#my goal always is to grow as a trainer

[wyrddogs]

What drew you to belgians?

I'd spent the majority of my life dreaming of owning a German shepherd, and then in college I met my first malinois during my internship studying Rage Syndrome in mals.

Belgians tick all the boxes that GSDs do, with the added benefit that they are smaller. They're athletic, biddable, do-anything dogs, and they have that shepherd grit. I met several malinois, liked them a lot, and decided I needed one. Unfortunately, malinois culture is Terrible, so I moved over to tervs.

What amuses me is, when I was looking for the shelter/rescue puppy that ended up being Bindi, I was looking for a German shepherd. My dog training mentor (who really wanted me to get a lab, and was grudgingly helping me look for a shepherd) said she had contact with an older couple who had recently gotten a puppy, but it was way too much dog for them, and they were looking to rehome. The puppy was a malinois.

I can't remember why I didn't follow through; I was starting to pick up on my mentor's gajillion red flags so I was bypassing a lot of her "help" at that point. But I did contact malinois rescue to see if they had any puppies. I met a volunteer at her house and got to meet her dogs, and she asked what breed and dog experience I had. I told her I was an apprentice dog trainer and this would be my first dog.

The volunteer laughed and basically said "yeah we're not giving you a dog" and that was that.

I got my fluffy malinois now, so it all worked out in the end.

Thank you for asking!

[cthonic-bunny]

1. Natal Chart Observations

1. Libra Moon: decision paralysis that comes from feeling two contradicting ways about an issue. “I want my cake but I want to eat it too.” I feel like libra moons are the most sentimental of the air moon signs. Libra moons can constantly weigh out the pros and cons for every emotion you feel. “I want to do this but I don’t want to deal with how messy it’ll make things.” When libra moons are feeling a little lost, they can over-schedule themselves and their commitments to friends to avoid thinking about overly-vulnerable feelings. There is zero tolerance for imbalance in relationships. Poor behavior from a partner will be met with matched behavior to tip the scales back to a balanced one, even if the overall locational of the scale is descending into negativity. “You get what you give” mentality. Libra moons can be keen on the idea of karma. “Come to me with sweetness, or don’t come to me at all.” Daydreaming about romance is a relaxing way to pass time. Before maturity, libra moons might suffer from social anxieties when they find themselves in group settings where there isn’t a cohesive vibe. If someone around a libra moon doesn’t look like they are having a good time, it subconsciously makes it difficult for a libra moon to relax. The libra moon will then play the role of a diplomat or host/hostess to ensure the vibes equalize to restore their peace.

2. Mars in the 10th house: these natives are always making money. They are known for their side hustles too. They are always looking for new ways to make money and I feel like they are good at getting clientele. They will get their hands dirty for their job. For a man, this can point to a “blue collar ‘manly’ job.” I noticed 10H mars can be pretty generous with their money and services, but feel extremely terrible about getting help from others. If these natives aren’t confident where they are in their career or skill set(s), I noticed that they are likely to undersell themselves or undercharge for their services/time. It can also point to people in the workplace as perceiving the 10H mars person to be brash and outspoken. The authority figures in their career can feel a sense of competition with the 10H mars person, or wants to humble them in some way. I feel like it’s really easy for them to get good jobs or climb up the ladder when they do things the right way. They get impatient when they aren’t growing in their careers as fast as they want to. “Why am I not a millionaire yet.” They work hard for what they want and are very ambitious once they find their niche. I feel like these are often people who can find jobs that don’t necessarily need a degree. Their career mistakes feel explosive. They can be seen as “sharks” in their fields because they go in for the attack. They like to be the best and the most competent at what they do, and want their colleagues to see them as competition. “I’m the best and no one will tell me otherwise.” They can be known for being assertive and extremely determined in meeting their goals. They will work themselves to the core and utilize all their energy towards elevating themselves career and reputation wise.

3. Mars in the 1st House: These people might often be noticed for their bodies. They might be seen as someone you shouldn’t mess around with. They look athletic. Maybe they are known for fitness or for being athletic. These natives can be associated with the military, and probably look incredible in their uniforms. This is a man-eater or womanizer placement, for sure. “I get what I want when I want it.” They look like they have a rough exterior, even if they are sweethearts. They can be into martial arts. Commanding presence. They can make wonderful personal trainers. Regardless of gender, they can come off as being comfortable with their masculine energy. Reds look great on them. They might have thick eyebrows and a nice jawline. They look attractive when they are angry. They know how to make someone feel sexy. They have people chasing them or falling for them fast.

4. Pisces and 12th house placements: these people have no problem ghosting you. Pisces placements and 12H placements are always made out to be innocent and naive, but they are attracted to people and situations that have something a little “bad” about them. Savior complex. They can go through feelings where they feel detached from social settings and those they love, where they cannot fully escape the role of observer. They will always be able to fully escape into their internal landscape and get consumed by it— but it seems as though no matter how hard they try, they can’t have that same presence in the material world. This can lead to frustrating feelings of disconnection from the world and people around them. They can be smiling and staring off, but you will never fully know what they are thinking. They can make people really curious about them, because their thoughts always catch you off guard. Having an existential crisis on the daily. Casual things might have a bigger internal meaning to them that others might not always understand. We can find plenty of people attractive, but if the spark isn’t felt in the soul and doesn’t pique a deep curiosity, we will get bored and swim away. Liking people who are a bit “mean and dark” but wanting them to be sweet and soft with you. Using music to paint your daydreams, or to escape. Finding music that relates almost entirely to whatever they have on their mind feels like striking gold. They can like someone just for having the same interests as them. Feeling like a ghost in a flesh suit. Enigmatic. Can embody different vibes and personas depending on who they are around. They are sensitive and can adapt to the situations at hand. Too much self awareness can lock them in their heads. “I only jump into waters with the depth of an abyss.” Laying down for hours just to daydream and process your thoughts. Long baths feel like therapy. Moderation isn’t in our vocabulary. We love what we like, and we want to get lost in what we love. Not being able to properly process your day or interactions until you’re alone and can replay them in isolation.

5. Taurus Placements: I noticed Taurus moon women get spoiled financially by their partners. The type for their partners to say “don’t worry, I’ll work and you can be at home,” or that being their partners goal at a point. I noticed Taurus placements can enjoy the occasional shoplifting. They are not going to compromise their comfort, and if you come after that it will be met with intense stubbornness. They can seem nonchalant about a lot of things, but can be extremely unwavering in their opinions on certain things. In some cases, they can have strange eating habits or relationship to food. Thankfully, the Tauruses I’ve been around don’t project that on those around them. It’s more internal from what I’ve noticed, and they can enjoy feeding those they love and care for. They can have great taste in food. They love sensual vices and sex. They look great with pearls. They master an aesthetic and can stick to it. They are fiercely protective of those they love. They can be lazy at their worst and will not want to do anything that requires too much effort. They can be impressively good at couponing. Making money from home is the ideal setup for them. They will spoil their loved ones too, and can be great gift givers. They don’t cheap out with presents for their loved ones. They get much enjoyment from decorating their spaces and hosting their loved ones. They can be prone to overthinking and some may obsessive behaviors or crippling anxiety as well. They can honestly make the best scammers, as terrible as that sounds. They can sell someone a dream and make it sound beautiful, but can be lying through their teeth. Their jealousies can sometimes come from a place of vanity. Watch out for envying others, and appreciate your own beauty. They can focus so much on the beauty around them they forget about their own. They can be the image of beauty and grace, or strive deeply for that. They have pretty and soothing voices. Taurus placements can easily be the funniest person you know when they are in a joyful mood. I also noticed Taurus placements are wonderful at finding vintage pieces and re-selling them!

-D

[warping-realities]

Commitment - Part I

"I thought you liked my body."

Peter said with a slightly hurt tone of voice into the phone as he looked at the video of the overly muscular man that took up most of the device screen advertising a personal training studio that had recently opened near his apartment.

"I like you, babe, but it's just that you spend so much time at work and... well... I'll be honest, I've always liked your thin appearance... but in the last few months you've been growing a belly. It's no big deal ...but you know how much dedication I put into my body, just for you. A little reciprocity would be nice. Do this for me baby, I've already scheduled an appointment for you.

" Concluded the voice on the phone, belonging to Julia, Peter's longtime girlfriend. The two met while still in college and he always wondered what a woman with a sculptural physique and a beauty worthy of the catwalks saw in him. Not that he wasn't attractive, with his elegant face and slim body, coupled with the air of class and sophistication that many rich people seem to carry with them without even realizing it. Still, the difference between the two in terms of attraction was huge. Which made many people whisper that she was nothing more than a gold digger. But Peter preferred to turn a deaf ear to those comments because he really loved Julia and wouldn't accept that kind of conversation. In fact, he loved her so much that even against his nature he found himself putting on gym clothes and going to the address indicated in the pamphlet.

Furthermore, Julia knew him very well and had pressed the right button to force him to do what she wanted, appealing to his commitment to their relationship.

Arriving at the indicated location, Peter realized that the studio was a small room with some equipment and thus understood that Julia was thinking about his inhibitions when choosing that place. Despite coming from an influential family and being forced to participate from an early age in the most different social events, he had a real horror of exposing himself.

Therefore, a small studio like that would be the place where he would feel at least a little more comfortable. But perhaps she had purposely ignored another of Peter's horrors: intimidating muscular men, which was precisely the case with the gigantic guy standing with his arms crossed in the center of the room wearing the same shirt and making a pose identical to the one in the ad Peter had seen earlier.

Peter justified to himself that this would be the standard expected of a personal trainer, but that didn't change the feeling of absolute fear that had overcome him the moment he laid eyes on that figure.

The monstrous guy opened a smile that exuded so much self-confidence that it was overflowing with arrogance.

"Hey man, I'm Dan, you must be Pete, right?" The instructor asked as if he were intimate with

Peter and making the mistake that was perhaps the only thing that gave him the courage to speak out, calling him by his diminutive.

"Peter. I'm Peter Wexhan and I like to be called by my name."

"Wow man, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I just wanted to break the ice since we're going to spend some time together." Dan said without letting his smile falter.

"I-I don't know if we'll go... I just thought about taking a experimental class." Peter replied.

"Nah, you'll see, once the iron bug bites you there won't be any return. So, the girl who arranged the class for you mentioned that the goal is to lose some belly fat, is that it?"

"Julia, the girl's name is Julia. My girlfriend and that's what she would like..."

"But what about you, what would you like? You are my client!" The truth is, Peter would rather be home. But he didn't have the courage to say that for fear of the big man in front of him and of

disappointing his girlfriend.

"I...that's what I want."

"Dude, you need to learn to assert yourself, man. And you know a great way to assert yourself, grow up!" Dan said, flexing his powerful muscles pushing his shirt to the limit, stretching it so much that it became transparent, exposing the glory that was hidden by the thin layer of fabric.

"I... I.." Peter began, not knowing what to say as he looked at that pile of stacked muscles with wide eyes.

"I'm kidding Peter. Who am I to say what you should or shouldn't do? Although I think a real man needs to know how to impose himself, I also think he also needs to know how to please a woman."

Once again, not knowing what to say, Peter preferred to remain silent. Giving Dan space to ask the question he would know was coming.

"So, Peter Wexhan... any relation to Senator Frank Wexhan?"

"Yes, I am his son."

"Wow, one of my first clients will be someone important."

"My father is important, I'm just a regular guy." Peter replied, knowing that as much as he wanted it to be real, it didn't actually match reality. After all, besides his father being a senator, his family was extraordinarily rich and Dan certainly knew that. But demonstrating more professionalism than the interaction between the two up until that moment made it clear that it would be possible, the instructor did not comment anything about it, preferring to continue the class.

"Let me work with you for a while and you will be anything but regular. And the best time to start is now. He responded with a new smile before putting Peter to perform the greatest physical effort of his life up to that point.

While helping him, Dan tried to start a conversation with Peter. He talked about cars, football, parties, all subjects with which the other had no affinity whatsoever.

"What do you mean you don't have a football team? Not even the one from your college?”

"It was never something I was interested in, sorry."

"Stop apologizing for everything man, although really in this case you have to apologize. Just kidding!!! But weren't you at least going to see the cheerleaders?" Dan asked, delving into another delicate subject, women. Julia had been the only woman in Peter's life and he adored her. He saw no reason to look at or even think about other women. So deep was his commitment.

Upon hearing this, Dan just smiled again and corrected Peter's posture, resuming his focus on the exercises. Making the latter amazed at how good the other was at his job and how quickly this was showing. At the end of the session his arms, shoulders and legs are looking slightly bulkier and he can't help but give himself a self admiring look in the mirror at how good looking he was making his opinion of Dan improve a lot. Sure, he was the kind of guy that Peter preferred to stay away from all his life, but now he saw that he could be someone fun and with whom he could interact. So much so that he ended up scheduling a new session for the following day. Saying goodbye to the other man with a hand shake and going home with the impression that in the end all in all, that was a great decision.

Upon arriving at the simple but comfortable apartment he shared with Julia instead of his family's currently uninhabited mansion, he found himself invaded by a hunger he had never felt before. Looting everything he had in the fridge and cupboards, and without taking a shower, he lay in the couch devouring everything he had looted while flipping through one channel after another on the television until finally stopping at a game of university football for his college team, which he began to watch, while he absently massaged his sore muscles, with a feeling of pleasure bordering on sexual. And that's how Julia found him two hours later when she arrived home.

"Hey babe... what's that smell? What's going on?? Peter you stink!"

That was her comment when she saw her boyfriend lying on the sofa in the living room, which at that moment was infected by the pungent smell of masculinity.

"Sorry babe, I got home from the and lost track of time." Peter replied as he smelled his ownarmpits and made a face. "Eww, I really stink."

"Peter, I can't believe you sat all dirty on my couch!"

"My couch, the apartment is mine and I can lie on my sofa and watch football however I want!" He

responded aggressively, scaring his girlfriend and himself in the process."

"Sorry babe, I don't know what came over me, let me take a shower and make up for it. I'll cookyour favorite dish for you."

The rest of the night passed without any major incidents, with the two having dinner and making small talk and ending up in bed where he rewarded Julia with the best fucking she had had in a long time.

To be continued…

[leveloneandup]

For Christen Press, the Joy is in the Journey

Progress isn’t perfect.

That’s been Christen Press’s motto over the 781 days since she last played in a soccer match—and not just when it comes to her recovery from the ACL tear she sustained in June, 2022, but also when thinking about life as a whole.

“You have to accept that things won’t go the way you think they will, but maybe they’ll go better,” she explains. “Progress isn’t linear. It’s up and down and back and forth. But in that movement there’s more than what you ever imagined. So the imperfection—the struggle, the setbacks—those are actually the greatest gifts as you get to learn about yourself and you have the chance to grow.”

