#she became a mainstay on my team since recruited

[owainbradys]

The lack of Saphir content is sickening.

[the-necessary-unnecessary]

My top 7 Arsenal wfc players, aka the whole team because they're all my children and you can't chose between children

(And they're not many more than seven anyways)

Beth Mead: a wizard on the wong and the original crot queen. She may not have had the best season this year but shes still managed to play an important part in the team and has conquered many hearts in the process. If she has to retire early because of all the hits she receives during matches then she's got a bright future ahead of her as a cringey tiktok star or, if that fails, a career as a HSM impersonator on cruise ships

Cailtin Foord: there were mixed opinions when she was first announced as a new signing, but she almost immediately became one more member of the arsenal family amongst players and supporters alike. Before Covid struck shes already stamped her mark on the club with her skill and made her way onto the scoresheet, and now shes also made her way into Lia's house and infected the squad with the chaotic tiktok bug

Dan Carter: literally a gooner through and through having played for arsenal for practically all her life and pulling through in the big moments. Heartbreak and injury have been her middle names for over the past year having sustained two ACL injuries in 14 months. Even if she hasnt had as much of an impact on the pitch shes still been a large part of injury fc, with her and her diary always being a source of sarcasm and banter through it all.

Danielle Van De Donk: she probably described herself best when she said she was a feisty puppy who wants to ball. A woman who takes no prisoners during matches, opponents refs and the back of nets all fear her. Off the pitch though shes a real softie who radiates chaotic energy and yet has developed over the years into quite the leader (even if she still follows beth around on her tiktok adventures)

Jennifer Beattie: a friendly giant who quietly puts in all the work at the back, being an absolute unit as a last line of defense which was sorely missed during her injury. She came back from City because arsenal is home and that's beautiful. Talking about beautiful, her and Chloe. That's it, nothing more needs to be elaborated on. Pretty underrated although shes been getting more attention lately, she makes Kim company as the quiet Scottish duo who are lethal on the pitch

Jill Roord: despite her love hate relationship with goal posts, shes still made her mark at arsenal this year especially thanks to the fact that she has remained injury free this year (dont worry I touched wood when I typed that) and hopefully next year when shes settled in even more to the team and the league then she'll be able to show what she's truly made of. That is, if she lasts that long before the team kick her out for being too annoying. A woman who likes the two extremes, Frozen and Olaf as well as blonde tattooed players and famous thirst traps, she epitomises this soft yet hard personality dichotomy too

Jordan Nobbs: calm, composed, skillful, professional, dynamic and with the capacity of being able to astutely read the game, she's the personification of arsenal in a player. Having been at the club for a whole decade now she's practically lived it all and yet she continues on hungry for better and more. With the way she acts on the pitch you would never guess her forgetful, dorky, awkward nature off it. The woman with both the longest nando's order ever and the shortest attention span.

Katie McCabe: the Irish devil, the arsenal player founder of the tucked in shirt, member of the love to hate her girlfriend club. Her almost permanent move to left back this season has reaped bountiful benefits for her, a flexible player who always finds freedom on the wing shes proved herself as lethal as both a defender and a finisher. In Jordan's words, she talks about her biceps all the time, but so would I if I was that stacked. That being said, Ruesha always finds a way to beat her which is probably payback for her scoring against West Ham in the cup

Katrine Veje: another player lost to injury this season, although lockdown has treated her well (that makes one of us) and she's apparently fully fit again. Shes been sorely missed as a fullback for most of her season, her explosiveness and crosses in particular. As it is shes used her time to get in some spectacular photoshoots and just be and just be a source of clownery as a veteran at injury fc

Kim Little: as silent as Kim and as deadly as Kim should be new british sayings at this point. Quick on her feet with nerves of steel shes an impressive player to watch and is sometimes the glue in the midfield that keeps arsenal together. Her professionalism both on and off the pitch is as big as her dislike of cameras

Leah Williamson: the face of arsenal and not because of her looks, rather because of her insane talent and her embodiment of all things arsenal. From the moment she was born arsenal was pumping through her veins. One of the best up and coming CBs with long range passes for days she has been a crucial part of the arsenal squad for so long you forget she's just 23. What she lacks in some of her fashion choices she makes up in her bright and nerdy personality and her never ending stream of insults directed at Jordan

Leonie Maier: she recently said that she has never regretted the decision to move to arsenal and that has been because shes been able to shine in defense mainly alongside Leah, each playing off each other's strengths and developing herself as a player in a new league which is never an easy transition. Dont let her banana bread making trick you into thinking shes the mum in the group, shes proved herself to be as chaotic as the rest of them.

