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junova · 3 years

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𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞.

notes: howdy guys, it's been a while. i've been taking a break and finally starting writing again, yay. it's been a rough few months and still treading through it, but i hope you enjoy a piece of my heart with this one.

if it's any consolation, my heart broke while writing this. </3

pairing — boxer!steve rogers x fem!reader

concept — steve has to come with terms of you not wanting him just as much as he wants you.

wc — 6.7k+ [yeah...]

warnings: 18+, themes alluding to sex, emotional cheating, soft!steve, heartbreak, kind of unrequited vibe going on, over all ✨ angst ✨

Even if it was the thousandth time to watch his body move in the ring, you still were memorized by the way he moved. You were in complete admiration of how his hips flowed so fluidly through his punches. Just like always, he was aware of your presence as you stood next to Sam and Wanda, both of them with proud smiles on their faces as he defeated yet another opponent.

Watching as they raised his arm, declaring him as the champion, something he’d been striving so intensely for, the past few months. Even if his body was bruised and littered with the hits Rumlow had been able to mark his body with and not to mention the busted lip, making him taste the blood with nearly every swallow.

It didn’t matter because he had followed through with what he had set his mind out to do. The looks Rumlow was giving him after all the smack talk he had served him was satisfying enough. Even if he didn’t think you did, he saw you standing there alongside his friends, celebrating the win of his life.

He couldn’t but smile proudly at your presence, even if the disapproval you have against his lifestyle was well known between the two of you and everyone else in your friend group.

Steve knew you weren’t a fan of the injuries you brought home in your shared apartment, the nights you actually stayed there. With Jordan’s absence from New York, you’d been staying there more consistently than ever.

He would never admit it out right, but it made his heart full. With you home, he could protect and he worried wherever you weren’t there. Even if he knew you were fully capable of defending yourself if need be, it would always make him feel better when you were close to him.

Just like him, you could confess it even to yourself, but when you were back in the apartment you shared with Steve, you’d always felt safer.

He went straight to the locker room, to clean himself up as best as he could without making his friends and Tony wait too long. He’d usually go straight to them but the group took notice he held himself back when you were around.

The first match you went to and he came up with bruises running along both rib cages, a bloody nose accompanied by a busted lip, he immediately took notice of the way you cowered away from him. Barely even looking at him as you congratulated him. From then on out, he realized how much it bothered you to see him physically injured.

When you’d come, he’d always make sure to clean himself up before. It really worked out on the days he didn’t want to be around many people. Only the stragglers from the crowd would be left, and his friends who supported him nearly every time.

As soon as he made his way over to the group, he was met with Sam’s warm smile pulling him into a warm hug. You found yourself wincing as soon as Steve did. “Easy there big buy, bruises are still fresh.” Sam let up just a tad, before everyone was congratulating him. You stood back with Tony, watching the proud smile grow on his face as he watched his prodigy surpass his monumental goal.

“You should think about coming to more matches. He fights better when you’re here watching him.” You twisted your neck so you could see his coach more clearly who was standing right beside you. “I’m sure he plays just as well when I’m not here. I still watch them everytime, just from home when it’s too much for me to stomach.”

You looked forward away from Tony, Steve coming into your line of vision as Sharon, his ex who had surprisingly shown up to corral by his side, someone you’d hadn’t seen near him in the past few weeks since she’d been out of the country for work.

“His technique and endurance is the same, but his intensity always rises higher when you’re here. I’m not the only one who notices, maybe the only one bold enough to say it to you.” Tony spoke as watched the man he took in when Steve was just sixteen.

Truly, it made his heart swell with pride to see him reach the level of success he had been dreaming for him since the pair had met. Knowing Steve for the past five years, also made him hyper aware of the girl he never seemed to shut up about, not that you’d ever find out.

No matter how much Tony was dying to let the words slip off his tongue.

“I’m just happy to be here for him.” Keeping your words short as you watched Sharon move closer to him, her hand resting on his chest and he didn’t even move away from it. You tried to ignore the ugly shade of green rising in your chest, but with him it always seemed to show.

Not that you’d had a right to, you weren’t single or emotionally available by any means, but the thought of him being with someone who had hurt him so much made you more protective of him than you had a right to be.

“C’mon little dove, have you thought about why you’d rather stay in the dinged up apartment with Steve than be with your boyfriend of three years across the country?” He pressed harder, making sure you were careful of your response. “My friends are here and so is my family. I can’t just leave everyone I love behind.” Your gaze never left Steve’s as he finally was out of Sharon’s grip.

“Steve’s here, too. You sure it has nothing to do with him?” Part of you couldn’t stand there with Tony and lie to him because you weren’t sure what was the nature of your relationship with the boxer.

Thankfully, you were saved from responding by the devil himself as made his way over to the two of you. Much to your dismay, he had to get in a few more words before Steve was in earshot. “Just think about why Steve lives with you when he’s had more than enough to move out for a while now.”

Before you could even process the words leaving his mouth, your favorite man in the ring immediately has you wrapped up in his arms. Holding you so close and so tightly, not even caring if it put more pressure on his lungs than he wished.

“Congrats on the win, Champion. I’m so proud of you.” The arms you had around him were placed gently, too afraid to put any weight on the new bruises. Not to mention the old ones which were still healing.

Once he pulled away from you, just enough so you could look at him. He hummed at Tony and with one nod of his head he knew when the young boxer wanted to be left alone. More times than not, it is usually with you.

“I thought you weren’t coming tonight. Isn’t Jordan in town?” Not even when it was the biggest moment of his career thus far did he care to indulge in his victories. Always it seemed to be looking after you.

“Stevie, this is your night. We don’t have to talk about me — we’re always talking about me.” For a moment he almost bought your act until he looked into those dazzling eyes of yours, ones he never seemed to grow tired of in the past few years.

“I’m not happy unless you’re happy. So, if you need a night where we just watch romcoms and chow on cookie dough ice cream, you know I’m all yours.” Unknowing to the two of you, everyone of your friends was watching the encounter and still couldn’t believe you still were with your current boyfriend.

Or that Steve was just waiting for you patiently. Something that didn’t come easy for him around women. Before you, he didn’t really do relationships with women that didn’t end with him in their bed at some point. Somehow, much to everyone’s dismay, he managed to keep his interactions platonic with you.

At least in their eyes.

“No, Stevie. I’m fine. He just didn’t follow through this time. It’s not the end of the world, I’ll be fine. Tonight, I just wanna be by your side and celebrate you.” Although, he didn’t really believe you Steve decided he would let it go.

“Regardless of it, thank you for coming tonight. Means the world to me.” It really did. Even more so, when he felt like he was one of the reasons you were still in Brooklyn and not in California living with your boyfriend instead.

“Oh, hush bubba. You’re getting so soft on me and you haven’t even had a proper drink in you yet. Let’s just celebrate with our friends, yeah?” You kissed his cheek sweetly, before you were off to Bucky and Nat’s place to get properly fed and surely get Steve drunk off his ass.

It really was the elephant in the room you were choosing to ignore. The fluttering feeling of adventurous butterflies traveling to spaces you didn’t know existed. Everytime he pulled you close to his side or kissed your temple.

When Bucky would do something monumentally stupid, he would whisper a line in your ear humorous enough to hear you laugh. Even right now, when you knew he was exhausted, muscles sore and aching — Steve was still tending to whatever you needed.

In this moment, your body nestled between his legs as he draped his arm across your chest, letting him hold you close was exactly what you needed. Even if you tried to remove yourself several times because of the new injuries, he would never let you.

“What’s next, Rogers?” Steve watched as he craned his neck towards Sharon. You’d almost forgotten she was here, she’d been so quiet most of the night.

“A whole lot of rest and then in a few weeks, right back into training.” He spoke with pride because winning the title went hand and hand with defending it. “You should come to the club. Danielle’s been itching to see you, again.”

Steve grimaced, not just as Sharon’s words, but with how stiff your body became. The way you rubbed back and forth with the tip of your fingers against his forearm came to a halt.

You weren’t really sure what to do because now you felt horrible for even feeling like you had a right to be upset in the first place. Because you didn’t. You weren’t single and Steve was. In this space in time, he did nothing wrong.

When you followed Nat back into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine, away from him, it felt like he had made a mistake.

Just watching as you followed Nat up the pathway, in your pretty green dress, as you messed with the necklace adoring your neck. Something he learned you did when you were anxious.

“Why would you bring that up now? In front of her?” He was slightly pissed off she had driven you away and out of his arms. Steve would have you within his grip constantly if you would let him. Not that you did, but it was still a certain something he found himself wishing for. More than not though, someone else always seemed to hold your attention whenever he wasn’t in the ring.

Jordan. Tony. Sam. Natasha. Bucky. Wanda.

Tonight had seemed it might go in a different direction, until Sharon steered your mind elsewhere. One where you were a girl who missed her boyfriend. Or at least that’s what he thought.

Unknowingly to Steve, Jordan was the last thing on your mind, which allowed the guilt to settle in. Maybe, just this one time it was rightfully placed. The thoughts you were having scared you senseless — making you want to do something you knew you shouldn’t.

You just sat there on the padded bar tool as Nat grabbed a bottle of white with a bottle of red. Like time and time again, Nat read your mind just as she often did. “So, why couldn’t he come this time?” She drilled into you, her iridescent daggers as piercing as ever.

“He said he forgot his mother asked him to help her move out of the house. He said he’d make it up to me some other time.” Just like always.

But you held your tongue before voicing it to anyone other than yourself. It’d been months since you’d seen him in the flesh, and it was the first time he spoke to you in days when he informed you he’d been unable to spend any of his time off with you.

“He’s just never here and he keeps asking for me to move to Los Angeles, but my whole life is here. Before, he never seemed to really pressure me. He was always patient with me to travel at my own pace but I think he ultimately thought I would eventually go there with him.” You breathed out, scared of the truth dripping right out of you.

“I just-, you know what? Nevermind. It’s isn’t important.” She was never one to bite her tongue, but she found herself trying to when your feelings were involved.

“Tell me. What is it?” Your curious, bambi eyes peering into your soul, dying to pull the confession right out of her.

“Do you even miss him when you’re apart for so long? I’m not judging but it just seems like you’re okay. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but why don’t you ever go to him or Jordan to you?” Natasha spoke softly, afraid she might be poking the bear just a bit.

“Of course I miss him. I would see him if I could. I’m just a little too busy right now with work and my family.” You attacked back, feeling the need to defend yourself.

“Are you really going to make me say it?” With both bottles of wine on the counter, she went to grab three more wine glasses — for Sharon, herself, and you.

“Say what? What the hell are you talking about?” You pushed her as she put out the bottles of wine as she managed to link the three vines of the glasses in her left fingertips. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She was regretting it now, because maybe you weren’t quite ready to hear the words everyone else knew to be true. Anyone who was around the two of you could see it.

Perhaps, Nat never spoke a word of it because at the very least, she thought you wouldn’t be as naive to see his feelings. The ones he seemed to offer you on a silver platter, whether you wanted to reject or accept the offering, giving it to you wholeheartedly.

Following her out the patio door where the two of you stopped, not moving a step further. She didn’t really say anything either. Letting you bask in the glow before the fall.

He was laughing so hard, his hand clutching his chest as him. Golden hair shining bright by the fire pit, almost as

lively as his smile. Even if it looked like his spirit could have been beaten out of him tonight, he’d never show it.

When he had trouble keeping his eyes open, he’d force himself to stay alert because moments he could spend with ones he loved seemed too precious to pass up. Especially over the past few months — he didn’t even have to think twice about it.

Through the schedule Tony had him on, his life was eating, breathing, living boxing. Training every day in the gym, whether it be furthering his techniques in the gym to Tony making him regret any mistake he made in the ring.

Even some days he was just weight training when Tony told him he could rest. He couldn’t though. Not when he could taste the sweetness of his dreams on the tip of his tongues.

Every day, dawn till dusk, training consumed every moment of his time. Steve thought his body was restless before, but now? Nothing came even close to this.

Leading Steve to be blissfully unaware of what was actually going in that fantastically bold head of yours.

“Just spill it, Romanov.” You pressured her, but your eyes were too weak to redirect your directions elsewhere. Only Steve holding your attention at one.

“Remember when Steve left for Spain for three months with Tony?” Your body stilled, having a feeling you knew where this was going. Regretting you told her what had happened with Steve in the first after promising him it would just stay between the two of you.

“It was the year Jordan and I had split for two months.” The memory of what happened always clouding your better judgement. The way his eyes shined still haunted you. “Steve had already been there a month when it happened and the second I told him he insisted on flying me out.”

Looking at him fondly, across the greenery before speaking so softly as if he was right next to you, “I could never say no to him. I still can’t.” Nat tried to ignore it but she could see through the fog of your first love fading even if you were trying your hardest to avoid the inevitable heartache.

The care you held for him was oozing out of you, bursting and breaking at the seams. When you kept thinking of him more than a roommate, more than a friend.

“Dove, you can’t just keep pretending your feelings don’t exist. The more you try to bury the root deep the more it will grow.” You knew she was right, but you really didn’t want to hurt anyone.

You supposed you were already causing pain unintentionally. “His biggest insecurity is him. Jordan thinks I’m still here because of him.” You confessed, the ongoing fight no secret to anyone, really.

“Aren’t you?” Maybe if you had been a better liar, you could’ve convinced her but everyone could read you like the back of your own hand.

You hated the spotlight she was putting on you, but even more so because she was right. Moving forward with Jordan meant leaving someone else behind, something you couldn’t seem to prepare yourself to do.

“I love Jordan. He’s my first love and I thought he would be the greatest one, too.” You really want to stop the love and admiration flowing out of you, but you couldn’t choose who you love and maybe it was time for you to stop fighting it.

“Then, I met Steve. He responded to the ad I put out for the spare room in my apartment and we met for coffee.” If you had listened to your mother, her wishes of you not to be in the company of a man who was a complete stranger, you’d never meet the most important person in your life.

“He looked more like a boy back then. Clean shaven. No beard. Steve was still muscular, but not nearly as toned as he is now. But his eyes? They pulled me right in. Still do, every damn time.” You should have held some sort of shame, but you didn’t.

“You should do something about it, Dove. He isn’t going to be single forever.” Nat questioned as you followed her lead, back to the roaring fire.

“Nat, I love Jordan. I could never do that to him.” You really couldn’t, but you also couldn’t find it in you to move with him either. “I know you love him, but you aren’t in love anymore.” Growing closer and closer, back to the group, you saw him clearly.

“What do you mean?” Trying to ignore the pain in your chest as Natasha spoke. “I think you’re scared of ending it with Jordan. Dove. I’ve known you for a long time now and I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you do with Steve.”

