#trainer lou wants to fight

[lebhetyse]

the urge to create oc's when you find a new character creator

maker under the cut

[flowxrtimmy]

rough day (l.t.)

enjoy x

You had a shit day, there was no other way to put it. When you woke up, you found out your Costco membership had renewed, leaving you with less than $20 to your name, due to this past paycheck having been the one where all the bills had to be paid. Then, upon arriving at work you learned that your coworker called out, leaving your team lead to take over until someone else came in, and that someone else just so happened to be the coworker that gets away with doing nothing. Being a CNA is tough enough without being short staffed, so that was just more shit that fell on your shoulders. The whole day you were fighting the urge to just walk out and change your career path, but you were not about to let them get you on abandoning your job. On top of that, you had found out your friends went out without you and didn’t even say anything or let you know. The world was against you today and you definitely knew it.

When you finally got home, you fell onto the couch and took a breath, just taking a minute to process everything that happened. That minute turned into a few hour of you just eating leftovers and scrolling TikTok, and before you knew it, it was almost 8 at night, It was a long day, yes, but as much as you just wanted to sulk on the couch, you knew you had to get a workout in to really clear your head. Pulling yourself off the couch, you walked to your room and grabbed a random set from your dresser, yellow workout leggings with a matching sports bra, and changed into it. As you put your socks and sneakers on, you tried to forget about the bad day, but it was proving to be difficult as scenes from the day replayed in your mind. You were planning on doing leg day, but the more the scenes played in your mind, the punching bag sounded like a better choice.

You wasted no time in grabbing a full water bottle and getting out the door with your phone, wallet, and keys. The gym was only a short drive away, so you were there in no time. After parking, you headed inside, smiling when you were immersed in the warm environment. The gym was somewhere you liked to be, everyone minded their business, the pool and sauna were nice, plus there were always personal trainers there willing to help out anyone who needed it. After hitting the locker room and locking your things up, you headed on to the floor and stopped when you saw him. You didn’t know he was on today. Well, there was no way you could have known, but all the same your stomach still did a flip when you saw him.

Louis Tomlinson, one of the top personal trainers and just about everybody’s favorite. He always had people wanting him as their trainer, and you were lucky enough to get him when you first joined. Right now he was talking with another trainer, so you decided to just start stretching and get into your workout. Going through your usual stretching routine, you glanced back towards Lou to see him looking in your direction. Has he been watching you? You had been doing lunges, and even bending forward and touching your toes, so if he was watching you, he got quite a show, but was that really a bad thing?

Giving him one more glance and a smile, you grabbed your water bottle and headed into the workout studio where the punching bags were. Setting the bottle down, you grabbed the gloves, putting them on. Taking a breath, you started going at it, punching the bag while keeping your breath steady. You were so into it, you didn’t notice that Louis had walked in, leaning against the mirror as he watched you, a slight smirk on his face. “Yknow, you I can help you with your form, make it so you get less resistance from the bag.”

You jumped, turning to face him. He was definitely watching you this time. “How long have you been standing there?” You asked, setting your still gloved hands on your hips.

He laughed a bit. “Not long, love. Just enough to see you going at it, rough day?” He asked, pushing off of the mirror and walking over to you, setting his hand on the bag.

“Rough isn’t even the word to describe it, it might as well have been a day from hell.” Some of the events were still lingering around in your mind, and you sighed at the thought. “Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Short staffed, a bill I forgot about, and god my coworkers just drive me insane.”

Louis let out a low whistle, looking up at you. “Sounds like you’ve been through the wringer, no wonder you’re wailing at this thing.” He was wearing a black t-shirt and black sweats, with his hair pushed back out of his face, and his tattooed arms were driving you insane. “Here, let me show you a few tips, and then we can let that anger out, yeah?”

You smiled, nodding. “Um, yeah! That sounds great.” What he said barely registered in your head, all you knew is that he was staying. “This is my first time, by the way.”

He raised his brows at that, but smiled. “In that case, I’m gonna have you turn away from the bag for now.” He chuckled at the confused look on your face. “Just trust me love.” He set his hand on your shoulder, gently turning you away from the bag, and ignoring how soft your skin felt. “It’s better to start off by not punching the bag at all. It’s called shadowboxing, and it’s so you can find your body’s natural flow while trying different punching techniques.”

“That makes sense, so what are we starting with?” You felt a surge in your stomach when he set his hand on you, but pushed it down, because now was definitely not the time to start feeling frisky. As he explained the correct position and movements to you, you tried your best to pay attention to him, but fuck, he just looked so hot.

“Alright, are you ready to try?”

Oh shit, what did he say? “Oh, yeah! So left foot and hand forward.” You said, getting into a position with your left side forward and your right side towards the back.

“There ya go girl.” He smiled at you, hands on his hips. He had to admit, he had been eyeing you from the moment you walked into the stretching area. He liked that you were confident about your body and absolutely loved how you looked in your workout sets. When he saw you come in here and try to use the punching bag, he knew he had a golden opportunity. “Alright, now jab.”

You obeyed, punching your left hand in front of you quickly before pulling it back by your cheek.

“Cross.”

Shifting your weight, you punched your back hand forward, pivoting slightly so your shoulder rotated forward with your arm.

“Good girl, now again, but pick up the pace a bit.”

Your stomach flipped at “good girl”, but you obeyed and did the same movements, but faster, and then even faster.

“Come on, you had a bad day, let it out!” He urged, going and holding the bag. “This way, love.”

You turned towards the bag, and kept up your movements. You were starting to get sweaty, and your heart rate was up, and the more you went at the bag, the hotter Louis looked. His voice was raising, but you knew it wasn’t from anger, he just wanted to rile you up to push you harder.

“Pretend it’s that one really annoying coworker, show them who’s boss!” Louis yelled, holding the bag while watching you. Behind the bag, he could feel himself starting to get hard. Watching you like this was driving him insane, the sweat glistening on your arms and midriff, your little grunts as you punched forward, your hair slowly falling out of its ponytail. As much as he wanted to keep enjoying the show, he had to stop you. “Alright alright, good job love, take a break.”

You stopped,but you didn’t want to take a break. You looked out the window, the gym was practically empty except for a few trainers behind one of the desks, you were the only non-employee here right now. Knowing that, you got a sudden wave of confidence and walked to Louis, smashing your lips against his, before quickly pulling away. “Oh god Lou, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what-”

You were cut off by him pulling you back against his lips, wrapping his arms around your waist. He pulled back for a second, resting his forehead against yours. “Mm, fuck, hold on a second love.” He stepped away, going and turning off the lights to the studio.

The room went dark, and you stood there confused and disoriented, but yelped in surprise when you felt Louis sweep you off your feet, carrying you in the dark. “Lou!” You laughed.

“Sorry love, the others weren’t paying attention so I wanted to make them think the studio wasn’t in use.” He set you down on the floor, his hands resting on your hips. “I watched you stretch, it was so fucking hot, babe, especially when you bent over.” With that, he gave your ass a hard smack, grinning at your yelp.

Well then, if he wants to play dirty in the dark, then you can too. You felt for his shoulders, and once you found them you moved down to your knees, keeping your hands on his body for guidance. When you got on your knees, you pulled his workout pants down, along with his underwear because you weren’t about to waste time searching for more clothes to take off. It felt silly to have to search for his dick, but he was the one who turned the lights off to begin with so he could deal with you fumbling around to find it. “Sorry Lou, sooooomeone made it dark!” You reached up, setting your fingertips on his stomach and gently dragging them down until you finally reached his now hard dick. Wrapping your hand around it, you pressed a gentle kiss against the tip before bringing it into your mouth. You heard him grunt a bit, followed by a quiet “oh fuck”. Happy to know you were doing well, you slowly brought more of him in until you were satisfied. You felt him set a hand on the back of your head as you began to move it back and forth, swirling your tongue around the tip. Fuck, if this is where bad days led, maybe they aren’t so bad after all.

His moans only motivated you to go faster, you had him right where you wanted him. As you picked up the pace, you brought your hand up, gently cupping his balls and playing with them. He let out a loud moan, throwing his head back. “Oh fuck, love, I’m so close.”

With that, you pulled off of him and looked up at him with a smirk. “Is that so, Louis?”

“Oh no, you are not about to edge me, finish what you started, kitten.” He ordered, folding his arms, and you had to oblige, his pout was just too cute.

“Yes, sir!” You obeyed, bringing his dick back into your mouth, only this time you took in a bit more of him. Honestly, it felt nice to have someone else be in charge, and you liked that you could just relax, and suck this insanely hot man’s dick. You picked up the pace, your hand finding its way to his balls again, and once more used his moans as motivation to go faster. You moved your mouth in fluid motions up and down his dick, your tongue exploring every inch of it. You had to have really gotten into the zone, because next thing you knew, hot streams of cum were shooting into your mouth and down your throat, and you hadn’t even heard him telling you that he was close. You swallowed everything before pulling off, looking up at him with a smile on your face. “How was that?”

“Oh so fucking incredible love, you’re so good. Now, lay back for me, yeah?”

You looked at him with a confused look. “Wait, really?”

“Well duh, you think I’m not going to repay you for your incredible work? I’m not a one and done guy love, now lay back.”

That alone made you want to do this again. Without another word, you moved into a sitting position and slowly laid back, watching as Lou leaned over top of you, smirking.

“You’re so fucking hot, just relax.” He pulled your sneakers off your feet, tossing them aside before running his hands up your legs, hooking his fingers around the waistband of your leggings once he reached it, and pulling them off along with your panties. “Oh fuck, there’s that perfect pussy, you’re so wet for me, aren’t you princess?”

“Yes sir, I’m drenched, need you to help.” You whined as he ran a finger over your clit, barely touching it to tease you. “Please, Lou?” You knew he was teasing to get back at you for trying to edge him. “M’sorry I tried to make you wait.”

With that, you let out a gasp as you felt him push a finger inside, a smirk on his face. “Good girl, I forgive you. Now, be a doll and tell me what you want.”

“I want you to eat me out, please, Lou.” As much as you liked fingering, you wanted to watch Lou’s head between your legs, watch him go down on you. By now, your eyes had adjusted, and the exit sign gave the studio a red glow, and you now understood why Louis turned the light off to begin with. You held back a whine at the empty feeling when he pulled his finger out, but you knew it’d be better soon. You felt him run his hands up your legs, grabbing the back of your knees and moving them so they were facing up with your feet still on the floor, then gently spread your legs. You watched as he wasted no time getting his head between your legs, and gently pushing his tongue against your clit.

You let out a gasp at the feeling, but relaxed and shut your eyes as he ran his tongue down your pussy, his hands gripping your thighs as he finally dove his tongue into you, a loud moan escaping your lips.

He brought your legs over his shoulders, giving your rear a quick smack to tell you to keep it quiet, and you obeyed, because getting caught would ruin everything. “Sorry, sir.”

Louis sped up in response, squeezing your legs as you leaned your head back, letting out quiet breathy moans. “Fuck Lou, keep going.”

You had to cover your mouth when he did, the pleasure building up quickly, and you knew what was happening. “I’m so close Lou, so fucking close.” You breathed out between moans, picking your head up to look at him clearly enjoying his meal. As he sped up, you threw your head back as your orgasm finally hit, going all over Lou’s face, but he clearly doesn’t care.

He happily licked everything up before moving your legs back down to the floor, and leaning over you. “I want you to know how good you taste.”

“Then show me.”

With that, he moved down and kissed you, your orgasm still evident on your face. You kissed back, smiling as your taste on his lips, this had to be one of the hottest things you’ve ever done, and you were so glad you decided to drag yourself to the gym. He pulled off, looking down at you with a smirk. “You did so well, babygirl.” He moved to his knees, rubbing your legs gently.

“Thank you, sir.” You gave him a cute smile, sitting up slightly, using your elbows for support. “Maybe we can do this again soon.”

“Oh we absolutely will. You know what else?”

“What’s that?”

“We’re looking to hire a full-time front desk associate.”

Your day has officially gone from bad to one of the best.

[dandylovesturtles]

Hi, I love your Sidelined AU! My question(s) is about the emotional fallout of Draxum’s cruelty towards Leo in the original oneshot – do Leo’s brothers realize the impact of what Draxum said to Leo - since it hurt that they didn’t refute his words at the time? And what is Draxum really sorry for, if he expected Leo to die (‘I can make you a replacement son’)? (to be clear I like remorse and redemption arcs and am totally on board, just trying to get my head around it)

thank you!

this is a fair question! when I wrote that initial one shot it was not envisioned as part of a series, so if I had actually written it with that in mind there likely would be some differences, like I would have made an effort to include April and probably would have scaled back some of Draxum's more blatantly villainous dialogue. but I didn't know, and so I didn't write it that way, and now we have what we have because retcons are for cowards /jjjjj

in regards to his brothers not refuting Draxum: Leo would try to avoid letting them know how bad that hurt him initially because he doesn't want them to know that bothered him, but he's really low and ends up fighting with Donnie especially and I could see it coming out in a weak moment of bitterness that they didn't defend them, which would definitely make his bros upset, because yeah, they didn't. to be clear it's not because they actually agreed with Draxum, it's because they're young teenagers who were in a stressful situation and they were all in shock over what was happening. I think we can all forgive a 13/14/15-year-old for not having the correct emotional response ready to go, haha. and in time Leo will realize this too - they could probably all benefit from family therapy tbh but it is what it is. anyway, they do realize the impact of it on his mental health eventually and it's a work in progress to help him out of that rut.

Draxum... really wasn't thinking of the boys as, like... people, at that time? I'm not convinced if Draxum really knew what level of sentience the boys were going to have and was probably still thinking of them as animals at first. and then when he met them and realized they do have human level intelligence... well, humans dehumanize other humans all the time, and remember that Draxum was planning to attempt a genocide, so overlooking the personhood of others was a thing he was already prepared to do.

he said what he said mostly to antagonize Splinter. in his mind, Leo wasn't much more than an animal, so he wasn't really Lou Jitsu's son. like sure, he used Lou Jitsu's DNA to mutate him but that's not really the same, is it? the idea that Lou Jitsu had been off playing house with his experiments was ludicrous to him, because those aren't children, they're experimental soldier prototypes. it made as much sense to him as a trainer calling an attack dog their son.

it's not really until he's seeing their pure grief over what's happening to Leo, when he's interacting with them in a cooperative capacity, that he starts to accept that they are actually a family, and that what he's done has destroyed them. as with many situations, unfortunately, it takes seeing the hurt he's caused and empathizing with them to finally see them as people, and to regret the actions he's taken. of course, it's too little too late at that time, but he has time to make it up to them eventually... he just really has to work for it.

thanks for the ask!

