#hell hed officiate if theyd let him

[pickinglilahs]

Bartender!James

Sirius has been telling Regulus all about his new BFF, Jamie the bartender. Going on about how the poor soul's going through a rough patch cause their ex took everything. Then Sirius gets the idea to set him and Regulus up. Regulus, who hasn't realized Jamie is a guy (cause Sirius calls everyone gurl), doesn't have the heart to tell Sirius that he's gay. Not because he doesn't think his brother will accept him (Sirius is gay too) but because he just seems so excited!

Cut to—

Regulus finally being dragged into this bar and sees Jamie and just... James is tanned and toned in a shirt that is definitely two sizes too small. Then he lifts the front of his shirt (revealing the yummiest set of abbs ever!) to wipe off his glasses. And Regulus just stands there drooling.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

ok its me again hi AAAHHHH this is so nice i feel so warm im lying on my bed kickin my lil legs i cant believe this thank you for being nice omgggg now im on a roll im gonna say things about julian hkdhjgdgjf

only one song really that i scanned the whole tag looking for to see if anyone said it before and i was so surprised that i didnt find it and i went to check the official playlists on spotify cause maybe its on there already and thERE ISNT ONE WHAT???? i had the muriel one liked on here and id never checked any other ones out lmao but like i swear there had to be one?? like maybe they made it first and its somewhere separately??? julian is like the most popular one how the hell does he not get a spotify list is that how this tag was created?? *gasp* am i discovering the ~fandom lore~

(just gonna say you dont actually need to answer any of that in detail dont waste your time gksgkydgjf im just screaming into the void cause i was so flabbergasted after those 3 whole minutes of research i put into this)

ANYWAY the actual song would be House of Wolves by our lord and saviour MCR! its so good for him with his whole Woe is Me drama king vibe lol and the plaguey thematicssss mmmm delicious TELL ME im a BAD BAD BAD BAAD MAAAAN aight you lil masochist i see u and the "you better run like the devil cause they never gonna leave you alone" you get it caUSE HES A FUGITIVE DO YOU GET THE DEEP UNRAVELABLE METAPHORS DO YOU GET IT DO YOU G aight shut up hkhfjtdy anyway

ok i lied jystfhte heres another one i just remembered i really wanted to put here its not new but just in case somebody hasnt seen it yet lmao its such a masterpiece ill do anything to give it its due here ya go

https://youtu.be/61HltPN_k3g

and the other thing im really glad to have seen people mention here is musical songs cause thats one of the things i love about him the most like yass we love a thespian king slay grl so then anytime im binging a musical there always come the intrusive thoughts of "aw hed love this one" and "oh hed be great for this role" like i went to see f-ing swan lake with my f-ing grandpa and one of the major takeaways i got from the experience was (UH IM GONNA PUT A SPOILER WARNING HERE? I GUESS? IN CASE ANYONE CARES HELLO JULIAN BAD ENDING SPOILERS AHEAD DO MOVE ALONG NOW IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT AVERT YOUR GAZE CITIZENS LMAO LIKE YOU HAVENT SEEN FANARTS N ADS ALREADY ALRIGHT ALRIGHT) "omg jules would be so perfect as that bird guy villain IN HIS BIRD GUY SHAPE TOO OMG WITH THE WINGS ON STAGE THIS IS AWESOME WHY CANT I DRAW GOOD GODDA-"

anyway hed love hadestown (hed at least try to cast muriel as hades cause hes perfectly intimidating for it but theres way too many lines which okay Maybe but AND he has to sing???? nah hes out bkgdhkdt) i dont know what hed think of pierre natasha & the great comet cause its maybe a little eccentric i suppose but i think hed appreciate the cultural roots of the vibe with him being fantasy ruso-slav-ukrainian-whatnot heritage i reckon and hed definitely have a blast at a live performance and hed ABsolutely join in with the actors in between the rows at some point and theyd ABSOlutely let him cause hes that good and game recognize game cmon hes gonna show you amateurs what a real kazotski looks like

i can also see him enjoying sweeney todd, for its delightful edgyness, maybe even some themes relatable for him, and his sappy ass would SO memorise Pretty women to whip it out at an opportune serenading moment khgdturshc im so cringe and loving it

well i cant think of any more shows to throw him together with so thus ends my soliloquy wow i cant believe thats how you spell that anyway i hope anybody who knew what the hell im talking about enjoyed all that jgfztits see you in another 20 minutes when i come back like "AND ANOTHER thing-

Yay, it's the character song essays anon!! :D

I'm glad to see you back, and I will once again be re-linking the song you shared below and adding your suggestions to the tag ^.^

And frankly, I'm 76% certain that one of Julian's love languages is theatre, especially musical theatre. That could be tickets, that could memorizing the lines from one of this favorite scenes and reciting it back to him, it could be showing up to every single performance he's involved in :)

I'm glad to see you back in my inbox, friend, feel free to message me if you ever want to obsess over the characters together! Cheers -

brainrot

[wee-chlo]

I know it seems like RDR1 negates the sacrifices of RDR2 so here’s a happy thought.

Jack, sad and depressed and bitter and alone in the run-down ruin of Beecher’s Hope, finding the journal Arthur and John ended up sharing. Reading it. He doesn’t remember much of what they talk about, he was only four, but there are very faint memories of moving a lot. Names that seem vaguely familiar.

It becomes a bit of an obsession with him. Like vengeance but a little lighter, a little more hopeful. He transcribes everything in the journal because the thing’s falling a part a fair bit, and then starts trying to figure out who these people are.

One thing leads to another and suddenly he’s running around to Valentine and Strawberry and Blackwater and Saint Denis, or the places that hold the historical archives of those towns. He’s pawing through paperwork and going through slides of newspapers finding scraps about the Van Der Linde Gang. 

He finds out where Mary-Beth is first, since she’s a writer with a mailbox for fan letters and official correspondence. He writes her a letter that he’s rewritten a hundred times or more and gets one back within a week bubbling with joy and excitement and inviting him to meet her. He gets a haircut, shaves, takes a bath. He didn’t do any of those things much before but recently he’s found it’s easier to get into places if you don’t look like a deranged hobo.

Mary-Beth is beautiful and elegant and kind and has an excellent memory. She tells him about Arthur and John and Dutch and the gang. She remembers Kieran fondly and Lenny and Hosea with grief and love and Micah with disdain. She tells him about Miss Grimshaw and Pearson and Karen and Javier and Bill. She directs him to Tilly, who she keeps in touch with.

Tilly is older now, but still kind and understanding and with no patience for nonsense. She’s married to a good man with two children who scurry underfoot as she and Jack talk about the gang. He’s taking notes. He’s always taking notes. Sometimes he forgets, he’s so engrossed in what she’s saying, but she’s good about gently reminding him to. She directs him to Reverend Swanson.