The words spilling out of her lips left you a little broken — the truth spearing you through. She wasn’t wrong, not one bit. Nat never nearly was, especially when your feelings were involved. Steve had become such an enigma to you in the past year.

The line of platonic friendship and overflowing emotional intimacy was becoming too entangled for you to even comprehend.

“Just think about it. I just want you to be happy.” The rest of the night, it’s all you could think about. A few days passed and it was still in the forefront of your mind.

When Steve was walking home with you this week, you couldn’t stop wondering all the hypotheticals swarming inside your dreams.

He could tell, too.

You’d never been so quiet, not ever. He’d like to hear you, especially when you were drunk. Like you seemed to be now, at least to him but tequila that lit a fire in your chest a few hours ago was beginning to wear off. Just when the feelings you kept trying to avoid would seep there way back in like your furry, fat cat Thor when he wormed his body through the gate into the apartment.

“What’s wrong? You’ve seemed off this week.” You felt his hand kiss yours, but he didn’t bother to find it’s home. He’d been keeping his distance or at least been trying to. You'd been so vulnerable lately and the last thing he wanted to do was exploit that.

Ever since Sharon had made a comment about Danielle, and you escaped with Nat, something changed. You more guarded around him, more than you'd ever been since you met.

Steve knew there was a reason for it, but he didn't want to push you — not when it looked like you would combust into a breakdown at any given moment.

“I’ve just been thinking about where my life is going and where I want it to go.” You confessed, letting your words linger. “Jordan wants me to move with him to California and I’m running out of reasons to say no.” In perfect harmony, your eyes met his at the same time.

They weren’t joyful what his bright blues usually possess, but this time they were indifferent. Not even you could read them.

“Do you want to move there with him?” Steve asked you, his heart on the verge of dropping into his stomach. “If it will make you happy, you should.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, you watched him drift away from you.

“I don’t know. It might.” Both of you coming to a halt, walking up to the apartment the two of you shared.

“He’s insecure about you. It’s why he’s pressuring me.” The two of your bodies so close but so far away as you stood in the doorway. With a confusing gaze and pouty lips, practically guiding you into temptation.

“He used to always tell me you were in love with me. He was fully convinced, still is. I never thought so. You were just my best friend, that was it. I just never really thought about it unless Jordan brought it up.” You would have loved to blame your sudden outburst on the alcohol, but it was something you'd been dying to do.

Before you never had the guts, but you a felt a pull towards Steve lately, like maybe there was something more trying to burst under the seams.

“I thought Tony was bullshitting me, fucking with me, but I didn’t ever give it a thought. Then, Nat brought up Spain.” Nights you told yourself were a mistake, but deep down it was the probably the safest you felt in a long time.

“What are you talking about? What did Tony say?” Fetching for the key, he slid it in before opening the door for you and following you inside. “Steve, why do you still live here?” Blushing cheeks and a string of incoherent words was all you could make out from him.

As he headed for the small couch, trying to make up an excuse good enough. One which you’d actually believe, he hoped.

“You make four times as much as me, if not more. For some reason, you’ve decided to stay in this shithole apartment — it doesn’t make sense.” He wished you would make sense of it, that way he didn’t have to say a word.

“Do you want me to move out?” He questioned, watching your movements. If you wanted him to move out, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

It was the last thing you wanted, but the line between your friendship with him was always blurred. Only now, when it was vaguely pointed out by the two people close to the both of you — it became more apparent than ever.

“No, I just, I guess I’m asking why. You know you’re more than welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, but this place is a dump, Steve. Why on earth would you wanna stay here?” When he looked up, where you stood above him having a hard time biting his tongue.

Because you’re here.

It’s what he wanted to say, but he didn’t have the right and he would just be an asshole if he put you in a compromising position. He already felt guilty enough with his feelings in the first place, he didn't need to pile on.

“I guess it’s just easier to stay. It’s so close to the ring and I’m maybe a tad too comfortable.” You sat next to him on the couch. Finding yourself trapped in the green of his eyes. “Don’t you want something better?” Maybe it was him or maybe it was you. Neither of you could tell.

The two of you inched closer until Steve was caressing your thigh, just with the tip of his thumb. “I’m more than happy with where I’m at.”

“Well, I’m asking because I need to go to California. Just for a bit. I need to see Jordan, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him.” He didn’t stop touching, not even with the mention of his name.

Even if it pierced him every time you talked about him. Or when Jordan came to town, he felt like he didn’t exist to you.

He didn’t blame you, not at all. Jordan was your highschool sweetheart, and you wanted so badly for it to work but something was holding you back. Something you were trying to let go of.

“He loves me so much and wants to start building this whole new life, but how am I supposed to tell him?” Steve said nothing, letting you sink into the ground.

“He’s been nothing, but kind and loving. Always there, always supportive. The best partner I could have asked for.” Steve laced your hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world, making butterflies erupt at full speed.

You couldn’t really pinpoint a moment when he started, but all you knew is how safe his warm, calloused hands made you feel. Since the moment you met, never failing to comfort you when needed.

“Then what’s the problem, Dove?” Steve questioned you, untangling his body from yours.

If he was going to help you, he needed to think and being so close to you wouldn’t get himself where you needed. Above all, you didn’t make any easier when a small whine left your throat — tugging at his heart strings.

“We never talk about what happened in Barcelona.” You watched his body tighten, muscles in his arm constricting.

It made him feel just as uneasy as it did to you. At least you could find comfort in that.

“Dove, there’s a reason for it. You and I both know it.” Steve was right. His self righteous sense of nature always kicked in when you wanted it the least.

“You don’t think about it? Because I do.” Pushing weight on his heart, you were very aware you held. You weren’t too naive to know just how much he cared for you, but coward enough to try and make him admit it first.

“You were broken up, things are different now. We’re home where you have a boyfriend and I have boxing.”

“Yes, where I have a boyfriend who wants me to abandon everything I hold close to me to join him without even bothering to ask me what I want.” You puffed out, exhaustion coming in overflow. “The past year, he hasn’t once asked me what I want.”

The boy with golden locks found himself wanting nothing more than to hold you in his arms, nurse you back to health with all the love he could offer.

But even he knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t keep on spreading himself thin over a woman who was so conflicted, so distraught she was collapsing within herself. If he wasn’t too careful, he might fall right beside you.

“Before we got back together, he asked me.” You confessed, feeling better as soon as the secret flew from your mouth. “He asked you what?” Steve pressed on, a bit terrified of it truly, but even he had to know.

“He asked if anything happened between us the months I was there and I lied. Ever since we met, he’s been insecure. He thinks I’m going to leave you for him and it wasn’t the first time he asked either.” You wish you hadn’t dealt with the two of them so poorly, but with the expression on Steve’s face you knew you had.

“He knows I lied and it hurts even more he stayed with me anyways.” Steve didn’t move, his fear keeping him still.

“I don’t know how to be his after you, but I don’t know how to let go of my high school sweetheart either.” You felt trapped, in between an impossible decision. An old love, who loves you past your mistakes, past the hurt and a soulful heart admiring you from where you’re at and nothing less.

“Those nights don’t have to mean anything if you don’t want them to.” He spoke softly, his beautiful orbs catching yours in the moonlight peeking through the window.

“They mean too much to me, that’s the problem.” If he didn’t move as you inched closer to his body, planting yourself in front of him, you could tell he was straining himself.

“Do you remember the first time?” He looked confused, wondering if you truly were bold enough to speak of something you shouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Your hand found his chest, feeling the pulse of his rapid heart beat. “I was so shy and timid the first time with you, but you guided me so well.” Too fond of the memory of him worshipping every part of your body.

The very thing he wanted to do since the moment he met you, but Steve wanted more than that. Now more than ever.

“You don’t have to remind me, Dove. I remember.” He swallowed deeply, trying to erase the permanent memory of your body writhing beneath him, moaning out his name, begging him for more.

He still found himself thinking about it. Those two months with you had just amplified what he felt even more because now he knew what it was like for you to wake up in his arms, bare skin against his own.

The way you curled into his chest, your arms wrapped around his waist for optimal comfort.

Or when he’d wake up before you, which was most days, he’d find you murmuring his name in your sleep while soft fingertips caressed your skin lulling you into a more peaceful slumber.

“I never forget, Dove. That’s the problem.” With one finger, he pushed back the hair falling in your face tucking it behind your ear. “I tried to move past it, I went on a couple dates with this woman, Danielle.” You already felt your heart clench at the thought of him with someone else.

“She’s kind, smart, and beautiful and she seems to like me. Sharon keeps bugging me to take her out again since she set the two of us up.” Steve was trying to talk calmly, but he couldn’t ground himself. Especially when you only seemed to pull back further from him.

It was weird that Sharon set the pair up, considering she dated Steve not too long ago but it seemed she could put her feelings inside if it was for your despair.

In her daunting eyes, you were the reason her and the promising boxer broke up in the first place. As cliche as it was, she offered Steve an ultimatum after six months of dating — her or you.

Steve picked you.

It wasn’t like he loved her at that point. He did care for her, but you just meant too much to him. When kind, iridescent eyes met his own for the first time Steve never was able to stop thinking about them. Or you for that matter.

Carefully calculated as Steve could be, he managed to trap you between the closed door of his bedroom and his toned body.

“But I want to hear you say something before I do.” His gaze never faltered for a moment as he played with the hem of the short slip dress adoring your taut figure.

Half of your mind was begging you to retreat into your room and forget the last time you’d been pressed up against him like this. The other half wanted to see what he would do once he knew you were in the palm of his hand once again.

You had a feeling he already did.

His beard was grown out and his silky, golden hair that almost reached his shoulders make him look even more deliciously sinful.

“What’s that?” You tried not to gulp loudly, but if you even made the slightest movement, he would notice. “Tell me you’re in love with him.” His soft thumb caressing your side, not sure if he was trying to soothe himself or you.

“Just tell me five years down the line, you see him right there with you. Just say it, so I can move on.” He couldn’t even look at you, he couldn’t take the inevitable. “Tell me we’re just friends and Jordan’s your future.” You met his eyes, the prettiest blues you’ll ever see.

Commanding your attention without even trying — every damn time. You weren’t sure what you wanted, but you knew seeing him hurt was chipping a piece of you away. Watching his arched eyebrows furrowed in distress, fine lines being made in the middle for proof.

Soft fingertips met his skin, smoothing out his furrowed brows, closing his eyes trying to remember what you smelled like. Just like Sharon reached her breaking point, he had too. Steve couldn’t watch you any longer without being the one you wanted without a doubt.

“Stevie.” You softly whisper, before pulling him into your arms.

Even if he was double your size, he let you hold him as best as you could. Comfort him even if you were the reason he’s breaking.

The strong, persistent boxer had been transported back to the sick and thin kid he once was before all the guns and glory came. Steve was right back to where he got rejected by anyone and everyone. A time and many places where no one gave a damn about Steve Rogers, not anyone he wished for.

You watched him untangle himself from you, but you weren’t sure just how much time had passed. A few minutes? Thirty? An hour?

Only time could tell and she wasn’t really on your side at the moment.

“I’ve only found love once. Back in high school, there was this girl, Hazel. She was kind, sweet, eyes that shined like fresh honey. The first person to ever show any interest in me and I was in love with the fact that someone actually wanted me.” Steve felt his heart clench at the memory he wished to forget.

“I truly believed I loved her with every fiber in me and I thought she cared about me too, until I realized she was just using me to get to Bucky.” You watched the distress wash over him again and you wanted nothing more than to make him feel appreciated and loved. Not rejected and forgotten.

“It broke my heart for months because I truly believed I was in love with this girl who I hardly knew.” He sighed deeply, like he somehow already was aware of the soft whisper of goodbye.

“It always kind of stayed with me, not ever feeling like I was good enough for anyone until Tony found me. Graduated high school and I started training dawn till dusk until I couldn’t anymore just to start all over and do it the next day.” He was looking everywhere but you. Even if there was not a thing in this damn hallway, but two pressured hearts.

“Not too long after, I met you and I remember thinking this is the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever met in my life.” Now, feeling like an absolute dick because you truly didn't deserve for this wonderful man to be in your life.

“You were so kind to me and you had no reason to be, but I learned it’s just who you are. This amazingly bright full beam, shining their light on everyone else — not paying attention to how much they give even if it’s everything they have.” Your skin felt hot beyond comparison, the passion in the words he spoke deeper than the memory of his skin against your own.

“I always tried to ignore it, how stupidly kind and thoughtful you are. How much you take care of me when you don’t have to. You cleaned my wounds for months without even asking me what I was doing.”

“I already knew you had a boyfriend, one you love very much, but I couldn’t stop myself from being around you. Now, I have to leave. I need to move on for me because I know how this ends for me — how it always has.” He sighed before walking away, leaving you hanging in every conceivable way. You didn’t notice the suitcase by the door before. Until he was walking out of the apartment with his possessions in hand — out of sight and out of mind.

“Wait!” He was already making it to his car, the old beat up pickup truck he couldn’t seem to get rid of when you reached him. “I just need time, Steve.” You’d been sprinting after him, until you caught up to him, making his attention fully focused on you.

“Jordan’s the only boyfriend I’ve ever had — I don’t know how to let him go.” You were crying because maybe, deep down you were hoping you could have your cake and eat it too.

“And you’re the only person I’ve ever been in love with, Dove. I can’t keep sticking around hoping you’ll wake up one day and feel the same.” He emptied his belongings in his truck before returning his attention towards you.

“Steve, don’t do this. Please. Don’t leave me.” You’d become so dependent on him, more than you realized. “You’re the only person who truly loves me and not for who they want me to be.” Trying to plead with him, but it felt like you were only pushing him even further away.

“Then tell me I’m the only one you want.” But all he was left with silence because you couldn’t and he already knew what you didn’t. He knew you hated change more than anything, that you’d rather stay in what was comfortable even if you were presented with a different option.

Someone you wanted more.

With tears in your eyes, you looked up at him like he was crushing you and there was nothing to stop the numbing feeling. He sympathized, maybe more than he liked to admit, it’s what he chose to live with over the past year. It started the moment he met you if he was truly being honest.

He knew there was nothing left for him, no matter how much his heart clenched at the sound of your cries. He couldn’t be the one who was always taking care of you, loving you, when you didn’t feel what he felt. It was splitting him open, and you just kept taking pieces of him away — parts of him you would hold forever.

He let you cling onto him one more time, begging for him not to leave you. He let you believe he wouldn’t as he calmed you back in a false sense of security. Until you were asleep in his soft sheets later that night, leaving you lonely in the home you’d been sharing.

