#apparently Marcos is yesterday’s news

[theheartneverliez]

I told you it is always the same. Watched 2 minutes of Emmerdale. Aaron and chas. Same conversations as always yea. That’s a fucking no from me.

If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got.

S. H. I. T.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nick Anderson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 15, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

Today House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled tomorrow’s votes and sent the House of Representatives into recess until February 28.

Before recessing, Johnson refused to take up the national security supplemental bill the Senate passed early Tuesday morning, providing aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Gaza. Johnson said the House must “work its own will” rather than vote on the bill at hand because the measure did not include border security measures.

Yesterday, Johnson told House Republicans that the House will not be “rushed” into passing foreign aid, despite the fact that Ukraine’s desperate need for ammunition is enabling Russia to regain some of the territory Ukraine’s troops reclaimed over the past year. 

But is it a rush? President Biden asked for additional national security funding in October 2023. A majority of lawmakers in the Senate and the House support such a measure, but Johnson bowed to the demands of MAGA Republicans and said he would not bring such a bill up for a vote unless it contained border security measures to address what they insisted was a crisis at the southern border of the U.S., apparently banking on the idea that such a compromise was impossible.

But Democrats were so desperate to pass the Ukraine funding they see as crucial to our national security that they agreed to give up their demand for a path to citizenship for the so-called Dreamers, those brought to the United States as children and reared here but now stuck in citizenship limbo. So, after four months of work, Senate negotiators produced a bill that offered much of what Republicans demanded. 

Once it was clear a deal was going to materialize, Trump demanded it be shut down, likely because he has promised his base that on his first day back in office, he will “begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” and a new border measure would both undermine his campaign message and stymie his plans. Although the border patrol officers union endorsed the Senate national security measure that included border security provisions, Republicans killed it. 

Senators immediately went to work on a national security supplemental without the border measure, passing it with 70 votes on Tuesday morning. Johnson indicated he would not take it up, right about the same time that Trump renewed his attack on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that underpins U.S. and global security. 

“House Republicans are…siding with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Tehran against our defense industrial base, against NATO, against Ukraine, against our interests in the Indo-Pacific,” the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday, and President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned that “[f]ailure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.” But Republicans, too—including Trump’s vice president Mike Pence—are begging House Republicans to pass a version of the measure.  

Perhaps to pressure Johnson, House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner (R-OH), who is a strong supporter of aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia, yesterday released information about “a serious national security threat,” urged all members of Congress to view the intelligence, and called on Biden to declassify all information relating to it. That threat appears to be antisatellite weapons Russia is developing, but they are not yet operational. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) of the Senate Intelligence Committee expressed concern that the disclosure might have revealed intelligence sources and methods.

And now, rather than taking up the national security measure, the House has recessed.

National security and border measures are not the only things the House is ignoring. Since this is a leap year, putting February 29 on the calendar, the recess will give the House just three working days to pass appropriations measures for the 2024 budget before the stopgap continuing resolution to fund the government expires on March 1.

The appropriations process is so far overdue that it threatens to become tangled in that for 2025, which is set to begin March 11, when the White House is expected to release its budget proposal for the year. 

While they have been unable to make headway on these measures, on Tuesday night, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, blaming him for an increase in migrants at the border. Johnson has named as impeachment managers a number of Republican extremists, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Harriet Hageman (R-WY). 

As Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News reported: “This is the most chaotic, inefficient and ineffective majority we’ve seen in decades covering Congress. It started this way under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has gotten worse under Johnson.”

Trump and his MAGA supporters are demonstrating their power over the Republican Party. Trump is trying to install hand-picked loyalists, including his daughter-in-law, at the head of the Republican National Committee, where she vows that “[e]very single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC—that is electing Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.” 

When Trump was in office, his team installed loyalists at the head of state parties, where they have worked to purge all but Trump loyalists. MAGA Republicans are continuing that process. After Senator James Lankford (R-OK), a reliable conservative tapped by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to negotiate a border measure, produced one that favored Republican positions, right-wing provocateur Benny Johnson called those like Lankford “traitors…spineless scum” who must “be criminally prosecuted.” 

That demand for purity appears to be radicalizing the House as Republicans inclined to get things done, including five committee chairs, have announced they will not run for reelection. Meanwhile, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene yesterday said that British foreign secretary David Cameron, who is urging Congress to pass Ukraine aid, “can kiss my ass.” 

But the MAGA agenda is falling apart in the courts. True the Vote, the right-wing organization that insisted it had evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, has told a Georgia judge that, in fact, it has no such evidence. Their claims provided the basis for the arguments about voter fraud highlighted in right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza’s film 2000 Mules. 

Today a grand jury convened by Special Counsel David Weiss, whom Trump appointed to investigate Hunter Biden, indicted former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov for making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record about Hunter Biden. Smirnov has been a key witness for Republican allegations about Biden’s “corruption” since Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released Smirnov’s unverified claims about a year ago and other MAGA figures spread them. Matthew Gertz of Media Matters noted that Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity’s show highlighted these allegations in at least 85 separate segments last year, including 28 monologues. Now a grand jury has grounds to think Smirnov lied. 

Trump’s personal problems also continue to mount. 

Today Judge Juan Merchan confirmed that Trump is going to trial on his criminal election interference case, with jury selection beginning on March 25. Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felonies for falsifying business records in order to hide critical information from voters before the 2016 election. Prosecutors say that Trump defrauded voters by illegally hiding payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about their affair before the election. As Andrew Warren put it in The Daily Beast, the case “is about a plot to deprive voters of information about a candidate for president—information that Trump and his allies believed to be damaging enough to hide.”

And yet Trump’s MAGA Republicans are calling the shots in the House, and their refusal to support Ukraine threatens to empower Russian president Vladimir Putin and thus to lay waste to the rules-based international order that has helped to prevent world war since 1945. Conservative pundit Bill Kristol noted earlier this month that “politics is often a stage on which people act in bad faith. Still, the demagogic opposition of House Republicans to the border/Ukraine bill, when they've all said the border is an emergency and that Putin should be stopped, is just about the baddest bad faith ever.” 

The implications of that bad faith for the country—and the world—are huge.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[endreal]

I was tagged by @rustbeltjessie. Thank you!

Last song listened to: December (Collective Soul) on loop to try and convince me to get up from my computer and make lunch

Favorite color: honestly your answer to this question was so good I'm going to just flagrantly steal most of it for myself I hope you don't mind - probably really dark blues, greens, and purples, and gold-y saffron-y yellows.

Currently watching: I'm not very good at TV but me and my nesting partner have been following the new series of Bake-Off as new episodes go live.

Last movie: Book of Life, I think, or maybe it was The Lost Boys

Currently reading: I'm in between readings at the moment (finished my last book last week and have been waiting for the right circumstances to start whatever's next) but it will most likely be one of either LOTE (Shola von Reinhold), Reckless Chants #27 (thanks Jessie!), Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Louis Sachar), or the poem The Highwayman (bc of a very silly conversation the other day about the difference between yesno and noyes (and the author's name is Alfred Noyes)).

sweet/spicy/savory: yes.

relationship status: Married for 5 years, with my girlfriend for 4 as of this winter, another handful of sprouts that have had shorter durations, and an apparently completely unavoidable habit of getting crushes on friends at least once every 6 weeks...

current obsessions: Fairy tales (but in the genre sense rather than specifically about stories from actual real-world traditions) is the first one that came to mind. But also yesterday I was at the frame shop picking up some art they'd framed for me and I saw one of the ready-for-purchase display pieces on the wall caddy-corner to the register out of the corner of my eye and promptly blurted out "oh that's a carolina chickadee" and I'm genuinely trying so so hard not to let birding take over my life bc lets face it I'm not even particularly good at it but it's currently stu c k i n m y b r a i n a l l t h e t i m e a l l t h e t i m e.

last thing i googled: “Marco's Pizza vegan options”

currently working on: no specific projects, but recent times have been unusually fruitful for quick rhymes and mini-songs. A "care package" that's been on hold since early summer bc it's taken forever to find a good-sized box for it. An ongoing collaborative character-building exercise with my friend Jossy.

I’ll tag @quannaix, @belovedgoofball, @theinsidiousdice, @wildhaunt, @windblownsand, @vinegartree, @fumblrina, and @vaguelyethereal - but don’t feel obligated. And if I didn’t tag you and you want to play, consider yourself shadow-tagged!

[lepartidelamort]

Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, Other Gays Send ICC Threatening Letter Regarding Potential Warrant for Jews

Andrew Anglin

Imagine that this man is making the rules for America. How is that allowed?

This whole theoretical International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Bibi Netanyahu and other top Jews appears to be a fake news story. There is still no evidence that the ICC was ever moving to do this. There were rumors, and then Bibi decided to record a video message in English whining about it.

Whenever he does a message in English, he is ordering American politicians to do his bidding.

While the ICC warrant was likely fake, the response is very real, and it is psycho.

This letter to the court was written by Tom Cotton, and signed by Senators Mitch McConnell, Rick Scott, Tim Scott, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, among others. The letter is dated April 26, but only became public yesterday when it was reported on by the Times of Israel.

The lunatic tone of the threats is notable: “We will target you,” “[we will] sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States,” “you have been warned.”

Where do Senators get the legal right to make these kinds of threats? Isn’t this sort of thing the exclusive purview of the executive branch?

It’s also highly bizarre that they refer to the “genocidal” Xi Jinping. This is apparently a reference to the confusing claim that China is “genociding” Uyghur Moslems. Israel is actually, openly, publicly committing a genocide, and saying as much publicly, but they reference a secret underground genocide against terrorists in Jinjiang, for which no evidence exists. (If I was a Jew-lover, I would be claiming right now that “genocide” is not a valid concept, and is used to refer to wars people don’t like.)

More interesting than the threats though is the claim that a threat to Israel’s sovereignty is a threat to American sovereignty. That is effectively a claim that Israel is a part of the United States, or that the United States is a part of Israel. “Sovereignty” means the ability to exist as an independent nation, so they are saying the very existence of the United States is predicated on the existence of Israel. This is an outrageous claim.

This language would not be used for any other country. People would laugh. Not even in discussing NATO would the US claim a threat to it is a threat to US sovereignty. Instead, they would talk about “security.”

If the sovereignty of Israel is a prerequisite for the existence of the United States, then the sovereignty of Israel is a cause worth devoting every resource of the United States to protecting.

What is more outrageous than the claim itself, however, is that this claim is going unchallenged. The Democrats certainly will not challenge it. Nor will anyone in the conservative media. We are required to simply accept that the United States is bound to Israel by sacred oath, and therefore we will do whatever they want us to do, forever.

We are supposed to believe that no one in the country has a problem with this. We’ve all consented to give our very lives to Israel.

[chussyracing]

F1 related news and rumours from yesterday

Ferrari hinted that the suits (and possibly livery too by extend) will feature white instead of black mixed with Ferrari red

According to BBC, Carlos Sainz was in talks with Williams, which can mean nothing because he should logically be in talks with all teams with a free spot (screenshot below)

Williams and Sauber launch is today (Monday)

Xavi Marcos will continue as Charles' engineer

The F1 Exhibition opened in Vienna

F1 Academy Mercedes livery was posted and it features bright green details on all black

McLaren announced their Extreme E line up

Last FRMEC race was won by Camara and last FROC races were won by Ngatoa and Lacorte

From fans point of view: Charles went karting and livestreamed himself letting people by just to overtake them one-handed, got hacked on Spotify, went to a Paris car show and then played some golf in a funky outfit (normal day as a Charles fan) and Nyck's birthday is tomorrow but apparently he already had a party and invited Max

[countessofravenclaw]

So, I am unhinged enough apparently to write material for part 7 of S2AU, when I haven't even started part 6 yet.

So, this just some material which has been floating in my head and keeping me from focusing on things I am supposed to be focusing on. So here's a snippet

“What is that?” Isla walked behind Marco in their office and ran her hand on his shoulder. “Doesn’t look like shared price fluctuations.”

“It is not,” He flipped a window open on the tablet, “I was looking into an eye doctor appointment.” 

“Eye doctor?” Isla looked at him, “Have you had difficulty seeing?”

“I am not sure,” Marco shook his head, “So I thought, I'd better check it out.”

“Yes, do it” Isla nodded before sitting down on the desk. “Better now. Glasses would suit you.” 

“I will look like a joke, but it is better to look before you fall. Especially since aging sight is usually genetic, but I can’t know, since my parents never lived to suffer from it. Good to know, for Gastón as well.” Marco put the tablet down, “I didn’t tell you that I talked with Tomas yesterday, right?”

“No,” Isla looked up, “Did he have something to note?”

“Actually, we talked about the gravestone. Now that it has been 20 years soon, I think it’s time to properly get it taken care of. Maybe I actually should go visit the grave.” 

