#Best training center for skill development

[aeero1]

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[expectantdaddies]

Kwame, a rare human who serves as a paladin to Morghak the Worldbreaker, god of the orcs, is an intriguing and unconventional figure. In a world where there are very few non-orcish worshippers of Morghak, Kwame stands out as the sole human who was chosen to become one of his paladins.

Kwame's admiration for Morghak stems from his dedication to strength and battle. While the orcish followers of Morghak were initially puzzled by why a human would choose to serve their patron god, Kwame's unwavering devotion and proven skills in combat quickly won him acceptance among the greenskins.

What shocked Kwame was Morghak's blessing of supernatural fertility on his faithful, meant to address the orcs' low birth rates and rarity in producing females, was bestowed upon the human paladin as well. As Kwame immersed himself in celebrating with his orcish brethren, he found himself becoming a regular participant in their revelry.

At gatherings, it was not uncommon for Kwame to retreat from the festivities with one or more orcs, seeking out privacy for intimate encounters. In some instances, these trysts would even take place in full view of others, such as when all the male orcs of the Bloodtusk Tribe ran a train on Kwame while he lay sprawled atop a table in the center of the tavern, drunk on lust and booze.

Though initially embarrassed by his drunken promiscuity and lack of restraint, Kwame came to accept it was simply part of life among the orcs. None of his brethren seemed to judge him harshly for his behavior; if anything, they embraced his enthusiasm and willingness to participate fully in their customs.

As a result of this lifestyle, Kwame frequently found himself pregnant with half-orc children fathered by various lovers. Despite his condition, he did his best to continue fulfilling his duties as Morghak's paladin. Fortunately for him, neither alcohol nor combat seemed to pose any risk to the developing orcish young ones growing within him.

On one notable occasion, Kwame actually gave birth in the midst of a fierce battle, showcasing both his dedication and resilience. As his family grew, so too did the number of half-orc children residing within the confines of his home temple.

However, rather than seeing this as a burden or hindrance, Kwame's fellow paladins welcomed each new addition to their ranks. They recognized that with every birth, Kwame's bloodline was becoming more and more orcish, blending his human heritage with theirs in a primal way.

If you like my work, Buy Me a Coffee.

Kwame, pregnant paladin.

[magics-neptunes-things]

Collide (1)

Hello everyone!

Here we are finally in the series I talk about a few days ago. After the votes you chose Leah, but I might have kept some ideas for Alessia afterwards.

I have the beginning of the story and the end, but I have not yet decided exactly what would happen in the middle, so I am unable to tell you how many chapters there will be in this story.

I hope you will like it and as usual, I gladly take your comments, requests and suggestions :) Don’t hesitate to write to me.

Happy reading!

World count : 4.8k

TW : Mention of breaking up and angst. I think nothing else but if you notice something please let me know!

PART 2 I PART 3 I PART 4 I PART 5 I PART 6 | PART 7

The news of your transfer to Arsenal was like a little bomb in the football world. You were on the verge of another contract extension with Manchester City when the London club contacted your agent, offering you a contract that you couldn’t refuse. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, you thought about it long before accepting. You asked for the advice of your parents and friends footballers perhaps a little more experienced than you. Including Ingrid Engen, one of your best friends since you started playing on the Norwegian national team.

After weighing the pros and cons, you decided to accept and say goodbye to Manchester City. Some things will obviously miss you. Starting with some of your teammates that you consider your friends and who seemed really saddened by your departure.

You quickly got along with Laia Aleixandri and Leila Ouahabi, the spanish womens taking you under their wing just arrived in Manchester. They made your life easier and helped you include yourself in the club much more easily than you could have hoped. Leaving your home country at almost 18 wasn’t easy, but if you wanted to continue to follow your dreams, you really had no choice. Norwegian football being less in the spotlight, when you had the first proposal from an English club, you didn’t hesitate a single second. Your parents and relatives encouraged you to accept this offer as well.

Your life in Manchester has been pleasant and you can’t help but be a little nervous about moving to a new city. With other people, other places… In short, to start almost from the beggining. The only thing that has changed between your settlement between Manchester and London is that you have undoubtedly developed your athletic abilities and skills in all areas necessary to be able to play football properly.

Your contract was signed just after the end of the World Cup, so you were the last to announced at Arsenal. This didn’t allow you to find an apartment in time and that is why you find yourself in a hotel room for your first nights in London. It’s a little strange, but you’d rather that than take an apartment that wouldn’t suit you. It’s important for you to really feel at home when you cross the threshold of your door and you haven’t found the one who gave you this impression in those you have visited for the moment.

You only have a few things with you at the moment, all your furniture is stored in Laia’s garage in Manchester, ready to be sent as soon as you find what suits you. Very soon, let’s hope.

********

It’s a little nervous that you leave the Uber that accompanies you to the Arsenal training center for your first day under the colors of the club. You have already made the promotional photos, so you have already met several people belonging to the staff. You’ve already had a meeting with Jonas, but you haven’t met a lot of people officially when it comes to the players.

Last night, Alessia Russo contacted you via Instagram (you didn’t even realize she was following you on social media) and offered to wait for you at the entrance to make your way together. You quickly accepted, even if you also quickly understood that it was for you more than for her. Alessia knows a lot of people on the team, unlike you. But the gesture made you happy. Alessia having played at Manchester United while you were playing at Manchester City, you might have had a bad connection with her, being clubs enemy, but that’s not the case. Leila and Laia always took you with them when they were going out with Ona and her friends and that’s how you met Alessia. From saying you’re friends with her there’s a world, but you appreciate the blonde’s personality.

Alessia is already waiting for you when you arrive and you smile at her when you reach her height.

"Hi" you say with a slight smile, responding willingly to her embrace.

"Nervous?" asks the blonde, glancing at you.

You answer with a simple grunt that makes her laugh, before you go to the conference room where you meet the rest of the team. She asks you about your Summer and you ask questions back, learning that she went in her family in Italy.

Several of your teammates are already present when you enter the room, including Jonas who greets you both with a big smile. You find yourself following Alessia around like a lost puppy in the room, but she doesn’t seem to mind. On the contrary, she introduces you to people she already knows.

You’ve come across some of them on football fields in previous games, but aside from a few words exchanged with them, there’s never been anything more. You talk to Laia Codina, whom Laia and Leila described as an adorable girl, when a new trio arrives in the room. Lia, Leah and Katie.

"Katie terrifies me" Alessia jokes in your ear before Leah spots her and leads the other two in your direction.

"Do you know Y/N?" Alessia tells Leah after they greet each other with an embrace.

"Not really" Leah replies with a smile. "Welcome to Arsenal!"

"Thank you very much"

When your eyes meet, you feel a wave of shivers running through your entire body. Nothing to do with the terror that Katie can inspire in Alessia, but what it can mean does intrigue you no less. But you quickly recover, greeting all three. You realize too that Leah’s embrace lasts a few seconds longer than the others, her hand dragging in the hollow of your back when she laughs at a joke Katie made.

Shortly after, Jonas and his assistants arrive in the room and ask you all to sit down. You find yourself next to Alessia and Manuela Zinsberger and listens wisely to what he tells you. This mainly consists of a warm welcome from the new players, a reminder of the goals set for the team this year and the introduction of new staff members. After that, everyone is invited to a brunch and you find yourself around a big round table, once again with Manuela but also with Frida Maanum, who seems delighted to have a compatriot with her on the team.

"We’ll be able to show Stina and Amanda who the real Vikings are" she told you, amusing the people around you.

The least we can say is that you quickly feel comfortable.

Finally you were wrong to fear the introduction into your new team. You haven’t trained together yet, but you feel it won’t be a problem for you to fit in here. Despite you, your eyes are a little too turned towards Leah Williamson, who has lunch at an another table. You didn’t expect the injuries one to be here today, which was stupid of you. They’re just as much part of the team as you are.

In the middle of the afternoon, after visiting the different rooms and the training ground, you are free to leave. You stay a little longer than the first ones who do though, having fun making passes with Alessia and Manuela, while Leah, Lia, Beth and Viv stay a few meters from you to discuss. When you finally decide to leave the field to go home and you don’t follow them to the parking lot greeting them nevertheless, you see Leah arching an eyebrow.

"Where are you going?"

"Taking the subway? I don’t have a car yet" you answer smiling, shrugging your shoulders.

"Bullshit. Someone can bring you back" Leah says, turning to your teammates.

"I’m not going to force someone to make a detour for me, Leah, but that’s very kind, thank you very much."

Something in the blonde’s gaze makes you think that if she had been fit to drive, she herself would have made the detour, but being driven by Lia she doesn’t have the opportunity to do so.

"I can" says Alessia nicely. "Where do you live?"

A new wave of surprise attacks your teammates when you give them the name of your hotel.

"You live in a hotel?" Lia wonders with her kind voice this time.

"I didn’t find an apartment for now" you shrug your shoulders."It all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to anticipate things properly."

Well, you must also say that you wanted enjoy your holiday without bother yourself with it.

"We have a guest room if you want to come and live there for a few days, the time to find something" proposes Manuela.

But before you have time to answer, Alessia suddenly resumes speaking, slapping her forhead, as if she had just remembered something.

"They’re looking to rent the apartment in front of mine, on the same floor. If it’s like mine, it’s really nice!"

