#1st string coach

[tetsunabouquet]

When Teiko Discovers The Werewolves Of Millers Hollow Part 2

PART 1 Aomine pointed to Kise, who looked insulted and decided to cast his vote on Aomine. Rolling his eyes, Midorima said, "You two are childish. I vote on the mayor, Kuroko shouldn't be underestimated." Momoi, being both herself and a werewolf, decided to quickly cast her vote on Aomine whose mouth dropped at the betrayal. "Satsuki!" Because he had two votes already, Kuroko decided to cast his vote on Aomine too. As the mayor, his vote counted twice; a rule that was implemented to prevent the voting in resulting into a tie. With 4 votes, Aomine automatically lost. "It appears the first to be burnt at the stake is Aomine! Will the devil inside of him reveal itself or did the townsfolk get the wrong guy?" Aomine revealed his card with a sour face, showing he was a regular villager. "Another innocent has been murdered! Will the townsfolk be slaughtered in a panic, or will tomorrow morning be a succesful endeavor? Night has struck once more! With your Seer having been killed, only the werewolves get to open their eyes!" Momoi, Nijimura and Kuroko opened their eyes again, the 'dead' looking on this time. Aomine shook his head, now knowing why Momoi had killed him off. Nijimura voted on Midorima, but Kuroko shook his head in silence and pointed at Kise. Momoi bit her lip before doing the same. Akashi could see where this was going. Kuroko's skills really shouldn't be underestimated indeed, just as Midorima said. He understood people. The coach once more did the trick of distracting everyone before revealing Kise's card. Another normal villager. Kise had definitely been pouting over not having a special role earlier. As the coach retreated he spoke again. "Upon the morning, people found Kise's headless body in his vandalized home. The clock begins to tick! Is this town doomed for failure?" Before everyone could even 'wake up' Kise cried out. "No, this isn't fair! Why did you kill me Midorimacchi?!" Midorima looked at him. "Why are you assuming I killed you, nanodayo?" "I KNOW it was you! Look at my headless corpse! I know you just couldn't stand my handsome face!" Kise cried out dramatically, already losing himself in the role of a ghost. Midorima groaned with annoyance, as Kise fake-bawled on the floor which the former ignored. He pointed his finger at Kuroko again. "I still find you highly suspicious. You did vote for an innocent person to be burnt." He looked at Murasakibara, as if he was trying to convince him of his argument but he only stared at the table in thought. Momoi voted on Midorima. "And I find it suspicious you keep trying to kill our mayor. You're a werewolf trying to create chaos and take the power for yourself!" "What are you saying, nanodayo." Mursakibara looked at the exchange this time, and pointed at Midorima. "Mido-chin's suspicious." Kuroko and Nijimura nodded and pointed their own fingers at Midorima, who once more groaned. "The town's folk have gathered around to burn young Midorima, but is the boy innocent or will the devil be burnt out of him indeed?" Midorima revealed his card and everyone was stunned for a second. The peeking little girl, which allows the player to peek between their fingers and spy. Midorima was the only player who had known who the werewolves were from the very beginning. Kise's eyes widened in realization. "Kurokochii, tell me you didn't kill me!" "As Kise's ghost realizes he was betrayed by the one he trusted most, night struck and the final human was brutally murdered." The coach said, considering Murasakibara stood no chance to survive as the only human left. Murasakibara looked up, blinking. "So I'm dead?" "Obviously, considering Momoi, Kuroko and Nijimura were the werewolves." Aomine grumbled. Kise pouted to the coach. "I need another round! My spirit has to avenge himself!" The group laughed, and the second round began. This time, Kise felt pretty great. As Cupid, he couldn't wait to pair up Kuroko and Midorima. He was looking forward to see them struggle to keep their each other alive, because if one died, the other would die of a broken heart. Hehe.

[revasserium]

can i rq kags trying to plan how to propose to you,,

bullets cause im lazy today u__u

kageyama proposing to u at the tokyo olympics lets gO:

physically going to bookstores/libraries to do research bc once he heard a story from one of his senpai that a guy ruined his own proposal bc his s/o looked at his internet search history -- so suddenly, you're wondering why he's spending all this time "going to the library" and for a hot sec you wonder if he's cheating but after one (1) quick chat with suga and daichi, they shut that thought down with that promise that it is so, so not that

spends weeks, nay months, pausing at every single jewelry store he passes by; he's late to practice (only by a few minutes!!!) enough times that his coach starts asking questions; his answers are always vague and blushy, that is until hoshiumi lets it slip that he's probably planning on proposing; after which coach suzaku starts to loudly discuss with his assistant coach the various jewelers that he'd used when he'd proposed to his own wife

actually makes a pinterest account bc yachi said that a lot of ppl put their "dream wedding" inspo boards on there, but he was so overwhelmed by the interface and navigation that he immediately deleted his account afterwards

almost has a heart attack when he looks up how much traditional wedding dresses costs and this, everyone, is how he ends up agreeing to being spokesperson for power curry (bc endorsements are so damn lucrative)

gives oikawa a straight up heart attack when he gets a text at ass oclock in the morning of tobio asking him how (HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING) if he were to propose (again, HYPOTHETICALLY), how he'd do it bc... well, oikawa's always been good at flirting and stuff right? right.

let it never be said that kageyama tobio doesn't at least try to do his research

ofc hinata is his sounding board; it's a terrible idea but at least hinata is super! fucking! supportive! and! excited! and sure, kageyama has threatened him within LITERALLY an inch of his life if hinata let it slip and ruined the surprise bc okay, it'd be pretty cool to propose to you the at the fucking tokyo olympics. but what if he japan doesn't win?

and sure he has to call kuroo to pull way too many strings to set it up but... that's what people like right? big sweeping gestures? and if he has to suffer through half an hour of kuroo's teasing, then so be it. he's suffered worse.

but when the time comes, just before he gets up onto the podium (and sure, 2nd place isn't 1st place, but getting a silver medal at the olympics his 2nd year running is still pretty damn amazing!!!), he finds himself strangely breathless -- and he knows that it's just nerves and that somehow it feels bigger than setting up for a service ace against france, bigger than even getting up on that podium to begin with --

he can see you standing courtside, tears already in your eyes, and he hopes that you have no idea (you have no idea, truly); when he looks at you with the barest inkling of a smile, you blink, you pause, your whole body going still. the area around him quiets, the cheers and screaming of the crowd droning out to barely a buzz in the background. the confused faces of the argentinian team nothing more than a blur as kuroo hands him the microphone with a wink

"uhm -- sorry everyone, but uh -- there's just something i'd like to say before i accept my medal... uhm..." he turns to you and you've already got your hands over your mouth, looking bewildered; he chuckles, digging in his pocket and nearly dropping the mic -- scattered laughter, some of the closest fans are already cheering some of his personal fans are crying but who can blame them rly --

"i know it's not the gold medal i promised you but..." he pulls out the ring and gets down on one knee "this is gold, i made sure, and... i was wondering if you'd accept it anyway," and he sounds so sincere, his voice a little stiff but so, so soft, and you're vaulting over the barricades, almost tripping on your mad sprint towards him, nodding and crying and tipping into his arms even before he can stand up properly

"yes, yes, yes -- oh my god, how long were you planning for this?!" and he's laughing and kissing you and shakily slipping the ring onto your finger and kissing you again and the entire stadium is screaming, his teammates are all clapping, the french team is a little miffed at having their moment stolen, but most of them are smiling anyways; he clears his throat and bows to the different representatives all waiting for him to finish before dropping another kiss onto your cheek, "i'll tell you about it later, okay? i've got a medal ceremony to finish."

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #585

Febri vol. 40, Toyonaga Toshiyuki x Uchiyama Koki interview

Part 11.

((💀This part can be really upsetting, so proceed with caution. In addition to unfavorable interpretation of Y&V relationship, it's also full of Jp brand of homophobia))

-- Hearing your explanation about that scene, a thought came to my mind that it was like a very realistic argument of a couple (laugh).

Toyonaga: Yes, yes, that's right! One person gets very emotional, but at the same time the other person is the opposite, very composed. That's why I think that the way we acted was closer to slice of life shows than anime. For me it was a bit of a shock, like "I see, so this is another possible interpretation, huh".

-- How do you see the relationship between Victor and Yuuri from your perspective, Toyonaga-san?

Toyonaga: Hmmm... From Yuuri's point of view, the Legend that, in the beginning, he was looking up to, tells him that he's going to be his coach, and is so close to him, so for Yuuri it probably felt as if he was dreaming. And from there, their relationship slowly started to be that of a coach and his student, I think. But from Victor's perspective, I think it all started from a surprise, a place of "what should I do next?". So he's using Yuuri quite a bit - or in other words, I think for him it all started from something like: "It will be interesting if I become a coach and make a Japanese skater win, won't it?". But as the story progresses, he starts to get inspired by Yuuri more and more... That's why I don't think it's a relationship that you can describe easily. They are not friends, and there isn't really a hierarchy in their relationship, so it's not really a master and a student relationship either.

-- And they're not simply rivals.

Toyonaga: Yeah. Having said that, to the question if they are lovers or not, I think that no, they are not. If you call that "love", it a deeper kind of love. I think that for Yuuri, as he said, Victor had a bigger impact on him than his family, so I think that they have a stronger relationship than a family usually has.

-- Listening to you right now, I thought that their relationship is close to a relationship of comedian duo...

Toyonaga: Yeah, it is perhaps something close to that. They don't talk with each other that much, and have separate dressing rooms, but they are tied together with an invisible string. And when the stage curtain goes up, they do their job nicely. I think that this is the kind of relationship that they built as the story progressed.

[Notes: 💀💀💀 Jp brand of homophobia, the kind of "why do you need to have what the "normal" people have?", "why do you need to get married like "normal" people do?" + when it's a man and a woman, then it's just "romantic love", but when it's a same sex relationship then "romantic love" is deemed not "good" enough, all of sudden, it has to be more "noble" and "pure" to be acceptable - you can very often see fujos referring to same sex relationships, such as that of Y&V, as "big feelings"... Even though they draw porn of the characters to get off as a hobby, at the same time a lot of fujos still firmly believe that referring to canon relationships as "gay" or "romantic" or "sexual" is offensive. Toyonaga here does exactly the same thing - "they are not lovers and if you call their relationship 'love', then it's a deeper kind of love😊" - I wonder if he has the same opinion of his own relationship if he has a girlfriend/wife - that it's somehow a worse kind of love, because it's romantic 🤔? I bet, he doesn't.

It's just pure discrimination, for the sake of discrimination, "I'm normal, you're not - you shouldn't have what normal people have" - there is no "religious beliefs" involved, for example.

Also why they suggest that comedian duos are not even friends or talk to each other? 💀 I'm sure a lot of those duos are best friends...

This interview was published March 1st, 2017 - there was a lot of talk about backtracking around that period, and you can see it here, too, imo.]

[yo-tori]

Fulfill Your Dreams With Conversational Hypnosis Mastery

Proving himself really well-known amongst several Fortune 500 firms,Fulfill Your Dreams With Conversational Hypnosis Mastery Articles he continuously worked on improving his approaches. Nevertheless, he felt the should evolve a means of acquiring trainees to follow his directions in such a way that his own persuasiveness was scarcely observable. There is no way, right after all, that corporate click here to learn more executives will readily listen to people who wish to encourage them to adopt new patterns of thought or techniques of doing issues.

To hypnotize such resilient individuals was Igors primary aim. However, to be able to do so he necessary to operate at a subliminal level and in as cost and time successful way as possible. Igor, on account of his several years of study of hypnotic techniques, rapidly learned how to do so. He was soon able to assert his control over the scenario and to make certain that the executives listened to him and followed his suggestions as to how they could improve their workplace performance and adherence to corporate standards.

Igor was successful as a life coach inside the corporate world, so he decided to open a hypnotherapy clinic, where he dealt having a range of customers who suffered from a multitude of problems. This included relationships, bad personal habits for example smoking and overeating, also as much more intimate problems for example fears and phobias. His use of conversational hypnosis helped him significantly in his function with troubled people.

Igor then began training others in how to apply his covert hypnosis methods, which he did with increasing success, and for which he was able to charge a fantastic deal. However, all his students felt that they had been obtaining a good deal out of what he was able to teach them. It was then that he decided to package his private coaching sessions in conversational hypnosis into a property study course, which he first did in 2002. The version of the course that he is now releasing is both bigger and greater than his 1st venture into this field. For a lengthy time Igor has offered Master Classes for hypnotherapists, producing him one of the worlds leading specialists inside the arena of conversational hypnosis.

By accessing the specially devised program on conversational hypnosis mastery, you are able to learn how to control both your own way of thinking and behaving and that of others also. Should you be a new entrant at your firm, you may swiftly be able to soar to the heights of becoming top dog. The terms Wonder Boy and Master of All He Surveys will soon be assigned to you, what a thrilling prospect. See your self as the Puppet Master of all those around you, and guess wholl be pulling the strings. Why, none apart from you. No longer will you must win the approval of other people as they will come flocking to you.

