#also about to post the form for the new tournament guys speaking of

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Hi, I love this tournament! Would you be alright with someone else doing something similar to your singles mixer idea? I’ll give you credit for the idea of course.

Hello!! Yeah, I'd totally be down for that!

[hangmox]

HangMox: An Audience of One

Warning: This is a very erratic essay about a feud that means a lot to me, personally. Posting to a sideblog because I’m trying to keep it clean and separate.

Word Count: 8.6k. A doozy. Please understand that I speak on Hangman and Moxley from their first moments in AEW, and I even provide a bit of background from before. Their feud did not start, for me, at the end of September 2022. This is a story that starts from the very first PPV.

Writer’s Note: This has not been revised. If you are a newer fan of AEW, this will help you to understand both mens’ journeys up until this point, and it also helps to express and tie in some ideas and concepts I have for them about blood, beer, and speaking their truths. I hope it makes sense!

After five years of watching weekly WWE television and Pay-Per-Views, my husband and I could not take it any longer. We were looking for an alternative. On May 25th, 2019, we found it, in the form of All Elite Wrestling: Double or Nothing.

It wasn’t the flashiest show we’d ever seen - there were a couple lulls in the show where it felt like the timing was off, the crowd wasn’t as energetic - but we knew why. This was a brand new product, the start of something new for a set of independent wrestlers that we’d heard about very rarely, but enough to maybe know some of their names. In the summer of 2018, I had took it upon myself in the wee hours of the morning, after my grueling 10-hr night shifts at the local chicken plant, to experience life outside of WWE for the first time in the form of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax. This is where I learned that wrestling could be quick, energetic, and still somehow feel like every fist, every high spot, could hurt viscerally. And it is here where I saw Hangman Adam Page on my screen for the very first time.

I was deep into my Red Dead Redemption era in 2018, and this guy hit all the boxes. He was handsome, he was funny, he could actually fucking wrestle, he was a cowboy, and most importantly, he was telling me a story. The known muscle of the Bullet Club and member of the Elite, this was the guy who was looking to prove he was more than just the guy who took the pins so his comrades wouldn’t. He was looking to win the damn thing. But that wasn’t all it was about - no, he had found a way to weave another thread into this tournament: he was going to pull the REAL Kazuchika Okada out of whatever hole he’d been hiding in. He was going to pull the Rainmaker out.

You see, Okada had just lost his IWGP world heavyweight title to Hangman’s friend and Bullet Club leader, Kenny Omega, and his life had taken somewhat of a comically downward spiral. He dyed his hair clown red, he walked out to his entrance music with shapeable balloons. At the time, we took to calling him the “Balloonmaker.” He walked out with a smile on his face, to hide the sorrow of his failure. But this wasn’t the guy Hangman was expecting to wrestle in his block of the round-robin tournament. No, he was going to make sure that if he beat Okada, one of the most legendary wrestlers in the history of the company, he was going to beat the BEST version of him. And if he lost? Well, at least he gave it his all against the best. The problem with New Japan, however, was the unbelievable amount of hours we would have to dedicate to the product. I think I ended up watching five full days of the G1 Climax, out of a possible 20 or so.

Around the time that Hangman took on the grueling month-long tournament against some of New Japan’s finest, another wrestler was making his re-debut on WWE television. After an elbow injury and a terrifying staph infection that nearly killed him, Dean Ambrose was back on Monday Night Raw, alongside his friend and enemy, Seth freakin’ Rollins. But this wasn’t the same Dean Ambrose we had witnessed for the past couple years, the hyperactive little shit that wouldn’t stay down, no, this was prison-break Ambrose. He came back swole and with a mean mugging look that would make a bulldog cry. This was it, everyone thought, we’re gonna get the heel turn of a lifetime.

Only, it wasn’t exactly what we expected. First off, it was late, and at the heels of an announcement that turned WWE on its head - Roman Reigns was taking time off for his 2nd battle with leukemia, and Ambrose chose now to turn on Seth Rollins. Maybe if the motive had made a little more sense, it would’ve been enough. After all, Rollins and Ambrose had a long, storied history together - if Ambrose could just explain why now, maybe I could be on his side. I wanted to be on his side. The WWE put out one of those documentaries for Dean that followed him for months, throughout his time out on injury, and then his subsequent return. We got backstage moments with him where he divulged his feelings, seemingly telling us what was going on in his head. And yet - nothing. It never truly felt like he had told us WHY. Now, years later, I’ve read Mox’s book, and I know how he felt about the whole thing, so I know he was just as frustrated as I was, if not more (definitely more, actually).

So Ambrose left the company, and my husband and I dropped the WWE. I don’t know if it was coincidence or fate, but there’s going to be a lot of that comin’ around in this story. Ambrose wasn’t even my favorite - Sami Zayn is my WWE favorite. But something about the way it all went down with Ambrose, and also largely in part the way that WWE treated Sami Zayn, is what finally made us break our ties.

Almost immediately after Dean Ambrose left WWE and cashed in his chips, a video dropped on his largely unused twitter account: a video of Jon Moxley breaking out of jail, with a shot of the numbers 5 & 25 found in the video - which just so happened to be the month and day of the first Double or Nothing AEW Pay-Per-View.

I would love to say that I was anticipating that day, but to be honest, I completely forgot about it until the day of, when my husband dragged me downstairs to the living room to figure out how to buy our very first pay-per-view on cable television, about five minutes before the buy-in aired.

But once I saw that precious cowboy come out as the Joker in the first ever Casino Battle Royal, I was hooked. I turned to my husband, pointing at Hangman on my screen. “That’s the guy we saw in the G1 last year! He’s in the Bullet Club!”

He smiled at the screen, knowing it was too late. I had found my favorite.

Hangman won the battle royal, earning him the first shot at the inugural AEW world championship at the next Pay-Per-View. Who he was slated to go up against, though, depended on the outcome of the Double or Nothing main event: the Alpha, Chris Jericho, versus Kenny Omega.

“Do you think Mox will show up?” I asked my partner, my entire body tense with anticipation.

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up. If he doesn’t show up, it’ll ruin it for you.”

“He’s showing up,” I insisted, “I’m like 99% certain he will.” I’ve never been one to make guarantees, but this was as close to one as I could manage. I could feel it in my soul, and I was dying to see Mox live up to his potential.

I was bouncing off the couch when I saw Mox stalking through the crowd and into the ring. My adrenaline was pumping and I thought it was the best way to end their first PPV. My husband and I turned to look at each other - yep, this was enough. This was definitely enough to intrigue us.

I would spend the summer of 2019 watching everything I could about AEW - I finally got into Being the Elite, I watched the summer events, and I searched Hangman’s name on youtube as much as I could to get more of a semblance of his character. He was now important to me, and I was determined to understand him as best as I could. Through this, I met and connected with brand new friends, as well as dragged my WWE friends into it as much as I could.

One friend in particular was an EXTREMELY avid Mox fan. Even in his Ambrose days, they spoke about the old CZW Moxley often, and so I had an idea of what this new and improved version would probably be like. I also found myself a friend that had been following Hangman Page for the past few years and knew substantially more about him than I ever could. With them and a couple other new friends I found that also adored Hangman, we became a tiny little stable of our own.

And so, the brainstorming began.

Before All Out 2019 even happened, I had posed the question to my friends: “What do we think about Hangman and Mox? Wouldn’t that be a badass combination?”

The noted Mox fan and the seasoned Hangman vet were the first ones to perk up. The Mox fan agreed immediately, and the Hangman vet said they had already started working on an idea to bring them together a couple days after Double or Nothing, when Mox had done his interview with Chris Jericho on his Talk is Jericho podcast.

“Hold on a minute - a podcast?” I asked, curious.

Enthusiastically, they told me that Jericho had asked Mox who he’d like to get in the ring with now that he was in a new promotion. Hangman’s name had been the first out of his mouth, said nonchalantly, very much like it wasn’t a big deal and Mox was just naming names to name them. But it was too late - this was now my obsession.

Three episodes into AEW Dynamite, we got our very first chance to see them in action together. The two loners, Pac and Moxley, were taking on the team of Hangman and Kenny. This team was brand new at the time, both having suffered major losses at All Out - Kenny had submitted to Pac, and Hangman had lost his shot at the inaugural title to Chris Jericho in the main event. The tag match made sense - for the most part.  Mox had gone for the biggest fish in AEW at the end of Double or Nothing, giving Kenny Omega a Paradigm Shift that got the entire wrestling world talking. Pac and Hangman had beef that started in the early days of the promotion, the story told almost entirely through Being the Elite at the time. Kenny had just lost to Pac. And yet…there was no motivation here for Hangman and Mox to be across the ring from each other. The lack of a story between them was louder than all the other storytelling here combined. Perhaps, I told myself, this was a story in itself.

No worries, though. We were about to see just how much chemistry these two had. This would be the first step in gauging what a potential feud or even partnership could be like. We were absolutely shivering with anticipation.

Hangman spent most of his own time in the match trying to get the drop on Pac. The first moment he was in the ring with Mox, he practically paid him no mind until he had Pac dead on the floor. Before the match was done, they’d interacted maybe twice as legal men in the ring, and once when everyone was on the outside. At one point, Mox had Hangman in a gorgeous Texas cloverleaf submission, which was quickly stopped by Kenny. Another point in the match, Hangman tried to give Mox a buckshot lariat that Mox ducked. Almost immediately, Mox ate a clothesline from Hangman akin to an Okada Rainmaker finisher, and it was fucking beautiful.

It was clear to me, from the grand total of about two and a half minutes that they spent in the ring together, that they were an elegant match.

Four months passed by.

Hangman went on a downward spiral, leaving the Elite but choosing still to tag with Kenny. He started to drink, courtesy of those silly little guys, Private Party. This ain’t water, indeed. By the time Revolution 2020 came around, Hangman was on a trajectory to meet his former best friends, the Young Bucks, in a tag team championship match, and Jon Moxley was slated as contender to Chris Jericho’s AEW world championship in the main event.

And well, let’s just say, the better story won the night, even if Jon Moxley closed the show.

Hangman walked out of his match a winner, his tag title still in one hand and a beer in the other, with Kenny Omega at his side.

Jon Moxley, newly won championship belt on his shoulder, excitement still pumping blood in his ears, would go on to say it felt like it was “beer o’clock.”

An awkward pause.

What? I thought.

The camera panned to the crowd.

Mox was smiling, tongue sticking out like a panting dog, looking somewhat towards the go-position.

No, could he be…? There was no way. I couldn’t believe it. Was Hangman Page about to show up right now?

Whoever was in production scrambled to put a stop to this. Mox’s music hit.

“Hey, what the fuck?” said the newly crowned world heavyweight champion.

Hold on. Were they…Oscaring him off the stage? Is that what was happening in this moment? Say ‘sike’ right now.

My hands were on my mouth.

Let’s just say that for the rest of the five hours that I stayed awake after this show, unable to sleep due to the sheer adrenaline running through my veins, me and the gang were viciously wondering what the fuck that was about. Maybe Hangman was supposed to come out? But how does that make sense when he and Kenny just retained their titles? Why would he go for the championship again so soon? But it makes sense for him to want it. That’s the title that he promised he would win on day one of the company.

But we didn’t get an answer.

Whether that was because of the pandemic that shut down the entire world for the foreseeable future a week and half later, or because that was just genuinely something that meant absolutely nothing, we’ll never know. Truly, we will NEVER know. Unless one of us ever has the guts to ask Mox about it. Until then, “beer o’clock” + awkward pause + staring at the go-position + Mox theme + “hey what the fuck” will likely haunt me for the rest of my life. Thanks, Jonathan.

Lots of things changed during this time. Hangman’s rocky relationship with the Bucks came back to a head again before All Out 2020, during a tag gauntlet match that would reveal the first contenders for Hangman and Kenny’s championships at the Pay-Per-View. It was down to the Young Bucks and FTR. See, FTR had come in at the beginning of the summer, and they ended up making friends with Hangman. Hangman was there when they signed their contracts, with a brand new bottle of whiskey in hand. They bonded over drinks. But they weren’t so friendly with the Bucks and Kenny, which obviously caused a lot of problems. By the time that gauntlet came around, FTR had Hangman convinced that if the Bucks won the gauntlet, Hangman would regret it. They worked him with his own insecurities. They just wanted a friendly bout with him, they said. He’d already had one with the Bucks, so wouldn’t it be fun to have a match with FTR this time?

So Hangman cheated, costing the Bucks the match. A few moments later, Hangman brooding over what he’d done in the Daily’s Place bar, the Bucks kicked him officially out of the Elite, throwing a drink in his face.

He and Kenny would go on to lose the tag titles at All Out to FTR. He would lose his tag partner in the process. He would fight him at the next PPV in singles competition for contendership of Moxley’s heavyweight championship. He would drop to the ground, land flat on his face, losing this first opportunity to fight Moxley to his own partner.

A microphone blast to the head. Blood gushing from the middle of Jon’s forehead (a sight well known to the AEW fans). V-Trigger. V-Trigger. V-Trigger. V-Trigger. Pull him in. One Winged Angel.

One. Two. Three.

That was how Jon Moxley lost his AEW world heavyweight championship to Kenny Omega. An absolute steal. A few weeks prior, at Full Gear, the Young Bucks beat FTR for the tag team championships.

Months and months go by. Hangman finds solace in the Dark Order, and the Dark Order finds solace in him in return. They bring each other back up, from sorrows greater than we could even imagine. The loss of their leader, their friend, their Exalted One. Our Brodie Lee. Though Hangman would deny them on separate occasions, eventually he would understand that friends don’t let friends do battle alone. And whether he joined them as a group or not, it wouldn’t matter. They would keep Brodie Lee’s offer and promise that he made to Hangman the year before, when he left the Elite. They would never leave him alone.

Mox would continue his quest to retrieve the title, challenging Kenny at Revolution 2021 in an exploding barbed wire deathmatch that would end…not precisely as intended. However, much like Hangman, he would find that he was not alone. He would find someone to watch his back, in the form of an old friend and foe, Eddie Kingston. They would challenge the Bucks - now firmly planted once again at Kenny’s side -  for the tag team championships at Double or Nothing 2021. This, much like his shot at the world title, would be for naught.

In the summer of 2021, the Dark Order would prove worthy allies in the ring to Hangman, when they challenged Kenny and the Young Bucks to a multi-man tag, with the stipulation that if they were able to eliminate each member of the Elite, Hangman would get his shot at Kenny’s title, and they would receive a shot at the Young Bucks.

Now, I’ll be honest - I don’t remember what Mox was doing at the time, so I had to look this up. Uhh, he spent a lot of time on AEW Dark. But the match that stood out the most to me during this time was a Texas Deathmatch with Lance Archer…which he lost. And with it, his IWGP US championship.

So Hangman and the Dark Order are unsuccessful. They beg him to keep trying, but at around this time, Hangman decides that he needs some space. He comes up to the ring at Daily’s Place, the first Homecoming show since AEW’s two month long tour away (when the entire world decided that the pandemic was finally over). Tony Schiavone is with him, and it seems like maybe Hangman is going to tell the crowd that he’s gonna take some time to himself or let some things off his chest, when the Elite show up. At one point he tells Hangman that perhaps maybe he would consider allowing Hangman to come back to the Elite - upon which a young woman in the crowd in a cowboy hat and a teal bandana yells, “Never!” (me). Yes, I got to watch live as the Elite beat Hangman down and the Dark Order could only stand back and watch.

…This would be the last time we see Hangman for two months.

While he’s gone, though, Jon Moxley brings up his name, in a backstage promo where he calls out the newcomers. At this time, AEW was seeing a surge of new talent entering its ranks - people like Daniel Garcia, Malakai Black, CM Punk. Mox questions whether this talent thinks that it’s easy to be at the top here - Kenny has an entire entourage surrounding him at all times just to keep the title around his waist, and Hangman can’t “get over his high school drama, BTE emo bullcrap long enough to get the job done.” He says that Hangman “ain’t no cowboy,” and he could “drink his ass under the table.”

Oh, I think. You mean like beer o’clock?

Mox was pulling wins around this time every week, and it was clear he was due for a push. This was the man who put the world title and the company on his back during an unprecedented time not just for the promotion, but for the world as a whole. And it was clear that he was due his flowers.

But very odd, to me, that he would bring up Hangman. Especially when they had nothing to do with each other.

Fast forward to October 6th, 2021. A fucked up time in my life. Probably the worst I’ve ever felt.

It was only fitting, then, that my favorite cowboy would show up and give me a small glimmer of hope. The roar of the crowd that night touched my soul more than I can ever say.

The last time he was the Joker of a casino match, he won. This time would be no different.

Except that Mox was in this match. And Mox was the one in the ring waiting for him. The moment they collided with each other, I was screaming. I was crying. My heart was thumping out of my chest. After two years, they were finally back in a ring together. Almost two years to the day.

One of the funniest moments in this casino ladder match is seeing Hangman drop Pac from the top of a ladder with a deadeye, pull himself up onto the ropes to celebrate with the crowd, only to turn around and get spiked on his head with a Paradigm Shift from Jon Moxley, receiving the double birds.

But it didn’t matter. The path was clear - Hangman was going to win this ladder match, setting up his final encounter with his old friend, Kenny Omega, for the AEW world heavyweight championship. And there wasn’t a damn thing Mox, Pac, Andrade, or Lance Archer could do to stop him.

Hangman, at the top of a ladder, guzzling a beer, closed out the show. The casino chip lay ominously on the mat, forgotten.

The next couple of weeks would see Hangman in the most confident state he’d ever been in, relaxed and sure of himself, breathing deeply and opening his heart to the fans. He was - in a word - beautiful.

Mox, however, was absolutely despicable. Ten days later, he would have his first bout with Wheeler Yuta, dropping him in less than two minutes and storming back out of the ring. He would continue his rampage all the way into the eliminator tournament, which would come to a head at Full Gear. All the booking made it clear: this man was aiming for the world title…and Hangman Page was going to be the one wearing it.

That would all change, however, when Jon Moxley decided to put his health first. His fight with alcoholism had finally resonated enough within him that he said enough was enough, and he pulled himself out of the tournament. In an odd way, his real life story and Hangman’s story on the screen were more similar than we could have expected.

And once again, like ships in the night…they would pass each other by, never knowing how close they had come.

I won’t go on a long tangent about how much Hangman winning the title meant to me, so I’ll just say this: Hangman Page winning the world title meant a lot to me.

Another similarity - both Hangman and Mox bled in the match where they won their world championship.

From here, we arrive in 2022.

“Nobody, no matter who you are, should be afraid to stand up in front of the whole world and bare it all, everything that makes you who you are, scars and all, and say ‘hey, this is me!’” - words Jon Moxley spoke when he made his return from rehabilitation.

I love these words. Because they’re very much in line with something that Hangman himself said in the post-Full Gear scrum two months before: “Fuck it, I’ll just say what I feel. I’ll just be me. And if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I came by it honest.”

As the champion Hangman Adam Page bled and bled and bled his way through his title matches, Jon Moxley found himself in the Blackpool Combat Club - a group consisting of himself, Bryan Danielson, and William Regal, as well as (eventually) Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli. This was a group that prided itself in one thing - bloody violence.

The alcohol would be replaced, in both the champ and the former champ’s minds, by blood.

A sidenote: Hangman would have a Texas Deathmatch with the very same Lance Archer. Unlike Moxley, though, he would go on to win the match and retain his championship. And boy, was it a bloody scene. Two months later, Hangman would challenge Adam Cole to a Texas Deathmatch as well - and win.

We arrive at Double or Nothing.

A good friend of mine would meet Hangman Page at a meet and greet the day before the show. The limited edition print Hangman signed for her was a graphic of him, surrounded by a border that resembled a playing card. His sign - the Ace of Diamonds. Curious, I looked up the meaning of the card. Now, this could all be bullshit, but at the time, it meant something to me. It specified a message that was soon to come, or in a broader sense, a new perspective. I felt like this fit Hangman perfectly, and it solidified something in my own head about him - he was, in fact, an Ace in the company. At a time when I heard often that Jon Moxley was the top guy, when there were whispers that Jon might fight Tanahashi soon at Forbidden Door, I was dead set on maintaining Hangman as the One. And this, this was a sign. For me.

All those hopes and dreams would come crashing down though, obviously, when Hangman lost the title to CM Punk. After 198 days of being overshadowed by the explosive feud that was Maxwell versus Punk, Hangman’s reign would come to an end.

But as luck would have it, Punk would be injured about four days later, leaving the title picture up in the air.

“This is mine,” Hangman had declared, that night at Double or Nothing. “You will NEVER have it. This. Is. Mine!”

Those words, it seemed, rang nearly true enough.

The month of June would become a month so confusing, so convoluted, that even now I cannot remember what exactly the fuck happened. There was a battle royal to pick an opponent for the number one contender to the interim title, Jon Moxley, but the problem was that Hangman already had a match set for the night. I thought, surely he can pull a double. He’s the former world champ. Surely, they’ll let him do it. The only problem was, that double was actually pulling a triple, because the match between the winner of the battle royal would face Mox on Rampage, which was taped the same night.

I, and the rivalry I so desperately held to my chest, would have to wait once more. Another near-crossing. But I could feel it: the lines were drawing closer.

Mox would face Tanahashi and win the interim world title. Hangman would follow a confusing path to the IWGP heavyweight championship and lose against three other men. Hangman had another opportunity at a title shot in another battle royal, but he got dunked out of the ring before he could win it. By the middle of July, I was getting antsy. I wanted to know what the future held for my favorite guy in AEW, and by god, I was going to get some answers.