[apalonecreations]

Analysis time with Othello: Draxum's Wish

So every time I watch or even think about Rise I think about the fact that Draxum still got his wish all along. He wanted them to be weapons, soldiers, and even though it isn't in the way he intended, he still 100% got his wish. They became weapons. They became soldiers. In the show, you see their development and their upgrades to their weapons that they had acquired from Draxum's lab (except Donnie of course) which were hinted at being the weapons Draxum originally intended them to have in the first place. They grew, they learned to fight in the same way Lou Jitsu had and even added in their own personal moves and twists which would be perfect in confusing enemies and even their trainer. They were only technically "useful" to society when they needed to attack or defend something or *someone*. This is especially true during the Shredder fiasco and the movie, where they were the only ones who could stop those two (technically four but I digress) villains. Draxum wanted them to be weapons that saved and protected the yokai, and he got it. *Even though* it wasn't in the way he intended.

[adventuresinclientservice]

Can a junkie teach us anything about creativity?

My mornings begin with a visit to the garage, where I stream YouTube while doing a stint on our Life Fitness X-5 elliptical trainer.  

I finished watching Tom Petty – or maybe it was Sheryl Crow or possibly The Cranberries –when a cover of Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground song “Sweet Jane” gets an airing.  Who is this person singing, I wonder, and what about her band, which sounds amazing?)

The singer is Margo Timmins; the band The Cowboy Junkies.  Maybe my music aficionado friend Ken Ohlemeyer knows them, but to me the alien name suggests a dismissible, drug-addled punk-rock group; they are anything but.  I am sold, immediately becoming a convert to their iconoclastic, impossible-to categorize sound.  Every day I find myself scrolling through YouTube to watch their concerts, of which there are several.

Last week I watched a program called A Beautiful Noise, which featured the Junkies’ music interspersed with short commentary by Margo Timmins, who not only is the lead singer but also serves as the band’s voice.  Leading the group, however, is her guitarist/songwriter brother Michael (another brother, Pete, plays drums).

Near the program’s end, about 50 minutes in, Margo had this to say about Michael’s songwriting:

“… he has no ego; when he writes a song, that’s his expression and when he hands it to me, however I interpret it -- and I’m going to interpret it from a female perspective; that’s my first entry into a song --  it’s okay.   “He never sort of says, ‘Well you know that’s not what I meant; why are you doing it that way?’  It’s my song and he allows me to do it my way and that’s … I think that’s his greatest gift to me.  Because it must be hard sometimes when I take his songs and muck them all up [laughs] and it’s not what he intended.  But he realizes that’s my expression and he has his, which is the actual writing of it.”

I imagined what it would be like if copywriters, art directors, and creative directors approached their work the way Michael Timmins approaches songwriting, devoid of ego?  There’d be no arguments, ever, about the work. Wouldn’t that be great? 

It wouldn’t be great at all.  I want Creative people to own their work, to be invested in it, to believe in it and fight for it.

But by “fight,” I don’t mean a dispute should devolve into a cage death-match.  I don’t want it to choke off discussion and debate, or silence thoughtful, alternative points-of-view.  And I absolutely don’t want it to be so  defensive in  posture it alienates clients and undermines a hard-earned relationship with them.

Chapter 34 of the current edition of The Art of Client Service is called, “Respect What it Takes to do Great Creative.”  In it I point out that,

“While it takes emotional commitment to make creative work, it takes emotional detachment to make it better.”

Given how many absorbing, engaging songs he has written, I have no doubt about Michael Timmins’s level of creative commitment; it’s evident this guy is a serious artist, determined to perfect his craft.  His sister Margo is a singular, distinctive performer; their contract suggests she does not tamper with his writing, and he does not tamper with her singing.

But for those of us not engaged in writing or art directing, striving to make the work better, we need to remember our role as collaborators in the creative process is to “improve the work, not approve it.”

As for putting ego aside to know that buried in a comment is an insight that might make average work good and good work better, now that truly is a gift.

[daimonclub]

Olympic Games Quotes

Paris Olympic Games 2024 Olympic games quotes, aphorisms and ideas by great authors and world athletes by the World of English blog and Carl William Brown If you want to know more about the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games visit its website. Follow the worlds top athletes as they go for gold in France (Jul 26-Aug 11, 2024). Paralympic Games – Wednesday 28 August to Sunday 8 September. So you wish to conquer in the Olympic games, my friend? And I too, by the Gods, and a fine thing it would be! But first mark the conditions and the consequences, and then set to work. You will have to put yourself under discipline; to eat by rule, to avoid cakes and sweetmeats; to take exercise at the appointed hour whether you like it or no, in cold and heat; to abstain from cold drinks and from wine at your will; in a word, to give yourself over to the trainer as to a physician. Then in the conflict itself you are likely enough to dislocate your wrist or twist your ankle, to swallow a great deal of dust, or to be severely thrashed, and, after all these things, to be defeated. Epictetus Why is luge a sport? You dress up like a giant sperm and go sledding really fast. That’s hardly athletic. Phallic and sexy, yes. But hardly athletic. Jessica Park I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on.  In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter.  Michael Ventre The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. Pierre de Coubertin Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver.  Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.  Richard Nixon The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself. Dawn Fraser I won it, at least five million times. Men who were stronger, bigger and faster than I was could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, and never made the feeble effort to pick their legs off the ground and get over the bar. Bob Richards The Olympic games should be a matter between individual athletes and the gods. Noisy flag-waving dishonors gods and men alike.  Dave Beard The first is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be yours. Peggy Fleming The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us.  John Williams If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best. Jesse Owens When anyone tells me I can't do anything, I'm just not listening any more. Florence Griffith Joyner The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well. Pierre de Coubertin Passover and Easter are the only Jewish and Christian holidays that move in sync, like the ice skating pairs we saw during the Winter Olympics.  Marvin Olasky It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication. Herb Elliott

Olympic Sports quotes and aphorisms A lo largo de los años he aprendido mucho del deporte, he vivido momentos muy importantes para mí que me han marcado y me han hecho madurar. Ona Carbonell For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth. Mary Lou Retton There can be distractions, but if you're isolated from the heart of the Games, the Olympics become just another competition. Mary Lou Retton It never gets tiring coming to Paralympic Games and crossing the line first. It is like a fairytale that just doesn't seem to end, each time I come out. Jason Smyth My dream was to win the World Championships and I did it. So I said my next dream was to win the Paralympics. So what's my next dream? It is sleeping. Daniel Martins We are all humans, we spend almost all our career together so when a teammate suffers, I suffer too. Omara Durand The Olympic Games is a celebration of discipline. Sunday Adelaja It was not the money that was my main motive; it was the challenge and the thrill where I got my kicks. Armed robbery to me was like a sport. To take on an armored vehicle with two armed security guards - it was like an athlete attending the Olympic Games. Drexel Deal In Hollywood you can see things at night that are fast enough to be in the Olympics in the day time.  Will Rogers Estoy convencida de que estamos aquí para retarnos día a día a hacer grandes cosas. Porque sólo atreviéndonos a luchar para conseguir nuestros sueños podremos hacerlos realidad. Ona Carbonell Arguing is the Olympics of talking Stewart Stafford Performing enhancing drugs are banned in the Olympics.  Okay, we can swing with that.  But performance debilitating drugs should not be banned.  Smoke a joint and win the hundred meters, fair play to you.  That's pretty damn good.  Unless someone's dangling a Mars bar off in the distance.  Eddie Izzard Here's a good trick:  Get a job as a judge at the Olympics.  Then, if some guy sets a world record, pretend that you didn't see it and go, "Okay, is everybody ready to start now?"  Jack Handey

Olympic Sports quotes and aphorisms You can also read: The History of Olympic Games Paris 2024 Olympic Games The Paralympic Games Great Sports Quotes Sports News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZD70wA3k4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSf7-LsmU3Y Read the full article

[piratewithvigor]

KNIGHTS

In which the crowd sees Stars...

Taglist: @old-no7 @the--blackdahlia @prettyboymichaels @yellingdownawell

CHAPTER 16: Pinprick

The cheers that had followed every other heroic knight into the ring were far quieter as the next hero entered. Instead of cheering, jeering was a far more apt word. Not out of hatred, but out of a far uglier sin in the moment: lust.

Wendi Richter was wearing the same armour as any man. She carried a sword that was designed for a hand her size and she had the same steely-eyed look that all the other knights had entered with. She had certainly expected to hear catcalls and comments on what she looked like and how the audience perceived her abilities, but some of the things that were yelled were simply cruel. Instead of paying them any mind, she focused far more intently on Cyndi, who was walking in front of her with some of the greatest confidence that had been displayed on the stage that day.

“All right, moments away, Cyndi Lauper, Wendi Richter, a big one for you,” Gene began before offering the cone to Cyndi.

“That’s right, Mean Gene. Moolah, Leilani Kai, you better watch out because these are powerful words because this is a powerful woman and I’m a powerful manager now because I was taught by Captain Lou Albano just how to manage.”

That had been Shane’s idea. He and Cyndi both knew that anyone who knew her, and he anticipated that number to be higher than his father expected, would question just how valid she was as a manager. He didn’t like that she’d have to name-drop a respected trainer in order to gain the respect of the audience, but it had to be done. At least it would give her a slightly better chance. She just needed to garner enough respect to not be laughed off the stage until the match started. Five minutes, that’s all the respect she needed.

“Wendi Richter, your thoughts?”

“I need everyone here to know that I didn’t lose my last match to one person; I lost it because Moolah interfered in my match and I’m dead set on exacting my revenge like I deserve.”

The cheering was nowhere near what Shane had hoped for. He knew it wouldn’t be loud in the first place, but he never anticipated that it would sound much more like the same amount of people who’d crowded into the Thunder, now spread out across a field of thousands. He could practically feel his father’s disapproval deep in his chest. But that wasn’t part of his concerns for right now. Right now, he just wanted his match to go well. He wanted his Stars to fight well and put on a hell of a show.

“The opposing view right now for Leilani Kai and of course-” Gene stopped short as he saw the woman he’d be speaking to. “Moolah, where did you get those glasses?”

Over the course of the few weeks that Gene had stayed at the palace, he’d found a welcome home in the Thunder. Moolah mixed a fine cocktail and given their similarities in age and interests, they’d gotten along well enough to feel like old friends. It made the banter they’d experimented with for her interview section feel all the more natural. And certainly didn’t stop her from turning up with some of the most gaudy, bedazzled glasses Gene had ever seen.

“My jeweler made them for me for today’s special occasion because he’s so proud of me and my champion Leilani Kai.”

“And you, Leilani Kai?”

“I’m good, I don’t care what I got to do or how I got to do it to beat Wendi. I’m gonna walk off this stage with my hand raised in victory.”

Shane wanted to be in the first row to watch the match, alongside the managers. Wanted to more than anything. To be able to see the fruits of his work to get the women into the tournament and onto the stage. It was only when he was about to step out of the tent to sneak into the audience when his arm was grabbed by his father.

“Shane, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Watching- I wanted to watch the match from up close.”

“And why do you think you can do that?”

“I organized it. This is my match; you said so yourself.”

“That means nothing towards you being allowed to watch it from the front row. What if there’s an assassin in the crowd? There’s so many people and there’s no chance all 19,000 of them are trustworthy enough not to hurt you if given the chance.”

“What, so if I go to watch the match up close, I’m going to get stabbed?”

“Maybe. Might also be held for ransom. It’s too dangerous to go out there alone.”

“Then come with me, or let one of the knights come.”

“And be an even bigger target? We need to get you a new tutor because it’s obvious the one you have now hasn’t taught you a thing.”

“Lord Hayes teaches me fine.”

“Don’t argue with me, Shane. Just sit down and watch from the tent like the rest of us.”

He wanted to argue more so badly. The only thing that kept him from it was the reminder that keeping his mouth shut and taking the high road made him a bigger man. He’d have his chance to watch from close up. Someday.

With the managers off the stage and the crowd a little more interested in the women onstage, the bell rang to begin the match.

Neither of the women had all too large a sword to work with. Theirs were specifically designed to be more lightweight, almost like a rapier. It allowed for quicker movements to match the style of most female fighters.

Wendi and Leilani were no exception to the ordinary. Each one came out of their corner with their swords aloft, never taking an eye off each other as they circled for a moment before connecting in a hard push in the middle of the stage. Wendi got just enough of an advantage to push Leilani up against the ropes, but was spun away, taking her turn being pinned. Using the momentum of the bouncing ropes, Wendi pushed once more, but was pushed back just as quickly. A double vertical spin resulting in Wendi being pinned into the corner, up against the post. Leilani attempted a hard swipe against Wendi’s chest, not breaking any skin, but giving Wendi just enough room to push Leilani onto her back in the middle of the stage.

They were so perfectly matched. Out of everything Shane had thought of and fretted about, he’d never considered that the pool of opponents for female fighters had to be significantly smaller. If these two fought as often as any man did to train or to spar for years on end, they had to know every single move the other possessed. The fight would almost look like a well-rehearsed dance; no surprises to be found.

Wendi ran after her fallen foe, hooking Leilani’s leg with her ankle and taking her down a second time with much more force. Leilani struggled to get her arm up and eventually practically tossed Wendi away with a double kick to the air.

The audience almost sounded impressed by the move. Shane wouldn’t have blamed them. He was damn impressed himself. After so many matches of knights who were mountains of men, no one had seen anyone as small or as quick as the Stars. Power was entertaining to watch, but the quick, sharp movements of fighters who could out-maneuver an opponent was truly exciting. You could hardly look away for a moment.

The Stars re-connected in the middle of the ring with a long, low push. The kind designed to tire out one’s opponent and back them into a corner. The instant Leilani saw Wendi weakening, she loosened her push, hooking her arm around Wendi’s unbalanced one and pulling her over her own back to land hard on the stage. The dangerous position only lasted for a moment before Wendi pulled her opponent into a matching position. One designed to keep her down for long enough to get a clear blood flow from any exposed part.

Though it rarely made a difference due to how well they knew each other, Leilani was just a little stronger. Enough so that she could push back to her feet, even with Wendi holding her free arm back. She needed that arm. With it being pinned behind her back like that, Leilani wasn’t able to turn around, nor was she able to get a clear shot in with her sword. She attempted a running escape, but was taken down by a powerful drag, pulling her down to her front with only her sword hand free. Wendi was pushing down on Leilani’s other arm with her full weight, still hunting for an opening in her armour.

