#dont @ me i know nothing abt judo

[formula-fun]

Pacific rim au snippet?? for us to live a little happier in coming days ksjadjshs? 👀

i am pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead

The day Sebastian Vettel descends on the Faenza Academy, four things happen.

First, a series of rumors fly across the entirety of base. Charles is ninety percent sure they’re George’s doing, but the way they telephone between the cadets is truly a modern marvel. In the morning the word is that Vettel is visiting to scope out the cadets to select his new copilot, never mind that none of them have ever even drifted in their lives. By noon the story has been transformed into a harrowing tale involving Vettel, a recent Kaiju attack in Cabo, and a torrid affair with Director Binotto’s wife.

“Did you hear about Binotto’s wife?” George asks during lunch, eyes wide.

“That was your rumor, idiot,” Alex tells him. “Obviously it’s not true. Binotto doesn’t even have a wife.”

By that afternoon, it’s rumored that Binotto lost his wife in a Kaiju attack in Cabo, where she bravely fought in a top-secret test jaeger as Vettel’s copilot.

The second thing that happens is training is suspended for a full day. Truthfully, Charles thinks this should be the real source of rumors, but they’re all so burned out none of the cadets want to question having a day off. It doesn’t mean they actually take the day off—they’re too bored for that, and they’ve forgotten how to do anything else than train relentlessly and occasionally study the odd K-Science journal.

Still, the Director, his assistants, half the training staff and Vettel all spend the morning locked in a conference room doing god knows what.

“They ordered pizza about an hour ago,” Alex tells him. He’s been pretending to read Jaeger Daily for two hours, sprawled out on a towel stolen from the bathroom while he pretends not to watch the Operations building from behind his sunglasses. “I heard you can predict a war based on how often the militaries order pizza. It means they’re planning something.”

“This is Italy,” Pierre says, unbothered, stripped shirtless and sprawled out in the sun a few paces away. “They order pizza literally every day.”

Alex hums. “And they got affogatos.”

“Affogatos?! Mon Dieu. Call the press.”

It probably means nothing, but it’s certainly strange—the conference, not the pizza. Vettel is a well-known face not just in the Jaeger program, but in the world. He was confirmed into the program just a handful of months earlier after having matched with some kid in Australia, and once their Jaeger goes into service he’ll be the first European ranger ever. It’s not a great statistic, seeing as there have only been six rangers in active combat in the history of the planet, but it’s still something.

The Faenza school is small, and often forgotten; most of the European academies are the same way. That’s why it’s even stranger that Vettel is here, of all places.

The third thing that happens that day is Charles kicks Max’s ass in the Kwoon. It’s not related to Vettel in any way, but it’s still funny.

Charles’ first impression of Max when they met eight months ago was that he’s too serious. His eyes are shaped like half-moons, clearly designed for laughing, but he frowns all the time. His lower lip juts out a little, petulant. Charles’ dad used to scold Charles for pouting like that when he was little, warning him his face would get stuck like that, and if Charles was too old for it at seven then Max is much too old for it at sixteen. It’s possible that his face is stuck like that, in fact, since the months that Charles has known him he hasn’t relaxed once. 

He doesn’t relax while training. He doesn’t relax in the rec room. He doesn’t relax while eating—if anything he’s the least relaxed doing that, shoveling food into his mouth like he’s about to be called to attention at any second. His frown lingers as they run laps of the dusty base in Faenza, the sun beating down hot and unrelenting, and while he’s training on the sim: thirteen drops and eleven kills, a record that’s second best only to Charles’ own.

“Beginner’s luck, huh?” Max had said when Charles had stepped out of the sim for the first time, exactly one kill to his name. He doesn’t say that the second time, or the third, or the fourth.

Like Charles said. No sense of humor.

Max is good at Muay Thai, which pisses Charles off to no end. It’s not that Charles is bad at it, he’s just been a little shorter than Max and a lot more wiry for the entire time they’ve known each other. Max is gangly too, but his legs are stronger, a fact that Charles has learned on more than one occasion by catching a knee straight to the solar plexus—a blow which Max barely has to strain to deliver. They’ve sparred—fought, really—enough times now for Charles to know that no matter how quick he can be, Max still has a serious physical advantage.

“Teach me Judo,” he told his trainer the fifth time Max pressed him out of the ring during a training session—a fight—with a heavy offense and pointy elbows, the director’s assistant watching from the corner and taking notes on a clipboard.

“We don’t usually teach that,” Andrea told him. “You’ll never beat a kaiju by throwing it.”

“I want to beat him.” At Andrea’s hesitation he added, “I’ll train extra. I don’t care.”

