#co active coaching

[thatbitchery]

THE 2025 CODE

In light of the (inevitably) incoming new year new me &Co , I thought I'd add to the list of new things you're supposed to be doing

In 2025 we will not cater to people that do not pay our bills. If they are not actively contributing to your bills their desires do not count.

In 2025 we will be necessarily disagreeable. We will honor our point of view and ideas and while we will not be shoving them into everyone's face, we also will not compromise on them to make others comfortable or to appeal to others. We will honor our intelligence and integrity and stand on business, we have the opinions we have and that's that. We will be comfortable with being disagreeable.

In 2025 we will be comfortable with silence. We will not attempt to fill in the blank spaces with words, we will not double text, we will not surrender information or words to avoid awkward silences or anything. We will be very, very comfortable with silence.

In 2025 we will not be auditioning for people unless it's a paid role. Not for their friendship, their love, their acceptance, to be at peace with them- for nothing. We will not try to make them like us by being funny or cute or pretty or whatnot. We will not Will He Like This? Did That Upset Her? Was That The Right Thing To Say? & Co We will do us, if they like us good for them if not also good for them. This is our world they are just in it.

In 2025 we will NOT be centering our anything around anyone (Family can get a pass, and school). We will not cancel our existing plans to make space for people that did not bother to make their plans earlier and simply came at last minute. We will not plan our anything- not outfits, not words, not events, not anything around anyone else, especially not a man or potential romantic interests. we will not tune our interests to them, we will not bend our opinions to them, we will not squeeze our time for them, we will only factor us in. Self-centered is the theme out here. We will not make space for anyone at the expense of us. Me, Me, Me.

In 2025 we will be difficult to please the Simon Cowell way. We will only give compliments when they have been earned. We will only smile when we feel like we want to, we will only be impressed by things we find impressive. We will be stingy with our joy, our compliments, our smiles, our approval and only give them when earned.

In 2025 we will not be parenting adults. If someone feels offended by us, its their job to let us know they were offended by us, our job to see if it's a relationship that needs repair or not. We will not be cleaning up after adults. We will not be gentle parenting fully grown humans into anything - not basic human decency, not relational politics, not basic human hygiene, not nothing. And by people, I largely mean men. When we want to be moms we mom children.

In 2025 we will not be performing unpaid labor. We will not be a free therapist or trauma bucket to be dumped into, not relationship therapist that repairs other's relationship, not maid or chef or waiter duties, not nanny duties, not free coaching, NONE. If we provide expertise, we get paid, e. Not for our families, not for our friends, not for community, not for men.

In 2025 we will validate our desires. Better yet, in 2025 we will NOT be demonizing our desires. We will retire from that Self Shaming role we have been playing and allow ourselves to want it all. We will validate everything we want. Yes I want to Kill Andrew He IS A Piece Of ISht. Yes I want To Marry Brad Pitt. Yes I Want- yes I want. So what.

In 2025 we will not be trying to change people. People will show us what we mean to them by the way they act and we will accept that as a truth and act in our best interests with this information on hand. We Will not try to coach people into treating us better. We will not play zero sum games. We will accept it as a truth and make a decision based on it.

In 2025 we will abandon organized religion for spirituality.

In 2025 we will take responsibility for ourselves and mostly our relationships. We will understand and live from the understanding that it is our responsibility to have mature and functional relationships and any dysfunction we tolerate we accept and it's OUR fault if a person treats us the same way twice.

In 2025 we will be retching level disgusted by inconsistency, even from ourselves. We will not tolerate disrespect, especially not for some surface level 'peace' and worse- attention. Not disrespect to our time, to our dreams, to our ambitions, to our bodies, to our intelligence, to our style, to our families to our preferences to our plans to our everything. We will understand we accept by tolerance and we will serve absence as needed.

BMAC

[suhkusa]

!! tw: anxiety attack

“Y/N?”

The voice pulls you out from your thoughts. It’s Coach Foster. You realize you haven’t paid attention to the past couple of points. 

You’re going to get in trouble.

You feel lightheaded as you grip tighter onto your pen, watching the match and continuing to jot down notes for the coach. You don’t know how many notes he’s expecting you to take. Don’t know if they’re supposed to be detailed, analytical, or just basic observations. You try to give a combination, but in turn scribble out a lot of the notes because they looked jumbled.

It’s the first time in a while that you’ve been this nervous. Usually you’re able to bury your anxiety and ignore it, but this time it’s actively affecting you. And it’s annoying.

Constantly checking your phone to see if Asu has replied to you is damaging your work ethic. It’s distracting. He said he’d be there ASAP, didn’t he? It’s just your luck that he isn’t here when you really needed it.

It’s getting warm. Hot, even. You’re not even layered up on clothes but you can feel your hands getting clammy around your clipboard and pen. 

You needed to get out of here. 

You’re anxious as you turn to the coach, even more so when you realize he and the co-coach are 100% locked into the game. It’s a practice match and you’re here trembling like a baby.

How embarrassing.

“Coach,” your voice doesn’t feel like your own, “Can- I mean may I go on lunch a little early, I feel lightheaded,”

His face scrunches up in worry, you made him worry.

“Yeah of course, be sure to drink water and let us know if you need anything,”

You just give him a curt nod before dropping your clipboard onto the benches and heading outside.

When you check the time you get scared, you couldn’t have waited 5 more minutes huh, Y/N? 

The cool breeze envelopes you as you step outside. Breaths you didn’t even know you were holding were coming out one after another. At first, they were normal and organized but then they suddenly became erratic and uncontrolled. Fuck, not now.

You collapse against a nearby bench as panic swallows you whole. You’re stupid, why are you even freaking out so bad? This is embarrassing, humiliating. You want to go home.

What even made you think this internship would be easy? They’re a D1 college volleyball team, did you really think it’d be fine and dandy? Another example of your dumb decisions getting you into a mess.

You’re not reliable at all.

Your vision is blurry with tears and you force your head down towards your lap immediately. God, just stop crying already.

You just love to make everyone worry about you, don’t you?

“Y/N,”

You jump at the voice, your breathing, tears and movements halting all at once. Fuck.

You’re swallowing back the lump in your throat, blinking away the tears and taking a deep breath before continuing, “Yeah?”

When you finally look up, fear washes over you as you’re basically face to face with Sakusa Kiyoomi.

So pitiful.

“Are you okay?”

You always hate when people ask that. Especially when you’re obviously not. It just makes you self conscious and think about why you were upset in the first place. 

Thankfully, the tears were slow as they fell, and while your breaths were still uncontrollable, they were definitely calmer.

His eyes widened and you’re nervous for what he’s about to say. He’ll probably just scold you again.

“Hey,” he’s squatting down to your level, “deep breaths, Y/N,”

Sakusa breathes deeply inwards then out, gesturing for you to follow his lead. You do.

Weirdly enough it helps.

“I noticed you were nervous earlier,” he noticed? Did others? “What happened?”

“I—” you don’t know. Not really, anyways. Sakusa notices your hesitance. 

“You don’t have to say if you’re uncomfortable,”

“Sorry, I’m just scared that- that I’m not good at this job. This internship plus my exams plus homework, it- it’s too much,” you take another deep breath, “You were right, I shouldn’t have signed up for this— I’m so stupi—”

“Don’t,” your eyes meet again, this time he looks so concerned, the authenticity scares you, “I didn’t mean what I said— I was an asshole, alright? You’re doing great, Coach was going over your notes before he released us for lunch and said they were so much more than he expected,” 

“Liar—”

“I’m serious,” Sakusa says, “and this is all new to you, of course it’ll be hard to balance but I know you’ll get used to it. It’s temporary, just remember that. Just a semester and you can go back to how it was,”

It’s scary how much his words reassure you. You didn’t even realize you had calmed down until now. 

“I’m sorry, that was embarrassing,” you laugh off the awkwardness, wiping at your eyes, “Sorry you had to see that,”

“Don’t apologize,” he stands up, attention still focused on you, “Why don’t you come inside? Everyone was wondering where you were,”

Taking one last deep breath, you stand up with a smile, “Alright, after you,”

SECRET ALLIANCE — BREATHE

PREV | MASTERLIST| NEXT

NOTES.

y/n has been staying up late without telling anyone to study

she had a job in her freshman year but quit within a month because it was too much

she knows she shouldn’t be, but she’s a bit upset at Asu

© all writings belongs to suhkusa 2024. do not repost or change.

[chukys-mouthguard]

fight night

2.5k words

genre: angst, minor fluff, suggested smut

featuring: auston matthews x female reader

summary: after a fight results in auston uninviting you to the nhl awards, you both end up at UFC 303

“Look, you need to chill the fuck out okay? If you don’t like the people I’m hanging out with here, then don’t bother fucking coming tonight. I’ll just see you when I’m back in town.”

Before you could get another word in, Auston had hung up the phone. The two of you getting in a heated argument about the people he was hanging out with while in Las Vegas for a slew of appearances. The most important being the NHL Awards, which you were supposed to attend alongside him. But not anymore.

You didn’t hate Auston’s friend group per say, but he’d been adopting a new workout routine for the offseason, and they didn’t necessarily seem to be helping that. He’d been drinking a lot, something that wasn’t necessarily uncommon for him, but heavy drinking was not going to put him on good terms with his conditioning coach.

Having just expressed your concerns turning into a huge fight between the two of you. It probably didn’t help that you hadn’t seen in each other in weeks, the awards show meant to be the event that brought you two back together. But now here you were, already in Vegas since you’d flown in that day, with your agenda now cleared. Your flight home not for two days as you anticipated spending time with Auston before flying back out.

As you contemplated rebooking your flight, a call came in from your manager, not something you had been expecting.

“Hey y/n, you’re in Las Vegas for a few days right?”

“Um, yeah, I’m in Vegas right now. What’s up?”

“Well, you know how we just closed that sponsorship deal for you with New Amsterdam Vodka?”

Truly you had no clue how your manager landed you that sponsorship, it being one of the best brands you’d gotten a deal with to date. You’d like to think it was because of how much you publicized your love for Pink Whitney, but who really knows.

“Well, they had some things come up. And long story short, can you attend the UFC fight tomorrow night? We’ve got Olivia on a plane flying in as we speak.”

Olivia was your podcast co-host that was also signed to a deal with New Amsterdam. The two of you were the hottest up and coming podcasters who were quickly gaining notoriety for your ability to talk sports and pop culture, while making it entertaining and understandable for all audiences.

“Um, yeah, I can definitely attend the fight. My schedule is completely free.”

“Great! We’ve got an itinerary for the both of you that I’ll send over shortly, because there’s gonna be some brand activation type things needed. And we’ve got stylists coming to your hotel tomorrow afternoon to help you girls with outfits, hair, and makeup!”

