 White, 1/4 Filipino / Spanish / Catalan / Basque / Chinese

Distinguishing Facial Features:   Jawline & Strong, Sometimes Messy Eyebrows

Hair Color:   Dark Brown

Usual Hair Style:   Messy, usually with a minimal amount of product because he runs his hands through it a lot.

Eye Color:   Dark Brown

Complexion (freckles, acne, skin tone, birthmarks, scars):   Lightly Tanned, Almost-Olive Skin. A few scars on his hands and also spread over his back and shoulder.

Disabilities (physical or mental, including mental illnesses):   Anger Issues & Intermittent nerve issues in his injured shoulder that can, at times, leave him in a sling from pain.

What do they consider their best feature?:   His Biceps

Worst they’ve ever been injured (what, how did it happen)?:   While the injury that ended his career was by no means the only time he’d been injured badly enough to put him in the hospital, it is the only injury that truly left him with a lasting impact. It was during an important game for the season, when, upon one of his teammates getting their hands on the ball, he’d made the decision to tackle a member of the opposing team because he was in the best position to do so, and save the ball from the other team. But the momentum from the tackle had sent them off the field, and upon realizing where they were heading, he’d shifted his and the other player’s position in the air so he took the brunt of the impact when they collided with something on the sidelines. The impact, mostly focused on his shoulder, effectively shattered the bones there, and he’d needed to be surgically pieced back together like a jigsaw puzzle.

𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐴𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐶𝐸.

Favorite outfit:   Decently tight jeans, white t-shirt, and a leather jacket

Glasses? Contacts?:   N/A

Personal Hygiene:   Two showers a day - one when he wakes up, and one after his daily workout. He also has a skincare routine that he does every day, twice a day.

Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?:   He doesn’t usually wear jewelry, but he does have his ears pierced. He has a large tattoo that covers most of his back of a tree - with an intricate root system beneath the “ground” that’s visible, that says “no tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” He also has a tattoo of a raven on his non-injured shoulder, with a dragonfly right next to it, and delicate script forming a bracelet around his left wrist that says “you say i killed you - haunt me, then.” because the man is a classical novel nerd. And, finally, he has a roman numeral ‘thirty two’ tattooed on his ribs, near his heart, for his jersey number.

What does their voice sound like?:   I’m not even gonna try to explain it, okay, it’s low and gravelly and y’all can listen to it yourself if you really wanna know. The mans straight up sounds like he’s got a sore throat 100% of the time.

Style of speech (loud, mumbler, articulate, etc.):   He generally speaks fairly quietly - loud enough to be heard, but generally on the quieter side, unless he’s pissed and starts yelling.

Accent?:   Classic New England accent. But he also has a tendency to drop the ‘g’s from the end of his words, in a more typical Southern habit.

Unique mannerisms/physical habits:   He has a habit of flexing his hands into fists whenever he’s thinking, but generally, he doesn’t have a ton of habits that are unique to him.

Left handed or right?:   He’s ambidextrous, meaning he can use both of his hands equally as well, and doesn’t have a particular instinct towards using either of them.

Do they work out/exercise?:   Almost obsessively. He works out every single day, and usually can’t be caught dead skipping a day.

𝐵𝐸𝐿𝐼𝐸𝐹𝑆 & 𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐸𝐿𝐿𝐸𝐶𝑇.

Known Languages:   English, French, Filipino, & Spanish

Zodiac:   Scorpio

Gifts/talents:   He has always been a very talented football player, a natural almost as soon as he’d started playing, and is also quite gifted at chess, though that’s something that no one really knows about him.

Religious stance:   Agnostic/Athiest, if not a bit antagonistic towards the idea of a higher power.

Political stance:   Liberal, but like with most things, he doesn’t speak of it in public, so no one would really know. Many people in the past assumed he was a conservative because of the sport he played, even though it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Pet peeves:   Quiet, easily intimidated people.

Optimist or pessimist:   Pessimist

Extrovert or introvert:   He has a “switch” he can turn on and off as the situation needs. He’s generally an introvert, but when put into a situation where being an extrovert would help, he can put on an act to become one without much struggle.

𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐼𝑀𝐴𝐶𝑌 & 𝑅𝐸𝐿𝐴𝑇𝐼𝑂𝑁𝑆𝐻𝐼𝑃𝑆.

Relationship status:   Single

Sexual orientation:   Bisexual

Ideal mate/qualities they look for in mate:   He generally gravitates towards stronger, more dominant personalities, though it’s been so long since he’s been in a relationship that it’s generally not something he even thinks about anymore. Someone who’s outgoing and can spar with his prickly mood swings is usually who catches his attention, though.

Ever been in love?:   Once, and while it ended amicably enough, it ruined his views on relationships.

What’s their love language?:   Both physical touch and gift giving.

Most important person in their life?:   It’d been his grandmother at one point in his life, but now that she has passed away, he doesn’t really have anyone - a bit of a lone wolf type.

𝑉𝑂𝐶𝐴𝑇𝐼𝑂𝑁.

Level of education:   College degree in Classic Studies, with an emphasis on Classic Literature

Profession:   Sports Reporter at Rocket Radio Station

Past occupations:   Professional Football Player

Dream occupation:   N/A

Passions:   Football, Reading, Chess

Attitude towards current job:   It keeps him occupied for a little every day, and is about as close as he’s comfortable getting to his past career, which he appreciates, but he’s not exactly passionate about it.

Spender or Saver? Why?:   He’s a little bit of both. He doesn’t have to worry about money, mostly due to smart investments back when he was famous, but he doesn’t necessarily go around just spending money to spend money. If he wants something, he buys it, and doesn’t really have to think much on it.

Which is more important – money or doing something they love?:   He’s never had to choose, because the thing he loved made him money - but if he had to choose, if he could only have one, he’d choose doing something he loved.

𝑆𝐸𝐶𝑅𝐸𝑇𝑆.

Phobias:   N/A

Life goals:   To fade into oblivion, now

Greatest fears:   Intimacy

Most embarrassing thing ever to happen to him/her:   Gunner, for the most part, has no shame - so he generally doesn’t find very much, if anything at all, embarrassing.

Something they’ve never told anyone:   His animosity towards his father had started forming at a young age, mostly culminating in screaming matches between the two when he was a teenager, and that was why he left Rockport for college and never even considered turning back.

Biggest regret:   Not trying to make a long distance relationship work with his high school boyfriend, when he left for college.

Compulsions:   N/A

Police/Criminal/Legal record:   Nothing that actually landed on a record, but he did spend brief stints in “Family House”, a place for kids (mostly deemed “out of control”) to go when they couldn’t manage to get along with their parents, essentially giving them a safe place to go outside of their home and to give both parents and child a break from the tension, as a substitute for the foster system, but he only ever spent a few days there at a time.

Vices:   Alcohol

𝑃𝑅𝐸𝐹𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑆.

Hobbies:   Chess

Favorite color:   Charcoal Grey

Favorite smell:   Motor Oil

Favorite food:   Steak and Fries

Favorite book:   Pride and Prejudice

Favorite movie:   Uncut Gems

Favorite song:   (I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew

Coffee or tea?:   Coffee

Favorite type of weather:   Thunderstorms

Most prized possession:   His collection of Super Bowl rings

Most used word or phrase?:   Fuck

[theaspiringwanderess]

The West Coast Trail; A Vancouver Island Adventure Of A Lifetime

Packing: Food/Clothes/Essentials | Booking: Reservations/Transport | Research | Facts | My Story | Start | Days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | Chez Moniques | Nitinaht Crab Shack

The West Coast Trail is one of the most, if not the most, iconic Canadian west coast adventure a hiker could ask for. It is a 75km test of both physical and mental endurance in one of the most stunning environmental settings you have ever seen. Not everyone that sets out for this great journey completes it, but those that do have a tale to tell for a lifetime and a forever bond with those they meet along the way.

Having completed this epic trail twice now, my approach is to blend a little bit of old and new into a (hopefully) wondrous tail that offers context, wisdom and insight to the journey, while describing the magical things you will experience and the challenges you will face. I’ve also prepared additional posts for your reading pleasure on Packing: Food/Clothes/Essentials and Booking: Reservations/Transport. So please, grab a hot cup of tea, throw on those comfy pjs and sit back and enjoy the read. 

Handy References and Information Material

Every great hike starts with research, especially this one! If you haven't heard of it yet, look up the famed book Blisters and Bliss: A Trekker's Guide to the West Coast Trail by David Foster and Wayne Aitken. This awesomely 80′s comic styled guide adds a little light-hearted humour to a highly detailed account of the WCT which is revised roughly every couple years. It offers both trekking options (north to south AND south to north!) and gives you all the step by step nitty gritty deets in between including history, objects of interest, geological features and safety tips! I suggest taking it with you and read about the section ahead each night. Also, opt to keep it in a safe pack pocket, don’t put it in a plastic bag (I did this my first time and sadly lost my copy to the inescapable moisture and mold).

Check out the West Coast Trail Facebook Page! This page is not manned by Parks Canada. However, it is a great place to meet other hikers, find someone looking to ride share, ask questions and for advice, learn about recent developments and important information (washed out bridges, danger sections, wildlife sightings or concerns... even hear about annoyed hikers picking up others garbage...not kidding lol).

Oh! And there is also a Women’s West Coast Trail Page!

Parks Canada Website. Duh, right?! But you may not realize that Parks Canada has some handy info regarding what to pack (and what not to!), emergency items, wildlife warnings, necessary fees, maps, tide tables, tips and more to make your hike a happy one. Check out the Planning For WCT page here.

You'll also find online a plethora of websites, blogs and articles dedicated to WCT info, tips, advice, and more. I encourage you to read a few personal accounts to get a real life feel of what others experience. Here are some of my favourites (don’t let the names scare you!), plus a very cool and scholarly article from UofBC on the effects of colonial-style tourism in the area and on the local indigenous tribes written in 2020. Fascinating read.

Hike The WCT (website)

Walking the wild coast : territory, belonging, and tourism on the West Coast Trail (UofBC Open Collection)

Lost On The West Coast Trail

How Not To Die On The West Coast Trail

The Facts

The West Coast Trail is 75 km long. That's on the map and, best as I can figure, relatively "as the crow flies". It does not account for the extra steps, the ladders, the climbing, the crawling, the descending, etc, you get the picture. Both times I've gone my fitbit has read almost double or more the distance in 'real ground covered'. For example, when they say its 5km from the Gordon River Trail Head to Thrasher Cove, my fitbit in both cases recorded over 12 km when all was said and done. When they tell you it takes on average 5-6 hours to do that stretch, and you're only covering 1km or less an hour, this is why. You will chuckle in the orientation, as many have, and think, "ya, if you're a SNAIL!", but you will soon realize it’s about the terrain and that you're essentially doing double or more the physical effort to cross it. The same is true for nearly all the trail, even the "easy parts".

Safety First - the majority of accidents and injuries occur in the first 13 kms on the south side of the trail, from Gordon River at km 75, to Camper Bay at km 62. The trail accommodates just over 7500 people a year. Of that, Parks Canada evacuates roughly 80-100 injured persons annually and Nitinaht villagers have claimed to ferry out 100-200 additional hikers off the trail as well, due to injury, misery, etc. It won’t be a bear or cougar that takes you out, it’ll be the wilderness itself. A fall from a wet log or slimy stone is the most common culprit, and it may not even be the fall itself, but what you land on. Sharp rocks, jabbing sticks, etc all cause serious injury. And it always happens when you're TIRED. Don't push yourself. Take a break, have a snack, don't go farther in a day than your body can handle. Better to be a day late than waiting 24 hrs in the bush with no morphine and a broken leg for a boat ride that surely will be agonizing. Just sayin' here...

The WCT historically was maintained for shipwrecked mariners. Many have lost their lives along this trail. I don’t understand how it doesn’t have its own ghost story yet! It has an amazing history with lots of ship wreckage to see along the way if you time the tides right.

Lastly, the temperate rainforest that engulfs the WCT is not only stunning but globally very rare, encompassing less than 1% of ecosystems across the earth. Here you will see plants, trees and animals that may not exist anywhere else on our planet. The Sitka Spruce for example is among not only the tallest trees in the world, but also the oldest, some 700-1000 years old. This means they have seen North America as it was before European Settlers touched it. They are revered by many and highly sought after by loggers, which often leads to conflicts. Many extremely unique animals also reside in the WCT, like the islands' black bears which are actually larger than mainland black bears with massive skulls and only one unique colour phase. The island is also home to cougars, Victoria's famous mini-deer and sea-wolves, the only wolves in the world that have adapted to life on a coastline, they call the Pacific Coast home. With a completely unique diet of seafood they are genetically different from mainland wolves and have also been known to swim in the ocean for many kilometers.

My West Coast Trail Story

Now, before we begin, I'll preface this by saying, don't mistake me for a pro; I am simply someone who has made it off the WCT twice [relatively] safely and lived to share my tale. If you are looking for expert advice I'd say check out the Parks Canada website or the Blisters and Bliss book. But if you are looking for a heartwarming and informative, real life account of the experience, you've come to a great place.

I am now amongst a lucky few that have had the enormous privilege to have hiked the West Coast Trail not only once, but twice in my lifetime thus far. I say thus far because this trail has such a special place in my heart I expect at some point I will likely attempt it again. It changed my life and has had an everlasting impact on the lives of those around me. I learned a lot about myself and even more about those closest to me. What I am capable of, the importance of preparation and planning, the bonds you create with people you meet along the way and the love of those that support you going and take care of things while you're gone. I simply couldn’t have done this without the support of my amazing husband, friends, parents and sister and my wonderful sister in law whom we stayed with this time. But most importantly I missed the encouragement and support of my mother-in-law who lived on the island and sadly has passed since my first trip. She and her friends played such an instrumental role in my first journey with my sister, buying us foods, housing us, driving us, and just overall being so excited to see us off, I truly missed her this time but I know she was there with me in spirit.

In this way the West Coast Trail is a life-shaping experience like no other. You will learn much about yourself, be in awe and hopefully inspired by the incredible natural world around you and you will meet fellow Canadians and global trotters and, in turn, become a part of their WCT story. Let me be amongst the first to congratulate you on this epic endeavor and wish you the happiest, and safest, of journeys and hopefully I can send you off a bit more well prepared for the adventure.

First Timers VS Second Timers

My experience as a first time WCT hiker was extremely different from my second expedition in every way possible.

The first time I hiked the WCT I went with my youngest sister Jenna. We had both hiked and camped before but this was a new experience and everything was raw, a bit scary, amazing and beautiful all at once. I think it just hit us both like a ton of bricks when we landed at the base of that first ladder across the Gordon River. Although Sharon had talked to me for months, mentally preparing me for the hike, when Jenna and I both looked up at the rest of our start group scaling that first beast, looming up from the small beach landing, I know we both had the exact same thought, like, "oh shit, this is for real...".

Why the WCT? Sharon, my good friend and co-worker, had previously attempted it before turning me onto it. Due to an unfortunate incident with her hiking companion, they had to turn in the towel. She has since rocked it twice more and was an absolute wealth of information, support and the wisdom that only an experienced female hiker, mom and athlete can be. Much of what I am sharing with you today began with her. She continues to inspire me every day with her ferocity and determination and boundless want for adventure.

At the time of my first hike in 2016, my mother-in-law lived on Vancouver Island and she and her best friend Jill had kindly arranged for us to stay at another friend's cottage just outside Port Alberni. The friend and her husband fed us well and the beauty of the setting was unimaginable. But the anticipation of what lay ahead weighed heavily on both Jenna and I and neither of us barely slept a wink. The next morning we had our last hot shower and flush toilet experience for the next 7 days and the 4 of us set out for the Gordon River Trail Head.

We piled into Jill’s car the following morning. The ride was long, on gravel switch back logging roads, but the supportive company made the nervous anticipation bearable. I feel like I did not appreciate the ride as much as I should have at the time, but a few 5 am bus rides (and much experience) later, I certainly cherish the thought my mother-in-law and Jill had put into making the beginning special for us both.

Since then, I've booked my island hike transports with the West Coast Trail Express bus. The folks there are super helpful and the experience has always been a good one. In 2018, a WCT facebook group was created which has made connecting with others looking for ride shares and doing the trail much easier AND more informative! You can read about this page and other research options at the top of this post if you missed them ;)

When 2016 saw Jenna and I land at Gordon River's Information Station, I was greeted with an amazing surprise... Sharon and Jackie (another friend) had pre-purchased for me a WCT t-shirt. I cried, there were no words. When 2021 saw Krista and I land at Gordon River's Information Station, I was greeted with a sense of the familiarity of the adventure and vicariously enjoyed the wonder of someone else now experiencing the trail for the first time... READY?!.. and INHALE... can you smell it..? the Adventure?! It's like greeting an old friend again, for the first time.

It's Like Those Choose Your Own Adventure Books, Where You Pick Your Ending...

Remember those..? Maybe..? When Starting the WCT, you can plan to start at either entry point, Gordon River to the south or Pacheena Bay to the north, or now even halfway at Nitinaht. There are advantages to all, so it just depends what is most appealing to you. Most people do the trail within a 6-8 day time frame. This gives a good balance of time vs pack weight. I always try to plan for an extra emergency day, just in case. Things happen here... Long stays requires more provisions and a heavier pack. Shorter stays (in my personal opinion) are extremely challenging, unless you have done the trail before, are very skilled in lightweight packing and are an expert hiker. I still wouldn't recommend it. Plus, if you're going that fast, you're rushing by so much, what's the point? If you've paid and taken the time to be here, enjoy it! That being said, when Jenna and I did the trail we were treated to watching marathoner and athlete Jen Segger run it in one day. ONE DAY. She currently holds the women's record for WCT completion at 13 hrs 44mins (as posted here on her page under 2016). Of course she had no pack and support runners with her and a camera crew. But as she ran by us I think both our jaws dropped. It was like watching Super Woman run by you and you were just lucky if her sweat spayed you as she passed by. 

When you start out, keep in mind your pack is at it's heaviest. Starting at Pacheena Bay entry point means you'll be hiking the easiest parts of the trail first. You'll make excellent time here and cover the most distance over the shortest number of days. Although all areas of the trail offer exquisite and unique beauty, in my opinion the north end is the most magical. Maybe because by the time I reach it Im half delirious and most certainly exhausted so the easier hike is a much welcome break. Both times I've hiked the WCT I have opted to start at the southern trail head point known as Gordon River.

Starting at Gordon River means that you get through the most difficult terrain right at the beginning, when you're freshest, well rested and eager to set out. You also have the added benefit of anticipating the terrain getting easier (rather than harder). To me, this is the most logical approach and why I prefer this route and honestly, there is just something that seems slightly disillusioning about expecting something to get harder along the way. When Jenna and I first made it up that initial ladder we came across several groups finishing their hike. One in particular stuck out, a group of three female friends. We passed the first two who were happy and chatting and weirdly gave us a (mild) warning to disregard their companion, who was somewhere behind them. Ok... sure, we thought. Then along came the third girl... muttering, swearing under her breath, we contemplated what she might do to her companions if she caught up to them and we joked about how that likely was the end of that friendship. 2016 was a much busier year, pre-covid and all, and we met so many more people, Canadians, Germans, Chinese and Auzzies! 

2021 though is the year of the Canadians! If you happen to head out on the WCT this year, although you will still experience a wide range of people (Canada is an extraordinarily diverse nation!), rest assured most currently reside within Canada. Hello Homies! It was, however, a much more muted WCT experience than my past one. Although the Parks staff assured me they have had lots of people come through (I asked!), and the online bookings are sold out, it seemed so much quieter day to day. At the time Krista and I arrived, Parks staff were still only doing outdoor basic debriefing, prior to which we were expected to watch an online information video covering the basics. This was in stark contrast to the very in depth orientation Jenna and I had to attend back in 2016. 

