#now begins my favorite game of the season: who the fuck is that guy number matching with guys who are in wichita or with the sharks

[pacific-coast-hockey]

there are so many old man photos on the flickr...

#i'm here. i'm writer's blocked. i'm art blocked. i have a cup of ginseng guava tea. It's Time #discuss: is šimek hot #also discuss: should i turn into a reply guy on the cuda insta bc i'm mad about them not acknowledging nolly getting called up #further discuss: is it time to start sexualizing kinal and frisch even though they look like stockbrokers #we don't have as many short kings this year but the ones we do have are the size of postage stamps #simmer should not be down in the ahl. HOWEVER. i love seeing him stand next to cardsy and bordy #op is talking mad shit while being 5'2 🤨 #kaspershark.txt #now begins my favorite game of the season: who the fuck is that guy number matching with guys who are in wichita or with the sharks

[grimm-the-tiger]

I'm currently on season 4 of Game of Thrones. Here are my thoughts:

There's just as much murder and rape as I expected. Not as much incest, though, outside of the Lannisters and whatever the fuck was going on with the Targaryens back in the day.

Outside of the Starks and maybe the Tyrells, precisely none of the noble families in this show are functional. The Greyjoys are perfectly willing to leave Theon with the Boltons, the Freys are either creepy or basically non-entities, Stannis Baratheon killed his own brother via witchcraft, and the Lannisters...are the Lannisters.

Speaking of Stannis Baratheon, I currently have a running tally of the number of episodes that have gone by without Melisandre dropping her "The night is dark and full of terrors" line. The current count is three, I think, and I fully expect it won't last.

This show is an absolute trainwreck, but it's that good kind of trainwreck where even if most of the cast is deeply unlikeable and all the ones who are likeable shouldn't be expected to last to the end of the season, it's juuust well-written enough that you still want to see more.

I really, really, really want to see Joffrey die, the obnoxious little shit. I think if he finally kicks it, I'll buy myself a donut to celebrate. It would've taken a lot to usurp my previous least favorite (Danaerys's terrible brother), but he somehow sprinted past the marker and kept going straight off a cliff.

Considering what Khal Drogo was like at the beginning of the show, I actually felt kinda bad when he died. I think the fact that he was the guy who killed Danaerys's aforementioned shitty brother probably helped.

I really don't want Tyrion's knight buddy to die. He's one of the few actually somewhat decent (or at least entertaining) characters who seems like he has a shot of surviving to the end of the show. Now that I've said that, though, I've probably jinxed it.

I'm not ashamed to compare Danaerys to Paul Atreides, although at least in the original book Paul's ethnicity was somewhat ambiguous, which made the white savior bits a little more tolerable.

Oh hey, speaking of characters I don't want to die, Tormund is genuinely one of the most entertaining characters in the show and if he dies, I think I'm going to hunt down the writer responsible and break their car's windshield.

I got into an argument with my mother over whether or not Jon Snow counts as a Stark, which I'm pretty sure I won when I pointed out that I'm technically a bastard too and I'm still counted as part of her family.

The most satisfying part of the show so far has been Danaerys setting that one slave trader on fire with her dragons, then massacring all the slave owners in the city with her army.

#game of thrones #shitpost

[anotherblblog]

Gameboys Rewatch Episode 1

Pass or Play?

So now with one week before season 2 premiers, I start my Gameboys rewatch for my blog(s).

Gameboys is the series that started or restarted a lot for me. I (re)discovered BLs from Gameboys and it has basically changed the arc of the last year of my life, including a recent trip to Manila.

I’m also very glad that Gameboys as a series, is legitimately good in my opinion. The acting is phenomenal, the story is very timely, and this series does a lot with relatively little being filmed in the actor’s homes.

Gameboys just makes me happy. Also emotional. Very emotional.

 Anyway, preamble ambled. Let’s start episode 1 (I’ll be watching/recapping the Netflix Level Up Edition) (but I do love the pancit canton vibes of the original youtube series)

 --

Lol, so I just pressed play and apparently the last time I watched Gameboys on Netflix I got 18 minutes into episode 1, so lemme rewind and start properly

Ok

Cai – so I don’t want to be misunderstood here, I genuinely love Cai as a character. He’s fascinating and complex and Elijah makes him so lovable. I also think Cai is a terror and like just the worst and I have called him the antichrist before only partially in jest. He’s so funny with how wrong he is and how unreasonably mean he is. The dude is wound VERY tight. Tsunderes wish they could get to Cai’s level.

Also, Cai with his 380 viewers lol as someone who mods for irl pro-gamers, it’s funny seeing Cai described as a pro gamer with those numbers… don’t worry Cai, I too am a small local internet person

And that jacket.. remember it 😉

And here’s Gav

Gav is my favorite BL character. He’s likable, confident, and I would hang out with him over anybody else. Dude is just good vibes. And he’s hot. Like Cai/Elijah is cute but Gav/Kokoy checks more of my personal favorite attractive trait boxes. Not as many as Tul though but that’s a separate list lmao

Anywayyy here comes Gav

What I like how Gav as a romantic lead is very similar to Pat from Bad Buddy in that he is very earnest and direct about his affection. Gav was that way from the beginning, where Pat needed a few episodes to get there. And fucking fuck, I hate seeing people’s takes about how they were sure Gav would be a fuckboy or a player or anything of the sort. Gav is so fucking honest and his heart is right on his sometimes worn sleeves

The confidence to send like 2 DMs and immediately go for a facetime/zoom call. Good on you Gav.

Gav does 100% come on very strong but listening to his laugh here and then later in the series, mama, it’s a façade!

Cai is very taken aback and overwhelmed and honestly, I don’t blame Cai here. Gav is a bolt of lightning right now.

They’re so funny. Trying to figure each other out, moreso Cai. Cai is trying to figure out if Gav is for real and Gav is trying to get married.

Also how presumptuous to tell someone, their parents misspelled their name lmao

And here’s the sweeping Pass or Play instrumental

And then the first Pass or Play?

Who asks to court someone like that

Ugh, I can’t look at them. They’re too fucking much

And then that bitch Cai just ignores him for three days hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha he’s fucking awful

“play a game with me, not my feelings” the fucking subtweet hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Cai is ridiculous

“find someone else to prank” ok here is where I have a lot of empathy and space for Cai like he has been publicly streaming for at least 5/6 months so it’s possible he’s encountered or at least cognizant of people trying to prank or mess with him for whatever deficiencies lead to online trolls and with what we later learn about Cai and his outing, I’m sure a guy trying to pick him up could be some of his worst fears manifesting right now

Cai works very hard to get ahead of his emotions and reactions

“there’s no way you’ll win” – I like this confident, flirty, gaming Cai – this is the Cai who put on those skinny jeans and the Cai from the chemistry test

And yeah Cai threw this game, like 1000000%

Cai: “cut the cameras, deadass”

Gav – “choke me daddy” so what are we gonna see in season 2

Also Gav: “you seem sad all the time, I’m into it”

Their lil pizza date is cute, I like Cai’s slicked back hair

Gav is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Cai. Gav has an excel spreadsheet of flirting efforts he’s made and how Cai responded Gav is so fucking cute and hot yeah Cai, I don’t blame you for this… the sweat, the muscles, the pits, I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT CAI….. >:3 lick them lips bitch! Hahahahahahahahahahaha

Yupppp here comes the covid/family plot, just to remind us things are not going to be easy

Ok, so I personally think Cai very much overreacts to Pearl’s presence but I’ve watched this with some irl’s and it’s fairly evenly split between the two camps so it’s an impasse

And that’s episode 1

Episode 1 Final Thoughts:

Gav is working his way through several “how to pick up/flirt” books as he tries various approaches seeing what Cai’s responds well to Cai has a strong defense but he’s not impervious nor immune to Gav’s charms, he’s just very intentionally not taking the bait

I love these two

#gameboys #gameboysrewatch #rewatch

[tedturneriscrazy]

Another Saturday, another episode! Let's take a look at Keeping Up A-fear-ances!

(Good lord I'm starting to make myself sound like some sort of content creator)

Oh, okay, we're just starting at that level of intensity, huh?

Chest gem origins

Gwendolyn not being satisfied with managing the curse and determined to cure it? I'm sure this won't be a real world allegory in the slightest.

Oh, so Eda literally just stumbles upon the portal? I could call that contrived, but honestly it's not dissimilar to how Dipper found Journal 3. For that matter, the entirety of Lord of the Rings is predicated on an accidental discovery like this and nobody gave Tolkien shit about it.

Was the eye on the portal cracked in previous episodes? I don't remember.

Seems like Gwen is the "well-meaning but ultimately misguided" flavor of mom.

As an aside, I am now quite curious about how Eda's first trip to the human realm went. Maybe a future episode will cover it? At any rate, I smell a new favorite fic prompt.

The screaming alarms in the Demon Realm will never not be funny to me.

Also, that is a worrying number of hearts. Eda is straight up murdering these poor creatures.

For some reason the gold fang being removable never occurred to me as a possibility, and now I feel like a kid who's discovered that Santa isn't real.

Oh hey, the new outfit! I'm also impressed how close to symmetrical that tearing was.

I need to get a screencap of Luz sleeping on that stack of books because she is adorable.

Also, staying up all night researching? This season seems determined to completely eradicate the notion of Luz being dumb, and I am here for it.

I have a feeling the Hexside mug will be making its way to The Mystery Shack in the near future.

Lilith's first experience with transformation and she seems understandably horrified.

The curse acting stronger when stressed? That seems...important.

Ah, so the dismemberment is from the curse! A surprisingly useful side effect from what we've seen so far.

Can I just say that I appreciate how Eda's reaction to Lilith's first taste of transformation is immediate remedy, explanation, and reassurance? And doesn't make any snarky comments along the lines of "now you know what it's like?" Whatever happened in that week and a half must have been cathartic as hell.

"Always. Always curious." Luz is the TOH fandom.

(Also, Eda, you know she is, considering how much she went on about your "mysterious past" at the Covention)

"Magic bird tornado?!" Luz has a way with words that's just *chef's kiss*.

"Gwendolyn." Eda is already just fucking done.

"MOM?!?!" Jeez, Lilith, you're just now hearing all this?

I was charmed by how motherly Gwen was acting toward Eda, but then she kinda just...dismissed Lilith, and now I'm somehwat less charmed.

(Sweet flea as a term of endearment is kinda cute, though might have some unfortunate implications depending on how you want to interpret it)

"Who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" OH WE GOING FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS NOW YESSSS

Luz and Lilith's reaction to that whole exchange is priceless.

Everyone's perspective here makes perfect sense for who they are and what they've been through.

Poor Lilith. Her cursing Eda is beginning to make more sense.

Ah, thus begins the collaboration.

"We'll be consulting someone very special." Why does that seem so...ominous?

Is there anyone who watched this episode for the first time whose bullshit detector didn't go off immediately when Gwen mentioned finding someone who promised a cure?

Heh, Palm Stings.

Nonbelievers will be blinded by the power of the tome? I'm sure they will be, Wartlop.

I must say, as something of a scientist myself (okay that's not true, I'm a QA tech for a food manufacturer, but I do have a chemistry degree), I am 100% here for the swings being taken at faith healing/"miracle" cures/anti-vaxxers in this episode

Oh, we Wile E. Coyote now, huh?

Also, interesting how much apple blood is being played up in this episode.

Lilith please you're projecting your mommy issues on a literal child

OH WE REALLY JUST WILE E. COYOTE HUH?

You're right, Luz, Gwen's bicep game is goals.

(Somewhat disappointed the scars are from questing and not beastkeeping, but eh)

Why do I get the feeling there's gonna be a future episode where everybody stages an intervention for Eda's apple blood problem?

"Those feathers mean we're driving the beast out" Gwen no

Hooty is holding the brain cell? Oh no...

If that ice cream came from the Night Market it would explain why Lilith sounds drunk.

(Side note: I can't be the only one getting flashbacks to Mermista's ice cream binge, right? Different context, but still)

"Abomi-berry" "Franken fruit" "Key slime pie" These are A+ flavor names.

Oh, there's the transformation...

I must say that whole segment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way King's opinion on his dad was changed seemed...I don't know how to describe it. I get that they needed a trigger for Lilith's transformation, but honestly if any part of the episode is contrived it's this.

"¡It really is that good!" So that's what an accent slip in written form looks like. (The upside down exclamation point is used in Spanish, in case anyone didn't know)

I keep half expecting Eda to say "Beep! Beep!" at this point.

Luz is finally asking questions. Took long enough.

Ah, the classic "moving the goal posts to extract more money from a desparate family member" technique.

Luz channeling Scorpion, we love to see it.

There is an exquisite irony in Eda's mom being scammed, I must say.

Ah, so that's where the elixirs went. Dammit, Gwen.

Luz is definitely thinking "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

Beast!Lilith is massive.

"Sweet flea?" Gwen just realized she done goofed.

"I can see you still need a little time." God Luz is so fucking smart.

The con revealed.

OH DAMN SCARY MAMA

(Also I am terrified of bees/wasps, so extra scary mama in my book)

The scam is revealed, goblins, getting back into the Wartlop disguise is kinda pointless.

She joined the Beast Keeping coven entirely to cure the curse? That's dedication. A shame you couldn't have spared some of that for Lilith.

Still, I do like badass scary mama Gwen. I'd be down to see more of that.

Owl Beast fight!

I am slayed by the fact that the portraits are now officially a recurring gag 😂

Aw, here's The Moment™️

"My turn to drive" Does this imply cars are a thing on the Boiling Isles after all?

Lilith crying almost immediately💔 She was holding onto a lot of pain.

Yes, King, she was trying to do her best. I mean, road to hell or whatever, but at least Gwen got there in the end.

WHAT?! YOU'RE BREAKING UP LULU AND HOOTCIFER?!?!?!?

Terrace, that's just cruel. (Worthless brownie points for whoever understands that reference)

No, seriously, you can't just give me my favorite inter-character relationship in the series after Lumity and just...take it away like that, come on! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I know I should remark on how Lilith told Gwen about the circumstances of the curse, how Gwen rightfully accepted responsibility for the whole situation, and how Luz finds the big hair aspirational, but...NOOOO DON'T END THE ADVENTURES OF LULU AND HOOTCIFER WHYYYYYYYYY💔😭💔😭💔😭

"BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEN!"

I will never emotionally recover from this.

Okay, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway...

Not the only human, huh? Cue the "Belos is a human" theorists going into maximum overdrive.

That said, a tantalizing lore dump.

We certainly do have a lot of garbage. Some of it even holds office. HEY-O!

Setting up the next episode, too. Continuity!

Camp's over, huh? That means it's been three months.

Way to misdirect with Camila, guys. That said, we have now seen Camila cry and I HATE it. (In the right way, I think)

WHAT THE FUCK

HOLY SHIT

CREEPY LUZ IS REAL WHAT

OWJEIWHQGIWWOPQ

(It's hard to keysmash on a phone, even with autocorrect off)

That wraps it up! The flaws in this episode seem more pronounced than any others in the season so far, but the good stuff was really good! Overall a solid episode! I know everybody's looking forward to library Lumity in the next one (so am I), but I'm personally eager to see what they do with Gus. His part is the A plot, after all.

Anyway, I'll be back at this next week! Still hard to believe this is a thing, but that's life, I guess.

#the owl house #eda clawthorne #gwendolyn clawthorne #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #king of demons #toh king #toh s2 spoilers #the owl house s2 spoilers #the owl house season 2 spoilers #toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers

[benedictsvestcollection]

Toepick!

Bucky Barnes x female reader AU

Summary: Bucky’s a hockey player turned pairs figure skater partner for reader who’s kind of a pain in the ass. (aka this is a Cutting Edge AU if anyone’s seen the movie)

Chapter warnings: Cursing, mentions of hockey violence, reader is a brat, Bucky is a sarcastic asshole (just like in the show!)

Author note: Unbetaed chapter, I don’t have a taglist for Bucky fics but send me a DM or ask if you want to be added to it I’ll make a taglist for my Bucky fics! Please reblog this and tell me what you think in my askbox! 

Also thanks to @pisss-offf-ghostt​ for her hockey insight b/c I don’t know shit about hockey.

Chapter One

Bucky Barnes sat in a doctor’s office, two weeks after taking a puck to the face in a Winter Olympic game. It had hit him way too close to his eye and Coach Pierce had benched him the rest of the Games. 

What’s worse is that it was his own fucking teammate who’d given him the injury. Brock Rumlow, their Enforcer, had always had it out for Bucky. God knows why, but maybe Rumlow had never forgiven his NHL team for beating theirs in the playoffs the year before. Or that Bucky had scored the winning goal of that same game. 

Steve and Sam had always said Rumlow was a bad apple in the NHL and his Olympic spirit sucked too it seemed. So now, he was waiting on news from the doctor, telling him when he could start training for the next NHL season.

The doctor entered the room with Bucky’s file. “Well, doc? When can I get back on the ice?” He asked. 

The doctor frowned at him and put his x-ray up on the lighted board to show him. “Son, I’m afraid you won’t be able to play hockey anymore.” He told him frankly. “You took quite a hit to your occipital bone and it hindered 80% of your peripheral vision in your right eye.” 

“What?” He asked, unsure if he heard him right. 

“I’m afraid you’ll have to go into retirement from hockey.” He told him, looking at the man with sympathetic eyes. He was a great player, had a lot of years left in him. He had watched that game, this wasn’t his fault.

Bucky sat there, shell shocked for several moments before slowly rising and putting his coat on. “Thanks doc.” He muttered before finally leaving the office and building. Fucking Brock Rumlow. He had seen the smirk on his lips after he’d opened his eyes from taking the hit to his face. 

He pulled out his phone and dialed Steve’s number. “Hey, meet me at the usual place?” 

“Everything okay Buck?” He’d asked his childhood best friend and now teammate.

“Just… I’ll tell you at the bar.” He growled out and then made his way to their favorite haunt. “Call Sam. I have news.” 

Thirty minutes later, Bucky was nursing a beer at their favorite New York bar. Sam and Steve stared at him, shocked. “So what, now you have to retire? That’s bullshit man.” Sam shook his head. 

“You think I don’t know that?” Bucky growled at his teammate. “My publicist wants to make an announcement soon.” He told them. “But I told her to hold off. I want some time to just… Absorb this.” He ran his hand through his hair frustratingly. 

Bucky loved skating, how could he give it up? And Brock Rumlow gets to just keep playing? What a load of bullshit. 

“Rumlow should be fined for that shit he pulled on you at the Games.” Steve shook his head. 

“You really think being fined is what he deserves? Everyone knows it was a dirty move but Pierce is his coach in the NHL, he’s not gonna do shit about it.” Sam reminded Steve. 

It was true, even the announcers had called it a dirty shot, and everyone who followed the NHL knew that Brock Rumlow had it out for Bucky Barnes. But Rumlow was Pierce’s guy and he wasn’t going to do anything to his player to jeopardize the next season of the NHL. 

“Speak of the devil.” Sam whistled out and Bucky looked over his shoulder to see Rumlow entering the bar with his flavor of the month on his arm. Some up and coming model or something. Not that any of them kept track anymore of them. 

“Hey boys! How’s the post-Olympics life treating you? As good as me?” He winked at his newest companion. “She’s a model.” 

“Shocking.” Sam snorted from behind his beer. Smirking when Rumlow shot him a dirty look. 

“So Barnes, how’s the eye?” Rumlow asked him casually, as if he hadn’t given him the very injury that now forced Bucky into early retirement.

Bucky’s grip tightened on his bottle. “It’s fine.” He ground out and gave him a hardened stare. It was true, physically he felt fine. But, he was about two seconds away from beating Rumlow to a pulp though. Hell, Steve and Sam would probably help him if he asked. But he also didn’t want any added press than the impending ‘early retirement’ announcement in the coming days. 

“Look man, sorry about that. Guess the puck just got away from my stick, you know?” He said easily. 

Holy shit, he was really just going to pretend it wasn’t his fault? Guess he shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Yeah, you seemed real torn up about it.” Steve snapped at him. “The whole hockey world knows you have it out for Buck.” All four men, stood. All imposing figures as hockey players. “And everyone knows that was a dirty shot you took. The Olympics are supposed to be about coming together but you just used it for your own personal gain. You’re a disgrace.” Steve told him. 

“You letting your pals stand up for you Barnes? What’s the matter? Too chicken shit to say anything yourself?” Rumlow taunted him. 

Bucky stepped closer to him, almost chest to chest with the Enforcer. “Nope, I just know you’re not worth my time. You never have been, not even on the ice.” After several tense moments, Bucky finally stepped back. “I gotta go. I have a call to make. I’ll talk to you two later.” He looked at Sam and Steve before leaving some bills on the table for his beers and he purposely bumped into Rumlow before leaving the bar. 

Once he was safely in his Brooklyn apartment, he called his publicist. “Mel? Hey, let’s just…. Make an announcement. Tomorrow. Just get it over with.” He told her. “There’s no point in delaying it.” 

“Sure thing, we’ll just say you’re mulling over your post-hockey playing options. Maybe take a year off and figure out what you want. Book deals, coaching job, hell even a sports commentator.” 

“Yeah. I’ll think about it, Mel. Thanks.” He hung up and tossed his phone on the counter and sighed. 

Fucking Brock Rumlow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What part of locked arms don’t you fucking get?” You snapped at your latest partner ‘audition’ as you got up off your ass from being dropped again. “Where in the hell are you finding these idiots Maria?” You snapped at your coach as you skated away from the latest guy. “You’d think none of them knew a simple lift.” 

Maria Hill, your coach for several years now was at the end of her rope. You’d rejected partner after partner for the past month and a half after you’d parted ways with your Olympic partner, from a disastrous showing at the Winter Olympics. 

“Probably doesn’t help that you berate them before they even get their skates on.” She called from the side of the rink as Tony Stark, your guardian since you were fifteen years old (although you were in your twenties now and didn’t need a guardian anymore) and practically your big brother, entered with his five year old daughter Morgan in his arms. 

“How’s it going?” He asked. 