After giving you the last few details, you hung up with your manager. A bit shocked at the opportunity you were getting, but thankful to have some sort of distraction to look forward to and hopefully get your mind off the fight you had with Auston.

-

Entering T-Mobile arena, you honestly weren’t sure what to expect out of the much anticipated UFC 303, but it was something to cross off your bingo card for the year. Despite your lack of interest in the fights themselves, you were excited to attend and at least say you were there.

Olivia had gotten in late last night and you had to fill her in on everything. Why you fought with Auston, how he uninvited you from being his guest at the awards show. And how you were thankful for this appearance to get your mind off of him. The stylists had thrown together a more casual look for you: light wash ripped boyfriend jeans, a white tank top, and an oversized black and yellow racing jacket. Elevating the look a bit with some heeled boots. Olivia’s outfit complimenting yours well, both your hair and makeup done just enough to look minimal but still flawless. And with a few New Amsterdam cocktails already in your systems, you were ready to roll.

The arena had all the celebrities attending enter away from the general public, meaning you’d be passing some familiar faces in the tunnels as you were led to your seats. Everyone from Gordon Ramsey to Aaron Rodgers, even-your boyfriend.

“Well fuck…”

Immediately noticing the reason for your reaction, Olivia tried to block Auston from seeing you. But it was too late. His eyes went wide as he saw you, looking you up and down, thank god you looked this good. He was with fellow NHLer Clayton Keller as they awaited an usher to guide them to their seats.

Though shocked to see you at the event, he knew it must have been something your manager had pulled off for you. A soft smile on Auston’s lips as he watched you interact with the New Amsterdam reps, he couldn’t help but be proud of you. He’s seen how much you’ve poured into your podcast, and how hard you’ve worked for moments like these. Despite the argument, he still cared about you and loved seeing you in your element.

He hadn’t gotten the chance to say anything as you were quickly pulled off in the opposite direction. Most likely to film some type of ad for the brand. Pulling out his phone he shot you a quick text, making sure you got to hear from him in case he didn’t see you the rest of the night.

You look so fucking beautiful my love.

The text brought a smile to your face as you quickly typed back a response before you were pulled aside for an interview alongside Olivia.

“Lastly, y/n, I wanted to extend a congratulations to your boyfriend, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Winner of the Richard Trophy last night at the NHL Awards.”

“Oh thank you so much.”

The comment was a bit unexpected, though it wasn’t uncommon to get asked about Auston since your relationship was very much public.

“We didn’t see you in attendance last night with Auston, hopefully there isn’t any trouble in paradise there?”

Laughing off the comment you shook your head, “No, not at all! There unfortunately was some last minute conflicts that prevented me from attending. But I’m so proud of him, I wish I could have been there. Luckily we have a night like tonight where we can just have some fun, and celebrate. So, I’m glad we were able to both be here!”

The interview wrapped up and you took a deep breath, Olivia squeezing your arm in reassurance. “I don’t know how you pulled that answer out of your ass, but that was so good!” The two of you laughed as an usher finally led you to your seats.

“I truly don’t even know what answer I gave, my brain was on autopilot. I’m just glad I didn’t say something stupid.”

“Are you gonna talk to him tonight at all?”

Stopping in your tracks as your usher gestured to your seats, your eyes settling on your boyfriend who was standing with his friends just next to where you’d be sitting for the night.

“Well I might not have much of a choice if I’m stuck sitting next to him.”

The two of you set your bags down at your seats, mingling a bit with the people around you. Remembering how your manager always preached to you both network as much as possible at events like these.

As you were talking with a rep from some coffee brand, trying your best to convince them to send some product to you girls to try, you felt an arm snacking around your waist. Immediately knowing it was Auston as your hand entangled with his at your hip.

Thanking the rep for their time, giving them your agents number, you finally were able to turn your attention to Auston. Who patiently stood at your side, a smile on his face as he watched you doing your thing.

“Hey baby.”

“Hi.”

He gave you a kiss before pulling you into his chest, rubbing your back as he knew you were still frustrated with him. Doing his best to try and make up for being an asshole.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight?”

He pulled you towards your seats, his hand immediately resting on your thigh as you sat down. Eyes fixated on you as he sipped his drink.

“Well, neither did I. Until I got the call ten minutes after someone uninvited me from their awards show last night.”

You shot him a glare as he gently squeezed your thigh. “Look, about that, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that and-“

“Auston, it’s fine. Tonight, I just want to have fun, we don’t need to talk about it right now. Especially because I’ve had enough cocktails that you get me riled up, you and I will end up in that ring as the main event.”

He smirked at you as he leaned in close, stealing a kiss from you. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

Pushing him away as you tried to hide your blush, you ignored his horny thoughts. “Auston Matthews, we might need to cut you off. Someone is already feeling themselves tonight.”

A slight whine left his lips as he moved his hand, now draping an arm over your shoulder. “I can’t help that you look so good babe. Plus, I haven’t seen you in weeks, you expect me to not have my hands all over you? Most importantly, I need to make up for being such a dick last night.”

“Well that is very true. I didn’t even get to celebrate your big trophy win with you.”

A pout on your lips as you glanced up at him, deciding that you’d have some fun making him regret not inviting you. “I even brought your favorite blue lace set to wear under my dress last night, but, it just stayed in my suitcase since you didn’t want me there.” Fingers lightly playing with his chains as you spoke, making sure to really get under his skin.

The look in his eyes immediately turning to one of lust as he thought about the set in question. Baby blue lace that hugged your curves perfectly, and while it looked amazing on you he loved it even better on the floor.

“And I said I was sorry baby. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Tilting your chin up he brought your lips to his, clearly forgetting the two of you were in public as his tongue tried pushing past your lips. A slight chuckle leaving your lips as you pulled away from him.

“Babe, I love that you’re wanting to make it up to me. But maybe not front row for everyone to see, okay?”

He rolled his eyes as he obeyed, simply returning a hand to your thigh as the two of you watched as the main events were set to begin shortly.

You swore Auston’s hand crept closer and closer to your inner thigh with the ending of each fight. The alcohol mixed with the thoughts of you wearing his favorite lingerie clearly having him hot and bothered. And while you weren’t turning down the idea, it having been several weeks since you’d gotten your hand on him, you were still here for work and needed to act professional.

He luckily kept his cool for the remainder of the night, respecting when you had to remind him that you were there for work while he was there for fun. The two of you leaving hand in hand as he definitely was not letting you out of his sight. His mind focused on getting you back to his hotel and making up for not having you by his side at the awards show.

The second the door to his room closed you were pulled into his lap as he sat at the edge of the bed. One hand resting on your hip while the other pulled you in for a kiss.

“You do look fucking stunning tonight baby.”

A smile crept across your lips as your arms wrapped around his neck, thanking him as your eyes locked with his. “And, I’m sorry about last night. I should’ve never been that way, I needed you there with me. And, I let some dumb shit get me all worked up. I know you are just looking out for me, and I appreciate that so much. I love how much you care for me.”

Resting your forehead on his, you sighed, not even caring about the fight anymore. Knowing it was stupid, but appreciating his apology.

“I do care about you, a lot. And, maybe sometimes I overstep a bit. But it’s all out of love for you Auston. I wish I could’ve been there for you last night, but I’m here now. And there’s no place I’d rather be.”

“While I couldn’t agree more, I do wish I could’ve gotten to see that blue lace set on you last night. Would’ve been a nice way to celebrate that’s for sure.”

Slipping from his lap as he hands reached out to try and pull you back, you slowly discarded of your jacket. Standing in front of him with a smile on your face as he watched you in anticipation.

“Well, maybe we can still celebrate a day late.”

Pulling your tank top over your head, you revealed that you were in fact in the blue lace number. Auston biting his tongue at the sight of you in the bra, his hands wanting to make quick work of your jeans to see you in the matching thong.

“Fuck…but if you didn’t know you’d see me tonight, why wear the blue?”

“Shut up and just enjoy the coincidence Auston!”

Shaking your head you walked back over to him, pulling him in for a kiss as his hands made quick work of your jeans. Needing to see you fully on display in blue lace just for him. As you kicked off the jeans, he sat back on his forearms, lust filled eyes watching as you did a spin for him.

“God you’re so fucking perfect.”

Without warning he picked you up, lips crashing against yours while his hands rested under your ass gripping tightly as your skin and surely leaving a few marks.

You giggled as he tossed you on the bed, making quick work of his clothes, leaving him in just his briefs as he hovered over you. Tucking some hair behind your ear as his hips ground into your core, earning a moan from you as you felt him growing hard against you. The two of you taking your time, kissing for what felt like hours, no hurry as you wanted to savor every second of your time with one another.

“I love you so much Auston, and I’m so proud of you. But if you ever uninvite me from something like that ever again, so help me god.”

He rolled his eyes as a hand traveled down to the string of your thong, snapping it slightly as his fingers teased at your core.

“Relax baby, I’m gonna make up for it all.”

[dreamgrlarchive]

A Prissy Girl’s Guide to Spring

since i won’t be active on tumblr when next spring comes around, and i’ve done 3/4 seasons, i felt it was appropriate to go ahead and finish the series! if you find yourself inspired by my aesthetic/looks, you can absolutely use this as a guide for the next primavera season! 🐇

what’s the look this spring?

my personal forecast for fashion spring ‘24 is “pink pilates bimbo” for sure. the renewal of spring is the time for a wellness reset. so i’ll be engaging in a physical activity but i’ll still be in barbie attire. pink athleisure pieces with super girly additions is my predicted aesthetic. 🎀

first and foremost…

let’s talk about what spring symbolizes: renewal, cleansing, and restarting. that makes itself apparent in the seasons colors; the darkness of winter transitions to the soft pastels of spring.

preparation

start spring cleaning and prepping for seasonal allergies. stock up on in season fruits to keep in the house. take up outside activities like biking, outdoor yoga, and jogging. buy new fragrances. prep your skin and hair for the overtime humidity.

essentials

pretty umbrella

allergy meds/quarterly check up

new water bottle/tumbler

fresh and clean candles + home fragrances

matcha and jade citrus tea

humidifier

neti pot

clothes and accessories

pink athleisure. the lululemon strawberry milkshake jacket is a must! (or a dupe if you’re on budget)

foldover yoga pants

bedazzled pieces

pastel colored pieces

cute mini bags

victoria’s secret totes

tennis skirts

sheer + lacey tops

florals for spring? groundbreaking.