Press has had more than her share of setbacks over the last two years, as an initial surgery turned into two, then three, and finally four.

“I think every single time that I was told I’d have to have surgery, from the first ACL reconstruction and the three scopes that I had, I always thought I would be on the quickest timeline possible,” said Press when she returned to Angel City training in June. “I think that's part of who I am. I'm just relentlessly optimistic. I'm naively positive, and just thinking that everything's going to work out for me—and I never want that to change, you know? And I got off course of all of those timelines so many times that I finally had to actually relinquish that expectation of myself.”

In her two years off the field, Press says she’s grown and healed in more ways than just physically, but the goal was always to return, even if that possibility felt far off at times.

“I never thought about giving up,” says Press, “but there were moments that I thought I’d have to accept that I wouldn’t make it—or that ‘making it’ might not look how I expected.”

One of the hardest things about this process has been accepting that the outcome was not fully under her control. “I’m able to do a lot of suffering for success, and I’ve been that way since I was a child,” she says. “The question I had to answer was how to accept and be open to things I cannot control.”

Press had access to the best medical and rehabilitation care in the business—first at the Meyer Institute of Sports, an El Segundo rehab and performance facility specializing in elite athletes, and then with Angel City’s training staff, including VP of Medical and Performance Sarah Smith, Head Athletic Trainer Manny De Alba, Head of Sports Science Dan Jones, Director of Rehabilitation Sarah Neal, Performance Coach Michael Roman, Assistant Athletic Trainer April Seymon, and Senior Physical Therapist Joscelyn Shumate Bourne.

Ultimately, bodies don’t always heal the way we hope they will. All she could do was show up every day and try her best.

“I had to make decisions that centered my well being and full personhood,” she says. “To start to find my inherent value outside of excellence in the pitch.”

In part, that meant finding joy in other areas of life. She worked on her business, re–Inc, including starting a podcast with (business and life) partner Tobin Heath, initially focusing on the 2023 World Cup, then branching out to cover women’s soccer more generally. She went to the beach. She spent time with family.

In some ways, this time away from the game Press loves has been freeing. “The last two years have been the first of my career that I wasn’t evaluated on my performance,” she says. “I showed up for PT every day with a smile on my face and gave max effort. That’s all I had to do.”

Press’s return comes at a perfect time for the club: they’ve begun to build momentum with two convincing Summer Cup wins, against Club América and Bay FC, as they look ahead to the back half of the regular season. Playoffs are still well within reach heading into this stretch, a fact that Press’s return can only make more tangible.

“Her quality is inevitable,” says First Assistant Coach Eleri Earnshaw. “Last week in training, she scored a couple of goals that we haven't seen anyone else do yet this season in training.”

Returning to play after such a long hiatus isn’t easy for anyone, but Earnshaw says there’s a point the coaching staff have emphasized both to Press and to other injured players eyeing a return to the field: “your ability doesn't change overnight,” she says. “There are some things that just stay with you. Her chance creation, her separation from defenders—you’ve got to be in the right physical and mental place to be able to perform those things, to be confident to do it, but she is building those things up every day.”

“If we can get that quality onto the pitch for any number of minutes, great,” she concludes.

As Press anticipates her return to what she calls “the real world of professional sports”—one “filled with stress and pressure and often angst,” as she puts it—she’s going in with a fresh perspective.

“I’m determined to enjoy it,” she says. “I know who I am as a player and person, and I see this opportunity as a chance to do what I love. I told my teammates today: football is a miracle. It’s a miracle we get to do the thing we love.”

[sunsetkerr]

STAYING DOWN | s.kerr

summary: you and sam kerr are on-pitch rivals, but when you're teammate hurts sam during a game, you're the first one on the ground with her (or.. 4 times you watched sam hurt on the ground, +1 time you helped her up) [1.8k words]

pairing: on-pitch rival!reader x sam kerr

notes: I love this one a lot..

(1) 2015, FIFA Women’s World Cup - Group Stage

“did you like that one, l/n?” god, you thought. she’s insufferable. you watched as she celebrated with her team, green and gold flooded the box. it was no secret that you couldn’t stand sam kerr. the whole world knew practically, and watching her celebrate a goal whilst looking directly at you just made you hate her even more.

“piss off” you shook your head as she jogged pass you to reset play. 

“oooh” she chuckled at you, her smirk only growing, “feisty today, are we?”

commentator voiceover JP DELLACAMERA: ooh, we can see on-pitch rivals y/n l/n and sam kerr having a few words with each other after l/n just scored her goal

JACQUI OATLEY: i think they’re constantly having words if i’m honest

JP DELLACAMERA: it seems that way, doesn’t it? Kerr and l/n are one of the most interesting pairs to see on the pitch in my opinion

JACQUI OATLEY: no i completely agree, i love seeing how they egg each other on; very entertaining

JP DELLACAMERA: seeing them play each other at arsenal and chelsea, but then seeing them on a national level is just great football

JACQUI OATLEY: it’s funny to me, both great goal scorers, but they somehow always find a way to be next to each other on the pitch

JP DELLACAMERA: sweden taking a corner now… and rubensson sends it into the box and y/n l/n headers it into goal!

JACQUI OATLEY: phenomenal work from the young swede

you threw your hands in the air as sofia lifted you up. you turned around to see sam, on the ground, knocked down from the commotion in the box, with a frown etched on her face. you grinned down at her with a chuckle and shouted, “that was for you, kerr!”.

(2) 2016, WSL Season Chelsea vs Arsenal

commentator voiceover IZZY CHRISTIANSE: and sam kerr scores her third goal against arsenal! and it’s a hat-trick for sam kerr!

PIEN MEULENSTEEN: ooh! and she’s collided just outside the goals with arsenal player, y/n l/n IZZY CHRISTIANSE: looks like they hit each other pretty hard at the hips there.. kerr and l/n are both down

you groaned clutching at your hip bone. “will you watch where you’re going!” you looked over at who banged into you, of course it was her.

“you right?” she winced, holding onto her own hip.

“no thanks to you” you spat at her.

sam threw her head back in pain, “oh fuck” she hissed. you heard someone come up behind you/

“you okay, y/n?” they wrapped their arms underneath your armpits and pulled you up. it was caitlin. you were thankful to be back up on your feet, you muttered a quick thank you whilst you rubbed at your hip. “sam?” she asked her matildas teammate. caitlin always tried to be a neutral force when it came to you both, the two of you too strong willed not to butt-heads on the pitch.

“i’m good” she nodded, still groaning.

“i’ll get the trainers” catilin said before flagging over the chelsea trainers, who were already on their way out.

“come on,” caitlin patted you on the back before walking back to the centre with you. you rolled your eyes, hearing sam groan behind you. she crashed into you, and she’s complaining? figures.

(3) 2017, Algarve Cup Group Stage

you and sam were both gunning for the ball. she was behind you, trying to get the ball out from underneath you. you tried your best to hold it, but didn’t have to try for much longer as sam fell to the ground clutching her ankle. “fuck, fuck, fuck” she winced. 

you turned around, holding on the ball under your foot. you contemplated helping her up, making sure she was alright. 

“y/n!” but your teammate, lotta, was shouting at you as she had set up her position. “run down!�� she shouted to you. you got the ball moving again, shaking off steph catley, ignoring sam’s cries in the background.

commentator voiceover JACQUI OATLEY: looks like y/n was a little concerned for sam kerr there

JP DELLACAMERA: that’s a surprise to me

JACQUI OATLEY: l/n crosses the ball in to schelin and it’s a goal!

JP DELLACAMERA: great assist from l/n there JACQUI OATLEY: and even better shooting from schelin

JP DELLACAMERA: a great duo those two

(4) 2022, Sweden vs Australia Women's Friendlies

“that’s two, y/n” caitlin grinned at you as she came off the high from her second goal of the game. 

you chuckled and shook your head, trying to suppress your grin. “shut up caitlin, you’re a show-off” you laughed. you weren’t too fired up this game. your team hadn’t managed to score yet, but the matildas were playing better than you- they deserved to win the friendly.

“and i love every second of it” she grinned.

“i’ve got next caitlin” her voice came out of nowhere, but once you saw her your mood was ruined. sam was jogging past you both with a big grin on her face.

“yeah, sure” you scoffed, heading back to your side of the pitch. it took sam only five minutes of play to score. 

“that was for you!” she sang to you, running straight past where you watched her score. you rolled your eyes, your friendly spirit that had been present in this game was officially ruined.

commentator voiceover JACQUI OATLEY: and kerr has scored on chelsea teammate zećira mušović, getting the matildas third goal for the game, with Sweden still sitting at zero. ooh, kerr has stopped celebrating. she looks to be a little bit of pain. 

JP DELLACAMERA: she’s had a few troubles with her calf, hopefully it’s nothing”

“you good?” you watched as sam limped back to her position as the game reset. 

“agh, shit” she hissed through her teeth, “my calf has been playing up” she admitted, giving it a quick rub.

“do you need a trainer?” you asked her. you stammered before adding, “y-you’re taking up my space on the pitch”.

“nah, no” sam sighed, shaking her hands as she stood up straight again, “just give me a second”.

“are you sure?” you asked

sam raised her eyebrows at you before taking a deep breath, “careful, l/n.. kinda sounds like you care”

“you’re on my half of the pitch” you almost erupted at her accusation, “get moving” you shooed her away.

(+1) 2023, FIFA Women’s World Cup Bronze Medal Match

it was the seventy-fifth minute when you watched her go down. magdelena’s tackle was brutal, you waited for the whistle to sound, but it never came. game resumed play and mags was off running with the ball as sam was on the ground clutching her calf in pain.

you jogged over to her, “are you okay?” you asked.

“fuck!” she cried, panting through the pain. 

“stop time!” you turned around and called down to the referee, but she just ignored you and continued watching play. “hey!” you called again.

“holy shit,” sam put her head on the ground, still holding her leg close.

you looked around for help, and saw the matilda’s physio running out onto the pitch to see sam. “the physio is coming” you told her, “hold on a second”.

“hey! call time!” you screamed down the pitch again, “fucking hell, she’s hurt!” 

“hey,” you watched as z held onto the ball in the box, stopping play herself. the referee finally officially stopped play and began to walk down towards yourself and sam. “she’s been down for at least a minute, you are supposed to stop play!” you shouted, “what kinda refereeing is that? bullshit”

you stayed close while the physios tried to get sam onto her feet. you knew she had just come back from injury, she was doing too much. sure, you didn’t like her. but you couldn’t help but feel inclined to make sure she was alright.

and for some obsurd reason, the feeling was still there even after the final whistle blew and you had won a bronze medal.

you found sam sitting on the pitch, her head in her hands. you hesitated before crouching down next to her, “i’m sorry about the loss” you said, holding your hand out for her.

sam looked defeated as she saw who it was, “you deserved to win” she sighed, shaking your hand.

“you did lots of great work for football sam” you admitted. you took a deep breath before continuing, “is your calf okay?”.

“it’ll be fine” she nodded. you noticed the tears in her eyes, “thanks” she whispered.

“good game” you said, before standing up and heading off.

sam sighed, “you too”.

alanna headed over to check on her captain, just having watched the exchange between you and sam. “what did she want?” your rivalry was no secret, everyone knew that you both weren’t opposed to having words after a tough game.

“to see if i was okay” sam’s tone whilst still defeated, had a hint of surprise buried beneath it.

“yeah alright” alanna scoffed, holding out her hand to help sam onto her feet, “comes over to you after we’ve lost, sounds about right”

the night had wound down for the matildas. sure, they had an afterparty to go to, but there were lots of tired girls walking the ground.

“i’m gonna sleep on the bus before we have to go out” sam chuckled, zipping up her puffer jacket. “i’m ready to party” macca chuckled, giving sam a little nudge.

“it’s a constant emotion for her” alanna laughed.

“shut up, i-“ mackenzie was cut off, your voice peaking the trio’s interest. they saw you over by the sweden bus, particularly close to your teammate, a sour look on your face.

“what the hell what that about?” you asked. “what do you mean?” mags chuckled.

your eyes widened in shock, “i mean what you did to her was totally illegal”.

“it’s football, y/n” she said simply, trying to walk onto the bus.

“that is not football and you know it” you stopped her in her tracks, continuing your conversation. “we were already up, you didn’t have to do that” you said.

“sam is a tough girl, she’ll be fine” magda didn’t seem particularly remorseful, especially not after injuring her own teammate at chelsea. “you know she just came back from injury, going after her calf like that is just not alright” you shook your head at her

“i didn’t ‘go after’ her calf-“

you cut her off, “could’ve fooled me” you laughed.

“you know what, y/n-”

“girls that’s enough!” your coach cut you both off, “we just won a bronze medal, care to cool off a little bit” she raised her voice at you both.

“don’t play dirty,” you finished, pushing past her to get onto the bus.

“rich coming from you” she said, “last season you hated her, what’s changed?”.

you paused before answering, “nothing.. i just prefer to play by the rules” you lied.

“what the fuck?” alanna whispered, shocked by your change in demeanour.

“that was.. strangely nice of her?” macca looked to sam.

“i know” sam furrowed her brows, “what the hell”

“a change of heart maybe?” alanna chuckled jokingly.

“who knows” sam shrugged. maybe you two could get along after all.

[fannyyann]

Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers’ goalie-goading throwback, delivers hits — and wins — when it counts

by Hailey Salvian and Jeremy Rutherford 

Matthew Tkachuk put his father in “timeout.”

That’s why Keith Tkachuk, an 18-year veteran of the NHL and one of the league’s best American-born players, wasn’t available to talk about his son’s remarkable run that has taken the Panthers from “biggest disappointment” to one win from the Eastern Conference finals.

On a Toronto radio station in March, the elder Tkachuk called the Panthers “soft.” By many accounts, that assessment was accurate at the time, and the words seemed to light a fire under the team — as did Paul Maurice’s tirade on the bench the same day during a game against the Maple Leafs.

Florida won its next six games and went 6-1-1 down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs.

Now, there’s no time for distractions, and Matthew wants to keep a lid on his pops, who informed The Athletic of his “timeout” via text.

After upsetting the 65-win Bruins in the first round, the Panthers are the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, leading 3-0 in their second-round series against Toronto with a chance at a sweep Wednesday at FLA Live Arena.

And the 25-year-old Tkachuk — in the midst of another career year that would have been MVP-worthy had it not been for Connor McDavid’s otherworldly season — has led the way, from scoring game-winning goals and delivering rousing speeches in the room, to delivering cross checks and goading goaltenders into fights.

