#but i wouldnt exchange my coach for anyone

[thoughtfulseason]

we had like 7 last fights today after coach left hehe bad girl vibes

[danwylds]

Right okay I never actually got myself to write this fic so have my notes for the fic except I haven’t read through them since June when I wrote them and I refuse to edit anything

Right is bakery au but not

Neil either turned down the offer of exy for the foxes or for coach whatever the fuck his name was

He got caught earlier tho which is . Unfortunate

Stuart still comes in

Maybe I’ll have him move back to Britain for a while? To avoid the moriyamas n stuff

He NEVER misses a match of the ravens/foxes tho

Which leads to him seeing the frankly sickening interview of Kevin and riko

Neil is like yo Stuart let me start smth

Stuart is like Neil the only reason you’d go back to the states right now is if you did smth that you could hide and you can’t do that for shit

So Neil is like yk what I’m gonna find a way bc I’m not letting this kid go through this (Andrews quite into this idea when it’s shared)

So he says yo. Stuart. Uncle. Sir. Let me open a bakery or something in the states

Stuart is like no you fucking idiot

And Neil is like but c o n s i d e r

You can get info or smth

Just have another business in the states yk

AND I’d get out of your hair

And Stuart is like hm okay but you’ve gotta live in a complex I choose for you

And Neil is all only if I can choose where it’s gonna be

It’s a deal

He (very obviously) chooses a place near palmetto

Stuart is tired but is like he’ll be under protection n shit so I guess??? And he’s not stupid enough to start something right. Right.

Wrong.

Anyways.

It’s a bakery that starts out kinda slow

But Neil finds he likes baking and Stuart pays for his nephew to have some sort of normal life so it doesn’t matter too much

Renee starts to frequent it

At first it’s to pick up sweets for Andrew

But eventually she starts bringing Allison on dates there bc they have a cute little seating area (figure where Seth fits in? I think he’ll survive?)

Uhhh what’s a timeline

I think this’ll be around the winter holidays (Jewish neil? Look into it)

So thanksgiving will have happened . I think Andrew agreed to go Not bc he particularly wanted to but bc he cares for Nicky and knows he’ll probably go anyways

Yeah so thanksgiving. h

Andrew JUST got off his drugs and he’s so damn protective of his own that he hardly even leaves their sides

Edens is a def no for em

Meanwhile Neil is tentative friends w Renee who has brought all the upperclassmen there a few times

Allison bullies him for his clothing but it’s okay he deserves it

Renee is sweet and stops em from doing anything too drastic which Neil appreciates

Matt,, my baby,, he’s so happy he just asks Neil about random stuff

Dan is sweet too!!

Seth kinda hates him but Neil hasn’t paid enough attention to return the favor

One day close to the winter banquet the upperclassmen are like yeah Neil we’re gonna go to this thing and it should be really fun!! Oh you know what? Our teammate Nicky needs a date and his cousin doesn’t really like anyone from his class and he’s super fucking crazy abt it so if that doesn’t deter you then you should totally join !

Neil is like oh chance to fuck up Riko? Absolutely I’ll go

ALLISON DRESSES HIM

HE LOOKS SO GOOD

when he and Allison emerge from the girls room Aaron is like Who is that

And Allison is “oh nickys date (:”

Andrew gets twitchy and holds a knife to her throat

Renee is like Andrew I stg get away from my gf and Seth is like manic pixie nightmare fuel I’m gonna beat the shit outta you

And Neil is just like same shit every day I guess

And he’s like so you’re Nicky then? COMPLETELY IGNORING YK. ALL THAT

Andrew is like “he is. Don’t touch him”

And Neil straight up says I don’t think you get to set boundaries for people, actually

And Neil has no idea what the effect is of that on Andrew but it’s enough to make him glare

Which is terrifying to everyone but Neil bc again. Dumbass

Anyways Neil very purposely hooks his arm through nickys and they head off to the bus

Dunno what happens there but I’ll figure it out

RIKOOO ROASTTT **AIRHORNNNNSSS**

It’s glorious

Kevin and riko are like who the FUCK are you

And Neil is all wouldn’t you like to know weather boy

They relocate and they’re all like . Ah. That’s why you and Renee get along

It’s kinda funny ngl

Andrew doesn’t think so but fuck him

I think that they head back to the bus when this shit I’d over and wymack is like excuse me what the fuck

And Aaron in german is like thank god he never joined the team bc I could not handle more of that

And Neil in German is like would you believe me I’d I told you I was almost signed

And Andrew is like I fucking Knew it I hate it here

N e ways things go back to normal for the most part

The upperclassmen still show up

Seth has a bit of grudging respect for him

It’s later that all the foxes are getting drunk from a lose that Renee calls him and is like Neil please can I usher them inside for a bit I think they need a place to chill so we don’t get yelled at for being too loud in the dorms

And Neil is like uhh sure why not

It turns out it was not just the upperclassmen

He gives them all water bottles and whatever and lets them lounge around

Gives em some food which they pay for w the coachs card

Uhhh idk time passes and some of the foxes pass out so neil is like y’all can chill in the break room? They have couches

He stays out there bc the bakery is still open

Andrew comes out like hey fuck you but also can I get more of those pastries

Idk I want them to be in love already

Uhh yeah I think they don’t say anything until

“what happened to your face”

“A truth for a truth?”

“If you must insist”

“Fine, my father tried to kill me”

Andrew raises his eyebrow but neils like bitch you said a truth for a truth it’s your turn now

Neil asks him why he wears arm bands

We get the whole knives and scars

They’re quiet again

I don’t know man let them be in love

Uhhh okay

I think Andrew will tell neil like

“[code]”

“Huh”

“That’s the code for the court, Kevin practices at night.”

Neil is like how would you know I’d enjoy playing exy? And andrew is like dipshit that’s how we met

I’m running out of ideas oh no

Maybe they play a couple of night game things

Exchange a few more truths

OHHH OKAY COOL SO THEN NEIL CAN GO TO EDENS W THEM THE WHOLE “DOESNT MEAN I WOULDNT BLOW YOU” THING CAN STILL HAPPEN

sick okay! They start dating but since Baltimore happened earlier they never actually come out to the rest of the team

I like to think when they play against the ravens again neils like haha babe you can have as many sweets as you want if you shut down the goal

Also Neil says it’s hot which is like a big thing to persuade Andrew but shhhhh

Yeah the foxes win they celebrate by getting drunk and they all show up at neils like hello again (:

Same thing happens but this time andrew and Neil are together and basically are doing nothing but making out

At least the store is closed

Nicky comes out and just YELLS

YALLLLLL COME LOOK @ THIS SHIT

Allison wins SO much money

Yeah idk how to end this but happily ever after :3

If you want me to turn this into a fic I will!

[fernandoswarcrimes]

Ego Season: Rules of the Game (part 2)

(If you get the refrence at the end ⭐️ for you)

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

Josettè had gotten up the next morning to go on her morning run after lastnight she knew she'd get along with some of the boys, but Trevor?...that was going to be a major challenge. She slipped outside and started her morning jog she made sure to have the adress in her maps just Incase she went far enough she wouldn't remeber her surroundings and how to get back still being new to the area. By the time she got back to the house and showered she made her way back downstairs she saw cole in the kitchen leaning over the island eatin a bowl of cereal "morning Jos" he mumbled in between bites she smiled grabbing a glass of orange juice leaning against the counter.

"So you ready to show all the boys up today at practice?" He asked looking over at her with a smile, he didn't see the problem with them having a girl on the team if she was as good as the scouts thought she was enough to invite her (not to mention looking at her highlights with the Silvertips) then she deserved to be there with them.

Josettè looked up confused she didn't know he knew it was supposed to be kept hush hush. "My mom told me lastnight, said I could give you a lift when I go she has to run some errands today or else she would've taken you" he said as he finished his ceral taking the bowl over to the sink and washing it out. “Gotcha I guess I'll go grab my bag then you look already to go don't want you to be late" Josettè said as she rinsed her cup out setting it on the drying rack before heading upstairs to grab her hockey bag from her room slipping her shoes on as she made her way downstairs meeting cole at the door

"So I take it the coach knows but the boys don't" She asked as they both made their way out to the car putting their bags in the trunk getting in the car "yeah they don't know, I think jack has somewhat of an idea but he hasn't said anything to anyone besides you know..me, he was the one who pointed out how good you were to some of us an then my mom told me you were coming to stay for a while. He kinda guessed something was up." Cole nodded as they drove to the arena for practice they didn't say much for a few minutes before he spoke up again "by the way how was it playing for the Silvertips? You played with uh Hart right? The Flyers new goalie?"