So Andrea started teaching him Judo; and on the day that Vettel arrives at the academy Charles steps into the ring with Max, letting him get two swings in before grabbing his wrist, using his momentum against him and flipping him square over his shoulder.

Max hits the mat hard enough that the sound echoes through the empty kwoon.

“Judo isn’t on the training list,” Max gripes, pushing himself up and rolling over to clutch at his nose. “Fuck.”

“I’m just adapting to the style of my opponent,” Charles says flatly. “As any good ranger would do.”

“I hate you,” Max tells him, dabbing at his nose—entirely for dramatic effect, since there isn’t a drop of blood in sight and Charles is pretty sure he didn’t even hit him there—and then spins on the mat to kick Charles’ feet out from under him.

Charles goes toppling, landing with a grunt, which is the moment Max decides to try to wrestle him. A horrible decision, really. Max is shit at wrestling. It takes all of thirty seconds for Charles to pin him, catching his left arm in an ude-garami, which is the exact moment that the door swings open.

“Ah,” Director Binotto says. “Leclerc and Verstappen, some of the brightest in our youth program.”

“Let me up,” Max hisses through his teeth, his breath hot against his ear, but Charles just tightens his grip.

“You haven’t tapped out,” Charles replies, holding Max down with his own chest as he twists Max’s elbow. Max lets out a string of noises that sound very Dutch and very rude.

“They do look it,” someone says blandly, and when he looks up Charles is greeted by the sight of Sebastian Vettel standing over him.

He springs to his feet, snapping to attention. Max follows suit, albeit a little slower.

“Relax,” Vettel says. “We don’t stand on rank in the kwoon. I thought that was the first rule of training,” he adds, raising his voice a little.

Binotto shrugs. “We do things differently here.”

Vettel’s eyebrows flash up, then back down again. He ignores the director, giving them both an easy smile, and Charles and Max’s hands fall away at the same time. “I’ve never visited any of the youth programs, but I’ve heard great things,” he says. “How long have you been training?”

“Eight months, sir,” Charles says.

“Please, it’s Sebastian. You’ve been here since the opening of the academy, then,” Sebastian says, his mouth forming into a C shape. “And you’ve been training to be copilots?”

Charles looks at Max, who’s already looking back. His mouth is pouty again, his eyebrows furrowed. Too serious.

“Our cadets did not begin the matching process until last week,” Binotto says, stepping forward to take his place at Sebastian’s side. “We have been training them as a group in the hopes that compatibility would be demonstrated organically, and for the most part that has proved to be successful.”

“How so?”

Binotto lets out a little hum. “Some pairs we brought in together proved to be compatible—siblings, best friends. Other times this proved to be the opposite. And then of course, some compatible pairs just find each other. We had our suspicions, but neural aptitude tests only confirmed it.”

Charles frowns, a protest poised behind his teeth.

“And you two train on the sim together?” Sebastian asks them, his face open.

“No,” Max says. “We only train solo.”

“What are your scores?”

“Thirteen drops, eleven kills.”

“Thirteen, twelve,” Charles adds, and can’t bite down the smug smile when Max shoots a glare his way.

Sebastian raises his eyebrows, blowing out a breath. He looks to Binotto, who raises his eyebrows with a small smile.

“That’s impressive,” Sebastian says. “You both want to be rangers one day?”

“Yes, sir,” they say, and it unfortunately comes out in perfect unison.

Sebastian looks at them for a long beat, a serene smile on his face. “I’m not here at an official capacity. I’m just here to scope out the copilot matches in our youth program. You probably already had some idea that you’re drift compatible,” he says, which Charles was not aware of at all, and then while he’s still reeling from that piece of information, “but the tests last week identified you at somewhere between ninety nine point seven and ninety nine point nine percent.”

“That’s not right,” Max blurts out. “We’re not compatible.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows raise. “Neural tests prove otherwise. So do fighting styles and sim scores, from the looks of it.”

“But we don’t get along.”

“That doesn’t always mean something.” He tilts his head. “If this comes as a surprise, it might be helpful to know that compatibility is about balance as much as it’s about similarities. You might see differences in each other, but in a Jaeger those things will become complementary parts.”

Charles can’t hold back a tiny scoff. What’s supposed to be complementary about Max? His bullheadedness? His ability to eat food faster than the mess hall can produce it?

“Gentlemen,” Binotto says, which is another first—Binotto has never called them that in their lives. “The Jaeger Program needs cadets. Not just rangers, but mechanics, strategists, engineers, support coordinators, biologists, neuroscientists—we need personnel, and now that the academy is on its feet and more jaegers are going into service, it’s time to identify who is part of a viable drift pairing, and who would be better suited to a different division.”