“You’re insane.” Your latest pairs auditioner told you as he hastily removed his skates and shoved his feet in his sneakers and grabbed his bag. “Good luck finding someone willing to put up with the ice princess.” He snorted and left. 

“That good huh?” Tony asked with a sigh and watched you skate around the private ice rink on their property. 

“I can’t help that they’re all idiots.” You told him and Maria sighed, rubbing her temples as Morgan giggled at your comment. 

“You know, unless you work with any of these guys and Maria. You’re going to have to go to singles skating.” Tony warned you, knowing you hated singles skating. It always felt too lonely for you out on the ice alone. You had trust issues since you were a kid. Which was a double edged sword because you also had trouble trusting partners to not let you down. 

“Alright, let’s just call it for the day. I have some calls to make for some more options.” Maria told you as you continued to skate. She turned to Tony. “Talk some sense into her. I don’t have many options left.” She muttered and then left. 

Morgan sat at the edge of the rink putting her skates on to get ready for her private lesson. “Ice Princess, come on… Work with me.” Tony called to you. 

You shot him a glare at the nickname but skated over to him, stopping promptly and showering his legs with ice. “Yes?” You asked him innocently. 

“Don’t give me that shit. What’s your deal? You’ve rejected nearly eight perfectly good skaters in the past almost two months. And always over stupid shit.” He told you. “They’re either not strong enough, not fast enough, not graceful enough. None of which have been true.” 

You wanted to curse back at him but knew Morgan was beginning to repeat everything and Tony was being hushed and you really didn’t want to hear Pepper ask why Morgan learned a new curse word from you. “I’m just particular, that’s all.” You defended yourself. 

“Is that the word we’re using?” He snorted at you. “I know you have trust issues because of what happened. But you can’t keep using that excuse for skating. Not all those men are going to let you down. But they will if they pick up on your attitude and tension. You need to start giving some of them an actual chance.” He glanced over at Morgan who was starting to warm up on the ice before her lesson. “Just… Think about it, okay? And you’ll bring Morgan to the house after her lesson?”

You sighed and nodded at him. “Yeah okay, fine. I’ll think about it. And yes, I’ll stay here during her lesson.” You promised as you got off the ice and changed shoes while Morgan started her lesson. 

“Thank you. Dinner’s at six.” He reminded you and kissed Morgan goodbye before leaving for a meeting. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria Hill was looking over all the options she had on her desk. None of them would be able to take any of the shit that you were dishing out. She needed someone who could dish it right back to you and who could skate. “Jesus this is a nightmare.” She muttered to herself. 

“Might have a suggestion for you if you’re interested in hearing it and going to meet with him.” Nick Fury’s voice came from her office door. Nick was the trainer for you. Responsible for keeping you in shape and healthy. 

“Yeah?” She asked him curiously and leaned back in her chair. 

Nick walked over to the television and turned it on, turning it to the sports network talking about Bucky Barnes’ retirement and what his options were now. The news had been out for a week now and everyone was speculating what he was going to do now. 

“Barnes? You expect me to get a hockey player to be her new partner and not have her throw another fit?” She asked incredulously. 

“Hear me out Hill.” Fury told her and sat across from her. “He’s strong, a phenomenal skater. Actually graceful even in hockey. And, he won’t take any of her shit lying down. Everything else, you can teach him.” He mused with a shrug. “Besides, rumor has it that he wants to keep skating. Sure, this ain’t hockey but it’s better than nothing.” 

Nick had made several good points. He was a great skater. And he was disciplined. It meant that he would stick to any regime of training and skating they threw at him. 

“She won’t like this.” She told him bluntly. 

“Does she like anything anyway?” He countered with a snort.

He had a point. You hadn’t liked any of the partners they’d brought you till now. So throwing Barnes into the mix wasn’t going to make it much worse. 

“Fine. Let’s go talk to him.” She relented.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You want me to what?” Bucky asked Maria and Nick. The two of them sat across from him in his Brooklyn apartment. Staring at them incredulously. 

“We heard you wanted to keep skating. And while this isn’t hockey, we’re training someone who wants Olympic gold just as much as you do.” Maria told him. “I’ve seen you skate. You’re talented as hell and strong.” 

Bucky looked back and forth between the two of them, expecting this to be some kind of joke. “What’s the catch?” 

“No catch. You’ll be paid, there’s a guest house at the Stark estate for you if the audition goes well. So you can live and train and not have to commute. You’ll be well paid.” Nick told him as he casually leaned back in his seat. 

Bucky snorted. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there’s always a catch.” 

Maria and Nick exchanged looks before looking back at him. “She can be… Difficult to get along with.” She told him carefully. 

“So she’s a pain in the ass.” He clarified flatly and snorted again. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a pain in the ass on my team.” He muttered to himself. 

“So you’ll come try out?” Maria asked him curiously. “Look, I know you don’t take any shit from anyone. So you and her might work because you can dish it out. You won’t put up with her attitude.” She explained. 

Bucky considered his options. He didn’t want to stop skating. And it’s not like there were any open coaching positions currently. And he sure as shit didn’t want to write a memoir or work for ESPN while all his buddies were still skating. This was something for him. Plus he’d get to work with some hot girl instead of staring at Rumlow’s ugly face everywhere he went. 

“When’s the tryout?” He finally asked.

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#Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #My writing #Marvel fic #MCU #I'm not tagging all the characters in this fic b/c that's so annoying #anyway #Please reblog this and tell me if you like it #xoxo

[toplinetommy]

You Bring the Moon and Stars to Me (Part Four) - Tyson Jost

Synopsis: A Soulmate!AU where your soulmark only appears once you fall in love with your soulmate

Words: 8.9k

Warnings: tyson still aint 21 and is drinking in some parts

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

September/October 2018 - Denver, CO 

“Does Tyson know you have a boyfriend?” Caitlyn asks as you near EJ’s house. She sat next to you in the passenger seat, while her boyfriend, Josh, was in the back.

“Considering Aiden’s not my boyfriend, no.” You respond, turning right onto EJ’s street. Caitlyn shakes her head at you and you know exactly what she’s thinking since this is about the fourth time she’s brought it up.

“I just don’t get why you can’t tell Tyson you’re seeing someone, considering he’s your best friend and all.” She shrugs looking out the window at the big craftsman-style houses in the neighborhood.

“Because it’s still casual and it hasn’t really gotten brought up yet. I really don’t see the big deal.”

“The big deal is that the last time you and Tyson saw each other was at Gabe’s wedding when you guys had a moment,” She moves her hands in front of her, putting an emphasis on ‘moment’. You pull up to EJ’s house as she finishes talking, parking your car on the curb.

“It was a wedding, they’re full of ‘moments’,” You put finger quotations around moment. After the wedding, you had gone back to Denver while Tyson went back home to Alberta where you guys resumed your friendship like nothing had happened. The summer was spent with a numerous amount of FaceTime’s and sending memes to one another. Sure, the thought of kissing Tyson would occasionally pop into your head over the summer months when you especially missed him, but that’s exactly what you blamed it on. The fact that he had never brought up the almost-kiss gave you even more reason to do the same.

“I just think there’s a deeper reason why you haven’t told him that you won’t admit to yourself.” Caitlyn shakes her head as the three of you walk up the long driveway. The rest of the walk is silent until you walk in through the front door and are greeted with loud cheers at your entrance.

“Y/n Y/l/n!” Gabe cheers, lifting his arms above his head, a beer in each of his hands. You laugh at the sight and go to yell his name back to him before you notice Tyson whipping his body around at the sound of your name combined with your laugh. Tyson all about shoves his blonde captain out of the way to get to where you’re standing across the living room.

Both of his hands are also clasped around cans of beer, some of it spilling as he sets them down harshly on the nearest surface on his way to you. You shriek as he wraps his arms tightly around your torso, picking you up a few inches of the ground. He sets you down but the two of you stay joined before you’re the one to pull back from him.

“How’s my superstar been?” You ask, looking him over as you rest your hands on his biceps. He’s wearing a pair of chino shorts, his thighs filling them out from a productive summer and his biceps have a golden sheen from spending so much of his summer outside.

“Better now that I’m back in Denver,” He smiles, eyes shining as he also looks over your body. You’re sporting a pair of loosely-fit mom jeans with a scarf you wrapped around yourself as a DIY top,. Tyson looks over to Caitlyn and Jack who are standing behind you as they watch your reunion, saying hi to them. 

“So there’s stuff kind of going on everywhere. A lot of people are on the deck and in the backyard playing games or in here enjoying the AC.” He starts, pointing around to the large group of people all around your small group. “You can put your alcohol in the fridge too, there’s one in the kitchen, obviously, but if it’s full you guys can use the one in the garage.”

The three of you nod at his suggestions before he’s dragging you outside to meet the new guys that were signed over the summer. Once the two of you make your rounds you settle into lawn chairs that are placed by the firepit in the back. 

“How was your summer?” Tyson asks before bringing his beer to his lips.

“Pretty good, I actually had to work, unlike some other people I know.” You chirp, glaring at the brunette next to you in a joking manner. He rolls his eyes at your comment before you continue. “Besides, we talked like four times a week, you know how my summer was. Oh! Jack officially moved in about a month ago.”

“Oh really? I’ll have to get his number so he can hang out with the boys. Ya know, so he’s not stuck with you girls all the time.”

“Hey!” You exclaim with a spirited tone. “We’re a great time and you know it.”

“Yeah, with all your pop culture gossip and medical drama tv shows. You guys are a hoot.” He shrugs, Candian accent popping out as he speaks. He downs the remainder of the light-brown liquid in his can, before setting it down on the grass next to him.

You laugh in shock and give a shove to Tyson’s shoulder once he’s sitting straight up again, “Shut the fuck up, you know you missed it.” He coughs lightly, pretending to have choked on his beer due to your shove. 

“I’m wounded that you think I wouldn’t miss it,” Tyson brings a hand to his chest in fake distaste. His gaze turns soft as his eyes focus more on your face, his eyes slightly squinting due to the harsh sun that was beginning to set past the horizon. The freckles that had appeared on your cheeks and shoulders due to the time spent in the sun, your hair was a little lighter from getting highlights recently and it was longer than he remembered it being, and most importantly the genuine smile he missed seeing in person. “It’s always nice being able to go home and see everyone, especially being able to be on the lake. It was harder than last summer, I missed a lot of people.”

“Yeah, but you get to see people you grew up with and live a little calmer.” You respond. Tyson had always told you his favorite part about his Candian summers was the calm pace of the season, a much needed contrast to the grinding he’d put in for a majority of the year when the NHL season would come around.

“Yeah, I get to see Dante, who by the way you need to meet whenever he comes to town, and some buddies on other teams,” Tyson points out. “I don’t know, I felt like part of me stayed here in Denver. I don’t know if it was just because I missed everyone or just because it’s so different from home or what.”

You nod your head in understanding, knowing how difficult it was to leave a place you called home for more than just a week or two. “I think it’s just because you’ve established a life here. No matter how exciting or happy you are to be back home, part of you will miss where you spend most of your time.”

“And the people I spend all my time with.” He adds, gesturing to the people occupying the backyard. You glance around, noticing Nate, Tyson, and Big Z playing Spike Ball, while some of the guys and their wives sitting around the table that was on the deck. As your eyes land on where Caitlyn and Jack are standing with JT and Sydney, Tyson’s eyes land on you, thinking specifically about how good it was to be back not only in Denver but to be back where you were. Even if it was only his second season with the Avalanche, he truly felt like he had found his place in Denver, both with his hockey career and with the friends he had made.

“Josty! Y/n! We’re starting flip cup, let’s go!” JT shouts at the two of you, pulling Tyson away from his thoughts. The two of you stand up and saunter over to the large table that’s set up on the grass where a large group had formed. Before you can say you’ll be right back and that you need to get a refill, Tyson is placing his hand on the small of your back letting you know he’ll grab drinks for the both of you.

“You and Tyson look like you’ve been awfully close since we got here,” Caitlyn acknowledges, nudging your shoulder with hers.

“We’re just catching up, we haven’t seen each other since July,” You answer shortly. A few more people join around the table as the two of you speak, all grabbing solo cups and filling them up for the game. Caitlyn gives you a knowing look and before she can say what’s on her mind you stop her, “And no, I didn’t tell him about Aiden. Stop bringing it up.”

She brings her hands up in defeat, knowing that if she continues to talk about it you’ll just get angrier with him badgering. Tyson reappears next to you, Bud Light in one hand for him and an Angry Orchard in the other for you.

“I haven’t played this since that time at the hockey house senior year,” You admit to Tyson, who’s pouring his drink into his cup as you crack open yours. 

“Hopefully you’re as good as I remember.” Tyson chirps, thinking back to that night the two of you really met. With where your friendship stood now, it seemed like that day in North Dakota was ages ago.

“From what I remember - which isn’t a lot because I was blasted that night, you were terrible.” You laugh, a few of the guys on the other side of the table also laughing, hearing the chirp. 

A numerous amount of rounds pass, Tyson consistently being the reason you lose, while you were the reason your team would win. The sun’s been long gone for a while, the source of light being the decorative string lights along the deck and yard. The slight chill in the air causes most people to relocate to the kitchen and living room of the house, a few retreating to the basement to play poker or video games.

You spend most of your night near Tyson in some way, whether it be directly next to him or in the same group until he disappears to join some of the guys downstairs. The late-night starts turning into the early morning and Caitlyn and Jack are letting you know that they’re getting ready to go home.

“I’ll text you when Jack and I get home,” Caitlyn assures you as she hugs you goodbye before heading for the exit of the house. You make your way to the kitchen to switch out your now empty cider for a glass of water, choosing to f. Once you fill your glass up, you lean against the counter next to the sink and pull out your phone to see the Instagram story Caitlyn had tagged you in. It’s a Boomerang of you and her clinking your drinks in a ‘cheers’ from earlier in the night. You share it to your story as well before bringing your glass to your lips.

“Getting tired already, eh?” Tyson reappears, choosing to lean against the counter next to you. His one hand is gripping his beer as he was one of the few people still drinking at this time of night. The still moment as you laugh with a scoff before responding oddly feels like you’ve been in this exact moment once before. 

“Caitlyn just ditched me to go have sex with her boyfriend,” you answer. Your phone vibrates in your hand and you see that Aiden’s texted you back. The vibration pulls you from what felt like another world of thinking, and you unlock it pulling up your messages to respond to Aiden.

Tyson couldn’t help but notice the increase in your attention towards your phone throughout the night as you type out a response. Granted, with the time that it was, more people were seen on their phones than in groups talking or playing games. Most attendees were starting to quiet down and a few were making plans to head out. You were typing away at your phone with a small smile when Tyson interrupted you with a slight shoulder shove.

“What’s got all your attention?” Tyson asks curiously. You quickly place your phone face down on the counter beside you giving Tyson your full attention.

“No one.”

“Oh, so you got a someone then, eh?” He asks, quirking one of his eyebrows up.

“It’s just some guy.” You shrug. Some part of you still didn’t know how to bring up Aiden’s presence in your life to Tyson. Even if Tyson was just a friend to you, it still felt weird for a reason you couldn’t exactly pinpoint. 

His palms tighten against where they’re resting against the countertop the two of you are leaning back on, the joyful smile that was once on his lips disappears into one you can’t seem to read. Whether that be the alcohol you’ve consumed or just the simple fact that you’d never really seen Tyson look at you the way he was right now.

“Like a guy you’re seeing or?” 

“Like a friend I’m seeing later.” 

Tyson’s unreadable face turns into one of confusion as he mutters an ‘oh’ and looks back towards the expanse of the open kitchen in front of you two. He may not have seen you at all in the past three months from being back home, but that didn’t mean that you guys weren’t calling each other at least three times a week to catch up, so the mention of a ‘friend’ confused him. With that being said, he definitely thought that the two of you were open enough to let the other know if they were dating someone.

“His name’s Aiden, I kind of like him but we kinda just hang out at night if you know what I mean,” You spill.

Tyson swallows as he internally debates on whether or not he wants to directly ask you why you hadn’t mentioned this to him before or if he just wanted to skip over that whole part. He goes with the latter, “How long have you guys been talking?”

“Not that long, like a month?” You shrug your shoulders. Tyson doesn’t respond, partially from his slow reflexes that the alcohol in his system has caused and from the slight discomfort he felt about the news. “Oh, he’s here,” You announce as you read the text that pops up on your screen. You set your barely touched glass of water into the sink and start towards the front door. 

Tyson pushes off the counter, following close behind you, “I’ll walk you out.” And if he had wanted to do that just to get a good look at the schmuck that was picking you up, you didn’t have to know. While we’re at it, he might have also suggested it in hopes that this Aiden guy would be intimidated by a different guy walking her out. He may not have been that tall, but Tyson knew damn well he was still leaner than most guys, and he had every intention of using that to his advantage

You nod your head at Tyson, walking around the house shouting to the remaining guys that you were heading out. As you get to the entryway and find your coat, Gabe saunters over to properly say goodbye. 

“You guys heading out together?” Gabe asks, glancing between the two of you, a slight smirk forming on his lips. Tyson opens his mouth, no sound coming out at the suggestive question his captain makes.

“No, just me. My ride’s here.” You answer shortly, pulling your white sneakers on completely.

“I’m just walking her out,” Tyson says, almost as soon as you’re done speaking. Gabe nods his head in an awkward manner before turning on his heels to go back to what you assume is the group he was previously in.

You move towards the door and Tyson beats you there, even in his drunken state, and opens it for you. The two of you are greeted with none other than Aiden standing on the front porch. Tyson visibly puffs his chest out and pushes his shoulders back once he sees the man in front of him is in fact, much taller than him and very much the opposite of what he thought this guy would look like.

Aiden looks between the two of you, your body staggered right in front of Tyson’s as you say a quick ‘hey’. You turn around, going to give Tyson a side hug but he has other plans and embraces you fully. You hug him back, looking up at him getting ready to say bye when Aiden’s voice breaks your departure. 

“I didn’t know you were partying at some mansion,” Aiden says, taking his hands out of his sweat pockets to point up towards the house you were gathered in front of. Tyson loudly scoffs at the statement and rolls his eyes. He was still in the early part of his career and he still hadn’t really gotten used to the whole other people making snide remarks about his lifestyle and career. 

You pull away from Tyson, taking a step towards Aiden, “I told you I was hanging out with Tyson.” 

“Not Tyson Jost and an entire NHL roster.” 

Tyson holds back his scoff this time. He could already tell that if this guy was gonna be around much longer he was going to have to hold back making snide remarks. If he was already this intimidated and this annoyed with the group of guys you regularly hung around, he had a lot coming for him if he was planning to stick around. 

You squeeze his bicep with one of your hands, choosing to not respond to Aiden’s comment. “I’ll see you on opening night?”

“Yeah, you will,” Tyson answers, smile starting to come back to his face. You nod your head and turn around to head towards Aiden’s still running car at the end of the driveway.

--

The energy at the Pepsi Center was electric, to say the least, and the city of Denver was excited to have hockey back. Especially after a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs in late April. You had kept up slightly with the off-season news - mainly due to Caitlyn’s interest - and knew that they would have high expectations with the new additions to the team. 

Caitlyn was adorning her MacKinnon jersey that she had owned ever since he was drafted while you sported the #17 on your back per Tyson’s request. He always joked about how you were one of the few people that even had his jersey due to his younger age to which you always scoffed and called him a superstar despite only being in his second year.

Your small group consists of Aiden, Caitlyn, her boyfriend, Jack, and yourself. The four of you had all decided to get tickets yourself and make it a sort of ‘double-date’ as Caitlyn described it. Jack wasn’t a huge hockey fan, but he was a huge fan of Caitlyn so he had borrowed one of Tyson’s hoodies to wear since they were a similar size. Aiden was what he liked to call ‘an average hockey fan’ since he knew a lot about his hometown Avalanche team and the big names of the NHL, while not knowing much about anything else. 

The four of you stopped to get drinks before heading to your seats in the mid-level section. With it being the opening night of the new season, tickets were more expensive than usual so you had all opted for cheaper seats to save money. Besides, the four of you were planning on joining the team’s festivities after the game when they headed downtown to their usual post-game bars.

The game flew by, the Avs coming out with a 4-1 win. The dominant win only contributed to the already high level of buzz in the arena and the surrounding areas. The four of you took your time exiting the arena and heading downtown, knowing that the guys you were meeting up with wouldn’t be out for at least another hour. You guys had carpooled to the game so the four of you all jump into Caitlyn’s SUV before she drives down to the parking lot she usually parked in on nights out.

By the time some of the guys make it to the bar, the four of you alongside some other WAG’s reserved a section in the back corner for the large group. Cheers erupt as they all enter, a way of saying congrats to a great win to start off the season. Everyone greets one another before everyone starts to disperse slightly to get their own alcoholic beverages.

“You remember Aiden,” You shout to Tyson over the loud bass, resting your palm on Aiden’s chest. 

“What’s up, man?” Tyson greets. He goes to shake Aiden’s hand which Aiden happily does, however, Aiden keeps his other arm around your shoulders making sure you stay tucked into his side.

“You guys had a great game,” You complement with a smile towards Tyson. His eyes are bright, and his cheeks are full as he opens his mouth getting ready to respond when Aiden makes a comment you wish he hadn’t.

“Sucks you had that penalty, though.”

Tyson grinds his jaw as opposed to making a rude comment. If Tyson really wanted to be petty - and he really did; then he would’ve made some comment about how he made more in one 60 minute game than he probably did in a month. You squeeze his hand that’s moved to your hip in annoyance, glancing up at him with a look that screamed ‘why the fuck did you say that’.

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” Tyson announces, turning around on his heel and making his way towards the bar. You watch his body movement as he walks away, noting how nicely his grey slacks and jacket combo fit him. 

“Why did you say that?” You turn towards Aiden, hissing up at him. “You don’t think that people already told him about his mistake? Ya know, like people that actually know what they’re talking about?”

“I know what I’m talking about,” He says easily, taking a sip from his IPA.