He’s the player people love to hate, and he’s building a following of haters as he pushes the Panthers along in the postseason.

And even though the person who’s been most influential in Matthew’s career isn’t talking, others are. The Athletic spoke with a dozen people who for years have tracked Tkachuk’s brand of hockey — he’s a highly skilled agitator (a modest 6-2, 201 pounds) who opponents hate to play against.

Keith — known as ‘Walt,’ a nickname given to him by Winnipeg Jets teammate Eddie Olczyk because his surname was so similar to former Ranger Walter Tkaczuk — was traded to the Blues in 2001. Matthew, only 3 years old at the time, would start playing hockey with a youth program in St. Louis. Let’s just say he wasn’t a phenom.

Chantal Tkachuk, Matthew’s mom: They thought they were getting this ringer of a kid. We went to his first game and he was terrible. He was by far the worst player on the ice.

But that wouldn’t last long. Tkachuk improved steadily, adding a diverse skillset, and working through minor hockey, the U.S. national team program and the Ontario Hockey League.

Jimmy O’Brien, longtime family friend, owns OB Clark’s bar in St. Louis: They had a goal in their backyard, and 50 pucks would be lying in the driveway. Anytime you pulled up to the back of the house, you had to watch from running over the pucks because the driveway was littered with them.

Jon Benne, longtime family friend and strength trainer: I used to take wrist shots at him, and he’d knock them into the net. So when I see him tip a goal in now, I’ve seen that a million times.

Jordan Janes, St. Louis Junior Blues coach (2009-10): Matthew would do some of these between-the-legs (moves) before anybody was doing that. I would always look over at Keith and smile because in my mind I’m thinking, “Holy s— ,” like this is incredible that a 14-year-old is doing this. But you could tell that Keith, who was a “go to the net hard” type of guy, it drove him crazy.

O’Brien: His father told him, “If you ever do that stuff in a game and it doesn’t work, you won’t get off the bench.”

Taryn Tkachuk, sister: He’s not going to do that stuff just to do it. The through-the-legs goal against Nashville, he was like, “There was no way I could’ve shot that regularly.” He practiced that all growing up, so he knows he’s going to be able to do it.

Rob Simpson, assistant general manager of the London Knights: He would try new things all the time. It speaks to how smart a player he is. He was always trying to be creative in different ways to produce or make plays based on what he is seeing against defenders or what they’ve done against him before. He’s always been a creative, out-of-the-box thinker.

There are elements of Tkachuk’s game that can be traced back to the fact that he is Keith Tkachuk’s son.

Don Granato, Tkachuk’s coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (2013-15): I think you can give some credit to — if not genetics, then just being around his father over the years.

Chantal Tkachuk: When Keith was still playing, they got to go down to the rink, skate after practice. Some of the players would play around with them.

O’Brien: He was a rink rat. He was always hanging around his dad, always going to his practices.

Barret Jackman, Blues defenseman (2002-15): I remember the coaches would have to come by and say, “Hey Walt, practice was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. Can you get Matthew off the ice?”

Benne: Matthew would be sitting on the bench the whole practice, and Keith would come over and say, “Watch T.J. Oshie. Watch how he goes into that corner and comes out.” Matthew would just be sitting there with a helmet on, just absorbing it all.

O’Brien: It’s hard to get a better education in the hockey world than sitting there with professionals and watching them at a young age.

Chantal Tkachuk: Every night, we always watched hockey. The boys would get up before school and the first thing they would do is turn on NHL Network.

Taryn Tkachuk: That was the only thing we really watched on TV. We never really watched other shows on Disney channel.

Chantal Tkachuk: Keith retired in 2010 and stepped away from his career and took almost five years off. In that time, he totally devoted all his time to youth hockey. That happened to align with the most important developmental years of the boys’ lives.

Janes: Keith knew what it took to get there. He demanded a work ethic out of his boys. Goals or not, assists or not, he just wanted to see you work. If you worked, Keith was happy. He knew if you did that, everything else would come.

O’Brien: One of Walt’s favorite things to say is, “Hey, you didn’t win? Play better!”

Taryn Tkachuk: Oh, he says it all the time. If someone didn’t play as well and maybe they’re complaining, like, “The ref did this or that,” or, “The other team wasn’t letting me do this,” my dad is just like, “Play better!” Nothing else. It’s just “Play better!”

Janes: That quote is the most Keith quote I’ve ever heard.

Growing up, Matthew was always competing with his brother Brady (23), and sister Taryn (20). Whether it was roller hockey, basketball or a made-up game they called ���trampoline football.”

Benne: Matthew, Brady and Taryn would be on the trampoline, which was enclosed, and I would throw the football in the air as high as I could into the trampoline. It became an MMA wrestling match to see who got the football.

Taryn Tkachuk: I don’t even know how the game got made up. I just remember it being very physical. Literally whoever had the ball, you were about to get decked.

O’Brien: We were playing a two-on-two basketball game, and there were some of the most violent fouls you’ll ever see in your life. I had a bloody nose when we were done.

Taryn Tkachuk: If we were playing basketball, Matthew would never let me just go in for an easy layup. Of course he was going to foul me.

Jackman: I remember during one of the lockouts, Matthew was 15 at the time, and he skated with some of the NHL guys. I went into the corner with him, thinking I was going to play him hard. He tried to reverse hit me, and then he came out of the corner with the puck on his stick. He didn’t back down, even at 15, and I was in my early 30s.

Chantal Tkachuk: The most somebody hates to lose, that would be him.

Tkachuk committed to play at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program a few years before his first season there. But, at 16 years old, there was a learning curve playing with the national team and in the USHL, an under-20 league. In his first USHL season, he scored only 17 points in 33 games. He would double that production one year later in fewer games.

Granato: We knew of his talent, but in his first year, his production wasn’t there.

Nick Fohr, U.S. NTDP associate coach (2013-15): He wouldn’t shoot it. He literally wanted to show off those hands all the time.

Granato: I would tease him a bit. I’d say, “Hey Matthew, do you like to score?” And he’d say, “Yeah.” And I’d say, “No, you like to stickhandle.” He was so good at it, but I needed him to see that he wasn’t going to be that up-and-down-the-rink player.

Fohr: He wanted to have that agitator piece to him because it was kind of ingrained into him at that point, but he wasn’t big enough or strong enough to do any of that stuff at 16 years old.

Chantal Tkachuk: It was the second year in the program. That was the point where we thought he could make it.

Fohr: He played most of his second year with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, which was an unreal line. Auston was the marked man, and Matthew — after being around his dad — was like, well, “Auston is my center, nobody is touching him.” And he started to become that guy. Any little scrum, he was right in the middle of it to make sure that his teammates were taken care of.

Granato: By the midpoint of the second year, he was playing just like he plays in the NHL right now. He was great in the same areas of the ice, great in the same ways.

In the 2016 Memorial Cup Final, the London Knights were in overtime against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Tkachuk, in his first (and only) season in the OHL, took the puck up the left side, toe-dragged around a defender and scored the game-winning goal.

Aaron Berisha, London Knights teammate: At first, it looked like he was on a harmless rush.

Simpson: Matthew could always elevate at the right times.

Robert Thomas, Knights teammate (2015-16), and family friend: We always joked that Christian Dvorak actually tipped it, but obviously Matthew got all the credit for it. Just a big-time player making a big-time play.

Simpson: It’s not just by coincidence that he’s big in the right moments. He puts in the work.

Fohr: He’s in those moments because it’s just who he is. You saw it on the overtime goal against Boston. He knows somebody’s got to go in there and get the puck, somebody’s got to go screen the goalie.

Simpson: He wasn’t the one who shot it in the net, but if he didn’t have the sense and savvy to pop out and screen the goalie, it doesn’t go in.

Fohr: It’s no surprise that you see him do it in overtime in Game 7 because he does it every shift, every game.

Janes: The way Matthew was (growing up) and the way he is today, he will do what it takes for his team to win a hockey game. Period.

Because of his ability to stir up drama on the ice and (at times) cross the line, Tkachuk is one of the most polarizing players in the league.

Fohr: He’s that guy that everybody hates unless he’s on your team.

Benne: I don’t think Matthew came into the league fearing anybody. He just played with that edge, like, “I’m here, I’ve arrived, and look out!”

Granato: He could stoke a situation and get it stoked and get everybody’s emotions running on overdrive. And then, even in a highly emotional state that he stirred up, he will execute where many, many skilled players cannot.

Fohr: If he’s agitated somebody somehow, now a little bit of their focus is on Matthew and it takes just a little bit of focus off what they’re good at and impacts so much of the game.

Granato: It’s like a diversionary tactic, and a highly effective skill that he brings. He’s always ready to score the goal after he disrupts the situation, where other guys just want to take his head off. He never loses sight of, OK, while you’re trying to do that, I’m going to be scoring a goal.

Benne: He’s just going to play hard. He’s going to hit you, and he expects to get hit himself. If you watch that game against Toronto, he hammered two guys, and then he got hammered. Not whining, that’s the way the game goes. That’s the way he plays. He’s pretty fearless out there, but I think he plays right on the line. That’s where he wants to be.

Thomas: It was in full force in London. He’d always find himself mixing it up. He’s feisty and he’s got all the skill in the world. Some people just have it, and he definitely has it.

Berisha: It’s funny when people play against him and say, “Man, I hate playing against him, he seems terrible.” He’s actually one of the best guys ever.

Taryn Tkachuk: Matthew has this switch. Off the ice, he’s a completely different person: super nice, super fun. Once he steps on the ice, the switch just goes off and he puts on these different goggles and just has this compete level that you don’t even know how to explain.

The most common ways to describe Tkachuk: He’s a throwback. He’s a unicorn. He’s just like Keith … and maybe better.

Eddie Olczyk, TNT analyst, former teammate of Keith (1991-96): You see (Matthew) and it’s like turning back the clock 25, 30 years to when we played with each other in Winnipeg.

O’Brien: Walt played in an extremely physical era, and the way Matthew plays is refreshing because it’s a throwback to how it was all the time.

Janes: One thing Keith taught these boys at a young age was, if you want to score, you’ve got to be around the net. They got that right from Keith. They just took it a step further as far as their skillset goes.

Fohr: It’s just a place he’s not afraid to go to. Some players are. They don’t want to go there because it’s a hard area to play in because the D are big and strong. There’s an art to getting there and doing it the right way and Matthew has mastered it.

O’Brien: When Walt was playing, you’d see a big guy out there and you wouldn’t think a guy like that has deft hands. But Walt had sick hands, especially tipping pucks. And that’s one of Matthew’s strengths, too.

Olczyk: Matthew will make a play and you go, “Well, there’s Walt.” It’s eerie, but it’s not surprising that the boys are a chip off the old block.

Chantal Tkachuk: To this day, they tease me because skating has always been Matthew’s deficiency, so they make fun of the fact that I taught him how to skate. Keith will take credit for everything else.

Granato: Matthew plays the same kind of style as his dad. He just does it with more talent.

Fohr: To be a thorn in the side of the opponents and then have that elite ability on top of it, that’s pretty special.

Simpson: It’s very hard to find hockey sense that is that elite but also comes with the poise to make the play when it matters most.

Taryn Tkachuk: He’s literally doing every single aspect of what different players bring in a hockey game. It just makes him so unique.

Benne: Matthew doesn’t care what the media writes about him. Matthew doesn’t care if the fans boo him. Boston is going to hate him now, and Toronto is going to hate him after this series. But that’s what drives him. He wants to perform. He wants to put on a show. But more important than anything, he just wants to win.

[green-thots]

Life Waster - CL16 x FemDriver!Reader - Chapter One

Masterlist Next

Authors Note: This took me absolutely forever because I spent more time thinking and watching edits of Charles on TikTok than I did doing actual writing. There’s probably a lot of typos and grammar mistakes so just ignore that. Additionally, any feedback is much appreciated!

Warnings: Swearing, slight mention of death, mentions of weed, if I missed any please tell me

—

A Grammy and Rock Sound feature was always the goal, but shit happens I guess. Life was great, we were selling out stadiums and on the verge of our first world tour; then he died and everything fell apart. Formula 1 was always Dad’s dream, not mine, but I think a piece of me died along with him, and I threw myself into racing to fill the JJ-sized hole in my heart. All I was left with was a hard drive of the songs we had written over the years and a letter telling me to go kick some ass. I dove headfirst into the depths of uncertainty and somehow still made it out on top.

“Ms. L/N, we’re here.” The driver calls from the front seat, looking at me in skepticism through the rear view mirror.

I mutter in thanks as I open the car door and step out toward the doors of the front office, backpack in tow. The only directions left for me in the email were to head to the front office in the morning and someone would guide me from there. There’s a lady at the desk with black glasses perched atop her nose as she tapped away at her computer. She barely acknowledges me at first, but after a few seconds of standing there, she looks up at me.

”Oh, hello,” She says with a kind smile, “What can I help you with?”

“Uh, I’m Y/N L/N. I was told that someone would meet me at the front office.” I naw the inside of my cheek, slightly terrified at the new environment.

”Oh, yes. We’ve been expecting you,” If possible, her smile grows wider and she picks up the receiver of the phone, beginning to dial a number, “I’ll call down and let Mr. Horner know that you’ve arrived.”

We sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before she starts to speak into the phone. “Hi, Christian. Ms. L/N is down at the office.” She pauses while the other person on the phone speaks. “Okay, thank you, buh-bye.”

”April is on her way down to get you and give you a tour,” she says, her French accent much more prominent than it was before. “In the meantime, I’ll get you all set up.”

She digs around below her desk for a moment, before finally popping up and setting a keycard on a red lanyard with the words ‘driver’s pass’ on the desk in front of me. “This is your temporary pass, you’ll get a new one with your picture on it after media and such is done, but for now this is going to get you wherever you need to go on the property.”

“Thank you,” I say with a nod, as a tall girl in a Red Bull Racing jacket walks through the door to the right.

The lady at the desk smiles at the other girl and says, “I’m Susie and I’ll always be here for whatever you need. Trust me, those boys can be a handful.”

I force a smile at her, praying it looks genuine enough because I knew what kind of shit storm I was walking into and still signed the contract anyway, like an idiot.

The tall girl holds out her hand to me and says, “Lovely to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.” She talks fast and barely gives herself a second to breathe before continuing. “I’m April, and I’ll be your personal trainer, assistant, therapist, honestly just whatever you might need while you’re here with the Red Bull teams.”

There’s a hint of humor to her voice so I try to let out a laugh, but it’s hard when I’ve spent the last year or so wallowing in self pity.

“I know this whole experience is much different than F2 and I hate to rush you while you take it in but we do have to get started with the tour so you can meet Mr. Horner before he leaves for his debrief.” April says, grabbing her own pass off her neck, which instead says ‘staff’ and turns toward the door she came through before.