With only half of his belongings with him, he pulled up to the project he had just completed. Even now, with not a single hope you would ever see it after he just abandoned you, there was still a light hope you’d be able to at least see it one day. If Steve was ever strong enough to face his heartbreak again.

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sockablock · 3 years

Link

When Essek's old alter ego is suddenly asked by Da'leth to work at Soltryce Academy, nine semi-retired adventurers are thrust back into a web of danger, intrigue, and wizardly shenanigans. (Surprise, surprise! I’m back with another Shadowgast WIP)

Chapter 1: The Worst-Case Scenario

Caleb watched Essek hover back and forth like a miniature, panicked storm cloud.

“This is ridiculous! It must be some kind of joke. We haven't had any contact for years, and now he expects me to believe him? What is he playing at?”

“Breathe, Essek, breathe. You will not solve this mystery by wearing a hole in—above—the carpet.”

“What?” Essek looked down, then stopped floating. “Oh. My apologies. I’m a bit…well, you know.”

“I would be too.” There was urging in Caleb’s voice. “Take a seat, Schatz. Let me see the letter.”

Essek obliged, handing over a crumpled scroll right before collapsing heavily into his chair. The fire of a cold late-autumn evening cast their den in gold and orange light.

“Does he explain himself?” Caleb turned the scroll the right way around. “Does he say why?”

“Has Da’leth ever done that?” Essek snorted. “All he wrote was that I—rather, that Thain, had been selected. And I only have two days to respond.”

Caleb waved his hand, and a glowing orb appeared. He brought it closer to the parchment. “May I?”

“Please.”

“To the esteemed Lord Dezran Thain of Nicodranas—good grief. He really isn’t subtle.”

“Tell me about it,” Essek said.

“Perhaps,” Caleb continued, “you are aware of the ongoing investigations into the Cerberus Assembly. If so, then perhaps you have also heard that Archmage Tversky and Archmage Margolin will be leaving our ranks by the end of the week—ah yes, Beau was quite proud of that.”

“She should be,” Essek said miserably. “It’s about time. Read the next part.”

“And so it falls on the surviving members of our organization to fill these vacant roles. We believe, for the safety and stability of our country, that the next Archmages of Conscription and Dysology should come from within the Empire; however, it has been brought to our attention that adding a Nicodranian mage to our ranks could be quite valuable. Such an alliance would strengthen our ties to the Menagerie Coast, as well as assuage any concerns that the Empire is isolationist or inflexible. Therefore, as we have been friends for some time—really?”

Essek made a face. “I would not have called him my ‘friend’ in any form, but we have known each other for a few decades. Unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately,” Caleb commiserated. He smoothed out the letter and found his place again. “—I wished to have the pleasure of informing you that on behalf of the Cerberus Assembly, you, Lord Dezran Thain of Nicodranas, have been extended the honor of replacing Archmage Margolin in his secondary capacity—as the distinguished and peerless Headmaster of the Soltryce Academy. Oh. My gods.”

Essek groaned. He had his head buried in his hands.

“You Identified this already?” Caleb managed eventually.

Essek nodded. “I wish I hadn’t.”

Caleb continued to stare at the letters. The fluid, curving script seemed to blur all together. “That’s…gods,” he said again.

“Agreed.”

“I…can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

Essek snorted. “Actually, if anyone could, it would be you.” Then something occurred to him. Suddenly, the hearth shone an odd color in his eyes. “This was delivered to our home. To this house, in Rexxentrum. Yours. That…bastard.”

Caleb was quick to understand. He took a deep breath, then reached over for Essek’s hand.

“Maybe it was just enchanted to find you wherever you are. Like a Sending spell.”

“I’d hate to think otherwise. That would mean—”

Caleb interrupted him out of mercy. “Every inch of our tower is warded from divination. Besides, you’ve adopted an endless array of personas. I don’t even think we’ve been seen together with you as Thain, not since the party years ago.”

“Still.” Essek rubbed his eyes. “The timing makes me think he knows something. That, and the fact that it’s for Thain, I mean—what has Thain accomplished? I don’t even remember telling anyone I was a mage!”

“That, ah…that might have been Jester’s fault. She really enjoyed adding to your personas. You needed a past, after all, otherwise you would have just appeared from nowhere.”

“So she told everyone that Thain was a famous wizard?”

“The best lies are often true,” Caleb shrugged. “Though I admit that she might have gone a little overboard. You know how much she likes to praise her friends.”

It was a testament to Essek’s troubled mood that he barely acknowledged this. Caleb squeezed his fingers. “They said…they did say you could reject them. And their political reasoning is not unsound. Maybe that is all there is to it—the Assembly needs someone to be the Headmaster, and they thought of you.”

Even after so many years of trying, Caleb’s reassuring voice still left some things desired. Essek shut his eyes.

“My love, the very idea that the Cerberus Assembly is even thinking of me is a nightmare.”

“Fair enough.”

“I just want to know why,” Essek muttered. “Why now? Why me? What is he after?”

“I don’t know,” Caleb said. “I wish I did.”

Essek suddenly turned toward him. “I—I hate to ask this, but can you find out? You know…ask our old friend the newest Archmage.”

“Ah.” Caleb’s face gave a complicated shuffle, one common these days when Astrid was mentioned.

“If you don’t want to—” Essek hurried.

“No, no, I can…try.” He scratched his chin. “She’s just been less open, lately. She’s not…pleased by how thorough the Soul is being. Beauregard is relentless.”

“It has been seven years. That’s a lot for your kind, but probably just enough for Da’leth to finally realize they mean business—” Essek blinked. “Do you think that’s why he picked me?”

“We don’t know that he’s behind this,” Caleb said lamely. At Essek’s expression, he relented. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop suggesting otherwise.”

“It’s not unappreciated, I just prefer to be direct. It is clear that Da’leth is trying to use me again. This time, in order to hurt you and the Cobalt Soul. There is no point in believing otherwise.”

Caleb brushed Essek’s face. “No, that would require him to think he could use you in the first place. But that is impossible, because Thain does not know Widogast.”

“He does, though.”

“Yes, but is Da’leth aware of that? He cannot be.”

“I thought we put an end to that.”

“Only to statements of idle hope, not facts.” Caleb was now holding both his hands. “The truth of the matter is that…yes, perhaps the Martinet does want you for some devious plan—”

“Oh, lovely—”

“—however, any plan he has cannot be based on our connection. We have been doing this…being us, for seven years now, Essek. If he were going to play against that hand, he would have done so already. This must be something else.”

Essek huffed. “What, though? What reason does he have? I haven’t been important to the Kryn for years. I resigned, I’m virtually a stranger there, and I certainly don’t have any more secrets for sale.” He paused. “Well, ones that Ludinus would desire. I’m useless to him.”

“I highly doubt that,” Caleb said. And his voice, while kind, had a faint edge to it. “You are right in that there probably is some motivation here. It might be related to the investigation in other ways—after all, two members of the Assembly are leaving. That makes four upheavals in under a decade. And if the Soul and the crown are both pushing for the appointment of more partial Archmages, then it might very well be the case that Da’leth just wants someone he can control. In your case, through blackmail.”

“Hooray for me.”

“He probably wouldn’t, though,” Caleb said. “Since, as you said, this is a situation of mutually assured destruction.”

Essek grimaced. “I have been somewhat wishful in that department. Even with your support, it is still my word against the Martinet.”

“Our word. That includes the Cobalt Soul.”

Essek shook his head. “You’ve seen how well he’s stood up to them so far. Can you honestly say that my safety is a sure thing? Don’t lie to me, Caleb.”

There was a pause.

“Essek, I will do everything in my power to protect you.”

"I know." He patted Caleb on the hand.

Outside their tower, far away, the evening bells of the Rexxentrum began to ring. One, and then two, and then almost a dozen, loud and bronze across the dimming sky.

“There is one way to find out for sure what Da’leth is planning.”

Essek sighed. “I know. But I don’t like it.”

Caleb leaned back in his seat. “Neither do I.”

The cry of the great bells waned. In their den, all around the wall, points of magelight flared to life—flickering and purple harbingers of night.

“Will you do it?” Caleb said.

“I don’t know if I have a choice.”

“You do,” Caleb said. “The worst-case scenario is that Da’leth tries to talk, and we…deal with that.”

“We’ve been trying to deal with him for years,” Essek said. “And…maybe this is bold of me to say, but the worst-case scenario isn’t that—it’s not knowing. Maybe I can…maybe I can find the answers here. If Da’leth thinks he is controlling me, if he trusts me to do his bidding, maybe I can finally learn something to break his hold.”

“As long as he never truly controls you,” Caleb said. “That is a risk I cannot accept.”

This time, Essek was the one to offer assurance. He gently pressed a kiss to Caleb’s hand.

“You forget,” he said wryly. “I am a powerful wizard. Haven’t you heard my title?”

“Shadowhand?” Caleb said. He did not look fully mollified, but he managed a chuckle. “I thought you were retired.”

Essek smiled. “I was, my love, but now it seems that I have a new role. Starting soon...you will be sharing your home with the next Headmaster of the Soltryce Academy.”

—

✨ Ko-Fi Link in Bio! ✨ | Requests are OPEN :3

#critical role #critrole #critfic #shadowgast #fic #thanks so much for reading!!#i'm really hoping to keep up this story consistently and any feedback is very appreciated <3 #jay writes #long post #fanfiction #text #fanfic #that 'keep reading' had better work i s2g #without fear or favor

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thevoilinauttheory · 3 years

Text

The Great Eight

[ In lieu of the Rising event ending tomorrow - and myself, just now finishing it - I had some words I wanted to get out.

I get this type of nostalgia - it hurts, it physically hurts my chest; I feel sick to my stomach, and I just want to cry. I’ve asked others if they ever feel this way, but I’ve never gotten a yes to it.

The Rising always gives me this feeling. It’s be eight years since I first picked up XIV. Eight whole years. That’s a slap to the face, it’s been so long and it feels so short. I wish I could give people the same experiences and feeling I had for this game - the pain and happiness this nostalgia brings me. When I say this game means so much to me, it’s not an exaggeration. This game changed my life - I wish to share it a little bit with you. I touched on some of it in the past, but here I’m laying it all out. ]

[ I first started playing in 2013, when a friend recommended the game to me shortly after the game’s rerelease. They were ecstatic to have another player join them, and I owe them a lot for the experiences they gave me. My very first character was Raramlah Ramlah - she was a paladin, because that’s what I mained in WoW. I realized shortly that a tank probably wasn’t the best way to go, but also that my computer at the time couldn’t handle playing it, due to the graphics.

I gave it another shot in 2014, that’s when I made Danny Harold. He was the first character I ever got to level 50. I absolutely loved the game, when I wasn’t sitting idly for my friends to come online as I had with Raramlah; when I picked it up of my own accord. I remember I was in the hospital when I first picked it back up, when I first made him and leveled him through Gridania. But I was still going intermittedly between it and WoW. I missed the first Rising due to ignorance.

2015 comes around, and I’m in a stressful place. I just started a new job, and I’m finally able to live on my own with little issues from my disabilites. However, my apartment complex didn’t have internet, and so I’d take my laptop to Starbucks and sit there until they closed playing WoW instead. I wanted to spend what little time I had on the internet with the friends I already had grown close to. Year 2 went on without me. But it still wasn’t all bad. Near the end of 2015, Maximiloix Voilinaut was created - and when I started up my XIV tumblr account under “ishgardianscholar”. See, I had made it to Heavensward on Danny when I found out that someone I had met through a friend was starting up a new character for the purpose of RP. I thought to myself “I want an Ishgardian character” - and rolled a new one. It was a new adventure, a clean slate, with a couple of friends I knew from WoW to join me.

Here comes 2016... and WoW had let me down. My disabilites came back full force, and I was left bed bound and reliant on partial disability from my workplace while waiting for SSDI to start kicking into effect. My roommates did little to help take care of the house we were renting, lied to me about their incomes, and forced me to use what little money I was getting to pay for everything myself. I’m short a total of 2000$ because of it. But. But. That was the best year of my fucking life. It ruined me, that year ruined my life, but it was the happiest I had ever been. Lothaire Voilinaut was first conceived and Maximiloix became my pride and joy as a character, I found the class I wanted to keep playing - I made friends, so many of them! So, so many of them! And I loved them, and I still do! I miss them terribly. If I could relive one year of my life... it would be that year. What I would give just to feel that way again - because I had never felt it since. I didn’t realize until Year 3′s Rising came around, how nostalgic just the few short times and experiences were to me. Because I was met with two things... the first song that truly captured me in Final Fantasy games (Prelude), and the first song I ever heard in the game itself (A New Hope). I cried there. Music has always hit me so hard, and I never realized just how much this game meant to me until then. This was how I knew I would stay - that XIV had my heart for good.

2017, during the release of Stormblood, I went homeless. I had wanted so badly to see my first expansion release - and only witnessed second hand “Raubahn EX”. My friends moved on without me, and I was left alone again to start playing. But I told myself already. XIV had my heart, there was no reason to go back to WoW. So I didn’t. I didn’t, and I don’t regret it. This is when I truly started playing Lothaire fully - and when I met my spouse, he became my main. I made it to Year 4, and cried just as much.

2018 - with the loss of friends, did I find new ones. It wasn’t the best time of my life, but I wouldn’t trade the memories for a thing. Year 5 came and went faster than I could blink, but that was it. I heard the music, I remembered my first Rising, I remembered all the times I had before. And I cried.

2019 started off rough. I moved across the country and had a hard time finding a place to live. I got it down, started a new job... and made it to the release of Shadowbringers. I had grown so much since I first started - and the expansion release was everything I wanted it to be, regardless of the issues that came with it (though I’ve been told that it was a far smoother release than the others). I was so excited... and I was not let down. XIV upheld its standards and presented to me a game worthy of pushing onto my friends no matter how annoyed they got with me about it (looking at you @rose-color-boy). Everything about it was a pure masterpiece, people think I’m exaggerating. But this game had done so much for me, that finally, now, I got to witness something I always wanted to. Sure, I didn’t have many friends to start the expansion with... but the story captivated me immediately. Year 6... and I cried.

2020. There wasn’t much to say about it, I was stuck inside all year and I hit a bad patch during the end of it, but... Year 7. It hit me like a truck. It gave me goosebumps, it gave me laughs, and ultimately, it gave me tears. I actually sobbed, this time. Remembering everything I gone through hurt me so badly, the nostalgia was coming in hard. But I knew, in the end, this game would always be here for me. This game had wormed its way into my heart accidentally, and yet I feel like I couldn’t live without it.