Fellow Canadians, Tsk Tsk...

The biggest difference I noticed that could be as a result of the minimized debrief is the amount of garbage. There is NO garbage removal on the trail. Parks staff DO NOT haul garbage out (its a remote wilderness, do you really expect garbage men??). The WCT is accessible by foot (as in, you hike in... for 75 km) OR by boat, the latter being weather and safety dependant in extreme occasions (ie emergency evacuation). At each campsite we stayed, hikers THIS year (the trail was closed 2020) have left copious amounts of garbage. It’s in the bear bins, on the trail, the beach, in the outhouses... it’s EVERYWHERE. The worst by far was Camper Bay with stinking tuna cans and bags in every bear bin and Cribbs Creek, where the garbage pile extended to a massive bottle collection BEHIND the bear bin.

Why do sites have bear bins in the first place? Because human food and waste smells amazing to BEARS! So we lock it away to keep it, and us, safe. This does not mean a bear can’t smell it, it just means they can’t access it. Now, what happens when food rots and gets stinkier...? Of course it's more enticing. This draws bears, and other animals, to the campsite, which puts your safety, and the safety of each camper, at risk. I have to give Krista major kuudos here because that girl dug in deep, cleaned someone else's mess at each site we stopped at and even hauled out other people's stinky gross trash. Please give her a round of applause for thinking about you because she deserves it. And as Canadians, seriously, we can do better right??

Da' Debrief

Apologies, now that’s out, let's get on. During our debrief we learned some important key points.

2021 has seen unprecedented amounts of animal sightings and encounters. Primarily bear and cougar. There has also been more daytime sightings of wolves, which is considered extremely rare. With the trail closed in 2020, lack of human presence has caused a larger wildlife presence. Be aware, practice safety, travel in groups. Groups are also being asked to accommodate single hikers to reduce risk.

There is a lot of maintenance to be done that wasn't able to be accomplished in 2020 due to the pandemic. Be prepared for washed out boardwalks, bridges and rotten boards. There is also fewer Parks staff to help with this upkeep. Luckily, local members of indigenous tribes, called the Trail Guardians, historically help in a huge way with this and you may even run into them on the trail! We saw their team arrive in their new boat leaving Walbran and at Pacheena we spoke to a Parks staff who's uncle is on the team. It's a small world here.

Following the debrief, the Parks staff escort you to the Gordon River ferry. The fellow here takes you across and plops you down on the small sandy beach, gathers up any hikers waiting for a ride back and heads off on his way. And there you are, left to stare at a huge ladder, really, the first of many.

up, Up, UP You Go!

In 2016 Jenna and I patiently waited at the end of the line to be the last two up the ladder and I tackled the climb with my 50lb pack in tow (phew!). In 2021 Krista and I were the only two standing on the beach, me revelling in my 'barely there' 38lb pack. The trail was our oyster!

The trek from Gordon River to Thrasher Cove is the most challenging and physically demanding on the trail. We left on the 11:30 ferry and finally walked into Thrashers Cove at 5pm - Yes, it DOES take that long. You actually don't see many ladders, a few here and there, but best believe you are still climbing! You scramble up rock faces, you squeeze past trees, you choose your footing extremely carefully and all the while up, up, UP you GO! Even over rocks and hard ground the trail is fairly well worn and easy to follow... most of the time. A short while in you come to the first bridge over the first creek. I have stopped here both times to fill up water bottles, but beware, the scramble back up is more difficult than it looks this year due to the fallen trees. Mountain Goat level scuttling expertise is advised! Much further along, not far from Thrashers, you'll eventually comes across the famed Donkey Engine! This year you will find it to be directly in your path, where as in 2016 I’m quite sure we looked down on it somehow from a higher elevation. Either way, it’s epic and makes for an amazing photo op! To think that thing was hauled by beast and hand up that hill still blows my mind.

Along the way we met a very nice gentleman named Wilson who had intended to hike the WCT with his son. Unfortunately, due to a graduation re-scheduling mishap his son was unable to come, but Wilson decided to soldier on. He was incredibly happy, thoughtful and polite and asked if we minded if he tagged along as we hiked. He regaled us with tails of his trails, immigration to Canada, his wife and family and much more; he was a fascinating fellow! With the wildlife warnings this year, Parks staff request that no one hike alone, if you can, allow a solo hiker to tag along so everyone can stay safe. We graciously obliged and enjoyed his company and great conversation for a couple more days until we parted ways at Nitinaht comfort camping.

Thrasher's Cove is an amazing, but small, campsite. I recall vividly in 2016 the trail down to the beach being extremely treacherous, with steep and slippery embankments and so many ladders! By comparison our 2021 descent seemed like a cake-walk. Here I was, boasting to Krista the challenge that lay before her, but when we got there it was literally a quick hop and skip down. She found anything I said after that to be hard to believe and was convinced I was totally embellishing. It really made me realize how MUCH the trail changes and what dynamic metamorphosis must have occurred in 6 years! I also realized how hard Trail Guardians and Parks staff must work to maintain all this constantly worn out infrastructure. It must a BEAST. Be warned, if you arrive to Thrashers too late in the day it will be tough finding a spot. If this happens to you, check out the south side of the beach, sometimes there's a bit more space there. Ironically, I have set up my tent in the exact same spot both times, right in front of the tiny triangle cave around the rock wall on the south side of the beach. I have claimed this spot now.

Knock, Knock, It's The Ocean!

This is also where knowing how to read your tide tables is extremely important. While camping on the beach you must pitch your tent above the high tide line. The high tide line is where you can see the sand was last wet on the beach. It's not where the water is when you arrive. Look for the wet point on the sand and keep your tent a few good feet above that. When Jenna and I first arrived at Thrashers, I was confident in my tide table reading skills; being from Alberta, I took the time to learn how to read them in advance. But, during the orientation the Park staff had warned our group that our first night was due to be the highest high tide of the year - intimidating to a couple prairie girls! And, which is also a thing if you read up on the moon cycle! (Actually there is a lot of news this year on the effects of the moon's impending orbital wobble on tides, its a fascinating read if you're interested!). So, naturally a bit cautious and overly leery of the horror stories of campers waking up to soaked tents in the middle of the night, my poor sister was worried sick. Exhausted but too afraid to sleep, I promised her I'd stay up till high tide to make sure we were safe. She soon passed out and I settled in reading my book. But the surf was loud and near, a thundering, crashing rukus with each wave and about 2 hours in my sister jolted straight up in her sleeping bag, scaring the ba-geezus outta me crying out 'IS IT HERE?! IS THE OCEAN HERE YET?! ", big-eyed I just stared, then broke out laughing; I settled her back down, reassured her we were safe, now passed the time of concern, and wiggled down into my own sack to drift off. It's still an inside joke to this day and once in a while we chuckle to each other about the time the ocean came knocking.

2021 brought me its own surprise when at 4am I awoke to an unusual scratching noise against our tent next to my head. We had wrapped our rain covers around our [empty] backpacks and snugged them up against the tent to stay dry and save space. Apparently the local otter family found them fascinating and decided to check them out on their morning stroll. An alarm clock certainly fit for the WCT. 

It's A Beach Walk, Not A Cake Walk

Leaving Thrasher's Cove you have two options! You can take the beach route if you time the tides carefully OR you can take the inland route. In 2016 Jenna and I sojourned the inland route. Although the inland hike was pretty, if I'd found the trek down to Thrashers tough, the trek back up would've been classed insane. Sharon’s favourite saying is, what goes down must go up. In 2021 Krista and I timed the tide, leaving at 7:30am, to take the beach route. Although we'd planned to avoid what turned out to not be a bad climb, I'd really wanted to see the famous sea caves! The sea caves themselves were nothing short of AMAZING. There is just no other word. I was so in awe that in my mind they seem to take up almost 3 days of our trip, not just half an hour on the second day.

Although we'd planned to aim for Cullite Creek Campground day 2, we hit a major snag. As we traipsed along, well after the sea caves, we came to a rocky sea shelf that rose high out of the water. As you look up, you might catch a glimpse of some buoys, which commonly mark the beach access to the trail and campgrounds. Thinking this was our access back onto the trail, as you must go inland from here to Campers, we headed up along the higher shelf. We passed an unusual 'Danger' sign. We looked around, but could not identify anything that seemed out of the ordinary for where we were. We kept on. We came to a similar sign on the rock, but again, failed to see what was obviously dangerous. Wasps? Bear den? Surge Channel? There was no fallen bridge, no down ladder. Everything seemed ok. We reached the buoys, and Krista lifted her leg to step over a small trickle of a water... That's when it happened.

Danger on the Trail...

Before she could even complete her step, both feet flew out from beneath her and her whole body, pack and all, smashed onto the rock shelf. She began rocketing like a she was on a pro waterslide down the embankment towards a 9 foot drop into the water pool below. I had the wherewithal to shout out 'grab a rock!', and in the 3 seconds that seemed like 3 hours, I had the presence of mind to ponder how I might explain this to her mother back at home and 4 year old son if things went sideways... but with a 38lb pack on myself and being a few feet behind, there was no way I could move fast enough to do anything but yell.

Luckily, mid-slide, she managed to grab a handhold just long enough to stop and get some footing. Crisis averted, but the damage was done. Wearing shorts, she was sporting some nasty road rash on her cheek and arm, but most of the damage was buffered by the hoodie she'd had tied around her waist. She was bruised, but she was lucky.

Feeling pretty roughed up, we opted to stay at Camper Bay instead and rolled in about 1pm where we washed and treated her ailing buttocks and gave her some much needed pain meds. Along came a few more groups and we felt a bit less sheepish learning 2 of them had also had the exact same experience. Pride slightly less wounded, we made some new friends for the chatter and laid back and chilled for the afternoon. On your parks provided trail map, you will see a small note in red pointing to BA 'B' (beach access B) that warns about a dangerous slope just past the surge channels after Owen Point. It's not kidding.

If you stay at Camper Bay, it's a lovely and large campsite with lots of room for everyone. However, it has a habit of getting very windy, like all the time, and the only time it's not is when the sun goes down. If you're early enough, grab one of the sheltered tent spots in the woods/taller grass along the creek side. It also has a rep for early morning rain and fog. Something about the geography here seems to create its own micro-environment. If you walk out along the beach at low tide and cross the creek to the north, you'll see some neat tidal pools and caves in the rock wall. In the one with the small pool of water you might see a single lonely fish with the pool all to himself. I hope one day the tide washes him in friend.

Reminiscing...

Ironically, day 2 in 2016 was also the day I had a mishap of my own. Tired and worn down, toddling  after Jenna across a log bridge the width of my car, I misstepped. My feet were somehow gone and in a second I found myself sitting on my ass, straddling the log instead of walking on it. I peered down into the 6 foot drop below. Completely in disbelief I suddenly realized Jenna was yelling at me "Are you OK?!" ... Yes! I was! I was ok. Nothing was broken, hurt or otherwise. But it was a wake up call. If you are tired, take a break, don't push on or try to keep up with someone faster. Only hike as fast as your slowest hiker and be patient. Take a breath and remember, the goal is no one dies out here... hopefully.

Gone Are The Days Of Legendary Mud And Tilting Ladders That Make You Poop ... Just A Little

The few days that followed are a bit of a blur. There's so much to see and so little blog space to include it all! We left Campers Bay on a foggy, rain mist morning at about 10am. Since we had to take the inland trail there was no worry about racing the tide on this stretch. We chatted with the couple we met the night before (Mat and Lauren from Calgary!). Everyone was a bit tired that morning.

Although we saw some mud, with a historic heat wave just prior to our trip in 2021, the legendary mud pits that the WCT has typically been known for were non-existent. In 2016 Jenna and I spent most of our inland trail time figuring out how to cross mud-holes, watching where each other stepped and trying not to fall in up to our armpits (I kid you not). This time, there was no mud and if you disagree with me, go again after it rains. I dare you.

This is also the section where we saw the most ladders, most notably through Cullite Creek, which was sadly such a trickle there was no need for the cable car, we just rock hopped across (with ease). We saw some really cool art done along the trail by the Guardians in the new bridge and log cuttings, some even signed their names! Have you tried making a curve with a chainsaw? I was impressed.

This section also has a neat and unique stretch of boardwalk that goes through a fragile wetland. Sections of the boardwalk were out, it looks easy, don't let it fool you!

A brand-spank'in new suspension bridge calls Logan Creek home! In 2016 Jenna and I had to climb a harrowing series of crazy, half-tilted ladders to get to the bridge. I recall my favourite as being the third ladder in a tower, that was so amazingly on a 10 degree angle sideways, and scaling it with my 50lb backpack. It was all I could do not to roll off and meet a perilous end at the bottom of the gully. Today the beautiful new bridge almost disappointed with the ease it took to cross it. NO more ladder climbing, you just walk up the stairs and off you go!

We arrived in Walbran Campsite at 5:30, the creek is perfect for swimming if it’s warm enough. Several groups had a run-in here with a couple breaking the fire ban policy. People on the WCT take this seriously, keep in mind if you start a forest fire here, there’s no where to go and it puts the homes of indigenous peoples at severe risk too. We all simmered, had a tasty meal, chatted with our travel companions, explored the beach a bit and turned in for the night, thoroughly exhausted.

We spent the next two days going from Walbran Campsite to Cribbs and then to Tsuisiat Falls. Due to a problematic and confrontational cougar in 2021 there is no camping permitted along the trail between kilometer 34 to 38. So, naturally, your last stop prior to Nitinaht Narrows is Cribbs Creek.

The Stretch from Walbran to Cribbs is basically all beach walk. The beach is lovely, but don’t let 'beach walk' fool you. It’s just as challenging to walk in sand as it is through forest... and you thought it was going to be easier, didn’t you?! It's like walking through snow without snowshoes and being 30lbs heavier...what a Canadian thought. But! Fear Not! along this stretch is also the famed Chez Moniques burger stop and the Carmanah Lighthouse! The lighthouses are closed to the public this year due to covid, but it’s still a sight to behold as it beams brightly through the fog.

The Legend That Is Chez Moniques

In 2016 Jenna and I made a critical, but common, food planning error. We packed meals based on what we felt was healthy and would give us energy, without accounting for taste. In other words, we packed a lot of dry lentil-based meals that tasted awful and took forever to cook and I couldn't have forced down my throat if you had paid me. I love beans, but dried lentils on the trail... yech! You can read more about our cautionary tale in my food section, and if you're uncertain about foods to pack, it’s worth the read!

So, sufficed to say, that year we had the absolute pleasure of experiencing Chez Moniques in it's prime. It was incredible. Here we were, in the middle of nowhere, exhausted, starving (I was anyway lol), and run off our feet. And out of nowhere arose this mirage of a tent with burgers, fancy meals, peach ciders and more! My god it was intense. We kicked off our boots, stuffed our faces, chatted with Monique, the legend herself, and I protectively cradled the best Okanagan Cider that had ever touched my lips while we waited for the tide to recede. It was magical.

Sadly, between 2017-2018 both Monique and her husband tragically passed away. It was a blow felt around the world by all those who had passed through their doors and experienced their generosity. There is a lovely documentary attributed to their memory here. Today, in 2021, following a devastating 2020 with no business, Monique & Peter's grand-daughter, Katrina Knighton is trying to carry on the dream though the restaurant will be renamed as Nytom. We heard lots of chatter and some hikers did actually see her in person, but unfortunately there are some struggles, including keeping up supply levels, which they are walking in for 1.5 hours (!). We missed them this year, as did many hikers, and I was so sad Krista would not experience it. But! They are rumoured to have services most often morning and around 5pm. Katrina is also very active on the WCT Facebook page, so feel free to drop her a line there for more info!

We arrived in Cribbs Creek at about 2:30pm. It was the end of our Day 4 and what a campsite it was. Lovely soft sand under your toes and beautiful beach. There is nothing here for swimming but we had the most amazing sunset view on the rock shelf that night. Although it didn't rain while we were on the trail, this was the first time we'd seen the sun since we left Victoria.

The Magical Beauty Of Nitinaht And  The Crab Shack Of Your Dreams

We left Cribbs Creek about 9am and stuck to mostly inland trail. Other hikers going the opposite way had warned it was very overgrown but we honestly had no problems with it; it was a little underused, but keep in mind they hadn't seen the south side yet. We made excellent time and arrived in Nitinaht Narrows at 1:09pm. The journey is absolutely stunning. There is a new bridge over the creek at Dare Beach and the forest walk is lovely. The bridge over the Cheewhat River offers great views also. You cannot take water from the river itself but after the bridge there is a freshwater stream marked by a wooden sign if you need it and soon you will come across an old Cabin. When you arrive here, turn around and see the new and amazing Ditidaht home across the river. It has changed a bit, likely with the drought, but in 2016 Jenna and I referred to this stretch as "the place that Disney films are based on". Ivy clung all the way up the trees and just as you wrapped your head around that, the trail winds it's way through a silent coniferous forest where you could almost hear a pin drop, followed by a magical wetland lake with flowering lilly pads the size of your head. But none of this compares to Nitinaht Narrows.

As you walk along the trail, just a few short minutes past the lake, the path will turn from boardwalk to dirt and as you round the bend you will suddenly walk, with no warning, right into Nitinaht! It has caught me by surprise each time. We strolled down the walkways to the dock, left our packs safely on the bench and made our way to the Crab Shack. The blue-green waters of Nitinaht Narrows is something to behold. When you peer over the side of the wharf you see schools of small fish so thick you could almost surely touch them. When I dream of paradise, I dream of here.

Nitinaht Narrows was only recently made an 'official' entry and exit point by Parks Canada in 2014, you can read more about it here. But prior to this, older community members witnessed the inception and rise of the WCT as we know it today and watched it grow. Ferrying hikers across the narrows has become a task handed down from generation to generation. Connected to the ocean, it has tides about 10 minutes apart and historically, many years ago, hikers did drown trying to swim across before getting swept out to sea, naively misjudging the calm-looking waters. About 3 kms past the narrows, the Ditidaht band offers comfort camping options to those looking to settle and day hike the trail or in need of a break from the grind. This is marked with a sign and you will see it on the trail. The crab shack itself has also recently built new cabins as well which start from roughly $100/night (houses 4 bodies and you use your own sleeping bag) and goes up to ($200 and $300) where bedding is provided. They also offer tent platforms for a modest $30/night fee.

The Nitinaht Crab Shack is owned and operated by the Edgar family. They are kind, light-hearted, hospitable and will make you the best meal you have ever had. They work extremely hard and have a great sense of humour. A family member told me the previous day they had served a group of 20 lunch all at the same time! Hippie-Doug was their ring leader that day and he manned the ferry, that took us across the narrows to complete our journey, along with a sweet old chocolate lab you will see in many a hikers' photos. If you catch him at a slow moment he might share a joke and and story with you. But don't leave until you have warmed yourself thoroughly by the wood stove, had the best meal this side of Canada and picked up some treats for the road. The ferry finishes for the day at 4:30pm and then Hippie-Doug settles in for a much deserved break, a meal, and maybe a drink, so don't be late!

Tsu-Tsu-Tsusiat!

We left the warming comfort of the Nitinaht stove at about 3pm and headed on our way. We saw our new friend and traveling tag-along Wilson off at the Ditidaht Comfort Camping site and continued on, arriving at Tsusiat Falls by 6:30pm. You can't see the falls from the beach, but if you reach the hole in the wall at Tsusiat Point, you're just minutes away.