It was so much easier when they were just fighting in the Thunder. There, they had armour to cover their head and neck, just to make sure no beheadings happened, but the rest of the armour was chainmail and thick leather. Working for the king, that couldn’t be the case. They were each supplied with real armour that offered almost no openings to draw blood besides the face, but it had been a ladies’ agreement to avoid cutting the face. Neither of them wanted to be scarred there, and they made the solemn promise not to touch the other if they themselves weren’t to be touched.

It was starting to look mighty tempting to just give her a little cut, though. Just something small on her cheek. It’d be hardly noticeable and it would win her the match easily.

In her frustration, Wendi instead lifted Leilani back to her feet and threw her down once more. If she made Leilani give up before she could draw blood, it would be just as sweet a victory. Leilani seemed to sense Wendi’s temptation to go back on their deal. She had to get things moving before the temptation got to be too much.

She pushed up to her feet and dropped her sword momentarily, just enough to distract Wendi and take a handful of her hair to pull her forwards and down to the ground, breaking the vice grip she had on Leilani’s arm. It was more than plenty to give her an opening to cut, but she couldn’t find one before Wendi moved out of the way.

Leilani didn’t take more than a breather to pick up her sword before she pulled Wendi’s free arm to an uncomfortable angle, trapping her on the ground. In her desperate kicking to escape the hold, Leilani finally spotted the little sliver of exposed ankle that could be reached by a quick and precise cut. Upsettingly enough, Leilani couldn’t reach Wendi’s ankle to hold it down or even to cut it while she was keeping her arm in a hold. She’d have to take the arm out. Preferably her sword arm, but any disability would suit her fine in the moment.

Leilani stood up and stomped hard on Wendi’s elbow, making her opponent shriek. She could hardly contain her glee at seeing Wendi struggle to her feet.

Until Wendi used her good elbow to hit Leilani in the lower stomach, making her double over, then once against the collarbone with her sword for luck.

The wind was knocked out of her hard, but it didn’t stop Leilani from giving Wendi a return slash across the back, slicing off an inch or two from the bottom of her hair.

She just needed access to the goddamn ankle.

Pulling Wendi down to the ground seemed to be the strategy. As long as she was on her side, she was either unable to use her sword, or lying on her injured elbow. Then Leilani would just have to maneuver herself to reach the ankle and make the cut.

Unfortunately, both her legs still worked fine. She was strong enough with them to be able to try and crawl back to her feet, lashing out at Leilani every time she got too close.

Legs had to be taken out.

Leilani grasped Wendi’s leg and pulled hard, taking it out from underneath her. She tried to maneuver herself into a position where she’d be straddling Wendi’s leg, but was foiled by her incessant squirming. As if she realized her ankle was exposed and needed to do anything within her power to cover it back up. Underneath Leilani, all she could do was squirm and kick. Or even better; she could wrap both legs around Leilani’s waist and hold her tightly in place, leaving her arms free to do damage and Leilani unable to reach her ankle. If she squeezed hard enough, Leilani may even request mercy and give up.

Of course, Wendi had forgotten one crucial detail: the strength of her opponent was nothing to be trifled with.

Leilani planted her feet on the stage and lifted Wendi off the ground, forcing her opponent to either clutch with her arms to keep from falling, or unhook her legs. Unwilling to be totally at Leilani’s mercy, Wendi unhooked her legs. It gave her a spare moment to knock Leilani back with a slash across the chest.

Her first attempt at taking Wendi out by the legs had failed, but Leilani couldn’t come up with a better idea yet, leading her to try and hook Wendi’s leg again. Instead of falling backwards, Wendi fell forwards this time, landing on top of Leilani and giving her a clear shot in between the armour’s weakness. Unfortunately, Leilani threw her off before she could take advantage.

She needed a second to think. Leilani was crafty and obviously trying to use her strength to pin her by the legs and get to her ankle. The upsetting detail about her plan was that if she kept trying it, it would eventually work. Wendi kept sapping energy every time she attempted to escape. She needed to drain Leilani faster than she was being drained.

In a spare second, she backed into the corner and gripped the top ropes, waiting for the inevitable charge. As Leilani did come running with her sword up to strike, Wendi used the top ropes to hoist herself up and kick Wendi backwards to the ground with both feet to the chest. If she’d been quicker detangling herself from the corner, she would have been able to reach Leilani’s ankle before she stood up. And if she were just a little slower, she wouldn’t have accidentally gotten caught in Leilani’s grasp that swung her across the stage and into Moolah’s grasp.

It wasn’t legal in the slightest. Any self-respecting knight would know better than to involve outside forces. But keeping in line with that mindset, most self-respecting knights wouldn’t have agreed to participate in tournament-style fighting on a dirt stage with thick ropes keeping them contained within. The match was slowly descending into greater anarchy, and the crowd was warming up even more. What used to be quiet disinterest had slowly become the level of cheering they’d given the more boring men’s matches. They were loving watching the local bartender pound her fist against Wendi’s back and they loved watching one of the most beloved singers in town get just as violent. Unfortunately, as Cyndi finally pulled Wendi out of Moolah’s clutches and pushed the bartender back, Wendi ended up back in Leilani’s hands and promptly flung across the stage against the ropes, meeting a kick to the sternum when she bounced back.

Luckily, Wendi fell back far enough to have time to lash against Leilani as she rose back up to her feet. Twice. Three times. She got to her feet and grasped Leilani’s wrist, throwing her into the ropes and picking her up on the bounce back, throwing her to the ground. Spying Wendi’s strategy, Leilani kicked the sword from her opponent’s hand, letting it clatter down to the stage as she climbed to her feet. Defenseless and without much time to think, Wendi used her advantage of more than one hand to throw Leilani into the corner, knocking the air out of her a little, but not enough to still be dazed when Wendi ran at her with her sword in hand.

It had been a brilliant strategy on Wendi’s part to use the ropes for a higher kick earlier. A strategy Leilani took great pleasure in stealing. She wasn’t able to lift her feet high enough to perform a double-foot kick, but the two knees Wendi ran into probably did every bit as much damage.

She was still moving too much. Leilani needed her to be still when she made the cut, or she’d risk a major bleed. The kind of bleed that could lead to a foot being removed and a career ended. As much as Leilani hated Wendi’s guts on the stage, she was one of a very small group of opponents available. She needed her alive and able to work.

The best way to keep her still would be to cause temporary pains. Two more hard stomps on the bad elbow and a knee to the spine that made Wendi slump down onto the stage. She still kept moving. Tossing her down to the ground and jumping onto her from the top rope and she still squirmed. Enough so that Leilani couldn’t see exactly what she was doing. Nor could she see Wendi just barely nick her own exposed ankle.

The bell rang before Leilani even felt what was happening.

Somehow, someway, blood had been drawn enough for officials to see it.

She didn’t even feel it.

A papercut.

Barely even that.

A pinprick.

[princesscrownprince]

RUKAS POKEVENTURE — I

— Lukas Alischer & Ruki Mukami ( @ruki--mukami )

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

〖 New Bark Town ⟩ Ecruteak City 〗

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

A laugh of cheer and excitement resounded throughout the hotel room of the Alischer twins. Pitter-patter of footsteps moved joyously from the master bedroom to the kitchen area, a melodious squeal of delight could be heard along.

The older snake settled himself on a bar stool, bearing an expression of pure joy as he held his phone in hand.

The snake's younger brother could only sigh at the energy the other was emitting. His mood soured and his heart turned bitter, but despite these disgruntled feelings of his, he couldn't bring himself to dampen the other's genuine happy mood.

"... What happened in your Pokemon game with the eyesore?" He asked in an uninterested and monotoned voice, keeping back facing Lukas as he continued his self-taught cooking lessons.

"I'm glad you asked, Kei!" Lukas exclaimed, clearly anticipating his brother ask him a question about his day. He looked through his phone as he spoke.

"Before I start, sadly, I wasn't able to get any screen shots of Ruki and I's first play through together but I can tell you what happened during that time. I thought it was a wonderful idea that Ruki and I play a game together when we aren't in the presence of each other and I found out about Pokemon. Although, our characters aren't in the same server, it was fun listening to his voice as he narrate his way through the game. " He smiled, " My starter Pokemon was a Cyndaquil who I named after you, Kei—"

"Hah?! Why me?!" The younger twin whipped his head back to look at his brother in an incredulous manner. "You just decided to turn me into a pet?!"

Lukas waved his irritation off, "Oh, don't be silly~ That wasn't my intention. Starter Pokemons are the Pokemons that firstly help the trainer. They are also seen to be the trainer's bestfriend. So, I decided that I want my brother to be with me from the first run till the end. " He grinned at his brother.

"... Oh." Kai turned back to his chopping board, ears slightly flushed. "... If that's the case then... I don't mind... I'll... Always be there by Lou's side no matter what so I think it's only fitting that you have me as your starter Pokemon. "

Lukas chuckled at his brother's adorable demeanor, "Awe~ You're so adorable, Kei~"

"SH-SHUT UP! JUST CONTINUE THE STUPID STORY!"

"Alright~ Alright~ What a meanie~" Lukas puffed his cheeks, " Anyway, Ruki and I received an egg from a professor, and the moment it hatched, I had an interesting thought that, what if Ruki and I act as parents to the little hatchling—"

Kai's ear twitched. Parents...

"It took some time coaxing Ruki to agree but eventually, we both named our son, Rukas—"

Kai's hand stiffened. Son?!

"It's quite a genius name, is it not? " Lukas chuckled, "It's a combination of Ruki and I's name!"

Kai sharply turned back to face his brother with a deadly smile, tightly gripping the knife he had in hand.

"I beg your fucking pardon? " A LOVECHILD?!

However, his aggressiveness went past Lukas' head.

"Isn't he adorable?!" Lukas' eyes shined as he showed off a photo of his supposed son with Ruki.

As Kai glowered at the Pokemon, Lukas continued his rant.

"I know he's still on level 1 but I couldn't bring myself to put him on the front lines. The last time he battled with someone, Rukas died and there wasn't a hospital nearby! " Lukas exclaimed with a slight whine and a childish bang of his fists on the counter, "And while I was looking for one in panic, these people kept coming at me and starting a fight with me to the point the rest of my team was obliterated! It was so shameful! I could hear Ruki's sigh of disappointment on the call! Although, he probably enjoyed hearing my distraught and distressed voice over the phone. " He sighed, " The only way I found a hospital was when all my Pokemons died. Truly, it was embarrassing... " Lukas blinked, noticing that Kai had stopped chopping on the butcher board. He looked at his brother who seemingly wore a deep scowl on his face.

"Kei...?"

The younger snapped out of his murderous thoughts with a flinch, quickly turning around with a clear of his throat.

"Sorry, continue. "

Lukas hummed at his strange behavior, "Alright... Well, that was the most memorable part of our previous playthrough, save for the amount of times I got lost. I mean, " he pursed his lips in slight annoyance, " Can you blame me? The screen is too small and almost every path looked the same... Oh! " He remembered something," There was this department store in Goldenrod City, and I couldn't help but buy a lot of things there. Money isn't an issue, I can just get more from trainer battles. Although, I was rather confused why Ruki felt a bit... Drained? When I mentioned that I spent 5500 pokedollars on a TM38 Fire Blast. It wasn't much, though, it did landed me on a mere 1000 something pokedollars... " He mumbled the last words with a shrug, " It was a present for Rukas anyway. I'm just trying to be a good parent, unlike someone who got our son poisoned and killed multiple times. " He made a jab at Ruki.

"What a terrible father." Kai smirked.

"Apart from that though, I managed to get a few more Pokemons. Such as : A Bellsprout I named Laito ( @sakamaki-laitokun ), a Sandshrew I named Ayato, a Mareep I named Livestock, " he chuckled, " a Hoothoot I named Irina ( @iricathel ), and a Spearow named Kenya, although, I received that Pokemon from an NPC who wanted me to deliver a message—"

"You didn't deliver the message."

"... No... No, I didn't. "

Kai stifled a laugh as Lukas pouted and whined at him from behind.

"What?! Do you take me for a messenger?! I'm not running all the way back to Route 31 just to deliver a mere letter! The poor man has to wait! " He huffed with a cross of his arms, before he blinked in realization.

"Oh, yeah! I named my rival, Inu-Shin! " He laughed, "And it felt so good defeating him every time he tries to pick a fight with me! "

Kai sweat dropped at his brother's rather sadistic behavior.

"Anyway...is there more to this story?" He questioned.

"Of course, there is! So, when I reached Ecruteak City..."

[bottomlouisficfest]

We hope you’ve enjoyed the fifth week of fics from the Bottom Louis Fic Fest! Every weekend, we’re compiling all of the fics from that week into one roundup post so they’re easy to find for anyone looking to catch up on fics they missed. Enjoy these amazing fics and give them the love they deserve!

Stuck On You

A fic by WritewhatIwant on AO3

34k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Louis’ life revolves around his stickers. Harry’s life revolves around his job. The universe has decided their worlds should revolve around each other.

On the Edge

A fic by zanni_scaramouche on AO3 | @zanniscaramouche on Tumblr

47k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Figure skating is as vital to Louis’ identity as his DNA, so when his skates go missing right before the last Olympics of his career there may be a meltdown only vanilla bath salts can fix. Well, that and the stupidly charming hockey player he met on the plane.

Harry’s too old to be the wonder kid and too young to be taken seriously in the NHL. As an alternate thrown in at the last second, he fights to prove himself on the national team at the largest sporting event known to man. Or he will, once he gets off this flight and can focus on something other than the fussy figure skater and his stunningly blue eyes.

A baggage mix-up skews both of their perfectly laid plans for gold, forcing the two to work together as the clock clicks towards the minute they’re expected to shine on centre ice.

Be a Good Girl For Me

A fic by wannabebestseller on AO3 | @sincetheywere16and18 on Tumblr

9k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Based on this prompt: “AU where Harry is Louis’ older brother’s best friend. He catches Louis dancing around his room in panties and blackmails him, saying that louis has to do anything he says or else he’ll tell Louis’ family that he wears girly underwear. Secretly soft for him, Harry gives him easy tasks and uses the whole thing to spend more time with Louis. Eventually, the orders begin to escalate and Harry teases Lou about his secret, making Louis shy and embarrassed. Louis loves the attention though, and forms a crush on his brother’s best friend. Lots of feminization, secret relationship, and enemies to lovers. Thank you!”

dripping like spider milk

A fic by raspberryoats on AO3 | @raspberryoatss on Tumblr | raspberryoatss on Twitter

64k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

When he sees the alpha, his brown hair curling around the top of his neck and his broad back that’s filled out over the past couple of years, Louis freezes for a moment. The alpha turns around, Louis’ surprised expression mirrored on his own for a fraction of a second before he schools it into a big, yet shy grin and a wave of his huge hand. With his nostrils flared, Louis knows that he can smell him, too.

