#plus I'm 26 I'm expected by everyone to be over that but I'm just now getting there so no one knows how to help me

[disintegratedfingers]

Quirk: Unkown

Warnings for this chapter: None 🤷‍♀️

Chapter 3: Why a hero?

_______

"Why did you let her go?" Mom sobbed, swiping her hands over her eyes. As soon as you had left, the waterworks broke out, triggering her body. Deep anger stabbed her sides, as did your withering trust in her, sensing the betrayel you felt.

"She wanted a chance," Dad rubbed her back soothingly. He felt a speck of pride in a pool of regret; It didn't sound like his daughter passed the exam, and her confidence was broken. "I know you didn't want her to, but she's a determined kid."

"She could get herself injured- or even killed!"

"...I know," Dad nodded to himself, eyes watering. He was surer than sure that you were capable, but the nagging thoughts never left.

Heroes were stuck in a difficult gamble, and they were held responsible for many things. It wasn't easy; the career took years of experience and skill, and heroes still died. Plus, they couldn't save everyone.

'What's the point?' Your mother had wracked her brain with the same question over and over.

"There's a bright side to this, too. She could really help people..." Dad tried, earning a sniffle and shake of the head from his wife. "...I'm sorry for going behind your back."

Mom looked at him, lip trembling.

Not even a moment later, her eyes widened and her body contracted. With a groan she gingerly touched her temple as Dad grasped her other hand in deep worry.

"This is a bit much on you," he apologized. "I'll bring Dr. Cooper in-"

"Ah, it's fine," she seethed and waved a hand. "Just go. Make sure y/n doesn't get run over or something."

"...okay."

_______

Sleep came easy the night before, and you found yourself blinking it from your eyes the next morning. Groggily you sat up and reached for your phone, droopy eyed.

9:26 am

You grumbled and stood up to walk out into the kitchen. Dad was nowhere to be found.

'Probably still asleep,' you thought, rummaging around the cabinets and fridge on a hunt for breakfast. 'Nothing much. I'll pop by the store...' Usually some cereal or a protein bar would be filling, but they were all eaten now.

You left a text for Dad, telling him that you would be back soon, not expecting a reply just yet. With a breezy change of clothing, you took some cash and went out into the city.

The sound of cars and light conversation met your ears; It was comforting. And as you walked, some birds flew overhead, darting sideways at every sudden sound and movement. You could sense their simple hunger and strained caution.

That was another aspect about your quirk- you could pick up what other living things were feeling. With people you were close with, like your Dad, their emotions are more pronounced and easier to detect, especially if you are physically close to them.

But sometimes you wished you didn't have this quirk.

It was helpful when your friend cut himself with knife on accident, and you ran straight to him with a bandage, but you could feel the stinging pain in your own palm. It was pure agony at 5 years old.

Similar scenarios would occur every now and then, but you learned how to get rid of the feelings that weren't yours.

_______

Ding, ding.

You walked into a little corner store with some snacks, far from empty this morning. A few squeals from small children and faint words floated around the building as you scanned the shelves.

Granola bars, candy, instant noodles...

"Oh-uh, sorry!"

A voice sounded beside you, making you flinch slightly as your shoulder connected with another.

"My bad," you ducked your head respectfully, rising again to see the skinny... green haired...

"Hey! You're from the practical exam, right?" You peered at the boy curiously, a yellow pack slung over his shoulder. He waved his hands in the air while trying to form words.

"Oh yes," he grinned nervously. "I'm Izuku Midoriya. What a coincidence! We must live near eachother..."

"Yeah," you replied, eyeing him as you selected some packaged noodles. "I'm y/n l/n."

Midoriya hummed.

"Uh, what's your quirk?" He asked shyly, rubbing his arm with a finger. You pursed your lips.

"I'm actually not sure," you replied, slightly embarrassed. "It's not documented properly; there's not a lot of official info on it, either..."

A few beeps from the register up front struck the tense air.

"...why did you apply?" Midoriya asked, earning an odd expression from you. "Uh- I didn't mean for that to come off as rude! I just wanted to know- like-"

"It's fine," you rolled your eyes with a soft smile, returning to thought. "I guess I'm doing it for my folks, y'know?" Nothing else came to mind.

Really? Why, though? Why try at all? What motive are you set on?

"Why did you apply?" You dusted off the unease, watching as the boy tensed up. He rubbed the back of his neck while a wavering doubt and unsure wave brushed your shoulders.

"To..." He sighed, staring at the shelf. "...to make people feel safe." He smiled at you with wide, round eyes. You grinned half heartedly.

"That's a good reason."

_______

Deku hadda grab some treats for his mom's sweet tooth.

<Previous

[spiderh0rse]

stark's mind notes part 6, e26-30 plus 26 part 2, or 26.5

e26

mortality weighs on him

never thought he'd be talking about his death so calmly

doesn't think he can call himself a hero

so much better with grenades now

thinks he may have foreshadowed his death. Thinks that sucks

doesn't have the motivation needed to scream in anger

just kind of resigned to dying in Black Mesa eventually

"hhhuh :("

I'm amazed Stark doesn't consider making himself cover for the guard, what with his seemingly impenetrable body armour and all

he's made it to the rocket silo!

makes some funny noises trying to keep his balance

kind of lackluster reaction to the rocket and he knows it. Thinks it's because of the looming threat of death

amazed all the weapons discharge hasn't exploded the rocket

is told to clear the area immediately by the VOX and stands still

thinks he's still going strong. Not going to pass out for SURE.

he says he's kind of happy!

spots the collapsed route to the control room. There's no way to the launch pad, Stark...

refuses to believe what's in front of his eyes. Sounds so angry

doesn't seem to know what to say. Screams at the sky

takes the exterior help making his efforts worthless so personally

collapses to the ground, hyperventilating. Then passes out.

e26 (part 2), or for brevity, e26.5

Desc. Follow the thoughts of Vincent Stark, a 24-year-old ex-Black Mesa employee and Dr. Gordon Freeman's reluctant body double. In this episode, you don't.

we open to black. The ambiance of Black Mesa is all we hear, and we see nothing at all.

hazy memories of the resonance cascade flash across the screen.

we hear the military, distantly. they say that the area is clear.

the ambiance now contains some slightly aberrant noises.

it is some time before anything else happens. the military are briefly audible once more.

electrical sparking, electrical whirring. something like static. the sound of barely-moving air.

and again, voices. indistinct for a bit, then panicked.

the resonance cascade again.

the sound of a bullsquid roaring, the sound of a marine's panic.

and time passes. it's not quiet, with the background noise, but it's calm now.

the episode ends with no further action. we have been here for nine minutes.

e27

he's waking up! Voice is all raspy.

didn't expect passing out from stress but admits he shouldve

surprised he's still alive. Seems disappointed.

can barely stand right now

apologizes to his parents. says he should've visited when he had the chance.

pulls out his magnum.

says he won't be able to visit.

puts away the magnum. stands up.

the infamous Vincent pun...

sure he's going to die, but he's determined to save the world for everyone else. Considers it the least he can do.

tries to lift a rolling garage door, fails. Still pretty weak right now

wants a vent right now. Avoids doors just fine, always goes where he wants. No military in vents, no turrets in vents, they're safe.

he feels like he's about to puke blood

he's a doctor, not a doctor. Got deja vu right after saying that

can't crack open a medkit rn but he's lookin for painkillers

doesn't want to walk right now

the recoil from the magnum hurts him right now

fumbling his words a little bit

forgets houndeyes exist

the vortigaunt electricity hurts more than usual

trembling!

whispering around the military again, snarks back at them.

VERY close brush with death. Sounds like he's about to cry for a second

keeps apologizing to corpses

"control of the controls"

his cheek got shot :( dripping blood all over his suit

considers using his blood to fix the grammar of a threatening message written towards him

rocket turret time!

collapses to the ground in a safe alcove. Just defeated. Needs a minute to breathe.

hopes his parents at least get a body to bury. With all the explosives it isn't seeming likely.

e28

he's leaving the tunnels! Yippee!

the explosion right next to the left ear! Audio is incredibly muffled in the left for now

surface access dreams thwarted. Deeply dismayed at having to fight right now

AMBUSH that I do not remember from my own Black Mesa playthrough!

he's incredibly scared right now. Hyperventilating, most of his dialogue is clipped curses right now, just doing his best to RUN

oh dude his breathing is RAGGED here

seems like lower pitched noises register better in the left ear right now! That and bullets whizzing right past it

hearing is clearing up a tad

yeah he's in no shape to be fighting right now, if the desperate breathing and complete lack of quips are anything to go by

cannot perform a pull-up :(

hates redundant military planning

I do think being outside will give him just as many issues as being underground, really

"take cover reload shoot back" new mantra!

hopes that after he launches the rocket no one else has to die

being outside is... nice. That's all he has to say on the matter.

hopes the Lambda team is safe.

sees the rocket! Determined, now.

e29

TWENTY MINUTE LONG EPISODE.

terrified the rocket launch won't work.

weird intro this time, too

didn't see a corpse earlier, apologizes to it

questioning if the body was there the entire thing. I think he's questioning his sanity a bit

just telling himself to stay calm

finds the freight cars to be good cover

gives up on stealth pretty quickly. Kills anyone he can manage to safely kill

wants a shower or body of water to get rid of the blood

The music.

is this Frank Sinatra?

"no blood!" Very shakily said

a bit shocked at the amount of blood blowing people up produces

SNIPER

keeps telling himself to stay calm

well if nothing else can kill him why not send a sniper?

will purposefully take risky actions to avoid sniper line of sight

"calvary" sir thats a location. You're thinking of "cavalry". Score one against the ex-catholic stark theory

jokes maybe the military will send a tank against him

fell off the cart, acts like he did it on purpose

MORE EXPLOSIONS LETS GOOOOOOO

shouldering the weight of responsibility entirely on himself

busts open some doors and doesn't immediately kill the marines talkin to each other

DOES kill them once they act like he's in the wrong for killing them. Slight anger in his desperate breathing

sounds,, not excited about launching the rocket, but resolved.

monologues at marines he's killed

claims all the marines deserve to die

whispers alongside the rocket launch countdown

laughs quietly as the rocket goes. Awe, I think.

the moment is spoiled by him hearing something walking out of the room. He's pretty sure it's no one. Doesn't even get a minute to be relieved.

sounds slightly more lighthearted now!

does want to keep moving but is pausing for a minute now that he feels he can, and must, to keep from passing out from exhaustion

Fly Me To The Moon in the credits!

e30

OH SHIT nightmare!!! Vincent fell asleep in that break of his and clearly was not having a good time of it

I think he's crying?

"I'm alone- I'm alone, no one's going to... Hurt me... I'm fine. I'm fine, I'm fine."

his ears start ringing again when he stands up. Vision's going all fuzzy!

berating himself and barely not sobbing

"Judging by your hazard suit, I'd say you were part of what went wrong. Isn't that correct?" Quoting something someone said to him earlier.

or "You think this guy's responsible? Sabotage, maybe."

once again lays the blame for everything since the ResCas on his shoulders. Taking it worse this time.

claims he's been lying to himself about trying to save people, about trying to be a hero

"I'm trying to prove to myself that my survival has a meaning," and further blaming himself

They're all dead because he's here. That's his thought on the matter.

ABSURD survivor's guilt

on the edge of throwing up for a moment, it sounds like!

just came here to help his mom. That's why he took the bribe.

was an idealist about his work when first working at Black Mesa.

