#beat adin some more!

[tooselfaware]

Choi Han beating Adin up is so refreshing. I'm cheering with the dark elves!

And now his aura has bling bling!

It's only natural since he's with the most bling bling guy in existence.

Anyway... Beat. Him. Up! Beat. Him. Up!

[violentdevotion]

kendrick didn't even have to release meet the grahams if ADIN ROSS says you've won its an automatic loss

[weirdsht]

(Un)Attainable - Alberu/Fem! Reader

notes: the og prompt for this was suppose to be super angsty, but I'm not so mean that I would make you guys cry the second I have the time to write. Also I notice a lot of people are using "Alver" now but I just can't, I'm so sorry huhu

tags: female reader, vague novel spoilers, forbidden love(?), lovesick Alberu if you squint

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

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Alberu’s first priority will always be the Roan Kingdom and its citizens. He will always put the welfare of his people before his own wants. Alberu is the type of crown prince who is willing to play as the villain just to see his citizens prosper. Even when no one will be able to appreciate his sacrifices. All for the sake of his selfish desire to see his people thrive.

That’s the simple fact the people around Alberu know.

They know that he has no time for love. No time to indulge in such things when he has a kingdom to run. Alberu Crossman has said so himself several times in the past.

But oh, what is this feeling blooming in the crown prince’s heart? Could they be feelings of romantic affection?

Could the prideful prince be eating his own words of not taking in a spouse in the future?

Maybe, or perhaps not.

He does know one thing though…

It’s the fact that he's charting into dangerous territory.

Not only was he dumb enough to fall in love. That wasn’t enough.

No no no

The quarter-dark elf was stupid enough to fall for the one person he couldn’t get.

Adin’s fiance, the soon-to-be crown princess of the Mogoru Empire. The empire of the Sun God Church. The one place where his chances of his dark elf bloodline being discovered is higher.

But can anyone blame him and his beating heart? How could he not fall when she’s so sweet, so ethereal?

So undeserving of that bastard Adin.

She was so good. So kind, so strong, so smart, so compassionate.

And Adin was… a scumbag, for a lack of a better word. Someone undeserving love.

Despite that, Adin was still her fiance. Adin and not Alberu.

“I’ve known him since we were kids. Our engagement had been decided from the moment the emperor found out I was a girl. They said I was the perfect wife for him. That I can strengthen the royal bloodline.”

She had confided one night. Her dignified yet soft voice had a tinge of longing in it. As if longing for the life she could’ve had outside of being Adin’s bethroed. 

“Your Highness [Name] has your time with Prince Adin made you grow some affection for him?”

Alberu hopes that the answer is no. That despite the headstart Adin had, [Name] hadn’t fallen for his charms.

That instead she’d fall for Alberu’s charms.

He’s the better choice. He could give her so much more than Adin could ever. Alberu will make sure that she will have the chance to showcase her talent to the world. He will make sure to treat her like the princess she is. This crown prince won’t treat her as if she’s a mere trophy whose sole job is to be bragged around.

[Name] was so much better than that.

She has wits that can help run a kingdom. She has the compassion for her citizens. The heart that screams and begs to aid her people. She has a strong persona that has so much more use than just being shown around to nobles.

Alberu Crossman can see that she’s worth more than Adin displayed her to be— no, in fact in Alberu’s eyes she’s worthless. No system of measurement can gauge her worth.

“No amount of time spent with Adin can make me grow affection for the man. Whether it’s platonic or romantic.”

The quarter-dark elf almost let his shoulders sag. He was so relieved that he nearly conveyed his true feelings. 

He has a chance– Alberu Crossman actually has a chance..!

Alberu was so happy that he nearly didn’t catch [Name]’s next words.

“That man is so awful, hence why no amount of time with him can make me tolerate him. But I’m sure you already know of such things. As a matter of fact, my trusted handmaiden is on her way to make negotiations with your dear commander.”

Roan Kingdom’s rising sun had to double-take, unsure if the words he was hearing were correct.

“I’m not as dumb as the world thinks of me.”

Alberu must have had a stupefied look on his face for the lovely lady in front of him to make such a comment.

“No, no my lady, that’s not what I meant. I am well aware of your wits and capabilities. It’s just that my commander and I had been ready to do everything in our power to turn you over to our side.”

To turn you over so that you’ll be in my arms instead– of course, Alberu said no such thing. Only letting such degenerative thoughts run through his mind.

“My lady is highly intelligent, highly perceptive. You are also close to Adin, you are a core player in taking such a man off his high horse.”

[Name] had an incredulous look on her face. Like Alberu was flattering her too much. However, he wasn’t. The poor prince had only been telling the truth.

“I didn’t think that the future king of the Roan Kingdom was one to… get brownie points.”

“You wound me, my fair lady. I was merely stating the truth. Nonetheless, since we’re on the topic… do you mind people who try to get brownie points?”

Alberu isn’t sure where he got the guts to be so coy. But he was glad he did because [Name]’s expression was better than he’d hoped for.

“Hmm well, I guess I don’t mind. If it’s from a silver-haired prince maybe I wouldn’t entertain it. Luckily, blonde seems to be my type… or was it brown?”

[Name] had a knowing look on her face and oh god can Alberu fall any deeper. He should be scared, should be nervous that another person seems to know his secret. But no, instead, he feels himself falling deeper in love.

“Don’t worry your highness your secret is safe with me. I wouldn’t do my potential lover dirty like that.”

Yeah… safe to say that Alberu’s in too deep now.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kylie Cheung at Jezebel:

The day after Election Day, calls to the Trevor Project’s crisis services hotline for LGBTQ youth surged by 200%; online searches for abortion pills and emergency contraception skyrocketed, too. Queer youth, women, and girls were clearly concerned about what a second Trump presidency meant for their safety and their futures. But the country has been largely apathetic to their fears. Instead, we’re being called to consider young men’s suffering—real and imagined—and the insidious forces that seemed to shift this demographic to the right. A sampling of post-election headlines includes, “We Asked Young Men Why They Voted for Donald Trump—Here’s What They Said,” “The ‘Lost Boys’ of Gen Z: how Trump won the hearts of alienated young men,” “What’s the Matter with Young Male Voters?” and “Trump Offered Men Something That Democrats Never Could.” Of course, Jezebel is now adding to that list, but what’s missing from some of these stories is the manosphere as an increasingly powerful political arm.

Exit polls show Trump received a larger proportion of voters under 30 than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008. In 2020, Joe Biden beat Trump by 11 points among men under 30. Last week, Trump beat Kamala Harris by two points. (Among young white men without college degrees, he beat Harris 56% to 40%.) Some of this should be taken with a grain of salt: Youth turnout dropped sharply from 2020, so these stats offer an incomplete snapshot of an entire generation’s views. But, as journalists, organizers, and the Democratic Party scramble for answers, one concern that’s come to the forefront is the manosphere—a fast-growing, unrepentantly hateful community of men’s lifestyle influencers, podcasters, and media personalities who glorify and preach misogyny to a new generation of young men. Think: serially accused rapist and human trafficker Andrew Tate, hate speech-platforming Twitch streamer Adin Ross, or misogynist streamer Sneako, who once slapped a woman on camera as a “prank.” There’s also TikTok star Bryce Hall, who joined Trump on the campaign trail about a year after collaborating with proud neo-Nazis, including Sneako. One video from December 2023 shows Sneako laughing as he’s approached by young fans who yell, “Fuck the women” and “All gays can die.” He half-jokingly asks the camera, “What have I done?”

On Election Night, Trump handed the mic to UFC President Dana White (who, like Sneako, also slapped a woman on camera) at his victory party, and White directly thanked Ross, as well as the Nelk Boys and Theo Von, more popular manosphere influencers and podcasters who also supported Trump’s campaign. Over the last several months, Trump made numerous appearances on their shows and streams and hosted them at his rallies. And, because this seems to have worked, those who didn’t see Trump’s victory coming are now trying to understand this chilling sphere of influence that’s seemingly been radicalizing young men right under our noses.

It may be annoying, even disturbing to have to take this increasingly mainstream underworld seriously, but Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America (MMFA), tells Jezebel that understanding the manosphere is important to understand “what future generations are going to look like.” Carusone says MMFA researchers tracked at least 20 times that Trump appeared on manosphere podcasts—including those of Von, Hall, the Nelk Boys, and Jake Paul—since May. In 2023, Ross and other popular manosphere creators including JiDion, Steve Deleonardis, Jorge Masvidal, and alleged rapist DJ Akademiks, appeared with Trump at a UFC event. The meet-and-greet was set up by right-wing video platform, Rumble.

MMFA has been closely following manosphere stars for years now, watching them and the social platforms that host them profit off of mocking rape survivors and trans people, or joking about and openly celebrating violence against women to their impressionable, mostly teen and tween boy audiences. Young people who might turn to them for apolitical interests—weightlifting, video games, MMA fighting, dating advice—are increasingly inundated with out-of-context stats and arguments about how much easier it is for women to get jobs, or minorities to get into college, or trans people to succeed at sports. These audiences are radicalized to believe a liberal, feminist world order is crushing them. Now, thanks to social media algorithms, content about weightlifting, video games, MMA fighting, and dating has become a pipeline to the right.

[...] Nicole Regalado, vice president of campaigns at Ultraviolet, told Jezebel her organization has been tracking online misogyny campaigns since Gamergate in 2014, which saw an outbreak of rabid sexism, racism, and queerphobia against perceived feminist progress in the video game industry. But she’s been alarmed by sharp rises in online harassment against women in recent years. It doesn’t help, Regalado said, that at a time when the manosphere is surging, with the help of anti-MeToo backlash and a golden age of media illiteracy, “social media platforms are gutting moderation, trust, and safety teams,” while “platforming and profiting off hate.” A lot of this came to a head with the outcome of the 2024 election, Regalado said, which “followed months of disinformation and racism-misogyny about Kamala Harris” from popular right-wing, manosphere-type influencers. Trump’s victory has only emboldened this toxic stew of misogyny, culminating in the viral “your body, my choice” slogan.

I understand the importance of Democrats and progressives figuring out how to “reach” young men—the electoral stakes are high, especially for the most marginalized among us. But in the last week, I’ve often found myself frustrated, even disgusted by the idea that young men are uniquely suffering because they’re young men, that they deserve outsized sympathy and attention at a time when women and other marginalized communities are on the brink of perhaps one of the severest rollbacks of our rights in modern times. Teen girls and young women suffer from endemic sexual violence and misogyny, and many still find it in their hearts to not elect a fascist. 

Carusone says he’s struggled with this, too. But he’s made sense of it by understanding the manosphere and its toxic, mass appeal as a youth issue. “The 30-year-old men who are upset, the Tucker Carlsons of the world, they need to get over it. They’re not who I’m talking about,” he said. But manosphere content is poisoning the minds of children, shaping them to become violent toward other children, to grow up and inflict violence on marginalized people. “We have to think about this as it relates to kids. If we don’t do something about this now, we’re messing up kids,” Carusone explained. “As these boys and young men grow, they’re going to build and organize political power, and even worse, as they move into maturity, they’re going to be more violent and abusive than previous generations.”