They never hired alphas, except for—

“Harry.”

or prompt 110: Louis is a retired porn star and he gets invited back to test a new line of sex products the company he worked for is releasing (would include photoshoots and videos of Louis sampling certain toys). Harry is there to photograph, film, and intimately help him along the way (preferably in a private setting).

But It's Useless

A fic by thinlines on AO3 | @thinlinez on Tumblr

26k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Hey.”

Louis was even hallucinating now. He closed his eyes.

“Hey, you.”

He chuckled wetly, head still leaning against the door.

“Can you get out of the way? You're blocking the door.”

He exhaled sharply before slowly turning around. His eyes fixed onto muddy Nike trainers before it traveled up to impossibly short jogging shorts. The yellow color was atrocious, simply ghastly.

“What happened to being polite, Harold?”

OR Omega Louis would never guess that he would be trying to hack into Alpha Harry's Wifi. That is until everything changes when he tries to get to know his enemy.

Yours To Lose

A fic by loulicate on AO3 | loulicaterecs on Twitter

26k | Mature | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“I think I know the person that matches your descriptions of your dream alpha.”

“Who? And oh not my dream alpha, god you’re making me sound like a teenage school girl. I’m a mum, H.” They laugh as they watch kids gather in front of the verandah, getting ready to go back to the orphanage.

“Well, you’re gonna have to find out.” Harry winks before standing up to start cleaning their spot.

-

Or Louis always gets distracted with his mummy duty and he eventually catches Harry's attention.

Sweet Scary Creatures

A fic by Specklesock on AO3 | @specklelouis on Tumblr | specklelouiie on Twitter

13k | Mature | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

They stare into each other's eyes for a while until Louis remembers this is too intimate and looks at Harry’s hands on his thigh. It spans a big portion of his thigh and Louis has always been insecure about how thick he is, so he loves that Harry has huge, dustbin hands that hold him and makes him feel smaller, safer.

We Are But Dust and Shadows

A fic by louisbarnes on AO3 | @tomlinsonbarnes on Tumblr | dreamersdiving on Twitter

51k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Um, okay. I’m going to…” Harry gestured over his shoulder and gave the two of them an awkward smile.

“Wait! You got a letter.” Zayn held out the letter and Harry’s face dropped. He took the letter from Zayn, gaze locked on it like it was a bomb ready to explode. “What is it?”

“Probably just from the New York Institute,” Harry muttered. He hurried away, ripping the envelope open as he went.

“Remember when you said you didn’t want to fuck him?” Zayn broke the silence and Louis scoffed.

“Quite clearly, actually.”

Zayn grinned. “Your eye twitches when you lie.”

“Fuck off.”

Or: Louis is part of a well respected Shadowhunter family, and Harry is the Mundane turned Shadowhunter who just can’t seem to get it right.

–

View the other roundup posts here:

Week #1 Fic Roundup

Week #2 Fic Roundup

Week #3 Fic Roundup

Week #4 Fic Roundup

[jacksdunnit]

UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 22nd, 2020

@tupeloextras

KANE // 24 // SHE/HER // EST

DISCORD: whiskey#6583

I work nights so my replies on the dash and in discord are kind of all over the place time-wise

JACK DUNN

Full Name: Phillip Jackson Dunn

Nickname(s): Jack, JD, Dunner 

Birthday: April 1st, 1986 (34)

Hometown: Tupelo, Mississippi

Education: Bachelor of Science in Equine Science & Management from the University of Kentucky 

Occupation: Head Trainer at Dunn Performance Horses out of Whiskey Hollow 

Faceclaim: Chace Crawford

Content Warning(s):

N/A

BACKGROUND:

His full name is Phillip Jackson Dunn but he has always gone by Jack Dunn. It’s been one of those things that everyone kind of just knows but has a tendency to forget about

No real reason as to why he has always gone by “Jack”, just that he never wanted to be called Phil/Phillip when he was a child

Jack is the only son of Judah and Lyla Dunn

He has four sisters (Oldest taken by Louella Dunn, others are open wanted connections!)

Growing up on the Whiskey Hollow property meant that Jack, as well as all of his sisters, were introduced to horses at a very young age

Whether or not the Dunn children wanted to be actively involved in the ranch or with horses was left entirely up to them but every opportunity was offered to find their personal niche with it

Jack started riding the minute that he could and from there he never stopped 

The only other sport that Jack participated in was baseball which he played pretty much every year that he could manage it

He was offered an opportunity to play varsity but declined the offer to focus on his riding instead 

Jack attended the University of Kentucky and majored in Equine Science & Management

He played baseball recreationally while in college with a club team when he could

Jack continued to ride and compete all throughout college on a horse named U Kan Cash a Chek (“Cash”)

After graduation, Jack moved to California to follow his at-the-time girlfriend whom he met at school 

“Cash” was moved back to Whiskey Hollow and Jack was gifted another horse named Lena Bit of Diesel (“Lena”). Lena was moved to California with Jack and began training with him there

While in California Jack worked under a top NRCHA trainer located there and also competed at many events

After a year in California, Jack moved back to Tupelo as he couldn’t stand living in California 

At age 26 Jack was declared a Million Dollar Rider with the NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) 

Jack has been back in Tupelo for many years now (roughly 10 years) and has taken on the role as the head trainer at Dunn Performance Horses out of Whiskey Hollow 

WHISKEY HOLLOW: 

The Dunn Family owns and operates Whiskey Hollow which offers 3 main components

Judah and Lyla Dunn offer trail riding and take care of boarding the horses and so on, they also help with training of those who are looking for lessons but are not competitive 

Louella Dunn is the eldest Dunn child and operates the rescue portion of Whiskey Hollow, often bringing in neglected animals to help provide them with a new lease on life and put them with forever homes 

Jack Dunn runs Dunn Performance Horses which is highly competitive training for both students and horses alike. There are a few horses under Jack’s care which were born and bred to be at Whiskey Hollow and compete 

The name was agreed upon as both brothers were equal investors and had equal responsibility with running the ranch

The property is vast and is home to more than just horses (such as donkeys and a whitetail deer) 

The facility spans many acres and also houses trails that have small lakes and creeks running through it 

A large farmhouse sits on the property near the barns which both Judah and Lyla continue to live 

There is another smaller “caretaker’s house” on the property where Lou stays 

The property also hosts an indoor and outdoor arena and is looking to expand/update the barns 

PERSONALITY:

He can definitely be very flirty and charming (hence how he has about 900 ex girlfriends) 

HOWEVER... He also is kind of a dickhead sometimes 

Ego is astronomical 

But it’s kind of charming and cute that he loves his animals and would do anything for them and they are his top priority 

But them being his top priority means that his horses and his work will come before basically anyone else 

Otherwise he tends to be fairly relaxed (or at least appears that way) 

FAST FACTS:

Jack is a Million Dollar Rider (NRHA, National Reining Horse Association) which is a title given to riders who have winnings that accumulate to $1M from showing 

He hopes to meet the mark of a 2 Million Dollar Rider and also a Million Dollar Rider in the NRCHA (National Reined Cow Horse Association) 

He was also part of the US Team for the FEI World Equestrian Games in reining 

Jack has 2 dogs and 1 cat - the dogs are Stone (Blue Heeler) & Armada (Catahoula Mix).  His cat is George (orange tabby) who is also slightly overweight but they are working on it. 

He drives a beefy Ford F-250 King Ranch 

Yes his name is actually Phillip. No, he doesn’t want to talk about it 

CONNECTIONS:

Friends! Childhood, High School, College, Show Circuit 

Enemies! There’s probably a fair number of people who are not necessarily fans of Jack (Could be other competitors, etc) 

Ex-girlfriends/ex-flings (Could be on good, bad, or decent terms! He has a tendency to have a lot of 3-month girlfriends) 

The girl who he met in college and followed to California (x) This will be a WC

A girl from the circuit (another rider) who he competes against often and they are pretty good friends (but they definitely make fun of each other all the time, y’know). He’s probably (definitely) gotten into a fight with one of her ex-boyfriends over some BS that included her. (This’ll go up as a WC soon!) 

Cousins! All of that family shit

His other 3 sisters! They are going to be open wanted connections so hit me up

All of it

[spectrumscribe]

Okay but imagine Pokemon Trainer Raph with a lil baby Pancham that's just always ready to fight. Also, Donnie absolutely has a Rotom (my best friend and I have this whole RotTMNT/Pokemon AU, with Lou being a retired champion and Draxum being a professor that wants to turn humans into Pokemon. I could go on and on, lol)

i’m imagining this and it is an Excellent Concept

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu fanfiction: Dating… With Children - Chapter Seven

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot:  Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn’t have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that…

((Soooo, I know I said this chapter would have a bit more drama, but as I was writing that chapter, I realized that this idea was better as a lead-in to the next, slightly more dramatic idea. So, you're getting this chapter first, hope you guys don't mind! Anyway, enjoy the action and fluff! ^v^))

They say no news is good news, and for the most part Draxum could see some truth to that. It wasn't as if he had wished for something to have gone wrong, like their lab’s computers completely crashing or one of his intern’s screwing up. But at the same time, there also hadn't been any major breakthroughs, not even small discoveries in their research and tests that could lead down a rabbit hole of possibilities.

No, instead it had just been another average day at work. Just like the day before, and the day before that… And the several days before that…

Draxum sighed, rubbing his eyes. He only had a couple hours left in the shift, and he knew exactly what he was going to do afterwards. It was a part of his routine that he had been somewhat denying himself, thanks to all the extra time he had been spending either at the Jitsu house or at his own apartment. And, while he certainly didn't regret the time spent with his boyfriend, he was still looking forward to a couple good rounds…

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate for a second in his pocket. “Speak of the devil,” he mumbled with a smirk, taking the phone out. Sure enough, it was a text from Lou.

“Hey, babe. Whatchu up to? Hope work is going well.” Draxum wasn't quite sure when Lou had started calling him that (though it certainly flustered him a bit the first time he noticed), but while he usually wasn't one for pet names, he supposed he didn't mind this one too much.

“Work is work. Going to stop by the ring after,” he texted back.

It only took a few seconds for Lou to reply. “Oof, that bad of a day?”

“No, just haven't done it in a while. Figured it'd be a good way to clear my head somewhat, instead of feeling like a rat on a wheel.”

“Fair enough, hope u have fun!”

Draxum stared at the reply, thinking about it for a moment before typing, “Would you want to come with?” He waited, and then-

“Really, you don't mind?”

“If I did, I wouldn't have asked.”

“Haha, ok! Let me call my babysitter to see if he’s available, otherwise yeah, I'd love to!” A few minutes later, Lou sent another text - a simple thumbs up emoji - and Draxum replied with what time he'd be picking him up.

A quick stop at home after work to change and grab his gym bag, and then it was straight to the Jitsu house. Thankfully traffic was on his side for the most part, making him only a couple minutes late. He walked briskly up the colorful sidewalk - it looked like the boys had tried to play some sort of space themed hopscotch game - and knocked twice. The door opened, and-

“Well hello there~!”

Draxum blinked, stepping back slightly. He had been expecting Lou or one of the boys to answer the door, but instead he was greeted by a stout man with bushy blond hair and an even bushier mustache and a smile that just seemed much too happy and friendly to be natural. “...Hello. I-”

The short man suddenly grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. “You must be Lou’s new beau! Oh it's just so great to meet you! And I can just tell already that you two must be the sweetest thing and probably look so CUTE together!”

“...If you say so,” Draxum said slowly, allowing the man to hold onto his hand for only a few seconds before yanking it away. Figuring that he wouldn't just want to stand and wait in the doorway, the overtly happy man stood aside, allowing Draxum to come in. He noticed all four boys - and… Was that a dog? What in the world, where had that come from? - in the living room, contently sitting on either the loveseat or the beanbags as they all watched TV together.

“Oh, hey Dr. Draxum!” Donnie noticed, waving. The Labrador puppy that was sitting near him also gave a quick greeting, barking loudly before settling back down. The mustached man just giggled at the pup, wagging a finger at it.

“Er, hello boys,” the scientist nodded, giving them a halfhearted wave, “Where is your-?”

“Hey, you.” Draxum turned and saw Lou coming down the stairs, dressed in a v-neck tank top and long gym pants, with his yellow-tinted sunglasses once again being opted out for darker ones. His hair was also missing its usual pompadour-like style, his bangs instead being tied back in a top knot. The leaner man’s smile almost immediately helped put Draxum a bit more at ease, even if he still wasn't too sure of their ‘guest’.

“Have a fun date, Pop!” Raph told him as his father gave him and his brothers goodbye-and-be-good hugs.

“I'm sure we will,” Lou smiled. Once he was done with his boys, he turned to the blond. “We’ll try not to stay out too late. I would imagine that-”

“Oh no, take your time!” The stout man insisted, “I'm in no rush! And you know how I just love looking after your boys, Lou, it's no trouble at all! Now you two go on and have a great time, okay?

Lou chuckled. “Alright, if you insist. Thanks again, Todd.” They quickly shook hands, with the smaller man once again insisting that he was happy to help. Finally looking back at Draxum now, he led his date out the door while his babysitter waved them off. And as soon as the door closed, Draxum broke his silence.

“Okay… Who was that guy?”

“Who, Todd?” Lou asked, “Uh, he's my babysitter? Kinda thought that was obvious, but-”

“So, you just found this guy and thought, ‘yeah, he seems normal enough to trust with my children’, huh?”

Lou laughed as they walked. “Okay okay, I know Todd seems a bit weird-” Even he could admit to being a bit overwhelmed by the guy’s friendliness and enthusiastic niceties the first time they met- “But he's also just a nice guy! And a good babysitter too, the boys have a fun time with him. ...Though, that maaaay be because he always brings over one of his puppies whenever he sits - he runs a puppy rescue that's on the outskirts of the city.”

“Ah,” Draxum nodded, opening his driver’s side door, “Well, that's one way to give them a pet without actually giving them a pet.”

“I know, right! That's what I thought too!” He paused as he got in the car. “Though, Mikey still tries to ask me for a cat sometimes…”

------------

Since it was for amateurs only, the gym wasn't too fancy, all things considered. It was a little on the small side, and the youngest equipment there was still at least ten years old. Even his tiny home gym in his apartment was technically more modern. Still, the structure was sound and the roof never leaked, more than half the lockers there still locked and - the thing that always kept people like him coming back - there was still a well-kept, MMA regulation ring right in the center of it all. The perfect place for people to spar, as well as the home of amateur league bragging-rights-only championships every other month.