Comicpalooza - Houston, TX. July 16th and 17th, 2022. Hangman Page and Adam Cole were set to appear. They were going to have panels, autographs, and professional photos with fans.

And I, resident Hangman girlie, was going to be there.

Here’s where the shit gets interesting.

Cole ended up having to cancel, I’m assuming due to not being medically cleared after the concussion he suffered at Forbidden Door. Which meant that both days became wide open to meeting Hangman not once, not twice - but four times. Twice for photos and twice for autographs. And of course, the panel.

As a girl who’s never once met a celebrity that she actually cared about, this was a big fucking deal, and I was - hoo boy, was I nervous. The first chance I got was the first autograph signing, right before the photo and about twenty minutes before the panel. I could hardly look him in the eye. I was about as skittish as a horse, and super quiet. He tried to get light conversation out of me (complimenting my pearlsnap - which matched his own, mine was cream and his was brown - shirt, my belt, and my boots), and I ended up mentioning that I would see him again in a few minutes for the photo and then the panel. It was going to be a busy couple hours for him. After that was over, I saw him at the photo. I was the first in line.

“Hello again,” I said. He replied with a smile, and he seemed much more awake and excited than he had a few minutes prior. I noted that he must like taking photos with everyone. His cheery aura calmed me down significantly, and I was much more comfortable speaking with him. I asked for a hug, and he obliged me. He asked me what kind of pose I’d like to do, and I told him I wanted to do finger guns. In my head, I was imagining us back to back, like a movie poster, but he suggested we whirl into it, like we’re about to shoot at the camera. He asked if this was okay. I was so starry-eyed that I said yes immediately.

Once the camera flashed, he pulled me over to the photographer’s screen of the image. He said he wanted to make sure it looked good, and asked if I liked it. It was an amazing photo. I know it was amazing, because I actually thought I looked good in it.

Now, I debated on mentioning this part but I figure I may as well - at this point in time, I asked him if I handed him a letter, would he read it. He said, “yes, of course!” I handed it to him, and he quickly asked me if he should read it now, to which I yelled, “no! Nuh uh! Not right now!”

“You sure?” he asked playfully. I shook my head. It was too long a letter for him to read at the moment, and he had a line to get through and then a panel to get to. I was not about to hold him up. Plus, I had tapped out all my remaining courage for this particular moment. I was not about to watch his face as he read the feelings I bore on those pages. Knowing I was strong enough to put the letter in his hands was enough for me. He said okay. I thanked him as I left, saying I would see him at the panel.

The audience at the panel was small, way too small for the ballroom they had set up in. But it didn’t matter, because I was in the front row anyway. I brought a little sign that said “Hangman Gang,” which was the name of my group of wrestling friends. The mediator of the panel pointed it out to him when he sat down at the table in the front of the room.

I had never attended a panel before, but I knew the basics of what it was like from a couple of panels I had watched on youtube. At some point, there would be a Q&A where fans could go up to a microphone setup and ask him a question.

I had thought about what I would ask him for weeks. But by the time the day came around, none of the questions I’d thought about were sticking in my mind as The One. I had questions about the meaning behind some of his gear, questions about the Elite, questions about Adam Cole. But none of them felt…right. When I finally got out of my seat to take my spot in line for the microphone, I was in “fuck it” mode. I knew what I was going to ask, even if I wasn’t sure how I was going to ask it. Plus, I needed to tell him happy early birthday.

“Hi,” I said shyly. He responded with a quiet “hello.”

And so it began. I wished him a happy birthday, barely stopping to acknowledge his thanks before continuing on with what I was there for. I prefaced my question by saying that I knew him and Mox had only fought twice in the past two years, but never in singles. And I believe, if my memory is correct, that I said: “Is that on purpose? Or like, are you dodging Mox? Or is Mox dodgin’ you?”

A chuckle from the mediator. The absolute audacity of my asking my favorite wrestler in the world whether he was afraid of another wrestler must have really gotten to him.

Hangman replied, as I recall, very eloquently. He remembered that first match at the beginning of Dynamite’s run, and he remembered the casino ladder match. But as for why they hadn’t met again, he could only chalk it up to…”fate.” Fate was what kept them apart. Fate took Mox out of the tournament, fate took the belt off Hangman, fate kept him from these opportunities all summer long. It was out of his control, but he would love to fight Mox. He certainly wasn’t dodging him on purpose. He would love to do a match with him.

At this, the mediator prompted. “...Texas Deathmatch?”

Hangman’s eyes looked out into the ether, weighing those words. “Yeah. Yeah, Mox likes deathmatches, right?”

My entire body started vibrating at those words. I thanked him and sat back in my seat.

I would not stop thinking about those words until the end of September, when Hangman won the battle royal at Rampage Grand Slam. The newly crowned NOT-interim world heavyweight champion, Jon Moxley, was set to do battle against Hangman Adam Page.

This was an important match for Hangman, as it would be his first major shot at the world title since losing it a few months back. From the moment Hangman walked out to meet Mox face to face in the front of the ring, I was hooked on every expression, every set of their jaws, every word from their mouths.

“Three years of AEW Dynamite…three years of watching you, three years of studying you because I knew this was comin’...three years of us circlin’ each other…”

The camera cuts to a wide shot of the two in the ring, dancing around each other.

The image in my head is of Raymond Holt from Brooklyn Nine Nine shouting, “VINDICATION!!”

“You know, between the two of us, we’ve probably beaten everyone there is to beat…except each other…on October 18th, there will be one Last Man Standing here in AEW.”

The first pearl of foreshadowing dropped. Texas Deathmatches, at their core, were considered ‘last man standing.’ Mox goes on to say here that he was going to choke Hangman out, because Hangman was in the way. In the way of Mox being, once and for all, the Top Guy in AEW. Just like I had been told. He goes on to say that he respects Hangman as a competitor and as a person. At one point, after Hangman goes too far, he calls him a ‘sweet kid.’ But at the end of the day, he was going to put him down, no matter what.

The next week in the ring, Mox mentions that being world champion means having a target on your back. Many “crumble under the pressure…some faster than others.” This is, very clearly, a knock on Hangman and his reign. Though Hangman bled, and bled…and bled to keep his title, the story of his reign was a tough one. Having finally beaten the man whose shadow Hangman felt trapped under, there was nothing now to fight but the weight of being the champ. Keeping the gold that symbolized his worth had been, as Mox points out, too much to handle.

And now, he had to get his worth back.

When Hangman walks out to meet Mox here, he begins by telling Mox that whatever he has to say to Hangman, he can “say it to his face.” This would be the first, of many times, where he says this to Moxley in the months to come. He goes on to say, “but actually, you said it all last week.” He mentions how Mox said he respected him in the ring and as a person, and “[he] would be lying if [he didn’t say] coming from [Mox], that meant the world to [him].” He says that Mox was a damn good father, husband, champion, and that he looked up to Mox and wanted to be like him. But the moment that Mox called him a kid last week, all of those things vanished, in Hangman’s eyes.

“Is that what you think of me?” He demands. Mox takes the mic and says it’s exactly right. Because the Hangman standing before him now is not the same guy who knocked him off the top of a ladder a year ago to cash in his shot at the title. The Hangman of now, broken and aimless, won’t be able to pull the trigger if given the chance.

Mox’s observation here was sound - Hangman had many opportunities as champion to end someone in the most brutal way possible. During the Texas Deathmatch with Adam Cole, there’s a wonderful shot of Cole tied to the ropes while Hangman debates hitting him with a steel chair. A similar shot was shown the night he lost the title to CM Punk - where he holds the title in his hands while no one is looking, and debates whether he should use it to knock Punk out. He had a similar choice the day he won the title, but he chose not to and won.

In every instance, he has a shot at ending it. He refuses every time, out of some sense of nobility. It’s clear here that Mox disapproves.

Hangman agrees. He’s not the same person. Hesitation cost him the title. Hesitation cost him the trios titles, as well, in September. His old friends were gone and his new ones were dropping like flies. “I’m angry, I’m depressed! The medicine is not working but I am STILL HERE because I am a man!”

Here’s where he ties in to Mox’s words. How could he be a sweet kid if he was a man? An adult? Someone who has been through hell and back? He’s lowered family into the ground, he’s helped bring life into this world, he’s been choked until he turns blue but he keeps getting back up!

At this point, Hangman gets so worked up that he beats his fist into his eyebrow so badly that it breaks the skin. And here’s the part that I love the most - “I have my shot, and I have my word. Tuesday, I take my shot, and tonight I give you my word.” He palms at the blood staining his brow, wipes it on Mox’s white shirt. “...That is my word.”

The week before Hangman won the title off Kenny, there was a contract signing. At this contract signing, Kenny Omega and Don Callis conspired to rough Hangman up to give him a disadvantage going into the match that Sunday. Hangman broke wide open, over the same. Fucking. Eyebrow. And what did Kenny do? He signed his signature to the contract in Hangman’s blood. And then he lost.

I guess you could say Hangman’s blood holds a lot of promise.

“And unlike him,” Hangman said, pointing to a lurking Maxwell in the rafters of the arena, “I wanted to make sure to say this to you face-to-face…man-to-man.”

Of course, Hangman would go on to lose the first bout, as he suffered a very real, very scary concussion, but my god, was that match a work of art before the finish. It’d been a while since Hangman fans saw him pull an orihara moonsault from high up on a barricade, but he pulled it out for Mox.

At this point, I sat and wondered. Would I get to see him again? How soon? They were set to have three shows in Texas come December, and I wondered if we would finally get the Texas Deathmatch that seemed all but a promise. Because I didn’t think he would be cleared, I didn’t go to any of them. I just watched, anxious and a little bit heated, as Hangman showed up to answer Moxley’s call at the beginning of the first winter month.

Moxley’s first reaction to this was to make a tone-deaf joke about how Hangman probably didn’t remember what happened the last time they had met, instead of waiting to hear what Hangman might’ve had to say. He was met with a sock to the jaw.

This would go on for weeks, with Hangman saying that this wasn’t how he wanted it to go at all, but Mox just HAD to goad him. Say something stupid. Meanwhile, Mox held firm in his belief that he didn’t know what the fuck Hangman was talking about, and he could fight him any day of the week, no problem. Hangman would go into a brawl with him nearly every week, not being cleared to wrestle in the ring on account of his concussion. In a segment with Renee, he would reveal to her that the night of their first bout, when he got injured, he forgot his own son’s name. So Mox making light of his memory loss was, of course, not at all funny.

By January 2023, a date was set between the two in California. All three Texas shows went by and not one mention of a Texas Deathmatch, which had me very confused. But no matter, because there were two more Texas shows now slated for February, and I was going to one of them. I hoped, even if it wasn’t the match I was hoping for, that at the very least the feud would continue.

Before this rematch, though, they had one last face-to-face. Mox would tell Hangman that all this whining about get knocked out made him absolutely sick. And Hangman, of course, would have to point Mox in the right direction. “You think that I’m mad at you because you knocked me out? Is that really what you think?”

See, Hangman was well aware that being knocked out was part of the job. That was never the problem. Condescendingly, Hangman continues. “You don’t seem like a guy for nuance, so I’ll put it to you simple…”

The night of Hangman’s return, Mox didn’t let him get one word in before he made a joke. He believed in that moment that Mox saw him as a threat. But Hangman had not walked out to Mox that night for a fight, though it was what he was here for now.

That part was so interesting to me, because I wanted so badly to know why Hangman showed up that night to face Mox in the ring originally. This goes back to Hangman’s need to say things to Mox’s face and wanting the same in return.

Hangman won the second bout in a great match. Mox suffered what looked to be an injury, with the way he asked, “What happened?” repeatedly. Almost as if he had suffered a concussion of his own. Hangman would leave the ring, concerned and most of all, ashamed. Mox had been right in October. He was much softer than was expected to be of a champion.

So now they were tied, 1 to 1. At this point, Renee conducted a couple of interviews with Hangman, one of which was very interesting.

Renee started by asking how he was doing, and then she told him something that Mox told her. Apparently, Mox believed that Hangman made him better. That he both “despises” and “cherishes” him.

The HangMox girlie in me was bouncing off the walls. Knowing that even after two fights, Mox still had a nice word to say about Hangman was everything to me. It was beyond anything I could have ever expected, and he turned visibly awkward here. This would be one of three times in the interview where his body language changed.

He answers by saying that if Mox wanted to say something to his face, he could say it to him, and Hangman would gladly knock him out again if need be. Again, bringing up speaking to his face.

Three days before this segment, someone asked me what I thought was next for Hangman, and although I didn’t have a clear answer, I knew that it would have to do with something from the past. “The only way he can move forward is by looking back.”

Renee asked Hangman the same question, and he responded with, “the more I look forward, I can’t help but see back.”

I yelped. This was insane. There was no way we were this in tune. Basically, he wanted one final match. To prove that his win wasn’t a fluke, to prove that at the end of the day, he was the better of the two. To put this feud to bed. He also says that something Renee said earlier (calling him and Mox “elite” level performers) reminded him of some friendships that needed mending. This is another time he visibly changes his body language.

Once the interview is done, Hangman asks how Mox is, truly. Renee says that he’ll dust himself off again soon. Here is the final time where he seems to become visibly awkward - he begins to ask Renee, “could you tell him -” before stopping himself. “Never mind, it’s stupid.”

He holds himself here to the standard he holds Mox by. He wants Mox to say things to his face, so he knows that he shouldn’t relay anything back to him through Renee either.

Their third match, while just as fun as the first two, ends in an anti-climactic finish. After getting his ass handed to him by Hangman for about eight or so minutes, Mox pulls him in for a deep cover and gets the roll-up win. Hangman is, understandably, pissed. He ends up getting in Mox’s face, with Wheeler and Claudio having to keep them apart. They exchange flips of the bird. Mox lays down and makes a snow angel, much like Punk did to him in September. Hangman responds with a burpee.

They are absolutely little fucking kids about it. And it’s great.

It’s clear that the dick measuring contest isn’t over.

Still pissed off, Hangman comes back the next week in an interview with Renee and he is positively livid. He is so livid that he almost, almost tells Renee to relay a message to Moxley, but he’s interrupted by Kip Sabian before he can finish his thought.

The next week, Hangman wrestles Kip Sabian. I’m in the front row, cheering my ass off. He wins, as expected. He leans onto the ropes, frustration over another match crystal clear in his eyes. I raise my poster up so he can see. “Cowboy, you stole my yee-heart,” it reads. (It was the day after Valentine’s Day.)

He sends me a little kiss, keeps his eyebrows angry and his lips pouting. He does it like he’s mad about it, and it’s oh-so-fucking funny.

Behind him, Mox and his friends pull up into the ring. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I am seeing Hangman and Mox in the ring together with my own two eyes, and it’s amazing.

Mox tells Hangman that it’s over between them, he won fair and square. But Hangman refuses. He takes the mic, saying that there’s no way either of them could be happy with the finish of that match. That it’s not how their story should end. Their story ends at Revolution, when they go back in that cold, dark alley and only one man is left standing.

There it is, I thought. Those words again. Last man standing.

Mox seems glad of Hangman’s pushy nature at this point. He admits he’s kinda glad that Hangman has no friends to talk him into a smarter decision.

It’s at this point that the Dark Order makes itself known. Evil Uno, mic in hand, asks if he heard Mox correctly. “Did you say that this man has no friends?”

This moment was insane. Absolutely astonishing, to see Uno walk into the ring, square up to Mox and tell his own friend, Hangman, to get out of his face. Uno even goes so far as to pie-face Moxley to get his attention, something very few people have ever done and gotten away with, if ever.

Refusing to see Uno as a threat, Mox looks past him to the upset cowboy. “Cowboy…Texas Death.”

That girl in the front row went absolutely insane (me).

After missing four separate shows in Texas, I still managed to witness the announcement of the Texas Deathmatch between Hangman and Moxley. It was like the entire segment, the entire feud, up to this moment, was waiting on me to become a part of it once more. To be their lone partner, standing witness to the wonderful feud that was unfolding in front of my very eyes. Because not only were Hangman and Mox going head to head with the stipulation I’d been expecting since it came out of that mediation’s mouth, springing from my own completely odd and batshit question, but now the Dark Order was involved with the now merciless Blackpool Combat Club. Which means that this is likely far from truly over.

I left that show an elated woman. I was finally getting what I wanted.

And now, two and a half weeks later, the match is here. After watching the Countdown to Revolution, I can say without a doubt that they’ve satiated me well enough with this build. This idea that Mox is an animal without mercy that craves violence, completely and totally juxtaposing the man that needs to put down this rabid dog even if he doesn’t want to, but is going to have to by any means necessary. He said that Mox would never be the same, but I think the opposite is true. I think Hangman’s going to reach a point that he hasn’t been brought to yet in AEW. I think this time, despite all other evidence to the contrary, he’s finally going to snap. That heavy heart that Mox couldn’t take from him, that heart that Mox couldn’t carry, might turn to stone, if only for a moment.

A few weeks before Bryan and Mox had their bloody match at Revolution 2022, Mox uttered these words: “I don’t stand side by side with nobody…till I bleed with him first.”

It’s very clear that this Sunday, these men are going to bleed together. But I wonder…will they end up standing side by side? Will they share non-alcoholic beers together? Will Hangman ever tell Mox how he really feels, or will he keep it to himself, as he’s so often done before?

I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

[fabuloustrash05]

Canon Facts About TMNT 2012 Everyone Seems To Forget, But I Remember For Some Reason (Part 2):

Shout to my friend @pumpkinpie59 for having a good memory and remembering some of these other fun facts that slipped my mind. I decided to put them and other facts I remembered all together in their own post. Check out Part 1

Casey hates dubbed anime

April is apart of her school’s chess club

April is failing trigonometry but is also Casey’s tutor in the subject

Karai is 1/8th Chinese

Some characters often refer to the Turtles as “Yokai” or “Kappa”, Yokai are mythical Japanese monsters and Kappa are turtle yokai

Raph once dressed up as a fairy princess for Halloween

According to the official TMNT 2012 concept art book, Leo has a “man-crush” on Captain Ryan (Bisexual Leo confirmed??)

The Turtles like to hang out in Mikey’s room when they are bored

Raph can play the drums

Shinigami’s cats eye hypo ball weapon is a family heirloom, meaning her entire family are all witches and magic users

The Rat King and Dr Rockwell are old friends/colleagues

Before he met Raph, Casey had a childhood best friend named Nick who he no longer speaks to because of a hockey game incident 

Donnie is a milk guy #milkatello 

Mikey is one of the only people who can make Karai laugh

Fishface hosts an underground racing tournament as a way to earn some extra cash (does Shredder not pay his henchmen?)

April’s dad is a psychologist 

There is a meteor that flies by on Karai’s birthday. Every year, Splinter would go up top to watch the meteor and wish his daughter a happy birthday, and unknown to him, Karai (when she was trapped in her snake form) would also watch the meteor. 

April used to wear glasses and had braces before she met the Turtles, meaning April wears contact lenses and most likely wears a retainer when she sleeps

Mutant Apocalypse is one of many alternate timelines for the Turtles’ future

Raph hates sour cream

Fugitoid used to be a selfish and greedy man

Renet has been promoted from Assistant Time Master In Training to Junior Assistant Time Master

Casey is left handed

When the Turtles are asleep, Splinter plays their video games and is pretty good

Muckman is known to the public as New York’s mutant superhero, he often uses this image to cover for the turtles, taking the credit while they did all the work in the shadows

With her psychic powers, April can enter people’s dreams

When Raph, Slash, Rockwell and Karai were under the brainworm’s control they were consciously aware of everything they were doing, but were unable to control their actions

Bebop and Rocksteady left New York and became heroes in New Jersey

According to the producers, in the future Raph and Mona Lisa got married and had turtle-lizard hybrid babies

[4stars-uswnt]

My Muse, My Valentine [Christen Press x Reader]

requested by anon: Not sure if you’re accepting any request but can you write a cp x photographer gf where her gf surprised her at man u, like her gf secretly transfer there to be with cp. Thanks

A/N: please ignore some of the inconsistencies this story has with reality :) but anyways... hope you enjoy and have a happy Valentine’s Day (tomorrow) and remember it’s a day about LOVE, whether that be romantic, platonic, familial, or self ❤️

“I’m gonna miss you,” you whine, as you watch your girlfriend pack her suitcase.

“I know, babe. I’m gonna miss you too, so much.” Christen leans down to quickly peck your lips, before continuing to fold her clothes.

You and Christen had been dating for almost three years now, having met after you’d photographed one of the USWNT’s matches. You instantly felt an attraction to the curly-haired forward, your camera always drifting towards her wherever she was on the pitch.

After you’d posted a couple of your photos on your Instagram, which Christen made a point to like and repost, you gathered up the courage to approach her after a game, and thus began your relationship.

With yours and Christen’s busy schedules, it was sometimes hard to find time for each other, but you made it work, sharing an apartment in Portland during the offseason and flying out for matches when you could. But being a sports photographer did have its benefits, as your work often led you to spending more time with your girlfriend and admiring her speed down the field and score goals.

But now, with the pandemic, as the NWSL was struggling to field games,  you found yourself with little work. Christen herself was not quite satisfied with the league’s plan for the season, so when Tobin proposed the idea of going to the WSL, she desperately wanted to, yearning to get back on the pitch.

At first, when Christen approached you with the subject, you immediately opposed, not wanting to be so far from your girlfriend for such a long amount of time. Additionally, with COVID, it would be nearly, if not completely, impossible for you to visit. But after a blowout fight and discussing it further, you realized that this is what would be best for Christen and her career.

“Do you have to go?” You pout, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed.

“You know I do, (Y/N/N).” Christen playfully rolls her eyes.

“Humph.”