Jezebel does an excellent report on how the cadre of manosphere influencers such as the Nelk Boys, Sneako, and Adin Ross-- who helped push young men to the right and push Donald Trump over the finish line and how they’ll shape politics.

[tapedsleeves]

(primer anon) Thank you so much!! <3 <3 I write at a snail's pace so no clue when I'll actually output anything but I loved reading your post 😭 if it's not too much trouble I'd love to hear a little more on keegs and adin since they're on your ships list and I don't know much about them (also maybe nic roy since I just found out he's quebecois?? For some reason I thought marchy was the only frenchy)

Or if you can point me in a direction I can go do my own digging and give your inbox a break 😭 I'd love to know if there's any go-to articles/video series/beat reporter or something, or a good blog/tag to dig through. the official social accounts post so much it's hard to find anything when idk what to search for

I always forget that Nic Roy is quebecois until he talks! There's actually another French guy, who probably will sign somewhere else this summer, William Carrier. Nic Roy is very very quiet. But he's got a cat and put that cat in the cup. Nic is is very chill and low key. Lots of guys on VGK are. Not a lot of them are like. Super flashy guys.

Will Carrier, also french, is SO SO SO square. He helped build his own house and while they were in the montreal series in 20-21, someone peed on his front door. He watched it on the security camera.

He often helps people fix things - he's very handy. But otherwise, he's very chill and low key.

Keegan Kolesar:

Danced with Mat Barzal at Ethan Bear's wedding. butt slaps and handshakes with Jack eichel. keegan is just. A really laid back, funny, sweet guy. His biological is absent, and his step (orr adopted) dad died of COVID complications in september of 2020, so he takes his mom on the dad's trips. It's VERY sweet that he does, and everyone makes her feel really really welcome. Annabelle is our Make A Wish signing and they had quite the fight :)) Here's his POV about it. Actually if there's kids, he's going. He goes to all the charity hockey / ball tournaments and ball hockey events that VGK does in the community. Every one has Keegan in there. did post game press with a chicken ceasar wrap (misattributed to a burrito)

why i ship him wiht Jack: after Keegan's goal against the Jets on 4/22/23, Jack did this, which looked like engagement photos to me

also very important to me: him holding the drunkest karly on stage at the parade. he was SO grabby. it was LOVELY.

I think they kissed on the mouth

Here he is kissing teddy blueger

Keegan kissing Nic Hague.

I'm pretty sure he's an affectionate drunk.

Adin Hill

Adin Hill is just very sweet and loves coffee. He makes his own.

Here he is laughing at Karly saying that his hamstring was "not chillin"

he was very drunk at the parade and referenced talladega nights

they did marchy SO dirty. They sent hilly & nic hague. the two tallest guys.

wore a UNLV basketball jersey to the parade, inspiring love from vegas

also took it off

gets fighty here's another shot

absolutely beautiful ok?

His kicky feets

HE'S SO FUNNY

why i ship him with paul cotter

it has less to do with adin and more to do with Paul himself. He's a goalie appreciator.

adin and tommy are REALLY CUTE tho

despite having the same listed height, adin is taller

their hugs are soo so so so tender. I love goalie.

As far as beat reporters: Gary Lawless is our insider guy, Jesse Granger is our beat reporter for the athletic, and Ashali Vise is one of our on-air broadcasters. All of them are pretty good sources of info. All of them I've referenced for stuff. But really I know most of this just because I like. Have been around. I pay attention. You'll note that some of this is sourced from my own blog, so like. Go nuts there too if you want. If you want older stuff, @himbeaux-on-ice has a bunch of good stuff. @vgkmarc also has some really good stuff, along with @golden-knights-of-the-realm , @at-empty-tables & @sevennone . @reneserseya is really good for Jack Eichel content with some Alec Martinez thrown in for fun & @goldenmisfits is as well. @lovethygoalie knows a lot about Nic Roy iirc.

Also I will say, Dave Goucher & Shane Hnidy are a fun follow, even if they're not exactly reporters - they're super involved and also very cute.

[short-black-diamond]

My golden boy!

🍰-nom requested: Elijah with a strong buff fem reader!!🤩🤩

Part two

Please read this webtoon because I don't have any other people that know this webtoon which is a crime btw...I recommend it to you, it's very cool!

the reader is also a boxer and russian, just like Elijah, for those who are wondering.

Your name is going to be Milana Marinova in this, alright? Write in the comments if you want another name. I will also write the way you look in my own style, as in long dark hair and big muscles.(but I don't know if I even described the reader's appearance??) And uh, my russian is not the best so if you're russian or can speak and write it, please correct me if I made a mistake on that.

Also don't believe the nonsense I'll be writing about sports and fighting because I'm a couch potato.

anyways, vocab!:

Minya savut .... = My name is ... , blyat = shit (<-you guys know that one already), yisho adin! = another one! , poshalusta ostanoviy! = please stop!

---

"Yo, check this out Elijah!", V-Cube's voice called, pulling the russian out of his thoughts. He was beating up a punching bag, after all.

"Yeah? What's up-", and his eyes widened.

They were looking at the video of a female boxer, who made short process out of her opponent. she was beating into her opponent with a vigor that Elijah only knew when an axe, a hammer, or he used when he was angry. And the girl also did it unbelievably fast. That girl was you.

But who were you?

"Who is that?", he only asked. He had to look at you again- you were rather pretty, to be honest. Your long boxer braids were swaying according to your punches, which were quick, short, but impactful.

"That? It's Milana Marinova. She's the first female russian lightweight champion, with 35 wins and not a single loss. And she's pretty young as well. I think she's becoming 20 this year... I think."

'What? 35 wins?! And not a single loss?!?'

"Who are you guys- Mila?! Awww!", Kublai's voice exclaimed. His eyes sparkled and he looked at you through the screen with a fond expression.

How did Kublai of all people know you?

"You know her?", Elijah and V-Cube asked.

Kublai laughed. "Know her? She's my best friend! And! She told me that she'd come here after she's beating up that girl. I'm so excited! Elijah, she could also teach you how to fight! And to be honest;"

And Kublai made a dramatic pause,

"Beating up her opponents is not even warm up to her. She's wanted to fight against some of the fighters here for a long time. And tomorrow she's coming here! Aw I'm so excited!!"

'huh, that's the first time I've seen Kublai so excited...! And Milana teaching me...that could be good!'

"That would be a good idea, to be honest! I'm pumped to fight now!", the black haired boy exclaimed before he ran back to his punching bag. But all the while he was beating it up, he couldn't help but think about you.

You were rather pretty. very pretty. How you beat up that girl like it was no problem...that was hot. Or how you smirked towards the camera with your sharp canines glinting in display. Elijah shuddered.

He also tried to punch as fast as you, but his were mediocre at best when compared to yours.

...

"..li....eli....ELIJAH!!"

"AHHHH!- I'M AWAKE I'M AWAKE!!"

Right above the dark haired boy stood Kublai. His eyes were wide open, sparkling, and he had a big smile on his face. Kublai looked more scary than ever. "Wake up! She's coming today!!!"

The young boxer looked to the side, and out the window, where he couldn't see anything. "What time is it...?"

"Ten minutes past midnight!"

"What the hell, man...?", He grumbled as he turned his back to Kublai. That man only snickered before dragging him out. Elijah hit his head on the ground and hissed, to his kidnapper's joy. "Maybe that'll wake you up!"

And that's how he found himself sleepily nudging a punching bag. "...the others aren't awake, are they?"

"Nope, but Milana will come any moment now!"

"Don't you think that she'll come at a more...reasonable hour? It's barely past one-"

With a click, the back door opened, and an all too familiar face poked in. When you caught Kublai's happy stare on you, you smiled as well. After you closed the door as quietly as possible and closing it again with one of the hairpins you didn't use, you immediately yeeted yourself at Kublai.

You two giggled and whisper-yelled towards each other.

"I can't believe I'm here today! feels illegal, hihiihihihihii!"

"It's so good to see you again! What else did you to in Tokyo!?"

"I was woking on your problem, actually! But seriously, getting banned from Japan because of what you pulled?! That's not like you, Kublai!"

"I'm sorry..."

"You were rather nice with that message, I think I would've shot glass splitters at them or something!"

"Argh, why didn't I think of this?!?!", and he bonked his head.

And you two giggled like what you were talking about were crushes at a sleepover.

Kublai then lead you to Elijah, who stood where he was the whole time (🧍🏻‍♂️), and he blushed. You were actually...small! But you were much more pretty than what he saw on video. And you had a pretty toned body as well.

"Minya savut Milana Marinova, nice to meet you!", you spoke in russian. Elijah blinked at you. 'you were russian?! Ah-- V-Cube said that as well- Uh-'

"S-sorry, I'm not that fluent in russian..."

"Ah, thank god, me neither!"

and you two chuckled. "Say, where are your suitcases and stuff?"

"I came here alone. They'll come around 1 pm. and it's now...?"

"a few minutes past 1 am."

"So...what are we gonna do now? Eat? Or fight?"

...

"Argh- Oi- Ouch!", was all Elijah could muster up before he was met with another of your dozen punches. And they were as light as you made them to be. He made a time-out sign and you stopped. You guys were fighting without gloves.

"My punches feel like needles on your skin, don't they?"

"Yeah...but...how?"

"Because of my small fists. I don't punch you with the back of my fingers, but with my joints. Wether the ones which are more towards my hand, or even sometimes the pointsies.", you explained as you pointed towards the knuckes which started on the back of your hand, then the ones in the middle and then the tips of your fingers themselves.

"Also, I'm not that strong [-yes bitch you are], so I lay more pressure on the speed as well as vital points. Let's call them hot spots. You felt the most pain in your liver, I also go for the sternum. It's just-- my personal favourite, hehe."

"So, you like attacking the hot spots? But you punched me all over!"

"Yeah, that's because I couldn't find your weak spot. If I punched you close to your eye, it would've been critical for your fight with that Ethan guy. If I press too hard on your shoulder joints, I might dislocate them. In my opinion, you kind of remind me of a Zombie..."

"That's what Kublai said aswell!"

"Well, figures. You are also...kind of, I dunno how I should put it...not there. You're not in the fight, Elijah."

He frowned. "What do you mean? I'm totally in it!"

You shook your head as you looked up to him. "You're getting distracted by something in your head. Have you tried meditating? Maybe that'll clear your head!"

"Yeah, there is actually something that's bugging me...but meditating? you think that'll help?", he lied.

You were the one in his mind. He just couldn't fight against a pretty thing like you. He'd also gladly get his ass kicked by you if he could get so close as to take another sniff at your sweet orange perfume.

"It's worth a try!"

Cue to you, Elijah and Kublai sitting on yoga mats and meditating. As you were giving Elijah instructions on how to better his breathing, as well as when to hold his breath, Kublai was doing bizarre positions. But none of you two paid him any mind.

"Where are you imagining yourself, Elijah?"

"Fighting-"

"I thought I told you to pretend that you're in a forest."