This year. Perhaps it didn’t hit me as hard - I still cried. This game means so much to me. So, so much. It hurts, it really and physically hurts how much it means to me. This game made everything in my stressful life so much easier, littered the pain with good memories. I can recall bad places I was in, and associate it with something good that happened to me in the game. 2020 - I got knee surgery... but 5.3 had just released and holy shit. My spouse got a little annoyed at me that the only thing I was listening to was the theme of that last battle (To the Edge). It helped me get through it, the pain and the misery I felt from not being able to walk. 2019 - Work was driving my depression in deep, and I didn’t want to live and continue the pain I was feeling... but I got to the end of 5.0 and only wanted more. I wanted to know what happened next. I still remember that one cutscene, how they got me attached to a minor character so quickly and ripped her away just as fast; and the first dungeon? Experiencing the Trust System, and going through this intense battle on a grand scale with the help of the friends they kept on the sidelines for so long. 2018 - My life was monotonous and I had three other people living with me in my one-bedroom apartment. One of my roommate’s ex’s was now stalking him around my apartment, and work was becoming physically taxing on my legs. But I remember how much fun I had doing maps - and the release of the Tsukuyomi fight? That whole scene there? Oh, wow, it was so bittersweet. The fight was beautiful, the music was haunting, everything about it. Not to mention the ending solo-instances and Ghymlit? The Burn? Omega? The Four Lords? As much as I disliked them (due to my computer issues), even Rabanastre was memorable. 2017 - I was homeless, forced to work a job my body couldn’t handle. I met my spouse, though. I became heavily invested with my tumblr account, doing a full re-write of it all. While I wasn’t much of a fan of the expansion itself, there were some places that really opened my eyes. Azim Steppes? So beautiful - and gotta hand Y’shtola the award for sickest burn. Then I heard my favorite piece of music, and the most nostalgic for me when it comes to SB, Skalla’s theme (Far From Home).

Lastly, I know this has been long. But I thank everyone around me for being so supportive and kind - I may not be in a good place, but know that every good thing that happens will be associated to this moment. I’ll look back on Year 8 and go “my security was compromised, and my anxiety ran high, but there were these people here who supported me on tumblr, that kept my blog running strong”. I will remember my roleplays, I will remember the music and scenery - even now, I’m getting nostalgic about Shadowbringers, and Endwalker hasn’t even come out yet! So thank you. Here’s to year number 8 - 8 whole years of XIV being in my life. It may not have been that long for many of you, some of you, this might be your first year; hell! Some of you, it’s been longer! But know that this community has helped me so much, and I can’t wait to continue being a part of it. Here’s to the eventual tears Year 9 will bring me! ]

#ooc #ffxiv #the rising #sorry for the long post #but there were so many feelings i had to get out before i wrote my prompt #tl;dr #i love you all and thank you for making my experiences with this game the best thing to ever happen to me #thank you for making this game mean so much to me

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wackology · 4 years

Text

Dumb HBCU/WR movie ramblings

Ok so I've been thinking a bit about the HBCU and a potential Wacky Races movie in development a bit and I got a lot of shit to say about this so buckle your seatbelts and hold on to your hats as you witness my incoherent ramblings and fanon headcanons.

So it pretty much agreed upon that any next installment of the HBCU is gonna take a while to come out considering how WB has put the HBCU in standstill for their dr seuss cinematic universe and liveaction-animation hyprid movies. Hell even the director of Scoob said that. The possibility of us getting another cinematic HB film in the next 5 years are close to none but if we were to get a movie it would probably be wacky races themed. Why? Cuz the Scoob film left off with Dick escaping prison with the wacky races on his mind (or in this case, his prison cell) and it would make sense for WB to continue the HBCU (which they probs don't plan to) with a character we are pretty familiar with and the only likable character in Scoob. Which begs the question, where would the plot go narrative wise?

Dick probably won't be the main character of the story but I can practically guarantee it will be Penelope Pitstop. I mean they already got concept art and i think they have models too that were unused and the people on scoob said they didn't add her to the film because they planned for her to be part of something bigger. Basically, I bet my left arm that the protag will be penny because apart from dick and muttley, she was the most memorable character of the show. We must also consider how they would tie up other hanna barbera characters and properties into a WR film thats part of an HBCU installment.

So basically, with this in mind I have created a few theoretical plots/premises that might happen in a WR movie

1. A Hooded Claw driven girl power film

Claw is an og and classic antagonist for penny, and if they really wanted to make a film centered on her the hooded claw is the perfect character to play the bad guy. I feel like the plot would go a bit like this: In order to kill penny and get her inheritance, Claw sponsored/set up the wacky races to kill penelope under the guise that good ol uncle sylvester was supporting Penny's girl power dreams to be a racer. Basically, he acts all supportive and shit for her to chase her dreams and enter this new race but under the mask actually set the whole thing up as an elaborate plan to kill her.

He lets the most deranged, insane and wacky people enter the race, from a gangster mob, to literal monsters to a pilot racer and a military tank duo with guns and canons thinking that Penny's survival chances in this race will be close to none, especially with it being a sausage fest and him not believing in girl power. He even hires a professional mercenary with an evil dog to help kill penny in the WR (yes, dick, and yes he was sucessful at killing the pigeon in the scoobverse so he is actually considered quite the exceptional and competent villian in universe).

The rest of the film would be her racing and doing good despite all the odds and ends at her winning the grand finale, much to the frustration of Claw.Basically a film of empowerment for young girls to enjoy. This plot would probably be the most faithful to the original WR and most likely be a prequel to Scoob since the movie implies that Dick was doing all the skull shit after the wacky races sooo yeah.

There could also be a peter/penny subplot, perhaps not as romantic interests but as platonic friends or just some flirty exchanges between them, as well as a dick subplot with him not liking to race much at first and doing it for just the money but coming to love it as the film progresses. This plot would also probably be the least HBCU type film since it is mostly WR based and by nature would already have a ton of characters but they might try to replace some of the less memorable characters with other HB characters that are a bit more memorable than the boring racers but not as well known to have their own films (could see the country bears replace luke and blubber bear as well as any other character replace the lumberjack guy).

2. The Great Race inspired film

So we kinda get the idea in scoob that dick hasn't been in the Wacky races for a while after muttley disappeared and all the skull business happened but as we all know, dick was the character who made the races actually interesting. So the execs couldnt just have the wacky races without dick so what did they do ? They got a doppleganger of course, that being this boyyyy

Basically, the Wacky Races executives used Dick's way less famous twin brother the Dread Baron and his dog friend Mumbly to fill in for the two once they realized Dick wasn't going to come back after prison. They were wrong of course but dick doesnt know he's been replaced and escapes thinking he was going to join the races again but when he does find out it bruises his ego a lot.

This idea technically serves better as a subplot and could be woven into the hooded claw story above if we just changed a few elements( make it happen after scoob instead of before, perhaps DB and Mumbly were hired by claw to kill penny and dick has to begrudgingly help penny and peter to get his place back in wacky races). After plot stuff happens it ends with dick being in the WR again and DB finding employment elsewhere in the Laffalympics which can easily tie into the established HBCU since it has the yogi gang, mystery gang, captain caveman and the teen angels gang and blue falcon and dynomutt.

Does this theoretical plot draw a lot from my personal desire to see DB just once. Yes. But do i care. No

3. The super HBCU plot(probs the most likely)

So the end credits basically tell us that after the scoob movie that the mystery gang and other HB characters joined the falcon force and are fighting baddies and crap.

Dick has escaped so they will probably start looking for him and in order to do so they get tangled up in the wacky races. Dick isnt the main antagonist tho( he's either trying to sabotage the other wacky racers because he is salty af or begrudgingly has to help out the heros or main antagonist) but the falcon/scooby gang discover a huge conspiracy happening within the wacky races that goes something like this: this race was set up kind of like a scavenger hunt across the world or the US to find mcguffins that are actually really powerful and crap when assembled, which is what the villain was trying to do because evil reasons. Basically wacky raceland done funnier or just Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Steel Ball Run.

In this premise not only would the og wacky racers and scoob cast be in it but i bet there would also be a bunch of cameos and references to other HB characters and they might even join in on the action and be racers too. I have no real clue on who the main baddie would be but I think it would be a johnny quest bad guy or something:( in the end credits they are teaming up with Quest industries after all).

I feel like the entire vibe of a premise like this would be very mad max like but without all the apocalypse stuff and just pure unrefined insanity. I kinda based these ideas off some of the unused concept art in scoob and I'm pretty sure the gang and the falcon force would team up with penny cuz they were planning to do so in the og concept art.

I have a few other ideas in my head but those arent fully developed but I might post them one day lol. But yeah, thanks for listening to my dumb shit lol

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forgivven-minds · 5 years

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Thank You...방탄소년단

For BTS, Armys and My Best Friends.

I know BTS wont see this lmao or if anyone will even read this but here goes.

I dont know how much of this is going to make sense. Its just going to be another post of all my thoughts and feelings randomly mashed up in to one. But I will try my best to make sure it makes some sense for the non to few people that may read this lol.

November 30th 2019 marks two years since BTS bulldozed their way in to my life turning it upside down, sideways and launching it around but most imporantly making my it 1000000000000x better.

Never in a million years did I think by clicking on the DNA music video that came up on my twitter time line that day would lead me to a whole new world. I never imagined it would open so many doors for me, i never imagined it would lead to so many insane adventures, So many amazing memories and A world wide family. I had no idea it would lead to just a fraction of what BTS have brought in to my life.

The past two years have been the best two years of my entire life. Id be wrong if I said I found BTS, The facts are BTS found me. They found me when I needed something new and fresh. They found me when I was lost, when I needed Happiness, Light, Laughter and Love in my life the most. They found me and saved me!

BTS found me when I was going through some hardships in life. A few days before they found me I lost my grandad, during this time I was already dealing with an extrmely unhealthy and toxic friendship I was trapped in as well as battling my own personal demons. I was in a very dark place and I cant imagine how much darker it could of gotten if BTS hadnt of rescued me. They helped me through these hardships, they pulled me through to see the light. They helped me grieve my loss. They helped me make desicions that would change my life for the better. They simply Saved me.

Ever since BTS entered my life EVERYTHING has just gotten better. I went from being a very lost soul, not knowing what I wanted from life, Not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, Not knowing who I am or where I belonged to knowing exactly who I am, where I belonged, What I want to do with my life and what I want from life. They helped me create Dreams I never thought I would have, They helped me create small goals and life long goals, They opened up so many doors for me. They made my mental state a million times better and clearer. They Taught me how to Love myself, they made me apprecate the little things in life, They made me a better person to myself and to other people.They made me Happy, TRULY HAPPY!!!!!!

BTS gave me two of the greatest gifts of life:

HAPPINESS

MY FAMILY

Althought I already knew these wonderful people I call My Family before I even knew of BTS. BTS made them My Family, They brought us closer to each other individually and as a group, They showed us what a real family is like, They Showed me who my real Soul mates are, They showed me what real love feels like and They Gave me The Friendships I’ve always dreamt of having. They brought me closer to some of the most Important people in my life and I am forever gratful. They didnt just make me happy, They Made my family Happy too. BTS are a true gift that keeps on giving.

BTS opened the door to the world of Kpop for me, Throught this I’ve met so many amazing people, Its Brought people I already knew closer to me (you know who you are if you’re reading this) and given me so many amazing memories, adventures and brought so much laughter in to my life with them. But the most important people its made me closer to are my 2 Best Friends Leah and Kels. Its been a little over a year since they got in to Kpop .... I may or maynot of dragged them in to this dangerous world lol... you’re welcome ladies haha. But what a year its been, we have seen so many amazing bands and artist, we have traveled the country multiple times for Idols and we (me and leah) have even been to berlin twice for kpop shows (Got7 & Music Bank). We saw BTS’ first ever UK show together and recently went to Night 1 at Wembley god damn stadium. These are hands down the two of the most important shows Ive ever been to, Seeing the Biggest Band in the world with my Two favourite people was nothing but magical and perfect. These two girls have done nothing but bring happiness, light, love, peace, laughter and crack head ass antics in to my life, they might be crazy and we might share 1 Braincell between the 3 of us but i wouldnt change it for the world......just the distance haha. Thank you for being my rocks, my shoulder to cry on, my biggest supporters. Thank you for being my second star to the right, my home. Thank you for loving me for who i am and all my flaws. Thank you for being my serendipity. I love you endlessly. Heres to many more adventures and crying over BTS haha.

Since BTS came in to my life I had never felt or expressed love like this, from and to BTS, My Friends and life in general. They have given me an entirely different perspective of life, They have influence me so much, from the way i look at life and the way i see things, They taught me what positivity truly is, They taught me to always look for the positives even in the negatives, They taught me to live in the moment, To express myself fully, To not change for anybody, To accept and embrace myself to the fullest, They showed me there is clear blue skies after the storms, no matter what obstacle life gives me i can over come it.

BTS arent just 7 extremely handsome guys from South Korea who Sing, Dance and Rap, they are so much more than that, They are Teachers, Influencers, Lovers, Ambassadors, Healers, Therapists, Peace Makers and so on. They arent just guys that make music, They are people who make music with a meaning, a story and a lesson. They share their hardships, Their battles, Their recovery and their triumphs. Their stories and lyrics didnt just help me but millions across the world. They created a family through their battles, They taught millions how to love themselves, To put themselves first and To be Happy. They took adventage of knowing their music is an escape for people and used it to teach an important life lesson as well as creating the most amzing feel good music.

Thank you BTS for a wonderful 6 years of Builing this family and making the world a better place one step at a time. I might not of been in the family from day one but I can happily say the past two years have been the most imporant becuase of your infuence and and change upon me. thank you for all your hard work, Thank you for pushing yourselves, thank you for the sacrifices youve had to make, Thank you for sharing your battles and stories, Thank you for giving us your all even on your harder days. Happy 6 years, Heres to many many many more!!!!!!

THANK YOU KIM NAMJOON

THANK YOU KIM SEOK JIN

THANK YOU MIN YOON GI

THANK YOU JUNG HO SEOK

THANK YOU PARK JI MIN

THANK YOU KIM TAE HYUNG

THANK YOU JEON JEONG-GUK

We in this Bangtan Sonyeondan shit for life xox

Thanks for reading my unorganised, messy and repetitive thoughts hope it wasnt too painful to read lol.

I LOVE BTS!!!!!!

#bts #6yearswithbts #Bangtan #Jimin #V #RM #Jin #JK #JHope #Kpop #bts army

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followmeeastward · 6 years

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The Start of Something New!

(02.12.18)

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted yet, wifi here is very spotty and I’m trying to use my phone data just to talk and FaceTime with all you lovely people back home!