"Yeah, i finished school 2 years early being a foreign exchange student from France. Then got offered a spot there. I played with him for maybe a year or two before he got called up. He was really nice showed me a lot of tricks and stuff hes the only friend I really had or let get close to me since I don't have any siblings. He was so down to earth and just all around nice guy I wish some guys were that nice" Josettè rambled moving her hands about as she spoke about her time in Everett and being friends with the young Goalie. Cole glanced over at her briefly as he drove he was starting to see glimpses of the real Josettè behind the mask she put on infront of everyone he'd hoped the more they got to know eachother she'd trust him like she did Carter. "But yeah I enjoyed it in Everett didn't really want to leave but couldn't really pass this opportunity up plus with carter moving up it just felt right." She spoke as he nodded understanding what she meant.

They arrived at the arena about 10 minutes later both grabbing their respective bags from the trunk and heading inside, "so I'm supposed to meet with Coach John about everything" Josettè said as they walked down the many hallways "I'll take you too him, mom already let him know that I was bringing you in" he said with a smile stopping at a dor labeled coaches and knocked a few times.

The door soon opened and a tall man stepped out "Great! Caufield you're here and you brought Moreaux with you, I'm John Wroblewski Head Coach here. It's a pleasure to have you here I'm sure you will fit right in with the boys from some of the highlights I've seen of your playing style they could probably learn somethin from you in the long run."

Josettè nodded with a smile while he turned to Cole "alright go get changed and head on out on the ice for practice I gotta get her paperwork and stuff ready then we'll meet you boys out there." John said as Cole nodded patting Josettès shoulder before heading off to the lockeroom to get ready.

A little while later after they went over the paperwork and schedules and stuff that would go on John showed Josettè where she could change and then met him at the end of the hall when she was done making sure her braid was tight against her head and wouldnt come lose, and followed behind him as they headed out to the ice where the rest of the team was with the assistant coach.

John cleared his throat getting the boy's attention as they stopped running the drills they were doing "Boys, we usually don't do this and this is a first for us and the league, but we're bringing in a new person to the team. Guys I'd like you to meet Josettè Moreaux, I know a few of you have seen her skills and highlights from her time spent in Everett with the Silvertips. I expect all of you to treat her with the same respect you would any other teammate."

He motioned for Josettè to step onto the ice and join the boys to which she did getting a few odd looks from the ones she didn't recognize but all smiles from Cole, Alex, Spencer and Jack. Trevor on the other hand was aggravated to say the least, how could Wroblewski let this happen let alone agree to having a girl on their boys team.

They had a whole woman's team just for that reason. He huffed turning to Jack "Are we seriously letting a girl on the team? That's what womens hockeys for Jack not our development team, why aren't you objecting to this shit? She's going to ruin our whole team dynamic she's toxic and a bitch can't you see that!? Am I the only one who's seeing this?" He whisper shouted.

Jack gave Trevor an exasperated deadpanned look "Trevor we've known her not even twenty four hours. I don't think you have the resources and facts to back up those last two statements. As for the first one yes, we are letting a girl on the team. If coach didn't think this was a good idea he would've had her be on the woman's team ever think she may be too good for them and we could actually learn some things from her? Just let it go you're making an ass out of yourself. Coles parents wouldn't let her stay if she was anything like that." He pointed out as Josettè crossed her arms and looked over at Trevor

"You know, for whispering you're extremly loud, so I'm sorry? Is you're precious pride and ego scared that you'll get outshown by a girl? Because let's be honest honeybun, you don't have a lot going for you. Except that you're meh semi okay at hockey. And trust me, I've delt with guys like you back in Everett didn't end well for them obviously since I'm here and they're not. Tragic, isn't it?" She said with a smirk just as coach John started talking again

"Alright guys, were gonna start with a one v one to test and see what we need to work on, with knight in the net and then we'll go from there. First up, Caufield and Turcotte the rest take the bench." John said as Josettè and the rest made their way to take their seats on the bench to watch the two go head to head Josettè sat down on the end of the bench only to have Trevor plop down next to her without a care glancing from his two friends on the ice over to Jossettè.

"You know Josie Posie if we get paired up you're gonna lose badly. It's gonna be embarrassing and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it." He said with a smirk Josettè chuckled shaking her head keeping her eyes on the two on the ice as they went head to head "You know, I make cold calculations about difficult situations, and I do not take on anything I know I won't win. And i know I will win this. You can bet on that Sweetheart"

Trevor huffed at the mocking sweetheart nickname. "Yeah right that's like trying to use a croissant as a fucking dildo. It doesn't do the job and it makes a fucking mess. So cut the shit Posie it's not happening. You won't beat me one on one" he said rolling his eyes as John conviently called her and Trevor up next.

Josettè stood up patting his cheek "don't cry when I wipe the floor with you then, like I said...you'd eat those words Zegras." She said grabbing her stick stepping on the ice she could here him muttering behind her as they both got in position in center ice as John dropped the puck Josettè was quick to win the face off taking the puck darting around Trevor and off towards Spencer.

She could hear Trevor coming up behind her and quickly moved to the right backtracking with the puck as Trevor had turned around and was coming towards her to try and get the puck away from her, she quickly looked between him and Spencer before aiming and winding up for her signature one timer before sending the puck straight through Trevor's legs & right through Spencer's as well leading to a perfect five hole goal.

She smirked at Trevor and smiled sheepishly at Spencer "sorry had to make a point to Zegras here." Spencer waved her off he was a bit shocked himself that she was able to make that goal so easily, Trevor looked at her and over to Spencer with a questioning look as if to ask his friend if he let the goal in purposely.

Spencer who shook his head in denial making Trevor turn back to Josettè a bit shocked but quickly covering it up with an aggravated questioning tone making a bigger deal out of it than needed be "Are you kidding me? You just made that five hole goal on Spencer of all people."

"What? Like it's hard?"

Josettè said with a shrug as she heard the boys whooping and hollering as she winked at Trevor skating backwards towards the bench fist bumping a few of the guys as they all started excitedly talking about what just happened.

Trevor was puzzled to say the least. He knew he'd get her to break or so he tbought he just had to find what made her tick and hit the nail on the head with it.

[mondalt]

Life has a way of kicking us in the face when it hurts the most. When I was 16 I was going threw one of the worst years of my life. I was dating a guy who I was way to good for, but at the time I hated my self so much I was just happy for the attention. My mom was beating me. Trying to kill me at least once a weak and beating the fuck out of me the other time. I was cutting almost everyday and I would have been fucking dead of it wasn’t for my father. I was good at putting up a front. I would smile and laugh so people wouldnt ask questions but inside was a dark dangerous hole. I hadn’t smiled for my self in months. Sports were my out. I remember the week I met you. The first day I got to the mats and there was this strange loud man standing by the mats. My mats. The one thing I looked forward to. I was so insecure that I said fine fuck the new guy and went to run sprints. That night was particularly hellish and the next day at the mats he was there again but I was pissed and said fuck that guy I’m not going to let the loud cockiness of one guy ruin what I liked most at the moment. So I sauntered over there and started practice we got introduce. And you corrected a few things. I was getting into it and finally did something right and you said atta kid to me and had this smile this crooked smirky smile and these eyes that were burning into me that were like hot emeralds with molten melting gold pools that were just staring into me. And I felt like he knew what was going on in my life. He held my gaze with out even flinching and I smiled. I truely smiled for me for the first time in a long ass time. As the season went on we exchanged glances and I was flirting. And before I knew it I was loving this man. This funny kind man that knew me even though I never told him anything. It was amazing. I spent three years trying to spend as much time as possible and falling even more I love with this guy. And trying to impress him and make him proud to have coached me. At the end of it all I let him down I choked and failed and I knew he was so disappointed in me I couldnt even look into my favorite set of eyes. A few weeks later I graduated Highschool I knew he was happy with the girl of his dreams and a beautiful family so I tried my best to avoid anything that reminded me of him. Well I moved to Oregon back to Montana got married and back to Oregon. I saw this guy a few times through the years and I realized I was still in love with him. But he was happy and that’s all that mattered. While life went on and seven years after I left the town I was raised in I came back. I got close to a man I had loved for more than ten years. He was going through a hard time. The most difficult time in his life. And I loved him more than ever. I decided to try and act on my feelings and he kissed me back. And everything I knew and loved about him I got the incredible opportunity to explore growing love with him. His personality floors me. He’s funny he can make me smile and laugh no matter what mood I’m in. He’s kind he cares more about being fair to customers then making a buck. He cares about me and knows me more than anyone else including me. He’s kind he puts everyone else he knows before himself. He is entirely selfless. He’s everything you could want in a friend. But to go with that he is fucking sexy. His arms are strong and could hold me through the worst times. His torso is muscly and shaped and tight. His legs are sturdy and strong. His smile is smoldering and I want to jump him when he does when he laughs my heart beats faster. And his eyes. Holy fuck I could talk about them forever. When he’s really turn on he shakes his head and acts a little loopy. He gets shaky when he’s turned on. He caresses my face and I could cry happy tears with how safe it makes me feel. The way he twitches and his eyes glow like green fire when I do something he likes. I man that I loved more than ten years. I finally got a chance. Except I didn’t. Because I was too late. There’s only two things you need in love chemistry and timing. & timing is a bitch

[lostinfic]

The Girlfriend Experience | Part 2

Trope: Sharing a bed Author: Lostinfic Word Count: ~4000 Rating: Mature Summary: Hardy asks Hannah to show him the Girlfriend Experience in preparation for a blind date. 