In 2016, the first 5 days of our hike Jenna and I had the most amazing weather. On our 5th day, after the crab shack, while the sun beamed a balmy 25+ C, we ditched our packs on a slope of sand with gentler waters between Nitinaht and Tsusiat Point and ran into the ocean up to our knees, jumping the waves and being astonished at their strength. We laid on the beach afterwards and soaked in the sun. When I think of my little sister, I often think of this carefree day and smile. Enjoy the journey as you go, or you’ll miss the best parts.

Tsusiat Falls is a popular campground. When we arrived the beach was packed. According to 2021 Parks regs, you can only stay one night here to minimize environmental impact. The beach was very different from what I remembered, but the falls were ever glorious. We threw on bathing suites and while Krista enjoyed the brief sun, I took a dip in the beckoning water.

The next morning, with Krista not feeling hot, I'd aimed to get up early and walk back to the Hole In The Wall with my Nikon DSLR camera. When we passed by the day before it was high tide and the Hole was under sea water. However, after a delay, Krista decided to come with me. We packed up, left our bags at Tsusiat and strolled back to the hole together, and a better decision it was. I’d watched a group ahead of us pass through an hour ago, but beneath their tracks you could make out a fresh set of cougar prints. Since low tide was at 10am that morning, that means the tracks were very recent and could only have been made since the water receded. Food for thought.

Darling Bears You Might Be Cute, But I Don't Want To Snuggle

The last 2 days on the WCT (or your first two, depending where you start) are the easiest to hike and where you make up the most ground. We'd intended to land at Darling River Campsite (approx km 14), which from Tsusiat (approx km 25) would make it about an 11 km day. Most of our fellow travellers whom we had become familiar with were aiming for Michigan Creek though, which would add 2 km to our 6th day, but save us that on our 7th and final day out. We decided to see what the day held and if we arrived at Darling early we might continue on. WELL.... what the day held was not entirely what we expected.

In 2016 Jenna and I walked the beach hike between Tsocowis Creek and Michigan Creek. It had started to rain the night before and by morning was a light, but steady, downpour. We donned our rain gear but by noon, and halfway through our distance, it was clear that Jenna's rain jacket was not waterproof. Though she had tested it prior to leaving, it turned out not to be up to WCT-level rain. As we continued on poor Jenna got wetter and wetter and by the time we reached Michigan, she was soaked through to the bone. Water pooled in her boots, and she shivered so hard she couldn't help me with the tent. Realizing this could get worse quickly, I popped the tent, got her changed and snugged into her sleeping bag ASAP. Then I worked on adding a tarp. When the shivering stopped we got a warm meal into her and passed our time taking turns winding up our emergency radio and trying to maintain the faint signal from a long forgotten US talk station till darkness fell. It poured the entire next day as well for a total of over 24 hours straight and our photos at the Pacheena lighthouse are in plastic emergency ponchos.

In 2021 Krista and I opted for the inland trail as we'd previously made better time this way. There is lots to see here, another Donkey Engine and a rusty old grader, and I absolutely love the Billy Goat Bridge. The trail threw us for a bit at Tsocowis Creek, there, phantom branch-offs seemed to lead off and abruptly stop. You have to go down the ladders to continue the inland trail portion (OR access the beach). However, just passed Orange Juice Creek, it was quite clear this section of trail was not well used recently... by people anyway. It was eerily dark, overgrown and passed by what looked like long lost abandoned campsites in caves along the rock wall. As we passed by we heard something stir in the dim light, knocking over an old cup, and we nervously quickened our pace. We began to see pile after pile of fresh bear scat, some so fresh that by the time we reached Darling we figured we must be just behind it. Making a lot of noise we made our way to the beach and relief washed over us as we recognized people half a km ahead... our fellow Albertans, Mat and Lauren! But when they stopped suddenly and started to back up we knew something wasn't right.

Just ahead of them on the beach was our bear. And big guy he was! They figured a lone male. They managed to scare him off and once we caught up the 4 of us made our way as a group to Michigan Creek just down the beach where we figured there was relative safety in numbers.

Bitter Sweet Goodbyes

Our last day from Michigan to the Information Station at Pacheena was a super short one. We were the last hikers to leave Michigan at 8am and among the first ones (ironically) to reach the Parks office at 11:01am. The path is very well maintained and an easy hike. You'll also see a lot of day hikers here, many with dogs. Along the way are some cool sights you won't want to miss, so don't be too quick to rush out. The abandoned dirt bike isn't going anywhere fast anymore, but be sure to check out the sea lion rock just passed km 10. You may even hear them from the trail! Just before the sea lions you'll also pass by the Pacheena Lighthouse. Again, due to covid, you cant access the grounds but you can totally snap a quick pic! The area has so much bear activity Parks Staff joke about running 'bear daycare' here so be vigilant. Two wonderfully enthusiastic young ladies we met along the way carried an amazing tune; Im sure they must've charmed away any "would be" encounters.

In 2016 there was no km 1 sign on the trail and in 2021 there was still no km 1 sign lol. Both times I raced past km 2 and then later wished I'd taken a pic with it. You'll want it as proof! We walked the very last km along the beach, where firm sand makes for easy going. There were bear sightings of a mother and cubs here just before we arrived. We missed them, but were lucky enough to get some great foot-print photos. The very last bench you'll see on the trail is emblazoned with the word 'PARKS'. We sat here for an eternal minute and took some photos. As we strolled towards the Information station I couldn't believe it was over again so quickly.

Looking back, even after time number two, it feels more like a dream. The first time I walked off the trail in 2016 I eagerly anticipated a hot shower, was thoroughly disappointed at finding I had no quarters for to pay for one and I spent the 5 hour bus ride home starving and trying to sleep on a roller coaster. Perhaps not such a glorious end, but I realized I had achieved something few people would in their life time and of that I was SO proud of Jenna and myself. We did it.

When I arrived back at work Sharon had the most glorious little bouquet of flowers for me and she glued tiny cut out flags of all the major trail milestones to skewer sticks throughout. It brought tears to my eyes.... she told me this, "for a while, you will think to yourself, I am NEVER going back to that EVER again. And then, slowly, you will forget all the bad parts and the thought will creep in... maybe, perhaps, I might try it again... and you will find yourself looking it up once more". And she was right, I did. And I am so glad I did... I might even do it again.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #28: Alexander

Welcome back to Fate and Phantasms! Today we’re building everyone’s second favorite (or most, idk how that drama working out) person named Alexander, the Great! Iskandar Lily is a bad-ass kid with a bad-ass horse, so this build will be part Cavalier, part Oath of Glory Paladin. 

As always, a spreadsheet for the build can be found here, and there’s a level-by-level breakdown under the cut!

Background and Race:

Alex the Great technically has some god blood in him, but you can’t really access it while you’re a kid, so Human it is. That being said, you are pretty great at being a human, so why not be a variant too? This means you get +1 in Charisma, because he’s a precocious little tyke, and Dexterity, because he doesn’t sit still. You also get one skill proficiency, and you won your horse by noticing how much it doesn’t like its own shadow, so you’ve got a lot of Perception. Finally, pick up Mobile as your bonus feat. With this, your speed is increased by 10′, you can ignore difficult terrain while dashing, and if you make an attack against someone they can’t hit your with an opportunity attack. Those first two won’t matter much by level 5 (spoilers!) but that last bit might still be useful, I don’t know exactly how this and mounted combatant works when combined (more spoilers).

You’re most famous as a conqueror, but you haven’t even started soldiering yet, so you’re still a Noble. This gives you proficiency in History, because you’re a part of it, and Persuasion, because you’re just goddamn adorable.

Stats

First, put your highest score into Charisma. You literally have two skills based on how charismatic you are, so you’re naturally pretty good at it. Second is Dexterity; you’re still a kid, so you can run and tumble around like no one’s business. After that is Strength- you have been trained in swordplay by this point, but you’re not swole just yet. Fourth is Constitution; you’re a growing boy, your bones probably heal pretty easily. Finally, put your last stats in Wisdom and Intelligence. You’re actually pretty sharp, but you are still a child. And also we don’t really need those stats.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: Your godly bloodline might not be enough to qualify you for Aasimar status, but you can still pull some strings to become a paladin. First level paladins get Divine Sense, letting you see extraplanar entities trying to sneak up on you, and Lay on Hands, giving you a little sack lunch from momma Olympias that you can share with your party if you want.

2. Paladin 2: Second level paladins get a Fighting Style (yours is Dueling btw, makes your shortsword super deadly), Spellcasting (using charisma as your casting ability), and a Divine Smite (burn spell slots for extra damage). Surprisingly, there’s zero smite options that involve lightning damage, but maybe you could talk to your DM about changing that. When you start slinging spells, you have first level slots, so I’d suggest looking at spells like Compelled Duel and Heroism so you can be like your heroes in the Illiad as well as Thunderous Smite, since it’s the closest you have to a lightning sword with rules as written.

3. Paladin 3: Third level paladins have Divine Health, making them immune to disease. They also take up a sacred oath to which they dedicate their lives. You’re following in the footsteps of great heroes, making you a shoe-in for the brand new Oath of Glory from Theros. Glory Paladins gain oath spells that are always prepared, starting with Guiding Bolt and Heroism at this level. You also get two Channel Divinity options that can be used once per short rest. Peerless Athlete can be used as a bonus action, and for 10 minutes you have advantage on athletics and acrobatics checks, a doubled carrying capacity, and an extra 10′ of jump distance on both high and long jumps. Inspiring Smite is also a bonus action, and after divinely smiting someone you can use it to give 2d8 + your paladin level temporary HP split up amongst any number of creatures within 30′ of you; because you’re just so great that people want to keep fighting next to you.

4. Paladin 4: At fourth level, you get your first ASI. Grab the Mounted Combatant feat, giving you advantage on attacks against unmounted creatures smaller than your horse, the ability to redirect attacks at your mount at you, and evasion for your mount. As you’ve probably figured out, those abilities don’t matter at this level because you still don’t have a mount. Don’t worry though, you just have to hang in there for a level. It’s this kind of foresight that made you Lord of Asia.

5. Paladin 5: At fifth level, you gain an extra attack per action, as well as 2nd level spells. This includes the ever important Find Steed spell that lets you summon a celestial warhorse to act as your Bucephalus. As a glory paladin, you also gain new oath spells. Magic Weapon does exactly what it sounds like, making your weapon magical with a +1 bonus to attack and damage, because if you can’t make it electric you can at least make it really cool. Enhance Ability gives one creature (or two, if you target yourself while riding) advantage on a saving throw of your choice, as well as 2d6 temporary hit points if you chose Constitution, 2x carrying capacity if you chose strength, and zero falling damage from heights of 20′ or less if you chose dexterity. Honestly, the fact that you don’t have imperial privilege strikes me as pretty weird, given your freaking huge empire. Just don’t tell Nero that you got this.

6. Fighter 1: Now you may have a horse, but that doesn’t mean you’re good at riding it. To fix that, we’ve gotta take a detour. First level fighters get another Fighting Style, so grab Defense for extra AC. You also get a Second Wind, letting you regain health as a bonus action.

7. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, letting you tack an extra action onto your turn once per short rest. Show that action economy who’s boss with four attacks in a single round.

8. Fighter 3: At third level, fighters get their subclass. As a cavalier you’re Born to the Saddle, giving you advantage against being thrown off your mount. Falling off your mount for less than 10′ also doesn’t cause falling damage, and mounting or dismounting Bucephalus only takes 5′ of movement. You can also apply an Unwavering Mark to enemies you hit. This mark lasts until the end of your next turn, and forces the creature to have disadvantage on any attack made against someone who isn’t you while they’re within 5′ of you. If they do attack someone else, you can make an extra attack on them as a bonus action the next turn. The attack is made with advantage, and you add half your fighter level to the damage. You can mark creatures an unlimited number of times, but can only make the attack a number of times equal to your strength modifier per long rest.

9. Fighter 4: Use your ASI to round out your Dexterity and Strength scores.

10: Fighter 5: You would gain an extra attack this level, but you already got one as a paladin.

11. Fighter 6: User your next ASI for more Dexterity, meaning more damage and AC.

12. Fighter 7: Seventh level cavaliers learn a Warding Maneuver, letting you react to anything within 5′ of you getting attacked. You can add 1d8 to their AC if you’re wielding a weapon or shield, and if the attack still hits, they have resistance to the damage. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your constitution modifier per long rest. You’re just a swell guy, helping your friends out like that.

13. Paladin 6: Back in paladin levels, you gain an Aura of Protection, adding your charisma modifier to any saving throw made by an ally within 10 feet of you. You’re just so great that even a fireball doesn’t seem like that big a deal when you’re around.

14. Paladin 7: As a glory paladin, you gain an Aura of Alacrity, adding 10 feet of movement to your speed, as well as the speed of any creature that starts their turn within 5′ of you (hint: this includes your horse). Between this and mobile, you almost don’t even need your horse (jk, you need your horse a lot. Make sure he knows what an important part of your life he is).

15. Paladin 8: Use your next ASI to max out your Dexterity for more damage, AC, and sick horseback riding tricks.

16. Paladin 9: Ninth level paladins get third level spells, including your oath spells Haste and Protection from Energy. Both of which will make Bucephalus even cooler than he already is, a mighty feat in itself. Some other spells to check out around this level are Elemental Weapon, the only way to get lightning damage on your sword with rules as written, and Dispel Magic, the Gordian Knot cutting of spells.

17. Paladin 10: As a tenth level paladin, you’re so calm and collected that you and friendly creatures within 10′ of you can’t be frightened.

18. Paladin 11: You now have Improved Divine Smite, adding 1d8 of Radiant damage to all weapon attacks you make regardless of spell slots burned.

19. Paladin 12: You toughen up a bit as you age, so use your last ASI for more Constitution.

20. Paladin 13: Your capstone level brings you fourth level spells, including your oath spells Compulsion and Freedom of Movement. For normal spells, you can use Death Ward to cheat two deaths for the price of one, if you cast it on yourself and Bucephalus. You can also find a greater steed at this level if you really want, but that kind of defeats the whole point of this build.

Pros: You are very mobile, both on and off your horse, and you can spread that goodness around to the rest of the party as well. You’re also great at being on a horse, with plenty of skills to protect your mount and make yourself (and it) greater.

Cons: Being on your horse isn’t necessary, but it is a big part of your build, and there are some situations you just can’t bring a horse with you. You also don’t have much in the way of ranged attacks, so flying or faster enemies can be a hassle. Finally, unlike rangers, paladin’s mounts don’t get better with leveling, so at higher levels you may find yourself pumping more healing and protection into Bucephalus than other members of your party. I totally agree with that decision mind you, but the other party members might get jealous.

[threadofdestiny]

Anonymous

- I've decided to work on side story. This time it's a story about Okiawa from Haikyuu: D Let's see how well I'm getting on :D

Oikawa x Oc

Part 1

The bookmark

Third person / Himawari, Namine's POV.

As a child, Himawari, Namine had learned, that fairy tales always started with an 'Once upon a time'. Often such stories were about helpless princesses, who had to be rescued by their princes in shining armor, until they would finally live happily ever after. Those charming boys would sweep their fair lady's of their feet, with their dashing looks and strong physique.

Quite superficial if someone would have asked the young girl nowadays. She had never understood how one could act like a damsel in distress. After all, Namine had always been a very independent person since she could remember. She was not a petty, helpless girl who needed a handsome boy, who thought that she was in need of a hero, who had to save her from any dreary fate. On the contrary, she actually, was good in solving her own problems and by all means had a very normal and completely relaxed life so far. So she couldn't complain at all.

She was born in Miyagi, in Japan and lived there with her loving, hard-working father for as long as she could remember. They had a good relationship, even if he spent a lot of time at work. But, hey, that only helped to form her into the very independent young girl she was today.

Of course, like any adolescent teenager, she had had to deal with the day-to-day difficulties that growing up had brought with it. Puberty was a bitch after all. She had to learn how to make friends, to deal with disappointments, to cope with the physical and psychological changes of her mind and body and how to somehow find oneself in all of this disturbing chaos. She had to learn what she felt to be right and wrong, to whom she wanted to confide and what she hoped for from her future self.

Well, at the current age of 17, she felt that she was actually well on the way to solidifying herself. Sure, maybe she was sometimes too quick to judge other people and had the tendency to pigeonhole them. Often during her worst times, she didn't like to show her true feelings, even in front of her closest friends and family. She didn't like being ripped out of her comfort zone and was a bit overly cautious at times. Better to be safe than sorry was her motto after all.

Namine was not very popular in highschool and stuck her nose most of her time a little too deep into science fiction novels, to really care for all the superficial drama around her. Maybe she was a bit stuck up in her own nerdy way, for thinking that she was better than most of her peers. After all she couldn't look into someones head, to really know what was going on inside of others, but who was actually perfect? The important thing was that she was satisfied with her life, wasn't it?

She knew how to distance herself from drama as much as possible and mostly swam under the radar of the cooler part of her fellow students, even if she occasionally experienced a few awkward dropouts. Nowadays she was easily overlooked, inconspicuous, no risks involved. She lived a predictable life. Just the way she liked it.

In junior high she had actually been one of the cooler kids herself, hiding herself and her nerdy interests behind a pretty facade. But that had only made sure that she had to experience how shallow and selfish the people around her could be. Especially athletes and the peers who were drawn to such people...

Sure, it was probably not fair to lump every single one of them together, but those were the experiences she had made and no one had yet been able to teach her better.

With the start of her time at her high school she had decided that she didn't want to be a part of it anymore, had clearly distanced herself from such people and had a much more relaxed life since then. Those years were much quieter and far less dramatic. All she had to do was staying away from people who loved to be popular and everything else would be staying the same. She was pretty sure of that. She didn't need those people anyway. She may not have many friends, but she had some really close ones. Even if they didn't necessarily share all of her interests, or were not as preoccupied with the same life questions as she was sometimes. She really do care and would always be there for them, because despite all of her not so charming quirks, she was a really kind and gentle soul who cared more about the well-being of her friends than about her own.

But sometimes she wished, that she had someone in her life with whom she could discuss even the most uncomfortable and weird topics. A person who shared her interest in science fiction and dealt with her and her sometimes really stupid train of thoughts. A person to whom she could show all her weaknesses and strengths without being judged. Someone she could dare to completely open up to. Not in a friendly way, however, no! She wanted something more. Something deeper. Not someone who things she had to be saved, but someone who was at eye level with her.

But even if she had not yet found such a person among her current circle off riends, it was clear to her that she would also not find this person among the famous people of her school, so she really didn't have to look there, right?

But who knows? Sometimes things turn out differently than expected.

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"God, I am through! The classes today were particularly exhausting!", Namine's best friend, Mikawa Ayame, grumbled, while she stretched her back extensively. The dark-haired girl next to her hummed in confirmation as they strolled down the hall together, in order to get to the stairs that led to the first floor. A faint smile crept onto the quiet girl's lips, as she listened how her blonde friend continued to complain about their classes. Math in particular. "I really don't get it. How can someone be good in math? Mr. Fukushima is going to kill me! I swear!", she rambled seamlessly.

Shrugging, Namine's gaze lowered to the well used book, which her arms pressed gently against her chest, while she zoned out of their small conversation for a brief moment. Her light blue eyes traced the lines of the small piece of her colorful bookmark that peeked out of the sand-colored pages, but it was impossible to see what kind of motif was drawn on the laminated paper, from her point of view. "I don't know, Aya-chan.", Namine responded half heartly, knowing full well, that the both of them knew, that she was quite good in the subject. Ayame snorted softly and gave her a somber look.