Lia Walti: arguably the best thing to come out of Switzerland since toblerone (much better than swiss cheese though). Like a lot of arsenal players, it sometimes seems like she would be better off playing in bubble wrap so she wouldnt sustain as many injuries. She's an intelligent player, one of the best qualities to have as a midfielder, with skill coming out of her ears and unfulfilled potential still to come. Her sunshine-like looks can be deceiving though because she leaves her brain cells in the changing room, as is becoming an arsenal tradition.

Lisa Evans: another alround players who, as a winger-cum-fullback, has thrived in her position this year. Her defensive position yet forward thinking mentality has proved deadly and when shes been given space to roam the wing too shes provided goals and assists a plenty. Her unpredictability on the pitch translates into her chaotic tendencies off it and a love for the arsenal anthem “we've got McCabe, Katie McCabe”. Sometimes she likes to pretend that she's a seal (exhibit A attached below)

Louise Quinn: it would be stereotypical to say that it's natural that shes so good at headers due to her height, but stereotypes exist for a reason and her tower-like build makes her a match for any Millie Bright in the heading department. She's a consistent, sturdy player who is great at starting up play from the back in many cases providing that vital first past (sometimes with her head because she's tall). Her pastimes include drinking a lot of coffee, understandable that she needs to refuel considering her height, and making fun on her teammates so that they dont make fun of her accent and her 183 cm length. Have I mentioned that she's tall?

Manuela Zinsberger: an extremely talented goalkeeper although sometimes people can excusably confuse her with being arsenal's eleventh outfield player. Another bayern recruit she's been key this season making some great saves and causing a few heart attacks in the process (west ham's penalty box free kick anyone?). She may look tough but she's just as much a clown as the rest of them

Pauline Peyraud-Magnin: the second proud member of the goalkeepers union. Shes not called the Hulk for no reason, racking up some great saves and skills with her feet even as Joe's second choice. What she lacks in command of the english language she makes up in utter chaos including hand gestures, shouting and eratic dancing, well as staging photoshoots at arsenal's gym.

Viki Schnaderbeck: shes been able to mostly avoid injury fc this season after a long stint there last year and her hardwork has paid off to establish her as a mainstay here as a skilled defensive player. Shes been loud and proud recently on social media and I am loudly and proudly here to support it

Vivianne Miedema: in Katie's own words “the goat”. Absolutely lethal as a center-forward, calm collected and composed in front of the goal, and also crucial in providing build up play and assists. She can both hold off opponents and reach an unmatched maximum speed with surprising ambidexterity and complete nonchalantness. The only player who is actively lazy and is able to get away with it. She puts up with a lot of chaos but is not unknown to add to it too, mainly providing subtle humor and sarcastic wit. Not a personality for the faint hearted.

[cycm]

Lanan (pts 3 and 4)

1 and 2 are here

III

“Lanan!” a voice behind me whispered, “ye kno if ye furrah ya brow like ‘at too much it stays that way, aye?”

“Alanson,” I joked, “if that were true, your face would be stuck in a smile larger than the galaxy.”

“Aye, girl. I’ll give ye that. Almost done with that paperwork there, I see?”

“That I am. Does Chief want to see me?”

“Aye,” he replied, “that she does. Says it’s fer a special mission.”

“A special mission?” I asked, intrigued.

“Aye.” He said, disappearing down the hall before I could find out exactly what he meant by that.

Making my way to Chief’s office, my mind wandered again to earlier days before I had been given my body. I thought back to the day I had met Sol Alanson.

Back then, I was obsessed with distracting myself from my body. The alienation from my own body was crippling, and the virtual world was where I felt real again.

I mostly spent my time in fantasy worlds. They were a contrast to the nearly endless cityscape I lived in. Lush, green, and full of wonders only closely matched by the outside world.

Alanson had joined me one day, long ago, when my party made a call asking for new adventurers to join us. In game he played a lightning thrower, a Mage subclass whose primary role was high damage output to enemies, but the drawback of the class was that it was highly aim intensive at longer ranges, and it was hard to gear up properly for close-range fights since all the Mage gear was specced for far away combat and high mana.

