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kirisaki-daichi-scenarios · 3 years

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a discussion of jabberwock with team interaction hcs + deeper nash analysis

for anon who asked "Can we get some headcanons for jabberwock members or like headcanons when they're together? (its okay if it was jason or nash only)" and made me realise it's about time i get these guys' personalities down

note before we start: cause i didn't know their names until i wrote this

zack is the bald one, allen is the one with a headband, nick is the other white guy apart from nash.

team hcs

nick gets bullied for being under 6ft, but not by jason

nah good old jason teases all of them for being short fucks, emphasising that they’re all 5ft tall in comparison to him

he 100% lifts things out of the others' reach and then laughs for ages after when they try get them

unfortunately though, they’re all used to this and now just ignore him. either that or nash stares at him so intensely jason actually repents and hands it back

zack’s another one with a very good glare, but he’s used it too often on jason and it’s since stopped working.

also jason gives me ‘straightens his back as much as possible when getting measured so he’ll measure in as 7ft’ vibes

oh and he thinks he could wrestle a gator and win. i’ve got no explanation for that except for the fact you can't tell me it's ooc.

allen’s very protective over his white headband - it’s his lucky item - but he’d never let anyone know that

he’s confident in his abilities like the rest of them, but there’s nothing wrong with wearing a headband just in case

(nash knows anyway)

they watch nba matches together and do not shut up once throughout the entire match - lots of jeering, booing each other if someone criticises a player they like, lots of “i could do that”, lots of “get your fucking hand out of my popcorn do you want me to punch you in the face” etc

they used to all live together, but nash has since moved out. he was sick and tired of trying to make people do chores, as the only one who kept their room clean.

yeah the others’ house looks like a heap of trash but also very much “where’s my toothbrush?” “it’s in the third coke can by the orange peel behind the sink” *silence* “yeah thanks” *a minute later* “who the fuck has been using my toothbrush”

they’re all “bro your dribbling sucks why are you on this team loser” to one another, but also very protective (aka arrogant for one another) if anyone else Dared to criticise one of their teammates

then again, what kind of person would criticise jabberwock

half of the time he spends with jabberwock, nash is a Single Mother TM trying to get a bunch of man children to behave; the other half of the time, he's just as bad as the rest of them

i talk about this a lot but i get the feeling nash is an exceptionally hard worker, but at least he gets to let his hair down around his teammates sometimes

nash is also the only person jason thought was truly ‘strong’ at first sight

and nash is also the only person who can beat jason in a fight, and also the only person who can get nash to train, and also the only person who can.. [etc. you see my point].

(n.b jason calls himself the ‘almighty me’, nash says that ‘even god can’t beat me’. point made.)

you know how jason silver’s motto is “I have never thought”

imagine him proudly stating that, before zack adds with a straight face, “yeah cause nash does it for you.”

in short, the team would fall apart without nash.

although the team’s communication and coordination is very fine tuned, nash is the guy who keeps everything in order off the court to prevent what is essentially a team of aces ('main characters', if you will) from falling apart

they hang out together a lot, but do all have other friend groups that do not overlap

team bbqs

unofficial rule not to criticise anchovies on pizza because the one time nick did, nash snapped

however pineapple on pizza is fair game, even though zack quite likes it

more than once, jason has brought a girl home and nick has stolen her attention away with effortless trick shots, funky ball manoeuvring etc

more than once nick has had to trek to nash’s place (with a black eye) at midnight to have somewhere to sleep

do you see a correlation?

oh and everyone in the team has been walked in on by nash when they were naked with some girl

nash has absolutely no shame

he apologises to the girl with a charming albeit insincere tone, and then remains standing in front of the bed/couch until his teammate does what he expected of them

usually it involves not having come to practice

allen learnt a few (emphasis on ‘few’) words of japanese before they travelled to japan and was disappointed that he never got to use them

that said, one of those words was hentai

and now a quick analysis of some panels

a) so there's at least one player who wasn't underestimating vorpal swords. if i were to overanalyse, i'd add that nick's wearing a hoodie (possibly athletic wear) whilst nash has a 'fancy' shirt on; perhaps nick wasn't expecting them to be going to host clubs instead of chilling/training?

b) i know what you're thinking: "how can you say nash is a hard worker when he didn't want to practice for the match". i reckon he was still pretty high on the complete and utter success of their previous match, that plus being around girls, encouraged him to have a more 'jason-y' personality. (either that or fujimaki didn't want to add too much depth/realism into nash's character bc he's unequivocally the villain, right? and obviously this helps with the plot and the jabberwock bad geniuses gom good geniuses rhetoric.)

earlier, i mentioned how nash is the only one that could keep the team together, and is thus the undeniable head of the team; here's a clear example. you can see both jason and zack have no interest in continuing - if anything, there's disgust in their faces, kinda just saying "we spat on all of japan, now we can go home". whereas nash won't allow for the slightest of possibilities that there might exist a team stronger than them, and hence agrees to the match. the key thing here is that the others do as he says without too much fuss.

another thing to note is nash's reference to harakiri. now what can we make of that, alongside his proficiency in japanese, in relation to his character? the way i see it, he's either a weeb or possibly has some japanese lineage. (you could spin that even further and say his mother was japanese, taught him the language, then abandoned him, and hence his almost excessive hatred/mockery of the japanese people.) (is that why he wanted to do another match in japan..?)

just a quick point. "thanks to him" - jason isn't so superior as to think that he could win this match effortlessly without nash's support. links pretty nicely with my earlier idea about how nash is the only person jason has always considered 100% strong.

yet another point about how nash is the strongest of the team in pretty much every way you can think of. you know how scary/powerful you have to be to shut jason up (after he's getting real pissed from being prevented from scoring?)

i personally think this is a pretty important panel, though i've never seen anyone mention it before. did nash grow up training in a professional basketball training situation, as opposed to growing up playing streetball like i suspect the others did? well, to answer that question, imma bring in another panel.

here we see visible rage on nick, zack and jason's faces - they can't accept their loss, which is fair enough. but i'd argue that nash's face seems to depict sadness more than it does anger like to rest of them, look at how downturned his mouth is - and he's looking away from the 'camera', as if hiding his shame.

when you combine that with what he says here, i have no doubt that this is someone who has experienced some proper lows in basketball - as would be expected from someone who's played 'properly'. he's possibly not even a prodigy like the rest of them - compare jason's motto with his. "i have never thought" versus "do not suppose opportunity will knock twice at your door".

there's various lines of thinking you could design with this - he might have been trained by alex (hence, himuro having heard of jabberwock, though he should have known of a team as popular of jabberwock regardless), he might have grown up with professional basketballer parents etc. but here's my own little theory:

nash received serious basketball training from early on - maybe because his parents were living vicariously through him, or maybe he always loved the sport and wanted to be no1. so there he was training away, but, as he grew older, it started getting all a bit too much.

he didn't want to dedicate his entire life to basketball. after all, his hobby is water sports and his speciality is boxing; that's a lot of different things to be keeping up with, whereas the pipeline for promising athletes demands people focus solely on basketball. as a result, nash become bitter: stopped attending practice regularly, got in trouble for trash talk of increasing severity, etc.

result was he was kicked out of the program.

only when he was no longer playing basketball again, did he realise how much he missed it. and hence he got into streetball, where he was tremendously successful as someone with so much training, 'elite skills', and the overly confident attitude to boot.

then, one fateful day, he met jason and the rest is history.

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watevermelon · 4 years

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Cheater!Akaashi x Reader

✧ Summary: (Continuation) Akaashi apologizes to the reader, seeing her genuinely happy without him (MSBY Black Jackals Era) [forgiving/peaceful end]

A/N : Slight spoilers if you aren’t caught up to 392 ;) (reader ends up with our home-boy Konoha) ➳ Masterlist ➳ Part One

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Walking away from Akaashi was one of the hardest things you had ever done in your high school career. He was the picture perfect boyfriend, the one you even wanted to spend the rest of your life with. Everything about him, from his kindness to his charming good-looks, you wanted to wake-up to it every day for the rest of your life.

Until one day, you just didn’t.

And from then on, so much as a thought about Akaashi set your heart aflame, ready to fight the setter with your bare hands. You had your friends to guide you through it all, even Konoha had drawn closer to you in your circle. And with time, it was easier to breathe in the halls of Fukurodani. Some people had pushed for details regarding your separation, especially since Akaashi was suddenly romantically attached to a certain captain, but the setter had adamantly requested for the others to leave you alone.

He had pursued you three times since your break, basically pleading with you to listen from his perspective.

You always said no.

And life moved on. Akaashi became the captain of the Fukurodani Volleyball team, both Konoha and Bokuto graduating to attend college nearby. Yukie, Haruki - all the older faces that you had come to know had finally left the school for good. And while some members of your friend group also graduated, it was bittersweet goodbyes for your worst year of high school.

Time really does heal wounds and you found yourself often forgetting all about the setter that broke your heart.

In high school, everything can feel like the end of the world. Whether it be a low grade, drama within your friend group, or even breaking up with some stupid person you called a boyfriend - it incited that deep curling feeling that just felt like: that was it. The end of the world as you knew it.

And in some ways that was true, but that wasn’t always a bad thing.

Now as a graduate-school senior, you had long accepted that there were still plenty of moments that felt like that. There was always going to be drama somewhere and some absolute sadist of a professor who liked to hand you a new asshole.

And it was not like you were suddenly a pro at handling these feelings. You still had doubts, worries, but this was all pushed back with your own brand of confidence built on the foundation of your earlier teenage years. With your friends, both new and old, you were ready to take on the world.

But first, final exams.

You were basically shut out to your roommates, either sheltering yourself in your room or in the library to get some good studying in. One of them was trying to follow a similar route, but she often got distracted by social media or newly released video games. The other had accepted her faith long ago, joking that the most she studied was during the breaks of the test.

And after having shared a class with her last semester, you found out it was not a joke.

There was only one class that you were particularly worried about and the final was tomorrow night. There were minimal distractions throughout today, even your boyfriend of almost a year was busy with his own classes and so the both of you were cooped up, mutually suffering at different colleges.

It was only until this afternoon, did your focus break, nothing helping what you received today. On your coffee table was a simple letter, but you recognized the hand-writing even after all these years.

It was a personally written invitation to a professional volleyball game, home-court to the MSBY Black Jackals.

Bokuto and Akaashi had invited you.

The moment you received it, you called your boyfriend to see if he got one as well. Apparently, everyone from the old Fukurodani volleyball club got an invite. And, in addition to their crew, you had gotten one as well.

Your boyfriend assured you that if you were not comfortable with going, then that was it. Neither of you would attend. But you smiled at him surely, saying that anything regarding the two was long behind you. That was honestly the case, any memories of Akaashi brought forth a sad numbness, but nothing else. There was nothing you had to say to him, but you didn’t exactly want to hold back your boyfriend from being present at their reunion.

Slapping at your cheeks, you reminded yourself that you needed to focus on studying.

And so a week later, excelling with flying colors on that absolute bastard of a final, you mentally prepared yourself to see Akaashi and Bokuto for the first time in years. There would be no easy way to have that conversation, but with a group this large, you hoped that there would be no one-on-one time with either of them.

Sporting a loose denim jacket and leggings, you tried your best casual look for the night. Pulling it up into a high ponytail, you rushed over to the front of the dorm when the doorbell expectedly rang.

“Hey.” Konoha greeted you warmly, pulling you into a light peck in greeting. You murmured it back against his lips, happy to feel it curl into a smile against your own.

You hadn’t started dating until you were both in a few years into college, having kept in touch long after high school as you both attended schools in Tokyo. You went to the same college as Haruki and that was the silent lifeline between your relationship. From college parties to general hangouts, Haruki was a true bro and Konoha was relentless in his pursuit of your friendship.

It wasn’t like a sudden rush overnight or like the clouds had shifted to rain sunshine down on Konoha. It was simple, you liked Konoha and wanted to go out with him. He was more than just a friendly face or a wielder of cold humor. The previous volleyball player had a genuinely kind-soul that was more than just another person from Fukurodani.

You remembered how easy it was to be genuinely happy with Konoha. It made you want to do the same for him, to put a smile on his face and remind yourself what it was like to truly be needed.

The first time the two of you kissed, it was before you were even officially dating. You two had separated from the cluster of college teens, far away from the bustle of the house-party as you sat on the edge of the property. There was a pool a ways behind you, but you had sat together under a tree together and looked up at the night sky.

The stars weren’t visible from Tokyo, the lights of the city keeping them hidden from view. But that hadn’t stopped the two of you from thinking the sky was beautiful that night, laying back side-by-side as you talked to each other candidly.

“Professor Magnolia puts the mystery in chemistry.” You complained to Konoha.

He chuckled at your awful pun, probably more out of pity than actual amusement, you wondered. Replying back, “You still did pretty well in that class.”

“I don’t want to hear it from you, mister 4.0 GPA.” You quipped, a teasing smile on your face that he recognized.

“I could always give you some private lessons.” Konoha joked, but you both knew the suggestive line that was there. He seemed to recognize it and back off immediately, “Unless, of course -”

“I want you to.” You interrupted him.