The corridor was full of students who were either enjoying their break or taking their time after their classes had ended, to get their individual tasks done, before their extracurricular activities are going to get started. Looking up again Namine and her friend avoided two soccer players who rushed past them and giggled when they were chided by a passing teacher for running though the halls. "Hah, serves them right!", the blonde girl joked, before she fell into a comfortable silence. After a brief moment, Namine's gaze wandered from the well-filled corridor to Ayame in order to look at her questioningly. "You are going to be busy with the newspaper club, right?", she asked, changing their topic smoothly. Her friend nodded and grinned, while she replied with a new found motivation: "Yes, come along, too. You haven't signed up for any of the extracurricular activities yet. I think you might really like it.", she suggested after confirming her friend's question. Namine shrugged her shoulders thoughtfully, before she carefully answered: "Maybe another time. I wanted to go straight to the library. I still need a copy of the book that we have to read in english and I wanted to see if they had it there."

A pout formed on Ayame's lower lip, ready to debate against her best friend, when the squeaking of some random girls on the lower floor caught their attention. Curiously, the two friends strolled down the stairs, to find a cluster of female peers, who had gathered around a young man who went to one of their parallel classes. He was wearing a volleyball tracksuit with the school insignia imprinted on it. Like a Superstar, he stood casually in front of his audience, while he was grinning mischievously at his female companions, listening quite satisfied to their praises.

It was Oikawa Tooru, Captain of the Aoba Johsai Volleyball club. One of the greatest heartthrob's of their school. Namine really had no idea why everyone was making such a fuss about him. Well, yeah he was quite handsome with his chocolate brown eyes and windswept hair, but she found his fake manner incredibly unsympathetic. However, the girls around him doesn't seem to share her opinion at all.

"Oikawa-kun, you are so cool!"

"Oikawa-senpai, I baked cookies for you!"

"O-Oikawa-senpai, I'll keep my fingers crossed for your next game!"

The high voices echoed through the corridor of the first floor and reached Ayame and Namine, who just committed to descend the last few steps of the staircase. The dark-haired young woman rolled her eyes at the scene that transpired in front of her. Really now, how could someone hang on a guy's sleeve like that? It was incredibly silly and somehow quite self-degrading how each of these girls were trying to get his attention, by batting their long eyelashes at him. Didn't they have any dignity? Urgh, she really didn't like athletes and their little lap dogs... they were just so annoyingly ridiculous.

Quite humored the two friends watched the scene in front of them, as the young man thanked his admirers with a charming smile on his full lips. Namine clicked her tongue, when she saw how the girls giggled coquettishly at the Volleyball captain, looking at him like starry eyed puppies. A little further away some other guys in the same tracksuits leaned against the walls in a cool manner. They seemed to be waiting for their occupied friend. Two of the three boys grinned playfully and made some frivolous gestures to each other, but the third seemed rather annoyed and impatient, while he kept throwing his volleyball into the air, before catching it again shortly afterwards.

Loosing her interest, Namine turned to her friend and gave her a brief smile before raising her hand in goodbye. "Well... See you tomorrow, Aya-chan!", she mumbled with a soft smile on her lips. The two hugged each other before they broke away. Giggling, Ayame squeezed Namine's fore arm, before they parted from each other. "Please humor me and think about it, okay Nami-chan? The doors of the newspaper club are always open for you. You could be our little star photographer!", the blonde girl took up their previous topic one last time, rising her hands in front of her eyes to mimic taking pictures, before she started to leave in the opposite direction as her friend. "Okay, okay. I'll think about it!", Namine answered loudly, as she took a few steps backwards and waved her hand one last time.

Turning on her heel, she sighed quietly, before she quickly headed for the library. When she turned around, she had fixed her gaze on the floor, circling the small crowd of girls in order to avoid them. Unfortunately she hadn't seen how one of the Volleyball players had started to break away from the wall on the other side, while she rushed past the group of female students. Before either of them could react properly, they accidentally crashed into each other. With a thud, her book landed on the pale linoleum floor, while the young man had also lost his grip on his volleyball, which rolled a few feet away from them. The dark-haired girl looked up in surprise and raised her light blue eyes towards his dark ones, which were also looking down at her in astonishment. She immediately recognized him as another boy from one of her parallel classes. It was Iwaizumi Hajime. Perplexed, she watched his eyebrows contract slowly, while his lips curled in annoyance, waking her up from her state of shock.

"Ah, sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going", Namine mumbled quite embarrassed, while she bowed apologetically in front of the guy, before she averted her eyes to look for the ball, which had been lost because of their collision. When she discovered it, however, it was already picked up by that teammate with the pinkish brown hair. "No problem!", the other person answered grumpily, while he leaned down to pick up the book that Namine had accidentally dropped. Her gaze snapped back to him, as she took a step away. The serious expression on the dark-haired boy's face took on a slightly softer look for a brief moment, but he couldn't quite drive the annoyed sting out of his eyes, while he held her object up to her, as he kept looking past her to his buddy, who still seemed to be busy. She gratefully accepted her book, before she decided to walk past him with another apologetic smile on her lips. She had seen, that he wanted to say something more, but she was a bit quicker: "Sorry again. I... better watch out where I'm walking from now on."

With an awkward wave, she hurried off, before the dark-haired guy with the gloomy expression could utter another word to her. She ignored the curious look Hajime threw after her as she hurried around the corner, but she could still hear his deep voice echoing through the hall, while he seemed to yell at one of his friends, after she had already been out of sight: "Shut up and come on, Shittykawa! We don't have all day!"

Third person / Oikawa, Tooru's POV.

He was the great king of the court. Captain of the volleyball team of the private high school, Aoba Johsei. Oikawa Tooru. Tall, successful, determined, popular, charming, intelligent, handsome. In many eyes of his peers he was like the perfect specimen. He had it all. Other guys wanted to be like him, while the girls fell in front of his feet, wishing to be his girlfriend. For some of those girls he was like the epitome of their knight in shining armor, ready to strife their demons in their most secret dreams. They imagined him to be the perfect man for them. Some would argue that there was nothing that he, Oikawa Tooru, couldn't achieve. Guys like him knew no boundaries and got everything they wanted. Problems? What's this? People like him had  no problems, everything flew right into his hands and no obstacles were ever put in his way.

That was utter bullshit, of course, but who cares? If they wanted to think that way, they could all do assume that he and his whole life was a picture perfect story. People tended to think what they wanted anyway. Of course, it was also clear to him that his behavior only strengthened such thoughts. But he didn't saw the need in proving to others that he wasn't the perfect young man he was claiming to be. Actually he really do liked his life and his image so far and he knew that they were right in one point: He really had quite a bit of a better chance in life than others. Good looks and intelligence weren't everything, but it helped non the less.

But no matter what they all thought about him, the truth was that everything Tooru had gained so far, had been the fruits of his hard work. In everything he had done he had put all his focus on improving himself. Even if people thought he was a natural, he knew that everything he had achieved so far was a testament to his steeled determination. Furthermore he actually didn't like to be titled as a natural, because he wasn't one... He would never be one. He was just incredibly hard working, when it comes to archiving his goals!

And Volleyball was the one thing he loved the most. He lived for this sport. He would go through the fucking hell for his passion and prove to everyone that he was exactly what they all thought he was. The goddamn great king of the freaking court! He had worked hard for his position and wore this mask of skillful perfection like one of these so much hated naturals. Well, he could be pretty manipulative, he knew that. His best friend loved to remind him that he had a narcissistic, inflated streak, but hey, who was actually perfect? The important thing was that he was satisfied with his life so far,wasn't it?

If someone had asked him if it was more important to him, to be loved or to be feared, he would have replied that he wanted people to be afraid of how much they loved him. Because he had learned that outside his passion, it was all about the image, to be outstanding.

Of course it would be nice to have a someone outside of his team. Not in a friendly way, however, no! He wanted something more. Something deeper. Not someone who worshiped him, but someone who was at eye level with him. To have someone with whom he could held deeper conversations that broke though the surface of superficially. To have someone who appreciate him for himself, even if they knew what an ass he actually could be. Someone who could live with the fact that Volleyball occupied a huge place in his life. He wanted to be able to speak as freely as he sometimes did with Iwa-chan, but even with him he couldn't talk about everything that would occupy his mind. But that was probably the price for being popular. He had to keep the well-polished facade, because that was what they all wanted to see anyway, right?

But who knows? Sometimes wishes can come true in the weirdest ways.

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.

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Grinning, Tooru accepted a self-made cookie that one of the many faceless girls had baked for him and tasted it to her satisfaction in front of the entire gathering. "Hmm delicious! Thank you, honey!", the brown-haired captain purred, while he took the effort to close his eyes with feigned pleasure. The girls sighed dreamily as they watched him do it. When he opened his eyes again, he saw out of the corner of his eyes how his best friend had stepped into his field of vision. But Hajime had turned his back away from him and was watching a dark-haired girl who was disappearing around the corner, before Tooru was able to take a proper glimpse at her. Curiously he saw how his other two friends laughed mischievously and approached their grim-looking buddy. Issei smacked Hajime on the shoulder as he pointed in the direction the girl had disappeared, but they were too far away for their captain to hear, what they said to each other.

Quickly, the handsome young man turned back to the girls who were still flocking around him in admiration and smiled apologetically down to them. "Ahh, I'm sorry, ladies, but I shouldn't keep my friends waiting. However, I hope you guys watch us training later!", he said quickly, while he gifted them with a winning smile, before he fought his way to his teammates. Although he heard the disappointed sigh's of the girls, he didn't bother to care as he slowly walked up to his best friend to put a hand on his shoulder blades.

"Well, am I dreaming or has my dear Iwa-chan just flirted with a cute girl?", the handsome young man asked teasingly, while he watched as the addressed young man turned around to send him a deadly glare. Coupled with a targeted slap on the back of Tooru's head, his best friend replied angrily: "Shut up and come on, Shittykawa! We don't have all day!"

Rubbing the emerging bump, Tooru bowed his head, eyes narrowed in pain, while he heard the rest of his snickering teammates slowly pull away, to follow their ace, who had stomped away, after hitting his Captain. He was just about to hurry up to his friends when something colorful caught his re-opening gaze. Curiously, the handsome young man leaned forward and picked up the item before realizing that it was a bookmark that had been lying next to him on the floor.

It was designed quite nicely. For people who would be interested in something like that, it would probably be quite pretty. It seemed to be homemade. The colors merged neatly, as if the artist had spend a few more hours on it than necessary. Not that he was one of those people who would actually be interested in that. Nevertheless, he had noticed it any way. Actually, it wouldn't have been something he'd payed special attention to, but the motive had piqued his interest, because little drawn aliens and UFOs filled the entire front in a cute way. A small smile spread across his lips as he examined the neat, but often used, laminated paper. There was no owner's name on it, but when he looked at its back he found the words 'Is anybody out there?#43705LadyStardust' drawn within a starry nightsky in italic handwriting, while a female silhouette was sitting on top of a small drawn hill, seemingly looking up to the stars. Tooru turned on his own axis, searching, to see if anyone was looking for their lost bookmark, but no one seemed to care.

"Hurry up, Dumbass!", Hajime called out to him, when the ace had noticed that his captain was dawdling again. Promptly, Tooru shoved the bookmark into the left pocket of his training jacket while he set out to hurry after his teammates. "I'm coming. Stop rushing me, Iwa-chan!", the Volleyball captain whined, catching up to his friends. The elongated piece of paper was immediately forgotten in his pocket, while he began to talk to his friends about some moves that they wanted to refine in the upcoming training session.

[mr-metal-arm]

Sirens

While the people of Icarus are no strangers to merfolk, most people will ever see of one are the sirens. At a distance, they appear to be normal humans, yet upon closer inspection, you’ll spot fins on their arms, legs, and ears, patches of brightly colored scales upon their shiny, almost dolphin-like skin, webbing between their fingers and toes, and a mouth full of sharp shark-like teeth. Their voices are melodic and, in some cases, almost hypnotic, and a few sirens have taken advantage of this, using their voice to get wherever they want to go, earning them a bit of a bad reputation. This reputation has unfortunately made many people distrustful of sirens, yet they are still ever more present in coastal towns and cities, no matter the prejudice against them.

Dwellers of Land and Sea

Sirens are one of the few types of merfolk able to live as well on land as they would in the sea, provided they have enough water. Because of this, they usually live within coastal towns and cities or along major rivers and in freshwater lakes, often having a secondary “siren-town” underwater nearby. This does keep sirens from living more inland if they choose, yet it is highly unlikely you’ll find sirens in a more arid landscape such as the desert. Even then, don’t be surprised if you run into a siren in the most unexpected of places, as there’s sure to be water nearby.

Eternal Outcasts

Thanks to prejudices against them, sirens often find themselves among the outcasts and undesirables of society. The kingdom of Atlantis finds no refuge for them either, as they have a long history of being harshly discriminated against in the undersea kingdom, including several attempts to genocide them out of existence. It is little wonder why they prefer the surface world, even if their treatment there is only marginally better. However, sirens do have one rock they can rest on in the surface world: tieflings. As outcasts themselves, tieflings will often find solace in the similarly outcast sirens, the two races building communities together and always relying on each other for a hand. While this is not a universal constant, sirens and tieflings share a bond stronger than iron.

Natural Bards

The siren's voice has long been (in)famous. Nearly every sailor worth their salt can tell you tells of beautiful maidens from the sea whose melodic voices have caused more than one ship to crash upon the rocks or sailor to jump overboard to their doom. These stories are not unfounded, as a siren’s voice is used to attract prey within the sea. This ability lends itself well to the bardic lifestyle as well, as not only do they have naturally good singing voices, but a siren’s echoic memory is able to recall almost every song they’ve ever heard word for word, beat for beat, and melody for melody, even if they’ve only heard it once. It’s no coincidence that many famous singers, bands, and bards have been sirens, despite prejudice they may face.

A Powerful Woman

Siren society is matriarchal, with the mother typically being the head of the family and her daughters inheriting the family name. While many would incorrectly assume that siren males are treated as lesser, they are never put at a disadvantage and enjoy largely the same respect siren females have. In fact, the sirens’ matriarchal leanings discourage many of the toxic behaviors found in more patriarchal societies. Sirens are taught to be respectful to all, regardless of gender, to respect other’s privacy and boundaries, and that the word “no” is final.

Siren Names

Unlike other merfolk, whose names are typically Atlantean words, Sirens will usually have names in Common. Their names will almost always have a water theme to them, usually being named after water creatures, sea gods, or famous sailors.

Siren Female Names: Lorelei, Calypso, Marina, Moana, Orisha, Ariel, Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina, Coral, Bayou, Hali, Isla, Kendra, Laguna, Nixie, Sedna, Waverly, Zarya, Taila, Serenna, Moora, Lucia, Taura, Camie, Thalassa, Apulia

Siren Male Names: Odysseus, Keel, Orman, Tide, Bruinen, Pelagius, Taron, Nereus, Cari, Marinus, Deniz, Tamesis, Anchor, Skipper, Fjord, Cyraenan, Anenon, Irving, Lachlan, Oceanus, Bruinen, Roan, Bay, Jason, Ceres, Neptune, Poseidon, Wade, Thames

Siren Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age. Sirens age the same rate as humans and typically live to be between 80-90 years old.

Alignment. Because of their status as outcasts almost everywhere they go, most sirens don’t care much for rules or order, and tend more towards chaotic alignments.

Size. Your size is Medium. Most sirens stand between 5-6 feet tall and range between 140-180 lbs. in weight, with generally thin, athletic builds.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet and your base swimming speed is 35 feet.

Languages. You speak Common, Aquan, and one other language of your choice.

Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.

Darkvision. You have Darkvision of 60ft. 

Alluring Voice. You have proficiency in Persuasion. Additionally, you can cast “Charm Person” at level 1 once per short rest. Additionally, you have advantage against being charmed. 

Sharp Claws and Teeth. When you make an Unarmed Strike, you can deal 1d4+ your Strength modifier Slashing Damage instead of the normal damage. Additionally, you automatically have access to the Bite attack, which you can use in place of your Unarmed Strike. Bite deals 1d6+ your Strength modifier Piercing Damage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And another homebrew, this time merpeople, cause why not? Not as long as the one for the warforged, but that’s kind of a given since there are no subraces for them. Also, since I couldn’t find a good picture of something close to what sirens look like without getting full-on fishtail merpeople, enjoy this stock photo of some lady snorkeling. XD

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 8 - Winter Comes Again (Part 1)

Full list of translations here

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A team with only ten runners had passed the qualifiers and was now in the Hakone Ekiden.

This spectacular achievement accomplished by the residents of Chikusei-sou was widely talked about, not just by the university athletics world.

Since the Hakone Ekiden began being televised in 1987, there was hardly anyone who didn’t know the name of this event for student runners in the Kanto region. Whether it was due to the grueling nature of the race or the glamour and glitz that aired on New Year’s Day, the Hakone Ekiden never failed to attract attention.

Only ten people were taking on that famous competition. Why would they think of doing such a reckless thing? What would happen if someone got injured or sick on the day of the event? What kind of daily training regimen did they follow, and how did they live?

Curious locals and students who wished to join the team began to visit Chikusei-sou incessantly. Most of the students had no experience in track and field, but when they found out that the team had passed the qualifiers, many of them asked to join the team in a temporary rush of excitement.

Kiyose carefully wrote on a piece of paper that he would turn down all visits and stuck it on the door of Chikusei-sou. He appreciated them wanting to join, but the Kansei University boom would soon die down, they couldn’t enter without an official record, and Chikusei-sou was already full. After much deliberation, Kiyose decided that it would be better for the ten of them to concentrate on training and unite to compete in Hakone rather than take in any new members.

With regards to the locals, the shopkeepers of the shopping district told them to not get in the way of training and most of the locals were now content to just peek at Chikusei-sou from over the hedges. The exceptions were the old people who quietly supplied produce from their fields.

As Kakeru was leaving for his morning jog, he noticed napa cabbages and pears placed outside the door. Is this some kind of repayment? He thought. Nira, who had watched the old people’s actions without barking, only wagged his tail at him. In the end, without knowing who did it, the residents of Chikusei-sou filled their stomachs with the produce that was often left at their door.

Of course, requests for interviews flooded in from the media. Not just track and field magazines, but also weekly magazines, newspapers, and TV; every kind of media outlet they could think of had been trying to contact them. Kiyose and Shindou investigated them all carefully and refused almost all requests with “We want to concentrate on our training.”

However, they agreed to an interview with Monthly Track and Field’s Sanuki and Yomiuri Shimbun’s Nunoda, who had been supporting them since the summer training camp. The two understood the psychology of runners well, so they watched them train without interfering and briefly asked them the most pertinent questions. Favorable articles about the people of Chikusei-sou were then published in the respective mediums.

The twins and King were over the moon and insisted on accepting more interviews.

“We’re actually going to Hakone, you know? It’s better to be noticed,” Jouta said.

“It might even help with getting a job,” King said.

“Instead of thinking about that, you need to get more serious about training. Otherwise, your pathetic running will be televised all over the country, and you’ll get attention whether you like it or not.”

Even when Kiyose flatly rejected them, the twins and King didn’t give up.

“No? We wanna be on TV. TV, TV!” they yelled. Kakeru was astonished as he watched the offense and defense unfolding at the dinner table.

Just the thought of competing in the Hakone Ekiden was enough to make Kakeru nervous and elated. But on top of that, the twins wanted the “extraordinary” experience of being interviewed on TV. Were they too simple-minded, were they greedy, or were they just fearless?

Until that spring, the twins had lived without having any connection to long-distance running, so they might not have had a clear idea of the significance of the Hakone Ekiden.