********

It turned out that the apartment in front of Alessia is indeed very nice. A bright living room (Very rare for London said Katie when she was sent by Leah to come make the counter-visit with you to scare the seller in case of scam attempts), a bedroom, another room that you used as a guest room, a third to make you an office and a living room with open kitchen. You even have a small balcony overlooking the inner courtyard, separated from Alessia’s by a transparent wall. "We’ll have to do a housewarming party" several of your teammates got excited. And that’s how you end up with most of the players on the team crammed into your living room, laughing while watching a reality show chosen by Jen. You ordered pizza and a supply of beer and other drinks has been flooding your balcony since last night. But you feel good and that’s all that matters. At the end of the show, you don’t know who offers a drinking game, consisting of taking a shot of alcohol if we did more than the person says. For example, you find yourself having to drink when Lotte says "I took more than three yellow cards last season." "Katie should drink like five shots" jokes Viv towards. Katie glare at her as laughter rises around you, but the game continues. Finally, when one of them says "I slept with more than two people" you are surprised to see that finally not many of you drink. You do. "Y/N?" Manuela turns to you with a disbelieving smile. "We never said we had to justify ourselves" you answer pulling your tongue at her. A new round is quickly thrown after that, but you cross Leah’s eyes a few seconds later. She also drank, which is probably not surprising given the small reputation that precedes her.

After clearing your throat, you look away with a slight blush on your cheeks.

You regularly saw Leah, between the parties organized by the different team members and during training. If the blond doesn’t follow those in the field, she has her appointments with her physiotherapist at the same time as you play. And she now participates in strength training and physical maintenance.

You talk to her regularly, but you have a hard time staying away like you promised yourself to. Leah seems like a very passionate and kind person, but some of your former teammates in Manchester City have made you aware of her flirtatious nature. And a one- or two-night thing, are really not what you’re looking for right now.

A little later in the evening, when at least half of the squad has returned home, you find yourself tidying up a little in the kitchen accompanied by Lia, Leah, Alessia, Manuela and Frida.

"So you have more than two conquests?" teases Manuela, leaning on the central island of your kitchen.

You have the impression that Leah’s eyes will pierce your head when she hears Manu’s question.

"I’ve got like three" you says, rolling your eyes. "It’s not the end of the world"

"It’s not" Lia laughs.

Hoping to divert the conversation, you offer once again to drink to your teammates slash friends. But that was without counting on Manu’s spontaneity.

"Oh but it wasn’t you who dated Alina Meier who play in Aston Villa? Lia’s swiss teammate?" (n/a I don’t want any problem with anyone, this girl is all invented)

You feel your stomach contracting a little bit to her name. Manuela isn’t mistaken, but you usually avoid talking about your ex. Any of your interlocutors could feel the tension emanating from you, but Lia is the fastest.

"Can I have another beer please?" she cuts the conversation with a big smile.

You willingly accept and pivot towards the fridge to dive in. Alessia takes charge of changing the topic of conversation and you sigh of relief when your hear that it works. You spend two seconds more than necessary to take out the beer, taking a large breath before leaving the fridge. Alessia puts a comforting hand behind your back and you find yourself once again stuck in Leah’s eyes when your eyes cross.

An hour later, it’s just Alessia, Leah, Victoria and you. Manuela fell asleep on the couch and you will probably find her in the same place tomorrow morning. Vic and Lessi are in the middle of a conversation about a band when you find yourself on your balcony, enjoying some fresh air.

"Mind if I join you?"

Leah. You obviously invite her to join you, despite yourself very intrigued by the young woman. You’re not stupid, or at least not stupid enough not to realize that she seems intrigued by you too. She speaks at you more often than Manu for example and behaves differently with you than with Lia or Alessia. You can imagine how much she looks about you and to be honest you’re interested about her too. But on your side it’s not only physical interest, which changes everything.

"Are you okay?" asks Leah with sincere concern. "You seem a little down since Manu mentioned Alina."

You look at her thoughtfully for a split second before shrugging your shoulders.

"She doesn’t bring back pleasant memories. But it’s ok" you finally confess, looking at the sky.

It’s difficult in London to observe the stars, between pollution and public lights lit everywhere. You miss it a little.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Well… Everybody in the football world knows, no?"

Another disadvantage of dating a well-known player, in the end. It’s impossible to keep your privacy private.

"I don’t think so?" said Leah, frowning. "I don’t, anyway." You look at her again for a few seconds and it doesn’t take you any longer to understand that she’s telling the truth. "We dated for almost a year, until I found out she had been cheating on me with someone in the man team from her club for almost four months." "Oh... I’m so sorry" A new glance in her direction allows you to understand that she really is. Frowning, she seems upset by this story. Like all the people to whom you tell the truth of your break up with Alina. You assumed that everyone knew why, but it would seem that they didn’t. It kind of cheers you up to be honored. "Jordan’s playing with her now" you say thoughtfully. Leah grunt at the mention of her ex and you take advantage of the fact that she looks in front of her to observe her. Leah is a very beautiful woman, it’s not surprising that people like her so much. You see regularly video on her in your "For you" on Tiktok. "You’re not the only one having a bad relationship with your ex" ended up sighing Leah. "Do you want to talk about it?" you ask, repeating her words from before. "There’s not much to say. She’s just, you know... gone." Maybe you shouldn’t get close to her to put your hand on her shoulder, her proximity triggering strange sensations throughout your body. You realize that the joints of Leah’s hands that are attached to the fence are white, and your hand quickly leaves her shoulder to be laid on one of Leah’s, stroking it. When Leah turns her head in your direction, you realize how close your faces are. Your breath is cut off and the infinity of the blue of her eyes makes you lose yourself. When Leah puts her hand around your waist to take you against her, you feel like your heart rate has never been so fast.

But it’s nothing compared to how you feel when her lips land on yours. One hand is automatically behind her neck and the other on her cheek. Your lips begin a passionate and sensual dance and that’s exactly how you imagined things when you thought about how Leah kiss.

The blonde takes advantage of a wimper from you to deepend the kiss and request access to your mouth with her tongue. You leave it to her, carried away by these waves of emotions and sensations that make you turn your head. You find yourself quickly having legs in jelly and you can’t tell how long this moment happened.

You need all your concentration and willpower to break that kiss, snatching yourself from Leah’s arms.

"I’m sorry" you mumble out of breath, facing Leah’s surprised face. "I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry"

With one last mumble, you hurry back inside. If the remaining guests suspect something, they don’t show it. You take the excuse to clean up a little more to mask your trembling hands and let your heart rate returning to normal. Five minutes later, Leah came back inside, excusing herself and leaving your apartment, calling it a night. She didn't even look at you and well, that's hurt. But it shouldn't, aren't you the one who pushed her away?

After kissing your cheek and saying goodbye, Alessia left you too. You throw a blanket on Manu’s sleeping body, you go to your room. It’s late, but you know that Ingrid sometimes stays up a little later than other people.

From You Are you asleep?

From Ingrid 🩵 No. are you okay?

From You Can we call each other?

You don’t get messages back, but Ingrid tries to call you while you’re brushing your teeth. You pick up, mouth full of toothpaste and greet your friend with a hand sign when her face appears on the screen.

"What are you still up at this hour?" smiled Ingrid

"I could ask you the same question" you point out to her after rinsing your mouth.

Ingrid just turns your phone screen and you realize that she shows you her living room, in which she seems to be installed with Mapi and Baghera watching TV.

"Hola Mapi!" you smile to the tattooed when she greets you with a wave of hand.

"What about you?"

"I invited the girls to my apartment to celebrate my move in" you explain before leaving the bathroom and going to lie on your bed.

"Was it nice?"

You hum for any answer, the memory of the kiss you just exchanged with Leah coming back full force. After spending years paying attention at you, Ingrid knows you very well and she realizes in the second that the reason you called her is related to this evening.

"What’s going on, Søtnos?"

Mapi being next to Ingrid, you are relieved that you started this conversation in Norwegian. Since Leah’s name is rather all-purpose, you hope that when you mention her, Maria will not realise. You never understood why there is such tension between the Spanish women and the English women, at least for some of them. But Mapi will probably never be friends with Leah.

Ingrid is a person you could easily confide in, even if there are parts of your life that you have never talked to her about. But you trust her with your life and you know that she will always be able to see things in a neutral and mature way. Which is not always your case.

You explain the situation to her, trying not to take too much time while giving her all the necessary information to have a clear vision of things.

"For summary" resumes Ingrid after your monologue "You like her, she seems to like you too. She kissed you, you pushed her away and she left without looking at you?"

"Uh… yeah"

"And you’re surprised?" laughs softly the brunette shaking her head.

"No, on the contrary. I should never have accepted that kiss in the first place, it was a serious mistake on my part."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn’t see things the way I do, I guess. Leila told me to beware of her and she didn’t want anything serious for a long time" you sigh as you roll to the side.

"Did you talk to her about it?"

"No, we didn’t have time between the kiss and the moment she left my apartment slamming the door" you laugh.

"Be careful with your bad attitude" warns Ingrid pointing at you.

But you smile at her in return. You know she doesn’t scold you for real.

"Anyway, I doubt that she will want to speak to me again after that" you sigh again.

This information shouldn’t depress you as much as that, but still. And this doesn’t escape the keen eye of your compatriot once again. She smiles softly at you.