“After the schools are done?” Isla questioned. 

“Could be. Gastón’s hasn’t been there in ages and don’t you want to strong arm Mía and Elise about something. You always talk about it. Easier in person.”

“Well, we could go visit Cordoba during the summer,” Isla nodded, “We can’t avoid that place forever. I need to call my mother anyway, we haven’t talked in a while because I don’t know how I am supposed to explain everything that has been happening to her.” 

“You haven’t told them?”

“Not yet. Mom would worry and Mía and Elise would make thousands of jokes about how we can't stop collecting children. Did you tell Tomas?” 

“I did mention it.” Marco nodded, “He didn’t have much of a reaction. He never does. But Isla, you need to tell them about Luna. We can be honest with each other. This is not going to get solved by summer, so if we go, she’ll be coming along.”

“I know. I’ll call Mom tomorrow, so I can relay the news.” Isla got up and went to grab a file from the bookcase, “…Actually…”

“What?” Marco looked up at her, “Isla, your mother will be extremely offended if you don’t tell her. Are you planning on just showing up with an extra teenager, that they know that there is no way we could have had? The assumptions will range from them thinking that she’s Gastón’s girlfriend, which will make things awkward, to all sorts of other things.”

“No, it has nothing to do with my mother. I’ll talk to her.” Isla flipped a folder over in her hands, “Just came to mind when we were talking about Luna. So, I am not fully sure what I heard—”

“That is never a good sign.” 

“Stay with me. Apparently, she and Matteo have some sort of history.” 

“Matteo, seriously? Did not see that coming.” 

“But when you think about it, isn’t she exactly the sort of a girl Matteo would need? She’s so sunny and brightens up every room she walks in. With everything he’s been through with Alexander, although Sofia did tell me that they might be on the road to mend.” 

“Maybe,” Marco sighed, “but don’t get too excited. They clearly aren’t together anymore. Plus you don’t actually know, and Gastón won’t tell you a thing if you ask.” 

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Isla shrugged laughing, “Just thought, maybe good to keep an eye on the situation—” 

Isla’s phone started ringing.

“Oh, it’s Calvin.” She looked at the screen, “I thought he’d be on shift.” 

“Maybe they’re bored at the station,“ Marco suggested, “tell him that we insist on that dinner.”

“Of course,” Isla nodded and raised the phone to her ear. “Calvin, what do I owe the pleasure? Before you say anything, Maroc and I insist on strong-arming to that dinner, we never get to see any of you and since you’re here… Okay, I’m listening.”

Isla quieted for a moment as something was said to her from the other end of the phone. 

Marco was scrolling through a few of his latest unanswered emails, while Isla was taking the phone call. 

He looked up when he suddenly heard distraught gasp and saw his wife collapse on the couch, a discombobulated and glassy look in her eyes. 

“Isla! What’s wrong?” She was trying to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. She was gripping her phone in a way that her knuckles were turning white.

Marco looked at her face. Something that her brother-in-law had said had gotten her into this state. 

“Calvin, it’s Marco. What is going on?” He grabbed the phone out of Isla’s hand.

“I’m so sorry, but there is no other way. I wanted you to hear this from me.”

“Hear what?”

“Uhm, we responded today to a call at Blake South College.”

Marco looked at Isla again. the panic she was under, was getting to him now too. There was only one reason why Calvin and his company would have been called to Blake. 

“Please tell me I am wrong about what you are going to say.”

Uuu, so Gastón's parenst are Lutteo shippers. I'm sorry, they would be. Matteo's their second son.

[legilimensims]

I love a *little* politics rant 🥗

first of all, happy festa della repubblica to my fellow italians, we may be currently ruled by neofascists who want to change our constitution to give lady dvce all the power she wants but we’re not totally doomed yet. viva l’italia democratica e antifascista, sempre. now onto the rant. yesterday i was watching videos of ukrainians PoW finally returning home from ruzzian captivity, and found myself moved by the love these men and women have for their land - their shoulders wrapped in their flag 🇺🇦, kissing the ground after getting off the bus, proudly singing a song in their native language, calling their mothers and thanking them for not having been abandoned…and i realised this patriotic love for my own country is something i don’t have. and i’ve never had. whilst i consider myself extremely lucky to have been born here, i hate this feckin country so much.

maybe it’s because i’ll never know what it feels like growing up and living in a place constantly threatened by an imperialistic country who’s only aim is to cancel and destroy our culture, our language, our art, our traditions, calling us corrupted, a puppet of the west, a country that needs to be “denazified”…idk. i mean, i vowed to never sing the national anthem for as long as this government is in place so that’s where i’m at. and to think i used to be proud of being italian, but between the amount of anti west/anti NATO ruzzian propaganda we’re subjected to and the result of the 2022 national elections, the positions this government supports (don’t be fooled by giorgia meloni, she plays the role of the moderate PM for her illiterate electorate but as soon as she steps foot outside of italy the mask falls off, just look at her every time she speaks in spain at those far-right conventions, she’s basically a trump wannabe, she hates NATO, she hates the EU; and matteo salvini? his party has an economic alliance with putin’s, he’s his idol. giuseppe conte? keep an eye on that fucker, he's a russian asset - and to think i liked him smh. andrea "luridi" lucidi on twitter/x? indipendent journalist with pockets full of rubles, marco tarquinio left-wing candidate for the EU parliament? actual russian asset...i can go on, we're infested) all i feel is shame.

wild how privilege works, the shapes it takes. we're so drunk on our freedoms and liberties that we can dare to say to countries under bombs that they're not allowed to defend their lands - come on just shut up and take it - because "peace".

russia is out there, merrily killing people and bombing houses, apartments, schools, bookshops, museums, bus and train stations, restaurants, grocery stores, IS DEPORTING CHILDREN….oh but putin is the poor victim, warmonger NATO provoked him and ukrainians wear short skirts so they asked for it. or the evergreen "genocide of russophones in donbas" pls someone tell them russophone ≠ russian citizen, propagandists are a broken disk at this point.

but peace. you can’t defend yourself because peace. you can’t hit military targets on the russian border because peace but russia can freely bomb your civilians anywhere. but peace. wild how the attacked country is blamed for everything, those who call for peace always say “no more weapons to ukraine” never “stop russia”, the diplomacy talks are NEVER aimed at russia it’s always ukraine that is treated like the petulant child throwing tantrums. “ukraine has to negotiate” “ukraine has to stop” “ukraine must listen”…meanwhile russia sends its millionth drone on a house somewhere, and turns mariupol - basically a graveyard - into a real estate business, a new hot vacay spot for ruzzians. drives me nuts. but ukraine just won’t surrender???

drives me nuts ✨ we’re forever on wrong side of history, as usual 🇮🇹

apparently our constitution (art. 11) forbids us to engage in wars (...doesn't say anything about sending weapons tho???) so if we’ll ever be invaded we won’t fight back. is that how it works?

anyway, think whatever you want about ukrainians, i only see lessons in bravery, strength, love, resilience, and that level of patriotism i only have during sport competitions. proud to be an ally and a friend (hi vera! hi tetyana! hi vova!) - i’m seeing talks of a big party in kyiv once the war is over and every single ruzzian gets the fuck out of there, count me the hell in 🌻

[mamamittens]

Count Us Lucky

Raffle prize for @marco--the--phoenix!

Hope you enjoy lol (And I can just go back and edit if not, once I got started it just rolled out)

Would have written it yesterday but I got distracted with the Thatch Zine.

Marco/Ray(OC)/Ace -- Soulmate AU

SFW!

Word count: 2623

To say the adjustment period of acclimating the supernova spitfire known as ‘Portgas D. Ace’ was difficult would be kind but… very much not the whole story. Not by a long shot. For starters, the young man tended to give everyone a collective heart attack by falling asleep at the drop of a hat. Usually into his own food. And somehow still managed to stave off any attempts to steal said food without even disrupting his steady snores into whatever delicacy Thatch had tried to ply him with that day.

Apparently, this was neither new nor concerning for him. Which meant it was exactly the opposite for everyone else. Pops naturally just laughed, seemingly unphased despite the extra side eye he gave Ace anytime he took an impromptu nap. Marco silently marveled over his totally-not-eighth cup of coffee that Ace was in such good condition. It spoke quite well of his crew and that illusive family he was supposedly raised by. Supposedly because Ace’s manners oscillated between a feral wolfhound and impeccable noble child. Wildly. Without warning or sense half the time.

Ray snorted into his own cup of coffee and leaned against Marco’s side, arm winding around his back to rest his hand over the palm-sized mark hidden on the side of his rib. Then he slid his hand forward a bit more, brushing the sensitive skin of his wrist over the mark. The brush of matching marks sending a wave of warmth through Marco’s bones as he sighed. Ray glanced up at Marco with a wry smile, dark eyes glinting with humor.

“What?” Marco asked defensively, suddenly a bit nervous. Ray only gave him that look when he knew something Marco didn’t and was relishing in the opportunity to rub it in his face a little. Like when Thatch somehow managed to sneak pineapple slices into Marco’s back pocket without him noticing—until he sat down on the wet fruit slices that is.

“You think he’s pretty cute, don’t you?” Ray asked. For a moment, Marco was confused by who Ray meant, distracted by his soulmate idly brushing over their shared mark as he was. Then it clicked.

Ray meant Ace. Shit… had he been checking Ace out? At the very least, it couldn’t have been too blatant or rude, otherwise Ray would be more annoyed.

Ah. Wait a minute.

“And you don’t?” Marco murmured over his coffee cup with a sly smile of his own. Ray huffed in amusement.

“I do have eyes you know.”

“Point taken.” And it very much was.

Ace was a handsome young man with an infectious grin and adorable freckles everywhere Marco cared to look—Okay, maybe he had been staring more than he should, but it wasn’t like Ace didn’t do everything in his power to demand attention! And Ace clearly worked very hard to be as strong as he was, something that very much showed anytime the wind happened to blow unexpectedly. Or he decided to take a flying leap to try and decapitate pops. Same difference, really. The gaudy orange hat didn’t even detract from Ace’s looks either… somehow. In fact, if Marco was really being honest, the color managed to compliment the young man’s tanned skin wonderfully.

Honestly, it was a wonder Marco didn’t stare more. Whoever Ace’s soulmate was, they were very lucky… actually, did Ace even have a soul mark?

It was both a fair question and one that no one was ever going to ask. That would be fucking rude as hell in even the best of circumstances. Marco supposed it was possible he didn’t have one. It happened… but Marco really doubted it. The idea that Ace was—well everything he was—and without even a single mark seemed ludicrous. There was no way someone that damn cute with a smile that bright didn’t have destiny itself calling dibs. Hell, Marco was a surly bastard half the time and even he had a soulmate. Who was currently looking at him very amused at how his mind had clearly wondered away from the conversation.

Well, if there was nothing else Marco could say about his soulmate, it’s that he was very patient when needed.

“Finished thinking about him?” Ray teased with a flash of teeth in a wide grin. Marco huffed and pressed a kiss to the top of Ray’s hair.

“Jealous?” He whispered jokingly into the messy gray locks, well aware of what the answer was.

“Hardly. I’m in the same boat as you. Literally and figuratively.” Ray mocked, poking Marco’s side to see him twitch in discomfort.

Marco glanced over to see Ace in a spirited rendition of some far-fetched tale he swore was true about his little brother.

Marco muffled a whine into his very amused soul mate’s hair again.

“Why does he smile like sunshine? I almost miss when he hissed every time we got near him.”

“I thought he looked like a wet kitten, personally.” Ray was right, of course. Ace had always looked stupidly cute, no matter his mood… slightly less cute when he was attempting murder, but that determined look in his eyes was a whole other problem for Marco’s sanity.

It was honestly ridiculous. Marco had seen plenty of very attractive people in his lifetime. How did one spicy East Blue pirate blow them out of the water so hard? At least he wasn’t alone in his misery.

--*--

Ray had long since suspected that there were lingering issues with Ace’s self-image for a while now. It wasn’t incredibly obvious at first, but upon closer inspection it was clear that Ace didn’t have a high opinion of himself. His willingness to throw himself into danger was admirable, as was his kind nature—after you dug through the prickly outer layers designed to piss people off and pick fights—Ray freely admitted that. Ace had been waffling on where to get his tattoo for some time. If he even should.

And that’s how he found Ace sitting on the railing overlooking the ocean late one night. Marco had another three stacks of reports to go through and Ray himself simply didn’t want to sleep yet. So he… conveniently decided to go see what the resident cute, spitfire was up to. Ace was slouched into himself, the curve of his spine almost as deep as his obvious concentration as a soft frown pulled at his lips.

Ray cleared his throat, making Ace jump slightly, hands gripping the railing so hard Ray thought he heard creaks.