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

Game 18 From the Edge of My Seat Thurs, June 27 7:00pm EDT Connecticut @ Washington

Starting: WASH: Atkins, Dolson, Hines-Allen, Richards, Vanloo (Austin hip recovery, Sykes foot injury, Edwards back injury, Samuelson hand injury) CONN: Bonner, Carrington, Harris, Jones, Thomas

1st Quarter Yooooooo, the injuries. Get well soon, all. Austin, Sykes, and Samuelson are all out tonight and the next SEVEN GAMES. DiDi getting the start—first in her career—let's go DiDi! And let's go and play some good basketball. We force a last second shot (and miss) on our first defensive stand. JVL runs the floor and lays it in without contest. DiDi deflects the ball out of bounds twice in our second defensive stand, versus DeWanna Bonner, the second constituting a block. She almost gets a third deflection, but gets more than ball that time. Yish hits a 3. Bonner goes reverse off an O-board for the Sun. A messy play leaves us 3 seconds to inbound and score. JVL inbounds it to Ty's butt, turns, hangs and gets the last second bucket. ELITE. An Earl 3 misses but DiDi is there to recover and kick out to JVL beyond the arc, who puts it up lightning quick and it goes down. Dolson is left alone at the nail and drains it. The Connecticut defense is out of step. We get a defensive rebound and Stef goes straight for the three—swish. I'm flying. It's 15-10. SHE GOES AGAIN! SUN CAN'T SHINE WITH STEF RAINING ALL THESE POINTS! We do need to check these fouls though. Here's nice calm offense off an inbound and we find Shatori for 3, $$$$$. Stef blocks Breezy and then we force a turnover. Another great possession and Shatori finds Jade cutting solo to the hoop. Lead = 9. The Sun starters have not rested. Worst call of the season so far against the Mystics. It's not that big of a deal but they get Stef for being near Jones, the replay does not appear to show any contact outside of their shorts brushing up. McWin speculating that it may have come before and mistakenly been called a shooting foul. Whatever. She deserved a rest anyway. Yish hits a last second flush from deep to cap a 21-6 run. Timeout Sun. The Sun find and work a mismatch out of the timeout and grab 2 pts. In now is Veronica Burton, who wildly was not picked up by any team this year, but got the call from the Sun recently. She deserves to be playing. Expansion, expansion! Shot clock gets low and Ariel takes it upon herself to get the job done. The other way Hines-Allen has a big time block. Shatori gets the steal! And does it herself. There's too much excitement to summarize more briefly. Bonner hits a three to calm things down a bit for Connecticut. But too late, the damage is in, we have THIRTY TWO points in the first quarter. 32-21

2nd Quarter JVL opens the second quarter with a Chelsea Gray Patented Off-Balance Single-Leg Fader as the seconds dwindle. Jade hits a corner 3 and it's a quick 5-0 run. Coach White calls time. Our team is as hyped as I have seen them all season. The Sun come out of the timeout looking for answers, and find DB, their only answer all night so far. She gets a quick 6 pts. Some silly turns on our end and the lead has dropped back to 10. Now DC missed shots are doing favors for The Sun—our once famous lead is only 4 and we need time. This is gonna be a ride. We have briefly (I hope) forgotten how to play this sport. We give up the lead. At this urgent moment we find Stef on the perimeter and take it back. Burton goes 3 to tie it up, then Stef throws a dime to Ariel under the basket. We string together a couple good moments but Burton hits a buzzer 3 to end the half and cut into the energy. 50-47

3rd Quarter Carrington has 3 to start things off. Stef answers—of course she does. A nice pass from JVL to Yish. Earl forces a turn. Stef finally misses, 23 minutes of gameplay in. Carrington makes hers to start an 11-0 run for Connecticut. There's been some moments that would be comedic if we still had that lead, but now they just make me wonder if I really saw what I saw. Earl got popped in the face, no call. They are checking to see if her nose is broken/concussion protocol. Also there's an official review for hostile act, flagrant given. It was not intentional or anything. Jado swishes the step back 3. DB drops a deeeeeeep 3 and plenty of jaws in the arena as the shot clock expires. To cap off the tragedy of errors that has been this 3rd quarter, Coach White gets a tech for complaining about a no call on a Jado side step jumper with 1.8 seconds on the clock. The technical free throw is made by Shatori, tying the game to head to the 4th. This has been an interesting game.

4th Quarter Slow start to the 4th. Shatori takes on 3 Suns and they can't touch her. Next possession she hesitates then shoots it in Banham's face for 3. Long 2 excuse me. Some nice, efficient offensive plays for the Mystics now. Ty hits a 3 to bring the Sun back within 1. It's back and forth now. 5 minutes to go. An and-1 converted followed by a Sun shot clock violation give us a hint of momentum. Stef throws a perfect hail mary pass to Earl to catch and release under the basket as the buzzer goes. It's strong defense by both teams now. Mystics have a 5-point lead with 2 minutes remaining. We're struggling with getting the plays we want now, and Ty hits another 3. AT steals and they tie it up with 24 seconds. We hold for one shot and can't get it. I don't like that—I prefer when they work early. They haven't done well this season with last second actions. 82-82 it's overtime.

OT Breezy falls on Stef during the jump ball and Stef is called for a foul, her fifth. The fouls she gets are just so incredibly stupid. Ty gets in the way of a pass and Carrington gets an easy 3. Ariel loses the handle on the next possession and goes to ground but not near the basketball, Carrington converts. 85-89 2:22 left. JVL gets 3 off a timeout. Earl gets an elbow to the shoulder and foul is called on her—Eric challenges. Unsuccessful. We can't score on the next, Carrington can, a 3. JVL misses her response, but Shatori rebounds and Yish goes in strong for an and-1 opportunity. 1 point game. 15 seconds. Mystics possess, trailing. We shoot a tough shot instead of sending Myisha downhill and miss. 91-94 final. One to watch for sure. Bad mistakes made at the end of regulation and OT.

[insidethestardc]

Cowboys dominating Giants at the half, hold 28-0 lead Entering Week 10 with a 5-3 record, the Dallas Cowboys welcome the New York Giants to AT&T Stadium for a divisional showdown. New York is looking to exact some revenge of the 40-0 defeat at the... #DallasCowboys

[fav-fanficssss]

THIS! I was smiling laughing and sobbing a true wedding extravaganza - the emotions were so perfect for a wedding and This! was the perfect wedding for roo and bbg - so much love so much joy! Cannot get over this chapter and I don’t think I ever will and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

the entire series had been incredible and so real and lifelike and so evenly balanced between smut and fluff and relationship drama and normal drama! - but this chapter! getting to experience their wedding after the build up of everything is incredible and gorgeous and perfect! the fluff! The wedding itself! The friends and family surprised and joyful! > it felt so very real and was the celebration of such a monumental love

I felt every moment every little pull on my heart string when Brad cried before the wedding even started - that was so very much me! Mavericks ceremony speech was so raw and felt off the cusp yet encapsulated everything Roo and BabyGirl and being able to incorporate Goose and Carol! I sobbed - I’m so glad they’re being remembered so beautifully and I’m sure it allows Roo to feel like they’re there.

I have no words to describe their wedding vows - shaking and sobbing it’s so beautiful and gorgeous - my heart collapsed, my teeth fell out, and I laughed till I cried then I wept in gratitude.

Perfection absolutely complete undoubtable perfection!

‘How can you love me that much’ ‘You make it so easy’ I’m dead I’ve passed away

I knew they were going to kiss mid ceremony and yknow what I would too

They’re married and Im sobbing and your sobbing and we’re throwing something that doesn’t fuck the environment up in the air in celebration of love! We love love!

The most perfect wedding for the most perfect couple my heart is so full!

Everyone clap and cheer and say thank you dear sweet incredible Mrs. Roosterforme

———————————————————————-

P.S. Now all we beg for is a third iteration of this fantastically incredible show stopping New York Times bestselling series revolving around Roo and Baby Girls baby! I beg for it desperately >>> Brad and Baby Girl finding out, first appointment, Brad being incredibly protective and sweet and caring during morning sickness and general 1st trimester ickiness, telling their family! Planning for the future and learning about child development and babies and general life shit that you come to recognize when your preparing for a child, The baby shower, the nesting tendencies later in her pregnancy, hormonal baby girl (the good the bad and the ugly), the pregnancy sex!

Regardless of where Brad and Baby Girls journey goes I will be diligently reading along and screaming to everything (along with kitten and coach and daddy and princess and beer boy and sugar and rouge one shots and Jake in a blue moon - anything Mrs Roosterforme feeds me I eat up yes ma’am!)

All the love you fantastical goddess you - Thank you for sharing your writing! Thank you for having the biggest brain! Thank you for being you! Thank you!

A Love You Don't Find Everyday Part 20 The Wedding | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Tradition states that you and Bradley shouldn't see each other the night before you get married. But the two of you aren't traditional, and neither is your wedding. Can you and he actually pull off the secret wedding of your dreams?

Warnings: Fluff, angst, and swearing

Length: 5600 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my masterlist for more!

After the house was cleaned up, and your parents had been dropped back at their hotel, Bradley had you tucked against his chest in the kitchen. 

"Tomorrow. Holy shit," he whispered. "I can't believe we're getting married tomorrow."

You were giddy, practically vibrating in his arms. "Let's go over the checklist. I can't believe everyone fell for our little white lie."

Bradley kissed your forehead and never stopped touching you as you and he went down the list together. "Did you call the caterer yesterday?" you asked, pen poised over item number seven.

"Yep, dinner, drinks and cake are all set," he confirmed, and you smirked to yourself, because he had also been duped. You couldn't wait to give him his last wedding gift.

"I think that's it then," you confirmed. "I filed the permits. Mav is ready. We are mostly packed for the honeymoon. And everyone else thinks it's a regular day." He scooped you up into his arms and carried you to your bedroom. 

"I don't think I have ever been this excited for anything before," he said, setting you down on the bed and climbing in next to you. 

"You have to go sleep in the other room," you informed him as he kissed along your collarbone. 

His lips froze on you. "What are you talking about, Baby Girl?"

"It's tradition! We're not supposed to see each other the night before or at all tomorrow until we actually get married!"

"Yeah, we're not doing that, Sweetheart." He continued to kiss you as you wiggled away from him, laughing. 

"Come on, Roo."

"Listen, I'm not saying we need to have sex, but I'm not sleeping in the other bedroom when you're in here."

You glared at him and kept scooting away when he tried to touch you until he heaved a deep sigh and climbed out of bed. "Fine. I'll be in the other bedroom. Banished without even fucking up. I'll consider this husband training."

You laughed and stood to give him a kiss before he left. "You're going to be the perfect husband, Roo. You already are. I love you."

"I love you, Baby Girl."

"I can't wait to marry you."

He stroked your cheek with his thumb and smiled. "Me too, Mrs. Bradshaw."

Then you shoved him out of the room and started laying out all of your lingerie for the next day. You had someone coming over to do your hair and makeup in the morning, and you wanted to be organized. When you unzipped the garment bag containing your dress for a final peek, you jumped up and down and squealed quietly. It was perfect. And Bradley was perfect. And your little scheme was working out perfectly. 

You got yourself ready for bed and climbed in alone. Tramp must have followed Bradley to the other bedroom, so you settled in and tried to fall asleep. It was quiet, and the bed was comfortable, but when Bradley wasn't with you, it reminded you of his deployments. You rolled over onto your back and thought about how pretty the view would be tomorrow, but you were too cold in the bed without him. You rolled onto your stomach in his spot and pretended you were laying on him. But it wasn't working, because while his pillow smelled like him, nothing was as comfortable to lay on as Bradley's warm shoulder. 

"You're ridiculous," you groaned, flipping your lamp back on and grabbing your glasses. You walked through the living room and into the other bedroom and watched Tramp and Bradley both perk up when you said, "Roo?"

"What's wrong?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbow.

You bit your lip and whispered, "I miss you. Will you come back to bed?"

He was out from under the blanket and walking toward you in just his underwear immediately, and then he scooped you up in his arms without another word. Tramp trailed behind him as he carried you back to your bed. He took off your glasses and tucked you in as Tramp curled up in his own bed. Then Bradley turned off the lamp and climbed in on his side, and you were on top of him in an instant with your head on his shoulder. 

"I didn't like you being here but not being with me," you whispered, kissing his warm skin while he laced his fingers with yours. 

"Please don't make me sleep alone unless I'm deployed."

You snuggled in and closed your eyes, finally feeling calm and comfortable. "Never."

-----------------------------

Bradley woke up to you draped across his body, enjoying the sound of your deep, even breathing. He was going to marry you today. Tears stung at his eyes at the thought of you in a white dress putting a ring on his finger. When you started to stir, you looked up at him and smiled. 

"Happy wedding day," you whispered. 

"Happy best day of my life, Sweetheart."

Your sleepy laughter filled the room as you sat up and kissed him. "You need to get dressed and leave so I can get ready."

Bradley grumbled but did as he was told while you made breakfast. Then he sat at the dining room table with you on his lap wearing nothing but his UVA shirt while you ate eggs covered in hot sauce. Occasionally you tore off a bit of your toast and fed it to Tramp as he begged next to the chair. Bradley wanted his life with you to last forever. He couldn't get enough of this. 

"Hey," he whispered and you turned to look at him with a piece of toast halfway to your parted lips. "It's just you and me, Baby Girl. Forever."

You smiled and set the toast down before wrapping your arms around his neck. "Me and you." 

Before Bradley got changed in the extra bedroom and left, he put both wedding bands in his pocket and made sure his phone was charged and loaded with the correct playlist. Then he told you which parking spot he would be waiting in with the Bronco. 

"I'll be there, Roo," you promised, kissing him so sweetly he was having a hard time making himself leave. But he knew the sooner he let you get ready, the sooner you'd meet him and everyone else in your wedding dress. So he pulled out of the driveway with a smile on his face. 

-------------------------

Your hair was done. Your makeup was done. You were slipping into the outrageously expensive satin panties with Mrs. Bradshaw embroidered on the front when you caught sight of yourself in the mirror. You looked amazing. This is what Bradley was going to see later when he brought you home. You cupped your breasts in your hands and turned to really look at yourself. You weren't perfect, but he loved you. 

You were wearing the new earrings Bradley had given you, and Carole's beautiful veil would be your something old. The blue Mrs. Bradshaw stitching in your lingerie would cover that element of the tradition, but you still had to figure out how to incorporate the keychain from Jake, even if he had no idea that's why you demanded he let you borrow it.

When you checked the time on your phone, you nearly screamed. You were running late. You got your dress on as quickly as you could, struggling with the zipper. Then you took the time to lace your high heels up your calves and tie the ribbons in pretty bows for Bradley to undo later. You grabbed your shoes for the reception and Jake's keychain, and then you were ready to go.

When you pulled up to the parking lot, you saw Mav and Bradley next to the Bronco with your parents. Mav came running over to move the orange traffic cones so you could pull in, and he had a huge smile on his face. Then you parked two spots down from the Bronco, leaving one empty one in between both cars. 

When you opened your door, Bradley was right there with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. "Baby Girl," he sighed, helping you out of your car and into his arms. He looked at you and then held you close, whispering, "I am so lucky." You let him hold you as you ran your red fingernails along his yellow and red tropical print shirt while he brushed your ear with his lips. "So lucky. I love you so much."

You melted against him as his big, warm hands spread across your bare back. "I love you, Roo. Forever." Then he took a step away from you and ran his hands along the fabric of your wedding dress.