“Babe, come on, don’t make me feel worse about leaving you.”

“Then don’t,” you quip, grabbing your girlfriend by the waist, pulling her down on the bed with you.

“Babe!” Christen squeals, as you blow raspberries into her skin.

You lift your head from the crook of her neck, your eyes locking with hers. “I know that you have to go,” you admit seriously. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I know that this is what’s best for your career.”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” she says earnestly, giving you a small smile. “We’ll text and FaceTime everyday.”

“I’m holding you to that.” You cup her face and bring her in for a kiss, savoring the feeling of her soft lips on yours. “I also know that you’re gonna kill it over there in Manchester. The WSL isn’t gonna know what hit them.”

Christen ducks her bashfully, a small blush arising on her cheeks. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course, Chris. I love you, too.”

“Good.” She gives you a quick peck, as she gets up from the bed. “Now, either quit bothering me or help me. My flight is early tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even finished packing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

—————

It had been a little over five months since you’d dropped Christen off at the airport and she left for Manchester. Despite the constant texting and the nightly FaceTime calls, you couldn’t help but ache for your girlfriend. Without her, the apartment was lonelier and the bed felt bigger.

It had helped that your work had started back up, first with some freelance work and then with the NWSL fall series starting, which gave you something to do and kept you fairly busy.

Currently, you were sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of coffee, as you edited some photos for the Thorns. Just as you were saving your work and closing Lightroom, about to shut your computer, a ping alerts a new email in your inbox.

Switching tabs, you notice the message is from an unfamiliar address, so you presume it’s a new client. You click and open it, your eyes widening, as you scan the email:

Ms. (Y/L/N),

I noticed your professional portfolio through many referrals, particularly your work form the World Cup. I am writing on behalf of the BBC News Media Centre, and we’re looking for an excellent sports photographer to join the team, specifically to cover the FA Women’s Super League and the Premier League.

Your experience is outstanding, adn your work speaks for itself. I think you’d be a great fit for this role, and I’d love to tell you more about it and hear more from you.

Would you like to set up a phone or Zoom call soon? If so, let me know when you’re available.

Best,

Charles Smith

Director of Media Relations at BBC Sport

You quickly reread the email, and then reread it again, just to make sure you’re not dreaming. This was too good to be true. But you shake yourself out of your stupor and quickly type out a response to set up a phone call as soon as possible.

After hitting send, you shut your computer with excitement and throw your hands up in the air.

“Yes!” You exclaim into the empty apartment, as you throw your fist in the air and jump off the barstool.

Knowing you needed to distract yourself, otherwise you’d just be staring at your computer, eagerly awaiting the response, you decided to go on a run.

Jogging through the city, you think of your girlfriend and your potential reunion if this job offer worked out. You decided that if you did in fact take this position, you’d surprise Christen at one of her matches, hopefully one that you’d be able to photograph.

As soon as you arrive back in your apartment, you make a beeline for your laptop. You anxiously open your inbox and beam when you see Charles had replied to set up a Zoom call at 9:30 tomorrow morning. You excitedly type out pleasantries, telling him you’re looking forward to it.

For the rest of the afternoon, you were in an increasingly good mood. So later that evening, when Christen called you for your routine FaceTime, she could tell something was up.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“Can I not be happy to talk to my girlfriend?” You tease, a huge grin plastered onto your face.

“You can,” Christen trails off, not quite believing you. “But you have the weird giddy look you get when something’s up?”

“Nothing’s up. Just had a good day,” you shrug nonchalantly.

“Okay,” the forward accepts, still eyeing you suspiciously. “Anyways, you know She Believes is in a couple weeks, are you working the tournament?”

“Yup,” you nod and make a mental note to mention that to Charles tomorrow.

The two of you continue updating each other, chatting about topics ranging from what you had for breakfast that day to re-inc’s upcoming drop.

“Alright,” Christen yawns. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

You check your phone and see it’s 5:37 pm, meaning it’s almost midnight in Manchester.

“Okay,” your eyes softening at the sight of your sleepy girlfriend. “Good night, Chris. I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe. G’night.”

After ending the call and shutting your laptop, you head into the kitchen to make some dinner for yourself, getting on with your evening.

—————

The next morning, you anxiously await for Charles to begin the Zoom call, nervously bouncing your knee and biting your lip.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Charles greets, his face appearing on your screen.

“Good morning. Or rather good afternoon?” You correct with a light chuckle, to which he reciprocates.

“Well, as you know from my email, we are looking for a photographer to join our team, and from many referrals, you seem to be a very good candidate,

“So, I was thinking maybe we could look at your portfolio really quickly and then hash out the logistics to see if this is something that could work out.”

“Sounds good,” you agree, as you pull up some of your best pictures and share your screen.

The two of you look through your photos, many from the 2019 World Cup, some of the Olympics, and a few from random NWSL games.

“Well, (Y/N), your work is quite impressive. If you’re ready, and you’re seriously interested in this position, we can talk specifics, scheduling, all that good stuff,” Charles offers.

“I’m definitely interested, but can I just preface by saying that my girlfriend is a major part of this decision, so depending on what she wants to do at the end of the season will impact my contract.”

“Oh?” He raises his eyebrows, clearly not expecting your candor. “Your girlfriend plays in the WSL?”

“Yeah, well, technically only for this season. Her contract is up in May,” you explain.  

“(Y/N), to be completely frank, we’re looking to hire because a couple of our photographers had some personal issues due to COVID and had to leave mid-season,” Charles reveals. “So if it turns out that your girlfriend wants to go back to the NWSL, then we can work that out. And if she wants to stay, and you end up liking it here and you fit in well, we can also work that out. We’re pretty flexible.”

You sigh in relief, giving him a small smile. “Wow, thank you so much. So what would my contract look like?”

“Well, we can sign you to three month contract with the option for extension,” he offers, as you nod along enthusiastically.

“That sounds great,” you exclaim, beaming. “And just to let you know, I’ve already signed on to work the She Believes tournament from the 18th to the 21st.”

“That actually aligns with the WSL’s international break, and there are a couple Premier League matches that weekend, but I think we can manage, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“You guys are too kind and so flexible. I really appreciate it so much,” you say earnestly.

“It’s really just us being desperate for a good photographer,” Charles jokes.

“Either way, I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“We’re excited for you to join our team,” he reciprocates. “So, in terms of when you’ll begin, I honestly would like you to come over as soon as possible so that you can get settled and get acclimated.”

“I am honestly ready to start whenever you’ll have me.”

“How about next week? The Manchester Derby is on Friday, and honestly, given your portfolio, I’d love you to photograph that match,” the British man admits.

“That’s perfect!” You were in complete awe of how perfectly everything was working out. Photographing a Man United match as your first job meant you could surprise Christen, maybe as an early Valentine’s gift.

“Great,” Charles smiles.

The two of you discuss and finalize your contract and the logistics of you starting the job. Once everything’s settled and you each have the information you need, you wrap up the call.

“Well, thank you so much, Charles, for this offer, and I can’t wait to see you next Tuesday.”

“I can’t wait to work with you and meet you. See you next week. Cheers.”

After ending the Zoom call, you begin to make a COVID test appointment, book your flight, and arrange your hotel room for the few days that Christen doesn’t know you’re there, preparing yourself for moving across the world.

—————

After landing in London, getting settled into your hotel, and meeting with the BBC team and the other photographers, you were now on your way to the Manchester Derby.

In the back of the black cab, you pull out your phone to text a good luck text to Christen.

It was difficult to keep your surprise a secret, especially when you were actually in England, because it was much more difficult to FaceTime without her noticing your change in setting. You had to make up the excuse that you were swarmed with editing and preparing for the upcoming Thorns trainings.

As you pull up to the Academy Stadium, you hear your phone ding.

Chris ❤️

Thanks babe. Miss and love you 😘

You quickly type out a response, before heading into the building.

(Y/N/N) 💗

Love you too. I miss u too but go kick butt.

The match was exhilarating. Not only were you a sports photographer, but you were also a huge fan of the game, enjoying a good game when you see one.

You watched in awe, the level and style of play significantly different from than NWSL. While snapping hundreds of photos of both teams, your camera would always somehow land back on your girlfriend.

Your heart ached for the curly-haired forward, as you missed her dearly. Until you saw her back on the pitch, you hadn’t really realized that you missed watching her play the game that she’d mastered, her movements around the pitch and on the ball effortless and elegant.

As the ref blew the whistle, signaling the end of the half, you scroll through some of the photos you’d taken, deleting some of the blurry and unfocussed ones.

A smile immediately forms on your face when you see a picture of Christen during warmups with a huge grin on her face. You spend all of halftime editing said photo and putting together an Instagram post for your girlfriend.

About fifteen minutes later, the teams take the pitch and you go back to doing your job. Throughout the second half, you could tell that Christen was getting increasingly frustrated, her team getting down 3-0 with only about five minutes left.

You watch as the players high five and hug each other, and you want nothing more than to run onto the field to be with your girlfriend, but you had a plan to stick to.

As the team goes back into the locker room, you pull out your phone to post a photo on Instagram and then you shoot a quick text to Tobin:

(Y/N)🤓:

toby go check out my ig post :))

Back in the Man United locker room, after Casey went through her post match speech, Tobin checks her phone and sees a text from you. The injured forward playfully rolls her eyes at your message but follows your directions.

Upon opening the social media app, Tobin raises her eyebrows, her eyes widening. She glances across the room to see if her best friend had seen your post, but Christen was minding her own business, changing into sweats after her shower.

“Chris!” The older forward calls over to the other woman. “Have you seen your girlfriend’s Instagram post?”

Christen furrows her brows in confusion. “What? No, what is it?”

Tobin waves her friend over and shows her the post:

Liked by mrapinoe, ashlynharris24, and 638,231 others

yourusername: My muse, my valentine.

“As I sat and looked at her

and the rolling hills she sat upon

I thought,

what amazing luck I have

that the world had created

such beautiful things

and given me the eyes to see them.”

- atticus

tagged: christenpress

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mrapinoe: Stunning pictures, (Y/N). Love you guys 💖

alikrieger: These photos are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

alexmorgan13: love this 😍😍

cdunn19: Beautiful!

glennondoyle: Love love love love this!!

ashlynharris24: Holy shit! Are you in Manchester????

↳lavellerose: Was this today??

↳sammymewyy: Oh my gosh it was!

↳kellyohara: Valentine’s Day surprise for Pressy?? 👀

Christen zooms in on the photo in the center, her eyes widening when she realizes that it is from today’s match.

“How did she get that picture?”

Tobin mentally slaps her forehead at her friend’s denseness. “Knowing (Y/N), she probably took it.”

“But that’s impossible. She’s in the States,” Christen states and shakes her head, dumbfounded.

“Actually,” you speak up, stepping into the locker room, deciding to make your presence known. “I’m right here.”

“(Y/N)?” Your girlfriend looks up at you, her mind in a state of shock.

“Hey, love,” you greet shyly.

Once her mind caught up with reality, Christen runs and jumps into your body, kissing you passionately but briefly and wrapping you into a bone crushing hug.

“I can’t believe your here,” she whispers into your neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, babe, so much.”

Unwrapping herself from the hug, Christen stares at you in awe. “What… how are you here?”

“We can talk about that later,” you give her another quick kiss. “But right now, I just wanna spend time with you. Maybe we can grab some dinner? You can show me around Manchester, considering I’m gonna be spending a lot of time here.”

Your girlfriend looks at you puzzled, but you just give her a wink with a small smirk on your face.

“Well, c’mon lets get out of here.”

—————

Back at Christen’s apartment, the two of you sit down for a nice and casual, but romantic, dinner you’d prepared along with a bottle of red wine.

After catching up, the forward finally decides to address the elephant in the room. “So how are you here? What’s going on, (Y/N/N)? You said earlier that you’d be spending a lot of time in Manchester, what does that mean? I’m so confused. Not that I’m grateful that you’re here right now and that I get to see you, but I thought you were working She Believes, and—“

“Chris,” you cut off your girlfriend’s endearing rambling. “Babe, you’re rambling.”

“Sorry,” she blushes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I got a job with BBC Sport till the end of the season,” you answer her parade of questions.

“Does that mean what I think it does?”

You nod, while taking a sip of your water. “It means I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

Not having the adequate words to express her joy and excitement, Christen gets up from her chair, walks over to sit in your lap, and connects you lips for a searing kiss.

“I can’t believe you,” she breathes, rubbing her nose against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you quickly peck her lips while rubbing circles on her hip. “But as much as I love you and all this romance, we gotta get going soon.”

Your girlfriend tilts her head in confusion.

“Do the words ‘She Believes’ ring a bell?” You tease. “If I remember correctly, our flight leaves in a couple hours.”

“You’re coming with me?” Christen asks, her brain trying to wrap around the fact that her girlfriend, who she hadn’t seen in almost five months, would now be living with her in England and flying back to the States with her for the next week.

“Of course, Chris,” you give her a cheeky smile, along with a kiss to her nose, as you quote a book Becky had convinced the whole team to read. “You should know by now that I’d follow you anywhere. You’re the only good thing left in this world.”

[ijustwant2write]

Dainty-Fred Weasley x Beauxbatons!Reader

(GIF credit to @fgweasley​)

Tags: @wand3ringr0s3 @obsessedwithrandomthings-blog

Requested by anonymous: ‘Hi!!!! i was wondering if you could do a Fred x beauxbatons!reader during the goblet of fire era and he’s like completely enamored with her and gets super fumbly when she’s around. She’s friends with Fleur and apart of the more popular group so he also gets a bit insecure thinking she wouldn’t like him, but she ends up making a move and they are sad when she has to leave bUT (b u t) turns out she actually transfers to Hogwarts to finish her schooling.’

Characters: Fred Weasley x Beauxbatons!Reader, Fleur Delacour x Beauxbatons!Reader (platonic)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

(Y/L/N)=Your last name

Warnings: Insecurities, feeling left out, mentions of death, lots of fluff

                                      *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was agitating to the girls of Hogwarts to see every boy fawn over any Beauxbaton girl that crossed their path...until they saw the students from the Durmstrang Institute. It was no surprise that crushes and friendships were formed as the schools joined together for the Triwizard Tournament. Students were able to see other children their age who they had never met, rather than seeing the same people everyday.

(Y/N) sat with her group of friends as they awaited the announcement of each school’s champion. Fleur had confidently put her name in the Goblet of Fire, whereas (Y/N) couldn’t even face the thought of going through that sort of torture. Prior to this, she had a long conversation with Fleur, making sure her friend knew what she was getting herself into. But Fleur was ecstatic to put herself forward. (Y/N) neither had the courage or skill to even consider doing this sort of challenge.

“He’s staring again!” a friend exclaimed, causing her and the others to giggle as they looked at (Y/N).

She suddenly felt on the spot, until she realised they were talking about someone behind her. Hesitantly peeking over her shoulder. It was the tall boy again, the one with long ginger hair. 

“(Y/N), you should go speak to him!” Fleur nudged her.

She faced forward again.“Because that will go really well. You know I’ll just embarrass myself.”

“For a Beauxbaton, you really don’t uphold the name very well.” a friend joked, the girls breaking out into giggles again.

(Y/N) laughed along, though it was forced. Although it wasn’t meant to be serious, it still hurt. (Y/N) wasn’t as polished as she hoped she would be after so many years at her school. The other girls were flawless. (Y/N) had to repeatedly rehearse their entrance to Hogwarts whereas they all got it almost straight away. It was embarrassing at times. Her marks in every class were very good, she wasn’t a bad student. But if you took one look at her, you wouldn’t think she was from the same school as the girls sat around her. They were her friends, they loved her as any friend would. She just wished their jokes weren’t always about her.

They were shushed as the headmaster of Hogwarts caught everyone’s attention, instructing them to sit down. Everyone did as they were told, silence washing over them. Dumbledore announced that it was time for the champion selection, darkening the room with a flick of his hand. Everyone waited in anticipation as he caught the first piece of parchment thrown out, announcing Viktor Krum the champion for Durmstrang (not so surprising). (Y/N)’s friend group burst into cheers as Fleur was chosen to represent Beauxbatons. (Y/N) clapped vigorously and cheered loudly until she realised her fellow classmates weren’t being as eccentric as her.  Cedric Diggory was last for Hogwarts, and now a buzz of excitement filled the room...until Harry Potter’s name was shot out of the Goblet. 

The longest five minutes of silence followed after Harry reluctantly followed the other champions. Students whispered to each other as soon as he left the hall, wondering how the boy wonder got his name in there, and why the Goblet chose two champions for Hogwarts. They were told to leave, and everyone knew the teachers were worried and unsure.

(Y/N) chatted away to her friends, coming up with theories as to why this happened, as well as discussing how they could help Fleur prepare for the challenges. She was so caught up in conversation, she didn’t notice her admirer walking a few steps behind her, his frame towering way over hers. However, her friends definitely saw this, one of them taking the liberty to step on the back of her shoe, causing the heel to slip off. (Y/N) yelped as she stumbled, the heel buckling underneath her. Although she wasn’t going to fall, two pairs of hands steadied her by catching her shoulders.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as she stood upright.“I’m so sorry I-”

(Y/N) caught sight of her group smirking and raising their eyebrows at her as they disappeared around the corner, along with most of the other students walking by.

“-I really need to get some new shoes.”

“As long as you’re alright. Can’ recommend a good shoe shop though. Cause, you know.”

(Y/N) politely smiled, wondering where he was going with this.

“Because...” Fred was trying to come up with his own answer.“Because I’m a boy...man.”

“It should be alright.” (Y/N) said, reaching down to slide the shoe back on her heel.“Thank you though. That was very kind of you.”

“Oh, y-you’re welcome. So, are you from Beauxbatons? Of course you are, that was stupid of me to ask.”

“Did the obnoxiously blue uniform give it away?” she joked.

“I think they’re lovely. Not in a weird way though! Just...um, they’re just different to our drab colours. Everyone blends into one really.”

“I wouldn’t mind that sometimes.”

“Hm?”

“Oh, it’s only...no, sorry, I won’t bore you.”

“You couldn’t bore me!” Fred answered way too quickly.“I’m Fred, Fred Weasley.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N). Um, I should probably head back to my friends.”

“Yeah, yeah course. See you later.”

“See you later.”

Both teenagers kept their smiles until they turned away from one other, cringing at how the conversation went. Each thought they had blown it, that the other wouldn’t want to talk to them again (which of course, was the very opposite). It felt silly to (Y/N), but she wanted to know more about him already. He was the first guy to come up to her and actually have a conversation, even if it was awkward. Fred couldn’t believe he had spoken to a Beauxbatons girl, especially one that was friends with Fleur Delacour. He hoped that he would be able to find (Y/N) again away from her friends. Girls were scary when they grouped together.

Unfortunately, Fred and (Y/N) found it difficult to see each other again. (Y/N) was swept up into helping Fleur prepare for the tournament, and Fred was creating more business opportunities with his brother. When (Y/N) first returned to her friends after the interaction with the boy who had been staring at her, she expected them to be waiting with anticipation, ready to throw any questions at her, want to know what happened. But she got nothing. She was slightly disappointed, then felt guilty for wanting attention, when clearly this was Fleur’s day. 

Fred on the other hand was being tormented. The girls thought it sweet he managed to get a few words out, albeit it a bit head on, whereas the boys relentlessly teased him. They would joke it never happened, or if it did, he could surely waltz up to her again and talk to her. Fred wished he never opened his mouth. 

They didn’t speak until after the first task. The pair had stolen glances at each other whenever they could, and (Y/N) couldn’t help doing so whilst the champions faced the dragons, even when Fleur was up. She wanted to talk with him after all four champions made it out alive, but students wanted to go with their representatives to see the golden egg they retrieved. Fred was excited for his friend, though he too was frustrated that his chances (and courage) to speak to (Y/N) again were vanishing.

A few days later, (Y/N) and her group of friends were huddled in the courtyard, gossiping about the upcoming Yule Ball. It was all anyone talked about actually. The faculty found it hilarious and sweet to watch the young students get all flustered over who to ask, how to do it and what to wear, as well as dealing with rejection. 

Fred was shoved forward by George as they saw the group of vultures (girls). He sent a glare back to his twin brother, knowing he had been talking himself up to ask (Y/N) to the ball. He hardly knew her, but it was proving difficult to even have a small chat. His heart was racing as he got closer. What if she said no? Was he being stupid thinking she was interested? Why was he doing this in public and in front of her friends?!

The girls looked up as they saw who was approaching, giggling and cooing at (Y/N). She didn’t take any notice, a genuine smile on her face. That smile dropped when she saw Fred tense up, halting in his steps before quickly turning back around. Her friends burst into laughter, and she sent them a scowl before running after him.

“Fred?” (Y/N) called out as she caught up with him. 

He cautiously faced her.“Uh, yeah, that’s me. You know that’s me, why would I-”

“Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?” 

Fred’s mouth was open in shock, wanting to say yes immediately, but surprised she had been the one to ask.“Y-yes. Yes!”

“Great!”

“Yeah, that’s great.”

The two of them could feel their friends watching with eager eyes.

(Y/N) decided to take matters into her own hands.“Can we...can we maybe go for a walk? Now?”

“Let’s go.” Fred was quick to answer.

They walked in silence, somehow knowing where they were headed without a specific destination. Fred took more of a lead when he thought of a place to go. (Y/N) closely followed, spotting a long bridge built next to a viaduct, the cascading water running underneath it. They made it halfway along the bridge before Fred leaned against a post, looking out to the landscape, (Y/N) standing opposite and following his gaze.

“I was going to ask, you know.” Fred started. 

“What do you mean?” (Y/N) looked at him.