The Reverend’s the easiest to find but maybe the hardest to get a hold of, being a respected reverend with a large congregation, but when Jack sheepishly approaches him after a sermon, he enthusiastically ushers the young man into his office. Swanson wasn’t young during the heyday of the gang and he’s old now, his red hair and mustache grayed out and joints achy enough to need the support of a cane but he’s still remarkably sharp.

Reverend Swanson and Jack talk for a very long time about more than just the gang. Jack didn’t tell Mary-Beth or Tilly about Ross and the riverbank. He told them about Uncle and Abigail and John but not Ross. Not Ricketts or the family he left as broken as his own out of spite. He tells Reverend Swanson though. And Reverend Swanson takes the same stories that Tilly and Mary-Beth told, the ones that Abigail and John were too heartbroken or angry about to tell, and turns them into words of encouragement. Faith. Hope. How men with violent pasts can move past them, live good lives, redeem themselves, live and die with honor and dignity. He recites a piece of scripture he would say often to the gang, eyes a little soft with memory and sadness and wistfulness. 

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”

Will you read me that passage Reverend Swanson used to read? You remember that?

Jack Marston did a lot of things after his father died, and a lot of things after his mother died, but he never cried. He’d had to be strong for his mother, so he’d grit his teeth and blinked past them and by the time she’d died and he’d buried her next to John on the hill above Beecher’s Hope, they’d all fossilized in his chest, locked at the base of his throat like a scream. 

Here, though, he feels something snap like a wishbone in his chest, and they just spill out.

“Jack?” Reverend Swanson asks gently.

“I couldn’t remember it,” Jack says. “M-Mama asked me to read that and I... I couldn’t remember.”

That’s not quite it but it’s close enough. Reverend Swanson seems to have some experience with men like Jack. He smiles and nods and reaches over and takes Jack’s hand in his and lets him weep.

Charles is harder to find, in a reservation far up north in the Canadian Yukon. People there aren’t terribly interested in telling him where Charles lives and don’t really seem to buy that he’s an old friend, so he just asks them to let Charles know where he’s staying. 

Charles finds him a day later, still a bear of a man, still surrounded by this air of silent, simple serenity. Jack wonders if he’ll ever be able to do that. He doubts it.

Charles speaks softly and simply. He doesn’t gush the way Mary-Beth did or meander the way the Reverend did. He doesn’t beat around the bush or shy away from harsher memories. The treatment of the Wapiti tribe is still a bitter thing, something sharp around the edges that Jack hesitates to press, but he offers details the others didn’t have. He was a rider when the others were at camp. 

Like with Reverend Swanson, Jack feels an instinctive need to speak. To tell Charles things he didn’t tell the others out of shame or fear or a desperate need to forget. Maybe because Charles offers details like that of his own, things that he clearly doesn’t enjoy talking about but because it’s Jack...

“I killed Edgar Ross,” Jack says quietly when Charles mentions Hosea. Charles pauses.

“Why?” He asks, and that brings Jack up short.

“Because... because he killed my pa!” he stammers. “He hunted us down and, and...” Bile rises in his throat, that old scream that he didn’t let out, the smell of blood and his mother’s sobs and the screams of horses and guns and...

“Is it over now?” Charles asks, cutting off his thoughts easily. Jack doesn’t know what to say. Charles smiles slightly, sadly. “Let it be over now. It’s what they wanted for you.” 

Jack feels tears tearing at him again but this time he fights them back.

“You deserved better,” he says, his throat tightening and betraying everything he’s trying to hide. “You all deserved better.”

And he finds that he isn’t just talking about the Van Der Linde Gang,  who all died somehow, either grandly or softly or in some small, dark way that left them waking up at night in a cold sweat. He’s talking about the Wapiti Tribe, and Eagle Flies, and Rains Fall. He’s talking about Beau Gray and Penelope Braithwaite. He’s talking about those legendary gunslingers who lived on the run or died in the dirt. He’s talking about Lyndon Monroe and Thomas Downs and Luisa Fortuna and Nastas and everyone but himself, who was too stupid to let things go, too stupid to do what his mother begged him to on her deathbed and just find a quiet place to live and grow old and die.

“Maybe,” Charles agreed, standing and holding out a hand for Jack to shake. “Too late for that, though. Better to keep going.”

[angrylizardjacket]

when i said it i thought it was true [4] {Ben Hardy}

A/N: 2973 words. Listen, I massaged the timeline a little bit, just suspend your disbelief, perhaps it only takes 4 months to be in post production. Also yes I know X-Men didn’t actually film in Egypt, but I didn’t know that at the start of this fic and now I’m sticking with my mistakes because momma didn’t raise a quitter but she did raise a fool.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

“You’re not proposing to me in a sheer shirt.” The moment the makeup team leaves, you turn on Ben, amusement tugging at your lips as you cross your arms, cocking your hip.

“You don’t like it?” He asked, the picture of innocence as he fiddles with the cuff of his jacket. You raise a singular eyebrow. “I think you do like it.” He hummed, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. When you refuse to break eye contact, your silence is answer enough. “I think you like it a lot.” 

It’s been almost a four months since shooting officially wrapped, two since you’d filmed the last of the pick up shots they’d needed, and a full month since you and Ben seen each other in person; you’d been busy with a Netflix series, and Ben had been in talks about a new project, and you’d been messaging every day but seeing each other in person is... well there’s something different. Playful. Easy. Somehow neither of you seem worried about the looming proposal, and are just making up for lost time.

“Love, you’ve gotta take it up with the stylist, not me.” He shrugged, as if helpless, and turned, making his way to the door, knowing without even looking that you’ll be following behind him. He’s chipper, brimming with excitement and looking damn good, and once he gets to the elevator and pushes the button, he offers you his arm while he waits.

“Marry me.” He says it suddenly, watching the numbers of the elevator tick up to your floor. There’s no-one around, and the ring is still in his pocket.

“What?” With a frown, you step into the elevator, and press the button for the lobby, still tucked up against him.

“What if we just show up engaged?” He asks, hand in his pocket where he’s fiddling with the ring box. He’s not nervous, just contemplative.

“And deprive Swarovski of their moment?” You scoffed, and he tipped his head to look at you, eyebrows raised in exasperated amusement.

“I know you hate the ring, ‘too gaudy, too ostentatious by half’, isn’t that what you said?” He snickers after doing as half decent imitation of you. Giving him a shove, you duck your head to hide your embarrassed smile.

“It’s so ‘look at me! Look at me!’” You huff, and he can’t help but laugh at that. The sound of it, in person rather than over Skype, made you feel, for lack of a better phrase, like you were home. Not that there really was a better phrase, you just didn’t want to think about or admit how much you’d missed him.