“Just leave it to the people that actually breathe hockey for a living. It was a rude comment to make, especially to my friend.” You say, continuing to look up to his face sternly. His face falters a little bit to an apologetic look before he says he’s sorry. Tyson reappears a few minutes later, joining you, Aiden, Caitlyn, Jack, JT, and Sammy. Instead of him coming back up to you directly, he steps to the side and jumps into conversation with Jack.

Caitlyn moves closer to you and Aiden, “So Tyson’s met Aiden then.” You nod your head at her in answer, sipping on your margarita as she gives a knowing look. The subject of their meeting just as quickly as it gets brought up and everyone starts talking about the game and how excited they are for the season. Anyone could tell - and especially the people that were around the team like you guys were; that the chemistry of this roster was something special.

JT comes up to a little while later, ditching Tyson and some of the other guys at the table, “So this is the new guy, huh?” He asks, his hand holding his beer pointing at the guy you had been attached to all evening.

“Yep,” You smile excitedly. “This is Aiden, Aiden this is JT. He lives with Tyson and Kerfy, who you haven’t met yet. Speaking of Kerfy, is he around?”

“Nah, he went back to the house after to see his girl,” JT answers smoothly. “When are you guys coming over? I always see your car over at Caitlyn’s but you haven’t stopped by at ours since we’ve been back. Come to think of it, I’ve barely seen you since Landy’s wedding even though I’ve been in and out of town since then.” JT takes a large swig of his beer, seemingly finishing it as he rests it on the nearest surface.

Before you can muster up an excuse about being busy with work, Aiden’s face flashes in confusion. “You live close to each other or something?”

“They all live across the street from Caitlyn, I thought I told you that when I told you how I knew everyone,” You knit your eyebrows in confusion turning back towards Aiden. Aiden’s confused face relaxes a little, thinking back to what was probably the third time you guys hung out when you had finally decided to tell him you knew a large portion of the Colorado Avalanche.

You notice a movement at the table most of your friends are sitting at, and watch Tyson as he stands up from the booth he’s at as he makes his way over to three of you, jumping into the conversation. His cheeks have a slight pinkness to them and the top few buttons of his shirt have been unbuttoned. 

“So, Aiden, what do you do?”

“I manage a construction company out in Aurora,” He answers, his voice booming over the surrounding sounds. “I’m thinking of getting my masters in business administration, but I haven’t made a decision yet.”

Tyson nods his head, being somewhat intimidated by Aiden’s expanse of education, something he clearly lacked. JT asks him where he got his undergrad, Aiden answering him, and saying he went to Michigan State.

“Oh, no way! I went to Michigan.” JT smiles, which you mirror. You’re happy that someone seems to finally be taking an interest in Aiden and your relationship with him. The two of them banter about which school is truly better, and you hold back your opinion not knowing much about either school.

Both you and Tyson stand quietly, listening to JT and Aiden talk about the MSU/Michigan rivalry. JT asked about what it was like at MSU and Aiden had asked him about what it felt like to be a D1 athlete at arguably one of the biggest schools in the country. As Tyson listens he can’t help but notice Aiden’s empty hand and how it’s placed on your stomach, holding you back close to him. You notice Tyson’s eyes turn a little darker and his hand tighten around his glass as the two of them speak, especially when he sees Aidens hand flex where it’s placed against your stomach and you get a sudden wave of claustrophobia and shove his hand off of you and instead choose to interlock your fingers with his. Aiden shoots you a small look of confusion before you interrupt.

“I’m gonna go get another drink, I’ll be right back.” You announce, completely slipping our of Aiden’s grasp. The sudden feeling of heaviness surrounds you as you head towards the back bar, fully intending to order just water and calm your now ragged breathing. As you approach the bar counter and set your elbows on the slightly sticky surface, you turn your head to the group of guys you just left. You look at Tyson, the shortest in the group start taking a few steps in your general direction before Aiden places his hand on Tyson’s shoulder, harshly moving past him.

“You okay?” Aiden asks as he approaches you.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you let out. “I just got really claustrophobic out of nowhere, it’s probably the alcohol.” It’s not completely a lie, you did start feeling overcrowded, but it most definitely was not the alcohol’s fault. If you really thought about it, you were probably the most sober person in your immediate group. 

“If you want to leave we can head out, I don’t mind,” Aiden suggests, placing his hands steadily on your hips. You lean up to him to give him a quick kiss on the lips before nodding your head no.

“We can have another drink, then leave. Sound good?” You muse. Aiden nods his head in response, ordering both of you new drinks before you head back over to your group. You notice an empty spot in the booth next to Tyson and decide to snag it, pulling Aiden by his hand to stand next to you.

“What are you drinking?” You ask leaning into Tyson’s ear.

“A rum and coke,” He answers turning to look at you, not missing where your hand is joined with Aiden’s. “So you guys, like, official now or something?”

You look up at Aiden before answering, who seems to be lost in doing something on his phone, “Yeah.”

Tyson nods his head in response, taking a large gulp of his drink. He stays quiet as he takes in the piece of new information, processing it all. The moments from Gabe’s wedding when he almost kissed you flashes through his mind before he takes his free hand and rubs it along his face. He moves his hand to his lap, preoccupying the other with the thin, black straw in his glass.

“He’s really great and I think you guys will get along,” You start in an attempt to fill in the silence. “We can all try to hang out sometime soon so you guys can get properly introduced.”

“That sounds great, YY/n,” Tyson says, eyes locked on the glass in front of him. There’s little emotion in his tone as he speaks and you start to wonder if you did something wrong. Before you can ask if everything’s okay with him, he moves abruptly,

“I’m gonna go get a refill.”

You stand up, moving out of the way so he can stand up and head to the bar and you look at his glass on the table that’s close to full in confusion. You sit back down on the cushion of the booth, pulling Aiden next to you as you watch Tyson move through the crowd. He goes in the exact opposite direction of the bar which has you knitting your eyebrows, and walks up to a girl you don’t think he knows by the looks of him introducing himself. You watch their encounter from afar, head resting on Aiden’s shoulder.

As the pair continues to talks, you look around for your immediate friend group, finding Caitlyn and Jack at the end of the bar closest to you and Aiden,

“I actually think I’m ready to go now,” You move your head from off of Aiden’s shoulder, placing your hand there instead. “You order the Uber and I’m gonna go say bye to Caitlyn and Jack.” 

“Aiden and I are gonna head out,” You shout over the music. “Let me know when you guys leave and get home!”

“Of course, everything okay though? I feel like I haven’t seen you all night and when I did you seemed distant.”

“Yeah, just some anxiety,” You excuse, your gaze still heavily following on Tyson and his new friend. Caitlyn notices your distant stare and follows it, letting out a large sigh at the sight. If anyone in the bar was as close to you as she was, they too would notice the invisible lasers from your eyes to the second-year hockey player across the room. 

You guys exchange silent looks before you wrap your arms around her, hugging her goodbye. “Lunch tomorrow, yeah?” You say pulling away.

“Sure, let me know when you guys get back. Love you.”

December 2018/January 2019 - Denver, CO

Walking up the snow-covered sidewalk to the Rookie House, trying to keep your balance as you hold two hot cups of coffee in both hands. Once you reach the front door, you grasp both cups in one hand, knocking on the door with the other. Tyson swings it open a movement later, a large smile on his face and making grabby hands at the coffee.

“Here’s your coffee,” you say, handing over both cups to him as you move to take off your shoes. You sigh out, “Wow, I feel like I haven’t been over here in ages.” Tyson had been out of town briefly for a game in St. Louis then had a string of back-to-backs all weekend so the two of you hadn’t seen each other much recently.

“Because we only see each other when we’re out or in group settings it seems,” Tyson responds as the two of you make way to his kitchen. If it weren’t for his playfully light tone combined with the small smile on his face as he looked at you, you’d think he was making some sort of accusation. “Thanks for the coffee, how much was it? I’ll Venmo you.” 

“You don’t need to Venmo me, Tyson. It isn’t a big deal.” You assure, taking a seat at one of the barstools at the kitchen island.

He grabs his phone from where it’s resting on the white counter in front of him, starting to tap away at the phone screen while he responds, “And it’s not a big deal for me to Venmo you.”

You roll your eyes at his playful response, “I’ll just send it back to you.”

“And I’ll just send it right back, two can play this game,” Tyson smirked. He sets his phone down, not bothering to Venmo you, knowing that you will in fact turn it into a war where the two of you are sending the same $4 back to one another until one of you gives up.

“What have you been up to? I feel like we haven’t had a best friend heart-to-heart in a while.” You start. You tuck one leg underneath you on the counter checking your Apple Watch as it vibrates. Ignoring the notification from Aiden you turn and smile towards Tyson’s standing figure across the island from you.

“Good, good. The team’s been rolling lately and the guys can definitely feel it in the air. I’ve honestly been having so much fun playing with them day in and day out.” He rambles, a smile on his face as he talks about arguably his favorite thing in the world. “Enough about hockey though, I already talk about 99% of the time. I’ve been learning some new stuff on my ukelele, I’m officially up to knowing four songs now.” He laughs lightly and smiles a little wider. He’s leaning over the island making the two of you seem closer than what you actually are.

“That’s awesome!” You exclaim, wrapping your hands around your coffee. “Do you bring it on the road with you? I can’t remember if you ever told me.”

“I did on our east coach trip last week, actually. I didn’t play it as much as I thought I would so I’m not sure if I’ll do it again,” He shrugs.

“Yeah, and it’s probably not the most ideal item to travel with,” You reason, shrugging at the idea of traveling with a musical instrument.

“What’s been up with you?”

“The usual, working a lot, spending a lot of time with Aiden, Caitlyn and Jack too.” You start, a smile making its way on to your face thinking of all the quality time you’ve spent with those closest to you recently. The smile falters as you look towards Tyson, who seems to have a distant look on his face when you mention those names. “I’ve been really happy lately, but I feel like we don’t talk that much anymore, which needs to change.” 

“How about this: once a week we’ll have that conversation. We’ll just talk about anything and everything that’s on our minds and take time to just be heard.”

“Mark me down in your calendar then, once a week, Tys,” You agree, looking over at him. He could see the happiness on your face, even though your previous smile had faltered. He could see the gleam in your eyes that you always seemed to get when you talked about the ones you cared most for. He smiles too at the thought that you guys would officially get back to what was considered as part of your normal routine. He considered asking further about yours and Aiden’s relationship before he finally pulled the trigger, knowing it was polite to do even though he didn’t necessarily want to know the details of your guys’ relationship.

“How have you and Aiden been?” Tyson straightens, putting more physical distance between the two of you as he asks about your relationship.

“I met his family over the weekend.” You start. Your eyes are locked on the movement of your fingers playing with the sleeve on your coffee out of nervousness as you bring up the news to Tyson. You know Tyson wasn’t the biggest fan of him, even though it may not have been obvious to everyone since he was still always so friendly around him.

“Really?” Tyson inquires. 

“Yeah, we went to his parent’s house for dinner on Sunday, it was nice.” You answer thinking back to what you would consider the next step in your relationship with Aiden. “I think they liked me.”

“That’s good, eh?” 

“Yeah,” you say slowly. “I don’t know. It just kinda felt weird, like I felt welcome and all, but I just felt like the vibes were off on my end. Someone made a comment that kind of stuck with me.”

Tyson raises his eyebrows in question, urging you to go on.

“I was coming back from the bathroom and I heard his mom and him talking about how if he thought I was his soulmate.”

“Oh? What did he say?” Tyson asked, tensing up in his seat. He too started fidgeting with the coffee in front of him as you continued to speak.

“He said he thinks I could be the one yeah.” You let out, a large sigh following. Silence surrounds both of you as Tyson takes in what he just heard come out of your mouth. You and Aiden had only been official for what some people would consider a short three months, so it was a lot for you to even take in when he had said that to you.

“C’mon y/n, you can’t seriously think that Aiden of all people is your soulmate,” Tyson suggested with a scoff as he moved to sit on the barstool next to yours, foregoing the cup of coffee on the other side of the island.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You bite, snapping your head to look at Tyson as he folds one of his legs underneath him. The casualness of his tone and his body posture only makes you angrier with his accusation.

“He’s clearly not your soulmate. Your soulmate isn’t supposed to constantly ask you to change or get annoyed by your quirks. He doesn’t like any of the guys on the team who are some of your closest friends! He’s insecure and is always bringing your energy down when he’s around.” He exclaims, his voice rasing as he continued to ramble.

“No, fuck this, I came over here to hang out with you because I haven’t seen you in a while, not for you to shit-talk my boyfriend. You’re just too immature to understand all of this and how important it is to me.” You say, shaking your head looking at him in disbelief at where all of this is coming from. 

Not even a sliver of silence is allowed between the two of you before he speaks, “I’m just trying to get you to see what literally everyone around you sees! No one thinks he’s good for you.” His voice only continuing to rise as the words feel like they’re cutting you open with how harsh he’s speaking. You’re pretty sure this is the first time you’ve heard him use the tone he’s using to not only you but to anyone.

“Oh, good, well I’m glad everyone is going around my back to talk about my personal relationship and how they feel about it. That’s great, Tyson.” You throw your hands up in the air, before rubbing your face with them.

“Y/n, I didn’t mean it like-“

“If you didn’t mean it you wouldn’t have said it. Simple as that.” You affirm, lowering your voice as you stand up from the island. You grab your phone and your keys, heading for the door while Tyson is still in shock at your abrupt movements. He snaps out of it as he hears the rustling of the nylon on your winter coat as you pull your arms through it. You hear the harsh slide of the barstool across the hardwood floor as he takes long strides over to you.

“Do you love him?” Tyson asks in a soft but still firm manner, his facial features relaxing a little. It’s a simple yet loaded question that really makes you think as you take a step out of the front door. With one foot on the welcome mat and one hand on the outside doorknob, you glance at Tyson once more. Instead of answering him, or even saying anything that closely resembles a goodbye, you turn around and start walking down the sidewalk to your car. 

As you step into your car, you glance back up at the front door, noticing Tyson still standing in the open doorway. Both of you are frozen for a moment and you see him scratch relentlessly at his arm before you take your eyes away from him and fully enter your car. You could hear the faint sound of the front door slamming before you turned your keys in the ignition and started heading home.

--

Do you even love him?

The question lingered heavily in your head ever since Tyson asked you that when you guys last talked. The question felt even heavier as you sat on your couch next to Aiden, the two of you eating Chinese take-out and catching up on The 100. You had felt content with him this whole relationship, and as you thought deeper you realized that was all you felt. Content with your relationship and the attention that came along with it.

He noticed the blank stare that was on your face as you continued to push the mixture of rice, broccoli, and chicken around on your plate. Aiden moved to place his hand on your sweatpant covered knee to grab your attention to which caused you to snap your head in his direction.

“You good?” Aiden swallows. “You’ve had this blank stare for at least, like, five minutes.”

You bring your fork up to your, eating a mouthful of rice before you set your full plate on the coffee table with a ‘clink’. You maneuver your body into the corner of your couch so you’re body is facing his. 

“Do you love me? Or like, are you falling in love with me?” You ask, deciding to be straight forward to avoid as little confusion as possible. 

“Why are you even asking me that?” He asks in an accusatory tone. He mirrors your previous actions and sets his plate on the table next to yours. “I just took you to meet my family last week, why wouldn’t I think this is where this relationship is going.”

“I just feel like that’s not where I see it going.” You admit. Aiden stares at you, dumbfounded by your sudden admission feeling. His mouth is slightly agape, not knowing exactly what to say before his upper torso stiffens. “I was just thinking and I just feel stagnant with where our relationship is and I’m sorry to say it but I don’t think I’ll fall in love with you.

“Is this because of Tyson?” Aiden accuses, questioning the real reasoning behind this conversation.

“What? No!” You exclaim, shocked by the accusation. He knew the two of you were best and friends and knew the history of your relationship with him. You had no idea where the accusation was coming from and before you could ask, Aiden stands from his spot on the couch.

“You clearly don’t see it then, but okay.” Aiden closes, grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch and shrugging it on before walking out of your apartment with a light slam of the door.

You stand there for a few more minutes, taking in all that had just happened, and taking in the sight of his half-eaten Chinese. You’re not really sure what to do, and you’re not entirely sure you should feel this normal after breaking up with someone. Pulling out your phone, you check the time before deciding on calling Caitlyn. She picks up on the second ring with a cheery hello before you start.

“Aiden and I just broke up.” You state simply, little to no emotion laced in your tone. 

“What? Are you okay?” She asks in shock.

“Yeah, I guess,” You start. You put the phone on speaker before setting it down on your kitchen table and start picking at your nails. “Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“The second he walked out of the door I wanted to call Tyson, no offense, but I haven’t talked to him since our fight the other day.” You admit, biting on your cuticles.

“Y/n,” She says, dragging out your name.

“Can I come over?” You ask, already going over to put your shoes on.

You arrive at Caitlyn’s house not too long later, letting yourself in and dropping to her couch with a loud groan. ”I’m so over this whole finding your soulmate thing.” Caitlyn laughs, walking into the living room from her kitchen, bottle of tequila in one hand, and a mixer in the other for you. She hands both to you as you take a pull from the tequila before taking a large sip from the mixer.

“Is it bad that I wanted to talk to Tyson the second Aiden left?”

“Uhm, I don’t think so,” She starts to reason. “I mean, he’s one of your best friends. I think it’s pretty similar to you calling me.” 

“I guess,” you softly respond. You clasp your hands in your lap, picking at your cuticles, pondering the events of the past hour. “Whenever Tyson had asked me if I loved Aiden, the question hadn’t left my brain, and honestly, I’m really glad he did ask me.” Caitlyn chooses not to respond, instead staying quiet and letting you say anything that’s on your mind

“Before he left he said I don���t see it with Tyson?” You ask, infliction in your voice. “Do you know what that even means?” 

Caitlyn thinks as to what Aiden could have possibly meant by the statement. She clearly has an idea as her face twists in what seems to be confusion. Her mouth opens and closes before she finally speaks, “I think that it could mean a lot of different things, but you need to figure out what it means on your own. Have you talked to Tyson since you guys got into that fight last week?” 

“He texted me and apologized and I said I was sorry for just walking out on him like that, but other than that, no. I miss him.” Suddenly, the emotions you lacked feeling in the span of the last hour came flooding to you and your eyes glossed over at the thought that the last time you saw Tyson you yelled at him. You sniffle, trying to hold back the actual act of crying and Caitlyn scootches her body closer to yours. She wraps her arm around your shoulders and you rest your head on her shoulder. At the very moment you open your mouth, a sob comes out of your mouth instead of words. 

“I haven’t watched any of his games and I’ve been looking at his stats and he’s been playing like shit.” You let out through the break-in your cries.

“Oh, y/n, you know you’re not the reason behind that. I watched some of the games and the whole team hasn‘t been playing very well, not just him.” Caitlyn assures you while moving her hand up and down your shoulder in comfort. “Why don’t you call him when his game ends. He’s in Ottawa, yeah? They’re two hours ahead so you’ll still be up.”

By the time the game ends - and when your eyes are dry, the Avalanche lose to Ottawa 5-2 and you give it about another hour before you check Tyson’s location on Find My Friends to see if he’s at the hotel. You see that he’s there and you pull up his contact, thumb hovering over the call button.

“You got it, Y/n, there’s nothing to be nervous about,” Caitlyn reassures you. “Do you want me to stay or leave the room?”

You let her know she’s good to leave and do her own thing and you press the call button, bringing the phone up to your ear. To your surprise, the line only rings once before you hear the click on Tyson answering.

“Hey,” You say softly, breathing out a huge sigh of relief now that you’ve gotten this far.

“Hey, I’m sorry-” 

“No, I’m the one that should be sorry, Tyson,” You interrupt.

“I’m sorry too, but it’s the past now, yeah?”

“I am though, sorry. Me walking out like that wasn’t right and calling you immature was even worse. You’re the exact opposite and I hope you know that. You were just trying to help me see what everyone else saw, and I get that now.” You admit. Your anxiety about the situation starts to ease a little bit as you get the apology off your chest.

“I forgive you. I’m sorry I just yelled at you of nowhere, it was unnecessary,” Tyson also apologizes. “Wait, what do you mean you get that now?”

“Oh, uh, Aiden and I broke up,” You answer. “Today, actually.”

“I’m sorry,” Tyson responds softly.

“Don’t be. You were right, I didn’t love him and I didn’t see myself ever loving him.” You answer with a shrug. You feel much lighter now that you’re saying all of this out loud for the second time and especially feeling better now that you’re talking to your best friend.

“It still sucks.” He mutters back. The line goes quiet for a bit, the only sound either one of you can hear is the scratchy breathing through the phone. “I missed you.” He admits, breaking the silence.

Just with that statement, you can feel yourself get emotional all over again, your previously dry eyes turning glossy again. “I missed you,” You hiccup.

“Hey, are you crying?” Tyson asks, sitting up further in his hotel bed.

“No,” you lie, wiping away at the few tears that and running down your cheeks.

“Don’t do that,” He says, and you can picture him scrunching his eyebrows together as he speaks. You let out a breath and smile a true, genuine smile, for probably the first time in at least a week. “I’m actually really glad you called. I needed to talk to you.”

You hum in question at his statement, urging him to go on.

“So, I’ve been playing like a literal pile of dog shit lately and before you interrupt me to tell me I’m not, don’t. I’m playing terribly.” He starts, and you’re pretty confused as to where this conversation is headed. “I, uh, got pulled aside after the game. I’m getting sent down to the AHL when we get back to Denver.”

“Oh my god, Tyson,” You respond in surprise, voice barely above a whisper. Your body jolts to the edge of the couch to sit straight up as you bring your free hand to cover your mouth in shock.

“It’s okay, it happens to a lot of young guys. I just have to go down there and work my ass off to be brought back up.” Tyson says, but you

“Still, that’s a lot to take in. Do you know how long you’ll be there?”

“No, coach said he thinks I’ll be back soon as long as I can prove myself to be a higher caliber player,” He continues. “Our team’s in Loveland, too, so I’ll be able to still stay at my house. I'll just have to commute more.” The uncertainty in his voice makes you anxious, and you know that he’s more upset with himself than he’s letting on.