“When I walked over. I was about to ask you when your friends...they um-”

“They’re scary, I know.”

Fred turned to face her.“What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love them all but sometimes we can look quite intimidating as a group. Well, they do, I don’t.”

“Are you joking? I was terrified to talk to you for the first time!”

“Me? Why?”

Fred didn’t have the confidence to look her in the eye as he spoke.“Because you’re a Beauxbatons girl. I mean, you’re all pretty but compared to the rest of them, you’re gorgeous. And you hold yourself so well, you’re with the popular group, meaning if I did anything wrong, everyone would know within seconds-”

“Fred, are you sure you’ve approached the right girl?”

His head shot up again.“Hm?”

“If someone were to describe me, they wouldn’t use any of those words. I’m an awful representation of my school. It’s a wonder I even made friends, let alone be in the ‘popular’ group. They all think that.”

“Who? Your friends?”

“Yeah. They...I don’t know, sometimes they say these things that I have to laugh off, because it’s not specifically mean, but it still hurts.”

“Well if it’s upsetting you, then it’s mean. Friends aren’t supposed to do that.”

“But they have supported me through a lot. I think they just wish I was more...dainty. I laugh out loud too much, get over excited when something good or fun happens. They rolled their eyes at me once because I used a prank device on them that my cousin got my for Christmas. It was supposed to be funny, but they called me childish.”

“Who doesn’t love a good joke? You really should make some new friends.”

“What’s the point? I’m almost done with school. One more year and then I can make new friends wherever I go next.”

“And where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere where I can have fun and laugh everyday.”

Fred smiled.“I think we have a lot more in common than we thought.”

Fred’s words played on (Y/N)’s mind after their pleasant stroll. Fred had showed her around the castle, or what he could in the small amount of time they had. Both were blushing at times, instantly trying to come up with a conversation starter as soon as a second of silence occurred. Nervous giggles escaped them both at times, hiding their face so the other couldn’t see their blushing cheeks. 

(Y/N) also found herself hanging out with Fred more than her own friends, and she didn’t feel as guilty as she thought she would. It started with one lunch time together, then a full afternoon. Of course she still helped Fleur and tried to have time with her friends, but (Y/N) had another year at school with them, she didn’t know when she could see Fred again. Her group wasn’t too thrilled about that, which (Y/N) could understand; what she couldn’t understand was why her friends weren’t asking anything about Fred. Anytime the others so much as glanced at a boy, they were all over them, shooting out as many questions as possible. (Y/N) secretly felt even worse when none of them discussed what she was wearing to the ball.

Walking at the back of the group, (Y/N) smoothed down her dress, wishing her friends weren’t in such a bad mood with her. Surprisingly, Fleur had been alright with the matter, but (Y/N) supposed that was because she was focusing on the challenges. What if Fred was right? Were the girls secretly being mean to her? Or was that just because he was seeing it from a boy’s point of view? They always had it so much easier.

The girls all turned around to face each other when they reached the doors of the great hall, (Y/N) was relieved when she was involved. Fleur held hands with the girls beside her, everybody copying to form the circle together. 

“This is going to be the best night ever!” Fleur declared, all of them squealing in excitement.“I will see you on the dance floor ladies.”

They all separated, (Y/N) unsure of where to go. She was meeting Fred here, but couldn’t see him, which amused her because of how tall he was, he was hard to miss. Her fingers fiddled together, stopping herself from touching her hair, she had spent far too long on it. Her heart was beating fast, throat feeling choked up as she thought Fred hadn’t shown up. Was this all a joke? He had seemed so genuine. What if her friends had something to do with this? She then felt bad for thinking of them in that way.

“Wow.” 

(Y/N) heard someone gasp behind her, but didn’t turn around. That would be a nice reaction to have though.

“Um, I’ll say it again.” she realised it was Fred’s voice.“Wow.”

(Y/N) spun around, her dress swirling against the floor, grinning as she saw Fred in his suit. 

“You look so handsome!” she exclaimed before she could think, embarrassingly slapping her hand over her mouth. 

“Oh, thank you. I did think I was going to be the best looking here, but you proved me wrong.” Fred was proud of himself when he didn’t mess up that line.

(Y/N) giggled, looking down at the floor.“I’m very excited for tonight. I’m sorry in advance if I step on your toes.”

They both forgot about any nerves, worries or cares once they entered that hall. None of (Y/N)’s friends approached her the whole evening, proving how she really felt about them. She could see them meeting up at times, or some of the pairing up to gossip. But it never bothered her, because she was with Fred the entire time. His friends were with them too, she felt more free, as if she didn’t have to look over her shoulder to see if she was doing every single thing right. Her shoulders weren’t tensed, her posture was slightly slouched, and she could laugh and sing as loud as she wanted to. 

“It was so hot in there.” (Y/N) breathed out as her and Fred left the ball.

“Bloody hell, that breeze is nice.” Fred said as he took off his bow tie.

Their arms were linked as they walked together, slowly traipsing down the halls. They got their breaths back before talking, letting the sweat on their skin dry. (Y/N)’s cheeks were aching from smiling so much. She glanced down to their arms, feeling confident and sliding her hand down to his, linking their fingers together. The pair caught each other’s eye, laughing at the gesture. They found a small, winding staircase to sit a the bottom of, knowing no one would be using them or passing by. They still held hands, leaning into one another.

“Tonight was...amazing.” (Y/N) beamed.

“I’m glad I could cheer you up.” Fred said.

“I’m glad I’m here for a while. It’s just that...” she ducked her head. 

“What?”

“I don’t want to leave.”

Fred lowered his head to meet her gaze, tilting her face up to look at him. He tried to hide that his fingers were shaking.“Me neither.”

“I’ve had so much fun with you in the short amount of time we’ve had together. I feel like we’ve really got to know each other.”

“I think that limited time has made us realise we needed to....uh, we need to um-”

“Cherish our moments together?”

“That’s where I was headed, yeah.”

“How cliche.”

“Y-yeah. But, I don’t mind it.”

“No, I don’t. You know, you’re the first boy I’ve ever da-well, I’ve ever hanged out with.”

“Am I living up to your expectations?” Fred really wanted to know, he wasn’t just teasing her.

(Y/N) glanced down at their intertwined hands as she answered.“You’ve exceeded them.”

There was a few moments of silence before Fred spoke.“W-will you, uh, stand with me for the rest of the challenges? Just so we make the most of it?”

(Y/N) didn’t hesitate to answer.“Of course I will!”

Fred was dazzled by her smile. It made him feel happy, he loved being the reason behind it. His instincts took over as they gazed into each other’s eyes, leaning forward too fast as he went in to kiss her; their teeth hit, both yelping as they pulled away. Touching their lips, they checked for any damage before laughing.

“I really messed that up, didn’t I?” Fred admitted.

She shook her head.“You can try again.”

This time, Fred was more cautious. (Y/N) wished he didn’t take so long, though at the same time, she wanted to make sure she was prepared. They still held hands as their lips met, this time more softly before Fred added more pressure. (Y/N) refrained from smiling during the kiss, not wanting to buck teeth again, or bite his lip by accident. It was short, but neither wanted to point that out, worried that the other thought it was enough. However, as they pulled apart, Fred and (Y/N) realised they wanted more. It was sweet how they exchanged kisses, not talking for the next five minutes. This wasn’t what either had expected to occur during the strange and dangerous competition, although it certainly made things more interesting. 

Although (Y/N) loved being beside Fred throughout the rest of her stay, helping him and George with their bets, the Triwizard Tournament ended terribly. The death of a young boy had happened and Voldemort was back. (Y/N) was relieved that Fleur was alive (and the others, she didn’t want anyone hurt), but found herself looking at the bigger picture. Fred had given her more joy than her friend did in a few weeks. She needed to stop feeling guilty, she needed to think what was good for herself. 

“So, this is it then.” Fred sadly said as they stood in the courtyard with all the other students.

They held each other’s hands as they talked.“Yes. Oh, Fred I don’t want to go!”

She flung her arms around him, hugging him close. He immediately held her tighter.“Hey, we can write to each other. And we said about meeting in summer.”

“I know but-”

“Come on (Y/N)!” Fleur called, signalling that they had to go.

“Don’t worry. I’m never going to forget you. And I’ll write everyday.”

“Me too, Fred!”

Unlike most romantic flings, Fred and (Y/N) kept their word to each other. They wrote constantly, sending each other gifts, updating them about their days. When summer came, Fred was upset that (Y/N) couldn’t make it, though tried not to show his disappointment. It wasn’t her fault, there was a lot going on with her family, and he knew how important that was. Everyone noticed the slump he went into, he wasn’t in a mood all of the time, but there were moments they could see the sadness in his eyes. 

Fred sighed as he followed the rest of his family into King’s Cross, preparing himself for another year of school. This was his last year, the really serious one. However, (Y/N) was still on his mind, especially because her letters hadn’t been as detailed as they usually were. He guessed she was also getting ready for her last year. 

“Fred!” 

He could have sworn he heard (Y/N)’s voice. He looked over his shoulder, still holding onto his trolley, his eyes widening when he saw who was running towards her.

(Y/N) wished her suitcases weren’t so heavy as she pushed it down the platform, her poor parents trying to keep up with her. Once close enough, she forgot about her belongings, so confident that she could just run up and kiss him...until she saw his family. Awkwardly halting, her and Fred chuckled to fill the silence, opting for a simple hug.

“What are you doing here?” Fred asked.

“I transferred here for my last year. I just felt like I should be with people I like and who will support me.”

“That’s amazing!”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“It certainly is!”

“I don’t mean to spoil the moment love birds, but we’re going to miss the train at this rate.” George interrupted, a cheeky grin on his face.

Fred rolled his eyes.“He’s right, for once.”

“Come on then! I want you to take me all around Hogwarts once we get there!”

“Don’t you worry, I won’t be leaving your side for the rest of the year.”

[uomo-accattivante]

Great article about Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter - a poker movie that’s not really a poker movie...

Some filmmakers write a hit movie and spend the ensuing years trying to escape its shadow. Paul Schrader never flinched. Forty-five years after his “Taxi Driver” script put him on the map, the writer-director has developed a body of work loaded with alienated anti-heroes compelled to violent and reckless extremes for the sake of a higher calling.

That includes “The Card Counter,” in which Oscar Isaac plays guilt-stricken Abu Ghraib vet William Tell, a man with a gambling addiction compelled to help the revenge-seeking son (Tye Sheridan) of a former colleague. Taking justice into his own hands, Isaac’s William Tell slithers through the Vegas strip in search of questionable salvation, not unlike a certain Vietnam vet named Travis Bickle did from the driver’s seat. As if to cement the comparisons, “The Card Counter” features Martin Scorsese as an executive producer, marking the first time the two men share a credit since 1999’s “Bringing Out the Dead.”

For Schrader, “Taxi Driver” comparisons are inevitable in all his work. “My tendency is to look for interesting occupational metaphors,” Schrader said in a recent interview. “‘Taxi Driver’ hit the bull’s eye of the zeitgeist and it doesn’t die. There’s no way I could’ve planned for that, but it does inform the stories I tell.”

At 75, Schrader continues to churn out movies much like his compatriot Scorsese, albeit on a much smaller scale. “The Card Counter” is the latest illustration of the secularized Christian dogma percolating through his work. “Our society doesn’t like to take responsibility for anything,” he said. “But I come from a culture where you’re responsible for everything. You come into the world soaked with guilt and you just get guiltier.” In his own prickly fashion, Schrader makes movies steeped in empathy for lost souls in search of redemption despite the daunting odds. “We’re all certainly capable of forgiveness,” he said, and chuckled. “Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.”

The “Taxi Driver” dilemma looms large in nearly all of Schrader’s work, from the dazzling high-stakes activism of “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” all the way through Ethan Hawke’s eco-conscious priest in “First Reformed.” While the latter, Oscar-nominated effort brought Schrader new fans, “The Card Counter” is an even more precise distillation of his aesthetic — a moody, philosophical drama about the vanity of the personal crusade.

Schrader, who has labeled his homegrown character studies as “man in the room” dramas, embraces the parallels as usual. “There is this kind of myth that the taxi driver was this friendly, joking kind of guy who was a character actor in movies,” he said. “But the reality is that it’s a very lonely job, and you’re trapped in a box for 60 hours a week.” He saw the same logic with gambling, a wayward profession generally depicted in the movies in the context of escapist romps, rather than the somber rituals that afflict most players. “I thought about the essence of playing cards every day, or sitting in front of a slot machine. It’s kind of zombie-like,” Schrader said. “You see commercials of people in casinos laughing. But it’s a pretty glum place. Today with slots you don’t even have to pull the lever. You just sit there and let the numbers roll.”

The gambling figure led Schrader to the bigger picture of his character’s conundrum. “I was wondering why someone would choose to live in that sort of purgatory,” he said. “He doesn’t want to be alive, but he can’t really be dead, either. What could cause that? It can’t be a simple crime, murder, or a family dispute. It has to be something unforgivable. And that was Abu Ghraib.”

After the fallout of that debacle, William did time in a military prison, and reenters society before the movie begins. That was a world the filmmaker wanted to understand in clearer terms. Though Schrader has received blowback for his controversial Facebook posts in the past, in this case, the platform was an asset: He used it to track down soldiers who had done time in the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, the only military prison in the U.S., to better understand the initial claustrophobic world that Tell endures, as well as the conflict between the justice he’s received and what he deserves. “This man has been punished by his government, set free, and paid his due, but he doesn’t feel that,” Schrader said. “What does he do then? How does he fill his time? That’s how it all began.”

Schrader himself toyed with gambling when he lived in Los Angeles early in his career, but soon gave it up. “I very quickly realized I was only interested in gambling if it was really dangerous and I didn’t want to expose myself to that kind of danger,” he said. Years later, though, the experience helped inform his story. “There is this whole fantasy of gambling movies from ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ to ‘California Split,’” Schrader said. “But poker is all about waiting. People will play 10 to 12 hours a day and two to three times a day, a hand will happen where two players both have chips. Now you’ve got a face-off. But that doesn’t happen very often. Most guys who are there are running the numbers, the probability.”

He envisioned “The Card Counter” as a repudiation of the traditional poker movie, which builds to the giddy release of a final tournament. When that moment arrives in the movie, Schrader takes the movie in a bleak, shocking new direction. “It’s not really a poker movie — that’s a red herring,” he said.

William is immersed in his casino journey when he encounters Cirk (Sheridan), the crazy-eyed son of another Abu Ghraib soldier who committed suicide. Cirk blames the soldiers’ former commander (Willem Dafoe), and hopes to loop William into the plan. Instead, the older man decides to take Cirk under his wing to talk him out of the act, which doesn’t prove so easy. In the process, the gambler forms a curious bond with La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), a gambling agent and pimp whose icy, relentless drive to make the most out of the poker circuit brings William some measure of companionship on his wayward journey.

It should come as no surprise that the “Girls Trip” breakout is nearly unrecognizable in the role of the calculated La Linda, which is also a distinctly Schraderish touch: From his work with Richard Pryor in 1978’s “Blue Collar” all the way through Cedric the Entertainer’s supporting turn in “First Reformed,” Schrader has made a habit of seeking out comedic actors willing to play against type. That’s partly opportunistic on his part. “They’re eager to do it because they want to expand their palette, so you can get them for a price,” Schrader said, chuckling again. “That’s necessary, given the kind of films I make.” But that’s not all: “They will always find a way to be interesting, even when they’re not getting a laugh.”

Which is not to say that the process comes easily to them. Haddish recently told the New York Times that Schrader had to coach her out of speaking in a comedic sing-song. The filmmaker put it in blunter terms. “On the first reading of the script we had, frankly, she wasn’t very good,” he said. “I told her to go back and read every single line without emotion. Then I said, ‘You’re not going to do that in front of the camera, but you can’t hit every line either. So let’s pick five or six lines you can hit where you get a smile or reaction.’ Quickly she got that it was a different rhythm.”

As for Isaac, whose disquieting turn suggests a maniac lingering just beneath the surface, Schrader once again turned to metaphor. “I told him to imagine himself on a rocky coast in the ocean,” Schrader said. “Waves are going to come up and get you all day every day. They’re going to try to batter you. Let them. The waves will go away. You’ll still be there. Don’t compete. In the end, the rocks will win. You have to learn to trust that the way these things are put together has more power than the individual movement.”

William’s routine includes an odd ritual in which he covers all the furniture in his various Vegas hotel rooms with white paper. While the motivation is never explained, Schrader said it stemmed from an experience with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti on the set of 1982’s “Cat People,” when Schrader realized the man was doing the same thing. “He said, quite simply, ‘I have to live here surrounded by these ugly hotel furnishings,’” Schrader recalled. The concept inspired the new movie’s most compelling visual motif. “Casinos are very ugly places. There are no exceptions,” Schrader said. “Often you aspire to finding pockets of beauty and there weren’t really any here except the only place he could control, which was his hotel rooms, where he could privatize his visions. I came up with this ritual for him to control those visuals.”

At a certain point, Schrader himself couldn’t control the visuals of “The Card Counter” for more prosaic reasons: After an extra tested positive for COVID-19, the production shut down last March, with five days of shooting left, and couldn’t resume until July. Though Schrader initially took to Facebook to fume at his producers, the pause eventually opened up an opportunity to tweak his vision. “I edited the film and put in placeholders for the five or six scenes of consequence that I hadn’t shot,” he said. “I didn’t have a fully finished film but I could screen it for people. Normally you only get that privilege if you have a big-budget film and you’re allowed reshoots.” The early audience included Scorsese, who provided a crucial note. “I asked Marty, ‘What am I missing?’ He said to me that the relationship with Tiffany and Oscar was too thin. So I rewrote those scenes.”

Schrader asked Scorsese to take on the executive producer credit as a favor. “I said, ‘Marty, wouldn’t it be nice to share a card again? I thought it would help sell the film but it would also be a cool thing to do after all these years,’” Schrader said. “Then a couple of weeks later his agent called wanting to work out a deal. What deal? I asked Marty and he said yes. That’s the deal!” Now, the pair are trying to collaborate on a new long-form TV series based on the Bible, though the timing has been delayed by production on Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

In the meantime, Schrader has been mulling over the way “Taxi Driver” not only continues to inform his storytelling but the world at large. “Hardly a week goes by that I don’t notice or hear some reference to it,” he said. “But I don’t know how you’d tell such a story today. A number of writers have tried and I don’t think they’ve succeeded because it has to come out of a certain place and time. We have plenty of these incels around, but they’re not as original or revealing as they were 45 years ago when that character came on the scene. I wouldn’t know how to write about it.”

Instead, his next project is a love triangle called “Master Gardener,” which he hopes to shoot in Louisiana before the end of the year. He has several other potential scripts ready to go after that. And while he has expressed trepidation about the future of cinema in the past, he’s not convinced that audiences have given up on it yet. He recalled a conversation he had with Cedric the Entertainer when “First Reformed” made the rounds. “He said off-handedly to me, ‘You know, I didn’t realize there were so many people who liked serious movies,’” Schrader said, and chuckled once more. “Well, yeah, there are.”

“The Card Counter” premieres next week at the Venice Film Festival. Focus Features releases on September 10, 2021.

###

[johannesviii]

This is a long post about Shaman King I started to write ages ago and I don’t have a good title for it

Let me tell you about Shaman King for a few minutes, okay. Because the new anime adaptation is coming in like 3 months and I’m still not ready for it. Also I started to write this post 5 years ago just because I re-read the whole thing at the time and it’s been in my drafts since then. Oops

But yeah Shaman King was the very first fandom I got into when I first had a real internet access, around 2003-2004. I was around fifteen. The manga was still going. And in retrospect, it was full of problems. Among other things:

Not enough female characters & questionable choices for most of the ones who actually have a part to play in the plot

A black character drawn with big lips (see above), and I REALLY HOPE this is gonna get fixed in the new anime ; I mean even the author stopped drawing him like that a few years ago when he did the “remix tracks” extra chapters so come on please

An imaginary native american tribe who, while pretty cool, is still imagined by a Japanese dude in 1999 soooo yeah there’s some rough corners here and there (edit: got some anon hate about that but I'm sorry, "ancient aliens" tropes always make me uncomfortable)

An art quality which gets worse and worse over time due to deadline pressures and an increasingly exhausted author

Was stopped before it could reach its natural conclusion (the author drew an actual ending years later and tbh it’s great so I’m putting this very low on the list)

So yeah. Manga from 1999. Problematic. Aged badly. It happens.

BUT.

In retrospect, most of it is such a kick in the metaphorical butt of shonen manga as a whole I can’t believe it was competing against Naruto and One Piece at some point?? Like

It’s a shonen so it plays the "dramatic and sudden power jump” game, but it uses it to reach a surprising conclusion (in the “new” ending I mean)

Most of the characters are “shamans” which means they can see ghosts and spirits, and they use them to fight, to work, or to help other people. This is a manga in which you’re gonna see a Russian shaman channeling a Vodyanoy spirit into a drum to create a torrential flood. You don’t see that in every manga

It’s stated right away that no shaman can be truely, irredeemably bad, because only good-natured people can see ghosts and spirits.

So, no matter how bad a villain may be, they must have had a good nature once even if they look like a complete bastard at the moment.