"Ah--sorry. it's just...I don't know. I feel like I have to prove something, even when this is just an excercise...", Elijah mumbled, closing his eyes, and tightening his fists.

"I think that you're maybe too obsessed with fighting? And having to prove something such as 'Just you wait, I'll climb to the top in no time!', do you mean something like that?", you ask as you slowly stand up and go behind him.

"Yes! And I'm really trying to concentrate on meditating, but, I-I just can't-", he suddenly stopped when he felt your cold hands touch his abdomen, which twitched at the contact. A shiver went down his spine when your hand went a little lower.

"You're not even breathing right now. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeAh!", and he cursed himself for having a voice crack at the most unfortunate time. You only 'hmpf!'ed annoyedly by his lack of enthusiasm.

"You need to take this seriously, Elijah. Otherwise I can't help you. We will do some breathing excercises now.", cue to you taking a very deep breath. (he was glad that you didn't address his voice crack.)

He breathed in as deeply as possible, just like you. And as slowly as you could did you breathe out. He also tried imitating your movements, but he found it hard when you put one hand on where his heart was and the other on his diaphragm. His breath hitched.

"Sorry, I-I'll try again-", but he cut himself off when he turned his head and looked straight into your eyes. he could lose himself in them forever. You were eerie calm. You took your hands off him -much to his dismay- and sat yourself beside him.

"How about you go back to sleep? Today might be another exhausting day." "But I thought we could train-"

"How about you take a little rest? It's past three already. Try to sleep as much as possible, alright?"

How could he say no when you asked him so nicely? And he couldn't win against you anyways... So, with a defeated sigh, he stood up and took his waterbottle. "Uh. Kublai, you comin'?"

"In a minute!", his comrade said as Kublai tried to detangle himself. He truly became a human bretzel. You snickered at your best friends antics.

After Kublai managed to stand upright after being free, he jogged over to Elijah. "Mila, is it okay if I leave the tidying to you?"

"Sure thing, here's nothing but yoga mats anyway!"

"Okay, see you later!"

"Bye! And get some rest, you two!"

And after Kublai closed his door, he looked at Elijah with mischievousness. "You like her."

The russian spluttered. "W-wha-!?! No! W-what makes you s-say that!??!", Elijah laughed awkwardly.

Kublai acted like he thought it through. Then he grinned at Elijah.

"Well, for one, she's really pretty to begin with. Two, everybody with at least one half braincell could tell you were enjoying her touching you -even when you made her mad in the process- and three, you didn't ask "who?". That means that you like Milana."

Dang it. 'Is my crush on her that obvious? I don't even know her that well!'

"A...and what if I do...?She must have a boyfriend by now-"

"She has yet to smile at a boy other than us. And well, you can guess yourself lucky that we're the first two who she smiled at. Should I tell you the story on how I met her?! It's the funniest thing ever!"

Elijah sighed, and nodded with a heavy blush. He still couldn't believe that he fell for someone he didn't even know properly. All he knew from you was your name, age, and that you won 35 times, with no losses.

"I think it was in a small village, close to the caspian sea-"

"Where's that?"

"...don't you have geography??"

"uh, about that-"

"In russia, you oaf. Anyways, as I was saying -but got rudely interrupted by you- (Kublai pouted at Elijah with a frown to which the younger male apologized sheepishly) I met her when she was, maybe sixteen? Yeah, something around that age I met her. She beat up a few men who were actually five times stronger than her. But she still managed to beat them. She also didn't really look like the other villagers around her. She looked rather european, so I approached her in english and asked why she beat those guys up. Mila just answered that they were looking at her mother funny.

And not only that. I could see that she didn't really know how to use those fists, she needed to control them. Do you want to see a pic I took of the beat up men?!"

"Ah, s-sure..."

After a few seconds of Kublai scrolling down his gallery, did he tap on one picture with three overweight, grotesque looking men. It wasn't their normal look, but what you did do them. One's eye seemed to have reached it's brain. The other one on the ground seemed to have no teeth at all -maybe because you punched right in his mouth? Because of your small fists?- and the third one's nose was also smashed. And not only their faces were deformed. Their legs were in unhuman angels, from one of the mens' ears came blood, and the other man's arms were rolled together.

Did you put them into a tornado? There's no way a sixteen year old girl like you could've done that!! Kublai sensed his disbelief. He swiped to the right, where he clicked on a video.

It showed you beating up those thugs. In the background people were shouting, and your mother, he guessed, called your name in a desperate and pleading manner.

"poshalusta ostanoviy Milana!", your mother yelled, but you seemed deadset on making those guys suffer. He saw then how you turned one guy's arm into litreal flour. [don't ask how/me, just imagine being badass and doing shit like that]

After the video ended, Kublai looked at Elijah's terrified expression. He laughed. "welp, that's Mila when she was sixteen. Now she's a killing mashine. I can say with pride that I was the one who got her into wrestling.

And, well, she became something like a little sister to me. And you should've been there when I tried to persuade her parents to join me in my travelling. I-I still have no idea how I managed to do that, but what's counting is that she's with us!"

Elijah thought back to when you and Kublai giggled upon your meet-up. You two acted like siblings, that was for sure.

"I'm glad too. Now I have her as an ace up my sleeve and she can teach me cool tricks! I'll beat Ethan in no time!"

"That's what I want to hear! And now back to you crushing on her!"

Elijah flinched and felt his cheeks warm up. "C-c'mon, man, I'm not-"

"if you dare to touch her in any way other than training, I will have no other choice but to rip out your throat, your heart, and pop your balls."

Kublai smiled at the russian with an innocent smile after that. elijah didn't know who he was more terrified of now. You, or your "older brother"?

...

"So...you're Milana Marinova? The chick who beat 35 people?"

"Oh, I actually beat wayyyy more people than 35, Mr. Rumsfeld, but yeah!"

The Alpha-male laughed heartily. "Ahahahaha, of course you'd beat more people-"

"She actually killed a few!", Kublai chimed in. You smiled up at the man in front of you innocently.

His smile strained as he looked down on you. He started to sweat a little. "R-really?"

"I had to serve as a bounty hunter. To my defense, I only killed like...thirteen?", you looked over to Kublai.

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen men. And they were Rapists, Child molesters and overall just very bad guys."

"Y-you're joking...right?", the mullet-man said, unsure if he felt safe around you or not.

I mean, you were what, twenty? You were basically still a child...! And why does Kublai know about your past?! Are you two siblings or something???

But you just smiled at him. Then you broke out in giggles. Rumsfeld was scared of a little girl. Take that, "Alpha male".

A blonde boy came up to you then, holding a notebook with a marker. "Um, M-miss Marinova? Privyet, minya savut-"

"Vasily Vadymovych Vovchanchyn, da? It's a pleasure to meet you.", you smiled, extending your hand towards the taller male. You actually knew him because you watched his tournaments. And because you watched the first few episodes, where they got interviewed. You cooed when you saw a smiling Vasily. He was one of the "cute" fighters if the tournament. Your judgement.

"You're a master of sport in combat sambo, right? Can you teach me a view tricks of yours?"

But Vasily only blushed. He couldn't believe that his favourite female fighter recognized him on the spot. Let alone spelled his name correctly on the first try. Or even asked him about his fighting. Vasily thought he could die happy now. "Ah! S-sure..! eh-", he only made out as you gently took his notebook from him and the marker as well. You wrote your name in nomal...and what was that other thing you drew-

Milana Marinova <3

'A heart?! Does she like me perhaps?! NO! I-I don't even know her, I mean I do! But maybe she just meant it platonically! Yeah, that might be it!', Vasily thought before you gave him back his belongings. For a brief moment, your fingers touched, and Vasily flinched. His body went into overheat and he knew that he was sweating an awful lot.

You quickly retracted your hands. "Sorry, can't really warm my cold hands.", you chuckled as you did jazz-hands. The blonde only shook his head no. "I-It's alright, really!"

Elijah watched you two with a weird feeling in his stomach. He respected Vasily, but he didn't like how the blonde blushed and was acting all shy with you. And you weren't even against it. Maybe you were into blondes...?

...

"Yesho adin, Elijah!"

"What does that even mean?!-Ouch!"

"Another one, and now stop asking questions and let me catch these hands!"

Again, Elijah got beat up by you. Mr. Trevor, Elijah's coach, was glad that you were there to help at first, but regretted it when he saw how brutal you "trained" with his fighters. Mr. Trevor didn't even want to fight against you himself.

"A-ah, Milana, how about you be a little...tamer with him?"

"But Uncle, I am holding the receiving gloves, while Elijah is the one who has the boxing gloves...how much more tame can I be?"

"How about...you don't verbally abuse him?"

You looked at Elijah. "Did I verbally abuse you? If yes, then sorry."

Elijah pouted at Mr. Trevor. "She's not verbally abusing me!", and he huffed. But, Mr. Trevor could see a tinge of red dusting his fighter's cheeks. He stood a little too close to you, he also crouched so that he could be a little closer to your eye level. The trainer then looked at you, who looked at him and Elijah with an uneasy smile.

A lightbulb switched on in Mr. Trevor's head.

'So that's why you're acting like a brat...'

With raised hands in a giving-up motion, Trevor clears his throat. "Sorry, I shouldn't interrupt this little session you have with her.", Mr. Trevor said while having a fatherly grin which didn't mean good news. Elijah flinched and got a red face. With flailing hands and a slightly raised voice did Elijah try to make the older man stay, but to no avail.

"I-it's not what you think! I-"

"Safe it! I'll ask Kublai about it!"

"Wait, DON'T- aaannnd he left.", the russian deadpanned.

You chuckled awkwardly. "Uhm, what was that just now?"

Elijah seemed to be a scaredy-cat, because he flinched again, to which you flinched. "Eli-" "Sorry! Coach Trevor doesn't know what he's talking about!"

You would've understood it better if the boy in front of you waved his hand around dismissively and laughed.

But no. Elijah stared at you like he was being held at gunpoint as he explained his coach's behavior.

"Ou-kay?", you said in an asking tone, before you raised your hands this time. "Wanna keep training or do you want to take a break?"

"Uh--let's train-" *BONK* "...seriously?"

You bonked him with one of your receiving gloves. "We were training for about three hours now, Elijah. Eat and drink something, it's going to be lunchtime soon, alright?"

The boy nodded with a defeated sigh. "Say, Milana...I-I wanted to ask you something. And I don't want to sound rude or anything, I'm just curious! And, well, if you don't want to answer then it's fine with me too! I mean, I'd like to ask you a personal question, although I don't know if it even is personal or not? I just-"

"Gosh, Elijah, I'm not going to bite your head of for one little question.", you exclaimed as you pulled the gloves off. You then helped him take his off too. When you were done, you looked into his eyesand you noticed what a beautiful touch of blue they were.

you also noticed his right brow which was shorter than the left. You wanted to know the story behind it. Otherwise, you found it kinda cute...Elijah was actually kinda cute...and handsome-

'Was Elijah always this good-looking...?'

"What I wanted to ask was---why are you fighting, like--wh-what is your reason?!"

"Do you really want to know?", you said. But something seemed...off. Why was your tone so...suggestive?