“Uh… hey, Ace. You good?” Ray asked, a bit concerned if he actually heard Adam Wood railing creak under a reflex. For a moment, Ace stared at him. Then all the tension seemed to melt from his shoulders as he relaxed, easy grin sliding into place. Only mostly fake.

“I-I’m great! What bring you out here, Ray?” inwardly, Ray was quite pleased that Ace already remembered his name. No small feat given the massive amount of crew on board.

“Oh, nothing much. You looked like you were thinking pretty hard, though. Is it about the tattoo? It’s not… required, you know? Some people aren’t comfortable with anything besides soul marks on their skin. Pops won’t mind.” Ray explained, leaning his elbows on the railing to look over at Ace better.

“No! It’s not that… well, it sort of is.” Ace sighed, propping his chin onto his hand, “I don’t know why I’m hung up over it. It’s not like it really matters. There’s no way it would be returned.” Ray jolted, shock ripping down his spine.

Ace definitely had self-esteem issues.

“Why do you say that? You’re pretty great, Ace. Anyone would be lucky to share a mark with you.” Ray offered, idly rubbing his thumb over his own mark. He didn’t exactly hide it, choosing to wear floral vacation shirts most of the time, but Ray never really brought attention to it either. The bright red and orange fire engulfing a glowing blue and yellow feather.

Personally, Ray had always thought it was a bit of an odd detail, but Marco had the same fire around his downy gray feather. It was probably just a theme for them—which wouldn’t be unusual. No one was sure how exactly the marks worked after all.

Ace’s expression darkened.

“They just wouldn’t.” Ace scowled out at the sea like the far horizon had wronged him personally. “Especially not like…” Ace glanced at Ray.

Ray couldn’t help but snort.

“You know how often Marco sleeps, Ace? Or even rests?” Ray declared, dialing up the dramatics until Ace gave him a confused smile.

“Uh… not often? I mean, I don’t know where he sleeps, but it seems like he’s always up?” Ace responded in confusion; a ghost of a smile still present on his face.

“Exactly! He thinks he can just go with only a power nap every other day because he’s Marco the Phoenix!” Ray cried out, throwing his hands up in mock defeat.

“…H-Hey, aren’t you also up all the time?” Ray continued his tirade.

“Sleep is for the weak—and didn’t you know Marco is a commander?! How could he ever need sleep? Ugh! Soulmate or not, he drives me nuts sometimes I swear!” Ray complained fondly despite himself.

Ace merely gave him an amused look.

“…Sounds very difficult for you.” Ace responded after a long moment, “I’m sure you aren’t also guilty of the same thing. That would be silly. And hypocritical.” Ace poked his shoulder hard enough to dislodge Ray. Shocked, Ray whipped around to poke Ace back but he moved out of the way. Ray then proceeded to chase Ace around the deck, determined to return the favor.

Ray quickly lost the wrestling attempt to get payback but Marco swept in as backup and turned the tide easily. How or why he knew Ray needed help harassing Ace, Ray wasn’t sure, but the end result was a sight to see.

Face red from behind his hands, Ace laughed and sputtered in embarrassment. Even his neck was red, the air noticeably warmer around him—probably due to his devil fruit.

Ray made a note to tease Marco about how cute Ace looked breathless and near tears with laughter later. Judging by how smug Marco looked pinning Ace to the deck with his heel, Ray suspected it wouldn’t be difficult. And besides, it’s not like Ray didn’t enjoy the tussle either.

--*--

The tattoo was a work of art—done by an artist that had completed a lot of tattoos for his new crew. Lines crisp and an even color, Ace knew the massive mark would be a bitch to heal but it was worth every second. The only part Ace was uncertain about was how he’d have to go without a shirt for quite some time. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed of his body! It was just… his soul mark was very prominent and unlikely to go unnoticed where it was.

Just above his heart, bold and bright, the hand sized mark seemed to glow against his skin. Eerie blue fire around a seemingly ordinary feather with faint iridescent highlights. It seemed… strange to share it so openly. Thankfully, no one had commented yet—though pops did get an amused look in his eye when he looked over Ace’s new tattoo. Ace… wasn’t sure what to think about that, but ultimately shrugged it off.

Thatch had been trying to find out Ace’s favorite food for some time now and finally started making spicy food closer to Ace’s preferences. Though some didn’t appreciate ghost peppers, Ace thrived on the hilarious spectacle of his new crewmates trying to out eat him. They’d never win—Luffy would have to find his way on board before there was even a chance of that happening. But it was still funny to see them try. Walking through the mess hall, Ace snagged a plate from Thatch and sauntered over to sit next to Marco and Ray.

He'd be a filthy liar if he said he didn’t like the two men. A lot. But the yearning in his heart had settled down as he came to terms with his attraction. Just being with them was worth the slight ache he got knowing there was no way his soulmate would ever share a bond with him like they did with each other. A casual sort of affectionate air lingered around them, clear in the absent brushes of their hands and the way they moved around each other without thought. Maybe Ace wanted that, rather than the very clearly complete couple’s time and affection.

He wasn’t very good at this whole ‘romance’ thing. Shockingly, being raised by mountain bandits and having adventures in lush jungles and between trash heaps didn’t give you stellar inter-personal skills. Who’d have thought? But what he did know was that he felt more at home around them than anywhere else. Even with Ray and Marco taking joy in teasing reactions from him unexpectedly. Like he was safe. Actually safe. Not the imaginary status he had tried to carve out for Sabo and Luffy in a tree house far away from their grandpa and Dadan. Or the foul pirates that took pleasure in threatening their lives for treasure.

“I wonder when Thatch will run out of ways to include ghost peppers in every meal?” Marco mumbled, shoveling food into his mouth as he idly turned the page of a book Ray was holding between them. “I’m starting to become taste-blind to them. Didn’t think I could do that.”

Ace chuckled.

“I think it’ll be soon. He didn’t even cook them this time, just served it as a side.” Ace grinned, popping one into his mouth with ease. Ray glanced at him with a wry smile.

“Maybe if you would just tell him your favorite food, you could spare us all the trouble—” Ray paused, expression dropping into shock. Concerned, Ace spun around, looking for trouble. But nothing was there. Everyone was eating and chatting away.

A gentle hand pushed at his shoulder, turning him back around. Ace looked back at Ray in confusion.

“Something wrong?” Ace finally asked as Marco paused, fork lifted up mid-bite. Marco also glanced down in shock.

“Oh.” One of them said breathlessly, too soft for Ace to tell who.

Ray smiled at Ace, his heart stuttering at the soft curl of the man’s lips and the soft blush over his cheeks. Like something finally clicked into place.

Ray stretched out his arm and brushed his wrist over Ace’s chest, fire pooling down his back like sunlight. Grabbing Ray’s arm, Ace pulled it away and looked down.

There, on the inside of Ray’s wrist, was a startlingly familiar mark. Not exact, but still very similar to his own. Red instead of blue fire. A glowing blue and gold feather instead of the soft gray he knew was over his own heart. Looking over in mute shock to Marco, Ace was surprised to see that he pulled back his own shirt, revealing a peak of a mark hidden on his side.

Red fire with the same delicate feather that Ace had.

Ace looked at them, unsure of what to think.

Were they…? Could they…?

Marco smiled, removing his hand to pull Ace closer to Ray and himself, grip firm but gentle.

“Would you look at that… looks like we’re lucky after all, huh Ray?” Ray slipped his arm around Ace’s waist.

“Looks like it, Marco.” Ray leaned briefly into Ace’s side, “Told you so, Ace.”

Ace wasn’t sure where the soft heat started, but it curled around his ears and all the way to his heart. Right to his mark.

Looks like Ace was pretty lucky too.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Japanese Myths And How They're Depicted In Horror Anime

  No matter the time or place, the folklore and myths of the past always persist. The same can also be said for anime, especially when it comes to horror. Certain franchises, such as Shigeru Mizuki’s classic GeGeGe no Kitaro, have solidified the omnipresent status of traditional Japanese folk monsters in popular culture. Other series, such as Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo interpret traditional folklore in relation to historical periods and changing attitudes toward religion. More recently, series from the 2010s and 2000s, such as Bakemonogatari and Ghost Stories, interpret the classics with modern sensibilities. When it comes to stories with a penchant for horror, it would be far more surprising if they didn’t allude to a shared supernatural mythology — the ubiquity is the point. 

  Neko-Musume on her smartphone

The best horror always tries to do something new. While creatures like yōkai (a wide umbrella of supernatural entities) are well-known among English-speaking fans today thanks to series like Yokai Watch, these re-imaginings always tend to play fast and loose with fidelity. Wouldn’t it be boring if every vampire movie started and ended with Dracula? In a 2016 interview with The Comics Journal, veteran manga translator Zack Davisson emphasizes this important tendency to re-contextualize old folklore:

  “It’s a tricky question, as it is impossible to say what is ‘actual folklore.’ Vampires bursting into flame is considered ‘authentic,’ but that actually comes from the films, not folkloric sources. Folklore evolves and [Shigeru] Mizuki is an important part of that evolution. If you trace them back, most yokai we know come from Toriyama Sekien, who also just made things up. In fact, I would say that making up yokai is part of the grand tradition of yokai! If you are a writer/artist working with yokai and not making up at least a few of your own, you are missing the point!”

  The original spirit gun

  So that’s all to say — there really is no such thing as a definitive, one-to-one story based on centuries of tradition. Yōkai, as endearing as they are, are also just one part of the equation. Long-running anime such as Folktales from Japan and fantasy series Inuyasha-continuation Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon either re-tell or draw inspiration from that folklore. But that’s beyond the scope of this piece. Whether it be adaptations of urban legends about school bathrooms or vengeful spirits, I hope this round-up helps any casual or long-time anime fan appreciate how these series reimagine supernatural traditions.

  Fantastic Folklore: GeGeGe no Kitaro & Mononoke

  The late Shigeru Mizuki’s most influential character, Kitaro, hardly needs any introduction. In his book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, translator Matt Alt describes yōkai as “the attempts of the fertile human imagination to impose meaning and rationality on a chaotic, unpredictable, often difficult-to-explain world.” Many yōkai are quite strange and sometimes even comedic. Scholar-artists, such as the previously mentioned Toriyama Sekien, are largely credited with inspiring their uncanny visual representations, making them the perfect subject matter for an accessible series.

  The tanuki plot world domination

The titular Kitaro himself is a half-human, half-yōkai one-eyed boy who travels between the human and spirit world to resolve monster-of-the-day conflicts with his friends. Although Mizuki’s Kitaro as we know it began serialization in 1960, Mizuki originally received permission to re-imagine the character from Masami Itō, who first created Kitaro in the 1930s in pre-war Japan. The most recent 2018 anime series re-establishes Kitaro in a modern setting, yet still adapts many of the most iconic stories. Characters such as Neko-Musume, based on volatile cat spirits called bakeneko, are updated with new designs while Kitaro mostly remains the same. Mizuki’s older creations, such as the jubokko (vampire tree) yōkai, are still featured alongside a new re-imagining of the “wall monster” nurikabe — inspired by the discovery of an Edo manuscript in 2007. The appeal of Kitaro isn’t so much the meticulous adherence to yōkai mythos, but rather Mizuki’s continual improvisation of the folklore-informed monster-making tradition.

  The Medicine Seller

Beyond Kitaro, other series, such as 2006’s Mononoke, dedicate entire storylines to a wider category of ayakashi (sea-bound yōkai) and funayūrei (boat spirits) written by none other than Chiaki J. Konaka. Later episodes feature bakeneko and nue (chimera monsters), but with a twist. The term mononoke itself refers to a variety of yōkai specifically referring to vengeful spirits possessing people or things. When it comes to series taking a more “fantastical” approach to folklore, both Mononoke and Kitaro thankfully never dissolve into simple rogue galleries of monsters — their (mostly) human protagonists largely remain the heart of their chilling saga.

  Horror-Historical: Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo

  Lord Kagemitsu Daigo makes a pact with the demons  (Source: Amazon)

  In Anime and Its Roots in Early Japanese Monster Art scholar Zília Papp comments Mizuki’s “Kitaro characters became synonymous with yōkai in the postwar period, continuing to the present time” compared to his peers like Tezuka. But if Kitaro made yōkai big in comedic manga, then Tezuka’s short-lived Dororo manga drove this interest toward the historical context of the Sengoku Period, or the “warring states” era of feudal Japan. 