"If I don't do this, then who will?" About closing whatever gates of hell spewed forth the End

[rosietrace]

Melodic Misconceptions 🎹

Track 26: Omg a cliffhanger?!

Synopsis: Victoria Shard was a former member of the popular idol group [ Poisoner ] from NRC corporations. After discourse with her group leader, Victoria decided it was best for her to leave and pursue her solo career in a record label run by her parents.

It had been half a year since her separation from her old group, and Victoria had never been more successful. But now she has a new problem. She must return to NRC corporations in order to mentor the seven idol groups.

Ellis Clawthorne is a member of [ (Co)-connect ] the most recent group under NRC'S belt. With no experience as an idol, Ellis must persevere in order to succeed and pursue her dreams.

Will both girls be able to adapt to their current situations?

♝•°•══════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══════•°•♝

Author's note; And kaboom! A new track has graced us ^^

I'm really sorry if this track didn't reach the expectations everyone had, especially because it took me a while to actually finish it- But honestly, writer's block can be a bitch, y'know? Plus, lore shit

This is officially the last track for the Queen of Nothing "album" ^^ but not to worry, this isn't the last installment of MM

See you on the next album, and I hope you enjoy!

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

"Vil motherfucking Schoenheit."

The man in question stiffened at the sound of a familiar young woman calling his name. Sighing, he picked up his cup of coffee and turned around to face her with a deadpan expression.

"Nyx Leech." He took a quick sip of his coffee, "I thought you would still be on tour."

Nyx could only snort."Sounds like you'd prefer that than seeing me." She drawled, leaning against the doorframe of Vil's room.

He let out a huff."What are you doing here?" He asked.

Nyx pursed her lips for only a moment, before shrugging and taking out some chapstick from her pocket."Just came here to interrogate you, if that's fine." She said drowsily, lazily applying her chapstick.

And yet Vil noticed the subtle precision when she did it.

"Fine…. But make it quick, I have rehearsals with the others."

Nyx snickered."Not to worry, Vil, I'll make this worth your while." She promised, closing the door and allowing herself to enter Vil's room, knowing he'd have allowed her entry to begin with.

Vil narrowed his eyes, cocking an eyebrow at her. Nyx snorted, winking at him before she began speaking.

"Just came here to ask….. Why the hell did you choose Koral Larrane, of all idols, to be your manager?"

"That isn't any of your business, Nyx."

Nyx rolled her eyes, and Vil took note that her expression looked just like Floyd's."I'm pretty sure I'm just asking what everybody's been asking lately, Vil." Crossing her arms over her chest, she began an unwanted staring competition with her conversation partner.

"Koral is perfectly capable of handling management for Poisoner."

"That wasn't the question I was asking, Schoenheit. What I was asking was why. Why did you choose Koral, hm?"

Vil fell silent, narrowing his eyes in annoyance at the sly soloist in front of him.

Letting out a tired, annoyed breath, Vil gestured back to his room."Please, Nyx, just…. Please leave. I'm in a hurry." He insisted. But his insistence bordered toward a beg.

Nyx's eyes softened, concerned, that feeling was filling her expression before her head had hung itself low.

"Fine. But for the record, Vil; You can't shut me out forever. And maybe you should also reconsider if you and Harper are still friends at this point."

And she slammed the door shut.

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

"Whatcha up to this time, Frey?"

Freyah winced before aggravation took over her expression. Ace quickly took note of them once he sat down next to her.

"C'mon, Frey, you can't ignore me like this…" he whined, using his index finger to gently poke Freyah's cheeks.

Freyah, filled with the aggravation that was directed toward Ace, swatted his hand away."Buzz off, Ace. Can't you see I'm busy?" She showed off the unfinished lyrics she was writing in her notebook.

Ace hummed. When Freyah continued writing, he rested his head on her shoulder. And she let him.

"New song?"

"Yes…?"

"For the group, or another one of your weird collabs?" After saying that, she flicked his forehead, eyes narrowing.

"For a collab, bozo. Besides, I'm not the one in charge of songwriting for the group…" Ace noticed how perplexed she looked when she said that, as well as the subtlety in her sadness.

"..... You know, I could tell Cater to lay off songwriting. So, you can like, get a chance to shine." He rested his head on his hand, "I'll be honest, you were always a bit more creative."

Freyah's expression softened, and a small smile appeared on her face. Hell, Ace was a bit relieved that the smile was able to reach her eyes.

"Thanks, Ace." Unintentionally, she ended up leaning against him."But you're still annoying as fuck."

Putting on his haughtiest expression, he hummed."Now now, Frey, let's keep such language to a minimum."

They both snorted."That isn't how Riddle talks…" Freyah snickered. Ace chuckled in response.

"I know, Frey."

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

"Um, Ellis, are you sure talking about a puppet history channel on your podcast is a good idea-"

"I'm sure of it, Juvia! No one's gonna expect it…"

Juvia laughed awkwardly, taking note of Ellis's manic expression. But upon seeing how happy she genuinely seemed, Juvia smiled in return.

Their conversation continued from there, shifting topics faster than anything else in the world. It was astonishing how many topics they'd discussed in a matter of minutes, but they didn't hate it.

In fact, they were having the time of their lives. Laughing and smiling alongside each other just by something they found sweet, cute, funny, even.

But then Ellis stumbled and toppled over Koral, who was piled up with paperwork. When they fell, all that paperwork flew away from Koral's grasp and landed on various places in the hall.

Juvia gasped, helping Ellis back up."E-Ellis! Are you okay??" She asked, with concern filling the tone of her voice.

Ellis groaned, feeling her head ache ever so slightly."Yeah, I'm fine…" she replied, before looking down at Koral and pursing her lips.

I know I'm meant to help her up, but…. Why does it feel like she doesn't deserve it? She thought for only a moment until she extended her hand for Koral to reach for.

Only for the latter to swat her hand away."Ugh, next time you should watch where you're-" Koral cut herself off when her eyes locked with Ellis's.

"..... Ellis." For whatever reason, Ellis didn't like the way Koral said her name. And it applied to Juvia as well.

Helping herself up, the sweet - almost too sweet - smile returned on Koral's face. As for Ellis and Juvia, they could only stare at Koral in bewilderment.

They couldn't deny that she was pretty, but the way she dressed and how she styled her hair…. It kind of set them off. Especially when they remembered Koral was Poisoner's manager.

Juvia held Ellis's hand in a tight, yet gentle manner. Almost as if she was trying to hold her back.

"It's good to see you two," Koral spoke, picking up the paperwork from the ground as she started a conversation with the two girls. Ellis, specifically.

Ellis gulped before she could reply."Yeah…. You too." She kind of regretted sounding the way she did when she responded. She sounded meek, almost intimidated.

And she wasn't sure if that was what Koral wanted out of her.

"Ellis…" Juvia tried to call out, but she looked away when Koral looked at her.

Speaking of Koral, she continued the conversation in spite of the atmosphere surrounding them."I've heard that your group, one of the boys specifically, is going to collaborate with Tartarus. Is that true?"

Ellis nodded curtly, to which Koral hummed softly in response.

"I must say, Ellis…. I'm surprised you and your friends can put up with Yuuta."

Both Ellis and Juvia's eyes widened.

".... Excuse me?"

"Ellis, please-"

"Juvia." She looked at her close friend, eyes softening, "Please…."

Juvia sighed, falling silent and nodding, letting Ellis take control. Unless something goes downhill and she has to take over for Ellis. Although, Juvia would've preferred it if she was the one to handle Koral.

"What did you say about Yuuta, Koral?" Ellis questioned, putting up a confident front in an attempt to get Koral's answer quicker. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she somewhat wished the conversation had already ended.

Koral chuckled, the far-too-sweet smile still on her face."Oh, you know what I mean, Ellis!" She continued.

"It's just…. Yuuta's the provocative one in the group, and as talented as the rest of you, but…" she trailed off, and it seemed as though she was fighting the urge to smirk.

"..... That draws some unwanted attention. Especially with how shameless he can be whenever he shows off his body."

At that moment, Ellis felt downright offended on Yuuta's behalf. As did Juvia.

"You can't just say that about Yuuta, you know." Ellis didn't want to start a fight. But to defend someone she saw as a brother? So be it.

Not like Koral wasn't going down without a fight."And why not?" She drawled.

Ellis clenched her fist, "Just wait till I-"

"What seems to be the issue here?"

Juvia audibly gasped as she, Koral, and Ellis saw Victoria standing next to Zen.

When Victoria finally caught sight of Koral, her eyes narrowed. She side-eyed Zen, practically sending a message with eye contact alone, and he complied.

He took Ellis and Juvia by their hands, a bright grin on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes."Come on, you two! I heard Freyah's pitching for another collab!"

Before they could say anything else, Zen dragged them away so Victoria could handle Koral on her own. Not without sending Poisoner's manager a cold-hearted scowl, of course.

Now it was Victoria's turn to speak with Koral.

And the outcome didn't end well. Specifically for Zen.

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

Taglist

[ Coconut ]

@starry-night-rose @windbornearchon @nem0-nee @authoruio @fumikomiyasaki @sakuramidnight15

[ Others ]

@geminiiviolets @twsted-princess @knights-escort @crazyyanderefangirlfan @celiica @terrovaniadorm @vivaresmala (welcome to the taglist!) @oseathepebble

[tokiro07]

Martial Master Asumi ch.26 thoughts

[On the Fencer]

(Contents: Character analysis - Hanagasaki, critique - art direction, speculation)

Do you think Kawada likes Shaman King? Cus prim and proper lady with a Jeet Kun Do bodyguard sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?

I'm always a sucker for lovestruck girls, so seeing Hanagasaki instantly fall in love with Bruce Lee and martial arts was immediately endearing for me. I know I said a couple weeks ago that I figured I'd like her a lot, but I didn't expect Kawada to lean this hard into making me do so

It also helps that she clearly does care about Takanori. She says that she wants to be like Bruce Lee, and she certainly seems like the type of strong-willed person to decide on a career path for a whimsical reason like that, but it's also obvious that she's doing this for Takanori's sake too. He loves MMA and has real talent for it, but he was going to give up any chance of going pro so he could focus on protecting Hanagasaki. I'm not going to say that she used MMA as an excuse to let him pursue his passion, but I am going to say that she saw an opportunity that would make them both happy and made sure to take it

Man, in one chapter, they established such a strong and endearing dynamic. They're definitely in the lead for my faves in this series. Plus, Hanagasaki's first punch has exactly the sort of aesthetic that I was hoping to see: her attacks are directly compared to fencing techniques, and even have flower petals for flare! I always wanted one of the National Treasures in Hinomaru Zumou to use a leaf or petal aesthetic, so I'm glad that Kawada looks to be making that happen at long last! Here's hoping we get to see Hangasaki's bloodlust!

Actually, I think that might be the thing that MMA is missing compared to Hinomaru; until Asumi's Water Hammer, all of the moves were just moves, none of them were given exciting imagery to really sell the weight of the moves. If Kawada starts bringing that concept back now, I think readers will start to get more on board going forward. Hopefully other people like Hanagasaki as much as I do!