Elijah felt his cheeks heat up as you stepped closer. "Y-yes...!", the boy stuttered, and although he had a bigger body than you, he felt himself shrinking by your uh, gaze? You just stepped closer to him until his back met the wall.

"M-Milana-", but you shushed him as your head came close to his ear. He could smell your light smell of sweat (he must've been stinking then), he could count your droplets of sweat on your shoulder, and he felt overall a little overstimulated as you did something somilar as a kabedon. Your light breath reached his ear and he shuddered involuntarily. 'What are you-'

"If you want to know why I am fighting, then...wait until the author finds motivation to keep writing."

---

part two, shortblackdiamond's analysis on the webtoon

Hey hEy heY! How are my fellow readers?! Here, I have written the first part/episode with a buff reader! If you want to, just write in the comments if you'd like a second part!

Read you in the next post!

P.s. please read the webtoon I'm looking for people to simp over some characters of it, specifically Elijah😫😫😭😭😭

[vibingncrying]

Now, if we turn this albecale, this is one of many ways it could go:

Warning: yapping

Rosalyn would figure out something is up before either of the idiots

If you remember that one scene where Cale got spooked after reliving some trauma thanks to looking at the God of Death's note and almost collapsed-

-> that's when Rosalyn would be like "your highness, dear, take care of your important person but also yourself, it's gonna be fine we can beat up some god no worries'

-> that would be around the time when she confronts Alberu about it probably, or a bit after

Now that I think about it, when going to the Mogoru Empire to rob the Vatican- in that arc, if they're engaged already then Rosalyn would be brought along as well, so maybe she'd notice something is up then

Cale wouldn't have to support the whole building alone at least btw if she's there, unless they're trying to not reveal she's a mage or something

She'd notice how Adin is a bad type of scheming bastard that should be kept away from hers but also how that hug wasn't anything like the one back at the plaza terror incident

-> why she'd think that? Because unlike that one this wasn't just for show

(and I'm obsessed with that scene so leave me alone to the delulu)

Anyway, although she'd love the tease them about it relentless as they sort themselves out, she'd instead just chuckle and smile knowingly, which is somehow worse(?)

-> if Choi han would be stuck watching Cale be unaware of his feelings

-> Rosalyn would be doing the same thing, watching Alberu trying to figure out his

-> both idiots would misinterpret things to varying amount of degrees so at one point- despite how amusing it may be- she'd team up with Choi han who would just have had about enough and help get them together themselves

Things to consider:

Cale wants a slacker life

Alberu wants to be king of the Roan Kingdom

Rosalyn is fiance/wifey in this

Choi han cannot act

How would they start then? By making sure first of all that they observed and interpreted the situation correctly.

-> they try all kinds of stuff, simply asking questions involved but what really sells it are the small things they observe, like the two of them communicating through their eyes only across the room (how is that even canon), their gossip dates and stuff like that

Rosalyn and Choi han would ask the children's opinions too on the matter btw, because they'll be the people impacted by this foremost

-> they'll probably wouldn't mind the forever cookie supply tho

Let's say they somehow got the feelings part confirmed then, what about the two's plans for their future?

-> Cale wants a slacker life, Alberu wants to run his Kingdom -> that's quite conflicting, they would need to compromise on stuff

Would they do it tho? Yes, yes they would cuz I said so

But also, guess what: Rosalyn and Alberu are in a lavender marriage (their group is mostly made aware, just not the public) so Alberu and Cale could get together without more added pressure of responsibility!!

Cale's idea of a slacker life involves everyone in his life being content, could work

Rosalyn and Choi han meet ups would have a minimum 5 minutes venting sessions about these two btw

Both of them would also spend time separately with Cale and Alberu as part of their plan

-> hanging out with Rosalyn and talking about stuff is no problem but Choi han with his staring and sentences. said. like. this. would become a bit suspicious so Alberu and Cale would have a separate self assigned mission to figure out what's with him

It would also be pretty funny if while that's happening, Alberu and Cale get together (they just don't tell the others yet and it's not like they'll suddenly become more touchy feely than before so it wouldn't show too much)

-> so, when Choi han and Rosalyn eventually admit what they were up to (or Raon says it for some reason because no way Ohn wouldn't see what's happening), they'd be like: 'but we're already together?'

...there would be a moment of silent blinking, then:

-> Rosalyn takes a deep breath

-> Choi han looks to the sky as if that'll help

-> Cale looks at all of them thinking 'what's up with them now'

-> and Alberu just brushes a hand over his face thinking 'this is driving me nuts'

Or something like that

Okay, okay, hear me out: lavender marriage au

(Rosalyn & Alberu)

Warning: a lot of yapping

This could work with all kinds of ships, main idea is:

What if Rosalyn's parents were just a bit less supportive of her becoming a mage and she decided marrying was better than running off

Alberu and Rosalyn were both crown prince/princess, from all the characters they're some of the most well versed in politics even after Rosalyn throws away her title

The two of them work well together, both are very stubborn tho, especially Rosalyn

Btw this could also work in a way that they agree to pretend to be ready for marriage but make it so Alberu becomes king faster than they'd have to go through with it

Rosalyn as far I've seen didn't show much romantic interest and Alberu would've only married as a political move from the beginning, so what if they end up doing just that with this arrangement?

Rosalyn looking for husband material:

should be reasonable,

should not try to do bad type of funny business,

should let her do research in peace,

preferably near the Breck kingdom,

capable to run things even when she's unavailable,

approves of mages

preferably around her age

Mogoru Empire:

Adin -> big NO, corrupt and an a$$hole

Caro Kingdom:

Valentino -> good(?) guy but absolutely incapable to do anything kingdom related

Whipper Kingdom:

-> bit farther away but not too much

-> they got a pretty cool magic tower, civil war is about to break out tho and they got rid of royals

-> good because she wouldn't have as much influence and responability

-> bad because they're slaughtering the mages and hate anything magic related

Askosan:

-> the Gorge of Death makes it pretty hard to visit family later or just the Breck Kingdom in general

Nordlan and Paerun Kingdom:

-> they're too far in the North, away from everything

-> who is even there to marry? cold duke of the north - part time lunatic - Clopeh Sekka is kinda the only one we know

Jungle:

-> nice one but already got a queen

-> also a bit far

Roan Kingdom:

-> a neighboring kingdom with low expectations to it, average at everything

Alberu -> one year age difference, can be left to his own devices and would allow her to be, can be trusted with politics, has no known disdain for mages

When you look at it like this, ignoring all the no name small kingdoms that her parents would probably not even let her marry into unless it's the one true love of the century, also not counting the Eastern Continent because it's so far away, then it's not all that hard to see what she'd choose

I'd like to mention that yes, it would be her coming up with this idea, I cannot see Alberu doing so, he was too paranoid at the start of story

Pros to this marriage in general:

Rosalyn's brother can be the King in the Breck Kingdom just like he wanted to since she'll be queen elsewhere

She'll be in a neighboring kingdom, not far

It would be beneficial for both kingdoms to have a good support system because of the Mogoru Empire at both of their borders

Alberu would have 1/3 maybe even 2/3 of the backing necessary for him just from this, the current Queen wouldn't be able to mess with him much

Alberu and Rosalyn would make one hell of a duo >;)

They both met before this whole arrangement since in story Alberu could recognize Rosalyn even with dye magic (that also could be from just seeing information on her beforehand)

-> so, let's just say they met in some royal gathering first

Rosalyn was called the sun and rose of her kingdom (it's funny roses are said to be delicate and then there's Rosalyn), guess what Alberu is trying to become, the sun/moon of his kingdom so matchy matchy

Both of them can control a form of mana, Rosalyn only finds out later about it but they basically exchange informations about that

They make a deal that Rosalyn can research whatever she wants to but only if it's not dangerous to the kingdom, must share breakthroughs, Alberu takes care of the paperwork necessary on both their parts

Some ideas for the au:

they would still establish the mage brigade

Rosalyn would have a blast blasting stuff with royal money, would definitely have access to all the magic stones she needs to keep up the good relationship between the kingdoms or smth xd

the marriage would take place before the assassination attempt on her and her group, that's probably why'd she choose this option instead of going away

they can both have someone on the side if they want, just needs to tell the other about it so it's not a surprise

they would sorta just do their own things but act the needed amount of lovey-dovey in front of the public

at the start there wouldn't be much trust between each other since this is just a deal to benefit them both

-> Alberu would have her tailed with some dark elf guards

-> Rosalyn would sense most of them cuz she's just cool like that

gradually, after scheming about stuff like this and working together for a longer time, they come to trust each other with things, still not telling each other everything because we've seen how secretive Alberu can be even with his closest allies but entrust one another with information they wouldn't have otherwise

I feel like Rosalyn would still find a way to befriend Choi han one way or another, Lock as well, but it would probably take longer for them to become so close

if we have a Krs! Cale Henituse in this then Rosalyn would also be made aware of Alberu's dark elf blood, otherwise she'd just suspect stuff

-> in this scenario she'd definitely become one of Cale's number one scheming partners ofc

-> he'd probably even be told about their arrangement after a while, let's be real he kinda sucks at figuring out relationships so that's why he'd be told instead of figuring it out on his own (not like he'd be all that interested in it tbh)

Rosalyn would still want to be a magic tower master, so the plan is something like:

they push off having their wedding till Alberu gets coronated -> after the wars no one dares question their decision on the matter (Alberu and Cale would still need to become sworn brothers tho so he'd have some backing) -> Rosalyn goes her merry way to become tower master (how they'd deal with the public's opinion on the matter? Idk ask them)

an other option is that they marry and Rosalyn just hangs out at the magic tower using a different name or persona, not everyone needs to know what the tower master looks like anyway -> she can just dye her hair and stuff but that's not really her style since she'd want to show off a bit but at the same time the magic tower wouldn't be in a 'free city' if the crown was there now would it -> so if they married she'd be investing in a 'side project' (a lie, it'd be a full time thing) or simply have someone act like the real tower master when in reality it's very much her

it could also be that they marry and they both gather enough influence after the war(s) that they can divorce without political issues -> they can prove that Roslayn is better off as the cool firey mage she is and Alberu is capable enough to run the kingdom on his own, so it should work out probably without as much backslash

not that important but Alberu and Rosalyn would have a rose themed wedding (in case they do go through with it)

-> the color theme would be red and gold, sunset vibes

-> roses would become their marriage's symbol, that or maybe another flower too with some cool meaning that I can't think up rn

-> there'd be a bunch of roses in the garden as well :D

Not connected much but the royal mages would totally envy Rosalyn or look up to her, no in between

Oh, also- imagine Ohn wants to learn ballroom dancing so the whole family just shows up at the royal duo's places that hiiiiii, you guys should know how this works, show us :)

I might expand on this last idea more later on idk

[thecaptainisdrawing]

Having a low pain day which means it's time to draw These Guys again for Practice and Fun

Bonus:

[liamskim]

if you love me, let me go

WHAT: a timeline of liam kim’s meeting and involvement with detective rita daniels WHEN: over the course of several years WHERE: mostly las vegas, nevada 

No trigger warnings apply. 