glitter + sequins

satin dresses

lace up sandals

hunter boots

coach baguettes

victoria’s secret co-ords, leggings and sweaters

ballet flats

ugg slippers + fluff sandals

cute gym shoes with pink/sparkly details

lace up pieces

baby blue is a staple color for spring

ruffle trims

warm materials + revealing cuts

“pastry princess” looks inspired by sweets and dessertz

cropped baby tees

stripper heelz

diamond jewelry

body jewelry + belly chainz

sparkly hair clips and headbands

butterfly aesthetics

ribbons and bows

ostrich feathers

sparkly keychains and wristlets

bodysuits + heels combo

statement jewelry like hello kitty, fruit or desserts

beauty

pretty eye pigments (try mac, huda or iconic london)

vibrant pinks

warm bronzer

glitter gloss

translucent glosses in pink and orange

charlotte tilbury flawless filter

nars super orgasm blush

morphe 8r complexion palette

morphe nikita palette

natasha denona diamond & glow (favvv)

a bunch of clear glosses

fenty diamond bomb

fenty fussy gloss bomb

urban decay moondust shadows

cake beauty products

joseon spf 50

bright and/or floral fragrances (gucci flora gorgeous gardenia, jimmy choo illicit flower, carolina herrera good girl blush, juliette has a gun collection, yves saint laurent mon paris intensement, marc jacobs daisy fragrances)

victoria’s secret love spell + warm and cozy + la crème fragrances

sol de janeiro body mists

body shimmer (fenty beauty or bath and body works)

sweet body butters

sol de janeiro beija flor

exfoliating gloves

juicy sheet masks

cetaphil moisturizing cream

native candy shop collection

victoria’s secret tease + eau so sexy

5 blade razors and post shave oil

cute mirrors to keep in my purses

glitter nails

lavenders and pinks

protein treatments for moisture overload

[wisteria-lodge]

"He starts acting more like his mother, and this works well for him. I honestly think Draco takes after Narcissa much more than he takes after Lucius, it just takes him a second to figure that out"

Wait really? What does it mean? Like if Draco doesn't do things in a showy way it will all work put for him/it makes him have a higher chance of succeeding? Or does it mean that he does best if he works behind the shadows type?

"But in Book 6 there's a rupture between Draco and Lucius" Is it because of this that when Lucius called out to Draco during the battle who didn't come until only Narcissa called for him?

"Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are *quite* committed to keeping Draco Malfoy in one piece" hmm I kinda don't agree with this because they usually let Draco get beat up right? Or maybe I'm remembering incorrectly?

I'm catching up on your metas I really love them so much

~ re. this meta about how Lucius and Narcissa use power ~

Yeah, Draco is not the most... effective character, for most of the series. Generally his plans backfire, or just don't work at all. Taking Neville's Remembrall gets Harry on the quidditch team, luring Harry out for a duel and snitching about Norbert gets *Draco* in trouble... he's not able to get Buckbeak executed or Hagrid fired, the Inquisitorial Squad doesn't really make a difference, even other Slytherins get sick of how often he does impressions of Harry fainting or whatever. The Support Cedric Diggory/Potter Stinks badges... I'll give him that one. But that's also him being unusually subtle/sneaky (trying to stay under the radar because he's scared of Moody.)

I would say that when Draco plays it subtle, sneaky, and patient - things do work out a lot better for him. He starts getting effective in Book 6, and I don't even hate the poisoned mead/cursed necklace plan. I mean *morally* obviously it's not great, but as a tactic it's kinda brilliant. It reminds me of The Great Escape:

"Perhaps we're being too clever. If we stop all the breakouts, it may only convince the goons that we must be tunneling."

If Draco throws out all these showy attempts (that Dumbledore calls "desperate" and "feeble")... well, then Dumbledore is much less likely to suspect that Draco has additionally spent the all year essentially building a tunnel. He's using both his parent's strategies simultaneously: cursed artifacts, poison, imperiusing someone into helping - that's all Lucius. It's in-your-face, and soaks up a lot of attention. BUT - slowly and carefully fixing the Vanishing Cabinet so people can sneak in... that's all Narcissa. And so is the way he's made sure no one is paying attention.

(I mean, except Harry, but at this point everyone has sort of accepted that Harry is going to be unreasonably obsessed with Draco no matter what he does.)

We also see this pattern with Draco's passive resistance in Book 7, not identifying Harry & co. when he has the chance. That's also a very *Narcissa* move. We even get little moments in Book 7 where he's actively being coached in his mom's don't-attract-attention strategy:

The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother’s eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The moment where Draco doesn't go to his father when Lucius calls for him is a movie-only moment, but it fits. Draco spends Book 6 pulling away from his communities - the Slytherins, the quidditch team, the Death Eaters. He's realized that he doesn't want what they're selling. And pulling away from the Death Eaters *does* include Lucius and Severus (who he doesn't know is a spy.) Instead, Draco seems to spend a lot more time alone, with his mother (I just can't believe Bellatrix was the one giving him occlumency lessons, that is such a Narcissa move) and with Moaning Myrtle.

~ re. this meta about the Malfoys during the first war ~

I mean... Crabbe and Goyle aren't very *good* at keeping Draco in one piece, but they do try, and whenever someone is beating up Draco, Crabbe and Goyle are right next to him fighting someone else. They also get a shout out for being some of the only people Draco actually trusts during Book 6, and they stand guard for him, even when polyjuiced into 11 year old girls.

[xuchiya]

"She's the manager" || song mingi ||

| genre: fluff. fluff. | mentions: bruise. lil bit of blood. this is me when i played fight with my boxing partner.

boxing has to be a well-known activity in your town and being part of the town for so long, you have taken lessons. Your grandfather encourages you to at least learn the basics to which your mother disagrees as it is too violent for her but you just stand there and balance the pros and cons. Though it all flew out when you saw your grandfather having the sparkles in his eyes disappear.

Sooner or later, if you would have known that boxing will forever be with you until you are an adult, your grandfather would be proud of you. From junior high up to your last years of your college years; boxing has one thing that stayed with you.

Now that you were working and had stopped training until your co-worker from a company that you were currently working at had left you a message about new members of the arena having enrolled. You were curious as to have the arena filled in with new athletes. The place is soon closing due to less and less people having not tried to enroll in the arena.

The same training arena that you grew up to. And now, you and the other people that you grew up with in training were managing it.

You - [That’s odd and exciting! We’ll be there in 5!] seen 15:45 San - [We’re back on business baby!] seen 15:46 Seonghwa - [We were always in business, San-ah.] seen 15:48 Wooyoung - [WAHAHAHAHA PABO SANNIE~!] seen 15: 49 San - [... shut up.] 15:50

You arrive at the training arena a few minutes late of what time you mentioned but with the noise and cheering from the inside court, you know none of them have any problem with your tardiness. As you adjusted the strap on your shoulder, you took upon yourself to see a rather tall— taller than Seonghwa— in a battle between Jongho. 

The bell clings and the fight ends with Jongho raising his gloved hand, you shake your head as if you knew no one can defeat the guy. Cheers from your friends made the other guy sigh and step out of the ring.

“Noona!” Jongho waved his free hand. You waved back, placing your bag down on the bench as Seonghwa approached you with four other guys trailing behind me, one of them was the guy that Jongho defeated.

San, Wooyoung and Jongho stood beside you as Seonghwa introduced you to the new members of the training arena. You bowed your head with a warm smile, “I’m not actually the owner of this arena—”

“She’s the manager.” San butted in. You chuckle, “Like he said but don’t mind it and also thank you. This is enough for us to save the arena as we have grown up here and been in this sport for so long.”

Hongjoong the one you notice because of his height difference with the two tall members, “These are actually my sons.  I’m just here to learn a few tricks and there. The eldest— Yunho here wanted to do it out of curiosity, Yeosang my middle kid is interested and my youngest here— as you have seen, he dreams big and wanted to be part of the Olympics.”

Your mouth gaped open as you trailed on the youngest, clapping in adoration, “That is quite a dream but in this place, we’ll do our best for you to reach your dreams.”

Mingi, beaming at your words, bows at least a ninety-degree angle, shouting, “thank you!” You wave at his enthusiasm a smile still there, “No need. We should be thanking you instead, so with this, are you guys ready?”

“Oh I forgot, this is Seonghwa—as you guys met him a while ago, he is actually the eldest among us.” You said pointing to Seonghwa who bows then pointing at Wooyoung and San, “San here is actually our fighter while Wooyoung here is our coach and manager when it comes to games but he also fights in the arena a few times and lastly, Jongho— he is actually our coach here inside.” 

Mr. Kim, you can go to Seonghwa here to learn the basics. San please help Yeosang with his lessons and advances, you too Wooyoung. Jongho?” You saw him eyeing Mingi to which Mingi cowers at his stares, you smack Jongho before you let him train Yunho instead. Mingi felt relieved to be away from his deadly eyes.

You swing your bag as you lead Mingi to your own training area. It was silent until Mingi cleared his throat, catching up, “So .. Do you compete too?” You look over your shoulder, your lips pursuing to the side as you shrug, “Yeah but not that much like San does.”

“So you know how to?” You flip all the light switches on then placing your bag down on the bench, zipping it open as you take out your bandage and wrap it around your wrist then up to your knuckles. “Yeah, I have been boxing since I was in my junior year.”

“You’re strong.” You chuckle, looking at him as you notice his eyes were sparkling. Your eyes trailed in his  features, reminding you of how your grandfather looks at you when you told him that you were training. The same sparkle, adoration and pride in their eyes.

Before you let yourself dwell in the nostalgic moment, you cleared your throat, nodding at the materials near the wall, “Go ahead and start getting ready. Warm up at 15.” You took your shirt from your bag before disappearing to the bathroom.

“You have to know which is your dominant hand…” You said, angling your curled fist on your face, then stretching your left hand forward in a fast pace, “Punching using your dominant hand will help you defeat your opponent, the non-dominant one will be like your guide to make an opening or helps you land more punch on your dominant.”

Mingi does a couple of punches before nodding, “I think left is my dominant.” You nodded, directing him to a body punching bag. You made a footwork drill for him that you knew for sure he would get it in a few minutes.

“When you land a punch, you land on your dominant then follow by your non-dominant then again and again until ... ”Your fist lands on the bag on the last part, you let out a hard ‘ah’ as you land a hard straight punch on the bag making it swing further.

Mingi could feel chills running down his arms as he watched you land punch after punch on the bag and only Mingi could do is nodded, gulping “Okay.” He stood on the other punching bag. You watch him executing the combination until you hum, standing beside him. 

“When you punch on your left, stand here on your right. It will make you swing better .. Go.” Mingi did, blowing a soft sigh before repeating the combination and earning a different result to which you nodded with a clap, “Good good. Do this combination but faster.”