Beta: @fadewithfury <3 Part 1 | Masterpost | AO3 | 12 Tropes AO3 Collection

For the blind date, Hardy’s sister had given him nothing but an instruction to look out for a woman with a yellow carnation, and an address.

He assumed it was the address of a restaurant.

He should have known better than to assume his sister would do the normal thing.

It was a train. Not a normal train either, but a “romantic railway adventure”.

His stomach twisted in a knot at the mere thought of getting stuck in there for hours with a complete stranger. But backing out didn’t sit well with him. Standing up someone was cruel. Anyway, as Hannah had said, his sister wanted what was best for him. Whoever Helen had set him up with would, at the very least, be a decent person.

He sighed thinking of Hannah. Considering how she’d encouraged him to go on this bloody blind date-- even after he all but confessed his feelings for her during their fake date-- it was clear it was never going to happen with her. He had better move on and start looking for someone else.

Easier said than done. 

As much as the memory of their fake date made him cringe because she’d rejected his advances, it also came with a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. Her laughter, the teasing hint of bra, standing close in the bookshop as they flipped through novels. Paper and cherry blossoms. And feeling all right.

For years, he hadn’t questioned his friendship with his younger sister’s flatmate. Even when Hannah became an escort and moved out, they stayed in touch. When they hang out, times flies, and that was enough for him. Nothing more.

Not until recently.

With the divorce and her visits, he noticed how much they had in common now after years of all-consuming careers, heartbreaks and successes. She had grown and so had he. And once he began seeing her as the strong woman she had become, he couldn’t go back to thinking of her as just a friend. But he had to.

Enough about Hannah.

Hardy straightened his tie and jacket. From the platform, a sign indicated the Bar & Lounge coach, and he headed there.

The train company had hired Helen as their art director— it’s how she’d obtained a pair of tickets-- and she came up with the idea of a 1930s theme. The staff wore stiff burgundy and gold uniforms. Inside the wagons, varnished wood gleamed in the halo of fake oil lamps. Patrons sat in plush leather seats around art deco furniture.

Hardy made his way through the couples gathered inside. Many had embraced the vintage theme, others had dressed more casually. Thankfully for him, a suit worked for all occasions and eras.

The train stirred and swayed forward. He had yet to find his date. Every time he met a woman’s eyes, the twist in his stomach tightened.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

“Hey you.”

He recognized that voice. His heart skipped a beat. He turned, and his jaw dropped. Hannah stood there, wearing something vintage and silky, like she’d just stepped out of a black and white movie. Ruby red lips framed a beaming smile.

“What are you doing here?” he stammered.

“I have a date.”

“My sister set you up too?”

“No, another one of our friends. Gemma, you met her I think at the garden party.”

“Yeah.”

“So yours is tonight too? They got a group deal on the train tickets or what?” She looked over his shoulder. “So where’s the lucky lady?”

“Haven’t found her yet. I don’t even know her name, Helen didn’t want me looking her up in the police database. Seen anyone with a yellow carnation?”

“Like this one?” She showed him the flower she was holding. “Looks like Gemma and Helen are in cahoots.”

Hardy gaped at the flower. Hannah was his blind date. She laughed, but he didn’t think it was funny. Not at all. What was his sister thinking? He’d never said a word to her about liking Hannah. Was he that obvious?

Regardless, now Hannah was stuck with him when she no doubt expected someone more charming and younger. Basically, not the kind of person who needs a practice date with a prostitute.

For the first time since they’d met, the prospect of spending an evening in her company filled him with dread. What if she thought he was behind all of it, not just his sister?

“Sorry, I didn’t know she would do that,” he groaned.

“Yeah, no, me neither.”

She laughed, and it was too high-pitched for genuine amusement but he reciprocated with his own nervous titter. He tugged at the knot of his tie.

“I don’t know what made her think I’d want to— that we were a match.”

“Right.” She crossed her arms, rubbing her shoulder. “Look at his this way: you won’t  have to worry about small talk.”

They ordered drinks and sat at the bar.  An uneasy silence stretched between them as they pretended to listen to the piano player.

He rang his sister to berate her, but she wouldn’t answer her phone-- on purpose, he was sure. Hannah looked at him with a tight-lipped smile.

“If you’d prefer to, ah, mingle...” He indicated the other passengers, but they were clearly all paired up already.

Hannah shrugged, seemingly coming to the same conclusion as him.

 The maître d’ announced supper, and passengers moved to the restaurant cart.

A waiter assigned them a banquette. Tea candles decorated the table, their flames made the crystalware sparkle.  

“This is nice,” Hannah commented, smoothing the white tablecloth.

He nodded absentmindedly, pretending to peruse the menu when in fact he was observing her. Hard to tell how she felt about being stuck with him for the evening. Granted, she’d enjoyed herself last time but it had been work for her, to help him.  He glanced at her over his menu, their eyes met, and both quickly looked away.

A waiter took their orders, leaving them with nothing to do. Hannah swirled the wine in her glass.

“I’ve been thinking,” she began, “I know this escort, a man, he’s real awful, don’t know how he’s still in business.”

Where was this going?

“Anyway, we should set your sister up with him, you know, to get back at her.”

Hannah grinned mischievously and Hardy chuckled. They talked about all the unpleasant people they knew and made up devious plans to deceive Helen. They laughed so much, patrons at nearby tables glared at them for disrupting the quiet romantic atmosphere. Of course, the irony didn’t escape Hardy: they had such fun thinking of revenge plans that it proved Helen had been right to play this trick on them to begin with.

After supper, Hardy reclined in his chair, rubbing his full stomach. He hadn’t had such a good meal in a long time. He was usually prone to motion sickness, but this train moved slowly. It crawled across the rail, allowing passengers to admire the pastoral landscape. He couldn’t tell their location or destination; fields, forests and suburbs looked the same across England as far as he was concerned. Perhaps, if he’d paid closer attention a sign would have given him a clue, but all his attention was diverted towards Hannah.

A waiter filled their cups with tea, and announced the train would stop soon for “entertainment”. They disembarked at a disused train station turned into a theater. An old-fashioned marquee announced the show’s title: “On the road to love.” On stage, two rubbish actors pretended to fall in love to the tune of 1930s jazz songs.  Throughout the first act, Hannah and Hardy exchanged eyerolls and stifled laughter.  When the actors began tap dancing, they barely kept it together.

At last, the intermission came, they were the first out the door. They bypassed the bar and headed straight outside.

The brisk night air was welcome after a heavy meal and a stuffed theater. Hands in pockets, Hardy leaned against the wall and stared at the silhouette of a town beyond the rails and bushes. Hannah imitated his position, close enough that their shoulders touched.

“We could get out,” he said. “Walk over there. Find a ride. End it here.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“Do you?”

She shrugged and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Hardy smiled to himself. She didn’t seem to hate being stuck with him tonight after all. And so far neither of them had brought up what happened at the end of their fake date; there was hope their friendship would survive.

“I suppose it’s not so bad,” he said.

“Yeah, not bad. Tell you what though, we can stay at the bar during the second act.”

A few other couples had the same idea. Show tunes could still be heard through the wall. The bar design recreated a prohibition-era speakeasy.

For a moment, Hardy entertained the idea of personifying a character. Someone cool, a la Humphrey Bogart. He wished he had a cigarette. As they stood at the bar to order drinks, he gave Hannah the old once-over from her black heels to her smokey eyes. But as soon as she caught him looking, he lost whatever cool he’d mustered. She bumped him with her shoulder, lips curling in a playful smile. He didn’t stand a chance.

Once sat at a corner table, they sipped a dram of whiskey and reminisced. She ran her fingertip along the rim of her glass, eyes focused on the circular motion. After a moment of silence, she said: “You know, I used to fancy you, when I lived with Helen.”

She said it with a giggle, looking at him through her eyelashes. He remembered a time when she would ceaselessly flirt with him. With her, he could never tell genuine feelings from teasing. Except a few times, lingering hugs and gazing in each other’s eyes. But he’d had to ignore that because back then he’d recently married so he wasn’t interested. Ironic, that the roles were now reversed: he fancied her-- more than fancy-- and she wasn’t interested. Bad timing.

“I knew you did,” he said.

“You did! How?”

“You weren’t subtle. I was scared every time my sister left the room.”

“Scared you’d give in to temptation?” she joked.

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

“No, I know. You’re one of the good guys. Too good.”

“Too good for what?”

“For girls who are outrageous flirts.” She winked.