"Do you know how badly I wanted to look in that garment bag for the past month? That damn thing was taunting me in the closet, but I had fun imagining what you'd look like today." He licked his lips and ran his thumb along the lace between your breasts. "God, you look amazing. I couldn't even imagine anything this perfect."

"It's just for you." Your words had a rosy color creeping along his cheeks as he ran his hand down your body to the exact location of your tattoo.

You could hear your mom crying next to the Bronco, and when you kissed Bradley one last time and glanced over at your parents, you almost laughed. Your dad was wearing an old Naval Academy shirt with his swim trunks, and your mom had on a sundress with her sunglasses perched up on top of her head. Bradley gently pushed you toward them, and then they were both pulling you into their arms. 

"I'm sorry we lied and told you it was just a beach day today," you said, trying not to start crying yourself. 

"That's okay. We don't mind," your dad said with a soft laugh.

Your mom held your face in both hands. "When Bradley picked us up in white linen pants, I was a little concerned. And then when he stopped at a florist and asked me to hold onto your bouquet while he drove, I started crying. And I haven't stopped since. Because I'm so happy."

When she finally released you and clung to your dad instead, you hugged Mav who whispered, "You look beautiful. Just as pretty as Carole did on her wedding day. The Bradshaw men have impeccable taste."

You tried not to cry as you ran your fingers along Carole's veil where it fell back along your shoulders. "I wish I could have met them," you told Maverick, and then you really felt like crying. 

But then your dad asked, "Not that I don't love it, but why exactly did you pick a parking lot for your wedding venue?"

Bradley wrapped his arm around your waist and said, "This parking spot is where we had our first kiss."

You looked out past the front of your car at the cliffs beach and the Pacific Ocean and thought about that fateful day early last September. "I kissed you."

Bradley nodded. "You owed me after all the mixed signals, Baby Girl."

"The Bronco was parked in this spot," you said, tapping your toe on the crumbling pavement of the empty parking space. 

"No. The Bronco was parked there," he replied, pointing to where it was currently parked. 

"What? No, it was definitely this spot, Roo."

"You're so wrong, Sweetheart."

You opened your mouth to argue further, but then you watched an SUV pull in right over the cones, followed by Phoenix screaming your names at the top of her lungs out the driver's window.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" she screeched as she jumped out of her car while it was practically still moving and ran over and right into Bradley's arms. 

He hugged his best friend who was wearing a sports bra, athletic shorts, and flip flops. Then Bob hopped out of her car as well and rushed over with his nose covered in zinc sunblock and his sunglasses clipped onto his regular glasses. He looked around as your mom handed you the bouquet of red and yellow flowers you ordered. "Are you getting married? Today?" he asked quietly, wiping tears from his eyes. 

"Yes!" you said, and Bob hugged you so hard, he got sunblock in your hair. And then Nat started crying as you handed her a smaller bouquet that matched yours while your mom fixed your hair.  

"I literally never thought this was going to happen," Nat sobbed at you. "I was still afraid you might change your mind, because he's kind of a nightmare, but he's so fucking pussy whipped for you, I can't even think straight. Oh my god, I'm sorry about my language," she muttered to your parents while she wiped her tears on Bob's shirt. "I can't believe you said it was a beach day, and now I have to wear this in your wedding photos!" she said, hitting Bradley with the flowers. 

Everything was turning into a commotion as Maverick moved the bent traffic cones for Penny and Amelia to pull in along with Payback, Fanboy and Coyote. Maverick also had to keep waving people past, even though there was a sign hanging up with the county seal that said PERMIT FOR PRIVATE EVENT- NOVEMBER 28TH 4 PM TO 9 PM.

You laughed at everyone's attire and shocked faces. Penny and Amelia were wearing matching Hard Deck tee shirts and the boys all had on bathing suits. 

"It's a wedding! It's not a beach day!" Fanboy yelled when he saw you and Bradley. "It's actually a fucking wedding!"

You buried your laughter against Bradley's chest and wiped your sweaty palms on his shirt. He kissed the top of your head through the veil as the guys all made a fuss over you. 

Jake, Maria, and Cam were still missing, and you nervously worked Jake's keychain in amongst your flowers as Maverick checked the time.

"Do you want to get started now?" he asked you and Bradley. "Or should we wait a bit longer?"

"We need to wait," you replied quickly while Bradley rubbed your back.

"Hey, can you call Hangman?" Bradley asked Coyote who immediately took his phone out. But then you saw Jake pull past and run directly over all the cones to get in the parking lot.

"You lied to me!" Jake shouted as he parked and walked over to the ceremony spot overlooking the ocean. "You are both liars! This is a scam! Mexico? Really?" he asked, playfully shoving Bradley before shaking his hand. And then he gave you a bear hug that had you gasping for air. 

"Thanks for giving me my something borrowed," you said with a smile when he released you. Jake examined your bouquet when you held it up, and he kissed your cheek when he saw his keychain. 

"I'd tell you to keep it, but I think you have to give it back now."

Everyone was shifting around a bit impatiently. Nat was putting Coyote's shirt on as the photographer got to work. You were looking up and down at every car that passed, hoping to see your friends. And Bradley kept his arm wrapped around you, reassuring you that they could all wait as long as you wanted to before starting. 

When you looked up at Bradley's soppy expression and puppy dog eyes, you sighed, not wanting to wait any longer. "Let's do this," you told him, about to hand Maria's bouquet to Jake to act as your maid of honor. But your friends didn't let you down. You watched Maria drive up, and Fanboy moved the crumpled cones so she could pull in. She had Cam in the car with her, and they were both smiling. 

"My flight was delayed because of snow! On your wedding day!" Cam called out, walking over to you in jeans and a flannel shirt. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, pulling you into a hug. "I would have flown back from Pittsburgh last night." 

Maria joined in the hug as she cried. "You picked a wedding date after all." She held her bouquet and stood next to you while Nat in Coyote's shirt stood next to Bradley. Mav shuffled some papers in his hands and stood with this back to the beautiful vista as everyone else crowded into the parking space between the two cars. 

But you just looked at Bradley who was very clearly on the verge of tears. Every time he swallowed, the bob of his Adam's apple had you biting your lip, probably ruining your lipstick in the process. You had more love in your heart for him than you knew what to do with, and as you took his left hand in your right one, Maverick cleared his throat. 

"This is nice," Mav said, smiling at everyone. "Small and perfect. These two knew what they were doing."

"Fucking liars," Jake whispered loudly, making everyone laugh. 

"Yeah, well," Mav agreed with a grin, "it somehow ended up working out. And they didn't give me anything to work with, rather they told me I could say whatever I wanted before they exchanged their vows, so I will make this brief." Mav turned to you and smiled, saying, "You and Bradley are so very lucky to have your parents here today. You are about to marry the son of the best friend I ever had. I knew Goose's opinions on every topic imaginable, because he did not know how to keep his mouth shut. And I can tell you that he would have absolutely loved you. But that love would have been a mere fraction of the unyielding adoration that Carole would have had for the wife of her only son."

You sobbed as tears filled your eyes, and Bradley leaned down to kiss your cheek. "And Bradley, I'm going to say word for word what your dad would say if he were here right now. 'You pulled off something incredible here, kid. You're following right in my footsteps. She is way too good for you. Do not fuck this up.'"

Bradley laughed as Mav reached out to shake his hand. "You're right Mav. I think he would have actually said that."

Once everyone's laughter had quieted down again, you took a deep breath and looked out at the ocean, letting the warm breeze help dry your eyes. When you looked back at Bradley, your lip was quivering a bit, but he was grinning at you. "Can I say my vows first?" he asked. "I'm really excited."

"Yeah, Roo," you whispered, handing your flowers to Maria so you could wipe your eyes with the tissue Mav handed you. "You can go first."

You handed the tissue to Maria, and Bradley took both of your hands and pulled you closer to him until your body was skimming his. He reached up and ran his thumb across your cheek, and your eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds. 

"Baby Girl. It's obvious to anyone who knows me that I was alone for a really long time," he told you, and you felt like it was just the two of you, having a conversation. "I made it my lifestyle, my personality for almost two decades. It was so much a part of my identity that I couldn't even recognize that I wasn't just alone, I was also lonely."

He took a deep breath and touched your lip before returning his hand to yours. "I never thought I could have the life I have now, because I didn't appreciate what I was missing out on. And then I met you... and holy shit, Sweetheart," he sighed, kissing your forehead. "I knew immediately that there was something there for me. Something different. Something important that I needed to pay attention to. I was in love with you before our first date. It was devastating. I had no idea what to do about it. What if you didn't love me back ever? What was I going to do then? How did people deal with this wonderful and horrible feeling? The fact that you said 'I love you' first? Baby Girl, that showed some real restraint on my part."

You laughed at the look of concern on his face, and then he was smiling at you like he always did. Like he'd never seen anything as wonderful as you. "You want to know what's kind of crazy?" he asked, and you saw Nat crying silently out of the corner of your eye. "It feels like I must have known you my whole life. When I count our relationship by months or years, it feels incorrect. It should be longer than that. It feels longer than that. Because you make every day feel full now. I wake up with a purpose, and I go to sleep with a purpose, and that purpose is you, Baby Girl."

It was getting hard to look at him through the tears in your eyes, and you thought you would get a headache if you kept smiling this much, but he continued. 

"I get to spend my hours with you or thinking about you. I get to fill up every minute making plans with you. Every minute is made up of seconds where I get to hear your voice and listen to your ideas. And you're so smart and it's crazy that you love my back, because you make every day now worth those decades of feeling like I didn't deserve more.

"So this is my promise to you....my wedding vow. Baby Girl, I will try to make all of your years and days and hours and minutes and seconds as perfect as you make mine. I want to fill up all of that time with my love. I will try to make every second count, but I also know that all the time in this world still won't be enough with you, Sweetheart. But I'm going to enjoy every single moment that I have."

You were crying softly as you buried your face in the collar of his floral print shirt and breathed him in. He held you tight against him as he whispered, "I love you so much," next to your ear and kissed you there. 

When you finally looked up at him, he kissed your lips as you said, "You made me cry, and now I have to say my vows." With a soft smile he ran his fingers across your cheeks to clear away your tears, and you took a deep breath. "Roo. On our first date, I asked you to tell me something embarrassing about yourself."

His eyes went a little wide. "Please don't make me say it here." 

You laughed at him and shook your head. "I won't. But when I asked you that night, you told me! And it was funny and charming, and I thought you were adorable. And then you let me keep asking you for more. I wanted to learn everything about you. I still do. Because you make it easy. You never make me feel like I'm bugging you. You always make me feel like you have time to talk to me. And you have always been honest with me, telling me I can ask you anything." 

Bradley nodded and whispered, "I love talking to you." 

You kissed his lips and then continued. "You're the most open and honest person I have ever met. I always know where I stand with you. Do you know how good that makes me feel? To always be someone's highest priority? To always be your highest priority? And you always let me know your expectations. Of course, that means I knew you intended to reach our wedding day after we'd been dating for approximately two weeks." Bradley laughed as he swiped some tears from his eyes, and you were a little started to hear your friends and family laughing as well; everyone else had drifted into the back of your mind as you focused on Bradley.

"Roo, I'd rather have that kind of transparency with you than anything else with anyone else. You make me feel like it's okay to be myself. And I believe you when you tell me something. And I love that you trust me, too."

"I do, Sweetheart," he promised. "I'd trust you with my life," he said, his voice catching on the last word as released your left hand to wipe away more tears.

You took a deep breath before saying, "I can't wait to keep learning all of the little intricacies about what makes you tick. Because for someone who has been through so much in such a short amount of time, you are a fighter when you need to be. But you never make me fight for the things I deserve. Like your love, and your patience, and your honesty. You love me so much," you whispered as Bradley covered his eyes as his shoulders shook. "You protect me, and I protect you. Because you're right, all of our minutes and hours spent walking Tramp or making dinner or just having a lazy day...they are so important, because you're with me." You voice was quiet and shaky as you took a deep breath while Bradley met your eyes with his tear filled ones. 

"So, Roo, I vow to be as open and forthcoming as you are. But that's not going to be easy, since you're amazing at it, but I'll try. Because you're it for me, Bradley Bradshaw."

Bradley took your face in both of his hands and looked at you in awe. "How can you love me that much?" he asked you, his voice rough with unshed tears.

You reached up and stroked his wrists softly as he held you. "You make it so easy, Bradley." Then his lips were on your forehead and then your nose before they found yours. He kissed you so sweetly as his hands gently went to the back of your neck.

Maverick cleared his throat, and you jumped a few inches as Bradley pulled back from the kiss. 

"We haven't even gotten to the kissing part yet," he said, wiping tears from his own eyes.

"Well then hurry up," Bradley told him, letting his hands slide down between your neck and the veil and along your body until he was holding your hands once again.

"Yeah, okay," Maverick agreed, and you turned to find everyone was smiling and wiping tears from their eyes. Nat was dabbing her face with Coyote's shirt and your parents were holding each other. "Do you have rings to exchange?"

"Yes," Bradley replied as he reached in his pocket and then held out his palm with both wedding bands. You carefully took his ring between your thumb and index finger with a smile. 

"You can go ahead and put the rings on each other's fingers," Maverick said, and Bradley went first. The way the gold band matched up with your engagement ring had more tears coming to your eyes. "Would you like to say anything else?" Maverick asked.

Bradley softly kissed your finger where both rings were, and he told you, "I love you. I love my wife."

You smiled and slipped his ring on his hand as you told him. "I love my husband!"

Maverick rubbed his hands together and said, "Somehow the state of California has made me legally allowed to say this: I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss!"

-------------------------

Bradley reached for you so fast, wrapping his hands around your waist to settle low on your back. The veil his mom wore the day she married his dad was skimming his fingers as he pulled you closer. Your eyes were wide and trusting, your lips parted in the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. The remainder of the tears you had shed while Bradley poured his love into his wedding vows to you were dry on your cheeks, and he was about to make you his wife.

"Somehow the state of California has made me legally allowed to say this: I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss!"

Bradley kissed you as your palms rested on his chest before wrapping around his neck. He kissed you long and hard as everyone cheered and hollered, and when he broke the kiss because you were both smiling too much, you chased his lips for more. You pulled him close again as your fingers skimmed through his hair. So he kissed you until you were both laughing, and he held you close to his side as you turned to face everyone. Your head came to rest on his shoulder, and he kissed your forehead. 