In under 30 minutes, Mingi had picked up at least 4 combinations and you were, to say, impressed. You have taught kids and young teens simple combinations and it took them a while to do so but Mingi? It felt as if he was born to do this. Mingi is fast, his agility and stamina are no joke as he had you sparing the next minute.

So, being able to compete within six months is an achievement not only to benefit the arena but to Mingi as well. His dream was starting to build up and you were glad that it was slowly advancing, few athletes and local boxer competitors had recognized Mingi’s potential and had taken him for a few words and training in their own arena. You, being Mingi’s manager and coach, were proud of him.

Much more to his father and his two older brothers who had been supportive of his career from the very start. You saluted Hongjoong for making his kid's dream come true.

You landed a punch but he had dodge it before landing on your right side. You felt the punch surge through you before you took a step back, doing a small cross side and landing a punch around his stomach, combining it with an uppercut.

Mingi is shook making stumble backwards, “What the—” Mingi yelp retreating a few steps as you swing twice. You chuckle, exhaling sharply, “Focus.”

The spar the Mingi initiated lasted for an hour and half before you called time. Sweats drip down your forehead, trailing on your chin and neck. You were not out of shape but the fact comparing your stamina to his is beyond. It is nothing new when he and San spar and the round lasts for 4 when San taps out.

“Hey manager-nim, here.” You turn around to see San tossing you a towel. Catching it with ease, you wipe the sweat from your face and neck, feeling the cool fabric soothe your overheated skin. "Thanks, San," you say with a tired smile, draping the towel over your shoulders. Mingi is catching his breath too, leaning against the ropes of the ring, a wide grin on his face. "That was intense! You're really good," he praises, his eyes still sparkling with excitement.

"You never fail to impress me Mingi," you reply, stepping out of the ring and grabbing a bottle of water from the nearby bench. "You've come a long way, Mingi. I'm really proud of your progress."

He blushes slightly at your words, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."

The two of you step outside the training arena, the cool evening breeze a welcome change from the stuffy air inside. Mingi takes a deep breath, looking up at the sky as the first stars begin to twinkle. "You know," he begins, his tone more serious, "I've been thinking a lot about my future and what I want to achieve."

You nod, taking a sip of your water. "And?"

"I really want to make it to the Olympics. But not just for myself," he says, turning to face you. "I want to do it for my family, for everyone at the arena and for you. You've been an incredible mentor, and I want to make you proud."

Touched by his sincerity, you place a hand on his shoulder. "You already make me proud, Mingi. Your dedication and hard work are inspiring. I have no doubt that you'll achieve your dreams."

He smiles, a determined look in his eyes. "And I'll keep striving to achieve not only my dream but yours too. I know you had to give up a lot to keep this place running. I want to see you back in the ring, competing and winning."

Your heart swells with gratitude and pride. You were so focused on your outside work that giving this a chance was slim to nothing and now that someone has to do it for you felt as if a part of you were reliving again and the same fire of determination were ignited. "Thank you, Mingi. That means more to me than you know. We'll make it happen together."

As you both stand there, taking in the peaceful night, you feel a renewed sense of purpose. The journey ahead might be challenging, but with Mingi's unwavering determination and the support of your friends and family, you know that anything is possible. Together, you'll continue to fight, to train, and to dream big, keeping the spirit of boxing alive in your town.

[twistedbyfate]

haikyuu boys: how you met <3

this includes hinata, kageyama, sawamura, sugawara, kuroo, tsukishima, and kenma. let me know if you want any more added and i'll do a part two! this is also going up on my wattpad under the same username ^^

shoyo hinata

you were a distance runner on the karasuno track team. when the gym had a leak, coach ukai told the volleyball club to take a beach trip and play beach volleyball instead as a fun activity. when the team reached the beach, they realized the track team was having a bit of a beach hangout to celebrate their successful season. at first you weren't with the group, out jogging on the shoreline. after a few minutes you came back, having ran to the pier and turned around.

while tobio spiked a ball to him, shoyo had been put off by the sand in his shoes and missed the ball. chasing after it, he grabbed it... only to realize the ball had rolled right to your feet.

"oh, sorry!" he apologized for getting in your personal space. you assured him it was fine and told him that he was good at volleyball. "why don't you watch me for a bit?" and so you did, tanning on your beach towel and listening to spotify while you watched a ginger play volleyball.

tobio kageyama

tobio wasn't the most studious guy. he struggled in school, particularly in english. it wasn't his native language, so why was he required to learn it? "kageyama. if you don't stop failing your exams, you're not going to pass the first year." his counsellor warned. tobio's eyes widened. not passing first year would mean he would be cut from the volleyball team. he opened his mouth to say something before his counsellor interrupted him.

"i know volleyball is important to you, so i've gotten you a tutor so she can help you on your days off. she's the top in your year." damn, he had to have a tutor and it's a girl? how much worse could this get?

he soon found out that it could get much worse.

"yeah, but why are they spelled the same if they mean different things?" he groaned, staring up at you. you sighed. he was quite stubborn, and refused to listen to a word you say.

"look," you started, "my goal is to get you to pass english. try and work with me here."

he glared at you. this would be the start of quite the entertaining relationship.

daichi sawamura

it started one day when you ran into the gym to talk to kiyoko, the manager. you were rosy-cheeked, with pom-poms shoved under one arm and a glittery bow in your hair. you had a cheer uniform on, identifiable by the short skirt and tight top.

daichi didn't pay much attention to you at first, but when he glanced over to see what the giggling was about, he dropped the volleyball.

"who's that?" he asked koshi sugawara, his co-captain.

koshi smiled. "that's (y/n). she's the captain of the cheer team. kiyoko-san is her best friend." he said politely.

"oh." was all daichi had to say. he was starstruck by the cheerful look on your face and the way you laughed. he hated to admit it, but he was disappointed when you dashed back out of the gym.

koshi sugawara

koshi and you had been friends ever since he moved next to you in kindergarten. you had a treehouse in your backyard, and once you became friends you had your parents attach a second ladder that dropped down into koshi's backyard so he could climb up.

"(y/n), i brought snacks from my kitchen!" koshi would exclaim every time you guys hung out after school. he loved the way your face would brighten up when he brought snacks or a game to play.

"let's play knights and princesses, (y/n)." he suggests one day.

"who's gonna be the dragon?" you questioned, seeing as that was how that game worked.

"uhh... i could get my little brother to be the dragon." koshi replied, looking at the knight helmet he had brought up from his room.

"okay!" you agreed, and put on a plastic tiara.

from then on, you were his princess.

tetsuro kuroo

stuck-up on the court and friendly on the streets, tetsuro wasn't the type to even go looking for a girl. he'd rather let them chase after him, which they had all been doing.

except for you, of course. you didn't even spare him so much as a glance. he stared into the back of your head in class, asked your friends about you, with no response.

it was getting annoying how you wouldn't pay attention to him, and frustrating how much he wanted it. it was starting to affect his schoolwork, even.

his eye twitched as you laughed and talked with your friends, careless about the volleyball captain's feelings.

"hey, (y/n)." tetsuro called out, giving up and just asking for attention. "did you do the notes?" he asked after, coming up with a reason to talk to you.

"oh, yeah." you said calmly.

"can i copy them?" he asked. he had already done his own notes, but...

"sure." you handed him your notebook. "bring it back to me tomorrow, k?" then you skipped off with your friends, ignoring when they teased you about him wanting your attention.

he opened the notebook and stared at the handwriting on the page. it was neat and bubbly, with doodles on the edges and all through the paper. dang it, even your notes were cute.

kei tsukishima

it was absolutely stupid how the second you walked through the door all eyes were on you. it was dumb how every guy thought about how cute you were all the damn time. it was definitely ridiculous how rosy your cheeks were and how you always seemed to trip over stuff. how short you were. how you always skipped through the halls. how you always gave that closed-eye smile when you were happy. it was all stupid.

kei hated that he wanted to talk to you so badly. he never thought he'd ever be interested in a girl, let alone one as popular and extroverted as you.

"do you have a pencil i can borrow?" his thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice. (y/n).

"uh, yeah." he handed her a pencil, slightly flustered that you had asked him of all people for a pencil.

"it's just a pencil. don't freak out." kei muttered to himself, trying to calm his racing heart. this was so dumb.

after class, you walked up to return the pencil to him. "thanks for letting me borrow it. hey, your name is tsukishima-kun, right?" you said with a warm smile.

damn it.

kenma kosuke

in reality, he thought you were annoying. always talking, always laughing and smiling. what a bother.

[hey] he typed out in a message to an online friend he had met. this person was quite interesting and had a sense of humor, even though her username was ridiculous. it was something like theOGbackyardigans or whatever.

[hey beautiful roblox boyfriend <3 ] she typed back, adding hearts at the end. kenma snorted to himself. dumbass.

[whats up minecraft girlfriend] he hit send, before shutting off his phone and heading to practice. this girl he met on a video game was the only person he'd ever had that much fun talking to.

hey y'all thanks for popping in! send in some requests if you want <3 i'd love to make themmm

[triptychgrip]

A plea to the angst writers in the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom...

...can I rally you to write some post-canon angst (with a happy ending), pretty, pretty please?! When I want to feel like I've been stabbed in the heart, it's generally in a post-canon context, a few years down the road.

To be clear, I've read plenty of great YOI fic that deals with the inevitable angst that comes from Yuuri's first few months adjusting to life in Russia; this is a big change for him in terms of beginning domestic life with Viktor and starting to train at a whole new skating club in St. Petersburg, so it makes sense that the angst potential there is ripe.

But just because our favorite skating fiances might become skate husbands doesn't mean that their hardships vanish (even if they learn to actually communicate instead of expecting their skating to do the talking for them). Training injuries, Viktor eventually retiring, Makka getting older *sobs*, and the inevitable past traumas that naturally crop up in intimate relationships...these can all be sources of stress and, thus, conflict.

In general, I have a preference for post-canon fic over developing relationship fic, because I long to see what happens after "the chase" (i.e. after Yuuri and Viktor fall in love). Don't get me wrong: I adore canon YOI, but for the majority of the time that we see Yuuri, it's within a context where he's fully expecting Viktor to leave at some point, not believing he is "enough" for Viktor to want forever with him (as a coach or partner).

And, up until that "let's end this" scene, Viktor is still quite guarded when it comes to his negative emotions, because even while Yuuri tells him that he wants him to be himself, you don't get over ingrained, years-long masking tendencies in months, or even a year or two.

There is trust and vulnerability between them, but it's burgeoning.

Which is why I think the few-years-down-the-road angst scenarios can be so compelling, precisely because there is that accumulation of trust and vulnerability that comes from learning one another over time.