We’ve officially been in Myanmar now for about 3 weeks, and with traveling I have been outside of California for about a month now! From the get go this has already been the craziest most rewarding adventure of my life. In Washington DC I was able to meet 30 of the world’s most interesting people who I am now lucky enough to call my Peace Corps family! They come from all across the world and across the country, and from all walks of life. Each coming into this adventure with different intentions and for different reasons, but one thing we all share in common is the desire to learn about this new culture, and find as many ways as we can to integrate ourselves fully into the lives of our new communities.

Here are a few lessons/stories from the journey so far...

1. Reptiles, amphibians and mosquitos!

OH MY! Living in a rural area my first few weeks in country I learned very quickly that wildlife was here before my and will be long after, therefore, I should move before trying to move it. Mosquito nets became a necessity and bug spray applications were just a new extension of my morning routine. This philosophy became very apparent when night after night I would come back to my room from dinner only to find a frog (we named Ferdinand) in my bathroom. Not just in bathroom, his favorite place was in and around my toilet. Needless to say my neighbors got very use to me coming over to use the restroom throughout the night. As the nights went on, Ferdinand decided our bathroom was his home, and that he could have friends over, so after a while Ferdy and his friend Jack Jack decided that our sink was their new hangout and turning on the water only made the want to stay longer. Hey! At least they didn’t harm us, other people had deal with mice....NO THANK YOU!

2. Listen to the doctor when they say to drink water!

I learned the hard way, that just because you drink six liters of water one day, does not give you a free pass to not drink any the next. I early on got the opportunity to experience dehydration and food adjustment and was bed ridden for two days. I experienced the worst of it from both sides of my body, and quickly became well acquainted with my bathroom and my roommates, who had to listen to me for 24 hours being sick. While I knew that I would eventually recover, being sick really took a hard hit on my mental adjustment. Not being able to participate or be around other people, this allowed my mind to wander and I started to get really homesick. Not only homesick for the people, but just for the want of something familiar. I had not access to gatorade or saltine crackers, and truly just had to let this pass through and out of my body. And ask anyone all I would talk about is wanting a bagel with cream cheese. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t call my parents crying and freaking out that this one sickness was a sign I wasn’t cut out for this, but my parents made sure that I knew this would all pass. That this is just the training section, this is the prep for the greater adventure that’s ahead. Moral of this story, if you want to keep your mind off of being homesick, stay healthy so you can stay busy!

Also shout out to the worlds best parents for being the best support system! Y’all are the greatest people!

3. It’s just like kindergarten!

I don’t know about many of you, but I don’t remember learning to speak english. Or learning why the english language has it’s certain wacky rules like it does. Now I feel like I am relearning it just to teach it to people as a second language. That being said, I have been taking many classes while in training, but the ones I struggle with the most are on how to be a teacher. I never realized how difficult it was to lead a class in the US with about 20 students, and now I’m learning how to teach a class of about 50-70 students all under the age of 15. I know how it felt when I was in high school, learning french, and now I am teaching English to native Myanmar speakers. I just keep repeating to myself that it will take time and eventually I will get the hang of being a teacher and working in a new environment, just have to be patient.

On top of having to teach a new language for my job, I also am getting the chance to learn Myanmar from some the most incredible teachers. While in training I get to learn from teachers, who have come from all over the country to work with us closely in small groups and make sure we’re ready when it comes time to head to site. Then once at site I’ll get the chance to leave the four walls of a classroom and my new community will become my new place of learning. It’s such an exciting way to learn! First from the book and then through full immersion!

*The words and opinions in this blog do not reflect the views and opinions of Peace Corps Myanmar or the United States Government*

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pan1418 · 4 years

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The Crown

I have now entered the final week of my journey in India. As I refect upon a way to share what has been going on for me it feels that there are not clear words to describe.. Each day has blended into the next with such harmony and magic that it is difficult to isolate specific events to share. It feels more like a dream where people, places, and events just appear before me of what seems to be their own volition. The sense of "doing" anything at all has faded. There is just a flowing river of events that interconnect and inspire me to engage the next step.

In Laxman Jhula (the area of town I am staying) has what I would call a cafe culture for travelers. In America when you are wanting to go out to eat, you pick a restaurant you enjoy, gather your family or friends, and specifically go to that place. You sit at a table with your group and rarely look to connect with the other patrons of the restaurant. You sit, order your meal, and chat (or look at smartphones), until your meal arrives. Then you consume the meal and leave. Because a great number of travelers here in India are staying in hotels and do not prepare their own meals, they are always looking for a comfortable place to sit, enjoy the atmosphere, and consume good food.

There are many of these cafes situated all through the city. They each have their own style, decore, and theme. Some are spititualy oriented with murals of Hindu gods and goddesses. Some are music oriented with instruments to play and nightly jam sessions. Some are bakeries with homemade pastries they span the origin of a dozen different countries. But the one thing they all have in common is that the way the seating is set up, the tables are next to one another in an open fashion that allows people at different tables to engage with one another. This then encourages a community atmosphere. It is not uncommon to go out for a meal and spend 3 to 4 hours in the cafe. Instead of just a quick mission amidst a busy schedule, it is a liesurly exploration of time, space, and company.

I am unsure how each day will proceed as I explore. Often times I will start with one idea and then redirect on a different path. Such as yesterday, my plan was to go to the ATM and withdraw more money. I set out across town and when I reached the ATM machine I found that it was out of money and not available for withdrawal. This began a new direction where I moved towards another option for aquireing some cash. As I walked along I found myself walking next to a friend I had met at the Holi party last week. As I approached him he says to me "That's weird, I was just thinking about you!" I asked him where he was going and he told me that he had accidently left his yoga mat at a cafe the day before and he was headed there to retrieve it. I asked him if I could join. When we got to the cafe we sat with a table of people we had not known before. There we struck up a great conversation and before I know it I was lost in an inspiring flow of words, gestures, and smiles for almost 3 hours. When we parted ways we agreed to meet up that evening at the local kirtan event (devotional group singing and dancing). My original intention to go to the ATM led me into a completely different and unexpected adventure all together.

We have so much to share with one another. Each individual is storehouse of wisdom, knowledge, inspiration, and love. When cirtain connections between people are made it is like an explosion of spiritual fireworks that light up the hearts and the sky.

I had a dream a couple of weeks ago where a guide was speaking to me. I remember him saying to me do not pay any attention to what is going on with the corona virus. When I woke from this dream I had the distinct feeling that this collective world drama does not involve me directly. I may watch as other people are affected in a variety of ways, but I do not need to react as if this situation is posing any threat to me what so ever. I have stayed clearly focused on my own journey and recieved information that has benefitted me greatly. Whenever I hear someone speaking of the situation with the virus, I clearly state that I am practicing staying present in every moment and following the course of action that is most inspiring me at the time. I also share that if my plans are to change suddenly and I find I am not heading in the direction that I thought I would be, then I will see that as a blessing and follow which way the new path leads. I am sensing that the messages I have been receiving and the practices I've been following are connected to the intensity of the events that are currently unfolding.

I recieved information a couple of days ago that the word corona means "crown". This struck a cord within me because my own healing journey has greatly related to my relationship with releasing the control I have associated with worldly power. I have had my own gold "crown" forcibly extracted and offered it in sacrifice as as symbol of my transformation to the river Ganga. As I have continued to explore this concept I can feel how in my own journey, my quest to hold this worldly power has isolated me from other people. I have subconsciously been seeking power to "help" or "care" for other people, but in essence the thing that scares me the most is simply just being with other people. I hide behind my profession of being a healer and I am of service within the community, but ultimately I have come to spend much of my time home and alone. What is being revealed within me is a level of separation and isolation that thinks that just because I have enough money and a meaningful job, that I am completely fulfilled emotionally. I can be see now after spending time here in India, that I have just begin to actually open up and feel connected with others.

The experience that I am having here, where all I have to do, is walk out my door and be willing to enter into new situations. It is showing me how good it feels and how much potential lies in my meeting with other people. It is as if I am magnetically drawn to others in which I have something to share with them. We exchange Inspiration, passion, stories, and lessons learned. We join together and speak the language of the Soul, dissolving any illusionary boundaries of limitation or separation. There is no quest for hierarchy or manipulation. The connections are pure and simple. There is nothing to hold on to. There is no reassurance that we will ever meet again in this lifetime. There is just the moment and the experience. It is truly one of the most profound and fulfilling way I have ever experienced relationships.

The crown chakra within the body of every human is known as the thousand pedaled lotus. It resides at the top of the head and it opens to become a gateway between our physical experience of consciousness and our spiritual experience of consciousness. It is said that when this chakra opens, we become aware of how we are connected and Interconnected with the entire Universe, as well as becoming aware of how we recieve vital energy that maintains our physical existence. When we believe that our physical bodies and our physical existance is only dependant on the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the external circumstances that we come to find ourselves in, then we are not operating with a fully awakened crown chakra. The energy that supports and nurtures all of creation did not originate as anything physical. It begins as an etheric vibration of pure Love and Light, eminating from what we would call the Source of creation. This vibration of Light then changes its very fast moving frequency into slower and more dense vibrations of energy. Similar to how water vapor in the sky changes its form into becoming rain. Condensation slows the rate of the vibration of the vapor mokecules and they descend from the heavens to bring nurishment to the surface of the planet as drops of water. In the same way this pure vibration of cosmic Love/Light slows down it's vibration and enters into the body and the physical experience through the crown chakra. This energy then manifests itself physically as supportive forms of life giving energy such as air to breathe, like I mentioned before. When humans are closed off to the relationship of receiving life force directly from the Source of creation, they begin to believe that they are dependant on air to breathe, water to drink, or external circumstances to keep them safe. In truth they are actually only dependant their connection with pure Source energy.

It is clear to me when I read the energy of what is happening on the planet at this time (again I have not followed any news stories), that there is a feeling of isolation between people. There are many who believe that if they can protect themselves (or separate) from other people, then they will be safe. This makes complete and total sense to the human mind. But I will tell you that this does not make sense to the Soul. One of the primary functions of the Soul is to actively connect us with one another. The Soul knows that we are not separate people needing to protect ourselves. It knows that we are one Eternal being who shares different perspectives and information from unique expression points. It is in the sharing of this information that we learn and we grow. We come to understand the deepest reality that it is Love that unites us. It is Love that makes us strong. Together we stand, divided we fall it has been said. And this is ringing true now more than ever.

If we could see the situation spiritually, what we would see is that just as the essence of Love/Light becomes physical air to breathe, it becomes the very connection we share with each other as well. Without this connection to one another we would surly perish even if all of our other needs for survival were being met. The way this appears to me is that for those humans that are unaware that they are being sustained directly by the energy of Love, they are not receiving the divine connection of an open crown chakra. This is creating great fear and panic as they scramble to do whatever they can to secure their own idea of safety and protection. Utilizing only the perspective of the human mind, these people are not fully capable yet of receiving this link and direct conduit of supportive Universal energy that is available to them. This is a training program. The question will be asked "what can I do? How can I protect myself and my family? Please God will you help me?" The answer will echo from the Heavens as if the trumpets of the Angels would sound to respond. Open up dear ones. Open to recieve the Light and the Love. Open the crown that has been closed for so long. It is time to come home.

As I have said before, I believe that we all have had our own relationship with power and control. We have all played the role of the King or the preacher. We have all played the role of the pesant or the slave. We have all sought to control and have been controlled. We have all worn the crown so to speak. We have all been isolated and separated from one another because of it. Falsely believing that we could secure our livelyhood by controlling the world around us. It is time to let that story go. There is Grace that flows through this scenario. It is when we are willing to sacrifice our knee jerk reaction in attempting to control the events that are unfolding, that we will be more open and aware of the new opportunities that we are being given to connect with each other and connect with our Source. The power that the illusionary crown holds to control reality transforms into the opening of our own crown chakra. When this connection is made we are able to start feeling the vitality flowing through us. Just as the solar system is energized by the light and gravitation of it's own Sun, so to are we fueled and enlightened by this non-physical celestial energy. It is the true Power in all its Glory and it cannot be controlled. It can only be received. The plant needs nothing except to recieve the sun and the rain as it will grow. We also need nothing except to recieve the cosmic Light and Love and we will thrive. The corona virus cannot stand in the light of this great truth. But it can grow in the shadows of unconsciousness that have yet to be illuminated by the light of day. It is up to each of us as to how the dawning of this new day will arrive.

It has been impressed upon me the importance of moving out into the world, reaching out and connecting with others. Isolation is not protection. Loving union and sharing Harmony creates more Harmony. If we want to be healthy then we need to go where the vitality comes from. It shines from within. It speaks through our Soul. It moves through inspiration, intuition and intent as it assists us in each moment. It is intimately available to each of us at all times. We need only to feel it's calling signature. Feel it's Love. It is Love, plain and simple. The Beatles once sang the song "All we need is Love". This may sound cliche to the mind but it speaks from the wisdom of the Soul. Go where the Love is. Share it with everyone. Be not afraid. As only the shadows of this time will give way to the rising Sun. Welcome the new day.

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willridgard · 4 years

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Ghost Ship Way 👻🚢

As I said in a recent blog post, Ale Trails are fashionable. I therefore thought it’d be best to try another one, albeit slightly different to the last! With injury ruling me out of weekend football for a while, I thought ‘why not treat the better half for a mini-break on the stunning North Norfolk coast’? Obviously, and this was a discussion we had beforehand, the best possible way to enjoy our time together was by trawling through seven different pubs and trying a different ale in each!

That’s the good thing about Ale Trails. They’re versatile. You can do them wherever and with whoever you like: friends, family, loved ones, and even pet tortoises who originate from the Mediterranean! (My tortoise Coco will be fully immersed in them when she gets a bit older. She’s only just turned 2 bless her). My better half loves exploration, adventure and going to new places so was naturally delighted at the idea; she actually planned the trip via and after downloading the CaskFinder App. I know. What a woman. I got lucky.

Overall, we enjoyed good food, good beer and good company throughout; three elements every good weekend should include!

Of course, I didn’t get it all my own way and there had to be some compromise. The ol’ bank account took a slight roasting and it wasn’t just pubs we visited...(There’s a very nice craft shop in Old Hunstanton I’d advise looking in).

Although, on the Saturday, we had very little alternative but to spend all day in the pub due to the continuous downpour that, try as it might, failed to dampen our spirits. A blazing fire, a pint of Britain’s favourite drink, and numerous packets of crisps and peanuts - what more could you want!?

As part of CaskFinder App’s World’s Biggest Ale Trail, we decided to explore a section of the Adnams sponsored ‘Ghost Ship Way’ Ale Trail.