“If I would have known I was meeting important people today I would have worn something nicer than a hoodie.” I grumble to myself.

April must have heard me because she wiggles her finger at me with a smirk on her face and says, “You’re funny, I like you.”

We walk in silence out into the parking lot between the front building and the massive team building. April asks, “Do you have a car over here yet?”

”No, I haven’t really got around to that yet.” I reply, taking in the view of all the sports cars lined up that probably cost more than the house I grew up in each.

“Oh, well when you do, this is driver parking. Most guys tend to keep a car at their homes here rather than taking a cab since it’s a lot of back and forth.” She gestures to all of the cars parked in front of their respective sections. “The guard over at the side gate will buzz you in 24/7 if you just show him your pass.”

“Good to know.” I say as we walk up to the two glass doors with the Red Bull logo painted above.

The opening lounge is small, but still gives a feeling of comfort, rather than sterile like the front office. There are trophies lining the shelves on the walls and two World Champion trophies are held in a glass case front and center.

“Your home base is actually in the Alpha Tauri section next door but the team is meeting here for the sake of simplicity.” April says, throwing a smile at me over her shoulder as she turns left down the hallway.

She stops at a door labeled ‘boardroom’ and winks at me saying, “They aren’t as scary as they seem.”

Well that’s comforting.

April knocks twice and opens the door to reveal to reveal four guys seated around the table; two of which dressed head to toe in Red Bull gear as if they just stepped out of a commercial, one of which in a full suit, and the shortest one dressed as if he had just woken from a nap.

“Mr. Horner, this is Y/N.” April says, gesturing to me as I step into the room behind her. I’ve never met Christian Horner outside of a five minute phone call but I can only assume who he is as the man in the suit stands up and holds out his hand to me.

”Y/N L/N, it's so great to finally meet you in person.” Christian says, shaking my hand. “Unfortunately I do have to get going because the engineers can get quite pissy when things are behind schedule, but I suppose you know all about that from Formula 2, right?”

”Yeah, my team had quite the attitude.” I say, trying to sound funny but somehow sounding like the uptight bitches I used to race with back in F3.

“Anyways,” he says, still keeping up his diplomatic smile. “Boys, this is Y/N L/N, the new driver for Alpha Tauri. I’ll let you all introduce yourselves.”

Christian excuses himself and heads out the door, leaving me with April, who is still somewhat of a stranger, and the three men who I have only ever seen on TV.

The first guy stands up and gives me a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms, “I’m Daniel Riccardo, I actually drive for Red Bull but we’ll probably still see a lot of each other.” He points at the guy next to him and continues. “Mr. Two Time World Champ over here is Max Verstappen, I assume you know who he drives for.”

Max nods at me and says, “Welcome to the team, Y/N.” His Dutch accent very prominent.

Finally, Daniel turns to the guy at the end of the table, “Last but certainly not least, the little firecracker over there is Yuki Tsunoda.”

Yuki rolls his eyes at the nickname and starts, “Hey, I’ll be driving on Alpha Tauri with you.”

”Firecracker as in his favorite English word is fuck and he sure knows how to use it,” April chimes in, a near permanent smile stuck to her face.

Yuki smiles and laughs quietly as Max says, “I trust April will get you all ready for media day tomorrow.”

”I was really hoping I was done with photoshoots but I guess even a change in career didn’t help with that.” I say, still not fully believing that this wasn’t a dream and I’m actually in Formula 1.

“Well, we better continue with our tour and let the boys get back to whatever work I know they are trying to avoid.” April says, eyeing Daniel with a knowing look as she opens the door to the hall.

“See y’all tomorrow,” I say, looking back at the group of guys staring at me. I then follow April out the door, a chorus of goodbyes yelled behind me.

April leads me back outside and then through the glass doors to the Alpha Tauri section. She finally stops once we reach a door that had already been labeled with my last name.

”This is your drivers room,” She says, opening the door to a plain room with a couch and a small vanity, “Feel free to decorate however you see fit.”

I can already visualize my plans for the room; some scenic pictures to hang on the walls, a few comfy blankets to throw on the couch for naps in between meetings, and maybe a cute rug to cover up the concrete floor.

April gestures to the closet next to the vanity, “Your fireproofs, suit, helmet, and any other gear you may have ordered are in the closet.”

Set on the vanity is a vase of flowers with a card tucked under the vase. I step over and pick up the card, carefully tearing open the envelope, and reading it. Inside are the words, ‘Welcome to The Grid, Y/N’ and it seems to have been signed by every driver on The Grid.

”I think they’re trying to make a good impression on the first female competitor they’ve seen in a long time; you might even be the first for the newer ones.” April says, looking over my shoulder.

“Well it takes a lot more to impress me than flowers, I mean even my freshman prom date bought me flowers.” I say, laughing at their attempt to soften me up.

”Your garage is right down the hall and it's labeled so you’ll be able to find it easily. Sadly, we can’t go in today, but you’ll get to see the car on Wednesday when you meet your engineer and we start the first round of pre-season practices.” April says, leaning up against the closet, “You’ll have to be ready to go for media in the main building with all your gear tomorrow at 1:00 but feel free to get ready here.”

”Well at least I’ll get to sleep off some of this jet lag,” I joke.

”That’s the spirit, take every moment you get to sleep, it’ll help.” April says, rubbing her hands together as she continues, “Now, we go meet the Athletic Trainer for a pee test and your first physical.”

Well I guess that means no more pot for me.

-

I flop face first down onto my bed, well if it can really be considered a bed. Right now I’m just sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my apartment. I haven’t had the time or energy to unpack so everything is just sitting around in boxes, and the furniture I did buy, has yet to be built or unboxed.

My physical lasted much longer than I had anticipated; the strength testing and medical assessments taking up much of the rest of the day. The six hour time difference is really beginning to take a toll on me and I am nearly asleep when my phone buzzes next to me.

Dad: Your mom showed up at my doorstep, screaming that you were nowhere to be found. Care to explain?

Fuck that. I’ll deal with him in the morning.

-

As I stand before the mirror, dressed in my race suit with my hair loosely curled and my makeup freshly done, I have to take slow, deep breaths to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. All eyes are going to be on me today because the first woman on The Grid in nearly ten years is sure to be a spectacle for the other drivers and staff. I should be used to having people stare at me. Hell, I spent years performing on stage in front of massive crowds. But my ‘fall from grace’ as the Rock world has dubbed it, has caused me to hate the constant stares of others. Formula 1 might not have been the best choice of career, but I need to take back the piece of my childhood that I cherished dearly.

My phone dings from its place on the vanity;

April: We’re nearly ready to start shooting, so get over here as soon as you can :)

If these guys have managed to find anything about who I was years ago, I’m sure their opinions of me are already set in stone, but I still can’t let holding up the order of business lead them to think I’m inconsiderate to everyone else’s schedule.

I speed-walk my way out of the Alpha Tauri building and over to the main building, carrying my helmet just in case I need it for a photo.

When I enter the room where the cameras were being set up, all the drivers were huddled around in little circles. The lively colors of each team’s uniform were intermixed, showing that they all must get along well. If they don’t like me, it seems that I’ll be spending the majority of the next year alone.

With the spectacular luck that life has given me, the door is extremely squeaky, causing everyone to look up at me. Immediately, Max waves me over to the group he was standing with.

Hesitantly, I walk over and the tall blonde guy in the Mercedes uniform eyes me with a smile.

”Well you look scared shitless,” He says, the slightly devious but still kind smirk present on his face.

”Don’t be a dick, George,” The French one next to him says as he elbows George in the stomach, “I’m Pierre. Don’t mind him, he’s always like that.”

”Hey, I’m not that bad,” George throws back, giving Pierre a slight shove. The other guys laugh at their antics, so I force out a little laugh.

I barely get another second to listen to their introductions before a staff member calls out, “L/N, you’re up first! Tsunoda, you’re on deck!” I send an awkward wave to the group as I walk over to where the cameras are set up.

”Alright, we’ll need you to fill out the first day of F1 board.” The staff member says, passing a chalkboard to me.

I begin to fill it out.

Name: Well that’s easy.

Season: #1

I Am From: Miami, FL

My Fave Food Is: Mac & Cheese

My Hype Song Is:…

I’m tempted to put one of my songs here, but I think I’ll make them work harder to discover that piece of me.

My Hype Song Is: Gimme Gimme Gimme - Abba

This Year I Will: Kick ass.

I stand in front of the camera as the photographer snaps a few photos of me with the board. Again, everyone in the room is staring at me.

”Hey Logan, we found you a Floridian!” George calls out in the direction of the blonde in the Williams Racing suit.

Tall blonde- who must be Logan- gives me a bright smile and calls out, “we gotta represent, girly!”

I actually let out a laugh at this as a staff member takes the board from me and sets me up for the headshots. Not knowing what the usual protocol for Formula 1 headshots is, I give the camera a light smile.

I can feel someone staring at me intently, as if they look hard enough they could see the deepest parts of my soul. When I look over to the area behind the camera where all the drivers are standing around, I immediately see Mr. Laser Eyes.

He’s partly concealed by the shadows but his dark eyes still bare into my soul. His hair is a dark and curly mess, like he’s just gotten out of bed; but damn does he make bedhead look good. He’s dressed in an almost too tight Ferrari suit. He towers over Tsunoda, but that isn’t too hard to achieve.

We hold eye contact for a few seconds; it's almost magnetic, before he shifts his eyes back to the conversation he was having with Pierre and George.

“Okay, that’s all we needed,” The photographer says, motioning me off the stool as he calls for Tsunoda.

I walk back over to Pierre, George, and the Ferrari driver who had been staring at me. Immediately, he looks me up and down with a smirk before saying, “Good choice of music, rookie.”

My face heats up, and I’m sure I look like a walking tomato. “Yeah, Momma Mia is my favorite musical.” I say quietly.

George and Pierre start snickering to themselves quietly as the Ferrari driver says, “I’m Charles Leclerc.”

Even his accent is fucking sexy.

“Y/N L/N.” I reply.

”Don’t worry, everyone knows your name already.” Charles says with a little laugh. This puts a look of fear and shock on my face.

”In two weeks time, everyone in the world is going to know your name.” George says, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

”Yeah that makes me feel a lot better, thanks Princess.” I spit back sarcastically, using the well-known nickname the media has given George in recent years. Pierre cackles hysterically, so much so that he struggles to catch his breath.

After a bit of throwing sarcastic insults back-and-forth with George, and him taking his turn for headshots, individual pictures are complete.

“Wait, we have to get a group picture of this years’ rookies!” Max calls, a devious smile on his face as he looks in my direction. I roll my eyes as I walk over in front of the camera and am joined by Logan and the blonde McLaren driver.

“I’m Oscar,” the McLaren driver says and he and Logan stand on either side of me. We put our arms around each other's shoulders “to show unity” as the photographer told us. The three of us gave bright smiles to the camera, trying to show that Formula 1 isn’t as scary as it seems when in reality, all of us are terrified to step out onto that track for the first time.

“Alright, lets get all of the drivers out here now.” The photographer says after snapping. Few photos of Logan, Oscar, and I. Immediately, the staff get to work on moving a bunch of prop boxes out into the studio as all the drivers flood the area. I’m directed by the photographer to sit on the tallest box, which I do have to get a running start to jump up on, and lean back on my hands with my legs crossed.

After a few moments of getting everyone else into position, the photographer finally gives us the signal to get our game faces on. Noticing that no one else is smiling at the camera, I tilt my head back a bit and glare at the camera. Although I am the highest up and the farthest back, I’m sure you will still be able to pick up my noticeable annoyance by looking at me in the photo.

“Everyone is free to go!” A lady, who I’m assuming is the head of media, yelled into the crowd of drivers. As everyone disperses, I’m speed walking to the door as to get out of there as quickly as possible, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I whip around to see George, Pierre, Oscar, Logan, and a few other drivers I haven’t formally met yet.

George looks at me with puppy eyes as he says, “We’re going out to get drinks, do you want to come with?”

They’re all staring at me intently, waiting for my reply.

”I can’t. I actually haven’t even unpacked my stuff yet and the furniture for my apartment hasn’t been built yet so I better get on that.” I say, avoiding eye contact so I don’t have to see the disappointed looks on their faces.

”What if we help you unpack?” The British, curly-haired boy asks, before saying with a wink. “Lando Norris, at your service. Do you have booze?”

I freeze up, not expecting them to want to change their plans to hang out with me so soon after meeting them. “I mean I guess, but my fridge is completely empty, so no booze.”

”Eh, we’ll just make Max pick some up on his way,” Lando says, waving it off while George yells, “Fuck yeah, party time!” Leading the entire room to burst into laugher.

Well, this is either going to end in losing my security deposit or getting so drunk that I won’t remember what embarrassing shit I’m sure to do by tomorrow morning.

[pets-will-play-ask-blog]

Everyone, what was your dream career growing up? Ever had any astronaut / veterinarian / dolphin trainer phase? Alternatively for the Pets, what was the ideal person you envisioned would adopt you?

Eli: I don't really know. I wanted to do something with Pets, for sure. So I just kinda fell into what my dad was doing.

JJ: Uhhhh usual little boy stuff, I guess. Astronaut, cop, pro wrestler. Never really had any goals for a career. I don't even really need one, my parents just insist I "make a name for myself." It's whatever.

Keanu: Artist.

Noah: Yeah, so actually my "ideal owner" shattered my dreams and has caused me nothing but suffering for the past three years. So I don't really believe in dreams anymore.

Dawn: When I was little, I just wanted someone nice who would give me lots of treats and compliments. Now I want someone who will (a sudden, long, monotone beeping noise drowns out her words, as they would not be safe for tumblr) :)

Melody: Truthfully, I always hoped I'd end up an assistant for a movie or pop star. Or a traveling CEO. Someone with an exciting life I could watch from afar.

[echidnapower]

Now that Ash's series is over, how do you feel about the decision to write Misty out of the main cast at the end of Johto in 2002? As we know besides brief cameos and the last few eps of MPM, she really did stay off the show for 20 years, 6 series, and somewhere over 850+ or something episodes. Once Hoenn started and May was introduced, the writers likely decided sometime in 2003 they weren't going to bring misty back to the cast (her cameos with Togetic aired this year), and then that was basically it.

I always assumed the writers would have brought Misty back like how the Brock/Tracey switch was reversed after Orange, but I guess May became too popular it convinced the writers they had no reason to bring Misty back to the cast. So they slowly started phasing her out over AG as her cameos/specials started to dwindle, then by the time we got into 2005/2006 she got her final episode for over a decade. Then by the time DP started and they decided to bring Dawn in, that was basically it. They brought in a second new female companion for a second full gen, and Misty didn't get to appear in DP at all.

