#fun fact Micheal is what I imagine

[raouwul]

TMA FAN SPOTTED!!!! 🫵👀

OOOUUUGHHGHUGHUUGH

You caught me

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Queen of the Halfpipe 🏂 | Jake Seresin Imagine

Takes place before, during, and after the events of TGM

TGM Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x pro snowboarder!reader (romantic), the dagger squad (platonic)

Content Warnings: fluff, profanity, | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 10k

Requested 📨 yes/no—for @gizmodear 🤍 (rules for requests)

Premise: Dedication, determination, blood, sweat, and tears. That’s what athletes put in when they say they want to compete on the world’s greatest sporting stage. Years of hard work that come with sacrifices. At a young age Y/n L/n knew she wanted to be the best when it came to snowboarding, devoting herself to the Olympic dream. Love wasn’t something she thought would happen for her as she was so focused on her career. But, as someone once pointed out to her years after she did in fact find her happily ever after, she was living in her own little Hallmark movie.

Note: ah I’ve finally finished and I’m so happy with how it turned out! @gizmodear I apologize for the long wait (i think you sent this request at the beginning of February) but I hope you like this and I delivered with everything you could’ve imagined 🥹 I really love writing the athlete!reader x dagger squad paring fics so this was so fun to write. I did so much research to be as accurate as I could since I am not familiar with snowboarding. I did watch Chloe Kim in 2018 & 2022 so a lot of what reader accomplishes in this fic was inspired by her so I hope you don’t mind that I did that (except the ending since the 2026 Olympics hasn’t happened yet obviously 😂). Please let me know what you think!

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“So one last run, huh?”

“One last one,” she confirmed, hoping he couldn’t pick up on the slight sadness in her tone. All good things must come to an end.

“Better make it count,” he encouraged her. “You got this, okay? Don’t think about it-like I always tell you: don’t think, just do. That gold medal is calling your name.”

“I better go claim it then.”

“We’ll be cheering when you do, babe. Go show them who’s the Queen.”

Some people like the heat. Going to the beach and riding the waves of the ocean. Others enjoy the rain. The soothing sound of water hitting the pavement brings comfort to their ears. Then there are those who prefer the cold. Not as popular as the other two. People feel the only way to enjoy it is by staying indoors to sit by the fire and watch the snow fall through the window.

Y/n L/n loved the snow. Having grown up in the mountains of Colorado, she was used to blizzards and snowstorms. But she loved it mostly because of the sports associated with it. You know, the ones millions of people gather across the globe every four years to watch at the Winter Olympic Games. Athletes who’ve spent their entire life working to achieve their dream of glory. People who are not even patriotic rep their colors. Children watching for the first time think, “That’s gonna be me one day.”

That’s how it was for ten year old Y/n Ln watching the 2002 Winter Olympics on the small tv screen in the living room of her home. It was a special year of the Games. Hosted on US soil in Salt Lake City, Utah. Taking place in the months after the country was met with tragedy following the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001. Not a dry eye in the stadium or on those watching from home as the flag that flew on Ground Zero was brought into the arena by members of Team USA along with the NYPD & FDNY.

The Olympic torch was passed by members of the 1980 gold medal winning hockey team, coach Mike Eruzione lighting the cauldron. One of the most notable teams in US Olympic history. They were just college students up against the number one team in the world in 1980, which ironically enough, was also on US soil in Lake Placid, New York. Anyone who watched them play could recall the chills they felt when the buzzer counted down to zero with sportscaster Al Micheals yelling, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” Winning that game didn’t deliver the gold medal, no, it only secured their place in the final match. There they defeated Finland 4-2, shooting themselves into history.

Y/n was familiar with many of the sports she grew to love watching. Her family owned and lived on a ski resort, so the art of skiing and snowboarding came to her at a young age. She was around four years old the first time she went down hill with her father. By the time she was around eight she could do it on her own with little help.

While her parents enjoyed skiing, Y/n was drawn to snowboarding. More specifically, the halfpipe.

At a whopping 11 to 22 feet in the air and slopes between 16 to 18 degrees, the halfpipe brings fast momentum to snowboarders allowing them to perform difficult spins and skills as they pass from wall to wall. For the Olympics, 22 feet was the typical height of the walls.

The first time Y/n attempted to drop in on the halfpipe was at the age of ten. After watching Team USA sweep the medals in the mens and watching Kelly Clark win gold for the women, Y/n was determined to one day stand on the podium and be crowned the queen of the halfpipe. Nerves were present, as they usually are when one tries to do something they’ve never done. With her parents and a snowboarding instructor present, Y/n became the little daredevil she was and tried her best.

Of course she couldn’t be bold and attempt spins and jumps just yet. Surely that would end her career before it could even start. No, instead they would work on getting used to traveling down the slopes first. On top of that Y/n would have to unlock her inner gymnast so she could do the flips when she got air.

Her preteen years were dedicated to training. Homeschooling became a thing. Everyday she was out working tirelessly to the point her legs would ache. Often there would be a bad run where getting up from the snow would take an arm and leg to do. Balancing a social life as a teenager was impossible. Y/n pretty much sold her soul to snowboarding. But that’s what one has to do when they dream of Olympic glory.

By the time Y/n was 15 she was already making a name for herself after joining the U.S Snowboarding Team. She won titles left and right that people were coming to her family's ski resort just to watch her train. A competitor of the Winter X Games at age 16, Y/n secured the gold after her second run in the women’s superpipe final with a score of 83.75. Rumors speculated she was going to go for the 2010 Olympic Trials. Having just turned 18, Y/n was a leading contender for the Games.

But you know how there are always bad runs? Yeah….the Trials seemed to give her that.

Y/n was hoping to be the first woman to land the 1080 in competition since no one had done it before. Men had been doing the trick since 2002, not as difficult as some of the other moves they were keen to do. While practicing Y/n had successfully landed it a handful of times. So once she felt she was confident, she planned to put in her trial runs. Her coach insisted she’d wait, but Y/n was determined.

And unfortunately it was going to cost her.

After failing to land on her 1080 on both attempts, Y/n was left at the bottom of the leaderboard even with the lowest and highest dropped from her scoring. Embarrassed and humiliated, Y/n made no effort to hide how devastated she was. Tears fell from her puffy cheeks, the cold doing nothing to help. She tried to avoid the cameras but they followed her everywhere she went.

“Y/n, what does this mean for you going forward?”

“Are you going to train for Sochi?”

“Can we expect to see you at next year’s Winter X Games?”

Returning home from the trials, Y/n spent the first week watching the footage back to see what went wrong. Her coach of almost ten years was with her, scribbling furiously on the white board the error and how to fix them.

“You opened too late,” he told her, circling the area in bright red where Y/n messed up. It made her glare at the spot. “When you do that you come in contact with the snow much quicker than you want—that’s why you lost your balance and fell. You didn’t give much time to stop the momentum from spinning. You need to hit this mark—,” another red circle appeared just above the marked one, “to land on time on your feet without losing balance.”

“You’re gonna make me run this at least twenty times today huh?”

“You bet your ass I am,” he flicks the cap at her, “Now go get ready—we’ve got work to do!”

And so for the next four years Y/n worked harder than she ever did before leading up to the 2010 trials. She’d been snowboarding almost fifteen years at that point, nearly seven at the competitive level. 1080s were what kept her up at night. One of the most difficult moves in women’s halfpipe, Y/n spent the four years working to perfect it. Kelly Clark, the 2002 Gold medalist and 2010 Bronze medalist, ended up becoming the first woman to land it at the 2011 X Games, Y/n taking second place and becoming the second woman to land it the following year.

“Remember what I told you,” her coach squeezed her shoulders just before her turn at the 2014 Winter Olympic Trials. “Let the snow and air guide you, don’t guide them. Keep steady and eyes open—you’ve trained for this and you can do it, Y/n. Just do what you’ve been doing the last four years.”

Taking the advice sure as hell paid off. When Team USA marched into the dome of the opening ceremonies at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Y/n was amongst the 222 athletes representing the red, white, and blue.

Qualifications were nerve racking, but Y/n put her blood, sweat, and tears into the competition. The 1080 had everyone buzzing since it was to be the first time competed in women’s snowboarding at the Olympics. “Just get on your feet,” she told herself, placing her goggles down as she prepared to drop in. “Don’t think about it too much, just do it.”

“And here is 22-year-old Y/n L/n from Aspen, Colorado gearing up for her first run in the women’s halfpipe qualifications. This has got to be a big moment for Y/n, having missed out on the Olympic team four years ago for Vancouver. Here in Sochi she’s a favorite to make the podium after great runs at the Winter X Games, becoming the second woman to land the 1080–which we’ll see her in a moment. Y/n’s been snowboarding since the age of four—as one does when their family owns a popular ski resort. We’re excited to see what she’s got for us today.”

“For those of you watching at home who are new to competitive snowboarding, here’s how the scoring works. The athletes are given two runs—or attempts to score big by doing tricks between each wall as they go down the slope of the halfpipe. A team of six judges will then determine the scores through amplitude, another word for height, difficulty, variety, execution, and progression. The highest and lowest score are then thrown out and the remaining four are averaged together for that run. The highest of the two runs is what will determine their position on the leaderboard.”

With her first run of 90.00 and second a 86.75, Y/n advanced to the semifinals along with Kaitlyn Farrington, and Hannah Teter. Kelly Clark secured her place in the finals as the top qualifying score after qualifications. During the semifinals Y/n brought in a 92.50 and 93.50. Her coach was jumping up and down, her parents screaming and Y/n ran over to them when the results came in.

She was heading to the finals.

A silver lining moment was what she was met with after claiming a score of 91.00 following her two runs. Team USA sweeping the podium: Kaitlyn with the gold, Y/n taking silver, and Kelly the bronze.

At the press junket following the podium ceremony, Y/n could not stop smiling. Even when she was asked the question, “How does it feel to be wearing the silver medal after what happened at the trials four years ago?”

“It feels amazing as you can imagine,” chuckles erupt from all sides. “I try to erase the 2010 trials from my memory, but ultimately that is what made me determined to work so hard these last four years. Being able to represent Team USA and bringing home the silver medal alongside my teammates Kaitlyn and Kelly, who I’ve admired my entire career—and watching Kelly win gold in 2002 is what kickstarted my dream of going to the Olympics…” Y/n pauses, grin growing wider, “It’s truly an honor. I-I’m still coming down from the high of it all.”

“Y/n over here!” The athlete points to a lady, who proceeds to stand from her chair to ask, “I know you’re going to be asked this a lot so let me be the first to, are we going to see you in four years for Pyeongchang?”

Biting her lip, Y/n gave a shrug though her smile remained, “I’m gonna train so the hope is you will see me in 2018, but you never know in sports. Anything can happen. For now I’m gonna celebrate with my coach and my family who traveled all the way from the States with me and then get back to the snow when I get home.”

When one already has established themself as a name in their sport, with an Olympic medal, several national and world titles under their belt, then going bigger is to be expected. Higher difficulty in tricks, more air and speed, fighting with gravity to not fall on your ass. Y/n felt the pressure.

“You want me to do back-to-back 1080s?” She nearly dropped her granola bar, staring at her coach dumbfounded.

“You can do it,” he said as if it were obvious. “You’ve been getting so much momentum on the landing that you’re getting massive height on your 720. You can easily go for the 1080 on that.”

It seemed tricky, but Y/n wasn’t one to say no to a challenge. “Fuck it, let’s do it.”

The first time resulted in a face plant in the snow. The second time she lost balance and skidded the rest of the slope on her ass. Finally on the third attempt she managed to catch her feet, exclaiming “Holy shit! I did it!” Off to the side her coach was fist pumping, in a heap of joy for the athlete. Never had anyone successfully landed a back-to-back 1080. But Y/n did in a fucking practice run. “Pyeongchang, here I come!”

When Y/n landed the movements at the 2018 Olympic trials, she was the highlight of the competition.

“The 2014 silver medalist in this event, Y/n L/n dropping in. Great start—setting up for her 1080….beautiful landing—she’s been working hard to perfect and—-OH! Oh my gosh she just did another one!! Did we just witness what I think we did? Holy moly folks I don’t believe it—Y/n L/n has just done the impossible with back-to-back 1080s in a single run!! That’s gonna have a massive score I can already tell.”

Adrenaline was pumping through her veins like never before when Y/n came down from the slope after her final move. Giggling like a maniac, her hands covered her mouth as the crowd roared around her. Her coach was going crazy, as were her friends and family who came out to support. A score of 95.00 sent the audience into a frenzy. And even with her second run, there was no doubt in anyone's mind.

Y/n was heading for Pyeongchang.

“It was a successful Olympic Trials this past week with 241 athletes from across the country qualifying for Team USA in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Team USA will be competing in 15 sports, with many returning to the stage—including two time gold-medalist in the Men’s halfpipe, Shaun White, and 2010 Olympic champion of the women’s downhill in skiing, Lindsey Vonn. The women’s hockey team is looking to return to glory after not having won the gold since Nagano in 1998–the team claiming either silver or bronze in the past Games. There’s been a lot of excitement among supporters for returning Olympian Y/n L/n, who will be competing in the women’s halfpipe once again—L/n was the 2014 silver medalist in the event and became the talk of the trials when she completed back-to-back 1080s in her first run of the final competition, securing her place on Team USA with a massive score of 95.00. L/n has stated she will be attempting the 1080 duo at these Games. If she can pull out a score like she did at the trials of even higher, we could be looking at a new Queen of the Halfpipe.”

For the Games in Pyeongchang, each competitor would do two runs in qualifications and those who make it to the final will get three chances to produce a big score. It was smooth sailing to the finals for Y/n. Both runs received a score of 90.00, making her the top qualifier and securing one of twelve spots in the final.

February 13, 2018 was the best day of Y/n’s life.