Yes, you were the more aggressive party when it came to your relationship. At least, at the start. Konoha has been your friend forever. And there was no denying that the young man was plenty attractive and very handsome. But you tended to wonder if he was ever interested in bringing it to another step.

Whenever implications got too serious, or your mutual teasing had lingered a little too long, Konoha would make sure to put a wide berth of space between and the line. You honestly appreciated this very much, since Konoha was aware of your space and never encroached on your friendship. And it was not like he had put a complete damper on your relationship either, openly flirting back with you when you tried.

Instead, Konoha put the ball entirely in your court.

You wanted this? You had to come and get it.

“Are you being serious?” Konoha asked as he sat-up, face serious as he contemplated your last statement.

But you smiled at him as you leaned closer, “Yes.”

He reflected your expression back at you, the both of you rising to stand for whatever reason. Konoha always towered over you, but now you were more aware of that fact as you looped your arms around his neck. You gravitated toward one another, lips meeting in a chaste peck before you deepened the kiss.

But it was not like your relationship depended on you making the first move, no way. Konoha was very attentive to the communication within your relationship. Once you made it clear that you were comfortable, he would make the move you both wanted.

From your first kiss to the first night you shared together, you nearly whipped your bra at him the week before to make sure he got the message.

And he definitely got the message.

Konoha went from your sudden high-school protector to the one you desperately wanted to spend your life with. You would do anything to keep your relationship steady and would feel your heart surge when he would whisper back similar thoughts.

And now here your boyfriend was, picking you up at the dorms before the both of you attended a MSBY Black Jackals game. You honestly never thought that this would happen. Konoha had attended some in the past, along with Haruki and the rest. It was never something that bothered you either, they were his best friends and he hadn’t done anything wrong.

You just never thought you’d be attending one together, at the invitation of your ex-boyfriend no less.

But you continued on anyway, waving goodbye to your roommates and taking Konoha’s hand as he guided you through the bustle of Shibuya. He held your hand tightly and you would squeeze back when you got closer to the arena, the large poster of current volleyball pro’s coming into view.

You had seen lots of images of Bokuto in his professional career. He was basically a household name now, a reliable outside hitter to one of the best Division 1 teams in all of Japan. There were highlights of him on social media and he had even starred in multiple commercials by now.

But the image of Bokuto never really lingered in your mind. He was always a passing thought, like you knew that he existed, but never really registered it that it was true. Seeing a huge poster with many unknown faces except the owl-haired man really brought back this fact.

Scanning your tickets, you were surprised when you were guided to another area. You and Konoha were being guided to a club box, a reserved area for larger groups to mingle together during sports events.

Many of the others during that Fukurodani volleyball club golden age were already present. You had caught up with Yukie in the past year, the nutritionist still as insatiable with food as ever. Haruki was probably the one you were closest to, since the actor and you kept in touch after receiving your undergraduate degrees in college.

He had even called you a few days before, saying that he heard from Konoha that the Akaashi and Bokuto had invited you as well. Your well-intentioned friend suggested doing something to their kneecaps even now, after all these years, but you said it was not necessary.

You had a feeling of why they wanted you here.

It was written out plainly in Akaashi’s letter: to apologize.

That was when you realized that you had never actually received one before. Akaashi was quick with excuses and even more desperate to have you hear his side, but never had the setter actually said the words, ‘I’m sorry,’ over what he had done to you.

And it was not like you need to hear it after all these years. It was something you were long over at this point, not even an issue.

But it made you wonder why now of all times was Akaashi asking to do this.

It was more like, if he needed to say it, then you were patient enough to finally listen.

Konoha said that the moment you needed an out, he would give it. There was already a back-up plan that could be in motion the very second you think it would be necessary. The two boys had made it the night before - Konoha getting a bad call from his family (actually Haruki calling him) and, if need be, he could cry on cue to get you two out of there.

You laughed and called them idiots.

And to your ultimate surprise, neither Akaashi nor Bokuto made an appearance before the game. You were mingling with the group when the announcer started introducing the teams. Those around you were making comments, talking about the young Hinata Shoyou from Miyagi or how the absolute bane-of-their-high-school-existence Sakusa Kiyoomi was now ironically on the same team as Bokuto.

You watched a volleyball game for the first time in seven years. The last game ever being the one before you broke it off with Akaashi. This was different in every way possible - the quick calculate looks of the setter Atsumu Miya. It was nothing like how Akaashi used to look at Bokuto, not how you remembered at least.

And you were actually enraptured in the game, interested eyes watching as the ball launched at high-speeds to each side of the court. At some point, Konoha placed a casual hand across the back of your seat, joking with Haruki that nothing less than food would get your attention.

It was only seven minutes into the first-set that Akaashi made his appearance.

You heard him before you saw him, some of the others greeting him as he strolled in late. In his hands was a box covered by a large plastic bag, apparently an order from Onigiri Miya that ended up taking longer than expected. He greeted everyone individually in his cool, yet quiet voice.

Konoha and you stood together, walking over to greet him with your hands clasped together. Akaashi greeted the both of you warmly, a half-smile at you before his eyes dropped to your hands. There was no hiding the length of his gaze before he was called to the side by someone else, thanking him for the invitation.

It was strange and felt like anything but normal, but at least this wasn’t the catastrophe you were somewhat expecting.

Akaashi turned to the both of you once his attention was freed, “Thank you both for coming. Let’s continue this later after the game, once Kōtarō is free as well.”

You nodded, mustering the best neutral smile you could. Konoha did the same before you made your way back to the seats. Akaashi continued to mingle with the others from high school, never taking a seat and standing watch over the game. One thing that hadn’t changed since your teen days was how much Bokuto stood out, on the court and just simply in person.

While you would’ve liked to have shouted or yelled at either boy at the time, you did not hold any malicious intent after. Never had you thought of outing them to the school or ruining their reputations. Life was hard enough with high-school drama, this was not something you wanted to draw out.

Once it was all said and done, you just wanted to move on.

And seeing Bokuto did not bring back a sudden surge of unhappiness or fight in you. Rather, you felt a small drop of happiness that he was pursuing his dream. But that was quickly squashed down when you remembered the last time you saw him on a volleyball court.

Konoha held your hand the whole way through, you could feel his gaze in the corner of your peripheral. It was sweet, he was making sure that you were truly okay with this, not just saying that you were. Haruki teased that the two of you were too disgustingly cute, to which Konoha just lifted your joined hands and placed a light peck to the side of your head.

You felt Akaashi’s eyes on you then.

You begged yourself not to look, there was nothing in the world that could ever excuse what he did to you. You told yourself that you were over this, that this toxic feeling would not engulf you back then and certainly not now. There was nothing that would grant him mercy.

You looked anyway.

His bright blue eyes were looking right at you. There was no pretend smile this time, no mask he could put on in time to show that he was as neutral as he was before. Instead, you knew what was crawling at the edges of his expression - sadness, jealous, regret.

It was only when you shared eye-contact that it lit your nerves aflame. He was openly staring back, his eyes almost pleading with you to say something. The look made you tighten your hold in Konoha’s hand. You were filling with something from the pit of your stomach. Not with hurt, but more like worry. Why would Akaashi and Bokuto even invite you here if he was still lingering on those feelings?

You had to wrestle your gaze away, turning back to the gaze and leaning further into Konoha. He wrapped a lazy arm around your shoulder, pulling you and steadying you toward him. You were able to remind yourself that, this time, you were definitely not alone. Even though Akaashi was still looking at you, you refused to turn back and it was only when Konoha turned did you wonder what was going on.

You watched your boyfriend turn to Akaashi and wave, shooting a kind smile which served as a placating look of feigned obliviousness, before lightly kissing the side of your head.

Akaashi turned away then.

You smiled to yourself, thinking no one else had seen the interaction. But Konoha knew you well and even playfully called you out in a low voice, “Oh? You liked that?”

“What? I can’t appreciate my own knight in shining armor?” You teased back, earning you a teasing pinch to your side.

“We’re here for a couple more hours, try not to seduce me any further.”

“Wha!” You contested as he flicked your forehead, “I was not.”

But Konoha just smirked at you, a fond expression on his face before turning back to the game. “You’re cuter than you give yourself credit for.”

You felt your cheeks flush, this was hardly the first time that he had said something like this. But somehow it always lit your cheeks aflame anyway.

The rest of the game went by very quickly, with your attention distracted to your boyfriend on your right. It was the simple things that you found so attractive - even so much as the small veins protruding in his arms when he flexed.

It was hot, ngl.

When the game ended, you were bracing yourself for something. Bokuto made his way to the reserved box, his loud voice above the crowd as many moved forward to greet him. You waited to the side, only moving when there was space to actually get a word in.

“(L/N)-san.” Bokuto greeted back, “I’m glad you came.”

He gave Konoha a high-five that progressed into a side-hug, boys. Somehow they had this handshake that you had never really seen before between the two.

“We hope to move this reunion back to our apartment.” Akaashi announced, many of the group agreed since it was a night before the weekend and no work the next day. They filled out individually, the rambunctious group loud against the cold walls. Haruki and Yukie lingered, you were sure since it was because you were still there.

You looked toward Konoha, there was no doubt that he would want to join in with his old-friends. Not that you really minded, it was just that now it was going to be taking place in the shared home of the two people who cheated on you. Were you mentally prepared to sit in a place that showcased all of their memories?

With the box emptying out, Akaashi approached the two of you first, “This may be the only semblance of quiet we have for the night.”

“Yeah.” You replied dumbly, unsure what to say. Konoha did not let go of your hand.

Yukie edged out of the room, but held-up a cell-phone motion as if she would call you to give you an out if needed. Haruki followed, but their pace was slow and their footsteps halted outside the door. They were probably going to wait, but just gave you your privacy. Bokuto was leaning against the wall by the door, waiting for the three of you.

“This has been drawn out for too long.” Akaashi continued once the door closed behind them, “I wanted to apologize for everything I did to you.”

“Oh?”

“You didn’t deserve it.” He stated, his kind-eyes now reflecting determination toward you, “I’ve long realized how selfish I was, trying to have both of your feelings. And it made me ashamed to think that I had never even properly apologized to you. I was so eager to speak, but never the right thing back then.”

You smiled, but said nothing. Not that you were unhappy, just overwhelmed with how earnest his apology was. You hadn’t expected Akaashi to be so genuinely repentant.

“You deserve all the happiness I could never give you and more.” Akaashi continued, his eyes lifting toward Konoha before dropping back to you. “I am so, so sorry.”

“Accepted.” You replied with an uneven smile, out-stretching a hand for him to take. Akaashi jumped at the chance, eagerly shaking your hand before shooting a grin back at you.

“Hey! Hey!” Bokuto started as he clapped a hand on Akaashi’s back, “And I’m sorry for keeping it a secret also, but...”

“But you loved him.” You finished for him. There was a time you wanted to step on Bokuto’s neck, but now you just felt nothing but understanding.

“That was a pretty dick move of me.” Bokuto continued.

“No hard feelings.” You replied back, earning a playful slap on the back from the wing-spiker that definitely hurt more than it was meant to.

“You were always the nicest one, (L/N)!” He said with a smile before turning to Konoha, “You’ve got a real catch here.”

Konoha smiled as he moved his hand to your waist and squeezed, “And I’ll never let her go.”

You gave him a similar smile, looking up at your boyfriend at feeling a fondness settle in your stomach over his kind yet protective nature. He looked down at you and couldn’t stop himself from lightly pecking you on the lips at that moment.

Bokuto let out a playful bristle and Akaashi shot you another one of his wistful smiles, but that was the least of your worries.

It had been a long time since you put those high-school days behind you. But there was a certain happiness, a content feeling inside you that had suddenly fostered at hearing his apology. You were more than ready to move onto your future, this toxic memory nothing but a stepping stone from your past.

➳ Masterlist ➳ Part One

734 notes · View notes

anglething73 · 3 years

Text

Sporting Activity Resolutions

Family Members Mediation At Rcj Guidance.

Content

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There are no rigid guidelines as to how to conduct a divorce mediation between you and your spouse. There are no formal written guidelines either. This is one of the great things about working with a professional divorce mediator. They know how to handle all kinds of situations, even if it is the first time they have been asked to mediate a case like yours.

What Is Youngster Comprehensive Mediation?

In a child custody mediation, you as a parent will sit with an expert mediator on matters relating to your child. He or she will listen to both sides of the story and try to find an agreement that both parents can live with. There is no magic formula; however, it's usually a lot more effective than simply arguing. Both sides are often aware of what they're trying to accomplish through the writing of a parenting plan.

Even though it is very helpful to have a third-party present during family mediation sessions, many people still wonder whether or not they should try to reach agreement through mediation. There are several factors that can determine if mediation is the right choice for the couple. If the individuals involved in the dispute do not feel comfortable discussing their disputes over the phone or face-to-face, then there may not be a good enough reason to attend mediation. Similarly, if the individuals are able to communicate and reach agreement over the phone, but they and their spouse continue to disagree about major aspects of the settlement, divorce may be the best option.

Portsmouth Mediation Service.

Another possible negative effect of family mediation is that some individuals may feel uncomfortable about discussing their marital problems with their spouse or ex-spouse. While family mediation Liverpool may view this as a positive thing, others may not want to discuss their problems with anyone except themselves. The purpose of these sessions is to increase understanding between the divorcing parties, and allow each person to gain an understanding of what is truly going on in the marriage. By involving the other family members in the process, individuals are allowing them to voice their concerns and to communicate about their fears and hopes. This is one of many ways that marriages can be repaired after divorce.

It's a little bit like going to court, but in household arbitration an arbitrator chooses based upon your conditions - not a court.

If court process have already begun, an order of the court which mirrors what was concurred in mediation can be made by arrangement of those included (referred to as a 'permission order' or a 'Tomlin order').

You can likewise choose where the hearing occurs as well as which issues you focus on.

The conciliator can make a decision mediation is not right for you (for instance, if there's been domestic abuse as well as you require to head to court instead).

The exact quantity you'll pay depends upon where you live as well as how long it takes you and your ex-partner to reach an arrangement.

Mediation can be cheaper than going to court, however it can still be expensive.

Hereafter, you'll have arbitration sessions where you, your ex-partner and the conciliator will certainly rest together to discuss your differences.

But then when the car starts to really break down, things can become complicated. Parents have completely different ideas on what should happen. They keep telling each other what to do and what to expect. They also fight about who should be paying what. If you want to resolve these issues and save your marriage, mediation might be a good idea.

For Apart Or Separating Pairs At Any Type Of Point In The Splitting Up Procedure.

You do not have to leave your home to take advantage of a divorce mediation. If you prefer to, you can also hire your own lawyer and represent yourself during the mediation. But you can get a lot more done if you work with a professional mediator who can do the job for you. You can make decisions about where you go for therapy, what you want to do for your child and what you want to be taught by the mediator.

But when the car starts to break down and start to break down even worse, problems can arise. This is where a child mediation service comes in. In this type of situation, the problem is much simpler because the parties can communicate with each other in good communication among family members. One person speaks on behalf of the child and the other speaks on behalf of the parents. These two people work together to create a very fair and just resolution.

It is important to remember that a child mediation might not work out the way you would like it to. Sometimes, the other party does not cooperate. This is especially true if there are a lot of family members who do not agree with what is being suggested. In addition, sometimes the mediator can be hard to work with. But generally speaking, most people do find that they can work well with a mediator.

Another issue that arises from using a third-party mediator for family mediation is that the parties to the divorce have to continue with ongoing counseling after the initial sessions are complete. This counseling may deal with the effects of the violence or abuse, and can help individuals begin to heal emotionally after the abuse or violence has been addressed. However, some abuse or violence does not end once the sessions have ended, and can continue to affect an individual for years to come. It is important for individuals to understand that the purpose of these sessions is not to end the dispute resolution process, but rather to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

Arbitration Does Not Function, Ive Currently Tried It.

It is also important to remember that mediators are not medical professionals. Therefore, individuals who are suffering from serious health issues or who are not in a mental state that is conducive to negotiations may not be suitable for family mediation. If you are interested in having your divorce finalized and are hesitant about doing so through court proceedings, then family mediation may be the best alternative. In addition, mediators are trained in all sorts of issues, such as child custody, spousal support and child support enforcement. This allows them to mediate relationships with all parties, regardless of how volatile the situation may currently be.

Is divorce mediation a good idea?

Anyone going through a divorce should consider mediation, which can work for almost all couples and has a long list of benefits. Mediation is much less expensive than a court trial or a series of hearings. The mediation process can improve communication between you and your spouse, helping you avoid future conflicts.

If you are trying to work out an amicable resolution between you and your ex, you can consider using child mediation to help you get there. It's a very effective process that can lead to a successful outcome for everyone. The process works best when both sides are calm and cool. But it can fail when one or both parties become combative or impatient. This will only make the situation more difficult and will probably not lead to a satisfactory outcome.

Child mediation is a very useful option for divorcing couples who want to avoid a full-blown court battle. Mediation can help them reach an agreement without having to go to court. But before you use mediation, make sure that you and your spouse have been able to solve your differences by talking. You should also make sure that the issues between you and your spouse are serious. If not, then a mediation might not be the right choice for you.

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figuretealeavely · 5 years

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IN THE LOOP - check yourselves

I recently had the chance to go to Skate Canada International in Montreal. It was a really wonderful experience and I feel grateful to have been able to enjoy it. The event was well-organized, the volunteers were incredibly nice, and the audience was supportive and friendly. It was therefore extremely dismaying to find that one of the newest and most popular journalism sources for figure skating had such a, frankly, inaccurate, skewed, and alarming perception of the event.

Let’s look at what In the Loop’s goals are:

When I first saw this I was really encouraged because I agree that this is what the sport needs. And I listened to a few early podcast episodes, which I thought were pretty enjoyable. However, last week, I tuned in again and found something rather uninformed in their tone about Russian skaters.

In re: Tarasova/Morozov:

Red: Yeah. They always look like there’s skating to the formula and they don’t really care [about] anything else as long as they’re getting what they need to get the high score that..I don’t know, it’s just very formulaic there’s not a whole lot of emotion like all were saying.

Yogeeta: Hashtag skating while Russian.

...

Red: That’s how it is with most of the Russian pairs, I’ve noticed. And sometimes even Russian Ice Dance, it’s just formulaic. It’s just there. It happens. They did really well technically, but you never really feel anything from it.

About Russians in general:

Yogeeta: Yeah. I think in general Romeo and Juliet programs - their music cut isn’t really good. I never want to hear a Romeo and Juliet voiceover that isn’t “Juliet” [Referring to Junhwan Cha’s voiceover] ever again.

Sam: Skaters out there, voiceover is for camp and very Russian programs. It’s not for you when you’re trying to be serious. It doesn’t work as well.

...

Red: I definitely liked her skating a lot more than some of the other Russian skaters I’ve seen in the past. You can tell that she really does enjoy what she does. She ended both of her performances with a huge smile, so that was really nice to see. But I still think there’s some of that in there, like what you usually see from a lot of these Russian skaters is just “We go out, we do our job, we get it done.” You know? It doesn’t feel as passionate. But I still think she did a really good job.

I was extremely shocked to read this blatantly UNEDUCATED take on pairs. Now, if someone decides that they don’t like “Russians” (whatever that means), I cannot stop you. But it is quite another thing to say that all Russians don’t show emotion, that you don't feel anything from it, and don’t enjoy what they do. Or that Russian pairs are “formulaic.” Perhaps they are not aware of the extensive, epic, and game-changing legacy of Russian pairs skaters. Or even worse, perhaps they are aware and choose to ignore it to write off the current pairs AND the entire history of the discipline in one go. Listen, if you don't know much about pairs, that’s totally fine. Not everyone likes every event. But don’t pretend to know what you’re talking about and spread this as the truth when it is clearly not steeped in any deep knowledge of the sport. Where is the “international perspective” or “in-depth historical data”?

I wish I could say things improved from there, but they did not. Again, the audience was VERY respectful at Skate Canada, did not boo anyone, cheered for all, and especially the home team skaters. By the way, for anyone who has ever attended a sporting event, this is normal behavior. I noticed I was sitting within viewing distance of the In the Loop crowd, but didn’t think much of it. But I want to emphasize this because I heard exactly what they heard in the same area of the rink. So when I read this:

Kite: I want to say I was not super impressed with some of the audience not really cheering for the non-Canadian skaters. It was something I noticed. I mean, it is an event in Canada, it’s called Skate Canada, of course you’re gonna be going all out for your home skaters.

...

Kat: Yeah, Vanessa and Morgan got a huge standing ovation and they got a lot of cheer, and obviously, they deserved it. And also Evgenia got a lot of cheering as well, but I guess she’s been adopted into the Canadians, kind of?

Kite: Well she’s also just so well known and I think she has become a pretty beloved figure for a lot of fans post-Olympics.

Kat: Yeah, I guess so.

Kite: So yeah, it was either if you were a very well known skater, or if you were a Canadian/French skater.

Nina: I wish the well-known points would have counted towards some of the Men’s skaters.

Gina: Yeah, it was really obvious when streaming that the crowd was just so half-hearted who wasn’t either really well known or Canadian.

I was a bit irked because the audience cheered for EVERYONE. Perhaps they were more enthusiastic about the Canadians but guess what? You are in Canada. It’s not exactly shocking behavior, and I’m glad to see the home skaters got attention. A truly rude crowd is one that is salty to their own - what we should encourage is more casual fans becoming serious fans, and that starts with them cheering for a home team. It’s true that for others it may start with the fact that the skater is another nationality, but the majority of people are not this way. Just a reality check.

By the way, it is really stretch to tie everyone who got super loud cheers back to Canada, or to assume that ALL CANADIANS LOVE FRENCH PEOPLE. Excuse me, what kind of generalization is this? Certainly NOT a primer “on cross-disciplinary areas such as sociology, medicine, media, gender studies, and politics.” I was at the event with many people and none of them found the crowd half-hearted. And guess what, only one of us was Canadian (no, it is not me) (no, I am not a middle-aged Canadian white person, in fact I am none of the above).

And then this:

Gina: I am going to get banned from Canada, I’m never allowed to enter, I find Canadians so boring.

Kite: Go off!

Gina: I’m sorry! I found the performance-

Nina: I was trying to be diplomatic.

Gina: Really one-note and really dull. I think they rely, especially in their Free Program, they rely a bit too much on the music to provoke a response in the audience rather than working with the music to create something themselves.

Kat: I agree.

Gina: I just find them so dull.

Kat: A note on the music: So they skated to Pink Floyd in their Free Skate, and that is such… A lot of the Canadians, I’ve noticed, pick oldies to skate to-

Nina: So Canadian…

Kat: Yeah, they pick oldies to skate to. That elicits a response from a certain demographic.

Gina: I think I’m about 30 years too young for Canada.

On Keegan:

Nina: Oh, I’m very curious to see what his scores will look like at other locations.

Kat: Yeah because our crowd obviously got really, really into his programs.

Gina: I don’t understand Canadians. I will say that I was correct last time that his Short Program is much more enjoyable when I mute the music.

Nina: This just in, Gina doesn’t like oldies.

It is extremely unprofessional and rude to write off an ENTIRE COUNTRY based off a few figure skating performances you found uninspiring. By the way, if Pink Floyd is an “oldie” that you dislike, then what exactly is Shoma Uno’s Led Zeppelin cover SP? The bias is rather jarring and way worse than anything I hear on live tv. Which by the way, is already pretty bad, so if your goal is to encourage “critical, educated fans” with “sociology” and “politics” I’d say you are doing pretty much the exact opposite of that.

In fact, they seem to have a very poor understanding of why Canada is a country that produces a lot of skaters, whether for themselves or others. During the ice dance event they say:

Kat: The most enthusiastic crowds for sure, like most of the front row seats were pretty filled for ice dance considering it was - they were both like early evening events as well, like they started at around six or seven. It's not super late either, so a lot more people were able to attend their, you know, it's like off work hours. I guess Canadians come watch Ice Dance when that happens.

Actually, rather than Canadians all collectively deciding to watch ice dance after work, In the Loop might want to consider that Montreal is currently the global hub of Ice Dance with Gadbois, and many of their teams were at this event. And I believe there was a large contingent of affiliated skaters, families, and friends in the stands. Do your diligence.

And then, back to the Russians:

Nina: The Free Dance seemed like it was supposed to be clean, and glassy, and very elegant, but they didn't really have the tech to back it up-

Kite: No, they do, they have good tech, like their tech is fine. It was just boring, like it didn't connect to the audience.

Nina: I feel like this will make no sense but it felt like their program wanted to be very lyrical- not lyrical, but like balletic, almost? Like the vibe-

Kat: That’s very Russian.

Very Russian, is it?

Let’s remind ourselves again:

Don’t overextend yourself before you educate yourself on what you’re actually trying to do. Please, In the Loop, moderate your tone and biases. It is very clear to me that you guys have your favorites - we all do. But there is absolutely no need to sacrifice education, information, professionalism, and your raison d’être above in order to talk about other countries’ figure skating traditions, fans, and history.

By the way, the last thing I want to do is censor anyone. If you want to say these things, by all means go ahead. But please do not try to come across as serious, objective journalists who encourage varied discussion because new fans will be influenced to follow your reasoning. It is not hard to lay out the facts and THEN present your biases as your own. There is no need to conflate the latter with the former.

As a final note, for fans who were so disappointed with the event and the people who attended, it seems they had no qualms about taking seats that they did not pay for and openly bragging about it on social media:

I am extremely disappointed in what was once a promising new journalism outlet losing credibility rather quickly via what appears to be unprofessional generalizations about culture, fandoms, and everything they purport to encourage discourse about. Do better, In the Loop.

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tsaritsa · 6 years

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against the run of play

hi @yanumii i was ur secret santa this year!!!! u asked for fic, a modern au, and royai: so i went a bit crazy and wrote a 7k multimedia fic extravaganza. i hope u enjoy it, and that u have a safe holiday period into 2k18!!!

you can also read on ao3

“Riza Hawkeye,” she lifted her glass in greeting.

He inclined his head in return and took the chair next to her. “Roy Mustang. What brings you to a charity gig this evening?”

(In which Roy Mustang is a national rugby hero and falls in love with neurotrauma specialist Riza Hawkeye as soon as he lays eyes on her).

He’s been seen out and about in Briggs with internationally-ranked ice-skater Olivier Armstrong, 36.

But rugby royalty Roy Mustang, 28, stepped out solo for his trip to East City last week, and tried to go incognito as he arrived at Bardowick-Lyles station late Thursday afternoon.

The captain of the Drakes cut a casual look with oversized black shades as he tried to dodge the prying eyes of the afternoon commuters.

Braving the cold in a black winter coat with pearl buttons, Mustang kept it cosy in a light blue jumper and worn black jeans.

He matched his elegant coat with midnight Tom Ford boots, emblazoned with a bold red strap over the foot.

He stylishly pulled the look together with a tan messenger bag with statement buckle to give off a touch of glamour.

The sighting comes after a report from the Central Star that the rugby superstar is getting serious with ice-skater Olivier Armstrong, who has just come back from the competition circuit in Drachma. Though there have been no photos of the two together, several sources have reported on their dates.

Olivier attended his last home game in East City last November. And Mustang headed to Briggs with her where they were both spotted enjoying the sights at Lake Yastreb, well-known in the region for its picturesque views and opportunities to skate on the lake itself.

'Roy and Olivier are definitely dating,' a source tells Central Star. 'They’ve gotten to know each other really well and are very comfortable from one another.

'Olivier sends Roy music to get his opinion on what she should choreograph her pieces to. It’s more than just a fling.' 'They’ve been dating since early autumn and spend most nights hanging out at his holiday home in northern Central and laying low,' another source told the Central Star.

'His friends already love her and see how happy she makes him,' it was claimed.

The Drakes face off against Creta this Saturday at the Eastern ‘Cake Tin’ Stadium, in which punters are expecting the professional debut of newly-signed scrum-half, Edward Elric.

Roy Mustang is supposedly single!

While it was previously reported the Rugby Union star was ‘casually dating’ the pretty figure skater Olivier Armstrong, he says he's not worrying about his love life for now (though he did not outright deny that he and Olivier have been seeing!)

He told The Bell:

"It's not that I'm not pursuing love in some sense, but I'm just focusing on the team right now. We have some really exciting games coming up against the new Creta lineup and training has been non-stop. The spare time that I do have, I want it to be fun and casual and light and easy-going."

Well, there's nothing wrong with fun and casual!

Anyway, Roy isn't worrying about being in a serious relationship at the moment, but maybe some time in the future:

"I'm sure there will come a time when I'm ready to make a more serious commitment and be in a relationship like that – one where I can really focus my time on someone else – but I'm thrilled to be able to keep things simple at the moment."

And for now he's focusing on his fellow teammate (and self-proclaimed best friend) Maes Hughes' happiness in his engagement to Gracia Barker:

"I was really excited and anxious to hear from Maes on the day that I knew he was going to pop the question. When I finally did, it was just the best. I think they’ve found their other half in each other and it's wonderful to see them so happy. It's rare in a lot of cases and when you see it happen it brings you an overwhelming sense of joy."

Aww!

Roy can live vicariously through them AND still enjoy the single life!

Riza huffed as she adjusted the dress she wore, cursing under her breath as she shot a pained smile towards her grandfather across the dance floor. She understood that the job her grandfather had – as the leader of their country – was important, but he made it very hard for her to appreciate his role when he forced her to attend these soirées as his informal date. You’ll meet plenty of men this way, he had cajoled her, eyes twinkling.

Of course, it didn’t matter to Führer George Grumman the III that his only grandchild had no current plans to meet a man and settle down – she was having plenty of fun focusing on her job as a doctor in a small borough just an hour out of Central City. It was challenging work, as well as rewarding, and it frustrated Riza to no end that her grandfather refused to see her as she was, rather than as someone she could potentially become.

She would, however, give him credit for the dress she was trying to wrestle with discreetly as she could manage. Despite the awkward way she felt it sat on her body, she would admit that she looked damn good in it. It was one of the more scandalous-worthy dresses on show tonight – she had been approached by an up-and-coming designer who knew her through a co-worker that worked on the surgery side of head trauma (she thought it was funny how small the world could be at times) – and the designer had arrived last week with this hip-hugging, gossamer affair. Truthfully, the dress actually stopped at the top of her thighs: the rest was a delicate gauze embellished with floral appliqués that accented the long length of her thighs and calves. It was a bold choice that Riza knew had some of the high society girls fuming – technically she hadn’t broken the dress code, but she knew she was walking on a very thin line between looking chic and modern and looking downright scandalous.

Whatever. If she had to be dragged to be paraded around on her grandfather’s arm, at least she could look stunning while doing it.

Tonight was a charity event – these were par for the course for her. The causes were almost always something she could easily support, and the press tended to be minimal (and generally only the legitimate forms of press would even turn up to these sorts of events).

Unfortunately for Riza, this particular charity event was something she was struggling to find an ounce of support for. It didn’t help that their supporters and partners had hadn’t really given much thought to the security of the whole event. Gate crashers kept seeming to wriggle their way in, and the few men on duty had their hands full trying to ensure than nobody was unduly accosted.

It was just her luck that the entire Drakes team had been invited to attend, and with them, every person with a smartphone and a nametag saying, ‘Hello I’m an invasive journalist’ had turned up to report (intrusively investigate, a little voice in the back of her head whispered).

The main speeches that had practically bordered on self-congratulation had already been done (thank god), and the dinner had been alright (the only saving grace). The mingling afterwards was what she didn’t enjoy, but it was barely ten o’clock yet and she had promised her grandfather that she would stay until at least half past. This event had been sponsored by the national rugby board, celebrating the commencement of a new initiative that would see coaches and equipment being deployed to the poorer regions of the country. If her grandfather was considered the head of this nation, rugby was undoubtedly the heart. And the lungs. And the kidneys. And any other vital organ in the body. Amestris without rugby was…well, a country of little international standing and an awful lot of sheep per capita.

It was in their blood, or so the saying went. Everyone either played or watched the national sport. There was never any discussion about disliking rugby: naturally, that never factored into the equation at all. Riza could remember playing it as a young child – even the other sports made available at her school all paled in comparison to the funding and exposure that rugby got.

Her grandfather knew she wasn’t the biggest fan of rugby – being a neurotrauma specialist meant she often dealt with people suffering from concussions and other injuries that were common in the sport: so spending an evening with the people who actively ignored any warnings she and her colleagues put out about the inherent dangers of such an oft-contact sport was just peachy.

Also, Roy Mustang was here. Riza didn’t have anything against the man personally; she was just sick of seeing his name and face plastered across her newspapers, social media feed, christ – even her bread wasn’t safe from his smarmy expression, endorsing her use of wholegrains and encouraging her to learn more at playrugby.co.am

The overexposure of such a man was to be expected, she supposed. He was the captain of the Drakes – the national rugby team, and played in the local league for the East Eagles. Alongside Hughes, Armstrong (the male one, his older sister did figure-skating and was reputed to be as cold as the ice she worked on) and the up-and-coming Elric Brothers, the national team was formidable, to say the least – and that was only the names that she could remember off the top of her head. The Drakes were currently ranked number one in the world, and for good reason. She’d give him this, Mustang was talented – after years of embarrassing defeats and almost-wins against Creta (their arch rivals), Mustang had swanned onto the scene and essentially rebuilt the team from the ground up. The drinking and bashing tabloids went away, the team practically became good at rugby overnight, and the country’s morale was at an all-time high.

Mustang had given the country something to be proud of, and that in turn made the country better for it.

She spied him across the room, talking with her grandfather and other men in suits. George was a big fan of the rugby, and Riza knew her grandfather would certainly be enjoying himself tonight, surrounded by plenty of players to natter off to. She remembered that he used to play when he was haler and heartier: tonight would probably be the highlight of his social engagement calendar for this season.

It was rather funny to watch the man try to extract himself from what looked to be a very one-sided conversation with her grandfather – Riza was well-versed in various modes of escape from him once he got into an animated discussion, but in this case Mustang seemed to be at her grandfather’s mercy. Eventually another team member had wandered over and she saw him quickly duck his way out, skirting the edges of the ballroom.

“I see you’ve met the ‘real’ Führer,” she called out to him as he passed her table. He turned back to look at her, confused.

She smiled kindly at him and his face lit up in understanding. “You saw that, then?”

“It’s been fun watching everyone realise what they’ve gotten themselves into. You did remarkably well.”

She poured herself another flute of sparkling wine and raised her eyebrows at her companion.

“Riza Hawkeye,” she lifted her glass in greeting.

He inclined his head in return and took the chair next to her. “Roy Mustang. What brings you to a charity gig this evening?”

“I’m here as my grandfather’s date,” she replied. It was the truth, after all. But with men like Mustang, she relied on their own fame and notoriety to eclipse hers. There had been no spark of recognition at her first name (which usually gave it away). It was refreshing to be a simple civilian, talking to another, slightly more (okay, extremely well-known) civilian. Besides, she was interested in seeing how he was off the field, and out of the press scrum after every game. He had always presented himself as polite and engaged – but here, amongst his peers, Riza would have an opportunity to see the real man.

“That’s very kind of you,” he said politely, fiddling with the stem of his glass. “Is he involved with the board?”

“Not quite,” she hedged, ducking her head. “To be honest he’s not a very important person in the scheme of it all, not here certainly. Not like you, however.” A teasing smile pulled at her lips. “You’re the man of the hour.”

Roy sighed, shifting in his chair to see her properly. “It’s a good venture.”

“I never said it wasn’t,” Riza said coolly. “But you don’t look like you’re having fun, despite all the attention.”

Roy folded his arms over his chest and Riza tried to ignore how his dress shirt pulled in all the right places. “You don’t sound like you’re having much fun either.”

“Why would I? Your board never listens to me: being stuck in a room with them is not my idea of a good Thursday night.”

He paused, frowning. “What do you mean about the board?”

Perhaps it was the all the wine she had drunk throughout the night (well, something needed to get her through their inane speeches); perhaps it was the fact that she would be able to give Mustang the slip in just under ten minutes; perhaps Riza had the slim hope that maybe he would listen to her, even if nobody else would.

The words spilled out of her before she could think to what impact they might have. “I’m a neurotrauma specialist. I’ve written entire books on how a blow to the head affects your cognitive function later on in life. Your board seems to think their players are immune to those effects.”

His eyes bugged a little out of his head and Riza allowed herself a small smirk. It wasn’t an attack on him directly – hell, he would probably be one of the worst-off players considering how long he’d been playing for the Drakes now – but there was something perversely fun about educating the star of rugby about its inherent failings and dangers.

“I mean-” he was struggling for words here, moving forward in his seat. “I’d heard the rumours but – surely they would listen, at the very least?”

Riza shrugged, finishing off her glass. “You tell me. Every paper I send them – internationally peer-reviewed, mind you – is quickly ignored. They don’t want the proof that the current form of the game is slowly killing their star players.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe you’ll have more luck with them than I do. I mean the game no disrespect, but with how it’s embedded into our day-today-lives-” she waved an arm around for emphasis. “It’s not just retired players and people with over twenty concussions. I’m getting children in now because they’ve have a hard knock and it’s screwed them up. There’s absolutely no focus on safety, just on how manly it is. And a gala like this? It’s only going to exacerbate the problem.”

He had grown quiet, looking at something over her shoulder with apprehension.

“I heard from your grandfather that you had come along with him tonight, but I never imagined you would be so rude as to spread lies when you’re here as our guest,” an oily voice said from behind her.

“Chairman Raven,” Roy said carefully, moving out of his chair and shaking the older man’s hand.

Riza stood up to, and made a point of extending her hand towards the man as well. His cologne was overpowering as he gripped her hand with more force than necessary, she could feel it settling onto her skin like the sardines her grandfather liked to eat for lunch. Everything about him screamed money and power.

“It’s hardly a lie, I’m afraid,” she replied coolly, enjoying how his gaze hardened. “I have nearly eight years’ worth of data now. Every year you ignore me I just add to my statistics some more.”

“Chairman, I think it might be worth looking into this,” Roy said earnestly, and Riza felt a rush of affection for him as he stood next to her, their shoulders barely brushing. “I saw Basque only just last week and he had been telling me-”

“A conversation for another time, I think,” Raven said pointedly, still looking at Riza with barely contained distaste. “You’ll have to forgive Mr. Mustang: he sees a pretty face and simply loses all common sense.”

Riza felt the smile freeze on her face. Roy had grown very still next to her, and she willed for him to say something – anything. The silence stretched on, and Raven’s lewd smile grew.

“I think we should give Mr. Mustang more credit than that,” she said eventually, tasting bile on her tongue. “At least he doesn’t judge at first glance.”

“Because there’s so much to judge the granddaughter of the Führer on, isn’t there?” Raven inclined his head at the two of them. “It was nice talking to you again, Miss Hawkeye.”

“Doctor Hawkeye,” she ground out.

Raven laughed loudly. “Of course, silly me. Doctor Hawkeye.”

Roy turned on her as soon as the older man was out of earshot; Riza let go of a breath she didn’t realise she was still holding onto.

“You’re George’s granddaughter?”

“Yes,” she said distractedly, checking her watch for the time. “My grandmother doesn’t have the patience for these sorts of things, so I come along instead.”

“His granddaughter-”

“I need a drink,” she said tiredly, finally looking up at him. His mouth was gaping open inelegantly and she smiled softly, placing her fingers on his underside of his chin to close his mouth gently. “Would you care to join me? I find Chairman Raven robs me of all energy.” Her fingers lingered on his jaw for a moment, savouring the heat of his skin against her own.

He stared at her, confused, before nodding and offering her his arm. “I know a good bar a few blocks from here,” he said lightly.

“You read my mind, Mr Mustang. Lead the way.”

She woke with a start, and immediately wished she hadn’t moved so quickly. The room swam; her vision swam; her head swam.

Riza had the worst hangover in living memory. Her legs were wrapped awkwardly around a sheet and she struggled for a few moments before flopping back onto the bed, breathing deeply and trying her best not to hurl onto the ground.

How much did I drink last night? Her head was throbbing painfully now, and she realised with growing dread that she didn’t recognise where she was.

She also wasn’t wearing anything.

FuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckityfuckfuckFUCK.

Another wave of nausea passed over her and she rolled onto her side, blearily opening her eyes to figure out exactly where she had ended up. The room was familiar – maybe one of the hotels in the CBD? The room was pretty basic in its setup, but the furniture spoke of moderate wealth. Riza sat up slowly, not caring how the bedsheet fell and pooled around her hips. She could spy her dress crumpled up on the floor, and her shoes kicked off on the sofa.

How in the fuck am I going to get out of this?

She heard movements to her left, and watched with horror as Roy Mustang’s head emerged from beneath the other half of the bedsheet, like the birth of the world’s most hungover butterfly. He blinked slowly up at her, his mouth opening and shutting.

“Where did your dress go?” he asked, puzzled. Riza shrieked, quickly grabbing the sheet back up.

“God, not so loud I beg you-”

“What the fuck happened last night-”

“Did we-?”

“I think we-”

“Christ, I would never mean to take advantage of you like that, I’m so sorry-”

She held up a hand and took a deep breath. “We were both obviously drunk – it’s – it’s not ideal. But it’s alright, it – this shit happens.” She gripped the bedsheet tightly against her chest.

He curled around a pillow and looked at her with an expression she couldn’t be bothered to figure out. “I’m glad it was you,” he said honestly, wincing at how tactless he sounded. “I mean – you know, people throwing themselves at you for your fame?”

“Yeah…” she nodded her head uncertainly. “I-”

“ROY!” A voice boomed from outside, the two of them tensed, and looked at each other warily.

“Fuck, it’s Maes,” he whispered harshly, running a hand through his hair – if it was his bedhead before, Riza didn’t know what to call whatever the mess was now on top of his head. He pushed himself off the bed and puttered around the bed; Riza found it hard to tear her eyes away from his body. Yes, she knew he was fit but – it was different seeing it in the flesh.

“You won’t want to wear that out,” he said, gesturing to her dress on the floor while shimmying on his boxer shorts. “I think I have some spare clothes you can borrow.”

“It’ll be fine-”

“Dressed to the nines?” He laughed and shook his head. “We’ve got press with us at the moment – they might be sport-focused, but I’ll wager they’ll be quicker to pick up on who you are than I was.”

She bit her lip: he had a point, despite her apprehension. Of course the media would be here – it was a bloody miracle that Roy had taken them to a little bar off a side street where nobody seemed to care who they were.

The knocking on the door was becoming more insistent. “ROY WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU LAZY SON OF A-”

“I’M COMING, MAES!” He yelled back, throwing her a wrinkled t-shirt and shorts; she quickly put them on. They were a loose fit, but it would have to do, at least until she could hail an uber to take her home. He ducked into the bathroom, she could hear the taps running at full tilt.

She was just bending down to pick up her wallet when the door suddenly flew open and Maes walked in, looking harried and ready to draw blood.

“Roy, I swear on my grave you are gonna get it-”

He stopped as he saw Riza crouching by the side of the bed.

“Oh shit, Roy. What have you done?”

Roy walked out the bathroom, scrubbing at his face with a washcloth. His shoulders slumped as he saw his best friend, and he walked over to where Riza was standing, frozen like a deer in the headlights. “Look, I’ll-”

“It’s fine,” she whispered lowly, very aware of how this must look to the deputy captain: here was the Führer’s granddaughter dressed in his best friend’s clothing and looking thoroughly shagged. “I’ll go, and you can – can deal with whatever is going on-”

“Riza-”

She placed her free palm against his chest and breathed in deeply. “It’s fine-”

He dipped his head and kissed her chastely on the mouth, a little part of her melted at the fact that despite his being needed elsewhere, he was still here, with her. His fingers curled against the side of her face and she tried her best not to see too much into this: he was just being a gentleman and –

“Roy this can’t wait-”

He ripped his lips from hers and breathed deeply, resting his forehead against her own.

“I swear-”

She nodded, trying her best not to let her emotions get the better of her. “Maybe we’ll – later.”

“Later,” he breathed, kissing her forehead lightly before picking up her shoes and handing them to her. “Take the stairwell, it’ll lead you to the back entrance and away from the main road.”

Maes was quiet as he watched her gather her purse and slip out of the room. “You didn’t answer your phone,” he explained, handing his own over. The local news site was loaded, and Roy sucked in a breath as he read the headline.

BREAKING: ZOLF J. KIMBLEE FOUND GUILTY OF DOPING DRAKES ON BEHALF OF DRACHMAN BEARS. MORE TO FOLLOW.

“Christ,” Roy muttered, skimming the article before handing the phone back to Maes, quickly putting on his team jacket. “Of course it was Kimblee.”

Maes shrugged. “We all knew something was coming. What I’m more interested in is-”

“Absolutely not.” His voice brokered no argument and Maes deflated a little. “It’s not – we’ve got more important things to worry about right now.”

“Is she just a one-off or-?”

Roy rubbed his eyes roughly, sighing. “For fucks sake, you know me better than that. Later mate, when I’m not hungover.”

Maes slung his arm around Roy’s shoulders, and coaxed him down the hall towards the elevator. “I’ll hold you to that. Anyway, Kimblee was found with the drugs in his room, and his phone’s been confiscated by the police. All you need to do is look solemn and refuse to answer any questions.”

“That should be easy.”

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:28pm when did u manage to put ur number into my phone

elizabeth, 5:31pm Sorry, who is this?

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm man this is embarrassing UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm it’s roy UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm y’know UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:33pm the dude u marked to hell and back UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:33pm i had to fend off so many questions from maes about u

elizabeth, 5:34pm Oh shit elizabeth, 5:36pm Thank you for sending back my dress. I owe you

concussion boy, 5:37pm go out to lunch with me tomorrow and i’ll call it even

elizabeth, 5:39pm They said you were slick on the field

concussion boy, 5:40pm meet u at the café on the corner of elm and lyles? 12ish?

elizabeth, 5:44pm I’ve got a meeting at 1pm back at the hospital so it’ll have to be a short lunch

Looks like Roy Mustang scores on AND off the field!

On Saturday, the Drakes star was snapped out and about with the gorgeous First Granddaughter Riza Hawkeye, and it seems like these two had quite a ball on their lunch date!

The precious pair hit up Il Pomadoro in the Carlston borough of Western Central, and they were totally getting their flirt on after the meal!

The accomplished neurosurgeon and the captain of the Drakes were caught on camera smiling and laughing, and Riza even tried to grab for something in the athlete's hands!

And close sources say this isn't just a hit-it-and-quit-it date! Insiders say that these two are, in fact, dating, but it's still very new, which is why they're trying to keep it on the down-low.

For example, when the sports star was asked about being spotted on the outing later that week, he responded by saying:

"I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about."

Playing coy, Mr. Mustang?!

We appreciate the effort, but those snaps are pretty telling!

[Images courtesy of Lily Marrell.]

Things are heating up between Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in the cold winter weather… literally!

On Tuesday night, the blonde beauty and the charismatic captain were spotted hanging out together once again! The stars were caught on camera at a Starbucks near Mount Kahma, about five hours north of New Optain.

Since the cosy ski resort is probably one of the few places in the Eastern District that actually gets cold, the precious pair was most likely trying to get their body heat rising… with some coffee! LOL get your mind out of the gutter!

The romance rumours surrounding these two have been in a flurry ever since the pair were spotted talking at a charity ball sponsored by the National Rugby Union. Miss Hawkeye, a talented neurotrauma specialist at Central General had apparently charmed the Drakes Captain with not just her enviable fashion sense, but her brain as well. Sources say that Roy was smitten with her from the very beginning, while Riza took a little time to warm up to the fly-half.

Do you think the relationship between this dynamic duo is more than platonic? Or are Roy and Riza just friends? This girl hopes that Roy Mustang isn’t off the bachelor market just yet!

[Image courtesy of Lorne Yoki.]

It’s heartbreak on top of heartbreak for Olivier Armstrong, 36, and Roy Mustang, 28, and sources claim to The Daily Star that Roy has betrayed Olivier by seeing another woman for the past five months. ‘Roy finally admitted to Olivier that he had fallen in love with another woman! They had to hide their feelings, but they’ve been seeing each other on the sly whenever they could over the last five months,’ an insider reveals. ‘Their friendship turned into something more as time went on.’ OMG!

So who is this alleged mystery woman? None other than the granddaughter of the Führer, Riza Hawkeye. ‘She’s a neurotrauma specialist, and often attends charity events as a date to her grandfather,’ the source adds. Sounds like they run in the same circles. ‘As such, they had crossed paths at numerous events, both in Amestris and abroad, for some time,’ the insider reveals. ‘She’s classically beautiful and was educated in Creta, as well as here at Central U — and the attraction between her and Roy was immediate!’ Whoa, sounds pretty serious.

Miss Hawkeye has been described as somewhat of a gold-digger in certain circles – she was largely left out of the public eye as George Grumman soared to power in the election of ’19, and the insider reveals that there’s talk amongst those closest to the rugby star that she’s after a ring to solidify her social standing amongst the WAG’s of the Drakes. ‘She grew up in a very poor household until her grandfather took her under his wing, so she’s very hungry for any kind of power. We honestly can’t see what he sees in her.’

Of course, Roy had to eventually tell Olivier about his secret love. ‘Roy finally came clean to Olivier about his new woman just a few days before her Grand Prix competition at North City,’ the insider says, referring to that dramatic and shocking exit by Olivier in the semi-finals. ‘At first Olivier was stunned — and certainly blindsided — by Roy’s confession. But then she got furious. It wasn’t pretty,’ the source shares. We can only imagine. Olivier is considered one of the strongest skaters in the world – she must have truly been heartbroken to be affected like this.

Perhaps Riza will see her true influence now – not as a doctor saving lives, but as one ruining them too.

concussion boy, 2:31pm i know u saw the daily star article. rebecca dm’ed me. concussion boy, 2:31pm u can’t just keep ignoring me concussion boy, 2:32pm we need to talk about this

elizabeth, 2:26pm there’s nothing to talk about

concussion boy, 2:27pm i’ll make sure i get a concussion next match unless we talk concussion boy, 2:27pm u know i will concussion boy, 2:28pm and then u will have to treat me and be a professional while i ogle u concussion boy, 2:29pm har har

“You never thought to tell me it was a PR relationship?”

“It didn’t seem – I mean, if you had met Olivier-”

Riza let out a shriek of frustration. “But I haven’t, Roy. I don’t move in the same circles as you! Was it her? Did she tell them to write this?”

Roy held up his hands in defeat. “No, she wouldn’t. She doesn’t get revenge that way. I just – I know our lives have been busy! Between you, and getting the team through this fucking doping scandal-”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Because I’m such a hassle, aren’t I? You know that’s not what I meant. It’s not like I’m deciding to date the next guy I meet in the bakery – you’re Roy Mustang! Every man, woman and unborn child knows who you are. It was foolish to think that we’d be able to keep it quiet for any length of time, you’ve always got media after you-”

Roy snorted, shaking his head. “And you’re the Führer’s granddaughter, who is known in the public eye-”

“Because he asks me!” She wrung her hands, trying her best not to get upset. “He always gives me the option to say no! You never asked me if this is what I wanted, you just took me out on a date and hoped like mad the press wouldn’t catch wind-”

“Didn’t stop you from fucking me in the hotel.”

She stood there, mouth open and gaping like a fish. “That’s not – you can’t just – we-”

He laughed humourlessly, a pale imitation of a smile on his face. “Right. I see how it is. You’re allowed to hang that over my head for as much as you care to do, but as soon as I try to make a point you won’t even fucking listen. Are you sure that it’s me who’s has the multiple head injuries?” It was an a needlessly cruel jab and part of Roy regretted it the moment it left his mouth. His idea of a ‘mild press day’ was probably far beyond whatever she had experienced – but still –

She sat down on the sofa, her head in her hands. Her shoulders were trembling. “Don’t,” she said forcefully when he went to sit next to her, her arm flung out in a final stand.

There was an ugly silence as Roy stood there, hand hovering in the space where her own was being held. She swallowed what sounded like a sob before she raised her head and tucked her arms against her body, blinking her watery eyes.

“Never use my job against me again,” she said coldly, before shifting on the sofa, inclining her head slightly. He sat down, and she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.

“You’re used to the press,” her hand found his and she laced her fingers with his tightly. “You’re used to how they write about you, how they-”

“But-”

“Please let me finish, Roy.” Her voice was firm, but tired. “You have an entire team of people who coach you in how to deal with the media; that same team protects you from the worst of it. I don’t have that luxury. Being the granddaughter of the Führer means that people are aware of me, yes – but I’m no more than a line in an article; perhaps included in a single society photo with my grandfather because he wants one of the two of us. No more than that.” She paused, and shifted against him.

“I have complete strangers approaching me at my work. Making up fake head injuries so I’ll see them – taking up a spot that could be used by somebody who actually needs the medical attention. The girlfriend of Roy Mustang.” Riza laughed bitterly. “It’s like I’m in zoo or something. Back when people saw me for who my grandfather was, not for my own achievements. I worked hard to get to where I am today – to be reduced in such a way, it’s–”

She sighed heavily. “This is the reality I’m living with. Please understand that.”

Roy nodded slowly, squeezing her hand lightly. “I didn’t consider,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

She lifted their joined hands and kissed his knuckles delicately. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when it happened. I just…I thought I could deal with it. They’re only articles.”

“And you’re just a person,” Roy soothed. “A brilliant, smart, and kind person-” she laughed shakily, “-but a person nonetheless. I’ll see what I can do about the tabloids. They weren’t this harsh on Gracia.”

dickhead bf, 09:28am sorry to inform u but i’m breaking up with u dickhead bf, 09:29am i know this will be hard for u dickhead bf, 09:29am i'll send some flowers so the world knows i’m a gentleman

ice monster, 09:40am fuck off ice monster, 09:40am i’ve seen the articles. is she staying for longer than 2 months?

dickhead bf, 09:48am har bloody har. she just doesn’t want any press cooking up a story we all know to be fake dickhead bf, 09:50am they haven’t been kind to her

ice monster, 09:52am cry me a river mustang. she knows what’s she’s getting into right? fuhrer’s grandkid and all that ice monster, 09:54am seriously tho, congrats. didn't think there was anybody who could deal with ur arse 24/7. wish her luck from me

dickhead bf, 09:55am you’d probably like her. doesn't put up with any of my shit and makes me ring my mum once a week

ice monster, 09:56am real wife material there ice monster, 10:11am oh ffs DO NOT propose to her yet otherwise i’ll get stuck with ur press cycle again. ur meant to make me look GOOD

dickhead bf, 10:28am i know. say hi to jon for me

Olivier Armstrong may have a new man her life!

On Monday, it was reported by The Standard that the renowned figure skater has been spending time with Jonathon Buccaneer for the last few weeks. AH-Mazing!

However, the 32-year-old's family have declined to comment on her possibly changed #RelationshipStatus. Well, that's not a no!

According to the paper, the twosome went on a romantic getaway together to Beaumont, Western District where they supposedly went on scenic hikes into the mountains and basked in the sunshine. Too cute!

Still, we have to wonder, who exactly is this mystery beau?? Ch-ch-check out these five fast facts on Olivier’s (possible) new squeeze!

Mr. Buccaneer has an automail arm: Apparently, he has a variety of different get-ups for different jobs. It’s unknown how he lost it, and no sources close to the man have offered up any hints. We can’t imagine how he lost it, what with working in the military and all…

He has NOTHING to do with professional sports: Surprisingly, Olivier is dating a normal guy who works at as a military analyst for the Briggs outpost for the military. Mind blown!

Olivier’s rumoured BF is SUPER smart: The 35-year-old is said to have gone to not one, but TWO ranked universities. Yep, Jon went to the University of Amestris for his undergraduate education and also attended Briggs Military Academy. Remember, the blonde beauty graduated from Central U herself!

This possible boyfriend is ALSO a fan of nature: Reportedly, his now private Instagram account showed a series of pics of Jon being in the great outdoors, hiking, and camping in the Northern Ranges. Colour us impressed!

Jon may be exactly what Olivier needs to finally move on from her supposed ex: the athlete was said to be heartbroken following the news that rugby player Roy Mustang had given her the slip and moved onto the granddaughter of the Führer, Riza Hawkeye.

Maybe now Olivier feels ready to be happy with someone new. Is that someone Jon?

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rebecca asked worriedly, glancing around the now deserted gangway of the stadium: the cheers were muffled, but still echoed hollowly against the cool concrete. “Like follow your heart and all that shit but it’s not gonna be a decision you can just turn your back on-”

“I know ‘Becca,” Riza replied quietly, toying with the shirt in her hands: the deep blue fabric slid easily over her fingers, the flecks of silver embroidery glinted back at her merrily. “But…I’ve got to meet him halfway, don’t I?”

Rebecca snorted. “This is more than halfway. Halfway is following his actual twitter handle instead of the spoof one – you do know it’s a spoof right? It’s important to me that you know it’s a spoof account-” Riza didn’t respond, watching one of the nearby television screens with interest as the Drakes began to run out onto the field.

Rebecca’s cheeks puffed out as she waved a hand in front of her friend’s dazed face. “This is like…eighty-five percent from you and only fifteen from him. He’s playing a game anyway – he’s not gonna see you until the second half at least with where we’re sitting!”

“That’s the point, ‘Becca. I do not want to be blamed for his fucking up of a conversion.”

Rebecca sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. “It’s Drachma, Riza. They’re not gonna lose.”

“And I am not going to take any chances,” Riza replied primly, quickly putting on the shirt over the top of her singlet. It was a little baggy, but the fact that she was even able to have one – she’d have to think of something to give to Hughes to say thank you; the man was surprisingly cunning and determined. She never stood a chance of getting out of this anyway. She smoothed down the fabric and spun on her foot. “How does it look?”

“Like the cheesiest gesture since that nineteen-page spread of Hughes’ kid.” She fixed her friend with a hard stare. “You have thought about this? Like I’m not trying to jump the gun or anything here but if you guys get married or have a kid-”

“Yes, I have,” she answered irritably. “We’ve talked about how we move forward. I know the press is never going to go away but…it would be nice to give them something positive to spin. This entire week has just been about how I broke Olivier’s heart by stealing Roy away and-” she bit her lip and smiled weakly at her friend. “I need to show that I’m serious about this too.”

“This is the best way?”

“Hughes reckons it is. The press seems to like him, I’ve got no reason to suspect he’d prank his best friend quite so publicly.”

“Alrighty,” Rebecca said with an air of finality, gesturing to gate 28. “Are you ready to face the music?”

Riza nodded. “Let’s go.”

It’s official! And in the sweetest way imaginable.

The Drakes may have had their best win against the Drachman Bears yet (74-6), but nobody is going to be talking about that (not even about the Drachman doping scandal), not after Roy Mustang’s reaction to seeing his now-confirmed girlfriend Riza Hawkeye wearing his rugby number to the game last night.

It wasn’t until after the final whistle had blown that Roy had noticed her, sitting in the front row alongside friends, insiders say. As they were congratulating their opponents, running back Maes Hughes had quickly caught up to his friend on the field, motioning to where the Führer’s granddaughter was watching. Obviously someone had been paying attention to more than just the game!

Roy was meant to be making his way over to be interviewed post-game – as Captain, it’s his job to represent the team immediately in the aftermath. Not last night though!

Instead, he made his way over to where Riza was sitting and jumped the billboard boundaries with ease, motioning at the nearest security guard to open the gate to where the seating was. Riza was quickly pushed out of her seat by an alleged friend and all but fell into her beau’s arms onto the pitch proper, smiling widely from ear to ear before Roy kissed her soundly on the mouth.

If the cheers from the stadium crowd were anything to go by, Central City appears to back this couple too!

A love story like this comes once in a lifetime – let’s hope it goes the distance!

[Watch the video 1:32m]

fin

the spoof account is a reference to holy musical b@man – “someone already took the twitter name ‘roymustang’ and all they do is tweet about how dumb i am.”

three guesses to who owns that account (and no, it’s not hughes)

#royai #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #fullmetal alchemist #fmasecretsanta2017 #fma fanfiction #my fanfic #this fic got wildly out of control but i do hope u enjoy it!!!!

182 notes · View notes

starchildsteven · 7 years

Note

I know you've mentioned your headcanons for children of the UD gang, but could you describe their kids in more detail? Like appearance, personality etc

Okay anon, myheadcanons are very much always in flux and I have differentversions of most. Especially in the ‘after the game’ category. Sojust as a heads up I’m basing this on THIS version of my UD childrenheadcanons because it is the only one that I have a detailedheadcanons for and really it’s the only one of them that isgenuinely happy.

—

Josh (Jay) has onetrait in common with his mother Ashley, her green eyes. They bothcried over it a lot when he was very young because sometimes lookinginto his green eyes was extremely painful as they are also the samecolor of his namesake’s. He’s a Joshua with green eyes and thathurts, so they decide to call him Jay instead. Chris still cries overit sometimes but much less often. Other than that Jay could not bemore his father’s son. In looks or attitude, he literally looksnothing like Ashley. He is a serious show off and know-it-all far toomuch smarter than his peers. He has quite the obsession with buildingthings in the garage. Unfortunately like hisblow-torch-out-of-a-deodorant-can-to-melt-army-men andshoot-the-tank-of-a-flamethrower-hoping-for-the-best father, he isclever but not the least bit careful. Chris and Ashley spend so muchtime at the ER, Chris jokes they should see if they can get aspecial, permanent parking spot. Ashley does not find this funny. Jaydoes not have too many other interests outside that, school and videogames. He isn’t a trouble maker in any other way and is anintrovert with few friends. He’s gay, which as his brother istransgender Chris jokes he and Ashley must have queer embedded intheir DNA as they’re both demisexual and nb themselves. Ashley doesfind this funny.

Jackson (Deadname:Jacqueline) was named for Flamethrower guy after Chris finallytracked down his real name. That’s because “He saved my fuckinglife, Ash.” Coming out was weird for him because Ashley respondedby saying both they and his father were trans too and asked how hehadn’t noticed. To be fair, he was 7. He looks far more like acombination of his parents. His hair is a perfect blend of red andblonde. He reads a lot. He has about as many books as Ashley does.Chris and Jay would much rather they used kindles so the house wasn’tas crowded with bookshelves. Unlike Jay, he’s extremely embarrassedby his parents, but most especially by his father and Chris takes somuch joy in purposely embarrassing him. Ashley finds it as funny ashim. He might not be interested in anything that is not Entomology(thestudyof insects) or Cryptozoology(thestudyof mythical Creatures).Even as young child he had an avid interest in creepy-crawlies andmyths. This massively bothers Chris and Ashley but they can’t tellhim why and don’t want to force him to change hobbies. SometimesAshley cries over it and Chris will sometimes yell at him. (thoughboth are exceedingly rare). They do try steer him towards insects asthey’re terrified a career in the latter will lead him into a dangerthey both know is very real.

Grace is very muchlike Jess, as well as being basically a spitting image of her. Shehas Mike’s lips and his body more like his. She is almost tall asher father. So Grace is straight banging! We are talking model prettyhere. She is also fit and strong af. Girl’s got a six-pack thatwould put every guy in her grade to shame. Mike is more than a littleproud his baby girl could definitely kick a grown man’s ass andprobably shoot a deer from 200 feet away, killing it in one shot.However survival training skills are hardly her only interest andhonestly she really only does it to stay in shape and keep up theskills. Mike instilled this habit in her from a young age. He willnever allow what happened to Jess happen to his children. Grace wouldmuch rather like to pursue a career as a professional dancer and Jessnot only supports it, she loves it. Mike suspects Jess may be tryingto vicariously live though their daughter but she doesn’t push iton Grace so he lets it go. She dreams of being a back-up dancer tosomeone famous like Arianna Grande or Beyonce (not specifically themas they may no longer be stars in her time, but someone as famous.)She is quite talented. She’s skilled in everything from hip-hop toswing to salsa although Mike would prefer if she didn’t like themore sexy styles of dancing as much as she does.

Mike Jr. (MJ) looksa lot more like Jess than Mike but he does have his father’s faceshape and jawline. He is very different than the rest of hisout-going, extrovert family members. He is trained much like Grace insurvival skills. So he is strong and fit but much less so than hissister. He forgets to keep up with his work outs and training. Heremembers enough to still be pretty skilled at all of it but he wouldrather do much more quiet endeavors. He likes practicing the guitarand far more musically inclined than he is anything. He is an A+student much like his father was though unlike with Mike Sr all ofhis teachers would rather he participated more. Mike tries to be okaywith this. He really does, but he is more worried than he is upset.He is afraid MJ is going to have a hard time in life because despitebeing physically strong his is too emotionally weak. This also upsetsMike because it reminds him of Hannah. Jess doesn’t really see it,so she is often comforting him over it. He also doesn’t seem tointerest girls but he also doesn’t seem to interested in boys. Jessand Mike aren’t too worried about that as they think he might growout of it. Even if he doesn’t they don’t want to force anythingon their children. Jess is secretly happy her son is this way. Sheworries Grace’s attitude will get her into trouble like it didJess.

Riley obviouslylooks nothing like either of her parents. She’s Latina though asshe has been with Matt and Emily since she was just a baby shedoesn’t speak Spanish. She is almost the perfect stereotype of aspoiled rich girl. But she’s spoiled sweet not rotten. Matt hasmanaged to instill in her his kindness and gratitude for life. Emilyhas encouraged to be a good student. So while she has a bit of askewed view of the world as she has rich and semi-famous parents (herfather especially) she’s not a mean girl. She was born 5 yearsafter the youngest of her parents’ friends’ kids (Jack). In fact she’squite sweet if naive and a little out of touch with reality. Sheisn’t naturally smart like Emily is. But she studies hard and itpays off for her. That and she attends the best school Emily couldget her in. Even though she’s a girly-girl she is a daddy’s girland dada was her first word. Matt is more than willing to play dresswith her and play with her dolls and do her hair when she is little.He often falls for the puppy dog eyes when she is a teenager and willbuy her anything she wants. Emily asks him if he is aware she isplaying him and Matt always says “Yeah, but look how happy she is.”Emily is quite proud of her daughter’s work ethic and her sense ofstyle. She is also thrilled Riley wants to go into fashion design.

SPOILER: I’mhoping (*fingers crossed*) to write a Sam fic based on this next headcanon so if youwant to read that if and when it comes out do not read any further asthis contains a major spoiler. If you don’t care, read on.

Sam has twochildren, twins born around 9 months after the events of the game,Hannah-Beth Giddings and Christopher Giddings each of them namedafter their parents’ best friends. For those of you who can’t seewhere this is leading to. They are Josh’s kids as well and Sam wishesshe could’ve told him about it before he “died” (Wendigo-Joshcanon). They, quite unfortunately for everyone, look exactly like allthe Washingtons and literally nothing like Sam. As to avoid anyconfusion they call Christopher by the nickname Kit. They are theoldest of all the kids in this generation for obvious reasons.

Kit is, much likeJay, his father’s son. Though unlike Jay he is a terror in everyconceivable way. Sam is constantly being called in his school becausesurprise, surprise Kit is in trouble. He is though a very well likedkid. He has many friends but honestly his best friend is of courseHannah-Beth, but he likes all his mom’s friends kids. He does notlike the outdoors. He does not like animals. He does not likeclassical music. He does not like pretty much anything Sam likes.This makes it hard for Sam to bond with her son. He would much rathergo to a house party or play video games and (“don’t you daretell, mom!”) build models. Again since he is a Washington at hearthe is drawn to most creative pursuits. Film, painting, singing. Hehas many artistic interests and talents. It might be all of theseinterests that make him so many friends with a wide variety of peopleand he is considered a heartthrob. He also inherited the dreadedWashington trait of skilled lying.

Hannah-Beth, usuallyjust called Hannah also looks all Washington though this means shelooks more like Hannah and Beth. Sam is unsure if her daughter islike her or if her daughter is like Beth. The two of them had a lotin common. She has almost the exact opposite interests as Kit. Sheloves sports and the outdoors and most of all she loves animals. Shewants to be a vet. Personality wise though she is very much like herbrother. An out-going extrovert with a lot of friends. Sam’s kidsmight be the most popular ones in their school. Hannah plays softballand she wrestles. She got Josh’s sense of humor and his love ofmaking people laugh. She and Sam spend a lot of time together and shefeels she connects more with Hannah than her son. Hannah thinks shehas the coolest mom too which granted she might. Much like herbrother Hannah is considered a knock-out. She is fiercely stubbornthough. She is going to get her way, just like Hannah 1.0 always did.

Christopher andHannah-Beth also have the most important Washington trait of all. Undyingsibling love.

Ages: Kit and Hannahare the oldest with Jay about a year or so younger then Grace twoyears younger than Jay then MJ under a year younger than his sister withJack a year after MJ. Riley is the only one still a child when theothers are teenagers being 9 years younger then Kit and Hannah. WereRiley 1 year old then Kit and Hannah would 10, Jay would be 9, Gracewould be 7, MJ would be 6 and Jack would be 5

Extra headcanon: At some point Kit and Jay start dating and eventually get married too. (Chris is a little happy his and Josh’s kids ended up together.)

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frontproofmedia · 5 years

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman Final Press Conference Quotes and Photos

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Published: July 18, 2019

LAS VEGAS - Eight-division champion Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao and unbeaten welterweight world champion Keith "One Time" Thurman went face-to-face Wednesday at the final press conference before their blockbuster showdown that headlines the Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View this Saturday night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Also in attendance at the press conference and going face-to-face Wednesday were welterweightsOmar "El Panterita" Figueroa and Yordenis Ugás, who meet in a 12-round WBC title eliminator, former champion Sergey Lipinets and John "The Gladiator" Molina Jr, who go toe-to-toe in a 10-round welterweight match, plus former bantamweight champions Luis "Pantera" Nery and Juan Carlos Payano, who meet in a 12-round bout. The pay-per-view begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Prior to the press conference, the pay-per-view undercard fighters participated in media workouts along with fighters competing on FOX PBC Fight Night preceding the pay-per-view. That show is headlined by undefeated IBF Super Middleweight World Champion Caleb "Sweethands" Plantand unbeaten Mike Lee, plus unbeaten heavyweights Efe Ajagba and Ali Eren Demirezen. Tickets for the event, which is promoted by MP Promotions, Mayweather Promotions and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased online through AXS.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts International box office. Plant vs. Lee is presented by Sweethands Promotions and TGB Promotions. Here's what the fighters had to say on Wednesday. MANNY PACQUIAO "For me nothing is personal. I have to do my job and there is nothing personal with him. Our job is to fight and he has to prove something, and I have to prove something. That's why I'm so motivated for this fight and this training camp. It's also my first time fighting on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View, so I'm excited to fight on Saturday. "I'm just always smiling no matter what Keith says. It's easy to say things, but it's not easy to do it in the ring. I've been in this sport longer than Keith Thurman, so my experience will be the difference. "This is going to be an exciting fight and a once-in-a-lifetime fight. Like he has said, there is going to be a lot of action in the ring. I respect my opponent because we both believe we can give a good fight to the fans. That's our first concern. The fans and the enjoyment of the fans. "That's Thurman's style to talk a lot. Like I said, it gives me more motivation to focus, and it has helped me a lot leading up to this fight. "I'm not predicting a knockout for this fight, but we did our best in this training camp. I'm focused and motivated, so we'll see. I'll do my best to make the fans happy. "My feeling right now is happiness and excitement to prove that at the age of 40, I can still show my best. "Boxing is my passion. I love to play basketball, but you are a team, you don't know which people are shooting, you or your teammates. Boxing is you alone. When people are cheering for you, it is for you. "We did our best in training and I believe we are physically ready, as well as spiritually ready. I expect a good fight so tune-in Saturday. The way Thurman spoke today, I hope he will live up to it on Saturday." KEITH THURMAN "I'm looking forward to the fight. I'm looking forward to the final moment when my hand is raised. It's been a build-up and a progression my whole career toward this moment on Saturday night. "Manny isn't going to do anything. With the little 'T-Rex' arms. He's about to get beat up. I get to punch a Senator in the face and he's going to feel it. If he's upset about it, he can do something about it Saturday night. It's called swing, swing, swing baby. "I'm a winner in life, and to bet on myself to win in the opening rounds, it makes me do what I said earlier, which is swing, swing, swing. You've got to swing to hit a home run. You can't just sit there and pump fake all day. "It's an honor to be here at MGM Grand. I'm truly looking forward to this fight. We've had a terrific, terrific training camp. "I say I'm going to put him to sleep because I've got power. I want to remind the world of something. Something very simple: I'm Keith 'One Time' Thurman. I have the name for a reason. Not a short season. "I feel like I've made boxing history. When I beat Danny Garcia, we were two undefeated welterweight champions. In boxing history, there haven't been many times when WBA and the WBC was unified with two undefeated welterweights. But, I don't think it's enough to really solidify a legacy. So, I do need the victory to further my own personal legacy come Saturday night. "Do you understand people fight in the street for no money? I'm living a dream to be on this stage, to be on this platform, to have this camera, this camera, that camera, all in front of me. "This really is the outcome of an individual living out their dream. It all comes together on Saturday night. "I've been saying it over and over again, don't be surprised if Manny Pacquiao goes night-night." OMAR FIGUEROA "I have never prepared better than I have for this fight and I am ready to prove that Saturday night. "It means the world to me to be in this position, especially because of all of the injuries I've had and the setbacks. It's my third fight in almost four years. I am just grateful for this opportunity. "Everything is going well for me including in my last fight. There's often something that happens, but thankfully this camp I have been completely healthy. We were very smart in camp. We were very careful. We sparred the rounds that felt like we needed to spar. I closed camp with 12 hard rounds and I haven't been able to do that in a while because of injuries. It just feels good mentally and all around. I don't think I have ever been in a better place. "Fighting gets my juices flowing. I feel like I was born to fight. I have been doing this for 24 years now. This is what I live for. "This camp I've felt great. I was healthy and I did exactly what I needed to do inside the ring as far as sparring and everything. I took care of my hands and my body. Mentally I'm at the best place I've ever been. "My close people know that I'm taking this extremely serious. They see how I am in camp. I've been doing this for 24 years and it takes a toll on the body. For this fight, I'm healthy and everything is looking good. I'm probably on weight right now, and if not I still have more than enough time. "If I stay healthy during the fight, it's not going the distance." YORDENIS UGAS "I'm really happy to get a second opportunity to earn a world title shot. What happened against Shawn Porter is in the past and I'm only looking into the future, which is Saturday night. "Omar Figueroa is a very strong fighter who throws a lot of punches. I believe his fighting style in combination with mine will make a very exciting fight. "A win will put me back in contention for a world title shot, which is what I want. I see the fight as 50/50 but I am only focused on my fight, nothing beyond it. "I predict that I will win. I'm going to give it all I've got. No matter If it goes the full 12 rounds, I am going to fight hard for every send. "There are many other good Cuban fighters such as Erislandy Lara, Luis Ortiz and so on, but I feel as though I am the best. It's up to me to prove it. "I am focused on my fight right now but either Shawn Porter or Errol Spence Jr. has a good shot of winning and I would absolutely be ready to face either one." SERGEY LIPINETS "I'm very happy and I'm excited that I have this opportunity to fight on a show like this. I'm one hundred percent prepared for this fight, and I believe John is ready to fight as well. So I know it's going to end up being a great fight. "If someone were to tell me two years ago to imagine myself on this stage, I would never believe it. But, I'm here now and I'm here to make a statement. Everyone is going to be happy to see this fight. "We changed corners as you know. Joe is in my corner right now and I'm very excited. It motivates me and he gives me a new boxing game and teaches me things that I've never even thought about. When it comes to John Molina Jr., whatever he brings into the ring, we have an answer to. There's not going to be any question marks. "Well ironically, we started here in the U.S. first at Joe's gym. Finally, we came full circle and I chose to go back to Joe. "Joe Goossen made me a different fighter. My defense got way better. I'm punching in a way where I'm hurting people more and that's just what Joe Goossen does. "Making weight is all about discipline, what you eat, how you maintain your weight outside of the ring and that's what we do. If you are a professional athlete that's what you do. I'm still maintaining my life style. "I have Joe Goossen right now as my lead trainer, so I feel very confident. Prior to the Lamont Petersons fight, he got me in the gym and gave me a new way of fighting and I believe you saw that in the fight with Lamont Peterson. I'm trying to carry on that momentum into the fight with Molina. It's going to be a great fight and no one is going to be disappointed." JOHN MOLINA JR. "It's very special to be a part of this platform. I love what I do. I love putting on for all of the fans and Saturday night is going to be a great night of fights. "This is my job. I have been here before a million times and now it's time for me to do my job on Saturday. Lipinets has a style that excites me because of what I can do as well to make this a great fight. The fans are in for a treat. "He's a tough guy and he's going to come forward. I'm not going to have to go find him. I'm very excited about the fight. He's going to be a good opponent and it's going to be a good fight. "My strong points are my power and my will to win. I look to do my job and I'm always in a position to do it. I'm always in a position to showcase to the world why I'm here. "Lipinets is a tough guy and he he fared well against Mikey Garcia who's one of the best, so he's definitely a good fighter. I need to be sharp and use my experience to take advantage of him. "I've been in there with the best. I've been in there with everybody. There's nothing that man can do Saturday night that's going to surprise me. So it's up to me to capitalize on that and take advantage of it. "I love the fact that the fans respect my craft and what I do. Because I put my everything into this fight game. Everything that I've ever earned and that I've grinded for it. This is why I give my all every time. "I am going to use my experience to my advantage and I am going to come out on top." LUIS NERY "I am very honored to be here especially with all of my Mexican fans and all of my fans from around the world. I am very pleased and thankful to be on such a great card with Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman. "My strength and power comes from my heart. It will all be on display Saturday night. "We are going to go straight at Payano. We are going to put the pressure on. We are going to go for the knockout, if it doesn't come, we had a great camp in Puerto Rico and we are ready for whatever he brings to the table." "Being on this card means a lot. First I was on the Errol Spence vs. Mikey Garcia card, now its Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thurman. I look forward to going after (WBC 118-pound champ) Nordine Oubaali, who has the title I used to hold. "I don't think Nordine Oubaali fought well at all. He's a good fighter but I don't see him doing well in the ring with me. That's my title and I'm going to win it back, 100 percent. He's the champion but that's my title and I'm ready for the opportunity and he's going to have to step his game up when he gets in the ring with me." JUAN CARLOS PAYANO "I am very honored to be on this card. It is a very exciting card with both Pacquiao and Thurman, which will be a great fight. I am honored to be able to be fight for the chance to become world champion again. "My goal is to become champion once again. I am very prepared and have worked extremely hard over the years for this chance. "This is going to be a great fight for the fans and that's what I'm all about. I have the skills and the determination to beat any fighter in the division. I have to show my improvement on Saturday. "It is no secret that Nery is a power puncher, but it is not the first power puncher I have fought and it certainly won't be the last. On Saturday night two warriors are going to get up there but only one is going to walk out victorious. I look forward to being the victorious one."

(Featured Photo: Stephanie Trapp/TGB Promotions)

#HF #Manny Pacquiao #Keith Thurman #Mayweather Promotions

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hottytoddynews · 7 years

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Waters trains in Norway for his next adventure. Photo courtesy of Ryan Waters

Sitting in physics class on the Ole Miss campus, staring at a picture of Mount Pumo Ri on his textbook cover, Ryan Waters dreamed of the day he might have a shot at scaling the famed Himalayan mountain range.

“I daydreamed about that picture, and I still have the book,” says Waters, outdoor adventurer and owner of expedition guide service Mountain Professionals.

“At the time, I had never really climbed a big mountain. I had only been rock climbing for a few years, but I’d look at that picture and think how incredible it would be some day to go to the Himalayas. Inside the cover, the caption in the book says many people believe Mount Pumo Ri to be the most beautiful mountain in the world. For some reason, I got this idea that someday I’m going to go climb that mountain, and it kind of stuck with me.”

A native of Marietta, Ga., Waters graduated from Wheeler High School in 1992 and attended East Tennessee State University, where he played football for one year before enrolling at Ole Miss.

Once he arrived in Oxford, Waters quickly focused on the geology program. Having an avid interest in all things outdoors since childhood, he believed it would be a good fit.

As it turned out, geology laid the groundwork for the path his career would take.

“I took Geology 101 as an elective my freshman year at East Tennessee,” Waters says. “When I transferred to Ole Miss, they had a more significant program. It seemed like a good idea for a major because I had always wanted to be outside.”

A member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Waters received a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1998 and promptly moved back to Georgia to accept a job as a geologist in Atlanta with Black & Veatch, a global engineering, consulting, construction and operations company.

“I worked there for about three-and-a-half years, but the whole time I was there I was climbing more and getting interested in expeditions and high mountains,” Waters says. “I call it my mid-20s crisis because, after thinking a lot over a two-year period, I decided that I had always been interested in working in the outdoors.”

Waters took a chance and began spending his summers working as a climbing instructor for North Carolina Outward Bound School, essentially giving up a full-time formal career as a geologist.

He delved into rock-climbing instructing and backpacking in the U.S., which only deepened his interest in his newfound career.

“I started being more serious about going on my own trips, and that slowly progressed into a couple of years working part time as a geologist and part time as an outdoor educator,” Waters says. “That eventually brought me down to the Patagonia area in southern Argentina.”

Aviva Argentina

Waters proudly displays his Ole Miss flag at the North Pole. Photo courtesy of Ryan Waters.

Waters moved to Argentina in 2004, where he began working as a mountaineering instructor – a move that would ultimately change his life.

“I lived there a couple of years and really started to pursue mostly mountain climbing,” Waters says. “I started traveling to the Himalayas and all kinds of crazy places and eventually got into guiding more formally as opposed to instructing.”

Doug Sandok, executive director of Paradox Sports, recalls Waters’ steadfast demeanor during their time instructing together in Patagonia.

“He’s a steady hand and doesn’t get bent out of shape about a lot of things,” Sandok says. “He kind of keeps his eye on the ball in a very calm, reassuring way. That’s how he is with his clients too. When he comes into the tent, he’s a very warm personality that people really respond to. He’s also a very driven person that has this tremendous ability to continue to dig deep. Not everyone has that.”

After numerous high altitude climbs and expeditions, Waters had the opportunity in 2003 to summit Mount Pumo Ri, the mountain that had haunted his dreams after first spotting it on the cover of his physics book.

“I ended up climbing that peak, and that was a really cool experience,” Waters says. “I told myself that once I climb this I’m going to take a break for a while, but what really happened was it turned me on to the Himalayas. I was so amazed by that place. Standing on the top of Pumo Ri, I looked across – and there was Everest.”

The following year in 2004, Waters returned to the Himalayas to climb Everest for the first time.

It turned out to be the first of many trips guiding others through the harrowing trek to reach the peak of the famed mountain.

“It allowed me to suddenly have a good starting point to build a resumé on not only my personal climbs but also mountaineering guiding companies.”

Within two years, Waters also scaled Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world, and had three more Himalayan trips under his belt.

The next climb for Waters was obvious – in Pakistan.

Pakistani Peaks

In 2006, Waters set out for the Karakoram Himalaya in northern Pakistan to attempt climbing Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain in the world at 26,414 feet (8,051 meters), as well as the infamous K2, the second highest mountain in the world at 28,251 feet (8,611 meters), after Mount Everest.

“That was a significant trip for me because we summited Broad Peak, but we didn’t summit K2,” Waters says. “I was leading the expedition, and the weather had been a little dangerous with rock fall, so it just wasn’t going to happen that year.”

Since that trip, Waters has traveled to Pakistan numerous times and recently returned to the U.S. from his 15th expedition to the Himalayas.

Boulder Bound

Waters takes the frigid plunge, swimming a lead during his trip to the North Pole. Photo courtesy of Ryan Waters

In the midst of his many expeditions, Waters found the time to start his own guide company, Mountain Professionals, in 2005 with then co-founder Dave Elmore. Since 2008, Waters has been the sole owner of the Boulder, Colo., based company and continues to lead expeditions and trips.

“We have a list of trips that we offer,” Waters says. “Some people may have an interest in Kilimanjaro, trekking the Everest Base Camp or even climbing Mount Everest. There are people that are looking for an operator and either join one of our trips or set up a private trip.”

While he enjoys leading groups of people on various climbs and expeditions, perhaps his favorite trips are the ones he takes to achieve his own goals and dreams.

And achieve them he has.

Grand Slam

On May 6, 2014, Waters became the first American to complete the “Adventurers Grand Slam” unsupported, traveling to both the North and South poles on foot and climbing the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents.

“I never really set out to do that,” Waters says. “It just happened. As a mountain guide, there is a lot of business climbing the seven summits, so I just did it by guiding.”

Waters began his ascent to adventurer fame by not only climbing the highest peaks but also by skiing to the South Pole in January 2010 with Norwegian adventurer Cecilie Skog, unassisted and unsupported – without the use of kites or resupplies.

“Cecilie had this idea of trying to ski across Antarctica because it had been crossed a couple of times in various ways but never unsupported,” Waters says. “One other Norwegian guy had crossed it unsupported, but he had used a kite to help pull him across. I was just naïve and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go with you,’ not really knowing how big of a deal it was. It’s a huge expedition that took us 70 days to complete.”

The duo became the first to ever ski unsupported and unassisted across Antarctica via the South Pole.

Waters suddenly realized the only thing left to do to be the first American to complete the Adventurers Grand Slam was to ski to the North Pole unsupported, a treacherous feat few have accomplished.

Due North

Waters spends downtime in a ‘home away from home’ on one of his many expeditions. Photo courtesy of Ryan Waters

Waters contacted his close friend and polar adventurer Eric Larsen to begin planning the journey.

“He said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” Waters says. “Eric had already skied to the North Pole two times, but both times were supported with resupplies being dropped in by airplanes. My big thing was I wanted to do it unsupported, so I could have that clean record doing both poles unsupported.”

It took more than a year and a half of extensive planning, training and securing funding via sponsorships to see the trip come to fruition. A deal was struck with the television network Animal Planet to become a sponsor and film the expedition for a documentary to be aired in the first quarter of 2015.

On day one, the two set out alone from Cape Discovery on Canada’s Ellesmere Island into the vast expanse of unknown water and ice.

“It is by far the most difficult thing I have ever done,” Waters says. “It was definitely a life-changing experience. I remember there was a feeling before climbing Everest and after climbing Everest; you have this different feeling about yourself and your life almost. Now I have this North Pole feeling. It’s a traumatic experience because it’s so difficult; you’re so focused on it, and it’s dangerous the whole time. It was definitely a long process to come away from that trip.”

The pair reached the North Pole after 53 days of skiing, swimming and walking 480 nautical miles through treacherous, polar bear-dodging, sub-zero conditions at best.

“The unsupported expedition to the North Pole is easily one of the most difficult expeditions on the planet,” Larsen says. “We spent 53 days pulling 325-pound sleds day in and day out and almost got eaten by a couple of polar bears. As physically hard as the expedition was, the emotional toll was even greater.”

The two tended to balance each other well throughout the many ups and downs they faced, leaning on each other when times got tough.

“The big difference is Antarctica and the South Pole is ice on top of land, so there’s a continent,” Waters says. “The Arctic and the North Pole is just an ocean with ice floating on the water, so you’re skiing on top of ice that can be anywhere from 10 feet thick in some places down to a mere half-inch thick in others – or no ice at all.”

With tides, temperature and wind affecting ice conditions, cracks and gaps create pans of ice that can range in size from a tiny room to 3 miles across. Depending on the size of the pans, decisions have to be made on whether to ski around them or jump in the freezing water and swim across with a sled in tow.

“The pans may be so long it’s not realistic to try to ski around them because you’re wasting so much time and you need to just keep going,” Waters says. “The mental part is just as hard as the physical because you have so much time to think about things. I remember there were several days where I was thinking about Ole Miss just to keep my mind busy and planning what I’m going to do with my parents and friends the next time I go to a football game weekend in Oxford. It was a great, positive thing that really helped me.”

Whiteouts, polar bears, fatigue and a set timeline to get to the North Pole are just a few of the many life-threatening factors that set the pace for the expedition.

“I like to tell people that I didn’t know we were going to make it even when we were half an hour away from the North Pole,” Waters says. “There are so many variables and uncertainty. It was minus 50 degrees when we started, and it’s constantly evolving. You don’t really ever relax.”

Race to the Finish

As the rendezvous date for the airplane to pick them up grew nearer and the gap to their final destination was not closing in fast enough, the two had to regroup and take a more extreme approach during the final 60-nautical-mile, four-day stretch.

“We started skiing much more in a day than we had been,” Waters says. “We would only sleep for six hours and then be skiing again. It’s 24 hours of sunlight at that point, so we didn’t care if it was night or day anymore. I can remember one day the weather was really bad, and we were just skiing and falling over. We couldn’t navigate or see where we were to make good decisions. I was really down, and Eric and I both started to cry in our goggles. We really had to bond together then and say we can do it, let’s just keep going.”

Only the third and fourth Americans ever to ski unsupported to the North Pole, the two finished the trek in record-breaking time, surpassing the previous American speed record of 55 days by two days.

“Reaching the North Pole in and of itself is a tremendously difficult accomplishment,” Sandok says. “I’m close with Eric and Ryan both, so I was paying a lot of attention and reading their blog posts. In a way, it’s almost like the rest of what he’s done combined times 10. It is really just a tremendous achievement.”

It took nearly two months of recovery for Waters to begin feeling like himself again and for his body to adjust back to normal day-to-day life.

“Eric and I didn’t talk about it that much,” Waters says. “It’s a very humbling place. I’m glad we did it, but I’m also glad it’s over.”

Since returning to Colorado, Waters, an avid outdoor photographer, continues guiding expeditions, and is engaging in public speaking and authoring a book about his trip to Antarctica.

While he looks forward to new expeditions through his guide company, Waters is equally excited to achieve more of his own goals.

“A goal of mine has always been to climb an unclimbed mountain in the Himalayas, and I think that’s going to happen in the next two years,” he says. “Nepal just opened 106 new peaks that were previously closed, and I want to be the first person to climb one. That would be a cool thing.”

By Annie Rhoades

This story was reprinted with permission from the Ole Miss Alumni Review. The Alumni Review is published quarterly for members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. Join or renew your membership with the Alumni Association today, and don’t miss a single issue.

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