How far is the author willing to go with that concept? Pretty far

Even without talking about the main villain and how the story ends because, duh, spoilers... Like

My favorite character, who gets a full redemption arc later, cuts someone open in his first chapter

He’s one of the good guys 10 volumes later

Speaking of which the amount of gore in this manga has to be seen to be believed, Jump would never let this happen nowadays

If you’re wondering why this is in the “positive” (......?) list it’s because I was 14/15 and all kids that age crave blood and angst

The main character, Yoh, pictured above, is very laid-back, and I mean very. He listens to the in-world equivalent of Bob Marley and constantly wears big headphones. Also he wears sandals, and sometimes there’s a weed leaf drawn on his t-shirt

His parents arranged a mariage between him and a girl shaman even though they’re still teenagers, so this would have potential for High Drama - but surprisingly enough it turns out they like each other and after that he just goes around saying “this is my future wife” and she’s like “hello if you touch him I’m going to end you”

It sounds weird and it......... is, tbh, but it’s also refreshing among all the “ugh, girls, yuck” tropes that nearly all shonen mangas used to have at the time

Yoh’s main goal in life is to live with minimal effort

When his grandfather tells him he must train to participate in a shaman tournament which happens every 500 years, because the winner gets a wish granted by the Great Spirit, he decides his wish will be to make everybody’s life easy so that nobody will ever be forced to work or do shit they don’t want to do to survive anymore

Yoh Asakura is a Millenial icon don’t @ me

Speaking of which

Almost everyone in this series is broke as f█ck

Yoh owns a big house but that’s only because the price was ridiculously low since it’s the most haunted place in Tokyo and nobody else wants to live there. The house is constantly full of other characters (including enemies) who have literally nowhere else to go

The only important character who isn’t broke has money because his family is super rich but he hates all of them because they’re all bastards so it’s super awkward

Another character bought a really cool motorbike but he’s going to be in debt for the next 40 years

Also he’s a hobo

And also bi

What I’m trying to say is: relatable

Also the tournament is held by an imaginary Native American tribe. They’re also broke. All of them. The two judges who are in charge of the main characters live in a cramped appartment and often try to sell souvenirs in the street to pay the rent

I know that’s hashtag problematic but I still love them I can’t help it

Just like in most shonen mangas the hero seems to amass a big collection of Friends but since everyone is a weirdo in a way or another and comes from all over the world it looks even funnier

At some point during the tournament, the main characters have to form small groups of three in order to participate to the next part. Yoh’s team is one of the strongest teams among the ones we’ve met at this point, and is composed of 1) Yoh, a laid-back sleepy kid wearing toilet sandals 2) the aforementioned bi hobo who’s sad because his current crush is in a rival team, and 3) a thirty-something tatooed guy with no legs and an IV drip and who looks like he hasn’t slept since 1997

Oh and they all wear adds for a bath house

Because remember: everyone’s f█cking broke

Spoilers for the mid-point of the manga but I need to talk about it because it encapsulates everything I used to love in it

You’ve been warned

So

At some point the main character, Yoh, is asked to choose between staying in the tournament or resurrect his rival

This is framed as some kind of very heavy, very huge dilemma. Like oh no what will he do. Will he give up his dreams and hopes. Will You Push The Button(tm)

So the choice is presented to him

In a very dramatic way

And he immediately goes “there’s a way to save him?? YES PLEASE”

He doesn’t hesitate a single second and drops the tournament in a heartbeat to save the guy

This scene greatly contributed to make me a better person I’m not even joking at all

I love Yoh

So anyway I don’t have a proper conclusion for this

Shaman King is very flawed and its flaws need to be acknowledged to fully appreciate all the good things in it, and the “old” fandom from more than 15 years ago was a very good formative experience for me because the forum I was on (which was nuked from the face of the internet by a hacker “looking for training grounds” (his words not mine, he posted it on our frontpage a full week before he did it) in 2005, rip) was full of people who were really into criticising every little aspect of the manga but still loved it dearly

And I think that’s a healthy way to enjoy things and I think we should bring this back

Anyway

Shaman King extremely flawed but full of good things

I still can’t believe it’s back

Johannes out

[limelocked]

Sundial blurbs

So most of my part of the Sundial au has been locked into general au chat on our server in the form of joking, theorising and sometimes writing as much as the discord character limit allows me to. I did the two first blurbs in this post today and @pomodoko commanded i actually post it and tag them so here they are, sorted into story chronological order and not the order in which i wrote them

Also this is the link to the document with general information on the AU

--- Dreams POV, the inciting incident

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8- NINE It has been ten seconds since Fundy landed at the bottom of the stairs at the lowest level of the building, there had been a noticeable thud that sounded distinctly unpleasant but Dream hadn't picked up on any cracking noise that'd indicate broken bones. Not that it'd be easy to hear over the commotion that led to later events.

Because it'd been seven seconds since Techno had lost his balance because of the falling fox mentioned and seven seconds since he stood back straight, almost brushing against Wilburs taller frame. It had only been five short seconds, that might have felt like weeks to others, since Wilbur in turn furrowed his brow and geared up for retaliation. Four seconds ago techno had been pushed. Three, Wilbur had gone into the wrong portal. Two, Philza had with Fundy still leaning on his shoulder tried to stop them both. One, they were gone.

It was surreal. The room had been filled with chatter before the fight, louder during the fight and now it was quiet. One second in the future, after it had all happened, the silence broke by no one who had seen it happen but by Tommy, babbling on about something with Fundy that didn't matter to anyone but himself. He quieted down when the person he was intending to talk to was nowhere to be found, confused. "Where'd Fundy go?"

"He and Wilbur already went through" the lack of effort it took for Dream to bend that truth would be concerning if not for his record, and technically they already had. "Oh-" an unsatisfactory answer but not one that would send him towards the throat of Noxite. "You can just talk to them back home. Come on." The portal after the hermits was supposed to be theirs, something quickly confirmed as they enter the community house with a crisis averted, or rather pushed back until a later date, and two people lost to another server.

--- Omniscient/Unknown POV, the dreamsmp aftermath

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf... sept, huit, neuf... sept, huit... Seven hours later was when the lie couldn't hold anymore. Tommy already didn't trust Dream much but Tubbo had been a help in convincing him that Wilbur and Fundy were just away building or something. But the truth comes eventually. He sent a clear message of; <TommyInnIt> stop lying to me

Hour eight was the worst, accusations being thrown and swords being drawn. Screaming and explanations that never really felt enough. The ninth hour was bad in another way, depressing. Tommy's anger had simmered into bargaining as if Dream, George or Tubbo had the power to do anything of substance. It never got to begging, Tommy's pride forbade that but the things he put on the line for help that he couldn't get made it almost seem like it.

Noxcrew was contacted and they confirmed that the hemits had talked to them about the guests. Solutions were suggested and just as quickly rebuffed. Hour ten was a loss and the eleventh hour was one where Tommy and Tubbo got to speak alone.

"Can't you just use your powers or whatever to make the portals take us to hermitcraft" he was exhausted. "It doesn't work like that, probably, and Noxite has probably already tried it" "Yeah but Tubbo could you do it?" "I mean... maybe?" To that something glinted in Tommys eye, hope that Tubbo didn't want to extinguish as fast as it needed to be. "But I'm not allowed into the MCC world anyways so it wouldn't work" "FUCKING CHRIST TUBBO everyone here's useless!"

--- Technos POV, first night on hermitcraft

It's the first night and bones tower above him.

There were other buildings around, and the area was lit up well but eyes followed him from the darkness, eying the stone tools he'd manage to scrape up while leaving the group now probably settled in a warm house far away. This world scared him, the monsters and the way his sword hit differently, and the fact that the air itself felt new.

A pair of eyes glowed at him from it's place under one of the ribs of a beast too huge to want to think about. Techno readied his sword, but the dog decided that it'd rather go back to sleep. This world scared him and he just knew he'd gotten lost now because his goal had been to retrace his steps, the path that Xisuma and Bdoubleo had shown them to the little village far away by boat, to find the house cleft in two and then head straight out to sea until he could find a better place to stay than the tension thick cabin that their hosts had suggested.

Another dog offered a quiet bark in his direction and with an embarrassed sssh, covering fright, he continued forward. He had found the water, true, and he remembered something vague about a neighbour... but... No. No he decided that he'd choose a direction and if there weren't any light he'd just have to turn around or dock and make a little cave to live out of. It wouldn't be glorious but neither is 5 million potatoes.

A boat is placed into the water at the straight of Joebralta and a pig starts to row.

Clang. He is confused. The boat shakes in the middle of open water, he's been turned around. Clang. A trident, something he's only really seen in Skyblockle, shoots into the air a meter to the right of his boat. He speeds up. Clang. It misses, but he has decided that the sea is no longer safe.

--- Technos and Ethos POV, the first days in hermitcraft

He's starting to feel bad for leaving. Still justified, but also bad. He felt horrible the instant the championship room disappeared from right in front of his eyes with Wilbur still in it, and still worse when Wilbur then Phil and Fundy appeared next to him in this world, all statues as unseen confused messages fill the communicators of the worlds inhabitants.

When they arrived he was surprised that a lot of the hermits knew about them, or at least him, from the returning cast of hermits that played in MCC and their apparent tendency to tell stories as soon as there was space for it. It'd made it less awkward but the looks from the others stopped him from talking much about his side of the tournaments.

This was perhaps night four? He had stepped ashore in a jungle a bit from an area he could almost feel at home in with its skyscrapers reminiscent of some survival games arenas. But it was built by someone and someone should be avoided so he had trudged through plains and deserts walking around it only to find more tall buildings in another jungle.

The jungle was... safe? Safe from people at least, less so mobs. He had a little cave with a bed now that kept the hot and humid air out most of the time and while small and cramped and utterly horrible it felt far safer than returning to the others... even though he could practically hear Phils calm and nonchalant reassurances.

Leaving the small home he searches for the water he remembers spotting nearby. The bright orange tracksuit wasn't something he wanted to wear but there wasn't much of anything else and it still needed to be washed of stone dust and sweat no matter how much he disliked it. He leaves with a compass and map to find his way back, and around other peoples territory. And water is found easily with these. Stone, coal and redstone is scrubbed away in the freshwater lake that's only relatively cold, but it still feels nice, like the wind on his island in skyblock or in the skywars arenas.

Not too far away a man is working in a terrarium of his own design containing no animals but currents in thin snakes coiling around comparators and observers. The change to the nether has been an exciting one but it did come with problems for the technicians and thankfully for this one the Google hasn't broken too far beyond belief and is back in functioning order faster than expected.

Satisfied he looks at the path that he paradoxically want to end and to continue and decides to wait, flying up to sit near his portal instead to think about it and access the expansions he's already made. Something bright orange is spotted in the distance which at first is ignored, it can wait, until the realization of a possible abandoned shulker, so very common in this group, grabs him and almost instantly leaves as it moves around.

Several seconds later the orange turns brighter and the idea of lava pops in and out of his head in a flash.

<Etho> Beef have to lost an orange llama? <VintageBeef> no? <VintageBeef> at least I dont think so...? <Etho> o_o

He's been keeping out of the way for a while, like usual, and only knew some of the news about new people on the server. That they'd gotten there with Rendogs sports gang by accident and that they'd been living mostly over at Bdubs' place to avoid having them be excluded to their own little village. Apparently something had happened, he'd missed the details but it was looking like there was a manhunt for someone or something that he should by all means be more invested in.

Curious he misses the orange go out of view in favour of finding out about this missing thing in case he's found it. A person and a description, hidden deep in other messages. His height, human pig hybrid, last seen wearing...

Does he want to do this? He knows his way around a jungle but it's still annoying and Xisuma lives close by... but he's most likely AFK. Well, you make a good first impression on the new guys if you find their missing friend.

--- Omniscient/Unclear POV, Technos time with Etho

Silence is golden in silver light. The hermits can stay up days on end without sleep, working through nights when it’s needed and even with guests this doesn’t change. Like the sliver of moon in the sky, Ethos hair glows radiant from inside the redstone machine he calls the Googler and Techno does nothing but look on as repeaters are moved and redstone is smeared in new paths into blocks he has never seen before, something he’s had to get used to lately.

His host works in silence until a question breaks the jungles chime and an answer is given with the rhythm. The redstone had changed and he thought he had fixed it, an unhelpful follow up is posed and a pause is moved into a somewhat oversimplified version of the circuit. They both know that Techno is no help here, but the company is nice and something is learned.

Etho in the day when working the fortress tells Techno about the old days and in turn Techno admits to never having left those old days for long. Etho talks about Pause and Beef. Techno fails to talk about his own team.

[antialiasis]

Worldbuilding June (Pokémon edition), Days 8-12

Whoops forgot to post these for a couple of days, too busy with a load of Things as always.

8. Who rules in your world?

TQftL never brings up government, but each region has its own human government, generally just standard representative democracies similar to what we have in the modern world. Ouen has an elected parliament and president. It's a fairly utopian world with little scarcity and politics play kind of a background role - they keep things running, they have some different parties, but there's low polarization and usually they work pretty smoothly together and have little conflict. The situation in other regions is similar - movement is very free and conflict between them is rare and minor in the grand scheme of things.

QftLverse Pokémon, once again, have their own societies and are not subject to human rule except in a limited way while they're with a trainer, as per the Agreement, an all-encompassing contract dictating how the relationship between humans and Pokémon should work. Different Pokémon species govern themselves differently, but their societies are generally based on smaller self-governing groups. The Scyther society has a single leader, who is meant to be the simply strongest in the swarm, and anyone can challenge them to a duel to the death to take their place at any time.

The Morphicverse is once again close to Earth, with different countries having different modes of government. The Poké-USA's politicical climate resembles the actual USA's political climate in ~2007, but if I ever wrote references to the current president I wouldn't make him an outright Bush expy or anything, beyond being from the conservative one of the two highly polarized parties.

9. What religions and myths/legends exist in your world?

The QftLverse's human society is basically post-religious. Legendary Pokémon are revered, but not worshipped - people don't pray to them, ascribe natural phenomena to them, expect them to watch over them personally, perform symbolic rituals associated with them, etc. That said, humans do have myths concerning them - not always accurate ones. The story describes the human myth behind one set of legendaries early on before the reality much later turns out to have been fairly different, for instance.

QftLverse Pokémon have their own myths, legends, religions and beliefs. The Scyther society explored in the spin-offs has a bit of a vague mythology going on explaining the sun, moon, stars and clouds, but it's not very important to them, more of a just-so story. Meanwhile, they live by a system of ethics known as the Code that they consider sacred and all-important, though it doesn't have a godly figure behind it as the source of it, only a philosophy. Other Pokémon might variously have straight-up religion (whether worshipping legendary Pokémon or something else), be entirely areligious, or something in between; most will have myths and legends in some form, though.

The Morphicverse has a form of Christianity, which is functionally a lot like ours; this also means they had a version of Judaism. Other specific religions don't come up, but they'd at the very least be as varied as real-world religions. Like in real life, there are many sects and variants, and as many individual interpretations of faiths as there are people. The villain cult in particular has fringe views that in no way resemble the mainstream. And like in real life, many people nominally believe but don't really practice their religion, and many are agnostic or atheist.

Legendary Pokémon in the Morphicverse are cryptids - there are myths and legends about them, and people think they're neat, write fiction and make movies about them all the time, but in the modern day, actually-for-real believing that they exist out there ranges from mildly eccentric to entirely unthinkable. Worship of legendary Pokémon exists, but in the way that modern neo-Paganism does. It's not remotely mainstream, generally seen as a weird hippie thing, and the notion of Arceus appearing in the flesh one day and declaring he created the universe is about as fantastical to most people as the notion of the Norse pantheon doing the same in our world.

10. What traditions are observed in your world?

QftLverse human traditions are mostly just secular holidays - commemorations of important days in the region's history, etc. It's tradition for most children to go out on a Pokémon journey the spring after they turn ten years old, and participate in a First-Timers' League in the autumn if they manage to stick it out for the whole journey and collect all the badges - there are kids who don't, but it's rare for them to not want to, and other kids may see them as no fun.

Every year in Green Town, there is a Pokémon Festival originally built around the legendary Pokémon Chaletwo's yearly brief visit to the outskirts of the city (which may or may not be ditched in the next revision); it hosts a number of Pokémon-themed events over several days. One of them is a starter Pokémon giveaway, where most kids go to get official starter Pokémon, who have specifically volunteered and been trained to work with beginning trainers - though many kids have had Pokémon as pets/partners since they were young and journey with them instead, or their parents otherwise get them a Pokémon who's up for a beginning trainer. (Many Pokémon kind of like the idea of journeying with a beginning trainer, in the way that many people like the idea of getting a kitten rather than an adult cat - just something special about having been with them from the start. Though getting a starter who's actually been trained to deal with kids is recommended over just finding any random enthusiastic Pokémon.)

Pokémon have all kinds of different traditions. The Scyther society as explored in the spin-offs has a number of traditions and rituals, including a sort of blood baptism of new hatchlings, the leader of the swarm teaching all the adolescent Scyther about the Code, and First Prey, where each of the adolescents is sent out to hunt prey on their own for the first time, with a male and female witness following, so they can prove their ability to kill and to feed themselves. Afterwards, they're expected to publicly offer a symbolic piece of the meat of their first prey to some members of the swarm, and doing so signals respect; you don't technically have to, but in practice everyone always offers it to the leader and not doing so would be taken as outright disrespect.

The Morphicverse is once again culturally similar to the real world and has mostly similar sorts of traditions. Pokémon training is less culturally ingrained there, but still a very common hobby for kids.

11. What are some ways people communicate with pokémon in your world, or pokémon with each other?

In the QftLverse, humans learn to understand Pokémon speech as a mandatory subject at school. Pokémon inherently understand human speech, but they speak anime-style, usually in syllables of their species' name (which is what the species are named after). They share one language, which is not based on exactly what the syllables are but the tone and the way they're combined, hence why it works regardless of the species.

In the current version of the fic, this is pure handwave worldbuilding: it's established that it happens at school at the beginning, and then we just move on to the story, where every human simply understands what Pokémon are saying at all times. In the next revision I'd give a bit more proper worldbuilding attention to it - let the language barrier be a little more present, humans vary in exactly how good they are at it (luckily it's already the main character's best subject at school), and otherwise treat it less like it's just an excuse to act like Pokémon speak English.

In the Morphicverse, Pokémon do communicate but they don't do complex communication - instead, it's closer to the sort of communication most animals do in the real world. They can express how they're feeling, draw attention to something interesting, sound the alarm about something scary, ask another Pokémon to follow, and can do this in a somewhat more efficient and intelligent way than most animals generally do. But one way or another, they don't communicate complicated abstract ideas, neither to humans nor to one another. Pokémon don't automatically understand human speech here, though they're very quick learners when it comes to commands, and they can pick up a fair amount just by being around humans, allowing them to get the gist of basic statements and requests without being explicitly taught them, though anything abstract would still be entirely lost on them. You could tell a Pokémon you've lived with for years "I lost my hat, can you help me find it" and they'll go look for your hat, but they'd be lost if you tried to ask them for anything much more complicated than that.

12. What is the gym circuit or adventuring organization like in your world?

In the QftLverse, gyms are meant to be taken on in a specific order and gym leaders are accordingly expected to keep their Pokémon below a certain level. To be officially sanctioned by the League, a gym needs to have a theme - usually a type, although Rick got away with a legendary theme because he gets away with everything because he is hypnotizing League officials with his Mewtwo super-clone I was twelve years old. Every year there's a First-Timers' League in the autumn in each region, where new trainers who have collected all eight badges of their region face off (except for the bit where I somehow made a guy who'd been training for years be part of it without thinking about it properly). There's also a global Old-Timers' League for more experienced trainers, which crowns a world champion; this doesn't involve badges and is just a tournament. Trainers are advised to stick to official routes, while Pokémon who want a trainer seek out the routes and others avoid them; going off-route has the potential to lead to run-ins with Pokémon who are more hostile to humans. It's not forbidden but it's drilled into kids' heads that you're not supposed to.

The Morphicverse's gym circuit is not too dissimilar to that, but gym leaders are expected to carry a variety of Pokémon teams to take on challengers of different skill levels, who can take on the gyms of their circuit in any order. Kid trainers are strictly meant to travel only along official routes, which are thoroughly monitored to be safe, and often take public trainer transportation; when they're eighteen they can get an adult trainer license with which they can take their Pokémon anywhere they like, at their own risk. Mostly kids do it as a hobby, and many young children dream of being professional trainers, but only a fraction are actually good enough to make money off it, so most either quit it after a few summers on realizing it's not for them (they might release their Pokémon or keep them as pets, depending on how high-maintenance they are), or continue to do it as a side hobby. There exist college-level training schools for those who really want to dedicate their lives to it, but by that point in time most people will have dropped their pro trainer dreams.

[ilikefandom]

Snape’s Secret

Hi again. This is my first time posting with Snape and any constructive criticism will be adored. I tried to make the reader as ambigous as possible. 

Warnings: Fluff, Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Snape is not himself and nobody knows why, that is until our lovely reader shows up.

Type: Oneshot

When the third cauldron exploded the class held its breath as they turned to look at the professor. Severus Snape was looking at the culprit, Neville Longbottom, who was shaking in his boots. Snape’s face turned red, however it was not rage he expressed.  

“Clean it up Longbottom.” Snape hissed at the fourth year student, before stalking to the other side of the classroom to sit at his desk. 

The class sat in stunned silence as Snape opened a drawer in his desk. He looked up at the class, “Well?” he growled, “Back to work.”

He slid a letter out of the drawer and opened the seal gingerly with his fingernail. Looking back up at his class, Professor Snape sneered, “Do I have to tell you again? Back to work!”

He unfolded the letter as most of the class turned back to their cauldrons whispering about Snape’s sudden change in attitude. Some speculated it was the upcoming Triwizard tournament, others thought a pay raise was behind the slight smirk on Severus’ face, but Hermione Granger knew better. 