Bradley was vaguely aware of the photographer and the fact that the catering van was now running over the orange cones that Nat and Jake had previously decimated. He could feel Nat reaching up to kiss his cheek, and he watched your parents both give you a hug. But he never stopped touching you. His perfect wife.

You were holding your flowers again, and every couple seconds, you reached up, bumping him with the bouquet before giving him a kiss. This had been the perfect day for the secret parking lot wedding of Bradley's dreams. And somehow as the sun fell low on the horizon, you looked even more beautiful to him. 

"I can't stop smiling, Roo," you told him, hitting his cheek again with the yellow and red flowers as you leaned up to kiss him. 

"This has been the best day of my life, and it's not even over yet." Bradley ran his thumb over his wedding band as you wrapped your arms around him. "You're my wife. You're my fucking wife, Baby Girl!" You laughed against him as he announced to everyone gathered in the parking spot, "I can't believe she married me!"

"Neither can we!" Nat replied, and Bradley let everyone's hugs and words of congratulations wash over him as you held him in your arms. 

Bradley watched the caterers start to carry coolers and trays of food down the rocks to the beach as if they did this every day. You had your fingers laced through his as you hugged Jake with your free arm. Bradley watched as he kissed your cheek and whispered something to you that made you laugh, and then Jake was patting him on the shoulder. 

"Congratulations, Bradshaw," he drawled with a smirk. "I gotta say, I never thought I'd be so happy to have a girl choose you over me, but here we are."

"If she's too good for me, then she's way too good for you," Bradley replied with a laugh. Then he pulled you into his arms as Jake started to help your mom down the rocks to the sandy beach below the parking lot.

As everyone was heading down along with the caterers, leaving you mostly alone, Bradley pulled you in for another kiss. "I can't get enough of you, Mrs. Bradshaw," he whispered, running his hands all over you. "God, you look incredible."

You moaned softly into his mouth, and he pushed you gently against the passenger door of the Bronco. "You like my wedding dress?" you asked between kisses.

"You look like a fucking goddess, Baby Girl. I can't believe you're mine."

Your fingers trailed along the buttons of his newest Hawaiian print shirt as he kissed your neck and let his hand drift down to the slit in your dress. When his palm came to rest against your bare thigh, you sighed. "I'm all yours, Roo."

"Let's go home," he suggested, only half joking. "Get a jump start on the night?"

You laughed as he rubbed his mustache along your neck. "No way. I want my confetti cake and the little bottles of pink champagne," you told him as his hand wrapped around to the back of your thigh. "But after that...I see no reason why we can't go home. Now help me change out of these shoes."

Bradley helped you climb up into the passenger seat, and he started to untie the ribbons that wound up your calves. "These are pretty," he grunted, gently running his hands down your legs as he took your shoes off for you. "Will you put them back on for me later?"

"Will you actually take five minutes to help me lace them back up my legs just so you can fuck me in them?" you asked him sweetly, and he groaned.

"Well, maybe not for round one, Sweetheart, but for round two or three, yes."

Your eyes went wide. "How late are we staying up tonight?"

He scoffed. "We only get one wedding night."

After he retrieved your flat shoes from the backseat of your car, Bradley helped you slip them on. But instead of climbing out of the Bronco when he reached for you, he felt you pull him in closer. 

"What does this remind you of, Roo?" You ran your fingers over the scars on his neck and cheek before pushing your fingers up into his hair. Then you pulled him closer and closer until you pressed your lips against his. Bradley drew little circles along your waist through your dress with his thumbs, and he parted your lips with his and tasted your tongue. 

You moaned softly into his mouth as he trailed his lips across your jaw, whispering, "Our first kiss, Baby Girl. Right in this parking spot."

"Mmm," you hummed as he kissed your neck. "It was the next parking spot over, but it doesn't matter, Roo." He kissed along the tops of your breasts, as you whispered, "We did it. We pulled off the secret parking lot wedding. You're my husband."

He wrapped his hand around your waist and kissed you hard. "Let's get down there, Baby Girl. The sooner we finish celebrating here, the sooner I can celebrate with my wife at home."

-------------------------------

THEY ARE MARRIED! THEY DID IT! BRADLEY AND BABY GIRL BRADSHAW! Thanks for reading, whether you've been here since the beginning or joined somewhere along the way. I really appreciate you. Next chapter is the beach reception and the wedding night. Thank you @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls for helping me every step along the way.

@mak-32

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[uc-fan-polls]

Clarabelle Tauron - Runs a flower shop in Winster, Russ's mother (Mentioned in Episode 1)

Chad Starstone* - 1st String Rusher on the Winster White Claws (Mentioned in Episode 2)

Cinder - Blocker on the Winster White Claws (Mentioned in Episode 2)

Damir Mortyss, Coach - A cackling flameskull and coach of the Thymore Flameskulls (Mentioned in Episode 1) - And IIRC Arc 1 ;)

[tetsunabouquet]

When Teiko Discovers the Werewolves of Millers Hollow part 1

A/N: I got this idea after talking with @reiimii so here you go! I ended up writing such a long one-shot, it has to be split up in two so enjoy the first half! part 2

The Teiko six, Nijimura and Momoi were seated in the meeting room, for a different reason then usual. Today they would be playing a French game Akashi played at a fancy party, the only European rich kid present had introduced the kids of the Japanese elite to the Werewolves of Millers Hollow. It had been a fun game, but Akashi rather wanted to play it with his actual friends. With permission of the 1st string coach, they were allowed a day off of practise to play a game under the condition the coach would be the game master. Akashi thought the man was looking forward the event as much as he did, considering Aomine seemed to be a bit lost in thought lately and could use the bonding experience. Akashi had bought a cardset of his own, and had translated anything necessary for the game. "Alright, does everybody understand the rules?" Akashi asked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Our card decides our roles, only specific roles and the werewolves are allowed to know who is who and during the day we can hold an election for mayor who can cast two votes. We get it Akashi." Aomine's voice rang through the room, and everyone else nodded along. The coach smiled, having already shuffled the cards. "Alright, let the games begin!" "Remember, try to keep your reaction to the card as minimal as possible. You do not want to give yourself away." Akashi warned as he was handed his card. Looking at it, he internally smirked. Everyone tried to be as poker faced as possible, though Kise seemed to pout a little. "Today seemed perfect, but it looks like dark forces are threatening from the woods. The town's people are scared and the old mayor has fled. Who will be the hero that leads the people?" The coach's voice boomed dramatically, and Kise immediately pointed to Kuroko. "Kurokochi can be the mayor!" Momoi nodded in agreement and Aomine shrugged. "Fine with me." Akashi thought for a while, knowing Murasakibara would chose him easily and he felt prety assured about Midorima and Nijimura's votes, so that would mean a total equal of votes. So Akashi decided to give this one to Kuroko. "I accept Kuroko being our leader for this instance." "And so, did the people decide to elect the reliant Kuroko Tetsuya to be their mayor," the coach continued on his story. "He has ordered all the citizens to stay indoors tonight, but as the night falls, it is clear that the evil already spread amongst you. Let the horrors of the night commence!" The group all covered their eyes with their hands, as the coach's voice rang. "It seems someone amongst you has the prophetic gift. Seer, you may open your eyes!" Akashi lowered his hands, looking intently at the group. He pointed to Midorima, and the coach walked to his seat to flip his card for Akashi to see the peeking little girl card. He nodded in response, crossing Midorima off of his list. Then he covered his face once more. "Now, it is time for the werewolves to wake up! Who will be the first victim to perish?" Kuroko, Momoi and Nijimura all lowered their hands, first taking in who was part of their pack. Momoi couldn't help but omit a small smile knowing she and Kuroko were on the same team. Nijimura immediately pointed to Akashi, knowing his genius alone would make him a threat and the other two nodded in agreement. The coach placed a few of everyone's card theaterically down once more, to distract everyone from who was the victim and who were the werewolves before turning Akashi's card around, revealing him to everyone. Nijimura felt the tiniest ego boost having eliminated one of the most dangerous players in the game. "The following morning, everyone woke up to see the sight of Akashi's torn up body! The sight and lurking darkness have revealed itself, there are werewolves amongst the village! Now, to purge the evil, Kuroko has decided there is no other way but to burn the culprit alive on a stake! Now, the surviving townsfolk gather, to find the culprit! Who shall be burnt at the stake?"

[write-orflight]

Light the Lamp: Chapter 1

**Gif Not Mine**

Prev -  Next

Pairings: Bucky Barnes X Reader (Friends to Lovers, College/Hockey AU

Rating: M

Words: 2.2K

Warnings:  College kids being college kids, drinking, swearing, talk of sex(No smut yet but will be)

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary:  Love and Hockey were kind of the same, everyone’s just rushing to score. So why couldn’t you?

A.N Summary bad but I literally couldn’t focus on writing anything else until I finished at least the first chapter of this. let me know what you think, Message/reply/inbox to be tagged.

  Chapter 1: 1st Quarter

Hockey wasn’t the sport Bucky wanted to play originally. He wanted to play baseball like his old man but when Steve decided he wanted to take ice skating lessons, he made Bucky tag along so he wouldn’t be the only boy in the class. Soon, they found themselves recruited in the junior rec hockey team and had been playing together ever since. It wasn’t a surprise that when recruitment came around that school’s were trying to pick up both of them. People knew better than to separate Cap from the Winter Soldier. Steve’s nickname was easy to figure out. He had a natural authoritative nature that made him the Captain of almost every team he played on. You never knew why they called Bucky the Winter Soldier until you played against him. Bucky was like an assassin on the ice. While everyone was focused on Steve in Center, Bucky was on left wing scoring the goal before you knew what hit you. So both of them getting recruited to play for the Avengers at Wilmington University wasn’t surprising. 

Meeting you was. 

At first, it was a sort of form of hazing. When they were starting their Freshman year so was the Coach’s daughter. He had asked senior members of the team to ‘keep an eye on her’ and make sure she didn’t get herself into any trouble. The seniors’ thinking that was lame, were more than happy to pass the task off to the two eager freshmen trying to make a name for themselves. So that’s how it started, The two boys walking you to classes and home from the library late at night, much to your demise. 

“I should’ve known my dad was going to do something like this.” You complained when you saw the two boys waiting outside your dorm the first week of classes. “Thanks for coming. But you can tell my dad that I’m not going to be the freak being escorted by hockey jocks everyday.” 

“No can do, Doll.” Bucky says. “We leave you, we’re doing drills the rest of practice.” 

“Doll? What’re you? A 40s newscaster?” You say, with an annoyed expression walking passed the boys who just followed suit behind you. “Ugh, this is such bullshit. He literally begged me to go to Wilmington and promised I’d be able to have a ‘normal college experience’. What about this is fucking normal?”  

“I know it’s less than ideal but hey, we can make the best out of this.” Steve smiles. “I’m Steve, by the way.” He says extending a hand. 

You shake it. You couldn’t blame them for your dad not trusting you. “Y/N. You?” You asked the other boy next to you. 

“Bucky.” He provides. 

“Bucky?” You question. 

“Well, it’s James but my friends call me Bucky.” 

“And that’s what we are? Friends?” You ask. 

“Might as well be, since we’ll be seeing each other a lot this semester.” 

And that’s how your semi-unconventional friendship started. Pretty soon, even though your dad had eased up on the 24-hour watch, per your mom's request, you still found yourself walking and getting coffee with the two in the mornings. Even, found yourself waiting in the rinks watching practices so you could hang out afterwards and that became your life for the next two years. Now the three of you we’re entering your Junior year of college. Steve was right back in his title role of Captain, Bucky was now first string Left Wing and you were… still watching from the bleachers. You didn’t mind though, you grew to love the sport due to it being your dad’s profession. Hell, you were on skates before you could even walk. But you never found yourself on the women’s team, Hockey wasn’t something you really wanted to do. You still supported the girls team though, which is why you found yourself watching their practices too. 

“Hey, Y/N!” Carol said, skating to the end of the rink where you were sitting next to her girlfriend, Maria. A position you often found yourself in, entertaining player’s girlfriends while they practiced. Maria was cool though, at least you knew about the sport. 

“Hey, Marvel.” You called her by her nickname. Thing about Hockey is everyone was called by their nicknames. 

“You going to the Sigma Pi party later?” She asks. 

“Uh, no one told me about it.” You say, awkwardly. 

“I’m telling you now.” Carol says like it's obvious. “You never go out anymore and I refuse to let you become a cat lady before you turn 25. Come over ours at 7, we’ll pregame and head over at 9. What do you say?” 

“Fine, I’ll come.” You say. 

“Great!” Carol says, pumping a fist before signalling her girlfriend to come closer to the rink. You look away as they kiss. Couples made you uneasy, especially hockey couples. You wanted that more than anything, for your guy to skate up to the gate just to sneak a kiss from you. Not that dating anyone from the team was even an option with you dad coaching. The team saw you as a little sister and if anyone was caught even looking at you in any way, their ass was grass by either your dad or Bucky, who’d become protective of you over the years. 

“Marvel, stop flirting with your girlfriend and GET BACK ON THE ICE!” You heard your dad scream. 

“Sorry, Couch!” She called. “Sorry, baby i’ve gotta jet. Y/N, don’t forget. 7 o’clock!” She says before skating off. 

“I won’t!” You call after her. 

---------------------------------------------------------

You can’t help but look at yourself in the mirror awkwardly at the tight Satin dress your roommate, Wanda practically forced you in. You were just going to wear a sweater and jeans, your regular wardrobe but Wanda insisted everyone had seen you in that and what they haven’t seen is you in a dress. Especially, with your new body, you had gotten over the summer working at a sports camp. Who knew running after kids would be such a great form of exercise? 

Wanda also did your makeup, something you didn’t typically wear, giving you a natural glow eye, a layer of mascara, and sticky gloss that made your look ‘dewy’ as Wanda described it. You tried to keep your hair in the bun but Wanda insisted you keep your hair down. Saying it made you look hotter, you shrugged knowing you’d have to take her word for it. 

The two of you made your way to Carol and Maria’s apartment. Carol swung the door open and looked at you in surprise. “Woah, Ice Baby, you clean up nice.” 