  Rather than depicting spirits as purely whimsical mischief-makers, Dororo’s inciting event is a feudal lord of the fictional Daigo clan forging a pact with 48 demons, who persist to hunt his son long after the pact is forged. In his feature The History Behind Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo, Marco Oliveros comments that by depicting yōkai during this period, Dororo draws inspiration from actual shifts in changing Buddhist attitudes toward these entities:

  “One of the foremost examples of this change to yokai is the tengu. Wrathful and demonic, the avian creature tricked and assaulted Buddhist clerics and civilians alike, becoming characterized as the sworn enemy of Buddhism. The apparent hostility of these yokai to Buddhism makes their dark deals with Dororo's Daigo an unsurprising turn of events for the Sengoku Jidai era.”

  The Amanojaku is captured and sealed inside a Buddhist temple (Source: Amazon)

  Matt Alt’s 2016 translation of Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien describes the tengu (mask-wearing entities usually depicted as half-man half-bird) as “deeply associated with the religion of Shugendō,” which originated during the Heian period; however they were depicted very differently in major Buddhist sects of the same era. Unlike solely “fantastical” stories of the supernatural without much acknowledgment to historical context, Dororo is interested in this context regarding capricious attitudes of spirits of people alike. Impressive malevolent entities such as kyūbi (nine-tailed foxes) also fight against Dororo’s protagonist, Hyakkimaru, typical of supernatural jidaigeki (period drama) horror stories set in feudal Japan.

  However, Dororo also features lesser entities such as amanojaku (tiny, goblin-like demons). According to the influential illustrated encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue compiled by Sekien-predecessor Terajima Ryōan, amanojaku and tengu were described as paired descendants of the evil goddess Amanozako (literally "tengu god"). According to scholar Haruko Wakabayashi in The Seven Tengu Scrolls: Evil and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, tengu were symbolically invoked in inter-personal and religious feuds amongst Buddhist sects during the Heian period. The amanojaku depicted in Dororo is minor. But with a (simplified) understanding of its affiliation with tengu’s pre-Heian origins and its subsequent disavowal by influential Buddhist sects, Dororo's amanojaku cameo is an undeniable nod toward its theme of “old ways” impacted by a "new" institutionalized status quo.

  Hyakkimaru battles the nine-tailed fox spirit in its spectral form (Source: Amazon)

  While the nine-tailed fox spirit is flashy, Dororo’s amanojaku ends up pathetically sealed inside a Buddhist temple. Ironically, the amanojaku trapping scene pans from the top of a Buddhist statue, ending with the cartoonish amanojaku crushed underneath to visually imply its irrelevancy. Dororo is a story about the cultural and religious tensions brewing during this violent episode in history — making Hyakkimaru’s journey one that doesn’t simply depict supernatural folkloric tradition in stasis, but as something always under complicated socio-political stakes.

  Modern Ghoul School: Ghost Stories & Bakemonogatari

  What do you do if you can’t solve your evil spirit problems with a sword? For the most part, classics like Kitaro and Dororo take place in the past, or at least worlds very unlike our own. A traveling demon slayer never has to deal with student council or smartphones. 

  In a previous article, From Bakeneko to Bakemonogatari, I discussed all the possible lineages of the catgirl character archetype. In that piece, I claimed one of the more accurate representations of the bakeneko today was Bakemonogatari’s Tsubasa Hanekawa’s cat spirit-possessed alter-ego. It’s not simply because she is a supernatural catgirl, but rather her portrayal was obviously informed by the wider context of pre-existing bakeneko mythos. Is it possible for a “modern-day” series to tackle yesterday’s folktales while still preserving the uncanniness of the past?

The spirits possessing Bakemonogatari’s cast, referred to as “oddities,” all nearly function like vengeful mononoke spirits. For example, Bakemonogatari’s first arc, Hitagi Crab, features a crab “oddity” haunting classmate Hitagi Senjougahara. The existence of heikekani (face-shaped crabs allegedly the spirits of drowned Heike warriors from the Sengoku Period), might be a parallel, considering the arc’s theme of unresolved conflict. Another arc, Suruga Monkey, features an “oddity” taking the form of a beastly paw growing on classmate Kanbaru Suruga’s arm. Senjougahara and Suruga's crab/monkey relationship can be read as alluding to the well-known Buddhist tale “The Monkey and the Crab.” According to The National Gallery of Art on its 2019 The Life of Animals in Japanese Art exhibit, the monkey and crab are usually depicted as friends, then compete until they either make amends or resolve their conflict. Often the subject of artistic interpretation, it’s no surprise this tale found its way into anime as a metaphor for teen drama.

  The kids scan a talisman and e-mail it to exorcise internet demons. Yes, this really happens.

  In comparison, the 2000 series Ghost Stories is best known to English-speaking audiences for being an edgy comedy. However, its original source material, a book series titled Gakkō no Kaidan (School Ghost Stories), is more akin to a heavily researched Goose Bumps. Written by folklore scholar Toru Tsunametsu, the series showcases various urban myths and monsters, most famously “Hanako” a ghost girl who haunts school bathrooms. A 2014 NPR piece describes the most popular version of Hanako being a schoolgirl in WWII “using the bathroom when a bomb fell on top of the building.” Although Hanako gained enough popularity from the books to warrant her own spin-off anime series in 1994, she only makes a handful of cameos in the 2000 series. Entities like the previously mentioned amanojaku also appear, alongside shinigami (death gods) depicted in many other anime.

  How to channel your ghost powers for success (Source: Funimation)

  Hanako, because of her relatively modern backstory, is just as ubiquitous. Versions of Hanako appear in an episode of the 2018 Kitaro and most recently in the 2020 series Toilet Bound Hanako-kun. Tsunametsu currently edits the Folklore Society of Japan’s official academic journal, no doubt a testament to his priceless contributions to folklore representation in anime.

  Who You Gonna Call?

  There’s no way to tell the same ghost story twice. With such a layered history, contemporary anime have a nearly endless well of folkloric material to pull from. Recent series like the hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Toilet Bound Hanako-kun prove that fans will never get enough of the supernatural, just as long as things stay fresh. 

  Hanako politely warns the ghost-hunting kids

  Long live artistic liberty and specters trying to watch you pee.

      Blake P. is a weekly columnist for Crunchyroll Features. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more. He'd like a tiny yōkai cat.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Blake Planty

[blueberrycane21]

Surprise Contact

Relationship: Cash Wheeler/Reader

Type: One-shot

Brief requested by theeligrande: Cash Wheeler/Reader have a crush on each other and have history from working at NXT and when he signs with AEW he decides to act on it.

Warnings: Violence (chair shots), light swearing, terrible Tully behaviour, and some brief smut.

Notes: @theeligrande

______

AEW Live Event – Jacksonville, Florida – 8:30pm

It had been a rough couple weeks for Cash Wheeler and it reminded him of his NXT days. His match against Jurassic Express had gone from bad to worse and it was all due to Marko’s interference. His training regimen had been unrelenting with Tully as his coach, and it was this match that seemed to push him over the edge.

“Cash! Get the goddamn chair! We need to win this match, or it is over for you and Harwood. You’ll never get gold again!” Tully shouted.

Cash was seeing red. As ever, following the orders of his trainer - he rushed over to the timekeeper’s area, pushing the tables out of the way and into the ringside area. He grabbed a steel chair from the corner and headed to the ring – sadistic intentions clouded his mind, the voice of Tully ringing in his ears.

He entered the ring, steel chair in hand and smashed it into the back of Marko Stunt. Marko cried out in surprise and pain from the unprovoked shot. Cash could not shake the feeling of control Tully had instilled in him and hit Marko again – uncompromising the strikes. He could hear discordant voices echoing but did not seem to process any of them.

Abruptly, Dax slapped Cash immediately breaking out of his trance.

“What the hell are you doing, Cash?” Dax shouted, confusion and concern apparent on his face.

“I was doing what Tully told me to do, I’m sorry. He said it was already planned!”

“What are you talking about? He didn’t tell you to fucking break Marco – look at what you did?”

Cash’s eyes fell from Dax’s face to Marko’s back – now irritated and bruised from the multiple and persistent chair shots.

An unwavering wave of guilt washed over Cash, as Doc Sampson rushed into the ring with Cody following closely behind.

He could not take it anymore and jumped out the ring heading towards the backstage area. However, before he could reach it – Tully came up behind him and whispered, “I knew you had it in you kid, it’s time you stepped on some toes and moved up in the industry.”

Tully’s voice made him feel sick, he felt he had been conditioned for this perverse moment – all for what?

A few steps further and he was face to face with Tony – a grim expression painted on his face.

“You are suspended until further notice, Cash. Your behaviour was absolutely unacceptable – let alone do an unplanned spot. It looks like Marko is seriously injured and you are lucky I do not fire you on the spot. Go home now.”

 “What? This is not what it looks like! I…”

 “Get out, now!”

Cash nodded solemnly, understanding that Tony would not listen to him at the present moment. He eyed Tully with an incredulous look but decided he would deal with this situation at a better time – there was no point trying to get his point across. Head down, he made his way to his hotel room – not looking back.

______

Hotel – Room 19 – 10pm

Cash collapsed into the hotel room’s armchair, sighing heavily with frustration, guilt, and anger. He was frustrated with Tully’s indifference and ruthlessness, guilty with what he had just done and anger towards himself for letting it happen.

He pulled out his phone, observing the multitude of notifications he received from all social platforms spewing with hate, confusion, criticism, and scrutiny. This was decidedly the lowest point in his wrestling career, let alone his life.

He turned off the notifications on his phone and let the prolonged silence enter the room. He pulled up his contacts, scrolling down to Dax’s number – hoping he would pick up to let him explain his actions fully and offer his apologies. In the moment, he did not understand the gravity or consequence of his actions but can only wish Marko would forgive him. He clicked the contact but went straight to voicemail.

As he was about to try again, he suddenly noticed your name in his contact list.

Cash wondered how your number ended up here. He opened the contact out of curiosity and saw the message within the notes section - smiling as he read:

‘Yes, I know you will probably be confused if you ever find this contact. The answer to your resounding question is yes, I did indeed take your phone and entered my number while you were in the performance centre. I just wanted to let you that you are an incredible wrestler and friend to me during our time here. As ever if you ever want to talk - call me!’

 He could not believe he never found this. It had been six years since both of you had been in contact with each other ever since you had started training in NXT back in 2013 – around the same time he began. You hit it off right away and enjoyed each other’s company. He was never able to express his feelings for you and always felt melancholy whenever he thought about you years later.

 He thought back to your sparking eyes when you smiled or talked about your interests. Your little mannerisms that you would not realise you would make. Your kindness to others and your unapologetic individuality that he understood you would never compromise. He remembered how fierce, beautiful, intelligent, and tenacious you were in pursuit towards whatever you wished for. He admired you and you admired him. Cash was tired of never striving for what he always wanted, and it was you.

 He pressed the call button and waited for the response.

 “Hello” 

“Hi, it’s me, Cash”

“Cash, is that really you? It has been so long since we have spoken. I’m assuming you found the message then!”

“I did indeed, it was really quite adorable. I miss you”

He heard your breath hitch momentarily after his comment.

“Thank you, I truly meant what I said”, you exclaimed, recovering quickly from Cash’s compliment.

There was a long pause when you both contemplated your next words. There was a resounding yet unexpected comfort in hearing each other’s voices again. It felt as if you spoke yesterday and picked up where you left off – back in the locker room at the performance centre – side by side, knee to knee with your head on his shoulder. You spoke for a few more minutes, catching up on the experiences you had shared and the new ones without each other.

“Where are you now?” Cash asked.

“I’m in Orlando at the moment, we just wrapped up a show here” you said.

“Will you come to me if I asked you too?”

After a seemingly long moment, you responded, “Yes, I would.

“Then come.”

______

 Hotel – Room 19 – Midnight

A soft knock on the door broke the silence permeating the hotel room. Cash stood and walked over to it, opening the door, and meeting your eyes. He took you in his arms as you cradled your face in his neck. You embraced each other, leaving words unspoken yet mutually understanding the desire you had towards one another.

“Please…” you whispered.

“Say it”

“I…”

“I need to hear you say it”

“I want you”

“Say it again”

“I want you, Cash”

That was all he needed to hear before crashing his lips onto yours, manoeuvring you inside and against the wall. Cash pushed up against you, closing the gap as he kissed your neck heatedly. You moaned from the pressure, wrapped your legs around his waist and gripped his hair earnestly, willing him to continue. He meets your lips again as he turns and pulls you to the ground pinning your hands above your head. He teasingly settles his knee between your thighs as you arch your hips and begin to shift against him.

He grunts with pleasure and presses your foreheads together as you grind yourself against him. You reach up to kiss him again, your lips meeting hungrily. He breaks away briefly to look at your lust-filled eyes. It was at that moment, when everything was in harmony and realised, you needed him as much as he needed you.

[yourreddancer]

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

February 9, 2022 (Wednesday)This evening, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena for documents and testimony to former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, who has made a number of public statements about his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In its letter to Navarro, the committee noted his statements that former president Trump was “on board with the strategy” of trying to steal the election, as were “more than 100” members of Congress, including Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

This subpoena suggests that the committee is getting closer to lawmakers, and some of them are certainly acting as if they are uncomfortable these days.

Navarro responded to the subpoena with a fire-eating statement calling the members of the January 6 committee “domestic terrorists” engaged in a “partisan witch hunt,” and inaccurately claimed that former president Trump has invoked executive privilege that he cannot waive. (In fact, Trump invoked executive privilege only over documents in the possession of the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Supreme Court denied his claims.) He tried to blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Capitol Police for the violence on January 6.

He added fuel to the ongoing fight within the Republican Party when he added: “Pence betrayed Trump. Marc Short is a Koch Network dog. Meadows is a fool and a coward. Cheney and Kinzinger are useful idiots for Nancy Pelosi and the woke Left.”

Navarro’s discomfort with the committee’s questions was not unlike that of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who picked up today on Representative Troy Nehls’s (R-TX) odd accusations of yesterday that Pelosi and the Capitol Police were spying on him. Greene accused Pelosi of having Gestapo-like secret police “spying on members of Congress, spying on the legislative work we do, spying on our staff and spying on American citizens,” she said, although she called them “gazpacho,” apparently confusing the cold tomato soup with the Nazis.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is also flailing. Sunday, on Face the Nation, he said: “This commission is a partisan scam. They're going after—they're—the purpose of that commission is to try to embarrass and smear and harass as many Republicans as they can get their hands on.” 

Yesterday, he released a video saying “Biden is sending free meth & crack pipes to minority communities in the name of ‘racial equity’.... There is no end in sight for this lunacy.“This is a wild lie made up and spread by right-wing publications, referring to a drug harm reduction program inviting applications for grants in a 75-page call for proposals. Part of that harm reduction includes infectious disease testing kits, medication lock boxes, safe sex kits, vaccinations, and so on, including safe smoking kits, which do not include free meth or crack pipes but do include rubber mouthpieces for pipes to prevent burns, and disinfectant wipes.

Drug harm reduction programs have been around in the U.S. since the 1980s, when the HIV epidemic made it clear that addressing drug addiction could stop that era’s epidemic. 

Exaggeration and demonization of their opponents has been part of politics for years, as Republicans tried to fire up their base by describing their opponents as socialists, lazy “takers,” baby-killers, and so on. Now, though, these over-the-top attacks on the committee and on the Democratic administration seem to be part of a new political project.

The frantic edge to them suggests concern about what the January 6th committee might uncover. But statements like those yesterday of Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who claimed the Department of Justice was reading his mail; Nehls, who claimed that Pelosi was using the Capitol Police to spy on him; and Greene, who claims Pelosi has a “Gestapo,” normalize the practices of authoritarian government. 

The proposed banning of books by Republican school officials and lawmakers also echoes authoritarian tactics. Texas State Representative Matt Krause’s October list of 850 books he said “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex” invited schools to self-censor. It also puts the idea of banning books–—banning one book normalizes the banning of 850—on the political table.

And, to enforce such bans, states like Virginia, West Virginia, and Florida are turning to laws that enlist ordinary people to turn each other in to authorities. 

We learned yesterday more details of another undemocratic project thanks to Mark Mazzetti and Adam Goldman of the New York Times: in summer 2018, Republican operatives launched a spying operation in Wyoming to gather dirt on opponents of then-president Donald Trump, targeting progressives, Democrats, and Republicans who seemed insufficiently loyal. 

To help fund the project, they turned to Erik Prince, known as the founder of the military contractor Blackwater and brother of then–secretary of education Betsy DeVos. 

The third piece of this new, frantic language ties into America’s long history of politicians deploying racism to break the coalitions that challenge their power.

When Rubio lies that Biden is sending crack pipes to minority communities, he is tying into other constructed panics around race. Fourteen state legislatures have passed laws restricting the teaching of anything that looks like Critical Race Theory, although the actual concept, an advanced legal theory that seeks to explain the persistence of racial inequality in the U.S., is almost never taught in public schools. 

Republican allegations of voter fraud focus on majority Black districts, and state laws are increasingly threatening minority voting. On Monday night, the Supreme Court okayed racial gerrymandering, making it harder for Black voters to elect representatives of their choice.These new legal fences enclosing Black Americans echo times in our past when multiracial coalitions threatened an entrenched political party and those in power reacted by using the law to divide their opponents along racial lines.

Last June, as Republican operatives whipped up fears of CRT, Republican political operative Stephen K. Bannon told Politico that enflaming racism was how Republicans would take back Congress. “I see 50 [House Republican] seats in 2022. Keep this up,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a lot more emphasis from Trump on [CRT] and DeSantis and others. People who are serious in 2024 and beyond are going to focus on it.”

Cracking the majority that elected a Democratic government in 2020 will enable the Republicans to take back Congress and, among other things, ease pressure over the January 6 insurrection.

But according to a Washington Post story today, some of the very “suburban moms” being pressed into this racial division are organizing to fight back. “[I]t’s time to get off defense,” organizer Katie Paris told reporter Annie Gowan. “Why should we be the ones explaining ourselves?” Paris’s organization, Red, Wine, and Blue, trains its more than 300,000 members to push back against book bans. Paris recognizes that the attacks on diversity in the schools are about political control of the nation. Attacks on the schools, she says, “certainly are part of what I would say is a pretty massive orchestrated effort to undermine public education and teachers in the country, impose a political agenda, and win back suburban voters.”

[colorfulbard]

Summary: Love is complicated, especially when your crush is receiving letters from a secret admirer.

Pairing: Jean x GN!Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: Fluff

A/N: This is based off episode six of AOT junior high. If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch cause it’s super funny. I did proofread a couple of times but if there's anything that indicates the reader is not gender neutral, let me know so I can change it. Any and all comments are appreciated, thank you!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The nerves that were currently racking over your body made you feel numb. Like you would fall over any second now. There was no point in taking deep breaths because that hadn't been helping at all, made you feel worse even. Fortunately, the letter in your hands wasn't being ruined by your tense fingers. You managed to be able to control that much.

Speaking of, you should check it again. You sighed in relief to see it still in pristine condition, that was the tenth time you've checked it. Call it cheesy, but you wanted it to be perfect. You'd been crushing on him since elementary and still haven't been able to confess. He'd probably laugh it off as a joke if you did it face to face.

Although it didn't aid you earlier, you tried taking in another deep breath to gain a little bit more courage. Without giving it another thought, you walked to the shoe locker you had been watching for the past five minutes. You blocked off any negative thoughts that came up. If you didn't, you'd probably end up backing out, again.

This internal battle had been going on for the past five days. You tried to work up the courage to finally stick the damn letter in, only to back out last minute. The worst-case scenario always manifested itself in your head when you tried. Not this time, you refused. This time Jean Kirstein was going to read your anonymous letter. After that, the next hurdle to jump over was going to be confessing face-to-face.

Even after you finally prepared yourself to jump over this current hurdle, an obstacle presented itself. The obstacle was the object of affections, Jean. You were almost positive that you had come early enough not to run into him this time. It seemed like your doubtful thoughts took up more time than you thought.

You watched as he and Eren fought for what felt like the fiftieth time today. You knew it was because of Mikasa, it was apparent he felt something towards her. Despite that, you still wanted him to know about your feelings.

"What the-!? Hey man, I don't know who you think you are, but rip my uniform again and-!" Eren's retort was cut off by Mikasa throwing him over her shoulder and walking away. That was the only silver lining in your predicament, Mikasa had no interest in Jean. Only Eren.

With a heaving sigh, you shoved the letter in your bag and walked to Jean and Marco, who had been at his side the entire time. "Is there ever gonna be a day where you don't pick a fight with Eren?" You asked teasingly.

Jean scoffed, "not my fault. Cheeburg bastard was asking for it," he retorted while laying a hand on his locker.

You rolled your eyes and gave Marco a look to which he shrugged. You looked back at Jean, "I'm sure he was, tough guy," you replied sarcastically.

Jean ignored your words. "Why can't any of the girls in school ever appreciate my charm?" He whined to himself.

You heard his complaint and felt your cheeks heat up. You reached into your bag to double-check on the letter. You let out a breath you had been holding when you felt it. You inwardly groaned at your cowardice and began to walk out in shame until Jean called out you.

"Huh?" You asked, turning back to face him.

He turned his gaze to his locker as he spoke to you. "I was just wondering if you wanted to-" He cut himself off when his gaze landed on the inside of his locker. Whatever was in there caused his eyes to widen and a blush to erupt on his cheeks.

You and Marco glanced at each other and rose a brow. Both of you silently wondered what exactly captured his attention. You continued watching as he shoved his head in his locker and came out with a pink letter sealed with a heart sticker.

Anyone with working eyes would be able to realize what exactly that was, a love letter. You felt your heart drop and shatter like glass. He looked just about ready to explode while reading its contents. You didn't want to believe it was entirely possible for your own sake, but there it was.

You should've known something like this would happen sooner or later. Others didn't think so but underneath it all, Jean was a catch. Sure, he could be arrogant and stupid sometimes, but that was all a front to look cool. On the inside, he genuinely cared about others and was a sweet guy.

You quickly ran out before you could gauge his entire reaction to the cutesy letter. Tears came to your eyes when you stopped running. "Damn it," you cursed at yourself. There was no one to blame but yourself after all.

"Hey!"

Someone was calling out to you from behind, you recognized the voice as Marco's. You began debating on whether or not you should turn around. In the end, you decided it would be fine. Besides, if anyone would offer you some sympathy to help you feel better, it was him. You just hoped Jean wasn't with him.

Based on the silence that came, you had to assume he wasn't there. If he was, he'd probably be gloating about his letter to you. A hand came down onto your shoulder causing you to turn and face him. Marco's eyes widened for a split second when he saw the tears in your eyes. He remained nonchalant and didn't mention it while he walked beside you.

"This has to do with Jean, doesn't it?" He inquired after a few moments of silence.

You tensed and felt your cheeks grow warm, "how'd you guess?" You asked. You hadn't told anyone about your crush and tried your best to remain secretive, clearly, you failed.

Marco chuckled, "it was a little obvious. But don't worry, I won't tell," he assured with a finger to his lips. "I'm guessing you're upset about that letter, huh?" His tone shifted when he asked.

You didn't know your heart could shatter twice in one day. That letter had been so cute, so much cuter than yours. It makes he'd want something like that. A pink envelope that most likely enclosed a matching piece of paper decorated in hearts. To top it all off, you'd bet your lunch money they sprayed it in perfume. No doubt smelling as sweet as their message.

Marco noticed your change in demeanor and squeezed your shoulder in reassurance. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, "just because he already has one doesn't mean you can't try your luck."

He wasn't wrong. It wasn't as if Jean was automatically in a relationship just because of some letter. A smile came to your lips, "you're right!" You exclaimed, "I still have a chance!"

Your mood shifted entirely thanks to Marco. Now it was time to think of a different approach and a way to spice things up. But before doing all of that, you owed him a thank you. "Thank you so much, Marco!" You gave him a quick hug and raced home, millions of ideas going through your mind.

~

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. It was time to get to school. Thanks to that allnighter you almost pulled, you were almost late. During said allnighter, you came up with the idea to make chocolates along with a new letter. You were pretty proud of how they came out, practically perfect. You even put them in a heart-shaped box with the letter attached. Albeit a little odd because it wasn't valentine's day, but you didn't care.

The moment you stepped into the classroom Sasha's nose was glued to your bag. You flinched and tugged your bag behind you, "what's up with you?" You asked defensively.

Sasha snapped herself out of her trance and smiled sheepishly at you. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She giggled while rubbing the back of her neck. "Something in your bag just smells so good!" She practically began drooling at the smell.

Connie, who had been standing next to her, rose a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked cluelessly, "I don't smell anything." He began sniffing the air in an attempt to catch a whiff of what Sasha was talking about. He shrugged after not smelling anything.

Sasha was noticeably offended by Connie's words. "How could you not?!-" she grabbed his shoulders- "it's so sweet that the smell is hitting me from all over!" She began shaking him causing him to go dizzy.

You giggled at the two and shook your head. No point in paying them any mind for today. You had to say focused and most important, calm. You turned around to find your seat and froze at the sight of Jean.

"What the-?!" You spat out. That was something you certainly weren't expecting today, though it made sense considering his occasion. Apparently, he thought it would be nice to style his hair today.

You weren't sure so you'd have to ask for clarification. In your opinion, it looked ridiculous. It looked similar to Elvis Presley, you didn't even know he had enough hair to style it like that.

You grabbed Sasha, interrupting her rant to Connie, and brought her close to whisper. "What's up with Jean's hair?" You asked cringing.

Sasha started to laugh at the mention of Jean's hair. "I know right! It looks ridiculous!" She wiped a tear from her eye. "Apparently he wanted to look good for whoever wrote him some love letter," she explained, "personally, I think it's a prank."

You hummed and nodded, but then stopped after smelling something in the air. "Huh?" You questioned, "did Mr. Shadis spray something in the classroom yesterday?" It was an odd smell, kind of like air freshener.

After getting over her laugh attack at your previous question, Sasha couldn't help but laugh again. "That's actually Jean's cologne," she answered.

You couldn't help but let out your own giggle. He really put out all the stops today for whoever sent him the letter. It was a little disheartening, but you wouldn't let that stop you.

"I'm surprised you can smell whatever was in my bag," you commented, "considering Jean's cologne is all over the classroom."

Sasha's eyes shined. "How could I not?" She asked rhetorically, "the smell is amazing~!" She sighed in bliss.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to wanna share some of that, would you?" She shyly poked at your side.

You smiled. "Not today, but I'll bring you some another time." You grabbed her hand and squeezed, "I promise."

Sasha beamed had tears in her eyes, "thank you so much~!" She praised and wrapped her arms around your waist. You pat her head and smiled down at her.

By then, Krysta and Ymir came in. Sasha's attention was taken away from you when Krysta handed her a snack. Sasha tried to show her appreciation by hugging her until Ymir stepped in and shoved her away. You would've laughed at their antics if you hadn't focused your attention on Jean, who was currently blushing and staring into space.

'I wonder what's up with him,' you thought.

Whatever was going on with him seemed to get worse when two upperclassmen, Rico and Petra, came in. He even began bleeding out of his nose. You thought nothing of it and sat down at your usual seat.

Just as you sat down, you realized you had forgotten something. Yesterday you decided to give the letter face-to-face, but there was just one problem. You never planned out what you were going to say. You could opt for speaking from the heart, but you always got nervous and words failed you. You groaned and laid your head down on your desk in defeat.

You didn't get to wallow for very long because of someone yanking your sleeve. You rose a brow and saw Marco fearfully kneeling by your desk. You said nothing hoping he would explain himself only for him to point towards Jean's seat.

You caught sight of Mikasa and Annie staring at each other like rabid dogs. You flinched at the sight and knelt down next to him. Even if they were currently in a classroom, you still wouldn't be surprised if they fought right now.

It seemed like Jean felt the need to meditate as he stood up and said, "ladies, no need to fight over me, there's enough Jean for every-" He didn't get to finish his sentence because he got caught in the crossfire of Annie and Mikasa's kicks.

The way he got flung into the air and slammed back down onto the ground was definitely painful. You almost stepped in to help until you noticed something fall from Annie's pocket. It was the same love letter from yesterday. Your eyes widened and you felt sick. Could she be the one giving him the letters?

Jean seemed to be thinking the same thing when the same blush from earlier stained his cheeks. You felt dishearten just after gaining your confidence back, how you were supposed to compete with someone like that? That thought was stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Fortunately, Mr. Shadis didn't notice.

After class, you had caught up with everyone and walked while listening to all of their overlapping conversations. You butt into the conversation at times, but your focus was still on the object of affections. Marco noticed and gave you a reassuring smile.

You smiled back and turned your attention to the lockers. Clearly, someone hadn't expected all of you to walk that quickly as they were still busy shoving something into a locker. That someone being Annie, who was most likely putting another letter in Jean's locker.

Eren called out to her, "Annie?"

She tensed at the sound of her name and quickly ran off at the sight of all of you staring at her. You gazed at Jean to see his reaction only to see the same dreamy look on his face from earlier. He seemed to be stuck in some sort of fantasy world like earlier, Armin had informed you of that during lunch. Except it was about Annie this time.

Seemed like everyone else but you could see exactly what he was dreaming about as Sasha commented, "clearly he doesn't remember how it all went down."

"The letter!" Jean snapped himself out of his trance when he reminded himself of it. He ran to his locker to quickly read it as did everyone else looming over his shoulders.

It read: "Please come to Attack Park after school."

Jean didn't waste any time after reading the letter and ran outside screaming at the top of his lungs, "this is it! My time has come!" He continued cheering before running off in the direction of Attack Park, leaving the rest of you in the dust.

It felt like the universe was laughing in your face right now. Things only seemed to get worse and worse as the minutes passed. You supposed it might be time to face reality and try moving on. If Annie really was the one crushing on him, the proof is undeniable at this point, then you had no chance in hell. She'd probably crush you for so much as thinking about him.

"Man, this sucks," you whined under your breath.

"Guys..."

You cringed at the sound of Annie's voice from behind you and hid beside Marco. 'She can't hear my thoughts right?' A shiver went down your spine.

"Annie?" Asked Armin, "shouldn't you be in the park?"

She was blushing as she spoke. "Actually I was gonna try to pick your brains this morning," she said, "I need some advice about..." She appeared embarrassed about whatever she was going to say next.

"Well, about these stupid love letters," she finally said.

Everyone looked at her and expressed their confusion, "huh?"

~

After talking with Annie, everyone walked to the park together. The plan was to spy on them while Annie broke the news. None of you fully understood what she meant when she had confessed the actual secret admirer was unable to deliver the letters herself. You felt hopeful after learning it wasn't Annie, but now it left the secret admirer as just that, a secret.

Armin advised her to pretend to be the admirer to watch his reaction while everyone else hid behind a tree. Annie didn't seem to care enough to protest against everyone spying despite it not being essential to the plan.

Everything was going according to plan until Jean decided to screw it up. "Oh no..." You mumbled with a facepalm. He was putting up his arrogant facade and ruining everything.

"What's he doing?" Eren whisper-yelled.

"He does this when he's not sure of what to say," you explained, "poor guy is gonna get his ass kicked again." Your words held true when Annie knocked him over on his back like earlier.

Annie felt it fitting to finally explain to Jean that her friend was the one who asked her to write the letters and send them. He was shocked at the news and didn't have any time to process it as Annie prepared to call out to her friend. While everyone was expecting a name, she just stood there and screeched at the top of her lungs.

After a few moments of tense silence and Sasha hissing at Annie, thudding steps grew louder the closer they came to Attack Park. Everyone turned to the sounds of it and screamed at the sight of a titan running towards them.

As it turns out, Annie was a part of the same cram school as some titans and learned some interesting things there, including their language. This titan in particular asked for the favor of writing and sending letters to Jean.

Everyone turned towards a distraught Jean with millions of questions running through their minds. Meanwhile, you were just trying your best to keep from laughing. It was comical to think you had been worrying about a titan this entire time. Of course, only Jean could have this kind of luck.

After taking a look at Jean, it seemed like he was almost considering dating a titan. Your laughter quickly died.

Annie mentioned she was shy and that made him look at things in a different light. That light was immediately snuffed at the sight of the giant titan blushing from behind a jungle gym.

"Hell no!" He exclaimed, cringing.

Everyone was most definitely enjoying this as they continued to tease him. "Come on Jean, don't be like that," coaxed Armin.

The laughter came back after hearing everyone tease him. "Yeah, maybe you should give her a chance," you said in between giggles. You laughed even harder when Jean turned around to glare at you.

Annie frowned at Jean's reaction, "you're a jerk," she sneered, "the two of you already have a history. At least as she sees it, you gave her your lunch the other day."

At first, you were confused until Marco had reminded you what happened a couple of days ago. "Don't you guys remember?! We were running for our lives!" He said fearfully while retelling the story for everyone.

~Flashback (Dramaticized for the fun of it)

The three of you had been peacefully walking to school talking of the events that would happen that day. The peace was disrupted at the sound of thudding steps nearing the three of you.

"Oh no! A titan!" You guys had yelled. There was still a slim chance you could outrun her until Marco tripped over himself and insisted he should be left behind.

You and Jean immediately refused. Fortunately, with his quick thinking, he grabbed his lunch as a sacrifice. You gasped and grabbed his arm to stop him, "wait, Jean, isn't that the lunch your mom made?" You asked, "I thought it was special to you!"

"That's not important right now!" He shouted, wasting no time to throw it in her mouth. "Eat this, you freak!"

The titan was distracted and Jean quickly grabbed you and Marco to run away. As you did, none of you had seen the blush that spread over the titan's cheeks.

~

"She said she can't stop thinking about the rice omelet and that you're adorable," explained Annie after Marco's flashback.

Everyone teased Jean after the story and jokingly tried to coax him into dating her. As they joked amongst themselves none of them noticed the inner turmoil going on in Jean's head. He appeared to have finally snapped when all of a sudden, he went robotic and denied his admirer was even a titan.

"What are you trying to say, Jean?" Questioned Armin.

"Maybe the shock was enough to make him lose his marbles," commented Eren.

No one else had anything to say as they watched Jean climb to the top of the jungle gym and insist the titan was a normal human. His only piece of evidence, if you can even call it that, was that he was "taller" than her.

"Dude! She's a dozen of you!" Yelled Eren, trying to snap him out of it.

Getting pushed off the top of the jungle gym by her didn't help with delusions, probably made them worse. Everyone cringed when Jean hit the ground with a loud thud and quickly stood back up. He asserted he could hold her hand and opened his arms for a hug.

You covered your eyes when she slammed herself on top of him. You couldn't bear to keep watching his slow descent into madness, "This is getting painful," you whispered to Marco.

"Yeah, no kidding..." He responded.

Eren and Armin kept yelling in hopes to snap him out of it but to no avail. It ended it being thanks to Marco that he finally escaped whatever delusion he was in. Jean shook his head at Marco's words to face reality and stared into the titan's eyes. She had him in the palm of her hand as he deeply contemplated his decision. Or so you thought.

His face turned to one of disgust, "She's taller than me!"

You paled, "really?! That's your dealbreaker?!" You yelled up at him.

Jean was thrown to the ground what was the hundredth time today after the titan started crying. His world of pain was neverending when she brought her hand down to slam him harder into the ground. When she lifted it, Jean was halfway into the ground, eyes swirling.

As the titan ran away mumbling something incoherent, Annie watched and translated. "She says she's not giving up," she explained.

To make matters worse, Sasha's attempt at comfort was to make it seem like a daikon and a curry bun were now fighting over Jean. It was a weird form of attention that he relished in.

Everyone decided to go their separate ways when Sasha deemed her work to be complete. You couldn't blame them, you wouldn't want to watch your friend at their lowest either. They called out to you and Marco, but both of you decided to stay behind to watch him. Meanwhile, Annie went her own way to cram school.

When it was just the three of you, or five if you count the daikon and curry bun, left you turned to Marco. "You can go if you want," you told him.

His eyes widened, "you sure?" He asked.

You nodded and reached into your bag, "yeah, I think now's a good a time as any." You pulled out the letter and chocolates from this morning. Marco smiled and nodded. He left after wishing you good luck.

You wasted no time when Marco was out of sight. You crouched down to Jean and cringed as he mumbled to the curry bun and daikon. It was difficult to continue watching him suffer from his overactive imagination. You flicked his forehead in an attempt to bring him back to earth.

"Oi, Jean." You flicked him, "snap out of it."

The mixture of light pain and your voice seemed to work. He shook his head and looked at the curry bun and daikon in his hands. "Do I wanna know?" He cringed while asking you.

You chuckled and shook your head, "you should probably stop daydreaming for a little while," you advised.

He dropped the items on the ground and looked around the park in search of something. "Where'd everyone go?" He asked.

"They left when you started going nuts over the daikon and curry bun," you explained, gesturing to the food he dropped. You should probably have him pay back Sahsa for that at some point.

Jean sighed and covered his face with his hands, "I can't believe this..." He was mortified over his actions.

You knew it might be the best time, but if you didn't do it now who's to say when you'd try again. "Hey, Jean..." You called his name and felt your cheeks heat up when he stared at you.

"I, uh..." Just like you knew they would, words failed you. You decided your actions should speak for you instead and bowed your head down when you gave him the gifts. You didn't dare glance up at him to see his reactions. The worst possible scenarios were filling your head already.

"Are these for me...?"

You nodded and snuck a peek at his face. Your eyes widened when you caught sight of the blush on his cheeks. That looked like a good sign, but you didn't want to get ahead of yourself. The last thing you wanted was more disappointment.

That feeling came quickly when he recoiled from the gifts. It felt like an imaginary dagger pierced your heart when he did. You might as well get eaten by a titan, not your lunch. You moved to take away the gifts and run away but stopped when he spoke.

"Those aren't from... her, right?"

You quickly realized he was talking about the titan and began laughing so hard your stomach began to hurt. "Are you serious?" You asked, wiping the tears from your eyes.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" He yelled, defensive.