People tend to forget that long before the modern pokemon era (XY, SM, Journey's, etc), the writers seem to already decide back in the early 2000's from 2002-2010 during the Hoenn/DP era that they weren't going to bring Misty back full time. And as we know, they didn't. It's just kind of ironic to me when you stop to realize how long ago that was, 2002 was the beginning of the millenium, it over 22 years ago now, and Misty left at Gen 2 of the franchise whereas Ash's series went through Gen 8. She basically was only there for like 20% of Ash's series, and missed 80% of the anime.

Do you believe the writers were in the right to remove her? Since you write fanfics with Misty staying, did her departure shock you or did you think the anime couldn't go on without her? In the end I guess it doesn't matter now, but it says a lot so many original fans decided to continue to watch without her year after year.

Well as someone who considers Misty "best girl" I would never condone the decision to have Misty leave the group. What I will say though is that it was clear to me that the writers for the anime back in those early days had no idea what to do with Misty since her "goal" as it were was to become a water-Pokemon Master, but they never took any steps to have Misty actually try to BECOME that. She was playing a support role for Ash and that I feel like was an extreme disservice to her character.

What we did get though was an evolution of her personality over time, as she became less violent with her actions and started seeing Ash more as an equal rather than someone who needed her coaching to become a good trainer, and in that change, the ship started to solidify for me. There were plenty of "shippy moments" during Indigo, but the more Ash grew as a trainer the more it felt like there was room for their relationship to grow.

By the end of her tenure, it was clear to everyone (or me at least) that the very thought of leaving Ash to go take over the gym because of her irresponsible sisters was a source of emotional pain for her. In her mind, Ash wasn't just some brat that stole her bike, he had become her very best friend and (depending on how you choose to interpret it) she'd fallen in love with his passion and devotion to Pokémon, because that's what made him stand out from all the other trainers out there. The lengths he was willing to go to in order to make sure that his Pokémon became the best they could possibly be and the love that he showed them, it even trickled over to his human friends as well, which of course included her.

And even with all the other girls that came along after Misty's departure, you could tell that there was a special bond between her and Ash that was never replicated with anyone else. In my mind, Serena kissing Ash before she left isn't the most impactful scene in the anime, it's the fact that Ash shed tears over Misty leaving because he knew how much he was going to miss her. To my knowledge, aside from her and Brock, Ash didn't cry over anyone else's departure. It was always "until we meet again" and then off he went on his new journey. Even Serena didn't get a tear from Ash over saying goodbye. That honor falls only to Misty (and Brock).

All this being a long-winded explanation for what makes their relationship so special, I'll address the other part of the question. Do I think the writers were right to remove her? Of course not. I think they should have given Misty something to do rather than just stand there with Togepi and cheer Ash on, and in an anime where character growth coincided with aging (yes, aging as in getting older and more mature, something Pokémon is notoriously allergic to), eventually Misty would've had to be given something to do. Their solution I suppose was to give Misty a new goal, one that was separate from her travels with Ash. I don't like it, but I get it.

May and Dawn were the main characters for the next two generations of games and they were made into coordinators so that they wouldn't overlap with Ash's goals. Contests weren't available in B/W I don't think so having Ash travel with Hilda would've been redundant, so they gave Iris to Ash since she was the most...rambunctious character in those games, and Cilan took on the Brock role now that he was finally off pursuing his new path. Back to the old dynamic but it wasn't the same. Iris wasn't Misty, and neither was any of the other girls he went with, Serena included. That BOND just wasn't there. The closest one who got there IMO was Dawn, and ironically aside from Misty herself, I think Dawn got the most returns to the anime out of all the Pokegirls.

I started writing my story over a decade ago with the mindset of "fixing" the anime, by putting Misty back where she wanted to be all along, but now by aging them up a few years (which is what they should have been in the first place) I opened the door for Ash to actually see Misty as more than a friend, paying off all those little moments they'd previously shared where Misty caught his attention when they were traveling together and he saw her as more than just "Misty," she was also "girl" which bizarrely Ash understood better early on in the show and forgot later on somehow with any other male/female interactions. I made Ash and Misty finally get together, strengthening their bond even more as now the titles boyfriend and girlfriend make it so that Ash AND Misty get something out of the relationship. She hasn't done much in the way of training for herself, I'll admit, but the way I write her, Misty doesn't just stand there and support Ash, she's his go-to for companionship, a partner he can count on when the going gets tough, more than the others. She's put on a pedestal as someone special to him, which she already was but now the role is more defined. And Misty now gets to be a big sister to Dawn as their relationship has grown throughout my story. Dawn looks up to Misty now, seeing her as someone she also can turn to when she's struggling with something. Ash is her mentor with training, but in a world where human interactions are more than just "Let's battle," Dawn needs someone to help her navigate those turbulent waters, and that's big sister Misty.

I rambled for a long time and for that I apologize. The anime could and did go on without Misty, and other characters who took her place have their own roles and their own merits. I won't take that away from them. But Misty is special I believe because there's just that bond that is difficult to define in words between her and Ash. They can push each other to their limits unlike any other characters in the show can, and undoubtedly Ash sees her as his very best human friend aside from Brock. If the anime had allowed him to age and grow, there's no doubt in my mind that they would have gotten together anyway, because a bond like that can't be broken by distance. If anything, it would just inevitably bring them together again.

[moonxpalace]

SatoAi timeline

Ok, here is the "masterpost" I promised to get a overview my future Pkmn AU. I have this timeline in mind whenever I draw Ash and Iris as teenagers/ adults.

Travelling companions through Unova and beyond: This remain unchanged. Ash and Iris are 10 years old, while Cilan is 15.

Alola/ world champion + Unova champion: While Ash has traveled to Kalos, Alola and Galar to grain more knowledge and get stronger as a trainer, Iris remains mostly to herself as she travels wherever the wind takes her. She does train under Clair in Johto, though! And Drayden takes her under his wings and helps her improve her battling skills in Opelucid Gym. Iris is hesitant to become the new Opelucid City gym leader (she kind of doubts herself as a trainer). When Axew evolves into Fraxure, Iris confidence boosts. She decides to keep battling in Unova's many tournaments, and in the end she becomes champion. She is super happy to discover Ash has become champion in Alola as well. After Drayden finally convinces her, she decides to send him a letter for a battle request. Here they are between 11 - 12.

Close friends: As Ash and pikachu continue their endless journey, Iris also decides to take her Dragon Master goal more seriously. Through the ages of 12 - 16, Ash and Iris start getting closer by deciding to visit each other region (when they have time!), through letters and social media. Ash discovers Iris is the only one who knows the stress of being champion/ being in the limelight personally. They love to talk together, laugh and vent whenever things are tough. Ash' Dragonite and Goodra escpecially LOVE Iris, while Bayleef takes a long while to warm up to her. Cilan is the one who notices Iris may have a thing for Ash, while Ash doesn't really get why he feels so "weird" around Iris. After catastrophic first date at the Striaton cafe, Ash walks Iris back to her hotel. Iris thinks Ash is just being nice after the wild events at the cafe, but when he admits everything was fun and asks shyly if she wants to go out some other time, she happily agrees. And that's when they start being an item!

Dating: At age 16 both are still champions: Known for their incredible battling skills and bond with their pokemon. Ash and Iris are still going strong, with only their family and friends knowing. Neither likes attention, so they try to keep their relationship private. If they do hold hands or flirt in public, it's mostly in Pallet Town or the Village of Dragons. Unfortunately the paparazzi is always on their case.

Officially dating: Ash and Iris makes their relationship official at age 18 (and the media has a blast). Iris has given Ash the spare key to her apartment in Opelucid City so he can pop up whenever he has time. Iris prefers to sleep in trees and spend her time out in the forest, anyways. She only has an apartment because Drayden insists so. Drayden is not too happy to find Ash slouching on her couch/ bed whenever he visits.

Proposal: Ash proposes at age 19. Neither really make a big deal about it, but oh boy, does Delia, Cilan and Dawn get overly excited about the wedding of the century. Ash and Iris careers still eats up most of their time, so they take their sweet time with the wedding ... until Iris discovers she's pregnant. Ash sort of panics, even if Iris says it's not really a big deal. Even despite her protests, Ash makes sure the wedding takes place as soon as possible.

Oliver: They have Oliver at age 21. Iris is relaxed about the whole ordeal, while Ash is lowkey worried about their current situation. Ash has moved in with Iris in Opelucid city, and while Drayden and Delia help out as much as they can, he would still like them to settle down a place more rural. Ash doesn't want Oliver to grow up in the middle of the city with all the pollution and the cars speeding by. A year and a half later, they buy land next to his childhood home in Pallet Town. The garden has plenty of space for all their Pokemon, which fits them just perfect.

Lillian: Lillian comes along three years after Oliver. Unlike Oliver, she is a stubborn little baby that refuses to sleep. Thankfully she mellows out after a few months. Lillian adores Oliver and follows him around much to his annoyance. She also likes the limelight a lot and is not camera shy at all. Both kids are close to their parents' pokemon, especially Pikachu, who they refer to as "uncle Pika"

Ash still as his gimmicks from before, while Iris obtains the Dragon type Z-crystal ( @zeldriszezinho 's idea btw!!! Thank you for letting me borrow it ^^)

[beestriker015]

Shelly x male Team Magma s/o

You may be wondering how two members of opposing teams that absolutely despise one another fell in love.

Well, it’s a long story.

Team Aqua, who are dedicated to their leader’s goal of expanding the sea.

Team Magma, whose ambition is to expand the land mass.

Due to contrasting goals, these teams are bitter enemies with one another, leading to many conflicts between the two.

Shelly and s/o first met during one of these many confrontations between their two teams and engaged battle with each other.

Despite being an Admin while s/o is a mere grunt, Shelly was easily defeated by him, leaving her both flabbergasted and a little impressed, not that she would ever admit it.

“H-how is this possible?! I shouldn’t have lost to a lowly Magma grunt like you!”

“I told you not to underestimate me Aqua Admin. Let your defeat show you that Team Magma is strongest.”

S/o smirks victoriously, making Shelly in leer at him in anger before Team Aqua begrudgingly retreats.

Impressed by his victory over the Aqua Admin, Team Magma’s leader Maxie promotes s/o to Admin.

Since that day, Shelly and s/o formed a rivalry with each other, with Shelly swearing that she’ll crush him in battle the next time they meet.

Unfortunately for her, s/o goes undefeated.

After losing to her enemy for what seems like the millionth time, Shelly falls to her knees and punches the ground in frustration.

“Why?! Why can’t I defeat you?! I don’t deserve to be a part of Team Aqua if I can’t even defeat a Magma lowlife like you!”

Watching her break down, s/o can’t help but feel bad.

���Hey. If it means anything, you are a pretty good trainer, and it’s because of you that I train my pokémon so hard. I always look forward to our battles…Shelly.”

Greatly surprised by his words, Shelly gets up and offers s/o a small smile before turning away with a huff.

“This does not make us friends…but thank you for saying that, I…appreciate it.”

At that moment, the two enemies would begin growing closer, even if they didn’t realize it.

Now whenever their teams would enter another skirmish, s/o and Shelly would of course battle, but not necessarily as enemies.

As time passed, s/o and Shelly grew even fonder of one another, leading to a spark of romantic attraction beginning to emerge, which they both quickly notice.

“No. I can’t be falling in love with her. She’s the enemy! What would Maxie say if he found out I’m getting feelings for a Team Aqua member?!”

“What is wrong with me?! There’s no way that I’m attracted to s/o! He’s from Team Magma! Our enemy! Archie’s enemy! My…enemy.”

Try as they might to fend off their feelings, love is quite persistent.

When next they meet, the awkward tension between them is quite noticeable.

Shelly and s/o are both unfocused and make several mistakes during their battle, somehow resulting in the former’s victory.

“I….I won? I won! After so many defeats I finally managed to beat you s/o!”

Despite losing the battle, s/o feels happy for Shelly.

“Congratulations Shelly, you deserve the win.”

Overwhelmed with happiness, Shelly absentmindedly pulls s/o into a kiss, which he can’t help but sink into.

The reality of what she just did sets in as Shelly quickly pushes s/o away with a reddened face.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! I-”

Her embarrassed rambling is silenced by s/o kissing her again, catching her off guard.

“W-what was that for?”

“You kissed me first. Consider us even now.”

“Even?! Oh no, don’t think I’m letting you get away with that! Come here!”

She pulls him into another kiss, this one causing their feelings for one another to finally let loose.

After pulling away, Shelly and s/o stare into each other’s eyes before fully confessing their feelings.

Luckily for the two, none of their teammates were nearby to hear or see what’s been going on.

“What do we do now Shelly? I love you, and you love me, but we both know our Teams won’t approve of us being together.”

“Then we’ll keep it a secret. Our relationship is our business. Maxie and Archie don’t need to know.”

“Can we really make this work? I mean, I know I love you, but I don’t want either of us to get into trouble.”

“Don’t worry s/o, we’ll take things slow and play it by year. If our team finds out about us, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I love you s/o, and I can’t fight what my heart wants any longer.”

“Alright then. I love you too Shelly.”

The two embrace and officially begin their secret relationship.

As a couple, s/o and Shelly can’t do a lot of things normal couples do for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t stop them from trying.

Cutesy texts, small gifts, love notes, and fun selfies are constantly being exchanged between the two.

Time together is extremely rare, but when they do manage to get away from their teams, cuddles and kisses are mandatory.

S/o and Shelly put up a facade that they absolutely hate each other when around their teammates as to not raise suspicion.

Luckily for them, it seems to be working.

Their respective leaders do often wonder who it is that their admin is dating, but respect them enough as to not pry into their personal lives.

When Groudon and Kyogre are awakened, s/o and Shelly accidentally kiss in front of their leaders after being relieved that the other is safe, thus letting their secret out.

After explaining everything to Maxie and Archie, the two wait for the incoming scolding.

“Shelly, while I don’t approve of you dating this Magma land lover and hiding it from me, I suppose if you’re happy, I just have to get used to it.”

“I’m quite surprised at you s/o. I never would have expected you to be in a relationship with one of our enemies. However, you are an adult that is aware of his own decisions. Besides, at the moment there are more important matters at hand.”

Once the legendary pokémon are dealt with, both teams realize the error of their ways and vow to work together to make up for their misdeeds, thus giving s/o and Shelly more time to be together.

“I’m happy everything worked out for the better. I love you so much Shelly.”

“I love you too s/o, and whatever our future holds, I know I want you by my side.”