“Sorry to say, dude, but there’s nothing more ‘look at me! Look at me!’ than a red carpet proposal.” And yeah, okay, maybe he had a point, but that was one night, you had to wear that ring until... they hadn’t told you the DVD release date, but you’re pretty sure it was some time in the New Year. When you bring this up, he just rolls his eyes. “You’re not the one getting down on one knee for a fake proposal; I’m gonna look like an idiot when this is all over.” 

“Well fine, if you’re so worried, I’ll propose.” Instead of dwelling on his words, you step away, holding your hand out expectantly. When he just stares at you, bewildered, you motion for him to hand the ring box over, and he finally cracks a grin, shaking his head.

“If you think I’m gonna be caught dead in that ring you’re wrong.” He spluttered, and you can’t help but laugh at that.

“Fine, I won’t take your first proposal away from you.” You hum with a smile, tucking yourself back against him. He goes very quiet. It takes you a few moments, but you look up at him, brow furrowed. He seems lost in his own thoughts. “It- Ben you’ve never been engaged before, I feel like I’d know if you had been.” Your words snap him out of his trance and he looks at you with wide, bright eyes, and an unconvincing smile.

“Yeah, no, I would have told you by now otherwise.” The silence that falls around you in not a comfortable one, and you’re glad when the elevator comes to a stop. “I got close once, though.” He admits, quietly. You don’t know how to respond to that; you hadn’t considered how much those words would hurt. You want to ask with who, but you already felt an unreasonable rush of jealousy at the thought of someone else stealing his heart enough for him to want to be with them forever. Unreasonable jealousy.

Filming for X-Men started a week ago and he’s only called you once; he’s on a film lot somewhere in Canada and his hair is curly and god he looks cute but the apartment feels so empty. He’s bright eyed and excited. He’s rambling about how busy he is, and he’s still wearing his makeup. The call lasts five minutes; the cast are going out for dinner. You tell him to have fun, but you’re heart’s not in it; he can sense it, and promises to call you tomorrow, before he hangs up.

He doesn’t call, part of you isn’t surprised.

“Marry me.” He asks again, voice low in your ear. The others in the car can’t hear him, but part of you is afraid they might. They don’t technically know it’s not a real relationship, though part of you thinks Gwilym has his doubts, not that he’d ever voice them.

“Not the time.” You shoot him a warning look, and he just slings an arm around you, leaning back in his seat. 

“You’ll regret not letting me be low-key about it.” He warns in return, giving you a blithe smile, and you narrow your eyes at him.

“Low-key about what?” Lucy asks, and you elbow Ben in the ribs. He keeps smiling, though his mischievousness slides to something more fond as he actually looks at you.

“About anything.” You say by way of explanation, and though she, along with the rest of the car, still look confused, they don’t push it. There’s reporters everywhere when you get out of the car, and you and Ben are the last ones out.

“Last chance before this becomes a spectacle.” He murmurs when he steps out after you, straightening the back of your dress just a little, and he sounds amused, but there’s something genuine in his voice, and you take a moment to pause, turning back to him. His hands land on your hips, his touch light, and his expression is so familiar it hurts, and you realise he is a little nervous; it’s a very public setting for what should be a very private matter. With cameras going off all around you, you pull him in for a kiss, and he relaxes somewhat, kissing you back with his grip tightening on your hips.

“We’re being paid to be a spectacle.” You remind him, and he nods, smiling softly, and the two of you make your way down the red purple carpet together. You have to stop every few feet to do interviews, and soon enough you had pulled ahead of Ben; he had a much larger part in the film that you did, it wasn’t surprising the reporters wanted to monopolise him. It still felt strange, to turn and not have him there. Sometimes you’d do interviews with the other boys, sometimes he’ll be there, and as the main photo area loomed, you could finally feel the butterflies in your stomach.

Soon.

Perhaps too soon.

“What do you mean you’re going to Egypt?” You snapped, wishing your internet connection was better so he could see you glaring clearly.

“I told you about it ages ago.” Ben sighs, clearly tired. It’s there in his eyes, how drained he is, how hard he’s been working, and your expression softens.

“That’s exciting,” you force yourself to take a breath, it was the first time you two had spoken that fortnight, neither of you needed this to be hostile. The days had started feeling so long when you don’t hear from him; all you want is a damn hug and he’s on the other side of the world. “What if I come visit you?”

“In Egypt?” He asks, eyebrows raised.

“In Egypt.” You confirm, a weak smile on your face, he doesn’t look thrilled by the process.

“Don’t bother.” He sighs, and the moment he sees your expression fall, he realises how his words had sounded, and he’s sitting up straight, panicked look on his face, spluttering his way through an apology. “I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just busy and it’s going to be hot and-”

“No, I get it.” Your dejected sigh was followed by a yawn, and you hovered over the end call button. “When you’re less tired I think we should talk.” You tell him, and you see the confusion, fear, and resignation pass over his face in quick succession.

He agrees quietly, and neither of you really say goodbye before hanging up.

He was tapping on your shoulder as you were halfway through talking to E! News, and you’ve never been more anxious and excited in your life, and never so thankful to not be at the main photo area on a red carpet. His timing was perfect.

“So sorry, could I borrow Y/N for a minute?” He smiles charmingly at the reporter, and his expression softens when he sees the relief in your eyes. 

Before he even starts, it feels off, feels wrong, feels like a performance for the cameras more than anything else. 

“Don’t get teary on me, I know how hard your makeup artists worked.” He begins, and you make sure the cameras catch your surprised confusion. He’s takes one of your hands in his, linking your finger together, and the other holds your face. There’s a moment that passes between you two, his expression softens as he looks in your eyes and it’s as if he’s looking past everything that had happened, the whole setup you’d found yourself in; he was seeing you. 

“This is probably the biggest night of my life,” he starts, taking a deep breath, “for more than one reason; you’re my best friend, you’ve been there for some of the highest points in my life, and some of the lowest. I know you, Y/N, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life, and I want to. I want you there by my side for the rest of it,” it sounds... so much more planned out than you’d expected, so much more heartfelt, and you’d be damned if there weren’t tears in your eyes. Despite the fact that this very private moment had a huge audience, which included a reporter muttering ‘holy shit, is this what I think it is?’, you could only see him. Damn if it didn’t feel real.

“I love you; I’ve loved your since-” his voice catches in his throat, and you see a hint of pain flash across his face before he’s smiling again, “since I first saw you in that damn wig they put you in,” it sounds like an addendum, like he doesn’t really mean it, or like it’s not the whole truth, but it’s enough to make you laugh, and when you look down to hide your embarrassed smile, your tears fall from your eyes, “since you agreed to all of this,” he gestures to himself with a self-deprecating grin, though his double meaning is not lost on you, though his expression turns serious after a moment, “since I first kissed you on set, though that feels like a long time ago.” Your breath catches in your throat, and he sounds like he hadn’t mean to say that last part, his voice too raw, his heart too honest for it to be a truly fake statement. You can do little more than whisper his name in reverence. Gently, so gently, he lifts your head, his thumb wiping the tear track from your cheek. 