He balanced this, a small amount, by playing a Dwarf. A short, stocky race whose primary benefit was higher health and greater health gains at higher levels. It was a novel concept and actually served him quite well. He became a mainstay in the party and eventually one of my closest friends.

Eventually, as it does, the topic came up of meeting in real life. I protested, but he was insistent. He had known me for years now, he reminded me, so I begrudgingly accepted.

It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Normally, when one plays VR games, especially open world fantasy games, they do not play themselves. When I met Alanson for the first time outside of the game, I was surprised to meet an actual dwarf.

His eyes were a bright blue, almost crackling with lightning, and his large beard dominated his short frame. He wore tech across his arms that crackled and popped with electricity, armored silver gauntlets and pauldrons that drew attention for miles.

“You’re a bit shorter than I imagined,” was all I could get out when I first saw him.

“Aye. ‘N yer a bit moore depressed than I imagined,” he responded, cracking a smile.

I chuckled in response. “Ass,” I joked. “It’s good to see you, friend.”

“And you, family. I’d like to offer ya a job.”

The rest, however, is history. I accepted, after much convincing. Alanson had a way with words. I imagine this was his way of helping me. I certainly appreciate it.

IV

“Your special mission,” Chief had said, “is to recruit Sheryl Discorsia Disenda. She is known as one of the galaxy’s most powerful psychics, born into a family of them on a planet of them, but with a defect that makes her ‘third eye’ open all the time. She hears voices from many lightyears away, constantly. Your goal is to seek her out, and ask her to join our task force. Any questions?”

After I had said I didn’t, she handed me a dossier, full of information on this woman. I decided to try and meet her as organically as possible, so I skipped reading most of it, aside from a few key points of information.

She was a loner, and stayed in her apartment most of the time. Normally this would be a problem, except it seemed that she would frequently go to a nearby park to walk once a week or so.

The plan, then, would be to get her attention at the park. Thankfully, it was hard to miss her with her wiry frame towering above most other people. My only problem was with her tech augments. It appeared as if she was constantly wearing headphones. How would I get her attention, then?

I met her on a windy day. The park was relatively empty, and a light frost coated the grass there. I quite liked the park, so I had established a routine there already by walking dogs and idly playing a few sports.

She seemed to glide up to me, approaching me instead of me needing to approach her. “I’m curious,” she began, “and pardon me if this is insensitive, but I see you out here all the time, regardless of what the weather is. How do you stand this cold?”

“If you must know,” I said, “it’s because I have a fully augmented body. The only part of me that remains human is my mind.” I tapped on my forehead. “What about you? You don’t seem to be fully augmented, so how do you stand the weather?”

“Well,” she replied, “I’ve got some augments, but they’re a bit different than what most people have.” She brought her arm up and pulled the sleeve of her hoodie back to reveal jagged, black veins running up her arm. “These augments,” she said, tracing up her arm with her finger, “are designed specifically to dull my senses.” She turned around and showed me the back of her neck, which was completely black, her features given greater definition by the jagged machinery. “They cover my entire body,” she said as she turned back, pointing to the headphones covering her ears. “Everywhere from my head,” she brought her hand down past her torso to point at her legs, “to my feet. I was born unable to control my psychic abilities, and so if I were to lose my augments some way, I would be overwhelmed with others thoughts, sensations, and memories. As I am now, however, my power has been localized down to only being able to speak with others. Effectively, I am deaf and I cannot feel anything in my own body. That is why the cold doesn’t bother me, I simply cannot feel it.”

“That’s fascinating,” I said. “What a wonderful story you must have to tell. What’s your name?”

“I am Sheryl. And you are?”

“Lanan. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sheryl.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, also, Lanan.”

“Say,” I said, “I’m a bit hungry. Care to join me for lunch?"

She stared for a moment, her pale face almost glowing like moonlight despite the sun shining brightly. “I suppose we could chat over lunch. I’m not very hungry though, so I hope you don’t mind if I don’t get anything.”

“Fair’s fair. I know a cozy place nearby we can relax at.”

So, we talked for a while as I ate, and she merely sipped on some water. We became fast friends, talking much about our lives and our hobbies. Eventually she mentioned that she was looking for something to take her mind off of things, so I told her that my boss was actually searching for new people. Surprisingly, she agreed to meet Chief. Shortly thereafter, we had a new recruit join our team.