It was a beautiful morning in South Korea. Sun beaming down with clear skies making the snow sparkle. Y/n was the last contestant in each rotation, spending the time in between her runs to keep her mind at ease. The playlist she made was blasting through the headphones she wore, a mix of genres that included artists like AC/DC, One Direction, and Beyoncé. Sometimes the cameramen would catch a glimpse of her dancing while mouthing the words to the songs, making viewers at home and the NBC commentators chuckle. Throughout the competition people were tweeting about the athlete:

@ sassycassie: @Y/nlikesthesnow is such a mood at the @Olympics. I wonder what’s on her playlist.

@TeamUSA✔️: we’re all jamming with @Y/nlikesthesnow.

@Marvelicious: Petition for the @Olympics to include music in the halfpipe from here on out.

When it came time for her run, Y/n rolled her neck, said a mental prayer, and dropped in once she was given the green light. Her heart was racing by the time she finished her first run, which did not get a good score due to falling on her second 1080. A rocky start to her competition, the number came back a 41.00.

Quickly the athlete brushed it off. “There’s still two more,” she told herself, approaching her coach who voiced the same thing. Two more chances to score big. All she needed to do was land the 1080s and get high altitude on her 720 and backside 900. Once that happened the gold medal was practically hers.

And she did just that.

On her second run, Y/n delivered what everyone was on the edge of their seats for. She screamed in victory going into her 720 because she had landed the second 1080 perfectly. Letting the remainder of the slopes guide her, Y/n finished her run with a beautiful 900 and shot her arms into the air, the people in the audience cheering. When she crossed the line she fell to her knees, board still attached to her feet and let out a cry of joy.

“Wow, wow, wow! That was absolutely incredible! She completed the back-to-back 1080s—I know we already saw it in the qualifications, but seeing it today was even better—and that 900 was massive, she could’ve thrown in a third! Look at Y/n, she’s taking it all in—the fans are going crazy, Team USA are already celebrating. And we still have one more run left! Remember the judges drop the highest and lowest scores and it looks like it’s gonna be……A 98.75!!! THAT IS HUGE—THE HIGHEST WE’VE SEEN YET!!”

Y/n was doing her best not to cry when her coach and parents hauled her into a group hug. There was still one more run to do, but it would be her victory lap no doubt. No way would anyone be able to touch her score.

Smiling the entire time, Y/n was effortless in her final attempt. One couldn’t even call it an attempt when she was already the gold medalist. The remaining competitors had already gone, none close to the number she produced in the second run. Tears finally flowed when she finished her 900, coming to the end of the slope and unclamping her board before dropping to the snow. The sound of the cheers was so loud she could feel the vibration.

Cameramen surrounded the athlete. Feeling giddy she made a snow angel, laughing the entire time.

When the score came back a 93.50, Y/n was officially named the Olympic champion of the women’s halfpipe. She wasn’t the only member from Team USA on the podium, Arielle Gold claimed the bronze, pushing out 2002 Gold Medalist Kelly Clark by nearly two full points. Liu Jiayu was the silver medalist.

At the podium ceremony Y/n felt like she was in a dream. Even when the announcer said, “Gold medalist and Olympic Champion, from the United States of America, Y/n L/n!!” With the medal placed around her neck and the sound of the national anthem echoing for all ears to hear, Y/n thought she’d wake up in her bed and it would have all been a dream.

But it was far from a dream. The press conference assured that. Reporters and journalists from sports magazines and media swarmed the place, Y/n more nervous about answering their questions than performing tricks in the air that were life threatening if landed wrong. Several questions were to be expected:

“Y/n, how are you feeling after your big win today?”

“Can you tell us anything about your plans when these Games come to an end?”

“Is it true you and actor Dylan O’Brien have been getting rather close?”

“Y/n, are you going to train for Beijing in four years?”

Exhausted and in need of food, Y/n kept her answers simple and minimum. “I feel like I could run a marathon—but mostly I could use some snacks. Oh thank you so much—,” A volunteer brought over an apple they had, and a reporter gave some crackers. “I feel even better now, thank you.”

“Well for one I’m gonna sleep at least a whole week,” chuckles rang out. “Then I’m gonna go see Black Panther since it comes out in three days—anybody gonna go see it? The trailer looked amazing.”

At the question of Dylan O’Brien, Y/n refrained from making a face, “Dylan is a good friend of mine—we met at the 2015 ESPY’s and he’s been to my family’s resort. Not to mention I was a fan of Teen Wolf when it was running. There’s nothing more going on, he’s a great buddy of mine and that’s all.” Internally groaning, Y/n could already picture the internet reacting to her answer. No doubt would they start shipping the two. Dylan would likely get a kick out of it, but like she said they were just good friends.

Responding on the topic of Beijing, Y/n said, “I’m very lucky to call myself a two-time Olympian and would love to continue my Olympic career so yes, I do plan to train for the next Games.”

The rest of 2018 was memorable for Y/n. She was invited to award shows and movie premieres, including Avengers: Infinity War, The Maze Runner: The Death Cure (which only fueled more speculation about her and Dylan) and Spider-Man: Into The SpiderVerse. She even filmed a cameo in the upcoming remake of Charlie’s Angels with fellow athletes Aly Raisman, Rhonda Rousey, and Danica Patrick. At the 2018 ESPY’s, Y/n was nominated for four awards: Best Olympic Moment, Best Female Olympian, Best Female Athlete and Best Female Action Sports Athlete. She took the latter three, in disbelief each time her name was called.

Her personality drew people in and many young girls were interested in snowboarding because of her. Within weeks she accumulated 500 thousand followers on instagram. People begged her to start a YouTube channel, wanting to follow the journey as she trains for Beijing.

“Hello friends of the interweb,” she waved to the lens of her camera. “You’ve been shouting from the rooftops and I’ve heard you loud and clear. Today is my first attempt at…vlogging? Is that what you call it?” Shrugging, she starts to walk down the hallway of her home. At age 26, Y/n moved out of her parents home shortly after her first Olympics—-having went pro—and bought a cabin on the resort so she could remain close with her family and coach. Plus it was where she trained—a nice little plaque on the entrance of the resort reading, “Home of Olympic Champion Y/n L/n.”

Fans loved seeing a more in-depth look at the Olympian. Y/n would do Q&As, give snowboarding 101 lessons, collaborate with Olympians from other sports she grew to become close friends with, and do daily vlogs of training.

“Hi, I’m Y/n L/n,” she smiled at the camera from where she was sitting, a pale pink background behind her. “And I’m here with Buzzfeed where I’m gonna be answering some questions while playing with puppies.” Clapping her hands excitedly, she grinned, “Let’s do this!”

“Was Snowboarding always your first choice when it came to sports?”

“Yes it was,” there was a tiny bulldog in her lap, drifting off to sleep while an excited lab pup was trying to chew at Y/n’s shoes. “When your family owns a ski resort in the mountains of Colorado, usually snowboarding or skiing is going to be the first sport you’re introduced to. In my case it was just like that and while my parents were more for skiing, I loved snowboarding because it was like surfing….but on snow.”

“Where would you be if you weren’t a professional athlete?”

“You know I haven’t really thought about this,” she makes a face that reads, ‘is that bad?’. “I’ve always loved animals so….probably a vet or a career that involved animals. Since I’ve started my YouTube channel I’ve grown to love creating videos and editing them—that whole process. I would not go as far as to say I’d be an Internet personality but I would maybe use those skills to go into film work. But in all honesty, I’d probably be running the resort with my parents. It’s the family business after all.”

“Do you have any tattoos?”

“I do,” flashing her forearm, the Olympic Rings inked her skin with tiny lettering that read, Sochi and Pyeongchang. “I got the rings shortly after returning from Sochi—already set on where it was going to go. The names were done after Pyeongchang. I have other tattoos on my legs and back, but this one is my favorite because it represents the dream I achieved.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Ooh we’re getting to the hard questions now,” she laughed, grabbing a puppy that was tugging on her sleeve to hold. “Ummm…..not really. While I’ve been in relationships I don’t think any has made me feel what love is supposed to be like. It’s probably why they didn’t work out,” again she makes a face. “I had a genuine care for them, but there’s a certain way people describe being ‘in love.’ And from what I’ve heard, none of my experiences would be like that. I hope that doesn't make me sound heartless,” Y/n shrugs, not embarrassed at all by being honest. “I got too much going on right now to be worrying about love though. When the time comes, it will.”

Well she was right on that. However she wasn’t expecting it to be sooner than what she thought.

Around December of 2019, Y/n had returned to Colorado after being in New York for a couple weeks for a friend’s wedding. Since becoming a bigger name in the world of snowboarding and in popular culture, the resort got more attraction throughout the year where bookings were full. During this time Y/n would help run things to get some stress from her parents. She’d train early mornings and late at night, leaving the middle of the day to assist in any way she could. Regulars who’d been coming before she was an Olympian would treat her the same, whereas tourists coming for the first time were usually starstruck.

Y/n loved interacting with supporters. Every smile she received and autograph she sighed was met with love. Kids would ask questions, the Olympian kneeling to their level to answer with full transparency. Adults would shake her hand and say they can’t wait to hopefully see her in Beijing. Those moments are what motivated Y/n to do her best with each session.

“Y/n, could you come here for a second?” her mother called out one night after Y/n finished her final run for the day. She’d just entered the lobby to say hi to her parents before heading back home when she spotted them with a group of people. One of whom looked very familiar.

Removing her scarf from face and pulling the hood down, Y/n was met with several pairs of eyes that immediately went wide. She could imagine why, considering there was a huge photo of her with the gold medal framed on the wall dedicated to the gallery of famous visitors the resort had.

Moving closer, she noticed that the group consisted of about eight people, seven of which were guys and one lady. The older gentleman who appeared to be roughly her father’s age was beaming at her. Quickly he was introduced by her mother.

“Y/n, I don’t if you remember since it’s been so long, but this is Pete Mitchell. He and your dad go way back and he’s visited a few times since we took over this place.”

Now the face brought memories with the mention of his name. Grinning, Y/n shook the hand that was extended to her, “Yeah, I remember. Maverick, right?”

“That’s right,” he smiled. “Wow, it’s great to see you again. Congrats on everything you’ve accomplished, Y/n. I’ve been watching you compete since your first trials.”

“Thank you,” she tries not to look flustered. “Sorry for looking so busted—I just finished a run and was not expecting a reunion so soon.” The words have the older adults chuckling. Glancing behind Pete’s shoulder, Y/n nodded to his companions, which had the pilot scurry to introduce them.

Pointing to each person, he lists off, “these are my lieutenants and members of my Top Gun striker team. Bradley Bradshaw, Natasha Trace, Robert Floyd, Mickey Garcia, Reuben Fitch, Javy Machado, and Jake Seresin.”

As he calls their names they each go to shake Y/n’s hand, saying, “nice to meet you.” When she gets to the last person, Jake, Y/n feels a light spark as their skin touches, making both of them flinch.

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” the tinge of a southern accent nearly makes her knees go weak, a dazzling smile to compliment the pilot.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” she returns before moving back to stand beside her parents. “Thank you all for your service. What brings you to Aspen?”

“Well we’ve seen enough of the beach and ocean—now that we’re all stationed in Miramar—and thought we’d like a scene change,” Pete explained, gesturing to her parents. “I called your folks up after our assignment to book us a getaway since these guys were in need of a break. We’re here for the weekend to hit the slopes—and teach some of them how to ski.”

“Fun,” she hums, glancing to see some nervous eyes among Bob, Javy, Mickey, and Jake. When she caught Jake’s gaze he smiled at her, making her look away before she blushed. “Who all knows how to ski?”

“Reuben, Nat, and I do,” Rooster answered, “this is the first time those clowns are seeing snow.”

“I’ll have you know, Bradshaw,” Jake lifts a hand, giving a mocking glare. “I have seen snow, but seeing as I am a Texas man we don’t get it down there.”

“I get snow where I’m from,” Bob interjects, blushing a bit, “But I was the type to stay indoors when it did. I’ve never skied though.”

“Well there is a first for everything,” Y/n beams, “and once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. Although I’m probably not the best judge…..since I pretty much live on the snow.”

“I personally wanna try snowboarding,” Nat admits, smiling when Y/n gives her a thumbs up and mouths, “good choice.”

“I’ll do it if you do it,” Mickey says and the two high five.

“Maybe Y/n can give you some pointers” Y/n’s dad suggested, glancing at her with a tilt of the head. “She’d be the best teacher here.” The Olympian smiles, offering a light shrug.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Mickey and Nat nearly turned into school children right there, but where Nat was calm on the exterior, Mickey was unleashing his inner fanboy.

“If it’s not out of your way—.”

“Oh my God, to be trained by an Olympic gold medalist? Life goal complete.”

Y/n couldn’t help but giggle at the man, “That settles it then. I hope to see you on the slopes first thing tomorrow morning. How does ten sound?”

“Shit that means we get to sleep in,” Reuben said in relief, the others making the same expression. At Y/n’s confusion he adds, “we normally all get up at four in the morning. Ten o’clock is a dream.”

“I know what you mean—I get up at five for training. So I would definitely want you all to get a good night’s rest. Hours on the slopes will have you running to your bed,” checking her watch, Y/n lets out a yawn, chuckling when she finishes. “Speaking of running to bed, I am beat if you haven’t noticed.” She goes to shake their hand once more, “It was so nice meeting you all and I look forward to tomorrow. Pete, it was great seeing you again.”

Saying goodbye to the group and her parents, Y/n waves one last time and heads to the door. The entire short drive to her home, her mind wanders to Jake. A warm feeling she couldn’t describe boiled in her chest, not sure if it was a little crush or just that she was attracted to him. With his green eyes, sun kissed skin, blonde hair, and dazzling smile, the man was a looker. She definitely could see him being a charmer, maybe even a playboy.

She didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Compared to her snowboarding career, relationships were something Y/n didn’t have the best record with. Yeah she dated, shared a kiss or two with someone she was interested in, but she never saw someone more than five to six months. It wasn’t easy to balance time and energy for a partner. Snowboarding was her life and she permanently lived in Colorado. She stopped dating people in Aspen because they usually were driven by what Y/n could bring them. Relationships with fellow athletes were more difficult since they were dedicated to their sport just like she was to hers. The one time she did get involved with an athlete lasted less than two weeks.

Then you had the people in Hollywood. Since winning the silver in 2014, Y/n made plenty of friends in the film and movie industry. Anytime she was pictured with someone it sparked rumors. Even when they were with a group of friends it didn’t stop the gossip. Y/n did, however, get involved with an actor that was a friend of Dylan O’Brien. He introduced them at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards where they hit it off. It only lasted five months but it was enough to get the internet buzzing with excitement.

Since then Y/n hadn’t been serious with someone, focusing solely on training for the Beijing Olympics. As the defending Olympic champion in the halfpipe Y/n was determined to defend her title. There wouldn’t be any time for romance.

But that weekend left Y/n with a newfound feeling. One she wanted to keep the more she got to know Jake. Each night he was at the resort they’d meet at the lounge to have a drink, sometimes with a group, or by themselves. They’d catch each other in the mornings to get coffee, Y/n feeling the giddiness rise each time with every conversation. The boys caught on quickly what was happening, going as far to joke with Y/n about his history with women.

Her confidence dropped a bit, but Jake shut it down instantly, “I haven’t been with anyone in about a year. And I wouldn’t want something with you to be one and done, Y/n. I want to get to know you better and see where this goes.”

“Jake, how would this even work?” The two were sitting on one of the lounge couches the night before he was set to return to California. It was a good point to bring up. With him being in San Diego and her in Aspen, it would be difficult. “I like you and have enjoyed our time this weekend—a-and I’d love to see where this goes….but being with me isn’t easy.”

“Why’s that?” He asked, oblivious to her concern.

She gives him a knowing look, “Well first there’s the distance like I mentioned. But also I’m in a career where I prioritize that more than anything. I have to go out of the country for competitions several times a year,” her hand makes a motion to show emphasis. “This is where I train—and I don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. My goal is to make it to the Olympics again.”

Jake is quiet for a moment. It worries Y/n, thinking that he was going to get up and leave without another word. But then he gently places a hand on top of hers that was resting on her lap, “I admire and respect you for being honest with me. Not many people are like that—hell, Lord knows I wasn’t five years ago. But even though it may be difficult, I don’t want to avoid it just because of the ‘what if’s’. So it doesn’t work out, that’s okay, but I’d like to at least try.”

Biting her lip, she looks at their hands, “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” he smiles, “plus it gives me a reason to continue coming out here. I think I’ve fallen in love with this place,” glancing around the building, his smile gets bigger at the sight of the sun setting making the mountains look beautiful from where they were. “Being from Texas, we don’t get this type of scenery. I thought I wouldn’t like the snow but it seems to have grown on me in the few short days.”

“Well, Lieutenant, you’re gonna have to get used to it if you roll with me.”

“I think I can adapt well, darling.”

When the squad left the next morning, a little piece of Yn’s heart left with Jake. She didn’t believe in love at first sight but there was no denying the feelings swarming like butterflies each time they were together. FaceTimes became their thing. Usually a couple times a week with casual texting since both had busy lives. Jake then flew out a couple weeks later to spend New Year’s with Y/n, the two sharing their first kiss that sparked like the fireworks in the sky.

Y/n traveled to San Diego in February with Jake returning to Aspen in March. What was supposed to just be a weekend turned out to be Jake having to stay for nearly three months due to the world shutting down. The pandemic was something no one could’ve predicted. Both Y/n and Jake had to scramble to figure out what to do, her parents offering him a cabin to reside in since they had to close down the resort. The competitions Y/n was set to compete in were canceled, Jake having to work remotely with meetings through zoom. There was no indication if he’d have to return to San Diego and frankly he didn’t know how he would since airlines were shut down.

It was a blessing in disguise, however, because it brought the two closer. Jake and Y/n were able to do things together despite being confined to the resort. Since it was only them, her parents, and her coach on the premises, Y/n was able to still train and even taught Jake how to snowboard downhill. He told her about his career and what it was like being in the air competing against the speed of sound.

“It’s an adrenaline rush most of the time,” He explained one night as they laid by the fire, a random movie on the Tv mounted above the mantle. “You can probably relate when you do your runs. Not being able to really think and just let your body take over. Feeling a high that’s indescribable and praying it will end how you think it will.”

In the mornings Y/n would drop off breakfast and coffee to his cabin on her way to training. After his meetings he’d bring her lunch or dinner since she was practicing most hours in the day. The 2020 season was canceled, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t prepare for 2021. Athletes training for the Summer Olympics would have to wait a whole year, meanwhile the plans for the Winter Olympics in 2022 remained. Speculations already arose that by the next spring things would slowly go back to normal with the implementation of a vaccine. Jake returned to San Diego as soon as the green light was lit, mostly because the Navy was ordering him to. Airlines only allowed certain people to fly with regulations set to accommodate social distancing. It was a bittersweet goodbye for the couple, Jake promising to return as soon as he could.

Their relationship continued to be long distance for a long time. San Diego locked down several times preventing either from traveling to see each other. Y/n kept busy by training from sunrise to sunset, Jake running missions the Pentagon tasks the Dagger squad with and the two FaceTimed consistently. Luckily by spring of 2021 things did in fact calm down. A vaccine was introduced, both wasting no time to receive it, and making plans for Y/n to fly out to San Diego.

When she landed she was met with the clear skies and warm rays of the sun, catapulting into Jake’s awaiting arms after exiting the terminal. “I missed you so much!” She giggled as he spun her around.

“I missed you more, darling.”

Everyone welcomed her with smiles, the pilots excited to see Y/n again after so long. They took her to The Hard Deck to celebrate her and Jake’s one year anniversary and for her qualification in the 2021 Winter X Games.

“Excited to get back in the pipe, Y/n/n?” Reuben asked her.

“You bet your ass I am,” she clicks her beer glass with his. “Can’t wait for the world to see what I’ve been practicing.”

The squad cheered on Y/n from Fightertown during the Winter X Games, watching her claim the gold of the women’s Superpipe for the sixth time. Jake was the loudest, his reaction to her win captured by Rooster, “That’s my girl!!”

Flash forward to January 2022. The team rang the year in, Y/n joining festivities where she and Jake celebrated their third New Year’s before they all traveled North to Mammoth to watch Y/n compete in the Mammoth Grand Prix. The first completion of the year, it would be where the Beijing Olympic Team members were named.

By the end of the competition, Y/n was going to have to set an appointment with her tattoo artist to add Beijing to the list of Games.

“YEAHH!!!” The scream released, arms shot into the air as her name shot to the top of the leaderboard following her second run, the score a 96.00. On the ground Jake, her coach, parents, and friends were losing their minds. Rightfully so, they just witnessed Y/n make her third Olympic team.

“And there you have it folks, the defending Olympic champion in the halfpipe is heading to Beijing in her third Olympic appearance. Y/n L/n has shown greatness this whole weekend, proving herself as one of the best in the sport. There’s been so much improvement in her form—the Winter X Games this past year was the last time we’d seen her since the pandemic shut everything down, but that didn’t stop Y/n from getting ready for Beijing. She is unstoppable. It'll be an exciting Games next month, not just for the women’s competition—Shaun White will return to the stage for the fifth time in an attempt to defend his gold model.”

A celebratory party was in store for the Olympian. Champagne was popped and music blasting in the restaurant the members of Team USA rented together. All their friends and family were there having a grand time. Y/n and Shaun got pictures together, the internet calling them the king and queen of the halfpipe. Pretty much all of the dagger squad, minus Jake of course, were chatting up with the Olympians—Bob received a thumbs up from Y/n when she spotted him talking with Mikayla Shiffrin.

Halfway through the night, Jake pulled her aside, “How you feeling?”

“Good,” she breathed, still coming down from the high of excitement. “Excited, nervous, internally dreading the long flight but overall I’m happy.”

“I’m happy for you, darling,” he kissed her head, “You deserve this. After watching you bust your tail these past two years, I can’t describe how proud I am of you.”

Y/n felt a wave of love course threw her, kissing him softly as a thanks. When they pulled away Jake asked what was next to which she replied, “What do you mean?”

“Well…I hear Italy is hosting in four years.” She made a sound of ‘Ahh,’

“That’s what you mean.”

Jake quickly explains, “I just wanted to know if that’s in your sights. You’re gonna get asked plenty next month, so see it as me wanting to be the first to know……and because I’m already planning on being there if you do.” Unfortunately due to covid restrictions, Jake and her family are unable to attend the Games in person. Only her coach was allowed to travel with Y/n, meaning everyone else would have to cheer from home.

Italy wasn’t even on Y/n’s mind. After a career of over fifteen years and having celebrated her 30th birthday, the next chapter was something she thought about often. Jake was her longest relationship, the two at two years and Y/n fell more and more in love with him each day. While the long distance was going well, it would only be a matter of time before one of them would want to settle. Marriage. Children.

Going for a fourth Games was possible—look at Shaun. Beijing was his fifth Games, and Kelly Clark competed in five.

“Confident you’ll be around by then? 2026 is a long way from here,” teasing at first, Y/n felt her heart skip by the look she received. It was one of love, determination, and admiration.

“I’m confident in a lot of things, Y/n. And when it comes to us,” two fingertips come up to hold her chin steady, green eyes boring into hers. “I see a cabin with a front porch and gorgeous sunrise over the mountains as we drink coffee and reminisce over our glory days before the little ones left the nest. That’s what I see when I look at you.”

February 2026–Livigno, Italy: Final of the Women’s Halfpipe in the XXV Olympic Winter Games.

“So one last run, huh?” Jake squeezes Y/n’s hand, easing her nerves as she feels the metal of his wedding band on her skin. She had yet to put her gloves on, waiting for someone to escort her to the top of the slope.

“One last one,” her tone was laced with sadness, not doing much to mask her anxiety. She was one run away from winning a third conservative gold medal. Beijing was already four years ago, Y/n adding a second gold to her collection to retain her title as queen of the halfpipe. She was met with international recognition following the Games. Her performance in Beijing resulted in the first 100.00 scored in the Olympics.

On the cover of Sports Illustrated and winning big at the 2022 ESPY’s, Y/n was on top of the world. Appearances on James Corden and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Y/n not only showcased her gold medal, but a diamond ring on her finger where she told the world her love story with Jake.

“Hi, I’m Y/n L/n,” she waved at the camera, a MacBook in front of her and trying not to laugh at where Jake was sitting in his own chair beside the producer of GQ, videoing her with his phone. “Two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s halfpipe and I’m here with GQ, about to go undercover on the internet.” Opening the laptop, she shakes her head with a nervous grin. “This is gonna be interesting.”

Ironically enough, she chose the username Y/ndoesntlikethesnow. “I’m sorta scared at what Twitter and Reddit will bring. Just because….,” she makes a face, “I go on the bird app religiously so I know what that’s like, but also I’ve heard horror stories about Reddit.”

“I wanna know how @Y/nlikesthesnow managed to get up after planting face first in the snow at her first Olympic trials. On live television. If that was me I would’ve retired right then and there.”

The laugh that escaped Y/n was equivalent to a wheeze, sending Jake into his own laughter. Calming down, Y/n had to wipe her eye, “oh my goodness what a great start. Okay,” her fingers hovered over the keys, typing away with each word she spoke. “Thank you for bringing this memory up—it was truly a defining moment in my career I would say. Not only did it humble me, but had it not happened I probably wouldn’t have busted my butt as much as I did to get to Sochi. So it’s kinda sentimental now….though I do die inside each time someone tags me when they use the gif.”

Clicking send, Y/n clapped, “next!”

“Does Y/n L/n and her fiancé know they basically lived in a Hallmark movie? Guy comes to a small town and meets a local girl who’s family runs a ski resort and they fall in love in just a few short weeks. I think about that a lot.”

Both Y/n and Jake make a snort, “Jake is here with me now,” she points to though he can’t be seen. “We both love this question. And to answer it, you know it never crossed our mind that this was happening, but if Hallmark would like some inspiration for their next movie we’d be happy to give some.”

The wedding took place in fall of 2023. Shortly after Y/n made the decision to move to San Diego to be with Jake, finding an indoor halfpipe training facility to train in. She continued to dominate the 2023-2025 seasons. By the time she made her fourth Olympic team, Y/n became the most decorated female snowboarder in Winter X Games history and won the Mammoth Grand Prix for the sixth consecutive time.

Now in Italy for her final Olympic appearance, the pressure was on.

Currently Y/n was in last position, shocking many as she had multiple errors in her first two after being the number one qualifier. Eight years ago in Pyeongchang, her friend and former teammate Shaun White stunned the world when he went from the bottom to the top of the leaderboard in the final rotation of the men’s final, claiming his third gold medal.

People were itching to know if the same would happen to Y/n. Commentators and twitter alike saying it was deja vu happening.

Only Jake, the squad, her coach and family were the ones to know she would be retiring. Her last run marking the end of an era in snowboarding. With her first two a disaster, Y/n wanted to end on a high note.

“Better make it count,” Jake told her, cupping her face in his hands to stare deeply into her eyes. “You got this, okay? Don’t think about i-t-like I always tell you: don’t think, just do.” Kissing her forehead, he adds, “That gold medal is calling your name.”

Confidence filled her, Y/n lifting her chin high to show her determination. “I better go claim it then.”

Jake mirrored her grin, winking just as the volunteer was calling her name. “We’ll be cheering when you do, babe. Go show them who’s the Queen.” Giving one last kiss of support, Jake says goodbye to his wife, “I love you.”

“I love you,” she returns and he watches her leave before heading to the area where the others were waiting for him.

“How is she?” Javy asks him, adjusting the lapels of his coat. It was a cold but beautiful day in Italy. Perfect for snowboarding.