Hannah dropped her shoe and slipped her toes under the hem of his trousers. He’d seen women do that in films, but had never experienced it for himself. Although, he couldn’t explain why, he enjoyed it. His cheeks heated up, and his pulse quickened. He forgot what they were talking about. She’d always loved to make him fluster.

The show ended, and the spectators loudly walked out, disrupting the moment.

Back on board the train, a staff member approached them: “If you would follow me, I will show you to you sleeper car now.”

Hardy and Hannah exchanged a surprised look, neither of them knew this lasted overnight. His only experience with sleeper cars involved bunk beds. But of course, a “romantic railway adventure” didn’t have bunks. The man opened the door on a cozy compartment with a double bed taking up most of the room. Hannah asked if they have another room available, but all compartments were occupied tonight.

At least, the train company had the foresight of selling overnight essentials such as toothbrushes. But no pyjamas, of course.

“Lend me your shirt,” Hannah demanded. “I can’t sleep in this dress.” She tugged at the material over her ribs, wincing in discomfort.

“What about me?”

“You can’t sleep in this dress either.”

“And what am I supposed to sleep in?”

“Your pants. Unless you’re going commando.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“I’m not— ugh. Alright.”

He hooked his tie and jacket behind the door, and removed his shirt with his back to her.

“You’re such a prude. I’ve seen you in a much worse state than this.”

“When?”

“At Helen’s, after your divorce.”

“Yeah, I looked worse, but I’m sure I was fully dressed.”

“Well, you’d better get undressed while you look good.”

Was she joking or flirting?

When he turned to hand her his t-shirt, her eyes lingered on his chest, and she bit her bottom lip.

She put the shirt over her clothes and shimmed the dress down her body to pull it off. More wiggling and she extracted her bra through the top.

“Tadaa!” she said like a magician.

It was his turn to linger. His shirt was just long enough to cover her bum, showing off her legs. He always liked her legs.

She looked expectantly at his trousers. There was no point in putting it off.  As soon as he popped the first button, Hannah wolf-whistled.  Without thinking, Hardy rotated his hips, and she bust out laughing.

“I can be funny too,” he mumbled.

“I know.” She smiled at him then cocked her head. “I thought you’d be skinnier.”

“I am.”

“Yeah, but there’s, you know, meat too.”

What was that supposed to mean? He crossed his arms to cover his chest, but it left his crotch uncovered, so he crossed his leg.

“Oh, just get in the bloody bed.”

Hannah smirked, but charitably held back another quip.

In the silence, he noticed it was raining, its pitter-patter on the metal roof echoed through the compartment. Hannah turned off the main light, leaving just the flame of an electric candle by the bed.

They looked at each other, then at the bed, then at each other again.

He hadn’t shared a bed with anyone since Tess. The last few years of celibacy and loneliness caught up to him all at once. He yearned for it, physically ached for it, to lie in bed with Hannah, hold her in his arms until morning.

“Well, I--”

“There’s something…” he began.

“Hm?”

“Something you said I should do at the end of the date.”

He gulped, hoping she understood what he meant.

“Kiss me goodnight?”

“Yeah.”

This time, he wouldn’t chicken out. She stepped forward and his mouth went dry. She caught him by surprise, pecking his lips. It happened too quickly. By the time he opened his eyes, she had slipped in the bed.

Well, there was only one thing to do now. Nothing left to delay the inevitable. He had to get in bed. With Hannah. She patted the space beside her, and he prayed she couldn’t hear his hammering heart.

Lying in bed, neither of them spoke. Every muscle in his body was stiff. The train’s wheels clattered on the tracks and raindrops splashed on the roof. And just when he thought he couldn’t take more of this tension, Hannah giggled.

She turned on her side towards him. Some light filtered through the curtains, just enough to illuminate the outline of her face.

“This is a bit weird,” she whispered.

His whole body relaxed, and he turned to face her too.

“I can think of worse,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Imagine if it’d been a real blind date, with another woman, and I’d be stuck with her.”

“Maybe you would’ve liked her.”

“I don’t think so.”

How could he possibly like another woman when he had such feelings for Hannah? And right now, this moment was everything to him. He scooted closer, just a smidge. She folded her legs and their knees touched.

“So what, you’ll stay single forever? Tess really did a number on you.”

“I’m waiting for the right person.”

She searched his face, and he wondered how obvious he was, surely she must see the affection in his eyes. She blinked and looked down. A strand of hair caught in her eyelashes, and he gently swiped it behind her ear.

“What you said about after my divorce.” He continued to whisper although there was no reason for it. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for that. For checking up on me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Her toes tickled his ankle and quite naturally, as though they’d been doing it for years, her leg slid between his.

“You know, I wanted to check up on you when you were in Broadchurch too.”

I would have loved that, he thought.

“I worked a lot,” he said.

There must have been more to say, things to explain and confess and profess, but not now, not when the moment was just right.

When he lost Tess, it wasn’ther betrayal that hurt the most, but losing that one person who knew him better than anyone else. It seemed impossible to build this level of intimacy and familiarity with another person in his lifetime. But maybe he didn’t have to start from the ground up, he and Hannah already had a foundation. All he had to do was add bricks and hope it didn’t crumble down.

“Han?”

“Yeah?” she mumbled sleepily.

“I-- I would’ve liked that, you visiting in Broadchurch…” He took a deep breath. Why was this so hard? “I thought about you.”

“Good.”

He chuckled at that. He kissed her forehead, and her eyes drifted shut with a smile.

They slept, a deep slumber despite the noisy train and unfamiliar surroundings.

Hardy woke up with one side of the body decidedly warmer than the other. Not just warmer-- heavier. And as the last fog of sleep cleared from his mind, he realized two things: Hannah had hogged all the blankets and she’d snuggled up to him. An arm around his waist, a leg across his thighs, and her head on his chest. And it appeared he’d reciprocated the snuggling. A hand rested on her ribs. High up on her ribs.  A confused debate of semantics and physiology took place in his mind, and he came to the conclusion that the area his hand rested on was more breast than side; he’d tried to cop a feel in his sleep.

Hardy cracked opened an eye. As far as he could tell, Hannah was still sleeping.  But if he moved his hand now, he risked waking her up and appearing more guilty than he was. He also became aware of another embarrassing situation: she had twisted in her sleep and buttons of the shirt had come undone, revealing the swell of her breasts. Of its own accord, his thumb moved, stroking the curve of her flesh, right along the underside. Before he could make himself stop, her nipple visibly pebbled under the cotton on the shirt-- his shirt.

A small noise, suspiciously close to a moan, escaped Hannah’s lips. She snuggled closer, and the hand on his stomach drifted lower. Hardy drew in a sharp breath. His arousal became more prominent. Embarrassing flashbacks from his teenage days made him cringe. He could put it all down to a physiological response, but he knew damn well it was Hannah’s proximity that caused the blood flow to his groin.

His groan made Hannah giggle.

“You’re awake,” he accused.

“Barely… sorry.”

She tried to roll off him, but he automatically tightened the arm around her. She looked up at him, eyes full of questions.

Stay. Don’t go. But his mouth wouldn’t form the words.

“I can’t tell what you want,” she said.

“Can’t you? Don’t you know?”

It was all so serious suddenly, so real and raw in the morning light. No place to hide.

“I asked you to kiss me, and you kissed my cheek,” she said, eyebrows knitted in a frown. “I turn out to be your blind date and you’re unhappy about it. I flirt with you all night and you-- I don’t know.”

Possibly, he hadn’t been as transparent as he thought.

“Sorry. I wasn’t sure. When you flirt, I just assume you’re taking the piss, so...”

“Sometimes it’s easier to joke than, I don’t know, open up.”

She picked at the bed sheet. He rarely got to see her so vulnerable,and it made his heart capsize. He would protect her from the world if she let him.  

“But you’re so-- and I’m…” He sighed. “You can do better.”

“It’s not for you to say.”

“I suppose not.”

He relaxed his arm around her, and she propped herself up on an elbow, keeping her other hand on his chest.

“I like you, Alec.”

“You used to, it’s what you said.”

“I still do. A lot. But I’m…” She let out a shaky breath. “Our friendship is really important to me.”

“Right. So… you only want to be friends?”

“I’m just saying I don’t have the best track record with relationships.”

“Me neither.”

“You were married for almost 20 years.”

“Exactly!”

She chuckled, and that sound made his heart soar. He covered her hand with his.

“As I’ve said: I can wait for the right person.”

“You meant me?”

“Of course.” He caressed her cheek. “Looks like there are a few things I need to clarify. Beginning with this...”

His fingers drifted to her hair and, as he raised his head, he brought her mouth to his. He wasn’t content with a peck this time. He moved his lips against hers, slowly, savouring the kiss.

“That alright?” he asked in a breath.

She nodded and pressed forward. She deepened the kiss as he reclined. They kissed to their heart’s content. Whenever they broke for air, and she smiled at him with heavy-lidded eyes, he had to remind himself it wasn’t a dream. He couldn’t wait to hold her and kiss her again tomorrow and the day after and all the ones after that for as long as she would let him.