...Ah, I just realized that I've been calling Takanori by his given name and everyone else by their family names. Oops! I'm already used to it, though, so I'm probably going to keep it up. I might end up changing everyone else to given names over time, but we'll see

To cap it off, I'm not really sure how this fight is going to go. I could see it going either way, since Kawada is the type who likes to build tension by making his characters lose fairly consistently, but he also probably wants to build hype by making Okiba wrack up a good winning streak. We've seen her fight twice, and she won pretty easily both times, so it seems pretty likely that she'll have a more hard-won fight here, but at the same time, Hanagasaki seems like she might be being built up as a major player, so having her lose in her first match while this is Okiba's third might not be the best showing for her (even if she's had three victories off-screen)

Either way, aside from what it will do for both Okiba and Hanagasaki's characters, the purpose of this fight is ultimately going to be to create tension between Asumi and Takanori, as no matter who wins here, their fight will be a revenge match for the honor of their fallen maidens. I get the feeling it would be more compelling for Takanori to be the one taking revenge since his character is more defined by loyalty than Asumi's is, and Asumi would already need to overcome having his confidence shaken from Okiba's loss in the fight with Kuronuma anyway, but it's really hard to say

I'm really looking forward to this fight, and as the first major professional match of the series, I'm willing to bet it's going to be the one that sets the bar for the rest of the series

Until next time

[galla02006]

[Brucinette] prompt/idea

Here’s the thing, I’m not a writer but I have unfortunately fallen into the rabbit hole that is Maribat, English is also not my first language, so correcting me and my grammar is welcomed and appreciated.

---

So basically She has a crush on Adrian but the difference is that after a few weeks she realizes that she sees him more like a best friend/brother

At the same time, she realizes he's gay but says nothing to him until there like 16

btw she gets Tikki at 13 a few months later the Lila incident happens and just because I'm a salty person, the class betrayal (excluding Alex, Julica, Luca, Kagami, and of course Adrian, side note Chloe too) happens but instead of wallowing in self-pity she suks it up and doesn't care, because our girl knows her worth and stuff

She becomes the Guardian at 14, she and Adrian reveal themselves to each other and are basically like:

Like a week later Marinette ends up running into Chloe being sad and stuff, they have this heart to heart chat about the class and how Sabrina left her, the Miracle Queen incident, their parents, the expectations set on them, Chloe apologizes and they end up becoming friends (#ILoveChloeRedemptionFics)

15 nothing big happens

16 it's time for that talk with Adrian this is how I imagine it would go:

Mari: Adrian we need to talk.

Adrian: yes Mari?

Mari: Adrian, how do I put this...

Adrian: Mari are you ok?

Mari: You know what I'll just say it.

*Marinette places Adrian’s hands in her own*

Adrian: ok now you're starting to scare me.

Mari: Adrian… You're gay.

…

Adrian: what?

Mari: Chris Hemsworth or Gal Gadot.

Adrian: Chris Hems-

…

A few more years later after college

So basically I imagine Both Adrian and Marinette’s parents are setting them up on dates left and right, so they come up with this plan to fake date, Mari because she wants to focus on her Fashion career and Adrian become he doesn't want to date girls, and Gabrial doesn't know he's gay and wouldn't approve of it.

So basically everyone falls for it except their friends who know the truth.

Time skip 2 years later they decide to get married because they both want kids and trust each other. (they're basically 26 at this point)

(side note: Adrian doesn't model anymore and decided he wants to be a photographer and does business on the side, he’s co CEO with Mari for MD (Miraculous Designs)

27 is a hectic year Mari and Adrian have twin girls, Emily and Valerie, Adrian finally comes out to his father (doesn't take it well and the fight), they take Hawkmoth down finding out it's actually Gabrial, move to New York because Mari need to keep the balance and stuff, plus it's where all their friends live now, they also get divorced, but still live together.

I imagine Emily with Straight blond hair and blue eyes, and Valerie with really wavy Red hair and blue eyes that match her sister’s (BTW I imagine Gina, Mari’s grandma had red hair when she was younger))

Over the years she’s visited the Guardian temple, finished her training, she’s become a fashion icon/household name.

Let’s say now she’s about 35 and decides to move to Gotham because of the imbalance in the city, Emily and Valerie come with.

for some reason, I imagine Emily being this sweet Angelic child and Valerie being this little daredevil child that will milk you for all you’re worth that only really listens to her mother, and sometimes Adrian, and her aunts and uncles, I also imagine their as chaotic at their parents and thrive on all the chaos they’d create.

at this point I imagine Adrian has a boyfriend, he was either dating him before he got divorced in secret except only his friends knew, or they started after, it’s just idk if it should be a made-up character, Luca, or another person from ML or DC

Now this is how I imagine Bruce and Marinette would meet

Mari would be invited to a Wayne foundation party/gala as MDC, she’d of course go because it’s charity.

While she’s there she drops a check in the donation box, grabs a drink, and heads to the balcony to avoid the snotty rich people.

When she’s on the balcony, she’s probably designing/Sketchy something inspired by the view in a design book she managed to fit in her bag when she’s rudely interrupted byyyyy ‘dorm role please’ you guessed it, Bruce.

I imagine she wouldn’t know who he is and would end up having this conversation with him that would end up in them exchanging first names and phone numbers.

They end up on a few dates together, a few identities and secret reveals later, and they’re married with A house/mansion, a dozen or so children, a zoo, oh and Alfred! :D

---

That really all I have for this idea, I also have somewhat of an idea of how the kids would meet and react to their parent's partner/lover.

[callemreine]

Brave face, talk so lightly(hide the truth)

'All my life, I've just wanted to make things easier for them.'

Au August

Day/Prompt: Day 26 - Soulmate

Ship: Prinxiety, brief logicality, creativitwins

Word count: 3k (I'm so sorry I got carried away)

Cw: swearing / brief murder mention / implied death / crying / nightmares(?) / anxiety mention / caps / claustrophobia(?)

A/N: the prompt is your dreams are your soulmate's memories. The title is from the song "Sick of losing soulmates" by dodie. I wrote the first 1/4 of this a few days ago and the rest in one sitting and I couldn't care less about proofreading it so Im so sorry if there are any mistakes ;-;

@tsshipmonth2020

I see a girl in the distance. She has her back turned. Long chocolate-colored hair tied in a low messy bun. My hand is reaching out to her. I feel this sudden longing to be held by this woman. Craving her caring and loving words. Telling me that everything is going to be alright.

Wait. Why is she getting farther away?

She looks back at me with a sad smile. Everything gets dark. I let my eyes stray from her to look around. When was I in a hospital corridor?

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin. You're gonna have to continue our adventure without me. But, fear not, Little one. I'll always be there by you. You just gotta learn to know where I am,"

She caresses my cheek, giving me the warmest smile I have ever received.

She's gone, suddenly. I touch my cheek, still feeling the ghost of her warm touch. Along with… something wet? Am- Am I crying?

"Roman!"

I don't move. I feel stuck. But, also free, somehow. Just unsure of what to do, I guess?

"Roman! Wake up. You idiot!

"Roman!

"Oh, thank all things unholy! I thought someone was in our room, trying to murder us! You were crying, and- and whispering stuff! And it's creeping me the fuck out! And I'm not easily creeped out, you know that" Remus exclaimed as he sat on Roman's chest, grabbing his twin’s shoulders.

"Man, you're soulmate must have some twisted memories," He continued, getting off of Roman and returning to his own bed across the room.

'Yeah. Twisted…' Roman thought.

~*~*~

"You okay there, Sweetie?" Roman heard from where his head was buried on the kitchen counter. "Yeah... Just thinking about my soulmate again," he admitted.

"Another bad dream?" His mom inquired as she sat next to Roman, patting his back. "It's not just that. It's about the move. Like, we're never really sure which of our memories they see, right? But, they've seen all my memories from this place. Like, they know where I've been my entire life…" he trailed off.

"I'm just not sure how they would feel seeing a whole new different place… They don't seem to be in a place to experience a big change right now. All my life, I've just wanted to make things easier for them. And, yeah, my dreams don't really change that much. But, I make an effort, y'know?" Roman looked up at his mom to seek at least some kind of reassurance.

"I understand what you mean, and I think that what you're doing is great. And I know that you're gonna be the bestest thing that's ever gonna happen to them. But, I'm really sorry. We don't really have any choice with this move. I know your soulmate is in a dark place right now, but you can't always do everything for them. You're also your own person," His mom hugged him.

Roman felt like he was hopeless in this situation. And, he was always hoping for the best. For his soulmate or otherwise. Maybe his mom was right about putting himself first sometimes.

~*~*~

Virgil was in his first period when someone he didn't expect to walk into his classroom… walks into his classroom… They were wearing an army green shirt, a denim jacket with neon green highlights and spikes at the bottom, ripped jeans, and platform boots with more spikes and vulgar words written on them. To say that this man was familiar was an understatement. He KNEW this man's entire life THROUGH his dreams.

Virgil felt like he was trespassing someone's life. Like, he wasn't supposed to know the man. And that, they shouldn't be in any way related. Especially to their sibling.

He wasn't really ecstatic about meeting his soulmate. IN SCHOOL NO LESS. It wasn't really an ideal 'meet-your-soulmate' place for someone like Virgil.

"Alright, students, I'm sure you've all noticed that we have a new student right here. Now, why don't you go and introduce yourself, Mister," their teacher said to the denim jacket guy.

"Umm. Sup? I'm Remus Duke Kingsley. Nice to meet you all. And, if you see a guy that looks like me but without the mustache and wears red all the time, he’s always loud, you can’t miss him. That's my twin brother, Roman. The boring one," Remus says, yawning by the end of his introduction.

'HOLY FUCK, TWINS?!' Virgil thought. Fortunately(or unfortunately, depending on which part of Virgil's brain you're asking), Remus already gave him a vague description of who to look out for.

~*~*~

Virgil continues his day and falls into his daily routine, which mostly includes attempting to avoid being perceived by anyone. It usually succeeds if you exclude his friend, Patton, from ‘anyone.’ He only hopes that his soulmate also sees Patton in their dreams cuz, to be honest, Patton is the ray of sunshine everyone needs. Yeah, he was also friends with Logan, but he’s more like a moon if you ask him.

Virgil goes into the cafeteria and sits at their usual table, his back facing the entire cafeteria. He takes out a paper bag from his bag and grabs the sandwich he bought earlier, not waiting for his friends.

A few moments pass before Logan and Patton reach his table. “Hey, kiddo! You alright?” Patton says as he sits down. Virgil just gives them a nod and continues to eat. “I heard this morning that there were new students,” Logan inquires before Patton interrupts “Oh yeah! They’re twins! I have first period with one of them. He’s really nice. Oh! Hey! Roman! Over here!” Patton shouts and waves his arm toward a student that just entered the cafeteria. “Hope you guys don’t mind that I invited him over to sit with us,” He continues and flashes both Virgil and Logan a smile no one could say no to.

“Hey, Patton.” The guy says to Patton. “Hope you guys don’t mind me crashing your table. I’m Roman by the way,” Roman says to the other two. “Pleasure to meet you, Roman. I’m Logan. And, no, we wouldn’t mind at all,” Logan answered him back. Roman looked over to Virgil who just nodded and said his name. Roman then proceeded to sit next to Virgil but not paying him any mind.

And, though Virgil seemed to be calm about the situation, his mind is currently in flames having his anxiety and his gay panic fight over each other. Virgil is currently waiting for who would win, that's why he seems so calm on the outside. After finishing his sandwich, he was trying to think of something he could do to keep himself from leaving and be noticed. He looked over to Logan, attentively listening to Patton talking about the dog he saw this morning. Roman was silently eating his lunch, also listening to Patton, but looking around the cafeteria every once in a while.