The two share a loving kiss, both happy that their relationship doesn’t have to be hidden from their teams any longer.

[coulombury-conservatory]

THE EGGS ARE MOVING A LOT. I REPEAT. THE EGGS ARE MOVING A LOT.

We are definitely going to have babies in a day or two. Galvantula is extra restless too!

And Galvantula is doing very well now! She’s mostly recovered, we’re just making her take it easy because her babies are almost here anyway and by the time the babies are old enough to be released back to the wild, she will be ready too.

If the situation was different, we’d return Galvantula and the eggs to the wild and let them hatch and grow up in the wild- but that can’t really happen when the eggs are so close to hatching. Galvantula will not have enough time to build a nest and settle down before she has babies running around. So we will keep them here!

And I’d also like to mention that while our main goal is always to return our intakes to the wild… sometimes life has other plans. The Pokemon we care for usually stick to the conservatory because it’s soundproofed, and the rest of the building is often very busy and loud. But some Pokemon don’t mind the noise and people, and if they want to explore the rest of the building, we will let them (unless they’re really sick or hurt)! We put signs up telling people not to let Pokemon wandering in the building outside (not foolproof of course but incidents are few and far between and usually accidents!)

Anyway, my point is, as with any wild Pokemon, sometimes a Pokemon will meet a trainer they bond with and decide to let them catch them. This is allowed of course- they just have to find and tell me. So long as it’s clear to me the Pokemon is totally fine with it, I have no issues with the trainer catching the Pokemon. The ONLY times I’ve said no, it’s normally only been temporary- if the Pokemon is still in need of care (like an injury that’s mostly but not fully healed) I’ll ask the trainer to wait until the Pokemon is fully ready to leave our care. The few times this has happened, the trainer was more than willing to wait (and I let them visit as much as they wanted!)

And THAT ties back into the discussion about the eggs because I’ve noticed this happens the most with newly hatched babies. Baby Pokemon are very curious! We typically only let them explore with parental supervision (or human supervision if that isn’t available but the parent is okay with it). But baby Pokemon are also more likely to decide to go with a trainer than the adult Pokemon- the adults, if they’re still wild, a lot of the time it’s because they want to be wild. The babies haven’t made that decision yet, and I’ve seen multiple baby Pokemon make that decision under our roof!

So, if Mama Galvantula lets the babies explore, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two end up leaving with trainers. But we’ll have to see!

(Also, if I had a nickel for every time a trainer has challenged me with a Pokemon we took care of in the conservatory for a period of time and then released back into the wild, I’d have two nickels. It’s not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.)

[christinesficrecs]

Any smitten Stiles fic recs? I just love when Stiles is completely gone on Derek and I’m craving some good ones.

Sure! Here are a few. ❤️

Operation: Chick Flick by Inell | 7.3K

Stiles knows agreeing to be Derek’s fake date for Cora’s wedding is the stupidest thing he’s ever done, but it’s a little difficult to say no to the man he’s been in love with for seven years.

I Just Want You For My Own (More Than You Could Ever Know) by yodasyoyo | 16K

“What is with that sweater, dude?”

Derek ducks his head to look at it, abashed. “Uh- Mrs Hernandez knitted it for me. It’s an early Christmas gift.” He smooths it down self-consciously.

Stiles cocks an eyebrow.

“What? She’s my neighbor and sometimes I-” Derek trails off. Stiles’ other eyebrow rises to join the first, and Derek sighs. “Sometimes I help her carry her groceries."

Of course he does. One day maybe Stiles will stop being in love with Derek Hale, but today is not that day.

Reason For Call by 74days | 58.9K | Explicit

Stiles has been working in his call-centre booth for nearly 5 years when he first hears the voice of the new IT guy. Surely anyone who sounds like that has got to be H.O.T Stiles takes it upon himself to get to know him better. The only problem is, he's got no idea what he looks like...

Stay in Your Lane by mikkimouse | 5.3K

Stiles works at a bowling alley and has a crush on Derek Hale, a frequent customer. He deals with this in the most mature way possible: by giving Derek dumb nicknames for every game he plays.

Pick Me Up by Omni | 4.7K

Growing more and more confident as he grew older, Stiles started the ridiculous pick-up lines and joke-flirting with Derek back when he was still in college. After college, it just got worse. Not that Derek minds. Sometimes Derek will play along, because Stiles is funny, and those bad pun innuendo pick-up lines are ridiculously hilarious, and he likes it when Stiles tosses his head back and laughs like that. He loves it when he’s able to catch Stiles off guard with his own brand of humor, loves the way his eyes light up as he smiles at Derek. Pretty much, he’s just kind of hopelessly gone on Stiles, but doesn’t fully realize it.

Then one day…he does.

Coming Home by sheafrotherdon | 9.9K | Explicit

When Stiles comes home from college for Thanksgiving break, the last thing he expects to develop is a sudden, overwhelming attraction to Derek Hale.

Where to Search for Snow by suburbanmotel | 8.9K | Mature

Stiles and his Gigantic Repressed Feelings accidentally affect the weather. A lot. Like. A lot.

A Blossoming Romance by Trelkez | 7.5K

Stiles will just have to try harder next time. No one can ignore him forever.

You've Got Notes by the_gramophone | 14.8K | Mature

Stiles Stilinski has wanted star basketball player Derek Hale forever, but what are the odds of that ever happening? A love story of letters, prom, and the healing power of milkshakes.

Smooth Like Your Face by Cobrilee | 2.5K

Derek is so used to Stiles hitting on him with horribly cheesy pick-up lines, he doesn't realize that maybe Stiles means them. Luckily, Boyd does.

Worth the Wait by Dexterous_Sinistrous | 13.3K | Explicit

Stiles always had a thing for Derek, but then again, so did everyone else. Stiles just wanted to be seen as different, which was why he waited.

But maybe he waited a little too long.

Binomial Coefficients by DevilDoll | 20.7K

In which brainy freshman Stiles Stilinski wants star quarterback Derek Hale to join the math team, AKA math nerds in love.

Breaking Bad Habits by Inell | 3.7K

Stiles has a bad habit of falling for unattainable higher beings that would never so much as look at a mere mortal like him. The latest focus of his unrequited affection is his personal trainer, Derek Hale, who is a Greek God come to life.

Go For The Gold (And A Few Other Things) by SpiritsFlame | 14.7K | Mature

Stiles came to the Olympics with one goal- get a gold medal. By Opening Ceremonies, he has two goals. Win a gold medal, and sleep with Derek Hale. Unfortunately for him, those two goals are equally difficult.

[haikyuuprettysettersquad]

Haikyuu Book Club Week 9 - Part 2: the way Bokuto knows Akaashi (and a little character study of Bo)

This is gonna be a bit messy and all over the place, but I wanted to dive deeper into the way bokuto takes care of akaashi (and the team)!

This panel gave me the shivers! Akaashi is being picked on by the opposite team and is in obvious panic about it. Bo notices and immediately starts thinking tactics and BOOM. Spikes an impossible cross. This is the face he gives the opponents: don’t fuck with my setter!

Bokuto has always been seen as an ace who can only be as good as he is bc of the way his team takes care of him. Just earlier in the game a recruiter (?) for the National Japanese team has remarked that, though Bokuto is good, he ‘wished he always played like that’, indicating that his ‘breakdowns’ make him a lesser player. Bokuto, who obviously doesn’t have full control over these breakdowns, suddenly decides that he needs to grow up and try to manage his feelings better, something he never had to do bc he had his team. However, he won’t have his team forever and it’s his goal to go pro, so he HAS to do something now. If he wants to play with his teammates for a little longer, he’ll have to get his shit together! And he does!!

The way most people would interpret this as a slight against Akaashi. Instead, it’s Bo taking care of him, knowing it’s what he might need! (Also calling himself a big baby knowing he would absolutely lose it if he himself were to get benched dkshhsgs)

See!!! He knows akaashi so well! He knew what he was thinking and also know how to stop these thoughts!

Okay I’m not sure if I’m doing things in the right order rn bc I for some reason cant open the website on my phone but whatever, we’ll continue lol. Bokuto’s advice here, the one he once received from a trainer, is so perfect for him! Don’t think about hardships and about trying to get better, just try to think in what way volleybal would be fun for you!

(BOKUTO LOVES LANGUAGE)

And in the end, Akaashi gets his groove back and Bo never doubted him for a second!

[miss-sternennacht]

BNHA ended and I have some feels (spoilers below)

I really enjoyed reading BNHA these past 10 years. I remember when I first watched it, which was during a hurricane and I was stressed beyond belief and got hooked via the anime.

It’s bittersweet to read the manga ending now. I appreciate that they did a little skip so that we could see what the future held for everyone, but I wished it was longer and went over more things. How are they handling villains now? What about Spinner’s book? The fate of the rest of the League of Villains? All for One’s followers not only in Japan but in the world? There’s a lot of unanswered questions and I hate that it’s just up in the air when it was such an important part of BNHA in many of the arcs. That part feels unfulfilling to me.

On the other hand, I wished we got to know more about everyone in Class 1-A!! Why did they only go through some of them and not all of them?! I hate how many were skipped and you don’t know what they do for a living or how things have changed with them.

And people commenting on how Izuku’s friends left him for 8 years…. Clearly you aren’t older than 18 because it does get harder to meet with people when you are older and have a job, family, more obligations, etc. It’s extremely difficult at times!! It’s hard to meet any of my friends! I wish I could see everyone more often, but that’s not within my realm of control. I think it’s beautiful that they still try to meet up all together, even when difficult to do so. And of course it doesn’t mention that he’s probably met with a lot in little groups or one-by-one, like normal life. Just that it’s hard to get 20-something friends all together in a room without some kind of planning or arrangement. I’d like to see you try.

And people saying Izuku got dirty by becoming a teacher and how all this blah blah stuff…. Really shows how you feel about teachers!!! They’re already doing the dirty work of society and get treated badly. I hate seeing how my colleagues are seen to a younger generation when they are constantly beat down by a higher power, how they don’t make enough money. You have to understand, working in education is because you CARE. You are in this field because you ENJOY the work. Him becoming a teacher literally makes the most sense, aside from becoming a personal hero trainer. It fits so well with his character, that was completely anticipated!! Imagine him being able to help guide students and give them the encouragement he was never given growing up!!! It’s such a great role!! Also, don’t forget that teachers and their jobs are different in Japan compared to other places in the world. It’s a perfect job for him and I love it.

Another thing I liked was how any of the potential ships never were confirmed. You can make your own headcanons on who is with who (until that is ultimately ruined by word of god at some point). I like that!! Bakugo and Izuku! Real! Ochako and Izuku! Real! Grape kid and Bakugo and Shoto! Real! Really appreciated that open ended-ness a whole lot.

Is it a perfect series written gorgeously and without flaws? No, it’s not. There are parts that are unanswered and others that make me angry. I enjoyed the open-ness of the ending to where you can make your own judgements and assumptions, but hate how so many people are saying Izuku went back to being friendless when he didn’t say that at all. Asked about being lonely, Aizawa meant about the hero work itself. “Is it lonely to not work with your friends in a goal you had wanted to achieve for years?” Is how I read it. He’s not lonely; far from it. He’s the happiest guy in the world because he has all of his loved ones with him. And that is always a great way to end a story.

[echantedtoon]

A Champion Time For The Heart Ch5 Sponsorship

(this story will contain my own headcannons about the backstories of some of the characters and info on the league cards)

The trainers had arrived.

Professor Magnolia hummed in the middle of her trip to the kitchen as you and Leon watched from the couch. You both had a pretty good idea of who it was as the excited knocking continued when an answer didn't come from anyone instead. Eventually the professor answered.

"The door's open!," she shouted towards the door and you were impressed when she didn't flinch with how fast it flew open and in came the two children you both were waiting for. Hop and Gloria with excited smiles on their faces.

"PROFESSOR!," Hop greeted as he came right in and you blinked when Leon stood up from the couch and walked on over to stand next to the professor.

"Why, Hop dear," Ms. Magnolia greeted as he came up to her, "So these must be the new trainers Leon requested the starters for." She then turned to Gloria. "And this must be your friend, Gloria."

"And rival!" Gloria stood proudly which made the Professor chuckle.

"I see." Her eyes looked over to the bag on Hop's back, a few Pokeballs visible in a pocket on the side. "Oh? I see Wooloo has made some new friends. I trust you two received the pokedex from Sonia. I'm sure you'll have it complete in no time."

"Hey, Professor, do us a favor, would you?," Hop asked with a nervous face and the older woman turned back to him with a hum. OH BOY! You knew exactly where this would go. The professor would convince Leon into sponsoring the two for the Gym Challenge but not before he had them give a battle to convince him otherwise. "Help me convince Lee he should endorse us for the Gym Challenge!"

By now Leon had stood next to the professor as she hummed and turned her head to the Champion. "Oh Leon, why wouldn't you endorse them?"

Here it comes.

"Ehh." he sighed. Reaching a hand up to take off his hat and running his other through his long purple locks. "Hop and Gloria only just started out as pokemon trainers..." Both teens smiles dropped and they looked at one another. "There's still loads they don't know yet! Plus after today's little incident...Maybe they're not ready to take on something like this."

"BUT LEE!," Gloria interjected catching his attention. "You were younger than us when you first started out on your journey!"

"Yeah! And Sonia had to help you how many times?," Hop gestured to him like it was obvious.

Leon hummed with a frown. "Yeah, but I'm always hopeless with directions. I never went into Slumbering Wield at all, except to get you two out, but that's totally different then walking in intentionally."

"Now Lee," Ms. Magnolia looked at him. "It's in every young child's nature to make mistakes. It's all a part of growing up and becoming stronger. Dearie, I thought your dream was to have everyone in the Galar Region become strong trainers. Isn't that right?"

He hummed returning the hat back to his head. "Well...yeah. You're not wrong. That goal's precisely the reason I gave them both pokemon, in fact."

"Well then why don't you give them a chance to make mistakes and grow," she suggested as he still had that Skeptical frown. Leon hummed and looked back to the two. "You made plenty of mistakes too, Lee. Don't forget. You said so yourself."

"I know, I know." A hand came up to rub his chin. "And it does look like they caught a few pokemon by themselves." A small silence passed over them as you watched with a smile knowingly, and the two teens looked almost scared of his anwer....Before he sighed again. "Right then...In that case, how about this?" He held up a finger pointing. "Let's see if the two of you can show me such a brilliant battle that I'm left no choice but to endorse you. If I think you two have a good enough fighting chance then the endorsement's all yours."

"YES!!," both teens cheered with Hop doing an arm pump but it was enough for Leon to smile at them.