And despite being disappointed by the lack of Suffolk’s finest ale on show, it was good to see so many local brewers (Woodforde’s, Brancaster, and Mauldons) supporting their local pubs (and vice-versa). Here’s the route we took armed with our CaskFinder App maps and scanners…

Stop 1: The Ancient Mariner Inn (Old Hunstanton, PE36 6JJ). Very impressive, warm and homely - just what you need after a rain-sodden two-hour trip! Plenty of beer selection. Opted for a pint of Fullers’ Seafarers: a refreshing, fruity bitter. Pub’s Halloween decorations inspired the generation of our Halloween Housewarming ideas (which we hosted the following weekend)! Mwahaha.

Stop 2: The Lodge Inn (Old Hunstanton, PE36 6HS). Different vibe. Very modern. Very hotel. Cool (in both sense of the word) own ale: The Lodge Inn Finest Ale. There seems to be plenty of competition up there in terms of hotel-cum-pubs and the production of their own ales.

* Sleepover at the King William IV Country Inn, Sedgeford: very good service, dinner, breakfast, beer, wine, price and accommodation. Highly recommend to all.

* Holme beach: a beautiful setting for a Sunday morning stroll. Tide out. Sun glistening. Squelchy sand. Blustery winds. Wrapped in hats, scarves and coats. Very Autumnal. Managed to avoid stray golf balls from the Old Hunstanton course, too...#fore

Stop 3 (via the above *s): The Lifeboat Inn (Thornham, PE36 6LT). Very old school and very dark, with the only source of light and warmth coming from the fiercely burning fire. Ideal opportunity to put the feet up with half a pint of Woodforde’s flavourful Once Bittern. Could have quite easily stayed longer, but the trail must go on...

Stop 4: The Orange Tree (Thornham, PE36 6LY). Pricey! Lots of oranges. Busy member of staff showed good knowledge on ale choices. Tried another one of those pub / hotel produced ales...Unsurprisingly orange.

Stop 5: The Briarfields Hotel (Titchwell, PE31 8BB). Limited Norfolk phone signal makes for a quite a fun mission! Big car park. Classic hotel. Another one of those ales. Quick pit stop. Stomachs starting to rumble. Sunday Roast calling, but elsewhere...

Stop 6: The Ship Hotel (Brancaster, PE31 8AP). Superb half of Brancaster Best. Certain staff not so superb. After rejecting three elderly customers the offer of food, rude, dismissive northern member of staff gave us the same service. Didn’t sit well when that offer was revamped. We’ll pay our £2.05 and be gone! Cheers.

Stop 7: The Sculthorpe Mill (Fakenham, NR21 9QG). Stomachs well and truly rumbling now! Opted to break the journey home up. Talk about stumbling across a hidden gem. Beautiful moss-filled lake. Good food. Cosy environment. Friendly staff. Even treated myself to a whole pint of Ruddles Best packed with soft, fruit aromas. Trail over (for now). Home time!

It was a fantastic weekend, but with my beer head on, it’s fair to say that this trail provided plenty of challenges...

If it wasn’t the impractical placement of Cask Marque certificates (to scan the QR code and register the pub visit), it was the limited phone signal which was near impossible to obtain! Fortunately, most pubs had accessible WiFi to save the day!

And if it wasn’t the wet weather, it was the distance between each pub which makes ‘Ghost Ship Way’ an extremely difficult - and perhaps unappealing - trail to complete. While exploring our short section of aforementioned pubs, we had to drive to virtually every destination. And with more than 30 pubs on the trail that spread across the best part of 70 miles from Heacham to Gorleston, I doubt there are many ale trailers who have completed the trail! P.s. When I say ‘we’, in regards to driving, that doesn’t include me...

However, we love a challenge and this weekend was absolutely superb. I’m up to 20 scans now: only another 3,500+ to go until I venture onto the World’s Biggest Ale Trail leader board! The better half also managed to get her first two scans: I’m sure she’s cherishing those and will actively attempt to catch me up.

Good weekends are all about exploration and adventure. New pubs. New beers. Same loved ones. Rumour has it another trip is in the pipeline soon. Maybe Coco will join us on the crawl this time…

Top three pubs of the weekend:

1. The Ancient Mariner Inn, Old Hunstanton, PE36 6JJ

2. The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham, PE36 6LT

3. The Sculthorpe Mill, Fakenham, NR21 9QG

Top three beers of the weekend:

1.Fullers’ Seafarers

2. Brancaster Brewery’s Brancaster Best

3. Briarfields Ale

Reminder: The seven step guide to a good Ale Trail

1. Download the CaskFinder App and register on the World’s Biggest Ale Trail

2. Tell your friends / family / pets to do the same

3. Find and explore different ales and pubs

4. Scan QR cods to build up your tally and win prizes

5. Read up on beers and give out star ratings

6. Make memories. Take photos. Have a blast!

7. Repeat!

#beer #ale #aletrail #caskale #pubs #northnorfolk #ghostship #norfolkpubs #caskfinder #weekends #weekendsaway #norfolk #best things to do

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quotespicture · 5 years

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https://quoteswithpicture.com/gallipoli-1981-movie-review/

Gallipoli (1981) Movie Review

By Stuart McLaren (Norwich, UK)

Having revisited this film recently, I was genuinely surprised at how well it has stood the test of time and what a cracking story it was. The film’s major backdrop is the disastrous Dardanelles campaign in the First World War and, in particular the role of Australian troops in that theatre of war. The film was directed by Peter Weir, of Picnic at Hanging Rock fame, and starred a young Mark Lee and a young Mel Gibson (…whatever became of him)? The stars were supported by a great cast of believable character actors.

The film also gave us, in its final scene, one of the most iconic still frames and film poster photographs from 20th Century cinema. For my money the Gallipoli final frame shot is up there with the female robot from Metropolis, Charles Foster Kane surrounded by newspapers and/or booming from the campaign lectern and the isolated rickety house on the hill from Psycho.

The early part of the film deals with the story of Archy (Lee) and Frank (Gibson) and how they meet, turn from rivals into friends and then go off to enlist in the Australian Army. Archy is the beaming eternal optimist of the pair, while Frank is the more experienced, world-weary, cynical, jack-the lad character. It should be mentioned that Archy is the better runner of the two protagonists, which we glean from a country fair prize-money race where Jack is well beaten by Archy. The athletic ability of the two runners will become significant later in the film.

Archy is coached by his Uncle Jack (Bill Kerr) and that element is one of the weaker points in the film, although not from an acting point of view, as the scenes involving Archy and Jack establish a very close bond and loving respect between the two characters, as Jack tries to compensate for Archy’s missing father. The weakness is the mantra that Jack instils in Archie to motivate him when running, which involves references to steel springs and leopards (an incongruous mix) and just doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that character would have said back in 1914/15 where the early part of the film is set. It almost feels like the film is trying to do an impression of Chariots of Fire (also 1981) in this respect; although as Chariots was released in May and Gallipoli in August of the same year, I guess that must just be coincidental.

The film then progresses to Archy & Frank’s journey across Australia to Perth. Having illegally jumped on a cattle train, without knowing its destination, they awake the next day to find that their carriage has been abandoned in a stockyard and the next train is 3 weeks away. At this point, they embark on a perilous foot journey across the desert. This is where the director really captures the heat and oppressive atmosphere and sheer scope of the Australian landscape, with plenty of wide panning and long-shots although, surprisingly, very few shimmering heat-wave at ground level shots. Maybe Mr. Weir thought the definitive heat wave long-shot had, famously, already been achieved by David Lean in Lawrence of Arabia (and nobody would seriously argue with that); or maybe he just didn’t have the right lens or camera to hand? Either way, we get the message that the duo are suffering from the heat and lack of water, and in very real danger of not surviving. Spoiler Alert: They do survive.

The desert journey plot leads to one of the very best scenes in the film when, by pure chance, they come across their saviour, a camel driver/traveller (beautifully played by Harold Baigent) who provides them with food and water. The scene around the campfire is brilliant. From the rancid, fly-infested meat that is offered to Archy & Frank – which nobody would eat unless they were starving – to the topic of conversation. Our heroes tell the traveller about going to Perth to enlist and join the war, to which he replies “What War”? When it is explained that Britain and its colonies, along with France and Russia, are at war with Germany, the traveller’s laconic response is simply…“I met a German once. Good fella, he was”. The subsequent conversation reveals the extent of the traveller’s ignorance – through no fault of his own – with regard to European nations and world geography, which just enhances how remote and out of touch the Australian hinterland would have been in those times. At one point he admits that he went to “a city” once, and “didn’t like it” – a speech that, funnily enough, is repeated virtually word for word in Crocodile Dundee which was released five years after Gallipoli.

The film then progresses to Archy and Frank’s attempt to join the glamorous Light Horse Regiment. Archy is underage, but that is overlooked because of his horsemanship, while Frank’s lack of affinity with horses is shown up when he attempts the simple riding test that acts as an entry requirement for the regiment. Frank’s failure to get a horse even moving, causing much amusement for the other volunteers and army personnel. So, the two friends are separated and Frank eventually joins the less glamorous infantry, along with a bunch of old work mates he runs into in a Perth bar.

The Australian army is then shipped overseas to Egypt for basic training, before being deployed into the war zone. There are some very amusing scenes of the “fish out of water” type regarding the soldier’s adventures in a foreign land, their dealings with the locals and first experience of a foreign culture and, for some, their first time being away from home. Frank’s mate Snowy (David Argue) does a good turn as the suspicious of everybody xenophobe. Other good scenes in this part of the film include a misunderstanding about a market stall, the infantry men mimicking upper class British cavalry officers, and a memorable speech by an infantry medical officer about the dangers and debilitating effects of venereal diseases, which he knows will fall on deaf ears. The actors/soldiers all manage to convey the sense of that unique form of male bonding, good natured ribaldry, laddish behaviour, rowdiness and “no-worries” attitude (known as “larrikinism” in Aussie slang) that Australians have become associated with throughout the world.

In an attempt to relieve the boredom, the high-ranking officers arrange a fake battle in the sand dunes between the Light Horse (by now on foot) and Infantry regiments. This descends into a free-for-all punch-up, and then gets even more chaotic as the soldiers realise that by playing dead (i.e. a casualty of the fake battle), they will not have to run around in the intense heat – at which point an exasperated Sergeant screams “You can’t all be dead”! However, Archy and Frank are reunited during the fake battle, and Archy subsequently persuades his Commanding Officer to allow Frank to transfer to the Light Horse, on the basis that the cavalry units will not be using horses in the war zone and that Frank is a good runner and would make a good army foot messenger, a vital function in trench warfare. Frank joins the Light Horse much to the chagrin of his infantry buddies who think he is being a snob and just fancies himself in the ostentatious uniform – which he clearly does.

Eventually the troops embark on the journey to the Dardanelles peninsular, and this is where the serious part of the film takes hold. The historic reference point is the Battle of the Nek (from bottleneck) in the Gallipoli campaign, which in truth was a disastrous attempt to attack Turkish machine-gun armoured emplacements by means of an uphill infantry charge from the Allied occupied trenches. While this may seem like a ridiculous strategy to modern eyes, it should be borne in mind that the First World War was the first full-scale industrialised war, in terms of armaments, so there was precious little direct officer experience of that kind of warfare at the time. The Battle of the Nek took place on 7th August 1915, WW1 had begun in July 1914 and Turkey had entered the war in October 1914.

One of my usual pet hates in “movieland” is glaring inaccuracies such a people using modern language in historical dramas, displaying modern sensibilities/political views that just wouldn’t have existed in the relevant era, etc. I think we all watch movies as a form of escapism, and to get fully immersed in the story and period being portrayed. Unfortunately, when a jarring inaccuracy occurs it throws your belief in the story and characters, which can ruin the rest of the film. Gallipoli, on the other hand, is in the very high percentiles for its historical accuracy and period detail, with just a few very minor tweaks to enhance the story and to emphasise the anti-war message.

So, some historical context. The Dardanelles campaign is often referred to as “Churchill’s folly”, or “Churchill’s biggest mistake” both of which are really misnomers. While it is true that the idea of attacking what he called “the soft underbelly of Europe” as an alternative to “chewing barbed wire” on the Western Front was Churchill’s idea – he was then First Lord of the Admiralty and, therefore, in charge of the Royal Navy – his idea was purely for a naval manoeuvre and attack. The idea being allied warships would progress through the Dardanelle Strait, bombarding the Turkish defences and then attack Constantinople/Istanbul from the sea. The overall aim (if successful) being to knock Turkey out of the war, and thus establish a second Eastern Front (Russia was already fighting on the first) from which to attack Germany, thus splitting the German forces. However, many of the warships used were outdated and subsequently sunk by Turkish bombardment from the land and/or the mines the Turks had laid in the narrow straits. 4 warships were damaged by mines, 3 of them sinking, on just one day of the campaign. It was only after the failure of the initial naval attack that an amphibious landing of troops was conceived, and not by Churchill alone, but by the British War Council.

For those who like their numbers, in all somewhere in the region of 450,000 Allied troops took part in the Gallipoli campaign, including British, French, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Canadian troops. The Allies suffered around 250,000 casualties 46,000 dead, and most historians estimate that the Turkish forces would have suffered similar casualty rates. Undoubtedly the Allies underestimated the strength of the Turkish fortifications and armaments, and their determination to defend their homeland at all costs. The campaign ended in a humiliating defeat and withdrawal of the allied troops after a year of fighting, for no real gain. Churchill was, (rightly or wrongly) largely blamed for the strategic debacle and resigned from his Admiralty post, and subsequently took command of an Infantry Regiment on the Western Front.

Returning to the film, the scenes prior to the battle depicting the landings, the day to day boredom of trench warfare (punctuated by periods of extreme stress and danger) and the gallows humour and fears of those involved are depicted well. The film shows that the troops fully realised what a bad strategic position they were in, encamped on a cliff face, with Turkish fortifications and machine guns occupying higher ground. Scenes such as the Aussie Insurance Policy raffle just emphasise the troops awareness of their own predicament.

Of course, the film focuses on Australian troops, when other nationalities were involved in the campaign, but this is an Australian film. Moreover, Gallipoli had a real significance in the development of Australia as a nation, because WW1 was the first time that they had entered the world political/military stage (and made a huge human sacrifice) as a relatively new independent nation, having gained independence from Britain in 1901. Which is why the Australian involvement in WWI is solemnly commemorated on Anzac Day (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps.) and other remembrance events. Nearly all the accounts of the war, both from participants and academic historians, pay tribute to the fighting skills, courage, audacious bravery, tenacity and sheer “bloody-mindedness” not to accept defeat of the Anzac troops. Therefore, it would be an act of gross impertinence to criticise an Australian film director for highlighting and celebrating those martial attributes.