It seems that Virgil’s anxiety won the fight because he decided that he doesn’t want to stick around with his friends and his apparent soulmate without doing anything. So, he stands up and excuses himself from the group. "Hey! Wait!" Roman calls after him. Virgil stops a few feet from the table to look back at Roman who was already jogging towards him.

"Virgil, right?" He assures.

Virgil nods. "Ok, there’s just something I wanna ask you. Are those two soulmates?" Roman throws his thumb back, pointing at the two left at the table. "Cuz, as much as how adorable they look together, I kinda don't want to be stuck as a third wheel," he continues.

"Oh. Yeah, those two are soulmates. Sometimes, I wonder if they ever do notice me every time I leave the table," Virgil elaborates, looking back at his friends with a slight smile.

"Umm. Class doesn't start for a few more minutes. I was wondering if I could join you for a while? Wherever you were going…" Roman trailed off, realizing he didn't know where the shorter male was headed.

"Uhh. Yeah, sure. I was just headed to the courtyard to pass the time,"

'Shit. Virgil, why are you doing this?! Why did you agree?! You have anxiety!' Virgil mentally scolded himself.

"Ok. Cool. I'll just go get my stuff," Roman flashed Virgil a smile before heading back to the table.

'Fuck. I am so screwed,' Virgil thought.

~*~*~

"So, what's the deal with those two? I mean, how did they deal with the soulmates thing?" Roman finally spoke a few moments after they found a bench to settle on. "Uhh, well. Logan is my childhood friend and the first day we started high school here, they both had a dream of roll call the other had that day, I guess? They both heard each other's name and boom. You got your glasses gays," Virgil discussed, reminiscing the events that happened that day.

Roman let out a chuckle at Virgil's last words, causing the other's heart to skip a beat. They remain silent for a while, watching the other students passing by.

"What about you?" Roman spoke up.

"What about me?" Virgil glances back.

"I mean, what about you? Have you met your soulmate? Do you know who they are? You just seem like an interesting individual to me, having to stick around knowing you're third-wheeling all the time yet valuing your time with them and your time with yourself all the same. Well, either that or I'm just embarrassed that I think you're uncomfortable with me here…" Roman rambled, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.

Virgil chuckled, "Nah. I just get anxious when meeting new people. Plus, I think you're a pretty nice guy." They smiled at each other, Virgil feeling his face heat up, and looks away immediately. "And, about the soulmate thing. I think I have a clue of who they might be, I just…" he trailed off.

"What's holding you back?" Roman muttered, lowering his head, attempting to catch the other's eye. "I… I just think that my memories aren't that… for them. They're just this amazing and joyful person… I just don't think they deserve to see my bland memories every night,"

The pair fell silent, Roman feeling sympathy for the other. Virgil felt Roman shift in his seat before speaking up, "I don't think anyone's memories are ever bland."

Virgil looks up at Roman who has a far-off look with a slight smile on his lips. "I think that our dreams are what shows us what we're missing in life. What our soulmate has that we need and what we have that they need. You know, what makes you both feel complete when you're with each other," Roman smiled.

Virgil pondered on the other's statement for a while. "Is that... Is that how you feel when you're with your soulmate?" He said, being careful with his words. Roman sighed but remained smiling, "I haven't met them yet. But, what you said earlier reminded me of them. I always think they're a little different. My moms said that dreams are supposed to show my soulmate's memories. But, no one is ever sure which ones we see. Well, my dreams always have one thing in common… There's darkness every time…" Roman trailed off, looking more sad as he continued.

"Sometimes, they walk out of their house and, suddenly, everything goes dark and I see pairs of eyes staring at me as I walk. Or sometimes, they lie in bed and, suddenly, it's dark again and I'm stuck inside a box too small for me. But, there’s always this one dream that always repeats itself. Though, I'm not sure my soulmate's gonna be comfortable with me sharing," Roman finally snaps out of his trance and looks up at Virgil, looking embarrassed.

At this point, Virgil is now entirely sure that the person in front of him is his soulmate. He feels tears cloud his eyes so he looks away to play off wiping them away before looking back at Roman with pity in his expression. This is exactly what Virgil was afraid of, having his soulmate also experience the darkness that clouds him every day he wakes up.

"Wow… They- I- I don't know what to say… What are you gonna do when you meet them?" Virgil glances at Roman, pity still in his eyes. Roman let out a sigh but smiled, "I'm gonna give them the biggest hug they've ever received and reassure them that I'm always gonna be with them and that they'll never have to feel alone all the time ever again." Roman looked at Virgil with a smile. But, before he could notice the tear that fell from the other's eye, a loud shrill of their school bell rang throughout the courtyard, signaling the start of their next class.

"Talk about first impressions," Roman said with a chuckle, standing up. "Well, see you around, Virgil. I got a few more 'Hi, I'm Roman' to do," he continued, leaving Virgil on the bench.

~*~*~

I hear my converse squeak as I walk through the hallway. There are people around me, but they're all just silhouettes of the same familiar darkness. I'm walking to what seems to be the cafeteria. I sit down and grab my lunch from my bag. A few minutes pass, two figures sit in front of me. There's something familiar about them despite being two black silhouettes.

"Hey, kiddo! You alright?"

Patton?

"I heard there were new students," Logan?

Wait. Am I…

"Oh yeah! They're twins!"

Oh.

"I have first period with one of them. He's really nice. Oh! Hey! Roman! Over here!"

Before I could look over to… me…

Darkness. Again.

I hear muffled voices. Too muffled to be recognized.

I stay in darkness for what felt like hours before I get surrounded by light.

Too bright.

There's a silhouette in front of me. It doesn't have any facial features but I can feel it stare at me. Slowly, the light around me doesn't feel too bright anymore. It feels… warm and comforting. Similar to the feeling I have in my chest, along with a squeezing feeling. I feel tears cloud my eyes, but I feel happy, somehow?

I feel someone embrace me. I look up to see the silhouette. Its arms around me, like it's protecting me. I feel secure. I feel loved.

I hug back, breaking down in its arms.

"You don't have to be alone anymore"

I hear my own voice. I break down sobbing, seeking more of the silhouette's warmth.

I stopped sobbing after a while but remained in the silhouette's arms for what felt like hours.

"You gotta wake him up!" I heard a distant voice say in a hushed tone.

"No, he hasn't slept like this since who knows when… Something must've happened yesterday..."

I feel myself slowly drifting from where I was standing.

"We can just tell the school he's sick"

"On the second day?"

I feel someone caress my cheek.

"You can stay too if you want"

"Hey, sweetie," Roman opens his eyes to his mom in front of him.

"What's going on? Why are you all in our room?" Roman asks as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He eyes Remus standing in front of their mama. Their mom is sitting on the edge of Roman's bed, facing him.

"Well, sweetie. You see, you just had a full night's sleep," their mom explained.

"You looked so peaceful too," their mama added with a smile. Roman stopped to let the events of his dream last night come back to him.

"Roman, is everything ok?" Their mama walked over to him, tucking a few strands of his hair behind his ear. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay!" He flashed a smile to his moms, meaning what he said.

~*~*~

Roman hadn't been able to sit still ever since he got to school. 'Late', he should add. Apparently, he overslept while Remus and their moms decide whether to wake him up or not.

When they got to school in the middle of first period, they were excused because their moms were there to explain. With a slightly bent truth, of course.

Roman had to wait three(and a half) classes to talk to Virgil. They didn't have any classes together, to which Roman was bummed to find out. When the bell rang, signaling their lunch break, Roman hurriedly headed to the cafeteria. When he got there, he spotted Virgil just about to sit down at their usual table.

"Uhh. Virgil? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Roman felt awkward, to say the least.

"Uhm. Sure," Virgil replied, standing up. Roman led them under a tree in the courtyard, away from other students. They stayed silent for a while before Virgil spoke up, "So… what'd you wanted to talk about?"

Roman just stared at Virgil for a few moments, examining him, before enveloping him in a tight hug. Virgil stood frozen for a while, surprised at the gesture. He slowly placed his hands on Roman's back, still confused at the sudden affection.

"You're not alone anymore, Pumpkin," Roman said in a gentle voice, cradling the other's head. Virgil froze when he heard the nickname. His expression then softens and hugs Roman tighter, burying his face on the taller male’s shoulder.

"How did you find out?" Roman heard, slightly muffled by his jacket. "Had a dream about yesterday," Roman simply stated, not elaborating more. "What about you? You said you had a clue. Oh! That rhymed,"

They both laughed.

"I have first period with Remus and I recognized him right away," Virgil replied, his face still buried on Roman's shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry you have to deal with him," Roman chuckled.

"No, I'm sorry you had to deal with him your entire life,"

"Well, we're not alone anymore now, are we? Roman asked with a serious tone. Virgil parted a few inches from Roman, still holding on to him. He smiled as he looked up at Roman, "No, we're not."

This might be the last one I'll do for AU august but I'm also deciding if I should go back to the prompts I missed when I was sick hmm

I wish I included Remus more in this but it was already 3k words and thats the longest I've ever written so maybe its for the best XD

[lostbutterflyutau]

Why did you stop shipping Gabela? I ship unpopular ships and I don’t care if I’m the only one shipping it. It’s annoying sometimes that what I write doesn’t get a lot of attention but being a content creator means making stuff I like even if it doesn’t get notice at all

The simple answer: Because, Dear Anon, no one cares about the ship and, by proxy, my content.

The long answer: I get what you're saying. I do. But, unfortunately, it doesn't work that way for me. Writing the content may be fun for a time, but once I post and have to wait and wait and wait for comments that never come, it stops being fun. I have said it before and will keep saying it: I expect feedback for my work, especially when I worked so hard to let the fandom know who I am. It honestly hurt (past tense) that they would eat up my canon content and analysis but not touch my creative content with a ten-foot pole simply because I picked an underrated ship.

A hard truth of fanfiction is that a well-written fic is worth NOTHING if you don't use the right characters/ships/tropes. And honestly? I hate that.

Rounding back to Gabela, it's this need for validation that eventually led me to give it up. I tried hard to keep it up. I really did. And I had a few people here and there with me until... THE EPISODE happened. "Norberg Peace Prize" confirmed Gabaomi as a thing and the entire fandom dynamic shifted for the worse. And I honestly felt like the biggest idiot in the world for not SCREEEEEEEAAAAAMING over it when the episode premiered. Its premiere is also the reason I wrote "True Love." And do not tell me that romance was NOT the show-runners' intent. It totally was and they just can't say so publicly. Following that episode, every ship for Gabe and Naomi was abandoned except that one. And with mine already teetering, that was the final thing. The Gabela ship busted in half and sunk, leaving me alone with nothing but a piece of driftwood.

Now, Elenaomi retains a decent following, but for Gabe, Naomi is the top choice. At least in the spaces I frequent. And you know what? The shippers are right. They're meant to be and Carla would be stupid to think she ever had a chance given how incompatible with Gabe she is. I've read so many posts that make wonderful arguments in favour of Gabaomi and, because I'm not a multishipper, I eventually had to concede.

Then, as time went on and we saw more hints in later episodes that everyone kept screaming about, I felt like the universe was telling me that my time was done. That no one cared and there was no point in my posting to an empty room. Plus, considering that there's been NOTHING posted in the ship channel (which I now believe was a mistake) for them in over a year, I think it's obvious there's no interest in the ship.

Also, the later shift in the fandom that brought in a group of canon purists who turned down every ship that "wasn't canon" and all listed Gabela as their NOTP didn't help.