Draxum could still remember his first few times stepping into this old gym. He'd never been interested in team sports in his youth, but once he had found this place on one random walk around town, suddenly the strength and strategy behind mixed martial arts seemed pretty appealing. It kept him in shape at least, and even after three graduation ceremonies and earning a doctorate, he still found himself coming to the old gym to let off some steam about as often as he did as a teenager.

Lou seemed fairly impressed with it as well, immediately taking interest in the ring. The only other people there were a trainer and his hopeful eventual-champion, and since they were currently busy with the heavy bags in the corner, the ring was completely free.

“So,” Lou asked, stretching his arms as he glanced over his shoulder at his date, “Should we just get down to it then?”

Draxum smirked back at him. “Eager, aren't we?”

The ex-star shrugged. “What can I say, I like a good fight… Think you can give it to me?”

“I'd say I've got a pretty good chance.” Draxum walked over to him, close enough to let his natural height tower over Lou slightly. “Even when up against the great Lou Jitsu.”

Lou grinned. “Well then, let's see what you've got, Doc~”

“...This is ridiculously cheesy and over the top, even for us.”

“Oh don't act like you don't love it.”

All flirting aside, the two of them did take some time to stretch after climbing into the ring, with Draxum making sure to face away from his date, not wanting to risk staring or be caught staring. (Unbeknownst to him, Lou was doing the exact same thing. After all, Draxum was wearing a faded blue-grey tee and black shorts. Lou had never seen Draxum in shorts before, and he had no idea why. The man certainly had the legs for them.)

As they then turned back around to face each other and got into a starting position, the doctor couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu, recalling the last time they ‘fought’. Of course, this time would be without the music, which meant it would naturally be more fight-like than dance-like, and there probably wouldn't be nearly as much fancy footwork. Still, he could feel excitement bubbling up in his chest, and allowed a small smile to stay on his face as they began the ‘round’.

Lou started things off, rushing in with a punch so fast that Draxum just barely managed to block it. “Ah, I was wondering if you'd actually take this seriously,” he said as he dodged another blow.

“Hey,” Lou chuckled, “Gotta keep you on your toes somehow!” He definitely had an advantage on speed, side-stepping and bouncing on his feet with ease as he hardly gave Draxum any room.

Of course, Draxum had his advantages too. He still had his height on Lou, as well as his physical strength. Once he saw an opening, he didn't hesitate to throw a punch. “Whoa!” Lou cries out, ducking down to avoid it before popping back up. “Nice one!” His date quickly raised his arms, ready to block.

Smirking, Draxum continued to throw hit after hit, keeping an eye on his openings and making sure to throw a fake out or two in there, just to keep things from getting to predictable.

Of course, Lou had his surprises as well. Turning one particular dodge into a sort of somersault, he gave himself some extra space. Once he was back on his feet, he tried a kick that was so fast and sudden, Draxum actually gasped as he moved away, thankfully only getting lightly kicked in the shoulder. The other amateurs he sometimes sparred with couldn't get their feet up nearly that high! “Too much?” He heard Lou ask.

“Hardly,” Draxum retorted, taking only the briefest of moments to regain his footing before rushing his date. Lou had been so focused on getting a possible tide-turning move in that he failed to also keep in mind his surroundings.

Not wanting to get pinned to the fence behind him, Lou dove out of the way, once again getting back to his feet in record time and trying another kick, this time aimed at Draxum’s back. But his boyfriend had speed of his own, it would seem. Draxum was able to catch the kick as he turned, taking the chance to shove Lou away.

Lou cried out a bit as he stumbled, though managed to keep from completely falling over. Standing back up to his full height, he was all smiles as he stared down his smirking opponent. “Alright, you’re asking for it!”

For the next two to three minutes, it was nothing but punches, blocks and dodges, with the two of them switching off between attacking and defending so quickly that if their fight had been an official match instead of just a spar, it could've been anyone’s round. Then again, if it had been an official match, Lou would've pulled out all the stops and shown off every trick he had while Draxum certainly would've been hitting a lot harder with quite a few more face shots, with either one of them being able to end the fight quickly.

But really, what was the fun in that?

For now, they just enjoyed the push and pull of the spar, observing each other’s strategies and clever moves while also admiring the other’s strength and athleticism. It was enjoyable, there was no denying that, but things were starting to slow down some. So, as Draxum caught his last punch, Lou allowed his body to stop. He smiled at his opponent, tilting his head slightly as he stared into Draxum’s eyes, not once trying to pull his hand away. “So… Wanna call it a draw?”

“Hmph.” Draxum lowered his arm, but didn't let go of his boyfriend’s hand. Only changing the position of his own hand, so it could feel like he was actually holding it rather than catching it. “Normally I wouldn't, but I think I can make an exception.” He rubbed the back of Lou’s hand with his thumb, taking a half step forward. “Good fight though. Shame it had to end.”

“Funny,” Lou said as he began tilting his head up now, “I was just about to say the same thing…” Still, there were certainly worse ways for a great spar to end than with a draw and a kiss...

Always seeming to have a few crumpled dollar bills and dull quarters sitting in the bottom of his locker, Draxum took the responsibility of keeping them hydrated and headed out to the old pop machine in the alley behind the gym. It took a couple tries for the finicky machine to accept his money, but Draxum was stubborn, and eventually this determination was rewarded with two bottles of water.

Unfortunately, once he stepped back inside, his mood quickly soured. The gym was a bit busier now, and while most of the people there were doing their own thing and minding their own business- “-Come on, you can't expect anyone here to believe that you are anything more than some washed up pretty boy from Hollywood!”

“Well, if you want to get technical, I'm actually from Tokyo,” Lou replied, arms crossed lazily, “Though I do appreciate the pretty comment, even if you are not really my type.”

The Chinese man who had recognized him (though definitely wasn't a fan) just sneered at the comeback. “Yeah, say all the one-liners you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not a real fighter!”

“And what makes you say that?” Draxum said suddenly, now directly behind the two of them, “After all, Hun, if you're going to be stupid enough to insult someone with enough skill in one hand to outclass you, then you'd better at least have some so-called evidence to back it up.”

Looking over his shoulder, Hun smirked. “Didn't think you were the fanboy type, Draxum. What, you think your ‘star’ can't handle a bit of trash talk? Can't handle someone who knows how to actually fight and not just swing a ladder around a set or toss around opponents who aren't even trying? Yeah, sounds like a real champion to me!”

Draxum narrowed his eyes, glaring down at him now. Of all the acquaintances and opponents he'd met at this gym, Hun was both the most cocky and the most annoying. Covered in tacky tattoos and always bragging about his ‘skills’, and despite only winning about two-thirds of the time, he still gloated incessantly about his victories to his cronies when they were there to back him up. The only good thing that came from running into him was usually beating him and shutting the mouth of his for a good while. ...But now, he could think of one better…

Draxum gave Lou a look and Lou didn't have to think about it, nodding back and giving his boyfriend a look of his own. Oh yeah, I've got this. “Well, if you are so confident, then why don't we have a friendly spar?” Lou asked, “Since we’re, you know, next to a fighting ring and all. You don't mind, right Ben?”

“Nope,” Draxum answered, “Don't mind at all.”

Hun grinned, cracking his knuckles. “Alright, Hollywood, let's do it. I for one can't wait to tell everyone how I beat the oh-so-great Lou Jitsu!”

“Oh I'm sure it will be an enjoyable tale,” Lou told him, not even looking at him now as he headed towards the ring’s entrance. Hun huffed, and started towards the other entrance. As for Draxum, he just found a good spot to watch from, and waited for the show to begin.

Lou took off his sunglasses in order to have completely clear vision, his face rarely serious. Hun smirked again, not at all intimidated. As far as he was concerned, this spar would be his, no sweat! “Here in the ring, you can't use fancy moves and convenient props as a crutch,” he taunted, “It's all skill!”

“I prefer to think of those things as ‘style points’, but hey, I can do basic.” Lou took one last deep breath before shifting into a starting position, completely prepared for whatever his opponent had to throw at him. “Ready when you are.”

Hun’s face shifted into a scowl, and he rushed towards Lou with a punch. Lou hopped back, dodging it easily. Another punch, another dodge. Hun tried a kick, and Lou simply ducked, sidestepping out of the way.

A small crowd was starting to gather outside of the ring. “See, I TOLD you that was Lou Jitsu!” “Whoa, you still think he can kick ass?” “Hun’s got this, Jitsu’s barely even fighting!” “Are you kidding me, Jitsu’s a pro! He's gonna wipe the floor with Hun once he gets going!”

Draxum watched in silence, eyes totally focused on his boyfriend. He could see the concentration in Lou’s face as he continued to duck and dodge, each move calculated as they darted around the ring. He wasn't trying to tire Hun out, he was just waiting for the perfect moment to go on the attack…

One more punch was thrown, aimed directly at Lou’s face - and this time, Lou blocked. His arms up now, he shifted into a punch so quickly that it made Hun flinch. He put his own arms to block, but the punch never came. Not from that direction, at least. The first one had been a fakeout, and it had done its job well, allowing the second punch to have a clear shot at Hun’s midsection

The crowd gasped and cheered. Hun grunted at the attack, but managed to stand tall. A respectable feat, but now he was out of step. Now it would be time for him to play defense. Lou began throwing hit after hit, hard and fast enough that even the ones Hun managed to block still caused a bit of pain. The occasional fakeout was enough to keep Hun from regaining an edge, and for the second time tonight, Lou was able to surprise his opponent with a well aimed kick to the shoulder.

As this all went on, Draxum could only stare, eyes wide. He didn't cheer along with the others. He couldn't even smile. All he could do was watch his date with amazement as he fought. It had been one thing to watch an extreme version of his fighting style in his movies, or have a playful spar-dance with him, but this was the real deal. No quips, no smirks or taunts, nothing but raw skill and strength. He could also see just how muscular Lou still was at this angle, despite being so lean and his abs, while not being completely gone, not nearly as tight as they used to be.

Each movement of his arms was a natural extension that was as easy as breathing and as powerful as a cobra strike. His stance was firm and as solid as a skyscraper, yet his feet almost never stopped moving. His eyes were sharp, always looking for the next opening and always trying to think two moves ahead. This was the mind and body of a true champion.

Simply put: To the others watching the fight, it was amazing. To Draxum, it was incredible.

With the two of them quickly running out of space - they were nearly up to the fence now - and the clear fatigue beginning to appear in Hun’s face, Lou decided it was time to officially end it. Huh threw one last punch, desperate enough that there was little technique in it. Lou caught it with ease, and with his other hand, he punched Hun right in the nose, sending him to the floor. He’d held back quite a bit, not being annoyed with Hun enough to seriously hurt him (or risk getting sued by him), but the man’s nose was sure to be bleeding for quite a while.

“Good fight,” Lou said simply, offering a hand.

Hun slapped it away, and stood up on his own, swaying only slightly. Even with one hand holding his nose, he managed to sneer at the ex-movie star. “So you proved that you can fight. Good for you. Just don't expect it next time, you got that?” With that, Hun stomped off, shoving past anyone who tried to talk to him outside of the ring.

But despite the harsh words, Lou just shrugged and headed towards Draxum, a smile already returning to his face. “Hey!” He waved, “So, I think I did pretty good in there.”

“Yes,” Draxum nodded, his voice slightly stiff, “You… Did well in there. Very well.” He inwardly scoffed at himself. That was only a mere fraction of the reaction he had to Lou’s fight, of the praise he wanted to give, though the rest would have to wait. “But I think we should head out to the car now.”

“Huh?” Lou raised an eyebrow. “You want to leave?” Did he get turned off by Lou showing off, or-?”

“I'm saying…” Draxum tried again, his cheeks a bit red now, “That we should go out to the car.”

Lou stared at him for a couple seconds before it finally hit him. “Oh. ... OHHHH.” He grinned. “Why, Benjamin~”

“Shut up,” Draxum hissed, his face burning now as he grabbed Lou’s wrist and dragged him towards the exit, with his date just barely managing to hold back his amused and excited laughter.

-----------------

“One roast beef, and one burger. Enjoy, you two!” Lou nodded, silently assuring that they would.

The two of them had decided to stop somewhere for a bite before heading back to Lou’s place, and as luck would have it, the diner they’d had brunch at a few weeks prior was on the way there. Even better was that the diner was pretty deserted for a weekday evening, which meant other than a couple whispering waitresses, there was no one to really bother them.

The ex-action star smiled as he picked up his burger. “Heh, nothing like a couple good spars and a great makeout session to get you hung- Ow!” The kick under the table wasn't very hard, but Lou still gave a pout. “What was that for?”

“It's just not really the type of thing to say in public, is all,” Draxum grumbled, blushing slightly again. He took a moment to brush some hair out of his face, his hair tie currently lost somewhere under the seats of his car. “Especially not for us. We’re not exactly teenagers, after all.”

Lou scoffed. “So what? We can still have our fun, can't we? Not too old for that. And it's not like there's too many people around to hear. ...Though, if they did, they would probably call us lucky, and I would say the same.” Draxum just rolled his eyes while Lou chuckled, finally taking a bite of his burger.

The couple ate in silence for a bit before Lou spoke up again. “I had fun tonight,” he told Draxum, his tone much more sincere now, “Thanks for letting me tag along.”

Draxum smiled back at him, swallowing his own bite of roast beef and mashed potatoes. “If you had that much fun, then I’ll remember to invite you along next time.”

“Yeah. It really wasn't that bad of a place.” Lou dipped a couple fries in his ketchup, looking a bit thoughtful now. “Maybe I could even take the boys there. Once they're older, of course.” Can't exactly have fights out in the backyard, after all. ...Well, you could, but it'd probably lead to a visit from the cops.

Draxum looked curiously at him. “Oh, so you are teaching them your fighting style?”

“Eh, sort of.” Lou gave a small laugh, shaking his head. “From the first time they saw one of my movies, they have been begging me to teach them. Perhaps they were a bit young for those films, and certainly too young to begin intense training. Not that something like that was going to stop them. I lost count how many times I caught them trying to spar with each other - and usually hurting each other or themselves accidentally in the process. Once I even caught Raph with a ladder.”

Catching Draxum’s look of concern, Lou quickly clarified. “It was one of those little kitchen ladders. More like a stepstool, actually. Still, it scared me enough to send both him and his brothers that were cheering him on to their rooms. Afterwards, I sat them down and we had a long talk, leading to the compromise that I would begin to teach them when each of them turned ten.” He then sighed slightly. “Still, you know how insistent kids can be. So, in the meantime, I'm teaching them tai chi as well as the very basics.”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded, “That seems fair.”