The Hakone Ekiden, which began in 1920, took place every year with the exception of a few years during the war. Even amidst the food shortage after the war, the runners put on their sashes and aimed for the mountains of Hakone—that's how important it was as an event for runners, with more than eighty years of tradition.

The Hakone Ekiden was what student runners yearned and dreamed of; the twins might not have fully understood the meaning and value of participating in such an event. But even though they didn’t understand, they trained and had the ability to claim their place to take part in it, so they were no ordinary people. Kakeru was impressed and amused by this.

Between them, the twins continued their appeal with Kiyose, who was silently moving his chopsticks.

“Hey, hey, let’s go on TV at least once.”

“We can have that perk, at least. After all, Haiji-san, you’re…”

“What about me?” Kiyose's chopsticks stopped moving. Jouta and Jouji suddenly closed their mouths and squirmed like they wanted to say something, but finally shook their heads.

“Nothing.”

In the end, Kiyose gave in and they ended up accepting a TV interview: on the evening news, in a five-minute topic segment, the lives of the residents of Chikusei-sou were going to be introduced.

TV cameras came and filmed Prince’s room full of manga and Nico-chan’s room full of small quit-smoking dolls that were scattered around his futon that he never put away. They also filmed their training in the field and interviewed the members.

The twins and King took the lead in the interview. We don’t know if things just followed their course or if it was because we were threatened by Haiji-san, but we found ourselves aiming for Hakone. We eat lemons soaked in honey every day to avoid catching colds. We don’t do any special training. We believe we have the same kind of regimen as the track clubs in other universities.

Kakeru, as usual, stood meekly in the corner, just far enough away that he was partially cut off by the cameras.

“Why are you hiding, Kakeru?” Yuki asked.

But Kakeru only smiled vaguely and dodged the question with, “No, I'm not really.” Nico-chan, who was watching over the interview, looked back at him.

“You’re not gonna tell us that you’re a wanted fugitive, are you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

That’d be cool, though, Nico-chan said and gave him a suspicious look.

“Putting that aside, there’s been a strange mood lately, don’t you think?” Yuki said. Nico-chan nodded, I guess so.

Kakeru had also noticed it; it had become somewhat strained within Chikusei-sou. The first-floor residents were the same as before, and most of the people living on the second floor were practicing with the same attitude as usual. The twins, however, seemed to be clearly depressed. To be frank, it was regarding Kiyose.

They didn’t argue with him or act defiant towards him. However, they tried to keep a subtle distance. Although Kiyose treated Jouta and Jouji as he always had, they couldn’t seem to be open with him for some reason. For some reason, their trust in Kiyose seemed to have faded.

This awkwardness spread through Chikusei-sou, and a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere had persisted ever since the qualifiers ended.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Nico-chan said. “Kakeru, you’re in the same year as them—ask them casually.”

“What do I ask?”

“About what’s in their heart, of course.”

“Aah…yes.”

Although he answered with that, Kakeru honestly felt that it was a heavy burden.

Training was becoming more and more voluminous and dense. They slowly ran the first 5000 meters of the 12,000 meter run in 17 minutes, then increased the pace and ran the last 1000 meters at a pace of 3 minutes and 0.5 seconds. After that, they did five 1000 meter runs of 2 minutes and 55 seconds with a 200-meter interval in between.

Kakeru did his best to think about his own running. Was the swinging of his arms, the angle of his feet when he landed on the ground, the relaxing and tensing of his muscles okay like this? His consciousness stretched around every inch of his cells and he checked his running with every step.

Of course, he had to attend his university classes in between training sessions, but it was hard to have to pay attention to other people as well.

One time, he happened to be in the Tsuru no yu public baths with the twins. When the twins went to the washing area, Kakeru and Kiyose soaked in the bathtub with their backs to the painting of Mount Fuji, and conversed with the plasterer who happened to be there.

“How’s it going, Haiji? How are the Chikusei-sou guys?” the plasterer asked. He was sitting in the hot water with his back to the washing area, so he didn’t notice the twins. The twins, who would usually call out to them, saw Kiyose by the bathtub’s faucet and only slightly bowed without a word.

“They’re doing good,” Kiyose answered the plasterer.

“The first-years did pretty good.” The plasterer pulled his hands out of the water and rubbed his face. “Kakeru did great too, but look at those identical twins—they’re pretty fast too, aren’t they?”

Kakeru fretted over how Kiyose would answer. Behind the plasterer, Jouta and Jouji were straining their ears to listen. Perhaps because he was distracted by the conversation, Jouji lost control of his hands and spilled a large amount of shampoo on his head.

“They really are,” Kiyose smiled. “I can’t say it in front of the people themselves, but they run well.”

“Really?” Jouta stood up from his chair in the washing area, and the plasterer looked behind him with a start.

“What’s the point in lying?” Kiyose rose from the bathtub. “Sir, we’re raising promising runners, so please continue to support us from the shopping district. I will be taking my leave now.”

He walked past the twins’ backs, opened the sliding door of the baths and disappeared into the changing room.

“He only praised us ‘cause we were here,” Jouji muttered to no one in particular. But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was happy. He shampooed his head so vigorously that it was covered in dense bubbles in the blink of an eye.

“What’s with you guys? You didn’t even say hello.”

After the plasterer compared Kiyose’s and the twins’ words and actions, he turned to Kakeru, who was still in the bath. “Are they fighting by any chance?”

He was asked that in a whisper. “Well,” Kakeru sank up to his shoulders in the water. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

The twins might have been dissatisfied with Kiyose in some way, however they couldn’t hide it within themselves forever. If anything, he would say that it was because they had openhearted and naïve personalities; he was sure that they would let their emotions erupt at the earliest opportunity and directly vent them to Kiyose. It wasn’t too late to try and solve the problem.

Kakeru decided to leave the twins alone. He shouldn’t intentionally nudge a dormant volcano; when an eruption occurred, they would naturally discover where the crater is. After carefully assessing the location and wind direction, they could take shelter and wait for the overflowing lava to cool. That was what he thought.

Previous | Next

[cyrusgoodboye]

(1) I have so many prompts 😩 how about a supportive bf Cyrus at one of TJ’s basketball games

His Biggest Fan - a Tyrus fanfiction

I’m shook, I actually wrote this relatively fast (which I know you sent this in a long time ago but I just started working on it).  Hope you enjoyed this (I also hope no one minds that I kept with this basketball theme, whoops).  And let’s all collectively hope that I actually got this basketball lingo right, and if not then you can all laugh at me.  Anyway, on with the story:

“Whoo!” Cyrus cheered from the stands, clapping incessantly.  “Go T.J. and Buffy!”

Andi cringed at her best friend’s exceptionally loud volume.  How could a boy so small cheer so loudly?  “Cyrus, do you have to be so loud?” she exclaimed, shrinking away from him.

Cyrus smiled at Andi sheepishly, and he lowered his voice a fraction in order to appease her.  “Sorry.  You know I love it when they score a touchdown!”

“It’s a basket,” Andi corrected.  She drew her eyebrows together, pausing as she second-guessed her own correction.  “I think?”

The two friends were currently gracing the gymnasium with their presence, just like they did with every other Jefferson Middle School basketball game.  Neither of them were ever exactly sure what was going on, but they were always there to support Buffy, and, more recently, T.J., so understanding the game wasn’t usually their top priority.

“Really?” Cyrus asked in confusion.  He shook his head exasperatedly, and he scrunched up his face as he whined.  “I can’t keep up with all of these sports terms!”

Andi laughed.  “Don’t worry, no one’s asking you to,” she assured him.  Andi turned her attention back to the game with a twist of her head.  As her eyes focused on what was unfolding in front of her, she frowned and squinted uncertainly.  “Is there a break?”  

Cyrus followed her line of sight, where each separate team had gathered on the opposite sides of the room, staying within their own group.  He searched for the ones clad in the blue-and-white uniforms, and he saw them all pat each other on the back supportively as they wiped the beads of sweat from their brows.  “Is this the intermission?” he asked in confusion, tilting his voice up on the last syllable.

Andi shook her head at him.  “No, Cyrus, they only have intermissions during plays,” she said, typing rapid, slurred keys on her phone (with probably a few typos in the search engine bar).  After a few seconds, she hummed in understanding.  “It’s actually the game’s ‘halftime,’ like their halftime show,” Andi elaborated, clicking her phone off and stuffing it back inside her jacket pocket.

“Oh, okay.”  He only ever watched the halftime show on the Super Bowl.   Why watch football when you could watch Lady Gaga’s spectacular rendition of her own greatest hits?  “We really need to go outdoors more.”  

They both exchanged a glance before bursting out into laughter.  Like that was going to happen.

As the halftime show commenced, Cyrus examined the court once more, his eyes sweeping over Jefferson’s players, and he found T.J. skimming his eyes over the crowd in concentration as well.  When their eyes finally connected over the vast crowd, Cyrus waved excitedly at his boyfriend (his boyfriend!  It was still so exhilarating to say) from the bleachers that were overlooking the gym.

T.J. beamed back from his spot on the court, blushing bashfully, and Cyrus smiled in return.  “Do you think we should start chanting with our posters for the second half of the game?” he asked Andi, keeping a light gaze on T.J. as he spoke.

Andi shrugged.  “Why not?”  

After the cheerleader’s impossibly complex cheer routine (how did they bend that way?), Andi and Cyrus each held up a sign, one for Buffy and the other for T.J..

“Clever!” Andi remarked on the poster Cyrus’s holding up: T.J. KIPPEN IS ALWAYS DRIBBLIN’!

Cyrus grinned, proud of his poster.  It was decorated with bold, black letters, and the ‘i’s were even dotted with tiny little basketballs.  “Thanks!  I had to ask T.J. to make sure that dribbling was a good thing, and then he went into a long spiel about basketball that I didn’t understand at all,” he told her, his brow furrowed together.  He then smiled at the memory; he hadn’t exactly grasped what T.J. had been getting at, but it was still cute to see him ramble about something that he so obviously cared about.  “So I’m pretty sure it’s right.”

Andi snorted.  “Even I know what dribbling is, Cyrus,” she said, holding up the other poster for Buffy.  YOU CAN’T OUTUFF THE BUFF’!

“Hey,” Cyrus defended himself lightly, “we all have our strengths and weaknesses,” he pointed out in a teasing manner.  Andi smiled and gave a gentle shake of her head in response.

As the game started back up again, the two friends started cheering for Buffy and T.J. again, both of them wishing the best for their friends.  Ever since Cyrus and T.J. had gotten together, Buffy and T.J. had (to everyone’s immediate surprise) been getting along, and T.J. now willingly passed her the ball multiple times a game if he had the chance.  Whether the two actually enjoyed each other’s company or were just doing it for Cyrus’s sake, Cyrus was grateful.  He didn’t know what he’d do if his boyfriend (he grinned as he thought of the word; he didn’t think the effect the word had on him would ever wear off) and best friend despised each other.  

Jefferson snatched the ball from their green-and-white enemies, and Buffy dribbled strategically away from the defense.  She stealthily maneuvered herself out of the grasp of the Knights, but more and more of the players began to surround her, reminding Cyrus of how gnats surrounded a piece of spoiled fruit.  They were unrelenting.

Buffy glanced towards T.J. helplessly, and Cyrus could practically see the conflict in her eyes.  Should she try to make the shot herself, or should she try and give T.J. a try?

“Come on, Buffy,” Cyrus whispered desperately under his breath.  Buffy was one of the most athletically inclined people he had ever met, but sometimes she needed to trust and rely on her teammates.  While being confident in your skills isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Buffy could be too sure of herself at times, and it got her into trouble.

Finally, after Buffy could no longer fight off the Knights’ defense by herself, she wildly hurled the ball to T.J., her last alternative, in desperation, and he caught it with ease.  He dribbled the ball against the gym floor swiftly, but, as he jumped up to make a two-pointer from his side angle, a Knights player swiped the bright orange ball from T.J.’s hands, knocking him down in the process with a sickening thud.  

Cyrus gasped at the action, standing up in shock as the entire gymnasium held bated breath.  In the distance, the whistle that normally hung around the coach’s neck was brought to Coach Anderson’s lips, causing a sharp hiss to echo throughout the gymnasium.  The referee then turned to the anxious crowd and made a ‘T’ with his hands, and Cyrus felt a hand land softly upon his shoulder as his stomach whirled.  “Does that mean a timeout?

Cyrus couldn’t even answer; his mind was too busy reeling with worry for T.J..  What if he was hurt?  Or worse, dead?  His eyes darted around wildly in panic, hungrily searching for any shred of evidence that T.J. was okay, but he found none as Jefferson’s coach and the referee were both blocking the view of the basketball player.  Why wouldn’t the referee and coach just move?

“I’m going down there,” Cyrus said, determined.

Andi’s eyebrows drew together.  “Cyrus, I’m not sure if you can do tha—”

“I just want to make sure he’s okay,” Cyrus assured her, trying to ignore the frenzy going on in his belly.  Cyrus snatched the towel he had brought (you’d be surprised by how much basketball players sweat!) just in case and some extra supplies before he descended down the steps, making sure to apologize to anyone he bumped into.  Once he finally hopped down onto the outskirts of the court, right next to the team huddle, he caught Buffy’s eye.

“Is he hurt?” Cyrus asked worriedly, a nauseated feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.  He hoped that she would reassure him; he did tend to imagine the worst things possible without her and Andi’s redirection.

Buffy shook her head frantically, shrugging as her hand came to comb back some loose tendrils that were obstructing her view.  “I don’t know.  They won’t let me over there!” she said, her arms crossed in annoyance.  Cyrus raised his eyebrows in surprise; maybe Buffy actually cared about T.J. more than he’d thought.

Cyrus opened his mouth to answer her, but the coach’s piercing whistle was blown again, shaking him from his train of thought.  As T.J. hobbled his way over to his teammates (plus Cyrus) with the help of Jefferson’s coach, he tried to give Cyrus one of his famous, sweet grins, but a sharp wince was drawn from his lips instead.  

“Ouch,” T.J. scowled as the coach eased him down onto the front row, the referee setting a chair by his feet.  He turned toward Cyrus, a slight grimace on his face.  “That guy made me twist my ankle,” he explained, and Cyrus let out a sigh of relief.  He’s not dying, he told himself.  Cyrus breathed deeply as if to get rid of any  leftover tension in his body.  What worrying could do to a person!

Coach Anderson cast T.J. an apologetic look, but it was soon replaced with a stern expression.  “Driscoll, you’re filling in for Kippen,” he informed as T.J.’s carefully propped his leg on the chair in front of him.

Buffy looked shocked, albeit pleased.  She glanced towards T.J., expecting him to be furious.

“Go ahead,” he told her, a mock tone of exasperation lining his voice.  The mirth dancing in his eyes gave him away.  “I know you’re dying to.”

Buffy smirked.  “I was going to accept whether you were happy about it or not,” she told him.  She turned to the coach, her demeanor changing from being smug to ecstatic within seconds.  “Thank you so much, Coach!” Buffy said, not bothering to hide her enthrallment.  “I won’t let you down.”

Coach Anderson nodded once, seeming impatient as the delay of the game drew on longer.  “I wasn’t expecting you to.  Now, go! We need to continue this game!”

Buffy bobbed her head eagerly, racing back onto the court with the rest of her teammates.  Cyrus sat down next to T.J., careful not to bump into his injured foot, and smiled at his best friend happily as he watched her give orders to her teammates.  “Thank you.”

T.J. glanced at him, and a soft smile grew on his face as he studied Cyrus’s face.  He raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend.  “What for?”

Cyrus cautiously shuffled closer, tugging the towel he had draped around his neck and bringing it to T.J.’s forehead.  There were probably a million eyes on them, but Cyrus’s tried not to care, instead trying to focus on wiping away the moisture from T.J.’s brow.  “For trying to get along with Buffy.”  

T.J. shrugged.  “She’s actually bearable,” he admitted.  “Getting along with her isn’t as hard as I thought.”

The corners of Cyrus’s mouth tugged upwards. “I’m glad.”  After wiping the beads of sweat from T.J.’s temple, Cyrus lowered the towel, carefully folding it and setting it aside.  “I brought you some water,” he offered, handing a bottle to T.J..

T.J. grinned lazily, but he winced when he leaned forward to grab it.  “Thanks,” he said, brushing over Cyrus’s hand so subtly that no one else but them would be able to catch it.  He gripped the bottle, gulping down its contents before wiping his mouth contently.  “Thanks for cheering for me,” he mumbled into Cyrus’s ear, casting a shiver down the boy’s back.

Cyrus shook the feeling off, and tried for a wide smile.  “Would you expect anything less from your biggest fan?”

T.J. shook his head.  “Of course I wouldn’t.”  He scooted over as well as he could manage, bringing him and Cyrus side-to-side, and Cyrus had to hide his smile.  He’s sly, I’ll give him that, Cyrus thought to himself.  As T.J. casually slung an arm around Cyrus’s shoulders (Cyrus noted that that was sly, too), he turned his attention towards the game.  “Looks like Buffy’s managing pretty well,” T.J. observed aloud, gesturing towards the court with a dip of his head.  

Cyrus glanced in the direction T.J. had signaled to, and a proud feeling bloomed in his chest at the sight.  Buffy had just made a shot with the basketball, and her teammates patting her encouragingly on the back after her amazing toss into the basket.  “And you said she wouldn’t make the team,” Cyrus teased.

T.J. sighed.  “I was wrong,” he admitted, glancing at Cyrus.  His hand absentmindedly reached up, brushing against the nape of Cyrus’s neck, and Cyrus blushed in response.  “Don’t tell Buffy that, though,” T.J. added as an afterthought.

Cyrus laughed, and the two kept a steady gaze, causing a ripple of butterflies in Cyrus’s stomach to flutter.  I love his eyes, Cyrus noted dreamily.  And his smile, and his hair, and his mouth…

A wave of cheers erupted from the stands, breaking the two boys from their stare; Buffy had made another shot for Jefferson.  

Cyrus’s gaze flitted back over to the court, and he gave a slightly delayed response to Buffy’s basket.  “Go Buffy!”  He noticed T.J.’s amused expression, and he grinned.  “What?  I can still manage to cheer for her without my posters.”

T.J. just shook his head with a slight grin on his face.  His boyfriend could be so adorable.  “I know, I know.”

For the rest of the game, Cyrus asked T.J. questions about the sport that he wasn’t for sure on (the list included “What does a shooting guard do?” and “Why doesn’t the basketball team wear better uniforms?”), all to which T.J. responded to almost automatically, and Cyrus was glad that the boy was humoring him.  

After Buffy made the winning shot for Jefferson (Cyrus’s voice was still hoarse from the shouting that had induced), Cyrus aided T.J., wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s torso while T.J. slung his arm around his shoulders.  The two walked as seamlessly as they could manage, but, with Cyrus controlling both of their movements, it didn’t end up so well.

“Ow, ow,” T.J. winced as Cyrus tripped over the threshold, and Cyrus paused by the wall.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he apologized, rubbing a hand over his flushed face.  Luckily, before he started to move again, an elated Buffy found them, nearly squealing with excitement.

“We won!” Buffy exclaimed, throwing her arms around Cyrus.  She accidentally hit T.J. in the process, and he grimaced at the action but didn’t say anything.

“I know, I’m so proud of you!” Cyrus said, just as enthused as she was.  “Did you hear me cheering for you?”

Buffy raised an eyebrow incredulously.  “Hear you?  Cyrus, you were the loudest one out there! Of course I heard you.”

Cyrus smiled.  “Thanks, I try.”  He glanced over at T.J., who had an amused expression adorning his face at the two’s exchange.