Anyway, in the end, I overhauled the entire Mirror World Timeline post-graduation. And, in case you're wondering what happens to Carla in that timeline now, she remains permanently single. After her crush is crushed, her love life just never pans out. She's a bridesmaid 13 times over by the time she's 26 and stops believing in love and romance and has to learn to be happy with just herself.

So... Yeah. I stopped shipping them because I couldn't take the silence anymore.

[tabloidtoc]

Life & Style, April 26

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Khloe Kardashian is a total fake

Page 1: Lady Gaga in a wedding dress on the set of House of Gucci in Rome

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: The Top 10 SAG Awards Looks -- Mindy Kaling, Jamie Chung, Amy Adams, Sarah Levy, Kerry Washington

Page 5: Kaley Cuoco, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Morales, Viola Davis, Lily Collins

Page 6: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen celebrated their 12-year anniversary, posting heartfelt tributes to each other on social media, but their relationship hasn't always been so rock solid -- Tom admitted that Gisele has made a lot of sacrifices for their marriage and she hated living in Boston because she had no friends there and felt so alone because Tom was never around; things got so bad they sought counseling, which was the wake-up call that Tom needed -- he promised to make changes and he agreed to quit the Patriots and sign with a team in a location that was more desirable to Gisele and Tom stuck to his word and he came the new quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and since moving to Florida, Tom and Gisele have never been happier and they have date nights every week and always make sure to communicate -- it wasn't easy, but they're both really proud of how far they've come

Page 7: After multiple delays, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc have finally filmed the highly anticipated Friends reunion special and they all got really emotional when they saw the set and being there brought back so many fond memories -- it's the first time in 17 years that fans will get to see the entire cast together since the show went off the air in 2004 -- afterwards, everyone went to Jen's house for dinner -- each of the stars was paid $2.5 million to appear in the special

* Throwback -- Dolly Parton in 1965

* Biggest Spenders of the Week -- Bobby Flay, Aaron Rodgers, Vanessa Hudgens, Angelina Jolie

Page 8: Drew Barrymore revealed that, after three divorces and a string of failed romances, she's sworn off marriage altogether -- Drew doesn't need a man to feel complete and she's happiest hanging out with family and friends -- if the right guy comes along later down the line, great, but for now, she's content with being single

* Becoming one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood has gone straight to Ana de Armas' head -- the cast and crew are often left waiting for the actress to emerge from her trailer on the set of the new action thriller The Gray Man -- Ana's got a lot going on and she's juggling several different projects, as well as photo shoots and phone calls with her team and people don't stay mad at her for too long, but they have nicknamed her Ana de Diva, but she isn't upset by the scathing moniker because she's a big name now, and with that comes a lot of responsibility and the way she sees it, there are worse things than being called a diva

Page 10: The Week in Photos -- Orlando Bloom got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny

Page 11: Jennifer Lopez in jeans at a photoshoot for InStyle, Priyanka Chopra dancing around her backyard in a bright yellow dress

Page 12: Animal Tales -- Gilles Marini posed for a pic with his African grey parrot Anya, singer Madison Beer leaned in for a kiss from a caramel-colored stallion, Kate Beckinsale's feline Clive seemed less than thrilled when Kate strapped him to her chest in a carrier

Page 13: Kaia Gerber and her precious pooch Milo snuggled up in bed, Malin Akerman and a goat

Page 16: Stars Behaving Badly -- Lisa Vanderpump let her parched dog drink from her water glass at a restaurant in West Hollywood, Maisie Williams went topless under a translucent jacket while shooting a new TV series about the Sex Pistols in London, HGTV Design Star host Allison Holker used a megaphone to give out instructions to Property Brother Jonathan Scott on the show's finale, Calvin Klein wasn't worried about stains when he shoved a pile of spaghetti into his mouth at West Hollywood's Mauro Cafe

Page 18: Say What?! Helena Bonham Carter who turns 55 in May, Chelsea Handler who admits she consumes mushrooms almost every day, Olivia Munn who is the proud pet parent of rescue dogs Frankie and Chance, Melissa McCarthy on doing her own stunts in Thunder Force, Brian Tyree Henry on Godzilla vs. Kong co-star Millie Bobby Brown

Page 20: Pete Davidson has officially moved out of his mother's home and into a $1.2 million luxury high-rise condo on Staten Island, and it's all thanks to his new girl girlfriend, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor -- the Saturday Night Live star showed off his two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom bachelor pad during a Zoom call -- Phoebe is a down-to-earth girl, but she doesn't want to date a man who lives in his mom's basement and she thinks Pete's mom, Amy, is awesome and says it's a great thing that they're super close, but being in a long-distance relationship is difficult enough so Pete and Phoebe need some alone time when they're together, which was almost impossible with his mother hanging out upstairs -- Pete knew it was time; he just needed that gentle nudge

Page 21: Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell were spotted in NYC together, sparking speculation that the former Bachelor couple have rekindled their relationship -- the pair parted ways while the show was still airing after photos of the graphic designer at a plantation-themed college party in 2018 surfaced on social media -- Rachael made a mistake but she owned up to it and was willing to learn from it and it didn't change her feelings for Matt or vice versa and Matt was in love with Rachael too and he couldn't just turn those feelings off so no one would be surprised if they decided to reconcile

* Michael B. Jordan's girlfriend Lori Harvey was left reeling over photos of the actor sharing a smooch with Chante Adams on the set of their new movie A Journal for Jordan -- of course, they were just shooting a scene for the film, but Lori was still annoyed and she asked Michael about it, and he brushed it off and explained it was part of the job but Lori still has her suspicions and she's been thinking about dropping by the set just so she can keep a very close eye on them

Page 22: Cover Story -- Khloe Kardashian living a lie -- devastated by an unretouched photo leak, Khloe faces claims she's a body positivity hypocrite as she demands the viral image be taken down

Page 26: Alex Rodriguez to Ben Affleck: Back off my fiancee -- Ben gushes about ex Jennifer Lopez in a new article and A-Rod isn't happy about it (not quite Bennifer yet :)

Page 28: Prince Harry overwhelmed with work -- Harry struggles to adjust after trading his cushy royal role for a variety of normal gigs -- though his job for BetterUp is primarily remote, added stress comes in the form of Harry's Spotify and Netflix deals, plus growing charity work -- Harry finds all of his new, non-royal titles fresh and exciting, but while he's a great person, some in his inner circle say Harry's kind of dumb and worry whether he can handle the pressure

Page 30: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli life after prison -- reunited following months spent behind bars, Lori and Mossimo try to pick up the pieces -- prison definitely took a toll on Mossimo and he doesn't expect sympathy, but he's still struggling to adjust to what he went through; it really broke him down and forced him to reevaluate his life

Page 32: Who Lives Here? Lil Nas X

Page 34: Entertainment

Page 35: Star Review -- Jonathan Van Ness

* As Seen On-Screen -- Meghan Markle wore a dark green coat while walking through Archie's Chick-Inn during her CBS interview which was J. Crew's Perfect Lightweight Jacket

Page 36: Go Green at Home -- reduce your carbon footprint even more with these eco-chic essentials, because our planet can use all the help it can get

Page 37: Beauty Crush -- get Jurnee Smollett's look from her makeup artist Emily Cheng for the SAG Awards

Page 38: Spring Beauty Must-Haves -- these product picks aim to reign as new-season favorites -- Camila Mendes

Page 40: Diva or Down-to-Earth? Rihanna bagged her own haul at Bristol Farms in Beverly Hills -- down-to-earth, Shay Mitchell worked from home with help from her most trusted assistant daughter Atlas -- down-to-earth, during a photo shoot in Malibu Brooke Burke got a makeup refresh from a personal primper -- diva

Page 42: Social Stars Posts of the Week -- Sofia Vergara sneaking Heidi Klum a chip on the set of America's Got Talent, Neil Patrick Harris finished the first season of The Irregulars while quarantining in Toronto, Jared Leto pretended to pluck the moon straight out of the sky during a masked outing in Italy, Beyonce treated her daughter Blue Ivy to a meal at Nobu in Malibu

Page 44: Horoscope -- Taurus Gigi Hadid turned 26 on April 23

* They're Not Together, But They Should Be -- Capricorn Charles Melton and Virgo Zendaya

Page 48: What I'm Into -- Kameron Westcott of The Real Housewives of Dallas

[fumbling-fanfics]

Ransom Thrombey Mini Mini

Warnings: Ransom being a dick, swearing, mention of a car wreck, sexual innuendos

I'm also aware that it should be Ransom Drysdale but Ransom Thrombey seems to draw more likes right now (2019/11/26)

Also shout out to @crushed-pink-petals we chatted about this and I had to make it a mini fic

*****************************************'*****

Every other year your family and the Thrombey family get together for Christmas. It's not some cutesy family and friend reunion. More like some pissing contest between Harlan Thrombey and your grandfather (to name a few other feuds).

This year the gathering was at your family home. You were happy it was on home ground for you, giving you an upper hand against Ransom. He was your fighting buddy during the gathering (and fucking buddy when you two go tired of fighting).

Expect this year he didn't appear to be here. Which was an actual plus.

"y/n! " you mom called, you appeared behind your mom and her 10th egg nog as she perched on a sofa along with Joni Thrombey, no doubt comparing Instagrams. "Can you get Jacob the WiFi password please" you scrunched up your face and looked at Jacob who was half hidden in a corner as usual.

"Don't you have like 100 gigs of data?“

"I want the password" he demanded.

"Whatever, it's shit anyway. Cheapskate" you walk out of the room and headed up the stairs to get the password.

"y/n can you get the door" you mom called out again as you were descending the stairs.

"For fuck sake! Why am I the slave today. Shall I also get everyone a top up? Anyone want a foot massage" you storm over to the door and rip it open.

"Last time I checked you liked role play" Fucking Ransom. And his smug face.

"And here was me hoping for a Christmas miracle, that you were killed in a car wreck" you peer around him to see this trademark car parked behind the other cars. Meg was also badly hidden smoking weed with your brother.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world" Ransom brushes past you, pinching you thigh as he went.

Dinner was going like it usually did, two arguments had already started - Harlan and your Grandfather, Walt and your Dad. Your mom and Joni were too drunk to get into it just yet. And Meg was too high, along with your brother. Other voices were raising too.

"So" Ransom smirked from across the dinner table. "How's your sugar Daddy, I here he's in South of France with his Wife and two kids" you ignored Ransom, asking your mom to pass the salad.

"Heard South of France is an apology for him fucking you. She knows about the mistress, she got a nice Christmas gift"

You calmly placed down your Culter to take a sip of your wine, aware Donna was staring at you.

"Ransom, if you don't shut the fuck up I'll choke you with your fucking scarf" he chuckled, leaning back to sip his own drink.

"I think you'll find it's only you who is into being choked y/n"

Your father started to choke, drawn out of his argument with Walt. "Ransom! Apologies to y/n" Linda chimed in.

"Don't worry. I will. Later" he shot you a wink.