Hannah straddled his legs. Her long hair tickled his chest. It took all his willpower not to grab her hips and tug her down on his erection.

“Anything else you want to clarify?” she asked

“I think I’m in love with you, Hannah.”

Judging by her widening eyes, she hadn’t expected such a serious answer. He hadn’t expected to say it either.  Momentarily, he  feared he’d ruined the moment and scared her, but her features softened in a warm smile.

“Me too.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so incredibly happy. So light. And it occurred to him he wasn’t falling in love so much as he was rising in love. He guffawed at his own silly thought.

“A smile looks good on you,” she said.

“You look good on me.”

She shook her head fondly and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her, thoroughly snogging her.

He slipped a hand under the shirt, fingers splayed over the dip in her lower back. A groan of surprise escaped his lips when she pressed her hips to his. Even through two layers of underwear, he could feel her heat.

“It’s been a while,” he said in a hoarse voice. “For me too.” He quirked an eyebrow and she added, “I mean for real, with someone I care about.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want to wait?”

“No.”

“Oh, thank god.”

Hardy rolled over her and peppered kisses down her throat and collarbone. Fumbling with the shirt, he finally accessed her breasts. He licked a line up her sternum and took each nipple between his lips. Hannah squirmed under him, fingers raking through his hair.

He tentatively touched between her legs, inner thighs first, then grazing over her underwear. Her jerking hips and needy pants encouraged him. He removed her knickers throwing them over his shoulder, much to her amusement. He sat on his his heels, and with his forearms under her knees, he yanked her closer. He dropped butterfly kisses along her calves, making Hannah giggle.

“I need you,” she moaned, reaching into his pants.

Her hand on his cock made him curse. He thrusted into her fist until she guided him to where she needed him. As he pushed in her, he entwined their fingers above her head. And there was that carnal pleasure, but most of all there was closeness. Every nerve ending suffused with the smell and sight and touch of the other. And it was in a tight embrace, all clawing fingers, salty kisses and smacking skin, that they found bliss.

(They missed breakfast.)

[apsbicepstraining]

US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider

Americas first pro rugby organization conference intention its season on Sunday. For one of the men who built it happen “its time” for reflection, remain and getting ready to go again

On Sunday afternoon in Obetz, just outside Columbus, the Ohio Aviators will play the Denver Stampede. The wins with a bonus part, in Ohios case will be the first PRO Rugby champions.

The five-team league has no championship game. Best over 12 rounds prevails. It just happens that go the final weekend of the tournaments first season, these two teams have not sorted out who that is.

Couldnt have schemed it any better, replied Steve Lewis, the freshman organisations director of rugby, over breakfast on the Upper West Side. Were it plannable, of course. Its an interesting symmetry: our first game was Ohio at Denver[ in the snow in April] and that was a close-fisted finish, the only recreation weve had that is entered into additional day, which was one of our inventions. So this is ideal: final tournament of the year, all the marbles. It mounts it up nicely.

Lewis is an ebullient Scot whose ebullience has not been entirely chafed off by nine months spraying to and fro in sole service of Americas first pro conference. Like conference owned Doug Schoninger, he works out of New York City. The five units are in the middle and west Ohio, Denver, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco.

Lewis has reason to smile, gingerly as much as wearily. Crowds ought to have acceptable if small-time; press coverage positive if slightly bemused; politics, in a rugby scenery that manages to be scattered and congested at once, manageable if predictably intense. Denver, for example, moved residence mid-season, from the Glendale Raptors rugby-built Infinity Park to Ciber Field, a college soccer stadium. Words were exchanged. The dealership lived and so did the conference.

Season one of Schoningers epic, then, is almost in the can. A inspect will follow in September, followed by planning for season two. Swelling is on the cards: Canada, perhaps. The east coast, perhaps.

You wishes to pair beings up from a antagonism view and a hurtle perspective, Lewis said. So Chicago for Columbus, Boston for New York. That in my view “wouldve been” ideology, but we may not find the venues.

Much of Lewiss work has been visible at the existing venues, on their freshly marked-out turf. Much has gone to plan.

Jamie Mackintosh takes on the San Diego defence. Picture: Joseph K Ghammashi/ PRO Rugby

Two of the tournaments marquee knacks internationals employed to be good citizens as well as good participates will encounter in the decider: the South africans back row Pedrie Wannenburg for Denver, the New Zealand prop Jamie Mackintosh for Ohio. Over scrambled eggs and strong coffee, Lewis described how Mackintosh, from Dunedin, a hotbed of All Black rugby, came to live and play in Obetz, a village outside Columbus most well known for its Zucchinifest which has nonetheless hugged rugby, building a small stadium from scratch.

Everyone wanted to go to San Francisco and San Diego, he responded. So how do I get anyone to go to Obetz and Sacramento and Denver?[ Italy back] Mirco Bergamasco wanted to go to Sacramento, because his wife had lived there before.[ Australia rugby league great] Timana Tahu had lineage bonds in Denver, so that was OK. But how do I get anyone to go to Columbus?

[ Ex-Zebre flanker] Filippo Ferrarini was the first one. I contemplated: Youre Italian, Columbus, off you go. He didnt get it, so I had to explain it to him subsequentlies. And then Mackintosh rose on track and he was really easy.

The New Zealander is a one-cap All Black loosehead, a big humanity known to home devotees as Whopper. He approached rugbys American frontier with generally Kiwi affability.

He added, I dont mind, Steve, Im really easy, wherever you want to placed me.

I supposed, What kind of region do you like?

He announced, Im a country boy, Id instead be somewhere with a little bit of chase, a bit of fishing.

So I had to call up Paul Holmes at[ Ohio-based US national improvement academy] Tiger Rugby and allege, Is there any chase and fishing near Obetz? He responded, Oh yeah, consignments. So I told Mackintosh I imagined Ohio might be the claim fit for him and he went there, espoused it and went well.

Steve Lewis speaks to Matt McCarthy of rugbywrapup.com in March.

San Franciscos star man, Mils Muliaina, has 99 more All Black caps than Mackintosh. Unfortunately, the largest full-back arrived late and has not boasted often for a unit which tottered to 3-8 ahead of its final had met with Sacramento( likewise 3-8, moving Saturdays game a playoff to shun last home ). But on the whole the experimentation has worked. The big names have visas and may be back for more.

Discussing recruitment for 2017, Lewis said: I dont think we need the marquee actors as much anymore, though. If were expanding my biggest pertain is structural constraint, ie: are there enough good players to staff those stretch units? Clearly if we do[ expand] then the number of foreign actors on each team will need to go up, likely to five to seven, and I think that well skew younger.

Asked where such foreign players might come from, he enunciated: Everyones inhaling around, but my next happy hunting ground is likely to be South Africa. Biggest talent pool, constriction of geniu, exacerbated by the falling rand and the coaching arrangement. Theres going to be lots of good young South African players, shall we say competitively priced. So that would be a sweet recognise, I feel.[ New Zealand] Mitre 10 Cup people, the docket duty, Japan the docket works.

At home, the docket still needs to work for everyone. PRO Rugby flowed from mid-April to the end of July. One top fraternity challenger, the east-coast American Rugby Premiership, is set to move to September-November. The west-coast Pacific Rugby Premiership, home to Glendale and other powerful societies, may or may not follow. Politics.

PRO Rugby will continue to grapple with whether to play in the June Test window. This year, while the Eagles lost to Italy and drum Russia, it did. Politics-plus.

Nor, Lewis said, does the PRO Rugby docket work with the European season. But, thought-provokingly in an age of Premiership tournaments in New Jersey and Pro1 2 conceptions of a team on the US east coast, he included: You do have academy musicians there who have bugger everyone to do between January and May. I think thats policy options and weve had those the talks with Quins, London Irish. So I anticipate the league will probably skew younger.

The young league, Lewis said, depicts encouraging development of raise. Teams have improved in fitness and knowledge; tries have been scored at a standard of performance somewhat below Currie Cup, slightly below Mitre 10 Cup, a reasonable grade to have aimed at, a reasonable degree to have got to.

Also, along with cherry-red safe tackle wrinkles on shirts and no move, PRO Rugby empowered reviewers to evade too many scrum re-sets by awarding free-kicks. Harmonizing to fascinating analysis of the tournaments stats by Jake Frechette for Rugby Today, the policy seems to be working.

In the 2015 Six Nations, Frechette writes, 51% of scrums were completed successfully. At the World cup finals, 68%[ of scrums] were completed successfully. For PRO,[ where average number of scrums per competition is high-pitched at practically 20] the rate thus far is 77 %. Thats good bulletin for everyone who wants to see the pellet played from a scrum instead of listening a referees whistle. Thats all of us, right?