"I like Leila and I don’t doubt that she means what she says, but trust me, you’re never better served than by yourself."

Her look from the side and you know she’s looking at her own girlfriend. You remember perfectly well that Ingrid was also told to beware of Mapi. But when you see where they are today, you tell yourself that she did well to trust her own idea.

"You have a better conscience than me to judge people" you remind her.

Ingrid answers you with a grunt and you know that she thinks about what happened previously in your love life. You make a grimace and decide to change the subject, questioning her rather on Mapi, her trainings and what she has to tell you again in her life.

Your call lasts another ten minutes before you decide to stop, promising to call you back quickly. What you usually do once a week at least, determined to keep in touch despite the fact that you are not in the same country.

It’ll be a long time before you can fall asleep that night, Leah deep in your mind. Part of you is bitterly sorry you pushed her away, but on the other hand, no one can blame you for wanting to protect you, right? No one knows your past and what you went through before you came here. But you can’t help but feel guilty, despite the little time you spent with Leah, she confided in you about her relationship with her ex and even if it was just a few words, you feel like she wouldn’t do it to just anyone. Your last wish is to hurt her, she asked nothing for it.

You will have to wait until the sky clears, heralding a new day for you to finally find sleep, long hours later. Little did you know that Leah experienced the same thing in her own bed.

********

As you have imagined, Leah was particularly cold the next time you saw her. She greeted you, but only from a distance. Her affectionate smile and the little touches if attention she offered you on a daily basis now seem to need to be evoked in the past. And it bothers you too much for your taste.

This obviously caught the attention of the girls you were closest to in Arsenal, starting with Alessia.

"Is everything okay with Leah?" she asked you one day when you ended up in her apartment after a game.

"Yeah, why?"

Thank God you were on your phone and you were able to use this pretext to pretend to be absorbed by what was on it. Otherwise Alessia would have seen the slight panic take hold of your gaze.

"I don’t know, I think she changed her behavior with you… It’s not so much in her habits"

Alessia is far too observant, but given her character and personality, it doesn’t surprise you. It's also probably thanks to this that she saw your hesitation and she got closer to you before starting to speak again.

"Leah is my friend but you are too, so if you need to confide in someone, you can do it with me ok? I know how to keep secrets"

"Even for Tooney?" you asked while arching an amused eyebrow.

You met the energetic Englishman recently, when she came to London for an interview and took the opportunity to attend a match of Alessia.

"Even for Tooney" laughed Alessia gently shoving you with a shoulder.

You laughed too and you both went back to your respective phones, but in truth Alessia’s remark began to spin in your brain.

"Thanks"

Is all you added before you letting your head on her shoulder. Alessia responded by tapping you on the top of it, without taking her phone out of her eyes. And that was enough.

********

"Your tattoo is amazing!"

Katie’s exclamation makes you turn in her direction and you smile timidly when you see her watching your back carefully.

"Thank you?" you whisper in response.

Even if you prefer showering at home, this is not the first time you change in front of your teammates. So you don't know it Katie have never dared to ask you about it or if they have never really make attention the tattoo you have on your back. Yet it’s hard to miss. Drawn on all your right shoulder blade, it goes down to the hollow of your hips and shows up to your right shoulder.

"Wow, invite the girl on a date before" jokes Manuela when Katie advances towards you, without detaching her eyes from your back, her head slightly tilting on the side to have a better view.

"Sorry, I already put an option on it!" Caitlin exclaims at the back of the locker room, causing a general laugh.

Katie rolls her eyes, but you realize that she has been joined by Lia and Leah, all three of them carefully observing your tattoo. Your gaze lingers on Leah, who seems to resist as much as possible her desire to come and look closer. She stands behind Lia and when your eyes cross she silently observes you for long seconds before shifting her attention to your back.

"Sorry about the invasion" Lia smiles gently.

"It makes me think of a painting" Leah thoughtfully made next to her.

"By Van Gogh yes. The Starry Night. It was my grandfather’s favorite painting. Well, it’s a modified version obviously, but the inspiration is there"

The surprised look of Leah doesn't escape you. Lia is watching you silently and next to you Katie and Manuela have started a conversation about tattoos. As for Alessia, she finally emerges from the shower after her eternal routine of care.

"Do you like painting?" Leah asks carefully, looking at you with the same apprehension as if your gaze could ignite her alive.

"My grandfather was a painter, not very well known but he introduced me to this world" you answer by shrugging your shoulders.

"What she paints is incredible. She has a room dedicated to this at home, behind her bedroom" Alessia intervenes.

You turn in her direction, frowning. It's a part of you that you don't really want to share with everyone, fearing their jugement. You don't think you're a great painter, but you like painting. It's sort your mind. Your glance is quickly captured by your friend.

"What? It’s true" she mumbles, shrugging.

You roll your eyes and turn around to finish dressing, putting on a t-shirt and a sweatshirt to accompany your ripped jeans. The little troop that surrounded you has dissipated, but Leah’s gaze remains thoughtfully on you. You cross it when you glance in her direction and you blush slightly.

The effect that woman has on you… It might be a good idea to talk to someone about it again instead of thinking desperately about her every night before you fall asleep.

[isagrimorie]

After Hahn’s standout performance in 2021 as a nefarious neighbor in WandaVision, Marvel Studios’ first crack at television, the show’s creator knew she wanted to build a project in her image. “We’ve always said that the tone of the show is Kathryn Hahn,” Schaeffer says.

[snip]

Jac Schaeffer needed a classic TV neighbor: a combo of Mrs. Roper from Three’s Company and Rhoda from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, mixed with a little bit of Mona from Who’s the Boss? It was 2019, and she was developing Marvel’s first superhero sitcom. But this character was also secretly an antagonist, Schaeffer says, “so there needed to be a performer who could drop the mask and then have teeth.”

[snip]

“The Agatha character was tacked on,” Schaeffer says. But that was before Schaeffer heard Hahn might be available. “We were like, ‘Could we really? Could we maybe?’” The idea of casting someone with Hahn’s résumé in what was then a small part seemed a tad far-fetched, but Schaeffer wanted to pitch her on it anyway. After accepting an invitation to the WandaVision writers room, Hahn sat next to Schaeffer and listened. “She was right there, looking at me with her blue, blue eyes, really dialed in on what I was saying,” Schaeffer says. “My memories of that day are all in close-up because she’s got such an intensity to her. But it’s warm, that’s the thing.”

[snip]

As soon as Hahn came on board, the role grew. “There was just an abundance of opportunity to peel back layers,” Schaeffer says. “And that’s what she brought.”

[snip]

From the first episode, a black-and-white I Love Lucy–style parody, Hahn’s performance popped. It reminded Schaeffer of how memorable Hahn was in the ’50s drama Revolutionary Road. “Seeing her slip into that physicality and the vocal tone of that era, it didn’t surprise me, but it was so delightful,” Schaeffer says. “To see her bring that expertise and that skill set to the sitcom space and the golden age of TV space was just delicious. And the hair, and the look, and the nails. As a fan, I was like, ‘Look at the icon go.’”

[snip]

Have no fear, Hahn Hive: Her decision to join the mostly family-friendly Marvel world hasn’t drained her main superpowers. Leading up to filming Agatha All Along, Schaeffer says that Hahn and Agatha started to blend together in her mind. And during rehearsals, when Schaeffer tried to watch Hahn’s Hulu show, Tiny Beautiful Things, she had to stop. “I totally underestimated the amount of physical prep Kathryn had done to embody Agatha that when I saw her as this other character, it just made me really uncomfortable,” Schaeffer says. “I was like, ‘I’m looking at somebody wearing a Kathryn suit.’ It was just really good acting, but it just freaked me out.”

[snip]

Hahn has been, and always will be, a character actor. But once in a while, someone like her gets a chance to have the spotlight to herself. “This totally crazy show that is a total high-wire act, that has all the comedy and all the drama and is horror and also a warm and fuzzy found-family story, of course it’s all centered on Kathryn Hahn,” Schaeffer says. “It’s like she’s been training for this her entire life, and I and everybody I know is ready to show up for it.”

[snip]

“I feel like I’m in the portal to the next phase of my life as a woman,” Hahn says. “I think that the act of becoming a witch is the next chapter, where you can have these feelings that you’re told not to for all these years. Rage. All the things that we could do when we were little girls, all the things that were squeezed out of us, seem to feel like they are allowed as a witch.”

[vasyandii]

PHAYVANH "NAK" SOTSVAHN 🐉🌺

Old Introduction

Nak Reference Sheet

Nak IRL Gear References

NSFW Alphabet (TREAD LIGHTLY)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Status: ACTIVE

Year of Birth: 2000 (Aged 20)

Day of Birth: September 13

Place of Birth: Vientiane, Laos

Race: Lao

Nationality: Laotian

Languages Spoken: Lao, Thai, English, Russian

Occupation: Tactical Assault Operator, Close Quarters Combat Specialist (Chimera Member)

Affiliation(s):

Golden Triangle Cartel (Formerly)

Lao People's Armed Forces (Formerly; Dishonorably Discharged)

Allegiance

Chimera

Physical Appearance

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black

Height: 5’2”/159 cm

Build: Lean Muscular

Scars: None

Tattoos/ Markings: Large tattoos on left upper and Center of back

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Vientiane, Laos. Living the first 15 years of her life off her uncle's fortune, partaking in the trafficking of illicit narcotics at a young age. The two were close due to them being family, not having many friends due to her uncle's line of work.