Buffy’s gaze shifted to T.J., and she had a smug smile on her face.  “I did good, didn’t I?”

“I don’t know about that,” T.J. protested, but he grinned, showing that he was joking.  “Nice job, Driscoll.  Don’t get used to being captain.”

Buffy said cockily, “I’ll be taking over soon enough.”  As she spoke, the scanned the two boys questioningly.  “Do you need help?  I don’t think Cyrus can manage to walk you out by himself.”

Cyrus heaved a sigh of relief.  “Yes, please!”  

Buffy laughed giddily, the last few moments of the game still ticking behind her eyelids, and she took over T.J.’s other side.  Fortunately, with Buffy acting as T.J.’s left crutch, the three of them managed to get to the outdoor picnic tables without too much hassle.  

“Ugh,” Buffy grunted, removing herself from T.J.’s side.  Jeez, Cyrus was really no help when it came to strength.  “So, are you in for some post-celebratory tater-tots?” she asked her best friend hopefully.  

Cyrus grinned.  “I’ll be there!” he promised.  

As she stalked off, leaving them with one last squeal of excitement, T.J. awkwardly straddled the picnic table bench, allowing his wounded foot to settle on Cyrus’s lap while his other one was tucked underneath him.  

For a moment, the two of them sat in silence, watching Buffy talk to Andi animatedly about a play-by-play of the game as they walked to The Spoon together.  Then, once the girls were out of their sight, Cyrus squeezed T.J.’s shoulder comfortingly.  “Hey, I know you didn’t get to play a lot today, but I’m proud of you, too, you know.”

“So I’ve heard,” T.J. quipped.  He glanced around at the vacant space around them and, after making sure there were no prying eyes around, he kissed Cyrus chastely on the cheek.  “Thank you for always being my biggest fan.”

Cyrus felt his heart drum rapidly in his chest at the action, and he beamed at him.  “Of course.”  After all, would T.J. expect anything less from his boyfriend?

This was just a little fluffy prompt, one that I certainly appreciated!  Thanks to everyone who reads, it means a lot to distribute my content for other people to view and enjoy.  To show me what you thought of it, please reblog or comment below, or check me out on AO3 or fanfiction.net.  Thank you!

~emmagrace13

[change-conquer]

Since this is my first posting let’s start with some basics of who I am and why I’m starting this blog. First and foremost, blogging isn’t typically something I would do. I’ve dedicated my career as a Clinical Social Worker to helping others, so I figured why not see if I can use my personal life to do the same. Wait before you go wow what a great guy there’s a selfish piece to this puzzle as well. I need something to help keep me motivated and accountable. This blog will contain all aspects of my life I’m trying to improve and keep me accountable. I plan to write weekly blogs and just see where it goes from there. Just like the people I work with I’m human, my life isn’t perfect and I want to improve myself. I think that’s enough boring crap about me. I’m sure as this blog continues more of who I am will be revealed. Part of these weekly blogs will be giving updates on my success and struggles to achieve a ME that I’m happier with.

This isn’t all about health but it is a major component of what I want to improve. My entire life has been a struggle to manage my health properly. I’ve always been athletic but I’m addicted to food and I guess you could say eating. We all have different body types. My brother for example could eat junk food nonstop every-day for a year and continue to look the same. Mine is more along the lines of just thinking about a snickers bar packs on 10 pounds of fat. Now I either put on muscle or fat very quickly so when I’m in a good healthy routine I have the potential to look like a body builder…. Spoiler alert I’ve never had enough motivation and willpower over my food addiction to achieve this. The working out piece kind of goes in spurts as well. Few months here than a month or two of laziness. This is kind of how it goes for me. Well news flash I’m sick and tired of this never-ending cycle. 

Last year I was doing decent with my health goals, but after October I plummeted. I’ve put back on about 20 pounds, I’m not working out regularly, I’m drinking alcohol a few times a month, my portion sizes are increasing, I’m eating like shit and my clothes are getting snug. What the hell am I going to do about it instead of being a whinny bitch on this blog you ask, well good question. My ass is back at the gym and I’m walking or working out on my lunchbreaks. To help keep myself on track and motivated I’ve joined The Conqueror. This is a virtual race that uses your steps and exercises to race various trails. Once you complete the race you will be mailed a medal and if you paid for the appeal you will receive that as well.  I initially chose this company because I loved that for every 20 percent of the race you complete a tree will be planted. Some of the races have fun virtual postcards they send you and fun markers that make the trail famous. I’m racing my Wife on Hadrian’s Wall and Appalachian Trail. I just split my time between the two challenges. In the 10 days of doing the Appalachian Trail I’ve gone 71.2 miles. In the 8 days of doing Hadrian’s Wall I’ve gone 32.2 miles. I can’t believe through walking, jogging, spin class and weight lifting I’ve accomplished 103.4 miles. Full disclosure the program has a chart to use to help you convert the time you worked out doing various things into distance. Sounds like a great start but I’m also having some struggles. I’m only drinking about 60 oz. of water a day with a goal of 32 oz. prior to all meals and snacks. I’m not following Paleo and my portions are struggling. I’m constantly thinking about food and when and what I’m going to eat. Even as I write this I’m thinking, “I ate my lunch an hour early because I felt hungry. How long does that mean I have to go before I eat a snack.” In addition, I’m trying to do more self-care, which hasn’t been the most successful due to forgetting to incorporate these new habits. As I slowly introduce these I’ll tell you more.

Let’s talk about money since I guess it’s what makes the world spin round. Looking on the outside in I assume it appears I’m financially well off. I have nice things, I can afford to do most things I want and buy things I want without much worry. I recently started thinking what will happen long term if I continue my spending habits and how differently would my finances look if I made some changes. My wife and I recently built a house and have some landscaping and a basement to complete. Last year it was incredibly stressful trying to buy things for the yard and house, so this year we developed a plan. We are allowed two trees, A rain barrel and a shed and of course basic maintenance needs. Were already paying a little more than owed each month to help reduce the amount of future payments, so nothing there is changing. My only other debt is student loans and my car loan. How long do I really want to be paying on these? I calculated if I stick to a strict budget I could have it all paid off in a little under 4 years. Not too shabby I thought. Then yesterday I came across this idea for saving. Here’s the basics each week you put aside a random amount of money between 1 and 100 for 100 weeks. No number for that 100 weeks can be repeated. By the end of the 100 weeks you will have a total of 5,050 dollars. If you’re interested and want more information it’s called the 100-envelope challenge. I just made some changes because I didn’t want to use 100 envelopes.  I haven’t had any struggles with my financial goals but so far, I’ve paid off 1,100 in debts and saved 253 dollars.

We all have difficulties with our relationships myself included. Sometimes I feel aloof from my wife, sometimes I want to shake sense into my family or my friends and I’m constantly frustrated with the actions of others, yet I don’t say a word. To help improve my marriage, which is already amazing I’ve decided we need to make dates more official. We do things together all the time but it’s never hey let me take you on a date. We subscribed to this game called Hunt a Killer this month for the next year, so this will be 1 official date night a month. We also have an adventure date night book that we stopped using when the pandemic started, but that’s another option as well as many other things. This week we actually had a couple movies we wanted to see so we planned 2 dinners and two movie date nights for this week. We split a meal at a Mexican restraint and watched the new Wonder Woman movie on Wednesday. Kind of funny but we were the only people in the theater and I the last running show. When we left there were no workers. We think they forgot about us and left for the night. I want to reach out more to the friends I already have. I feel I have a hard time being satisfied with the friends I do have and part of this is due to losing contact and not ever doing much with my friends. I want to change this. This week I’ve reached out to three friends. I’m also working to be more assertive and set boundaries. 

Next, I want to grow intellectually. I’ve been studying Spanish off and on for years and just have never been able to become fluent. I’ve been using an app called Duolingo and listening to Spanish songs with English subtitles to help me achieve this goal. I want to learn to do more things, so I’m going to push myself to learn how to do something new each month as well as read one educational book. This may end up being a magazine since I’ve come across some pretty great magazines that I feel could help me with this. I’m also going to push myself to go to places and events where I’ll learn new things.

My last area of self-improvement is to do more adventuring. Each moth I’m going to go somewhere I’ve never been. Whether it’s hiking, backpacking, camping, snowshoeing, ect. I’m also going to start preparing for my next big trip. In December I went on my honeymoon to Costa Rica for two weeks and I’m already itching for my next big adventure. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it’s long and I think future posts will be much shorter as I’m not going to be trying to explain as much. I plan to try to incorporate some funny stories as I work towards conquering a better self to keep the posts lively. 

[aliceinwrestleland]

Victoria Starling

Name: Victoria Starling

Nickname(s): The Starling Stretcher, Miss SplitYoLegs

Sex: Female

Age:  18

Eyes: Purple

Hair: Pink (Originally White)

Height: 5’4

Weight: 120 lbs

Nationality: American, Japanese

Entrance Music: Avril Lavigne- Girlfriend

Personality: A bitchy, bratty, haughty cheerleader. She parties a lot, she loves being popular, and she loves to impress her jock boyfriend on the football team. She flaunts herself. She'll make fun of their lack of clout, their weight, how her boobs are bigger, how her life is better and they know it.

Past: She's a mean, spoiled, bratty girl who got it from her mom, Jacqueline who's a very powerful woman who she always admired. Jacqueline was already a successful model that appeared in magazines, calendars, and commercials. Her  a socialite that always got invited to all of the VIP parties, the lavish galas, and red carpet events thanks to her good looks. She eventually became scouted by a recruiter to join pro wrestling and she eventually became successful at submissions. She was known for her “Banana Splits” finisher where she made many tap out by forcing them to do the splits.

Her dad, Stanley Starling was a successful actor that was a part of a legacy of many famous “Starlings” before him. It wasn’t until he was involved in a scandal where his ex-girlfriend accused him of making out with him to get a movie role. He was proven innocent, but the damage was done and his career ended. Jacqueline divorced him and she ended up keeping Victoria, while Stanley kept Sammy, the other offspring.

Victoria got the need for attention from those two contrasting lifestyles. She also developed her bitchy, haughty attitude that she would eventually be known for. Just like her Mom, she wanted a man in power in her life. Enter Brock, the star football jock.

Brock had a good life. Star player. Had a sweetheart by his side named Emma. Everyone loved him. Victoria wanted him. She successfully flirted with him and caused an incident at school where people discovered that Brock cheated on Emma.

School found out that the good guy jock cheated. It nearly soured his reputation. He was still a star on campus for his athletic ability, so he didn’t get damaged as much. When Emma went to confront Brock in the locker room, Victoria snuck up and locked her in an Octopus Stretch hold. 

Since he was vilified for cheating on the "good sweetheart", he tried to fix his reputation. But seeing all the people that used to cheer him on give him hate, he grew tired. Instead of feeling remorse or bad, he embraced the "bad boy jock" persona.

He knew no matter what he did, he'll always have the stigma of the "star player who cheated on the school's sweetheart" Eventually, Brock received a football scholarship to a university, which caused both of them to be in a long distance relationship.

Victoria enjoyed wrestling down Emma and that inspired her to chase wrestling like her mother did. She saw a flyer for “AFW”, called her mother for a favor to get her foot in the door and the rest was history. 

Fun Facts:

She and her brother were separated when their parents split. 

The only two people she locked the Seven Minutes in Heaven are her boyfriend’s ex, Emma and her own brother. 

She visited her brother in school once where her brother teased her for looking like a cheerleading bimbo in her outfit (designer skirt, heels, crop top) and that “Mommy” paid for it, while he worked hard carrying dad’s legacy. She ended up putting him in the Seven Minutes in Heaven hold in front of everyone.

She’s 1-0 against her brother in wrestling. He lost in humiliating fashion to the Naked Desire.

She has her mother’s attitude, but her Dad’s wrestling ability.

When not wrestling in her cheerleading outfit, she loves wrestling in swimsuits, designer shorts, heels, etc.

She loves submissions! She idolizes Zack Sabre Jr., AJ Lee, and of course her father.

Her brother introduced her to the Rumble Roses company and she fell in love with all of the moves.

Fighting Style: Victoria Loves submissions! She knows a lot of intricate holds that either forces them into a leg split or ties them up like a pretzel. She utilizes her cheerleading knowledge along with her Mom’s wrestling. She combines them to give her moves some uniqueness from cheerleading and the haughty submission styles of her mother.

Move List (NAMES TO BE FINALIZED):

Signature Moves:

Virgin Killer (Male)/Panty Shot (Female)

Twisted Bliss (Left)/Half-Time Show (Right)

Finishing Moves:

Naked Desire (Male)/Cover Spread (Female)

Forced Relaxation (Female)/Sweet Nightmare (Male)

Ultimate Moves:

Sticky Situation (Male)/Spankies Splitsville (Female):

Seven Minutes in Heaven (Male)/Daddy’s Twisted Daughter (Female)

---

SIGNATURE MOVE(S):

"Who's the slut now, spread eagle?"

“Awww, look, the shy little guy is trying to act all tough now that I’ve put you on display!” when done on a male

 “Oh my, your so damp! You sluuuut! You’re loving this! Me too!” giggle when done on a female

“It took two generations to perfect this move and that pathetic moan is the best you can come up with? Geeze, show some respect and scream my name!” when done to her Brother, who shares the same finisher.

Virgin Killer (Male)/Panty Shot (Female): AKA The Banana Split, Her father’s famous move. She grapevines her opponents leg with her legs while pulling the other one apart with her arms in a forced splits. Instead of keeping the Banana Splits name, she renamed it to the Virgin Killer to humiliate males with and the Panty Shot to humiliate females with. 

Virgin Killer variant involves more verbal abuse and a wider stretch.

Panty Shot variant involves more humiliation.

Fun Fact: Her father, Sam Starling popularized the move.

---

“Seems this well be my new seat for a while”

Twisted Bliss (Left)/Nutcracker Suite (Right): She drags her opponent to the corner then traps her their legs on both sides of the ropes. She strikes their groin while climbing up on their trapped legs to lock them in a headscissors. She was inspired by Goldust on TV who’d have a similar set up with the Shattered Dreams. She loved that the opponent’s groin was exposed and that they were trapped in the ropes in a leg spread, leaving them to their opponent’s mercy.

Variant depends on her mood. It’s called the Twisted Bliss because their opponents are twisted in a vulnerable position while they receive a blissful surprise from Victoria. The Nutcracker Suite was named because their opponents legs are trapped in a forced leg spread with the ropes to keep them from escaping. Victoria gives them a front headscissors with their knees ready to kick them in their exposed crotch.

Twisted Bliss has Victoria seated forward towards the ring. She has free reign to step on their crotch or increase the split.

Nutcracker Suite has Victoria facing away from the ring. She flaunts her ass more.

Fun Fact: This move is illegal in most situations, but she saves this move either after a match, when the ref’s not looking, during a no-disqualification, or she pays off the referee.

---

FINISHING MOVE(S):

"Squirming much hm BITCH?, because this is the same move I used on him....going down on him that is~" when done to a female.

"Can't even control yourself under me can you? Yet another weak man, what a disappointment!" when done to a male.

Naked Desire (Male)/Cover Spread (Female): Victoria’s main finisher and her bread and butter. She lays on top of her opponent, hooks her legs onto theirs, then spreads her own legs, stretching her opponent to a painful split.

Naked Desire variant has her thrusting or grinding her hips while slowly unleashing the leg spread.

Cover Spread variant has her immediately going for the spread, laying in a more dominant, sexy position for the cameras. Effectively using her opponent as a towel mat.

Fun Fact: She discovered this move by accident. Before her wrestling days, a pervert tried to grab her in a night club. She laced her legs with his, fell backwards. When she found out she had his legs under control, she stretched him out in front of everyone until the cops came.

---

"Say na-night sugar, at least you'll pass out in some real tits mm?~" when done to a male

"Boobs across the faaaace, least I HAVE tits you flat hoe~" when done to a female

“It’s not about the size, you cow! It’s about how you use them and I’m using mine all over your ugly face!” When done to a bustier girl. 

“Mmm, I thought you of all people would have done a better job of keeping out of this hold... have you gotten weaker or have I gotten stronger? Or maybe...” giggle” When done to her brother.

Forced Relaxation (Female)/Sweet Nightmare (Male): She lays on top of her opponent smothering them with their breasts, then hooking her legs to theirs to spread their legs in a split.

The Forced Relaxation variant used on females, she concentrates more on the split like a Yoga session. Sometimes adding in a headlock. 

The Sweet Nightmare variant focuses on the sensual position. But she definitely gives them a good smother with their breast and slowly spreads their legs into a split until they’re in pain, spreading those legs into a V for Victoria! After all, a woman’s place is on top.

Fun Fact: This is Victoria’s favorite move. It’s dominating. She actually learned it in bed with her boyfriend. *wink*

---

ULTIMATE MOVE(S):

“Say bye bye to your hips!”

“Even with your legs spread wide like this, you know they’re still looking at me.” "Lets show you off to the crowd, they don't deserve a look at me so lets give them a second class view."

Sticky Situation (Male)/Spankies Splitsville (Female): Inspired by the “V Stretch” warmup cheerleaders do to stretch their legs, Victoria thought it’d be an amazing thing to convert to a wrestling move. Stepping forward over her downed opponent, spreading their legs and hooking her feet under their knees.  She bends forward, pulling her opponent up to a seated position, taking a moment to indulge the crowd.  From there, Victoria loops her arms under those of her plaything for a reverse full nelson, rolling to the side with her feet still hooked under the opponent's legs to roll her upside-down, secured and with her legs spread. Trapped in a sticky situation, they have no choice but to tap or face pain and humiliation! Sticky Situation variant has Victoria stripping her male opponent into their underwear before doing the move. Spankies Splitsville variant has Victoria stripping her female opponent into their panties and gives them a wedgie. 

Fun Fact: Although she hates to admit it, the Spankies Splitsville is a pervert’s paradise to take photos. She enjoys the attention though and the humiliation she gives to her opponents.

---

“I know it hurts, baby, but just think of all the time nestled up against my perfect body. Are you so weak that you’re going to let a little pain stop the best thing you’ve ever had?” giggle

Y’all got seven minutes of consciousness left...which means I got six more minutes to play~

I ain’t a crazy bitch sister! I’m Daddy’s Twisted Daughter!

Seven Minutes in Heaven (Male)/Daddy’s Twisted Daughter (Female): Victoria’s ultimate move! She locks her opponent in a standing Octopus Stretch. After a bit, she falls backwards while keeping the hold. She then grabs her opponents legs to force them into a split. She combines her cheerleading moves but also puts them in a nice leg spread in honor of her mother. 

The names are aren’t something Daddy would be proud of, but she enjoys it. Seven Minutes in Heaven is for the guys that think have a chance with her. Sometimes a punch in the crotch is included. Daddy’s Twisted Daughter is for the girls who call her a crazy bitch and named after the insult her father said about her. She increases the leg stretch 2x more than usual, while also increasing her brattiness up. She sometimes forces her opponents to stare at her heels.

Fun Fact: This move combines the Standing Octopus Stretch from her cheerleading days and the Banana Split from her mother’s wrestling career.