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

Tags:

@ellixthea @lovelymari4 @chaneajoyyy

@honeychicana @beaminglife @amelatonin @themyscxiras @crushed-pink-petals @lady-olive-oil @jojolu @endless00paradise @est1887 @cajunpeach @melinda-january @profoundlynerdywolf @deathonyourtongue @designerwriterchic @itsbqueenthings @alicesfracturedmirror @joebob15274 @dc41896 @nina-skyee @islanddgal @mbaku-babygirl

[ethospathoslogan]

Omg I would probably die from happiness if you did a sanders sides superhero au. Like I'm really curious about your take on the characters and their roles. Tbh I just love how unique you make the characters while staying true to their personalities. Also your aus are absolutely fantastic and I adore them.

anon this is... an incredibly sweet and heartwarming message (that also means a lot to me bc i know i’ve been kinda........ lacking in my AUs recently) so!!! you’ve inspired me to actually go through and at least bang out some headcanons omg

so, for some general background stuff, i was inspired by the adventure zone: commitment to make this!! kinda like how taz balance inspired a lowkey fantasy AU except this one is so much easier to do bc i can be inspired by commitment w/out actually being like “okay so logan would be [insert character] and roman [insert character] and etc etc etc”

basically the part that i really liked and that really got me thinking abt the AU is that, in commitment, the heroes don’t get their powers by dumb luck or birth or anything, but they’re given them scientifically through a corporation? like their powers are basically implanted in them by this scientific heroic organization and they don’t have a choice in what powers they get, and i thought that was really interesting!!!

also again idk if this is gonna be an Actual AU just bc my writing life has been crazy really, but if anyone is actually interested in this AU after reading this, i’ll happily accept questions/prompts :)

also also, i have to get ready for work, but i got mad excited abt this, so below the cut are roman and logan’s characters, if people want patton and virgil, i’ll reblog with them, too!!

**this is an AU in the making. aka, im really intrigued w/ this idea but im still working on the general outline of it. so, if i actually continue with it, some things might change or become more structured.

roman prince:

age: 26

so i picture this AU taking place in a city, and i feel like roman is the son of a very wealthy businessman within that city

he def has a balling penthouse that overlooks the city skyline

he’s charismatic and outgoing and definitely has a bit of an edge to him. like, there’s a bite to him, but it’s more like “i’ll smile and play nice and smile while tearing you to shreds if i need to”

like, don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy!!! an overall good person, just he’s not afraid to start shit and call people out on his bullshit if he has to. this has gotten him into trouble more than once.

he’s an aspiring performer and he’s incredibly talented in singing, acting, and dancing, but none of his roles ever felt Right bc it was obvious that the casting directors chose him to appeal to his father

which was always concerning for roman because he has a...... complicated relationship with his father

he actually got involved with the Scientific Organization because of his father

his father, the CEO of Prince Corp., started a partnership with the CEO of Sanders Institute. while Prince Corp. deals with finance along with more artistic fields, like films and fashion, Sanders Institute deals more scientifically, like with researching and developing new technologies. together, they formed almost an alliance of sorts.

so, Prince Sr. was told by Sanders Sr., “i have a new idea that could change the way the world functions” and, almost instantly, Prince Sr. offered Roman

when roman finally arrived at the Sanders’ Scientific Organization that will definitely have a name if and when i work more on this, he thought he was just going to be trying out new technologies or taking a couple fitness tests or trying some new serum or something

he didn’t expect that, after multiple screenings and tests, he would be told that he’d be receiving superpowers

or, more so, the scientists told him that he would become “an enhanced, more powerful version of himself,” which everyone knows translates to “kickass superpowers”

it’s not that he’s reluctant at first, but he’s almost disbelieving. like, things like this happened in movies and comic books. not in his life. but, then again, he knew that technology was advancing along with science, and it seems very possible...

needless to say, he became very enthusiastic very fast

his powers: pyrokenesis and he can put people under a type of thrall with his voice

pros of his powers: he can command people at will. he can set shit on fire.

cons of his powers: people know that they are being controlled and can fight against it. even if they fail in fighting it, they will know once the thrall wears off that they were controlled. he can set shit on fire. cue moral dilemmas on whether or not he’s toeing the line of superhero/supervillain bc of the devasation his powers, both physical and mental, can have.

this will be logince bc im logince trash

logan sanders:

age: 28

the son of Sanders Sr., and twin brother to thomas sanders

his entire life has been science. when thomas went to college for environmental engineering, he went for biology. outside of school, both brothers got very involved in technology. they’ve been exposed to their father’s science from a young age.

it was always expected that they would inherit Sanders Institue together and expand it with their fields of study

however, even logan and thomas didn’t know what their father was planning with this new Scientific Organization. they knew that Something was going on, but they thought perhaps a new technology was being developed, or a new experiment was taking place

well... they were partially correct

logan and thomas were both brought into the experimentation. they were the first ones to undergo the process, actually. they were told that it was because they deserved to receive this enhancement first, but they’re smart, they knew the real reason: to their father, science came first, and that meant using his sons as guinea pigs

now, logan is an incredibly analytical and logical man. where thomas was trusting and compassionate, always looking to help his father, logan was skeptical. what if something went wrong? what if the experiment didn’t work? it didn’t take long for him to learn that they were planning for other people to be brought in; what was the criteria?

why were they enhancing people like this?

“because people like you will be able to help the entire world,” his father had said, a smile plastered on his face. “you and thomas are both boys of science, and the people we plan on recruiting are just as beneficial. don’t you want to be of assistance to the world?”

logan did and, so, convinced by his father and intrigued by the science around it and interested in what these enhancements could be, he agreed.

plus, there was no way in hell he was going to let thomas go through this alone. if something happened... it happened to both of them. they were a package deal, and an experiment wasn’t going to take it away.

even though logan had his doubts, as time grew closer to when the enhancements would take place, he grew more and more excited. he loved science, lived for it! and he was truly about to become a man of science! everything for their world was about to change (logan never said it outloud, but he knew it: they were going to be heroes) and logan was going to be a part of that.

he always wanted to be a part of something that did good.

his powers: he can tap into any and all electronic devices and basically take total control over them. he also has lightning/electricity powers.

pros of his powers: can access any information in electronical databases. can shoot lightning beams.

cons of his powers: just how you can burn out a fuse by putting too much power in it, logan can “burn out.” electrical storms can actually be painful for him bc of how much electricity is in the air, and if he taps into too many devices in a short amount of time, he actually shorts out and basically electrocutes himself. it’s nonlethal but, nonetheless, painful, and leaves him powerless for a little while. all the electrical powers make him feel a bit too... robotic sometimes.

[i-have-a-wonky-eye-too]

Young and Sweet - Part 8

@lilyrosebae - I love! Are you still taking requests ? Can you make a Tony Stark x female reader where she is way younger than him ? And at first he tries to hold back his feeling for her but she is way too attractive, hot, brillant basically as everything. Smut. I love your work 😘

Warnings: swearing

Tony hadn’t been listening to a word either Rhodey or Steve had spoke to him. He sat there with his hand in his pocket, clutching to your still soaked panties. God, if either of them found out what had just happened in there he wouldn’t here the end of it. It’d be all ‘she’s too young, Tony’ and ‘are you out of your damn mind’. He knew you were too young, God knows he knew but he just couldn’t stop feeling what he did. From the moment he burst into that interrogation room and saw you sat there for the first time, the air was knocked out of his lungs and he knew he was in trouble. Plus, you didn’t help things being so damn beautiful and smart. Then there was the whole reprisicating his feelings too, what were you doing to him! Tony sighed deeply as he fell forwards in his seat and smacked his forehead onto his desk. Well, fuck!

Steve and Rhodey looked at each other before turning their attention back to Tony. “Hmm, Tony? You good?” Steve asked, genuinely concerned for his friends sudden strange behaviour.

“Fine.” he grumbled.

Rhodey raised his eyebrow noticing a couple of red patches on Tony’s neck under his collar, then he noticed his hair wasn’t in it’s usual style and his t-shirt was on in inside out. He sighed deeply shaking his head. “Tell me, you didn’t?”

Tony sat up sighing deeply. “What?”

“You know what I mean.” Rhodey frowned stepping closer to Tony. “Why was the door locked?” Rhodey asked being met with silence from Tony. “You said you wouldn’t, Tony.”

Tony scoffed dramatically as he stood to his feet. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t, okay.” he smirked a little as he turned round at the thought of what had happened moments earlier between the two of you.

“What? You wouldn’t do what? Someone, tell me what’s going on.” Steve snapped at the pair of them, drawing their attention. “Now!”

Rhodey and Tony gave each other a quick look before Rhodey turned to Steve. “I, don’t think you want to know, Cap. Trust me.” he placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Please, just let me handle this, Steve.” Rhodey begged.

“Handle it? God, you’re making it sound like I’m your kid that you just caught having it off with some girl.” Tony laughed, his head falling back as he did.

“Yeah, well, sometimes you behave like you bloody are. I mean, c’mon man, she’s just a kid.”

“She’s practically 26!” Tony snapped.

“Half your age!”

“ENOUGH!” Steve stood in between the two men, pushing Tony back. “Now, tell me what the hell is going on?”

You sat in the kitchen with a single light illuminating the space at three in the morning unable to sleep. You’d ended up going straight to bed as soon as you’d returned work after in hopes of sleeping your heartache away after being rejected by Tony. You'd wanted to talk to him after being interrupted by Steve and Rhode but he'd just dismissed you with the excuse of being far too busy for small talk. The thoughts of what had happened between you and Tony were running over and over in your head.

Tears trickled down your face as you watched the roses in front of you slowly wilt like your heart broke. You were an idiot to think anything could happen, to let yourself be drawn in and used, to fall in love with a man that was incapable of it.

“Why are you letting them die?” Tony stood in the doorway looking at you with a sad expression.

You rolled your eyes turning your back on him, grabbing a hold of the vase as you stood up. “Everything has to come to an end, Tony.” you dropped the flowers into the trash before turning and putting the vase in the sink.

“But, you usually do that hand thing and bring them back to their best.” Tony walked into the kitchen towards you.

You shrugged walking to the other side of the room to where the teas were kept. Maybe if you made yourself a herbal tea it would help send you asleep.

“I like it when you do that.” he tried again, still being met with silence from you.  He sighed as he placed his hands on the countertop next to the sink staring at the empty vase. “Please, talk to me-”

“Oh, so you're ready to talk to me now.” you scoffed.

“Y/N, please, you're making me sound lik-”

You cut Tony off as you spun round and stormed towards him, closing the gap between you. “You don't care? To me that's what it seems like. You couldn't get rid of me quick enough after you fucked me, then you just dismissed me like I was nothing when I came to talk to you and you still expect me to be all friendly with you. I'm sorry but that's not how it works. If it was just fuck then just tell me now. I'm a big girl, I don't need to fake bullshit from you, Mr Stark.”

Tony sighed deeply. You couldn't be sure but you thought you could see tears forming in his eyes. “I didn't mean for it to sound like that, honest. I wanted to talk to you, just, not whilst everyone was watching us…” Tony ran his hand down his face as he let out a loud groan. “Rhodey, worked out what had happened and we ended up arguing over you and then I had to tell Steve who went bat shit crazy and tried to kill me-” he rolled his eyes dramatically. “-and of course FRIDAY alerted the others of the situation, so then they all found out and everyone began screaming at me for being selfish and taking advantage of you because you're just a kid and you're too young for me and--fuck! They think I'm just gonna use you, but I'm not. I know you're young but God you're so beautiful and smart and funny… And you, for some damn reason actually like me and don't take any of my shit and it turns me on so much and FUCK! I love you, so, fucking mu-”

He what?

“You what?”

The once wilting flowers suddenly burst out the top of the bin looking more alive than ever, startling the pair of you.

Tony pointed at the trash slightly scared by their sudden appearance. “Why the hell did that happen?”