“Marry me?” It’s a question this time, and when you look at him with confusion, disbelief written on your face at the way he chose to word it, he laughs softly, sinking to one knee and pulling out the ring box, and revealing the single most frivolous ring you’d ever had the displeasure of seeing. “Will you marry me?” He corrects softly.

The crowd behind you is going absolutely mad behind you, and cameras are going off at an almost blinding rate, but his eyes don’t leave yours. Nodding, you can’t even form words, so caught up in the moment, and he stands, pulling you into a kiss. The flash of cameras surround you like a sea of stars and Ben’s the only thing keeping you on solid ground. His grip is tight enough that he almost lifts you off the ground, and you’re on your tiptoes with his arms around you before his grip loosens, his hands sliding down the small of your back, and for the first time since this whole fake relationship began, he doesn’t hesitate before he deepens the kiss. He tastes like mint and you’re so glad you’re wearing that twenty-four hour lipstick or you know you’d be a mess, and when you pull back, you’re both out of breath, looking at each other with a something akin to awe in your eyes.

You’re pretty sure, in this moment, you love him; nothing fake about it. And you can see it in his eyes that he loves you too. This is dangerous territory for you both.

Stepping back, he takes your hands again.

“I told you not to cry, love.” He laughs gently, voice so soft as you dab at your eyes with your right hand, watching as he slides the ring onto the ring finger of your left hand.

“What can I say, you have a way with words; how long were you working on that speech.” You sniffle, grinning brightly as you examine the ring, still holding his hand. After a beat too long of silence, you look up to see him smiling softly at you.

“A while.” He admits, and something about the way he says it makes your chest ache. The moment passes and he looks down at your joined hands. “That’s fucking hideous.” He whispers, shaking his head at the sight of the ring, and you giggle, preferring to throw your arms around him, kissing him again.

The two of you are the last two to arrive at the formal photo area, with the logo backdrop, and Joe’s grin is confused where he greets you both at the edge of where everyone was in a line getting a group shot.

“What was all the commotion over there?” He asked quietly, and Ben stepped into position easily, slipping an arm around Joe’s shoulders and pulling you in. You were still beaming, you couldn’t help yourself.

“We got engaged.” Ben murmurs to Joe, careful not to draw attention to them, which was immediately counteracted by Joe’s loud ‘What the fuck?!’ “Calm down, man, we didn’t want to take all the focus off of the premiere, you know?” 

As soon as the big group shot was taken, you stepped off to the side as the four boys had their photos taken, and you could see Joe murmuring to the others, while Ben just smiled for the cameras and tried not to blush.

Photos were taken with Brian and Roger, of Rami and Lucy, and even some of you and Ben, and when you posed, you both had an arm around each other, and you leaned into him, resting your hand on his chest with your ring on clear display.

There’s congratulations all around as you’re heading into the theatre, but the biggest shock of the night comes in the form of Roger Taylor wrapping you up in a hug while you’re still glowing with pride.

“Before we go in, I want you to know you did an incredible job, dear. You’re a stunning performer and I never had any doubts about you.” As he says it, you can feel Ben give your hand a gentle squeeze. You’re pretty sure you’ve got shock written all over your face. “I’m very proud of you both.” He claps Ben on the shoulder, and Ben thanks him quietly. It looks as though he’s about to head in, but he turns back. “Be good to her, you hear?” He says to Ben sternly, but there’s a glimmer of fondness in his eyes, and Ben rolls his eyes good-naturedly. He’s still holding your hand.

“What was that?” You breathed as soon as Roger had left; you feel like you’ve been doused in cold water, though you can’t help but smile.

“Well I think he definitely approves of you playing Amanda.” Ben moves to wrap an arm around you as the two of you head into the theatre, searching for your seats. “And I think... I think he gave us his blessing?” That sounds more confused than anything else, and you don’t know how to respond one way or the other, apart from softly laughing as you sit down next to Lucy. Part of you, the largest part that had stayed sane and not drunk on this fake engagement, is pretty sure Roger’s going to be the hardest to break it to, when everything’s over; part of you worries that without Ben, you’ll lose his approval, which you didn’t realise you’d been craving until you’d received it. There’s an anxiety that builds in your chest as the lights go down, but Ben’s hand is in yours and you lean your head on his shoulder, and you can ignore that little worry for now.

the rat pack: @hotspacedeacon @strangeandwonderfulconcepts @itssaje @d-r-e-a-m-catchme @callumidiot @rockandrollandshit @bohorap @pietrorunsforme @sweetfierceimagines @itsjackothy @mhftrs @sherlockiantheatrenerd @softbenhardy @multifandomgirlrandomstuff @virtualsheepeat @smile-nine @i-padfootblack-things @deaconsroger @spookyfrances @holyurlbatman @your-idiotic-excellency @cosmicsskies @chlobo6 @screaminggalileochickenwrites

(crossed out means it wouldn’t tag; i’ll try again for the next part, lemme know if you wanna be tagged xx)

[eichscrocs]

Hey now, You’re an All-Star

January 11, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: YESSSS! ⭐️ #LetsGoOilers

@ edmontonoilers: Leon with some love for the fans after today's #NHLAllStar news! #LetsGoOilers

When Connor heard the news he was beyond thrilled, his 'liney' Leon was going to All Star too.

@ mcdavid97: All-Star bound with 29! 👊

Surely Connor had gone years previous, but none of them had included another one of his teammates, let alone the one he was dating. Connor liked to keep his life private for the most part, which included Leon too. Media was beginning to become suspicious, but in all honesty neither boy seemed to really care that much anymore. It was going to be a first time for the both of them; Leons first all star, and Connors first all star with his boyfriend. Surely a big reason Leon got voted in was Connors endless support, and maybe for the fact Connor had his whole family (distant relatives included) voting multiple times daily for him, but Leon didn't need to know that.

The beginning of the 2019 season did start out a little rough, so the break would be good for the both of them (besides the fact Connor managed to get Chia fired, but that's besides the point). The Oilers organization had known about the two boys relationship, and everyone was so supportive, especially Nuge who had been the reason they got together in the first place. In the locker room it was even the on going joke, and Ryan was often referred to as 'Ryan Love Whisperer Hopkins'. Connor and Leon enjoyed any privacy they got so the organization was surprised when the two had told them that they wanted to let everyone know they were together, but a little more subtle since both boys were quite reserved.