Pedrie Wannenberg in action for Denver, against San Diego. Picture: Connie Hatfield

Players have glowed. Dom Waldouck, formerly a centre for Wasps, Northampton, London Irish and England Saxons, did well at Ohio and has earned a ordeal at Newcastle. Langilangi Haupeakui, a hard-hitting Sacramento No8, came to the league from a tough upbringing and fraction two rugby with the East Palo Alto Razorbacks. Five a few months later, Lewis said, he got fit, eventually ate well and all of a sudden, boom, launched into the Eagles, got a detonator and is going for a contest with Harlequins next week when they come over.

Other achievers include Spike Davis, a defensive attack who attended camp with the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers before pitching up in Ohio as a 6ft 4in, 250 lbs wing. There is also Hanco Germishuys, a US junior flanker no longer a male among boys or a son among people after a season with Denver, and the San Diego openside Cecil Garber, a learn from the Seattle Saracens with a attack count off the charts.

Weve fulfilled that part of the mission, Lewis said. Three, four, five participates are now on[ USA coach] John Mitchells radar who maybe wouldnt ought to have otherwise.

Thanks to Lewis and Schoninger, a pro competition that would not otherwise have been on nature rugby radar is now there. A blip, perhaps, but thriving brighter. After Sundays finale, there will be a breather for all concerned. Then the hard work begins again.

The post US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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[jones573]

what jack is (and isnt! he’s NOT a ‘genie’ he is VERY bitter about that comparison)

probably done being written, unless people have questions because i almost certainly forgot to address things

jack is the janitor’s cart of the universe, the broom and the bleach to make the nasty things go away. he is the caretaker of the natural order, and a destroyer of what would threaten it. but even that is too poetic. 

in actuality, he is more like the neglectful and largely uncaring supervisor of a plethora of toddlers, if the daycare facility were an abandoned ammunitions and explosives factory with a lot of improperly stored gasoline. if a sentient being blew itself up- Well. It happened sometime. And they didn’t necessarily need that wall, did they? But if things got to the point that the entire place was going to blow, or damage the structure in such a way that would cause irreparable damage, then jack (or things like him) are the ones that ensure that doesnt happen. this is largely done by monitoring how loudly the small toddlers are screaming- if someone knows they have well and truly fucked up and is projecting that in their mental state, jack checks in. and usually he lets whatever’s about to happen, happen. 

in the earliest days of the universe, jack was at his busiest. at least a couple times an epoch, some idiot would get into magic in a way it should not be gotten into, and jack intervened. but sentient beings got smarter, and magic got less accessible (perhaps the two are related, jack was not really interested in the proceedings at that point) and generally speaking, things got a lot quieter.

jack’s general state of being is one of passive hibernation- he just kinda chills out on his plane of existence and passively monitors the fuck-ups that are happening. i imagine if there were other things like him (there must have been, i suppose) they went into a deep hibernation sometime over the last several millennium, and have not risen since- perhaps their inactivity indicated they were no longer needed, and they simply ceased to exist. but jack was summoned by a shepard girl who found his ritual engraved inside a cave in the Atlas Mountains, and... well. finding livestock is absolutely in NO way anywhere near his job description but it was such an odd request and the girl’s general ‘not terrified’ attitude was interesting. (the visualization of his true form is awe-inspiring and quite alarming, but i imagine half the reason people always pissed themselves in fear when he arrived was the knowledge that they had fucked up enough for this thing to come for them)

at any rate finding livestock is not a task jack can expend his resources on but he stuck around until she had found them and found it a weird, if annoying experience, and he went back to chilling in another plane of existence. by the time he thought to check in on the girl, she had long since died (as had the livestock) and that was a bit sad and jack was unused to feeling things like ‘a bit sad’ and so he started paying attention to the little sentient critters a bit more actively. just to pass the time. and he made a few appearances here and there, even when he knew he couldnt or wouldnt do anything to assist. and he did find himself ‘assisting’ more often than he might otherwise have, finding ways to justify it to himself, and on one occasion even coaching someone on what NOT to say because so long as he wasnt directly told a certain fact or two, than he was free to act

in the arthurian age, the wizard merlin did some shit. really, quite a bit of shit- he binged jack’s radar a few times, but the clever wizard always managed to figure a way out of it before interference could be considered. but eventually merlin called him, having created something too terrible and too powerful that the wizard feared he could not control it, and that it would ruin everything he cared for

but merlin offered something in exchange for jack’s help- not completely unusual, of course. but usually it was tokens one might leave for a god entity- food and flowers and the like. but merlin asked jack to fix his mistake AND spare his life, and in return merlin would create a means for jack to become human

jack agreed, which was a terrible sign for merlin, really. generally, the unnatural or threatening thing is destroyed, as are all involved in its creation- but such an action isnt always necessary, and in this case it hadnt been. (and jack killed several that merlin cared for, but he would have had to have done that anyways, and besides, the wizard didnt mention them by name)

but merlin was true to his word, and upon his death, the great bulk of magic he had acquired over his many years was put to work powering a very complicated spell. essentially, roughly every 30 years, jack can possess a human body for about 3 or 4 months. (the times are kinda arbitrary, they can be changed if you guys feel they are too long or short or whatever. in my head the spell also is tied to jack’s own energy, so staying four months instead of three would potentially weaken him). the body must be human and must be living at the time he inhabits it. he cannot wield his powers to their full extent while a human, as his true form cannot possibly fit inside such a tiny thing, but he can fully experience everything the human body does. if he wishes to wield his powers, he must completely leave the body, though he can return to it when finished with his business. he can also use different bodies if he wishes- that’s how he ‘traveled’ in his early exploration days.

jack very much enjoyed having a human body- the novelty! the fun! but honestly he wasn’t super regular about it. sometime in maybe the 1400′s he was summoned by the young vampire he would eventually take the name Matt. matt requested that his youngest sister be spared, as her magic was uninvolved in the debacle. jack was impressed by this- not that matt had advocated for someone else, but that matt had had the guts to ask /anyone/ to be spared. matt’s people were up to some truly high-level apocalypse shit, and by all rights he would have been perfectly justified to just carve their entire territory out of the south american landmass and completely disintegrate the whole thing

but anyways. he spared them both. and checked in on them sometime later during one of his human escapades. and then kept checking in on them. he is NOT sentimental, it’s just practical, is his refrain. finding a human lover that he enjoys as much as Matt would take WORK, and they’d be weirded out by him reappearing in thirty years in a different body, and they die so often! really. he’s fond of Matt, sure. But he isn’t attached to him or anything. Dont be silly.

as i’ve mentioned, Jack can be ‘summoned’- In fact, he pretty much has to be. but ‘summon’ is a very loose term for it- the mental anguish of realizing you’ve fucked up so badly that the entire world might be in danger tends to count. way, way, way back in the day there were more formal ‘rituals’ that could be used to bring forth a visual analog of his true form for mortals to interact with, but merlin was the last to use one, and jack has destroyed any remaining instructions (that he was aware of)

unfortunately, this means that Jack can be tricked. if absolutely no one involved in a project that threatens the natural order has any inkling of the damage their activities could create, or has no feelings of regret associated with that inkling- the world could potentially end with jack being none the wiser. i imagine there are also magical protections that could be used to prevent jack from interfering if one was aware of his presence, though he has yet to come across such things and probably believes that no one could really create something that would keep HIM out of where he wanted to be

jack is also limited in what he can fix. it has to be something that is truly a threat to the natural order AND it can’t be something that the lowest form of sentience can do anything about. (this is a rule that he has justified himself down on over the ages to reach the current stage it is at, and unfortunately he cant seem to get it any lower. not that he WANTS to help, of course.)

these days he often visits suspicious folk in dreams to suss out the situation- less likely to cause a panic, and in the morning they barely remember. he appeared to a very distraught member of the Manhattan Project in a recent near-interference. and he was totally on board with making sure this thing completely stopped existing but then. the damn fool said something about their fears that the bombs would be used and... well. its not an active threat if someone just has to NOT do something, is it? and a human someone, too! and so jack told the scientist that this was something the politicians were responsible for stopping. (technically, jack already KNEW this- he cannot really be lied to, exactly. but he cannot actively know everything all at once, and intent of things is often what determines whether or not jack can act.) jack’s refusal to help- even after the bombs had been deployed and there was nothing humans or supernatural beings could do to stop them- was the source of the biggest fight jack and matt have had to date. it was also the point where matt began to realize that jack IS dangerous, and he began sharing information about jack with maria in an attempt to better understand his limits and abilities

Jack is not inherently dangerous to the average person. In his human form, supernatural beings that can ‘read’ others- by scent, auras, telepathy- will know he is wearing a borrowed body. Those more familiar with planes of existence may be aware that there is more of him hiding somewhere, just out of sight. 

most alarmed by his presence (both his true form and when he’s tied to a human body) would be people and things that are in defiance of nature. the beast creature that Merlin had created, for instance, went rigid and frothed at the mouth when he appeared, in blind panic and fear

Jack’s involvement in taking care of Dr. Rawe and his subsequent invitation to the New Year’s Day party are part of an ongoing research project started by Maria that is being kicked at by Annabelle. Clearly, he is not impartial as he claims. And he uses his biases to work around his own rules. Annabelle believes that should be harnessed.