Enlisted in the LPAF by her Uncle's wishes to "Carve a better path for herself". Was not liked by her peers for her cocky attitude, overly aggressive tactics, and habit of prioritizing her personal safety over the team.

After 3 years of service in the LPAF, excelling in Close Quarters Combat, dishonorably discharged due to repeated physical altercations among teammates. Spent the next 6 months back to working for Kapano Vang despite his reluctance, eventually fleeing to Urzikstan after an argument with Vang about difference in beliefs, multiple people injured; their relationship has been strained ever since.

During her time her path crossed with Nikolai, in search of work she signed a long term contract with Chimera, with one year of service.

Shown to exhibit signs of social anxiety and difficulty forming close relationships around people her age. Inherited Kapano Vang's short temper in combat, though more relaxed outside of it.

Developed a bond with Syd, seeing her as an older sister. Often paired up with Sebastian Krueger in order to keep them both in line.

Skills and Abilities

Fighting Style: Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Weapon(s): Whatever is heavy

Distinct Weapon: SCAR FN PDW, Dual Push Blades

Shortcomings: Overly aggressive tactics, focus on personal safety, short temper

Family

Familial Status: Adoptive Niece

Siblings: None

Mother: Adoptive sister of Kapano Vang; (whereabouts unknown, records not found/withheld)

Uncle: Kapano “Naga” Vang; (Former warlord drug trafficker, formerly in Warsaw Pact)

Relationship with Family: Nak still idolizes her uncle to an extent, but the more that she's out in the world,the more she realizes that he isn't a good person. Nak’s mother wasn’t present in life. Her uncle took her in after mother wasn’t able to care for her. Naga trained her at a very young age; he thought it was best if she was strong in their lifestyle.

Pet: Cat person, never was allowed to have pets but she would throw scraps of food to strays.

PERSONALITY

Myers Briggs Type: ESTJ-T

Nak is an extroverted introvert, she likes and enjoys talking to people, however it drains her energy quickly since she's not used to talking to people in such a casual manner. Things like talking business she’s more used to.

Adaptable

A quick thinker, Nak is able to carry out missions by finding creative solutions to make sure her operations are successful. Outside of the battlefield her adaptability allows her to have better communication with people, even with her social anxiety.

Pragmatic

Nak strives to make the most effective solutions so it’s easier on her in the future. Her decision making skills ensure that she’ll survive in the field and outside of it.

Responsible

Living on her own, Nak is responsible, she can’t relax unless all her work is done beforehand. As she starts forming close relationships with people, she realizes that she likes taking care of people.

Negative Traits

Stubborn

Starting out Nak isn’t a very good teamplayer. She doesn’t like others telling her what to do or how to do things so she’s stubborn in a way that she’s adamant about what she wants but adaptable with what methods are needed.

Judgemental

Her formative years with Naga didn’t allow her to trust people, because of the Golden Triangle Cartel she has a habit of being overly critical of others.

Paranoid Perfectionist

Nak is self-demanding, she doesn’t take failure lightly. This leads to her paranoia of not being properly prepared. She becomes aggressive out of frustration if her ability isn’t to her liking.

TRIVIA

Nak is a shortened version of “phayanak” the mythical water serpent in Laos, it’s also the Lao pronunciation of “Naga” which is her Uncle’s name in the field.

Her face paint draws reference to how snake teeth are shown in Phayanak statues. There are multiple snake motifs in her design. Is the design practical? No, she just likes standing out in that way.

Nak cuts her own bangs (long blunt bangs) she doesn’t trust anyone with cutting them.

Has a lot of upper body and lower body strength; she can lift things heavier than her and calisthenics skills (handstands, full planches, etc.)

Often, most people's First impressions of her is that she's "Unsettling."

[legendaryrooftopscene]

This is part of the 500k Tankhun lore that lives in my noggin. He has a TBI. It’s from a concussion. Most of his family thinks it happened during his kidnapping. It didn’t. It happened after, when his world was fracturing into thousands of pieces even as the doctors stitched him up. The nightmares and memories got too loud and he just needed it to stop and they had stopped giving him the sedation medication too early (‘we have to keep your mind sharp. You can’t rely on a crutch like this, find a way to push through pain,’ his father had said as the nurse took away the pills) and he just needed it to stop so he stood up and walked over to the wall and slammed his head against it. The thoughts stopped. And when they came back, they were fractured into pieces too, just like the rest of him. They never really stitched themselves back together.

It’s part of the reason Kinn takes over for him. Tankhun is fairly sure that if his father let him attend therapy he could recover from his trauma. Probably not from his paranoia, but a good mafia boss should be paranoid. But Tankhun—always considered to be the smartest of his brothers—couldn’t hold onto details. Timelines were fuzzy. His words got mixed up. He had less control over his emotions. Reading got infinitely harder. A mafia boss could be many things, but sloppy was not one of them. Tankhun could no longer stay organized, and so he could no longer lead the family. So he shut himself into his suite of rooms, a place that he knew from muscle memory so he could never get lost in it, and pivoted his life. He developed his fashion sense and sewing skills. If he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d worn this shirt or those pants, he might as well make them all flashy and loud enough that no one noticed if they repeated two days in a row. He blamed any of his balance issues and fine motor skill failures on long flowing sleeves, dragging cape trains, and silky gloves. He watched series (easier than reading) and though each one captivated him fully, he struggled to recall the plot after finishing it. So he would watch them again and again. Even a few years later, when he’d learned tricks and ways around his memory problems, watching and re-watching series was a center point of his life, a way to stabilize himself and carry on. He carved a life out for himself until he could hardly remember what it was like Before. He was certain he had been happy Before. But he was also fairly happy now. It was impossible to say, in the foggy realm of his memory, if he was happier now or then. Probably best not to know, he thinks, and picks out another series to watch.

[almostyours]

THE  MEMBERS  OF  HIRÆTH     @      the  angels  and  their  vessels.

"   good  and  evil  people  are  not  clearly  distinguished.   good  and  evil  coexist  within  one  person.   even  if  one  seems  good,   greed  and  temptation  always  exist  together  inside.   we  simply  try  to  resist  being  captivated  by  evil.   "

trigger  warnings:   parental  neglect,   emotional  abuse,  subtle  mentions  of  blood  and  murder.

ACT  I    ⸺    you carried your family’s name, but they neither cared nor appreciated it. you spent years trying to earn their approval, excelling in extracurricular activities and providing for them after hours of hard work each day. despite your efforts, their indifference never wavered. you were thirteen when you decided to leave the lineup of the japanese idol group you had been with for three years. but when their farewell lacked sincerity, you told yourself it didn’t matter, just as you had with your own family’s coldness. yet, every time you think of these moments, why does your blood run hot? ACT  II    ⸺    you joined a trainee program carrying your surname, enduring criticism, side-eyes, and pointing because you were expected to be better than everyone else with your experience, so why did you keep making mistakes? you swear you didn't take it to heart. you used every mocking word to improve and find passion in your still-developing skills as an artist, and when you won the survival show alongside three talented contestants, you carried the pop sensation kaia title as a trophy. ACT  III    ⸺    you were a musician before you were an idol— songwriter of this song, producer of that one, background vocals of another. but where was your group? you didn’t know, and neither did your company, despite your efforts to make the debut happen. your songwriting skills got you working with many artists, drawing attention to you and highlighting the uncertainty surrounding your group. you are the reason you and your members got a new and better chance under a new company. and it was you who first got blood in your hands when you thought removing her was the only way. ACT  IV    ⸺   you are the leader, the main rapper, and the lead dancer of hiræth. you are the glue that keeps the group together with your nurturing and bright personality, the one in charge of the fun in the group's concept. you're also known as japan’s princess and one of the generation's best leaders. while your fans might wish for you to take center stage, you’re content letting your members shine first, preferring to work quietly in the background and pursue your passions on your own. but is it really about humility, or is it easier to keep a low profile, hiding behind a mask of innocence when you know better? ACT  Æ    ⸺   you are the angel of summer, born as a seashell drifting across the coast of a not-so tranquil beach. you are the angel that wants to break out of celestia to discover on what seems the impossible. you believe in yourself and your dreams, but faith without action is wishful thinking, and faith without hope is just daydreaming…

STAGE  NAME.   kaia (  카이아 , カイア  ) FULL  NAME.   hiiragi  kaoru  (   柊かおる  ) IDENTITY.   cis-woman,  she/her,  asexual BIRTHDAY.   12/10/95 ZODIAC.   libra BIRTHPLACE.   kagoshima,  japan LANGUAGES.   fluent  in  japanese  and  korean.  conversational  in  english  and  chinese. HEIGHT.   1.68 / 5’5  MBTI.   enfp OCCUPATION.   idol,  radio  host,  songwriter,  producer,  composer POSITION.   leader,  main rapper,  lead dancer SUB-UNITS.   cændy,  vivæ  (leader) TRAINING  DURATION.   six  years INDIVIDUAL  ACCOLADES.   winner  of  the  grand  prize  in  the  composer  category  at  the  2018  korea  best  brand  award.   best  songwriter  winner  at  the  2020  melon  music  awards.   best  songwriter  winner  at  the  2022  asian  artist  awards. OTHER  ACTIVITIES.  

former  member  of  japanese  girl  group  akb48.   ‘05-‘08

league  of  legend’s  akali  in  virtual  groups  k/da  and  true  damage.

sbs  power  fm's radio  host  at  kaia’s  kao  to  the  ru!  show.

producer  and  rap  mentor  in the second season of  fantasy  boy.  ‘23

japanese  voice  actress  for  navia  in  the video  game  genshin  impact.  ‘23

ANIMAL  REPRESENTATION.   cat COLOR  REPRESENTATION.   sweet  pink  (#ea9999) FRUIT  REPRESENTATION.   watermelon “BIRTH”  REPRESENTATION.   mermaid  seashell ANGEL'S PRINCIPLE.   faith FACECLAIM:   sana  minatozaki

trigger  warnings:  slight  mentions  of  mental  and  physical  abuse,  drug  dependency,  subtle  mentions  of  sexual  harassment.