“Yeah, and it's actually been working out well. Tai chi actually makes for a very effective cool down exercise when any of them get into a fight with one of their brothers or have a meltdown over something. Plus, just learning different moves and techniques is just fun for them, no matter how simple they are.” Lou smiled to himself. With how enthusiastic they were at such a young age, not yet being bored or frustrated enough to quit, there was a good chance for martial arts to remain a long term part of their family.

His date smiled back at him. “Perhaps they'll grow up to be like their father, then,” Draxum commented.

“Heh, not exactly like me, hopefully,” Lou replied, “But yeah, maybe. It's like they say, you pass down who you were in life as well as what you knew during it. I just hope I'm passing down all good things.”

“I'm sure you are,” Draxum assured him, “Can't think of many bad things about you…” He stretched out his foot once again, this time gently brushing past Lou’s ankle rather than kicking it. Lou said nothing, wanting to use his mouth to take another bite of his burger instead, but returned the touch with his own foot.

Traffic slowed outside the window by their table, bright lights flashing by only occasionally. Some old 60s melody came up on the diner radio, further adding to the homey feel of the room. Once he was finished eating - for such a skinny guy, he could not only eat quite a bit but also eat it quickly - Lou rested the back of his hand against his drink, the water droplets from the glass of pop cooling the spots where light bruises were already starting to form. Switching his fork to his other hand, Draxum gently took Lou’s for the third time that night, lightly massaging it. And just like twice before, Lou didn't dare pull away.

Indeed, playful spars and showing cocky jerks who’s boss was pretty fun. But as it turned out, simply sitting at an old diner table, holding your date’s hand and just being able to peacefully exist with them was just as nice.

"...Would you like to join in on one of our tai chi sessions?" Lou asked suddenly, "We usually do it early weekend mornings, so I can understand if you would want to sleep in, but..."

Draxum personally didn't know much about tai chi, yet it didn't seem to matter. "Count me in," he answered, and the two didn't hesitate to seal the agreement with another kiss.

I'm admittedly not a huge fan of TMNT 2012 - though if any of you like it, it's fine, glad you could find more enjoyment in it than I could - but I thought including Hun from that incarnation could be a fun little easter egg, plus he seemed to fit better than just a random no-name character. And of course, gotta have some Todd! Heh ^v^ Anyway, please leave a kudos and a comment if you can, I'd love to know what you guys think of this chapter and story as a whole, and i'll see you all next time!

[flightfoot]

Memories of Godly Selfishness Ch.4

So I meant to get this out by April Fool’s Day. Clearly I missed that deadline. Still, maybe it’s for the best. I ended up having more to say than I thought, and it’s more angsty than funny. 

“Why did I agree to watch this again?”

“Because it’s a marvelous educational film directed by and starring moi.”

Meg stared at me. I relented. “...and because you lost a bet.”

We’d arrived at Camp Half-Blood a few days ago to recuperate and sort out our next move. I’d been delighted to see my children again. If they tell you I blubbered like a baby and couldn’t string three coherent words together though, they’re lying.

The Demeter Cabin welcomed Meg with open arms. She hadn’t had much chance to get to know her siblings due to... ah... circumstances, but from the tears in the corners of her eyes, I could tell she was happy to see her family too.

We’d each sat and ate at our respective tables and got to talking. I’d mentioned to my kids how proud I was of the orientation film I’d made, and how Meg had deprived herself of it. They had some weird screwed-up expressions on their face after I said that, which I still haven’t figured out what they meant. Austin came up with a brilliant idea to get Meg to watch it; have a small capture the flag competition between just the Demeter and Apollo Cabins. If we won, anyone who hadn’t already seen the Orientation film would have to watch it (both cabins insisted on that condition. Apparently both had seen it recently and didn’t want to rewatch it for some reason) while if they won, the Apollo cabin would have to muck out the Pegasus stables.

Naturally we won, because my children are brilliant and wonderful. The Demeter cabin put up a fair fight though. It took me half-an-hour to pick all the burrs out of my hair.

For some reason, the Campers acted like Meg was about to die. They all said that they’d work on making a shroud for her. I still can’t understand why. Sometimes I think I understand demigods, and then they do something like that. Perhaps it’s an inside joke?

In any case, the demigods had helped us set up the viewing equipment and then hastily left before the film could start, leaving just me and Meg.

The movie started with darkness, as all good movies do. A spotlight turned on, illuminating my divine self.

I nearly cried. My long, golden, flowing hair! My cheekbones! My flawless skin! My eight-pack abs! Oh, the cruelty of Zeus knew no bounds! He couldn’t have let me keep my hair at least? The medium-length hair I was now sporting was no good for flipping dramatically, or waving majestically in the breeze! Ah, and that chiton I was wearing. I could never pull it off in my current form, but it showed off my muscular godly thighs so well!

On the screen, I held out a book. I cleared my throat, “A poem by Apollo, recited dramatically by... Apollo:

O Immortal Chiron, Centaur wise and true, Trainer of our heroes, Just remember who taught you. “

Speaking of heroes....

I glanced at Meg, gauging her reaction to seeing my divine self. Her eyes were wide with shock, her mouth slightly agape. “That’s YOU?!” she exclaimed, looking back-and-forth between my appearance on-screen, and now.

“Yes,” I said wistfully. “That’s what I normally look like... mostly. I change things a bit, sometimes appearing older, sometimes younger, changing eye colors and hairstyles too, but that’s a pretty typical look for me.”

She studied me some more, looking less shocked and more inquisitive now. “You look nothing like that now.”

I groaned. “I KNOW.”

She looked back at the screen with some trepidation, as I gave narration. “You’re not gonna bend over, are you? I don’t wanna see your butt.”

I huffed. “I’ll have you know, my butt is perfect.”

“Don’t care, don’t wanna see it.”

I grumbled a little, but secretly I agreed. I’d seen enough of my butt when the gigantic statue of me - with Nero’s face plastered on it - rampaged around Camp Half-Blood.

The next segment started up a few minutes later. This time I was dressed in a glittery suit and my hair was slicked back. An a cappella choir of demigods stood behind me, all dressed in suits. I pointed to the boys and then the girls side, directing them to start singing the background tune I needed. In the present day, I appreciated their ability to harmonize. Clearly none of Hermes’ children were in this segment. I still remembered Cecil’s complete inability to follow rhythm when we needed to appeal the Mama Myrmekes.

After they were properly warmed up, I announced:

“Ladies and Gentlemen... the Lyre Choir!”

As the choir sang a soft, slow background melody, I began singing.

“Marble may be marble-lous,

And wood might be good.

Stone’s a sturdy choice,

for this half-blood neighborhood.

But for my children’s cabin,

I demand something more divine.

so give me precious metal,

and make it GOLD every time!”

I hummed along to the melody. I’d forgotten I’d put in musical segments, but I was glad I did. Nothing could make an educational film entertaining like music!

[Everyone sings]: Gold, gold, gold, gold - there’s nothing quite so bright!

Gold, gold, gold, gold - it reflects Apollo’s might!

I stared at my hands for a moment at that one. I certainly didn’t feel mighty now. And not just because I’d lost my power. I hadn’t been able to protect my children. They’d been kidnapped because of me. Jason had died because of me. The Emperors were still out there, still intent on subjugating all the demigods, like how Nero kidnapped Meg. And Python, my old nemesis, still waited for me, plotting my destruction.

But even if I’d still been a god, what would have changed?

I would have gone after Python, scared as I was of him. I would have defeated him or died trying.

But not much more than that.

Maybe I would have intervened when my own children went missing - if they went missing. That had at least partly been to bait me. I could see leaving a hint to their location, assuming I knew where they were.

I wouldn’t have intervened prior to that. Demigods go missing? Who cares! They go missing or die all the time.

The battle at the Waystation? The struggle against Caligula on the boats? Maybe I would’ve watched. But I wouldn’t have intervened. For all my supposed might, for all the difference in power between my godly self and my mortal self, My mortal self had done more good, made more of a difference than my godly self would have. Just because I was more powerful as a god, didn’t make me mightier.

It reminded me of a story my old friend Aesop told me, about a miser and his gold.

A miser had acquired some gold and buried it in the ground. He visited it for years, digging it up to stare at it and then re-burying it. One day it was stolen. Grief-stricken, the miser cried and wailed, making such a fuss that a traveler stopped by and asked him what was wrong. The miser confessed that someone had stolen the gold he’d hidden. The traveler had asked why he put it in such an inaccessible place, where he’d have difficulty getting it out when he wanted to spend some. The miser, affronted, replied that he’d never even think of spending his gold. At that, the traveler had tossed a stone into the hole, and told him to cover it up, that it had just as much worth to him as the gold he’d lost.

I had not appreciated the moral when I first heard the story. After all, the gold was lustrous and valuable. The stone was not. Even just possessing that gold made the miser feel powerful and rich.

Now I had another view on it. My divinity was like the gold, hidden away, jealously guarded, to be obsessed over, not used. Even as a god, an Olympian, I had done little good for my children, or the people I now counted as my friends. I had power, but I’d hardly used it to help, even when the problems plaguing the demigods were divine in nature, not mortal.

Now... now it was like the gold was stolen, and replaced with a handful of drachma. Not nearly as valuable as the gold, but every piece was actually being used to better the world, instead of being merely stared at.

I was mightier now, as a mortal, than I had ever been as a god, because I was willing to try my hardest to help - something I would either not do as a god, or not do much of.

[Divine!Apollo cuts off the choir, restarting his solo]

Silver suits my sister,

But unattended, it can tarnish.

Roofs of thatch are fine, I guess,

But why not add some varnish?

Vines of wine are creepy,

Meg snorted and rolled her eyes at that one, giving a look as if to say ‘Really? you said that’? Out loud, she said, “Wine isn’t a vine. And grapevines aren’t creepy.”

And abalone smells like fish,

As my divine self continued singing, I replied, “I needed a rhyme. And they are creepy. Why, I remember this one time with Dionysus...”

She shushed me. On the one hand, I was annoyed that she didn’t want to hear my story. On the other hand, it meant that she wanted to hear my singing.

Hah! She could claim she didn’t like my singing as much as she wanted, but I knew the truth.

Red’s too strong a color,

And gray is boring-ish.

That’s why my children’s cabin,

Is made of something more divine.

I’m worth that precious metal -

So make it GOLD every time!

[All] Gold, gold, gold, gold...

I saw Meg mouthing along to the last line. I tactfully did not mention it.

Another segment started up. This time, I wore a white T-shirt, jeans, a leather jacket, and some awesome-looking sunglasses. I lounged on a throne beneath a neon sign proclaiming “Fortunately Apollo’s Here!”

I frowned. What was this segment about?

On-screen, my godly self shouted, “Next!”

A female camper entered and asked, “O, Great Apollo, god of prophecy, tell me, will I ever find love?”

“Find love? I didn’t know it was missing?”

Beside me, I heard Meg groan as she buried her face in her hands.

Meanwhile, I winced at the reminder of my being the god of prophecy... or rather NOT being the god of prophecy.

Back on the film, I cried out, “Next!”

A male camper entered this time.

“O, Great Apollo, god of prophecy, tell me, will I ever be rich?”

“What’s your name, child?”

“Albert, Great Apollo.”

“Well, Albert Greatapollo, I foresee only one way for you to be rich...”

“What is it?”

“Change your name to Richard.”

At that, Meg let out an even LOUDER groan. “You make such dad jokes.”

I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but I had the feeling I’d just been insulted.

A second male camper entered and asked, “O, Great Apollo, god of prophecy, will I ever discover who my godly parent is?”

“Dear child, the answer is right in front of you.”

“Really? Where?”

My divine self stood up and spread his arms, “Right in front of you.”

“I don’t get it. Am I missing a clue?”

“You’re missing a clue alright. One might even call you clueless!”

Meg frowned slightly as the segment ended. “You hadn’t claimed him before that?”

I frowned, hoping I could remember the child. Luckily, my memory felt like cooperating. “I’d claimed him years before that. This was all scripted, he just pretended not to know I was his father.”

Meg nodded, the frown disappearing from her face in favor of a thoughtful expression.

In another segment I jogged backwards across the beach, shooting arrows from my favorite golden bow, campers in full battle gear jogging behind me in military formation. I flashed a blinding smile at the camera as my golden hair flowed behind me. In the present, I bit back a sob.

My godly self began a rousing military chant, the campers repeating each line:

“I don't know but I've been told!”

“We don't know but we've been told!”

“The sun god's got a bow of gold!”

“The sun god's got a bow of gold!”

“He's the best shot in the land!”

“ He's the best shot in the land!”

Suddenly, my godly self tripped and landed on his butt. Meg erupted into giggles. I couldn’t help joining her. At the time it was kinda embarrassing, but with what I’d been dealing with the last few months, I was kinda used to that now. And it WAS pretty funny.

“ Augh!  I've fallen in the sand!”

No longer being able to follow my godly self, the campers improvised, jogging n circles around me instead.

“ Augh! He's fallen in the sand!”

“ I meant to do that, so don't laugh!”

I snorted. Like anyone had actually believed that.

“He meant to do that, so don't laugh!”

My divine self attempted to get back up. Key word being ‘attempted’. He fell back down on his butt.

“Ow! I hurt my godly calf!”

At this point, both Meg and I were guffawing so hard our sides hurt. I couldn’t BELIEVE I left this in, but I was glad I did. I needed a good laugh, even if it was at my own expense.

“Ow! He hurt his godly calf!”

My godly self glowered at the campers and started to glow. The laughter died in my throat. “If you want to live another day ...”

“ If we want to live another day ...”

My godly self glowed brighter. I sat back heavily, mirth forgotten. Meg had also quieted down, choosing to glare at my past self. I joined her. REALLY? There just HAD to be an appearance of stupid murderous Apollo. I highly doubt I would actually have hurt those campers, but THEY didn’t know that, and I wasn’t COMPLETELY sure I wouldn’t have. Gods I was a jerk.

“STOP REPEATING WHAT I SAY!” my divine(ly stupid) self shouted.

“STOP - um... “

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least they knew better than to purposely antagonize my godly self. I really, REALLY wished I could reach through time and smack myself. A lot.

Meg was quiet.

I looked over at her, worried.

"I shouldn't have said those things."

Meg looked back at me. "Yeah. You shouldn't have. It was stupid."

"I won't do it again," I promised.

Meg's face softened slightly. "I know."