At his side, Max sucks in a short breath, barely audible. Charles himself straightens. He knows a threat when he hears one.

“We’d like to start a project to test drift compatibility through a rudimentary neural handshake,” Binotto says, “and we’re going to be testing that project on you.”

And that’s how the fourth thing happens.

[nomunun]

@amalasdraws​ tagged me for the 92 truths meme thing so here ya go!

rules: once you have been tagged you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself

LAST… [1] drink: water [2] phone call: my father [3] text message: group chat w two if my friends abt my life being over  [4] song you listened to: blind - break away [5] time you cried: 10 minutes ago lmao

HAVE YOU EVER… [6] dated someone twice: no [7] been cheated on: no [8] kissed someone and regretted it: nah [9] lost someone special: y..eah... [10] been depressed: what me?? depressed ???? sounds fake [11] gotten drunk and thrown up: only once

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS: [12] blue [13] mint [14] everything pastel

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU… [15] made new friends: yes [16] fallen out of love: lmao i WISH [17] laughed until you cried: i don’t think so ? [18] found out someone was talking about you: in a good way, yes 😎 [19] met someone who changed you: mmmh nah don’t think so [20] found out who your true friends are: YES lmao [21] kissed someone on your facebook list: no :(

GENERAL… [22] how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: most of them, those i don’t know irl live abroad [23] do you have any pets: i have a doggo and she’s a nerd [24] do you want to change your name: :))))))))))))))))))))))))) (yes!) [25] what did you do for your last birthday: i went to an amusement park with my besties and it was v nice ahhh [26] what time did you wake up: around 10am [27] what were you doing at midnight last night: crying lmao [28] name something you cannot wait for: dying being rich and famous 👌 [29] when was the last time you saw your mother: last week i think [30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: erase the past 5 years lmao [31] what are you listening to right now: pendulum - encoder [32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: i don’t think so [33] something that is getting on your nerves: myself lmao [34] most visited website: tumblr :,) [35] elementary: was shitty [36] high school: was even more shitty so i dropped out [37] college: is p okay so far [38] hair colour: some blonde bullshit but im gonna dye it soon [39] long or short hair: i have an outgrowing buzzcut  [40] do you have a crush on someone: nah idk probs not [41] what do you like about yourself? ??? i haven’t killed myself yet so thats good ????? [42] piercings: 11 (3 in my face, 8 on my ears) [43]blood type: a+ [44] nickname: teddy, shrimpy [45] relationship status: single fry  [46] zodiac sign: cancer [47] pronouns: she/her [48] fav tv show: rn it’s b99 bcuz im currently watching it [49] tattoos: 9 and more to come [50] right or left handed: right

FIRST… [51] surgery: had my tonsils removed bcuz i stopped breathing at night and almost died lmao [52] piercing: ears [53] best friend: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i have a couple of good friends but not a best friend i guess [54] sport: judo [55] vacation: sweden i think [56] pair of trainers: i have no idea

RIGHT NOW… [57] eating:  nothing [58] drinking: also nothing [59] i’m about to: probably rearrange my flat and then draw [60] listening to: the weeks - buttons [61] waiting for: death food  [62] want: money, also the district court of my hometown to burn down [63] get married: definitely not. [64] career: something were i can sit at home and draw and don’t have to interact w people and still get a shitload of money please

WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: kisses [66] lips or eyes: lips [67] shorter or taller: taller (lbr i dont really have a choice here) [68] older or younger: p much same sage is perfect tbh [70] nice arms or nice stomach: stomach [71] sensitive or loud: both [72] hook up or relationship: relationship [73] troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker :,)

HAVE YOU EVER… [74] kissed a stranger? yah [75] drank hard liquor? yes [76] lost glasses/contact lenses? nope [77] turned someone down: yah [78] sex on first date? does meeting irl for the first time count bcuz then yes lmao [79] broken someone’s heart? yes pls kill me [80] had your own heart broken? yah [81] been arrested? nope 😎 [82] cried when someone died? yah [83] fallen for a friend: y..ah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN… [84] yourself? hell no lmao [85] miracles? kind of [86] love at first sight? crush yeah, love no [87] santa claus? no [88] kiss on the first date? yes! [89] angels? not in the biblical sense but yes

OTHER… [90] current best friend’s name: if i had to pick it’d be saki and mana probably [91] eye colour: blue [92] favourite movie: pacific rim, cloud atlas, star wars

i tag @punkshimizu and @punchserver and @tazilp