Matt’s suggestion that Jack take care of the Dr. Rawe problem probably went something like shown below. its also highly possible that jack was aware he was being ‘manipulated’ and allowed it- he is VERY keen to meet May and ‘the friends’, so.

M: boogeyman shouldnt be able to use magic should they?

J: no, not actively at least- just drawing stuff into their lairs. processing fear, creating nightmares. thats all instinctual stuff

j: why

m: oh nothing- well. i guess a wizard that had previously been absorbed by a boogey was taking control of it. being both

j: it... shouldnt. it couldnt.

m: well, it did. went around kidnapping other magic users, forcing an actual boogey out of its lair, ripping open portals and not properly repairing them... you look pained. this isnt your ‘sort of thing’ is it?

j: ehhh i mean. its only the one?

m: i think so? i mean i guess theres no way to know unless the thing could be inspected

j: ehhhh

m: you have to be asked, don’t you?

j: i dont HAVE to be anything-ed! i am free to act as i please

m: well im asking anyways- the things a menace, and its been targeting other oddities. im sure the endangerment of some of your other ‘keep an eye on’s would pull some strings out of the rug, yes?

j: ...

m: humans certainly cant take care of it. even i would have trouble disposing of it properly. much less permanently.

j: ...okay. throw that blanket on my body, i dont want it to be all cold when i get back to it. and itll only be like, ten minutes tops, so help me if youve put your pants back on by the time ive returned

[apsbicepstraining]

US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider

Americas first pro rugby organization conference intention its season on Sunday. For one of the men who built it happen “its time” for reflection, remain and getting ready to go again

On Sunday afternoon in Obetz, just outside Columbus, the Ohio Aviators will play the Denver Stampede. The wins with a bonus part, in Ohios case will be the first PRO Rugby champions.

The five-team league has no championship game. Best over 12 rounds prevails. It just happens that go the final weekend of the tournaments first season, these two teams have not sorted out who that is.

Couldnt have schemed it any better, replied Steve Lewis, the freshman organisations director of rugby, over breakfast on the Upper West Side. Were it plannable, of course. Its an interesting symmetry: our first game was Ohio at Denver[ in the snow in April] and that was a close-fisted finish, the only recreation weve had that is entered into additional day, which was one of our inventions. So this is ideal: final tournament of the year, all the marbles. It mounts it up nicely.

Lewis is an ebullient Scot whose ebullience has not been entirely chafed off by nine months spraying to and fro in sole service of Americas first pro conference. Like conference owned Doug Schoninger, he works out of New York City. The five units are in the middle and west Ohio, Denver, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco.

Lewis has reason to smile, gingerly as much as wearily. Crowds ought to have acceptable if small-time; press coverage positive if slightly bemused; politics, in a rugby scenery that manages to be scattered and congested at once, manageable if predictably intense. Denver, for example, moved residence mid-season, from the Glendale Raptors rugby-built Infinity Park to Ciber Field, a college soccer stadium. Words were exchanged. The dealership lived and so did the conference.

Season one of Schoningers epic, then, is almost in the can. A inspect will follow in September, followed by planning for season two. Swelling is on the cards: Canada, perhaps. The east coast, perhaps.

You wishes to pair beings up from a antagonism view and a hurtle perspective, Lewis said. So Chicago for Columbus, Boston for New York. That in my view “wouldve been” ideology, but we may not find the venues.

Much of Lewiss work has been visible at the existing venues, on their freshly marked-out turf. Much has gone to plan.

Jamie Mackintosh takes on the San Diego defence. Picture: Joseph K Ghammashi/ PRO Rugby

Two of the tournaments marquee knacks internationals employed to be good citizens as well as good participates will encounter in the decider: the South africans back row Pedrie Wannenburg for Denver, the New Zealand prop Jamie Mackintosh for Ohio. Over scrambled eggs and strong coffee, Lewis described how Mackintosh, from Dunedin, a hotbed of All Black rugby, came to live and play in Obetz, a village outside Columbus most well known for its Zucchinifest which has nonetheless hugged rugby, building a small stadium from scratch.

Everyone wanted to go to San Francisco and San Diego, he responded. So how do I get anyone to go to Obetz and Sacramento and Denver?[ Italy back] Mirco Bergamasco wanted to go to Sacramento, because his wife had lived there before.[ Australia rugby league great] Timana Tahu had lineage bonds in Denver, so that was OK. But how do I get anyone to go to Columbus?

[ Ex-Zebre flanker] Filippo Ferrarini was the first one. I contemplated: Youre Italian, Columbus, off you go. He didnt get it, so I had to explain it to him subsequentlies. And then Mackintosh rose on track and he was really easy.

The New Zealander is a one-cap All Black loosehead, a big humanity known to home devotees as Whopper. He approached rugbys American frontier with generally Kiwi affability.

He added, I dont mind, Steve, Im really easy, wherever you want to placed me.

I supposed, What kind of region do you like?

He announced, Im a country boy, Id instead be somewhere with a little bit of chase, a bit of fishing.

So I had to call up Paul Holmes at[ Ohio-based US national improvement academy] Tiger Rugby and allege, Is there any chase and fishing near Obetz? He responded, Oh yeah, consignments. So I told Mackintosh I imagined Ohio might be the claim fit for him and he went there, espoused it and went well.

Steve Lewis speaks to Matt McCarthy of rugbywrapup.com in March.

San Franciscos star man, Mils Muliaina, has 99 more All Black caps than Mackintosh. Unfortunately, the largest full-back arrived late and has not boasted often for a unit which tottered to 3-8 ahead of its final had met with Sacramento( likewise 3-8, moving Saturdays game a playoff to shun last home ). But on the whole the experimentation has worked. The big names have visas and may be back for more.

Discussing recruitment for 2017, Lewis said: I dont think we need the marquee actors as much anymore, though. If were expanding my biggest pertain is structural constraint, ie: are there enough good players to staff those stretch units? Clearly if we do[ expand] then the number of foreign actors on each team will need to go up, likely to five to seven, and I think that well skew younger.

Asked where such foreign players might come from, he enunciated: Everyones inhaling around, but my next happy hunting ground is likely to be South Africa. Biggest talent pool, constriction of geniu, exacerbated by the falling rand and the coaching arrangement. Theres going to be lots of good young South African players, shall we say competitively priced. So that would be a sweet recognise, I feel.[ New Zealand] Mitre 10 Cup people, the docket duty, Japan the docket works.

At home, the docket still needs to work for everyone. PRO Rugby flowed from mid-April to the end of July. One top fraternity challenger, the east-coast American Rugby Premiership, is set to move to September-November. The west-coast Pacific Rugby Premiership, home to Glendale and other powerful societies, may or may not follow. Politics.

PRO Rugby will continue to grapple with whether to play in the June Test window. This year, while the Eagles lost to Italy and drum Russia, it did. Politics-plus.

Nor, Lewis said, does the PRO Rugby docket work with the European season. But, thought-provokingly in an age of Premiership tournaments in New Jersey and Pro1 2 conceptions of a team on the US east coast, he included: You do have academy musicians there who have bugger everyone to do between January and May. I think thats policy options and weve had those the talks with Quins, London Irish. So I anticipate the league will probably skew younger.

The young league, Lewis said, depicts encouraging development of raise. Teams have improved in fitness and knowledge; tries have been scored at a standard of performance somewhat below Currie Cup, slightly below Mitre 10 Cup, a reasonable grade to have aimed at, a reasonable degree to have got to.

Also, along with cherry-red safe tackle wrinkles on shirts and no move, PRO Rugby empowered reviewers to evade too many scrum re-sets by awarding free-kicks. Harmonizing to fascinating analysis of the tournaments stats by Jake Frechette for Rugby Today, the policy seems to be working.

In the 2015 Six Nations, Frechette writes, 51% of scrums were completed successfully. At the World cup finals, 68%[ of scrums] were completed successfully. For PRO,[ where average number of scrums per competition is high-pitched at practically 20] the rate thus far is 77 %. Thats good bulletin for everyone who wants to see the pellet played from a scrum instead of listening a referees whistle. Thats all of us, right?

Pedrie Wannenberg in action for Denver, against San Diego. Picture: Connie Hatfield

Players have glowed. Dom Waldouck, formerly a centre for Wasps, Northampton, London Irish and England Saxons, did well at Ohio and has earned a ordeal at Newcastle. Langilangi Haupeakui, a hard-hitting Sacramento No8, came to the league from a tough upbringing and fraction two rugby with the East Palo Alto Razorbacks. Five a few months later, Lewis said, he got fit, eventually ate well and all of a sudden, boom, launched into the Eagles, got a detonator and is going for a contest with Harlequins next week when they come over.