New segment, this time with myself as a game show host. I stared longingly at the open shirt, bright gold lamé jacket I wore. Oh how I wished I could wear some of my old attire! Alas, glittery golden lamé anything had fallen out of fashion for some inconceivable reason. I’d tried to convert Meg to the lamé side, but she kept misunderstanding and thinking I was saying “lame”. ...Or she was teasing me. I honestly wasn’t sure at this point.

I (by which I mean my godly self) opened up the segment:

“Welcome to our first annual Camp Half-Blood quiz show! Please give a warm welcome to our contestants. From Athena cabin... Bea Wise! From Ares cabin... Arnold Beefcake! And representing our cloven-hoofed friends... Ferdinand Underwood the satyr!”

Wait, what?

Underwood? Like GROVER Underwood? 

I perked up, listening intently. 

Meg leaned towards and whispered, “Is he related to..?”

I whispered back, “Probably. Shh.”

I was still talking on-screen. “Contestants, you know the rules. I ask a question. If you know the answer, ding your bell. Are you ready?”

Wise tapped her temple. “I think, therefore I am.”

Beefcake flexed. “Do your worst!”

Ferdinand, meanwhile...

“Um, I ate my bell.”

Meg giggled. I smiled. Ah, satyrs and their insatiable appetite. That’s one thing Grover had in common with his maybe-relative!

On-screen, my godly self cried, “Excellent! Then let’s begin. First question. Name the serpent I slayed.”

I sat back and scowled. Really? Did I HAVE to remind myself of Python? It’s not like he occupied my nightmares enough already. Nope. He HAD to crop up during the day too. That serpent, always popping up when he wasn’t wanted. For a moment I fantasized about asking Hephaestus to make some sort of serpent-killing machine. Alas, there was no way it would be that easy.

*Ding ding*

Bea hit her bell. Of course she did. Athena’s kids were usually the most knowledgeable of all the demigods. She had this in the bag... right?

I frowned. That didn’t seem right... I couldn’t think of what happened though. I stopped trying to remember and just watched. It’s not like I’d have to wait long for answers.

“Wise?” my divine self called on her.

 “That’s not a question.”

I snorted. That also wasn’t an answer.

My past self agreed. “Sorry, ‘That’s not a question.” is incorrect.”

“No, wait, I meant-”

*Ding, ding*

“The serpent was Python!” Beefcake declared. 

“Correct!”

Beefcake flashed two thumbs up. “Ayyyyy!”

“Next question-”

Ferdinand chimed in. “So should I just say ding-ding if I know the answer or-”

My godly self ignored him. “Who falsely accused me of flaying him alive after a music contest?” 

Really? WHY would I bring that up? Especially since it was my fault I was ‘falsely accused’ of that anyway. I spread that rumor in the first place! I hadn’t wanted people to think I was ‘soft’. Nowadays I regretted it and had been trying to quash it. 

Ferdinand’s eyes went wide. He withdrew slightly, looking freaked out. Scared.

I felt terrible. I should’ve known that would freak him out. Why did I include that question, KNOWING that I would invite a satyr?

Of course I knew the answer to that. I hadn’t cared. A satyr was scared. So what? Why should I care about his feelings? 

Heck, even AFTER I’d turned mortal, I didn’t care much for a while. I’d freaked out Woodrow. I hadn’t meant to, but me being in his class, playing music, caused him to beg me to not flay him. I’d reassured him at the time that I wouldn’t, but I hadn’t really absorbed WHY he’d been so freaked out. Now I did. I was the satyr’s boogeyman. I didn’t want to be. Not anymore.

What could I do to change that?

Maybe I should ask Grover. I was planning on apologizing to him for that Celedon business anyway. Now I had two more things to add to the list. Ask about Ferdinand so I could apologize to him, and come up with a way to put the satyrs fear of me to rest.

Ferdinand blanched, “Blaa-blaa!”

My godly self ignored Ferdinand’s freak-out. Of course he did. “I’m sorry, ‘Blaa-blaa’ is incorrect. Also, you didn’t ring in. The correct answer is Marsyas the satyr.”

Wise was indignant. “Hang on! I knew that! You didn’t give me a chance to answer!”

“He thought he was so great on those stupid twin pipes, but I sure showed him.”

I glared at my past self, wishing I could shoot lasers from my eyes into the past. Sadly, nothing happened.

Beefcake cheered, “Yeah, you did!”

Wise was annoyed, “I thought you were falsely accused.”

Ferdinand continued freaking out, “Blaa-blaa!”

I felt a pang of guilt. I REALLY hoped this part wasn’t dragged out much longer.

Mercifully, my past self gave me a break. “Final question: Do you know what time it is?”

*Ding-ding*

Wise looked at the sun’s location, clearly using it to tell time. “Two twen-”

“It’s dancing time!”

My godly self ripped off his jacket and shirt and started Hula-hooping.

“Hit it boys!”

Satyrs danced in, flailing ribbon sticks, playing reed pipes, and cavorting around my divine self.

Meg stared at the scene. “This is SO stupid.”

I just grinned. 

Beefcake was thrilled “Oh yeah!” He ripped off his shirt, twirling it in the air. “Now it’s a party!”

Wise rubbed her temples, thoroughly exasperated. I’d seen that same look on Athena’s face several times, along with her descendant’s faces. I had long been convinced that it was as much an Athena trait as overly detailed plans were. “I can’t believe I studied for this.”

“Ding-ding?” Ferdinand chimed in as the segment ended.

“That was awful.”

“Well the style was a little... dated, I admit, and maybe it COULD have been more informative, but...”

“Nope. Don’t try to save it. That was horrible.”

Okay, yeah, I could see where she was coming from. Looking back on it now, it wasn’t really the BEST way to present the info. I winced. Especially since most of it came off as an ego trip for me.

It wasn’t just the style of the video that was outdated anyways. Between Thalia’s tree, the Golden Fleece, all the additional cabins and the new rules regarding gods claiming their kids (I winced slightly, thinking of that one. It REALLY shouldn’t have taken a young demigod FORCING us gods to claim all our children and to give recognition of non-Olympian demigods), the Athena Parthenos, and the Grove of Dodona, there had been a LOT of changes. Not to mention the existence of the Roman camp.

Hmm... if it needs an update...

“Well... when this quest is over, if I survive, why don’t we make a NEW orientation film?”

Meg looked over at me cautiously, though her eyes glinted slightly. “This won’t be an excuse to stroke your ego this time, right?”

“Why, I never!” I cried dramatically, clutching one hand to my chest. “I am the pinnacle of modesty, I would never dream of it!”

Meg giggled. I grinned.

Still smiling, she warned, “I’m not sticking around if you rip off your shirt.”

“But I pull it off so well!”

She stared at me.

“Fiiiiine,” I crossed my arms and pouted. Secretly I was happy we could relax and banter like this. The past few weeks had been stressful. We needed to decompress.

“Maybe we should get everyone’s help with the new video?” Meg suggested.

“I was planning on it,” I replied, slightly more seriously. “Being mortal has shown me that there are some things you don’t realize are important unless you’ve been in that situation. The demigods will probably have a better idea what sorts of things other demigods need to know, the sorts of things they WISH they knew when they started camp.”

Meg nodded.

I grinned, adding, “We’re keeping the Hokey Pokey border song, though.”

She groaned, “It was TERRIBLE, no!”

“Oh, come on! I saw the way you smiled while I and the demigods were singing it. ‘It lets the demigods in! It shuts the monsters out! It keeps the half-bloods safe, but turns mortals all about! It’s Misty, and it’s magic, and it makes me want to shout: the border is all about!”

Meg covered her ears, steadfastly ignoring my existence as we exited the Big House.

A few hours later, I stood near the Woods, watching Grover chat with some dryads. Meg had offered to come with me for this, but I’d turned her down. I wanted to have a private chat with Grover. Besides, I didn’t want to eat into her time with her siblings. She hadn’t gotten to know them very well last time, and I didn’t know how much longer we’d be here this time.

Whatever chat Grover was having with the dryads appeared to be winding down. I approached him.

He turned around. “Apollo? What is it?”

I sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled. No need to be nervous. I was just apologizing to a friend.

“Grover? Can we talk in private? Please?”

He looked confused and a little worried. “Um... okay. Where do you want to go?”

“My kids are all out right now, so we can use the Me cabin... if you’re okay with that.”

Silently he mouthed ‘the me cabin’, looking confused. Realization slowly dawned on his face. “OH. Oh right! That makes sense. Yeah, that’s fine.”

We walked over to the cabins. I fidgeted slightly. Come on, I apologized to Percy, and he’s MUCH more intimidating! This shouldn’t be so hard!

That had been more natural, though. I didn’t have to go out of my way to make it happen.

I closed the door behind us and turned to face Grover. 

“So Apollo, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. Yeah, that seemed like a good way to start.

He looked confused. “Um, for what?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “You know how I sometimes had flashbacks, re-experiencing the past?”

“Yeaaaah...?”

“Well lately, Meg and I have gotten sucked into flashbacks together, sometimes with others. First time it happened, we were sucked into my memories, and I saw how I acted as a god from an outside perspective. One of the things I saw was that quest I sent you and Percy on. You know, when you got back my Celedon for me?”

“Oh. Oh yeah, I remember that. Heh. It’s only been two years, but so much has happened...”

“Yeah...” they’d been through so much... “so I... just wanted to apologize for... you know... forcing you to go on a quest on your birthday.... and forgetting it was your birthday... and forgetting your name... and threatening to kill you if you damaged my lyre.”

Awkward. This was SO awkward.

He grimaced. “I was scared at the time. I really thought you might incinerate me. That was the WORST birthday I’ve ever had.”

I avoided his eyes, a lump forming in my throat.

“Still,” he continued. “It wasn’t that bad, as far as quests go. At least you made sure to choose people who could definitely do it without dying. And it’s nowhere NEAR the worst thing that a god’s thrown at us.”

“I’m... I’m not going to do that again. It wasn’t right to make you endanger yourselves when I could have done it just as easily. She was my responsibility, not yours. I’m going to try to stop other gods from doing that too. Endangering mortals unnecessarily, I mean. If I can’t stop them, I’ll try to help as much as I can. I... I’m sick of people dying needlessly.”

Grover blinked and studied my face, as if seeing me for the first time.

He exhaled, smiling slightly. “I am too. Thanks.”

I suddenly remembered the other revelations I came to while watching the orientation video. “Do you know where Ferdinand Underwood is? I rewatched the orientation video I made recently. I really freaked him out when I talked about Marsyas, and I wanted to apologize to him too.”

“Oh, uh... he’s not around anymore. Percy, Annabeth, and I stumbled across him years ago. Apparently he’d stumbled into Medusa’s lair and been turned into a statue.”

“My condolences.”

An long pause followed. How do you continue on from that?

Eventually I decided to just plow on through with what I was saying.

“I didn’t flay Marsyas. I just made that up to sound scary. You know that, right?”

“I wondered. After traveling with you for a week, I couldn’t imagine you doing that.”

“I want to put that myth to rest. Stop satyrs from thinking that I’ll skin them if they offend me. And REALLY put it to rest, not the mixed signal thing I was doing before. Will you help me?”

He thought for a minute. “...Okay. I think I know how to do that. We can start now, if you like.”

Now?

“How do you propose I do that?”

He smiled. “Being a Lord of the Wild has privileges. The satyr school is having classes right now. We can talk to the teacher about allowing you to be a guest speaker. I’ll warn you, though. A lot of the kids will probably be scared of you. The Marsyas story is used to warn us about the consequences of getting on the wrong side of a god, starting from an early age. Some of them might freak out a little.”

My chest tightened. For a minute it felt like I was being squeezed by Python. I was used as a warning to kids, to tell them that they had to be good, or else the big, scary god would kill them slowly and painfully. I really WAS the boogeyman. I didn’t like it.

“I don’t... I don’t want to freak them out. I’ve caused them enough distress. Any advice?”

“Be gentle. Don’t get angry or upset. They’ll calm down when they realize that you won’t hurt them. Nowadays, you’re nothing like what we were warned of. They’ll realize that too.”

I breathed out, relaxing slightly. This was fixable. And I could start fixing it NOW, on my own. I could make things better even BEFORE I regained my godhood.

“Thanks.”

As we exited the Me cabin, Grover looked back at me. “I know I didn’t say this before, but... Apollo, you’re a good friend.”

A warmth filled my chest as Grover walked towards the Satyr school. 

‘You’re a good friend.’ 

I never thought those words would matter to me so much.

I’d change things with what little power I had.

I’d do my best.

But I didn’t have to do it alone.

I had friends to help me.

[tatselk]

PSOH Passage Hen: Chapter 4 “Degagement”

Back with another (long) summary/review of the PSOH Passage Hen chapters!

My summaries/reviews of the previous chapters can be found here: [1], [2], [3].

SUMMARY

1. This chapter began with Sofu D and Victor at Victor’s place. The two had just finished watching a musical performance by female Japanese entertainers (I think they are geishas?). These entertainers were in town for the Paris Expo and Sofu got to know them through the Japanese ambassador who was based in Paris.

2. They were abruptly interrupted by an old friend of Victor’s whom he hasn’t seen in half a year (who’s like a louder, scruffier and ruder version of Leon). I’m not sure what this guy’s given name is (might be Alphonse) so I will be referring to him by his surname Dubois. Dubois is an explorer/ hunter who is tasked by zoos and museums to bring back animals from all over the world. Dubois brought Victor a frog as a present from his most recent expedition to the Guiana Highlands.

3. At some point, Dubois made some disparaging remarks about pets being mere playthings and compared them to the entertainers whom he sees as overly servile in pandering to men. He also added that he preferred strong pets and women whom he could spar/ do battle with. Sofu smirked and said that the petshop can offer that.

4. Sofu, Victor, Dubois moved over to the petshop. In the underground tunnels of the shop, they came across a Japanese-looking wooden house. As they went in, arrows and shurikens suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Sofu presented Dubois with a katana and Dubois was thrown into a sword fight. After being quickly defeated, everyone (other than Dubois’s opponent as she was still a novice) sat down to a banquet where it was revealed that Dubois’s opponent is one of the abovementioned entertainers, who is also a warrior.

5. We cut to the novice entertainer/warrior (Nadeshiko) who is in the petshop backroom telling one of the petshop trainers from Chapter 3 that she doesn’t want to go to sleep yet and that she wants to attend the banquet. The petshop trainer chuckled and said that the Little Princess was still too young. Nadeshiko protested that she isn’t a kid anymore and that her elder sisters and deceased mother were already married at her age.  