“Like I always say, you’re a superstar and everyone knows it. You’ll be back in no time.” You assure him as you relax back into the couch. 

“Thanks, y/n, I appreciate you being here for me. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” You smile, silence falls between the two of you again and you hear him yawn on the other side of the phone. “I’ll let you get some sleep, Goodnight Tys.”

“I’ll see you when I get back, right?” 

“Of course, love you.” 

“Goodnight, y/n, love you.” He responds, the simple phrase causing your smile to widen and butterflies to appear in your stomach. You were happy you had your best friend back.

tag list: @REAVENEDGES-LIES @oilers2997​ (if you want to be added just let me know)

#tyson jost imagine #tyson jost #alex writes #ybtmastm fic

[winchestersingerautorepair]

A Rift Between

A Brief(-ish) History of Dean, Cas, & Rifts

Let’s talk about rifts for a moment. And when I say rifts, I don’t mean their personal disagreements -- if I were to be discussing that, this post would be less of a brief history and more of a thesis paper. 

No, I’m talking about rift rifts. As in, actual, literal tears in the spacetime continuum. They are littered across the whole run of this show, and we’ve recently had two whole seasons devoted to them. So, the sudden reappearance of rift-adjacent plotlines carries with it a weighty load of textual relevance.

Dean and Castiel’s relationship arc, a fan favorite, began when Leviathans, the notorious fan-unfavorite, came into the picture. 

No, Maeve! Dean and Castiel’s relationship arc began in season 4, not 7! Cas was barely even in season 7! 

Well, let me explain. Season 7, the age of Sera Gamble, was a total show reset. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Did we all hate it? Yes. But like with muscle, you’ve got to tear through the old before you can develop something new, and Season 7 did this job quite effectively. An identity crisis at that scale means either a massive change of pace or a creative death, and as the show is still on, number one it is. 

So, while we can most reliably chart the beginning of an intentional, substantive romantic undercurrent to Season 8, it is the waiting that allowed it to come to fruition-- Season 7 was a void, an unsustainable period of creative drought, a long cold winter in which seeds fell and laid dormant. And like the winter, it was necessary for rebirth.

This brings me to the first DeanCas rift: 

~~

The Purgatory Spell

Episode: 7x01

This tear in spacetime was the culmination of Castiel’s Season 6 character arc. It was the final, greatest betrayal, the irredeemable course of action which struck his relationship with the Winchesters a fatal blow-- and though his last act was to attempt to right his wrongs, the emergence of this rift meant estrangement and death for the relationship (and for Castiel.)

This incident is established as far more significant for Dean than it is for Sam, so I won’t spend much time justifying my classification of this rift as primarily DeanCas. It’s made pretty damn clear through Dean’s behavior throughout Season 7.

Castiel’s departure catalyzed the emergence of Leviathans. As the lore promised, they brought death and destruction to the whole ecosystem, purging the show and readying it for reincarnation; but I’ve already made this point.

As Destiel 1.0 dies, Destiel 2.0 is born.

~~~

The Purgatory Portal

Episode: 8x07

Let us journey back to "A Little Slice of Kevin"-- the gayest thing to happen to Supernatural up to that point. Suddenly, Dean and Cas’s ambiguity is no longer a joke. It’s no longer flippantly referenced, but Built Into The Narrative In A Noticeable Way. After Season 7, Season 8 shocked the system, earning Purgatory celebrity status as the Destiel fandom exploded back to life. 

But, more important things. The events surrounding this portal not only codified romantic subtext, but reshaped their relationship by putting it in grave peril. Lovers trapped in separate worlds. There’s only like ten thousand examples of this in other fictional, romantic(-ally coded) relationships. Sigh.

As Destiel 2.0 dies, Destiel 3.0 is born.

~~~

Seasons 9, 10, and 11 are filled with near misses. Divisions between worlds/fates test and change their bond -- Heaven and Hell exert tremendous force on both, and the gates of Heaven and the Darkness’s breach of barriers flirt pretty openly with the rift theme -- but there isn’t anything that fits the profile cut and dry, so let us leap to Season 12. Five long years of glacial shifts, five long years of a slow, steady amping up of queer subtext. An argument can be made that it had graduated from subtext in some places, but both fandom and GA were frog-boiled enough in their interpretations for this argument to be an aside.

Destiel 3.0 reaches a transitional stage, and becomes Destiel 3.0+.

Now, It’s season 12. And like goddamned CLOCKWORK, six years after Season 6, another unstable tear in spacetime appears, and terminates Castiel’s character arc.

Rift? Check. Cas dead? Check. We’ve seen this pattern. Time for shit to CHANGE. And boy, did it.

~~~

The Rift

Episode: 12x23

Oh, boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Castiel’s death in the Season 12 finale was a magnum opus of SPN’s romantically coded imagery. I could elaborate, but if you’ve read this far into this post you likely already know what I’m talking about. My point is, a hall of mirrors is the chosen space in which Destiel 3.0+ is killed. 

The relationship death lasts only a short while; their estrangement in separate realms is a five episode-long period of detachment and review. Our characters, as well as the viewers, stride through a hall of mirrors. In solitude, this DeanCas winter becomes a chance to reflect, because there is no better way to get a feel for the importance of something than to eliminate it. The crucial elements of Dean and Cas’s relationship, what they mean to each other, becomes clearer than ever before because, look! This is Dean without Cas! This is the show without Cas! Don’t you hate it?

I mean, guys. Mirrors. Cas spoke to a reflection of himself in the Empty. Literally. He addressed his greatest fears about relationships with himself. He was forced to rewatch his greatest mistakes, and what gets featured? Our first two DeanCas rifts. F*ck this show.

DreamHunter parallel! 13x10 reenacted this scene for us with Claire and Kaia. 

Then, 13x05 changes the whole game once more. You know, the episode titled Thanatology. The study of Death. Fuck this show.

As Destiel 3.0+ dies, Destiel 4.0 is born.

~~~

The intensity of the queer narrative amps up continually. Things are getting harder to write off.

Rifts between worlds, crossover and confinement, and estrangement, and the blurring of lines, and the breaking of old taboos/breach of old barriers dominates the remainder of Season 13 and Season 14. We hold this broad focus for a long time, and Dean and Castiel become the emotional equivalent of the plot arc, always there, brewing, but taking a backseat to the Big Stuff. A wall rises, and solidifies. Silver Pole of Communication Barriers, anyone?

Then? Season 15 kicks us in the Destiel balls.

Full disclosure: I didn’t see this next part coming. I dared not ask season 15 for anything this significant, so the last scene of 15x08 just about took my life. 

~~~

The Purgatory Rift

Episode(s): 15x08, 15x09

Dun dun DUN!!

This twist was my favorite Christmas present, because it communicated to me that the writers have an understanding of Dean and Cas’s history to match our own. Not only are they actively writing them utilizing the Destiel playbook, they obviously care immensely about the destiny of their relationship. I am speaking too soon to say this definitively, but this mission has all the hallmarks of a plot device designed to serve many purposes in respect to Dean and Castiel. They’ve got ALL the ingredients. There are so many things tied in here that it gets pretty damn near fanfiction territory.

Please read my reaction to the purgatory twist if you need context, as I don’t feel much like regurgitating it. This post is long enough, lol. (A bloom that grows only in one place? Fuck you, writers. You’re going to KILL me.)

~~~

So, to recap: In a universe defined by barriers and guidelines, a relationship that refuses to be defined will be under constant siege. Dean and Castiel suffer from the sheer reality of walking lines between two designated states of being-- friends and lovers, angel and human, take your pick. The current order isn’t friendly to beings who don’t fit a category. Until the barriers are stripped away, they cannot exist as they are, and rifts will continue to rip them apart. 

The Purgatory Rift of 15x08 is such a big deal because it fuses themes. The rifts of the Dabb era have merged with the gateways of the Carver era. Not only are our long-standing almost-lovers returning to their relationship’s place of origin, they are doing so by breaching physical barriers designed to keep them apart; and all the while, the most dangerous, important rift is not the one in the fabric of reality, but the one in their relationship. 

I expect this major rift to end no differently than it has in the past. Dean and Cas will be separated, and Cas will be out of reach. And then, they’ll be reunited. But, where will that take us? What will the next reincarnation look like? 

As Destiel 4.0 dies, something will be born.

#who sucks at tags? me #spn meta #spotting patterns #symbolism #destiel #purgatory #spn s7 #spn s8 #spn s12 #spn s15 #theme: rebirth #endgame speculation #15x09 #15x09 speculation #rifts #mine

[mintypineapple]

dw ask game 1-36 and 38-100 DON'T ANSWER NUMBER 37 I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT CRYING

DaThanks, anon who is probably @truestoriesaboutme!

CHILDHOOD

1. Did you like DW as a child?

Depends. What do you consider a child? I saw Doctor Who for the first time when I was 16 or 17. Does that count? Let’s say that it does. I did enjoy it.

2. Your age at the time of the revival?

16.

3. First DW episode you ever saw?

An Unearthly Child. I wanted to watch it all in order! Still do! My first New Who episode was “Blink,” as forced upon me by @raisegrate. I did enjoy it.

4. Did you have any of the toys?

I didn’t at the time, but I do now. I have a couple of screwdrivers, a Fourth Doctor, an Ice Warrior, and not-quite-Legos of Doctors 1-11. (-WD)

5. Which DW character did you play on the playground?

N/A.

6. Monster(s) that scared you most as a child?

N/A. Nothing scares me.

7. Joke/story you didn’t get as a kid?

N/A. I get all jokes/stories.

8. DW opinion that has changed since you were a kid?

That the only way to watch it was from the very beginning. I eventually gave in and watched New Who before finishing Classic Who.

9. Who introduced you to DW?

Pretty sure I heard about it initially on a forum I went to called The Douglas Adams Continuum. That’s when I started watching the First Doctor. Again, @raisegrate showed me my first New Who. Eventually, I started watching New Who in its entirety with @catastrofries and they started watching Classic Who with me for @rassilonwatchathon.

10. Did you like Sarah Jane Adventures as a child?

Didn’t even know it existed as a child. But I liked it as an adult.

Read more under the cut. There’s a lot!

DOCTOR

11. Who is your Doctor?

One. He’s the first I saw and I’ve went through some of his more than once, due to the podcast, so he has a special place in my heart.

12. Your favourite Doctor?

It varies depending on the day. I quite like Two, Eleven, and Twelve, though.

13. Least favourite Doctor?

Possibly 5 or 13? More because they don’t get a whole lot to do, than them being bad.

14. Best regeneration?

Technically speaking, there’s something about that first one that is still so good. Emotionally speaking, Two’s regeneration is terrifying and I quite like Twelve’s speech before regenerating.

15. Do you like “Doctor-Lite” episodes?

Yeah! They’re all pretty good! Even “Love and Monsters!” Yeah, I said it! (The end is bad, but the rest is good.)

16. Who is the most human Doctor?

One calls himself human a handful of times. Does that count? If not, definitely Five. He seems the most like a regular guy in a weird situation out of all of them.

17. Best multi-Doctor story?

The Day of the Doctor, for sure.

18. Best Doctor monologue?

Eleven’s speech to young Amy in “The Big Bang.” That episode is just solid all around.

19. What do you think TenToo/MetaCrisis Doctor is doing now?

He’s definitely fucked off somewhere and abandoned Rose. He runs a cat cafe that is definitely a front for something, but no one can quite figure out what.

20. Best Doctor/companion pairing?

One/Barbara, Two/Jamie, Three/Jo, Four/Leela, Five/Tegan, (haven’t seen enough of Six, any of Seven, and I honestly don’t remember the companion for Eight), Nine/Rose (that’s the only option!), Ten/Donna, Eleven/Amy-Rory, Twelve/Clara, Ruth/Thirteen.

COMPANIONS

21. Favourite companion?

Classic Who: This is hard. Jamie? Sarah Jane? Leela? New Who: Donna Noble.

22. Favourite secondary companion?

Not sure what this means exactly... My second favorite? If so, I gave three for favorite Classic Who, so one of them. New Who: Rory.

23. Least favourite companion?

Classic: Ben Jackson or Peri. New: Ryan.

24. Best TARDIS Team?

Classic: Two, Jamie, and Zoe. New: Eleven, Amy, and Rory.

25. Most underrated companion?

I love Steven Taylor. I feel like he doesn’t get mentioned enough.

26. Most overrated companion?

Probably gonna get some hate for this, but Romana II. She’s good and I like her, but I was expecting a lot more. I honestly prefer Romana I.

27. Favourite companion’s family?

I love Rory’s dad.

28. Who should have been a companion but wasn’t?

Kamelion. AM I RIGHT? But seriously, Amelia Rumford from “The Stones of Blood.”

29. Favourite (canon or non-canon) DW universe relationship?

Amy/Rory.

30. Who did you not used to like, but really like now?

I hated Tegan when she first came on, but now I love her.

EPISODES

31. Favourite episode ever?

“Heaven Sent.”

32. Least favourite episode?

“Time-Flight” gave me a literal headache.

33. Which episodes do you skip?

NONE. Of course, I’ve not done any rewatches. YET.

34. Best two-parter?

“The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” are the first New Who episodes that fully sold me on the show.

35. Historical, present day or futuristic episodes?

Give me the future and make it weird!

36. Episode that will always make you smile?

“The Myth Makers.”

37 HAS BEEN REDACTED.

38. Best run of episodes?

“Vincent and the Doctor” through “Day of the Moon” is pretty solid.

39. Best cliffhanger?

“Vengeance on Varos.” Hands fucking down.

40. Favourite Christmas special?

The answer to question 37. “A Christmas Carol.”

SERIES

41. Classic Who or New Who?

Yes please! (Though New Who will take this a little just because the pace is generally a lot better.)

42. Favourite series?

I’m not sure about Classic (I have a harder time thinking of them as different series), but New is definitely 5.

43. Least favourite series?

11.

44. Which series do you skip?

See 33.

45. Favourite series opening?

“The Eleventh Hour.” It’s just a lot of fun.

46. Favourite series finale?

“The Big Bang.” IT’S A GOOD SERIES.

47. Best series arc?

So I don’t sound repetitive and say Series 5 again, Clara’s arc in her last season is great.

48. Thoughts on series 11/12?

I find it largely boring and not well-written. Though there are some things I like! I love Ruth a bunch.

49. How much of Classic Who have you seen?

I’ve seen from “An Unearthly Child” to “The Two Doctors.” And the movie.

50. Who should have had another series?

Doctor: Nine. Or Eight. Or Ruth. Companion: Kamelion, but done better.

MONSTERS

51. Favourite monster/villain?

I love them Fuzzy Chicken Nuggets. (The Yeti.)

52. Most creative monster?

The Silence are an interesting concept.

53. Monster(s) that scares you most?

OAK AND QUILL from “Fury From the Deep.” Fuck those guys.

54. Monster you think is too easy to defeat?

I hate power level questions. Next.

55. Least favourite monster/villain?

I get really tired of the Daleks sometimes, y’all.

56. Monster you want to return?

Chumblies or quarks.

57. In your opinion, what makes a monster good?

The writing. You can do great things with most of them. Even the ones you dislike. Like, I hate the farting aliens, but they are occasionally used well.

58. Daleks, Cybermen or Weeping Angels?

If I had to pick, I’d say... Cybermen. Daleks are very samey and loud. Weeping Angels get less interesting every time they are used. But there’s a human element to the Cybermen that, when utilized, can be very effective and unsettling.

59. Best Dalek story?

The one where Two rides around on ones he made nice.

60. Best one time villain/monster?

I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is in “Midnight.”

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

61. Torchwood or Sarah Jane Adventures?

SJA is more consistent, but the highs of Torchwood are higher.

62. Favourite Torchwood Team member?

Owen. But like... not season one Owen.

63. Which Torchwood death made you saddest?

See 62.

64. Do you rewatch COE or MD?

I haven’t rewatched anything yet. But I would rewatch COE before MD.

65. Favourite SJA Team member?

Clyde.

66. Mr Smith or K-9?

Mr. Smith is way more interesting. He had a villain arc!

67. Maria or Rani?

Rani.

68. Do you read the comics/novels or listen to Big Finish?

Some. I’m doing them as Patreon bonus episodes for @rassilonwatchathon​. I haven’t done much though.

69. If you do, your favourite additional stories?

“The Chimes of Midnight.” I’ve listened to it twice.

70. Do you like DW analysis (video essays, fan theories, etc)?

I do DW analysis for @rassilonwatchathon AND The Dipp. So yes. My fave is TARDIS Eruditorum, though.

I’LL ANSWER THE REST AT A LATER TIME. I MUST BE WITH MY PEOPLE NOW.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #360

“we are the ones that wanna play  /  always wanna go, but you never wanna stay”

"Crawling" or "In The End?" I want to say "Crawling," but I really can't be sure. Both are bomb. Is your window open? No. Monsters Inc. or Shrek? Shrek, my man. What did you last hear that made your jaw drop? Jason's mom died. What is the longest shower or bath you have ever taken? I remember as kids, Nicole and I would sometimes play 'til Mom made us finish because the water was cold by then. As an adult, idk about my longest shower. Do you have a preference of chocolate? Yeah, milk chocolate. Is there anyone you’d like to hug right now? Yeah. Could you ever picture someone writing a biography about you? Definitely not. Do you have a clock in your room? No. Do you shut off the computer when you’re done using it? No, I just close it. Do you usually catch a cold during the winter? No. I just about never get sick. Are you a good multi-tasker? NOOOOOOOOOOO. Do you know any deaf people? If so, is it easy or difficult to have conversations with them? No. Is there a door knocker on your front door? No. Were you ever into Pokémon? Bitch I still am. Do you drink a lot of water? Sigh, no. I'm definitely better than I used to be, though; once upon a time, I literally never drank it unless I was extremely hot and dehydrated. Nowadays, it's usually after I finish my soda for the day that I then only drink water, normally around one full tall cup of it. Do you like fireworks? They're beautiful, but I'm personally against them out of respect for veterans suffering from PTSD as well as animals, because I'm not exactly interested in traumatizing them, either. Is respect given or earned with you? It's given, the way I think it should be. Are you “in the closet” about anything? No. Are you missing any teeth? No. Do you like scrapbooking? I've never gotten into it and am not really interested in doing so. What was or will be your first tattoo? It's a semicolon butterfly on my right wrist. Sometimes I've thought about getting it covered with a cooler design but the same concept; it was literally from Google, and I'm very much not into "sharing" tattoo designs with probably thousands of other people. But, I still think it really is cute, and it's just very special to me as my first, so idk. Do you have any tattoos dedicated to someone special? I have one written in Sara's handwriting inside a heart, and my "ohana" tattoo that I am 100% getting covered was dedicated to my former best friend Colleen. I've talked before about why "ohana" has never really resonated with me, and I just don't like it anymore at all. Thank God it's small. Do you like ghost stories? Oh HELL yeah, lay 'em on me. What was your favorite movie as a kid? The Lion King. Some things never change, ha. Do you own a lot of cookbooks? Mom has looooots, but never uses any. I think her mom gave them to her, so she just keeps 'em. What’s your father’s handwriting like? It looks like every other man's handwriting I've ever seen lol. All the letters are capitalized. Did you wash your hair last time you showered? I wash my hair every time I shower. I have to with it naturally being so oily. What does your shampoo smell like? Coconut. Do you listen to Guns N' Roses? Not a lot, but yeah. They've got some bangers. I actually want "Sweet Child O' Mine" to be the father/daughter dance at my wedding. Have you ever been a bridesmaid? Yeah, at my sister's wedding. What was the last video game that you beat? I replayed Silent Hill 2 a long time ago. Have you ever hyperventilated? Yep. Do you talk in your sleep? I scream in my sleep. Nightmares/terrors are a blast. Whose house did you last sleep over? Sara's. Have you ever been cut by scissors? No. Do you like peaches? It's odd, I like canned sliced peaches, but the actual, full fruit, I don't. I love peach flavored juice, though. Do you enjoy being surrounded by neighbors, or would you be more comfortable someplace secluded? Take me back to the middle of nowhere, please. I'm really not digging being in an actual neighborhood. Is there any sibling rivalry between you and your siblings, if you have any? Not at all. Do you usually root for the good guys or the bad guys? Ha, the baddies... Are you allowed to have pets at your house? We're allowed to have what we currently own and then maybe one dog if Mom finally finds one. Have you ever lived in a trailer park? No. Is there anyone that you know through the internet that you would feel comfortable meeting in person? There's quite a few, actually! Have you ever had a dream involving characters from a game/movie/television show? Yeah. What’s the last thing you wrote down? My signature, I think? Do you remember any phone numbers from years ago that now belong to someone you don’t know? No. Have you ever found something strange in your mailbox? No. Who was the last relative that came to visit you? My half-sister and her husband. Does your bedding all match? Not currently. Are you more comfortable with having short hair or long hair? SHORT. Are you interested in fantasy movies/shows? That's my preference. Have you ever gone whale-watching? No, but that'd be dope. What is something that you have a large amount of? Meerkat plushies. Who is it that you’re in love with? Nobody. Have you ever gotten love and infatuation confused? No. Do you have a steady income? No. Do you take your medications in the morning or at night? Both. Have you ever bought a YouTuber’s merch? No, I wish. :( Do you think oatmeal tastes better when made with water or milk? MILK. I don't eat it with water. When was the last time you ran into someone that you didn’t want to see? Idk. Have you ever tried vlogging, and if yes, did you stick with it? Noooo, I'm completely disinterested in doing that myself. If you go to church, what is your favorite thing about it? I don't go. Even as a kid when Mom made me, I hated it. ^and what is your least favorite thing about it? N/A What do you do for exercise? I don't. .-. I want a pool SO badly to swim and strengthen my legs without having to worry about sweating or collapsing, though. Mom says we don't have space, but we definitely do. Not a lot, but enough. Do you have a birthmark? If yes, what color is it? Yeah, it's just a bit darker than the rest of my skin. Do you need to lose weight? Yes. My sister, Mom, and I very recently started a Weight Watchers subscription and we're all working our asses off to stick to it. Ash has already lost like, 12 pounds (she started before Mom and me), so I'm kinda hopeful. Have you ever had a cat? Growing up, after we took in a stray female, we ended up with a fucking empire of cats, literally around three dozen, I'd say. They were all outdoors, too, and not fixed because we couldn't afford it, so tomcats would come around and, y'know, make matters worse. Eventually, animal control took them all and I was DEVASTATED, but looking back, I understand it was necessary. Anyway, I have one cat now. Indoors and fixed and the prince of my world, haha. Have you ever had a dog? We've had a few. I was born with my dad having a collie named Trigger, but I don't remember her at all; she died of old age I believe when I was very young. Then we briefly had a pup named Angel, but she died due to that disease some puppies just have. We didn't get another dog until Teddy, who was my Christmas present, and he was put to sleep only last year, rest my baby's soul. We also had Dale, Cali, Delilah, and Bentley. Have you ever any other kind of animal? A LOT. I'm probably going to forget some, but we've had hamsters, rats, snakes, fish, a turtle, two lizards, gerbils, guinea pigs... just a lot. Animals have always been very important in my life. Have you ever had a pet rock? HA, yeah. I didn't take it seriously at all, but I had one. When was the last time you painted something? Not since my Painting course in my final college attempt. Do you have any disabilities? Not in the traditional sense, no. My social anxiety though is at such a severity that it majorly infringes upon my ability to do a LOT of things, though. What are five of your favorite stores at the mall? I couldn't name five. Just Hot Topic and Spencer's, really. What season do you want to get married in? AUTUMN. The actual dream situation would be to get married in the snow in a black dress, like can you IMAGINE the pictures, but realistically, it'd be in the fall to avoid the biting cold. Has anyone ever spread lies about you? Yeah. Anything special planned for today? Nope. Blue or green? Blue. How much older/younger than you was the person you lost your virginity to? He's two years older than me. Do you still care for that person? Very much. Can you completely annihilate the first Mario game in less than an hour? I haven't even played the first game. I've never really been into the games to begin with. Did you make it all the way through the Oregon Trail game? Yes! I was OOOOOBSESSEEEEEED as a kid. I would usually play it after school when my mom was an assistant teacher and was finishing up her work for the day. Have you ever contemplated climbing a water tower? Uh, no. Those kind of people got some wanderlust levels that I ain't got, haha. If you have a Facebook, when was the last time you changed your profile picture? It's been a few months. Would you ever marry someone who was lower class? Um, yes? You can deny it all you want, but answering "no" is pretty much the same as saying you'd marry for money. Is there a guy you wish you hadn’t let slip away? ugh Which do you prefer: English or math? English, by light years. Who is a singer that has given you chills? David Draiman's voice in the Disturbed cover of "Sound of Silence" is fucking haunting. Greatest cover of all time. Do you watch America’s Got Talent? I did when Sharon was a judge. Do you think you could win America’s Got Talent? Hell no. What act would you perform in a talent show? uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Have you ever practiced yoga? Yes. I used to be BANGIN at it. What is your favorite thing to buy at the Farmer’s Market? Fruit! Do you get carsickness? No. What color is the rim of your full-length mirror? Black. What is your state’s bird (if you live in the US)? Cardinal. Which style of wedding dress is your favorite? I'm a sucker for ballgown dresses. Do you enjoy editing videos? I used to love it, for many many years. Now, I just don't have the dedication or motivation to. Do you enjoy editing photos? Yes. If you gave birth, do you think you would want it filmed? Um, absolutely not. I would have NO desire to look back on me shrieking my lungs out and essentially dying. I handle abdominal pain very poorly, so I've got a goooood feeling that if I actually wanted to have kids, I'd be that woman screeching like a banshee.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''aerials'' by system of a down