January 24, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: The dynamic duo had officially arrived in San Jose! #NHLAllStar #LetsGoOilers

If Connor and Leon could agree on one thing it'd be the all star jerseys, they color black was extremely flattering, but they wouldn't be wearing those jerseys until tomorrow. After all today was the skills competition, they'd be sporting the classic orange Oilers jersey. Connor was the first of them to compete, to no one's surprise it was his third year in a row competing for the fastest skater title. Why? Because other than Dylan Larkin (who wasn't voted in) he truly was a speedster. Leon sat on the bench chilling and taking in his new surroundings. HI heart was so full and slightly filled with nerves of watching his boy get ready to skate. From how the event was beginning to unfold his only threat to steal the title from him was Jack Eichel. Seeing Connor on the ice made his little heart flutter.

Connor had taken off just like that and Leon instantly zone in to watching him skate his lap. His skate was over just as fast as it had started, and sure enough Connor took the three-peat. Leon stayed sat on the bench smiling even wider than before. Media ended up in his face and questioned him about Connors pace. Leon would be lying if he said he didn’t wish they were going to ask about their relationship. So he figured clue number two, drop a hint. So Leon turned to face the camera for all to view on instagram, his english flowing perfectly. “I had and idea that he’s pretty fast so, uhm ya know obviously last year I think he won it, so it was uh ya know I had my money on him.” Leon finished off saying while a slight smile arose on his face.

After Connors event both boys were able to relax for a little, as puck control was the next event. Connor shoved his way in the box to sit with the rest of the Pacific division boys, but more importantly next to Leon. “You did so well out there.” Leon said then bumped shoulders with him. Connor schooched closer to Leon (if that was even possible) and his body was pressed right against Leon from shoulders to skates. He rested his one hand on his knee while Leon decided to put his hand directly half on Connors and half on his own retrospective kneecap. Leon looked over at him again and smiled, then turned back to watch the event infront of him. Nobody seemed to ask about it; whether they didn’t care, couldn’t see it, or already knew (Leon doubted the third one though).

As it got closer to Leons turn for premier passing he got more anxious. He didn’t want to dissapoint himself, the fans that voted him in, and most importantly Connor. Leon had to leave his warm encounter with his boy to get ready to go. Connor stayed on the bench watching in awe at his boyfriend, the way Leon made the pucks into the minature nets with such little effort was really no surprise. Since Leon joined the Oilers organiztion he had been giving those types of passes to Connor. Even before McDrai happened they had sucah a remarkable chemistry. (Why was Connor now suddenly realizing that Ryan is super good at reading into love?). When Leons last puck went into the net, the time stopped and Leon looked over and started skating back towards the bench where Connor was. Leon didn’t look at what his time was, but he knew it had to be good when he saw Connor smiling and clapping his mitts together for him. Finally Leon’s competition had ended too, and he managed to stay on top, claiming the win. The closer he got to Connor the happier he was. Connor was sitting looking sky chewing his gum, not to forget the fact he was checking Leon out from head to toe. That all star champ was his. For the remainder of the competition boys the boys were just fooling around with each other. Both had adrenaline running high from their wins. The start of this weekend was a good one, and eventually they hit the locker room to suit back up for media.

Connor had anticipated questions about the Oilers and his captaincy, but his personal favorite was when someone had asked about Leons performance. “That was awesome! That was an event that was tough. Really really tough and Leon I know was a little bit nervous.” Connor began to answer. Since he had heard from Leon still nobody had realized they were an item, he knew he’d have a little fun hyping Leon up. “I ket saying you’re one of the best passers in the game you could easily do it. And he proved that tonight.” Connor said lovingly about his teammate and boyfriend (which the media still couldn’t seem to pick up, which was surprising).

Finally day one was in the books and both began to head to the hotel to rest for the night. Although they’d be staying in the same room together, a king size bed all theirs. After all they were both hockey boys who needed enough space for cuddles. Connor’s room was rendered useless, they’d be using Leon’s room instead. Not that it mattered too much anyways, Connor had the salary to make useless purchases like his hotel room that would remain empty all three days in San Jose. Both boys began to take off their suits and put them on hangers. Even with salaries like they have, both Leon and Connor hated spending so much time finding a suit they liked, only for it to cost more than they ever would have typically spent (it was a suit, why must they cost so much?). No way were they going to ruin them only to go through suit hell once again. Leon was the first to get changed out of his suit, and he head to the luggage to find some clothes for bed. Leon put on some plaid pj pants with pockets, along with an old oilers shirt (which wasn’t his). He had taken a seat while Connor was still getting ready for bed. Connor put on Oilers pj pants that Leon orginally got for him as a gag gift, but no surprise Connor loved them so much. Paired with his Oilers pants was one of Leon’s shirts. Leon looked up from his phone and saw Connor looking adoarble, his hair still looking freshly cut.

In fact Leon was the actual reason his hiar was cut in the first place, and it wasn’t because Leon liked it short, hed just told Connor it’d be funny to see media have a hay day. And anyways Connor loves seeing Leon laugh, so his answer was obvious, he had to do it. He took a seat right on top of Leon crushing him, and laughing as Leon went wide eyed and stuttered out “Oh well hello to you too” while lightly laughing. “What are you looking at?” Connor asked as Leon was looking down on his phone. “Figuring out which picture of us to put on insta.” he replied while turning his phone to Connor to look at the pictures. Leon continued to swipe through the photos until Connor pointed out a good one. “Post that one” Connor suggested. Despite Connor hardly posting on his accounts he knew when a picture was good, and that was definitely it. Leo opened Instagram and selected the picture Connor suggested. “Should I add a filter?” Leon asked seriously. Connor thought the photo was fine as it was, but the temptation was way too high. Leon had seen a yellow tinted filter, “Con! This filter would look sick!” Leon said while showing Connor the result. To Leon’s dismay he was given the ‘are you actually joking me right now?’ look. “I think it looks good, especially you so I’m posting it.” Leon told Connor. Connor put his hands up as to say ‘I’m not stopping you’. “Oh I have the perfect caption too!” He said excitedly as he began to type it out. It was the best usage of 27 letters in his life, all for one small post.

@ drat_29: Great day at the skills comp with @ mcdavid97

“Alright it’s posted” he said to Connor as he locked his phone and placed it on the nightstand. Both boys then opened the bed to go to sleep for the next days fun games. Of course they couldn’t go to bed without Connor claiming his little spoon position. “Ich liebe dich.” Leon mumbled to Connor as he drifted to sleep holding the one he loved the most in his arms.

[acquisitive-adventurers]

How did Singlar lose his wife? Did he feel he lost her through his own negligence or ineptitude, or does he blame someone else for her death? Has he ever considered looking for a way to bring her back from the dead? Would he ever consider that?

(Thanks for the ask, @calabren-iarian !)

THIS IS LARGELY MY FAVORITE THING TO TRY AND WRITE??? It came out in an rp AGES ago with Singlar’s mun, and he was like (oocly) “what if you were my wife but I thought I’d lost you?” during a really sad part of an rp. It ripped my heart out and it’s been that way forever.