ACT  I    ⸺    you were born into a family of artists and musicians, so you were destined to become a performer. a polished, and perfect doll, perched on a high pedestal where no one could ever touch you— except for an angered, disappointed mother with a strong grip and an icy stare that could make you shrink in every sense of the word. you were just ten when you finally tasted your first dose of freedom, the day you were accepted into a prestigious ballet school far from your hometown. you left behind a home and a mother who, to this day, gives you sleepless nights. ACT  II    ⸺    you had forgotten your audition to a trainee program until someone with a big name personally scouted you to join on your way to school. you accepted after many second thoughts, and you piqued everyone's interest because of your background, your talent, and your demure personality. you also fell in love, though at the time, you didn't quiet understand your feelings nor his until he left, leaving you heartbroken. you claim to be over him whenever he’s brought up, but deep down, are you truly? ACT  III    ⸺    you ventured out of the idol domain when your group went on hiatus even before their official debut. you became an actress, a producer, and a student at the school of performing arts in seoul—always keeping yourself busy, just as you were raised to do, because staying still meant staying in a space where your boundaries, your personal space, and your dignity weren't respected. this relentless drive and anxiety led to both physical and mental exhaustion, leaving you dependent on prescriptions to ease your anxiety and give you a peaceful night's sleep. they rarely work to this day. ACT  IV    ⸺   you are the visual, the main dancer, and the lead vocalist of hiræth. known as miss korea and revered as the white swan of the industry, you bring elegance and an ethereal allure to the group with your reserved yet passionate nature. you are the member who sells— your face adorning billboards, charities, and endorsements alike because anything you touch or grace is sold out within minutes. you are hardworking and always on the move, yet you yearn for a break— a moment to soothe your worries, ease the strain in your limbs, and forget about the things you've been part of. but with your relentless drive, true relaxation might remain out of reach… until it's too late. ACT  Æ    ⸺   you are the angel of spring, born from a daisy among decayed roses. you are the angel who is stuck in the "what could have been’s" and the "what if’s" of a loop you're pretty much aware of. you were made to believe in love, but your love had turned dull when it broke. your love has been lacking faith and hope to flourish, and for love to thrive, it must be nurtured with faith and hope to make it stronger, but how can you see it if you feel nothing?

STAGE  NAME.   poppy  (  양귀비  ) FULL  NAME.   kim  hwa-young  ( 김화영 ) ENGLISH  NAME.  penelope  kim ( 페넬로페 김 ) IDENTITY.   cis-woman,  she/her,  bisexual BIRTHDAY.   01/07/95 ZODIAC.   cancer BIRTHPLACE.   changwon,  south korea LANGUAGES.   fluent  in  korean,   french  and  japanese.  conversational  in  english  and  chinese.   can  understand  some  spanish. HEIGHT.   1.57 / 5’2  MBTI.   infj OCCUPATION.   idol,  actress,  producer,  dancer POSITION.   center,  visual, main dancer,  lead vocalist SUB-UNITS.   vivæ,  fævorite  (leader) TRAINING  DURATION.   five  years INDIVIDUAL  ACCOLADES.   best  producer  winner  at  the  2022  asian  artist  awards,   becoming  the  first  woman  recipient  of  the  accolade  in  the  show's  history. OTHER  ACTIVITIES.   

student  at  paris  opera  ballet.   ‘07-‘09

league  of  legend’s  ahri  in  virtual  group  k/da.

portrayed  jang-man wol  in  hotel  del  luna.   ‘22

mentor  in  the  second  season  of  queendom.  ‘22

host  in  the  first  season  of  queendom  puzzle.  ‘23

korean  voice  actress  for  navia  in  the video  game  genshin  impact.  ‘23

ANIMAL  REPRESENTATION.   bunny COLOR  REPRESENTATION.   lilac blush  (#b88bd9) FRUIT  REPRESENTATION.   apple “BIRTH”  REPRESENTATION.   daisy ANGEL'S PRINCIPLE.   love FACECLAIM:   kim  jisoo

trigger  warnings:  child  exploitation,  emotional  neglect  and  abuse,  subtle  mentions  of  bullying  and  murder.

ACT  I    ⸺    you were born with a talent your father couldn’t bear to waste. at barely six years old, you were constantly the reason many pedestrians stopped to listen you singing your favorite songs. sing, sing, sing, sing. that was your childhood, and you were okay with it because, at that age, it was fun to do something you were good at. you won various talent shows in china and chicago, you were mentored by broadway veterans, brought money into your household and your father’s pockets, and you were content, even when your father didn't give you attention unless you were under the spotlight. at that time, you didn't get it. ACT  II    ⸺    you were merely ten years old when you were unexpectedly accepted into a trainee program you decided to audition for "funsies". your charisma, determination, and powerhouse vocals swiftly captivated all, becoming one of, if not, the favorite trainee out of everyone. you were the fastest trainee to reach the highest rank and the youngest contestant to win your company’s survival show. you were a star with the brightest future ahead. ACT  III    ⸺    you hadn’t debuted yet, so you were allowed to finish your studies, provided you did nothing to harm the company’s reputation or your own. you didn’t mock, laugh at, or hurt anyone, but one day, you saw red—leaving someone without a life after their taunting pushed you too far. it doesn’t eat you up at night anymore. she mocked you. she disrespected you. your ego was hurt. she deserved it. but that time was nothing short of troubling. ACT  IV    ⸺    you are the main vocalist and the face of hiræth. you are the golden maknae and the generation’s ithey, a play of words with "it girl" and "they" after you opened up about identifying yourself as non-binary. aside from your strong and memorable vocals, you bring the coolness to the group with your fresh personality and creative ideas. you are the most popular and the most promoted member of the group, but it seems you just have social media hype and you're aware of it, but you don't mind… at least not that much! ACT  Æ    ⸺   you are the angel of winter, born as a drifting snowflake that fell in the snowy garden of celestia. you are the angel that doesn’t mind celestia nor the loop at all. if it means having fun over and over with the promise of always going back to zero to repeat, why would you try to escape? and you are hopeful for all the outcomes of your lives, but there is nothing to hope for without faith, determination, and love, both for others and yourself…

STAGE  NAME.   yvan  (  이반 , 伊万  ) FULL  NAME.   yao  liu  (  姚刘  ) ENGLISH  NAME.  ivan  liu  ( 이반 류,  刘伊凡 ) IDENTITY. non-binary, they/she, lesbian BIRTHDAY.   15/06/98 ZODIAC.   gemini BIRTHPLACE.   xi’an,  china LANGUAGES.   fluent  in  chinese,   korean  and  english.  currently  learning  japanese. HEIGHT.   1.70  /  5’7 MBTI.   entp OCCUPATION.   idol,  model,  songwriter POSITION.   maknae,  main vocalist,  face  of  the  group SUB-UNITS.   cændy  (leader),  fævorite TRAINING  DURATION.   three  years OTHER  ACTIVITIES.   

contestant  at  multiple  chinese  televised  shows.  ‘05-09

host  of  their  own  youtube  variety  show  yvan’s  diary:  do  read! 

vocal  mentor  in  girls  planet  999.   ‘22

temporary  variety  show  host  in  keep running.   ‘22

korean  and  chinese  voice  actress  for  disney’s  little  mermaid  as  ariel.  ‘23

portrayed  zhang  wei  in  web  series  celebrity.   ‘23

singing  voice  of  velvet  in  trolls  band  together.  ‘23

chinese  voice  actress  for  navia  in  the video  game  genshin  impact.  ‘23

portrayed  in  the  musical  adaptation  of  rebecca  as  “i”.  ‘24

will  portray  glinda  in  the  film  adaptation  of  the  musical  wicked.   ‘26

ANIMAL  REPRESENTATION.   puppy COLOR  REPRESENTATION.   cloudy  blue  (#6fa8dc) FRUIT  REPRESENTATION.   strawberry “BIRTH”  REPRESENTATION.   snowflake ANGEL'S PRINCIPLE.   hope FACECLAIM:   yuqi  song

[mixelation]

i found a part of reborn au that's just like "here's how i justify team 7 still existing"

Minato was having a conundrum. 

He had the files of twelve of the current academy students lined up in front of him. These were the twelve their teachers had deemed reasonably likely to graduate; the rest would be given their fair shot at graduation, but were likely to need further training. He’d already sorted the bottom of the class into teams he thought were reasonable. 