You continued giggling regardless, "I'm sorry, it's just funny." You shook your head to his silliness. "No, they're from me," you admitted.

Jean's eyes widened, "really?" He asked in disbelief.

You felt your cheeks grow red and nodded, "I made the chocolates myself," you remarked. You were about to open them for him until you noticed he was still stuck in a hole.

"Oh, I should probably help you out of that." You stood up and grabbed his arms to tug him out. It took a few good tugs until he finally broke free. You underestimated your strength when you made him fall onto you after he broke free.

You grunted at the feeling of his body slamming into you. Your eyes had shut themselves because of the pain and sand landing in your eyes. You had no clue where he landed and groaned when you fell onto the hard ground. When you were finally able to open your eyes, all you saw was white.

'Huh...?' You thought in a daze. You shook yourself out of your dazed state and caught sight of Jean staring down at you, his face mimicking a tomato. You had been looking at his shirt.

You squealed and shoved him away from you. He ended up landing on his face with a yelp and you flinched. "Oops, sorry," you said sheepishly while he fixed himself.

Jean paid you no mind and picked up the chocolates and letter from the ground. He clutched it tightly in his hands and almost refused to open it. You may not think so, but this was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen you do. He didn't wanna ruin it. Then again, he was dying to know what it said.

But before he opened it, he had to ask you something. "Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked.

You shrugged, "who am I to get in the way of true love?" You teased referring to the titan.

Jean paled and rolled his eyes, "way to ruin the moment," he grumbled at you. You smirked and stuck your tongue in response.

He carefully opened the letter and took his time while reading its contents as you stared. The silence that followed made you feel like you were drowning in nothing. There was still some hope, however, based on his previous reactions.

You assumed he was finished when he put it in his bag. After a couple of seconds of stifling silence, you spoke. "So... What did you think?" You began wringing the ends of your shirt causing it to wrinkle.

No words were spoken by him when he stood up and leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. You gasped and brought a hand up to your cheek. You hadn't even realized he was walking away until you finally got over your initial shock.

You let out a noise of disbelief and ran to him after grabbing your bag. "Hey! Don't try to act cool and run away from me!" You yelled while running after him.

"Can't you just let me have this moment?!"

"No way!"

[holykillercake]

Hazy Justice - 02

01 03

pairing: Cop!Smoker x MilitaryDoctor!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: After eight years serving your country in a war, you returned to your hometown as the new head of Trauma Surgery in one of the best hospitals in the country. You were expecting a calmer life now, but suddenly you see yourself choosing between your brain and your heart, light and dark, justice and evil.

notes: I guess you saw the gif already! We have the introduction of a new character!

𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘, 𝖗𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊!

Stiff neck and a headache. This is what you get for sleeping on your living room floor. 

You took a quick shower and some painkillers before heading for another day of work. On your silent drive towards the hospital, your mind ran through various things. 

The first being the list of your patients, the ones you had to check upon first, their conditions, and find out the attending who took care of them during the night, ask them about possible complications and current situation. 

The second subject hovered your head as more of a question, though. Had you finally met your neighbor, or was it just a dream, the result of your exhausted state? 

You spotted a cute restaurant when you stopped at the red light, perhaps you´d have lunch there today, it was near the hospital, and the place gave you a ¨good food¨ vibe. 

The image of the man you dreamed about wandered its way back into your thoughts, despite your difficulty of seeing a perfect picture. His hair was actually the only thing you were sure about. White, a single lock was falling on his forehead, but it didn´t look like it was meant to be there. Maybe it was just ¨end of the day¨ hairstyle. 

You parked your car on your designated spot and looked around the parking lot. It was the first time you´ve seen it so crowded. It made sense, though. 

A yellow Jaguar drove in a couple of minutes after you did, and since that was the only yellow car you had seen so far, and you spot the small white stuffed bear hanging on the mirror, you knew it was Law. 

He left his car and walked over to you with a strange expression.

¨Y/N-ya, what are you doing here?¨ always so straight to the point.

¨Well, good morning, Law. How are you?¨ the man rolled his eyes, but you refused to answer until he learned how to talk to people properly. 

¨Morning, Y/N-ya. I´m good. What are you doing here?¨

¨What do you mean? I work here.¨ you gave him a duh face. 

¨Yeah, but not today.¨ your head tilted to the side ¨Today is your day off.¨

¨My day off?¨ you were so used to not having days off that it didn´t even cross your mind. You asked the HR person everything but days off. ¨What am I supposed to do on my day off?¨

¨I don´t know, Y/N-ya. Go explore the city or have some rest. Today you only get inside this hospital wounded or dead.¨ he said bitterly, patted your shoulder, and entered the building. 

The only thing besides work you had planned for the day was paying a visit to that cute restaurant, so it took you some good thinking to come up with a plan. Maybe Tashigi was free, and you two could do something together. 

<Mornin´ Tashigi! U free today?>

<Morning, Y/N-san! I just need to take somethings to the office then I´m free!>

<Do u mind if we meet there?>

<Of course not! Smoker-san will be there too I think. You said you wanted to meet him.>

<Perfect then! See you in a bit ~>

<See you, Y/N-san!>

Tashigi´s station was inside the Justice District, so it didn´t take long for you to reach it. The journey was peaceful, and the view was something to take note of. Beautiful leafy trees were strategically planted on the sidewalks, offering shadows for those who preferred to walk, no scratched paint in any house, store, or building. They all looked recently finished. The asphalt was shiny and without bumps or holes, making every car trip smooth.

You entered the Police Department and couldn´t help but feel a bit lost.

¨The new Commissioner made quite a few changes in the place.¨ you mumbled to yourself. 

Back in the day when Sengoku was the Chief of the Police Headquarters, the halls were lighter and brighter, the furniture was softer, and it smelled like spring - if that is possible. After he retired, a man named Sakazuki took his place, and to be honest, he seemed pretty decent, but he deals with justice differently, and the place shows. 

First, it was damn cold; the AC was making his money worth it; the smell was the second thing that hit you. The strong odor of bleach, the freezing temperature, and the morbid LEDs on the bleak grey ceiling made you feel like you were in a morgue. Everything else was made out of either leather or metal. 

This Sakazuki guy was definitely on the list of the people you didn´t want to meet. 

¨Hi, can you help me? I´m looking for-¨

¨Y/N-san!¨ Tashigi yelled, almost losing balance and falling on her face. 

¨Hey, careful there!¨ you hugged her. ¨You´re good to go?¨

¨Yeah, I just...¨ she turned her head around a couple of times, looking for something. She smiled and waved at someone ¨Smoker-san! Here!¨

The man was getting out of a room, sunglasses on and a cigar on his mouth. He was tall and seemed muscular under the leather jacket, but what caught your attention was his hair, the same white hair you remembered from last night. Only this time it was completely put back, no loose locks. 

The change in his expression made you think he had recognized you as well, and the thought of Tashigi´s boss being your front-door neighbor made you chuckle. 

¨That´s what I call a coincidence.¨ he said and took off the shades. You struggled not to gasp when his light-brown eyes met yours.

¨Right? I was so tired last night that I thought you were a dream.¨ you giggled, and he broke a smile. 

¨You know each other?¨ Tashigi asked.

¨We´re neighbors! It took a while for us to meet, though.¨ 

¨Tough week.¨ he touched the nape of his neck. 

¨Yeah, it was. We even saw you yesterday, Y/N-san!¨ the young officer said, confusing you ¨The Sora park, we were there too! But since you looked so busy, I didn´t want to interrupt.¨

So much happened, but you couldn´t recall anything. 

You just focused on starting the triage process. Determining the severity of the patient´s condition, assign a priority level, taking care of those who could be assisted in the local, and having the severely injured ones being sent to the hospital where you knew Marco would take good care of them. 

You were immensely wrong when you guessed that the triage process would be easier, thinking that the majority of the victims were fatalities.

 Apparently, the park was celebrating its 5th anniversary, so people from not only the different districts but other cities were all gathered in the park. 

¨Sorry, I didn´t... see you guys.¨ you said a little apologetic and lost. 

¨No apologies needed.¨ Smoker said ¨It was pretty intense. Although we were not supposed to spread knowledge of our presence in the scene.¨ he gave her a disguised rebuke, and you watched your friend get redder than a bell pepper, apologizing. 

You stared at each other for two seconds before you burst into laughter.

¨You´re still as clumsy as I remember, Tashigi.¨ you wiped a few tears ¨But don´t worry, this information dies with me.¨ you turned to Smoker, and he nodded, trusting you as a military. 

¨S-Should we go, Y/N-san?¨ 

¨Yes, of course! Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Smoker.¨ 

¨Pleasure is all mine, Y/N.¨ you shook hands again, staring each other in the eyes. 

His eyes slowly traveled to your lips, and you noticed that you were biting it, blushing more than Tashigi. 

¨Well, see you, then!¨ you let go of his hand and rushed to the door. 

¨Y/N,¨ you turned with an audible hm? and raised brows ¨knock if you need anything.¨ you nodded and smiled. 

¨Will do.¨ 

~

¨I´ll have the Kenafa, please.¨ Tashigi told the waiter with so much of a look in the menu. 

The cute restaurant you drove by earlier was called Terracota, and it was specialized in foreign cuisine. Even with the names and ingredients, you couldn´t figure out something you´d like, so you decided to order the same thing as the officer. 

¨That´s what eight years of ration do to you.¨ you joked.  

¨What have you been eating these days?¨ 

¨Whatever they have on the menu at the hospital. Sandwiches, pasta, sandwiches, sandwiches, chocolate bars, sandwiches...¨ you laughed ¨Haven´t had time to think about cooking yet.¨

¨Take outs are simpler, right?¨ you nodded ¨So, what do you think about Smoker-san?¨ 

¨Looks decent, polite, hard worker-¨

¨Aw, come on, Y/N-san! That´s not what I asked!¨ she gave you a suggestive look ¨He´s not taken, you know.¨

You open and closed your mouth a couple of times, words refusing to come out.

¨What? Tashigi!¨

¨I´m just saying!¨ she held her hands up, defending herself in the middle of giggles ¨But seriously, Y/N-san, I think he liked you too.¨

¨Ok, first, I never said I liked him, and second, I just got here. Can´t really think about this stuff.¨ 

¨Well, you should consider, at least. He doesn´t go out a lot, so...¨ she prolonged the last word ¨...maybe it was fate that put you two as neighbors.¨ you scoffed.

¨You believe in this stuff?¨

¨I do. Sometimes we see some crazy things...¨ her expression frowned ¨...it helps if I believe in fate. And the reason behind things... you know?¨ you nodded when she looked at you, even though you didn´t.

For your salvation, the waiter came back with the amuse-bouche, breaking the uncomfortable moment.

 You didn´t want to tell her that you stopped believing that everything happens for a reason a long time ago.

¨But you said you have a brother here, right? Have you seen him already?¨

¨Unfortunately, no. He´s out of town now, so I´ll have to wait. God, I miss him so much!¨ a smile grew on your lips with the idea of seeing him again. 

¨Oh yeah, you told me he runs businesses. Do you know the names? Maybe I know or visited before, or even know him!¨

¨Of course! There´s the Casino Verde, the Hotel Verde and a restaurant called Suna. I´ve never be-¨ 

The girl in front of you turned purple as she choked on her food, a raucous cough called everyone´s attention while one hand covered her mouth and the other smacked her chest. 

¨Y-Your brother is C-Crocodile?¨ she asked with a hushed voice, still trying to fight her food from coming out. 

You were expecting her to know him, but the explosive noodle reaction caught you a little off guard. 

¨Yeah... are you ok?¨ you offered her a napkin which she gladly accepted.

¨I´m sorry about this, it´s just...¨ she paused a bit, brows furrowing while her fingers tore the napkin you gave her. Then she took a deep breath and recomposed herself ¨... he´s very famous, you know? He basically runs the Light District!¨

You knew he was rich and powerful, but to say that he ran the most extravagant district was a surprise. A good one, though. You couldn't help but feel proud of him. 

You remember all the sacrifices he made when you were two just kids lost in this world. All the humiliating jobs he´d work at to buy you food. The pain of having his childhood taken from him at such young age. 

He became a man to protect you. He never let anything or anyone hurt you, he never let you starve even if that meant he´d be going to sleep with nothing but a glass of tap water in his stomach.

You felt a burning sensation on your nose, and your eyes started to water, bringing a genuine smile to rise on your lips and tears roll down your cheeks. You didn´t mind it, though. You were too happy.

¨Yeah... he is my brother.¨ 

[tsukidrama]

First of all, and let me just clear my throat, YOUR NEW FIC TITLED "PLEASE BE... A COWARD" BROKE ME. I'M GOING TO SWEAR. FUCK. THAT WAS AMAZING. SERIOUSLY LIFE CHANGING. I WILL WRITE MORE ABOUT IT WHEN I CAN CALM DOWN. KNOW THAT I LOVE IT AND IT MADE ME CRY (KEEP IN MIND I CRY A LOT BUT STILL).