[joie-university-rp]

Dear KARA MENKINS,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

-

Congratulations, KRISTINA! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; preferred pronouns: Kristina, she/her

Age, Timezone:  29, CST

Activity, short explanation: I am usually on if I am not a work or those rare ocassions that I have a life

Ships: Chemistry

Anti-Ships: No chemistry, forced

Triggers: RFP

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link):

Anything else:

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name (First, Middle, Last):  Kara Hazel Menkins

FC: Katie Stevens

Age/Year at University: 22/Senior

Birth date: October 1

Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Dallas, TX

Gender/Pronouns: Female, she/her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Major(s): Journalism

Minor(s) [optional]: Songwriting

Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Sylvester Apartment 243

Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!):  LGBT+ Association(Vice-president), Glee Club, Joie Newspaper(Editor-in-chief), Yearbook committee, I’m All Ears, Peer Listening Group

Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush):

CHARACTER PROFILE:

Kara spent the first few years of her life barely seeing her dad. She was never one to shy away from questioning her mom why her dad was never around, even if the answer was always the same ‘he was away being a big time recruiter’. When he did return when she was five and of course, asked him. He said the same thing their mom did, and being the small child she was and just wanting to believe it wasn’t anything more, she believed him. After that she became a total daddy’s girl and always wanted to spend time with him to make up for the lost 5 years. At least up until when she was 13 when she began to question things even more. She put some distance between them and lost her trust in her dad, just from the gut feeling her dad had been lying to her and Cole their whole lives. She won’t say her dad treated her and her brother badly, she just can’t trust someone absent for such a long period of time and use an excuse that sounds flimsy but she felt it was useless asking again because she was sure the same lie would be told every time.

Like her brother, Kara was a bit of an overachiever. She joined as many clubs as she could in school and would cry if she made less than an A on anything in school. She was never athletic so while she wanted to play a sport to impress their famous recruiter dad, it was just never something she could do so she gave up on that. She got into writing instead, realizing that was her real gift.

Kara was a little bit of an attention hog, at least as a small child(although that didn’t fully go away as she got older). Rumor has it, or as her mom told her, she threw a fit when Cole was born just a few days after her second birthday because she didn’t want to share her birthday season or attention with him. She ended up growing close to him, but even then she was happier when the attention was on her. Even when they did little musical performances for the family, she tried to make sure the spotlight was on her. Didn’t always succeed considering her brother was more talented than her but that didn’t stop her from trying.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

(Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

What made you want to attend Joie University?It seemed like a great school with a great writing program and lots of extra curricular activities.

What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess? Positive: Hardworking, kind, logical Negative: Stubborn, Envious, Hesitant

Which of your traits do you value most? I value the fact that I am logical and hardworking, and even if it is a negative trait, I value the fact that I am hesitant, it keeps me from being disappointed and hurt by other people.

How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole?I don’t know how it would value the student body but I believe me being hardworking and kind could possibly bring good things to the school if I try hard enough.

What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU?  I hope to gain even more knowledge of my writing abilities to help me become the best journalist I could be after I graduate.

What is a quote or song lyric that describes you? ““And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

[writerzmagazine]

Running Fact [Funny, Interesting & Weird] [List of 51 facts]

  We all love to read fact’s that’s why we brought to you some interesting, weird and funny facts about running. Running is the best and basic form of exercise to keep yourself fit because it uses a person’s own body weight and two legs, this was the first fact let’s see what’s next.  

Fact #1

Fauja Singh from India is the oldest marathon runner. At the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada, the 100 years old marathoner finished the race in a time 8 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds. He was 89 years old when he started to run regularly. So, it’s never too late to start anything. The oldest female marathoner is Gladys Burrill, who at the age of 92 ran the 2010 Honolulu Marathon in 9:53:16.  

Fact #2

Budhia Singh is the youngest marathoner, he had already finished 48 marathons before his 5th birthday.  

Fact #3

Due to intense running the lactic acid which is produced during intense exercise can be absorbed into the milk and can change its taste to sour.                                                                                                                            

Fact #4

After reading this fact you will feel the importance of sports bra. In research from the University of Portsmouth in England has found that the breast just doesn’t bounce up and down during running. They also move side to side, in and out, sometimes creating a figure 8 pattern. This thing is called breast displacement could permanently damage the Cooper's ligaments and can lead to premature sagging. A sports bra is designed to minimize the bouncing as much as possible. It was invented in 1977.  

Fact #5

Spanish researchers have found an interesting fact that you are the fastest in your 20s. They looked at the different ages and there finishing times in 2010 and 2011 New York City Marathon. They found out that the men are fastest at age 27 and women in 29.  

Fact #6

Women rule the road because women made up 56% of all 15.5 million race finishers in 2012.   There was a 61/39 gender split at the half marathon.  

Fact #7

Even if you jog very slowly you will burn at least 10 calories per minute of running.  

Fact #8

Stefaan Engels is known as Marathon Man as he runs for most marathons on consecutive days for 365 days. He is a marathoner from Belgium and he is 49 years old.  

Fact #9

Morrocan runner Hitcham El Guerrouj is known as the runner who ran the fastest mile. He did that in 3:43:13 time.  

Fact #10

Regular running is good for your bones. In research at the University of Michigan, it was found that running for 12-20 minutes 3 times a week can increase bone mineral density.  

Fact #11

The French ultra-marathon runner named Serge Girard holds the world record for the longest distance run in 365 days. He was running every day for a year and crossed 25 countries and covered a total distance of 27,011 KM (16,783 miles)  

Fact #12

Banana is the most adored food of the runners as it came out in a study conducted recently.  

Fact #13

Stride rate of a professional runner is always high, it is usually 185-200 steps per minute. This is also the reason for fast running.  

Fact #14

While you are running 26 bones, 33 joints, 112 ligaments, a network of tendons, nerves and blood vessel are needed to do that. That's Teamwork!  

Fact #15

Fastest mile for a female runner was set by Svetlana Masterkova. She is from Russia and her timing was 4:12:56. This record was set in 1996.  

Fact #16

Till 1972, women were excluded from the Boston marathon, but this did not stop them to take part. A woman named Roberta Gibbs hid behind the bush and jumped out to complete the run and finished unofficially in 3:21:25. She was the first woman to complete the marathon course.  

Fact #17

Athletes who wear red are most likely to win events than athlete wearing any other color.  

Fact #18

An average man has enough energy stored in his fat store to run for 3 days at 24 km per hour.  

Fact #19

12 out of 20 world’s top long-distance runners are a member of the Kalenjin tribe from northwest Kenya.  

Fact #20

Over 1 billions of pairs of running shoes are sold each year in the world.  

Fact #21

In research at the University of Stanford, it was found that runners who played ball sports such as football as kids had nearly 50% fewer chances of getting stress fractures. It was found that this is due to greater and more symmetrically distributed bone mass.  

Fact #22

In a study, it was found that the majority of runners will straighten up when an attractive runner of the opposite sex is coming towards them while running.  

Fact #23

Markus Jurgens holds the marathons world record for running backward. He did this at 2017 Hannover Marathon and finished the race in a time of 3 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds.  

Fact #24

In an interesting study conducted by professor Eric Allen and Patrica Dechow, it was found that women usually run the second half of the marathon faster than the first half. They analyzed 300,000 results from the Chicago Marathon. Women tend to start slow in the first half and then continue to increase their speed and finish strong in the second half of the race.  

Fact #25

In the late 19th century running was known as pedestrianism.  

Fact #26

A women breast will move the same amount whether she is running fast or slow.  

Fact #27

Our ancestors developed the ability to run long distances of about 2.6 million years ago. They did so most probably to hunt for food.  

Fact #28

Treadmills were originally designed for the prisoner as a tool for punishment.  

Fact #29

Humans have the ability to outrun any other animals over long distances.  

Fact #30

Men can run longer and easily than women because they have 20-25% larger hearts in comparison with a woman. Especially the left ventricle of man is large.  

Fact #31

Runners have reported being having a better sex life than their fellow counterparts. In a study conducted on 78 runners, it was found that they have 30% more sex and number of orgasm they achieved increased by 26%. This study was conducted for 9 months.  

Fact #32

The fastest marathoner is Kenyan Dennis Kimetto. He took part in the 2014 Berlin marathon and completed the race in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds.  

Fact #33

Women body has 10 to 15 % more fat than men. They have to work harder to run at an equivalent pace.  

Fact #34

The North Pole marathon is the north most marathons in the worlds and it is also known as the “world’s coolest marathon”.  

Fact #35

The most southern marathon in the world is organized in Antarctica.  

Fact #36

Many famous people have also finished marathons this includes Sean Combs, Oprah Winfrey, President George W. Bush, Katie Holmes, and Will Ferrell.  

Fact #37

During 1979 Boston Marathon it looked like that Rosa Ruiz won the marathon. However, the officials of the marathon discovered that she joined the race near the finish line. After inquiry, they also found that she had ridden the subway to the finish line in the 1979 New York Marathon.  

Fact #38

Researchers had found out that running stimulates the immune system to help fight off cold.  

Fact #39

The fastest runner in the world is Usain Bolt. He holds the world record in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He finished the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds and 200 meters in 19.19 seconds. His maximum recorded speed is 44.72 km/hour (27.8 miles per hour)  

Fact #40

In a study at the University of Arkansas, it was found that running makes you more desirable. 408 participants took part in this study and it was found that 80% of men and 60% of women found themselves more attractive due to running regularly.  

Fact #41

The most common form of running injury is Runners' knee. It is also known as Patellofemoral pain syndrome or PFPS. It is caused by the irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the knee cap.  

Fact #42

The first women-specific running shoes were introduced by Nike in 1978. It was called the Nike Waffle Racer.  

Fact #43

Author Oscar Wilde was also forced to run on a treadmill during his 2-years imprisonment.  

Fact #44

In the 1960s running was not common and people were also stopped by the police. The runner used to run in the morning because the police became suspicious if they saw any person running at night.  

Fact #45

Long distance runners are prone to dead butt syndrome. This is a situation when there is inflammation of the tendons in a person’s rear end.  

Fact #46

“Runner face” is a situation when an ultra-runner burns off too much fat from the face too quickly. It creates a Skeletor appearance on the face.  

Fact #47

When the Greeks defeated the Persian in the battle of a marathon a soldier named Pheidippides ran approximately 25 miles (40 km) from a place known as a marathon. Once he reached he shouted “rejoice we are victorious” and promptly died. The distance he ran became the distance of the modern marathon of 26 miles (42 km).  

Fact #48

Bill Bowerman who was the coach at the University of Oregon and Nike co-founder helped introduce recreational running to the USA. He told that he discovered the benefits of recreational running on a trip to New Zealand in 1962.  

Fact #49

Many times the runners suffer from the black toenail. It is caused by the bleeding under the toenail. Many times poorly fitted shoes are found to be a reason for it.  

Fact #50

The Badwater Ultra-marathon is known as the world’s toughest race. It stretches for 135 miles or 217 km from Death Valley (the lowest point in North America) to Mount Whitney (highest point in 48 states in the USA). You can take part in this race when you are invited.  

Fact #51

Men are faster than women at all distance races. This is due to the reason that testosterone stimulates muscle mass development and also increases the concentration of red blood cells and hemoglobin. Read the full article

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 1 Chapter 1-Yata no Mori (Part 2)

Not going to lie but this chapter nearly drove me crazy with the kyudo terminology. Luckily, there’s a lot of information in English about kyudo online (and surprisingly a lot in French as well) so I just want to give a huge hand to the people who share their kyudo knowledge online in easy to understand ways, you’re the real MVP.

I highly recommend opening the chapter in two tabs and scroll down to the translation notes at the bottom if you can since a lot of words won’t make sense if you don’t know what they mean. I’m still searching for a convenient, non-intrusive way to write the notes so if anyone has any ideas,  let me know.

Also I think I’m going to go on a break after this (yeah even though I promised to post this a lot sooner) cuz I’m still a little burned out from DIVE!!. I just hope the anime doesn’t air before I actually finish this book lol

Translation Notes

1. The Raiki Shagi and Shahoukun are two important ancient texts in modern kyudo. They are written in the front of the Kyudo Kyohon and provide a lot of the philosophy behind Kyudo.

2. Yoshimi Junsei is a famous archer of the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868) who wrote the Shahoukun.

3. Yazuka measurement (not to be confused with yakuza) is the distance from the center of the body to the tip of the middle finger of the left hand when standing upright. This measurement is used to determine proper bow size.

4. Kataboushi yugake is a type of archery glove that has a hard thumb cap (I think???) There are three-fingered, four-fingered and five-fingered types.

5. Kake gae no nai ( 掛け替えのない) is a Japanese saying that means “irreplaceable”.

6. “Makuuchi” is a term for shooting an arrow into the curtain.

7. Gyousha is the movements comprising the act of aiming the bow and shooting the arrow.

8. Oyaki is Japanese stuffed dumplings.

9. Yips is a disease that causes the loss of fine motor skills in athletes. It manifests as twitches and jitters and occurs a lot in sports like golf and darts.

Full list of translations here

Previous | Next

What was that?

Who was that?

He thought back to that breathtakingly beautiful shooting, and Fuu’s deep black eyes.

He tried searching online, but couldn’t find any search terms to enter. The kyudojo of Yata no Mori didn’t have a website, only having its name entered in a list of all the kyudojo in the prefecture. And because of the Personal Information Protection Act, the identity of the person who owned it could not be disclosed either. In that case, he should have asked the man for his name. But, what would he do if he did asked for it?

Minato was heading for the school’s entrance to go home after school. It was bright outside the open windows, and he could hear the sounds of people going to club activities. When he narrowed his gaze on the still distant sunset, the wind died down.

Then, his shoulder was grabbed from behind again. I guess I don’t need to check to see who it is anymore.

“…Ryouhei.”

“ ‘Sup Minato. What are you so dopey about?”

“Do you know how big you’ve gotten? You’re heavy.”

“Sorry, it’s just a habit.”

While apologizing, his hand remained on his shoulder. The other hand was waving at the people passing by.

Since elementary school, Ryouhei liked to join shoulders with other people. Minato disliked being clingy with people, but when he saw Ryouhei’s smile, he couldn’t turn him down, so he left it as it was. Even during the several times when Minato and Seiya fought, Ryouhei would squeeze between them and join shoulders, saying with teary eyes, “I get sad when you guys fight,” and then it became impossible to get angry. Minato had a bad feeling as he felt the similar emotions from those times.

“Isn’t it too early to go home? Let’s go to the kyudo club’s information session together.” Ryouhei said.

Minato replied without a moment’s delay, “No. I’m not going.”

“Alright, then at least listen to some of the information. Tomi-sensei has back pain so he can’t do the practical skills, so it looks like Seiya will be demonstrating them.”

“Ryouhei, did Seiya bribe you to do this?”

“It’s not like that. But, he told me to tell you this: ‘If you don’t come today, then I’ll never let you see Bear again.’ Did they finally start to keep a bear over there? Sweet.”

No, that’s really not something to be impressed about, Minato quipped in his mind.

“For me, Seiya’s the sage, and you’re the hero. You have a heroic saga too, don’t you? Hey, do you remember what happened on our kindergarten trip?”

“Trip? Oh, the one where the hornet landed on my arm, and I kept walking without shaking it off? But, that’s not a big deal. Even though the hornet kept approaching me, the teacher warned me repeatedly not to kill it with my hands.”

“That’s not it! It’s the one where you barehandedly caught the crayfish that I couldn’t touch. When I saw that, I was like, ‘This guy is cool!’”

Minato was completely drained, and placed his hand on his knee.

“Ryouhei, we aren’t in kindergarten or elementary school anymore.”

“How’s that different from being in high school?”

Ryouhei’s innocent gaze pierced Minato.

Minato was an only child, but he was got the illusion that the naughty younger brother, who had always followed behind him, had suddenly matured.

“Actually, when I was in the second-year of middle school, I accidentally saw you drawing your bow. When I saw that arrow firmly hitting the target, I was so excited. I thought that I want to draw like that too. I want to do kyudo together with you and the others—. You said that you were busy with chores at home, so I gave up the other day, but I guess if Seiya and I cooperate we’ll manage somehow? It took a lot of trouble to meet you like this. Just try to listen to the information first. And then can you make your conclusion?”

“Ryouhei, I’m…”

“I want to do kyudo with you…is that no good?”

Ryouhei’s ears seemed like they were drooping down dejectedly. Minato was never good at handling his juniors.

“…All right. But I’m only listening.”

Ryouhei’s face lit up. He couldn’t understand why Seiya involved him into this, but he couldn’t refuse that face. Minato hung his head in shame at his weak-minded self.

At that time, Seiya headed to the kyudojo with Tomi-sensei before everyone else.

Kazemai High School’s kyudojo was located inconspicuously in a corner of the schoolyard. For kinteki (close-range) tournaments, the range was twenty-eight meters, with room for six people to draw at the same time. Though it wasn’t being used, it was well maintained, thanks to Tomi-sensei’s hard efforts bringing in senior citizen personnel during spring break. Seiya only resumed breathing when his hand traced the nameplate that read “Kazemai High School Kyudo Club.”

They bowed once as they entered the kyudojo, and then went ahead and bowed twice in front of the kamiza. Being barefoot is strictly forbidden in the kyudojo, for the same reason entering someone else’s house barefoot is impolite.

To prepare the kyudojo, first apply water to the azuchi (target bank), and then place the targets with their centers twenty-seven centimeters above the azuchi. The targets used were kasumi-mato (mist targets), which were targets with a diameter of thirty-six centimeters where black concentric circles were drawn.

Next was preparing the kyudo equipment. The arrows were placed in the yatate-bako (arrow stand), and the bowstrings were stringed onto the bows. The height of the ha—the distance between the bow’s grip and the stringーwas about fifteen centimeters. There were dedicated tools for measuring that height, but Seiya measured it using his right thumb and said, “This is fine.” Then he went on to rub “ma-gusune” on the string. He did this by applying kusune, which was a boiled mixture of pine resin and oil, onto a small waraji woven from hemp strings, and then using it to neaten the loosened string by fusing it with friction. The saying “to be ready and waiting for (te-gusune o hiku, 手ぐすね引く)” definitely came from kyudo, but the use of kusune was different.

After he got that far, he changed clothes. Shooting a bow right after stringing it was a cause of bow damage, so it was necessary to make it adapt ahead of time.

Seeing Seiya turning towards the makiwara (straw practice targets), Tomi-sensei spoke.

“Oh, Takehaya-kun, where are your glasses?”

“I use glasses because I have dry eye, but I only use contacts when I’m drawing a bow. Before, the bowstring would get caught on my glasses and send them flying.”

“The lenses cracking would be pretty shocking. But, when people who normally wear glasses take them off, do you think it’s okay to be so defenseless?”

“I am seeing perfectly now. I am completely prepared for the attack, far from being defenseless.”

“I say, that’s frightening.”

“Tomi-sensei, thank you for inviting me to the kyudo club. I’ll definitely make your mission a success..”

“I’m counting on you. Fu-ho-ho!” Tomi-sensei laughed.

To Seiya, Tomi-sensei was a happy miscalculation. Before the entrance exams, he had already investigated that the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club was on the verge of disbandment. Minato probably knew that as well. So, he planned to revive the kyudo club with his own hands.

A favourable wind was blowing.

In order to stand at that place once more—.

Seiya encouraged himself, as an unseen power pressed against his back.

On this day, an information session titled “Introduction to Kyudo” was scheduled, and people began to trickle in. Probably twenty or thirty people of mixed genders. For the boys, their goals weren’t just being introduced to club activities.

“Don’t you think kyudo girls are hot?”

“Yep.”

However, with the entrance of one attention-attracting boy, the boys’ ambitions were abruptly destroyed.

“Sorry I’m late. Thank you for preparing everything.”

When greeted with cries of “Nanao-kuuun!” from the girls, he made peace　signs with his hands and waved at them. They then exchanged incomprehensible greetings of “Merha~” “Merha~.”

It was a boy with bright, somewhat unruly hair, and who seemed like his whole body was shining beams of light. He was swinging a quiver in his hand, which was more a “pearls before frogs” accessory than “pearls before swine.”