Mentioned; Rafe Montoya, Ethan Parker, Gabriel Bautista, Dilan Adin and Roman Fisher-Brooks.

August 2014

“New recruit, Kim?” One of the officers whistles as Liam goes through a personnel file. He doesn’t bother to look up, because that reaction doesn’t register as the man goes through her recruitment sheet. As the greenest man in the office, Liam took it upon himself to get acquainted with someone on paper before he shook their hands. Rita Daniels, top of her class, another legacy hire. She had requested to transfer out of New York, due to personal reasons. As in, Liam was going to make it his business. 

Turns out, Rita didn’t need his help, or his hindrance in her life. Fiercely independent as they came, but easy to get along with it. She wasn’t making friends, but at least she wasn’t ruffling feathers with the other detectives. 

December 2014 

They’re looking at pictures of splattered brains and splitting spring rolls and green curry between themselves. There was something about crime scene pictures that made Liam very hungry, and Rita apparently matched him in appetite.

“Why this job, Daniels?” 

“Could ask you the same thing, partner.” 

He pauses mid chew, shrimp forgotten as he searches for an answer. “Maybe this is all I know. Family’s been wearing this uniform long before I came along.” Liam’s waving his chopsticks around, trying to paint a picture for Rita, but how did one describe family expectations? 

“Same thing here, Kim. This is all I know too. Seen my mom and dad make their way from beat cop to Captain and Sergeant, respectively.” She paused, eyes trained on the pictures before them. Liam was hoping she was going to open about herself, but she instead set the box of food down, because her smart brain was connecting dots. 

June 2016

The transfer papers are sprawled across Rita’s desk. “They’re sending me to the strip. It sounds like a good gig.” Liam knew it wasn’t a good gig. He picked it up and started to leaf through it, but Rita was quicker. “Old man, are you listening to me? I’m going down under.” Her smile seemed so bright, and it clutched at the older man’s heart. 

In six months, a lot has happened in their lives. Liam was engaged to a journalist and he was preparing for a sergeant’s exam. Rita climbed up the precinct’s social ladder, getting the better cases, doing good work in the community. She was on her way to proving her last name to be worth it. And of course, Liam had taken a more parental approach towards the woman. She had jokingly called him her work dad, but it couldn’t have been any less accurate. So the fact that she was being sent where he couldn’t follow? Impossible. 

“Who’s your handler?” Liam was wearing a look of pure seriousness, rubbing his chin in thought. He had already worked on a strategy to replace whoever was meant to be Rita’s backup. He didn’t care if she thought she was being smothered; nothing was going to happen to Rita on Liam’s watch. He’d make sure of it.

“Gomez. Inspector----” 

“Yeah well, don’t get comfortable. I’m coming with you.”

He was gone out of the office before Rita could even get a word in. He was on a mission. 

October 2016

Liam sucked at cooking. But this was a special meal, for the three of them; the husband, the father and the daughter. Thanksgiving didn’t mean a lot for Liam, but it meant a lot to his husband, and it was going to be the last time he’d see Rita again, unscathed. 

He could hear them laughing over snap peas and mashed potatoes, while he checked on the turkey. In another life, he could imagine himself a family like this. Maybe after all this was over, Liam would ask him about starting a family. 

“...Don’t think the Giants are going to win this year. I’m not a betting guy…” 

“...worse than the old man at taking these bets, I swear to God…” 

Their peals of laughter is the last shred of joy Liam would ever experience, and he didn’t even know it. His mission folder was tucked away in a safe, for after the husband went to bed and Rita said her last goodbyes. 

“Hey Kim, your husband might be even older than you in this department. Jeez, how did you two even find each other?” Rita is teasing, and the husband’s cheeks have turned bright red. 

March 2017

“I’m taking this opportunity. Whatever it takes, Dragon.” 

“There must be another way.” 

“There isn’t. It’s either this or not. Goodbye.”

And then there is just nothing on the other end of the line. Liam is used to the constant updates, but now? He’s lucky if he can get five minutes of her time in months. There are regular updates though; pictures stored in locked safes, evidence compiled for months. 

This was going to be a year long mission, and Liam was already worried one day one. He said a silent prayer to a God he didn’t quite believe in.

April 2017 

You have one voicemail from; Daughter. 

“I’m sorry this is so late, old man. It’s not...it’s not something case related. Uhh, so this guy I’ve been seeing...Rafe. Uhh...I think I really like him, old man. This is so bad, isn’t it? How do you get over the bad guys?” 

“Also I met this guy....calls himself Roman. I think he’d be an easy egg to crack. More to follow on that. Also...uhh, tell Ethan I miss him. Saw a guy with an ass like his, and I couldn’t resist.” 

July 2017 

“I think they’re onto me, Dragon. If you don’t hear from me in five days, go to the [redacted address] and wait for me in the [redacted address] at [redacted time]. The last of the caches will be there. Gabriel Bautista has been looking at me funny. Dilan Adin has already shown open hostility towards me, but I believed it to be jealousy…..” 

“If this is the last time you hear from me old man, I died for the job. That’s what we all do. Over and out.” 

Liam has spent the last month burning all his resources trying to find her. These names and faces that couldn’t be linked to a crime. Some hint of disappearance. His marriage dissipating is the least of his worries, as Rita Daniels is declared missing in action. 

He doesn’t want to believe she’s dead. Because Rita wasn’t the kind of person who would just die. This was not how her story was meant to end. 

December 2017 

Detective Kim signed the last of his divorce papers, signing everything over to his ex husband and moving away from everyone’s life. He’s left behind everything; among new people, he’s taking more risks, acting careless. 

He’s going to get the justice that Rita deserved. 

Just yesterday, he asked to be sent undercover, in her place. “You’re being reckless.” 

Liam shrugged, “I’m the only one who knows where to go from this.” Even though looking at the caches hurts now, every memory tainted by his love for a daughter he shouldn’t have adopted. “I am the perfect candidate. Let me go in.”

July 2019 

Two years undercover, and Liam has become a ghost of himself. The anger is the only thing that keeps him alive anymore. It’s all he is now. He has been watching the caporegimes carefully, his hatred starting to become personal. 

He’s going to fucking kill them, if that’s the last thing he does. 

[sarcasmchandlerbing]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

THIS IS AMAZING!!! ❤❤❤ Panthers won!!! ❤ And now I want to tell a story... so... this was my first whole season kind of watching NHL but I also watched many (if not all) last year's Panthers VS Knights games and was of course just starting to get to know these teams. And I also watched some other games, few of them maybe. But it was not in real time, it was sometime in the june or july I watched those. I guess withouth knowing the end results.

And... first I kinda hated the whole Florida Panthers team!! And Matthew Tkachuk also. Because of the 'violence'. They were too violent of a team to my taste. And Tkachuk was the rat king of them all. It seemed like they fighted every game and I was kind off pissed off about it not knowing in the playoffs you fight even more than you normally would.

And idk I became Adin Hill fan at least and idk if I liked Knights or was just thinking they are okay team (I still do think they are an okay team). Did I root for the Knights or Panthers? Don't remember clearly. But Adin Hill is still awesome and my fave member of Knights. But was I a Sergei Bobrovsky fan back then? Or was he just there? Because I don't remember!

And idk when and where it happened but I started to like Tkachuk and Panthers. I didn't mind them being a fighting team. Of course I wasn't all of the players biggest fan (kinda disliked Cousins and Bennett - they were even worse than Tkachuk imo. But now Bennett is okay!) but the team grow on me!

But here we are now!!! It's in my top five faves and I love the team so much ❤❤❤ I think it might be in the second place after Buffalo Sabres but who knows. And talking about Sabres I'm so happy Kyle Okposo got traded to specifically to this team!!! ❤💙 now it's like if they win it's like Sabres have won something too!! But not to go that far. But I have faith in them, I have hope! They can lose and it would be devastating but they have the chance to win also!!!

And if the orange team wins... will be so sad. Dallas, please, you have one job! Do a miracle! Be a miracle! 💚💚💚 PLEASE

Because if Dallas doesn't win and there is this orange team against Panthers... speaking of Carolina Hurricanes, Panthers won for them too, it was a revenge, and then they have a job to beat orange team and revenge for Dallas losing.

Anything can still happen and I hope for the best!!! Let's go Panthers!!! ❤❤❤ Let's go Stars!!! 💚💚💚

Okay so now we have four teams left... two of them being my faves. And not many NHL fans can say that so I am lucky that way. Of course not many NHL fans have many favorite teams, some have only one, so there is advantage in that. And also, my opinions may change, favorites may change, this is only my first season truly watching.

Florida Panthers VS the other one. It may be a tough battle, might go to game 7 even. Also it could cut short but then there should be questions raised about that. What went wrong if that would happen. Or... both could be playing their best but other is always one goal ahead of the other and then it's just... sad. I have thought long time that Big Bad Wolf would win the whole thing and I think they might win in game 7 if not earlier. Hope I'm wrong. It would be exactly 30 years when they have won last time. So... Panthers have never won even if they were in the finals last year so I want them to win so bad because of that too 😭🥺 Like some would say, my head says the others, my HEART says Panthers ❤❤❤ Please do some magic, I have faith in u ❤

The other teams... no the orange guys no. Please no. Don't want to see their joy. Who I think will win? I think this too might go to game 7 or then Stars will flop early. Orange team will win I think 😕 Again, head (which don't matter btw) says others, HEART says Stars 💚💚💚 I still have faith. Anything could happen 💚

Can't think too much the dream scenario of Panthers and Stars being in the finals. It would be too chill of a final. I would just enjoy it so hard. But also cry. Happy and sad tears both. But you can't have it all. But maybe I can have it some please?? I would want Panthers to win a little bit more than Stars but I would be the happiest if either of them won!!

I don't know if I would be interested to watch the finals if there are two teams I don't like! Probably will start to hate Big Bad Wolf team if they won - hold up - they have beat Canes, and if they beat Panthers, and if somehow Stars are in the finals, and if they beat my third favorite too, ofc I would by then hate them! Duh. Would be my number one enemy after that (maybe even worse than that one team)! Of course kudos to them for being so good and beating all but still. It would sting.

If even one of my faves gets to go to the finals it would be wow... even if they lose in the end. But first has to be scared about this next round! And then talk more. Lol. I speak to the void but that's how it is 🤭

And... Stars have won last time in -99. Orange team... was it kind of recently? Ugh. So... if my not faves are not on the finals... who to truly cheer for? Not either of those because reasons.

Sad you lost Canucks 💙😔���😥

Good luck Panthers ❤

Good luck Stars 💚

[amazable01]

The Paw-Some Paladin

Based on this post by @pipapatton.

THANK YOU MANDY FOR LETTING ME WRITE THIS!!!

“Patton! I’m going out!” I call out to my roommate.

“Be safe, Lo!” He calls back from his room.

Be safe. Probably the only advice he gives me, anymore. “I will!” I say as I leave the apartment. I walk down the street, humming at the sounds of the birds chirping. An average day.

Suddenly, my world goes haywire as I’m shoved into an alleyway. My head buzzes and my vision goes blurry as some kind of smell fills my nose, knocking me out.