“Don’t start, Marvel. And you know how I feel about being called that.” You hated the nickname but since you were the coach’s daughter and you stuck around the rink any chance you got, The seniors had started calling you Ice Baby your freshman year and the nickname unfortunately stuck long after they had gone. 

“Right, sorry, I always forget.” Carol said moving out the way for the two of you to come in. 

The four of you drink and play games until it’s time to head to the party. You’ve got a pretty strong buzz going as you enter the party and you regret the strappy heels Maria made you borrow before leaving. You’re sitting in the corner when someone comes to sit way too close to you. You look up to see Brock Rumlow, or Rum as the team liked to call him. 

“I almost didn’t recognize you, Ice Baby. You look good.” 

“My name is Y/N but thank you.” You say, annoyed. 

He holds his hands up in mock surrender “I forgot you hate that nickname. Let me bring you a drink to make up for it. What you want.” 

“Rum and coke, please.” 

“Oh, so you like Rum?” He says, obvious double entendre hanging off his tongue. 

“The drink? Yes.” 

“You’ll like the man soon enough.” He winks, smirking at the flush that spreads across your cheeks. 

The two of you spend the night like that. He brings you drinks and shamelessly flirts with you as you get drunker and drunker. The two of you even dance for a bit in the sea of grinding bodies. Soon you’re telling him a story and a hand drifts to your leg. You turn and he’s much closer to your face than you thought he was. 

“Wanna get out of here?” He asks. You nod but before you can even stand, Bucky is there towering over Brock.

“You can leave, Brock. But I’m taking Y/N home.” He says. 

Brock rolls his eyes. “Forgot you had a Winter Soldier guard dog. No worries, dude. I’m leaving anyway.” He says, before turning to you. “You’ve got my number, call me if you wanna hang this week.” He says, nodding to Bucky before walking away. 

“Ugh, Bucky. What was that for?” You whine, drunkenly. 

“You’re drunk. I’m taking you home.” Bucky says. “Come on, stand up.” 

You shakingly get up and Buck is there immediately under your arm, his arm around your waist helping you walk out. 

The cold breeze hits you as soon as you step foot out the party and take the long trek home. 

“I think I drank too much.” You point out. 

“You think, kid?” Bucky says. “You’re lucky, I was here meeting Sharon otherwise you would’ve been shit out of luck.” 

“Brock would’ve taken me home.” 

“Brock’s a lowlife. Don’t worry about him, I’ve got you.” 

You sigh. “Sorry for ruining your night with your girlfriend.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call her when I make sure you get home so if you could pick up the pace.” 

“My feet hurt.” You complain. 

“Yea, I bet. God, when did you start wearing heels, Doll?” 

“I wanted to look good tonight.” You sigh. 

“You always look good.” 

“Fine, I wanted to look hot.” You provide. “For once, I wanted to be the one guys paid attention to at parties.” 

“You can be yourself for that, Y/N.” Bucky says. “You’re a catch.” 

“If I was, someone would’ve fucked me by now.” You drunkenly admit. That makes Bucky double-take. “I mean, think about it? 3 years into my college career, I turn 21 in a couple months and still it's where no man’s gone before down there.” 

“Y/N, are you saying you’re--” 

“A virgin? Yea, Bucky catch up.” You groan at the pain in your feet. Bucky looks and takes sympathy on you. 

“Here take off your shoes.” He says, toeing his off as well and sliding them over to you. 

“You’re just going to walk barefoot?” You ask, putting on the shoes, holding your heels in your hand. 

“Better than you walking barefoot.” He shrugs. 

“Anyway, I decided over the summer that maybe I was putting too much thought into it. I mean almost everyone loses their virginity in high school and it's never good, no one ever says their first time was good. I just thought maybe I should just, you know, get it over with.” You slur. “Which is what I was trying to do until you chased my date away. God, you always do that, Bucky.” 

“I’m not fighting with you while you’re drunk.” Bucky says, trying to get you to drop the subject but you persist. 

“Every time I try to talk to a guy, you butt in--” 

“Maybe I wouldn’t butt in if you picked the right guys for you.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with the guys I pick! You’re just a cockblock.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“Yea what about Charles? He asked me on a date freshman year and took it back not even an hour later. I had to beg Steve to tell me why and it turned out that you threatened him if he even thought about going out with me.” 

“Y/N, you had just turned 18 and X was a 24 year old senior! I didn’t trust how he was just waiting. So yea, I told him to fuck off. And Rum is an asshole who can’t get a girl to sleep with him unless they’re shitfaced. So yea, I told him to fuck off.” Bucky exclaims as the two of you make it up the stairs to your apartment. “Y/N, you’ll find someone right for you and that right person will make your first time special. I just want you to find someone who’ll make you happy.” 

“And I just want you to remember for next time that if you want to tell a girl who she can and can’t fuck, you have Sharon for that. Not me.” You said, taking off the shoes as you arrived at your front door. 

“Y/N, wait--” You hear him say but you don’t care, you slam the door in his face regardless. 

Who did Bucky think he was? Sure, he was your best friend but so was Steve and he’s not nearly as protective as Bucky was. You honestly couldn’t tell who was worse at this point, your dad or Bucky. You loved both of them but they had the fatal flaw of forgetting you weren’t a kid. You were a woman, a woman with needs. And one particular need you needed to get rid of.   

So you picked up your phone and called Brock. Bucky couldn’t be right about everything.

Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @riverofcrestmont @babymango-writes @astralsaf @gabi-socio @hereforalongtime512​

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

Game 16 In Brief Sat, June 22 3:00pm EDT Dallas @ Washington

Starting: WASH: Atkins, Dolson, Hines-Allen, Samuelson, Vanloo (Austin hip recovery, Sykes foot injury, Edwards back injury) DAL: Howard, McCowan, Ogunbowale, Sheldon, Uzun (Sabally, Jaelyn Brown, Siegrist out)

1st Quarter Back home with McWin <3. Still no Sykes or Austin, Edwards sitting out today as well. The Wings have injuries of their own to deal with. It is good to see Natasha Howard back in business. Our second possession we find Stef early for a signature 3. Cool scoop save from Jacy Sheldon as the ball is headed out of bounds, but a replay reveals it was an unwhistled foul on Karlie. We're a little jittery here early but the Wings can't make a shot. I jinxed it—Sheldon drops a three. Engstler responds after checking in. McWin are gassing her up. Oops, we force a shot clock violation then throw it to the opponents for an unmarked 3. It's 6-8. Our on-ball defense has been excellent. Wings shot percentage is terrible in part as a result of that. JVL 3. We're on a 7-0 run and Coach Trammell calls time. Arike is struggling to mark Engstler who just hit another 3. Defense is still high intensity from us. 20-13 after 1.

2nd Quarter Nice slingy shot by Jado to open the 2nd. Shatori then gets the DREB and hits a 3. Psych it's a long 2 but our lead it now 11 :) The Wings would be wise to go after our bigs for fouls since we are seriously short-handed there. Damn, Arike heard me. 30-17. Jado steals the inbound pass after shooting free throws. DC is playing like they gave everyone free lattes but made the Wings' decaf. Nice pass from Engstler to Earl under the hoop. JVL lateral pass finds Stef with too much space and it's 3 all day. Stef misses the next try, but Engstler gets one after. We're at 44-29. The Wings are all over the place with their defense. Karlie gets in on the 3 fun. Some wisdom from Christy: "You gotta go for the things that you want or it's never going to happen." The lead is TWENTY by the way. Sheldon cuts into it with a 3. 51-34 at the half.

3rd Quarter Dallas with 4 quick points as the Stef 3 is missing at the moment, uncharacteristically. Yish 3. DC staying active blocking passes. Sheldon hits the deck after running into Stef and it's called a blocking foul even though Stef had the ball and was feeding it to JVL who made the 3. >:( Stef likes the top corner of the key—and those 2 pts give her a double-double. Dallas stringing together some good possessions with bench players in. We appear to be attempting more creative offense the last few minutes, with mixed results. This time ending in a Shatori 3. Lead is 21. Karlie slip pass inside to toss up Shatori's dime. Dallas zone is ineffective. Oh snap! Mystics games will be broadcast on radio!!! As far as I know this has never happened before. Any other teams getting radio coverage? In past years I haven't found it. Hawk-Eye has really cornered the market on replay footage (etc) across sports. McWin continue to deliver the pinnacle of live sports commentary. 73-51.

4th Quarter Arike is struggling tonight, not sure what's up. Lead remains 20 and for once it seems durable. Stef 2 and Karlie 3 and the bench is already bored with the winning lol. Howard is getting some excellent shots up. Mo, don't knock Stef to the ground like that! Stef goes and gets another 2 the other way. Karlie has another 3—she's 3 of 4. A Shatori pass is too spicy for a streaking DiDi. Emily and Kalani have a cute interaction after a flagrant foul, it's all love. Sheldon hits a 3 but the lead has strecthed to 25 for us. Make it 27, as DiDi disappears in the Dallas zone and finds the net. Sheldon goes again, however. Jade with a nice steal. Respect to Dallas, they have not displayed any frustration or chippiness despite what must be a disappointing day. We have disrupted three passes in three possessions now. 97-69 final.

Stef with a double-double. Engstler getting shoutouts from teammates for her game-leading 23 pts. We shot 48.6% as a team and limited turnoevers to 15. My favorite stat of the night is that all but 2 Mystics recorded at least 1 steal.

[shoichee]

okok hc or fic: reader was teiko’s “head” manager(?) and her talent was being a medic (if someone gets injured they’re back on the court in under a minute type thing) and training plans. suddenly momoi’s talent blooms, she starts working w/ everyone in the team (+ reader’s crush akashi) and people think she’s a better manager than reader. because of this, she overworks + collapses in front of her best friends kuroko + kise (don’t let akashi know yet i have plans for that 👀)

HELLO? YES OFFICER? I JUST FOUND A BANGER REQUEST RIGHT HERE? YOUR BRAIN IS SO BIG AND SEXY IVE BEEN DYING TO WRITE THIS🏃🏻‍♀️💨 part 2 here and part 3 here AND update: part 4 here

Akashi x Reader

[Teiko!manager Headcanons]

you had a knack of being a natural chiropractor in loosening up tense muscles instantly (for more fluid play) or easily putting in back dislocated joints

basically you have crackhands

in your free time as a hobby and a job as the “head manager” (that Akashi announced to the team himself), you’d often bury yourself in anatomy studies and gym plans on the internet and databases to review over Akashi’s team training routines to see if they were effective and safe; oftentimes, you’d return back with improved plans, and as time went on, Akashi entrusted you with creating the plans yourself completely

you took on the job so eagerly to impress the Teiko captain, if you were being honest to yourself

your enthusiasm even inspires Momoi, Teiko’s other manager, to work harder

no one in Teiko knows physiology better than you, and as expected, it was also your best subject along with health

Kise often looks at you in horror and respect at how you don’t cringe/flinch at the loud cracks resonating across the room or court when players come to you for instant relief (the origin story of how he came to call you (y/n)-cchi was the very fact that you manage to put back his dislocated shoulder in 3 seconds flat one game)

when Kuroko first joined the 1st-string, he was a walking magnet for injuries, and you ended up being there for him every single time… nosebleeds? check. sprained ankle? check. nausea from over exhaustion? check.

both you and Kuroko relish in the fact that everyone in the team can never understand how the both of you do some incredible things with your hands

both of you being quite dexterous, you both often teach each other your specialties for fun; it’s almost shocking to see Kuroko effortlessly loosening up a stress knot and you pulling off a well-done palm pass

you admit, you do juggle a lot of responsibilities… from being a makeshift nurse, to a chiropractor, to a budget gym coach, and even to being moral support

Momoi often reminds you to take breaks being the caring person that she is

you often showed her the ropes and tricks of being a manager, on top of your duties, and you find it really endearing that she’s so earnest in learning from you

even if you enjoyed doing what you do, part of the massive workload is to try to get into Akashi’s good graces

talking to him about basketball duties is easier to achieve than talking to him outside of the extracurricular

you might be a tad bit insecure about it; after all, what middle schooler is already so accomplished in academics, sports, and everything you could think of? wasn’t he also studying to take over his father’s company??

to you, who only starred as Teiko’s humble manager, it felt hard trying to establish common ground for conversation outside of basketball

so you stuck to working hard at your position, hoping that your work ethic would get his attention one day; you were a firm believer of actions over words, so you hoped your actions would come off as genuine

picture you and Momoi running across campus with stacks of papers for the team… it makes most of the teammates’ hearts melt at the sight

your work certainly got you praises from other teammates, but out of all players, Kise was the one who figured out your motive

you felt absolutely morbid; to think that Kise, of all people, would figure you out like the back of his hand

Kise being sweet as he is, offers to help you get with the captain but you merely prompted to threaten to break his arm if he spilled your crush to anyone else

“(y/n)-cchi… I’ve been thinking.”

“Yes, Kise?”

“It’s really cool that you’re working so tirelessly for the team, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a reason why you work so hard.”

“O-Of course I do! I want to see you guys all succeed!”

“Then I’m curious as to why you always look at Akashicchi—o-ow, ow, ow!! (y/n)-cchi, I’m sorry! So can you please let go of my—ow!”

“H-How did you know?!”

“I-It was as obvious as day, (y/n)-cchi! I’m pretty sure even Kurokocchi found out about this before I did!”

“N-No way!!”

“Tell you what, I’m super duper knowledgeable in this stuff! You can count on me for this sort of advice—OW!”

spoiler alert: Kise was right in that Kuroko definitely noticed your attraction to Akashi before anyone else… he just never brought it up to you

one day, Kuroko comes up to you to whisper:

“(y/n)-san, have you realized that Akashi-kun has been observing you recently during practice?”

“W-Wait! Is he looking over here right now?”

“Not that I think. He’s occupied with the coach right now.”

“D-Do you think this is a good sign?”