This is a point where Yuuri knows that Viktor wants forever with him.

They're married, have probably adopted multiple dogs together, maybe they've left Russia b/c Viktor has retired by now, so he wouldn't need to train with Yakov in close proximity. But, anxiety doesn't care about any of these realities. So what if Yuuri is now an Olympic Champion, or if they are both retired and co-coaching the next generation of talented skaters? The "right" kind of thoughtless remark from Viktor, or just an off-day can cause all the "proof" of forever to fly out the window.

And Viktor: so what if he logically knows that Yuuri won't leave him just because he's getting older and his chronic knee pain is getting more and more acute? Or, if he gets triggered during a tough therapy session (because a man who ignored life and love for twenty years should probably definitely be in therapy), activating the abandonment issues I strongly suspect he has?

This could definitely be one of those "write the fic you want to read" situations, but writing angst really does not come naturally to me. Doesn't mean I won't do it, I just know that there are very talented people out there who actually enjoy it, which is just...incredible to me, lol.

[javierpena-inatacvest]

Hi friends!! I'm still rockin' with limited things to do at my new job bc of IT issues which means more time to write!! I was bored this morning and decided to make some moodboards for some WIPs (praying every day Canva doesn't kick me out of the pro version now that my old teacher email isn't active) but thought it would be fun if you voted based on the moodboard/brief description which fic you'd wanna see next 🤠

Option 1: "Arrival"- Javi brings your daughter to the hospital to meet the newest addition of your family (all fluff)

Option 2: "Goal"- Javi has been coaching your daughter's soccer team all season, but when you hear other moms trying to flirt with your husband behind your back, you can't help but feel a little jealous (fluff and maybe smut??? probably smut. Idk I've got like 2 sentences down for this one)

Option 3: "Takes One to Know One"- After meeting some of Javi's new co-workers at a work party, you couldn't be more appreciative of how lucky you are to have Javi as your husband (smut for sure- they're fuckin' in the bathroom bc they can't wait long enough to get home)

Thanks in advance for ur input, love you lots!!! 🥹😚

[wlwcatalogue]

Female Queer Icons of Hong Kong // Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙)

Photo 1: Promotional photo for 1955 contemporary movie The Model and the Car (玉女香車) (no video available) (Source: LCSD Museum Collection Search Portal)

Photo 4: Photo from Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe's 1958 trip

Photo 5: Photo from a 1962 newspaper feature on Yam, Pak, and others at their (?) summer villa in Central, Hong Kong

Photo 6: Christmas celebrations with Yam, Pak, and their protégés of the Chor Fung Ming Troupe

Far and away the most iconic duo in Cantonese opera, Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙) – commonly referred to simply as Yam-Pak (任白) – were famed for their partnership both on and off the stage… Click below to learn more!

Edit on 28/07/2023: Updated to link to a photo of the entrance to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s Pop Culture 60+ exhibit, and to add information regarding Yam and Pak's marriage status.

Iconic? How?

Yam-Pak are the face of Cantonese opera; you can't talk about the latter without mentioning the former. It's to the point where a gigantic picture of them graces the entrance to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s permanent exhibition on Hong Kong pop culture’s evolution across the past 60 years (“Hong Kong Pop 60+”) - they are the first thing you see upon entering!

Best known as the originators - with Yam playing the male leads and Pak the female leads - of five masterpieces of Cantonese opera, namely:

1. Princess Cheung Ping (帝女花) 2. The Legend of the Purple Hairpin (紫釵記) 3. The Dream Tryst in the Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭驚夢) 4. The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom (再世紅梅記) 5. Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (蝶影紅梨記) (Note: Princess Cheung Ping, Purple Hairpin, and Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom were made into abridged movie versions, with the Sin Fung Ming troupe members reprising their roles from the theatre productions. Also, the "Fragrant Sacrifice" (香夭) duet from Princess Cheung Ping (movie clip) is one of - if not the most - famous songs in Cantonese opera.)

Yam and Pak were the leading pair and co-founders of the legendary Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe (仙鳳鳴劇團; 1956-1961), which is widely held to have pushed Cantonese opera forward as an artform due to Pak and scriptwriter Tong Tik Sang’s (唐滌生) emphasis on poetic libretti and adapting source material from Chinese literature and history. (Note: it has been common practice since the 1930's for Cantonese opera troupes to be founded by key actor(s).)

They were also very active in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1950's, being paired in over 40 movies together across roughly 8 years. One of those – the aforementioned Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (蝶影紅梨記) – is the sole Cantonese opera movie on the Hong Kong Film Archive’s 100-Must See Hong Kong Movies list (IMDB list / archived version of the official PDF). It's a well-deserved inclusion - check out this beautifully-shot dance scene.

Even their post-retirement activities had a significant effect on the industry! In the early 1960’s, they held auditions for prospective students and provided - for free - systematic, hands-on training to those who passed; Yam and Pak even hired other veterans to teach skills they personally were not as familiar with. Prior to this, apprentices were expected to learn primarily from observing their masters, and to pay handsomely for the privilege. Yam-Pak’s methods proved exceedingly effective: the Chor Fung Ming Opera Troupe (雛鳳鳴劇團; 1963-1992) starring their apprentices reigned supreme in the 1970’s-1980’s. Following this success, Cantonese opera institutes - most notably the major 1900s-era guild, the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong (八和會館) - started to offer systematic coaching to young hopefuls in the 1980's.

Okay, so why are they queer icons specifically?

The lazy answer is that they're queer icons because nearly all of Yam's roles were male, so Gender is involved by default, and since most hit Cantonese operas of the time were romances, that means you get to see two female actors performing being in love onscreen (and also on stage, but there aren't any video recordings from back then). So far, so Takarazuka Revue.

Female actors playing male roles in Cantonese opera To give some context, each Cantonese opera performer specialises in one of four major role-types, and Yam was a sung (生) - i.e. an actor specialised in playing standard male roles. Female sung were fairly common in the 1910's-1930's due to women being banned from performing with men during that period, but when the ban lifted in the mid-1930's, many troupes shifted towards cis-casting. Yam was pretty much the only one whose popularity survived the transition. Just take a look at the huge number of Cantonese opera movies produced during the 1950’s-1960’s – you’ll be hard-pressed to find a female sung other than Yam, let alone one with top billing. Happily, thanks to Yam's immense popularity, her profilic film career (over 300 movies!), and the prominence of Sin Fung Ming works in the Cantonese opera canon, there has been a resurgence in female sung which endures to this day. Two noteworthy examples are Yam's protégé Sabrina Lee/ Loong Kim Sang (龍劍笙) - a star in her own right - and Joyce Koi/ Koi Ming Fai (蓋鳴暉), one of the biggest names still active in the industry. (Note: perhaps due to cinema being more "realistic" in nature, Yam's early movies often involved her playing female characters cross-dressing as men, including in some Cantonese opera movies. However, she received increasingly more male roles as her fame grew, and from the mid-1950's onwards she was playing male characters onscreen nearly exclusively-- even in non-Cantonese opera movies! See Photo 1 above.)

What sets Yam and Pak apart is that they were particularly known for their chemistry. Long before Sin Fung Ming's formation in 1956, the advertising copy for their first Cantonese opera movie together - Frolicking with a Pretty Maid in the Wineshop (酒樓戲鳳, 1952) - declared "Only this movie has Yam-Pak flirting on the silver screen" (source - 華僑日報 1952/05/23-26). And indeed, they were popular for their flirtatious duets: their Cantonese opera works invariably contained at least one, and such scenes made it into some of non-Cantonese opera (i.e. "contemporary") movies too. In fact, there are not one but two contemporary movies where Yam and Pak's characters are not paired up and yet still sing a duet together in such a way that their significant other(s) become convinced that the two are in romantically interested in each other - see 1952's Lovesick (為情顛倒) and 1956's The Happy Hall (滿堂吉慶) - a weirdly specific situation which doesn't crop up in the other, non-Yam-Pak movies I have seen.

Speaking of contemporary movies, let's talk about a certain plotline that keeps cropping up in works featuring the both of them and where Yam plays a woman! Six of the eleven movies which fit that criteria involve Yam's character cross-dressing as a man (a common characteristic across Yam's handful of female roles), and Pak's character falling for her. Nothing ever comes of it, of course, but, um. It was certainly a trend. Actually, even their very first movie together - 1951's Lucky Strike (福至心靈) - falls into this category.

Such storylines, and the emphasis on their chemistry, are particularly interesting given that both Yam and Pak remained ostensibly unmarried throughout. This was unusual for female performers of their stature, who tended to wed in their twenties, often to fellow-actors or wealthy men (e.g. Hung Sin Nui/紅線女, Fong Yim Fun/芳艷芬, and Tang Pik Wan/鄧碧雲)... In contrast, by the time Yam-Pak retired from the stage in 1961, they were both over 30 years old and without husbands.

Also, did I mention they were popularly believed to be living together? There doesn't seem to be any conclusive evidence either way... although it's a little strange that separate newspaper pictorials depicting "Yam at home" and "Pak at home" seem to be of the same location... however what is conclusive is that they did spent a lot of time together offstage. Pak has talked about how when they had no guests over, Yam would watch TV by herself while Pak was in the living room (source - p93), and protégé Mandy Fung/ Mui Suet Sze (梅雪詩) has said that Pak would sometimes cook for Yam at home (source - 03:53~). They would also celebrate birthdays, New Year's, and Christmas together (see Photo 6 for an example of the latter).

Shortly after Yam's passing in 1989, Pak set up the Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation (任白慈善基金) to support the arts and provide welfare for the elderly. In 1996, Pak made a large donation to Hong Kong University, resulting in one of the buildings being renamed Yam Pak Building (任白樓) in thanks (source).

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to DM me or send an ask if you have any questions, or are just interested in learning more.

If you made it here, have this bonus piece of trivia - Yam and Pak were also well-acquainted with Hong Kong's preeminent queer icon, Leslie Cheung (張國榮), who was a massive fan of theirs. Sadly there don't seem to be any pictures of them before Yam's passing, but here's one of Pak (centre) having afternoon tea with Cheung (left) and his long-term romantic partner Daffy Tong (唐鶴德) (right) at the Cova cafe in the Pacific Place shopping mall.

[dramionestills]

Day 16: 12 Fail Safe Ways to Woo a Witch

He could hear giggling and squealing. 

That was unusual coming from the professors’ lounge.

As he entered he could see the Transfiguration mistress, the Divination professor and the flying coach attempting to stifle their laughter, tears of mirth rolling down their faces.

They turned to look at him when they heard him and instantly dissolved into peals of laughter once again.

“What are you three up to?” he drawled, his confusion mounting by the second.