[lumosinlove]

Sweater Weather

part iii

Remus didn’t always have too much time for it, but there was nothing he liked more than sitting on the bench and watching Gryffindor City’s Hogwarts Stadium fill up with red and gold. The waves of chatter got louder and the seats filled, and it was a nice balance to the energy in the locker room as he walked back down the tunnel and through the doors, leaning against the wall with Moody. There, in case they were needed, but out of the way.

Even more than watching the fans, he liked watching the boys get ready. Kasey was down on all fours in a butterfly squat, full-pads making his body look huge and his head look tiny. Leo was down the hall some, throwing two balls against the wall and catching them quickly. Remus’ eyes blurred after watching for a minute and he looked away. Which turned out to be a mistake in itself.

Sirius was sitting in his stall, shirtless and knees spread to accommodate the stick he was taping between them. He didn’t have any of his pads on yet, typical Sirius, who always had to get ready at the last minute because he spent so much time on his stretches and sticks. He was just in his underarmour, the tight material leaving absolutely nothing to imagination. He had a Lions’ hat on backwards and stray strands of hair were sticking out of the front, casting shadows on his cheeks. He stuck his tongue out and wound the tape carefully around the blade of his stick, checking for wrinkles and creases every other turn. James was saying something to him with broad hand gestures, probably a play he wanted to get perfect tonight.

They all wanted to get everything perfect tonight. It was the home opener. The crowd would be wild, and the pressure would be on. Remus loved every second of it and he knew the boys did, too.

James let out a loud whoop then, clapping his hands together and and throwing his helmet on even though his pads were still hanging in his stall. “Let’s fucking go, tonight, eh boys? Durmstrang fuckers won’t know what hit them.”

He was met with a series answering shouts of approval, all of which amplified when Coach Weasley appeared through the locker room doors with the large lion on it. He grinned and held up a little slip of paper, tonight’s line up.

“Pots, since you’re already standing, why don’t you do the honors?” Arthur said, handing James the paper.

James hit his helmet on his head. “Alright, let’s see. Starting tonight,” the boys yelled and James dropped down a little, knees bent and voice low like the commentators, “in the cage,” there was another round of shouts and James wound up his arm and then bounded over to Kasey, “we have the man named for the sport of hockey itself, Kasey Winter.”

There were a series of “Yeah, Kase!” and “Be the fucking blizzard!” before James could continue.

“Next we have…on your left, Harzy!”

Harzy looked up from where he was lacing his skates with a little salute to the cheers.

“On your right,” James smiled around at them all, so wide that Remus could see where one of his outer bottom teeth was still missing, just out of sight. He pressed a hand to his own chest, “yours truly.”

“Alright, Potty-mouth!” Kasey shouted the nickname James had earned himself for his relentless chirping on the ice, name-calling and poking fun until the refs eventually had to call him on it.

“Your favorite D-man pairing, Kaner and our resident Finland-man, Olli!”

Timmy Kane and Olli Halla did some strange, complicated handshake.

“And your center tonight…the man, the myth, the one who holds the record for most marriage proposals by teenage girls at the glass,” Remus laughed at that and James ran back over to Sirius, pretending to take his stick just to see him flinch back, and taking his hat instead and placing it on top of his own helmet, “oh captain, my captain, Sirius mother-fucking Black!”

Everyone clapped a little, Arthur shaking his head fondly and Moody letting James run over and touch his leg for good luck, per tradition, and then it was really business time. There was some calmer chatter as everyone got into their gear and laced up, getting into the right headspace for a game.

Remus rifled through his own inventory in his head, making sure he would be prepared on the bench. He had extra blades for everyone, laces, sterile gauze, and a little box for teeth which he’d learned to keep the hard way (Olli Halla spitting a few directly into his open palm). He took one last look around the locker room before heading back to the mouth of the tunnel at the bench where the guys would pass on their way out for their lap-around introductions under the lights and warm ups. He could see some of the Durmstrang equipment guys over on their bench, and they exchanged nods that were friendly enough. Eagles games were always odd, not just for the competition—they had nothing compared to Lion and Snake games—but because their colors were nearly identical, and so the away-team always had to wear their more solid colored third-jerseys. Remus was glad they were on home-ice, so the Eagles would be the ones stuck in their nearly all goldish-yellow uniform, not the Lions.

Remus looked up at the stands, figuring his parents were out there somewhere, trying to keep Julian at bay, who was no doubt in his BLACK jersey and bouncing out of his shoes with excitement. At nine years old, Remus sometimes wondered if his little brother was a bigger Lions fan than even him, despite living halfway across the country from them.

He had a sudden fantasy of bringing Jules back to the locker room and Sirius being there, maybe James, too, and Sirius would give Jules a hockey stick maybe, and then smile at Remus—

“What’s with the face?”

Remus started, looking at Moody who had brought out the fresh bottles of gatorade and water.

“What? What face? Nothing.” Remus reached forward and started to help him line the bench with them. “I wasn’t making a face.”

“Alright, at ease.” Moody laughed a little. “Jeez, Lupin.”

Remus desperately tried to change the subject, “How’s the lucky leg?”

Moody scoffed, giving it a stomp. “It’s been kissed by Harzy, that’s what. Fucking crazy-ass.”

Remus laughed and sat down on the bench, looking up towards the jumbo-screen where they were showing a video of a few of the guys saying what they did that summer. James was on, giving a typically sarcastic answer. Something about hamburgers. When Sirius’ faces came on next there was a positive roar from the crowd and Remus felt flushed with their enthusiasm. Gryffindor loved their Captain, and they were just as eager to avenge him as the team was. It was pretty fucking thrilling to sit and watch it all, but if he could, Remus would be out there on the ice, fighting to get Sirius ever goal and point he could. He pushed that thought down just as the lights shut off and the music stopped, signaling the beginning of the Lions’ entry onto the ice, their first of the season. Remus’ heart pounded.

“Gryffindor!” boomed Frank Longbottom’s voice, one of their beloved announcer. Frank came with the team on the road, along with Marlene McKinnon. Butts and Kinzy were well loved by the team, and, maybe unfortunately for them, the subjects of many pranks, but Remus was sure they loved the boys’ attention as much as he himself did. The crowed boomed back in response and then the jumbo-screen bloomed to life, along with the lights and the lasers that streaked across the crowd and ice.

“Are you ready?” Frank asked the stadium, and then the jumbo-screen started counting down from ten with loud booms that quickly developed into a bass-heavy song.

“Ten…nine…” Remus found himself smiling, mumbling the numbers under his breath.

“Your Gryffindor Lions!” Frank drew out the words and the lights went crazy as the boys appeared down the tunnel.

Kasey came first, goalie mask propped on top of his head as he skated out onto the ice. Then Timmy, Finn, Leo…Olli, Brady, Evgeni, Kris, Tyler…

They all looped around the rink, warming up and pounding on the glass, laughing when the crowd pounded back. Remus liked watching the rookies the most, their eyes alight with the attention and praise.

And finally James, always second to last, and then Sirius, always last. Remus watched him come all the way down the tunnel, just in time for his name to be read out by Frank. Sirius raised his glove and knocked it into a few of the kid’s fists who had made it down by the glass, before scampering back up to their parents, delighted with having received a fist-bump.

Remus didn’t expect Sirius to look back at him, but for the split second between him being beside the bench and him being on the ice, their eyes met. And Sirius dropped a wink. And he was gliding away, dropping to one knee as he went and raising his stick a little, drawing screams from the crowd. They were happy to have him back. Sirius was cocky, and Remus didn’t like to admit that he loved that, but he did.

Sirius belonged on the ice, that much had always been clear, and when he wasn’t there, something was out of gear. Everything felt settled now, ready.

The lights came up after a bit and then Eagles filtered on, too, taking shots at their goalie. Victor Krum crossed center ice and met Sirius where he was talking to James, offering a somewhat stiff hand. Sirius smiled, so Remus guessed he had welcomed him back. The Eagles were good like the Snakes, but they weren’t assholes like they were. Remus watched Sirius pluck at Krum’s shoulder, no doubt chirping him for the bright yellow color, and Krum laughed, nudging him back and skating away.

Kasey was busy nesting his goal, scraping up the crease with his long goalie skate blades and catching the boys’ practice shots. Remus watched him for a minute, always enjoying how specific and protective Kasey was of his goal (he patted his posts whenever a puck got knocked askew by one, for god’s sake), but soon his attention was—predictably—dragged away by Sirius. Sirius had a routine, a strict routine, and there was few things Remus loved more than watching him go through it. Remus wasn’t sure he even knew about all of it, but he wanted to. He knew Sirius had to tape his own sticks, do specific stretches in a specific order, had to put his left skate on first, and during warm-ups he had to trace the Lions logo with a puck. He knew Sirius liked to have two pieces of toast with butter and honey an hour before games. Remus wished he knew more, secretly. He wanted to know how long Sirius’ pre-game nap was and what he looked like when he woke up from it—

“Earth to Remus Lupin.”

Remus’ slowly spiraling fantasy was abruptly cut off by James waving a glove in his face.

“What?” Remus stood up. “Sorry, what’s up, what do you need? James, face-off’s in like two seconds, you’re on first shift.”

“I just want some gatorade and it’s all red.” James practically pouted.

Remus huffed out a laugh and handed him a blue, shifting to the side as the other team members shuffled down the bench, coach Weasley slapping a few of them on the back. “There, now go!”

James whooped and skated off to take his position. Sirius was at center ice, eye to eye with Krum, the ref between them with the puck. They crouched, eyes on the puck, and Remus said a soft prayer to whatever god anyone could believe in.

The ref dropped the puck, and the game began.

Remus was on his feet the entire time. He was meant to be watching for any trip-ups, any hard hits, anything that might need to be looked at. Instead, he kept catching himself just enjoying the game, standing behind the bench. Sirius came careening over the boards, tapping Brady’s butt as he jumped onto the ice to replace him, and sat down heavily in front of Remus. He turned, sweat dripping down his temples.

“iPad,” he said, and one of the assistant coaches held it out to him. Sirius stayed turned, brow intense as he watched a replay of his latest shift, and so Remus got to study his profile. He loved Sirius in the heat of a game, loved how fast he talked. He leaned over to explain something to Olli, who leaned in like if he didn’t catch every word, he’d parish. Everyone on the team tended to listen to Sirius like that, like he was their leader through thick and thin.

“How’m I doing?” Sirius said as he handed the iPad back. Remus assumed he was talking to the coaches until Sirius’ eyes fell on him.

“Me?” Remus asked—stupidly.

Sirius smiled, “You.”

“You look great out there. You know you look great out there.”

James laughed, whacking Remus lightly in the stomach with his glove. “Way to call him on it, Loops.” Then the whole bench leaned back as Brady shoved an Eagles player nearly over the boards and into the bench. The crowd loved it, and James banged his stick on the boards after them. “Way to go, Shady-Brady!”

They were gone shortly after that, Coach calling for short shifts for the end of the first period.

“Keep ‘em coming boys, keep this lead!” he was shouting.

The Lions were up 3-1, and the atmosphere was electric. Remus loved this. It was the closest thing to being on top of the world there was, he thought. Suddenly, Sirius was on a breakaway up the ice off of a clean pass from Harzy. He skirted around number 16, number 3, with hard edges, and then he was nearly at the net—

Krum came out of nowhere, slamming Sirius into the boards.

Remus was on his feet in a second, pressing up behind Tyler and Evgeni on the bench.

It was a clean hit, but it felt like ages before Sirius got up. Remus didn’t even watch Krum take the puck, didn’t watch Kasey miss it, didn’t watch their goal-horn light up, didn’t watch the scoreboard change to read 3-2. He didn’t watch the Eagles celebrate.

He watched Sirius skate towards the bench. It was just for a shift change, but Remus looked over every part of him, checking for a limp, a wince, anything. He looked okay. James was on him in a second, skating shoulder to shoulder and talking to him. Sirius was nodded, even smiling a little, but Remus could tell he was shaken. To have something like that happen in the first game, and when he’d just gotten back…

The stadium filled with booing that felt like it shook the walls.

Sirius took his seat on the bench, but before Remus could get through his teammates and to him, the buzzer signaling the end of the first period was sounding and everyone was filing off the ice and back into the locker room. Good, Remus thought. He’d ask to see Sirius, he’d check him out fully, just to be safe.

Marlene was waiting for Coach at the end of the tunnel.

“Hey Arthur, who can we have for media?” she asked.

“Not Black,” Remus stepped in, “I want to check that hit.”

Coach nodded, “right. You can have Pots, or Kasey, I think.”

Marlene nodded and shot Remus a smile, which he returned tightly as he pushed between them and into the locker room. Sirius looked up at him almost immediately, like he had been waiting.

Remus only had to jerk his head towards the quiet and training rooms, before Sirius was getting up and following him. Remus held the door open to the quiet room. It was technically for concussion testing and protocol, and Remus hadn’t seen Sirius hit his head, but better safe than sorry. Sirius stepped inside and Remus closed the door.

“How do you feel?” Remus asked, then pointed to the padded observation table. “Sit there. I’m going to check your ankle and your head.”

“Loops—”

“Does anything else hurt?”

“Remus.”

Remus looked up.

Sirius loomed over him anyway, but he practically towered over him while wearing skates. Remus nearly had to crane his neck.

“What?” Remus asked, a little breathlessly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t a bad hit.”

“I know. But given your recent history I want to make sure everything’s fine.”

Sirius sat down on the bench and took his helmet off, laying it to the side along with his gloves while Remus bent to start unlacing his skates. Remus’ heart was still pounding, and Sirius’ gray desperate eyes filled his head. He wouldn’t be helpless this time. He’d fixed Sirius’ broken bone, and he wouldn’t let anything go amiss, not now.

“Durmstrang’s always a tough one to call, eh? Sometimes they’re brilliant and sometimes they’re…”

“Angry?” Remus supplied, carefully sliding Sirius’ skates off of his feet before rising.

Sirius laughed a little, “Yeah. For sure, yeah.”

“Look here.” Remus held up a small flashlight and a finger. Sirius looked, but right at Remus, not his finger. A small smile was still lingering on his face. “My finger, Black.”

Sirius laughed again but obeyed this time.

“When’s your birthday?”

“November third.” Sirius supplied easily.

“When is Pots’ birthday?”

“March twenty-seventh. When’s your birthday, Re?”

Remus chest fluttered a little. He clicked off the flashlight, satisfied. “March tenth.”

“Hey, you and James are birthday-buddies.”

Remus rolled his eyes, “Raise your arms. Touch your—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Sirius obediently brought his fingers to his nose and back out again a few times, then, without prompt, got up and walked in a straight line, toe to heel, and turned and looked at Remus expectantly.

Remus narrowed his eyes at him. “And your ankle? Tell me the truth.”

“Fine.” Sirius smiled and sat down in one of the chairs in the room to start getting his skates back on. “Really, Loops, I’m alright. It probably looked worse than it was.”

“It took you a bit to get up.”

Sirius shrugged down at his laces, digging his heel in to pull them tight, “I’ll admit, I was a little surprised. It’s the first real time I got hit since…you know. Since Snape. But you said it yourself,” He looked up at Remus then, sweat damp hair falling into his eyes a little, cheeks flushed, “can’t let the fear get to me, can I?”

Remus swallowed dryly. “Right. Yeah.” He watched Sirius until he was standing again and pulling his gloves back on, tucking his helmet beneath his arm. “Right, right. Sorry.” He opened the door, “Have a good second period, okay?”

Sirius paused beside him in the doorway, tall as ever with his skates back on and looking down at Remus. “Hey.”

Remus looked up at him. Sirius had a funny expression on his face, something soft and determined.

“Don’t ever say sorry for helping me,” Sirius’ voice was low when he said the words.

Remus caught one last glimpse of the odd expression, and then Sirius was gone, enveloped back into the energetic mass of the team.

They won 5-3, Sirius with three points, two goals and one assist, in the second and third period.

The locker room was ecstatic afterwards, and Remus was kneeling to tape up Kasey’s thigh for him when Arthur came out with the lion head. The lion head was this seasons team token, of sorts, an object that got past around the locker room after every game, depending on who played best that night. For the first game of the season, Coach was the one who handed it out. After that it would go from player to player. This year, the object looked like an overly-furry lion-mane and nose, maybe from some poor, cotton stuffed animal, sewed onto a baseball cap. Remus grimaced just looking at it. He didn’t want to think about how sweaty and disgusting that thing was going to become by the end of the season.

“Great game, boys. Great start to the beginning of the season.” There were some cheering and Arthur smiled, waving his hand, “As you know, it is my pride and joy making our season tokens.”

“What section of the wall is last year’s going on?” James said, making everyone laugh. Arthur’s creation last year had been a monstrous blend between a gladiator helmet that had a yarn lion tale glued to the back of it.

“Front and center, thanks for asking.” Coach said. “This year, we have…”

Kasey started a drumroll which the entire locker room eventually joined in on.

“Lion-cap. Gorgeous, isn’t he?” Arthur held it up. “And tonight…I’ve got to give it to the captain, don’t I?”

“Yeah you do!” James pounded the wall of his stall with his fist.

“Quite a hit, and beauties of goals. Sirius.”

Sirius laughed as he walked forward, just his underarmour on again, and put the hat on, crouching into a ridiculous pose so that James could take a picture. He looked hilarious in it, the mane fluffing out around his ears and the nose resting on the brim.

“Thanks, Coach.” He said, and then handed it off to Remus for safe keeping, per tradition. Remus was always put in charge of bring the token on roadies, and keeping track of who got it when.

Remus felt his phone buzz in his pocket and was pulled abruptly from the bubble of the team when he saw his mom’s name flash up. He slapped a hand to Kasey’s shoulder, telling him he was done, and slipped out of the locker room to answer.

“Hey, mum.”

“Hi, baby. Great game!”

“It was,” Remus smiled. “I’ll be right out to get you guys and we can get ice cream or something. I just have to—”

“Remus?”

Remus pressed the phone to his shoulder, turning on his heel back to the locker room. Sirius was standing there, head poking out and smiling a smile that looked almost—shy.

“Yeah? Hold on, mum—Sorry, can I help?”

“Bring them back,” Sirius said.

“Huh?”

Sirius rolled his eyes, “Your family. Bring them back, show them the locker room and stuff.”

“Oh.” Remus’ heart beat. He would love that. Julian would freak out. “Oh, I don’t want—”

“C’mon, the boys would love it. We can sign a jersey and stuff, or a stick.”