Kuroko gives you a small smile before he replies, “I would like to think so. Keep working hard, (y/n)-san.”

and you do, you’re constantly on top of your game for the next season until Momoi suddenly gets more recognition for her “precognitive defense” skills

her newfound talent was extraordinary and never-before-seen, and her ability became more critical to Teiko’s victories than your own skills

you were happy and proud for her, because after all, her achievements were extremely deserving to be praised

it’s only when some 1st-string players started making offhand comments about how you weren’t really needed in the 1st-string and was more suited to the lower strings that placed seeds of doubt into you

these people would often compare you to Momoi in how she improved much more despite you being in the team for longer

there’s also talk about how your skills are more useful for 2nd-string and 3rd-string players because Momoi’s ability is already sufficient enough for Teiko’s starters

after all, how would a player even be injured if they can predict their opponents’ moves to avoid such incidents?

there’s also the fact that Akashi has been calling Momoi more frequently to research on upcoming teams for analytical data because her talent has become very useful to ensuring victory

the same peers and adults who gave you praise were the same people who began to ignore you or dismiss you; that being said, the collective change in attitude is definitely subtle enough that it would fly under most people’s radars

Kuroko was the first to notice and defend you against a small group of players who were bold enough to badmouth you in the gym

Kise would find out a little later about the somewhat unpleasant gossip about you and would pull the “no you” reverse card, returning back with MEANER underhanded comments that would send these shit talkers CRYING HOME (manga Kise strikes here unexpectedly eh?)

Murasakibara is someone who would be slightly uncomfortable with the gossip about you, especially since you’ve always been so helpful and kind to the team and himself; he’d either leave the room himself or easily scare them away with his looming height and presence without saying a single word when he enters the room “minding his own business”

Midorima is a bystander judging from how he’s reacted to the Teiko dynamic changes in the actual show // he, of course, wouldn’t like the nasty talk about you but would actually mind his own business, choosing to focus on himself and what he has to do to contribute to his team; he assumes that you would work hard the same way he is and let your contributions do the talking

now Akashi surprisingly wouldn’t hear much of the gossip, since his presence alone SHUTS them up and commit to their practices like normal; after all, it’s very clear that Akashi doesn’t tolerate this type of behavior in the team (example: Haizaki), and it’s more apparent that he wouldn’t hesitate to drop kick them out especially since he has a soft spot for you (which Kise never fails to bring this up to you, but you think he’s reaching too much into it) // TLDR; the teammates mostly have the common sense to not utter anything bad about you… maybe one kid would slip out and get punished for “bad sportsmanship,” but Akashi merely assumes that it’s just one bad apple and not necessarily… the many others as well

Aomine???? bro he ain’t even at practice wdym (HELPPP LMAOO) // jokes aside, if he catches wind of players shit-talking outside of the gym… say at the convenience store or when he’s walking home or something, well… they wouldn’t have a good time…

Momoi simply chastises the gossipers when they try to talk shit on you to make Momoi herself look good, and it leaves? such? a? horrible? taste? like, she wants to believe that they’re just really poor jokes and not what they really believe in, and the teammates merely reassure her that they’re just bad jokes and that they “wouldn’t do it again;” poor Momoi wholeheartedly believes them

the weird talks about Momoi being “the better manager” just signalled to you that you haven’t contributed enough to the team yet, and it motivated you to work even harder

oddly, you weren’t jealous of the fact that Momoi was receiving more positive attention than you

you were more afraid of the fact that you were going to get left behind, and this fear only tightened its hold on you when more teammates (who used to talk to you a lot) have changed their tunes when they speak with you now, compared to them talking to Momoi

and you felt that the Generation of Miracles would do the same too… including Akashi

it wasn’t an irrational fear for you because he’s already been calling Momoi a lot more frequently for help than you recently

so you even offered to mop the gym floors after practice, offered to stay later than usual to be the one to lock up the gym for anyone (cough, Kuroko) who wanted to practice whenever they wanted

at one point, you even tried to do what Momoi does: researching on upcoming teams and making your own predictions (that didn’t really work, and that cost you a few nights’ worth of sleep every single time)

not to mention that you still had regular school like any other student? you were the epitome of a mess

Kuroko was with you in the empty gym, you putting away the extra basketballs in the storage closet while he practiced his dribbling, until he heard a crash in there and a few basketballs rolled out the door

you collapsed right when you rolled in the basketball cart

POOR KUROKO HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO // he just tries to give you a piggyback ride as he abandons his plans of practice and tries to jog to the nearest local clinic

that’s where he bumped into Kise, who was heading home after an evening shoot when he saw the two of you

chaos ensue as Kise freaks out and Kuroko had to calm him down himself after answering the never-ending questions

at least the doctor there gave relieving news that you only collapsed from over-exhaustion and that the bruises from the fall were very faint

Kise makes a joke to Kuroko about, “What’s with you and (y/n)-cchi falling to the floor and fainting? You guys can’t be that alike.”

when you shortly regain consciousness, you were met with a… very stern Kuroko and Kise, who were both ready to hear your explanation and to scold you to oblivion

to your surprise, they were understanding; Kuroko understands the feeling of not being enough and working hard to meet other people’s expectations, and Kise understands the struggle of juggling multiple things in his schedule (come on, student, athlete, and model?)

they still scolded your ears off:

“(y/n)-san, you idiot. Why didn’t you ask anyone to help out?”

“That’s…”

“(y/n)-cchi, do you think we’re undependable?!”

“Er, no, that’s…”

you were still dizzy from the fall and the lack of proper sleep (and maybe nutrition if we’re being honest), and you were just a ball of stress

you kind of begged your best friends not to tell a SOUL to anyone about this incident, especially to Akashi… you didn’t want to look even more incapable in his eyes than you already were

they do agree on one condition: for you to take AT LEAST a day or two off school to completely recover and rest up (you reluctantly agree; besides how were you going to explain the bruises that can’t be covered to your peers?)

HELP WHY ARE KISE AND KUROKO THE BEST LIARS TOGETHER ON CAMPUS LITERALLY NO ONE SUSPECTS A THING… except Akashi, the ever sharp captain, felt something was amiss

especially since some Teiko players emanated a feeling of relief at the news of you not being here that day, or the next

Akashi would play detective sleuth and find out what’s really going on sooner or later

End Note: gonna cut this off here b/c I KNOW this anon got a juicy part two i FEEL IT

[karmilleryn]

So AFTG has been on my mind lately (although when is it not… but even more than usual I guess lol) bc I happen to be re-reading it at the moment.

And then last night I ended up rewatching She’s the Man.

And so I realized (I can’t believe it took me this long lol) just how much these two faves of mine have in common other than the obvious Sports™ stuff (which is so funny to me because I’m so NOT a sports person lol):

Main character keeping a big secret revolving around identity

MC therefore hiding true appearance (although one was by wig / fake sideburns/eyebrows and one was by dye, hair-wise… which brings us back around to that age-old question: Did Neil also dye his eyebrows? And body hair? Lol)

MC therefore not being able to shower/change out with the rest of the team

MC doing it ALL FOR THE GAME (lol)

MC having a better player mentor them (“give your game to me” much?!?)

MC starting as 2nd string/sub and moving up to 1st string/starting line (although one was by skill and one was by death of a teammate lol)

(Some of) MC’s roommates/teammates not liking them/not wanting to be friends at first

MC’s coach being prickly on the outside but really just a big ol’ softie (Dinklage, not the Cornwall one, AKA her REAL coach, in She’s the Man, in case that was somehow not obvious lol)

MC’s coach drinking Respect Women juice™

Girls proving they can keep up with boys in a sport

Nicer meal/event ending in a physical fight (lol)

Physical fight(s) during the game(s)

Multiple antagonists

Rivalry game, and the rivals being (one of) the big antagonist(s)

“A really tangled web,” AKA complicated plot (almost too complicated lol)

Twins, and one pretending to be the other (although in the movie they’re fraternal twins and really don’t look that much alike, so it’s a little sus, but here in this house *we do not see it* [insert meme here] lol), and interfering in each other’s love lives whether intentional or not but still ending up with a HAE (or as much as can be for AFTG lol)

The underdog(s) proving some assholes wrong

(I could also compare AFTG to my other fave high school rom-com, 10 Things I Hate About You, because I already know those have a few solid similarities, but so does everyone else because I’ve already read a handful of AUs for them, so I’ll leave it to those - but I’ll happily keep reading more if people want to keep writing them lol)

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for putting up with my overuse of parentheses and lols!

[firelord-frowny]

sad blah blah

almost unanimously, people have only ever said extraordinary or at least good things about me. anyone who’s ever seen me do anything, whether it’s writing related, music related, performance related in general, or intellect, no one has ever reacted to me with “meh.” 

i went to college on a talent based scholarship that i barely even had to apply for. literally, immediately after my audition, i somehow wound up mentioning that i had missed the deadline for the scholarship application or something. the entire panel of judges FLIPPED OUT and basically demanded that i go complete the application right away because they wanted me bad. 

in my first semester, we had to work with some local ~professional artists~ in baltimore and one of our assignments was to complete some sort of art project that explored the concept of ~refuse versus environment~ or something like that. We were supposed to complete it over the course of a week and then bring it to our next meeting with the artist. i did my project ON THE BUS while we were on our way to that meeting. I scribbled a few stream-of-consciousy paragraphs about... something lmao i don’t remember. but i read it out loud to my group and then the artist spent like a solid 15 minutes gushing about how ~in all his years of being an art professor at some of the most distinguished programs in the world, he’s never heard such an elegant and artful take on blah blah blah~. 

the president of my university???? asked me personally to come and perform at his home for fancy events with other Important People like donors and politicians and researchers??? and like. this man had a whole “60 Minutes” special about what a critical role he’s had in using education to strengthen communities. this man sat at tables with obama while he was in office. he paraded me around to other Important People and talked about what an outstanding artist i was, my sparkly personality, my ~delightful wackiness~, blah blah. 

Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR professors who were all world-class musicians at a festival i attended, singled me out as particularly gifted. the kinds of shit they were saying to me in front of everyone did not get said to anyone else. 

when i was at Tanglewood, even though i fucking sucked because i clearly hadn’t practiced all the music, all my chamber coaches STILL made sure to let me (and the other people in my groups???) know that i was the more skilled player in the ensembles. I wound up having to sit last chair at one of the concerts because there had been some miscommunication that led to the directors thinking i was leaving the program (i was super homesick and had been asking my parents to come get me), and despite that fact, after the concert, the conductor - who had never even spoken a word to me personally - made sure to hunt me down in the crowd as everyone was leaving, and tell me what an outstanding player he thought i was, and that he felt lucky to have had me in his orchestra. 

i spent a summer at Summit Chamber Music Festival in upstate new york. the skill level among the students ranged from Laughably Inept to Why Aren’t You At The Curtis Institute. I was by FAR not the worst player there, but I also definitely felt like I was nowhere near the best. But the program director specifically, deliberately placed me in the highest level orchestra, surrounded by players who were fully capable of playing shit like paganini and weiniawski and whatnot. When he wanted to put together a small chamber group, he pointedly selected me to play 1st chair. My string quintet included 3 other string players who were lightyears better than me. Yet our coach frequently turned to me to demonstrate the ~right way~ to play a lot of the more difficult passages. And like... I was the 2nd violinist lmao. It’s almost aallllways the 1st violinist that coaches will ask to demonstrate stuff for the rest of the group. but he asked me. every time. our quintet was ultimately selected to close out the entire festival, a la Saving The Best For Last. The pianist in my quintet, according to his mom, thought i was incredible. this pianist was a bona fide prodigy and he thought i was incredible.

LITERALLYYYYYY everywhere I’ve ever performed, everyone has been so impressed with me. directors of major musical organizations have always made a point to get my name and contact info because “we’ll definitely be contacting you for more work.”  

Everyone who’s ever seen me teach violin thinks I’m uncommonly good at it. i mean, i’m no galamian, duh, but apparently i’m able to get students to sound better than the average teacher can.  

everyone who read my first screenplay claimed to be floored by it. i spontaneously read some of my prose at an open mic night and uh, accidentally snatched the show right out from under the featured artists' feet. 

I used to act???? and was pretty fucking good at it?? I starred in a small handful of local plays? i was cast in ~large roles~ in everything i ever auditioned for. 

my talents in visual art are decidedly Well Above Average. 

i have such a fucking long list of things people think are outstanding about me, and an incredibly long list of people who have bothered to tell me that i’m outstanding, and it makes me feel so fucking sad and frustrated bc like....

lmao why the fuuuUUUUCCCKKKKK does it continue to be so difficult to find anyone who feels like giving me any legit career opportunities?? Even when they’re aware that i’m available?? and willing?? 

i’ll have a 10 minute conversation in which a professor or a director or a coordinator is telling me all about how impressed they are by my skills at Whatever, and how i should do This and i should do That and i should go Here and i should go There and then they ask me where i’m currently working/what i’m currently doing, and i say, “oh, you know, mostly freelance gigs and lessons as i’m looking for full time opportunities,” and then they say “cool! good luck!” and leave. 

i feel sad and confused and delusional. if im so fucking great, why aren’t people reaching back when i reach out in search of a means to earn a fucking living?? 

i know the short answer is that i still don’t ~put myself out there~ and i give up too easily. but also like... i have BEEN out there. the total positive experiences i’ve had with influential superiors over the years have been plentiful and frequent enough that SOMEBODY should have wanted me to contribute something substantial to whatever programs they represent.

and since i feel like i must be delusional and that i must not actually be such hot shit and that everyone is lying to me to spare my feelings, it makes me not even want to try harder bc i’ll wind up discovering for certain that everyone thinks i’m trash. 

what do i have to doooooooo to find The Right Opportunity other than reach out to the same people who told me how phenomenal i am? i make sure Potential Employers see/hear me being fantastic. i apply for jobs in their organization if i know they’re hiring. if i know they’re not hiring, i at least convey that i’d be interested in possibly working with them. but nobody reaches back.

i’m so good at things and i feel like a fucking deadbeat loser lmaoooooo

maybe they don’t actually know that i’m fucking jobless??? lmao maybe they’re assuming that i must already be active in a real career? maybe i need to literally TELL them as they’re praising me, “i’m unemployed and i need a job, do you know of any full time opportunities you could point me to?” but i feel like people think it’s a ~red flag~ when a potential employee doesn’t already have a steady job??? but also... how the fuck is anyone ever supposed to get a steady job if nobody’s willing to hire them because they don’t have a steady job???

i feel Stupid and i think that whenever i finally get the fucking resolve to start therapy again, i’m gonna just show this whole ass rant to my therapist. 