“So, is this some kind of personal attack?”

“I have NO idea what you mean, PALADIN.”

Shuffling.

“You know EXACTLY what I mean, NERO.”

I stir, my head spinning. I try to sit up, only to feel myself restrained to something.

Someone, Nero, I believe, laughs. “Is that any attitude to give me, sidekick?”

The other one, Paladin, growls. “I’m not involved with YOU, and I’m certainly not your sidekick, anymore.”

My eyes open, and I get a good look at the two.

The one standing nearest to me wears a white, spandex suit, and a dark-red cape over one shoulder, with gold accents shimmering in the flickering light. However, the outfit is tarnished with dirt and bloodstains, and his hair is unkempt. He looks almost like a mad Prince Charming.

The other has a gray cape, with cat ears on top. A black mask covers the top half of his face, hiding it from view. He has a long sleeve shirt and pants, both the same gray as his cape, and white fingerless gloves. To top it off, he has a cat tail poking out the back of his pants, white like his gloves. He seems much more cautious than the other.

“Come now, Pal-adin.” The Red and White one says, and I know him to be Nero, now. “We don’t need disguises here!”

Paladin sighs. “You did this on purpose, then. To try to expose me. It’s not going to work, you know.”

Nero turns to me. “Ah! Our guest is awake. Delightful!” He strolls over, and despite his insane appearance, each step is calculated and careful, as if he knows exactly what he’s doing. Which, to be fair, he probably does. “Good morning, Logan! How was your sleep?”

I raise an eyebrow, feeling much more wary. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh, I stole your wallet.” He says, offhandedly. “I also know your roommate. We were VERY close when I went to college.”

Paladin stiffens, growling. “Don’t touch him, you maniac. You wanted me here, I’m here. What do you want with him?”

“Oh, just wanted to say hi, is all!” Nero says, smirking. “Well, THAT, and the fact you took my last specimen, so I decided to make it even.”

Paladin suddenly races over. He flicks his wrists, and cat-like claws extend from his gloves. “YOU WON’T TOUCH HIM!” He flips through the air, and strikes Nero in the chest with his foot, knocking the villain back, and landing in a really awesome pose.

Nero slides, and backflips back onto his feet. “Well, kitty wanna play?” He grabs two swords from his back, and glows as they catch fire. “Fine. Let’s play.”

The two circle each other, their weapons drawn. “Never thought you’d stoop to this.” Paladin says, almost pained. “Never thought you’d become one of the monsters we fought against.”

Nero growls, and charges him, and they go at it. The sounds of metal clanging echoes through the huge chamber of a room. I struggle against my bonds, feeling the need to get out of the situation.

I look over when I hear a crack. Nero stands with his swords dropped, clutching his chest. “You fucker.” He says, shaking.

Paladin runs over to me, slashes through my bonds, and grabs me bridal style. “Hold on!” He says, before running. I barely have time to wrap my arms around his neck before we’re crashing through a window, and out into the air.

The fall goes in slow-motion, and I get a good look at Paladin in the moonlight. I feel my heart skip a beat, and my face warm up. This guy is REALLY cute…

We land on a rooftop nearby. Paladin sets me down, and looks me in the eyes. “Are you alright?” He asks, softly. “No shards of glass? No bruises?”

I shake my head, staring deep into his light blue eyes. He cracks a heart-stopping grin. “Awesome. Now, I ordered you a taxi. Go home. Patton was worried sick about you.”

I suddenly feel incredibly regretful. Patton… He didn’t even know where I was… I nod. He turns, but I grab his wrist suddenly. He turns back to me, eyebrow quirked in a silent question. “Will I ever see you again?” I ask.

He smirks playfully, winking. “Only time’ll tell, Logan.”

And, just like that, he’s gone into the night.

I let out a sigh I didn’t know I was holding in, and start climbing down the fire escape.

Patton’ll NEVER believe this...

[luluguardainofcreative]

GZtales; Up Coming Parents ch.4

Papyrus held Adin close to him, her stomach had grew since he found out they were going to have a daughter. Adin was at 18 weeks now, she look more beautiful than before but she was always beautiful to him. It took them an hour just to get Adin comfortable to lay down. They were asleep till Papyrus felt movement. He open his eyes a little to see if Adin was okay. She hadn’t moved since he gotten her comfortable, he soon went back to sleep when Adin woke up as she felt something kick her.  

It was soft but it was enough she could feel it.  Papyrus woke up a little worry when she say up a little. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Do you need to to the bathroom? Any ice packs?” He asked panicking a little when she smiled.

 “No, no, it’s not that.” She giggle “The baby just kicked.” She took Papyrus’ hand over her swollen belly  placing it on top. Papyrus felt a kick as he smiled. “I bet she letting us know she’s awake.” Adin smiled as Papyrus kissed her belly letting their daughter know he was here as well. Papyrus soon kissed his love.  Adin giggle as she kissed him back.

Frisk wanted to see Adin and Papyrus to see how they were doing, but they were starting to make a room for baby, they wanted to help out. They knew Toriel and Sans were there, but they wanted to help out so bad since they heard about the baby. 

 They notice Adina nd Toriel were outside talking.  “Are you sure we should leave them alone?” Adin ask a little worried if there was still something wrong in the brothers’ bond. “I’m sure they’re okay. I know you’re doing all the housework.” Adin just gave a nerve grin when Frisk show up. They waved as Adin wave back at them.  “Honestly, doesn’t he help or is he used to you doing them?” 

Toriel seem to have not forgiven Papyrus  about the abuse he had caused on her and Toriel was the closest to a mother figure Adin had right now. Frisk smiled looking at Adin’s bump.  

“What is it? A girl? Boy? human ? monster?”  Adin try to calm down Frisk, they were excited to see the baby and they were happy too because they would be their friend. “Frisk calm down, we’ll tell you next week.” They were so excited that they started to jump up and down. Toriel giggle a bit as she look over to see it the skeleton brothers were fighting or not.

Sans and Papyrus painting the room that was going to be the baby’s room a soft yellow. Sans happen to look over his shoulder as Papyrus was busy starting on the next wall. 

“Don’t you ever stop working?” Sans ask. Papyrus stop for a moment as he set down on the floor. “Well we could start putting together the crib?” Sans sat next to him as he got something for him to drink. 

“Stop before you dry up.”  He said handing him a bottle of water. Papyrus was in corner at this point but he had a point as well. He needs to be in good health as well for their daughter. 

Adin happen to come in looking at the room. “It’s looking good. You sure you don’t need my help?” She ask them as Papyrus got up kissed her cheek. “It’s best you two don’t. We got it here.” He said as Sans look at how big Adin’s belly has gotten. He could see the beat up human, he couldn’t tell it was her. Sans wonder if her sister; Adora would have felt about being an aunt? 

It was still hard to believe he was going to be uncle.  Still he wonder too if their father; Gaster would have felt about being a grandpa. Sometime he fear if he was still here he would experiment on their grandchild.

He try to ignore them when Frisk came into the room almost tripping over the paint cans. “Anything I can do?” They ask when Adin place a hand on their shoulder. 

“Maybe you can help make some lunch for everyone.” She said as they smiled a bit. “Will you be okay?” Papyrus ask  touching her face as Adin blushed. 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She kiss him when Frisk help Adin into the kitchen. “Is she okay doing all the work?” Papyrus look at his brother as he look back a Adin when she was in the kitchen. “I help her out,  I don’t want her to...”

 Guilt was starting to kick in again.  Was Adin still reliving those times too? When he had her as servant was she expecting a bone attack or something?  

“I know what you mean, but the others still have hard time trusting you...with her. But I trust you and I know you love her.” Sans told him as Papyrus happen to notice a butterfly on the window. The butterfly left as Papyrus start to paint it on the wall. “But, everything turn out alright in the end.” He said smiling as he finish painted a green butterfly on the wall.  Sans realize he was quoting Adin’s sister.  

Sans wonder if Adora was watching them in some ways. Almost like an angel watching them he wonder if the others humans souls were watching as well. “What?” Papyrus look over at him as he seem to be looking  at him. 

He shook his head smile at him as he help make another butterfly on the wall. “I’m just happy to see you again.” Sans said. He was  talking about having his brother back. It was just nice to see him smiling again.

Adin and Frisk were cutting some fruit since Adin was craving fruits lately.  She would take a piece out of the bowl they were using as she took most of it. “Adin you should leave some for the rest of us.” frisk said giggling as Toriel took the bowl away trying to make a fruit salad for everyone.   

“I’m sorry, but the baby want some too,” She said giggling as took a sip of milk tea. Toriel suggest that Adin sit down to drink her tea. She didn’t fight with her as she just sat there till she felt a kick. She felt another kick as if the baby was letting her know she like the tea or the fact she needed to rest. Adin touch her belly as the baby kick again. 

“Mommy is trying to relax.” The kicking seem to have calm down a bit. She felt bad now that she wasn’t doing anything now as Frisk help Toriel as she was drinking tea. She began to hum a song that she remember. 

Not the one she had her sister would have sung together, but something her sister would listen to often. It was catchy since it was from the 80s but she always seem to listen to this one often.  She couldn’t remember the artist or the song it seem to have Aodra listen to it a lot.

“Oh I heard Mettaton singing that at one of his shows, isn’t that a Berline song?” Frisk ask her as Adin remember it now. Adora would play it over and over again and she never catch the artist name. “Guess you know more about 80s music than me.” Adin said as she felt a small kick. “And I guess the baby likes it.”

 Toriel just let Frisk go as they touch Adin’s belly as there was another kick. The skeletons brothers came into the kitchen later as Papyrus kissed Adin’s forehead as she kissed back on his cheek. 

“How’s the painting going?”  Toriel ask as Sans gave her a thumbs up. Papyrus took Adin to see the painted room as she notices the butterflies painted on side. “It looks amazing Papyrus, but why are they’re only two on this wall?” Papyrus smiled as he handed her brush. “It was Sans’ idea,  he thought that...well..if any of our friends would like to make paint one..for her..” Papyrus was blushing as if the idea was silly  as Adin kissed him. She felt the idea was cute as Papyrus kissed back as they were saying yes to each other.

It was now 20 weeks now as Papyrus went shopping for some milk and some food that Adin was craving. He texted her asking her what kind of milk she wanted. As he waited for a text he notice a human covering up their face a little. It wasn’t a robber or someone who was trying to cause trouble. It was an adult human with a child.  

A seven year old child asking their mother if they could get something sweet as the mother said yes. Papyrus could see part of the woman’s face as almost a dark circle around her face. The mother could sense him staring at her as hide her face more as her child come back. 

Papyrus saw that she had a black eye. He began to have flashbacks all the abuse he gave Adin. Was this women in a abusive relationship that her child have to be apart of?  He thought about his soon to be daughter as he fear that he would go back to the way he was and abuse her again.   He heard his phone went off as he notice a text from Adin asking for whole milk, he look at the woman and her child leaving the store, he grab two gallons of milk before they left.

He went up to the cash register hoping to see them, he thought if he said something to them it would help but he was abuser at the time so there was nothing he could say to them.  

“It’s okay, they’re fine.” The cushier said to him. “I know the woman, she slip on something hit the side of the table or wall or something. She wasn’t in one of those relationships.” Papyrus let out a deep breath as the cushier look at him.

 “You were?” She ask him. Papyrus didn’t know how to answer that, how can he said her was abuser to someone. How would humans see him abusing a human?  He might be one of the reasons if there was another war between humans and monsters or his daughter. 

 “No in the same way…” He told her as he purchased the items, he didn’t want to answer the question when he notice the cashier's name tag. It said Ariel on it.

He and Adin haven’t thought of a name for their daughter still. He notice how the cushier’s name was also like a word font sort of like his name and sans’ were. They had no idea what their child would be human or monster but the name came into his mind as he pay for his items. “Your wife with child?” The cushier ask while Papyrus look up at her.

 “You just have that look of a new coming dad. I didn’t know monsters..like you can have babies? Sorry if I sound like idiot insult.” she said as Papyrus just smile back letting her know it’s okay.  Papyrus didn’t really get into it but he told her it wasn’t insult.  The cushier smiled as she finish checking him out and give him something on the house. “Some ice cream, can’t go wrong with that.” she told him as he thank her for that and left.

When he got home, he notice that Adin was on the couch. “You two okay?” He asked putting the bugs on the the table. “Well, she wouldn’t let me get comfortable on the bed, so the couch was the second choice.” She said since the couch was closer to a window as well. Papyrus had notice that Adin was looking through a book of names while he was gone.  

“She really want one of us to pick a name for her..” she said tiredly. Papyrus went over to her holding her kissing her cheek. Adin was looking at names that have started with A all the way to Z.  He look at the names, this reminded him of looking at a list of names that he would have to remember during his time as guards’ captain.

 But his name he would always remember, he happen to notice one of the names were Ariel as well. He wonder if seeing the cashier's name tag was some of sign for his daughter? If it was, he would change it the E in the name to an A instead. Adin look up at him seeing how he was in his thoughts.  “What is it?” She ask a little worry about him.

“What would you say...if we name our daughter..Arial?” He asked her. Adin felt a light kick as she giggle. “I think she wants us to call her that.” She giggle as she pull his hand on to her bump. Papyrus felt his daughter kick inside of her, it was different from when he abused her, kicked her around, he could have cause internal bleeding if he went on.  It would have killed her by now if went on, but he held her gently, it was nice. 

“You’re not going to hurt her or me.” she said sleepy leaning her head against his chest. “So don’t worry..about hurting me..” She doze off a little as Papyrus felt tired mentally as if listening to Adin’s breathing and heart was like a lullaby to him. JUst being with her was enough.  

He happen to notice the radio she had own was playing some music was playing, he was tired and just let play and it was better than listening to Mettaton’s stuff. 

“Sorry..I’m just scared to hurt you..” He told her holding closer to him. “ or just lose you.” He said kissing her. Adin nuzzle him as her eyes slowly close. “I will always love you..through pain...even in death.” She said  holding him. “Everything will be alright in the end…” 

The two kiss before falling asleep on the couch forgetting about the bags on the table.  

-----

Undertale (C) Toby Fox 

GZtale @golzy

Adin @luluguardainofcreative

[hoesidon]

sha//adin is gross though and ur gross for thinking it's okay

first of all, I would like to remind you sweetie that the creators(producers, ???) said something along the lines of Allura being a teenager and of paladin age. (Don’t get me wrong fam I’m super pissed she’s a teenager too even though I never shipped Shallura). So technically Allura and Paladins ships are now okay.

Second of all, I would also like to point out that Lance and Keith’s ages (to my knowledge) haven’t been explicitly confirmed by anyone. But I personally headcanon them between 18-19. And if you wanna call that pedophilic then you need to take a step back and google the term minor. Wait don’t. Let me do it for you.“In law, a minor is a person under a certain age—usually the age of majority—which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is generally 18.” Here’s some more information for you fam.

“Minor may also be used in contexts unconnected to the overall age of majority. For example, the drinking age in the United States is usually 21, and people below this age are sometimes called minors in the context of alcohol law even if they are older than 18. The term underage often refers to those under the age of majority, but may also refer to persons under a certain age limit, such as the drinking age, smoking age, age of consent, marriageable age, driving age, voting age, etc. These age limits are often different from the age of majority.”

On the age of consent:“The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts, and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity. The distinguishing aspect of the age of consent laws is that the person below the minimum age is regarded as the victim, and their sex partner as the offender.”

“Age of consent laws vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, though most jurisdictions set the age of consent in the range 14 to 18. The laws may also vary by the type of sexual act, the gender of the participants, or other restrictions such as abuse of a position of trust; some jurisdictions may also make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a single age. Charges resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a misdemeanor such as corruption of a minor, to what is popularly called statutory rape (which is considered equivalent to rape, both in severity and sentencing).”

So sweetie, to answer your ask, I do not ship Pidge and Shiro. (I don’t ship Pidge with anyone but that’s besides the point) I don’t ship them because she is believed to be 14 and that’s just gross. My mom would’ve beat my ass if when I was 14 I was dating a 17 year old, much less a 20+ year old. I do not ship Hunk/Shiro because Hunk is 17(?) and I just don’t like the idea of Shiro an Hunk dating. Never did even before Hunk’s age was confirmed. I also never shipped Allura with any of the Paladins before he age reveal and I sure as hell don’t now. And like I said before, to my knowledge Keith and Lance’s ages haven’t been confirmed so as of right now I consider them between 18-19 and anon, sweetie, when I was 19 I was talking to a 25 year old and if I wanted to date him I could’ve because I’m fucking legal and it was my choice.

HOWEVER, if Lance and Keith’s ages are at any time confirmed to be 17 and under then I will stop shipping them. That’s all I have to say on this matter and I refuse to go into it anymore.

[awesomedigityx]

New Year’s emotions.

New Years Eve was normally one of Xandra’s favorite holidays since she loved to have an excuse to drink. However, this year she wouldn’t be able to take a drink. No matter how much she had wanted to take a drink. Being pregnant really sucked. She had really wanted to drink. She had been having a rough six months. Being left by one guy, only to really find the right one, just for him to be taken away from her in the blink of an eye. She was distraught. Depression had been hard on her. Xandra was only still functioning because she had to. She had her son Adin to think about. That and Gabby would kick her ass into gear if she didn’t do it herself. The woman kept her as busy as she could. It was like Gabby knew that if Xandra fell too hard into her depression that she would fall into old habits again. Something that she really couldn’t do being that she was pregnant. 

Xandra sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had promised that she would go out that night after the small ceremony. Not that she really wanted to. Her mother was watching Adin. Which, her son always loved to be with his grandparents. Today had been eventful. Gabby and Tyler had finally tied the knot. Which, Xandra loved. She loved how happy Tyler made her sister. Now that it was time to go out for New Years Eve into New Years Day, she wanted to hide and not go. She would be tempted to get a drink, or drugs. Her emotions getting the better of her. When would she catch a break. She wondered. That’s all she wanted in the New Year, to be happy, to beat depression. Possibly find love again. Which, she doubted  would happen. She was better off single. Less painful that way. Shaking her head, she fixed her dress before heading out to meet everyone. There was a group of people going out and Xandra wasn’t completely sure who all was going to be there. 

Arriving at the party, Xandra glanced around. There was a large group of people. Some that she knew, some that she didn’t. Now she was stressed, mopey, and emotional. Darn her pregnancy hormones. The woman wanted to whine. She shouldn’t have promised that she would go out. This was not going to be fun. No drinking for her? What was she thinking. Her New Year’s resolution was going to be putting her foot down and no longer doing things that she didn’t feel up too. That and she wanted to really be the best mother that she could be. She shook her head and glanced around the party. What in the world does a sober person do at a party? Xandra was really out of her element. Which was making the depression that much worse. 

The countdown for the New Year had started. Many were drunk by this point screaming out the count. Xandra was just standing there feeling like she should have already left long ago. When the clock struck midnight, confetti fell from the ceiling and couples brushed their lips together for a kiss. Xandra took a deep breath as she tried to look away from all the kissing. It was making her even more emotional. Grabbing her sprite, she went over and took a seat while everyone else continued to party. Xandra was really starting to feel her depression kick into high gear. The woman tried to kick it from her system not wanting to break out into tears once again. She had been breaking out into random fits of tears often since William’s death. 

Xandra knew that she was being anti-social, but she couldn’t bring herself to go immerse herself into the sea of couples. It would hurt her heart even more than it hurt. She hoped that in the New Year, she would be able to overcome the heartbreak of watching the man she loved die in her arms. The woman would forever have that moment burned into her memory, even though it wasn’t a great memory. She just wanted to be woken up from this terrible dream. Sadly, it wasn’t a dream. It was reality. The woman could feel tears starting to prick at the back of her eyes. Shit, she thought. She was really going to cry. The last thing that she wanted to do in public. Yet, she knew that there wasn’t going to be much that she could do about it. The woman brushed her tears away as she stood up and started to make her way towards an exit. That’s when she bumped into someone because she wasn’t looking. “Crap, sorry. I need to pay more attention to where I am going.” she said with a sigh as she glanced up to see who she had bumped into.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Matthews Signs, Ovechkin Makes History, Rask, Kane, & Klefbom (Feb 6)

  The big news of the day saw the Leafs lock up Auston Matthews to a five-year deal that will pay him 11.634 million per season. 93 percent of that is coming in the form of lockout-proof signing bonuses. With the cap projected to move to 83 million dollars next season, Matthews new cap hit will account for 14 percent of the total space available.

  Here’s a look at some of the other big-time centres who have signed monster deals and their percentage-based hit against the cap.

  Connor McDavid 12.5 million 16.67%

John Tavares 11 million 13.83%

Jonathan Toews 10.5 million 15.2%

Anze Kopitar 10 million 14%

Jack Eichel 10 million 13.3%

Evgeni Malkin 9.5 million 14.8%

Sidney Crosby 8.7 million 13.5%

  Looking at those comparables, Matthews eating up 14 percent of the cap seems quite the reasonable – and it is. However, those other deals were for the max years available and bought up multiple UFA seasons. The Leafs only grabbed one year of UFA-eligibility from Matthews.

  Crosby and Malkin both signed five-year deals coming out of their ELCs for 8.7 million per. They both represented 17.3 percent of the cap for their respective signing years. The Pens were able to extend them for 12 and eight more years after that at 8.7 and 9.5 million respectively – all of which were UFA seasons.

  Going shorter term on Matthews saved the Leafs on the overall cap hit now, but it means they’ll be negotiating with a soon-to-be 26-year-old UFA when this contract concludes.

  Those pinched pennies today will be stretched thin. With a projected cap of 83 million for 2019-20, the Leafs will have 16.3 million free with just 14 players under contract. That includes RFA deals needed for Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson.

  I’m no mathematician (although I do teach high-school math to students who mostly despise it), but there’s a scenario here where those three RFA’s eat up nearly all of that cap space.

  Something will have to give.