Of the top twelve, some could still fail. It was his job for the day to finalize their proposed genin teams, with the goal of maximizing their success for graduation and also the beginning of their genin careers. The Academy liked to lie to its students and pretend the teams were all composed to be evenly matched, but this was only partially true. It would be detrimental to both the students’ development and Konoha’s interests if an unworthy candidate graduated simply because they were put on a team with more all-around skilled classmates, or if an otherwise promising student was barred from graduating because their teammates bungled their Jounin’s test. 

At the same time, Minato understood better than anyone how this sort of system stacked the deck in favor of clan-born students. If you stuck all the best students together, then you ended up with a lot of teams of all clan kids who’d had access to more training opportunities than students without large shinobi families to rely on. 

This year was especially annoying to balance, in that it had five clan heirs graduating, plus the second children of two clan heads and Minato’s own son. This meant the top portion of the class was all especially heavy-hitters in terms of current skills. 

He wanted to spread these eight students out with the other, more “normal” kids, but… well, he couldn’t split up the latest iteration of Ino-Shika-Cho, and his analysis team had made an incredibly good case for a Hyuuga-Aburame-Inuzuka tracking team. 

Hyuu-Abu-Inu? Abu-Inu-Hyuu? Excellent Tracking Combo Team: All-seeing Bug Dog?

He pondered this title for a few moments. Well, it was a work in progress. 

So that was two teams that were basically guaranteed to pass, and he now had to arrange another two teams. This is where things got tricky. 

The analysis team had identified that Naruto and Sasuke had the potential to make an incredibly effective combat duo. Minato agreed with this. He also understood that they… ah, didn’t really get along, and suggested the third member be someone who could balance them out. His analysis team had suggested Haruno Sakura. 

He stared down at her class photo, right at the center of his desk. He’d talked to Sakura maybe twice. She was the only student without at least one Jounin parent to make it into the top twelve. Between her near-perfect written scores, excellent classroom behavior, high chakra proficiency, and acceptable scores in physical tests, she probably would be a stand-out in a less competitive year. Compared to other students in this year, however, she wasn’t really anything to write home about. Minato only recognized her because Naruto happened to have a giant crush on her. 

Through Naruto’s mooning, he also knew she had her own crush on Sasuke. He knew more about the intricacies of this little preteen love triangle than he wanted to, really. It was very dramatic. 

Maybe Sakura would be a good balance. Or maybe her presence would make the team one highly flammable tinderbox. His analysis team promised the former, but they seemed inexperienced with the nature of insane pre-teen crushes. 

Minato leaned back in his chair and swiveled it around to stare out the window. 

They were twelve years old. Maybe they’d just get over their wild feelings. 

Then again, he’d never gotten over his first crush… 

But wasn’t it important for young shinobi to work with different kinds of people despite their previous feelings about them? Or was this just him trying to justify favoritism towards Naruto, wanting him to be friends with Sasuke? 

He turned back to his desk, to see if he could figure out another way to arrange the teams. 

Actually, the three remaining students would make an excellent infiltration team. It would be stupid to break them up. 

He went back to pondering a team title for the Hyuuga-Aburame-Inuzuka team. 

xXx

Minato finished his speech with, “...so you see, choosing the right sensei for a team is imperative, and you’re the only man for the job.”

He smiled nervously at Kakashi, who looked like he’d aged about ten years over the course of the last five minutes. 

Kakashi’s shoulders slumped. He looked up at Minato from the file on his new team with incredibly tired eyes. 

“Why would you do this to me?” Kakashi asked. 

“Er, well,” Minato tried again. 

He’d been much more assertive with the other jounin sensei. But the other jounin sensei weren’t his personal students he was maybe possibly screwing over in a very personal way. 

“Shouldn’t Naruto be exposed to other people?” Kakashi asked. “I heard you gave Asuma a team. Wouldn’t he be a better fit?”

Asuma was Minato’s top pick for Naruto’s jounin sensei, actually. Asuma had wind chakra and also intimately understood what being the son of a Hokage was like, and he was also someone Naruto hadn’t grown up with. Minato was originally going to hand Kakashi the tracking team. 

(Dog Bug Eyes. The Legendary Eyes Guiding Dog Fang Insect Symbiosis.)

Unfortunately, Team 7 would eat Asuma alive. Also…

“It’s not about just Naruto,” Minato said. “I need someone who can handle the whole team.”

It would undoubtedly be weird for Naruto to have his former babysitter as a sensei, but that type of conditional role swapping was something clan kids navigated every day. Importantly, Kakashi was someone Naruto would trust not to give him special treatment for being the Hokage’s kid. Kakashi was also a rare Jounin who could help Sasuke with lightning jutsu, which he wouldn’t necessarily be able to get from his clan. 

“And Sakura is a wildcard,” Minato continued his pitch. “She’s been identified as a genjutsu-type, but her chakra control could lead her to many different specialties, and she has no familial connections to help her explore them. A jack-of-all-trades like you is an ideal teacher for her.”

Kakashi’s eyes drifted back down to the file in his hands. 

“Isn’t she that girl Naruto likes?” he asked. 

“Well,” Minato said levelly. “Naruto does like her, but you shouldn’t think of your new student that way.”

“Doesn’t Naruto keep fighting Sasuke over her?” Kakashi asked, ignoring this statement. “Sensei, you’ve somehow made something worse than Team 4.”

Wrong, Minato thought. Nothing is worse than Team 4. 

“I have full confidence you can handle it,” he said. 

Kakashi met his eyes. “Why would you do this to me?” he repeated. 

“If only you’d taken one of the four other teams I tried to give you,” Minato replied dryly. 

Kakashi straightened his shoulders, exposed eye gleaming. “I’ll just fail them too,” he said.

Minato smiled tightly back at him. “I have full confidence in them.”

[shamandrummer]

What Shamanism Is Not

When people ask me if I can define what shamanism is, I like to begin by defining what it isn't. Sometimes it is easier to contrast something with what it is not than to define exactly what it is. So in that vein, shamanism is not:

Religion. It is important to highlight that shamanism is not a religion, which involves a set of organized beliefs, practices, and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling force, such as a personal god or another supernatural being. In an organized religion, belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established, typically by an official doctrine (or dogma), a hierarchical or bureaucratic leadership structure, and a codification of proper and improper behavior. Unlike religion, shamanism has no dogma, no religious hierarchy, and is a cross-cultural tradition characterized by direct revelation and hands on experience. Shamanism is based on the principle that innate wisdom and guidance can be accessed through the inner senses in ecstatic trance. No intermediary such as the church or priesthood is needed to access personal revelation and spiritual experience. The essence of shamanism is the experience of direct revelation from within. Shamanism is about remembering, exploring, and developing the true self. Shamanism places emphasis on the individual, of breaking free and discovering your own uniqueness in order to bring something new back to the group.

Psychology. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists endeavor to understand the motivations and intentions inherent within a person's mental and emotional behaviors. It does so by uncovering the hidden agendas and issues at play in a persons actions and choices. Shamanism acknowledges the value of the psychological perspective, however, it does not seek to understand a person's underlying issues and intentions. That is best left to trained psychologists. Indeed, from the shamanic perspective--which is to say a soul-centered perspective, rather than a mental perspective--it is understood that the inner state of the soul is expressed as thoughts, feelings and emotions in the outer, physical realm. The mental and emotional conditions are but the symptoms or manifestation of the inner state of the soul. Shamanism is a paradigm of self-empowerment, which enables people to engage the soul in ways that foster its growth and evolution.

Metaphysics. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being. The perspective of metaphysics is that everything has a function or purpose and its essential nature is to grow and achieve its purpose. It explores abstract concepts such as cause and effect (karma), the nature of time, the existence of God, the meaning of life, the relationship between mind and body, and the existence of free will. Unlike metaphysics, shamanism is based in personal accountability without the imposition of an all-powerful God or theoretical universal laws that dictate the circumstances of our lives. Shamanism is premised on spiritual sovereignty free of karmic reward and punishment. When presented with a situation, shamanism never endeavors to find what the lesson is, understand its purpose, or comprehend the meaning. Instead, practitioners seek to apply their knowledge and skills to resolve the situation. Practitioners employ time-tested methods for altering consciousness to find clarity and solve problems.

What Shamanism Is

Shamanism is a cross-cultural, spiritual path practiced in every continent of the world. It is the most ancient and most enduring spiritual tradition known to humanity. It predates and constitutes the foundation of all known religions, psychologies and philosophies. It originated among nomadic hunting and gathering societies. These ancient shamanic ways have withstood the tests of time, varying little from culture to culture. Over thousands of years of trial and error, primal peoples the world over developed the same basic principles and techniques of shamanic power and healing.

Shamanism represents a universal conceptual framework found among Indigenous tribal humans. It includes the belief that the natural world has two aspects: ordinary everyday awareness, formed by our habitual behaviors, patterns of belief, social norms, and cultural conditioning, and a second non-ordinary awareness accessed through altered states, or ecstatic trance, induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective, not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness.

The shamanic practitioner traverses the inner realms in order to mediate between the needs of the spirit world and those of the material world. It is an inward spiritual journey of rapture in which the practitioner interacts with the inner spirit world, thereby influencing the outer material world. From a shamanic perspective, all human experience is self-generated. Experience is shaped from within since the inner world is a microcosm of the outer world. Each human being is a hologram of the universe. Essentially, we are the universe experiencing itself in human form.