"And don't worry. I'll make sure both your teams are in good shape before the battle starts." He paused and looked out the window for a moment. "....It's been almost the entire day...We better go outside and get started if you two are going to be back home before dark too."

"RIGHT! I'll be waiting outside, Glory!" And again Hop dashed away

"HEY WAIT!! NO FAIR!!" She frowned and ran after him with Leon chuckling.

"Hurry it up, Glor! You've gotta battle me so I can get myself that endorsement!," his voice echoed back outside.

"Ah those two. I don't think I had that much energy even when I was their age." You got up Sobble chittering as the professor chuckled and started towards the door, cane thumping against the floor. As you two followed her out.

Leon sighed. "Yeah. Well I better get out there. If something goes wrong they'll need some help and someone needs to watch the battle they put on."

The three of you piled outside, you two slowly going out after the professor and finding the two teens already at the battle court a lil ways from the purple house pokemon already out and ready to go and you blinked. Oh. Looks like they did get some new pokemon.

"ALRIGHT!," Leon called side stepping past the professor fast and quickly walking towards the two, catching their attention. "Listen you two! The reason I'm unbeatable is because I learn from every battle I see or take part in. That's how I've gotten to where I am today. So show me something good in this battle!" He finally made it to the middle of the court and looked between the two for a moment. "Ok! The same rules of your first battle will apply to here as well. The first one to become unconscious or knocked out of bounds loses!"

"I'm interested in seeing how you two young trainers battle, too." Leon looked over as the you and the Professor stepped beside him and she finally made it to watch with a smile. "Now remember to give it everything you got. That's the best thing you can do for your pokemon and for yourselves, too."

"Good luck you two!," you added with a wave Sobble chirping in agreement.

"I'm going to become the greatest pokemon trainer there is!," Hop declared, Wooloo baaing in total agreement with him on the field, "And to do that I need that endorsement to take part in the Gym Challenge!" He pointed straight to Gloria. "Come at me with everything you have so we can prove to Lee that we've got what it takes!"

Gloria huffed hands on her hips. You figured by now that would probably be her default pose like Hop's was that couched fist pumped one. Not that you judged. "HA! If you want a show you've come to the right person then!" She pointed back. "Guess you'll be tasting my victory again!"

"We'll see about that, Glory! IT'S TIME FOR MY LEGEND TO BEGIN!," he shouted pointed out to the field challenging, "LET'S GO, WOOLOO!!" The sheep pokemon baaed out challenging to Gloria's...bird pokemon?? You didn't recognize it. "Have you gotten a bit stronger?"

Gloria hummed. "I'd say so. I wouldn't have this new pal here if I hadn't! What do you think?!"

"I think me and my test will put you to the test and see!"

"OH YEAH! WELL IN THAT CASE! ROOKIDEE USE HONE CLAWS!!," Gloria barked an order to the small bird pokemon and you guessed that the pokemon was a Rookidee. The small pokemon gave a tweeting noise and jumped in air, and you had to blinked when all of a sudden there was a dazzle of bright white light in the shape of slash marks. You blinked and....nothing happened. The wooloo was still in the standing position. What was all that about?

"You're confused?" You snapped to the professor as she smiled seeing your confused expression. "Hone Claws is a move that allows Rookidee's accuracy and attack to rise for their next attack. A smart or dumb move depends on what Hop does."

"WOOLOO USE TACKLE!!" The wooloo followed it's master's orders and quickly rolled into a ball and headed straight for them. You were surprised when Gloria made no move to stop it as her Rookidee remained standing as the wooloo was about to hit- The Rookidee was knocked back a few feet from the Wooloos tackle with a chirp and Gloria still did nothing.

"USE HONE CLAWS AGAIN!!," she ordered and this time you turned your head from the bright white attack reflecting the sun's light.

"HA! Didn't you see the first time that Hone Claws didn't work, Glory? USE TACKLE AGAIN!!" Hop taunted before ordering another assault. Again the same thing repeated with Gloria doing absolutely nothing and letting the rookidee be hit away a few more feet. Two or three more hits and Gloria would be ove-

Your eyes widened, Hop's question replaying in your mind. Head snapping to Gloria who remained unmoved. 'Didn't you see the first time that Hone Claws didn't work, Glory?'....Hop had no idea what Hone Claws really did did he!? You looked at Gloria who still did nothing as her pokemon shook it's head. That sneaky gal! She knew exactly what she was doing and so did you! Gloria was buying time for Rookidee's power to rise enough before delivering a powerful attack raised from the two hone claws attacks! Hop had no idea what was about to come his way!

"USE TACKLE TO YOUR MAX STRENGTH!! KNOCK'EM OUT!!," Hop ordered and the wooloo obeyed. Rolling fiercely towards Gloria's Rookidee as she did nothing to stop the upcoming hit-

"PECK!" It all happened so fast you could barely register it, didn't help it happened at such close range too. As soon as the wooloo was just barely a foot away from it, Gloria quickly ordered a ..Peck, and a direct power hit was delivered right to the wooloo's front in a grey cone shaped blur. Which resulted in a loud baa from the wooloo and it was knocked backwards. Rolling head over heels over and over again until it landed on it's side and slide the rest of the way before Hop's feet.

"WOOLOO!!" He cried almost horrified and dropped to his knees before the pokemon and reaching his hands out towards the spiraled eyed pokemon.

"Wooloo's unable to battle!," Leon shouted pointing to Gloria, "Gloria wins the first round!"

You felt sorry for Hop as he looked really down as he stood back up and took out a pokeball to you assume to put his wooloo in, but you had to wonder...Wasn't wooloo already still tired from their first battle earlier that day?? And from running around to try and catch some wild pokemon before they got here? Gloria probably would've beaten Hop anyways if he had no idea about Hone Claws but this world was a bit different from your game play or any game you could remember. This was a live battle you were witnessing, so of course it'd be more intense. Hop eventually did return the wooloo and pulled out another ball soon after.

"Alright then! Time to shine!," he shouted throwing out the next pokeball. What you weren't expecting was his Grookey to pop out in a flash of bright light. ...Wouldn't grookey be tired as well? Since Hop only had two pokemon he used, it made since he could only use the two he had for the previous battle and pokemon catching, so both might've been more exhausted.

"Are you going to switch your Rookidee, Gloria?," Leon asked looking to her but she shook her head.

"Nah! I'll stick with the one I got, Lee."

He nodded. "Alright! ROUND TWO GO!!"

"YOU WON'T GET THE BEST OF ME THIS TIME!! NOW THAT I KNOW YOUR TRICK!!," Hop shouted at Gloria frowning and pointing towards the rookidee, "GROOKEY USE SCRATCH-"

"PECK!!", Gloria ordered back quickly and..Well you guessed your suspicions were right dead on...because the Grookey wasn't fast enough to dodge the upcoming fast flying attack. You weren't sure if it was a factor of Hop's pokemon being tired or Gloria's rookidee being still hyped up from Hone Claws (or maybe a lil bit of both who knows?), but the grookey was struck in mid air midscratch and tumbled to the ground in a one hit K.O., Hop letting out a startled cry as his grookey was taken down.

The tention was cut by a flutter of Leon's cape and his hand pointing out to Gloria. "MATCH! Grookey's unable to battle! Victory goes to Gloria again!"

You knew it was probably in the gameplay for Gloria to win, so technically you shouldn't intervene or really feel bad about this, because if everything went according to the game, that meant you could go home or wake up from this weird dream you having but-...Hop returned his grookey back into the pokeball with a frown and disappointed look and you frowned too. You couldn't help but feel bad for him losing like this. Dream or not Hop seemed to show real emotion and you felt bad for knowing what was going to happen.

Hop looked glumly to the pokeball in his hand for a moment, before closing his eyes and you supposed, took a breath. Before snapping back up with a smile. "Well, Look at you! Seems you've really learned your type matchups!" He suddenly held up a pokeball. "How's about best two outta three rounds?"

"Sure! Why not!? After all I already won two outta 'em!"

"Yeah? Well I bet you weren't expecting THIS!" He tossed out another pokeball, or you assumed another, they all looked the same to you, and out with a flash of light came a ...Rookidee. Just like Gloria's. "It'll be a close one, but that's exactly my sort of match!"

Your eyes widened a bit. Oh wow. You weren't expecting that for sure. Leon also seemed to be interested as he looked back to Gloria. "Do you want to switch out your pokemon before the final match, Glory?"

After a moment of staring she shook her head. "Nah. I think I'll stick with rookidee and battle it out."

Leon nodded. "Alright! Final match! Ready you two!? BEGIN!!"

"ALRIGHT! TIME TO START THIS OFF WITH HONE CLAWS SINCE THAT WORKED SO GOOD FOR YOU GLOR!!" Hop pointed and in another flash of bright white light that made you blink as the rookidee flew up and gave the same slice attack to the air Gloria's rookidee did from earlier.

"ALRIGHT THEN! LET'S DO THE SAME SHALL WE?! ROOKIDEE HONE CLAWS!," Gloria ordered smiling and the bird pokemon did the same attack from before.

"USE PECK!!" And you all watched as Hop's rookidee honed it's peck ability and with a flap through the air they dove right towards the other rookidee before them.

"DODGE IT!!" You guessed Hop wasn't expecting Gloria to actually dodge the attack and instead use another move based off the Hone Claws attack she ordered from earlier. But with a quick blur, Gloria's Rookidee barely dodged out of the way, but somehow completely missing the attack and then it happened. You had guessed that Hop's rookidee was going too fast to pull up in time as it flew down at gloria's at a downwards strike. Because with a crash and sound that made you and your sobble cringe, the poor rookidee smashed into the pavement battle field as Gloria's rookidee flapped it's wings and fell over, from there the lot of you watched as the poor pokemon continued to roll head over heels unable to stop itself as it rolled towards Gloria who quickly lifted up her leg as to avoid the pokemon who rolled off the field and onto the grassy area behind her. Everyone stood there in silence watching the now still pokemon as it laid there for a moment before it let out a small chirp and managed to lift it's head up just a bit. Not knocked out but probably not able to battle.

"ROOKIDEE!!," Hop shouted in worry leaving his place and running over from his spot startling Gloria's pokemon and as soon as he got close enough, dropped to his knees in front of the tweeting pokemon. Hands hovering over the pokemon. "IM SO SORRY! ARE YOU OK?!" He jumped and looked up as Gloria grabbed his shoulder and gave an apologetic look.

"Match over!," Leon called jogging his way over to them, humming at the sight of the rookidee, "Well...Wasn't certainly expecting that of all things. Hop, put your pokemon back in it's ball. We'll have Nurse Joy at the center take a look at your pokemon on the way home."

Hop immediately did as Leon suggested and quickly returned the rookidee back into it's pokeball before standing up as you and Professor Magnolia slowly walked towards them. Hop sighed and reached a hand up to rub his head letting his other arm flop to his side. "Man, oof. Gutted that I lost..." He turned to Gloria with a sad smile. "But I'd expect nothing less from my rival! And I even got my pokeball throw perfect, too."

"I'm sorry, Hop," Gloria apologized gently grabbing his arm as he blinked, "I didn't think that'd happen to your poor rookidee. I promise next time I'll try not to let that happen."

Hop quickly looked away clearing his throat and shrugging. "I-It's fine. That's how it is in the real world. The sting of defeat and joy of victory. I guess going through both is the key to the two of us getting stronger, r-right?"

"Gloria. Hop." Both looked back up as Leon smiled down proud at them. "I'm really glad you see it that way. I'm proud you learnt a good lesson from all this. And that being said...Well." He crossed his arms proudly. "After seeing you learn, and after seeing a match like that I suppose I've little choice but to give you both an endorsement as Champion!"

By the way their faces went from smiling to shocked, with their mouths literally dropped open, you would've thought they'd seen a ghost or something, and you couldn't help but giggle at that. Especially when they gasped upon seeing Leon reach behind him and pull out two small envelopes from behind his cape, each one having a small red wax seal on them. Leon proudly held them out to the children and you could see Gloria do her best as to not freak out.

"SHUT. UP. REALLY!? OMG!!" She yelled starry eyed and grabbing the letter from him like it was a teenage girl's first phone. "BEST! DAY! EVER!!"

"YES!" Hop jumped holding the letter up. "Thanks, Lee! I swear I'm going to win my way through the Gym Challenge to reach you!," Hop promised.

Leon laughed happily in return looking proud, and it was a smile which was contagious as you smiled. "You may both still be young, and plenty rough around the edges, but it was a proper battle. Charizard and I were both feeling the excitement in every last cell in our bodies!"...His smile wavered just a bit as he hummed. "But if I can offer some advice after seeing you two duke it out there." He turned to Hop. "You seem to panic a little bit there and your pokemon were tired. My suggestion would be to find the good and bad line between the phrase 'pushing your limits'." Hop paused for a moment..before frow- "Hop, you've always tended to get caught up in things like how you throw your poke ball out..Things that have nothing to do with real strength." He explained softly, "Honestly, I'd been worried about you still obsessing over that sort of nonsense, but it seems you really have grown a bit, Little Brother!" His smile came back and Hop blinked wide eyed before Leon turned to Gloria who froze under Leon's stare. "And I'd like to see more thrilling pokemon battles out of you too, Gloria...But a word of caution. It's obvious where Hop lacks in battle strategics you have impressive moves, but don't get too over confident. There's a fine line between confident and cocky. You two will be going head to head with other FAR MORE EXPERIENCED pokemon trainers and Gym Leaders who's going to have more tricks, more know how, and more success. But always remember practice makes perfect. You two practice and work on your weaknesses and soon you'll be heading towards battling me in no time!"

The smiles came back to both teens once again and you sighed. Well that could've gone much worse, but you were glad that at least things were starting to go as it was supposed to of course, but you had to wrack your brain and try to remember as much of this game as you could! If not for your sake, then the two kids here. The last thing you wanted was something like Gloria sneaking into Slumbering Wield again.

"Alright, Glory!" Hop flashed his friend a confident smile thrusting the letter at her. "You and me are going to train up against one another to aim for that Champion title!! It's like Lee said! The more we keep battling against one another the more our pokemon will grow!"

"You're on, Hoppity! Can't wait for our rematch then!"

Both kids laughed and you smiled even mor- You winced when your sobble suddenly chirped in your ear and turned around on your shoulder suddenly. "Ow! Hey! What's wrong?" You asked as you turned to the pokemon on your shoulder but it's body was half blocking your view as it looked up towards the sky. So you could only see his blue body, but it caught the attention of every other person there as they looked up and saw the shining light with a red trail leading behind it.

"Huh?! HEY! Look there!," Hop shouted pointing a hand towards the sky at it, "What's that!?"