  **

Malkin missed his third straight contest and the Penguins definitely missed him as the Hurricanes blanked them 4-0 on Tuesday evening. Curtis McElhinney made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season. It was his first start in three weeks. 

  For those wondering, Justin Faulk continued to skate on the team's top power play, while Dougie Hamilton worked the second unit. 

  **

Patrice Bergeron skated in career game 1000 on Tuesday and had a typical Bergeron evening. Two goals, four shots while playing a key role on special teams. He continues to click at a triple-digit pace. 

  Brad Marchand added two helpers and Tuukka Rask stopped 28 of 29 to keep his heater rolling. He's 8-0-2 with a 0.945 save percentage stretching back to December 29th. 

  That concussion we were worried about last week appears fully in the rearview.

  **

San Jose defeated the Jets 3-2 in overtime as Joe Pavelski scored the shorthanded winner in the extra frame. That's eight points in the last four games for Little Joe. 

  Erik Karlsson missed his fifth consecutive game – not even making the trip to Winnipeg. This isn't a great look for the Sharks. EK was already dealing with the injury before the All-Star break but decided to suit up for the event with it happening in San Jose. 

  Here's hoping this doesn't linger too much longer. 

**

  Rasmus Dahlin tallied a power play goal and skated 25:25 as the Sabres beat the Wild 5-4 in a shootout. The 18-year-old defender has recorded two goals and nine points while averaging over 22 minutes in 11 games over the past month. 

  Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel each had two points in this one despite the Sabres shuffling their lines. 

  {source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Sabres' lineup:<br><br>Sheary-Eichel-Okposo<br>Skinner-Mittelstadt-Pominville<br>Smith-Rodrigues-Reinhart<br>Girgensons-Sobotka-Thompson<br><br>Dahlin-Ristolainen<br>Pilut-Bogosian<br>Scandella-McCabe<br><br>Ullmark <a href="https://t.co/dEGxHTPwgU">https://t.co/dEGxHTPwgU</a></p>— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloVogl/status/1092930494923243520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}

  **

Ryan Suter recorded two assists and skated 30:10 in the defeat. The 34-year-old is on pace for career-high 56 points. 

  He's remains a monster.

  **

Some injury news and notes out of Arizona:

  Jakob Chychrun was placed on the IR. That means the Coyotes dressed Kevin Connaughton, Jordan Oesterle, Kyle Capobianco and Ilya Lyubushkin – not exactly a who’s who of proven assets.

  Darcy Kuemper suffered an upper-body injury and is also out. Calvin Pickard took the reins Tuesday and Adin Hill was recalled from the farm. Pickard was good in the game against the Predators making 42 saves, but he didn't get much help. 

  Roman Josi produced a goal and two helpers as the Preds defeated the Yotes 5-2. Josi has seven points in his last six games and has broken the 40-point barrier for the sixth consecutive season. 

  Pekka Rinne made 24 stops to record just his third quality start in the past 11 games. A welcome sight for owners who were beginning to feel the heat from Juuse Saros. 

  **

After a scary incident last night, Alex Edler somehow escaped without any broken bones. He suffered some deep lacerations, a few broken teeth and has been sent back to Vancouver with a concussion. Even with a diagnosed concussion, the result could’ve been much worse.

  https://dobberhockey.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/Edler-Head.mp4

  **

The Canucks took on the reigning Cup Champs on Tuesday evening on the tail end of a back-to-back on the road.

  With Thatcher Demko suddenly on a plane back to Vancouver to have an MRI on his knee, the Canucks used an Emergency Recall on 19-year-old, Michael DiPietro.

  In the last nine months, DiPietro has suited up for the Windsor Spitfires and Ottawa 67s of the OHL. He was the third netminder for Canada at the 2018 World Championships, as well as the starter for the Canadians at the recent World Junior Championships. Now the back-up gig for an NHL contest.

  You know he’s had a massive smile on his face for all of it.

  **

The Canucks shook up their lines ahead of this one with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser being split up. Pettersson skated alongside Josh Leivo and Antoine Roussel. While Boeser lined up with Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin. 

  Caps held the play In the first half of this one but were outshot and outplayed in the final 30 minutes. They managed to hold on for a 3-2 victory after Pettersson tallied with six seconds left to cut the deficit to one. 

  **

Alex Ovechkin assisted on the game's first marker to move ahead of Sergei Fedorov for the most points by a Russian-born player. 

    For my money, there's no true debate regarding the best Russian of all-time. Hell, I'm fully convinced that Ovi is the greatest goal-scorer of all-time too. But if we're looking at players from the Motherland on a per-game basis from their primes, Pavel Bure is the only guy who can make a case. 

  Here are the aggregate totals from Bure and Ovechkin's best four seasons: 

Pavel Bure: 229 goals, 172 assists and 401 points in 314 games

Alex Ovechkin: 223 goals, 206 assists and 429 points in 314 games

  During their peak seasons, Bure outscored Ovechkin on a per game basis, while trailing by a decent margin in assists. Of course, staying healthy is almost as important as what you do while you're on the ice, and that's one area where Ovechkin absolutely dominates the Russian Rocket. 

  **

Over in the college ranks, the state of Massachusetts is buzzing with the annual Beanpot tournament. This pits the top NCAA schools from the region against one another for the prestigious 65-year-old trophy.

  Monday saw Boston University and Northeastern square off and Canucks’ prospect, Tyler Madden was the hero in overtime as he converted on a breakaway.

  I’m not sure which is better, his on-ice skills or his celebratory game.

  https://dobberhockey.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/Snow-angel.mp4

  Madden is making a claim to be the best value pick from the 2018 class. Taken 68th overall by Vancouver, he’s been dynamite as the top line centre for the Huskies this season, and was a swiss army knife for the Americans at the WJC.

  He sure looks to have a future as a top-six forward. Keeper leagues, take notice.

  **

Amidst the trade rumours, Sergei Bobrovsky snuck in a rare win as the Blue Jackets defeated the Avalanche 6-3. It was his first victory since January 13 and is a welcome sight for owners. 

  Columbus split up their big line in this one and it appeared to work. Artemi Panarin slid down to play with Alex Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand, while Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson skated with Nick Foligno. 

  PLD and Atkinson combined for three goals while the Panarin line chipped in with two goals and four points. 

  **

Colorado has now lost four straight and remains on the outside of the Western Wild Card picture. 

  **

Oskar Klefbom has been activated from the IR. The 25-year-old has been out for nearly two months with a hand injury. Despite missing 21 contests, Klefbom still sits second for blueline points with 15 in 31 games. His 25:25 average per contest remains a team-high.

  This is a massive boon the Oilers’ backend (and power-play). Klefbom didn't immediately step back into his role on the team’s top unit. Darnell Nurse has been very good in that spot since Klefbom went down. He's recorded 17 points – eight on the power play, in the 22 games with Klefbom on the sideline. Nurse chipped in a power-play assist on Tuesday as well.

  It'll be very interesting how the Oilers proceed once Klefbom is back up to speed.

  **

Even with the return of Klefbom, the Oilers were no match for the streaking Blackhawks on Tuesday. With a goal and an assist, Patrick Kane extended his ridiculous point-streak to 12 games and 28 points. The former first overall pick has 17 goals and 41 points in his last 20 contests. 

  Can you say, en fuego?

  **

Connor McDavid did his thing setting up two goals and a dozen other glorious chances that went unconverted. Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to continue to build on a career-high. It wasn't enough though as the Oilers fell 6-2. 

  Cam Talbot was given the hook after giving up four goals on 27 shots. Mikko Koskinen allowed two goals on eight shots to close this one out. I think the Oilers may still need some help in net..

  **

Follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson

  from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-matthews-signs-ovechkin-makes-history-rask-kane-klefbom-feb-6/

[goarticletec-blog]

Hill shines again as Coyotes beat Kings 2-1 for 4th straight

New Post has been published on https://www.articletec.com/hill-shines-again-as-coyotes-beat-kings-2-1-for-4th-straight/

Hill shines again as Coyotes beat Kings 2-1 for 4th straight

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Credit the Arizona Coyotes’ four-game winning streak to rookie goaltender Adin Hill. Or maybe newly acquired center Nick Schmaltz.

Either way, the Coyotes are getting the best out of the two 22-year-olds and it is resulting in victories.

Schmaltz had a power-play goal, Hill made 25 saves and Arizona beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Tuesday night for its fourth straight win.

Lawson Crouse scored a short-handed goal for the Coyotes, undefeated since acquiring Schmaltz in a trade with Chicago on Nov. 25. Hill has stopped 84 of 86 shots since replacing an injured Antti Raanta to start the third period at Minnesota on Nov. 27.

“He’s unflappable right now,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. “He’s feeling it and it’s a nice story.”

Tocchet said he hasn’t decided whether to stick with Hill going forward. Raanta and Darcy Kuemper are close to returning from lower-body injuries.

“Honestly, for me, we’re just taking it a day at a time,” Tocchet said. “You have to right now. He’s done a great job for us since that Minnesota game on. He’s come in and he’s put the plug in for us. We have some guys hurt and he’s holding the fort.”

As for Schmaltz, he has developed an immediate rapport with standout forward Clayton Keller and is looking like the player he was billed to be. The Blackhawks drafted Schmaltz 20th overall in 2014, but dealt him to the Coyotes in a swap of three underachieving first-round picks.

Schmaltz put the Coyotes ahead 2-0 at 5:56 of the second period, extending his point streak to three games. He has two goals and three assists in four games with Arizona.

Crouse gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 18:25 of the first with his fifth goal.

It was the NHL-leading 11th short-handed goal for the Coyotes, already tied for second-most in a season since the franchise moved from Winnipeg to Arizona in 1996. The Coyotes had 14 short-handed goals in 1999-2000, and 11 in 2007-08. 

The Coyotes also lead the NHL by killing 90 percent of penalties this season. They have allowed a league-low eight power-play goals.

“Obviously, we’re trying to stop the puck going into our own net and when you can chip in offensively, it’s a bonus,” said Crouse, who has two short-handed goals. “I think we’re just playing to our systems, playing fast and jumping at the right times and getting chances and obviously bearing down at the right times.”

Alec Martinez scored and Jonathan Quick made 18 saves for the Kings, held to two goals or fewer in five consecutive games.

Martinez made it 2-1 at 14:15 of the third, scoring for the second straight game.

Dustin Brown appeared to have scored the tying goal with 56.4 seconds remaining, but it was immediately waived off because his stick was over his head when he tipped the puck down to himself before shooting.

“We’ve got to play a lot more minutes like we did the last five to seven minutes,” Kings center Anze Kopitar said. “You could tell there was desperation there. You’ve just got to play like that for 60 minutes.”

NOTES: Kings forward Trevor Lewis (foot) had surgery and will be out four to five weeks. Lewis has missed 11 games since getting injured in practice on Nov. 16. … Tocchet did not have an update on forward Michael Grabner, who injured his eye Saturday against St. Louis. … The Kings activated forward Nikita Scherbak (lower body) off injured reserve. The team claimed Scherbak, a first-round draft pick by Montreal in 2014, off waivers on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Kings: Host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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