6. The petshop trainer’s younger brother, Lou (the male escort/ hyena who also appeared in Chapter 3) appeared and teased Nadeshiko about being a kid. The petshop trainer told Lou off for teasing Nadeshiko and informed him that Nadeshiko is a special guest whom Sofu entrusted to her to mould into a proper married lady. Nadeshiko bowed down before the siblings and requested for their guidance in becoming an outstanding woman. She also mentioned that she left Japan for her family’s honour and for herself to avenge her father’s death.

7. We cut to Sofu and Victor who are out on a walk. They met Japan’s ambassador, who was busy overseeing the construction of the Japanese site at the Paris Expo. Dubois also turned up: he was involved in the Paris Expo as there was a plan to exhibit rare animals from all over the world at the Paris Expo. A long discussion re: animals, mythological creatures, the expedition to the Guiana Highlands, cultural differences ensued. At one point, Dubois mentioned that when Japanese people said “We will handle it in the appropriate way. Let’s discuss it tomorrow.”, they really just meant “no”. Sofu noted that this is similar to what Chinese and Korean people do. At the end of the discussion, Dubois asked Sofu to arrange for a meeting between him and Nadeshiko. Sofu simply smiled and said, “I will handle it in the appropriate way”.

8. We then cut to Nadeshiko who is learning how to arrange flowers. Distracted by her thoughts on Dubois, Nadeshiko made a mess of the flowers she was arranging and stomped off. Nadeshiko asked the petshop trainer for permission to go out onto the streets to look for the man who killed her father. But the petshop trainer basically told her “no” in a roundabout manner.

9. The scene cuts to Dubois who was trying to find his way around the Parisian underground tunnels. Undeterred by Sofu’s diplomatic refusal of his request to meet Nadeshiko again, Dubois decided to sneak into the petshop at night to meet her. At one point, Dubois was attacked by what looked like cat-fox hybrids with bat wings. Just when it looked like Dubois was going to be eaten alive by these hybrids, Nadeshiko turned up and put a stop to things.

10. Dubois was about to launch into a conversation with Nadeshiko when they heard voices of people(?) who were frantically looking for Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko grabbed hold of Dubois and dragged him away to escape them. They eventually emerged above ground near the Luxor Obelisk. Nadeshiko bandaged Dubois’s shoulder injury for him and they talked abit about the moon and Japan before coming to the main point. Dubois got all excited when he heard that Nadeshiko wanted to meet him again. BUT it turned out that Nadeshiko wanted the chance to spar with him again because she enjoyed the challenge. So Dubois asked if she wanted to try a different kind of challenge.

11. We cut to the so-called challenge which Dubois proposed, which is… essentially going out on a date at a café. Which happened to include a near kiss by Dubois disguised as an attempt to lick cream off Nadeshiko’s face. Which resulted in Nadeshiko drawing her katana and preparing to attack him with it. Dubois only managed to avoid serious injury to himself for the second time that evening with the intervention of Lou.

12. Back at the pet shop, a Serious Conversation took place between Sofu and Nadeshiko. Sofu reminded her of her mission and of how she had to return to Japan to get married to her fiancé or else her family would be destroyed. He also asked her not to get too chummy with Dubois. Nadeshiko said not to mention Dubois since it gave her a stomach ache just thinking about him (seems that she just has a crush on him but she doesn’t understand it as such) and abruptly went off to bed. The petshop trainer and Lou turned up to tease Sofu about not knowing how to handle a young girl like Nadeshiko. Sofu dropped an ominous-sounding line that he was alright with her crush if it would bring her happiness BUT that she cannot be with Dubois. HMM…

13. Sofu and Victor are at the Japanese site of the Paris Expo again. They admired a vase with a very life-like crab carved on it and the Japanese ambassador mentioned some belief that objects will come alive/ gain a soul when they have reached 70 years old. Some discussion about religion ensued. As Victor and the ambassador turned away and walked off, the crab on the vase waved to Sofu. Sofu shushed the crab and walked away whilst looking back with a fond little smile. After leaving the site, Sofu and Victor had tea at a café. Sofu was pissed at Dubois taking advantage of Nadeshiko whilst Victor tried to smooth things over and apologised on his friend’s behalf.

14. We cut to the petshop backrooms with Sofu telling Nadeshiko that Dubois wanted to invite her to his house to apologise for his behaviour. She was reluctant to do so until she was goaded into it by the petshop trainer and Lou who asked if she was too scared to face her enemy.

15. Sofu, Nadeshiko and Victor are off to visit Dubois’s place in the countryside! Dubois greeted them whilst dressed formally. Sofu began picking at what he sees as Dubois’s inadequacies but Victor quickly distracted him with desserts. This left Dubois and Nadeshiko to talk to each other in peace. Dubois then showed Nadeshiko to a room full of weapons, told her to take her pick and they happily began sparring with each other.

16. In the middle of their sparring, Dubois suddenly confessed his feelings for Nadeshiko and asked her how she felt about him. Nadeshiko mentioned that she had a fiancé in Japan and that it was her duty to marry him since she was the only female left in her family etc. Things took a dramatic turn when Dubois pinned her down and said that he always gets what he wants. In turn, Nadeshiko punched Dubois, held him down with her katana against his neck and told him that she would choose her own husband and then… kissed him full on the lips. Wow ok. (blinks)

17. Sofu and Victor overheard shouting and quickly went over to the weapons room. They found Nadeshiko standing over Dubois and looking as though she had drunk his blood. Nadeshiko ran off into the woods surrounding the house and Sofu chased after her, where it was revealed that she is actually a wolf.

18. We cut back to the house where Victor was helping Dubois up. Dubois was confused as to what happened because he thought things were going great with the kissing so he stuck his tongue into Nadeshiko’s mouth and got bitten by her. Even Victor was kinda done with Dubois at this point. Lol. Also, Dubois seemed to like Nadeshiko even more now than he had seen her fighting spirit…? But anyway, we discover that what really freaked Nadeshiko out wasn’t really Dubois’s forwardness but him showing her his collection of taxidermied animals. We then cut back to Sofu/ Nadeshiko where she was crying about how Dubois was the one who killed her father (a wolf in Dubois’s taxidermy collection).

19. Back at the petshop after the visit, Nadeshiko was still upset over her discovery about Dubois. But Nadeshiko pulled herself together, declared that she would avenge her father herself and asked Sofu to pass an invitation to Dubois in which she challenged him to a duel. An intense discussion between Sofu and Dubois ensued with Victor desperately trying to keep the peace (and not have this blow up into something affecting France-Japan relations).

20. The duel between Dubois and Nadeshiko was an intense one. When Nadeshiko got knocked to the ground, she basically transformed into a wolf in her rage and bit Dubois on the neck. In turn, Dubois turned into a werewolf and then a wolf.  Victor freaked out and Sofu calmly explained that this was the Beast of Gévaudan which Victor had asked Sofu to show him (refer to Chapter 3). It turned out that one of Dubois’s great-great grandfather, who was like some beast who looked like a human, married a human woman and had a son with him. So Dubois is like half-human, half-animal I guess?

21. Just when Wolf!Dubois looked like he was going to kill Wolf!Nadeshiko by biting her on the neck, Victor shouted at Wolf!Dubois to stop. Wolf!Dubois realised what he was doing and licked Wolf!Nadeshiko instead, who licked him in return. They gradually turned back into human form and Dubois asked Nadeshiko to marry him. Nadeshiko looked towards Sofu who’s all, “Fine. Do what you want. -_-‘’”. The couple then turned back into wolves as they ran off happily into the woods. Victor shouted out his congratulations after them and told them to come back and look for him if they ever got cold or hungry.

22. Internally, Sofu ruminated and still had doubts about whether allowing Dubois and Nadeshiko to be together was the right thing to do. This then cut to the last page where it was stated that in 1905 (5 years after this story), the last male Japanese wolf died and the Japanese wolf became extinct.

THOUGHTS

1. I quite liked the overarching theme of dealing with cultural differences (e.g. communication styles, religious beliefs). But I thought more could have been made of these to contribute to the conflict between Dubois and Nadeshiko, rather than just more or less collapsing it into a “you killed my father and I will avenge him” storyline.

2. Heh, Sofu D just looked So Done with all the romance that went on in this chapter (at least 80% of his expressions were like this: -_-‘’). Whereas in Chapter 3, he was all supportive of Kalina’s goal to exact revenge on men by becoming a famed demi-monde. Now there’s the cold and disdainful Sofu I know from PSOH! XD

3. For the first time ever in this series, Victor looked like the Serious and Responsible One because Dubois is even more (ridiculously) frivolous and flirtatious than the self-admittedly hedonistic Victor.

4. Since I began reading this series, I was convinced that Victor is an adorable cinnamon roll. But with every chapter that I read, I keep getting MORE evidence of his cinnamon roll-ness. :) On a side note, the difference in the dynamics between Sofu/Victor and D/Leon seems to be that the former is like a Slytherin/Hufflepuff relationship whilst the latter is more of a Ravenclaw/Gryffindor relationship.

5. I am kinda fascinated with the winged cat-fox hybrids. Were they planted in the tunnels by Sofu to protect the petshop? Were the winged cat-fox hybrids the inspiration/ models for Sofu’s Q-chan form in PSOH?

[jerseycityrp-blog]

FULL NAME: Mackenzie Elena Harper GENDER: Cisfemale PRONOUNS: She/Her AGE: 28 BIRTHDAY: June 26th BIRTH ORDER: First HOMETOWN: Dallas, Texas RELATION: Full Sibling TYPE: Solo ORIENTATION: Pansexual/Homoromantic JOB TITLE(S): NYFD Firefighter and Personal Trainer   FACECLAIM: Lindsey Morgan

[ Religion cw, abuse tw, alcoholism tw, rape tw ]

Growing up on a meat farm, it was probably a dumb idea for Kenzie to fall in love with every single cow she met, but she just couldn’t help it. In fact, there was more than one occasion where she tried to sneak her favorite cows into her room. Fitting them through the door was next to impossible, but that never stopped her. She was a kind soul, and her heart was too big to ever stop caring. It made the things that Lou-Ann and Merle Harper put their children through that much worse.

Her love for her cows was a testament to how caring Kenzie had always been, and her determination to bring them inside just showed how hard-working she was from a young age. She always got straight A’s in school, never settling for anything less. Her mother loved this trait in her, but held her to an incredibly high standard because of it. If she ever dared to spend a night at a friends house, her mother would hold it against her for months. If she got an A- on a test, she’d get an hour lecture about how ‘if she just hadn’t slept at gina’s house three months ago, this wouldn’t have happened.’ Her mother had always been a little crazy, so she got used to it.

Being deeply invested in her religion, it left her with a warped sense of reality, and to save her daughters from sin, she held them to incredibly high standards. Fearing that they would become sinners, she began taking upon herself to make sure they were “clean”. Merle had never been much help, as he was often drunk. When he was sober he was an alright dad, but he would never tell his wife no, and truthfully he was more than often drunk, playing mean tricks on his daughters for his own entertainment.

The harshness of both parents made Kenzie colder as she grew into her teens. Not with her sister, but with anyone else, she was always blunt and to the point, and had no time for nonsense. Which lead to a lot of disappointing behavior, according to her parents. Playing football with the boys at school instead of hanging out at the mall. Starting fights with anyone who dared to annoy her.  And as she got older, she was sneaking into bars in a town or two over with a fake ID. 

This was behavior that her parents just didn’t tolerate, which meant a lot of lectures and punishments for her behavior, but as she grew stronger, she began to care less about what they thought. 

She was barely 14 when she had her first drink. She enjoyed it, really. All the attention, she was young and beautiful and all the guys wanted to buy her a drink. It was how she chose to rebel, quietly, in a way that only she knew about, but it was just as satisfying. She could play the good girl in front of her parents when she wanted, but was secretly meeting up with god knows who later that night. 

It was around her 17th birthday when things almost got out of hand one night, a guy who gave her a bad vibe just wouldn’t leave her alone, and while she was lucky and nothing serious happened, it was less than a month later that she read about the same guy being arrested for being a serial rapist. It was a bit of a wake up call for her, and it was when she started to take self defense classes. 

She really got into it, and fitness and in general. And when one of the guys she trained with started talking about taking the fire fighters exam, it caught her attention. She started training with him, and it was as if everything clicked into place for her, it was what she was meant to do. 

She decided she needed to be somewhere new, away from her parents so that she could really flourish. So she moved to Jersey City, deciding that being outside of New York City, where she was offered a job at the NYFD, would be cheaper. Now she’s been a firefighter for 9 years, and loves every second of it. However, the cost of living is still pretty high for a civil servant, so she continues to do personal training as well.  

Surprisingly, as she aged, she became more girly. It was probably due to her time spent flirting at the bars, she began dressing up more and doing her make up, but don’t be surprised to find her in sweats and a jersey ready to go out and throw the football around on her day off.

[hannahsmusings]

Lou

*his cheeks pinken when you say he deserved it, no one ever making him feel so deserving before in his life, only when he won tournaments or fights did his trainer ever give him any sort of praise, so hearing it coming from you made him emotional* Thank you. Really, thank you. I'm going to wear these constantly. *he takes one out and puts it on, it fitting so well, reaching out and booping your nose gently with the glove on, chuckling before continuing to admire them* These are so sick, babe. I'm gonna wear these for every fight... usually boxers have a 'lucky' set that they don't use for training or working out, but I've only ever had one set but now these will be my fight only ones, my good luck charms, and my old ones will be my trainers. Now I'll have a little piece of you with me at every fight. *he looks up at you shyly, his words being so cheesy and sappy but they were true, he knew he'd cherish these way more simply because you got them for him and now they'd always remind him of you* *he scoffs as you say he'd win anyways, brushing off his shoulder playfully, feigning cockiness* Yeah, you know me. MVP over here. I'm sort of the best boxer, I know. *he laughs, his loud boisterous one, his eyes crinkly as he finally puts the gloves back, setting them on the seat next to him* I can't wait to try them out. You just can't get mad if they end up with a little blood on 'em, Doc. 

_______________________

*eyes crinkle in amusement as you boop me on the nose, giggling and shaking my head, heart fluttering as you call me babe again and reassure me how much you liked them, feeling relaxed and so happy that you seemed to want to treasure them, it making me a little emotional that you’d want reminders of me when you fought and not wanting to read too much into what that meant but it felt so right* *giggles happily as you feign cockiness, rolling my eyes playfully but grinning as I felt this had started pretty successfully* *cocks a brow as you mention blood on them and shaking my head* As long as it’s not your blood, I don’t mind. *smiles warmly at you, knowing for a first day I was way too invested, reaching to sip my beer as a distraction from these intense thoughts* Thank you for this. *holds my drink to clink with yours* To a happy birthday and a happy Christmas. *grins*