"I don't know but it's coming right for us!"

Everyone watched and you eventually got Sobble's tail off your face just in time to see three sparkles land on the ground a little ways from the Professor's lake. The two teens already making a dash for the shiny objects and of course you fo-...You paused....Wait. Something was coming back to you now...OF COURSE!! THE WISHING STONES!...THINGS! In the game the player used those stones to make their pokemon gigantic! Or dynamax as everyone in this world called it. Looks like you were starting to remember a bit more about all this. In the meantime, Hop had picked up the shiny stones into his hands and gave them a wide eyed look upon realizing what it was.

"Gloria! Would you look at this!?" He smiled widely and turned with excitement plastered all over his face. Gemstones shining brightly in the sunlight. "They're wishing stars!"

"NO WAY!!" Her blue eyes widened looking at them like she had never seen something more beautiful in her life. "THAT'S SO COOL!!"

"Since there's three of them, you should take one yourself!" Hop held one hand out to her and she squealed in excitement instantly.

"Wishing stones?," you repeated under your breath and apparently the professor heard you because you jumped as she spoke.

"A Wishing Stone is a stone found in the Galar Region with a mysterious power to dynamax a trainer's pokemon. It's said that your dreams will come true if you find one." She smiled at the two exited teens. "And it looks like you two are about to have a lot of luck indeed."

"With one of these, my pokemon can dynamax! They're gonna be massive!" He thrusted the stone into the air as Gloria was still cooing over the shiny stone in her hands, turning it this way and that, inspecting it as carefully as a detective would a case. "YES!!''

Which made Leon give a good natured laugh and put his hands to his hips as his little brother looked to him excitedly. "It's a lucky day for everyone here then! Trust you to pull something like this." He nodded towards the stone in his hand. "They say wishing stars fall down for those who have a true wish in their heart, you know." Which made Hop's eyes widen even more.

"REALLY!? Well if that's the case!" He thrusted the gem towards the three adults(you being one of them), "I will be the greatest trainer ever! I will be the greatest trainer EVER!! I WILL BE THE GREATEST TRAINER EVER!!" He shouted out and it made you giggle along with Leon and the sobble on your shoulder giving Hop a scowl from the loud volume. "There! I've said it three times, so surely my wish will come true now, right?" He asked glancing to Leon for confirmation.

"Hop! The three wish things are genies with the lamps. Not wishing on stars," Gloria said raising a brow at him.

Beside you the professor chuckled, sighed, and shook her head in that order. "Don't be silly, Hop." The boy looked to her as she explained and pointed to the stones in their hands. "Those Wishing Stars are composed of a curious sort of soft containing unknown power. They are one of the most precious resources we have here in the Galar Region." She hummed. "But they won't do a thing for you in that state. Give them to me now, and I'll have you sorted." She gently held out her hand to the kids and Gloria didn't hesitate to give the professor her shiny stone-

"Ah, right. You've done heaps of research on the Dynamax Phenomenon, haven't you, Professor?," Hop asked excitedly but continued before she could even answer. "Then please! Give Gloria and me the power to dynamax our pokemon!"

Gloria held up a hand. "Hop. You didn't even give-"

"First we got to battle the mad pokemon in the Slumering Weild, and now this!" No one noticed the bright orange haired woman walking over from up the dirt pathway. "It really feels like we're getting caught up in the adventure of a lifetime-

"HOP!!" Gloria shouted at him with a scowl startling the boy with a jump as he blinked to her. "You can't dynamax anything if you don't give the Professor the Wishing Star."

.......He blinked. "O-OH! RIGHT! SORRY!"

The professor still smiled kindly as Hop dropped his own stone into her hand beside Gloria's and she pulled her hand back having them. "I do understand your excitement, young man, but don't get carried away. You want to save your energy for the day after tomorrow's journey."

"Seems I came back home in time for all the excitement!," a lady's voice cut through the air and everyone turned to see Sonia just a little ways from the battle court smiling at them. Yapper at her heels panting and barking in agreement to whatever she said. Before she shook her head and started to walk over towards you lot.

"HEY! Sonia! You just missed all the fun!" Leon smiled and jabbed a finger behind him towards the children. "I just got the honors of not only being the Champion Referee, but being the sponsor for two amazing young Gym Challenge Trainers!" He then gestured towards the Professor. "And then even got some Wishing Stars the Professor's gonna make into Dynamax Bands."

"Wishing Stars? You don't say," She smiled glancing to her Grandmother for a moment and shook her head before crossing her arms, "Well I'm sorry if I missed all the action, but if you forget someone had to resecure the gate leading to the Slumbering Wield."

Both children instantly froze...before Hop cleared his throat and looked away with a hand rubbing his neck, and Gloria whistled while also looking away. Riiiight. Totally not suspicious looking in the slightest. And it made you chuckle again at the childish behavior before shaking your head and looking up towards the sky. This world's sun was setting and you had to reach a hand up to block out the harsh light to your eyes. The sky was starting to fade a pinkish purple color and you knew for a fact it would soon give away to the dark black of night. Leon seemed to have noticed you looking to the horizon and so turned his head to to look at the slowly setting sun. You glanced at him from the corner of your eye. The taller man smiling, and the light reflecting in his eyes enhancing the gold coloring and for a lil bit making it look like he had cold coins for eyes. And you couldn't help but watch-

"Hm..Getting kinda late...Hey, you lot, why not have some dinner?," Sonia suggested pointing a finger, "You must be hungry, right? I've been totally obsessed with making the latest trendy curries."

At the promise of food your stomach grumbled a bit and you were thankful for the hopeful gasping of the teens at the promise of Sonia's famous food Leon always talked about..but the Champion shook his head before turning back to Sonia. "Sorry, Sonia. As much as I would ADORE to have your curry, I promised Ma and Mrs. G I'd get the kids back home safely. And it's getting pretty late. If we want to get back by dark we'll have to leave now."

Sonia frowned a bit but nodded in understanding. "I can understand that. Want me to walk back with you guys." She smirked playfully. "Wouldn't want you somehow ending on top of a barn again."

"OH COME ON! It was one time!"

Sonia giggled and you decided to speak up. "It's alright. I can make sure he doesn't wonder off anywhere."

"Oh come on, Y/N! Not you too!"

Everyone shared a chuckle and it was decided you lot would head home for the night, bidding good bye to the Professor and starting on your way as the sun had set for the night. But not before the Professor told Hop and Gloria to come back tomorrow morning and get their new dynamax bands for them to use on their journeys very soon. The walk back to their homes was pretty uneventful, the sky got slowly darker and the two children were excitedly pointing out pokemon you could make out in the darkness with their glowing eyes. It was when you four were passing by the town's Pokemon Center is when he and Hop turned to go towards it, but not before Leon turned towards you.

"This is where I'll leave you two for the night," he explained while gesturing towards the center and Hop waiting for him, "I promised Hop we'd fix his team up before we got home."

"Are you sure you won't get lost going home? No offense," you asked him raising a brow and he nodded,

"Yeah. Hop can make sure I get there good enough, and if not I can always have Charizard fly us back home. What about you? Do you and Gloria wanna wait so I can walk you guys back?"

You thought for a moment tempted by the offer but seeing Gloria yawn and how dark it was, you held up a hand. "I think we'll be fine the rest of the way. I don't think I'd want Gloria's Mum to worry about her when it's gettin' dark. And I think I'm pretty tired too."

"I can understand that. You two have a safe trip back."

You nodded Gloria and you bidding the two brothers fair well, before walking the rest of the way home in setting light, Gloria excitedly telling you her captures of a wild Rookidee and Yamper earlier. By the time you both got to her house and inside it was dark, and Gloria's mother was already waiting for you two with dinner. Salads but you weren't surprised with her being a farmer and all in a farming community like Postwick, and you were hungry anyways so you gladly accepted the food offered to you and let Gloria ramble on about her day to her mother fishing out and flashing the official letter to her mother and on and on. She was real excited wasn't she? It was like a blur as you did the nightly routine of taking another shower and later curling back up on the couch with your Sobble curled up against you like a cat would, and you wondered briefly is Sobble was cold blooded and that's why it did it before dozing off for the night.....You know. You think you'd wake up from whatever dream this world was by now and just be on your way to college late in the morning....But no. Again you woke up but this time it was because of the smell of food in the air and your stomach grumbled for you to get up and eat. The sobble groggily chirping in surprise from you accidentally knocking him off the bed as you rose up rubbing at your eyes and your f/c hair all a mess in a bedhead. It smelt like more eggs. You were just blinking around tiredly, sighing at the sight of Gloria's living room when the smell became stronger. Whelp. Looks like you were still stuck here for the time being.

"Good Morning. I was wondering when you were going to wake up." You blinked your sluggish body over and standing there was Gloria's Mum, a plate with an omelet on it. Oh. Well that explained the egg smell at least. She put it down on the coffee table in front of you as you began to fully wake up. "I trust you had a good sleep last night."

"Y-Yeah. *YYAAAWWWNN* Thanks," you mumbled reaching for the food. "What time is it?"

"It's about ten in the morning. Gloria left with Hop a while ago. They said they wanted to try and catch some more pokemon and battle some of the neighborhood kids before they leave tomorrow for the Opening Ceremony, but after all you did yesterday for them I told her to let you rest further."

....OH! That's right! In the game your journey truly begins when the player and Hop leave for the opening ceremony in ..Motostoke you think?? To officially register into the Gym Challenge. So you nodded. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks."

You sat there and ate the omelet for a bit, your Sobble climbing back up onto the couch with a small frown from being tossed over and gave you a chirp to let you know about it. Oops. You should probably remember to not knock him off again. After eating you did what you usually did around here and grabbed your things to go change in the bathroom. During the time you were in there, you didn't here the doorbell ring or see Gloria's Mum happily let in the two people on the other side, and all of a sudden there was a loud commotion which caught your attention

You blinked surprised at the Champion waiting for you. "Leon. What are you doing here?" Your eyes then blinked down towards the boy next to him. He looked awfully familiar. Your hand pointed at him. "And who's this?"

The boy seemed to blink at you too confused but Leon only smiled widely. "Oh this? Y/n, this is Vic-"

"IT'S VICTOR!!" The boy blinked and barely had time to react before a brown haired blur tackled him.

"UGH!?" Victor waved his arms around to try and keep balance as his sister tackled him into a hug, but gravity won out and the two eventually fell to the ground. "OOF!!"

You stared at the young boy smiling at you. ...THIS WAS VICTOR?! The name of the male avatar that you could pick in the game if you didn't chose Gloria to play instead. Looking at the young boy he still looked the same age as Gloria and Hop even if he was a little taller than his twin. How did you not recognize it sooner? He had the same dark brown hair and light brown eyes as his sister and if they had the same haircut they would've looked the exact same (other than Victor's slightly taller height). He wore a grey beanie like hat, a red shirt with some logo on it, jeans, brown shoes, and carried what might as well been a giant suit case on his back. And a polaroid camera was slung in a similar fashion around his neck as he smiled at you. Gloria seemed very happy to see him as she excitedly gestured to him. 

"Can you believe it!? After a whole year the mysterious photographer finally appeared after disappearing without a trace," she teased making her twin roll his eyes.

"It's nice to know you nah changed," he grunted in an Scottish accent similar to hers before pushing her off him and getting back up, hands dusting himself off, "I wanted to surprise you before the gym challenge started, but I wasn't expectin' ta come back to so much." He turned back to you with a smile. "Greetings! Ye must be the new friend Lee told me about. Thanks for saving her sorry butt from the Slumbering Wield. I always knew she'd get into trouble sooner or later without me."

"HEY!" A frown came over her face as she pouted. "I don't get into THAT much trouble! Besides I got out without a problem didn't I?"

He chose to ignore that and you took the chance to talk. "Nice to meet you too. Are you here for the Gym Challenge?"

He opened his mouth to answer before another new voice answered for him, "Of course he is!" All five of you turned and weren't surprised to find Hop standing there also smiling at Victor. "Hey, Mate! Long time no see! You're in luck! Lee was gonna leave soon!"

"Really?," Victor asked blinking.

Hop nodded. "Yep! But you got here just in time! Lee agreed to endorse us all for the challenge!"

"Say wot?"

"Yeah! Don't worry! You caught us in the middle of heading out to get our dynamax bands from Professor Magnolia! There's an extra Wishing Star so I'm sure she'd be happy to make you one no problem!"

Victor continued to stare at him for a moment before giving a nervous chuckle and forced smile which made you blink. "Oh...Really now? How..n-nice."

Leon also nodded. "That's right!" Before he paused blinking and hummed. You watched as the Champion reached a hand up to rub his neck looking at the three teenagers in front of him before looking back to you (or more specifically the sobble on your shoulder who chirped and tilted his head at Leon-) before his brows creased in a worried way. "But..that may be a problem?"

"What is it, Lee?"

"Well I can certainly make sure Victor has that endorsement letter and his dynamax band, but it's the lack of a starter pokemon that concerns me." He gave a worried grimace. "It's customary to give a new trainer their own beginner pokemon before they go off on their first adventure. Usually that wouldn't be a problem since I did bring three pokemon for all of you but-..." His golden eyes flickered back to the sobble who again chirped. "I can't just ask for a pokemon back after I just gave it to someone. ..*sigh* This is a sure problem."

"Doesn't Sonia have more?," Hop asked raising a brow, "I thought Professors always made sure to have extra starter pokemon in case they run into the problem of too many trainers."

"They do, but the problem is getting them in time for the trainers especially if something like the Gym Challenge is around the corner."

"So what you're saying is that.." Victor spoke slowly looking towards Leon, "That I can't compete in the challenge because I don't have a starter pokemon."

"Not at all!," Leon smiled once again much to Victor's surprise before jabbing his thumb behind him back towards the road. "I'm pretty sure Sonia's got at least one more extra pokemon ready for you to take along with you. We can stop by the lab and pick 'em up on the way to Professor Magnolia."

"Yeah!," Gloria added grabbing her twin by the arm and tugging on him, "Then we can do a lil trainin' an' ye can tell us all about your wee trip over lunch!"

"Oh...how wonderful," Victor mumbled but allowed his sister to pull him away towards the road back up towards Wedgehurst station.

"Why don't you children go ahead and I'll fix up lunch before you come back?" You blinked as Mrs. G turned and gestured back towards the kitchen. "If I want to have enough for everyone I'd better start now."

"Would you like some help?," you offered as everyone was more interested in Victor's return than you at the moment. "Can't say I'm the best at cooking but it'd be rude if I didn't lend a hand."

''Well thank you, Y/n. Thanks really nice of you to offer." She gestured for you to follow her inside. "Come with me and I'll show you were everything's set up."