Remus’ mouth hung open for a minute before he heard himself say, “okay,” and Sirius grinned before retreating. Remus didn’t move until he heard his mom’s voice in his ear. He blinked a few times and raised his phone back up. “Hey, mum, do you want to…would you guys want to come back to the locker room?”

And so here Remus was, his parents and Jules in toe, walking down the all too familiar hallway.

Julian bounced up beside Remus, both hands around his arm. “Are we going to meet Sirius?”

Remus smiled, “probably.”

“Are we going to meet Pots?”

“Yep, him too.”

“Blizzard?”

Remus laughed, “I think you could meet Kasey, sure.”

“Can I take a picture with them?”

“If you say please,” Remus said, because it was definitely what his mom would say. Once they reach the locker room doors, he looked back at his parents. Both were wearing BLACK jerseys, which Remus found unbearably endearing and also slightly embarrassing now that Sirius knew how Remus felt about him as a hockey player. There was no doubt he was going to think Remus had had sway over his parents’ jersey choice. His dad was clutching his phone excitedly to his chest, and Remus couldn’t think why he hadn’t asked to do this sooner. He was glad Sirius had said something, and he’d make sure to tell him thank you later.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Ready, ready, open the doors!” Julian whisper-yelled.

The sound wave once Remus did hit them like a wall, and Remus heard Jules quiet down a little, maybe with nerves as the reality that this was actually happening set in, and Remus turned around to put a comforting hand on his back. He could see that the media was just leaving out the press door, which Remus was thankful for because it meant that none of the players would be surrounded by cameras. He didn’t want this to look like a photo-op.

He made eye contact with Sirius almost immediately, and tried to smile in a way that didn’t look like he expected Sirius to come over or anything. Sirius had a routine, and that included winding down. He looked like he was about to leave for his twenty minute cool down on one of the stationary bikes, and Remus didn’t want to interrupt that. But then Sirius was grinning and motioning them over.

“Oh.” Julian said softly from beside Remus, and Remus patted his head softly and motioned for his parents to follow him over to Sirius’ stall.

Sirius stood when they got there, grinning warmly.

“Who’s this?” Sirius asked, holding his fist out for a dumbstruck Julian to bump.

“These are my parents, Hope and Lyall, and this is Julian, my brother.” Remus said, smiling a little at Jules’ expression. His heart was pounding. “Say hi, Jules.”

“Hi Padfoot. I mean—” Julian flushed.

Sirius laughed. “You can call me Padfoot if I can call you Jules. You play hockey, bud?”

Julian nodded frantically, “yeah, I’m a center, too.”

“Nice.” Sirius raised his eyes briefly to Remus’ parents and held out his hand for them to shake, “Hi, I’m Sirius.” As if they didn’t know, as if they weren’t wearing his last name on their backs, “Did you all enjoy the game?”

“That was such a nasty hit on you.” Julian said, eyes going from Sirius’ face to his locker to his pads to his stick.

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, we hope you’re alright.” Hope said with a very motherly disapproving frown.

Sirius nodded and, to Remus’ surprise, threw an arm around Remus’ shoulder. “Your son took care of me. Remus takes the best care of us, right James?”

James had come over with a protein bar hanging out of his mouth, but took a bite and chewed quickly when he put together who he was speaking to.

“Jesus f—” He looked at Julian whose eyes were practically hearts. “Hi,” James said again, laughing a little at himself, “you must be Loops’ parents.” James looked down at Julian again, “And older brother, I presume? What’s up, man? Here to try out?”

“Yeah.” Julian said softly, clearly barely able to think, and they all laughed.

Remus, on the other hand, was much to pre-occupied with Sirius’ arm which, having slid away from his shoulders, was now briefly a warm, pressing weight between his shoulder blades, before it disappeared completely as he slapped the seat of his stall.

“Well I’m certainly not going to have a spot on this team if you’re playing, so you might as well take a seat. Let’s see, what will he need to be a Lion, Pots?”

James crossed his arms, pretending to think hard. “Jersey, definitely.”

“Oh, two, I’d say.” Sirius added, “And a couple sticks, don’t you think?”

Julian, now seated snuggly in Sirius’ stall, was red-cheeked with happiness.

“On it.” James said, and winked at Remus as he left to get a few of his and Sirius’ jerseys and sticks to sign.

Sirius on the other hand, crouched down to Julian’s level. “Hey, Jules, do you know how awesome your brother is?”

Julian grinned up at Remus, then back at Sirius. “Yeah.”

Sirius nodded back, “He does practically everything for us. Gets us new skate blades, makes sure we have what we need on the road, keeps us healthy.” Then Sirius looked at him with a similarly fond and happy expression that Julian was wearing, and Remus felt a little like he might cry which would be completely and utterly embarrassing. “He’s pretty great.”

Remus felt his own cheeks flush. “Okay, okay, thanks.”

Hope laughed from beside him, squeezing him in a one armed hug. “Never could take a compliment, could you, Re?”

“That was a lot of compliments.” Remus laughed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn’t stop looking at Sirius and Sirius wasn’t looking away.

Remus felt like he was back in Sirius’ car, unsure what it all meant.

“Hey, did you know I’m your brother’s favorite player?” Sirius asked Jules.

“You’re mine, too! We both have your jersey!”

Remus flushed and had to look away from Sirius and his raised eyebrows then, pretending to watch James come back across the locker room with the gear. He didn’t want to hear what Sirius had to say about that.

James and Sirius were both at Julian’s level for a good fifteen minutes, signing things, taking pictures, and talking hockey. Kasey even came over before leaving to sign the jerseys and offer one of his own sticks. Remus didn’t know how Julian was going to carry it all.

His parents eventually left for their hotel with promises to meet him for breakfast the next morning and their favorite pancake spot—really everyone’s favorite pancake spot—in Gryffindor. Remus watched them walk back to their car until they turned out of view, smiling to himself at Jules’ insistence that he carry all three sticks and wear both jerseys at once.

Remus stopped by the exercise room on his way back to lock up the office for the night and, as expected, Sirius was there. He looked fresh off the bike and was on one of the mats, stressing his fingers towards his toes. Remus knocked lightly.

“Hey,” Sirius said with a grin.

“Hi.” Remus walked in a few more paces and leaned against one of the treadmills, scuffing the toe of his sneaker against the floor softly. “I don’t want to interrupt you or anything, but I just wanted to thank you. For earlier. You—You really made my little brother’s life, there. He loves you guys.”

Sirius stood, dusting off his leggings and picked up his water bottle from the floor. “I hope he’s not the only one.”

Remus bit back a smile, and his heart clenched. If only Sirius knew what he was saying.

“Of course,” was all Remus could think of to reply.

“You’re family seems great, Re. Really.”

“They are,” Remus replied before he thought about what that statement probably meant, coming from Sirius. Sirius who didn’t have a family like that. Remus felt guilt and the want to strangle anyone who didn’t love Sirius properly swirl in his chest. Sirius deserved so much. Look what he would do for just one kid who he never even met, for Remus, who he barely knew outside of his work.

“I’m headed out soon.” Sirius said. “Do you need a ride?”

Remus shook his head, “Moody said he’d drive me.”

Even though everything in him was screaming at him to lie and say yes, he didn’t want to explain that to Moody.

“Ah.” Sirius said, nodding. He looked, if not disappointed, something like it. “Okay. Well, let me know, eh? Any time.”

“Thanks, Sirius.” Remus was aware of how soft his voice sounded, but there wasn’t much he could do about it with Sirius’ gray eyes on him.

Sirius smiled, a soft and lopsided thing, and Remus’ heart flipped in his chest. As Sirius left for the showers, Remus got back to his desk. On it, was a hat.

It was a Lions hat, red with gold piping and the gold lion. On the bill, in the gold sharpie that the team used for signing, was a messily scrawled message and a signature. Sirius’ signature, complete with the number twelve.

I’m glad I’m your favorite, it read.

(A/N: Ah, slowly but surely....:)

#sweater weather #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar #sirius x remus #remus x sirius #the marauders era #wolfstar au #harry potter au #lumosinlove #writing #hockey au #hockey player!sirius #trainer!remus #wolfstar fluff #wolfstar angst #wolfstar slow burn #slow burn #ahhhh

[helihi]

Thoughts on RWBY Vol. 7

Quarantine day 20: I finally force myself to re watch volume 7 instead of doing my French homework.

Spoilers ahead for RWBY and How I Met Your Mother (yes).

Volume 7: The Story of a Broken Narrative Kingdom

The day has come where I finally sit down and watch the whole season again. Some of you wondered why I didn’t simply do a The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty review on the last episode of the volume like I did with the previous ones. The answer is the same reason why Ozpin’s speech at the end of the volume encapsulates the volume’s theme as a whole: finales affect the way you look at shows, comics, movies, and books. It provides a framing.

Did any of you watch How I Met Your Mother? For those of you who didn’t, it was a often called the show “which could replace Friends”. Something that you may not know is that fans of the show renamed it something among the lines of “How I should date your Aunt Robin” after the last episode aired. You see, the ending of the show changed the way most viewers see the show in the present.

The show had main character Ted Mosby narrate to his children how he met their mother. However, the story doesn’t begin during the day that encountered happen; no, it starts years before, when Ted declares he wants to settle down and find the love of his life. In that very same episode, he meets Robin Scherbatsky. In the end it’s revealed that the mother (the character we spent years speculating about) is dead (which I expected), and Ted asks his children if they give him the blessing to date their Aunt Robin. Originally, the fans could excuse episode 1 centering around Robin because it was the instance where Ted decided he wanted to settle down, but after the veil was lifted; there were no excuses, this whole story was a Ted’s way of convincing their children he should marry Robin, the main woman in his life during the whole show (even if we spend the last season on her wedding with one of Ted’s best friends).

Perhaps the ending of Volume 7 didn’t destroy the character development of 3 main characters, but it drastically changed the way I felt about the volume.

“The Kingdom of Atlas will remain safe, that’s my promise”- James Ironwood, Volume 7, Episode 1.

If you go back in my blog and read my reviews for most of the volume, you will find glowing ratings and stars. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love a good politics game in the shows/stories I read, so I was really excited when the writing team started developing that during the first half of the season.

Our gang (RWBY+JNOR+Q+M) reach Atlas after finding out that Oz is a fraud, that Salem cannot be beat (by Oz), and that Cinder almost took another maiden’s power. They quickly realize that Atlas is in a state of chaos and Ironwood is consumed by fear taking authoritarian measures, which keep the kingdom divided.

The stage is set:

 Ironwood, Winter, and the Ace Ops.

Robyn, the Happy Huntresses, and Mantle.

 Watts, Jacques, and Tyrian.

I thought the way everything was set was fantastic, I loved the political drama, and I thought the writers were taking their time properly. Even now I give huge kudos to the Schnee storyline, which is my favorite. The volume showed us how flawed Winter’s coping mechanism is, how Weiss is still susceptible to her father’s gaslighting and manipulation, and how the household isn’t just broken by Jacques (Willow apologists, pls read this).

However, the cracks started showing during the first episodes and I noted that on my reviews. We have characters used for exposition dump: from the Robyn supporter, that explains what we could’ve learned by the normal progression of the story, who gets killed as soon as he returns home, and other characters like Maria talking about Pietro while he’s standing right there.

In contrast to that, we get wonderful montages which show the passage of time. The kids interact with one another and the Ace Ops, they train, they help with Ironwood’s plan. It seems weird to have 2 different tools one after the other.

Also, it it weird for anyone that Qrow and Winter only interact 1 time during episode 2 when in Volume 3 a clear rivalry was established? Winter’s storyline was supposed to follow Penny’s, while Qrow was supposed to grow attached to Clover. Because these 2 characters had to reach a certain point in the story, they are not allowed to deviate from the interactions needed for the plot to advance.

Another thing occurred to me while re-watching the season again... Why is Ironwood so fixated in protecting Atlas when it’s floating in the air away from Grimm? Yes, we know that some Grimm can fly, but by the many times we see Mantle in chaos, you would think Ironwood would repair Mantle’s wall to keep it safe?

That’s the theme, guys, girls and nonbinary folks: a kingdom divided.

Just like the Atlas kingdom falls apart, the narrative of Volume 7 has a specific breaking point that marks the decline in quality (you can see that in my reviews). The moment everything went downhill starts in Episode 8, with the dinner at the Schnee Manor.

We spend much time developing the political tensions of the volume for Jacques to be promptly arrested and taken away from the scene in a second.

While Ironwood, Winter, Penny, and Clover are shown doing plot relevant stuff, team JNOR does that ridiculous gag to get Whitley out of Weiss’s hair.  The rest of the team do jackshit, and we don’t hear anything from them until everything is over. Again, the writers reached the plot point and forgot about everything else.

Also, Ruby looks sadly at Weiss when Whitley mentions that Klein was “let go”, yet Weiss has never talked about him to Ruby on screen. Claiming Weiss could’ve done that off screen strips away the possibilities of Weiss bonding with Ruby the same way she did with Yang when talking about their pain during Volume 5.

Such a large table, and only 4 council members, isn’t that kind of stupid? I mean, if Ironwood had 2 seats, numbers wise it makes sense, but who are those other 2 supposed to represent? Why haven’t we seen them before?

Robyn is told by Yang and Blake that Ironwood doesn't know who to trust. She proceeds to pressure him in front of people he clearly doesn’t trust. This is the first instance of OOC Robyn.

The walls crumbled, and everything became obvious as a viewer. Some other notable flaws:

Tension jojoing. The people in mantle will revolt! Except they aren’t. This happens in Episode 5, 6, and 9. The only real uprising is the last one. The other two were silly cliff hangers that make no sense when you watch the show again. (they didn’t make sense before either  and I complained).

Hey there, Watts! You may have an interesting backstory, except it’s only implied you are pissed off Penny got chosen as a major project instead of whatever yours was. Also, Paladin incident? What? If he is the main villain of the Volume, why not expand on him? I shouldn’t be surprised, Hazel and Tyrian are not that complex. And Cinder? It’s been 5 volumes and we barely know anything about her haha.

Robin! I love how civilized and smart you are when the volume started, choosing to observe and talk instead of acting against the main characters. How awful is it that you forget to keep your calm when a Serial killer is on the loose. It would be a shame if someone were to... die.

I already gave my 2 cents over Clover’s death, and I’m not going to repeat myself. I am sorry to all the Fair Game fans, I’m afraid bury your gays is till alive and well.

The nail on the coffin is the final episode: after making a speech about how Salem wants to divide people and how the only way to go is to remain united, James does the exact opposite thing the moment something doesn’t go according to plan. Don’t get me wrong, his PTSD regarding the queen chess piece was foreshadowed, but the moment team RWBY offer an explanation and identify the person behind it, he’s to far gone. Then, Salem shows up, and goes for Team RWBY when Ruby gets under her skin. This shows that Salem has a weakness and that Team RWBY can be trusted when it comes to defeating her, yet that is promptly ignored.

Also, Ironwood might be hurt about Yang and Blake talking to Robyn, but after everything, they were proven right: Robyn is to be trusted, Ironwood was making a mistake.

The whole setting up a trap to attract Tyrian wasn’t Ironwood going “mad with power” or something. Robyn knew he has lying and allowed Ironwood to catch someone who could hack everything. Not only that, but the camera zoomed in on Ironwood, so nobody could see Robyn’s handy Semblance going red. Or... maybe I’m looking too much into it and the writers expected you to forget.

Sorry, I guess James Ironwood had to take a bunch of stupid pills.

“I wish it didn’t have to end this way.” - Clover Ebi.

“It doesn’t have to, but the writers need that Branwen angst.” - Qrow Branwen.

Volume 7: Part 1 of the Atlas Arc

Have you ever heard of Checov’s gun? It is a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. Elements should not appear to make "false promises" by never coming into play. Let’s play a game called the false promises of the volume that may carry over to volume 8?

Renora: Nora sides with Robin, Ren sides with Ironwood. They do not communicate with one another and the tension builds throughout the volume. They kiss, nothing gets resolved. Ren cries when Neo turns into Nora.

Training: Ren is shown to throw himself into the enemy as a flaw, he repeats the same mistake when fighting with Neo. Oscar’s Semblance is questioned, nothing comes out of it. Ruby’s Semblance is questioned, nothing comes out of it.

Cinder got beef with Atlas? For some reason, Cinder talks about Atlas hoarding power when speaking with Winter. Bitch, where the fuck do you come from? Who are you? Do I know you? Sorry, the writers forgot to write a growth arc for you. My bad.

Nora, daughter of Atlas? Can someone explain to me why she became a SWJ (/s) during this season? We never get a backstory of her previous to Kuroyuri and for some reason Nora is super attached to the people of Mantle. The daughter of Atlas title was thrown around, why?

It’s so nice to see tea FNKI back! Too bad they are there for 5 minutes and never show up again, not even when Mantle is supposed to be defended by all huntsmen. I guess this was fan service.

What’s the purpose of the Happy Huntresses? Isn’t it funny how the only one who got wounded by Tyrian is the only character who could see in the dark, but didn’t tell Robin that Penny wasn’t guilty? Hi Fiona, I don’t know why you exist.

Marrow: the butt of the joke. Since the first episodes, Marrow is shown as the outsider inside the Ace Ops: his teammates don’t take him seriously, Ironwood doesn’t think Marrow is up to the challenge of some missions, and he’s the only Faunus, the only one that seemed to sympathize with Robyn at the end. Too bad he wasn’t allowed to break his mold.

The World Building looks pretty, but it doesn't play the part.

I have to praise the art direction of this season. I was blown away by the aesthetics of Mantle clashing with Atlas, the details in the backgrounds, the world building by back messaging, screens, and posters. My favorite scene of the volume is the penguins in the tundra.

However, you have to walk the walk, and the writing team failed to deliver.

Racism: hey, I know you guys kinda messed up the White Fang’s internal struggles and opportunity to expand on Adam’s power grab and Sienna’s leadership, but maybe don’t skip the racist elements of Atlas? All we get are Faunus mine workers looking angry, that drunk dude who yelled at Blake and Marrow making a simplistic comment about politics. What...? What’s the point of acknowledging u are bad at writing racism and then do nothing about it? Did none of the new writers know how to tackle this?

In-World Continuity: Hey, wasn't the Vytal festival broadcasted to the entire world? When I saw that camera focusing on Yang on episode 1, I thought there would be a call back to what everyone saw her do during the finals, but nope. Let’s not bring that up again. ever. The only important thing about the Vytal Festival is the tower, move on.

Weapons upgrade: We were told that weapons were an extension of each huntsmen; too bad none of our gang actually work on them. Pietro makes all the modifications and repairs. I remember the bumblebee fans eager for a scene of Blake repairing Gambol Shroud, don’t tell me you’re not disappointed.

Atlas ball: not found. Hey! We have Jacques Schnee celebrating his fake victory on the elections! It would be a perfect moment to showcase the disconnect between what’s happening in Mantle and what the people in atlas thing. Too bad we didn’t wanna make extra character models.

--

Closing thoughts

I wanted to re watch the whole season again to see if the bitterness left on my lips after watching that chaotic finale went away, but it only grew. There are so many character choices that made no sense, so many scenes where characters stood around in the background doing nothing.

WHY THE FUCK DID OZPIN ONLY APPEAR AT THE END?

Oh, I’ll tell you why: he needed to give a speech about themes to justify the stupidity that happened during the last episodes to get to that cliff hanger.

I am disappointed in volume that seemed to be doing so good at the begging, but hey... at this point we shouldn’t be surprised, should we? Interestingly enough, the people who dreamed about the ball and the scenes of Blake fixing Gambol Shroud grew quiet after the episodes aired... 

Almost as if criticism wasn’t allowed on the RWBY tag.

AN: The titty window isn’t justified Salem, your ex is now a child that’s PEDO—

#rwby #volume 7 #rwby7 #RWBY review #Me #The good the bad and the dirty

[cipher-wise]

YGO! Questionnaire

Tagged by @joeys-red-eyed-dragon​

Favorite Series: Anyone who’s spent any length of time with me knows that the answer will always be Arc-V gfhjbjsk The animation is flawless (when it wants to be hdjsksf), the OP, ED, and OSTs are all On Point, the plot is amazing, the voice acting, the ChArAcHtErS!!!!! The decks!!! The duels!!!! This is the first YGO! series that have actually had me invested in their duels all the way through!!

It’s also the only YGO! series besides 0+DM that entertains me the most, lore and story wise. :)

Favorite Protagonist: Yuya!!!! He’s so baby and I just want to see him happy!!! But also seeing him suffer gives me Life.

I’m just a sucker for smiley characters that have.... shall we say, trouble with masks..

Favorite Rival: A tough question for sure! Objectively, I’d choose Reiji Akaba, because, well, he starts out as a pro with all summoning methods down pat already and doesn’t actually lose to Yuya until the very end. I’d like to think, that, although Yuya sees him as a sorta dick in the beginning, he would strive to be as good a duelist as him, especially with how Reiji managed to captivate an audience.

(Seto also has one of the most interesting backstories in all of YGO! ngl...)

Now, emotionally? I’d have to choose the Zexal boys. I feel so much for Kaito, and Shark.... I’m such a sucker for protective older brothers okay? Reincarnation also helps my choice 👀

(That said, who can resist Jun Manjoume bringing the Thunder?)

Favorite BFF: Hhhhhhhh Why must I Choose? 

Listen, all the Besties are so Good and Wholesome ;A; And I know this is totally biased but I’mma have to say Noboru Gongenzaka >.< He’s so protective of his friends and so attentive to them! I also really love how straightforward he is, it’s a trait I can get behind.

(As a close second, it would be Johan Anderson 👀)

Favorite GFF: Potential wise, Aki Izayoi was very interesting! However,,, 

I’d have to pick Mana and Yuzu, purely because they had the most involvement in their respective stories imo. Don’t get me wrong, I love their characters and how they bounce off their protags, but it felt like they had real agency compared to some of the others.

I also simply don’t know enough about Asuka, Kotori, or Aoi to have many opinions about them. (I’m not really a fan of Anzu either tbh.)

(I know this question is in regards to the protag’s girl bestie but my favorite girl character will forever be Yuya’s mom!! She’s so fucking badass, ja? Very Fruits Basket of her.