You shook your head slowly. “I'm surprised? Shocked?” you looked back to him. “Did you, did you really mean-”

Tony nodded, reaching out to brush a strand of your hair back. “Yes. All I could think about since that night we kissed was the way felt in my arms and how I wished it was just the two of us… then I saw that necklace and I smiled thinking about you… Then you came to me today and-” he stepped closer. “I love you, Y/N.”

Tears slowly fell from your eyes as the flowers grew even more at his words. “Tony-” you gulped shaking your head. “-promise your not just saying it to make me feel better. I might be young but I can still handle rejection.”

Tony gave you gently smile.as he cupped your face. “I, love, you.” he whispered leaning in slowly, smirking as he did. “I've said like four times, you gonna say it or what?”

You began laughing as you nodded. “I love you, too… old man.”

“Less of the old.” he winked before pressing his lips against yours in gently, loving kiss.

[mxmearcstapa]

Naked Madlions Update #1!

Welcome all to the exciting adventure that is the Naked Madlions, my Maddening playthrough of Blue Lions without New Game+! (All updates are going to be tagged with #Molly's Madlions) As a warning, I've played all 4 routes and as this is a playthrough, it gets pretty spoiler-heavy. I might, and have in previous posts, talk about plot elements, comparisons, and other details.

Basically, spoiler warning for potentially all of FE3H, but most specifically Blue Lions.

With that out of the way, here's how it's going!

Prologue:

GUYS I FAILED THE FUCKING PROLOGUE AHAHAHA. We stole Claude and Edelgards' weapons and shoved them behind a wall to keep them out of danger. I put Dimitri in a bush and said, "yeah, he's sufficiently tanky, he can--" and then he took one hit, and he was okay, and then he took the second hit, and then he wasn't okay. And I thought, "oh, I'll Divine Pul--oh...right." Anyay, I've now seen what the Game Over screen looks like.

With more liberal healing and less aggressive tactics, we succeeded. :P

Mock Battle:

Battle requires Byleth and Dimitri, and I took Dedue, Mercedes, and Ingrid for other slots. Dedue has a swell personal ability which makes him excellent at taking physical hits. Mercie I took because she was the only one who could heal. Ingrid I was really on the fence about, as my past experiences with her have not been the best, but I picked her for her Res, which came really in handy this battle. I made sure to stock up on as many weapons as I could, and I equipped everyone with 2 vulneraries. It did take several restarts to find the right combination of actions, and I admit that Mercedes went down, but because this is like, one of two battles that aren't permadeath, I just left her down. She was out of heals anyway, and we were close to winning. Her survival is, of course, more important to me moving forward. Even so, it took 26 turns (and several swears) to complete three mock battle. Bleh.

"HEY, KOSTAS, REMEMBER US?":

Oh, my Divine Pulses! *cries in joy* oh...there's...only 3 of them. Okay. Cool. I'm used to like...10, but this...this is fine.

This is a tough fight to start out with, because most of these dumb babies are still level 1. No one got to 5 from the practice battle because, like a dingus, I split my exp a little more evenly before thinking about what might happen next. Plus, those Poison Touch Archers are AGGRESSIVE. All the Swordbois have Pass, so we had to watch our backs to make sure no one was sneaking behind us to stab the squishier ones. Most of the battle, we kept to the initial bridge and let the enemies come to us. The bridge gives a nice choke point to control enemy movement. Much to my own surprise, we kept everyone alive and didn't need to use any Divine Pulses (oh me of little faith). As long as you're mindful of archer range, it's workable.

DP Used: 0

Mutiny in the Mist:

CATHERINE IS AN EXP THIEF. WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?

*ahem*

Fog...sucks. About half the army had torches ready, and we only lost of one of our allied soldiers (because he ran himself through an enemy weapon. I cannot help you, sir), so not too bad! About midway through the map, I used a Pulse to pull Sylvain back up (STOP. MISSING.). At this point, Ingrid and Sylvain had learned their basic Reason magic, but their Magic skills are craaaaaaap. Sylvain I know will grow better, and Ingrid we're mostly expecting to crit, but it's a weird progression. I've never gone for straight Magic Ingrid before. When not using magic, she's been proccing her Crest fervently in the hopes that I will reconsider and have her focus on the Lance. *laughs in distance*

At the very least, having Annette, Mercedes, and Dimitri all healing was a boon. Dedue actually crit Lonato to low health, which blew away a lot of his difficulty.

This map is also funny, because I forgot I don't have access to adjutants in the very beginning, so we have to court Ferdinand the old-fashioned way. :P HE SHALL JOIN US YET. If nothing else, his weapon and vulneraries both get restored after each battle, which means "resources I don't have to worry about." As long as he's not stealing exp getting KOs, we're all happy.

DP Used: 1

Gimme My Sword!:

So I was nervous about this because I know there's a lot of mages here, and the Lions aren't super Res-blessed as a whole. But they were okay! I did split the party--Dimitri, Byleth, Dedue, Ashe, Annette, and Ferdie to the left, and Sylvain, Felix, Ingrid, and Mercedes to the right. With Ingrid's Res, Felix's Crest-laced bow shots, Sylvain's raw strength, and Mercie's healing/Res/magic, the right side was only in deep trouble at one point. I was afraid I'd need to reset entirely, but Felix just straight dodged a lethal hit, and they pushed forward. Plus, Ingrid and Sylvain both knew Heal, which was helpful.

Meanwhile, Left Team slowly fed Annette axe kills, and Dimitri and Ashe dispatched the reinforcements. The kids are shaping up well!

DP Used: 1

Closing Thoughts:

it's, uh, it's tough. It's a completely different set of resources to work with. Having 3 Divine Pulses instead of 10 really changes how careful I am: if there's an issue, I am closer to restarting the battle than being able to rewind, which is more time spent. I knew I wouldn't start with a lot of activity points, but I had forgotten how desolately you begin. Mostly I have using my AP for faculty training and cooking for the stat boosts. My truest love, fishing, returns to me as I attempt to raise my professor level. But because I'm not dining with students, they often have low motivation, which prohibits me from training as intensely. With the battle time being longer overall, it's not as prohibitive towards weapons, but magic has limited uses, so if I'm not pumping that in lessons, they learn it much more slowly. AND, even though we're getting weapon exp, it's at the cost of the weapons themselves, and this army is NOT made of money. So striving to find a balance is something of an issue, but I think I'm getting it.

Roster Progression (Post Tomb-Raiding):

Byleth: 10, Mercenary

Dimitri: 11, Priest

Dedue: 8, Soldier

Ashe: 8, Fighter

Felix: 10, Archer

Annette: 8, Monk

Sylvain: 8, Monk

Mercedes: 8, Monk

Ingrid: 9, Monk

Current Professor Level: C

Time Stamp: 14:45

[princettegil]

I'm going to keep overthinking until I wind up crying myself to sleep again... aren't I?

[flauntpage]

Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy'

The Utah Jazz win with defense. That’s been the case ever since they traded Enes Kanter and thrust Rudy Gobert into the starting lineup. The Jazz have plus defenders all over the floor, but Gobert anchors everything. He’s the best rim-protector in the league by a fairly significant margin. When he’s on the floor, the opposition is terrified to venture into the paint.

The rise of Gobert has pushed his frontcourt mate, Derrick Favors, ever so slightly to the side. It doesn’t help that Favors has been injured on and off over the last couple seasons, slashing his playing time and neutering his effectiveness. Favors appeared in just 50 games last season and didn’t crack 24 minutes a night in playing time. He saw not just his per-game numbers, but also his per-36 minutes averages in scoring and blocks dip to the lowest they’d been in years.

Coming off that down campaign, he’s now in the final season of the four-year extension he signed back in 2013. Heading into the season, it seemed like Favors was playing out the string in Utah—he did not seem well positioned to show what he could do. Then Gobert got hurt. That knee injury is a massive blow for the Jazz, but a huge opportunity for Favors to reestablish himself. At least, that’s the way he’s approaching it.

“That’s my whole mindset,” he says. “I was hurt last year, so I think a lot of people, they’re judging my whole career off of last year when I was hurt. I definitely want to come back and establish who I am as a player and let people know that last year I was just hurt, so don’t base me off that year. Base me off the years I was healthy.”

A healthy Favors was an automatic 15 and 8 for the three years prior to Gobert’s emergence. (18 and 10 with two blocks per-36 minutes.) The league has changed in that time, but it has changed in a way that should actually help him become more effective. The NBA’s gradual shift to the perimeter has been accelerated to the point where nearly every team plays with only one “true” big man on the floor most of the time, allowing that player — and everyone else — more space in which to operate. Favors should thrive when he’s that guy.

“Obviously the spacing changes when Derrick’s playing without Derrick, essentially,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder says. “There’s more space in the middle of the floor. And he’s very good getting into that pocket and making plays. That’s an area where he’s really efficient. So, I think it’s complemented his game really well.”

Utah has played five games without Gobert as of this writing. The game-to-game figures have fluctuated but overall, Favors has given the Jazz 16 points a night, and he’s up at 10 rebounds and two blocks per game as well. He’s already surpassed his season high in points from a year ago (20) twice. He’s blocked at least one shot in every game and at least two in three of five. He’s grabbed double-digit rebounds in every game but one.

He’s been more involved as the primary screener in Utah’s pick-and-roll offense, rather than being stashed in the dunker spot, and his paint touches have correspondingly soared from 4.3 per game prior to Gobert’s injury to 11.8 per game. And Favors has been no less effective with those touches, shooting 64 percent from the field any time he’s touched the ball inside the lane. In other words, he’s looked a whole lot like we expected Derrick Favors to look every time he stepped on the floor before last season threw everything about his reputation off-kilter.

“I feel like I’m back at that level,” Favors says. “I’m still finding my rhythm, but overall, I’m still that guy that can go out there and protect the paint, cover space, score the ball, be that anchor defensively. I still feel like I’m that same player.”

Whether or not that same player has a place in the Jazz organization beyond this season is up for debate. The core of the next era of Jazz basketball is going to be built around Gobert no matter what happens now. And the same benefits Favors receives from playing in more space would obviously work in Gobert’s favor as well—only Gobert’s the superior player in almost every way. Utah could almost certainly use $12 million salary Favors is drawing right now on a slightly different (less redundant) set of skills this summer, and if Favors takes as much advantage of the Gobert-less time as he plans to, he could price himself out of the Jazz’s plans anyway.

Though it seems like he’s been in the league forever and a day, Favors is actually only 26 years old. (Yes, you read that correctly.) His next contract should cover his physical prime, and in theory, he should be in high demand. He’s a young(ish), athletic big man that can defend in space and protect the rim and work as a quality secondary offensive option — or even the focal point in a pinch. But the market for big men who aren’t franchise pillars shrunk to almost nothing last summer, and the number of teams with more than nominal cap space looks like it’ll be even smaller this time around. Add in injury concerns, and it’s not hard to see there being less interest than the combination of his age and skills might suggest.

That’s why Favors knows he has to flesh out his skill set even more. The next step is taking his game where the rest of the league has been moving—the three-point line. Coming into this season, he’d only attempted 26 shots from outside the arc in his entire career, with a single-season high of 10 he hoisted a year ago. Already this year he’s attempted 15—mostly from the corners (“Gotta crawl before you can walk, Favors says”)—but he thinks it’ll eventually just be a regular part of his game.

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to shoot them—it’s still a work in progress,” he says. “I’m not gonna come out shooting 40 percent yet. Might be at 30, 33 percent. Not 40 percent yet. But it’s definitely something I’m still working on, something I’m going into the offseason really focusing on, and come back next season and be a much better three-point shooter.”