“I can tell she’s worried,” Jake takes out his binoculars, setting up to see Y/n take her place. “But she’ll pull through. She always does.”

“Welcome back to our coverage of the women’s halfpipe final here in Livigno, Italy. Y/n L/n, the defending two-time gold medalist is about to take her final run in this competition.” The title card appeared on the screen for viewers watching at home, reading: “Y/n L/n-Seresin—Gold Medalist: 2018 & 2022, Silver Medalist: 2014–Hometown: Aspen, Colorado, USA.

“It’s been a rocky day for L/n—failing to produce a big score on her first two attempts: 39.00 in the first and 49.00. She’s got one more chance to beat the 92.25 and is currently in last position. If you can think back to 2018 Shaun White was in the same position, managing to come back in his final run to take the gold. In just a few moments we shall see if Y/n can do the same.”

It’s said that your heart beats on average 60 to 100 beats per minute. That’s a normal heart rate. Throw in emotions such as anxiety and you’ll find it increasing. If a doctor were to place a stethoscope over Y/n’s chest as she secured the clasps of her snowboard, pulling the goggles over her eyes, they’d find the number of her bpm to be at least 110 maybe even 120.

“Don’t think,” Jake’s voice echoed in her head, bringing a sense of calmness. “Just do.”

“Don’t think,” she repeated under her breath. “Just do.” Maneuvering her board once she was giving the go, Y/n starts her decline into the halfpipe, dropping in one last time. Unlike her previous runs where she focused too hard that led to the mistakes, Y/n moved effortlessly like the board was in control. Back-to-back 1080s, her signature move. Getting high in the air she spun. Backside 900 and frontside 700. Opening at the right moment to hit the snow correctly and set up for the next trick. Showing off her talent as one of the greatest athletes of her generation.

Thinking back to her first time her feet touched a board, Y/n felt the nostalgia in her veins. It was comforting, masking the nerves it soon replaced. She was in her element. Picturing the mountains of Aspen and the snow she grew up on.

She could hear the crowd getting louder with each move. It fueled her, pushing the Olympian to get higher in the air, spin faster, and land perfectly. When she came down on her 1260, a difficult move usually seen in the men’s competition, Y/n felt her heart stop as she hit the snow.

It was a golden finish.

A roar ignited from the crowd, Y/n’s hands flying to her mouth, making her final descent down the pipe across the line and falling to her knees like she did back in 2018. It was so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts, audibly shouting, “Oh my God!” Desperately searching for her husband, she found Jake jumping up and down with the squad, screaming like their lives depended on it.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, Y/n throwing off her goggles and unclamping her board from her feet to run towards them. The fucking aviator broke the rules and hauled is ass over the barrier to meet her in the middle, catching Y/n when she jumped into his arms. “You fucking did it!!! You did it!!”

Suddenly their little hug was interrupted by her coach, parents, the squad and members of Team USA joining in. The score hadn’t even come in, but it didn’t matter. Y/n just pulled the comeback of the decade. Going from the bottom to the top in the blink of the eye.

“All eyes on Y/n—here she goes dropping in. Good start on the grip to gain momentum as she sets up her first trick. Here’s her signature move as we’ve seen time and time again…two 1080s often called ‘the cork’ and she’s had trouble all day with this—well no problems right there that was beautiful. Now with the backside 900….looking good—if she maintains this then the gold medal is hers. It’s gonna be that last trick, the McTwist, that could make or break this run…..no problems on that frontside 700. All there’s left is the 1260–very difficult we don’t see it in women’s halfpipe but Y/n is determined to land it—can she do it for the gold medal…..AND SHE’S GOT IT!! She landed it—oh my goodness that was incredible! That’s gotta be enough—there’s no doubt in my mind, Y/n L/n has just won her third consecutive gold in the women’s halfpipe after being in last place for two rotations—putting on a show stopping performance in the final run.”

“She knows it too. Members of Team USA and Y/n’s support team including her coach and husband are celebrating with her. She needs higher than a 92.25 to take the lead—will it be enough? It has to be…..A 99.75 SHE’S DONE IT! A QUARTER OF A POINT AWAY FROM PERFECTION, Y/N L/N HAS WON HER THIRD GOLD MEDAL IN THE WOMEN’S HALFPIPE HERE IN ITALY. THE QUEEN OF THE HALFPIPE REMAINS ON THE THRONE.”

Y/n’s lifted onto Jake’s shoulders when the score comes into the uproar of cheers around her. American flags wave in her face, a sea of red, white, and blue against the glistening snow. It was a scene she would remember in the years to come following her retirement from snowboarding.

The Olympic Rings staring back at her along with the American Flag rising to the sound of the national anthem. Gold around her neck, the heaviness leaving a lasting mark as it would be the last time she would be crowned the Olympic champion. Jake clapping with tears streaming down his face as she waved to him in the crowd. Her parents crying with him, the guys and Nat are whistling and jumping up and down. Pete in a side embrace with her coach and former teammates beaming like they were witnessing history.

In fact it was history. Y/n became the first woman to win the gold in three consecutive Olympic Games. From a little girl with a love of snowboarding who missed out in her first trials. To become a silver medalist and most decorated Winter X Games title holder. To a three-time Olympic champion.

She truly was the queen of the halfpipe.

………….

TGM tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan @caitsymichelle13 @poppyalice2001 @cutelittlepotatofry @luckyladycreator2 @americaarse @elenavampire21 @back-tooo-black

[123pixieaod]

Tried to write a fun little fic about why Daniel unfollowed on Instagram Zak, Michael, Fernando, and Nicki, the most random quartet possible, only to end up with this lol

Daniel finally answers a call at just gone 4.30am, Max's time. It's 5.30am, Daniel's time, which admittedly is only marginally better, but maybe the hospital he's in has some crazy Get-Up-And-Seize-The-Day sort of ethos. Although from what Christian has told him, Daniel might not be seizing anything, metaphorically or otherwise, for some time.

"Daniel," Max says as soon as he hears the line clicking through. "How are you? How do you feel? Is your wrist alright? Do the doctors and nurses take care of you, do they speak English, or did Red Bull send a Spanish translator and I hope I have not woken you up and-"

He cuts himself off. There's a sort of stunned silence on the other side of the line. Sometimes, Max thinks his need for Daniel is a bottomless pit, something that has hollowed him out and leaves an ache echoing through him.

"Max?" Daniel says, incredulous. High, drugged up, gone on pain medication. "How did you get into my phone?!"

Max squeezes his eyes shut. His mouth is twisted, making some shape. A smile, a frown? He doesn't know, nobody can see him in his old childhood bedroom.

He wants to be with Daniel. He wants to brush a hand through his curls and run his fingertips along the lines of his faded tattoos like how a child would first begin to trace letters and numbers.

I miss you, he wants to say

I want you

I need you

"I'm not in your phone," he says instead, tone light and soft. "I called you. I am in the Netherlands."

"Oh," Daniel says, as if the fact Max had not been magically transformed into his phone is mildly disappointing. "What are you doing there?"

"We had a race, remember?" Max says. He's stretched out on his old bed. His feet dangle just slightly off the edge, and each year, he's promised a new one, bigger and larger and finally a grown-up bed. But it never materialises and Max has stopped bringing it up now.

The room is unchanged. Around him, the faces of former racing legends watch him, tapped to his wall. Above, stars look down, stuck to his ceiling in haphazard patterns. The day his father got to play God and created universes and cosmos splayed above his head.

"Of course," Daniel huffs good naturedly. "You won, Maxy."

"I know," Max replies softly.

"It was your ninth consecutive win," Daniel continues, his tone strong and proud, as if it's Daniel who has achieved it. Maybe he's so high on meds he thinks it is, that him and Max are some sort of Jeckyl and Hyde being, two sides of the same life. Max doesn't know. A headache is building behind his eyes. He hasn't really slept since Friday, three days previous.

"You're now equalling Sebastian Vettle. If you win the next race, you'll beat the record." Daniel continues before pausing, as if realisation is only just dawning. "I don't think I'll be there."

"No," Max murmurs. "I don't think you will be either."

"My wrist is really fucked," Daniel goes back to his jubilant tone, like a child with the best show and tell in school. "I have a metal plate in it, isn't that neat?"

He laughs. Max closes his eyes, just listening to the sound. "Imagine if it goes off at every airport security, Maxy? How annoying with that be?" He laughs again, the prospect sounding delightful to him in that very moment.

Max hums softly, and then shifts on the bed, turning away from the stars his father hung up for him. Instead, he moves to his side, facing a giant poster of Micheal Schumacher celebrating one of his championships. At the bottom, Max, to great things! MS. He was six. It was one of the best Christmas presents his dad had ever gotten him.

"How do you feel?" He asks. Daniel is humming a tune under his breath, the theme song to some gameshome Max barely recognises. He stops at Max's question.

"Good," he says happily. "I have gained deep clarity."

That shocks a laugh out of Max, as only Daniel, even doped, drugged Daniel, can do. The longing feels physical, the hole never ending in his chest. He closes his eyes, blocking out the stars and racing legends whose shine has faded and whose records he's now beating.

In another life, he thinks, he would be there. He'd be the first face Daniel would see, the first hand he'd get to hold, the first for nearly everything, just like Daniel had been for Max.

But instead they're a time zone apart and Daniel is alone in a country where he can't even speak the language and Max is in his childhood bedroom, surrounded by his family who are fast sleep and utterly oblivious to the fact he's gay, let alone in a relationship with Daniel Ricciardo.

"Clarity," Max forces his mind back on track. "How so?"

"Oh you know," Daniel says with ease. "Cleared my mental space."

Max huffs another laugh. His chest aches, empty. He wonders does Daniel know how hollowed out he is without him.

"Go on."

"Well, I deleted a shit ton of apps. That wellness app you made me download last year? Sorry Maxy, but that went," Daniel makes a popping noise. "And the fertility tracking app Scotty downloaded at his bachelor's party."

"Presumably he just got his and your phones mixed up, right?"

"No Maxy, it was a prank because I -" Daniel breaks away, finally understanding, laughing as if Max has made the funniest joke possible.

"Okay so you cleared up some space on your phone," Max prompts him.

"Oh yes, and then deleted twitter and went to WhatsApp and left about a billion groups and then I went to Instagram, and went through who I followed, and unfollowed tons of people."

"Oh? Did I make the cut?"

Daniel tutts as if Max is being purposefully dense.

"Naturally Maxy. In fact, I sort of debated unfollowing everyone except you, but then figured you might've been pissed at me."

Max can't tell if Daniel is joking or not. He doesn't know which he wants it to be.

"So firstly I unfollowed a bunch of people I had met years ago at business deals and stuff, and then Craig and Rebecca from school because I never really liked them anyway and they definitely never liked me and then Zak because the vibes were Not It and then my high-school teacher who I definitely only ended up following on a dare and -"

"Zak," Max says, picking out the familiar name in the sea of chatter. "As in Zak Brown?"

Daniel hums. "Yeah, the vibes were Not It. And then I also unfollowed Fernando -"

"Alonso?" Max splutters out another laugh of disbelief. "What on earth did he do to you?"

"I don't like how he acts around you."

"Me?!" Max voice goes up an octave. "What? But he's always nice to me Daniel. I like him."

"I know Max, that's the point," Daniel says, and before Max can even begin to comprehend what he means, he's continuing. "And then also Richard, from McLaren because I swear he used to tell Zak everything I did and then Michael, and then Sam, this old hookup, and -"

"Michael," Max cuts in, sure he's mistaken, "as in ..."

"Yeah," Daniel says after a beat. "That Michael."

Max swallows. Michael has been a constant strain on their relationship, the fly in the otherwise smooth ointment. Max had told Daniel he wasn't good for him, he wasn't looking after him. That friendship and business rarely mixed, and that in this case, it had congealed into something of neither, a strange, interdependent relationship which drained them both.

Daniel had said Max hadn't understood it, hadn't gotten how much Michael helped him, how good it was to have a physico who was also his mate. Max replied by saying that as far as he was concerned, Michael was proving himself to be neither.

Jealousy. That was what Daniel had pinned to him, had washed all rationality away with. Max was jealous.

He remembers feeling like he had been slapped. Jealousy. Fucking jealousy.

He never mentioned Michael again.

"But," Max begins slowly, mind whirling. "You had lunch with him last week." Even though you never mentioned it, even though I had to find out through fans' blurry photos.

"Yeah," Daniel draws the syllable out. "But... the vibes were not immaculate."

"Right," Max says, hating how terse the single word sounds. And the vibes were fine when he encouraged you to do that fucked up intermittent fasting? When he recommended yoga and gym sessions instead of therapy?

"And then I unfollowed Nicky Latifi, because unfortunately, he's going to do a masters in London, and following him online will simply remind me of all the missed possibilities I had in the academic world," he goes on.

"Daniel," Max says, trying to force his mind to move on, Daniel has unfollowed Michael Daniel has unfollowed Michael. "You dropped out of school when you were seventeen. In the most loving of ways, I would hardly call you an up and coming scholar."

"Details, Maxy," he says, but then goes quiet, and so does Max. He opens his eyes. His room is painted in shadows, sunrise still distant. The trophies he won as a child are carefully displayed in neat rows, their plaques opaque with dust, now thick and heavy. He remembers winning them, young and already starving for more, remembers the weight of plastic, the way sugary pop soda dried sticky on his skin.

"I think you were right," Daniel says softly. Max nods, face pressed against his pillow.

"I mean about him. Michael."

"I know who you meant," Max murmurs.

"Okay good, because you're definitely not write about my academic prowess, I was one hundred percent on track to be this world's Stephen Hawkens."

Max laughs softly. "It's Hawking not Hawken."

"Once again Maxy, details."

There's another exhale of quiet between them, and outside Max hears the world beginning to rise. Birds waking, their whistles winding their way through the crack in his window.

"I miss you," he says softly, as if the words are barely permitted to be spoken aloud.

"I love you too Maxy," Daniel replies with ease. Then - "you should come. I think it would be nice. If you were here too."

"I think so too," Max says. The longing grows. The trophies are dusty on his shelf, forgotten. His feet hang off his childhood bed. Birds begin to sing.

"So will you?" Daniel persists. Max squeezes his eyes shut.

"I don't know. I do not think you would be saying this if you weren't off your head on pain meds," he tries to joke. His chest aches. Hollowed out, always wanting more than he's allowed.

"Of course I would," Daniel says confidently, even though he ends it with a yawn. "I anyways want you around."

Max keeps his eyes still tightly shut. He tucks his knees up, bringing them to his chest. When he was very young and his parents were still together, he'd do this. Curl up on the bed with his eyes squeezed closed. The door shut, their shouts muffled; as distant as the bird song is to him now.

"Maxy?"

His sister said the same. Maxy? Climbing on his bed, tugging at his arms. What are they talking about? Nothing, nothing, it doesn't matter.

"How's your wrist?" Max asks. He opens his eyes - the room has grown lighter, dawn finally creeping in.

"Good," Daniel says, already forgotten what he said. Like a butterfly, moving onto the next topic, nothing permanent. "Sore. I'm on some strong shit though." He laughs. It sounds so near.

Max imagines it. He could do it. Book the ticket to Spain. It wouldn't even be that bad. People know him and Daniel are mates, and mates visit each other in hospital. And that's if it even comes out, which it might not. Nobody has to know.

"I love you," he blurts out, cheeks warm. Daniel laughs again, soft and delighted.

"Good, because my right hand is currently out of action, so I might need help over the next few weeks with a few particular things."

Max laughs, cheeks warm. He's not being quiet any more. His family can probably hear him through the walls, just like he could hear his parents all those years ago.

He can imagine his sister asking him, echoing their childhood as she questions him on words she's grasped through walls. This time, though, he thinks he will tell her the truth.

"I've heard Spain is very beautiful at the end of August," he says.

Daniel hums, "I've heard something similar, Maxy."

Outside, birds sing. The dawn continues on, filling the emptiness of night.

[send-me-a-puffalope]

I. listened to a video called: "Overthinking Micheal Afton 's Monologue".

And fuck, he's also kicked dog. But it just made me think of Vanessa even more.

Like, ouugghhh. If you have time and want to listen to it, go ahead!! I just. Wanted to say that n other stuff

_________

(I took some screenshots of the video),

These all. I think they could all work for Vanessa so well in the movie.

She's known about the kids, but she has a closer attachment to them. So I don't think it would be that "uncaring", but she is certainly used to it all. She doesn't question, and she's basically casual with the information. She's used to knowing what her Father has done.

That also,, kinda leads me to another thing.

She still calls him "daddy", like a young child would. A child looking for love, care, approval, and just tender domestic family life. But she just can't get that.

Micheal calls William; "Father", as a proper way to address someone. Or it can show his hatred. I think it's both

But it's all connected by the fact, that they are his puppets.

This one, was pointed out as if the music is like. Micheal remembering, and having it be painful for him to remember.

If they were to ever have Vanessa say Micheal's monologue, in the movie. They better add some more emotions to some words. But still keep the whole "creepy tired" voice, that they had for Micheal in the games(I kinda just wanna point out again, much more of a fun fact bout the video: they guy in the video says that Will is more "up to no good" in terms of voice, while Micheal is broken. I can get how they get mistaken for each other, but that's just by looks and slightly their voice. It's the way they are that is different). "Tired" in a sense that she's, like. She's really tired emotionally/etc. and "creepy" because she's just a rotting corpse with like. Stitches to her, that she caused herself (your scooped!Vanessa idea is running all over my head)

But I think the one that she would be sent to free is, the Golden Freddy kid or.. maybe oddly enough the two young Schmidt kids(Garrett & Abby). I dunno tho. I just, like to think that it would work with the themes of Vanessa trying to be kind and a kid again. But, who knows, who she'll be "putting back together" (I'll get back to this one too. It just points so much to many aspects of FNAF I swear to fucking God)

KICKED DOG. SOSO MANY KICKED DOGS IN THIS FUCKING FAMILY—

But yeah. The "I ..." And "asked me to...", just. Ough. Because she was asked, was told, to follow his rules. To clean up "her" mess, and help fix what "she" caused.

"I put her back together." — Abby is connected to Elizabeth due to the Ella suit, and how she generally acts(Sassy, etc. Elizabeth is somewhat characterized in many AUs/Canons, to be sassy). But Vanessa is also connected to Elizabeth as a fact, that she's the daughter of William Afton, one to fall to his lies, get emotionally manipulated (I don't think that most of his kids were normal in a sense that they did things their own way. Circus Baby being made for Elizabeth? Manipulation. Fredbear plush telling CC almost everything, and maybe the one who is talking thru Fredbear is William? Manipulation. Micheal going to SL? Manipulation). Garrett also being connected to Elizabeth due to him needing to be found - being the Puppet(who in some AUs/Canons, is very clown/jester/mime themed. Even Security Puppet is mime like!) - clothing colors(pink and red are similar. Blue pants/skirts) - generally being the reason why some guy named "Mike" is doing Security jobs(maybe even stretching to Vanessa being a police officer)

"I put her back together." — the whole "together", and your idea of Scooped Vanessa, stitching herself back together. → “i.... I put myself together... Just like you would wanted me to do... (small sob/needle pulling + small whimper) ...”

Color symbolism, Blue: serenity, stability, inspiration, or wisdom. / open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. / Honesty & Loyalty (personality symbol of blue)

Just wanted to share the color symbolism. Which is kinda funny- to me. Because, well.

Vanessa is not anything but wisdom and a trained dog. She has wisdom, but will say fully if ever told to do so. That could be stability, but it is not serenity.

She is connected to open spaces, but they all feel so so closed and cluttered. Not open to her. Freedom? As if she has freedom(Vanessa became a Police officer, and it's highly hinted that she did not choose that for herself. Or maybe she did, and William decided to use that in his ways).

She is honest. She is loyal(but very kicked dog loyal)

I also kinda wanna point the "They thought I was you (sigh/etc" that Micheal did. And add that to Vanessa.

Maybe the whole "they thought I was you", could be when the kids saw how Vanessa shot William. If she can shot, what can she do to them? Even if they are robots, their souls are that of her friends, of kids. And anyone can turn out to be bad(e.i: William is seemingly a kind normal guy, but then he's revealed to be a child-murderer). Vanessa is related to William, the Yellow Rabbit. So what can she do, if she can shoot?

And if the Cassidy Afton theory is true in the movie verse. Then, what can happen? His Father killed him, so what can his sister do? She shot their Father. She let their Father kill him.

So, "they thought I was you" could just be how the kids rumored how Vanessa would act towards them. Might just be their fear, but Golden Freddy has reasons to fear her. He might be big, might be a predator that finally killed his killer, his own Father. But - his sister is still here.

He cares, he hates, he fears Vanessa.

“They thought I would act like you... (scoff/sob) ..."

Reason why I added the "(scoff/sob)" is because, it just fits. Her own brother fears her, hates her. Her friends fear her. She lets out more of a cry, but she scoffs because why would she ever act like Him?

Getting this one, because I just like it. But it also fits. Vanessa is also supposed to be dead, but she's not. And that's wrong.

It hurts her to remember about her brother, or like. Her closest confidant. So she goes ahead to talk about herself. How she seemingly survived what was supposed to be her last time breathing.

And it is her last time breathing, but she's still here.

And that's just ... Wrong. It's impossible, scientifically impossible, and just wrong. But she's still here and she's proving it wrong

Your brainrot of her is highly infecting me. It's crazy man

(now I'm thinking of how she and the Schmidt family acted like in the past, <- very heavy on Schmidts = Emily's theory)

Me jumping up and down excitedly reading through this cause I have. So Much. to say about my Vanessa and Elizabeth AU fic but I also don’t wanna spoil anything 👁️👁️ But the Michael SL monologue (Vanessa version) has me in a CHOKEHOLD OH MY LORD. I want them to do Sister Location so bad but idk if the movies are gonna go in that direction (i mean SL is pretty dang important to the FNAF lore unless they end at like ~FNAF 4 ig??? or just skip all the weird/suspension of disbelief parts of SL)

I love love love the idea of “I…I put her back together… just like you wanted me to” changing to “I…I put myself back together…just like you would’ve wanted me to”. IT JUST HITS ALL THE ANGST SPOTS. I’m obsessed with my own scooped!Vanessa idea with her sewing patches of fabric into her own skin but I flip flop between why she does it. It’s between injuries/rot from Ennard that won’t heal because yknow. She’s dead. Or her living after a FNAF 6-esque fire that leaves her with burn scars and she sews patches to cover up the worst of the burn scars. I just. The idea of Vanessa, newly unEnnarded, sobbing alone while sewing herself shut again and talking to her dead dad for comfort because he was all she ever knew…. wondering why she was still alive…………..

(the irony that the one willing/wanting to die being the one to survive despite the fact that she very much Shouldn’t Be Alive)

and the spirits in SL being afraid of Vanessa because she’s an Afton??? Me when I Break Down 😭😭😭💥💥💥💥 Cause Vanessa’s biggest fear is becoming her father and not being able to escape her bloodline/destiny for tragedy.

I do think it’s interesting to consider that if they do SL, Vanessa thinks that William is dead so lines like ‘I’m going to come find you…” doesn’t make sense. I do hope they still give her a variation of the monologue tho cause I think the SL Michael monologue, the Bite of 83, and the FNAF 6 Henry monologue are THE most iconic parts of FNAF.

The main hitting point of SL is the fact that Michael finds his sister down there. If the FNAF movies have Vanessa going down there… well it simply wouldn’t hit as hard if she didn’t have some form of a dead sibling down in that bunker right??? Though ig it would be kind of weird to have Abby almost get Ella dolled in a Baby parallel/reference and then also have an Elizabeth in Baby. Who knows (<- desperately wants to know)

[gods-favorite-exorcist]

I wanna hear more about the baby exorcists, please rant as much as you want/can, thank you!

I totally didn't start sobbing over this but anyway- typos bc it's midnight when writing this and I have long ahh nails

When the exorcists were first created, they were seen as mistakes, mostly because of thier appearance. Nut adam decided to keep them because they looked like Quote "bad ass demon killing sluts" (they were in fact infants)

Adam absolutely loves the kids, spoils them rotten, they're also All autistic i don't make the rules. (Yes I do)

He buys them all plushies and everything

What about food? Yeah they have almost zero clue what normal food tastes like, they've lived off protein powder and other shit like tht bc adam bought it in bulk.

Sera hates the exorcists with a burning passion, she dosen't even consider them true angels, and honestly neither does adam, but sera is the most vocal about it, hating how violent they are, she made it clear ro all the exorcists tht they weren't angels in her eyes. Lute, spending all her time outside the compound with sera and adam, dosen't see herself as am angel either. It's been slowly affecting the other exorcists as well.

After vaggie fell it took her almost a year to see herself as an actual person, and even with how much she hates lute, they're still sisters and vaggie hopes lute gets away from them too.

About thier violent behavior- yeah they're semi feral, Ray eating, stuffed stabbing, feral ass toddlers. Adam genuinely puts lute on a toddler leash in public. It is that bad. Lute is definitely a bit more... disturbed... she used to stab all her stuffies as a kid and would disect rats before eating them. She'll murder smaaall creatures for fun and then giggle and kick her feet while forcing her sister to watch human centipede with her.

They never really got the chance to grow up, they were probably around 14 when the first extermination happened, so just imagine what thy would do to a young teen.

OK here's some random little hcs for the au

All thier handwriting is absolutely shit. They learned from copying Adam's fucked up handwriting

Vaggie cried when she had spaghetti for the first time

They had little cult like matching outfits consisting off a black dress in warm months and a long sleeve black shirt and black pants in cold months, all with a small x on the right side of the chest, they switched over ro thier standard uniforms around 12

They all have the exact same birthday, December 25th. 1167.

Just projecting but lute's never eaten bread before

Lutes the oldest by .75 seconds, there's only a minute different from the oldest and youngest out of the 200 soilders.

Adam is considered thier father, and is treated as such, but the archangel Micheal was the one ro first design them.

Thier original designs were closer to the standard idea of a gardian angel, not the mass of eyes but the standard paintings you'd see in church.

[urnumber1star]

could you tell me a little about Dr. Luis Galo?

YES I CAN I am very sorry this took so long to get to, I've been busy studying for a chemistry test😅

Galo is constantly being explored upon and changing in little ways but the first one is his age. He's not a crusty dusty old man anymore but a guy in his late forties.

Just like Micheal he has a goal to "make the city better" he just has a very flawed way of looking at it. Galo grew up filthy rich with genuinely good parents. (At least to him) They also had a flawed outlook on life which is where he got it from. Galo is obsessed with perfection. Imagine Homelander and Syndrome mixed together it would be him. He wants to be adored and praised for saving the city when in reality he's making it worse. Human experiments, buying out businesses, supplying the outer city with more weapons then they already have, he's half the reason for most of the villains in BRS. Though after a lot of time it becomes a lot less about helping the city and more about preserving his image. He's done too many bad things in his life if anyone finds out he'll be ruined. So he does what he can to make more money to "help" more people in hopes it'll distract people. (It doesn't always work though)

Also fun fact! He has a wife and daughter and I'm trying to figure out what to do with them! :D

Thanks for the ask and sorry for yapping so much I got excited 😅

[2af-afterdark]

I meant either, lol. No worries.

I wonder what kind of interesting job God entrails. Even as the all-seeing omnipotentance, He had a canon role.

Do we play a role of an absolute, supreme judgment? Does Micheal or Gabriel just sit them on an alter to judge whether or not souls stay in Heaven or Hell and Raphael kicks the soul down?

Lol, i can't help but imagine it going like an actual case like in the mortal relam. If only to see the Archs' reactions to such specific pleads.

A simple soul exercising their 'right' to receive personal audience with the "Highest Court," in this case God!MC, to permanently choose if they stay in Heaven as an angel or suffer violence in the infernal below.

Makes me laugh to imagine it working on as an episode of Judge Judy. Sorry for my brain, it gets ridiculous.

Well, I can't exactly say. So far, whb has essentially made God a creator who just seems to have a shit ton of power and is so busy taking care of everyone that He's constantly stressed. However, we can also infer that He was lonely (since that's why He made angels) and probably had a sense of humility (since He was actually overwhelmed by the angels constant attention and adoration). However, we are also told that He was greedy, prideful, etc. He also really, really liked Solomon for reasons we don't 100% know yet. How He felt about Lilith is up in the air.

Also, it doesn't quite seem like whb Heaven and Hell are a form of afterlife. They are different realms altogether.

Fun fact! Based on the fact that Leviathan is shown in the same images as Solomon, we can tell that Leviathan broke out of Heaven before Solomon's arrival. That means that God was still in Heaven at the time of the experiments on the devil children! If He knew about these experiments or not is another question though... whb God doesn't seem to be omniscient so far, so it's possible.

So, like, honestly? I feel God's only job in whb was to be revered and do whatever they wanted. The angels seem to handle the actual responsibilities and the devils are just vibing. Humans.... they're there.

Heaven court sounds really funny though. lol

[popculturebuffet]

HCG: Garfield His 9 Lives Retrospective: The Book (Patreon Review for Emma Fici)

Happy Halloween all you happy people! Yes at long last and after lots of work on these title images i'ts time to talk about Garfield His 9 Lives in this three part retrospective. And yes there's a third one. I'm doing this during spooky season for a few reasons: I already covered garifield's halloween adventure, the lab cat segments in all three versions and primal self in the book are horror and the exploration of diffrent identities garfields had just felt right for a season about putting on costume and being something or someone else for a night.

For those who haven't heard of it Garfield His 9 Lives was a 1984 graphic novel, with two prose pieces, anthology. It has a very simple, brilliant concept: Garfield reflecting on his 9 lives, with each having it's own style ranging from realistic to sketchy to pretty standard stuff for garfield and each story being a different tone. While about a third of the stories are pretty standard for garfield, if putting him in cave settings and space for two of them for some added flair, the bulk do whatever the hell they want: we've got a full on noir story with realistic cats, a stephen king feeling horror story, a sci fi horror escape from a testing lab, a goofy modern fable with vikings, a sugary sweet children's fairy tail and even an out and out three stooges homage.

9 Lives is a great book, and well worth picking up or reading on the internet archive (which is down at the time of this article). It's a gloriously creative concept and I wish garfield was allowed to experiment more like this. What makes it even more specail, besides getting i'ts own tv special we'll talk about next time is that Jim Davis wrote 2/3 of the book himself, likely still collabing with is artists with only Babes and Bullets, The Garden, and Space Cat not being written by Davis. It shows off an incredible creative flexibility you wouldn't expect from someone whose always come off extremley corprate in how he built his strip, with said strip all but confirmed to be ghostwritten these days. It's a strange, unique bolt of creative lightning.

This retrospective will cover this and the other two versions: The 1988 Special adapting some segments (with Babes and Bullets getting it's own special in 89 i've already covered) and switching out a few. There was also a third take on this concept at the end of Boom's 2010's Garfield Comic Book that i'll be capping off this trilogy which isn't as well known and I hadn't read till getting ready for this trilogy. So if all this sounds intresting then join me under the cut as we see that when you've got 9 lives baby you've got 9 ways to loose

As a heads up all of these photos are taken from my phone as Internet Archive is down as i'm writing this and I had no other way to get scans.

Written by Jim Davis, illustrated by Paws, Inc. staff

Yup your seeing this right the book begins with a short bit portraying Jim Davis as God

Yeah.. that's how this book begins. The special uses a similar gag, we'll get to that next time but in the book paws inc itself is used for the creation myth of cats.. including whoever this lady is in a bill lives sweater

This is a refrence to comic strip Bloom County, which had previously killed off one of i'ts biggest stars bill the cat. Bill was created as the most unmarkatable version of garfield imaginable

Naturally as it tends to when you write a strip that's a haven for snarky dorks, Bill became a success and the strip rolled with it: he's been a movie star, dead, a three time presidential canditate, an evanlecial preacher, a rockstar, Donald Trump, the consort of presidential cat Socks Clinton, a brainwashed pawn of Micheal Eisner, and many, many more I don't have time to get into. He was also in Bloom County's revivial revealed to be Garfield's actual son

Fun fact I pulled that from one of my own posts, a review of a wish for wings that work. I will refrence the fact garfield is a deadbeat dad any time I get the chance. The best part about this joke is it's entirely in character for Garfield to be a horrible parent. Though I bet arelene at least acknowledges her kid.

Anyways I just love this nod as it shows Jim didn't take the mockery of Garfield being merchandised to hell personally and it's a cute nod.

Everyone complains when God Emperor Jim Davis decrees cats get 9 lives when everyone else gets one. He has a good reason for it though.

It's that that makes the joke work, this weird wonderful image of Jim Davis as a cat god man cat. It's a cute opener that gets us into our proper 9 lives, each introduced by garfield himself and I like how each bit does inform a bit about his personality.

Written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Davis, Mike Fentz, and Larry Fentz

Our first segment takes us back to Caveman times, and is drawn by Mike Fentz and Larry Fentz. The Fentz' worked at Paws Inc, working in the liscensing division doing airbrushed art for story books, comics and what not and thus do a bulk of the art here. They do a great job perfectly aping jim's style with the watercolors and air brush giving them an extra pop, a nice break from the flat coloring most comic strips get.

Cave Cat on it's own.. is fine. I'm not a fan of caveman times set stories, or ones where characters get stranded in a lost world type place. I love a good dinosaur, dinosaurs are the best, but cavemen...

It's exactly what you'd expect from "Garfield in Cavemen times" minus Jon being his cave owner. Which is something I do like and carries throughout the book and the special: While we see Odie twice as a bookened, here as Big Bob a giant dinosaur that kills cave cat with the worlds first and last frap tree playing fetch, we don't see a reincarnated Jon. It allows the lives to breathe and be there own thing. Jon isn't getting reincarnated through time and Odie's two counterparts can be chalked up to "genetic ancestor" and "coincidence". I wouldn't mind using counterparts entirely, but I do like trying to do something diffrent, break out of the mold and see what garfiled would be like divorced from his supporting cast and life.

Cave Cat exists, it has one or two good gags, and that's about all I have. Next

written by Jim Davis and Mike Fentz; illustrated by Fentz

The vikings is fucking weird and I love that. So one of Garfield's past lives was a viking, just like Ralph Wiggum, and got frozen in present day. The vikings try to pillage, get beaten down by modern society, get normal jobs and it's .. honestly kinda funny. And i'ts even funnier seeing them break out of their mundane lives and disappear into the mists after Garfield The Orange finds their sacred otter. It's not among my faviorites here, but as I write about it I can't help but admire it's weird style, realistic beautifully drawn characters, and bonkers nature. Does it make sense as a reincarnation? not really. Is it fun... yes.

written by Ron Tuthill, illustrated by Kevin Campbell

I can't find much on Ron Tuthill but Babes and Bullets is a pretty solid short detective story that sneaks in some great jokes while it's ad it from the name Sam Spayed itself, to the obligtory thug roughing him up being his landlord. If any of that sounds familiar, you too have clearly seen the full animated special, which I reviewed previously and might still be my faviorite garfield thing. The story is about the same: A widow with instant chemistry with Sam shows up, he solves the mystery of her husbands death and his secretary turns out to have been in love with the victim but innocent. A lot of the jokes, plot beats and what not are the same and I was shocked on this read by just.. how much was done beat for beat and how much it fit, having enough goofy stuff for garfield but still feeling like a decent detective story, if one where you don't get all the clues as you go which blows but I get it being hard to do that. This is the longest story in the collection but it's still fairly short.

There are a few changes from the special: the big one is that everyone in this version.. is a cat, a realistically drawn one at that.

I"m also proud to say this is the first corpse in garfield history! Hooray! But yeah for the specail everyone else is a human for some reason likely because they didnt' want everyone to be garfield sized. The realistic part is likely budget as it was likely faster to do the garfield house style than this. This style is also mildly offputting. Later furry detective work blacksad got the ballance down better between human and animal, being realistic but not so much it's weird.

The other is that it's a battle for a reverened position here rather than academia. The change.. dosen't affect the story for the most part with only the ending, the culprit praying for forgivness, having a touch more impact in this version. All in all a pretty good time.

written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Davis, Mike Fentz, and Larry Fentz

The Exterminators is fun and one of my faviorites. I'll rank all of these at the end, but this is a highlight.

The Exterminators is a Three Stooges parody, and while I've never watched the Three Stooges, I still get the gist enough: Three idiots, one smarter than the others, do slapstick. It's simple, it works and it fits Jim Davis penchant for slapstick like a glove. I adore the opening

And there client lady in general is a LOT of fun, from this scene to her "oh boy here we go" reaction to the exterminators to her reaction when garfield waves around a shot gun

This.. this is a true gift. Garfield's first corpse and now his first shotgun. Shotgunfield.

The ending is also fun as the cats argue over who has to eat the mouse, only for them to make the client eat it.. and she realizes mice tastes pretty good and adorably goes off with her new best pals. It's a weirdly heartwarming ending to this delightful slapstick nonsense.

written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Gary Barker and Larry Fentz

This ones' a bit of a tonal shift, notable not only for making it to the specail with only one bit of censorship but for being a Stephen King kind of horror/sci fi goverment conspiracy story. I mean he dosen't do them often but you get that vibe. A cat is tested on and tries to escape disection. It's simple, harrowing and beautifully drawn

As you can guess this is the part that didn't make it to air and I feel makes it more effective. The twist ending, that the experiments turn the poor cat into a dog who easily evades protectoin is fatnastic. I'ts short, harrowing , has lots of nice shading to really set the grim tone of this one. It's excellent stuff and i'm shocked they went with something like this for this anthology. And in any other garfield product it'd easily be the most experimental, unsettling thing here, while still being pretty mild.. but well... you likely know what's coming. Before that though

written and illustrated by Dave Kühn

The Garden is a trippy , 3d modeled surreal fairy tail.. sandwitched inbetween two of the darkest stories in garfield history. Why Jim Davis decided to put it here I have no idea and it's instead put between the more jokey "King Cat" and "Court Musician" in the special, where it fits a lot better. It's a silly goofy fairy tale about a little girl named chloe who has a great design, I love the big scarf and bigger hat, her Orange Kitten who never grew up, and the surreal wonderland her uncle todd built. It's a cutesy story and not entriely for me, but I admire it's story book sense of wonder, unqiue visual style and it's ending where after being warned to not open a box on a checkered toadstool they get real close.. thend on't, deciding Uncle Todd's trust is more important. There's no big dark twist like you'd think, Uncle Todd didn't make this world using the blood of the fraggles and the bones of the care bears. It's just a cute story about a child and her best friend who happens to be garfield.

written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Jim Clements, Gary Barker, and Larry Fentz

So we're finally here: Primal Self. The only one of these 9 lives people talk about often. Which makes sense I mean... the ending of this one is horrifying, shocking and well done horror. It works well yet still feels horrifically jarring in a Garfield collection which previously had him as Moe or palling around with a child in a fantasy world. I'ts not entirely out of step but I can see how seeing garfield like this

Is going to be a lot. Primal Self is awesome though.. a tense simple horror story about a cat being confronted by the spirit of it's primal instincts, the domesticated meets the horrifying reality of nature.

The results.. are not pretty

That last shot is just chilling.. this poor animal about to kill it's person simply because some horrifying primal.. force awakened something dark and terrible inside it. It's a well done bit of horror. Is it the best fit for this book... probably not. But on it's own merits i'ts excellent and chilling, with a scratchy unfomortable yet raelistic style that fits the horrifying tone.

written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Gary Barker and Valette Hildebrand; color by Doc Davis

I love this: it makes perfect sense that in a book about garfield.. his own current life would pop up and I like that Davis used the format to tell a story that would be possible in the comic strip but take months of panels up.

So we get what's essnetially Garfield: Year One. We see his origins being born in the back of an itallian restraunt hinted at by the arc with his mom, as well as WHY they were seprated: he would've eaten everything otherwise and they share a fairly tender goodbye.

He then ends up in the pet shop where we meet my faviorite one off garfield character old eli

It used to be that lady what attacked Garfield, Jon, Odie and Some Guy when they were all stuck in a curtain

but come on.. how can you not want to take him home and bury him. He's a sweetheart. He's the snoopy's awkward teenage nephew of Garfield Characters and like Snoopy's Awkard Teenage Nephew he'll never be far from my heart

Thankfully Jon walks in to take garifled home, and Garfield clinging to his face gets Jon to accept his new cat overlord. Here they retcon Odie's origin to streamline it instead of being brought in by Jon's best friend Lyman who either was killed by garfield's clearly insastiable blood lust and kept in the basement or went off into the wilderness to take photos of wild life depending on who you ask.

He trains his new brother well, and we get Odie saving garfield from an ice cream truck which makes Garfiled greatful.. but not so greatful he won't spin it for his grandkits a decade later.

Garfield is a charming segment that's got some great jokes, a solid story and a nice bit of worldbuilding. I'll even take the lyman erasure as it's telling only 5 years into the strip he was already being erased from history. I mean it's so easy to do you can just take out that first panel and that that about sums up Odie's origins and Garfield's thoughts on his new pal.

written and illustrated by Jim Clements

Our finale.. is kind of a weak one to go out on. Garfield's in space and deals with a lite vgersion of red dwarf. We get a good gag or two: his defenses are a cat paw.. that's literally declawed, his computer is a computrized odie, and the vending machine dosen't even work. With this one , like Cave Cat in hindsight but more on that next time, the special version doing this but better soured me on it. It's not bad , it's nciely drawn and I really like the ending

But said ending dosen't quite feel like a proper climax for the anthology the way the ending of the film version is. STill it's not horrible or anythign it's just kinda... there.

RANKING

Since a certain someone will ask me to do this if I don't and because it'll be fun, i'll be ranking the stories for each version, then for the final BOOM studio version ranking the stories from all three versions in one big pile.

Primal Self: The short run time, sheer brutality and gorgeous art put it up top.

The Exterminators: it's wacky good fun with a great guest character and garfield with a shotgun.

Lab Animal: Tense and gorgeously drawn. An easy pick.

In the Beginning: A cute way to start the book

Babes and Bullets: A solid detective story, the adaptatoin simply does it better

The Vikings: Didn't think this one would be so high but it's just goofy fun

The Garden: Nothing I hate, just not really for me.

Garfield: I like it a lot it's just the other stuffs a touch more creative

Cave Cat: I'M NOT GOOD WITH PREHISTORIC STUFF OKAY?

Space Cat: A bit of a whimper to end on

So with that we can close the book.. and turn on the tv as next time I look at garfield's OTHER 9 lives, seeing what they replaced, what they changed about the segments they kept, and why this specail is so damn well loved. Spoilers: I'ts because i'ts really good. Thanks for reading.

[devildomimagines]

Hi! I read your caretakerMc and love it! But I have an idea, hopefully you write this, but it's okay if you don't! What if Mc was a subrace of human that were specifically created to care for baby/child angels (And to produce more angels ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) with the help of archangels) but after the fall they most died. So when Luke and Mc met that ancient bond consumed both of them very quickly, causing Luke to need Mc. How'd the boys react to this and Micheal trying to take Mc to the celestial realm?

Hi Anon! It's a really interesting idea, I'm sorry it took a while for me to get to it! I hope you're still around to enjoy this.

Here's a link to the work they are referencing if interested: Demon Brothers and a Competent Caretaker MC

Away to the Celestial Realm

Michael had made his case that you were needed in the Celestial Realm. Luke was suffering after bonding with you and then subsequently being separated from you. No one would deny that they wanted to ease Luke's pain but if you went to the Celestial Realm what would happen? (The older brothers are under the Read More)

Belphegor

At first, he's quiet.

The last time he had dissented, it got him locked in the attic "for his own good" he's been told.

He didn't mind the little angel during the exchange program but now that he was talking you away...

Belphie could argue that he would feel the same kind of pain if you left so what's the difference if it's him or Luke?

He'd fake it to the moon and back if it kept you nearby.

Goes to sleep hoping this is all just a bad dream.

Beelzebub

Even after everything he's been through, he couldn't deny Father's will.

If you were made to live with the Angels for Luke's sake then he really couldn't fight it, it was already destined.

Tries to comfort his brothers into accepting, a fight would devastate their family again and he could not imagine going back to living as they were before you came into their lives.

The heartache in the House of Lamentation rivals their fall.

He didn't have strong feelings about Michael before but this has definitely soured how Beel thinks about him.

It's some kind of cruel to have to watch you leave to the one place he cannot follow.

Asmodeus

Pouty, pouty, pouty.

He's huffing at everything. The smallest frustrations have unwound him like never before.

Emotionally volatile but won't talk about it directly.

He throws himself into his old habits of going out clubbing and avoiding the issue entirely.

One day he corners you to do a consent check, "Do you really want to do this and abandon me?"

After explaining that you're not abandoning them, but going to help Luke. Asmo accepts your decision but it still hurts, a lot.

Satan

One of the most vocal objectors.

And the fact that Lucifer is just going along with it infuriates him more.

He thought, after everything they went through, that his older brother was someone with more respect than this.

He's put together speeches and presentations to make pleas to Diavolo to stop the process as the most powerful in the realm.

Diavolo declines to make a stance and it makes Satan dive into the Anger he's been staving off.

It's so frustrating to be so powerless. It's worse because you say you want to go so he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Leviathan

Dejected.

He's gone through all the stages of grief and has moved on to acceptance but he's a shell of his former self.

Literally a walking ghost. All the vitality he had when talking about his current obsession is gone.

Without his Player 2, games don't feel as fun, and watching anime becomes dull with no one to share it with.

Levi observes his brothers falling into old habits and he accepts that he'll just have to keep to himself like he did before you came into their lives.

He's already bitter with how lonely the next century will be and he envies the angels that get to live in your presence.

Mammon

Another loud objector.

Mammon is willing to fight for you to stay but falters when you say you want to go help Luke.

He stands with Satan, nodding and adding bits and pieces to the prepared speeches to try to convince Diavolo to stop this.

He's got nothing against Luke, hell he even came to consider the angel something like a little brother during the exchange program with how often Luke was attached to your hip.

Mammon's the one asking questions like; "Where would they be staying while they are there?" "How long are they expected to be there?" "Can they leave at any time?" "Can we come visit them?"

The answers weren't promising and if it weren't for his brothers starting to splinter, he would have kept fighting.

Lucifer

He closes himself off for a while; emotionally, and physically locking himself in his office.

Flashbacks of falling come and go.

Now he's sworn to Diavolo's side, would he be free enough to speak his mind or does he have to accept this for the sake of peace between the realms?

You said you wanted this but did you really know what it meant? To be this specific subrace of human, going into the Celestial Realm... right into Michael's arms...

The pen he had been handling snapped in half.

Of course, Luke needed your comfort, but Lucifer knew that this was Michael's plan.

If his brothers weren't already aware of this implication then he wasn't going to tell them. It'd only make matters worse.

Lucifer starts thinking about how he can pull on contacts and resources in the Celestial Realm to check on you.

He’d even add more work onto his plate to become the designated Devildom representative for the chance to be able to visit the Celestial Realm.

While the others are falling into old habits, so is he. He will shoulder this himself to make sure you will be ok.

[startanewdream]

Read your post about Ginny getting the diary in her 5th year. And I just can’t stop thinking…

Warning this is going to be long (pls ignore my English errors, its not my first language, not even my second😅)

Just imagine Harry simping for her, while she is simping for him too. Her telling Tom about her feelings and that he is „the best friend of my brother and the chosen one, how many clichés do I need ??“

And Tom being the same age as her actually simping for Ginny too ( the soul) so it decides Ginny could be a perfect new „holder“ for him.

Because Diary!Tom doesn’t need to come back „from death“. If we stay with canon everything happens but year two. (Ginnys first year)

So in year four (Harrys) Voldy comes back, but Lucius (pretty dumb Lucius) gives the Diary to Draco who loses it, which is the reason why Ginny got it. (Because in Ginnys 5th year Malfoy sr is in Azkaban)

In his second and third year (Harrys) Ginny is still very umm well embarrassing, clumsy and very shy to Harry. In Year four (Harrys) she is already popular around other people, but when it comes to Harry, she can’t act normal. Until that thing with Voldy happened and Ginny started to see Harry in a complete other light.

He was always the boy who lived, someone unreachable, which made her always think less of herself (not that Harry ever made her feel like that!!). Why would the boy who lived, the prettiest boy she ever laid her eyes on, like some poor, ugly redhead like her?

That illusion disappeared very soon, when in Summer 1995 Ginny finally SAW Harry.

(Which made her fall even harder tbh)

But she started to act like a normal human being around him, started to make fun with and of him, they got closer as friends and when Sirius died, she was there for him.

Which ding ding ding

Made Harry fall in love with her (and the fact she was a great flyer and determined and competitive like him)

So its Harrys sixth year, he is pining sm on Ginny, who is dating Dean, because she needs to get over Harry. He obviously doesn’t see her as Rons Sister anymore, but as a close friend. And she can’t risk that friendship. So Dean was the best option.

The only one who really knows about her feelings is Tom.

Tom, her other best, also attractive friend. (I am actually a Tom/Ginny hater, so this is weird to write for me)

Ginny doesn’t really understand, why she can talk and see Tom, but anybody else isn’t able to do the same.

Tom tells her that she is special, not like other girls.

She doesn’t act foolish around boys, (Ginny thought about Harry and how she acted around him, but didn’t say it out loud), she didn’t mind dirt on her face (actually she did, but not during a game. It’s after every training session and every Match, she would run to the bathroom and tries everything to clean herself up and complains about it with Demelza and Katie), she didn’t have thousands and thousands of ex-boyfriends (she thought about Neville and her first kiss, Micheal and her first snog, Dean and her first sexual experience), she doesn’t wear makeup (well, duh, make up is expensive, but she wished she could) and she doesn’t care about what she is wearing (That hurt Ginny actually. She did care, but she couldn’t just tell her parents she wants new clothes , could she?)

But she still loved Tom, became even obsessed with him, which weirded her out. But she just couldn’t resist him anymore.

And Harry?

Harry was sure he couldn’t deny his feelings for Ginny anymore. So watching her silently and being happy that Ginny consider him as a close friend was enough for him. He knew he couldn’t risk their friendship and lose her, if he told her about his feelings.

Yet, watching her made Harry realize that something was wrong with her. She started to act cold distant and buried herself in her diary.

Harry and Dumbledore are still searching for Horcruxes and still trying to find them.

Harry was still obsessed about Malfoy jrs secret mission. Harry was still trying to find out why the muggleborn Hogwarts students were turned into stone and thought it has something todo with Malfoy(Yk because in year two nothing happened)

When Harry finds the Diary, he couldn’t resist but tried to read what Ginny wrote in it ( as he was always watching her, he knew immediately that it belonged to her), even though he felt shit about it.

Only to find out it was a horcrux. (And when Tom Riddle told him his name, Harry needed to act foolish and curious, so Voldemort wouldn’t think he already knew about what was going on)

Harry, not thinking about it, left the diary in his room and told Dumbles about what he found out. Both go back to Harrys Dorm only to find his things destroyed and thrown away.

The whole finding the chamber happens and Harry finally arrives there (alone). He finds Ginny in a blood circle with ancient runes and sees her acting not like herself.

And it finally hits Harry that Voldemort tries to obsesse her, like he did in Harrys 5th year. He fights against Tom Riddle who comes out of the diary , fights against the basilisk and finally, finally defeats the Horcrux (little does he know that Tom split himself again and made Ginny his new Horcrux)

And that’s when Harry snd Ginnys first kiss happens.

Its desperate and out of shock. Harry is still bleeding and poisoned by the basilisk snd fawkes didn’t heal him yet, but Harry was just so happy so relieved he didn’t care. Ginny didn’t either tbh.

Both cried telling the other that they were so afraid, asking each other if it was okay that they kissed, that they didn’t want to risk their friendship, if the other really had deeper feelings for them.

And when Ginny showers that night, she doesn’t see the scar under her left breast.

And yeah…

Well that could be a beginning of that cool AU👀

I love this idea so much right now, so thank you for making me write/think about this😅

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 😍

I hadn't thought about mixing the two ideas but it was just *so perfect*!

I really loved all the insights here into how it would have happened in Ginny's 5th Year and everything made so much sense. This was just what I was trying to conceive, thank you so so so much for sharing this!

[recomvery]

So I am reading SOLITAIRE of Alice (the same author of heartstopper), and I was mesmerized by how Micheal and Tory know themselves ! And I am stuck here , I feel empty? Like I live a life but it's like I am not even there! Yes I have a completely normal life , I have friends, average family, but why do I feel so damn empty ?

It frustrates me that I don't know how I am , what personality I want to have like I'm into dark academia/old money aesthetic, but is it really me? , am I an optimist or pessimist? . I can't even choose or decide what I want , I'll be like :no i don't want this , but after : well i really want it now!... Knowing yourself is really a good thing.

Hello dear ♡ Here is my advice:

It sounds like you might be young still, and not knowing yourself at a young age is a completely normal experience. Maybe journaling could help you? You could buy a little journal and a pretty pen and do journaling prompts like:

What are the things I like? What do I enjoy doing? Which music do I enjoy, what makes me happy? Which clothes make me happy, which series and movies make me happy, who/ what am I a Fan of? Which colors do I enjoy, which aesthetics do I enjoy, which people do I like? What are some hobbies I wanna try? How can I get to know myself better ? What food do I enjoy, random facts about myself, where do I wanna travel one day, how do I imagine my future house one day, you could draw some self portraits even if you're not into drawing

I also wanna tell you that what you're into and what you like will change with age a lot. You're still you, even if you like different things.

This is supposed to be fun, discovering yourself and learning and experimenting, so don't overthink it either, don't stress yourself ♡

[rumble-aint-a-rumble-without-me]

the johnny and fnaf lore thing from 🪸 anon is giving me ideas- like i can just imagine him ranting about remnant or the mimick or smth. or like binging all of matpat’s theories in order. or talking about the accuracy of the fnaf movie. or listening to a playlist of all the fan songs

(fun fact: i wrote an essay on the 2018 version of fnaf lore in fifth grade for our principal to read. i vividly remember writing “boom, mic drop: the crying child is also micheal afton!” 💀)

-🪷

I’m sure that essay is something! My knowledge of FNAF is limited to the movie, sorry to disappoint, and I kinda only watched it for Matthew Lillard- but I certainly think the lore, from what I’ve seen, is really cool!