Snape had been in a decent mood all week, he had yet to deduct more than 50 points from Gryffindor or any house for that matter. Snape had yet to give any student, in any house, detention. He had been seen receiving letters and at least once a day, and this made Hermione wonder if the serious, snarky, Severus Snape had found himself a significant other. 

Snape folded the letter, picked up a piece of new parchment and began to write a reply. He was so engrossed in his response that he neglected to call up the students for sampling until he was done. He folded the letter, casting a clever little traveling spell over the entrance to the drawer, he placed the letter through the top and closed the drawer, removing the spell with a flick of his wand. 

“Now,” Snape turned to his class who stood around their cauldrons chatting and none more loud than the so-called ‘Golden Trio’ “Bring up your samples to my desk so that I can grade them. Hurry up!” He snapped. 

The class collected their samples and passed them to the brooding teacher as he placed them away for testing on his grading block. He opened the letter he had received earlier and smiled slightly at the small, uniform handwriting. 

Dearest Severus

I hope that the students aren’t giving you too much trouble. As I write this I sit at my desk as my students watch our first media study. Teaching History of Interaction has been the best experience and I wish it was an elective at Hogwarts rather than a mandatory subject here. I miss you so much and I cannot wait until the Triwizard Tournament as we will be able to see each other for a few months as our Interaction field trip takes place. My most senior students noticed my ring during the first period. Seriously, get a bigger emerald next time. 

I can’t wait until this summer. I bought my dress last week and I ordered you a set of navy dress robes. They should arrive in a few days. Drinking cocoa, watching films with my students and thinking about you.

Always yours,

(Y/N) 

Snape gave one final half smile at his parchment before the bell rang and he dismissed his class with a wave of his hand. 

A few weeks passed and soon all the other schools arrived for the Triwizard Tournament. As all of the rules were spoken about the tournament, Dumbledore checked his watch. He smiled and stood when Barty Crouch Sr. had finished speaking. 

“Thank you Barty,” he said, addressing the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with a nod. “Today we have another collection of students joining us merely to observe the Tournament. May I present the senior students of Borealis Academy of Magical Learning and their Deputy Headmistress, Ms. (Y/N)(L/N). 

The heads of the students turned as an attractive young witch led the band of formally dressed teenagers to the front of the Gryffindor table, where the students each found their niche. Ms. (L/N) found her way to the Professors’ table and sat herself in between Dumbledore and Professor Snape. 

A hand touched Hermionie’s arm as she looked at the Deputy Headmistress. When she turned to see who it was, a student, a rather attractive one she had to admit, from the Borialis school. 

“I’m sorry.” They said with a soft smile, “Can you pass me the chicken please?”

Hermione smiled, “Sure, can you tell me about your…”

However, she was interrupted by Ron before she could finish her sentence. “Why would she choose to sit beside Snape? There were plenty of empty chairs.”

“Why not?” The student asked with a quizzical expression. “I’m Sam by the way.” They added with a slight grin.

“Snape is horrible!” Ron started with a grimace, “He’s like the worst teacher here, and I’m Ron, Ron Weasly.”

“And I’m Hermione Granger.” Hermione said as she shook Sam’s hand. “Can you tell us about your teachers and curriculum? I have never heard of Borealis.”

Sam gave a hearty chuckle, “Borealis Academy of Magical Learning is in the very Northern part of Canada. It’s a huge castle made of ice. My favourite subject is Transfiguration, however, if it’s teachers you want to know about, Ms. (L/N) is my favourite, she’s everyone’s favourite.” They picked up three of the drumsticks and put them on their plate, they also spooned a large ladle-full of a creamy bisque into a bowl. 

Ron looked over at the young woman who was laughing at something Dumbledore had said. He turned back to Sam, who was happily munching away, and asked, “Are there any bad teachers at your school?” 

Sam smiled, “One that I don’t like. He teaches our mandatory Muggle Subjects class.” Sam shivered, “He gives the most horrible detentions. I also dislike our Magical Music teacher, but only because they’re so stuffy and angsty, I love going to their class.” 

Harry, oblivious to Sam’s presence, jumped in his seat. “Since when did somebody else join us?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Sam, this is Harry Potter, Harry this is Sam, they’re from Canada.” 

Sam gave Harry a little wave. “Hello. So what do you guys think about Hogwarts? Apparently our top four grades go to this Tournament thingy every four years to see a “Fantastic display of Magical Cooperation” as it was put on the permission form.”

“Well,” Hermione stated, “We’re only in Fourth Year, so we haven't seen this before…” She began to ask Sam more questions and they were happy to oblige with answers. Ron, however, was not paying attention, he watched, instead, as Professor Snape slipped his hand gently over Ms. (L/N)’s left one, caressing her fingers gently, where a beautiful silver and emerald engagement ring sat.

Ron gasped and almost knocked his plate onto the ground. Startling Hermione and Sam out of their conversation. 

“What?” Asked Hermione, indignant, as she was in the middle of quizzing Sam about what classes were mandatory in Canada v.s in the UK. 

“Snape’s touching her hand.” Ron said plainly and the quartet turned to look at the point where Severus Snape’s hand covered Ms. (Y/N) (L/N)’s. Hermione went slack-jawed, Harry’s eyes went wide and Sam… Well Sam was smiling their cheerful smile.

“She flaunts that ring like nobody’s business.” Sam commented going back to their meal, “At least we know who this mysterious English fiance of hers is.” 

Sam looked as if they just had an epiphany and turned down the table to shout “Oi! Sara! Check out who’s marrying our teach!”

Heads turned and smiles formed on several faces down the table as gasps of ‘Finally!’ and “Yes!” echoed down the hall. Ms. (L/N) who had heard the commotion shook her head and beamed as she flipped her hand over to take Snape’s in hers. 

(Y/N) laughed quietly as she gazed at her students with joy. She turned to Severus and smiled saying, “Severus, dear, you didn’t tell your students you were engaged, did you?”

Snape sneered at his food while (Y/N) laughed. 

“Engaged? Severus?” Squeaked Professor Flitwick.

“You didn’t tell us!” Minerva McGonagall exclaimed. “Might I see the ring dear?” She asked with a slight tilt of her head. 

(Y/N) smiled and held out her left hand to the Transfiguration teacher as the other woman inspected the ring. “My goodness! It’s very nice!” Poppy Pomfry chimed in sneaking a peek at the jewel in the centre.

“It was my idea,” Severus said glumly, “and it happens to be the stone of the month when we met. And it has our birth flowers carved into the side.”

“You’re forgetting one tiny detail darling.” (Y/N) said with a smirk, “It was my money.”

The other teachers gasped, as (Y/N) shook her head and giggled. “I come from a rather affluent family, it was a drop in the bucket that is my inheritance. I just like to make fun of him when I can.”

Snape rolled his eyes and took her hand again, with no prompting. (Y/N) drew her hand back to her side and turned to smile at Severus. 

She would have a full life ahead of her to tease him, but, for now, joking in front of his co-workers would have to do.

Author’s Note: If you are non-binary or non gender conforming please let me know if I did an OK job with Sam. I wrote them based on the personality of one of my non-binary friends. Just let me know so I can write more realistic non gender conforming characters. 

Author’s Note 2: Please send in requests for characters. All unmarked readers will be automatically assumed Fem. Make sure to send in a plot too. Bye!

[knittingdreams]

Fireheart - Chapter 24

Sorry for the wait, I’m drowning in real life over here xD

Enjoy this new chapter! :D Huge plot twist in this one! Waaahhh, I loved writing this chapter so much and I hope you love it too! *-*

Masterlist // Ao3 // @tillyrubes10

CHAPTER 24

Surprises

By the time Rowan got to the Fossa, that night’s tournament was mostly over. He could have gone home, could have been lying on his couch drinking a cold beer and watching a game of whatever sport might have been on TV. But instead, Rowan decided to head to the fights. To see it with his own eyes, to make sure he didn’t make a mistake… Not like he could have mistaken her.

“Didn’t think you were rostered tonight,” Lorcan said as Rowan stepped through the main door, not wanting to use the back alley.

“I’m not,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Then why are you here?” 

“That is none of your concern, kid,” he almost spat the words, looking down at Lorcan and then walking away without a second look. 

He didn’t want to be rude, but he had an appearance to keep, and the kid had a lot of lessons to learn if he wanted to survive the Fossa. Lorcan was pushing his luck and stepping out of line, which was dangerous in their line of work. The place had no space for weakness, no room for doubt, and certainly no patience for curious people that got their noses where they shouldn’t. That’s how you could get yourself killed, or worse.

The gymnasium was loud, and it smelled of stale beer and sweat. The dampness of the room clung to his skin, and Rowan folded the cuffs of his black shirt up, his jacket already away in his motorbike’s storage compartment. Reaching the edge of the room, he found a spot where he could watch the whole comings and goings of the place. It was not one of the spots where security was normally posted, but one he had found after endless nights working there. 

Connal was stationed to one side of the made-up stage, minding the crowd, and Rowan could see Fenrys by the side, watching the fight closely. He didn’t recognize either of the fighters, but that was no surprise, he never paid much attention to them unless they were regulars. The fight finished up a few minutes later, and Fenrys escorted the winner to the backroom. The whole place roared with claps and cheers, and he saw a few bills slipping from hand to hand. 

Betting at the fights was allowed in any kind or form. Bigger bets were made with Maeve herself, as she was the one that organized the events, but she always said a little under-the-table betting helped to spice things up. Whoever had been working long enough for her knew the truth behind that statement. All of the bets were run by her. All of them. Nothing in the pits went unnoticed by Maeve, which was half the reason Rowan had gone to the Fossa that night.

There was no way Maeve didn’t know.

But even if she knew, what did it all mean?

As Fenrys walked the next fighter over to the stage, Rowan walked by his side, mostly unnoticed between the crowd, and gave him one quick nod. Immediately after, he darted to the back, but instead of heading into the fighter’s backroom, he went into the office next to it and waited.

“What are you doing here, mate?” Fenrys greeted him as he walked into the office and closed the door.

“Did you get someone to take your place?” 

“Yeah, I got Con, I have five minutes or so, what’s up?”

“Maybe nothing, maybe a lot,” Rowan replied thoughtfully.

“Cut it to the point mate,” Fenrys said, his expression going a little serious despite the grin.

“Is… Fireheart here tonight?” Rowan dropped his voice to a whisper, even if he knew no one could hear them there.

“Yeah, why?” Fenrys smirked.

“I was at the gala with Maeve tonight, as his escort,” Rowan started. “And I saw her there,” Rowan dropped his voice even more, just to be cautious. “I mean, it had to be her, she was even wearing the same mask.”

“Oh, wow, okay,” Fenrys scratched the back of his neck, and then his smile widened as he looked at Rowan again. “Did she look gorgeous in a ball gown?” He said in a dreamy and mocking tone.

“Fenrys! That’s not the fucking point!”

“Weird, she didn’t tell me she saw you there, I thought we were friends now… Thought she’d share something like that with me…” He put a hand over his heart in mock offense, his expression turning into one of fake utter-disbelief. 

“For fucks sake Fenrys, can you be serious for a second? She didn’t even see me.”

“Did you hide?” Fenrys’ eyebrow lifted playfully, and he punched Rowan on the shoulder.

“Fenrys, please. This is serious. She was there as Dorian Havilliard Jr.’s date. So, yeah, I might have made an effort to stay out of her sight.”

At the news, Fenry’s smile dropped and he looked down, scratching the back of his neck again. 

“And here I thought the kid she was with today was her boyfriend. I should have known better, he seems gay,” he said, speaking mostly to himself.

“What are you talking about?”

“She brought a companion today, a cute kid with gentle eyes hiding behind a black lace mask. I think he’s the one that was here with her the first night.”

“Can we go back to the point? Who cares if she’s here with someone?” But as he said the words, Rowan realized he was already planning on popping his head on the back to look at this kid. “So, I’m thinking, she either goes to school with Havilliard, or she’s from one of the wealthy families in town. Either way, she’s wealthy. She needs to be if she goes to school with him, so my question is… What is she doing here? She can’t be here for the prize. What if she’s one of Maeve’s spies? She was in our home, what if she was looking for something?”

“Maybe she enjoys the fighting too much, maybe she’s rebelling against her parents and just thinks having a double life is fun.”

“Do you even listen to yourself?”

“What?!” Fenrys lifts his arms in surrender, his confused expression getting on Rowan’s nerves. “She didn’t go to our home, I took her there because she was dying, do I need to remind you that?”

“I told you she was trouble, and this proves it,” Rowan replied, not even listening to Fenrys anymore. Maybe it had all been staged, all to set them up, to test their loyalties.

“This proves, what? That she goes to school? We already knew that! A lot of people around here do.”

A lot of people… like the Salvaterre kid. Could any of it be related? All of it?

“Doesn’t Lorcan go to school with Dorian?” Rowan asked, and Fenrys looked taken aback by the change of subject.

“Why would I know which school he goes to?”

“Because you hired him.”

“True that, let me think… I think it was something with… Adarlan…”

“Half the schools here are called something ‘Adarlan’, Fenrys!”

“You have no fucking patience, mate! I think it was something fancy… like…”

“Like Adarlan Elite High?” Rowan asked, squaring his shoulders while trying to find the connection.

“Yes! That one! How did you know?”

“Because that’s the school Havilliard goes to.”

“And you know that because…” 

“Because unlike you, I take this job seriously, and…” Rowan dropped his voice again, “and I keep a close eye on Maeve, and the Havilliards are important to her business.”

Fenrys looked at his watch, and then back up at Rowan, a worried expression on his face.

“I need to go back,” he said as the crowd’s cheers grew louder outside. “Please, don’t do anything stupid, this probably means nothing. I mean, she’s that rich kid’s girlfriend, so what? It doesn’t change a thing. Now, that girl we’re talking about is about to jump on stage, so I better go... Oh, by the way, do you need a lift home?”

“Nah, I’ve got my bike.”

With a simple nod, Fenrys walked out of the office and Rowan moved to stand by the door, watching him walk into the back room and come back out followed by the blond fighter. He told himself he should go, but he was rooted to the spot, watching Fireheart walk towards the stage, her chin held high as the crowd around her went wild. 

Everybody was on their feet, clapping, yelling, chanting.

“Fireheart, Fireheart, Fireheart.”

Rowan couldn’t say he was surprised, it was not common to see a girl on the Fossa, and Celaena was certainly putting up a show. She had been reckless the first night, ending her fights too fast, but since having an audience, her style had changed. At that moment, the way she walked, seeming so sure of herself, he could picture every man on her wake dropping to their feet, serving themselves up on silver platters. She had them all eating from her palm.

He turned to the side, and there he was. Tall, lean, and with a black lace mask over his face. The guy was smiling up at Celaena, his eyes following her every move with something that looked almost like devotion. He couldn’t say he remembered him from the first round of fights, even if he barely recalled Fireheart being there with someone, but he surely hadn’t had a mask on. 

Rowan turned back to the stage in time to see Celaena jumping up, her rival being one of the few regulars he recognized. His name was Zhek, and he had been one of the finalists the previous year. The girl moved along the stage with grace, her every movement feeling like a piece of a well-practiced dance. She ducked, twirled, rolled on the floor, and jumped to her feet with the grace of a ballerina. But she also punched, kicked, and struck Zhek over and over again, her every attack hitting its target with a precision that had Rowan mesmerized. 

She was no ballerina, she was a ruthless fighter. 

He had seen many fights in his life, but he had never seen anything like her. As Celaena ducked again, then threw a high kick and knocked her opponent, he understood the meaning of her fighting name.

Fireheart.

The girl’s heart burned bright with flames. She was not only fire, but ash, and smoke, and blazing light. He had never seen anybody fight with so much passion and determination.

Fireheart, who are you? And what do you want?

***

“Can I borrow your car for a little while?” Rowan asked on Monday morning.

“What’s wrong with your motorbike?” 

“Nothing, it’s just that… I’d rather use the car.”

Fenrys dropped his spoon on his cereal bowl loudly and looked up at Rowan, a cress between his brows.

“Mate, what are you up to? Don’t tell me you’re about to do something stupid?”

“I’m not telling you then,” he said nonchalantly. “Do you need the car or not?”

“No… I don’t.”

“Sweet,” Rowan grabbed the keys from the kitchen counter and strolled purposely towards the door.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Fenrys yelled after him.

Rowan drove slowly, trying not to draw attention. He had the tinted windows up, and he rolled into the parking lot casually, following the line of cars as if he was there every morning. He was early, so there weren’t a whole lot of people around. He parked around the back, as far away from the main doors as possible, and he waited while he sipped on a cup of coffee.

About five minutes later, the car he was waiting for drove in, and he leaned forward, his coffee forgotten for a moment. The car parked right in front of the main door, and the driver’s door opened up. A tall kid with dark raven hair that he recognized as Havillard Jr. stepped out, and then he circled the car, opening up the passenger door. He reached a hand down, and Rowan watched flabbergasted as a delicate hand clasped it and a long pale leg stretched out, heels too high to be school-appropriate hitting the floor. 

Celaena got out of the car like a celebrity, her long legs being followed by a pleated grey skirt that revealed a whole lot of skin, and then a white snug shirt and a curtain of perfect golden curls. She shook her head once, fanning her hair, and then the rich kid closed the door, leaning unnecessarily close, and laced an arm around Celaena’s waist as they walked together towards the school.

Rowan took the last sip of his coffee, scrunched the paper cup in his fist, and threw it over to the passenger seat. His eyes were still on the retreating couple, which is why he jumped up as a loud knock sounded on his window.

The girl standing by the car with her arms crossed over her chest had to be an illusion. 

Rowan cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes, looking over at the girl again, who, annoyed at the waiting, knocked on the window again and motioned for him to roll it down. He lowered it slowly as the darkest set of eyes he had ever seen stared back at him, making his heart race at the thousand suppressed memories.

“What are you doing here?” the girl asked, sounding more surprised than angry. 

Her hair had grown so long since the last time he had seen her, and instead of being a puffy mane, it was now tamed into long but uneven dreads, some of them with golden rings around them. But the rest of her... It was the same face he had seen so many times, even if mostly in pictures.

“Nehemia,” he let her name out in a single breath, almost like a curse, or like a plea. Like a forgotten and buried memory he never thought he’d had to deal with again.

“I knew it was you the second I saw you… It’s been a long time, Rowan.” There was sadness in her tone, her voice almost breaking as she said his name.

“Do you go to school here?” Rowan found himself asking, the thousand coincidences starting to prickle his skin and make his gut churn. Or maybe those were the memories, relighting the fire in his soul. 

“I do… And you don’t. As far as I remember, you finished school four years ago. What are you doing here? I thought you might have been looking for me, but you seem utterly surprised to find me here.”

“I was… No… I didn’t know you came here… I was… It’s work-related,” he managed to let out.

“Still in the same line of work?” Nehemia asked, her lips turning into an upside smile.

“I think you know the answer to that,” he replied, shrugging with one shoulder.

“I thought so…” Nehemia looked to both sides, and then rushed around the car.

She jumped into the passenger seat, knocking the discarded cup onto the floor of the car, and shut the door with a loud bang behind her.

“We need to talk, and it’s probably best if we don’t do it here,” she said, her words rushed in through harsh whispers.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Rowan,” Nehemia’s eyes were pleading, unshed tears lining up on her eyes. “Please, I need your help.”

Rowan swallowed hard, and before he could regret his decision, he stepped onto the gas and drove out of Adarlan Elite High’s parking lot.

[zebraslovescupcakestoo]

Blush Blush Wish List: New Boy edition.

If you read my wish lists from my previous posts, I did my first as random and a second one about clothing, which one of the clothing wish is coming true slowly, I decided to make a THIRD wish list, based on the Boy/Man bundle. We knew that there will be a new guy coming, plausibly the phone fling winner Poe, so here’s some dream ideas of mine that inspired me.

I will mark a disclaimer right here and now so please read it:

Any thing I write here is MY opinion, MY fantasy and JUST A THEORY. They are NON-canon, not project proof and they’re just fan fic/pic related to Blush Blush.

If you don’t like them or disagree, that’s OK! we can talk about it in the comments or ask box like big girls.

Without further ado, here are my Manimal ideas:

1. Racoon Thief!

I’m staring off with what I already mention on my first and my personal favorite.

I used to read one of the first few books of Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc a few years back and I also watched the old French TV series from the 70′s. I also used to own a film based of him from 2004? and I love it. There is also a 90′s animated series from YTV called Night Hood.

I also noticed that there was a PS2 game with a couple of sequels and a PSVita remake with all the games in one. If you ever played Sly Cooper, this would be a very nice compliment to a legendary Gentlemen Burglar.

I imagine about how the player was on a detective mission, like Cole’s, and he/she stumbles a burglary scene from a bakery store. Player noticed some crumbs leading to an alley and soon find a well dressed racoon... Speaking some French accent, the Gentlemen racoon would explained that since he’s somehow got in a situation that prevents him to go to his ‘job’ he had no choice but to ‘borrow’ until he’s back to normal. With past experiences, you’d tell him that you can help him revert back if he’d promised to pay all of the goodies he has taken from.

I can imagine a Persona 5 references or Lupin the 3rd Easter egg dialogs.

2. Beauty Guru BF!

BEFORE anyone has to say about Jeffree, I’m gonna say HERE that I’ll understand if you don’t like or support him, this is just a reference and ideas.

Now, my second idea for a next Manimal, it would be a beauty guru BF.

Now I would go for someone between Jeffree Star and Kimora Blac. Someone’s that’s very influential, a bit controversial but not that serious and very honest.