“Nothing.” Hermione responded between bouts of giggles.

“Right.. Why don’t I believe that?”

“Don’t worry about it, Malfoy. You just focus on, what was it again? Ah yes, finding out your desired witch’s favorite activities.” 

And as they doubled over snickering, Draco had a moment of clarity.

“Granger, were you snooping around my room?”

“Oh, darling.” She was wiping away tears. “ I was looking for my Advanced Transfiguration notes and stumbled upon a most curious book on your night stand.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake” He covered his face with his hand, though they could all tell he was blushing, judging from the pink tips of his ears.

“You lot have no leg to stand on teasing me on this, considering it was Potter who gave that to me, and that he got it from Weasley to begin with.” 

Ginny, Lavender and Hermione were now on the floor cracking up and couldn’t seem to catch their breath. 

“We know!!” Lavender squealed, “It’s what makes it even funnier”

“How many of these Fail-safe ways did you manage to implement before Hermione agreed to go out with you?”

“None, Red. Potter mistakenly thought I couldn’t seal the deal on my own.” he grumbled.

“Umm, I recall you definitely using the one on chapter 3, love.” Hermione said, giggles threatening to burst out again.

“Oh, yes! Ronald also used that one on me!”

“Is that the one about touching the arm while you look into her eyes? Because Harry also did that one.” Ginny added and they all began laughing again.

The door opened and in came the Defence Against the Dark Arts co-professors. They came to a halt next to the red-faced potions master and looked at their respective partners in confusion.

“Malfoy, what…?”

“What’s up with them?” “They are making fun of us, apparently.” “Oy, what for!?”

“You guys all had to use 12 Fail Safe Ways to Woo a Witch” More giggles.“Yes, Granger, but you seem to be overlooking one very important fact.” “What is that?” “It worked for all three of us.”

[spicy-apple-pie]

Fuck it, Harry du Bois and co headcanons

- Harry naturally has rosacea but his alcoholism made it worse.

- when he was a PE teacher he would occasionally come wearing the worst clothes for physical activity. Full disco bell bottoms, his shirt unbuttoned to his belly button, and two inch heels.

- he coached girls rugby and la crosse and was so protective of his team. He would call them his girls in passing and if you didn’t know him, you would be concerned.

- Harry got Kim a disco Elysium equivalent to Lego model of a racing MC. Kim was like “👀 why did you get me this?” And Harry was just like “because you like cars :)”. And Kim externally was really cool and chill about it, but internally he was freaking out because he never actually got a meaningful toy from anyone as a kid. (He got gifts donated to a charity. Which included things like glue sticks and half used pencil crayons). He invited Harry over to help build it with him.

- when Kim was a teen, going through his “I’m so angry at everyone and everything around me.” He got semi adopted by a drag family. They drifted apart when he joined the RCM because most of them were old enough to remember the raids that would happen at gay bars. Kim was adamant that he was joining to actually make a difference in the community and he would be one of the good ones. He still visits occasionally, when he’s not bone tired from working.

- Kim and Judit instantly became allies to each other. Being two of the only visible minorities in the precinct, they instinctively gravitated towards each other. They’re not best friends, but fairly close. They back each other up if they notice the other is being talked over or disrespected.

- Harry has a ttrpg campaign with Kim, Cuno, and sometimes Jean. Kim has always wanted to play this long form of board game but has never had any close friends to play with (and yes, his close friends here are literally two of his coworkers and a 10 year old but whatever). Jean acts like he doesn’t like it, he’s really bad at role playing and understanding the rules. But he genuinely misses Harry sometimes and likes to know that he’s okay. Cuno on the other hand, LIVES for the game. He loves the storytelling, worldbuilding, and roleplaying. Harry’s helped him with a few one shots that he played with his school friends (they didn’t like it, called him lame. But him and his pig made it, so what do they know.) He’s working on writing their next campaign and he’s so excited about it and won’t like Harry know what it is.

- Harry adopted a stray cat outside his apartment and didn’t know that she was pregnant until she gave birth in his closet. There was 4 in total, 1 didn’t make it, Trant took one, and Harry couldn’t find homes for the two left so he kept them and mama. Even though mama loves Harry, her favourite person is Kim. Whenever Kim comes over, Harry calls for her “It’s Kim!!” He calls and she shoots up and cries at his feet. Kim won’t admit it, but he finds her adorable and loves her.

Uh, yeah, I don’t think I’ll make it a habit of posting DE stuff but I’m bored lol.

[richincolor]

New Releases for July 16, 2024

Here are the new releases we're watching for this week.

Grief in the Fourth Dimension: A Novel by Jennifer Yu Amulet Books

A moving and unique speculative YA novel about the afterlife and the unexpected connections that can be made in death In life, high school classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou existed in separate universes—Caroline in one of softball practices and family dinners; Kenny in one of NASA photo books and late-night shifts at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. But after their deaths, they find themselves thrown together as roommates in a mysterious white room—one that seems to exist outside of time and space, shows them their loved ones’ lives on a large hi-def TV, and grants their wishes with a sardonic sense of humor.

As Caroline and Kenny watch life continue to unfold back on Earth, they realize they can influence events through radio signals, psychic mediums, and electromagnetic interference. In their efforts to console their families, they also start to understand the tragic depth of how their lives and deaths were connected and how to help their families—and themselves—heal from the losses.

The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown by Andrew Yang Quill Tree Books

Perfect for fans of Ben Philippe and Mary H. K. Choi, this charming, insightful YA novel follows two high school students who form a complicated, ground-shifting bond while filming a mockumentary. On the eve of Felix Ma’s junior year of high school, his parents hires a college admissions coach to help him find a marketable activity. Cynically trawling for extracurricular excellence, Felix decides to start a film club at school.

But then he meets Cassie Chow, a bubbly high school senior who shares Felix’s anxieties about the future and complicated relationship with parental expectations. Felix feels drawn to Cassie for reasons he can’t quite articulate, so as an excuse to see her more, Felix invites Cassie to star in his short film.

While the project starts out as a lighthearted mockumentary, at the urging of Felix’s college admissions coach, who wants to turn the film into college essay material, it soon morphs into a serious drama about the emotional scars that parents leave on their kids. As Felix and Cassie uncover their most painful memories, Cassie starts to balk at opening her wounds for the camera.

With his parents and college admissions coach hot on his heels, Felix discovers painful truths about himself and his past—and must decide whether academic achievement is worth losing his closest friend.

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

A missing sister. A mysterious boy. And a painting that holds the truth beneath its peeling edge…

Inez is missing, but missing things can always be found.

Mae knows this as a fact, even though the police investigation has come to a standstill, even though her parents are moving on. But when she goes to clear out her older sister’s studio, she finds a mess of research and a white canvas that seems even older than the ornate frame it is set in. The closer Mae gets to the canvas, the more difficult it is to pull her eyes away from its mottled surface, its heavy layers of white paint, its peeling top corner she is tempted to pull to see what’s beneath. But she doesn’t. Not yet.

Mae decides to trace her sister’s last steps in the hopes of finding answers, certain that Inez’s disappearance is related to the painting. And she knows she is desperate enough to let the strange boy who claims to have been Inez’s neighbor tag along. Even if his good looks don’t help distract from his avoidance of her questions. So begins a scavenger hunt piecing together what they can find from what Inez left behind. One that leads to centuries-old questions best left unasked and secrets best kept in the dark.

The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power Terry J. Benton-Walker (Editor), 

Tor Teen

13 SCARY STORIES. 13 AUTHORS OF COLOR. 13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.

The White Guy Dies First is a powerful and entertaining collection for YA readers featuring thirteen scary stories in which the white guy dies first.Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J.

[ilikemicrowaves]

This is mostly for @stitchwraith-stingers n @friedbrainzz

Bev n Hazels beef I had in my head and finally wrote

So basically, I have this list of episodes I'd love to see, and there's one where for gym class, they have to play soccer and the class is divided in two. Team 1: Bev, Jenkins, Hazel, Winn, and Jasmine. Team two: Dev, trev, Kev, Nadia, and April.

     Bev and Dev are the captains of their teams. While their playing, Bev's Team is gettibg their asses kicked. They have ten minutes left of class and Bev is really pushing them because she's taking this very seriously.

     Hazel feels way to overwhelm and tries to tell Bev that maybe she's taking it too seriously because their all ten, not a full team of proffesiom NSL players.

     Bev gives 0 shits (only a little) because she thinks this is going to ruin her reputation to become a soccer coach. (Hc of mine)

     This is when they start beefing back and fourth and Hazel can't take it and hides in the closet as usual.

    

     Then another episode idea I have, if we're jaswinnzel starts a podcast for fun and it starts getting popular because they are telling "make-believe" stories which is really some of their adventures that included faries.

     It surpasses "Bev Talks" and Bev starts to get a little competitive (this girl and competitions.) So on her talks she tries asking her quest if they have a creative story to tell. It gets to the point its obvious Bev is trying to copy jaswewinnzel and her bestie Whispers Fred is like. "Girl I love you but your kind if being petty."

     Bev doesn't listen and her and Hazel start beefing again it about it. Hazels upset because she didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings but also feels like no one's feeling should be hurt because. These are 10 year olds who started a podcasts after all.

     But now Hazel and Bev are now actively together trying to surpass each other's podcasts, mean while, Jasmine and Winn are now upset because Hazel has kind of lost the true meaning of the podcasts. Whispers Fred agrees with them because same with Bevs Talk Show (He co-hosts it.)

     Then Bev and Hazel start targeting each other in the episodes of their podcasts. After more episodes people just all collectively agree to stop watching two kids banter at each other through a podcast.

     It flops and Hazel and Bev agree that it wasn't worth it in the end and apologize to each other. Then everybody is happy again huzzah! Also Bev is still a little hung on it because she doesn't like being wrong. She gets to be petty.

     So now they're still beefing every now and then, but their also friends now.