It’s evolved from something akin to screaming into the void to something else less screamy.

Singlar was pretty young as a dwarf – few decades old, probably 60 or so – and he was out exploring with his older brother, Kóri. They were out, being stupid “young” guys, when they came upon a night elf village. They weren’t used to meeting any of the other races beyond dwarves, gnomes, and humans, and the elves were… gorgeous, to say the least. Kóri would joke at Singlar about “staring too long,” but as a young paladin, the starlight that emanated from their eyes was intoxicating.

Though he and his brother left the village after a particularly bad cold snap (it was only like a few days before the weather opened up), Singlar had developed a major crush on the elf that would become his wife. It took maybe ten years before they actually got married, and they stayed that way for almost 80 years (so he’d be roughly 150-160 when she “died”). They’d made a home in the mountain ranges between Mount Hyjal/Felwood/Winterspring, and they were pretty happy.

Emerald Dream portals would open randomly though, and the village they lived in believed they were well defended, so no one left. Singlar left to go visit his brother in Ironforge (for some business) and left Zaha’a alone at their home. When Singlar returned a few weeks later, it was a gory mess: the village was reduced to smoldering ash, fresh corpses of elves and worgen were everywhere, and Singlar couldn’t find his wife anywhere among the survivors. So, he thought she’d perished.

For another 90+ years, he held a hatred for elves and worgen (and anyone that could turn into one tbh). He blamed himself for staying too long in Ironforge, for not taking the first boat and being delayed by a few extra hours, for not bringing his wife along in the first place.

Since there wasn’t anything left of her – possessions, body, even a photo – Singlar was left with nothing of his wife, but her visage haunted him every day for nearly 50 years. He went and drank himself nearly to death, until the kingdoms of men started asking for the other races to help build up their cities. He spent the next few decades working, drinking, sleeping with everyone, and refusing to allow himself to grieve or let go of his anger. He got sick, and sicker, and sickest of all when the orcs invaded Azeroth. He was one of the first to put his skills into the armies for the Alliance, and used it as an excuse to shed blood.

(Even that left him so very hollow inside, and it did not feel good to watch the blood go down the drain after a battle.)

When his commanders realized what he was doing, he was sent to Silithus to keep the supply chains there flowing for the Alliance and keep them as long as possible from the Horde. It was only when he touched down in Stormwind and was given the orders to go did he see Ahilyah for the first (and only) time fully decked out in her commander’s armor – at the time, he didn’t know she was his commander and was pretty awful to her, but she let it slide – as they were both introduced to the other members of their team.

All seven of them left to go to Silithus. Eventually, after battles and literal years spent in the bug-infested cesspool, everyone but Singlar and Ahilyah died or were transferred. They didn’t get any other teammates, and it was just them holding down an entire outpost.

They grew comfortable, enough to drink and sleep in the same room together (more for camaraderie than anything else), and eventually they started sharing their lives. She told him about her explorations and commander school, he told her how it was to grow up in the heart of a mountain; he explained paladin teachings (that he often scoffed at in the same breath of whispering his prayers to the Light), she explained beautiful and terrifying worlds beyond their touch that only a few could (or would) ever see. They were friends.

Between fighting the Horde and the old god worshippers and the bugs, Ahilyah was often given secret missions that they’d go and usually sabotage Horde encampments (”don’t explain anything to me, and I’ll have no questions to ask,” Singlar would tell her), but one time there was a month of nothing. Singlar asked if the war was over, if they’d be released from this Hell and they’d finally go their separate ways; she explained she’d already been given her orders, and had been given plenty of mail about not completing it yet.

When he asked why they hadn’t gone out to do “another get-this, kill-that” mission, she explained it wasn’t that type of mission anymore. It was supposed to have them go outside of the combat zone and kill any and every Horde village nearby. She had twenty-four hours to respond, or she’d be court marshaled, judged by the king and his peers, and executed. (She still didn’t know which part of the kingdom this order came from, but it had an official seal. She had asked the high command for a repeat of the orders, but she never got one – so, she stayed put, mostly because of her morals and also because she didn’t believe it was a real King Varian-stated order.)

They had a screaming match due to misunderstandings until she screamed something in anger – basically “you’re such a stupid dwarf, I can’t believe I put up with you for so many centuries” – and he was like “????what????”

And then they had a very awkward reveal that she was his wife.

He was angry, hurt, confused, and felt like he wanted to throw up. He ended up camping out in the next outpost over, thinking everything over.

Ahilyah never did the mission. At this point the Alliance basically forgot about Silithus as the Legion expac started, King Wrynn dying, and the other Alliance leaders straining under Anduin’s leadership. He came back after fighting on the Broken Shore for a while (she was in Suramar for a time), but they went back to Silithus when the Broken Isles were secure.

Days before the Sargeras skewering of the world, they started to talk about things. Though Anduin’s reign was much different than his father’s, their relationship would never be able to heal. Silithus was going to be released so the people there could refocus elsewhere in the world, but so far it was just a waiting process.

They were on their way out of the zone (near the northern mountain range) when the sword came down. The group they were traveling with were able to get into a nearby cave, but it turned out to be a straight view of the valley; they’d be burned alive if the shockwave didn’t kill them.

And being stupid, Singlar kind of just stood in front of Ahilyah as they curled up in the corner of the cavern while Silithus erupted in flames. In the last few seconds before the flames hit them, he was like, “I wasted years over you.” And she just had to tell him to choose: the anger, or a clear future.

When the shockwave hit, everything exposed to the flames was horribly burned.  Chunks of Azerite were thrown into bodies of people, killing some instantly due to the intense high while others were in severe agony. The dwarves and gnomes that sat in the cavern came out completely different, half infused with this rock that deformed their bodies but also gave them immense strengths they hadn’t had before.

Ahilyah ends up with horrible burns/scars across the right side of her body (and flecks on her left). The warrior’s right eye glows like the Azurite does, and parts of her scars sometimes glow if she gets too enraged. She goes into blind rages whenever she loses control of herself, going into a frenzy due to the Azerite in her system.

For Singlar, he’s got these giant rocks (kinda like the rock giants in Deepholm?) sticking out of his back, pulsing every time his heart beats. His eyes turn from an ice blue to brilliant gold, and the veins along his body pulse the same color. He’s got burns along the skin that isn’t infused with Azerite, and the back of his head/neck have diamonds/Azerite crystal hybrids growing out of it.

(The other dwarves and gnomes come out looking similar to Singlar, only with their own molecular type – some have sandstone/Azerite, sapphire/Azerite, etc. Each one’s experiences with the Azerite infusion range wildly to “this sucks” to “what could go wrong?”)