Favors has spent most of his career working as the four in two-big lineups because those are the kinds of teams he’s been on, but he realizes that in the current NBA his skill set lends itself to being a full-time five. Favors has the next few weeks to prove what he can do as the pivot man, but Gobert will be back eventually, and the team will re-orient itself around him once he returns. For now, Favors is confident that even when pushed back to the “second big man” role, things will be just fine.

“Me and Rudy, we can play really well together,” he says. “We play off each other really well. Yeah, with more space, it’s a little easier. But whether with space or not space, man, you’ve just got to go out there and play.”

Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy' published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[flauntpage]

Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy'

The Utah Jazz win with defense. That’s been the case ever since they traded Enes Kanter and thrust Rudy Gobert into the starting lineup. The Jazz have plus defenders all over the floor, but Gobert anchors everything. He’s the best rim-protector in the league by a fairly significant margin. When he’s on the floor, the opposition is terrified to venture into the paint.

The rise of Gobert has pushed his frontcourt mate, Derrick Favors, ever so slightly to the side. It doesn’t help that Favors has been injured on and off over the last couple seasons, slashing his playing time and neutering his effectiveness. Favors appeared in just 50 games last season and didn’t crack 24 minutes a night in playing time. He saw not just his per-game numbers, but also his per-36 minutes averages in scoring and blocks dip to the lowest they’d been in years.

Coming off that down campaign, he’s now in the final season of the four-year extension he signed back in 2013. Heading into the season, it seemed like Favors was playing out the string in Utah—he did not seem well positioned to show what he could do. Then Gobert got hurt. That knee injury is a massive blow for the Jazz, but a huge opportunity for Favors to reestablish himself. At least, that’s the way he’s approaching it.

“That’s my whole mindset,” he says. “I was hurt last year, so I think a lot of people, they’re judging my whole career off of last year when I was hurt. I definitely want to come back and establish who I am as a player and let people know that last year I was just hurt, so don’t base me off that year. Base me off the years I was healthy.”

A healthy Favors was an automatic 15 and 8 for the three years prior to Gobert’s emergence. (18 and 10 with two blocks per-36 minutes.) The league has changed in that time, but it has changed in a way that should actually help him become more effective. The NBA’s gradual shift to the perimeter has been accelerated to the point where nearly every team plays with only one “true” big man on the floor most of the time, allowing that player — and everyone else — more space in which to operate. Favors should thrive when he’s that guy.

“Obviously the spacing changes when Derrick’s playing without Derrick, essentially,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder says. “There’s more space in the middle of the floor. And he’s very good getting into that pocket and making plays. That’s an area where he’s really efficient. So, I think it’s complemented his game really well.”

Utah has played five games without Gobert as of this writing. The game-to-game figures have fluctuated but overall, Favors has given the Jazz 16 points a night, and he’s up at 10 rebounds and two blocks per game as well. He’s already surpassed his season high in points from a year ago (20) twice. He’s blocked at least one shot in every game and at least two in three of five. He’s grabbed double-digit rebounds in every game but one.

He’s been more involved as the primary screener in Utah’s pick-and-roll offense, rather than being stashed in the dunker spot, and his paint touches have correspondingly soared from 4.3 per game prior to Gobert’s injury to 11.8 per game. And Favors has been no less effective with those touches, shooting 64 percent from the field any time he’s touched the ball inside the lane. In other words, he’s looked a whole lot like we expected Derrick Favors to look every time he stepped on the floor before last season threw everything about his reputation off-kilter.

“I feel like I’m back at that level,” Favors says. “I’m still finding my rhythm, but overall, I’m still that guy that can go out there and protect the paint, cover space, score the ball, be that anchor defensively. I still feel like I’m that same player.”

Whether or not that same player has a place in the Jazz organization beyond this season is up for debate. The core of the next era of Jazz basketball is going to be built around Gobert no matter what happens now. And the same benefits Favors receives from playing in more space would obviously work in Gobert’s favor as well—only Gobert’s the superior player in almost every way. Utah could almost certainly use $12 million salary Favors is drawing right now on a slightly different (less redundant) set of skills this summer, and if Favors takes as much advantage of the Gobert-less time as he plans to, he could price himself out of the Jazz’s plans anyway.

Though it seems like he’s been in the league forever and a day, Favors is actually only 26 years old. (Yes, you read that correctly.) His next contract should cover his physical prime, and in theory, he should be in high demand. He’s a young(ish), athletic big man that can defend in space and protect the rim and work as a quality secondary offensive option — or even the focal point in a pinch. But the market for big men who aren’t franchise pillars shrunk to almost nothing last summer, and the number of teams with more than nominal cap space looks like it’ll be even smaller this time around. Add in injury concerns, and it’s not hard to see there being less interest than the combination of his age and skills might suggest.

That’s why Favors knows he has to flesh out his skill set even more. The next step is taking his game where the rest of the league has been moving—the three-point line. Coming into this season, he’d only attempted 26 shots from outside the arc in his entire career, with a single-season high of 10 he hoisted a year ago. Already this year he’s attempted 15—mostly from the corners (“Gotta crawl before you can walk, Favors says”)—but he thinks it’ll eventually just be a regular part of his game.

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to shoot them—it’s still a work in progress,” he says. “I’m not gonna come out shooting 40 percent yet. Might be at 30, 33 percent. Not 40 percent yet. But it’s definitely something I’m still working on, something I’m going into the offseason really focusing on, and come back next season and be a much better three-point shooter.”

Favors has spent most of his career working as the four in two-big lineups because those are the kinds of teams he’s been on, but he realizes that in the current NBA his skill set lends itself to being a full-time five. Favors has the next few weeks to prove what he can do as the pivot man, but Gobert will be back eventually, and the team will re-orient itself around him once he returns. For now, Favors is confident that even when pushed back to the “second big man” role, things will be just fine.

“Me and Rudy, we can play really well together,” he says. “We play off each other really well. Yeah, with more space, it’s a little easier. But whether with space or not space, man, you’ve just got to go out there and play.”

Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy' published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy'

The Utah Jazz win with defense. That’s been the case ever since they traded Enes Kanter and thrust Rudy Gobert into the starting lineup. The Jazz have plus defenders all over the floor, but Gobert anchors everything. He’s the best rim-protector in the league by a fairly significant margin. When he’s on the floor, the opposition is terrified to venture into the paint.

The rise of Gobert has pushed his frontcourt mate, Derrick Favors, ever so slightly to the side. It doesn’t help that Favors has been injured on and off over the last couple seasons, slashing his playing time and neutering his effectiveness. Favors appeared in just 50 games last season and didn’t crack 24 minutes a night in playing time. He saw not just his per-game numbers, but also his per-36 minutes averages in scoring and blocks dip to the lowest they’d been in years.

Coming off that down campaign, he’s now in the final season of the four-year extension he signed back in 2013. Heading into the season, it seemed like Favors was playing out the string in Utah—he did not seem well positioned to show what he could do. Then Gobert got hurt. That knee injury is a massive blow for the Jazz, but a huge opportunity for Favors to reestablish himself. At least, that’s the way he’s approaching it.

“That’s my whole mindset,” he says. “I was hurt last year, so I think a lot of people, they’re judging my whole career off of last year when I was hurt. I definitely want to come back and establish who I am as a player and let people know that last year I was just hurt, so don’t base me off that year. Base me off the years I was healthy.”

A healthy Favors was an automatic 15 and 8 for the three years prior to Gobert’s emergence. (18 and 10 with two blocks per-36 minutes.) The league has changed in that time, but it has changed in a way that should actually help him become more effective. The NBA’s gradual shift to the perimeter has been accelerated to the point where nearly every team plays with only one “true” big man on the floor most of the time, allowing that player — and everyone else — more space in which to operate. Favors should thrive when he’s that guy.

“Obviously the spacing changes when Derrick’s playing without Derrick, essentially,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder says. “There’s more space in the middle of the floor. And he’s very good getting into that pocket and making plays. That’s an area where he’s really efficient. So, I think it’s complemented his game really well.”

Utah has played five games without Gobert as of this writing. The game-to-game figures have fluctuated but overall, Favors has given the Jazz 16 points a night, and he’s up at 10 rebounds and two blocks per game as well. He’s already surpassed his season high in points from a year ago (20) twice. He’s blocked at least one shot in every game and at least two in three of five. He’s grabbed double-digit rebounds in every game but one.

He’s been more involved as the primary screener in Utah’s pick-and-roll offense, rather than being stashed in the dunker spot, and his paint touches have correspondingly soared from 4.3 per game prior to Gobert’s injury to 11.8 per game. And Favors has been no less effective with those touches, shooting 64 percent from the field any time he’s touched the ball inside the lane. In other words, he’s looked a whole lot like we expected Derrick Favors to look every time he stepped on the floor before last season threw everything about his reputation off-kilter.

“I feel like I’m back at that level,” Favors says. “I’m still finding my rhythm, but overall, I’m still that guy that can go out there and protect the paint, cover space, score the ball, be that anchor defensively. I still feel like I’m that same player.”

Whether or not that same player has a place in the Jazz organization beyond this season is up for debate. The core of the next era of Jazz basketball is going to be built around Gobert no matter what happens now. And the same benefits Favors receives from playing in more space would obviously work in Gobert’s favor as well—only Gobert’s the superior player in almost every way. Utah could almost certainly use $12 million salary Favors is drawing right now on a slightly different (less redundant) set of skills this summer, and if Favors takes as much advantage of the Gobert-less time as he plans to, he could price himself out of the Jazz’s plans anyway.

Though it seems like he’s been in the league forever and a day, Favors is actually only 26 years old. (Yes, you read that correctly.) His next contract should cover his physical prime, and in theory, he should be in high demand. He’s a young(ish), athletic big man that can defend in space and protect the rim and work as a quality secondary offensive option — or even the focal point in a pinch. But the market for big men who aren’t franchise pillars shrunk to almost nothing last summer, and the number of teams with more than nominal cap space looks like it’ll be even smaller this time around. Add in injury concerns, and it’s not hard to see there being less interest than the combination of his age and skills might suggest.

That’s why Favors knows he has to flesh out his skill set even more. The next step is taking his game where the rest of the league has been moving—the three-point line. Coming into this season, he’d only attempted 26 shots from outside the arc in his entire career, with a single-season high of 10 he hoisted a year ago. Already this year he’s attempted 15—mostly from the corners (“Gotta crawl before you can walk, Favors says”)—but he thinks it’ll eventually just be a regular part of his game.

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to shoot them—it’s still a work in progress,” he says. “I’m not gonna come out shooting 40 percent yet. Might be at 30, 33 percent. Not 40 percent yet. But it’s definitely something I’m still working on, something I’m going into the offseason really focusing on, and come back next season and be a much better three-point shooter.”

Favors has spent most of his career working as the four in two-big lineups because those are the kinds of teams he’s been on, but he realizes that in the current NBA his skill set lends itself to being a full-time five. Favors has the next few weeks to prove what he can do as the pivot man, but Gobert will be back eventually, and the team will re-orient itself around him once he returns. For now, Favors is confident that even when pushed back to the “second big man” role, things will be just fine.

“Me and Rudy, we can play really well together,” he says. “We play off each other really well. Yeah, with more space, it’s a little easier. But whether with space or not space, man, you’ve just got to go out there and play.”

Derrick Favors is Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Still That Guy' published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv