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katiemcabeswife · 5 months

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It's Not Your Fault.

Matildas x Fem!Reader

After losing against England in the semis, not only do you feel guilty but people are blaming you.

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: Vomiting, crying, threats (breifly mentioned), death (very breifly mentioned), self depricating thoughts, sad reader :(

You were one of the youngest players on the team, technically speaking you were the youngest being a few months younger than Mary. Despite your age, and compared to the other girls -your lack of experience, you were still a part of the starting lineup for the semi-finals against England.

You had played in all of the other games, if only for a few minutes at the end of a game, including the game against France. You participated in the penalty shoot-out and managed to get the ball past the keeper which brought you and your team to this point.

You were more nervous than excited but you wouldn’t admit that to any of the girls. The Matilda’s had made history for Australia and women’s soccer and that’s exactly what the girls would tell you for you expressed your worries about the game. They’d tell you that they along with the rest of Australia would have your back and no matter the outcome, everything would be ok. You didn’t want to listen to the girls lie to you, so you said that you were fine and excited.

It didn’t help that some of the girls apart of the Lionesses squad were your teammates from Arsenal. You were still kind of new to the club and were still building relationships with the girls and you didn’t want tension between the group if your team beat theirs or vice versa. Steph and Caitlin would be in the same position as you but they were already well settled into the team and you doubted a loss could ruin the relationships already built.

To sum it up you were shitting bricks and your stomach hurt from stress and worry. You smiled and chatted to the little girl you walked out with, sang the national anthem and smiled for the team picture but once the camera went down and you were in place, ready to start the game, you almost started crying and throwing up.

You didn't get any goals. Sam got one, but so did Ella. And Lauren. And so did Alessia.

You did however have almost the perfect shot but your anxiousness washed over you like a hot shower and you passed it off to Mary who missed. You know you should have taken it, everyone does. No one would blame Mary for missing but they would blame you for not taking the shot. Whilst the goal may not have made you win, it could have boosted morale and encouraged one of the others to get another goal that could have won it for Australia.

You passed the ball to Mary but you didn’t run towards an open space to give her options, you stood there with a blank face before bending over and clutching onto your stomach. You heard a few people boo when you chipped the ball and you knew they were booing you. You were booing you as well.

You walked up to Mary and pat her on the back, “I’m so sorry Mary, I should have taken the shot. I’m sorry, I panicked.” Your eyes had filled with tears and your free hand was still clutching your stomach.

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it,” Mary smiled at you in reassurance but you knew she was upset.

“I’m sorry,” You nodded to her before running back to position.

You lost the game for Australia and you felt worse than when you started. You barely held on when the final whistle sounded. You say yourself onto the floor before rolling onto your stomach and crying into your arms, trying to block out the lionesses celebrating. You tried to keep your shoulders still as you sobbed and held your breath when someone came and tapped you on the back or whispered to you that you played well.

You slowed your tears as you did the walk around and again when you and the whole team stood in a heart shape and listened to what Tony had to say, but you didn’t stop them when you walked through the tunnel. You didn’t say ‘Hi’ to any fans nor signed anything, you were sure no one would want to even look at you.

You walked right into the bathrooms and threw up everything you had in your stomach. You were dry-heaving when you felt someone rubbing your back. You leaned your forehead onto your arm and sobbed. The hand stayed there.

You weren’t sure whose hand it was as you stayed in the bathroom cubicle until Sam came and helped you stand before wrapping you into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Sammy. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” You repeated over and over as new tears began to fall.

"It’s ok, chick. It’s ok,” She reassured with tears in her own eyes.

“Everyone’s gotta hate me, I lost the game for us. I’m so sorry Sammy,” You sobbed loudly.

She pulled you away for the crook of her neck and held onto the sides of your face, “Chick, this is a team sport. You didn’t lose the game, we lost the game. It’s not your fault, no one hates you,”

“Maybe you guys don’t but everyone else will,”

“Well they can go fuck themselves, I’d like to see them play professional football,” You laughed lightly through sobs, “C’mon let’s get goin',” She kissed you on the forehead and guided you towards the bus.

Sam was right, but so were you. The girls didn't hate you or blame you, that you knew of, but the rest of Australia did. You were messaged horrible things, threats, death wishes and they were also commented on all of your socials even going back to your earliest posts.

Hayley caught you scrolling through the gate messages, turned off your comments and blocked everyone that DMed you. You were rooming with her so she heard you crying under your duvet and in the shower and tried to cheer you up.

You were grateful for her efforts but if anything, it made you feel more guilty. Yes, not only were you mourning the loss but also fighting against the immense hate you were getting but Hayley was also mourning the loss and you felt guilty that she was trying to take care of you when she should have been taking care of herself.

You ended up spending a lot of time in bed over the next few days, opting out of team bonding time, either sleeping or crying. When it came to training, as you had the match for 3rd place coming up, you were pushing yourself to a new limit and staying afterwards to continue practising.

After dinner with the girls, Hayley came into your room and sat you up against the headrest before turning the TV on. After flicking through a few channels, a familiar face popped onto the screen.

"The good thing about playing a team sport," Sam's voice filled the room, "Is that it's never one person's fault, or it's never one person that made the team win. And I think that without Y/N the whole team, I mean Tony will probably tell you, that our whole team plan changes. She's such a...an amazing player, and being so young she holds so much potential"

You had tears in your eyes as you continued watching the news. Chloe Logarzo also spoke on the matter which made your heart warm as you had never even spoken to the girl and she was defending your honour. Hayley let the news continue playing as she pulled out her phone and wrapped her arm around you.

She pulled up Instagram and clicked on various stories. All of your fellow Australians had posted pictures of you and them saying how proud they were of you, Ellie's kindly saying, "My superstar, leave her alone <3". Some of the girls from Arsenal even posted similar things that Hayley showed you before going into her camera roll and showing you pictures of fans with signs for you, those who also posted for you and those who had DMed you expressing gratitude for you and congratulating you.

You were crying again, but tears of happiness. Hayley hugged you before bringing you down to the girls who hugged you 'til you were scared their arms would fall off.

#matildas #auswnt x reader #woso x reader #matildas x reader #matildas imagine #woso imagine #woso one shot

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darkened-storm · 2 years

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O.C Origin Story

Because I just may never get around to writing all of this and I feel my readers need a bit of a back story going into the No Sacrifice, No Victory rewrite.

Read on for Steph and Becky’s version of events in my Beyblade universe

Japan Tournament (2000)

After losing spectacularly to her older cousin, Enrique, the Italian national champion, Steph Summers is offered a place on Team BBA, a new concept team run by Stanley Dickenson, the newly appointed chair of the Beyblade Battle Association. Excited at the chance to beat her cousin, Steph moves from Rome to suburban Japan, where she meets Dickenson’s protégé, Tyson Granger, an enthusiastic teenager who loves to Beyblade. Along with beyblade technician and strategist, Kenny, better known as the Chief, Steph and Tyson draw the attention of Kai Hiwatari and his crew of Beybladers, one of whom is Steph’s estranged cousin, Becky Carter. The Bladesharks are the current representative team of Japan, and are well known for their ruthless style of play and their tendency to destroy their opponents Beyblades, rather than just defeat them. After Tyson loses against Kai, Steph informs him that Kai’s strength comes from a sacred spirit contained inside his beyblade, the Phoenix, Dranzer. Determined to defeat Kai in the upcoming Regional Championships, Tyson discovers the family Bit-Beast, Dragoon, contained inside an old relic in his grandfather’s dojo. Steph trains Tyson and Max (Dickenson’s third recruit from America) in preparation for the tournament. She teaches Tyson to harness the power of Dragoon against her own bit-beast, Seraphina. Meanwhile, the Kai pits the Bladesharks against each other to determine their starting five for the tournament. Becky is defeated and defects to Team BBA after Carlos installs an illegal attack ring on his beyblade that destroys her Beyblade, Ophelia. In the Qualifying Tournament, Tyson meets and defeats Ray and his bit-beast, Driger whilst Max, despite discovering his own bit-beast, Draciel, is defeated by Kai. With Becky’s help, Kenny and Steph are able to come up with a strategy for Tyson to beat Kai and win the tournament. After the tournament, Stanley Dickenson officially announces the new Team BBA. Tyson, Max, Ray and Steph will form the starting lineup of the new national team, with Becky listed as a substitute and Kai as team captain. He dubs the new team; the Bladebreakers.

China and America Tournaments (2000) In order to prepare the rookie Beybladers for the World Championships in Russia that year, Dickenson sends them to Beyblade tournaments around the world - the first being the Chinese National Qualifiers, where Ray faces his former team, the White Tigers. The White Tigers are initially hostile to Tyson and his team for Ray’s defection, and it’s quite clear that the Bladebreakers are outclassed by the Chinese team. Still, with a bit of training, and some reluctant input from Kai, the Bladebreakers are able to defeat the White Tigers and win the tournament. Next stop is America, where the team spends time a Project Power Beyblade, an elite American development centre. Max’s mom, Judy Tate is the head researcher and coach of the PPB All Starz. Tyson, Ray and Max make up the final line up to defeat the All Starz and the team head over to Europe, with the intention of battling their way through Europe on their way to Russia.

European Tour (2000)

Tyson is defeated by Robert, the German Champion on their way from America to London and as such, Dickenson instructs Steph to introduce the team to each of Europe’s champions. Steph and Becky introduce the Bladebreakers to Oliver Polanski, the French National champion. Oliver questions her decision to leave Europe, stating that Japanese team will never be a match for the Russians, who are the current World Champions. Steph insists her decision was the right one, and encourages Tyson to challenge Oliver. When Tyson defeats Oliver, the French Champion encourages him to challenge Enrique in Rome next, much to Steph’s annoyance. She refuses to accompany the team to Rome, but later changes her mind, arriving moments before Tyson is defeated by Enrique. Steph, in anger at her cousin for allowing his bitbeast, Amphilyon, to attack Tyson directly instead of his beyblade, demands a rematch. Steph reveals to Tyson that Enrique’s biggest weakness is his lack of understanding of Amphilyon’s importance and their connection. With Kenny’s help, they tweak Tyson’s beyblade to give him the edge against Enrique to win the rematch. Humbled by his defeat, Enrique is able to make amends with Steph and Becky and begs Steph to return to the European team, the Majestics. Steph declines, stating that she started something with them and she intends to finish it. Enrique is glad that by doing so, the three cousins are no longer estranged. With Oliver and Enrique tagging along, the Bladebreakers head for Germany for a rematch with Robert. Tyson is unable to convince Robert to battle him again, instead Johnny challenges and defeats Kai, making it Kai’s only defeat since battling Tyson. Becky and Tyson both urge Steph to convince Robert and Johnny to a rematch, to which Robert initially declines until Steph proves she can defeat Johnny. Robert, impressed by how far Steph’s skills have come since leaving Europe offers agrees to the rematch on two conditions; the first that Steph and Becky, being former members of the Majestics, do not compete, and second; if the Majestics win, Steph and Becky return to the European team. Johnny adds a third request; that if the Bladebreakers lose, they forfeight their place in the Championships in Russia to the Majestics. Tyson, Ray and Max accept they conditions. Kai is furious that Steph gambled their place in the World Championships, reminding her that there are bigger things at stake than just a Championship Trophy, but Steph is unapologetic, stating that Dickenson intended for them to face the Majestics and that was why he recruited her to begin with. She teaches Kai to beat Johnny and the Bladebreakers win 2-1 over the Majestics before making their way to Russia.

World Championships 2000

On arrival in Russia, Boris Balkov, the coach of the Russian team invites them to Balkov Abbey, an orphanage where the Russian Team was recruited. The Abbey is a front for BIOVOLT, a beyblade organisation headed by Kai’s grandfather Voltaire with the intent of militarising the six sacred spirits controlled by the Bladebreakers and that Dickenson formed the BBA team to defeat BIOVOLT. Voltaire entices Kai into defecting by offering him Black Dranzer, a beyblade that has the power to capture other sacred spirits. When Mariah, Kevin and Lee of the White Tigers and Michael and Emily of the PPB All Starz lose their bit beasts, Tyson hatches a plan to break into the Abbey and steal them back. Becky, distraught over Kai’s deflection refuses to come along initially until Ray points out they don’t stand a chance of convincing Kai to come back without her. Tyson creates a diversion by battling Ian of the Demolition Boys, allowing Steph and Becky to sneak into the Abbey. They are seperated by Boris’s security traps and Steph stumbles upon a research lab containing BIOVOLTs genetically modified bitbeasts. She is confronted by Tala, captain of the Demolition Boys and Boris’s star pupil. Instead of sounding the alarm, he questions her. He is perplexed as to why she would go to so much effort for Kai after he defected, to which she states that if he had a friend, he would know why. Steph challenges his beliefs about Beyblading and bitbeasts, encouraging him to think about the true spirit of the sport. Tala reveals Boris’s plan for the bitbeasts and the Demolition Boys. Steph offers him the chance to run away, certain that Dickenson will take them in, which Tala seriously considers. Kai ultimately confronts Tyson and Becky, refusing to return and challenging them to a match at Lake Balkai in order to capture their bitbeasts as per his grandfather’s instructions. Steph, Tyson and Ray show up for the fight, but are no match for Black Dranzer until Max and Becky arrive. Together, they are able to defeat Black Dranzer and break it’s control over Kai. Kai almost drowns when the frozen lake is melted by the real Dranzer’s flames, but is rescued by the Bladebreakers. On their return route to Moscow, they are intercepted by the Demolition Boys. Ophelia and Draciel are lost in the ensuing battle, ruling Becky and Max out of the final match. In the championship, Steph ties her match with Ian, meaning the Championship will likely go to a fourth set. Ray defeats Bryan, but Kai loses to Spencer and Dranzer is captured in the process. The stalemate is set to be settled by a fourth match between Tyson and Tala. Max’ parents, along with Kenny and Becky work together to create and new and improved Dragoon. With Ray in hospital after his match, Steph, Kai and Ray prepare Tyson for his final match. Tyson takes the first match in the set, but Tala unleashes the power of all the bitbeasts Black Dranzer has captured. The extent of Boris and Voltaire’s experimentation is revealed as Tala withstands impossible feats from his bitbeast Wolborg that Tyson’s father, Tatsuya, considers impossible as a bitbeast draws on its beyblader’s strength. Tyson loses the second match, but despite all odds, wins the third match. The Bladebreakers defeat the Demolition Blys and become the World Champions. Voltaire is taken into custody by Interpol and BIOVOLT is dismantled but Boris escapes. Mr Dickenson pays for Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian to attend a private secondary school in London.

Beyblade V-Force

As World Championships are only held every second year, the Bladebreakers go their seperate ways, but reunite when threatened by the Saint Shields. The Saint Shields are custodians of bitbeasts, and when Voltaire is released due to lack of evidence, determine they must capture the six sacred spirits of the Bladebreakers to prevent their power being militarised. Team Psykick is created in Japan for that very intent. Their researchers create cyber versions of the Bladebreakers bitbeasts, building on Boris’s work in Russia. Tyson’s classmate, Hilary, gets caught up in the action, along with Kai’s classmate, Wyatt Smithwright. Wyatt becomes a test Beyblader for the prototype cyber bitbeast which goes awry, causing Wyatt to have a mental breakdown when Kai is forced to destroy the bitbeast. The Bladebreakers defeat both Team Psykicks and the Saint Shields, who allow them to keep their bitbeasts, on the condition that the Bladebreakers voluntarily surrender them if they are unable to keep them out of Voltaire’s hands.

The World Championships 2002 A year later, the format of the World Championships is changed to a tag-team event, splitting the Bladebreakers up. Rather than compete against each other for the two spots, Ray, Max, Steph and Becky elect to return to their respective teams. Tyson, feeling betrayed, vows to beat them all. The new BBA team is renamed the BBA Revolutions and Tyson’s brother Hiro returns to coach the team. Kai defects to the newly formed Blitzkrieg Boys, besting Spencer and Bryan for the second spot on the Russian Team with Tala. Newcomer, Daichi Sumeragi and his Strata Dragoon take Kai’s place. Steph and Becky return from Europe, warning Tyson of a new team, the Barthez Battalion, that defeated the Majestics in Europe. Robert and Johnny begin investigating the team’s coach, John Paul Barthez and are able to link him to BIOVOLT with Tala’s help. Tyson, Steph and Becky are able to convince Miguel to lead a revolt against Barthez. Barthez Battalion places last in the championship, Tyson and Kai face off again in the finals after Tala and Daichi tie their match and Wolborg and Strata Dragoon are too damaged for a rematch. Steph, Kenny and Becky rebuild Dragoon for the match and Tyson is victorious.

BEGA Uprising Upon their return to Japan, they are horrified to discover Boris has returned and staged a takeover of the BBA by discrediting Dickenson and the board of directors oust him. Boris forms BEGA as the new beyblade organisation of Japan. The former Bladebreakers refuse to take part in Boris’s league, leaving them unable to rebuild their Beyblades when BEGA demands all beybladers carry licenses to buy and sell beyblade gear. Boris instates Garland Siebalds, Ming Ming Love, Mystel and Crusher as the new representative Japanese beybladers for the next WBBA championships. Hiro abandons the BBA and becomes coach of BEGA, alienating Tyson and his friends. Tala, Spencer and Bryan confront Boris at BEGA HQ, defeating all the BEGA initiates and demanding Boris disband BEGA. The Bladebreakers get wind of Tala’s plan and rush to help, but by the time they arrive, Tala has already lost to Garland and is placed in a coma to recover from injuries sustained in the battle. Steph is distraught over Tala, but pours her energy into helping Kenny develop his own beyblade system, the Heavy Metal system. Kai defects to BEGA but is sorely beaten by Brooklyn. Tyson rallies his friends, and with the support of every beyblader they have met across the tournaments, reform the team as the G Revolutions. Steph surrenders her place as the fifth beyblader when Kai returns in order to let him have his rematch with Brooklyn, which she regrets as even though Kai wins, his bond with Dranzer is destroyed. With Tyson’s victory over Brooklyn, BEGA is disbanded and the BBA reinstated. Hiro returns to help Dickenson rebuild, admitting to himself that he left to create a bigger challenge he knew Tyson could overcome, even if it damaged his relationship indefinitely with his younger brother.

Introduction to NSNV The World Championships are placed on hiatus while the BBA, a major contributor to the WBBA reforms. Kai and Tala leave to find Dranzer in Russia, leaving Becky’s relationship with Kai undetermined. Steph and Becky return to Italy to participate in the Italian Championships. Becky is defeated by Steph, who is in turn beaten by Enrique once again. Steph, now seventeen, considers retiring from Beyblading in order to focus on getting into college. She attends summer school in London and is reunited with Dickenson’s grandson, Matt Ishida. Matt’s indifference to Beyblading gives Steph a much needed break, but ultimately she realises she’s not ready to retire and returns to the Bladebreakers.

#beyblade fanfiction #Beyblade season 4 fic #beyblade #beybladeNano #beyblade oc #steph summers #Becky Carter

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danny-chase · 3 years

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The Batfam as Tech Majors

AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.

Dick:

Mechanical Engineering Major

He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible

He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad

Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there

He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take

Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it

He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes

This gives him a bunch of random knowledge

When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.

He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.

His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.

He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it

Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club

He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major

Barbara:

Computer Science/Math duel Major

She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient

Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate

She’s the curve breaker

She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned

She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream

Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program

She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating

The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals

Jason:

Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major

He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers

Jason lives in the library

He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up

He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments

He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program

He volunteers for a local robotics team

When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well

He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child

Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack

Someone choked in front of him on the first day

Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die

Cass:

Innovation/Design Major

She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them

Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind

Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone

She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them

She has patents for the inventions she created at WE

She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself

It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!

The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass

There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony

Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship

She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius

Tim:

Computer Science Major with a minor in game design

He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures

He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long

He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up

He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due

If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due

This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters

He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently

This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset

Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts

He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club

Against all odds, he joined a fraternity

Dick literally fell off a building when he found out

He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am

He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either

He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend

Steph:

Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science)

She gets constantly shit on for being a civie

Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background

She and Jason complain about the disrespect together

She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition

She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible

But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all

She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?

She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students

She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign

She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes

She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating

She joined a sorority and had a blast

They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well

Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention

She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities

Duke:

Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience

Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year

Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him

He joins a variety of professional groups as well

He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs

But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume

He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on

When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join

He ends up meeting like half the campus

He unintentionally has become a god of networking

Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate

He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)

He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives

He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates

Harper:

She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering

She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE

She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps

She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project

She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee

She’s in the front row in every lecture

She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep

She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop

Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill

She refuses to work there

Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam

She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time

They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so

Cullen:

I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major

He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs

They have a million inside jokes

To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language

He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested

Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O

He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well

It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat

He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat

Damian:

Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology

He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal

He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein

He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)

He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals

He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time

He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)

He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again

He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club

They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook

He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun

He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks

Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)

Bonus Bruce:

He cries at every graduation

He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation

He never does - it’s about his kids, not him

He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know

He sobbed for days after Cass graduated

He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate

After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit

He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience

The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something

But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge

But in a pinch, he can fix stuff

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fastbreakpoints · 2 years

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why is there always media trying to destroy JT and JB's relationship on the court (and off I guess)? maybe i don't know enough about basketball positions but like... klay and steph are both shooters, and so is kd, that combination led to multiple championships.

it's because people are convinced that a team built around two wings won't work -- despite, like, the kawhi pg clips existing and getting to the conference finals just last season lmao.

and like, i do understand why people who haven't been watching them regularly over the past 5 years think that a team built around the jays won't work, but like. the media loves to talk about how dysfunctional the celtics were or are while they also ignore the fact that this season is the first time since jayson got drafted that the roster is actually, literally built around them -- give them a little time (and health, for the love of god lol) to figure things out.

we also have g*ry w*shburn and j*hn k*ralis and whoever the fuck talks about the celtics on WEEI and CLNS talking about how the jays don't know how to lead, how they aren't passionate enough about winning, etc. and like, not everyone is gonna be kevin garnett, not everyone is gonna be marcus smart. people lead and are passionate in their own ways, and both jays have spoken about this multiple times, and i don't know why people who have no idea what goes on inside that locker room talk about it like they do!!!

also for some reason jayson and jaylen have people all over boston and national media CONVINCED they secretly hate each other -- again, despite multiple evidence proving the exact opposite -- which only adds to the whole "they're overlapping talents, one of them has to go, they can't coexist together, etc" talk.

#they're just quiet people who have different interests #they don't have to be best friends for life to understand and support each other off the court and make things work on the court lmao #''they haven't had playoff success'' except they did!!! they haven't missed the playoffs since jaylen got drafted. they've made it to the #ECF 3 times since that. 2 times since they've been playing together. jaylen JUST turned 25 and jayson is even younger #the only two times they haven't been to the conference finals were because of (gestures broadly at whatever the fuck the 2018-19 celtics #had going on and covid ball + jaylen's broken wrist last season)#like #they're young they're only getting better they have proven multiple times that they DO FIT. give them time and let them be the homegrown #version of kawhi and pg!!! you know #anon #defending the jays from media people isn't enough i need a gun i need to blast chris m*nnix's kneecaps with a baseball bat etc

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floraluniversal · 3 years

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I am so emotional about Stephanie’s final arc, the whole plot up to this point had her slowly be forced to steer herself away from her morals for the sake of others, and this final part is the breaking point with her standing completely on the opposite side of her beliefs.

It’s dumb, but it’s what helps me with the crushing thoughts I’ve been having lately, so here’s the simplified (which is still very long) version:

The previous story had her earn her freedom as a universal and she decided to seek out the final surviving universal (Nina who spent her entire life hiding in a forest full of tormented spirits, not a good place to be if you wanna stay sane, but a good way to keep everyone away) and extend that freedom to her as well, to swear to protect her, but it didn’t go well. The hunters finally gathered the courage to infiltrate the forest and followed Stephanie to get to Nina, their final target. Nina had deluded herself into believing that Stephanie got her freedom from promising to help them get her. Knowing she had nowhere to run and couldn’t fight, Nina, in a final desperate act of revenge, tore her soul out of her body and shattered it, using her soul wish to revive every single universal they ever killed, making them “do it all again”. Beams of pure white light washed over the world as those who had their life taken by force were awakened once more. Thanks to the whims of fate, Stephanie found herself standing before a little girl emerging out of the white light (she and Ash, who is also revived, end up forming a parental bond with this girl, adopting her at the end as their own). Seeing how young the girl was immediately broke her heart and it was about to break further. After the group attempted to gather up the universals and joining forces with a group of witches (The Scarlet Witches) fighting for magical creatures’ rights, they managed to get all of them in the Palace of Destiny (massive palace in the capital of Tanesia). All 400+ of them, and the great majority of them were very young. Stephanie promised that she will save them from their fates, that they deserve to live as long as she has.

She and Aurora (Icy post dramatic reveal :0, queen of Tanesia) attempt to negotiate with the Alliance of the Eight Kingdoms (imagine the league of nations, but with magical kingdoms), but they did not budge. They told them that they either stand with them or against them, revealing that they only granted Stephanie freedom because she hadn’t outlived her usefulness to them yet. The two women refused to fight against the universals and were attacked by the alliance, struggling to even make it out of the city. Tanesia was denounced as a kingdom and other nations swiftly moved in to take its lands, while the alliance started attacking the group of universals. At first it seemed like our heroes could win, blah blah blah, the situation ends up turning against them as the public turns against them as well, fighting intensifies and casualties mount. Stephanie had lost some of the children, many Tanesian warriors and some of the Scarlet Witches, and she feels responsibility for each of these deaths as well as the lives of the hunters they were forced to take. She’s deeply ashamed of herself, all she ever wanted was to walk the path of peace, but ended up on the path of bloodshed, and there was no way to go back. She can barely bear to face herself, let alone her friends and family. She begins isolating herself, stops relying on others, feeling the need to fix this all herself, so no one else is lost. Paranoia leads her to patrol the young ones’ sleeping quarters every night. She begins losing weight, energy and power, which leads the group to lose the fight more than they already have.

Eventually our heroes end up surrounded in a base with insufficient supplies, not enough room for everyone with their only defense being the bubble protection spell Stephanie put around the whole base. Everyone kept telling her to let go, to rest, conserve her energy, that they can hold up the bubble together while she rests, but she refused. She promised them all a life she could not give in the end. Stephanie managed to hold up the bubble for a month, unable to move, eat, sleep or talk with anyone, while feeling all the damage done to it on her own body. It was just her and her thoughts, basically surviving on magic alone until she couldn’t hold up the bubble anymore and she collapsed. One last desperate fight broke out between the hunters and our heroes. Stephanie, having woken up again in the middle of the fighting with little to no power remaining thought about how this all started because of her... That’s when it hit her. A desperate solution for a desperate situation. To end this the way it began. The fighting ceased as everyone’s attention was brought to the shambling broken corpse of a woman walking through the battlefield and the hunters flee when they see what she’s holding up- her own soul. This whole conflict broke Stephanie, the weight of over 400 lives resting on her shoulders, forced to take the life she valued so deeply. She lost the one thing that was dearly important to her: her love for life. Despite everyone’s protests and attempts to stop her, this was her final chance for redemption, to walk the path of peace again. She shattered her soul and being the strongest universal of the century, she used all that power locked within the center of her soul to create a whole new world, one only meant for them, where they could be safe and happy, completely erasing herself in the process.

Everyone was broken up, they had all come to love Stephanie throughout this conflict and the one who took this the worst was her sister, Ember. Ember almost never cries, choosing to stay strong for others, but watching her sister fall apart before her very eyes absolutely shattered her as she broke down violently sobbing, she made it her purpose in life to keep the sister she loved so much safe and she couldn’t do it in the end. The group had no body to bury, so Ember decided to bury a drawing Steph did for her when she was 8, one she had kept on her at all times. And with the bittersweet resolution to this struggle, everyone worked together with heavy hearts on building a new home.

But don’t worry, this story has a happy ending! The goddesses were impressed with the final act carried out, no mortal has ever created a world before. Usually, when a mortal impresses a goddess, they end up making that mortal a demigod and with that a new element is born, but Stephanie was completely gone... No mortal can put together a soul as some pieces of it are lost immediately... But the goddesses can. All souls come from their souls, thus they can fill in the pieces that were lost. It took them 3 years to put the soul back together and a year to grow her a new body, but eventually they were able to return Stephanie to her family, to enjoy her creation. This new community they had built rejoiced that they got their lost friend back and the goddesses promised to not appoint any new universals in the other world.

The lost pieces caused her to lose a few of her memories, but that was probably for the best... She had to relearn how to walk and talk and do tasks, lost most of her magic capabilities and it took her a few years to completely recover from the trauma, but she finally got the thing she desired: A family and a place she and everyone else could belong.

I don’t think anyone will read through this, but if you do: Kudos to you for having this much patience with my bullshit! I know it’s not a super good story, but as long as it helps me with my thoughts!

#Out Of The Garden || OOC #Mun babbling about story stuff that doesn't matter to this blog #If you do end up reading this let me know what you think #majority of the locations and concepts have already been set up in the previous arc of the story #Lore

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our-happygirl500-fan · 4 years

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I think one of the reasons I like the Tim, Steph, Cass trio so much and why it’s so popular despite the fact that the only time we ever really see them team up together is in Batgirl Convergence and we practically never saw them team up in their smallest forms of Robin, Spoiler and Batgirl is that when they are kids they are each one part of a shounen anime protagonist formula.

Now stay with me here shounen is a very popular genre of anime that has drawn us all in at one point of another and in good shounen anime typically, their protagonists all hold three base qualities.

1. They want to be the best at whatever they do

This is seen most commonly in pretty much ever shounen anime, the character wants to be the best, the character wants to be perfect, they want to be the greatest hero or pirate king or hokage or win nationals in volley ball or whatever the general aim is. The point is to be the *best* to be *perfect* not good, not better than expected, perfect. And we like watching the protagonist work towards that goal, we like expecting that goal of them and eagerly wait to see it’s fulfilment for the day where they truly stand on top of everything as the best.

2. They want to get stronger

OP protagonists are par for the course but they are supposed to happen eventually. Having a protagonist that can beat any one and anything from the get go can be done but it’s very easy to mess up and has to be done very well. What is most common and popular in shounen is a character who has work to do before they reach their goal. Maybe they have something special or a little help but most of the time they are the underdog that has to work to prove themselves that has to train and train so they can stand on the stage with every one else and show how badass they are once they get the chance. The underdog characteristic is supposed to be relatable and everyone loves a good underdog, maybe the character has a demon inside them that makes the entire village hate them, maybe they’re the only normal person in a world of super powers, maybe they’re just a guy from a restaurant at a fancy cooking school whatever the point is there has to be some kind of obstacle that they have to get over, that they have to prove themselves good enough to even try, they endeavour constantly to grow and get stronger and prove themselves.

3. Morals and Ideals

The protagonist nearly always must be the centre of morality, they need to be constantly making speeches to talk down villains and inspiring friends and allies. The protagonist must have ideals and hopes and heroics that pushes themselves and others forward in order to show the good in the world and what they are fighting for.

Each one of these points are a core trait of the Tim, Steph, Cass trio as Robin, Spoiler and Batgirl. That isn’t to say they don’t also have the other two traits in them as well because they do but those are the largest and the main trait they each have in their most inexperienced forms.