In the film, Frank’s friends take part in an attack where one dies and one is so badly wounded that he is refused food and water in the makeshift hospital, thus raising Frank’s awareness of the scale of carnage. A word here about Frank’s mates, good acting throughout the film particularly the character of Billy (Robert Grubb) and Les (Harold Hopkins).

As the film builds towards the Battle of the Nek, and the disastrous infantry charges, Archy is offered another chance by his commander (an athletics fan) to act as a messenger/runner. He refuses saying he wants to take part in the battle, Frank is the only messenger we see in action. Confusion surrounds the whole enterprise, as telephone and written messages travel between the various commanders. The exact timing of the attack is not synchronised. An artillery attack that is supposed to accompany the first wave of Aussie troops going over the top stops too early, allowing Turkish troops to re-occupy their gun posts and trenches.

The commander in the Allied trenches, Major Barton, (another good performance by Bill Hunter as a fatherly figure concerned for his troops, but ultimately prepared to be sacrificed with them) attempts to relay the futility of the attacks to his superiors via Frank’s message carrying; after phone lines have been damaged. We see Frank dodging through heavily congested trenches while delivering messages back and forth. These scenes are accompanied by brilliant use of music from Oxygene II by Jean-Michelle Jarre – whose Dad, Maurice, also knocked out a few good film tunes in his time. Although Oxygene is a modern piece, and not composed as a film score, it perfectly captures the urgency, anxiety and dangerous nature of running messengers in trenches. There is even an underlying counterpoint that sounds like sniper shots and shrapnel blasts. This music is so appropriate, that I can even forgive the use of the ubiquitous Albinoni’s Adagio elsewhere.

The messages from the trenches are ignored by the superior commander, who cites reports of allied marker flags having been seen in the Turkish trenches, and demands Major Barton continues with the 2nd, 3rd & 4th waves of infantry attack, which Barton considers to be equivalent to murdering his troops. Frank then suggests Major Barton goes above his own superior’s head, in the hope the attacks will be called off, sending Frank on another important errand.

Once again, you can’t fault the historical accuracy, even if names of commanders have been changed, no doubt for fear of lawsuits. The Artillery did cease the bombardment early. There was a lack of synchronisation of commander’s watches, which led to that error. The real-life Acting Brigade Commander, Major-General John Antill, was given reports that marker flags had been seen in the enemy trenches, thus (mistakenly) leading him to believe that the attacks were successful and should be continued. There really were four waves of charges, even though those directly involved knew it was pointless after the first wave were slaughtered. Incredibly, there really was an order given for the troops to advance on one charge with bayonets only and no bullets in their rifles, meaning, technically, they could not fire at the enemy until being given a counter-manding order. The real trench commander Colonel Noel Brazier (Major Barton in the film) did call the attacks “bloody murder” and attempted to get them stopped by going to the overall commander Colonel Frederic Hughes who, according to historians, took much longer to come to a decision than depicted in the film.

The only slight quibbles I have, and I only mention them because I am British, is that we are told in the film that “the British are making tea on the beach” when in fact British troops were supporting the attacks in the actual events. And secondly, the Antill equivalent character in the film, Colonel Robinson (John Morris), is portrayed as an upper-class British Officer, when in fact all the Allied decision-makers in the real battle were Australian officers. However, this is a well-established movie and television trope, and us Brits are used to it; honest! Examples would be all of the bad Roman’s in Spartacus, Sydney Greenstreet’s villains in both The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca; George Sanders in All About Eve and voicing Shere Khan the Tiger in Jungle Book; right through to Stewie at his most evil in Family Guy…“What the deuce”! All villains with upper-class British/English accents. Talk about stereotyping.

That digression aside, the film makers seem to have done their research thoroughly in order to depict the communication failures, tactical errors, and the futile waste of life that occurred in the actual event. If you have any doubts about that I would refer you to the comments of the Australian war historian L. A. Carylon, who memorably described the combatants as “Lions led by Donkeys”. The same author is also equally scathing of the real-life commanders involved, stating that…”Hughes was the Brigade Commander and didn’t command; Antill wasn’t the Brigade Commander and he did”.

In the film, Frank finally gets a decision from the most senior officer and scurries back through the trenches. Meanwhile, Archy, Major Barton and their compatriots are about to go over the top, leaving written notes, their watches and other valuables pinned to their trenches. Yet again, this did really happen, indicating that the soldiers knew they probably weren’t going to survive. Frank is well aware that time is of the essence and is busting his lungs to get to Major Barton’s position, just as he is nearing the relative area, he hears the whistles being blown as the signal for the fourth infantry charge to go over the top. As viewers, we share his anguish at not making it in time and, of course, the hidden implication is that Archy, as the better runner, may have made it in time and thus altered the result.

At that exact same moment, Archy is seen nervously reciting that mantra to himself before leaving the trenches and running like mad towards the enemy position, seemingly without even carrying his rifle. Leading to the superbly poignant final frame of the film. If any slightly cynical movie viewers (and I would include myself in that group) think that scene is a bit far-fetched, guess what …think again! Apart from the silly leopard/steel springs mantra, the rest is almost certainly based on a true event. There are first-hand accounts from survivors of the battle, as well as the official history, “The Story of Anzac” by C.E.W Bean, where reference is made to a soldier named Wilfrid Harper from Western Australia, serving with the 10th Australian Light Horse, who was killed in that final charge at The Nek. Wilfrid Harper was known for being a talented athlete and sprinter before the war, and according to the official account of the battle was… “last seen running forward like a schoolboy in a foot-race, with all the speed he could compass” (sic).

The losses at the Battle of The Nek may not have been the greatest in WWI, by comparison to the Somme, Ypres etc. on the Western Front, but the actual ratio of Australian casualties is horrifyingly alarming. The Light Horse (LH) Brigade consisted of 300 men from the 8th LH Regiment (234 casualties, of whom 154 were killed) and 300 men from the 10th LH Regiment (138 casualties, of whom 80 were killed).

Gallipoli, therefore, is a largely accurate depiction of a historical battle that is/was of great significance to Australia. Peter Weir has created a really good film that, without in any way minimising the tragic events and the huge sacrifices made, manages to pinpoint the accepted command errors, while maintaining the viewer’s investment in the story of the main characters. As such, this is a fitting tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice at The Nek, and a film that will probably remain meaningful for future, in a way that grainy footage written accounts from the actual events may not.

Gallipoli belongs firmly in the pantheon of great anti-war movies along with: All Quiet on the Western Front (original German version); The Big Parade; Paths of Glory; The Deer Hunter; Platoon and Born on the 4th July. There can be no finer praise for Mr. Weir’s film.

Rating: 5/5

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#1981 #Gallipoli #Movie #movie quotes #Review

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pillarsofdamnation · 7 years

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Otayuri Fic Rec List

I came for the Victuuri, but several of my favorites had a side pairing I wasn’t expecting to enjoy so much: Otabek Altin and Yuri Plisetsky. I’ve seen some of the wank on the otayuri tag, so if you don’t like, don’t read.

I love long fics (>10,000 word count) and have this insane need to keep track of the ones I really enjoy. Here are both competed works and WIPs that I am following they are all complete now.

UPDATED: January 27, 2018 (Based on fics I was reading in May 2017)

Guys, there are 16 fics here. I now have another 30 to add, but this post is getting too long. I will work on this in the weeks to come!

For this list “canon” are typically set post S1, “au” is a completely different universe and "au - canon divergent” is an au where one or both are still competitive figure skaters.

I. Completed works

A cat in a corner by AphroditeB00w [E, 82,800 word count, complete although not marked done yet)]

(au, mafia, violence, slow burn, assassin/enforcer!Yuri, Part 2 of Shadow People) "You don't own me." Yuri spat at the stone-faced man across from him. "No," Altin agreed mildly, adjusting the cuff of his suit. "But you are owned."Yuri Plisetsky is a reluctant underling in Yaakov's organization in mother Russia. But everything starts shifting and stirring up when he starts working with Otabek Altin, the informant for the criminal gods. His once slumbering sexuality is shocked awake, and the careful facade covering his hate for Yaakov is cracked when he learns that Viktor is not dead after all.

A Heart Beats At Night by magicalyoyo [T, 154,000 word count]

(au, vampire!Yuri, werewolf!Otabek, elements of canon, angst, Victor/Yuuri side pairing) A lone figure ran along the sidewalk. Otabek would have mistaken him for a motivated jogger, if not for the sinewy, fluid movements and familiar figure. He jerked his bike over, skidding to a halt in front of the runner.

Otabek’s heart was pounding a sickening, dizzying rhythm, but he schooled his face into stoicism as he pulled his helmet off to get a better look.

“Yuri Plisetsky died two years ago,” he growled. “What the hell are you?”

a silver splendour, a flame by thehandsingsweapon [M, 113,200 word count]*** Main pairing Yuuri/Viktor with Otabek/Yuri is a significant side pairing

(au, angst, mcd (with qualifiers), fantasy, slow burn, magic) Fantasy AU. When a magic user’s craft fully matures it manifests in the form of a spirit guardian. Mages and elves bearing these familiars spend a year presenting them to each of the high courts throughout the year’s festivals. Both Viktor and Yuuri have their reasons for hiding the full extent of their gifts – Viktor’s been hurt before, when his own powers were used against him; Yuuri’s been warned that everyone will want his; what will happen when Yuri comes of age, and in doing so, makes two very bright stars finally cross?

A Stiller Doom by Tessa on Ice [E, 68,400 word count]***

(abo, angst, social justice, violence, abo, au-canon divergent) “It is in vain ot say human beings out to be satisfied with traquility: they must have aciton and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth.” - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre. NOTE: fic is currently unavailable due to an AO3 issue, but will hopefully be back. Really enjoyed this one. A lot of political drama.

Adventures in Personal Growth (verse) by stutter [E, 23,700 word count for series)

(canon, pining, dom/sub elements, rough sex, read the tags) "When Victor was his age - younger, even, Yuri thinks, shame blooming in his chest - he’d made the whole world fall in love with him already. The long hair, the soft smile, the way he moved like he had a secret in his skin and he couldn't wait to share it with you. Yuri’s watched the tapes over and over. He could skate any of Victor’s early routines in his sleep. But he can't - the thing Victor could do so easily, the casual, guileless charisma he threw like a shadow - Yuri can't manage it on a single person, not even some moody Kazakh with a dumb haircut whose eyes are too far apart anyway - "(In Park Guell, Yuri takes a hard fall. Otabek picks him up.)

All the Right Notes by pastelplisetsky [T, 42,800 word count]

(au, music, slow burn, fluff) Yuri Plisetsky is an incredibly gifted piano player, known for his passionate and somewhat violent playing/compositions. But in order to compete in the famous Eurasia United competition (completely fictional), he needs a violin accompanist. Although he’s dreamed about this competition for years, he’s always worked better alone. Until a little-known, solemn, lovely violinist walks into his life. Inspired by Yuri’s Allegro Appassionato in B Minor, his free skate song.

the birth of comets takes place on the tip of your lashes by apollothyme [T, 16,600 word count]***

(au - canon divergent, angst, hurt comfort, blindness, friends to lovers) His second visit to an ophthalmologist occurs five months later. Just like during his first consultation, he doesn’t understand any of the medical jargon coming from the doctor’s mouth. Only now, after he’s done explaining everything in complicated, convulsed words, the man turns to Yuri with a smile on his face and explains everything once more, this time using terms Yuri can understand. Yuri listens. He bites down on his bottom lip and he does not cry.

Endurance and Peach Tea by chapstickaddict [T, 11,500 word count]

(canon, pining, slow burn, fluffy fluff) Yuri hummed. His body didn’t uncurl, but instead of pressing his face into the fold of his legs, he rested it on his crossed forearms. Tilting his face towards Otabek, he looked for the bronze metal. The colorful ribbon snuck into the folds of his jacket, hiding his prize from view. Yuri reached out, and Otabek let him pull the ribbon to bring the metal into the light.It was beautiful. Heavy and ornate, with the front masterfully detailed. The perfect symbol of success. Yuri flipped it over, admiring Otabek’s name carved along the back. Wait.“Did they spell your name wrong?” he demanded, straightening. Otabek made a noise beside him.

It takes three years for Yuri to figure himself out and get his head on right. He drags everyone along for the ride. Otabek is the only one to go willingly.

From Almaty, With Love by BoxWineConfessions [E, 115,900 word count]

(canon, pining, slow build, slice of life, part 1 of series) It’s quiet here. Even if the car alarm on the neighbor’s goddamn BMW has been going off for the past twenty minutes. Quiet, even though the alarm’s got the neighbor’s dog howling like crazy, and the neighbor works second shift and isn’t there to comfort the dumb dog. It’s quiet…They haven’t spoken to each other since that morning, when Yuri went off to go see his tutor, and Otabek went off to do whatever the hell it was he did in the mornings before he hit the rink. “You’re used to the noise?”“Yeah, but…I think I like the quiet too.” Or: Yuri spends the summer with Otabek in Almaty.

Half a Chance by ratherunneccessary [M, 55,900 word count]

(canon, angst, fluff, slow burn) Yuri has never cared about anything as much as he cares about skating. Until, one day, that changes. Or, Viktor falls in love with Yuuri, Yuuri falls in love with Viktor, Yuri falls in love with Yuuri, Otabek falls in love with Yuri, and somehow everything turns out okay.

I Will Not Break by kanekki [E, 39,000 word count] series Accuse Me Thus [E, 121,400 word count in 3 part series]

(canon, divergent after S1, DARK, rape/noncon, depression, anxiety, references self harm, references suicide, child abuse, part 1 of a series) Yuri has been supporting his family with his skating since he was a teenager, but now they are barely making it. How long will he be able to hold it together before everything falls apart? Series summary: After his gold medal win at the Grand Prix Finals, Yuri Plisetsky’s life completely falls apart. With the help of his boyfriend and skating friends, Yuri tries to pull himself back together.

in flesh and bone by csoru [M, 32,100 word count]

(canon, angst, long distance relationship, pining, hurt comfort) After recovering from an injury that cut his previous season short, Yuri makes a comeback with a new coach, a new country of residence, and a relationship upgrade. Still: perfection takes effort.

In spite of the world by Stone_Heart [E, 100,100 word count]

(au, fairy!Yuri, soldier!Otabek, domestic, hurt/comfort, war, slow burn, bonded) There was a shuffling from above him, loud banging noises as it came closer. Otabek braced himself. This person helped him. But… A pale face peered over the stairs, looking at him. He blinked back. Those eyes… bright green and ferocious. Those eyes were what he looked for on a battlefield. Not the scared eyes of a peasant or the pudgy eyes of a spoiled king. No, those were the eyes of a soldier.