[lower-east-side]

“This entire team is made of toothpicks and I love them.”

I did promise to try to get y'all into the Mets, did I not? (I have @glittering-git​ listening to games with me on the roof, successssss.) For your enjoyment, a recap of the first two months of the Mets 2021 season. This one has it all: drama, injuries, disappointment, scrappy underdogs and feel-good moments. I’m writing this off the top of my head so forgive the tense switching and possible mixed up chronology.

“I’m glad the Mets exist to finally answer the question of what would happen if the Ship of Theseus was a baseball team.” (-Dick Staff.)

Start of the seaso- nope, immediately postponed b/c the Nationals had c*vid. Let's try this again.

Start of the season!  We begin with some good dudes. Jacob deGrom is arguably the best pitcher in MLB, we have some other young and veteran pitching talent as well, some returning guys that are fan favorites like Pete Alonso (famously reprimanded for using the hashtag LFGM for 'Lets Fucking Go Mets' but now everyone is using it haha suck it New York Post) and recent acquisition Francisco Lindor, who was a star with Cleveland, and who got a record 341 million dollar contract. (He's also realllly cute which is not something I usually say about sports guys nor is it something that matters but I thought I'd throw that out there.) Hopes are not super high, as there are teams with better offensive capability, but playoffs are an optimistic possibility.

But then the injuries started coming. Over the next two months 16 players would be put on the injured list. Noah Syndergaard (our other star pitcher, famously known as Thor for his long flowing blonde hair and amazing arm) started the season in rehab and his progress isn't great. Meanwhile Lindor struggled to get a hit. The fact he got so much money to do not much of anything pissed a lot of people off. (Personally I don't believe in booing your own players.) No one else was hitting well, either.

Pete Alonso invented a fictional hitting approach coach named Donnie "Diesel" Stevenson and appeared in disguise to hype up his teammates. Donnie t-shirts begin appearing. Meanwhile the actual hitting coaches were fired and replaced.

Everyone starts joking deGrom will have to drive in his own runs if he wants to win games (pitchers are generally not the best hitters, and don’t even bat in one of the two leagues.) Jokes on them - he CAN hit. Currently he has more hits than earned runs. That is INSANE for a pitcher.

Eventually we ended up with a lot of second-stringers called up off the bench... but eager to prove themselves, they actually ended up playing well! The "bench mob" is popular with fans. Lindor gets a hit - yay! - and also gets into a fight in the clubhouse with Jeff McNeil, probably over positioning in the outfield. No one knows exactly what happened, because even though it's pretty obvious *something* went down, he and McNeil decided to tell reporters that no, they weren't having a fight. They were disagreeing over what large animal Lindor saw in the clubhouse. Lindor says big New York rat, McNeil says raccoon, or maybe opossum. Literally no one believes them and it is HILARIOUS. They seem to have solved the tension on their own and I say good for them. Shirts and other merch with the rat-raccoon start to appear. They hug it out for the press.

“I can bring him out and probably give him a kiss on the cheek if you guys want," Lindor joked. "It’s just a rat, man. We good.”

Also 3rd string catcher Patrick Mazeika was called up and I've never seen a dorkier looking dude play ball. He got 3 RBIs before he ever recorded a hit (I can explain that if you really care, it’s very weird) and for some reason his shirt always gets torn off in the win celebrations.

(those glasses I just can’t)

But the popular second stringers started getting hurt as well! We called up guys from the minor leagues and THEY got hurt! We've lost 1st, 2nd, 3rd AND 4th string outfielders.  A catcher is playing first base. The bullpen is thinning out. Just when you start to like a guy, boom! He runs into a wall or pulls a muscle and that's that.

Kevin Pillar was hit in the face with a 94 mile an hour fastball. Do NOT watch the replay if you don't want to see blood. I have never seen that much blood on a baseball field in my life. 

...he showed up swollen at the field the next day and said if he could see out of his eye he'd ask to be put on the lineup. Scrappy does not begin to describe this team.

deGrom got sent down to Florida (rehab) with "tightness" and everyone held their breath - were we going to lose our biggest star? He recovered pretty fast and the Palm Beach Cardinals social media had a field day, begging the Mets to take him back as he smoked their single A team. By the time he returned to New York, he was basically backed by a minor league club anyway, with how many guys we've called up.

Alonso and McNeil were injured... Walker was injured... but every time new guys get called up they come through in clutch?! Johneshwy Fargas got to make his MLB debut at the age of 26, got his first career hit in his very first appearance, won the fans over, played 6 games, and promptly got injured. At this point there aren't a lot of guys left to call up so we traded a pitcher to the Brewers for one of their outfielders. He came in and hit a home run. Are the Mets bad luck? Are they good luck? Who knows! Alonso is already back, and Mazieka as of writing was sent back to AAA. We hardly knew him. 

On Memorial Day in AZ, Pillar returned less than two weeks after surgery from that fastball to the face and got a hit in his first at-bat. Even the other team’s fans cheered.

At this point, June 1st, the Mets are 26 and 20. They are currently leading their division.

How, I do not know.

As 'A Pod of Their Own' says, “This entire team is made of toothpicks and I love them.”

So what’s next?

As fun as the Replace-Mets are to watch, what happens when all the veterans begin returning from injuries will determine how the rest of the season goes. If they come back and suck, fans will be mad the new guys were sent back down. If the new guys are kept and THEY suck, fans will be mad the vets weren’t put back in. Lot of backseat managing going on in baseball. My gut feeling is we are headed for a bit of a slump with maybe an upswing after the All-Star break (midseason.)

So do you think the Mets will go to the playoffs, Chantal?

That's... a tough question. It is only June after all, and the rest of the NL East division isn't far behind in the standings. (Lemme know if you need divisions explained.) Any surge by one of the other teams in the NL East or a collapse on the Mets part could lead to them falling behind and not recovering, and I highly doubt they would get the wild card spot since the second best teams in the other divisions are better than the Mets. If they hold their place in the division, we could indeed see October baseball, which I think would be very exciting! I also think they would get knocked out fairly quickly. I can't see the pennant or the World Series being a possibility at all. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for division playoffs and not holding out hope for anything else, haha. (That being said, Mets fans always do keep secret wishes for A Miracle.)

Why get excited about a team you acknowledge probably won't go all the way?

Because baseball is fun! Only two months have gone by and it's already been this exciting! Each game is it's own microcosm, regardless of advancement. I personally love listening on the radio, it makes my night that much better to have Howie and Wayne on WCBS on the radio in the background as I go about whatever else I have to do. Even if you don't keep up in real time, the highlights are usually pretty WTF these days.

So with summer getting into full swing and baseball the perfect summer sport, I would welcome you all to step right up and greet the Mets. They are a fun team, there's enough spirit and luck to keep our hopes up, and enough underdog-longshot issues to keep it exciting.

(There is of course extra fun if you live close enough to catch a game, our ballpark is magical and a big red apple pops up every time they hit a home run, but I maintain that the Mets can be a team for anyone, not just New Yorkers.)

To follow: On Twitter I recommend the Mets official account, SNY Mets, The 7 Line and Deesha Thosar. I only just discovered A Pod of Their Own, so I don’t know if I can recommend it yet, but it is “A podcast by the women of amazinavenue - Mets, social justice issues in baseball, normalizing non-male voices in sports podcasting” so that seems exciting. Richard Staff is also kind of amusing if you like snark. For baseball in general, River Butcher is a comedian who has (the now concluding) Three Swings Podcast and it is VERY cool to hear a non-cis person talk sports. Amazin’ Avenue is a blog dedicated to Mets updates.

[apparently-artless]

Call Me Eijun-Senpai! [A DnA Fanfic]

Summary: Sawamura couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, Okumura hates his very existence but he’s just being considerate enough not to say it straight to his face. Seto, Okumura’s best friend, thinks otherwise.

Relationships: Okumura Koushuu & Sawamura Eijun || Okumura Koushuu & Seto Takuma || Sawamura Eijun & First Year Seidou Members

Additional Tags: Slice of Life || Kuramochi is a Doting Brother || Okumura is Emotionally Constipated || Sawamura Eijun Learned a Thing or Two from Miyuki || Fluff & Humor || Attempt at Humor || Sawamura Eijun is the Ace || This is not Romance BTW

It was the day their last practice game had ended. As usual, Sawamura was off to the cafeteria to watch the recorded video so he can check his form again. With the summer tournament coming up, he needed to make the Numbers near to perfection.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Okumura was already sitting in front of the television, a scorebook on his left hand and the remote control on his right. Also, there was a vacant chair right next to him.

“Geh! You bit me to it again, Okumura-shounen!” Sawamura bellowed upon seeing the 1st-year catcher.

Okumura did not respond but just glanced at the southpaw pitcher.

“Well, why don’t we watch it together, then? I have a lot of things to say regarding your play in that last game,” the catcher stated with his typical vacant expression.

“We-Well, I don’t really mind watching it with you.”

“Please take a seat. I’ll be playing the video now.” Okumura motioned Sawamura to sit right next to him.

The whole game was one-and-a-half-hour long which means it took Okumura to make some comments about the southpaw pitcher’s performance for 1.5 hours. As usual, Okumura was very willing to give the pitcher compliments when needed and scold him unreluctantly on pitches he thought might not be good. Also, let’s not forget the part where the younger would seamlessly remind the older to be calm and quiet on the mound.

It was almost dinner time when they finished reviewing the game. Halfway while watching the video, Watanabe had already joined them and would add some comments as well to Sawamura’s performance. When they noticed a lot more of the members were now entering the cafeteria, they decided to call it for now as they turned off the television and fixed the chairs.

Okumura gently placed the scorebook that he borrowed from Umemoto on one of the tables to help his senpais from arranging the chair. As they were still conversing while dragging the chairs, one of the members placed an open bottle near the scorebook. Sawamura, who’s busy scratching his head while having an idiotic smile upon hearing praises from Watanabe, accidentally pushed the chair too hard right next to the table, making the opened water bottle tumble and spill right on the scorebook.

Upon seeing the mess he had made, Sawamura hurried to the kitchen to ask some of the staff some clean rags. Only when he returned did he notice that the scorebook was already drenched with the water that spilled from the bottle.

“Wah! I’m so sorry Okumura-shounen! I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Sawamura was obviously panicking while gently cleaning the table together with the scorebook.

“It’s okay, Sawamura-senpai. Thankfully, it’s just water so I can just rewrite the scorebook again,” the catcher responded as he tried to retrieve the scorebook from Sawamura’s hands.

“No! It’s my fault that this happened to begin with. I should be the one to do it!” Sawamura retorted as his nostrils flared.

“Reading a scorebook and writing one are two different things, Sawamura-senpai,” Okumura said inattentively. “Have you ever tried writing on a scorebook before?”

“Well, I…” Sawamura hesitated in responding. “No, not really.”

Okumura just sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t really angry. It was an accident and he can’t seem to find the right words to make the southpaw pitcher understand that he was not the least bit bothered about rewriting one scorebook. Aside from that, he only felt that it was right to take responsibility as he’s the one who borrowed the scorebook.

Watanabe, who noticed the awkward silence between the two, decided to intervene so as not to make matters worse.

“Don’t worry, Sawamura-kun. Okumura’s pretty much used to writing in a scorebook. It will be done in no time if it’s just rewriting the pages,” he said as he tapped Sawamura’s shoulder. “Okumura, we still have an hour before dinner, I’ll go and get a new scorebook so you can rewrite it before we eat. In that way, you can still read the scorebook properly before the ink fades.”

Okumura just nodded.

“Then, I’ll be accompanying you so I can go straight to my room afterward,” Okumura responded.

The two walked out of the room while Sawamura was left in the cafeteria, still bothered about the incident. To clear his head, he decided to do some batting practice first before eating dinner.

Sawamura gloomily walked his way to Field A with his bat in his left hand. His thoughts were put to a halt when he heard Asada’s voice calling out to him. Rather than joining Kominato and Kuramochi with their batting practice, he decided to join the first years instead.

“You did so well on the last practice game, Sawamura-senpai!” Asada initiated the talk as soon as Sawamura reached them, Kuki and Seto were with him.

“Oh, thank you, Asada!” he beamed at his kouhai.

“Where’s Koushuu? I thought you were watching the video together?” Seto asked while swinging his bat in the air.

Sawamura went stiff upon hearing the catcher’s name.

Did they fight again? Seriously, these two.

It was all Seto, Asada, and Kuki could think upon seeing the pitcher’s reaction.

“Did something happen with Koushuu?” Seto decided to ask. If they did actually fight, the sooner he can help in fixing it, the better.

Sawamura flinched even more as he heard Seto’s question. His hands fidgeted visibly as he averted his gaze on the 1st-years while he pouted his lips.

“I think he’s angry at me right now,” Sawamura whispered and the three freshmen couldn’t help but huddle towards him.

Unsure of what they heard, Seto couldn’t help but ask again.

“Sawamura-senpai, can you please say that again?” he asked, silently praying that what he heard was wrong.

“Wah! I bet he’s really angry at me! It’s my fault, to begin with! What should I do, Seto? Okumura-shounen is angry at me again! What do I have to do now??” Sawamura was clearly agitated, he kept on pulling on his hair with both his hands as he dropped the bat that he was initially holding.

“Calm down, Sawamura-senpai!” Asada exclaimed.

“First, please tell us what happened,” Seto added awkwardly.

Sawamura stopped for a while as he tried to remember what happened a while ago, sweat dropping.

“I accidentally spilled some water on the scorebook that Okumura borrowed. I volunteered to rewrite it but he declined. He said it’s fine and silently left the cafeteria with Nabe-senpai and the scorebook.”

“Well, he did say it was fine so I don’t think he’s angry. As you said, it was an accident, so it can be helped, really,” Seto replied to which Asada and Kuki nodded vigorously to convince their worried senpai.

“No! No! No! No! No! We’re talking about that wolf-boy, you know?? Uwah! Just remembering that time when he told me to disappear still sends shivers down my spine.”

The 1st-years were at a loss for words. It seemed like no matter what they say, the pitcher was convinced that Okumura was indeed angry at him for what just happened. And then, it occurred to Seto — that maybe, just maybe, he can still help in fixing the relationship of his best friend with his pitcher. After all, he wouldn’t want to have a repeat of that last time while he was not around.