[mushroom-circles]

Listen I haven’t watched 9-1-1 in like a year but. AU - you can hear what your soulmate is thinking but only if it’s absentminded/not conscious

Athena & Micheal used to be soulmates but started hearing other ppls voices like overlapping radio stations, Athena usually hears recipes from Bobby and the first time she heard “and now for the secret ingredient: love. Also know as an extra teaspoon of cocoa” she laughs for the first time since her and Micheal had the divorce conversation- Bobby usually hears police codes or Athena turning cases over in the back of her mind, especially the ones she has personal history with, used to hear his wife but yk how that ended up and he hadn’t heard anything but silence until he started opening up to people bc the universe is a bitch who knows what’s best for you even if you don’t

Listen. Eddie used to hear Shannon’s to-do lists for every day and yes it did make him feel both connected to Chris and like a bad father why do you ask? During/after the tenseness and then her leaving for her mom and staying gone he started hearing fun or “fun” facts like that mini golf used to be called Tom Thumb golf or that earwax is actually a type of sweat (??) Buck hears Eddie’s worries bc I love that man but he do be an absent minded worrier, some of it not bad like wondering if Chris is going to bring up mummification practices at dinner AGAIN and he’ll have to pretend like he doesn’t turn green bc he wants to encourage his kid’s interests but some of it heavy like the Texas period where he had three jobs and was worried about bills and not being there for his kid even if he was more present than he has been since he left for the army

Maddie hears hypothetical questions and pop culture references. She’s convinced Doug is her soulmate bc maybe he takes her to the movies their first date and mentions all these Hollywood classics that she’d never seen? And even when it turns out he doesn’t want to experience them WITH her he just likes to talk about something she’ll listen to and won’t have any opinions about she kind of smooths it over, confirmation bias yk. But he never once asks her about her plans for the future and there’s. That. And when shit happens she thinks about the latest question her soulmate would’ve asked her maybe as a distraction or something for the future? By the time she meets Chim she’s made plans for almost anything including time travel, zombie apocalypse, and suddenly becoming allergic to bubble gum. Chim thinks about a lot of different things ok. He swears he and his soulmate kept each other motivated bc Maddie would be thinking encouraging things while studying for a test or quiz in Anatomy (or another nursing class what am I a paramedic?) and realize they were both if not studying the exact same thing having a theoretical study session. It would move on to Maddie maybe thinking about things not to do? Even writing this is ugh but. Trying not to make Doug mad in a thousand and one little ways until it stops and he’s so scared bc what happened? But when he hears her running through her checklist/procedure for getting out of there, getting a little more foolproof every time, it’s the biggest fucking relief because he couldn’t do shit when he didn’t even know who she was. When he has his first random run of the mill thought since what was presumably Maddie’s residency he cries

And Karen and Hen!! Karen definitely gets a lot of statistics at first I think, from Hen’s job as an insurance agent and then when she starts studies her ass off to be a paramedic yk that’s the only thing for a while. And well. Don’t know if the infidelity still happens in this universe but can you imagine how chrushing it would be to have one of the thoughts she hears after she and Hen are married be don’t tell Karen or smthg and then have that be the way she finds out abt Eva and Hen meeting up? The angst. Hen hears calculations and know her soulmate is going to be brilliant even before she starts getting into the serious stuff bc sometimes they’ll skip like a record and she’ll go from one side of the equation to the other with no thought in between (which does fuck with Hen sometimes maybe? Like why is she only getting incomplete thoughts? Are they not fully soulmates/is something changing (bc YES in this universe soulmates can change bc you are an ever evolving person and so is everyone else, you’re not going to be perfect for the same person your whole life) and maybe that’s part of the events that lead to Eva happening? And like obviously it’s not Karen’s fault it’s just a sign that humans are emotionally lead and messy etc.) and when she meets literal rocket scientist Karen everything just kind of… clicks. And if they do have the Eva mess to go through I think they should both still have to work for each other? Like yes you’re soulmates but that doesn’t mean you just accept that and never worry about your relationship again, you have to adapt evolve grow with hardships and joy. (I like to think that Karen has at least one “well of course it’s not rocket science or else I’d be able to DO it” thought every time someone says that phrase and it always makes Hen warm and fuzzy because that was part of how they found each other)

Anyway many thoughts for a fic I will probably never write

[ey-there-little-guy]

I think that maybe having size shifter Tubbo as being able to change others before he can change himself is sort of symbolic of his character? Maybe it’s emotional/how he sees the person too so one day Tubbo and Technoblade brush hands and the techno shoots up to like 200 ft and Tubbo almost gets crushed or he goes to hold micheal and the little piglin becomes utterly miniscule. And Tubbo tries to stop touching people but that just makes it worse whenever he DOES

OOH, that's an interesting idea!! :D Sorry I don't understand what you mean by it being symbolic, that's probably my bad if you want to elaborate (which you don't have to, just if you do!). But, the idea Tubbo spontaneously learns he can shift others sizes before he relearns how to sizeshift himself or something like that sounds like shenanigans waiting to happen. <3

cTubbo is a pretty logical person, he doesn't tend to let his full thoughts or feelings of someone be known to them, so when his sizeshifting abilities start making other people shrink and grow upon physical contact? If that person understands sizeshifting and Tubbo enough to take a guess at what their new (temporary) size says about the way Tubbo views them?? And if they don't understand at all and are freaking out over the change? Both are good. Oooh, depending on who, he's gonna have to acknowledge some feelings I think. But he doesn't want to so he tries to stop any 'situations' by pulling away from touch, but he can't avoid that forever and that's peak angst material.

That idea for Techno is fucking epic angst too, idk it reminds me of a scene from a tubbo animatic (Under the surface, one of the best ctubbo animatics ever imo) where Techno is shown to seem giant for a second and klsdjflkjdfkg dang, you're so right about that.

Oh gosh if Michael was getting smaller and smaller and smaller like that, I can see Tubbo feeling a bit freaked out, that's his son!! And he's not even able to shrink and join Michael! What if that worry makes Michael shrink even more and Tubbo isn't sure how to handle it, but he'll do everything to keep Michael safe and happy until he's goes back to normal size.

On the flip side there's also the possibility Michael could grow out of love, emotions are complicated and I like mixing up how they're expressed :] imagine a mini-giant sized 'little guy' who wants to play swords with you or hold his chicken. Just, Tubbo loving him so much it makes his heart feel so full and it manifests as Michael getting big enough to reach the top shelves he shouldn't touch stuff on, lol.

Same with Tommy, tbh, could grow from love or shrink from it, if Tubbo has been particularly worried for him lately. I don't think Tommy would like being very small ("no it's not just cause I'm shorter than you Tubbo, although that does feel fucking unnatural") but if he's somewhere safe with Tubbo I bet they could have loads of fun!! It's Tommy's turn for hand cuddles.

Hmm, Quackity and Ranboo would grow but for different complicated reasons, Ranboo might even grow more than Quackity did.

And the fact Tubbo doesn't want people to be shrinking and growing because of him, trying to bottle it up and making it so even little brushes of contact have disastrous effects... Oh my goshhh <3 he's gonna have a much harder time than he already does.

I went on a bit of a ramble but this was interesting to think about. ^-^ these ideas for sizeshifter!tubbo are so fun, thank you for the ask!! :D

[seraphiteshaven]

I like this so I'm going to write headcanons for it. Obviously. Jmart is this stupid little locally owned store in the Scottish Highlands sorry I don't make the rules. They get a fair few customers to keep afloat, which is nice, and the shop is friendly with warm lighting that's easy on the eyes!! The two of them take turns doing jobs like baking bread and ordering new products but most of the time it's Jonny stocking shelves and Martin at the register. Not like they both couldn't do the other's work, but Jon is just trash at not being really rude to customers. He's the type to ask stupid questions while a customer is buying alcohol and baby formula like "Odd choice. Tell me, what struck you that the idea of drinking while parenting an infant was a splendid idea?" or something else along those (British) lines that tells everyone he thinks the customer is a piece of shit. Headcanon Martin keeps the shop cool. Really cool. So cool in fact that on super hot summer days when the door opens you'll see little bits of steam and condensation.- Not so much that its uncomfortable, but more that you should definitely wear a sweater. Jon freezes his ass off and ends up smuggling in like ten jumpers. Jon is absolutely amazing at catching shoplifters. I think Jmart probably has like two cameras but they're both really grainy and old so Jonny just has to do it himself. He catches some kid stealing a sandwich and before he can look her in the eyes and tell her exactly how many years she could go to prison Martin pulls up, pays for the sandwich, and.. whoops... they've adopted some scrangly girl named Melanie.. Melanie helps keep people from shoplifting by looking super threatening she's so silly. Sasha and Tim are long time friends of Martin and Jon and while their work mainly consists of sitting around and drinking the horrible coffee Jon brews(and then the tea Martin makes) they pull their weight. I imagine there's probably no official attire or uniform, but Tim and Sasha make it a point to wear matching cheesy Hawai'ian shirts. Basira comes around to eat donuts but later investigates Jon under the suspicion that he murdered some old man out in the woods. Jon has absolutely no idea who tf Leitner is. !!!CONTENT WARNING, ELIAS!! EW YUCK!!!!! Elias would probably be the town mayor, and he wants to build up more residential districts. Leitner and Gertrude ran against him for election and he kill them both and then vaguely pointed in the shop's direction like 'uh the gays did it!!' Peter Lukas is a ship captain Elias secretly has a relationship w. Nothing else needed I hate these old men. Content warning over Elias is gone I prommie

I imagine Georgie would come in and do college prep at one of the tables by the window and bring the Admiral, which would then devolve into Admiral running around the shop and being dubbed 'Avid mice catch(and releaser)' because he's bad at pest control.

Georgie and rat Melanie immediately fall in love and kiss kiss! Diversity win!! Jmart totally has different pastries at the counter like how supermarkets have candy at the checkout and ngl that shit smell delicious. Sasha is the best baker don't even lie to yourself Martin and Georgie could help but they have nothing on her. Daisy comes in one day, looks at all the queers and just demands a job. Like shes at the counter hounding Sasha for a job and Tim is just standing there like 'mhm oh wow rlly ykw YOURE HIRED!!" and before Sasha can ask about telling Martin or Jon Tim just hushes her and suddenly Daisy is on payroll and she's really good at gardening (ok that's a lie just digging) so she makes the flower beds outside look pretty

Micheal is this stupid little loser with semi long blonde hair who comes in to buy the cinnamon rolls and Micheal distortion is a fuckwad who makes fun of Jon for having acne scars and recommends a dermatologist. ok that's it bye!!

I was talking to my roommate about the Magnus Archives and accidentally came up with a kinda hilarious au idea.

So JonMartin is often shortened to Jmart which I thought kinda sounded like a shop they would own together or something.

So, hear me out, JonMartin au where they own a store called Jmart and all the avatars are just these really weird and awful customers that the store just seems to mysteriously attract. Tim and Sasha would be employees obviously lol.

[urnumber1star]

Writerly Questionnaire

Thanks for tagging me @agirlandherquill !!

About me 

When did you first start writing? 

It’s hard to say. I’ve come up with stories in my head for as long as I can remember. But the first thing I wrote down was an unfinished book from when I was about six.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Not really. I love reading sci fi just as much as I love writing it. But I love reading fantasy and historical fiction but those two are the most difficult for me to write. 

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

I love Brigid Kemmerer's writing style. It's just so descriptive, and fluid and pretty and I love it! I want to be able to write like that one day. I actually have never been compared to any other writers before. Mostly because I’ve been SO SHY about sharing my writing. But I'm doing a little better at that.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I mainly love to write wherever I can. If I get a sudden burst of motivation I’ll grab my computer and sit down wherever I am at the time. But I mainly write at night while I'm in my bed. I find that I'm much more relaxed and motivated at night. 

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

If I'm struggling with writer's block or just feeling like creating another WIP I will put my music playlist on blast. Music has always helped me imagine different scenes and characters, and after that I make a new google doc and just start incoherently jabbering about scenes and character ideas I have until they all fit together! Then I make it a little more coherent of course lol

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Not really. The places I write about are always so different from the modern day. But I do sometimes accidentally inspire a character's personality off a friend or someone I know. 

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Twins. For the life of me I don't know why. I am an only child with no siblings and in every single story I've ever written since I was six there have been at least one pair of twins. It’s like my trademark lol. Along with lots of action. I love intense, gut-wrenching action scenes. 

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, Past WIP, Never Used, etc)

I think my current favorite character is ironically Talia from my current WIP. She just reminds me of a really close family member of mine and I also just love writing about her. She’s very spunky and pretty funny. Added bonus because she's a twin (the blasted twin thing again) and she’s an artist! And a boss lady. :] 

Which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

Micheal and Talia. Talia’s an artist like me and Micheal is just a nice and cool guy that I’d like to be friends with :)

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

No One. You will get no context as to why. But I think you already know why.

Tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters,

Fun Fact! BRS is technically a rewrite of an old WIP from like two years ago. It’s very different now but still. I ended up just simplifying everything and having only one character to completely focus on first then figure out their personality and the people around them. Then I expand upon the people around them. And I keep doing that until I flush everything out. 

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Constant sarcasm and a massive sense of humor. Just like me TwT 

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc)

I imagine them in my artstyle. I imagine them animated in a very distinct way. It makes imagining their scenes very fun and vibrant!

My Writing

What's your reason for writing?

Because I wanted to find a way to tell all the stories in my head as a little girl.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers? 

ANYTHING. Honestly anything is just so rewarding for me. But my favorite comments to get are questions asking about details, or someone comparing my character to one they saw on TV. It makes me very happy :)

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented world builder, as a role model, etc)

I’m not sure. Just someone who can make an interesting story people like! 

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

World building. I could talk for hours about the politics, currency, social aspects, technology etc in my stories. I’ve always enjoyed fleshing out my settings. It just makes the story feel so much more alive!

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Dialogue actually. My cousin read a WIP of mine a while ago and she claims that it’s good so…. I do trust her judgment though as she is an amazing author.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question)

I honestly hate most of what I write. But I love the process of imagining it and perfecting it later after I’ve improved.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Yep! Because I don't know what I’d do if I had all these ideas in my head and couldn't let them go! Plus it's just so therapeutic. 

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it's a mix of the two, which holds most influence?

I write what I want to. Which is mostly what I’d like to read. But I write for me.

Boy this was a long one, but it was very fun!

Tagging @leahnardo-da-veggie @the-ellia-west @illarian-rambling @kaylinalexanderbooks @mysticstarlightduck @melpomene-grey +anyone who wants to <3