Other achievers include Spike Davis, a defensive attack who attended camp with the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers before pitching up in Ohio as a 6ft 4in, 250 lbs wing. There is also Hanco Germishuys, a US junior flanker no longer a male among boys or a son among people after a season with Denver, and the San Diego openside Cecil Garber, a learn from the Seattle Saracens with a attack count off the charts.

Weve fulfilled that part of the mission, Lewis said. Three, four, five participates are now on[ USA coach] John Mitchells radar who maybe wouldnt ought to have otherwise.

Thanks to Lewis and Schoninger, a pro competition that would not otherwise have been on nature rugby radar is now there. A blip, perhaps, but thriving brighter. After Sundays finale, there will be a breather for all concerned. Then the hard work begins again.

The post US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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[apsbicepstraining]

US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider

Americas first pro rugby organization conference intention its season on Sunday. For one of the men who built it happen “its time” for reflection, remain and getting ready to go again

On Sunday afternoon in Obetz, just outside Columbus, the Ohio Aviators will play the Denver Stampede. The wins with a bonus part, in Ohios case will be the first PRO Rugby champions.

The five-team league has no championship game. Best over 12 rounds prevails. It just happens that go the final weekend of the tournaments first season, these two teams have not sorted out who that is.

Couldnt have schemed it any better, replied Steve Lewis, the freshman organisations director of rugby, over breakfast on the Upper West Side. Were it plannable, of course. Its an interesting symmetry: our first game was Ohio at Denver[ in the snow in April] and that was a close-fisted finish, the only recreation weve had that is entered into additional day, which was one of our inventions. So this is ideal: final tournament of the year, all the marbles. It mounts it up nicely.

Lewis is an ebullient Scot whose ebullience has not been entirely chafed off by nine months spraying to and fro in sole service of Americas first pro conference. Like conference owned Doug Schoninger, he works out of New York City. The five units are in the middle and west Ohio, Denver, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco.

Lewis has reason to smile, gingerly as much as wearily. Crowds ought to have acceptable if small-time; press coverage positive if slightly bemused; politics, in a rugby scenery that manages to be scattered and congested at once, manageable if predictably intense. Denver, for example, moved residence mid-season, from the Glendale Raptors rugby-built Infinity Park to Ciber Field, a college soccer stadium. Words were exchanged. The dealership lived and so did the conference.

Season one of Schoningers epic, then, is almost in the can. A inspect will follow in September, followed by planning for season two. Swelling is on the cards: Canada, perhaps. The east coast, perhaps.

You wishes to pair beings up from a antagonism view and a hurtle perspective, Lewis said. So Chicago for Columbus, Boston for New York. That in my view “wouldve been” ideology, but we may not find the venues.

Much of Lewiss work has been visible at the existing venues, on their freshly marked-out turf. Much has gone to plan.

Jamie Mackintosh takes on the San Diego defence. Picture: Joseph K Ghammashi/ PRO Rugby

Two of the tournaments marquee knacks internationals employed to be good citizens as well as good participates will encounter in the decider: the South africans back row Pedrie Wannenburg for Denver, the New Zealand prop Jamie Mackintosh for Ohio. Over scrambled eggs and strong coffee, Lewis described how Mackintosh, from Dunedin, a hotbed of All Black rugby, came to live and play in Obetz, a village outside Columbus most well known for its Zucchinifest which has nonetheless hugged rugby, building a small stadium from scratch.

Everyone wanted to go to San Francisco and San Diego, he responded. So how do I get anyone to go to Obetz and Sacramento and Denver?[ Italy back] Mirco Bergamasco wanted to go to Sacramento, because his wife had lived there before.[ Australia rugby league great] Timana Tahu had lineage bonds in Denver, so that was OK. But how do I get anyone to go to Columbus?

[ Ex-Zebre flanker] Filippo Ferrarini was the first one. I contemplated: Youre Italian, Columbus, off you go. He didnt get it, so I had to explain it to him subsequentlies. And then Mackintosh rose on track and he was really easy.

The New Zealander is a one-cap All Black loosehead, a big humanity known to home devotees as Whopper. He approached rugbys American frontier with generally Kiwi affability.

He added, I dont mind, Steve, Im really easy, wherever you want to placed me.

I supposed, What kind of region do you like?

He announced, Im a country boy, Id instead be somewhere with a little bit of chase, a bit of fishing.

So I had to call up Paul Holmes at[ Ohio-based US national improvement academy] Tiger Rugby and allege, Is there any chase and fishing near Obetz? He responded, Oh yeah, consignments. So I told Mackintosh I imagined Ohio might be the claim fit for him and he went there, espoused it and went well.

Steve Lewis speaks to Matt McCarthy of rugbywrapup.com in March.

San Franciscos star man, Mils Muliaina, has 99 more All Black caps than Mackintosh. Unfortunately, the largest full-back arrived late and has not boasted often for a unit which tottered to 3-8 ahead of its final had met with Sacramento( likewise 3-8, moving Saturdays game a playoff to shun last home ). But on the whole the experimentation has worked. The big names have visas and may be back for more.

Discussing recruitment for 2017, Lewis said: I dont think we need the marquee actors as much anymore, though. If were expanding my biggest pertain is structural constraint, ie: are there enough good players to staff those stretch units? Clearly if we do[ expand] then the number of foreign actors on each team will need to go up, likely to five to seven, and I think that well skew younger.

Asked where such foreign players might come from, he enunciated: Everyones inhaling around, but my next happy hunting ground is likely to be South Africa. Biggest talent pool, constriction of geniu, exacerbated by the falling rand and the coaching arrangement. Theres going to be lots of good young South African players, shall we say competitively priced. So that would be a sweet recognise, I feel.[ New Zealand] Mitre 10 Cup people, the docket duty, Japan the docket works.

At home, the docket still needs to work for everyone. PRO Rugby flowed from mid-April to the end of July. One top fraternity challenger, the east-coast American Rugby Premiership, is set to move to September-November. The west-coast Pacific Rugby Premiership, home to Glendale and other powerful societies, may or may not follow. Politics.

PRO Rugby will continue to grapple with whether to play in the June Test window. This year, while the Eagles lost to Italy and drum Russia, it did. Politics-plus.

Nor, Lewis said, does the PRO Rugby docket work with the European season. But, thought-provokingly in an age of Premiership tournaments in New Jersey and Pro1 2 conceptions of a team on the US east coast, he included: You do have academy musicians there who have bugger everyone to do between January and May. I think thats policy options and weve had those the talks with Quins, London Irish. So I anticipate the league will probably skew younger.

The young league, Lewis said, depicts encouraging development of raise. Teams have improved in fitness and knowledge; tries have been scored at a standard of performance somewhat below Currie Cup, slightly below Mitre 10 Cup, a reasonable grade to have aimed at, a reasonable degree to have got to.

Also, along with cherry-red safe tackle wrinkles on shirts and no move, PRO Rugby empowered reviewers to evade too many scrum re-sets by awarding free-kicks. Harmonizing to fascinating analysis of the tournaments stats by Jake Frechette for Rugby Today, the policy seems to be working.

In the 2015 Six Nations, Frechette writes, 51% of scrums were completed successfully. At the World cup finals, 68%[ of scrums] were completed successfully. For PRO,[ where average number of scrums per competition is high-pitched at practically 20] the rate thus far is 77 %. Thats good bulletin for everyone who wants to see the pellet played from a scrum instead of listening a referees whistle. Thats all of us, right?

Pedrie Wannenberg in action for Denver, against San Diego. Picture: Connie Hatfield

Players have glowed. Dom Waldouck, formerly a centre for Wasps, Northampton, London Irish and England Saxons, did well at Ohio and has earned a ordeal at Newcastle. Langilangi Haupeakui, a hard-hitting Sacramento No8, came to the league from a tough upbringing and fraction two rugby with the East Palo Alto Razorbacks. Five a few months later, Lewis said, he got fit, eventually ate well and all of a sudden, boom, launched into the Eagles, got a detonator and is going for a contest with Harlequins next week when they come over.

Other achievers include Spike Davis, a defensive attack who attended camp with the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers before pitching up in Ohio as a 6ft 4in, 250 lbs wing. There is also Hanco Germishuys, a US junior flanker no longer a male among boys or a son among people after a season with Denver, and the San Diego openside Cecil Garber, a learn from the Seattle Saracens with a attack count off the charts.

Weve fulfilled that part of the mission, Lewis said. Three, four, five participates are now on[ USA coach] John Mitchells radar who maybe wouldnt ought to have otherwise.

Thanks to Lewis and Schoninger, a pro competition that would not otherwise have been on nature rugby radar is now there. A blip, perhaps, but thriving brighter. After Sundays finale, there will be a breather for all concerned. Then the hard work begins again.

The post US PRO Rugby season come to Denver v Ohio designation decider appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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