Back to normal now, are you feeling much better in terms of corona virus symptoms? I understand the "just debilitating exhaustion" part, usually when I'm very sick I just go into a coma-type-thing and heal for a day or so. I hate to repeat things but, I do hope you are feeling better.

I one-hundred percent agree that Annie would be the no nonsense type when writing letters. It's the same as when she wraps presents, why not just get to the point? I'm also really glad it's going to be a long chapter! When I saw your lasted fic was around eight thousand words, I scrambled to read it.

Let me say that I really enjoyed your writing, especially for that new piece of work. The part that, like I mentioned before, made me cry was not too far from the beginning. "Once everything is out and you’re gagging on an empty stomach, you sob to yourself as you stare at the empty beds around you. There were still belongings strewn about the room, discarded pajamas, and half-unpacked travel bags. Are you supposed to get rid of this stuff? Will someone else eventually clear it out?"

I actually had to put my phone down. I don't really know why it got to me so much. I always did find abrupt, unexpected tragedies worse than slow ones, I guess. Just-- the thought of the reader and the other people in that dorm waking up, only to never return, and they didn't even know it? Horrible, no thank you. Not horrible in a bad way, just in a might-cry-again way. Seriously though, that excerpt evoked a serious reaction out of me, along with when Annie cried about wanting to go home. The whole thing broke me in the best way possible.

This message is a bit longer than usual, and as usual I would like to apologize for taking a while. I've been trying to feel better and get more motivated, and it worked for a while but I think I feel a funk coming on again. No matter, I'm probably just tired. I haven't been getting good sleep, which I'm in the process of fixing.

Once again, I wish you well,

Pink Anon

never apologize babe! i love the long messages, you know this! i am FINALLY feeling better. i don't feel outright sick anymore and for the first time in weeks i tested negative! i went and got some food yesterday and it was amazing. no work still, i'll be housewife-ing until i get more strength back and i kind of never want to do anything else ever again :/

not gonna split this one up because i'm just gonna answer all at once. i'm laaaazy sorry. as for the fic:

;)) and also :( :( :(( :( but mostly thank you ! i'm so sorry to like my readers in general right now because i've really been slinging the Angst around like it ain't shit, every fic is soul shredding. the never-ceasing torment in my soul is strong right now apparently. does it make you feel a little better that this is by far the saddest chapter in this... triad? trilogy? of these three fics, whatever you wanna call it. there's more painful stuff like for fucking sure but it's relatively run-of-the-mill Annie stuff. so like, more blatant lying to each other, some realizations, and then in p3 i was going to address... THE BEYTRAL! okay so maybe that's gonna hurt a lot, but i do think that this was a particularly rough fic. i've been rewatching season 1 and you really forget how scary the pure titans are and how traumatic that shit is. the smiling titan gave me nightmares for like, weeks, the first time i watched. trost arc is brutal and i wanted to embody that for everyone, especially since Annie is FRESH on that just-killed-Marco-guilt. i've wanted to write a fic like this for YEEEEAAAARRRRRSSSS so this felt good to publish. the idea of her being alone during her worst moments eviscerates me -- i would have been there for u babygirl.

[austerulous-a]

✦  @mcwscollective​​ asked:  ❛ Can you explain the differences in impact the girls had on Annie over time / how she regarded each of them? (Mina, Hitch, Mikasa, Carly) ❜

Outside of Pieck, Annie didn’t have much in the way of female company as a child.  It wasn’t until she arrived in Paradis, and joined the Cadet Corps, that she was thrust into a girls’ dormitory and found herself surrounded by a sea of other young women.

Mina was one of the very first cadets that Annie gravitated towards, and I like to think they were bunkmates.  I imagine Mina to be fairly sweet and considerate, but far from toothless – she harboured enough of a courageous streak to want to join the Survey Corps, after all.  There was always a place for Annie at Mina’s table, she was able to fill the silences, meeting frost with warmth and patience.  Annie admired that about her, and appreciated her kindness.  In Mina’s company, it’s likely some of her rough edges were smoothed, and it’s possible Mina introduced her to more traditionally ‘feminine’ pastimes.  I can see them brushing and braiding each other’s hair – Mina would have had to teach Annie how to do the latter – enjoying idle, unforced conversation late into the night, sharing pastries, etc.  Mina was a place for Annie to hide, but she became so much more than that.  Her death left an indelible mark and thoughts of her, along with those of Marcel and Marco, will haunt Annie until the day she dies.

If I remember rightly, there was only a month or two between the Battle of Trost District / the 104th’s graduation ceremony and Annie’s capture.  During those weeks, Hitch and Annie both roomed and worked together, practically living in each other’s pockets.  It would have been easy for Hitch to simply ignore or shun her gloomy roommate – Annie is nothing if not difficult to approach / converse with – but she persevered, and I think her criticisms were well-meant, made in a genuine attempt to drag Annie out of her shell.  Given more time, her efforts might have even been met with some small degree of success.  Like Mina, there’s kindness in her, in her gift of a hair slide, in the fact that she spent years visiting and speaking to Annie while she was in the crystal.  Hitch, along with Armin, can be credited with preserving her sanity.  Annie recognises Hitch as a steady presence, someone who treated her as a person both before and after realising who she was and what she had done.  That alone speaks volumes to Hitch’s strength of character, considering she was one of those unfortunate souls tasked with removing the bodies from Stohess, and had witnessed the aftermath of Annie’s brutality first-hand.  To some, Hitch might come across as abrasive or catty, but Annie values her blunt honesty, her tendency to cut through bullshit.  Quite frankly, she is also astonished by her loyalty.

I could dedicate an entire post to Annie’s perception of Mikasa, and how it changes over time.  I know I touched on their dynamic in an answer I posted yesterday, but I’ll reiterate it here:  Annie was envious of Mikasa’s bond with Eren and Armin, and jealous of her inherent talent.  As someone who slaved for her father’s approval, who poured countless hours into mastering his martial arts, she resented how effortless Mikasa made every task seem.  From Annie’s perspective, she also had the unsettling sense that Mikasa could see right through her.  I don’t believe that they were always at each other’s throats – we literally see them having conversations without any apparent animosity – but they obviously weren’t close as cadets, and brimmed with rivalry.  Eren was a point of contention, as someone who was precious to Mikasa but undeniably important to Annie too.  He was a lifeline at a time when she felt incredibly isolated, and she took umbrage with Mikasa’s perceived overprotectiveness.  That being said, there is a lot that Annie admires in Mikasa, even if she would be loath to admit it.  I swear, Isayama conspired to keep these two apart because they would be too powerful united. 

Of all the girls listed, Annie is least acquainted with Carly, but it’s safe to say she was impressed by her ingenuity.  Their meeting gave her an opportunity to reflect on her relationship with Mr. Leonhardt, and it reassured her to realise she wasn’t the only one to have a peculiar family dynamic.  The fact that Carly felt sorry for her father – enough that she became entrenched in drug production and a life of crime in order to help him – undoubtedly resonated with Annie.  The blood on her hands is there because of Gabe, because of what he raised her to be, because of what she promised him.  Carly was, in some ways, a reflection of Annie.  Unlike Annie, however, she has the strength and will to leave her father behind and begin a new life in Wall Rose.  There must have been something bittersweet in that, in glimpsing a path – a choice – that Annie feels she will never be able to take herself.

Ultimately, there is much to be admired in women who are unashamedly themselves, and being around other girls helped Annie feel more at home in her skin.  Despite her best intentions, despite the distance she tried to keep, she learned from them, and some of them even enkindled a furtive sort of fondness in her.

[emwritesfootball]

Piano Lessons 1 | Tyrone Mings

This idea came to me back in March/April, when Ty said in an interview that he had picked up piano while in quarantine and the idea spiraled into this. Hope you all enjoy this xx

Forever Tags: @chilly-me-softly @savingprivatecass @inlovewithamess @footballdaydream @brewsterbabyy @bbychilly @jamesdanielmaddison @hmminnbirdd @sweetlikesugar9 @lawsandother @eastxfeden @words-for-marcus @eatsleepbreathefutbol @hoelymolywinksy @marco-asensios

Tyrone Tags: @idiotsfc @qwetyronerty

Piano Lessons Tags: @cam-blog98

You and your friend were coming back from a long weekend in Manchester, both of you riding the high that comes from three days away with your best friend. 

The two of you were giggling like schoolgirls as you walked through New Street when your best friend spotted it. “YN, look!” She shouted, stopping suddenly as she pointed to the piano.

You groaned, throwing your head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Girl, please! How many times do I have to tell you: I don’t play anymore!”

“Just one song,” she begged, tugging on your wrist. “Please - for me? It is my birthday after all…”

“I just spent a three-day weekend with you for your birthday and you’re still pulling the It’s-My-Birthday card?” You joked, shaking your head. “Unbelievable,” you muttered, laughing. “You’re lucky I love you, babe.”

You took a deep breath and sat down on the bench, exhaling as you shook your wrists and cracked your knuckles before placing them on the ivory keys. “Only for you,” you said, meeting your friend’s gaze for a second before flicking them back down to the piano.

The sounds started to flow from the keys and you closed your eyes, the muscle memory coming back to you. It was your favourite piece that you knew by heart - i giorni by Ludovico Einaudi - a piece that you could play in your sleep and the only piece you seemed to remember these days. You winced as you over-extended your hand to play a ninth, the tendons in your wrist stretching painfully to remind you of the scars that were prominently displayed on your skin. 

When you finished playing, you looked back up at your friend, a small smile on your face. The blood rushing in your ears dissipated as you started to take in your surroundings and the adrenaline faded. People were applauding you; since you’d started playing, at least twenty onlookers had stopped to listen and it was at that moment that you realized people were recording you.

Fear raced through you at the realization and you started to hyperventilate. “We have to go,” you said, standing up suddenly and scraping the bench against the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” your friend whispered as she took your hand and walked out with you, her hand rubbing soothing circles over your scars.

***

Bodymoor Health Training Ground, The Next Day…

Tyrone and the lads had just finished up practice, exhausted after a brutal training session. Jack had his phone out and the sounds of some classical piano were coming from his phone. 

“Gettin’ soft on us, Jackie-boy?” McGinn asked as he toweled off.

“Nah, mate,” Jack replied, grinning. “An old friend sent me this video she thought I’d like.”

“Why’d she think you’d like this?”

Jack shrugged. “‘Cause the girl playing is hot and it’s going viral apparently. She’s playing in New Street and it’s from yesterday.”

Tyrone’s interest was piqued. “Let me see,” he said, peering over Jack’s shoulder. “I mean, you can only see the side of her face but I guess you could make the ‘hot’ assumption. She’s playing a piece I wanna learn, though.”

“You should hit her up, then,” Jack joked, tapping a few things into his phone. “I think she’s been tagged in the video by some people that know her.” A screenshot and a few more taps. “There, Sent you her Instagram info.” Jack grinned back at Tyrone. “Please let me know if you tap that.”

Tyrone made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes. “I just want piano lessons, not a girlfriend.”

***

“This is an absolute disaster!” You shouted at your friend over FaceTime as you stress-baked a litany of desserts. “How could you do this to me?!”

“Me?! I did nothing - all I did was ask you to play for me because it was my birthday! How was I to know that all those people were going to stop and listen, let alone record, and then it was going to go viral?!” Your friend countered, scrubbing a hand over her face. “I’m so sorry, YN.”

You smiled, shaking your head. “It’s not your fault, love. I’m sorry for yelling. I just...I never wanted this. Well, I did, but not anymore.”

“I’m giving you a virtual hug, love. It’ll all be okay.”

You blew your friend a kiss at the screen. “I hope so. This whole ‘internet fame’ thing should pass quickly, eh? I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

The FaceTime call ended and you sighed as you thought about checking your Instagram. Since the video had blown up, you were getting follow requests left and right and you were denying all of them. You were sure everyone just thought you were some sort of wannabe-musician who was trying to make it big but there was a reason your account was private. 

You scrolled through the hundreds of new requests that had come in over the last few hours since you’d started avoiding Instagram, not wanting to waste time denying requests. You were just about to scroll further when a blue checkmark caught your eye. You tapped on the profile, your eyes widening as reality sunk in - Tyrone Mings, Aston Villa and England’s very own centre back was requesting to follow you. 

After a few minutes of deliberating, you squeezed your eyes shut as you hit ‘accept’ - the only request you’d accepted up until now.

Your phone vibrated in your hand a few minutes later and you looked down at the notification, your heart hammering in your chest.

tyronemings: Your playing was beautiful. Do you give lessons?