Droite also has my fav character design of the girls!)

Favorite Villain: Ah.

Again my bias shows because I love good guys gone bad. Yubel (and Haou) and Zarc (and the Yuubois) are my favorite villains... >.>

Number 96 and Vector also get special mentions here! (Diva has one of my fav designs tho.)

All that aside, Abidos though 👀 The best one shot villain 👌👌👌👌

Favorite Card: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Episode: ...Of..? Each series?

Season 0:  "Don't Touch the Forbidden Game"

DM:  "Attack Me! The Fated Last Turn"

GX:  "Judai and Johan of the Gem Beast Deck"

5D’s:  "A Life-or-Death Battle! Machine Divine Emperor Dragon Asterisk"

Zexal:  "Break Through the Limit!! King of Wishes, Hope Ray Victory"

Arc-V:  "Glory on the Academia!"

Vrains: “Self Breakdown”

The reasons why I like all of these episodes the most are probably obvious, and in somewhat of a pattern..  And I haven’t watched SEVENS yet XP

Favorite Decks to Use: Okay, so. The thing is, I’d always really liked Spellcasters and thought they were all I was gonna use. I wasn’t really a big fan of Warriors, or Dragons, or anything else really. It doesn’t help that Spellcasters are one of the most popular and diverse types in Duel monsters. However.

Arc-V’s themes for deck archetypes really got me into a bunch of other types of monsters and decks. I’d never really ever been interested in the actual game before, aside form what was relevant to plot or lore. But Arc-V has decks based on circuses, actors, singers, idols, toys, plushies- well, you can see where I’m going with this.

Now (,again with my bias,) I Adore Yuya’s deck! It has Spellcasters!!! It has cute animals!!! It follows a circus theme!!!!! One thing I Did Not see, was me liking the Dimensional Dragon archetype as much as I did! You can ask any of my friends that I play Duel Monsters against lolol, a modified Dimensional Dragons and Spellcasters Pendulum deck is my primary go to.

Another thing I didn’t foresee was taking to Pendulum quite so much! It’s so versatile!!! All my decks have at least one of each type of summoning method in it, because Pendulum makes it more possible. (Keep in mind this is pre-links I’m talking about here.) My main deck, which I fondly call “Odd-Eyes Magic”, even has Ritual monsters in it! I do use Xys the most after Pendulums I guess tho.

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link: Pendulum lolol

In order of how much I use each summoning method: Pendulum, Xyz, Sycnhro, Ritual, Fusion, and I’ve never Link summoned or rush dueled before vbdjbvdsk

Years in Fandom: Ever since it first came on Kids WB!! I’ve watch it since forever my guys. I remember watching it when the first episode aired.

Who am I tagging??!!!! 

@zom-bri​​ @sylvansonia​​ @1apple-fox1​​ @howaboutalittlehelpneos​​ @kayrockerqog​​ @sioninel​​

#Cipher Speaks #YGO! #Ask Meme #Personal #Cipher Answers #Tag U'r It!

[horde-princess]

An Analysis of 4 Key Relationships in Season 2

Now that we’ve had some time to digest season 2, I wanna take an in-depth look at some of the new relationships and group dynamics that have popped up in the show. Specifically, seeing Catra interact with Bow and Glimmer was something I’ve been excited about for a really long time, and then of course there’s Scorpia, and wow do i have THOUGHTS alright here we go

Catra and Bow

i know, weird right. there’s a reason i’m writing about these two first and it’s because i have a lot of feelings lajksdfd just hear me out okay

Idk about you guys, but when I was watching Catra attack Bow in 2x02 it just felt so weird, like in a bad way. Catra’s anger towards him for stealing Adora away is obviously valid, but Bow is just so pure and righteous and good, you know? He doesn’t have a bitter bone in his body (unlike Glimmer, who can give as good as she gets). Bow doesn’t know how to respond to Catra’s anger... and I think the reason that it was so hard for me to watch is because Catra and Bow actually have the potential to be good friends.

Think about it like this. Catra and Glimmer are a lot alike--they’re fierce and intense and they each have someone who helps bring them back down to earth: their respective best friends, Adora and Bow! And we see how much Adora and Glimmer have grown to love one another, right? It’s because their different personalities complement each other so well.... So I think that, given the chance, Catra and Bow could have a similar dynamic :)

There was a sweet moment in 2x02 that offered a glimpse of this, when Bow was trying to show Catra some kindness. He’s such an earnest, straight forward character, he sees right through Catra’s bullshit and knows exactly what to say to get through to her (i mean look at her expression here, the way her ears are flattened--so different from her absurd behavior in the rest of the episode).

Lock these two in a room for an hour? Yeah, they’d come out best friends 😭💖 I hope we get more of them in future episodes!! 

Catra and Glimmer

Oh man...... Whew. YIKES. Where to even begin with this alsjdfsdjld. Catra and Glimmer’s rivalry is just. everything. 

To Glimmer, Catra is the girl who is trying to destroy her home, murder her and her loves ones... the girl who’s breaking the heart of someone she loves (Adora).

To Catra, Glimmer is the girl who stole Adora away from her. She tore her life apart. She represents what it means to be born into a position of privilege and (literal) power, which Catra resents with a burning passion.

Seeing these two go head to head, sparring physically and verbally, it’s so freaking delicious. Catra has the advantage over her in almost every way: she’s a better fighter, she lies and manipulates, she’s willing to do evil things to win battles that Glimmer, as a typical hero, refuses to do. But despite all that, Glimmer still wins every time... Because she has Adora.

It’s interesting, though. Even though Adora is on Glimmer’s team, Catra knows that she is the one who holds Adora’s attention, if not also her affections--and she knows this fact drives Glimmer crazy. I mean come on, Adora means everything to Glimmer! She loves her as a friend but more than that, She-Ra gives her hope that they can save the world. Yet Adora loves this feral half-cat demon over her?? what???? lmao. So I think part of what’s fueling Glimmer’s hatred, her desire to just beat the absolute shit out of Catra, is that she feels like she’s contending for Adora’s love.

There were four glitra moments this season that I wanna highlight.

First, when Catra tries to get in her head and make her doubt her relationship with Adora. I found this interesting because you almost see a glimpse of sincerity in Catra--as if she’s trying to warn Glimmer against repeating the mistake she herself made. Glimmer’s reaction to the words are just as telling. She gets angry, but I don’t think it’s because she believes Catra. I think she’s angry because Catra is slandering Adora’s character. Unlike Catra right now, Glimmer sees Adora for who she truly is. She knows that Adora isn’t the kind of person who abandons her friends in pursuit of power. So yeah this was a cool moment that illustrated Glimmer and Catra’s contrasting perspectives.

Second, I LOVED this line, when Catra makes fun of Glimmer and Adora’s relationship (but it just comes off as jealous lmaoo). The reason I love it is because it’s so true!!! Glimmer and Adora are perfect for each other. What this line proves is that she is absolutely threatened by Glimmer in a romantic context. She recognizes that Glimmer might actually be more compatible for Adora than she is, and that Glimmer is her foil (which I’ll explain more in a minute).

Next is the scene where Glimmer actually threatens to kill Catra in cold blood. If you’re like me and you missed that when you first watched it, yeah, that’s what happened--Catra gives Kyle the order to “take Entrapta out” and then Glimmer slams her against the tree and says “two can play at that game.” She gets this close to blasting her face off but Bow is able to talk her down from it. And the whole time, Catra is just fucking smirking at her, calling her bluff because she knows Glimmer won’t compromise her morals (parallel to catradora in 2x05 anyone??). But yeah this was crazy. Catra just wanted to see how far she could push her and it turns out... pretty damn far. 

One of my favorite lines in the whole season was Glimmer telling Catra “I’m not as naive as you think.” Catra thought she had her outsmarted, forced to deplete her magic, but in the end Catra had underestimated her as an adversary.

The more I think about it, the more I realize Glitra’s rivalry is a hundred times more intense than Catradora’s. Remember in the DnD ep when femme fatale Catra points at Glimmer and calls her her greatest enemy? That was veeery interesting... Their relationship really has a life of it’s own now, like, separate from Adora. They hate everything about what each other stand for. They’re both so strong and hot-headed, with opposite moral compasses--like two rockets on a collision course. But I also love that they have this sort of begrudging respect for one another. Look at what Glimmer says here in 2x03, the ghost episode:

How random, right, that Glimmer would be thinking about some offhand comment from Catra from the previous episode? AND! In context, it just sounded to me like Catra was saying Glimmer was terrible at taking people hostage lol. Glimmer extrapolates and applies her comment to her courage, her capability as a hero. That’s like.... whoa. It shows that Glimmer actually cares about Catra’s opinion of her.

So yeah Glitra’s dynamic is more amazing than i could’ve ever dreamed.. not to mention their weird flirtation and oh no looks like we’re out of time for this section kjdfljsdkaskjd

Adora and Scorpia

Ok seeing these two dorks together in 2x05 was so amazing 😂😂 As cute as it was though it was one of the most heartbreaking parts of the season. I can’t remember a time that Scorpia ever demonstrated such bitterness towards someone.

Not exaggerating when I say that last line brought me to tears like wtf.... 😭

I’ve mentioned this before but Scorpia genuinely loves Catra so much and she just can’t stand seeing her heart breaking over Adora when Scorpia feels like she could treat Catra better. She’d give her the whole world if she could (which is quite literally what she’s trying to achieve!)

Adora, on the other hand, she doesn’t really know who Scorpia is. To her, Scorpia is just someone who is enabling Catra’s descent into darkness, so there is a hostility there already. If I had to name one thing that I’m excited about for upcoming episodes, it would be Adora inevitably growing jealous of Catra and Scorpia’s relationship. We haven’t seen it yet but mark my words we WILL AND ITS GONNA FUCKING DESTROY US okay i could yell about adora and scorpia for hours but let’s just move on and get to my fave part of this meta laksjdfs

Catra vs. Glimmer, and Adora vs. Scorpia

So Catra and Glimmer rivalry’s is obviously really fun, same with Adora and Scorpia. But the real magic comes in when we look at the dynamic of this whole 4-person group. I didn’t take Scortra seriously in season 1 (blasphemy... i know) so it took me until season 2 to catch onto this pattern, but now that I have it makes so much sense and gives the show a new perspective for me. 

Glimmer and Scorpia’s relationship hasn’t really been explored in the show but there is one thing we know they have in common: they both love two girls who are obsessed with someone else. And they both act as foils for our two protagonists. 

Glimmer is Catra’s foil. The similarities between these two are obvious. They’re both passionate and angry and driven and traumatized. But Glimmer’s strong moral code contrasts sharply with Catra’s lack of one (and really that difference is just a result of their disparate upbringings). 

Glimmer is right in front of Adora. And she’s everything that Adora only wishes Catra could be... yet Glimmer will never be able to compete with Catra in the contest for Adora’s affection. Adora is stuck between loving someone that she can’t be with, or being with someone she can’t truly love... at least, not in the same soul-altering way that she loves Catra.

Scorpia is Adora’s foil. Scorpia and Adora are also alike in some ways, but there’s a key difference. The fandom has discussed before how, yeah, Scorpia is part of the Horde, but she doesn’t appear to have any kind of moral stake in the war that’s going on. What Scorpia really cares about, what she’ll fight to the death for is... her friendships. She’s loyal to a fault, and she would do absolutely anything for Catra. Catra is her number one priority. 

GUYS! This is the exact opposite of Adora!! Adora may love Catra, but she will always choose the greater good over her. She won’t betray her convictions for love. That’s just who she is. Thus, Scorpia is everything that Catra wishes Adora would have been for her. Someone who would have stayed by her side no matter what. Someone who wouldn’t have cared whether or not the Horde was evil, as long as she could be with Catra. But again--though I do think Scortra’s budding romance will continue to develop--in the end Scorpia simply cannot compete with Adora for Catra’s affection. She acknowledged it herself. 

I wanna mention one more thing here.. So Scorpia and Glimmer are playing similar roles for their respective love interests. From my point of view (feel free to disagree this is just the way I’m interpreting things) I don’t believe that those relationships are gonna be endgame. To me this show always has been and always will be about Catra and Adora. And while I can’t wait to see them reconcile with each other, Noelle has suddenly got me falling in love with these other characters, too, and I'm so afraid??? ESPECIALLY for Scorpia. While Glimmer at least has Bow and the Princess Alliance, Scorpia has absolutely no one. Catra is Scorpia’s whole world. What will she do when that falls apart? (god please i’m begging, just let scorpia find happiness 😭)

Catra and Scorpia

Honestly I don’t even think I can write this part without having a meltdown but its the last one so im gonna push through alksjdfls. I already talked a bit about how Scorpia is exactly the kind of person that Catra needs at this point in her life, and I think it’s best summed up in this quote from Noelle:

“We see Scorpia expressing this admiration for Catra, expressing desire to get close to Catra... Catra is just not at this point super open to Scorpia’s affection. So I think it’s kind of tragic at this point. And I think for Catra, although she’ll never admit it, what she really wants is love and acceptance. Suddenly she is getting that, no strings attached, from Scorpia, and she is not ready.”

-wiping away tears- okay so yeah, Scorpia is over here offering Catra unconditional love and Catra’s just.... she’s so traumatized and has such deep-seated abandonment issues that she just doesn’t know what to do with it. She doesn’t feel she deserves it. Also, up until 2x05, Catra didn’t respect Scorpia much at all and definitely did not see her in a romantic light. But I have a theory on why that changed. 

For much of her life, I think the Horde taught Catra to associate love with blind loyalty and submission. Now, she is starting to question this belief. She thought Adora loved her, but Adora ended up being disloyal. She thought she could earn Shadow Weaver’s love by submitting to her, but Shadow Weaver continues to prove her wrong. So what is love, exactly? What is an expression of love? Catra’s not sure anymore.

When Scorpia defies Catra’s orders in 2x05--she destroys the First Ones disc, lets Adora escape, fucks up Catra’s plan--Catra is completely thrown. In the animation alone, you can see they’re trying to convey that Catra is seeing Scorpia in a way she never has before.

It’s precisely because Scorpia defied her and chose not to blindly submit to her, that Catra is still alive. It’s the first time that Scorpia went against Catra’s wishes in a big way. And I think this moment shook Catra to her core because it made her question what love is truly about. Like maybe Scorpia understands something that she doesn’t.

We see this again in episode 2x07, where she’s stressed out about Shadow Weaver and yelling at Scorpia to just obey her orders but Scorpia isn’t having it. And in that we see a special trust developing between them. Even when Catra’s being a dick to her, denying that they’re friends, saying things like “get used to not getting what you want in life...” Scorpia stays by her side and refuses to be discouraged. and I think that really is something that’s going to leave a huge impact on Catra. Scorpia is no longer just a tool for Catra to manipulate--she has come to seriously rely on her without realizing it.

Still, Catra doesn’t seem quite capable of understanding what a beautiful friend she has in Scorpia. and I’m afraid (predicting) that she might take it too far one day, and figure out the hard way exactly how much she had to lose. But that tragedy may also turn out to be her saving grace ✨

congrats if u read this whole thing lmao id love to hear your thoughts/criticism on it!! i was gonna discuss catradora too but actually i think that should be a separate meta so..... yeet .

#she ra #spop #catradora #meta

[csykora]

hey i was reading your post about evgeny kusnetsov and alexander semin (the friendship necklace one) and i got into hockey somewhat recently but i've heard/read some things about sasha and i was wondering if you could give me a rundown/what your perspective is? you mentioned cultural assimilation, but also social class, ethnic identity, ability, neurodiversity, and trauma and i was really curious what exactly you were talking about??

First, that’s cool you’re getting into hockey! How’s that going? I hope you’re having fun. Second…thanks for making me reread my old writing as we come up on the New Year ;)

That was one of my very first posts, and I think it reads like it—I definitely wasn’t much of a sports writer back then, and (I don’t think) I tell stories quite the same way now.

I don’t think some of those words I used mean much, except that I was angry. So I’d like to spell out what made, makes, me angry. The first half of this is stuff I’ve said before, more organized, with jokes. The second half is not fun, but it’s also something I think NHL fans have a duty to think about. So I want to try to talk about Lokomotiv.

Sasha Semin is the star and captain of a quite good, more fun KHL team. Today he was named to the All-Star team, actually. KHL All-Stars is a magical place where the players sing acoustic covers and routinely set things on fire, so hopefully they’ll let him bring his sword.

(I love the KHL)

Before that, he was the cool big brother of a generation of Russian stars. In the early 2000s the first post-Soviet young players were coming of age and working out what post-Soviet, now-Russian style hockey was going to be. In that moment we got two spectacular players: Sasha from Siberia, and Sasha from Moscow.

The Soviet style of play was supposed to be egalitarian—players skated the opposition sick and pass-pass-passed, always giving it to a teammate instead of taking chances, until whoever happened to have it had a sure shot. The Alexanders grew up in that style, and they grew up fuck-off strong. They started feeding off all their teammates’ passes and beginning to gun down goalies with one of two shots: Alex Ovechkin had the one-timer, and Alex Semin had the best wristshot in the game.

Did you watch Vegas’ magic season? Pull some clips of Wild Bill Karlsson. Imagine if he had upper body strength but was just as light on his feet. That’s how inexplicably electric young Semin was.

His and then Ovi’s performances at World Juniors were so explosive they convinced American businesses to risk money on something new. Semin was oldest, and the Capitals kind of sucked, so they got him first. Then a few years later they still sucked, so they got Ovi too. Then the two of them got Nicklas Backstrom and matching line promise necklaces and played really good hockey together for a number of years.

(If anyone would like 3,000 more nicer words about the above subjects, @ me)

A couple things shaped what happened after that:

▪ Semin’s unique wrister, twisted to be almost as hard as a slapper, is like spending every night downing jägerbombs with a shot of carpal tunnel. He seems to have chronic wrist and hand problems from inflammation, with apparent flare-ups that sometimes got rest and sometimes didn’t. So that’s a factor—not the only, but a—in why he had periods of poor shooting.

▪ Either because he never really went to school or just because he’s wired that way, Semin seems to suck at math.

▪ Ovi’s hot stick and the Sid Incident (Sidcident?): 

In their first interview together, Ovi described him and Sid as “partners”, and Sid asked for Ovi’s shirt. But over the first few years the League swung from branding them as buddies to making money off a rivalry, and Don Cherry started a string of bitter conflicts with Ovi.

Local journalists who knew him wrote about seeing Ovi flinch in interviews. They described him starting to hesitate, pale, tired, doubling back over answers to make sure they were watertight. We now know from Tatyana Ovechina that he was spending a lot of nights on the phone back home with her, asking if he was letting everybody down.

Sasha, who’s basically that guy on twitter who found kittens in his sock drawer and adopted them all, but with little brothers, got protective. He told Russian media that he thought Sid was a good player, but not his favorite, and said that the way the League was pushing media attention could make someone a ‘star’ even if they weren’t that good. The phrase he used means “dead wood”, or boring, useless person. The grammar he used means something like “even if he were (ie, he isn’t)”.

I think this was objectively very funny. And I still hold that anyone saying the level of exposure Sid endured was good for him or anyone sounds like the stage parents on Toddlers & Tiaras.)

But people get protective of their person, and most won’t stop for a grammar lesson before deciding what they think something meant. There was a media blitz, mostly accusing Sasha of wanting the attention Sid got, which made sense, if you didn’t know Russian or two things about him—that he’s best friends with Alex Ovechkin, and that he’d only just started to practice English with local reporters after several years. If he were an egomaniac, he was bad at it.

From his reaction it seems like he hadn’t thought his comment was that wild, and wasn’t prepared for the backlash. Next time he talked to local reporters, he brought the translator back. Asked routine questions he’d been getting for a couple years, he flinched and turned to them to rehearse every word of his answer. Asked what was up with the translator, he said “I just don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

Although teammates like Mike Knuble, Jeff Schultz, Backstrom and Ovechkin kept talking about his personable, joking side, and we’d see it plenty in practice, he started insisting to reporters that he didn’t know English and that he was boring anyway, claiming “I’m just an ordinary person, just like everybody else. The only difference is I’m out there on the ice and that’s it. I’d just rather talk about hockey.”

–> Without math or English, Semin’s career depended on his agent, Mark Gandler.

Try not to depend on Mark Gandler.

As the Globe and Mail put it, “to many Canadian hockey fans, Mark Gandler is nothing less than the Prince of Darkness.”

Mark Gandler’s business was based on presenting himself as a friendly face to young Russian athletes, and pissing of NHL franchises. I’m pro-pissing off the NHL in general; my problem with Gandler is that if he was sincerely trying to get the best deal for him clients, he was bad at it..

When anyone talks about something Semin decided, they’re talking about what Gandler decided for him. Semin was honest with the media that he had no fucking clue what Gandler was asking for in negotiations. The Caps and Gandler couldn’t agree on anything, so while Ovechkin was locked down for life, Semin was only ever signed to one and two year bridge contracts, constantly up, his performance a constant subject of discussion and every wobble obvious.

Note: the following is the bit where I got angry and A. asked why the hell I was looking at photos of this and told me to go lie on the floor and do my butterfly exercises for a while.

One year Semin’s game really sucked. It didn’t help that Ovechkin was sucking too—they both got benched, Coach got fired, and still the Capitals just kind of sucked. Around the league, Russian stars were mostly fizzling. That was the 2011-2012 season. 

On September 7, 2011, the airplane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team, coaching staff, and four youth players had overrun the runway, struck a signal tower, crashed, and caught fire moments after takeoff. Every member of the team onboard was killed.

I can’t understand, so certainly can’t explain, how that day changed the community. I’m not trying to speculate too much on anyone’s personal situation, but to point out how much more profound it was than just some other league’s trivia.

I don’t think there’s a mainstream North American parallel for the hockey community in Eastern Europe. Players are raised in a small number of hockey schools, often at that time in dormitories like the one where Semin lived in Chelyabinsk. While young North Americans are quite strictly separated by age, the Russians are growing up with older and younger kids from the same school all around them. Older teens are encouraged to mentor younger ones—Kuznetsov’s attachment to Semin is endearing, but not really so weird. Stanislav Yarushin is several years older than Sasha, and he befriended him, and then down to Kuz. In a community like that, any one person is intimately connected to the others.