[aeero1]

The Importance Of Technical Training Programs In Today’s Workforce

With a rising advance in technology and industry, technical training program becomes a necessity for any person or company. They help professionals become qualified and up-to-date to be able to compete and create new concepts. This blog discussed the importance of technical and Skill Training Program in India, what they provide, and how they are going to impact the working world.

Importance of Technical Technical Training Programs

The Importance of Learning Technical Skills Technical skills training programs have created to offer practical, hands-on skills in a range of technical fields that include but are not limited to information technology, engineering, and manufacturing among others. This explains why such schemes are important:

Bridging the Skills Gap :- As technology increases in organizations there is a need to hire more personnel who have technical skills. Technical training also assists in spanning the gap as a result of offering training in respective fields that assist in increasing the employment of people while educational institutions offer updated training to employers.

Enhancing Employability :- Thus, technical training programs are beneficial to people in that they increase opportunities for employment by preparing them for certain industries that are important to the economy. Such courses are generally accompanied by certifications that act as evidence of proficiency and efficiency.

Supporting Career Growth :- Technical training is not a preserve of the junior workers. It also plays a role in career development in as much as it assists those in a given profession to move to the next level on the career ladder. The process of career advancement in technical fields is characterized by the necessity of constant training and personal development of the employee.

Boosting Innovation :- Well-trained employees are valuable assets to organizations because they increase the technical capacity of an organization. Skilled workers create new ideas, run the business efficiently, and create new products and services to enhance the business.

Advantages of Technical Training Programs

Technical training programs have various advantages, which are worthy for employees and companies. Here are some of the key advantages:

For Individuals

Skill Development: Technical training like a Diploma in Computer Application in India prepares individuals to do certain jobs and use certain technologies in their day-to-day work.

Certification: Most of the programs provide certification that enriches the professional’s profile and proves oneself to the employer.

Job Security: Acquiring the latest technical skills increases an individual’s employability since organizations prefer to hire workers with adequate skills.

Career Advancement: Training also reveals that; further education creates chances for promotions and other better-paid jobs.

For Organizations

Increased Productivity: The better-trained workers have better results and efficiency, thus, performance is increased and improved.

Reduced Errors: Technical training helps minimize errors and mistakes that are unprofitable to the companies.

Employee Retention: Training is found to be crucial to increasing employee job satisfaction and therefore helps in staff turnover.

Competitive Advantage: It can be summarized that innovations occurring in organizations with technically competent employees help the organizations invent and develop new alternatives ahead of competitors.

Shaping the Future of the Workforce

Technical training is vital in the development of the workforce since it helps in shaping the human resources for future needs. It implies that associated industries will have to embrace the learning process and acquire relevant skills as they progress mainly due to technological growth. Here are some ways technical training is shaping the future:

Adaptability to Change :- Training prepares professionals with the capacity to work under changed technology and methods necessary in the market.

Fostering Innovation :- Technical training helps the employees attain up-to-date knowledge and skills hence challenges then arise leading to innovation within the organization.

Promoting Lifelong Learning :- This information shows that lifelong learning is becoming a concept of increasing importance. Technical training like the PG Course in Fire Technology in India fosters a culture of continuous improvement and development, which is vital for long-term career success. Along with these Courses Aeero provides Diploma, PG. Diploma, ADIS, BSc. Fire Safety Management and BSc. Occupational Health Safety Environment.

Conclusion :- Technical training programs are essential in the current education systems. They offer all the competencies and information required to conform to today’s world markets and development and enable people and organizations. Thus, technical training proves to be highly important as technology around the world expands; consequently, technical training plays an integral role in the enhancement of the workforce in the future. Thus funding these programs is not only a sound business decision, it is a requisite for a prosperous and progressive society.

[digitalictacade]

Digital ICT Academy: Best IT Training Center in Bangladesh

Best skill development training institute in Bangladesh. Access top-quality online courses on Digital Marketing, SEO, Web Design, WordPress, Graphics & more. M:+8801678-114614. Digital ICT Academy is the best digital training institute in Bangladesh, committed to providing high-quality education and skill development programs. Digital ICT Academy, the Leading IT Training Institute in Bangladesh, is an institution dedicated to empowering the community to achieve the highest standards of education. Our commitment to excellence is what sets us apart as the Best IT Training Center in Bangladesh. We are devoted to the continuous development of our leaders, who are deeply committed to shaping the future we aspire to live in. We prioritize providing high-quality education and skill development programs. We understand that knowledge is a powerful tool, and we are determined to share it to contribute to the growth of individuals and serve society most effectively. We’ve witnessed time and again how the simple act of creation can lead to transformation and personal growth. Our primary aim is to foster creativity, encourage imagination, and promote expression, learning, and practical application of knowledge. At Digital ICT Academy, our members come together to discover inspiration and take the next step in their creative journeys. We are committed to creating an environment where excellence is the rule. We are passionate about nurturing the next generation of talent by sharing our knowledge and providing support throughout the learning process. We collaborate with our students to ensure they meet international standards, paving the way for successful freelancers and guiding them toward a future in entrepreneurship. In doing so, we aim to bridge the gap between aspirations and accomplishments. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, success in your field and the realization of your goals depend on the effective execution of plans and the ability to sustain necessary changes. Joining an institution like ours, the Best Leading IT Training Institute in Bangladesh is the ideal choice. Your positive learning experience profoundly influences our approach to education, which is why we are dedicated to supporting our students and fulfilling our obligations. We extend a warm invitation to you to become a part of our community and have a meaningful impact on the outcomes of your life. We are excited to meet you and establish a lasting relationship.

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[artistic-endchamber]

[[ FINALLY!!!! My main OC's older sister,, Mary!! <3 ]]

Mary Silverstone

Basic Information

Mary Silverstone

Blood Type: A  positive

Age: 19-21 (As the series goes on)

Birthplace & Current Residence: Clover Kingdom, and Clover Kingdom

Occupation: Magic Knight of the Celestial Serpents or the Aqua deers, and later goes to serve in the medical ward.  (Depending on Universe)

Affinity: Ice/Snow Magic

Height: 169.9 cm (5'6)

DOB: December 4th

Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexuality: AFAB, Female (She/her strictly), and Straight (male-aligning people)

Voice Claim: [English Dub]  Raven  (From Teen Titans Go) // [Jap. Sub] Kyoka Jirou (From BNHA)

Mary’s grimoire has a build that looks like a normal-sized book. Her cover has a base that is as white as snow, and is decorated on the edges with grey calendulas, and has a 3-leaf clover in the center of it.

Personality

Mary is a very stubborn, stoic, and seemingly indifferent person. She stands her ground on what she thinks is right and doesn’t socialize much due to being raised only to be powerful. She has a fiery passion (although she has a snow and ice affinity); but doesn’t show it to mostly anyone. She seems very unapproachable and probably is. However; once you get to know her, she starts opening up and becoming very comfortable with you and she is a great person. 

Likes: Mary doesn’t have many likes other than training at first. But later, she begins developing a higher interest in medicine and healing. She also likes music to a fault. 

Dislikes: She dislikes ignorance. Doubting someone for a certain trait they have, bigotry based on someone's orientation and/or looks, or being overconfident makes Mary want to hurl. 

Appearance

Long, white hair that Mary usually heeps in a very simple but elegant bun.

Weight: 140 lbs

Height: 169.9 cm (5'6)

She has an hourglass figure, mainly due to being raised “perfect”.

Ruby-red eyes that shimmer in the sunlight. She has more of a pigmented skin tone compared to Giana, but her nose gets red very easily – just like her younger sister. 

Underneath her Aqua Deers (Or Celestial Serpents) robe, Mary wears a sleeveless, white top and a high-rise skirt (Which is black but has light, sky-blue accents on it.)

Modifications to her Body: Just like Giana, Mary has a septum piercing but takes it in and out (Usually she puts it back in at night and wears it on her off days). 

Skills

Marry is stubborn, adamant, and has a shit ton of integrity. She’s often considered as a Straight Man in any group; since she gets irritated quite easily. She’s stoic and cool-headed in the battle zone though, which helps her almost always make rational decisions and stay calm. It takes a while, but when she finally trusts in her comrades – she’s unstoppable. 

Background

Mary Silverstone is the eldest daughter of the main Silverstone Family. She shares the same mother, father, and cousins as Giana, but her story is different. 

Mary was close with Giana, even though she was older, she saw Giana as a twin sister and her closest, best friend. Mary was born with Ice magic (Which also doubled as a snow attribute), and her parents were proud of it. Mary trained day in and out to live up to her parents’ expectations, and was on the brink of earning it. Every Silverstone receives a mark on their face when they come of age. The mark signifies that one is a silverstone, and is considered an award for living up to expectations. Mary wanted it, she wanted more than anything in the world to be worthy of the mark.

When Everyone found out about Giana’s magic, everything changed. Mary was stripped of her little sister and left with no one to play with or be close to. Mary’s bond was broken, but she wouldn’t dare to resist or fight back. If she fought for her sister, who had been rumored to now be the devil, she knew she wouldn’t be worthy of the mark. She wouldn’t be treated kindly, she wouldn’t be everything she ever wanted to be. Worst of all, everything she had worked for would have been for naught. 