[star-girl69]

OKAY LIVE UPDATES!! (ALLEGEDLY!!! xoxo pls dont sue me im js a girl)

identity theft??:

q made a fake account pretending to be a girl named saylor [her real acc is saylor.steward05 on tiktok] putting her name, face, college, etc. (that's how saylor was dragged into this)

q dragged paige into the discussion by saying that fake acct of saylor was texting paige, and that paige 'replied' saying everything abt q was fake

-> they think this is fake, since paige is on her side-quest hustle rn and likely wouldn't check her message requests from random people

-> they also think that q is attempting to use paige's name to garner support for herself

reaching out to others:

they haven't tried to reach out to anyone else on the team cause they're trying not to involve anyone else

they've attempted to reach out to maryland sheriff's dept (since q is from maryland), and they said they couldn't do anything- they then reached out to uconn's campus police and attempted to file a complaint, nothing has come of it yet

they've attempted to reach out to coaches, nothing has come of it yet

mariah dmed info abt what's happening to paige, she hasn't replied but they don't know if she's seen it cause she's on vacay and allat

-> they're not mad abt it tho cause they know she's busy and that it's also not her responsibility to handle q's nonsense

azzi's brother joined the live (azzi is suspected to b part of the secret q was leaking), she offered to let him join but said absolutely no pressure if he don't want to

-> he didn't join

q + her fam (potentially) silencing others?

the original post exposing q (on mariah's page) got taken down, they say that q was the one who got it taken down

many of the people who are co-hosting on Mariah's live are coming out to say that they got banned from going live for a while (they think q is mass reporting people to stop stuff from spreading)

q's cousin is in the live

-> mariah's cohosts + ppl in the chat are getting reported/banned off the live, they think q's cousin is potentially helping her with that?

they're wondering if q's family is dealing with things privately, but "the way her family is going about things publicly shows that they definitely aren't doing anything about it)

-> q's sister allegedly posted something Mariah abt catching a fade (I couldn't hear it super well)

other stuff q did:

she DID say something (it wasn't specified what) abt someone's dead ex-gf

q allegedly also talked shit abt her teammates to mariah when they were still talking

a girl + her friend had added q on roblox (she posted her acct. a while ago to js have fun) and they played tgt, then she made an edit and q reposted/liked/faved it, but when she went on q's live ppl were being wild in the comments so she said "y'all r doing tm" and she was blocked cause q thought she was saying that to her

-> claimed that she does have receipts (i didn't see them but it could b true)

other notes:

they're not gonna discuss the 'secret' that q dropped, cause it's obvs not their secret to tell

they're discussing if kk harvey knows about what's happening w q or not, they don't think she knows? (she hasn't made any statements if she does)

-> someone asked her abt it on lacey's live last night, but the comment wasn't acknowledged/noticed

-> talking ab how kk was VISIBLY uncomfortable during their live tgt, talking ab how q was being like 'ditzy' and saying dumbahh stuff like "oh is hockey played in a gym" n other stuff like that (imo that's not the worst??? cause ngl she might js b nervous around kk)

there's a discord server abt surviving q-diddy!! (im not joining cause im not tryna actively put myself into the situation, q aint gon get me xoxo <3)

mariah was not a minor when things went down, but a lot of people who have been reaching out to her/coming out with their own stories were minors (and q knew it)

mariah is ending the live for now, since she doesn't want to risk getting banned/getting her live privilege taken away (might move the live to ig to avoid the ban) + she's starting to cry and she doesn't want to do that on live obvs

-> she'll be back on tiktok live today @ 9pm central time (it'll b pretty late for my timezone and a girls got practice in the morning so

-> she also wants to take some time to find more receipts + recollect cause this is obvs a lot for some1 to go thru

okay long story short q has done this over and over again to a ton of other people, and has also been doing some other wack stuff, a handful of her family members have been siding w her (which obvs isnt okay) -- lets not attack all of her family until stuff is confirmed abt them tho cause they're not responsible for q's actions <3

OKAY MWAH IM SORRY THIS IS A WHOLE THESIS- HAVE A NICE NIGHT XOXO PLS DONT SUE ME Q <3

i’m gonna put this in the tags just in case anyone else wants to know the q tea lol!!!!

OH MY GOD YOURE DOINT GODS WORK let me break this down.

identity theft- oh my god making fake accounts is such a q thing to do. i definitely agree w using paige’s name to garner support, that’s definitely a smart choice ig?? lol too bad it’s fake

reaching out- ok GOOD JOB FOR TRYING TO CONTACT PEOPLE!!! i definitely think the best place to go is with the coaches rn. that is where she’s going to get the most consequences in my opinion, looking forward to updates from campus police and coaches tho

silencing people- yeah i would bet a lot of money that q is the one who got mariah’s video taken down and is mass reporting, idk the things with her family i think have to be taken slowly bc no one really knows what is happening privately. like i just can’t imagine what her family is going through rn and trying to deal w what q has done must be absolutely horrible. i hope they all get some peace after all of this- but i also hope they’re doing the right thing. if q’s cousin really is helping her ban people then that’s a big no-no, but i feel like also why would her cousin join purposely on their acc instead of some secret spam or smth??? idk that’s just me, but who knows

other stuff- i heard about the ex gf thing i’m pretty sure from the original person, i cannot remember where i saw the video but i’m pretty sure it was from someone on tumblr who has reposted it. i don’t remember what was said either tho, omg the roblox thing is crazy… blocking someone that fast who you had a good relationship w previously is like kinda mentally ill as shit lmao???

other notes- i’m so glad they’re not discussing the secret.

kk harvey- ok about them acknowledging it- this unfortunately happened on the live like the second BEFORE i started screen recording- i think someone asked if laila and kk knew about the q drama and i THINK laila responded with “there’s no q drama” or something along those lines- I COULD BE COMPLETELY WRONG SO DONT TAKE THIS AS FACT!!!! i genuinely don’t remember that well. honestly the kk and q lives (the clips of it i’ve seen) didn’t seem very predatory? just very awkward and weird. kk was obviously uncomfortable i totally agree and i think q probably could have noticed that and at the very least toned it down, q was being very “ditzy” lol but i honestly just think that was either her trying to flirt or as you said drama anon just her being nervous

queen definitely don’t join if you’re not comfortable!!!! we appreciate you watching this live and keeping us updated so much, i’m sure most of the stuff in the discord is just regurgitated from the lives but if something major does come out i’m sure we’ll all hear about it. also don’t worry about getting the live for tonight!!! i seriously appreciate you so much for this, you are truly one of god’s strongest soldiers LOL 🙏🙏

minors- yeah the fact that this now involves minors has definitely like brought this up to a level TEN… some type of law enforcement definitely needs to be involved at this point.

i think the best thing mariah can do in this situation is remain calm and not spark the flames anymore, don’t give q reasons to mass report people, her and the other victims need to collect all of their evidence and receipts and get it to someone who will know what to do- and if that ends up being the police then that’s what it ends up being.

i definitely agree w you w the stuff about her family, at the end of the day WE DONT KNOW. we don’t know anything, we don’t know what’s true and what’s fake and unless there’s concrete evidence i think everyone following along w the situation needs to take everything with a grain of salt, verify their sources, and listen to multiple perspectives of what’s going on and think CRITICALLY about all of this for just a second.

q is the only person who is responsible for her actions, and she needs to be held accountable for them.

thank you SO MUCH for this thesis i literally love you drama anon. i hope you have an amazing night and i hope q diddy doesn’t get you ❤️❤️❤️ (if anyone sues you or attacks you just send them over here bc i will FIGHT)

[captainsophiestark]

Destroy All Comers

Jason Todd x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my Year of Olympians and part of a bigger challenge being run by @yearofcreation2023​! It features a ton of other awesome creators and runs all year, so go check it out!

Fandom: DC

Prompt: Athena; Wisdom and Warfare

Summary: When Y/N's regular co-coach, Dick Grayson, is called away during an important period in the 8th grade girls' basketball season, Jason Todd has to step in and take his place.

Word Count: 3,124

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Jason's POV

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're the only one available to take my place! Besides, you might actually have fun doing it once you give it a try."

I huffed and crossed my arms. Grayson had a mission overseas coming up, and he'd asked me to take his place. Not as Blüdhaven's vigilante, oh no. As the co-coach for a kid's basketball league.

It was dead last on the list of things I cared about or wanted to do. But Grayson had recently helped me out with a problem of my own, and he'd made it very clear he wasn't above calling in that favor.

"C'mon, Jay. It's only two weeks. Ten practices and one tournament, that's all you have to get through."

I sighed heavily through my nose and stared at the ceiling for a few long beats. Then, I dropped my eyes back to Dick, keeping my expression completely unimpressed.

"Fine. But you better not get hurt on this stupid mission, because I'm not covering for you a single second past that tournament."

****************

Y/N's POV

"Alright, great work! Let's take five for water and then get into our layup drills!"

I smiled and clapped a few of the girls on the back as they headed off the court to their bags on the sidelines. Coaching my little niece's basketball team was one of my absolute favorite activities, and I'd been doing it since they were first graders. Now, this was their last year before high school, and we all wanted to go out on a high note. We had a tournament in two weeks that would help set us up nicely for the end of the season if it went well for us.

Every single one of us was absolutely locked in.

Every one of us, of course, except my co-coach.

Dick Grayson, my new best friend since we'd started volunteering together at our family members' school (my niece and his little brother) and I'd managed to rope him into helping me with my niece's basketball team, was my usual co-coach. Unfortunately, he apparently had a big commitment out of town that he couldn't get out of, so he'd be missing the tournament and two weeks leading up to it. I'd been a little upset, and then mostly just teased him for a 'lack of commitment' I knew he didn't actually have before promising to keep him updated on everything. His replacement, however, I was starting to have a real problem with.

Dick told me he'd convinced one of his brothers to fill in for him this week, just so I wouldn't be left wrangling a bunch of thirteen and fourteen year-olds alone. Dick had spoken very highly of him, but he was currently half an hour late to his first practice, and I was starting to get a bad feeling that he'd be more of a hindrance than a help.

Just as the thought floated through my mind, I heard the doors to the gym swing open. I looked up to see a tall, muscle-y guy with a leather jacket stride through the door. Dick had told me they weren't biological brothers, but even with the white streak in this guy's otherwise jet black hair, I knew he was Dick's brother. He came to a stop in front of me, and I might've been a little thrown off by his good looks if I wasn't also so pissed.

"Coach Y/N, I take it?" he asked, holding out a hand for me to shake. I just scowled back at him.

"Yeah. And you're Mr. Thirty Minutes Late To Practice."

The guy–definitely Jason Todd, since he didn't correct me–narrowed his eyes slightly as he dropped his hand back to his side.

"Yeah, sorry. It was kind of a rough night."

I took a second to breathe in deeply, then let the breath out through my nose. This guy was Dick's brother, after all, and for all I knew he might've had a perfectly good reason for being late. I made myself meet his eyes and forced down some of the impatience I'd been feeling.

"Jason. It's good to meet you. Thank you for volunteering while Dick's gone." He nodded and shifted on his feet, looking a little uncomfortable. I sighed. "How much do you know about basketball?"

"Some," he said with a shrug. "I played for a little while when I was really young, and I watch it sometimes now, but that's it."

"Alright. Well, for today, I'm just going to have you run the girls through some simple drills like defensive slides and foot fires while I work on plays and some specific moves with the other half. Deal?"