1. Cass represents the shounen trait of wanting to be the best, Cass wants to be perfect at what she does. Cass is proud of her fighting skill and wants to use it to its perfection so much so that she is willing to die in order to be perfect the amazing line of “I can be good enough for a life time of perfect for a year” is a clear example of this. Cass as Batgirl in particular is a very power oriented character and she very much constantly wants to be as skilled and powerful as she possibly can be and her ultimate goal is to be Batman herself.

2. Steph represents the shounen trait of wanting to get stronger. Stephanie Brown is a character of skill, talent, passion and drive but for one reason or another she’s always got something stopping her from reaching her full potential an obstacle is always in her way, as soon as she reaches a goal the hoop moves, as soon as she’s got her feet under her the ground disappears below her feet. Every time some one agrees to train her they leave because their own personal life is a mess (Black Canary, Catwoman, Batwoman ect), Batman gives her a hard time because she reminds him of his dead son, she struggles to get respect in the super hero community because she doesn’t have a mentor or powers, she’s treated poorly because she grew up in poverty with an addict mother and a criminal father. Steph’s entire life is full of obstacles that are completely out of her control and completely not her fault but Steph’s entire time as Spoiler is about constantly over coming these obstacles and moving forward and trying again and again giving her all until she dies and then coming back to life and continue trying. Steph’s entire character is about moving forward and getting stronger, trying no matter what.

3. Though Tim would eventually grow up to be cynical as Robin pre Steph’s death Tim represents the shounen trait of morality and ideals. As Robin Tim is a very idealistic character, he’s always preaching stuff everywhere. He gives speeches that stealing soda is a slippery slope to a girl who grew up in poverty the boy practically talk no jutsued his way into becoming Robin. As Robin Tim’s character is very firmly based in morals and ideal and those ideals and morals are still there even after the death of practically everyone he loves.

So yeah that’s why the Batgirl Spoiler Robin trio is so popular even though Tim and Cass didn’t even like each other until after Steph’s death they each hold a core trait of a shounen protagonist and combined would make the perfect protagonist and that’s why we love the three of them together as they can take each individual trait and hone them into beautiful character arcs and stories.

#DC comics #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #tim drake #dc

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inevitably-johnlocked · 5 years

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Hi steph. Do you have a fic rec list of novel- long fics? Ta

AHHHH Nonny you’re in luck! As I’ve been sorting, I’ve been separating them into word length too, LOL. And seeing as it’s National Novel Writing Month, I think this is a great time to give our fandom writers love and appreciation for their novel-length works!

So I Googled how long a basic novel is, and according to this site, it’s between 40k and 90k. Hmm, well, I have them sorted in 25K chunks, so I’ll start at 50K to 100K, since it works seeing as NaNo’s writing goal is 50K :D).

I really hope you enjoy! :D Love all you authors so very much, and I look forward to this year’s submissions!

NOVEL LENGTH FICS (50 - 100 K WORDS)

Triage by scullyseviltwin (E, 51,612 w. || Character Injury, Introspection) – Sherlock’s mind goes exceedingly, devastatingly quiet and gray-blank. When he speaks it’s through a thick haze, it’s through molasses, he’s so disconnected from the words that it may as well be the unconscious shooter speaking.

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing...and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes... and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they're both so very, very rubbish at talking.

The Homecoming Series by sussexbound (M, 51,744 w. across 12 stories, WIP || Domestics, PTSD, Love Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling, Jealousy, Family Issues, Cuddling) – Sometimes home is all you need. After three years of horror, betrayals, and crushing loss, John and Sherlock find their way back home to one another, and together find new footing in a world that has changed forever.

Spare Change by Ermerness (E, 51,966 w. || Rich Holmeses AU || First Kiss / Time, Holmes Family, Virgin Sherlock, Anal, First Meetings) – The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family's private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it's time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.

Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w. || Dollhouse AU, First Time/Kiss, BAMF John, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Case Fic) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”

Lost Without My Blogger by starrysummernights (E, 52,155 w. || Rev. Reich, PTSD, Hurt / Comfort, Fluff / Angst, Psychological Torture, Reunion Fic, Friends to Lovers) – John is abducted and declared dead. How will Sherlock cope without his blogger? How will he react when John comes back from the "dead?" Drama and angst with a healthy dose of romance. Part 1 of I'd Be Lost Without My Blogger

John Watson's Twelve Days of Christmas by earlgreytea68 (M, 53,464 w. || Christmas, Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Alternate First Meeting, Falling in Love, Fluff and Angst, Hardcore Pining) – It's the holiday season. John Watson needs money. Sherlock Holmes needs something else.

Fan Mail by scullyseviltwin (E, 53,942 w. || Stalking, Obsessive Fans, Angst) – “WatsonChick143 has been rather maniacal in her commenting as of late... she’s left comments on everything you’ve posted John, something so obvious can’t have escaped even your attention."

Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (E, 54,437 w. || Post S3 || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world ... and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

Guilty Secrets by Ellipsical (E, 55,086 w. || Drumsticks, First Time, Love Confession, Self-Sexual-Discovery) – John has a prostate exam and discovers something surprising about himself. Experimentation follows. Sherlock wants to help. They're in love. You know the drill.

Wars We Fought, Things We're Not by blueink3 (M, 55,204 w. || Parentlock, Fluff & Angst, Kidnapping, Whump, Post-TAB, UST, Slow Burn, Couple for a Case) – Five months after John's world has fallen apart, Mycroft sends the consulting detective and his doctor on a case that neither is prepared for.