And so Mary abided, staying indifferent to the world and its cruelties. She didn’t really know what she expected of herself anymore – so she drowned herself in work and training. She hated herself for leaving her sister like how she did, but she also refused to do anything. She swallowed her guilt. She bottled it up with all her emotions and lived how her parents said she should.

Then came Royal Knight exams – and she was faced with Giana’s team. 

Mary had an outburst. Her resentment for herself turned into jealousy for everything Giana had built for herself. Mary was supposed to be the one being valued. She was the one who had worked so hard – throwing her life away for success. Mary was the one who needed friends. Mary was the one who needed support, now – She was the one who yearned for a life. Giana got it all without anyone ever knowing. How was this fair? Mary spent years hurting herself and drawing herself in work. How was it that someone who didn’t do that could so easily be on par with her – and worse, how could they win?

When things were over, Mary didn’t know what to do. Even though Giana had won, she was wounded badly. But she still walked over to talk to her older sister. Mary visited her later in the infirmary, and they talked. She apologized and vowed to fix things. She swore that she would protect her sister and change the way she lived. On her way out, Mary met Magna – someone who Giana considered her Older Brother.

Mary declared a rivalry, her only way of earning her title of “big sister” back, and Magna accepted. Though, somewhere along the way… well, you’ll see. 

(P.S. After Mary starts her redemption arc, she finds herself taking a bigger interest in healing!)

Spells

offensive spells -

Ice Magic: Cold Daggers of Death

These daggers are fast, sharp, and precise. They can cut through even the thickest of steel and can penetrate skin easily. Once they do, they drain the heat and freeze over whatever/whoever they impale. Mary can control how bad the temperature situation gets, though. 

Ice Magic: Protector(s) of the Lost

In which Mary creates either a dozen medium-sized knights made of ice to protect and defend, or a giant Ice monster that can do the same things except it’s bigger, bulkier, and has enhanced stats. Each of these Ice men responds to only Mary’s orders and instructions. if one has her direct magic channeled into it, she can use it to communicate and channel her thoughts into. 

Ice Magic: Infecting Fractals

This is a tricky, wide-range spell. Mary blasts special snowflakes dowards her opponents in a wide range, and whatever they touch they freeze with Icicles on command. This can be a long-term spell or a super fast one. Mary can control whether or not the fractals can spread. 

defensive spells - 

Ice Magic: Snowstorm

This spell is similar to an incomplete mana Zone, where Mary can create a swirling snowstorm to do multiple things. This spell can be used for cover when being attacked, an illusion when needing a getaway, or just simply to spread Mary’s Mana around to confuse the enemy and use her offensive spells for larger ranges. This also later evolves into a spell she uses to heal others. 

healing spell -

Ice Magic: Snowstorm – Healing Method

This spell is an evolved version of Mary’s “Snowstorm” defense spell. It holds all the same attributes, but it can also heal and boost the stats of whoever is inside of it. 

Ice Magic: Chilling Regeneration

This is a close-up spell Mary uses to heal one or two patients who are close to death. She puts her hands hovering over them and uses this spell to boost regeneration and healing, and adds a coolling touch to it despite the fiery battle mood. 

[antispopausandstuff]

debated on talking about this, but i figured why not, so

.

it's been on the shelf for a while, but i have another SPOP universe titled "She-Ra: The New Era" that's set approximately 150 years in the future after the war, with a new She-Ra named Seren, Adora's granddaughter and 2nd descendant.

i will admit, "The New Era" follows the same basic plotline of the original story ( OG show and reboot ), where invaders take over Etheria and bring corruption and domination to the homeland, but i want to handle it and make it my own in execution.

as to who the invaders are, they don't have anything to do with the Horde and are instead of a species i made myself, but are currently unnamed ( i'm looking through demon lore and whatnot for inspiration on name and lore ), so they're simply called 'invaders' for right now.

the plotline . . .

"The New Era" follows Seren through the path of redefining She-Ra's legacy and making a name for herself, fighting evil, discovering secrets of the past, and mending bridges long broken.

inspired by ATLA and LOK, especially in their parallel theming, Arcane, The Dragon Prince, and several other media relating to war, coming of age, past vs. present, etc.

.

the main protagonists . . .

Serenity ( Seren ) - Adora's Granddaughter, 2nd Descendant, She-Ra, 18 years old ( beginning ), She // He ( Trans Bigender ).

she is very matter-of-fact, having a tendency to come off as blunt and brusque to strangers, often unintentionally. but when people come to understand her, Seren shows she is compassionate, friendly, and protective for the innocent.

raised in a community that trained and prepared her for any future hardships, Seren is a highly-skilled fighter, seen as a prodigy of her time for how quickly she adapted to and developed her abilities, and is knowledgeable in a variety of weapons and magic. a lot of people tend not to think about it, but she is, in fact, a bookworm.

Voice Claim - Nakia ( Black Panther )

Trivia . . .

Main Color - Blue

Best Friend - Valkya ( dragon )

Favorite Pastime - Art

Favorite Food - Sweet-Spicy Glazed Ribs ( inspired by soul food )

Quirk - Nail Biter ( usually when busy or nervous )

Has a stepdad ( relationship is awkward )

-

Amlok - Hordak's Son(?), King of the Light Zone, 19 years old ( beginning ), He // They ( Trans Non-Binary ).

forever haunted by the past, Amlok strives to be better than his predecessor and remain kind, even in the face of those who heavily mistreat and abuse him. because of this, he's considered foolish and pathetic by many, even his people.

he doesn't know how to fight, at all, typically relying on words, taking the hits, or running away when in confrontations, but Amlok is determined and hardly knows when to quit, which helped him with finding his own ways to apply spells ( due to being a Horde clone // experiment, he cannot naturally have magic ).

Voice Claim - Rin Okumura ( Blue Exorcist ) ( Japanese )

Trivia . . .

Main Color - Black

Best Friend - Khaspian ( Prince of Salineas )

Favorite Pastime - Harp Playing

Favorite Food - Homemade Fruit Bread ( inspired by soul food )

Quirk - Levitates 24/7 ( very rarely on feet )

Animals are his family ( Disney Princess type beat )

-

Khaspian - Mermista's Grandchild, Prince of Salineas, 18 years old, They // He // She ( Trans Genderqueer )

they're a handful, to put it bluntly. with only one friend ( Amlok ), Khaspian drives most people away due to their patronizing attitude and constant need to be the best. but, despite the rumors, they did not form a connection with Amlok out of pity or other ambiguous reasons.

beneath all of their bravado of superiority is someone who is aimless in life and doesn't know how to be more than their title. Khaspian has no hobbies ( that they know of ) and has their life entirely centered around being future King and trying to gain magical ability, which is a very sore spot for them. needless to say, they're not a people person.

Voice Claim - Amir ( The Two Princes )

Trivia . . .

Main Color - Gold

Best Friend - Amlok ( King of the Light Zone )

Favorite Pastime - Technological Science ( they have no idea )

Favorite Food - Suki ( inspired by Thai cuisine )

Quirk - Hair-Fidgeter ( dead giveaway to nerves )

Has a twin sister ( Cora ) ( they hate each other )

-

Lunar - Glimmer's Daughter, Princess of Brightmoon, 18 years old, She // They ( Non-Binary )

adventurous, bright-eyed, and keen, Lunar desires exploring Etheria and beyond over becoming Queen, which puts her at odds with her mother quite often. like Seren, she is a prodigy, particularly in magic, but this leads her to be impulsive, a little insensitive, and seeking independence above all else.

in spite of her confident, daredevil attitude, Lunar is easily spooked and can be seen napping and // or sleeping for hours after her anxieties finally crash down on her. she's rivals with Khaspian, partially because they love to scare her.

Voice Claim - Nobara ( Jujustu Kaisen ) ( Japanese ) ( i do not support JJK )

Trivia . . .

Main Color - Pink

Best Friend - Kowl ( owlcat-looking thing )

Favorite Pastime - Sports

Favorite Food - Ma's Glazed Dango ( inspired by Japanese cuisine )

Quirk - Hummer ( struggles with quiet )

Has a little brother ( Starlight ) ( the siblings ever )

-

the main antagonists are still going through conceptual writing progress ( so are the main protagonists, but less so ), and i'm working on the lore for the invader species, so this project will take time.

important to note! i referenced cultural irl foods, but i'm most confident in referencing African American dishes, as that is half of my ethnicity and soul food is very common. another part of the reason why this project may take a lot of time is because i want to figure out how to incorporate inspirations into my work without potentially offending others or generalizing too many details.

this is a high fantasy story at the end of the day, so i don't want to put too much pressure on myself to represent 100% accurately, but i want everything to feel authentic and inspired, not like throwing the diversity sticker on the cover for views.

unlike "To Be Loved", "The New Era" will take a much longer time to be produced and online, if it even gets to that point, but i will try my best to share the process, including concepts ( writing and art ), character designs, lore, etc.

thank you for reading and i hope you enjoy all future content of my kiddos and their journeys!

[usafphantom2]

Good night and have a wonderful weekend 🌖 SPEED CHECK

I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet. I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury.

Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied:

"November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground."

Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. "I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed."

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done - in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.

Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: "Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. "Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground."

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money."

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A.came back with, "Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one." It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day's work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there. Written by Brian Shul.😁 Habubrat Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X