From the coaches to the rookies, someone from three generations across nine nations was killed in the disaster. Each of them was connected not only to their peers, but to players older and younger than them, and to the city that raised them. Every Russian, Czech, and Slovak in the NHL lost at least one person they knew deeply.

Just that spring, Kuznetsov won gold at World Juniors with a little clique of friends. Vladimir Tarasenko, Artemi Panarin, and Dmitry Orlov are stars now, and two of the others are dead.

Kuznetsov is the one draped in the flag. #14, with the awesome hair, smiling, is Danylo Sobchenko. #12, reaching up towards the cup, is Yuri Urychev. Urychev had been injured, and supposed to stay home the day of the disaster, but he asked to be allowed to fly with them, so he could cheer for his friends.

Tarasenko himself was born in Yaroslavl, and his father played for Lokomotiv; he knew even more of the team, and if he’d taken a hometown offer instead of signing with Sibir, he would have died that day too.

The thing about a loss like this is that it keeps budding with new losses. It hadn’t been a problem with the plane, or a freak accident. Over the following month a miserable investigation revealed that the airline had fudged documents, and the pilots just didn’t know what they were doing. So as well as losing friends, the younger players lost any trust that people in authority were going to keep them safe in the future.

After the disaster, Ovechkin, Semin, and Malkin had to hold their phones waiting while Alexander Galimov (a friend from nationals) was found with burns over 80% of his body, stabilized, transported, placed in a medically-induced coma and ventilated. He finally died five days later. The day he died Tarasenko and Kuznetsov and all the others got back on their own planes and kept playing, so the NHLers just had to keeping waiting up for them, too. Now Tarasenko and Kuznetsov have little brothers on those planes. They’re better fucking planes now, because the disaster changed Russian law, but they’re still not great.

In a grim way, Semin and Ovechkin were lucky, because they had each other. At the time almost no NHL team had as many Eastern Europeans as the Caps, meaning almost all the others were alone.

Of course it just wasn’t possible for the North American public to grieve with them the way that Europe did, but how quickly it was boxed away and forgotten as a factor in players’ lives just…sucks.

You don’t just grieve somebody when you lose them; people who aren’t sure what to say will say it fades with time, but what it really does is rise and fall in waves. You grieve them when you lose them, and again when you’re as old as they were and realize how insufficient it really was, and again, when you’re older than they’ll ever be, when you’re old enough to see children their age. Like injuring your wrist, you can get back to work, but never back to exactly what you were before. 

Five years later, when Tarasenko scored his 100th goal, he dedicated it to Sobchenko and Urychev. 

Most of a decade later, Alex Ovechkin wears the Lokomotiv crest on his chest protector, over his heart.

So if we know all that, we can start to imagine why they sucked at hockey.

Actually, after a slow start to the season, Sasha sucked the least of all the Capitals. Always a stronger possession player than Ovechkin, Sasha actually recovered after the Caps brought in Dale Hunter, who ripped up the Goals First, Goals Always game plan and tried to make Ovi play defense. Sasha ended the season with the best possession metrics on the team (yes, including Nicke Backstrom). 

His goal-scoring didn’t recover, but that was because Coach Dale was basically treating him like Ovi’s security blanket, putting him on the second line with Mojo so Ovi couldn’t cuddle him until Ovi backchecked. Mojo (this is a Science fact) is not Nicke Backstrom.

The reason the Capitals traded Semin is they desperately needed to trade someone to make up for the team’s collective failures that year, he could be traded due to his shitty contracts, and he was worth trading. 

I’m not actually angry the Caps traded Semin. It made sense. I am mad the Habs did, because it was one of many decisions made by Marc Bergevin coughing up a heavily-gelled hairball on a depth chart, but hey.

Sports is hard. I don’t mean that teams should keep players who aren’t playing the way that team needs them to out of sympathy. I mean that it’s possible to say that Semin or Ovechkin sometimes play badly without saying they don’t care. It’s possible to name a practical problem without making it a moral one.

Because when we see someone not doing what we want, and we make it moral, we say, “well gosh, I can’t imagine a reason why they aren’t jazzed to do what I want right now, so there can’t be a reason, they just suck,” we’re always wrong, because we miss shit!

In 2011, the common complaint that Russian players “don’t seem to care” went from boring to breathtakingly cruel. 

It’s a collective failure of empathy, where a lot of us didn’t even know that empathy’s needed. How many NHL fans don’t know Lokomotiv existed? If we don’t even know what weight another person’s carrying, we can’t possibly judge them rightly! 

The athletes we’re watching aren’t just cartoon characters for American consumption, who always act and react in easily-readable ways. They’re people with beliefs, behaviors, and problems which might be meaningfully different from what we’re personally familiar with and really hard to sympathize with.  

But when we see someone struggling to do what we want them to, we have to wonder why, and look around to learn more about moments like this, and then offer empathy. I believe that if we have information, most people use it to be kind. So we really fucking need historical information.

I’m back on the floor and don’t have a closer, so here’s a picture of a cat with big mitts like Sasha. His name is Peppers.

[andrebearakovsky]

Top Chandler Stephenson Moments

His play was up and down over the years, but I actually really liked Chandler, especially at the beginning. But I could kind of see this coming. So I’m going to put together a little bit of a tribute of sorts recapping what I consider his best moments, because I am going to miss him.

And I of course cannot include everything he’s done and every piece of media he’s been in over the years, but I will do my best to include the better moments.

16. His participation in various Caps holiday videos

Capitals Tunes Vol. 2 (2017), Capitals Tunes Remix (2018), The 12 Days of Capsmas (2018)

15. When Kuzy descended upon him in this hug

Gif credit @faceoffs​

14. This very sweet video about him growing up in Saskatchewan (feat. his hot mom)

13. When everyone else said they wanted to win the Cup again but he said he wanted to skydive

12. When he looked hot getting ready for Nathan Walker’s wedding

Look, let’s be real. The number one thing we’re all going to remember Chandler for is being smoking hot. We were incredibly blessed by Nathan Walker inviting him to be in his wedding party and then capturing video of him getting ready while shirtless.

11. When his rock paper scissors win made Nicky cuss

10. When he beat Nicky at darts

Frankly I’m surprised that the Stephensons survived after beating the Backstroms at darts.

9. When the group celly just didn’t work out

Gif credit @welshhockeyfan​​

8. When he went to the HRC National Dinner

7. When his drawing skills were…questionable

Can he draw Nicky? No. Can he draw the Weagle? Also no.

6. When he played an eventful game of “Name That Capital” with Nicky

5. When he took a second job as Tom’s delivery boy

4. When he took the Cup to Humboldt

3. When his hustle and great pass beat out an icing and led to an amazing goal by DSP in Game 6 of the ECF

He didn’t score it, but this will be the goal I remember him for the most. Just a fantastic play all around, absolutely electric.

2. When Ovi held him in a death grip in the dying minutes of the Cup-winning game

Gif credit @goalofsson​

Quite possibly the image of him I will remember forever: the dying minutes of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Ovi has his arm around Nicky to hold Chandler in a death grip (and he will definitely, for sure die if he attempts to move), and then subsequently becomes a third wheel to 819 while caught in said death grip

1. My own personal memory of him

I don’t know if I’ve ever told this story on here, but now is as good a time as any to tell, and this will be by far my most lasting memory of Chandler Stephenson.

This happened well over a year ago; my friend and I were at the Caps practice facility, and we were sitting in the bleachers. Practice was winding down, and when everyone left, the ice we began our trek out of the bleachers and were headed for the shop or something. We passed some dude wearing a hoodie, we went around him without much notice. Then when we had gotten down from the bleachers, we looked back, and we realized that guy in the hoodie was Chandler fucking Stephenson. And we had walked right past him, like were inches away, and had no fucking clue it was him, just blew by him. At that point, it was too late to do anything about it, but that moment haunted me for months.

Then in December 2018, I heard that TJ Oshie and Chandler Stephenson were doing a meetup event at a car dealership in town. This was my chance for redemption. I had to go. And I went, and I finally got to meet him, and I finally got to redeem myself. But in a totally me move, I spent the entire time there freaking the fuck out about TJ (who is my all-time fave and the reason I got into hockey in the first place so this was a big moment for me) and basically crying when I got up there that I ignored Chandler the entire time. I think I may have briefly acknowledged his existence. But I did get a lovely beautiful photo.

We’ll remember Chandler for his smooth skating, and for being hot and having dimples, good bone structure, and a great beard (also, I’m begging, please try eyeliner, just once). He had a cute dog, an amazing mom, and his girlfriend Tasha was wonderful. I’m still mourning the fact that we never got to hear his goal song, which was reportedly the Friends theme song (because, of course, Chandler). He was excellent at hugs, and had close bonds with many on the team, but especially that contingent that all came up from Hershey around the same time. All the best to you in Vegas, Chandler, you were a good one.

BONUS: He had 14 regular season goals + 2 playoff goals with the Caps, and here are my favorites (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), plus a good defensive play

Thanks, Stevie

#chandler stephenson #washington capitals #original post #my stuff #long post #i hope you guys appreciate this

[shewrites02]

The Trinity |Golden State Warriors| Chapter One

Summary: Golden state rookie Quincy Williams feels he has found the love of his life, but how can he balance basketball, a new relationship, and growing fame.  

word count: 2.8k

"QUINCY! QUINCY!" Reporters shouted in the little room containing only his 5th post-game interview. He fiddled with the Rolex Stephen bought him, after He won their very first game for them. Now he began to feel as if he didn't deserve it. The screaming of reporters grew louder and Quincy new it was time to face the beast he created. He looked up and choose a reporter in the front row to answer to first. The room fell silent and all eyes now laid on the nervous ESPN reporter. He spoke timidly but his voice fell on Quincy like a thousand pounds. "You scored 23 points in the first quarter, an all time high for you so far this season. How much of an accomplishment was this for you in your rookie season?" Quincy's eyes squinted at the reporter causing the reporters hands to shake more vigorously. It was obvious that Quincy's 6'6, stocky, shooting guard stature was intimidating. And His hard expression helped none, at easing this reporters nerves. "It doesn't mean anything! We still lost, and a personal win doesn't mean a thing if your team lost. Ask me this when we win." Quincy hissed. He refrained himself from cussing knowing that wasn't a good headline for a rookie player. He didn't want to be labeled as another player with a "bad attitude." He knew that could ruin careers, and he didn't want to end his career before it even really began. "Just eight questions." Quincy mumbled to himself. Reminding him of the NBA regulations that permitted the players to only have to answer 8 questions in any interview. "QUINCY! QUINCY!" The reporters started to bark again. He picked another reporter. This time a women, who sat in the back with her hair tied. "Quincy do you feel your team mates gave this win away? Or do you think you needed more help out there? " "I feel as if mistakes were made among me and my team. Dumb turnovers and lazy defense on my part. Next question." He quickly brushed the insult he felt off his shoulder. He hated the fact they acted like Quincy was the only player out there, as if he didn't have the legendary Klay Thompson, and Stephen curry playing along side of him. It seemed to him these reporters were always trying to twist his words into him saying something bad about his team. As if he wasn't truly blessed to play with these guys. As the interview continued Quincy continued to get the usual post-game questions. Like 'why that shot? Or what was going through your head when..?' The same old things. Well that was until... "Quincy, you're known as showtime do you think you still live up to that expectation, or do you feel stripped of your title? " Quincy had never felt so offended. Them asking him that question was like them asking if he felt all those long practices on the court were for nothing, or if getting up at 5 o'clock to train alone was a waste of time. They were asking if HE had given up on his career this early in the season. Quincy clenched his fist and sat up in his seat. Fuck his image! He was finna tell every reporter how he felt! He opened his mouth to finally speak his mind like he's wanted to this entire interview. but then came Stephen, shirtless in his game day shorts, storming up the stairs of the stage like platform, then snatched the mic from Quincy. "Quincy Williams is still showtime, will always be showtime, and is the best rookie out right now! And anyone who questions that, questions me and the golden state warriors!" He defended. He then snatched Quincy up and dragged him to the locker room. The vets in the locker room laughed. Not at Quincy, but at the memory of their rookie seasons. They've all gone through being eaten alive by the press, and this moment just reminded them of that. "Are you stupid?" Stephen yelled at him jokingly before draping his towel across his shoulders. Quincy remained silent. He was still pissed and talking to his teammates, that took nothing but the games seriously, wasn't on the top of his to-do list. He just crossed his arms and leaned against his locker. "C'mon man. This shit happens to every great player, especially rookies. You gotta prove yourself. Despite the score." Klay informed him then headed to go take a shower himself. Quincy listened to his advice, but just didn't want to acknowledge it. Not now. His stubbornness wouldn't let him let this go. He snatched the basketball he kept in his locker and headed to the court. "Bruh, where you going?" Andre called after him. But nothing. Quincy walked on the court and took in the empty stadium. This was like his home to him, but he felt like his city was beginning to turn against him. He walked over to the 3-point line. Pulled up and shot the ball. Swish. "He dribbles down the court! The shot clock winding down, and for the game win..." He shot the ball again after acting out his play by play commentary, and once agin, swish. "Quincy Williams with the game winning shot!" He fetched his ball that was now down the court and headed to the center of the Golden state emblem. He sat down the ball in his lap then laid back staring up at the ceiling. "You need to go home rookie! Fuck the media!" Green yelled out to him as he exited the stadium. Considering the number of people left in the stadium was dwindling down, he agreed with Green's suggestion. He then entered the locker room and changed into his grey slacks with a red polo sweater, and exited the locker room with Steph. Some paparazzi still lingered, but wasn't too obnoxious that steph, and Quincy couldn't continue their conversation about the game. "That 3 you made in the corner toward the end of the second quarter was dope! I can't do that with all the luck in the world." Quincy confessed. Steph laughed. "Practice rookie! It took me from freshman year in high school til sophomore year in college to master that." Steph informed him. Steph had really taken Quincy under his wing, and watched out for him. He knew what fame could do to boy who never had anything. It could make him become arrogant, cocky, and NO golden state rookie was going to be that. They continued their conversation, and all Quincy could do was mess with his rolex. He was disregarding almost everything around at this point, even what steph was saying. All he could think was that he didn't deserve this anymore. Eventually they reached the player exit where Reily, and Ayesha where waiting. "Daddy!" Reily yelled. Her little legs moved swiftly as she went to embrace her dad in a hug. He swooped her up then swung her onto his hip. Ayesha then came and gently kissed steph, and whispered what Quincy assumed was good game. "Hi que!" Reily yelled, flailing her arms in a waving motion toward Quincy. She had trouble pronouncing his whole name, so he let her call him by his nickname. "Hey Reily, hi Ayesha.... I'll catch you later steph." Quincy went to exited from the family scene when steph called after him. "I bought that for a reason Quincy... believe in yourself." Quincy smiled and gave Steph a slight nod. He went out to the the car lot. The brisk Oakland air hit his face and immediately he regretted wearing a sweater in the hot Oakland weather. Moving quicker to get out the heat he found himself in front of his 2015 Benz that he bought himself the day he signed his contract. When he got in ESPN radio blasted throughout his car. "I don't know what got into Quincy Williams tonight Mike. He just.. wasn't himself." The radio host commented. Immediately Quincy shut off the radio. He looked down at the Rolex on his wrist then chunked it into the backseat. He didn't want to think about it let alone see it. As he cruised around the city he passed a diner his mom used to take him to when he was sad. Dirty Diana's. When he was in college he would drive all the way from UCLA to Oakland just to feel at home after a bad game. He parked and just peered into the tiny diner. Except from a little boy with his grandfather, and what looked to be a construction worker, the diner was empty. He took one deep breath before turning off the car and proceeded in. The little boy gasped as he noticed the first round draft pick in front of him. He repeatedly nudged his grandfather and pointed. Quincy noticed, and waved, but decided not to say anything. He loved his fans, but he wasn't in the mood right now. Quincy sat in a booth toward the back, and after a few seconds he was greeted by a waitress. When he looked into her eyes he was mesmerized at how beautiful simple brown eyes could be. It felt like just the two of them in that diner. Her smile was so soft and bright, it almost made Quincy forget how horrible he played tonight. Not only that but, her straight black hair reached down her back and shined against her brown skin. It reminded him of how his mother's hair was when he was younger. Her name tag read rosemary. "Sir?" She asked interrupting all these thoughts Quincy had going through his head. "My bad." He mumbled timidly. Which was strange for Quincy. He had always been so confident, so out-going, and definitely never one to shy away from a beautiful girl. "Can I have a slice of pie please?" "What kind?" "Which ever is your favorite." He replied softly. His flirting was almost so settle, she didn't notice. It he wasn't obnoxious like she was used to. So she didn't really know how to react to him, so she smiled and went to go his pie. "Rose, do you know who that is?" The cook, Sam, asked dragging her into the kitchen. She looked down at his hand on her arm, and his bug-eyed expression, and gotten a little afraid. She didn't know who he was, but apparently he was some big deal. "That's Quincy Williams! First round draft pick, plays for golden state! The boys the best rookie, since Jordan!" He whispered. He looked around as if he were afraid that Quincy was just gonna walk up behind them. Rosemary looked at him with a blank expression, he said a lot of words that she didn't understand. Like rookie, and first round draft pick. "Great?" She said in more of a question than an actual statement. She freed her arm from his hold, and went to get Quincy's pie. "Here you go." She smiled softly as she put the pie down in front of him. "Apple pie with ice cream." He announced before taking a big bite. "My favorite." She reminded. Quincy dropped his head and smirked a little bit. He thought she had kinda blown what he said earlier off, and paid it no mind. But he found it cute that she remembered. Rosemary went to continue her shift, but Quincy grabbed her hand and drew her back. It wasn't like she had a dinner of people to attend to. "Here." Quincy said handing Rosemary a spoon. She looked at him then around the dinner, as if she had a big responsibility to attend to. "C'mon... it's your favorite." She untied her apron then sat in the booth across from Quincy. "I'm taking a break sam!" She shouted over to the cook that had previously held her hostage in the kitchen. He glanced up at her with his eyebrow raised. She ignored him and took the spoon from Quincy. At first they sat in this comfortable silence. Quincy just admired her beauty as she sat in front of him oblivious to all the thoughts he had going through his head. He was astonished of the fact she hasn't said one thing about his career, or asked 'what is like being a pro-athlete?' Or any other question females, or people in general usually asked when first meeting him. "You have no idea who I am uh?" She had shoved another bite of pie in her mouth so all she could give Quincy was a puzzled look. She wondered why he cared so much whether or not she knew about his career. Then she came to the realization of how hard it must be for him to find a girl who's not a gold digger or something. "Well sam said something about you being some rookie baseball player or something.... Quinton Williams? And Something about you and Jordan. I don't know. " she confessed. To be honest she really hadn't paid that much attention to what sam was saying. She just assumed he didn't know what he was talking about. "Quincy." He stated laughing. She was the first person in a while who hadn't known him. Rosemary gave him another puzzled look. "What?" "Quincy... My name is Quincy. I'm a basketball player, I play for..." Quincy just stop talking. It was obvious that it didn't matter to Rosemary where he played, and if she didn't care it wasn't worth him talking about. "Your name, rosemary... I haven't heard that name in a while." She ran her fingers across her name tag, with a small smile on her face. It made Quincy curious to know what about her name was so special to her. "Common tell me." He cooed to her. She blushed a little bit. There was something about Quincy that reminded her of a high school crush. There was just something so... fun, and genuine about him. "I'm named after my grandmother. She was my best friend growing up.... I used to get picked on because of my name in elementary school. People would tell me to watch out before someone ate me or something. It's stupid now." Quincy couldn't refrain from laughing. Knowing him, he would've been one of those kids. She gasped hitting his chest. She wasn't mad he laughed, but she definitely didn't expect that! "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He pleaded. "But you have to admit... it's pretty funny." "It most certainly was not funny! I would cry because of that!" But rosemary, herself laughed. This was the first time she had laughed about the situation. She usually thought about as such a tragic thing, but now... it seemed less of a big deal to her. It was finally funny. "Before I started playing basketball I tried to play football, and I- I sucked. I was really bad." Quincy confessed as rosemary was dying laughing. "I tried to play almost every position. Quarterback, but I couldn't throw to save my life. I would constantly hit my line man with the ball in the back of the head. And I couldn't catch so the ball would fall right through my hands. I got called butter fingers til my freshman year " Rosemary laughed harder. She liked the fact Quincy would embarrass himself to make her feel better, and Quincy didn't mind doing so if it meant he got to see her smile again. "Well i guess it doesn't matter now Mr. Superstar." He looked down, after his performance tonight he was feeling less than a superstar. Rosemary sensed the tension that now lingered between them. "I'm didn't mean to say..." "No, it's not you. I just... bad game." He ended the conversation. He loved that he didn't have to talk about basketball with rosemary. He definitely didn't the want to start now. "So rosey...." Quincy went on to interrogate her on her whole back ground, as did she. Like where they were from, their family. Things like that. Quincy even told her about being cut from his his school basketball team his sophomore year, because of selling drugs trying to be a thug, and he had never told anyone that. Not even his mother. They had talked and laughed for hours. Shared secrets with each other. They even talked about their future goals. This was the first time in a long time Quincy had felt like he meet someone genuine. Someone who finally didn't care, or barley even knew about his career. I mean she didn't know much about basketball, but he could change that! "Rose, it's time to get back to work!" Sam yelled at her. She took a deep breath, and rolled her eyes. Only three more people had walked in, it wasn't like they really needed her. But Rosemary knew she couldn't argue after a 3 hour break. "I gotta go. But I'll see you later."

A/n: I really hoped y'all enjoyed this. I already have 5 other parts written so if you would like me continue lemme knowwww. Also if you’d like to be added to the tag list lemme know. 

Tag list: @loganwrites20 @terrablaze514 @shaekingshitup @highasfantasy

#golden state warriors #steph curry #klay thompson #basketball #fan fic