Neon Pink Motorcycle by goldheart [M, 74,700 word count]

(au - canon divergent, angst, soulmate/soulmark, pining, slow burn, past child abuse) There are certain moments in Yuri Plisetsky’s life that he likes to forget happened at all. The time they were chased from the apartment, the landlord angrily spitting and waving threateningly at them when his mother couldn’t produce enough money for rent. Babushka’s funeral. The first time he fell in competition.He cannot forget that, under the black band he wears around his wrist like a shield, his soulmark may as well be nonexistent.

You’ll Live Without It by HyperionHero [E, 24,400 word count]

(canon, angst, fluff, pining) "Yuri smirks, thumbing the material of Otabek's hoodie underneath his team Russia jacket. When he catches himself smiling he blushes and pulls his hand back to his phone. It's fine, he tells himself. Friends totally wear each other's clothes..."Yuri Plisetsky is surrounded by love. It's like a sickness, claiming his friends, his rivals, the attention of everyone he knows. He avoids it at all costs... but what Yuri doesn't know is that love has a knack of sneaking up on people. Sometimes it brews for years, right under your nose, and you don't notice it until it's staring you in the face - taking the form of a stoic Kazakhstani man bound in leather.

Unsteady by otayui_oh_nice [E, 140,000 word count]***

(au, rockstar!Yuri, DJ!Otabek, abusive family, mostly fluff with some angst, Slow burn, tattoos) Otabek was going to kill JJ. He was going to take the next flight to Canada, hunt him down and kick his ass. Leo: I tried to stop him but he went and did it anyway, I’m sorry! (link)- Or: JJ uploads one of Otabek's remixes of Yuri's songs to YouTube and Otabek freaks out.- Or: what happens when you take episode 1, replace figure skaters with musicians and exchange Victuuri for Otayuri. Aka another strange AU no one asked for.

#yoi #yuri plisetsky #otabek altin #otayuri #fic rec #long fics #complete and wips

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rinnnyxr · 3 years

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What's on your bucket list?

You win three free vacations. Where would you go?

New York City Chicago Seattle London Paris Africa Italy China Alaska Hawaii Australia Zion National Park The Grand Canyon Japan

You win a $500 shopping spree at three stores. Which stores would you pick?

Kmart Goodwill Kohl's Claire's Michael's Barnes and Noble Forever 21 rue21 Hot Topic Aeropostale American Eagle Hollister Macy's Sleeping Tiger Imports (a store that sells Bohemian/hippie things)

You win three prizes from this list. Which three would you choose?

dinner with your favorite celebrity tickets to see your favorite band in concert a solo vacation to New York, plus money to spend (you would go by yourself) a camping trip with friends a road trip with friends a free make-over a free cruise vacation a mother who loves you a time machine fairy wings so you can fly for someone who has died to come back to life courage to tell your crush you like him or her an unlimited supply of shoes a chocolate cake

If you could choose to have three supernatural abilities (from this list), which three would you choose?

the power to read minds the ability to fly super-human strength a time machine a teleportation device invisibility the power to heal the power to raise the dead a money tree the power to disappear at will the ability to never have to sleep to never have to eat or again to live forever

You win gift certificates to three restaurants! Which three do you choose?

Arby's Steak 'n' Shake Denny's McDonald's Burger King Wendy's a Chinese buffet a sushi bar an Indian restaurant Subway Taco Bell Chick fil A Sonic Applebee's

Oh no! You must pick three dares. Which three do you choose?

you have to post a page from your diary on the Internet you have to share one of your secrets on facebook you have to kiss your crush you have to go on a blind date you have to jump off a bridge (with a bungee cord, of course) you have to tell your crush you like them you have to apologize to someone you have to let your best friend read your diary you have to stand up to a bully you have to report something to an authority figure you have to complain to a manager at a store you have to dance in public, on your own you have to twerk you have to make all your texts public, for all to see

You are playing Truth or Dare with friends. Which three truths would you.. ..pick? (and then answer the question!) (You can actually answer as many as you wish. :) )

Who do you have a crush on? What was the name of your first crush? What are your dreams? How do you feel right now? What is something you wish someone would say to you? Are you hurting? If so, what hurts? What medical conditions/diseases do you have? Are you ok? If not, what do you need? Do you love yourself? What is your deepest, darkest secret? Are you keeping a huge secret from someone? If so, what is it? What was the most traumatic and/or painful thing you've been through?

What do you need right now, or what could you use more of right now? Pick 3:

courage peace joy love friendship to forgive yourself to forgive someone else freedom rest reconciliation with someone to tell someone how you feel a hug healing relief

I want to be more...

loving caring beautiful encouraging active organized spontaneous free-spirited bold courageous responsible outgoing adventurous forgiving

all the things you would like to own.

a swimming pool a big screen TV a gym membership a coffee maker a treasure chest a time machine a teleportation device an invisibility cloak a magic potion a love potion a teddy bear two million dollars a vehicle a money tree

statements that are true of you. I wish I knew what it was like to....

fly like a fairy be invisible live my dreams be loved by someone have a mother who loved me have someone to share my heart with be loved by everyone trust be loved be popular be rich be famous be a cat or dog

I have been labeled...

a free spirit a trendsetter kind beautiful a leader a good friend creative unique artistic talented gifted carefree energetic adventurous competitive boisterous shy quiet imaginative complex practical simple plain amazing caring loving gentle generous accepting

things you are against.

hate inequality injustice bullying Christians having their rights taken away religious persecution abuse (of any kind) racism harassment hierarchies in churches judgmentalism isolation loneliness people forcing their wills onto others

things you are for.

equality love equal rights for all joy peace freedom to live your life and follow your dreams freedom to live a pleasant, worthwhile life without hate and persecution standing up to bullies speaking out about injustice raising awareness about injustice facing one's problems instead of running away from them the freedom of speech the freedom of religion Truth

You’re an avid runner

You live 3+ hours from the nearest urban area

You’ve never eaten a hot dog

You’re in your 30s

You are not a talkative person

You have white curtains in your kitchen

You’re happy with where you’re at in your career

Grilled salmon is one of your favorite foods

You’ve been to 15+ countries

You’ve never seen a real gun outside of a museum

You have a dentist appointment coming up soon

You’ve been to a ski resort

You are multilingual

You have a Boston accent

You have acne-prone skin

You’ve commissioned a custom piece of art

You’re married

You volunteer at a hospital

You have a prominent jawline

You don’t like ketchup

You don’t like mayonnaise

You haven’t been to a movie theater in over a year

You love where you live

You’d rather cook a meal at home than go to a restaurant

You don’t have any cousins

You enjoy reading mystery novels

You enjoy reading about other cultures

You’re an atheist

You had a fully vegan meal for dinner last night

You’re a redhead

You play the piano

You are currently experiencing physical pain

You love to spend time with your family

You think chewing gum is gross

You have lived overseas

You are a woman

You don’t have any pets

You believe it’s important to give back to your community

You have a famous relative

You loved school when you were a kid

You never wear shoes inside your house

You are a morning person

You have a degree in a STEM field

You prefer wine over beer

You prefer oysters over lobster

You’ve never been pregnant

You have an Apple Music subscription

You regularly visit an esthetician

You’ve lived in 5+ different cities

You have an autoimmune disease

You’ve been to a library in the past week

You’ve used a grocery delivery service

You have short hair

You’ve had a stalker

You still keep in touch with your childhood friends

You listen to a lot of podcasts

You’ve lost a loved one in a car accident

You own a boat

You never wear eye makeup

You use an at-home teeth whitening kit

You met your best friend through work

You’ve never used Snapchat

You don’t remember the name of the first person you kissed

Your favorite cuisine is Thai

Appearance Your hair is red. You dye your hair. You have green eyes. You are very pale. You are very petite. But you are still kind of curvy. You are 5'5. You weigh less than 110 pounds. You straighten your hair. Many people tell you that you're attractive.

Birth You were born in April. You were born in the Spring time. You are a Taurus. You were born towards the end of the month. You were born in the nineties. You were born specifically in 1993. You were born in the USA. You were born on the East Coast. You were born specifically in Pennsylvania. Your parents were married when you were born.

Childhood You almost died at a very young age. You were a very quiet and shy child. You moved across the country when you were young. You were made fun of all throughout your childhood. You loved Pokemon as a kid. You played with dolls. You had a teddy bear that you brought everywhere with you. You had babysitters a lot. You loved Hilary Duff. Nothing really bothered you when you were young.

Drinks You hate alcohol. But you drink on occasion anyway. The only kind of alcohol you tolerate is You're addicted to soda Your favorite soda is Mountain Dew You hate Root Beer You love chocolate milk You love smoothies You love Starbucks You love Arizona iced tea

Education You went to a religious preschool. You went to two different elementary schools. You were never a very good student. You found it hard to pay attention. But you managed to graduate highschool on time. You graduated highschool in 2011. You were in choir and band in highschool You were a music major in college. You lived in a dorm room for your freshman year of college. You never graduated college.

Family Your parents are still married. Your parents argue/fight a lot. Your parents had you in their late thirties or early forties. You only have one sibling. You have an older brother. Your brother is a successful/famous musician. You and your sibling are two years apart. Two of your grandparents are still alive. You have six first cousins. You have a ton of other cousins, some of whom you've never even met.

Hobbies You love to sing more than anything else. You are in a rock band. You play piano. You play flute. You're good at drawing. You love to play The Sims. You love Instagram more than any other social media. You love doing your makeup and wear it every day. You have a YouTube channel. You don't have a ton of friends, but you're okay with that.

Job You have worked in food service before. You have worked at Panera Bread. You have worked at a Mexican restaurant. You have been a cashier. You have been a barista. You have been a secretary. You have worked at an optometry office. Your family owned/owns a business. You have worked in a call center-type place. Your dream job is to be a successful musician.

Love You had your first crush in sixth grade. You are mostly straight. But you are a tiny bit bi-curious. You had your first kiss when you were fifteen. You lost your virginity when you were sixteen. Your longest relationship was five years or more. You have been manipulated in a relationship. You have had seven boyfriends/girlfriends in the past. You have had sex with three people. You have kissed the same gender before.

Music Your favorite music genre is alternative rock. You also love hard rock and metal. You love show tunes from musicals and such. You don't care for country music. You usually don't care for rap either. Your favorite band is The Used. You love EDM. You are a musician yourself. Music means so much to you. You prefer more modern music than older stuff.

Opinions You are very liberal. You HATE that Trump was just elected president. You voted for Hillary. You are pro-choice. You are for gay marriage. You are for equal rights for everyone. You are very much against guns. You seriously wish there could just be world peace. You believe in God You are for the legalization of marijuana.

Pets You have cats. You've had a dog before. You've had hamsters before. You've had a ton of fish before. You've had frogs/tadpoles before. You've had hermit crabs before. You've had sea monkies before. You would love to have a pet hedgehog. You've had a huge aquarium in your home. You love animals.

Do you like the same girl's names as me? Bianca Skye Harper Eliana Madison Skylar Aurora Anica Jade Claire Ellery Allison Jessica Lydia

Do you like the same boy's names as me? Denver Dylan Deklan Storm Skylar Scott Ryan Brennan Simeon Jedidiah Maverick Ezekiel Asher Alan

Do you love the same things as me? running dancing worship reading creative writing painting singing friendship Jesus sushi chocolate strawberries macaroni and cheese pasta

School Your favorite subjects are/were English and Art. Spelling was your favorite subject in elementary school. Your school colors are/were red and black. You hate/hated school for the most part. You were homeschooled for some time. You loved college. You always bring/brought your lunch to school. You've been on the track team. You've been on a dance team. You didn't get to do everything you wanted to do athletic-wise. You've been in a musical. You've never had detention. You were always very shy. You HATE math.

Do you like the same things as me? long, deep talks with a friend sesame chicken pie roller coasters holidays fashion photography taking selfies writing in calligraphy writing in a journal music typing spending time in nature camping

Have you been to the same places as me? Chicago Seattle The Space Needle in Seattle Disney World The Sears Tower in Chicago Belfast London Bath, England Galway, Ireland Kentucky Michigan Ohio California Mount Rainier National Park

Have you shopped at the same stores as me? Kmart Kohl's Michael's (for craft supplies) Claire's Wet Seal Forever 21 Deb Limited Too/Justice Target Fred Meyer Ross rue21 Goodwill maurices

Have you visited the same websites as me? Meez.com facebook Pinterest Myspace GenerationGirl (discontinued now) Girlspace (discontinued now) Mamamedia.com nick.com disneychannel.com swagbucks.com youtube pandora.com amazon StumbleUpon

Have you listed to/can you relate to the same songs as me? "Ain't it Fun" -Paramore "Where is the Love?" -Black Eyed Peas "Wish You Were Here"- Avril Lavigne "My Redeemer Lives" -Hillsong "Desert Song" -Hillsong "Fight Song" -Rachel Platten "We Are" -Kari Jobe "Soar"- Meredith Andrews "Change" -Taylor Swift "Mean" -Taylor Swift "Believer" -Kutless "Something in the Water" -Carrie Underwood "Glorious Unfolding" -Steven Curtis Chapman "Like You Promised" -Amber Brooks

Have you read/ do you like the same books as me? The Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing "Let's Get Lost" by Adi Alsaid The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery "Soundless" by Richelle Mead "China Dolls" by Lisa See "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks "Seriously Wicked" by Tina Connolly "The Probability of Miracles" by Wendy Wunder "Lies We Tell Ourselves" by Robin Talley (REALLY good) "The Memory of Light" by Francisco X. Stork (REALLY good) "The Final Quest" by Rick Joyner (nonfiction) "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young (devotional)

Do you listen to/like the same music artists as me? Avril Lavigne Taylor Swift Paramore Hillsong Casting Crowns Beyonce Carrie Underwood Meredith Andrews Kari Jobe Jesus Culture Misty Edwards Jenn Johnson/ Bethel Worship Band Evanescence Cascada

Are you.... spiritual? artistic? creative? easygoing? gentle? joyful? energetic? passionate? kind? unique? quiet? softspoken? introverted? double-jointed? gifted? prophetic? skilled? talented? flexible? young? honest? humble? small? American? Christian? broken? wounded? empty? afraid? terrified? disorganized? fashionable? usually always late? crushing on someone? hated by someone? abused? lonely? hurting? bait? attractive? optimistic? a realist most of the time? caring? sweet?

Have people described you as... a free spirit? a trendsetter? a leader? amazing? creative? unique? special? gifted? young-looking? not right in the head? smart? a risk taker? kind? beautiful?

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