Seto cleared his throat before speaking. He wouldn’t want to mess this up.

“Sawamura-senpai, I think you just misunderstood Koushuu. He didn’t say anything because he wasn’t bothered by it. If it had indeed bothered him, he would have scolded you just like how he’s reprimanding you whenever you’re being noisy on the mound.”

Sawamura did not respond, however, it could be seen that the boy was trying to ponder what he just said.

Yosh. He seems to be listening and considering things for now.

A few seconds later, Sawamura seemed to have calmed down. He was no longer fidgeting his fingers nor pulling his hair as if telling Seto to continue with his sentiments regarding his best friend.

“He already reflected fully on what he said to you the other day. He just kinda misunderstood your personality, that’s all. Koushuu can be scary sometimes, but really, that’s just part of who he is. No need to beat yourself up over what happened last time and even for today, Sawamura-senpai.”

“D-Do you really think so?”

“Of course I do! I’ve been his best friend since we were kids so you can say I’m an expert in interpreting Koushuu’s seemingly unreadable moods!”

Kuki and Asada just smiled. They’ve just known Okumura for a few months. They already know how scary his aura can be especially when he’s not talking. But they also know that he’s making an effort to make people understand that he’s not such a bad wolf that bites people.

“With the way I see it, I think he already admired you quite well, Sawamura-senpai. And I think his admiration for you is not so light that spilling water on a scorebook would make him hate you.”

“Well, if you say so,” Sawamura commented, looking more convinced as he listened attentively to Seto.

“If I’d be honest, I was kinda surprised when he made a promise that he’ll only catch for you once he made it to the first string. That’s the first time he made such a promise to someone, you know?”

Seto continued with his rambling. This time, it wasn’t only Sawamura, but also the two freshmen who got more interested in listening. As pitchers, they also wanted to understand Okumura a little bit more.

“He even went so far as to refuse to catch for you even if the order came from the coach. That just showed how much he wanted to follow through on that promise. Because at that time, he’s still not part of the first string. And being not part of the first string meant that his skills were not recognized yet. He believed that he’s not qualified to catch for you because he felt like he still lacked the skills. That only shows how much he looked up to you as a pitcher.”

Sawamura couldn’t help but agree with Seto’s statements. Upon hearing what he just said, he suddenly remembered Okumura saying something like that.

“And now, to the most exciting part, what I’m gonna tell you should only be kept between us,” Seto winked as he placed his index finger near his mouth.

Kuki and Asada slightly nodded, but with mixed anticipation. Sawamura, on the other hand, nodded violently as if to swear that he will not be blabbering anything that Seto will be telling them at this point forward.

“Ever since he volunteered to catch your pitches during the Spring Tournament, he kept on borrowing almost all of the scorebooks of the games that you played at, Sawamura-senpai.”

“Ohhh.” The three responded in unison.

“I think he was so delighted to learn about your Numbers. As a catcher, he wanted to study how effectively he can use your arsenal. So when the time comes that he’ll be given the chance to be your catcher in an official match, he’ll be ready.”

“I see. So he’s been studying my pitches, huh? I guess that explained the aggressive calls he made during our game with Seiho,” Sawamura interjected to which Seto simply nodded.

“Aside from that, he also watches the videos of your matches,” Seto continued. “Do you still remember that time when you were about to watch the Hakuryu video but Okumura was already there at the cafeteria and about to watch it?”

“Oh! You’re right!” Sawamura responded as he put his fist on his palm. “Now that I think about it, he was already at the cafeteria ready to watch the recent game by the time I arrived.”

Oh boy, I’m actually enjoying this, aren’t I? Sorry, Koushuu, but think of this as me helping you.

Before going on with the conversation, Seto snickered upon seeing the reactions of the group, especially Sawamura.

“Lastly, he decided to join Seidou after watching your play against Teitou,” Seto added with finality and pride. “He thought that you are an interesting pitcher so his interest as a catcher was piqued. We even watched your game during Finals. You did great there, by the way. Too bad, you’re not the one who closed it.”

Well, he’s also interested in Furuya-senpai’s pitching, but he doesn’t need that information, for now, right?

“Heh,” Kuki responded. “I wanted to watch that game too but I wasn’t able to go.”

“Was it interesting?” Asada asked.

“It was! I watched the recorded video that one of my teammates took. It was a bit blurry though due to the heavy rain. At some point, they even stopped the game,” Kuki replied with enthusiasm.

They were about to talk more about the game when they noticed that Sawamura turned quiet.

“Sawamura-senpai?” Asada called as he swayed his hands in front of him.

“He’s frozen.”

“Yep, he really is.”

Sawamura was indeed frozen on the spot. His cheeks blushing just like the way he did back when his teammates told him that he’s become more reliable as a pitcher.

“I see! I see! He could have just told me that! Geez, that wolf boy, really!” Sawamura beamed in response after being stiff for about half a minute as he gently scratched his head.

The freshmen were happy to see the idiotic smile of their senpai once again. At least for now, this resolved things between the pitcher and the catcher. They noticed how they got along well together right after Okumura became a first-string member. They wouldn’t want an incident like this to disrupt the relationship that the two of them are trying to build.

“Yosh! Time for batting practice! Let’s not waste a second and practice some more, first-year boys!” Sawamura bellowed as he swung his bat with all his might.

The four of them continued talking about Okumura during their batting session. Sawamura also asked personal questions about them as well and he would answer some questions from his underclassmen.

“Hmm… Since I’m trying to build rapport with wolf boy, shouldn’t I do something that might help improve our battery?” Sawamura blurted out after what felt like an hour of batting.

“For starters, why don’t you try addressing each other on a first-name basis?” Kuki suggested.

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea too, Sawamura-senpai,” Asada agreed while Seto only nodded.

Oh man, this is getting more interesting. I wonder how Koushuu will react once he hears the senpai that he admired address him by his first name.

Seto was lost in his thoughts. He remembered the first time he called Okumura using his first name and the boy turned silent for a moment. And then, while emitting an ominous aura, he had called Seto as Taku as if to inform the other that if it comes to being on a first-name basis, he surely won’t lose.

Giving me a nickname right off the bat! Just how much does that guy hate losing?

Seto’s reminiscing was cut short when he noticed Okumura walking towards them, a bat in his left hand.

“Okumura-shounen! Have you finished rewriting the scorebook?? That sure was fast! As expected of wolf boy!” Sawamura greeted the boy as soon as he reached them.

“Yes, the game was still fresh in my memory so it wasn’t so hard,” Okumura responded.

“I’m sorry for what happened.” Sawamura apologized awkwardly, his voice smaller compared to his typical one.

“I told you already, it’s not your fault. No need to feel so bothered about it, Sawamura-senpai.”

“Then, just accept my apology! Was it so hard??”

“Fine. Apology accepted, then.”

“Hahahaha! See, it wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Please be quiet when practicing on the field, Sawamura-senpai.”

The three were smiling as they observed the battery with their bantering.

Yep, it’s the usual conversation. I’m glad they’re back to normal.

“Oh, by the way, Okumura-shounen, before I forgot. I was soliciting some advice from them as to how to improve our battery. And as a first step, I decided that I’ll be calling you by your first name!”

“Relationship? First name? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t mind the small details!” Sawamura responded as he patted the boy’s shoulder while laughing.

Okumura had to guess what happened within the time that he was busy writing the scorebook. And of course, it all boiled down to his best friend, Taku.

“Taku, you said something to Sawamura-senpai, didn’t you?”

“Of course not! I just told him that you’re not angry and that he should not think too much about it,” Seto replied as he tried his best to hide his guilt.

“Let’s both do our best, Koushuu!” Sawamura shouted with glee as he chuckled once more.

Okumura was so shocked it took all he’s got to respond to the southpaw pitcher.

“Don’t hold back and call me ‘Eijun-senpai’ !”

Seto, Asada, and Kuki were trying so hard not to laugh upon seeing Okumura’s reaction. The younger might not admit it but no matter how hard he resists, he can’t help but get caught up on the older’s pace.

And then, after a few seconds, Okumura spoke.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Ehh??” Sawamura and the other freshmen shouted in unison.

“I’ll take you up on your offer once I am already the main catcher. So for the meantime, please allow me to call you as it is,” Okumura responded as he bowed slightly towards his senpai.

Sawamura was smug upon hearing what Okumura had said.

This brat. As expected, he really is a passionate guy after all.

“Then, I’ll also stop for now.”

“Ehh? Sawamura-senpai as well?” Asada exclaimed.

“I’ll call you by your first name once I become the ace of this team!” Sawamura declared with confidence as he laughed some more, with both hands on his hips.

“Another promise then, huh?” Seto commented as Kuki and Asada looked at the pair with admiration.

The corners of Okumura’s lips went slightly upward for less than a second. Or Seto might have just been imagining it. Sawamura and the rest decided to call it quits for now as they will be eating dinner anytime soon. They walked back towards their dorm as they continued their conversation.

For starters, if you want to be the ace, how about you try to lessen your voice? You’re too noisy, Sawamura-senpai. Especially when you’re on the mound. I’ve been telling you multiple times, a good ace pitcher shouldn’t be recklessly letting his emotions show while on the mound.

Geh! Here we go again with your harsh criticisms! You are too wild, Okami-kozo!

And while the two were busy bickering, Seto, Asada, and Kuki were observing them happily thinking about how the two actually get along so well.

OMAKE:

The day after Sawamura became the Ace of Seidou

Sawamura was already seated between Kominato and Furuya, busy eating his breakfast when Seto and Okumura arrived in the cafeteria to join Asada, Kuki, and Kagami.

Before Okumura could take one bite off his meal, the obnoxious loud southpaw pitcher walked towards them as he waved his left hand.

“Good morning, Seto, Asada, Kuki, Kagami!”

“Good morning!” the freshmen responded.

“Good morning, Koushuu!”

The whole cafeteria went silent. Okumura went stiff upon hearing his name came out of Sawamura — their current southpaw ace pitcher.

“Koushuu??” Kuramochi and Zono bellowed in unison upon hearing Sawamura addressed the catcher by his first name.

Curiosity filled the air as the rest of the Seidou members eavesdropped between Sawamura and some of the first years’ conversation.

“I’ve kept my end of the promise. So I’ll be waiting for you to keep yours. Na? Koushuu!”

Seto, Asada, and Kuki were snickering on their seats as they watched Okumura feeling awkward towards their new ace’s advances.

“Please be quiet, Sawamura-senpai. Also, please finish your breakfast first before starting a conversation out of nowhere,” Okumura responded ineptly as he noticed how almost all of the eyes inside the cafeteria were directed towards him. He couldn’t help but wish that a hole would open right on his spot and swallow him up.

“No worries, even if you start ahead, I’ll still finish my breakfast faster than you, Koushuu!”

As much as he liked to stop the pitcher from calling his first name, a promise is a promise. And now that Sawamura is now the ace of Seidou, he is now allowed to address Okumura on a first-name basis. He’ll have no choice but to get used to it.

“This is so fun to watch! To think the day will arrive that Sawamura will learn how to harass his kouhai,” Miyuki commented as he giggled upon hearing Sawamura and Okumura’s conversation.

“Oi! It’s not even funny!” Kuramochi snapped as he kicked Miyuki’s legs under the table.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Let him enjoy the privilege of being the ace for once!”

“That’s not the point! The point being is that one of your worst traits is rubbing off on the kid!” Kuramochi pointed his chopsticks towards Miyuki, proper manners be damned.

“Eh? But it should be fine if it’s just from time to time, right, Kuramochi-kun? Also, your big bro complex is coming out. Did Ryou-san rub off on you as well?”

“Don’t you ‘from-time-to-time’ me! Act like a real captain, for once! Don’t go around influencing your teammates negatively!!”

“Are you sure you don’t have anything to worry about though, Miyuki?” Watanabe interjected while secretly having some fun listening to both conversations.

“Huh? What’s there to worry about, Nabe?” Miyuki asked with curiosity.

“You’ve been a battery with Sawamura for almost two years now. Now that he’s the ace, you two will be the main battery for this summer tournament. Sawamura and Okumura formed a battery just recently and he’s already calling the first year by his first name. I guess that says something,” Nabe commented objectively as he continued eating his meal.

“But Sawamura is calling Miyuki by his full name. He hasn’t called anyone by full name except Miyuki. That’s saying something as well, no?” Zono interrupted.

Some of the first-string 3rd-years who were eating on the table together with Miyuki couldn’t help but laugh at Zono’s statement.

“Hyahaha! Zono! You’re so mean!” Kuramochi guffawed as he harshly tapped the table with his left hand.

“Zono, I’ll have you know that that’s not a good follow at all,” Shirasu added as he patted Zono’s shoulder while Kawakami nodded silently as he wiped the tears on the side of his eyes because he was laughing so hard a while ago.

“Eh?? Is that so??” Zono asked, totally unaware of the blow he'd dealt Miyuki.

“Oi. Why do I feel like I’m being a laughing stock right now? Learn to respect your captain, for once!” Miyuki exclaimed upon noticing that almost all of the people at their table were laughing at Zono’s comment.

“D-Don’t mind, Miyuki! If you want, I’ll convince Sawamura to call you by your first name too!” Zono added as if that’s the right thing to say.

Kuramochi and the rest of the gang laughed some more.

“Zono, don’t you think it’s time for you to shut up now?” Miyuki said annoyingly.

“But why?? I’m just trying to help!!”

“I don’t need your help! And keep your comments to yourself!” the captain replied coldly.

“Don’t be like that, Captain! As your vice-captain, it is my responsibility to help you on things that you’re not good at.”

“Hyahaha! Zono - 3, Miyuki - 0!” Kuramochi was laughing furiously again as he continued listening in on Miyuki and Zono’s exchange.

Miyuki only sighed and stayed quiet until he finished his breakfast, putting some of his leftovers on Zono’s plate when he’s not looking. Sawamura, on the other hand, went back to his seat. He asked what they were talking about but they were kind enough not to embarrass their socially awkward captain any further.

But really, it’s good to know that Sawamura and Okumura are getting along just fine. Once I graduate, and if ever Okumura will be chosen as the main catcher, then I guess there’s nothing for me to worry about.

Miyuki smiled secretly as he drowned himself in his thoughts.