So imagine a scenario when the player decided to take a break from streaming and just surfing on Youtube when they came across a makeup review tutorial with a face of an animal. Any animal. Player then clicked it and the animal said:

“Hello everybody and welcome back to my channel! Today, I woke up, got to a mirror... beyoch... The Panda Team, is crazy!!!”

Somehow the player texted on the comments and then sends some pictures that proves you can help him, so he flew from his private jet to meet you!

If this gets canon, let the team know about Jeffree Star and try not to copy him too much like they did with Markiplier.

3. Fashionista Drag Queen BF!

Following from the previous, another LGBT representative would be the man with good fashion taste, RuPaul!

I thought about how the Player would one day be shopping for new clothes and then notice an animal giving out fashion advices. He does admit he’s sadden cause of his physical state, he can’t dress up whatever he’d normally wear.

He’d also would reference from high brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Guicci, random Italian brands, ect... 

Imagine on his semi or full human form, he’d be wearing RuPaul inspired tuxedos or a dress option DLC. 

4. Royalty Prince charming!

I know that on Phone Fling, we have the self proclaimed Arabian Prince Sascha, but think about an EUROPEAN prince!

Imagine Player was doing gardening and then all of a sudden they heard someone complaining.

“Why are they treating me like I am some pet?! I am a PRINCE!”

You notice the ‘Manimal’ and told them your ‘specialty’ after introducing. “So you’d help your prince from this curse? Should we do true love’s first kiss? Fairly well, but you must prove it!”

This could inspire Disney prince references. ;) You take your pick!

5. Native American Boy.

Before I explain, I just want to say that I respect the Natives and they���re are one of the nicest people, I’m just saying as a character perspective.

If you remembered on my first wish list, I asked for more diversities so here’s one of them!

Player was walking in the nature park and decided to take a rest on a table park when they noticed some thrash that some human dumpster fire was too lazy to put it in the thrash so you did. All of a sudden you head someone said thank you. You turned to see the Manimal in question. “It is so nice of you to think conscious about our home environment when you knew you weren’t the one who done it. May the Great Spirits looks on you.”

I kinda lean towards the Eagle or a Bear cause the Wolf is already taken.

I think it would be a nice reminder for a dialog to us about the environment once in a while and also Disney’s Brother Bear.

6. Frank Sinatra the 2nd! Old school but cool!

THIS is probably one of an interesting idea about an ‘old’ soul. It’s kinda like Myx but classier. Swag are for boys, Class are for men.

Remember the Old Looney Tune cartoons? Remember that character Tweety Bird? Yeah, I go with a canary or maybe a yellow-crested cockatoo with this number.

Imagine Player decided to play a mainstream music from their room, when after about a minute in, you hear someone screaming from next door.

“WILL YOU TURN THAT OFF-TUNE BLIP BLOP?! I’M TRYING TO REGAIN MY SINGING SWING!” 

At first you thought it was probably you neighbor, but come to find out, it was a talking bird in a cage. You asked him and he answered. “I just moved in from my relatives and now I’m stuck with feathers instead of a classic bow tie. You said you had experience with this?”

This Manimal would be one of those nerds with bowties and sweaters on shoulder prep boy. He’s more like Frank Sinatra (Pic 1 and 2 with Elvis), Dean Martin or Sammy David Jr. A bit more old fashioned but about the same age as college kids.

Imagine the dialogs would be more like Tweety birds whenever Cole is change in between and had comedy accidents like the cartoons to prevent being his next un-cook chicken nugget!

7. Ancient temple guardian!

If anyone had played Crush Crush, you know about the Suzu bundle in the shop. She’s a white fox spirt that the player had accidentally broke the statue.

Now imagine the same thing, but this time you notice that one of these statues are not the same cause they don’t breathe.

8. Marine surfer/oceanic enthusiast!

Remember when I said there’s no Marine Animals (Yet?) If they do, I hope to see a hot guy who was turned into one while I was just looking at the waves.

Imagine Little Mermaid in a gender swap perspective. He wants to learn about the ocean like Jacque Cousteau and sometimes collects sea shells or old object from the 18th centuries that was from sunken ships.

9. German Soccer coach!

Remember when the German won the soccer tournament from Brazil by 7-1 a few years ago? Now imagine someone from that country that’s the new soccer/football coach for your team.

Player wanted to try a new sport so they go for it, but noticed the coach is a big German Shepperd. He’s Strict, Disciplined and very Passionate.

We need a good doggo for 2021!

10. Eastern Master Chef

I think I saved a nice one for last, but my random card tells me that we need a chef in that game. CC have Bonnibel, we have a Michelin star chef!

I thought about an old school 90′s Iron Chef stars like Chef Hiroyuki Sakai and Chen Kenichi. But this one is from China, where they eat anything with four legs except tables and anything that flies except planes.

Honorary mentions of Gordon Ramsey in the dialogs but he’s too nice and... I want to see someone else besides him.

AND THAT IS IT!!

That’s all I have for Manimal ideas for now. Do you like any of them? Do you have any other ideas? Please tell me of what you think!

[dbzebra]

74. “You’re a dork, just like your father.” with someone from dbz? i can't think of who, but i bet you'll have an idea that fits!!!

“Thank you for being the only one who sent anything in lol Hope you enjoy :)

((Takes place in Age 795, during an altered post GT era timeline))

Reblogs are much appreciated!!

Fifteen year old Son Pan took to the skies, bregruingly made her way to her part time job at her uncle’s dojo after school let out for the week at Orange Star High School. 

Goten’s dojo was in West City, and Pan jumped at the offer when he offered it to her, mostly because she needed the extra money and also in the small hopes she’d meet a nice guy who for once wasn’t freaked out by her powers. The queen bee herself Bulla was alwyays trying to hook Pan up with some sleaze but Pan wasn’t interested in any of them. 

Sure, she still loved fighting, but it wasn’t really how she wanted to spend her Friday afternoon. Her friends had offered to go to a karaoke bar, but she had to turn it down. 

She looked at her brand-new special watch, one just like her father’s, given to her by Bulma. She had yet to try it out, but she was excited at the prospect of being Great Saiyaman 3. 

Or if she combined it with Super Saiyan, “Super Saiyaman 3″. 

Yeah, she definitely liked the sound of that. 

After Papn landed, she changed into her gi and did her duties for the day. It was a younger group, so it was mostly teaching them basic martial arts form and how to read their opponent’s stance in a battle. 

The training went on for a good two hours. She was happy to see so many upcoming fighters. Fortunately, after the events at the 28th and 29th World Tournaments, people became serious about fighting again. 

“I’ll take over from here.” A young man with a big black mohawk came out and said. He was in his early twenties and wore a green gi with a yellow belt. “Go take a rest, Pan. You’ve been at it for a while.”

“Oh, thanks Uub!”

Like Pan, Uub helped out now and then at the dojo. 

“Have you seen my uncle around?”

Uub smiled. “Oh, Mister Goten? The twins appaently escaped from kindergarten and came to see him, so he’s keeping them preoccupied in his ‘office.’ If you could call it that.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in the break room.” The quarter Saiyan giggled and took her leave. Some of the students were sad that the beautiful teacher was leaving and voiced their complaints. Pan didn’t respond, but it did bolster her ego just a bit. Pan tired her long black hair into a ponytail and headed towards the employee break room. 

She took a water bottle from the mini fridge and plopped on the couch. That’s when she noticed the mirror in one corner of the room.

That gave her an idea.

Once the coast was clear, she pressed the button on her watch to see her new superhero otufit in person. She just knew Bulma would come up with something great. 

The main top was purple with a light blue cape and pink tights. Plus a big number three on the helmet. 

“This looks amazing!” Pan happily cried, posing like Saiyaman would. “I am the guardian of the city, the protector of the weak, Super Saiyaman 3!”

Just then the door opened. 

“Well look what we have here.” Goten said. 

“U-U-Uncle Goten!?” Pan practically shrieked. Luckily she had the helmet on still, or even he would had seen her entire face turn scarlet. 

“I knew it. You’re a dork, just like your father.” Son Goten said from the doorway more than a little amused at what his neice was wearing. The twins poked their heads from behind his legs and gasped. They were the biggest fans of Gohan and Videl’s superhero personas (not quite knowing it was their uncle and aunt) but now there was a third one?!

Pan gawked, frozen for a moment that the last person wshe wanted to catch her had in fact caught her. Once she recovered the ability to speak again, her black eyes narrowed glaring at him. “Tell anyone and you’re dead.”

Her uncle only grinned wider, just like her father and grandfather had always done. “Little Panny as the new Saiyaman. I like it.”

“Don’t. CALL ME THAT.” 

Sometimes she really hated her family. 

[peg-legz4]

peggy's klance fic rec :)

this is my first fic rec and i know its really sloppy but one of my friends said she wanted it do I an forced to post it after procrastinating finishing it for a month. enjoy!

Best Friends to Lovers

Hearts Don't Break Around Here - klancekorner

AHHHHH okay okay okay this is the first klance fic i ever read and it set the bar soooo high. basically keith and lance have been bestfriends since foreverrr and it jumps between flashbacks and present day where keith is realizing hes just been In love with lance for like the whole time they've known each other and lance calls him snickers and its s l o w b u r n bc they're both oblivious idiots but theyre also pining and aghhghhh AND THE WAY THEY START TO REALIZE THEIR OWN FEEELINGS IS! IM- it's super cute pls read!!!

with love - allinadayswork - 8,888  AHHHGGGGGGGs high school au! this is so cute they're both so smitten basically they're best friends but lance is also keiths secret admirer and ahhhhh!!!!!! so cute pls read i beg of you + valentines day and overprotective shiro!!!!

 Your Smile Makes Me Awkward - Lancelee (ashleeforreal) - 8,791

another best friends to lovers (hehe) lance gets his braces taken off and keith is in a gay panic because lance looks hot and he doesnt know what to do and theres miscommunication but its all good in the end this was so cute

One Heart Missing - starlightment - 24021 HSWOQSJKNQJNIU BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS AU IM A SUCKER FOR THESEEE they’re in college and keith finds out he loves lance nd then they have a fwb thing going on and ppor keith but also poor lance for reasons i can’t disclose anD THE REOCCURRING THEME WITH THE ICE SKATING ITS SO CUTE AND DEHQIJOjqsk please just read it oh my god 

Soulmate AU

between two points - Alltheroads - 20,589 red string of fate au!!!!!!! keith is one of the few people in the world who can actually see the strings though, and lance seems not to have a string, just like keith. its them falling for eachother and keith teaching him how to repair a motorcycle and 50′s themed diners its amazingggg

Tell Me It’s My Name Written In Your Skin - Ivnars - 15,636 soulmate au where the name of your soulmate appears on your wrist once you fall in love with them (i think?) and lance thinks his is unrequited and of course he also has a martyr complex and is willing to die for the team and almost does and then omgomg i just its so great pls read

Bend It Like Soulmates - Reader115 - 23,998 HHHHHHHHhh SOCCER SOULMAtE AU AND THEYRE SO GOOD TOGETHER AND OMGOMGOMG SO MUCH PINING AND TENSION AND IT SJUST SO HAPPY AND AMAZING  IT HAS THEM BEING THE FAMOUS SOCCER SOULMATE COUPLE PLEASE READ READ READ YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SOCCER

there, nestled against his pulse - hiuthyn SHAOAMALAL ITS A SOULMATE AU I LOVE THESE HJDJSJSJSS AND ITS CANONVERSE (im pretty sure this was a one shot first and then I came back and it was a multi chapter fic and I read and it was like 1000× more amazing ajsjska) this was one of the very first klance fics i read and it’s definitely the first one that made me like gasp and scram cause oh my god,. okay basically the first and last words your soulmate says show up on your wrists and keith hides his wrists because he thinks he k words his soulmate and there’s miscommunication aND KEITH’S BACKSTORY AND IT GIVES LANCE SO MUCH DEPTH??????? and it has a really happy ending and its slowburn and angsty and pining and i’m a sucker for all those things which made this amazing!!!!!!!

College AU

i just wanna be (with you) - aknightley - 8,020 COLLEGE ROOMMATES AU LETS GOOOOOOOO there’s a lot of tension and pining and they give eachother gifts all the time i’m sOFT pls pls pls read

reasons why keith is the worst - MellodramaticLawliet - 5517 lance and keith are roommates and to cope with his hate for keith, he starts a list of why he hates keith and it just turns into a journal abt keith and lance is so oblivious and there’s also fencing tournaments which is cool hadjalkj read ittt

You Should Date Me - petalloso ahhhh lance and Keith are both freshman in college and they have little adventures and it's just super cute and fluffy ajskkasna

Canonverse

The Art of Secret Telling - jilliancares - 4,880 so to form another coalition, voltron has to form another coalition and lance has, 1, never kissed anybody and 2, has a crush on keith hehehe

a culmination of things - viscrael ahhh it's super cute and short and basically jumps around in time and they're just in looovee

instincts - godsensei lance n keith are getting their groove on when red mistakes Keith's pleasure for distress and comes crashing through the wall ajsksksmsna

i can’t help but want - aknightley  lance and Keith's lions get stranded on different islands but their comms get through so they're just talking and bonding and falling in love while they get their lions fixed akssjal so cute pls read!!!!

never saw you coming - dimpleforyourthoughts HOLY HELL OG MY FREAKINGNS JUEUSS I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH IVE READ IT LIKE 20 TIMES AND EACH TIME IM BLOWN AWAY BY HOW BEAUTIFULL ITS WRITTEND AKAK its canonverse and goes in depth with my boys and lance has a martyr complex and keitHS BACKSTORY AND LE PETIT PRINCE AND THEY WOULD DIE FOR EACHOTHER AND ALMOST DO AND IT MADE ME CRY AND GINGER THE TABBY CAT PLEASE READ OH MY GOD ITS SLOWBURN AND THEYRE BOTH S O SMITTEN AHHHH

Terminal Velocity - speaks tHE ANGSTTTTT. i'm like, a whore for angst. but basically. voltron gets captured by these alien empaths and this guy feeds off of other people's pain(???) and so he tortures lance and makes keith watch and oh my. this is so good I felt so many emotions pls read.

Keith McClain - orphan_account 🥺🥺 keith sees visions of him and lance in the future on the space whale and its v soft

In English, Please  - orphan_account this is a fic I'll always remember omg so lance flirts with Keith in spanish but pretends they're insults and he thinks Keith wont find out (he does)

how not to be a cat: 101 - jilliancares- 8,113 kEITH KEEPS  accidENTALLY TURNINg INTo A CAT aND THEN ENDS UP CUDDLING WITH LANCE I”M SOFTTT THIS FIC BROKE ME WITH ITS CUTENESS HAHIUSJK 

 moderation - Katranga - 21, 613 HSJHKJAJOIHQQ keith gets bitten by a love bug and sees lance first and then allura gets bitten and sees hunk so he just tries to act how allura acts so it doesnt give away his actual crush on lance hsjksskjs

Public Displays of Affection by hattricks lance n Keith are undercover on a mission and they see guards and they hide by making out ajkaka

the waiting game - they frick frack a lot but basically Keith and lance make eachother wait through a week without sex and only teasing sksjakak

To Bite, Or Not To Bite - jilliancares - 11,433 lance gets bitten by a vampire!!!! and he turns into one!!!! need i say more? and the way it like happens AND THEN THE WAY HIM AND KEITH DECIDE TO OMG IM THIS IS GRESR

feelings on fire i guess i'm a bad liar - melancholymango - 22679 a witch curses lance and now he can’t lie to Keith or anything having to do with Keith and its really funny i cackled sjhkah

The Loverboy Trials - PM_Writes - 20,838 THSIEIHWHIJIHJI I LOVED THIS ONE AHHHHHHH.basicaly the aliens think keith is their god of fertility and stuff so they’re like oh we need to do a ritual thing where people fight for his virginity and voltron is like oh fuck no so then lance has to compete to save keith i can’t get over it it’s- i’m softttt

Sorry, Who Are You? - sjskakaja lance and keith were childhood best friends but keith is bad with faces so when they meet at the garrison lance is really salty and keiths backstoey and the way he find out i'm- its great trust me pls

it might not be that bad - Katranga - 16,416 omg i adore this fic okay so. basically. keith doesnt know the difference between jealously and attraction because of him clinging to the closet in middle school and now hes trying to find out why his and Lance's definitions of jealousy differ and Keith's bad at feelings please readd

Everything Else

read all about it - starlightment AHAKAKAL HIGH SCHOOL AU!!!! i just read this one and it’s great!!!1 Lance is on the newspaper and writes and articles professing his love for Keith, the star quarterback that everyones in love with. it's such a good read and oh my goshh this made me throw my phone and squeal out of freaking excitement i love it so much 🥺 idk how but this made me feel as if i was living out senior year through this fic??? it was just that amazing

it's you that's haunting me - perfchan 

suuuper cute youtuber au where Keith hunts gosts and enlists lance as his cameraman. (includes a haunted mansion ballroom dance scene) and its just great oml oml i love it so so much!!! there’s also like 4 sequels so that makes it even better!!!1

Dirty Laundry - 

this is a staple and if you havent read it you're either new to the fandom or living under a rock but its a fake dating au where keith spends winter break with Lance's family and they bondddd and its great!!!! 

alright i just realized the author took it down so uhhhh

adaigo by shipstiel

lance moves in next to keith and Keith likes to play piano at the ungodly hours of the might where lance is just trying to sleep. this ones so cute!!!!!!

eyes to you wide with wonder - aknightley

an office au where Keith is shiro's secretary and lance always comes up to his desk to annoy him and they mask their affection under playful banter and lance also ends up being Keith's knight in shining armor ajskssnns it's so great!!!!

okay i know that you are not my type (still i fall) - quidhitch

ajoasbak nyma cuffs lance to a bed during a party and then leaves but then the bed turns out to be none other than....Keith's bed!! so they like talk while Lance is only in boxers and cuffed to Keith's bed

you never stood a chance - kagshina

it's a snapchat fic!!!!!!! lance accidentally snaps keith a shirtless pic and then Keith snaps back and it's just 😳😳 the whole time it's great omg

Cold Hearts Looking for Love - swang_is_trying typical enemies to lovers where lance is the son of a rich businessman and visits the orphanage that Keith hangs around to visit Pidge??? but its fricking jam packed with them thirsting over each other sshsksksm (i must warn you, its incomplete)

Of Don Juan And Elvis - shipstiel 

Keith is a starbucks barista and lance always comes in and orders with really weird names ehehe

And Now Presenting: Rielle and the Forbidden Meringue

tsbkakaK this ones so cute keith is a galra guard and hes guarding a garden (ooh alliteration) and climbs a tree and then falls into lance's arms (who's an altean guard) and its really cute sjkssahajaj

how to not keep a diary, or, lance’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad semester - glitterfreezing sjskasla they're sophmores in college and roommates pidge forces lance to keep a diary and he just ends up ranting about keith but he’ oblivious to his won feelings heheh

Lance and the Search For Keith's Boyfriend - haikquu - 9497

lance is jealous bc everyone keeps talking abt keith’s boyfriends but he doesnt know who he is (it’s him)

bus buddies - WhatTheBodyGraspsNot - 8033

lance notices Keith doesnt have a bus buddy on a 3-day-trip to save the bees so he goes and sits with him and it's so cuteeeee

got got got it bad -  kairiolette - 10,377 so keith is bad at feelings so he asks what its like to have a crush on someone and then basically tells lance that he has a crush on him and lance just casually brings it up

Only Fools Rush In (but I Can't Help Falling in Love with You) - Fangirl_on_fire_ - 13,524

OMGOMGOMG LANCE IS A MAFIA .BOSS AND IT STARTS OFF WITH A ONE NIGHT STAND AND THEN THEY AHAAKSJSKSM ITS GREAT PLS READ

The Bitter And The Sweetness - The_Real_Karaage - 66337

its a klance youtuber au!!!!!! I love these!!!!! okay so keith makes like conspiracy theory videos and knife throwing ones and lance does like vlogs or storytimes with pidge and they also do dance and then they meet irl but lance doesn't know keith is the YouTube guy cause he hides his identity and omgomggg also Keith is from Texas so he acts like a stereotypical emo cowboy and as a Texan I find it extremely funny

nobody puts baby in a corner - orphan_account - 3,950

 its like the 23rd century and aliens are on earth and keith is a royal galra and lance goes clubbing and and they meet and dance and wOOHOO 

okay thats all for now but i'm probably gonna make a part 2 cause i have a whole bunch saved to my notes app lmao have fun reading y'all

[venus-says]

Healin’ Good Precure Episodes 31-35

The anti-vax go crazy at the sight of the new Healin' Good power-up weapon.

I honestly don't know how to start this post, I think I never actually knew how to do these ever since I began this thing, but anyway back for more Precure! It only took me five weeks to get back this time, hooray!

You know, I wish I was more happy and excited to be back, but being frank, I'm not really? Part of it is because I feel like I lost the touch for writing, but the biggest reason is that I will be kinda negative about the things I have to say and I've been trying to stay away from negativity, especially now that my cat is sick, and I didn't want to be a source for negativity. But it's already December, I've neglected this blog a lot already and I feel bad for it so I decided to do something about it.

But to be honest, those weren't the only reasons why it took me a month to be back... I've actually been avoiding watching Precure. Well, I've been avoiding watching most of the things I write about because I've overdone it at the beginning of the year, and burn out hit me seriously, but from everything Healin' Good is what I've been avoiding the most. I know it doesn't seem like it, considering the last 3 posts I've made in the past 4 months (wow) were of Precure, but I've been watching the other shows here and there, I've just been sitting on a huge pile of drafts in my Evernote because I can't put my thoughts on those shows in a cohesive way for some reason, but when it comes to Precure, while it's easier for me to write about, I didn't feel compelled to get back and watch this show.