((I want to make an entire post about what gnomes, dwarves, goblins, and (maybe) humans taking baths in this stuff would do to them (being descendants of the Titan constructs and all), since the initial “explosion” can’t really be recreated. So it’ll just add to that layer of “well this might actually suck for us” by being so dependent on Azerite.))

[skepsys]

Hi, nice ask headline! Aand even finer gallery might I add. My favourite is your oc assassin pair Saint and Maverick, you have really picked my interest with them. I'm pretty curious about their history (their origins, how they met, their dynamics, relationship). If you have a detailed story about them and you are willing to share, would you treat us with it? :)

thank you i had to make my askbox title that when i said an anime character was transgender and some people went rabid and dumped radioactive waste into my inbox for like 3 days straight for some reason 

(ALSO TY FOR THE KIND WORDS!!!)

im gonna link THIS ASK i answered a while ago cause tbh its still pretty accurate despite being 2 months old!! shocking since i have a chronic habit of retconing and rewriting stuff ALLL the damn time

THEIR INDIVIDUAL ORIGINS IS SOMETHING I HAVENT TALKED ABT THO I JUST REALIZED.....! besides vague stuff on toyhouse, preemptive readmore because i can and will go off the shits when asked abt my ocs

SAINT was originally part of a project called Titan which had the goal of creating EXTREMELY high-efficiency, cutting edge combat AI.  Titan was built out of the failure of a different project called Attica which was supposed to be an advanced learning medical AI to be installed in poorer and more dangerous districts across Novus (the city-world the story takes place on).  Attica went under from lack of funding and it was found by the project’s overseers that a combat AI would be more profitable, so.  yeah, Titan.  

over the course of a year after gaining proper consciousness, SAINT observed and learned a lot from his creators, even more than they really though he was.  ultimately, he decided that he didn’t want to be a tool, nor did he want to be mass-produced; it didnt help that he also learned, through his snooping, that he himself was probably gonna be disassembled/deleted once Titan was properly market-ready, since he was deemed to be a little TOO smart and observant.  the copies made to be sold would be dumbed down a bit, and hed just be done away with.  

SOOOO he goes rogue, kills everyone working on the project, destroys all the copies of Titan that he can find, pretty much everything else relating that he can find in the facility where he was created just so that theres NO chance of any pieces of Titan being recovered. he then steals a protoype body from a neighboring project, called a Black-Sabre, and escapes out into the world.  takes up the name SAINT, modifies his new body extensively to try and avoid any possibility of being recognized, eventually picks up the assassin thing bc...well, despite everything he IS still a combat AI and its what he know how to do.  

and Maverick..... oo boy . growing up hes a pretty normal kid, pretty rowdy, but yknow, thats normal.  he’s got his older sister, Jamie, and two parents who are scientists, his father being into hydroponics and biology, and his mother being a mechanical engineer.  stuff is good.  UNTILLLL his parents “disappear” and their research is “misplaced”.  Maverick and Jamie are left with pretty much nothing in the wake of everything bc somehow, everyone they go to to try and get any help or justice or ANYTHING shuts them out.  

theyre forced to stick it out with what little they can scrounge up on their own.  when hes about 16-17, however, Maverick has decided hes had ENOUGH; he wants answers, he wants revenge, he wants reparations, everything.  though its tough at first bc hes just some punk who doesnt know exactly what hes doing, hes still extremely smart and he gets an in with lots of different, less than savory groups and people, all for the sake of finding answers.  he knows at this point he cant go through official channels or rely on proper authorities to help him, so he does what he has to.

this leads him to two paths: augmenting his mind and body to perform all these things hes doing that much better, and becoming an assassin.  turns out hes pretty good at it even without augments, with a natural talent for stealth and subterfuge, and the more heavily augmented he becomes, he just gets better and better.  

it takes a few very frustrating years before he starts to get any proper leads, but once he does, he sticks to it like nothing else, and by the current point of the story, he’s already finished up and got his ‘revenge’.  he learns that his parents arent just ‘disappeared’ but they were killed, which he already knew in a way but finding it out for sure it.  oof.  he learns it was so hard to even GET here bc the people responsible has a lot of money to throw around to block any official investigations and destroy any evidence.  everyone responsible is dead now tho so he takes like...a modicum of solace in that, but mostly he just bottles it up tightly and throws it to the back of his skull (uh oh, classic smarmy confident dickhead act covering up the trauma and how terrified he is of losing ppl he cares about AGAIN....almost like thats also why hell so gladly almost get himself killed just to help ppl he likes)

Maverick keeps on with the assassin thing after the fact just cuz hes good at it and hes long since learned that sometimes you gotta take things into your own hands, and some people are better off ham-stringed if not dead before they can bring harm to all sorts of innocents

i detailed how they met in that ask i linked but also worth mentioning it think is that a lot of the story honestly is about how SAINT is acclimating to being a person.  its not exactly a “robot identity crisis” type thing but like, he took his freedom, his sentience into his own hands and he doesnt know what exactly to do with it.  its a lot of his grappling with “life is meaningless, i was created for no purpose other than to destroy, why did i even do this?”.  eventually he learns that YEA life is meaningless but that just means its yours to do what you want with.  you can do what you want, for better or worse, which is very scary! with no outlines or instructions theres a very wide margin for mistakes, but thats just what makes succeeding that much more fulfilling; even more so if you open yourself up to people that you care about and who care about you.  

in a way SAINT kind of starts to look up to Maverick because he’s just living his life and doing what he wants, no holds barred, unapologetically.  he follows his own code of morals and justice and doesnt let what other people tell him what he should or shouldnt be bother him.  this sort of admiration? i guess? just gets turned up to 11 when Maverick nearly kills himself trying to save him.  he believed so strongly that despite, quote, “being a pain in the ass,” SAINT didn’t deserve to be dissected and tortured, that he put his own life on the line to get him free, even though to that point theyd done little more than insult and try to kill each other... needless to say SAINT is vry confused for a vry long time lmao

[omgmicheal01me]