"Sure."

I turned to share the new plan with the girls, but stopped and turned back again after a few steps. Jason still slouched a few feet away from me looking disgruntled.

"Listen, Jason? I really do appreciate the help, but... the girls and I take this very seriously. If you can't do that for the next two weeks... I think we might be better off without you."

I turned before Jason could really even react, not particularly interested in a comeback. The girls were waiting for me, after all, done with their water break and ready to get back into the action.

We split off into separate groups for the next hour, Jason running drills the girls probably could've done on their own while I worked with a few at a time on more position-specific drills. Finally, with half an hour left, we took one more break before it would be time to spend the last half hour scrimaging. I stood off to one side mentally making the first two groups of five, but stopped my mental planning when Jason wandered over to me, looking more than a little tired.

"How you holding up?" I asked, only half trying to conceal a smile and laugh. Jason huffed.

"They're insane," he said, slumping against the wall next to me and crossing his arms. "They interrupted me five times in the first drill to tell me I was explaining it wrong. And they were mean about it, too!"

I didn't even bother trying to hide my smile this time. "Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said they took this seriously. It helps to have another adult in their area when I'm doing other stuff, but... they could probably run those drills themselves."

Jason gave a thoughtful hum, but didn't say anything else. I gave him a second and finished making the first set of teams in my head, then stepped to the middle of the court and clapped my hands.

"Alright girls! Let's get this scrimmage going!"

We flew through the last half hour of practice, all of the girls in excellent form. Jason kept watching, seeming much more interested and engaged than before, but he didn't chime in with anything. For the last two minutes, we practiced wild half-court shots "just in case" (and mostly for fun), then huddled up at center court as the parents started to arrive.

"Alright, great practice today everybody, as usual," I said. Even though it was the end of practice, no one looked like they were itching to go; everyone stayed laser-focus locked on me. "Now that today is over, we officially have nine practices left before our tournament next weekend. That means nine practices to get as good as we can possibly get."

The girls hooted and hollered, and our captain, Angie, chimed in.

"And to get ready to destroy all comers!"

The other girls cheered for her statement, and I grinned.

"Damned right. You girls are incredible, and should already be so proud of how far we've come. The other teams aren't gonna know what hit 'em next weekend!"

A chorus of "yeah!"s.

"Good! Now, what team?"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"Destroy all comers!"

"Alright! We'll see you girls tomorrow!"

They all cheered, wished me a good night, and wandered off to find their parents. I watched them go with a smile as Jason wandered up to my side.

"That's not how I remember the High School Musical cheer going."

I shrugged. "Our mascot's the wildcats, but we're our own entity. Our own, slightly more cutthroat entity."

"I like it."

I finally turned to look at Jason and found him already staring at me with a mischievous smile.

"Listen, I know I wasn't very helpful today," he started. I snorted, but gave him a small smile so he knew I was mostly teasing. "But, if you'll let me... I have a couple ideas that might help over the next few weeks."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?"

****************

"Okay girls, lean into the contact! Stand your ground, really let your opponent push into you and push right back!"

I smiled as I watched Jason work with the girls. For our second practice together, he'd come early to walk me through a more detailed plan of some ideas he'd had. Like Dick, he had better experience than me with physical training and the best way to help other people strengthen themselves and specific areas. Unlike Dick, he'd immediately leaned into my more ruthless energy, and had come up with a new strategy we were in the middle of implementing.

Within a few seconds, Group A–the offensive group–stepped away from their partners. Group B, the defenders, stumbled and, in some cases, even fell. Jason beamed around at all of them.

"Great work, that's exactly what we want. Ref can't call you for anything, and the other team'll think a little harder before laying all over you in the paint again."

The girls' feral grins were response enough to tell me how they felt about that new strategy. I couldn't help mirroring their expressions as they went to get water and I went to stand by Jason.

"Nice work," I said. Jason turned to grin at me, and my heart skipped a beat in a way it never did when I coached with Dick. "I've gotta say, day one was rough, but I love the energy you've been bringing since."

"What, you're telling me Dick didn't bring the scorched-Earth energy?" he joked. I chuckled, shrugging at the thought of my usual partner being paired with the phrase "scorched-Earth".

"Dick came up with some absolutely insane yet somehow effective strategic trick plays," I said. "He's always a positive, encouraging energy, especially when the rest of us get a little too intense. But yeah, his usual role is the balance to our bloodthirstiness."

Jason nodded. "Sounds like him. Usually, at least."

I squinted a little at that as Jason stared off at the far wall, but then he shook his head and turned back to me. Slowly, a grin spread across his face, and I swear it was contagious as I mirrored him. Then, he spoke.

"I'm planning on bringing a slightly different energy to the team."

****************

"Alright girls, this is it!" I cried, staring around at the huddle of intense, focused faces around me. "We win this, and we not only win the tournament, but we're set up with the number one seed for the postseason. You've played amazing so far, and nobody can take that away from you. Keep it up for the rest of this game, and let's finish this thing!"

Everyone nodded as I spoke, an excited fire flickering in every person's eyes. After two weeks of practice and some new strategies from Jason, we'd spent Saturday carving through our early opponents like they were nothing. Now, after a long Sunday, we'd battled our way to the championship game. We'd gone into halftime tied, and the next two quarters would be everything for us.

If Dick were here, he would've referenced the "Sixteen Minutes" song from High School Musical, since that's how much game time we had left. But he wasn't here, and Jason and I both had different things on our minds.

"We're tied, which means we can take this as a fresh start," I continued. "Go out there and outplay them for the next two quarters, and it's ours. Leave it all on the floor and show them just who they're messing with."

The girls cheered, and I glanced up at Jason.

"Coach? Anything to add?"

"Yeah. I've only been here two weeks, but that was enough to realize that this team is full of the toughest, scariest competitors I've ever seen. So go out there, show no mercy, and crush anybody that tries to stand in your way!"

The girls and I all roared in approval, and Jason's feral grin fit right in with all of us. It was hard to believe he'd really only been here two weeks; he seemed like part of the team that'd always been here.

The buzzer sounded behind us, signaling it was time to retake the court.

"Alright girls, let's do this!" I shouted. "What team?"

"Wildcats!" screamed everyone, Jason included, at the top of their lungs.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"Destroy all comers!"

The girls clapped as our starters headed out onto the floor and Jason and I shifted to stand next to each other at the front of the bench, just off the court.

"See the looks we just got from the opposing team?" asked Jason with a grin. Behind him, the other players and coaches were still giving us side-eye and concerned looks. I smiled.

"Oh yeah. The intimidation mind game is half the reason for that cheer."

"Nice."

Jason and I fist-bumped, and then turned our attention back to the game as it got underway. One way or another, this was it.

Despite the intimidation to start the second half, the other team put up a great fight. It wasn't easy, but our girls managed to persevere. Jason went wild whenever one of them used a move he'd taught, and we both spent the game screaming from the sidelines with encouragement, play calls, and just a bit of extreme, "destroy all comers" mindset. In the end, we won by eight. All our girls rushed the court, screaming and celebrating, then tamped it down long enough to be good sports and go through handshakes with the other team. Afterwards, we all gathered in a corner of the gym to do a debrief before the celebrations continued.

"Alright, I'll keep this short since I see your parents waiting to join in the celebration," I said, grinning around at my team. "You guys played amazing. You should be so, so proud of yourselves. I know I'm crazy proud of you. You worked your butts off, put it all out on the floor, and won the tournament! We've still got plenty of work ahead of us before the season's over, but that's a problem for later. For now, celebrate! Celebrate yourselves, this victory, and everything we've accomplished as a team."

The girls smiled and nodded through my speech, and when I finished, they paused before going off to their celebrations to each give me a tight hug. Then, one by one, they did the same to Jason. A few of the girls who'd used his moves thanked him for his help, and most of them paused to tell him they'd miss him. I just watched as Jason's face went from shocked, to slightly uncomfortable, to a bit of a frown.

He waved the last girl off, watching them go. Slowly, I sidled up to him, watching our team meet up with their friends and parents. I gave him a second, then sighed.

"I need to call Dick," I said. "I promised him I'd let him know how the tournament came out, like, seven times before he left, he was so upset to miss it."

Jason just gave a little noncommittal "hm" without looking at me. I watched him for a second, still staring after our team, then continued.

"You know... a lot of teams in our league have three coaches, not just two." Jason snapped his head around to look at me with wide eyes. "I don't want you to feel like you have to, but... I think the girls seriously love you, and it looks like you had fun. I'm sure Dick wouldn't mind if you wanted to... stick around?"

Slowly, his expression morphed into a smile, and his eyes slid from me back to where the girls were high-fiving and reliving the weekend. He stood a little straighter, his smile widening, and then he turned back to me with a glint in his eye. Not for the first time since I started working with him, my heart skipped a beat.

"I've got a question before I agree," he said. I raised an eyebrow and nodded for him to continue. "Is there any rule about coaches asking each other on dates?"

Now it was Jason's turn to watch with a grin while I managed a shocked expression. After a few seconds, a smile started tugging at my lips as I processed his words. Before I could answer, he held up his hands and continued.

"I'm asking, of course, to see if I need to wait until the end of the season. Grayson may be good at the peppiness and creative trick plays, but clearly this team thrives with coaches as ruthless as them."

I beamed at him, my heart floating in my chest. "Fortunately for us, there's no rule against coaches going on dates. The girls are gonna be merciless teasing us about it though. They were relentless for weeks when Dick first joined the team, and we weren't actually dating."

Jason smiled and took a step closer to me.

"I think we can handle them."

"Mmm, I'm not sure you're right, but I'm willing to do it anyway."

"You wanna go get drinks now? Celebrate a little for our first date?"

"I'm in." He held out his hand to me and I took it, then held up my phone with my other hand. "Just let me call Dick before we go."

Jason nodded, and I dialed Dick's number on FaceTime. Jason leaned over my shoulder, our arms linked together and a massive grin on his face. The phone rang for a long time, then finally, Dick's face appeared on screen. He looked a little tired and rumpled, but he smiled when he saw us.

"Hey guys! How'd it go?"

"We won!" I shouted.

"You've got a new co-coach, Dickie Bird!" shouted Jason at the same time.

Dick laughed, then beamed back at both of us through the camera. "That's great! Jay, I'm glad you ended up loving it as much as I thought you might."

Jason grinned. "Yeah, well, before I started you forgot to mention the cutthroat team energy."

Dick grimaced a little as Jason went on, probably realizing he now had TWO insane co-coaches to try to balance out, but I just smiled. For the rest of this season, I'd be working with my favorite kids in the world, my best friend, and a possible new boyfriend.

No one else in the league was going to stand a chance.