Every time I would sit down to watch a Precure episode at the same time I would open YouTube and Twitch in the hopes of something else I was more interested in would be there in my subscription box so I could avoid watching Healin' Good. And it's not like I think the show is utterly bad or isn't even like I don't have a good time when I actually sit down to watch the show, I just... lost interest. I think ever since Earth's debut my interest in the show has been decreasing more and more, and I don't know how to pinpoint if it's actually a problem with the show or if it's just me and the headspace I've been in ever since the pandemic hit Brazil. Yes, the story had plot points that I didn't like and the flaws of the show have been more apparent in my eyes with each time I watch it, but at the same time sitting down to watch one episode isn't an excruciating experience (especially when i'm not live-tweeting, istg i don't know why I ever thought that would be a good idea), I just don't feel attached to these characters as much as I did before and I'm not engaged in seeing what their story will become in the future.

With that being said, I think you all are already prepared for a post that won't be very positive so I guess it's time to put my personal rambling aside and talk about what y'all came here for, episodes 31 to 35 of Healin' Good Precure.

When I left in the last post I know I've said the cliffhanger of Episode 30 was a good one, and well... Episode 31 used its boots to step on my fingers and made me fell from that cliff. I forgot that since we were ending in that action the next episode would begin with the Cures being defeated, the major portion of the episode would be for dealing with the tension, and the new power-up would come at the climax. And that was exactly what happened, except that there was no tension at all and the power-up didn't feel like a cathartic experience just a Deus Ex Machina. The episode was very anticlimactic and just very uninteresting as a whole and once again, I know I'm going to be very repetitive here, it all comes down to the villains.

Everything that is depending on the villains' side to make me feel something 9 times out of 10 won't make me feel anything because of how boring they are. They made such a big deal about the villains evolving after using the Mega Parts, but it feels like anything changed. Shindoine is still just "the girl", Guwaiaru is still just the dumb strong guy, and the so-called power we're supposed to see from these new forms don't really make much of a difference since these two never get into actual fights with the cures, only the MOTW do. Daruizen is the only one they make stuff with, but it's more because they're really desperate to make him and Nodoka to be deeply connected and so they'll mold his character and personality to forcefully match him with whatever Nodoka's problem will be in that episode, if they need him to be the bored one he'll be, if they need him to be the curious type running experiments he'll be that, if they want him to be a selfish lone wolf they'll make him be. And that's just boring, at this point this villainous team and a cardboard cut-out are basically the same thing.

While also speaking about this "evolution" from the villains, you would think the new human-powered Giga Byogen would bring something new to the table, but no. It's just the exact same thing as before just with a bigger range for creating infections and a slightly higher defense stat. They aren't used in creative ways neither proposes a different treat that the other Mega Byogens did, proof of that is that in Episode 35 instead of a Giga they bring back a Mega just to show how irrelevant they are. They're also different from other monsters who draw their power from humans like a Nottrigger, or a Desertrian, or a Zetsuborg, where in most of the cases the summoning of the monster would be relevant for "solving the problem" afflicting either the victim of the week or the people around them. The teacher being affected didn't make his son appreciate the father more than he did before because that wasn't his conflict, Nodoka's doctor didn't have a revelation about his talents for medicine and Nodoka also didn't get anything new that she hadn't already learned before in the episode, neither did Chiyuu and her rival, you could completely delete the fight and that episode would've reached the same conclusion. Heck, the victim of episode 32 had only TWO appearances before he was turned into a monster, I doubt he was on screen for more than a minute, and they didn't need Touji to be there protecting the dog in the middle of the fight BECAUSE CHIYUU WAS ALREADY AWARE THAT HE'S A BRAVE HARD-WORKING KID BEFORE. These monsters are completely irrelevant and they don't add anything else to the show, and that's just really sad.

Back to Episode 31, let's talk about this power-up, shall we? Being straight to the point, I don't like it, both in the visual and narrative aspects. I visually like them even less now that we already know how the movie power-up looks and how much those forms are way more interesting than just a bigger hair and bigger skirts with a set of wings in the back that you could find in a Halloween costume sale. But who cares about how they look when this power, that is the manifestation of the the four cures combined powers together with their respective healing animals, comes out of nowhere without anything specific happening for them to trigger the appearance of the Healin' Good Arrow and the Special Healin' Good Bottle. Guess is needless to say that the Special Healin' Good Style doesn't feel special at all, it's like it only exists just to sell toys. Well, it's not like everything in this franchise is just to sell toys, but they usually know how to merge this with the story of the show and this didn't happen here. Also, for Christ's sake, this is the second year in a row where the name for the group powered-up attack is just the name of the series being used in the more boring way possible, where has their creativity gone to? The only good thing I have to say about this is that it gave us the healing animals doing some sort of rhythmic gymnastics and Pegitan twirling in that is prime content.

Overall complaints done, let's move one. (these will be quicker)

Episode 32, at first I thought I wouldn't like this one because they brought back this weird rivalry Pegitan has with Chiyuu's brother that doesn't have much of a reason for existing, but it was actually pretty sweet and heartwarming seeing Pegitan leave behind that and showing that he actually cares a lot about Touji, this silly rivalry is just his silly way of showing it (Showing it to who? I don't know, since no one but Pegitan and the audience seems to be aware of this, but shhh). This episode also made me like Touji, before he was just a background character to me and I didn't care much for him, but now I see him as more of a character of his own and not just Chiyuu's brother.

Episode 33 was my least favorite of the bunch because it connects to what to me is the worst plot point of the show: Nodoka's illness being a magic thing. If this had never been a thing, I'd be completely here for this episode. Nodoka's Doctor leaving his job because he felt powerless regarding Nodoka's disease and that being what drives him to go overseas to start doing medical research?? That seems great, and Nodoka feeling guilty for him leaving, while in actuality she's his inspiration is actually pretty emotional. But to me, it all just loses a lot of its importance because Nodoka was never sick after all, and unless this dude discovers on his own about the Byogens he pretty much went through all of this emotional trauma because and for nothing, it all becomes sad when you remember this aspect of it.

Episode 34 was going very well to me up until it's last moments where instead of sticking with a somewhat unique perspective on how to do a story like this they just throw it all through the window and instead of making Chiyuu and Tsubasa friendly rivalry exist outside the world of competitive sports they make Chiyuu change her mind and decide to pursue the World Tournament because you obviously can't have other interests and want to pursue different things when you're out of school, you gotta do that all your life, no other option allowed. This got me so disappointed, y'all have no idea.

Last but not least, Episode 35 which was my favorite, probably because it felt completely disconnected from the rest of the show and I could freely enjoy it in a separate pocket dimension without thinking about the rest. But regardless this was just a very fun and over-the-top episode that wasn't concerned about anything else other than just being fun, and that was exactly what I've been needing. Also, volleyball and beach volley is just cool as heck and seeing that incorporated in the fight of the episode was just fun as hell and a good change of pace. Akane sure is proud.

And that does it for now. Much like at the beginning, I also don't know how to close this one, especially after writing all those bad things and the fact that I'm not that excited for what's to come next. Well, let me know how you feel about all this, I don't know when I'll be back with another post but I promise I'll at least reply to any comment I receive. Without much else to say I'll leave you all with my usual sign-off. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading, and until the next time. Healin' Goodbye~

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 17

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 17 - Proud Daughter

“Wow, Rex, you look like you went on quite the shopping trip!” Ptera observed as her son got in the back seat of the car with Weevil. 

“I bought all my school supplies.” Rex sheepishly revealed his debit card. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Quite the contrary.” Ptera ruffled Rex’s hair. “You’re coming to class prepared. I’m so proud of you, mi hijo. ”

“Hehe… Thanks.”

Ptera noticed the bag with the fetal doppler. “Oh? What’s that?

“I saw a doctor on campus today.” Rex was careful not to mention a word about Spinos. “And no, it didn’t cost me a dime. Bet you didn’t know that healthcare is free for all students, whether it’s at the hospital or at the university.”

Amber noticed that the back seat was fairly full, and elected to take the front seat. “Um… Hello, ma’am.”

“Who’s this, Rex? A new friend of yours?” Ptera asked as the car took off.

“Yeah. Her name’s Amber… Say, Amber, I just realized something. You never told us your surname or your middle name.”

“That’s because I don’t have either one. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who don’t.”

“Is that so? Well, I learn something new every day.”

“That’s not hard for you, dino brain.” Weevil laughed.

“Speaking of which, Mom… The reason I went to the doctor was to get an ultrasound of my baby. You’re going to have a happy, healthy granddaughter!”

“You should name her after me, haha! I hope she gets my wild purple hair and personality.” Ptera invited Amber into the house. “Adelaide and your mama just came home from a long shift at work, so don’t wake them up until it’s time for dinner.”

“Ma’am, can I help?” Amber offered as she retrieved a satchel from her handbag. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m not the best cook around, but… I know how to cook bee larvae.”

“Say whaaat? In that case, knock yourself out!” Weevil happily consented.

“Y-Yes, well… Go right ahead.” This notion creeped Ptera out a little bit.

“Now I can just get right into studying, without worrying about looking for my favourite food.” Weevil laid down on the sofa with a cushion under his head. As usual, Rex turned it to one of his favourite channels, the Discovery Channel. Weevil paid the T.V. no heed as he began to study, propping his legs on a loveseat. “Which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find in a while. Where ever did you find it, Amber?”

“Oh, just… Just looking around.” Amber whistled as she and Ptera cooked. While she left the skillet on, she began to prepare salad, as that was the only other thing she knew how to make. “My father actually owns a well-off apiary and is an avid lover of insects. He’s the reason why I’m an insect duelist. I also have some of our honey with me, if you want some.”

“So you are rich!” Rex grumbled. Having little desire to study, he pulled out his laptop and switched the T.V. to the news. “That explains why you’re such a smartass.”

“I’d love to meet this fellow insect duelist,” Weevil mused. “And what better way to introduce ourselves than through Duel Monsters?”

“Haha…” Amber gave a halfhearted chuckle. Dinner was ready, and she offered Weevil a small bowl of fried bee larvae. “I’m sure of that…”

A reporter from the T.V. put this conversation on hold. “We just received breaking news that monsters have been spotted in various parts of Domino City and around the world. Sightings have not been prevalent, but said monsters have caused wreckage in several small towns and isolated areas. We will keep you posted on these latest monster attacks.”

“Oh great, this again?” Rex facepalmed as he recalled the mess that the Orichalcos caused. “As if one or two monster attacks weren’t enough…”

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Ptera raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Forget you heard that.” Rex had never told his parents about said Orichalcos mess or the fairly recent Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack. Or about his shapeshifting abilities, for that matter. And forget about the time travelling and KC Grand Tournament! Rex wasn’t thankful that, unlike Weevil, he had no ability to bullshit. “Just… uh… Whoa! What was that?”

Rex could hear a loud sound; though it was in the distance, its source was strong enough to shake the ground and wake up Adelaide and Tricera.

“Oh my gods, could it be an earthquake?” Tricera worried.

“No, an earthquake would be more consistent than that,” Adelaide answered. “But hust in case, I’ll call the police and report it.”

“Then… Then maybe the monsters from the news are real!” Ptera turned the burner off and approached her son. “Rex. You know something that the rest of us don’t, don’t you?”

“Mom…” I suppose there’s no hiding it now. “You’re not going to believe this, but I-” A knocking from the front door prevented Rex from speaking further. “I’ll get that.”

“Who could be knocking at our door at a time like this?” Ptera wondered. “I hope none of you ordered pizza or something.”

“Maybe it’s the press,” Adelaide suggested. “They could be here to ask us about monster sightings.”

“...Wait.” Tricera squinted at the person who knocked on the door. “That’s-”

“Dad!” Rex was stunned to see Spinos at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You…” Tricera marched to the door. “You fucking bastard! How dare you show your ugly ass face at MY house!”

“W-Wait!” Spinos couldn’t stop the tall, strong Tricera from seizing him by the collar and punching his face.

“How the hell did you even find us?” Ptera asked. “You’ve been stalking us, haven’t you?”

“P-Ptera…”

“ ¡Vete al diabolo, puta madre! ” Ptera clocked Spinos really hard on the other cheek.

“Please, Ptera, there is no time!” Spinos disregarded the stings from the punches on both sides of his cheeks. “There are monsters coming this way!”

“And you expect me to believe you?” Ptera thundered. “If I couldn’t trust you 20 years ago, how do you expect me to trust you now?”

“Mrs. Raptor, he’s not lying!” Amber pointed to the sky from which several flying monsters came. “Look!”

“Oh, gods…” Ptera watched as the monsters shot lasers that destroyed nearby homes. “They’re going to destroy my house that I’ve worked so hard to save up for!”

The monsters… Weevil trembled as he heard the horrified screams of the unfortunate people who lost their homes - and would soon lose their lives, if he didn’t do something about it.  

“Weeves?” Rex knelt down to Weevil’s eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody can save these people… except me…” The ground underneath Weevil began to quake. His heart raced uncontrollably fast, and a red-and-purple aura emanated from it.

“Weeves, snap out of it!” Rex seized Weevil’s shoulders as the bug duelist fell deeper into his trance.

“Leave me alone!” Weevil shoved Rex off of him. He hadn’t fully shifted since last year’s Halloween Tournament, but was fully prepared to do it to save his boyfriend’s home. “You guys need to stay behind!”

“Weevil, don’t do it!” Ptera cried. “You can’t face them all by yourself!”

“...Actually, Mom, he can.” Rex watched as once again, Weevil transformed into Earthbound God Uru. Only this time, rather than causing harmless mischief, Weevil had every intent to kill any monster who would dare oppose him. Just the presence of his spider form, looming over his enemies larger than even KaibaCorp Tower, intimidated foe and friend alike.

“M-Master Weevil!” Adelaide couldn’t believe it. “What is happening to you?”

“Leave my home alone, you bastards!” Weevil shot a string of spider webs at the enemies who attacked him.

“Gaaah!” Two of the enemies fell to their deaths.

“He’s… something else, isn’t he?” Spinos observed.

“You know it…” Rex could only sit there and watch his boyfriend wreck havoc on his enemies, and hope that Weevil wouldn’t completely lose his mind out there.

“Wait, where’s Amber?” Tricera asked after a brief look in the house. “She’s gone!”

“I didn’t see her in the backyard, either!” spoke Ptera.

“Oh… Oh, no…” Rex’s good mood faded. “Did she get captured?”

The apparent leader of these enemies, Cyber Dragon Infinity, answered, “No, but I’m about to capture your precious little boyfriend! Who, by the way, isn’t looking so good over there.”

“It’s… happening again…” Weevil stared at the blood on his spider legs, and the blood he shed throughout the concrete. “I… have killed someone… again…”

“Well, why don’t we put you out of your misery, eh?” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underling, an Armored Bee, “Activate your special ability!”

“With pleasure!” The Armored Bee rushed at Weevil full-speed, shouting, “Poison Stinger!”

“Ah… I feel… weak…” Weevil passed out and shifted to human form.

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked down upon Rex and his family. “Some ‘almighty, powerful Earthbound God,’ huh?”

Rex stepped forward, and already he half-shifted. “I’ll show you yet…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Cyber Dragon Infinity cackled as Rex transformed. “Do you, the puny Creepy Coney, honestly think that you can take down a monster as strong as I? By yourself? Hah! Your brain must be smaller than that of an actual rabbit!”

“Shut up!” Rex charged, only to be blown back rather easily by the Armored Bee and forced to revert forms. “O-Ow!!” he cried in pain while rubbing his belly.

“Rex!” Ptera knelt to her son’s side and cried. “You fucking idiot! Why did you do that?”

“Now that Uru is out of my way, there’s nothing standing in between your ruddy home and I! Die, the lot of you!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity couldn’t even begin to charge his attack, when out of nowhere, a shapeshifter with white-and-pink wings flew onto the scene. “You will do no such thing!” she declared as she shot an arrow at the Armored Bee, killing it instantly.

Rex already knew who this shapeshifter was. “Amber! There you are!”

“Leave my family alone!” Amber continued to shoot arrows at Cyber Dragon Infinity.

“You… You are…” Cyber Dragon Infinity was truly scared, yet tried to fend off Amber with attacks of his own - but not without sustaining severe injuries himself. “Pah! I don’t give two figs who you are! You’re severely outnumbered! Here, why don’t I give you a fresh reminder of that?” The dragon shot a quick beam of light, nicking Amber’s wings.

“Yeooooow!” Amber retracted her wings as she fell back to the ground. Though she was too weak to even half-shift, that didn’t stop her from pursuing Cyber Dragon Infinity. “Give Weevil back this instant!”

“Hmm… How about no? I’m not going to waste the little energy I have left on a monster that is clearly stronger than me. You get to keep your heads and your home for today! Be thankful!”

And with that, Cyber Dragon Infinity flew off with Weevil in tow.

“Tch!” Amber turned her attention to Rex. “Why, oh gods, why, Rex? Why did you attack an enemy that is clearly stronger than you?”

“That’s just the Raptor way, haha…” Rex had strength to stand up by himself. “...Wait. Amber? Is that you?”

Amber now had long mint-green hair with lavender sideburns and bowl-cut bangs. Her pupils were small and indigo. Rex didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than ever before. “It, um… seems my wig and contacts came off during that fight.”

“Amber…” Rex walked up to Amber to get a better look at her face. “Who are you, really?”

“I have lied to you all this time, Rex… Forgive me.” Amber calmed down a little before she began to explain herself. “So you know how you time travelled to the past with the pharaoh? I have done the same thing… I come from the future - a ruined future. I’m here to prevent that future from happening.”

“Uh-huh.” After all he had been through with Atem and Kaiba, Rex believed every word Amber said. Still, he found it curious that people could travel from the future. He thought that Amber would have had it all over there - the best technology, the toughest opponents, and the strongest cards. If she wanted to escape that, then something truly messed up must have happened.

“Everyone I know from that future is dead… My kid brother… My boyfriend… Even my mother!” Amber teared up. “Everyone I knew! They… They all died trying to protect me!”

“Amber…” Rex rubbed Amber’s back. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but… I really am sorry.”

“But now… I can see you again… You’re alive, Papa!”

Rex’s eyes opened wide. “What did you just call me?”

“I’m not just Amber… I’m Ambrosia Camellia Ptera Raptor, the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor.” Amber lightly touched Rex’s baby bump. “I’m your daughter from the future!”

“So… that explains why you know about Mom, and about shapeshifters…” Rex began to cry too. “Forgive me, my daughter… You deserved better from me than one bow and a world of troubles… I’m sorry.”

Amber could finally release her emotions that she kept bottled up since her mother’s death. “Papa! Oh my gods, Papa…” she cried loudly into Rex’s chest. “I… I never thought that I could hug you again… You’re alive and breathing! I can’t… I can’t believe it!”

“Shh… I’m here, Amber…” Rex ran his fingers through his future daughter’s hair and wiped away some of her tears.

“You’re… breathing…” Amber held her ear to Rex’s chest to hear his heart beating. “And… you’re alive… This is… Oh, my gods… I’m sorry, I’m just so happy right now.”

“There, there…” Rex smiled while he cried. “We’re going to save your father, too. Or… Hold on a second.”

“Yes?” Amber stopped crying and looked at Rex curiously.

“ Weevil is the father, right?”

“Uh-huh. That would make you my mother.”

“I knew it…” Rex shook his head. “I wonder if I’m going to bottom for him again. Not that I would mind that…”

“Come on, Papa, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it!” Amber laughed and poked Rex’s cheek. 

Still feeling confused about everything that had happened, Ptera spoke up. “So… that makes you my granddaughter, doesn’t it? You’re the little baby Rex is carrying.”

“That’s right.”

“First this time travelling, then this whole shapeshifter thing…” Spinos spoke. “I have made many discoveries as a paleontologist, but this one really takes the cake.”

“Why are you still here, scumbag?” Ptera growled.

“Please, Grandma…” Amber begged. “I know what Grandpa did was unforgivable, but in my future, he died protecting both you and me. I ask that you give him a chance.”

“I ask the same,” Rex concurred. “It was Dad who told me about the doctor, and if it wasn’t for him, I would have no idea how to care for my daughter… for baby Amber.”

“Hmph!” Ptera still wasn’t wholly comfortable with this idea. “Fine. Since we’re both interested in Rex’s safety, I’ll cooperate with you. But do not expect to ever become friends with me. EVER.”

“Thank you so much, Ptera… No matter how long it takes, I’ll do what I can to earn your trust once again.”

“So what do we do now?” Tricera questioned. “Weevil has been kidnapped, and there are monsters roaming the city… We’ve got quite a matter on our hands.”

“I know of a club who can help stop this mess,” replied Amber. “But I ask anyone who’s not a shifter to stay behind, for your own safety.”

“No!” Adelaide refused. “After all Master Weevil has done for me, I can’t just leave him alone, suffering in gods know where… I’m coming, too!”

“Weevil is part of my family, too,” Ptera declared. “We’re all in this together.”

“And I’m sure this is a really good reason to call off of work,” Tricera added. “It’s times like these that remind me why I’m thankful to be a reputable employee.”

“Nana…” 

“It feels a bit weird being called that, I gotta say.”

“Well, what I gotta say is how damned proud I am that you’re named after me!” Ptera laughed. “I mean, I wish you took my given name, but I guess I’ll settle for middle name.”

“Hahaha!” Amber already began to walk in the direction of the university. “Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go save Daddy!”

“Wait, Amber, before we go…”

“Yes, Papa?”

Rex pulled out his flip phone. “Let’s meet at the café first. If things are as serious as you say, then we need all the help we can get.”