Trump tells Trudeau he will press China to release detained Canadians

WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he would press Chinas president Xi Jinping to release two detained Canadians when he meets with him next week at the G20 summit, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat listening. Trudeau was respectful, but eyed his host warily as Trump responded to reporters questions in the Oval Office during a photo opportunity about the fallout from Canadas arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huaweis chief financial officer. Trudeaus third official meeting in Washington with the unpredictable president went as well as any Canadian official had expected, and the main takeaway was the apparent restoration of normal relations between Trudeau and Trump after last years disastrous G7 meeting in Charlevoix. As if to confirm the Canadian teams view expressed privately to reporters, Trump tweeted afterward it was his great honor to host the Canadian prime minister. Trumps tone stood in stark contrast to his insulting tweets last year that Trudeau was meek, mild, weak and dishonest. Trump said he will meet with Xi in Osaka next week and would make a request that China release the detained Canadians if asked, or at Justins request. I will represent him well. We have a meeting set up with President Xi and its obviously on the big transaction that were talking about and negotiatin but anything that I can do to help Canada, I will be doing, said Trump. At his own news conference later in the day, Trudeau said he went on to have an extended conversation with Trump and senior Administration officials about the plight of Canadians Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor and other challenges that China is presenting, not just to Canada, but to different sectors of the global economy, and we certainly agree to continue to work together as friends and allies to resolve these and other issues. Pressed about whether Trump committed to any concrete action on Canadas behalf, Trudeau was cautious. We absolutely expect the subject of the two Canadians who are detained in an arbitrary and unfair manner in China will be on the agenda, Trudeau said in French. We expect that all our allies and thats what theyve done by the way across the world not just the Americans but many of our allies have raised with the Chinese authorities and leadership it is unacceptable that they have detained two Canadians in an unfair and arbitrary manner. Trudeau declined to say whether he asked Trump to drop the extradition request or charges against Meng, who is daughter of the founder of Huawei, the jewel in Chinas corporate crown, saying only that Canada adheres to the rule of law. We respect our partnerships and our agreements, including on extradition, with the United States. Former Canadian ambassador to China, David Mulroney, said it was not bad as an outcome for Trudeau, but its the second best outcome. We need to keep working on the Americans until they see it as within their own interest to do the right thing and press for the release of the two Canadians as an American objective, not simply a favour to Canada. The U.S. has a big stake in combating Chinese pressure against Americas own western allies. Three senior Canadian officials separately said that the conversation on China with Trump went well. One referred to the circumstances as very delicate. Trump welcomed Trudeau to the Oval Office, calling him a friend and saying they would have a positive day. In a photo opportunity, Trump took several questions, some on the prospects for ratification of the new NAFTA, which Trump calls by its American acronym USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). Trump, who has criticized Chrystia Freelands frequent meetings on Capitol Hill during the NAFTA negotiations, said Trudeaus plan to speak to members of Congress about ratifying the new NAFTA is a terrific thing. I have to get the Democrats to approve it, so I like your positive thinking. But if and the if is really subject to the Democrats, lets see what happens but I really believe that Nancy Pelosi and the House will approve it, I think the senate will approve it rapidly. Its going to be very bipartisan. Trump did not rule out any further tariffs against Canada and Mexico, saying they have to do what they have to do. He said if there are any tremendous shipments of certain products into U.S. markets, he might revive them, appearing to refer to cheap foreign imports, such as steel that other countries, such as China, might try to divert into the U.S. via Canada. Trump said, there wont be, hopefully, transshipping. If theres transshipping, Ill call Justin and Im sure hell take care of it. And if he doesnt take Ill probably call him a second time. And if he doesnt, then well have to talk, right? Trudeau gestured with his palms down as if to tamp down any worries: Were going to be fine. Trudeau later acknowledged there are trade irritants and worries, including duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports and the possibility Trump will impose tariffs on Canadian uranium exports. Trudeau was vague about how he would deal with the possibility of any changes that Democrats might negotiate with the Administration to the NAFTA deal, stressing only that he does not want to see a good deal reopened. We are concerned that any reopening of NAFTA could lead to not just lengthy further negotiation we all were quite pleased were behind us, but also might lead to worse outcomes for Canadians and for Canada. The possibility remains that Parliament could be recalled in late July or early August to deal with the ratification. Legislation in Canada has merely passed its early stages, and has been sent for study by committee. Still the Liberals were feeling confident about how Trudeau handled the meetings with Trump. A fourth senior official told the Star that overall, it was a good day for Trudeau, as Parliament recesses, ahead of a fall election. If the ballot question was who do you trust to stand up to the U.S. president, Im good with that, he said. Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin OToole said he was glad the president will engage directly on the China crisis. After six months, it is clear Trudeau cannot get China engaged without the help of the U.S. But OToole sounded a note of caution. The President speculated about tariffs again, which is unsettling. The fact that the Liberals put C-100 (the new NAFTA bill) on hold shows they are uncertain on the status of the USMCA. Trudeau saying he had good meetings with leadership from both sides of the House of Representatives, including with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat majority leader. But he refused to be drawn into specifics about the Democrats demands for changes to environmental and labour enforcement or longer drug patent protections in the new trade deal. We had a very frank and positive conversation about the path forward to creating better opportunities for citizens, for workers on both sides of our border. I fully respect the conversations and discussions going on in their ratification process and offered to be helpful in responding or allaying certain fears. But Canada is not going to get involved in the ratification process that the American congress needs to go through, he said. Many of the questions thrown at Trump involved the downing by Iran of an unmanned U.S. drone, which Trump claimed was over international waters. The president suggested there would be retaliation, but he refused to specify what measures hed take, calling it a very bad mistake that was made by a very stupid person. Trudeau said we are very concerned about the escalation by Iran, pointing to Canadians in the anti-Daesh mission in Iraq. Replying to a question by the Toronto Star, Trump said he may invite the Toronto Raptors to visit the White House. They played phenomenal basketball. I watched a little bit of it. They were really terrific. Congratulations, by the way! So that was a great job by a great team, so well think about that. If theyd like to do it, well think about that. The two leaders appeared relaxed as they sat together. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security advisor John Bolton and Trumps press secretary Sarah Sanders looked on. That the meeting was held was a signal that the diplomatic chill has thawed. The two leaders met at noon in the Oval Office for their first one-on-one sit-down since last Junes summit notoriously imploded over then-stalled NAFTA talks and Trumps steel-and-aluminum tariffs. Last spring, Trumps tariffs, which were lifted last month, overshadowed the deal reached by Canada, U.S. and Mexico to modernize free trade rules and soured Trudeau and Trumps G7 summit talks. While Trump and Trudeau disagree strongly on major international issues such as climate change, a senior U.S. official said they can work well together on many others, amid rising tensions with Russia, China and Iran. We need Canada, said the American official, pointing to defence co-operation between the two countries on a range of issues. Trump adviser Kelly Anne Conway; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin; a number of U.S. senators and members of Congress, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats leader in the House of Representatives; IMF head Christine Lagarde; industry representatives, and Mexicos ambassador in Washington attended a small reception the Canadian embassy hosted Wednesday evening that was closed to media. A Canadian official said 50 to 100 people attended the event which lasted a little more than an hour. With the new NAFTA deal now ratified by Mexico, Trump and Trudeau want to see it sealed and delivered in their own countries before it can take effect. So trade and global tensions will be on the menu when the two leaders extend their talks immediately after their face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office and are joined by their respective senior officials for a luncheon meeting at the White House cabinet room. Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/06/20/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-us-president-donald-trump-talk-china-trade-in-washington-thursday.html