Seiya set his bow down, and waved Nanao over.

“You’re Kisaragi Nanao-kun, right? My name’s Takehaya Seiya, and I’ll be with you today, nice to meet you. The frog on that quiver is pretty funny.”

“Oh, this is nice, right? Right now my room’s full of frogs. Oh, you can just call me Nanao.”

“All right, please call me Seiya as well. By the way, what was that ‘Merha’ you said just a while ago?”

“It’s short for ‘Merhaba.’ It’s Turkish for hi.”

While wondering why Turkish, Seiya let it pass. This was probably the reason why he was popular with girls. It wasn’t a type you saw much among boys who did kyudo.

When he picked up his bow and quiver, another person who didn’t seem to belong in a kyudojo appeared.

It was a boy with healthy, suntanned skin. Because of his sharp eyes, he was more a wild person rather than a refreshing sports boy, and a somewhat hard-to-approach aura floated around him. Even the girls who surrounded Nanao quickly backed away to surround him from a distance.

“Nanao, don’t block the entrance. Let me in right now.”

“Ehh, Kacchan, you’re so impatient~”

“Stop calling me Kacchan.”

“But aren’t you Kacchan, Kacchan? I can’t call you anything else at this point.”

“This sucks, having to be in the same high school as you, and then in the same club.”

“Aren’t you joining the soccer club? Didn't the guys in the soccer club ask you ‘What position did you play in middle school?’ on the first day?”

“I’m not joining the soccer club, I’m set on the bow. I’m different from the guys who started kyudo just to wear a hakama, like you.”

“I look pretty cool in a hakama. Of course, it’s not for show. Today, I have to show the girls my charming figure. That’s why, Kacchan, you should work hard too.”

“The only one I don’t want to be told that by is you.”

Noticing Seiya being taken aback, Nanao formally introduced him.

“This here’s Onogi Kaito. My cousin.”

“Onogi-kun, I’m Takehaya. Nice to meet you.”

“…I’ve seen you at a match before. What’s your middle school?”

“Really? It’s a private school, so it’s not around here, and I don’t think you’d recognize the name even if I told you. But putting that aside, I want to start soon, so the two of you should go change your clothes first. I’ll keep your bow strung.”

Kaito looked like he wanted to say something, but he entrusted his equipment to Seiya and headed for the waiting room (hikae shitsu).

The first round of Introduction to Kyudo has begun.

Seeing Minato and Ryouhei among the gathered people, Seiya murmured, “Ryouhei, good job.” under his breath.

Tomi-sensei cleared his throat.

“Everyone, relax your feet. This is a good gathering. It seems that I’m popular. I’m blushing.”

A laughter that said “That corny introduction is enough, so please quickly get on with it” rang out.

“Well then, first, some requests. Kyudo is a martial art. You need to respond with spirit. And then, this is essential, but if you nock an arrow to the bow, you absolutely cannot point it at other people, even as a joke. Even if you did not intend to release it, it can lead to a serious accident. Also, absolutely do not take the arrow off the bow to 'dry fire' it, as there’s the danger of snapping the bowstring. You must always obey these rules.”

And then, they chanted in unison the “Raiki Shagi” and the “Shahoukun” (1) that were printed on the right hand side of the kyudojo (TN: this is called wakishoumen or position where one is facing the kamiza and the targets are to the left). The former began with “The shooting, with the round of moving forward or backward can never be without courtesy and propriety. After having acquired the right inner intention and correctness in the outward appearance, the bow and arrow can be handled resolutely,” an inscription mainly preaching the ideals of kyudo. The latter began with “The way is not with the bow, but with the bone, which is of the greatest importance in shooting,” written by Yoshimi Junsei (2), and was mainly the dying instructions of his technique.

Tomi-sensei asked one of the students in the front row, “Do you understand the meaning?”

“No, not at all.”

“I was also completely clueless about what was written in the beginning. But as I kept practicing, I thought that 'Oh, this is what that was talking about.' You can look forward to that as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, this is also a breath control technique. As reading out loud is a way to continuously exhale, this action will enhance your parasympathetic nerves and relieve tension. A good presence of mind is essential for drawing a bow. Isn’t it hitting two birds with one stone to learn the essence of kyudo and do breath control?”

“I seeee.”

The voices were overlapping each other.

It was Ryouhei’s and Nanao’s. Nanao had at some point sat down next to Ryouhei, and they were giggling as they looked at each other. Minato and Kaito, who were on both sides of the two, had sour looks on their faces.

Tomi-sensei held up the kyudo equipment.

“There are three main equipment necessary for kyudo. The bow and arrow, and the ‘yugake’ (archer’s glove). It is a glove made of deer skin used for protecting the hands. Most students use the three-fingered yugake. Now, let’s see the actual shooting technique. Tournaments are done with three or five people. Today we’ll have three people.”

Seiya, Kaito and Nanao got up. At that moment, a visitor came and informed them that sorry for the interruption, but Nanao was being summoned over the school PA system.

“Really? Did I do something? Sorry, Tomi-sensei, but I have to leave for a while. If you like, please replace me with someone else.”

Tomi-sensei looked around when the girls said things like, “Eh—, if Nanao-kun isn’t going to draw a bow then should we just go home?”

“Well, there was another person with experience here. What’s more, he’s a good-looking guy. Narumiya-kun, you can choose to change into a hakama or not, just try drawing the bow for a little bit.”

After a pause, Minato exclaimed, “What!?”

“I can’t. I haven’t held a bow for more than half a year already.”

“I just want you to show everyone how it’s done. The equipment is borrowed, so everyone naturally understands that you won’t be able to strike well. Everyone wants to see him shoot, right?”

Because they all applauded at once, Minato was cornered into a hard-to-refuse situation.

While waiting for Minato to get ready, the others were touching the kyudo equipment. Tomi-sensei and the others moved to the wall.

Kaito took an arrow and approached Minato.

“Since it’s troublesome to have the bowstring caught on your buttons, change into a gym uniform and put on a chest protector (muneate). What was the draw strength of the bow you used? Hold out your left arm so I can do the yazuka measurement.” (3)

“Hey, hey wait a minute. I never said that I was going to draw it. Right, I heard that Ryouhei also drew a bow in class when he was in middle school.”

“Even if he did it in class, it was still dangerous. Plus, Tomi-sensei said that it’s natural that you won’t be able to hit anything, and nobody cares about your skill.”

“It’s not that, it’s not that at all…”

“This is getting annoying. Just do the one or two things you’re asked to do. Aren’t you ashamed to be not much of an archer?”

Minato became speechless at the word “archer.”

Kaito took that as acknowledgement, and used Minato’s throat as a starting point to verify the length of the arrow. If it was too short, there was the danger of accidental discharge when the arrow was pulled towards the inside part of the bow.

Seiya stood next to Minato.

“Let’s trying shooting at the makiwara first. If that seems impossible, you can decline. Though the club has some as equipment, what will you do for the yugake?”

“…I’m fine.”

“All right. It’s a waste of time to go back to the classroom to get your gym clothes, so I will lend mine to you.”

Minato changed into the t-shirt and jersey, and took out the dragonfly-patterned pouch from his bag. Inside was a well-used yugake. The other day, when Seiya had said that he was carrying around a treasure, he was referring to this.

There are people who think that when shooting a bow, the end of the arrow was pinched and pulled back, but in fact, the thumb was used to hook the bowstring and pull it. Minato used a three-fingered kataboushi yugake (4), and the groove at the base of the thumb where the bowstring is hung from was called the tsurumakura. Since the position and form differed slightly depending on the yugake, it was difficult to use something unfamiliar. “Kake gae no nai” (5) was an expression that came from kyudo, with the “kake” meaning yugake.

Minato put on his shitagake (under glove) and yugake, applied giriko (glove powder) to his middle finger to prevent slipping, making a squeaking sound.

As he stood in front of the makiwara, his heart was striking the alarm bells. Although he never failed to do muscle training and rubber bow practice, this was actually the first time in a while that he had held a bow.  The anxiety of not knowing whether his movements were correct or not grew stronger. However, his body moved by itself, and before he knew it he had already nocked his arrow.

He performed gyousha (7). He carefully drew the bow back to its limit. When he drew the bow back to its fullest position, “kai,” Minato counted.

One, two, three, four, five—.

The arrow left Minato’s hand, and hit the center of the makiwara.

When he set down his bow, Tomi-sensei called out to Minato.

“Ooh, you have a beautiful form. If that’s the case then you’re fine.”

Minato tightly pressed his lips together, and took out the arrow embedded into the makiwara. When he exhaled on his shoulder, Seiya, who was watching attentively from a little distance away, also sighed heavily in the same way.

Once they finished preparations, Seiya, Minato, and Kaito lined up at the entrance in that order. It was the beginning of nyuujou (entering the dojo).

They bowed, then moved forward with their feet scraping the floor. They turned towards their respective targets, and then briefly sat down and gave a shallow bow. Their lined-up position at this moment was called honza. When they stood up, they got into the position for shooting and then sat down again. This position was referred to as shai, the position where one shot from their sitting position was called “zasha,” and the position where one was always standing was called “rissha.”

As the three of them nocked their arrows together, Tomi-sensei began to explain.

“As you can see, aren’t they nocking two arrows? Those two arrows are called ‘hitote,’ shot in the order of haya (first arrow), and then otoya (second arrow). First up is Takehaya-kun. The first person to shoot is called the ‘oomae.’”

When he was called, Seiya stood up with his nocked bow. He spread his feet, set the bow on his left knee, and removed his right hand from around his waist. With that as his cue, Minato, who was second, also stood up, and followed Seiya’s movements.

Seiya took the bowstring with his right hand, gripped the bow with his left, and faced the target again. He raised both arms in front of his body, slowly bringing the arrowhead to the center of the target. The exact moment when the bow was taut was the highlight of kyudo. The cross shape formed by the person and the bow conferred a pleasant tension to the viewer, and of course the person themselves.

One, two, three, four, five—.

It hit the center. An ooh sound went up.

With Seiya’s tsurune as a signal, Minato got his bow into the uchiokoshi position. Everyone thought that Minato’s arrowhead would slowly approach the center of the target as well.

However, the arrow left Minato’s hands early, not aimed at the center of the target at all, and it landed a great distance before the target. “Before the target” meant the right-hand side, and “behind” it meant the left. Since the arrow was released at a speed as though he was startled out of his wits, the kyudojo became noisy in an instant. Some people were looking at each other with expressions that said, “What was that?”

Tomi-sensei spoke playfully, “Were you nervous so many beautiful ladies here? Whether you hit or miss, having a poker face is one of the basics. It is courtesy with regards to others to not show emotions. Unlike archery, you can gain a point just by hitting the target anywhere. You only either hit or miss. Well then, the person who goes last is called the ‘ochi.’”

Kaito should have used Minato’s tsurune as a cue to get his bow into the uchiokoshi position, but he had to be told to do it. He drew the bow to its limit, and waited for the moment of hanare, but the arrow missed the target.

In the second round, the arrow that Seiya released went behind the target. Having finished shooting the arrows he had in his hand, he began the process of taijo (exiting the dojo), but Minato didn’t move. The raging palpitations of his heart, and pulsations at the back of his neck were deafening. He cautiously got his bow into uchikoshi, and seemed to be drawing it close to the target on the lawn, but he couldn’t breathe.

I can’t let go, I absolutely cannot let go—.

Minato repeated that many times in his heart. He pulled the arrow to half of its length, and then tried to draw it even wider from there, but the arrow flew out again while he was doing that, and it went high above the target, hitting the curtain that was covering the azuchi.

In the end, Kaito managed to hit the target, and it ended with a total of six shots, with two targets of 1:0:1.        

“It’s more difficult than it looks to hit the target in kyudo. That’s why, it is such a pleasure when you do hit it. As I’m thinking of everyone learning together, people who are interested are sure to gather here tomorrow as well.”

After they were dismissed by Tomi-sensei’s words, Kaito waited for Minato to finish changing clothes before approaching him.

“Oi, Narumiya. What was with those earlier shots… Even though the ‘makuuchi’ (6) can’t be helped, why did you do it so early? Since you shot it so early, I couldn’t even get into yugamae in time.”

“Hey, didn’t I say that I couldn’t do it from the beginning? I didn’t mean to release it so soon.”

“Hah? What a lame excuse. You shot normally at the makiwara. But as soon as you stood in front of the target, you did those messy shots. Aren’t you ashamed as an archer?”

“…Oh, I am. I’m already not an archer anymore… Move, I’m going home now.”

Minato shook off Kaito, and walked quickly towards the exit.

“Minato, are you coming tomorrow? …Since I’ll be waiting for you.”

“You don’t have to, since I already stopped doing kyudo!”

Standing next to Seiya as they watched Minato run off, Tomi-sensei whispered to him.

“Takehaya-kun, is it possible that…”

“…He has hayake.”

Minato mounted his bike and sped off without looking anywhere but ahead.

It began to rain. Gripping the wet, slippery handlebars tightly, he pushed his bike on and ascended the steep hill road. His tail lamp left a trail of red afterimages on the gleaming asphalt, and the sound of car tires repelling the water overtook it. When he saw the torii, he stopped his bike and entered Yata no Mori.

At the Yata no Mori Kyudojo, the man was standing on the other side of the bamboo fence of the outdoor stands. As if so that the man would not find him, he crouched down on the spot to watch him. Maybe because of the humidity being high due to the rain, the clear tsurune from before couldn’t be heard, but the shots he sent out from his relaxed limbs were still beautiful. Deviation-free movements that were somewhat liberated. And yet, there was also a somewhat solemn feeling.

It was as though he was performing a prayer.

What would I wish for on a night where the moon and stars couldn’t be seen?

Suddenly, he met eyes with the man. Was it natural to spot him because the other side was on a higher ground?

The man made a scissors gesture with his yugake-covered right hand, and casually beckoned him over. Minato didn’t refuse him, simply staring vacantly at that gesture without using his brain. Then, the man placed his bow at his feet, and then went to the edge of the shajo and crouched down. “Come, boy,” he beckoned him with both hands.

It’s like he’s—.

“I am not a dog or a cat.”

“Well then, come here quickly. A soaking wet boy in the dark looks like a ghost from here, so it’s really scary.”

“I don’t want to make the shajo dirty.”

“It’s fine, it can just be mopped up later. You’re going to mop it up, right?”

He laughed, just like that night. Minato went up to the shajo, still dripping wet. The man picked up his bow lying on the ground and left that spot, then returned with a wrapped packet in his hand.

“Take off your clothes and dry them out, since I’m lending you this beginners’ training uniform. The men’s changing room is right in front of the reception desk. Also, you don’t need to be so formal with me.”

After he changed his clothes and returned, the man was sitting in a corner of the shajo. The spots where Minato dripped on were also completely wiped clean. “There you are,” he said, handing him a can of coffee that had a flame design on it this time.

Minato cupped the can with both hands.

“…It’s hot.”

“It gets cold at night. Oh, I have something good. Do you want to eat it too?”

When he wondered what was going to appear, it turned out to be oyaki (8). With red bean paste. Minato tossed the sweet oyaki into his mouth, downing it with the canned coffee.

After finishing his drink, the man began to adjust his bowstring’s nakajikake (nocking area). The groove of the arrow’s nock was slightly bigger than the bowstring’s thickness. In order to make it easier to nock the arrow, glue was applied to the bowstring and then it was wrapped in hemp, before it was adjusted to a reasonable thickness.

Minato looked up at the night sky and muttered, “Is it impossible for Fuu to come since it’s raining today?”

“Yeah, I’m going to call him on the next sunny day. Your shoulder is the perfect perch for him after all.”

“I’m not an ornament. By the way, how long do you do this for?”

“It was supposed to be until around nine P.M., but I only seem to be using it in the daytime recently. When I use it, I take the key out of the mailbox, then place the fee on the reception desk. 50 yen for an hour. Apparently couples sneak in here at night, since there’s no one here.”

“And this is supposed to be a sacred dojo…”

“You don’t seem to have much experience in that area. Shall I teach you the basics?”

“You perverted old man.”

The man grinned, as he used two small wooden block-like objects, called douhou, to tighten the nakajikake firmly. Thinking that he was restarting his practice, he instead said something unexpected.

“I get the feeling that you’re experienced with kyudo. Do you wanna try shooting a bow for a bit?”

“Um, no thanks.”

“Don’t be shy. Didn’t you come here because you want to shoot a bow?”

“I said, no thanks!”

Minato came to his senses at his own raised voice.

“…Sorry, I’m going home now.”

“Before you go, it’s okay for you to let out whatever you want here. Telephone lines don’t even pass through this kyudojo, so it’s a place isolated from the modern world in a sense. I’m someone who doesn’t exist in your reality. What you say now will never be told to anyone other than me.”

The man waited for Minato’s reply.

A long time passed, and Minato squeezed out the words, as if he was gasping them out.

“How are you able to do such beautiful shots? …I got ‘hayake’ in my last middle school tournament, and after that…I’ve gotten scared of shooting a bow.”

Hayake was a condition where one shoots an arrow even though one hasn’t decided on it. Without arriving at kai, the arrow was shot in the midst at drawing the bow apart. It was said to be a serious affliction in kyudo, much like the yips disease in golf. (9)

“After I lost in the tournament, I resumed practicing. Even though I could endure standing in front of the makiwara, I couldn’t last even one second in front of the targets. My own body wasn’t listening to what I was telling it at all. The more I think that I must not shoot it, the more the arrow slips from my hands. Before long, even drawing the bow became scary. Staying like that, I caused trouble for everyone.”

When he first joined the club, he had a senpai who could hit very well. Someone who could have served as the team captain. However, when that person got hayake, the club had dropped out right before the prefectural tournament. It was a mystery at the time. Why did he let go so quickly? What made him let go even though he didn’t want it to? He must be a weak-spirited person.

Now that he himself was in that position, he finally understood. Even though he was scolded by his sensei with “Why are you releasing it?” even though he was criticized by his teammates with “You’re shooting it too early,” he couldn’t do anything on his own. It was exactly like a disease. Before he knew it, nobody said anything. He knew that they had given up on him.

“And so, I quit just like that. Today, I held a bow for the first time in half a year. I was hoping that it might have been healed, but I was still no good… This is so uncool, right? This is what a talentless hack is like.”

“I see, that must have been so painful for you.”

Minato raised his head in surprise.

What did he say just now?

Painful? Was I in pain?

He reflexively guarded his eyes. It was the best he could do to withstand the things that were welling up.

The fear from the appearance of the hayake was similar to drowning in a muddy stream, but not everyone could sympathize with it.

“…Could I ask for your name? I’m Minato, Narumiya Minato.”

“Takigawa Masaki. Since I’m mostly called ‘Masa-san’, I’ll call you Minato as well.”

“Masa-san, I don’t know what to do… I don’t want to do kyudo anymore. I don’t want to reconfirm my unsightly self. So when my dad told me to take the entrance exams for a public high school because our finances were tough, I thought I was saved. With that, I didn’t have to continue on with the private school I was attending, so that was a justification for quitting kyudo. But even so, I couldn’t stop running and doing muscle training. It feels like the bow is trying to call me back…”

—The tsurune is calling me.

The number of promises that he had failed to fulfill had become his fetters. Will you abandon everything and run away? The heroics of Minato that Ryouhei talked about were in the past, and nowadays he was the same as a warrior scurrying back home after losing a battle.

“But you still want to draw a bow. Am I right?”

“…Yeah. But how can I recover from hayake…?”

“You’re looking at someone who overcame hayake right now.”

Masa-san grinned.

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