The Great Sex Olympics of 221B by XistentialAngst (E, 58,611 w. || First Time/Kiss, Experiments / Sexual Experimentations, Multi Pairings) – John Watson thinks Sherlock Holmes should admit that he, Watson, is more of an expert on sex than Sherlock is. But Sherlock refuses to concede the point. He comes up with an experiment plan that will resolve the issue. The results will determine who wins the prize. But sometimes even the best thought-out scientific study has unexpected consequences.

Bridging the Ravine by SilentAuror (E, 58,887 w. || Post S4, Couple For a Case, Bed-Sharing, First Times, Confessions, Awkwardness, Sex Trafficking) – Sherlock and John go undercover at Ravine Valley, a therapy centre for same-sex male couples in an investigation into a possible human trafficking ring. As they pose as a couple and fake their way through the therapy sessions for the sake of the case, it quickly becomes difficult to avoid discussing their very real issues. Set roughly six nine months after series 4.

The Book of Silence by SilentAuror (E, 60,056 w. || S4 Fix It / Post S4, Virgin Sherlock, Rosie / Parentlock, Domesticity, Fluff, Praise Kink, Sex Toys, First Person POV) – As spring blooms in London, John and Sherlock begin to take new cases and cautiously negotiate this new phase of life with John living at Baker Street again. Despite how well it's all going, John struggles to forgive himself for the way he treated Sherlock following Mary’s death as well as trying to figure out how to finally put his long-time feelings for Sherlock into words. Part 1 of The Book of Silence/Rosa Felicia

Scars by SilentAuror (E, 60,493 w. || Rape / Non-Con / Abuse, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Dub Con Elements, Homophobia, Angst With Happy Ending, Mary is Not Nice) – S3 rewrite, showing Mary’s manipulation of John as he realizes his love for Sherlock. Mary is not having it.

The Progress of Sherlock Holmes by ivyblossom (E, 62,006 w || Sherlock POV, Pining, Angst, Slow Burn, Infidelity, Sherlock Learns About Himself, Happy Ending) – Sherlock struggles with his feelings for John, makes a mistake, and learns just how important he and John are to each other. Non-BBC Mary / John, but it’s a *complicated* relationship.

An Experiment in Empathy by belovedmuerto (T, 62,397 w. across 13 stories || Empath AU || Psychic John, Psychic-by-Proxy Sherlock, Empathy, Psychic Bond, Romance / Bromance) – In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is.

Perdition’s Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w. || Treklock AU, Est. Rel, Genetic Engineering, Angst & Fluff, BAMF!John) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe

Bedtime Universe by Liketheriver (M, 65,173 w. across 2 stories || Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Angst, Humour, Case Fic) – John's POV during Season 2 and beyond when Sherlock takes up semi-permanent residence in his bed. A collection of codas and missing scenes wrapped up into one long fic and topped with a bow that takes the story beyond Reichenbach and into happy territory once more.

Watches 'Verse by bendingsignpost (E, 66,905 w. across 2 works || Magical Realism, Reality Distortion, Angst, Partial MCD, BAMF John) – First, he is shot in Afghanistan. Second, he wakes to a phone call in Chelmsford, Essex. Third is pain, fourth is normalcy, fifth is agony and sixth is confusion. By the eighth, he's lost track. (John-centric AU) Part 1 of Watches 'Verse

You Have Drawn Red From My Hands by J_Baillier (T, 67,085 w. || Three Garridebs, Heavy John Whump, Hurt / Comfort, Pining, Heavy Angst, Case Fic/Adventure, Slow Burn, Sick Fic, Injury, Guilt & Depression, Just Talk Already Please, Medical Realism, PTSD) – John getting injured leads Sherlock on a path of guilt and revelations.

Electric Pink Hand Grenade by BeautifulFiction (E, 67,718 w. || First Time / Kiss, Seizures, Headaches) – "If Sherlock's brain is a hard drive, then these attacks are an electro-magnetic pulse." Sherlock Holmes does not do anything by half, not even a migraine. It falls to John to witness one of the greatest minds he has ever known tear itself apart, and he must do his best to help Sherlock pick up the pieces.

The Green Blade by verityburns (T, 72,929 w. || Casefic, Bromance) – As a serial killer hits the headlines, the police are out of their depth and the next victim is out of time. With faith in Sherlock Holmes at an all time low, this is a case which will push loyalties to the limit...

Darkling, I Listen by You_Light_The_Sky (T, 73,254 w. || Fairy Tale AU || Loosely Based on Beauty and the Beast, Magical Realism, Suicidal Themes, Romance, Creepiness, Adventure) – No one who enters old London ever comes out. They say that the beast devours them. When his sister disappears, John ventures into the dead zone beyond the wall, and finds a brilliant madman under a terrible curse... Part 1 of Darkling I Listen + Extras, Deleted Scenes

The Moonlight and the Frost by CaitlinFairchild (E, 77,289 w. || Case Fic, Post-HLV, Self Harm, Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Oral/Anal/Rimming, Romance, Angst, Mary is Not Nice) – John has to somehow rebuild his life in the wake of Mary's betrayal and Sherlock's deceptions.

A Cure For Boredom by emmagrant01 (E, 81,665 w. || Dirty Talk, Threesomes, Light Dom/Sub, Sex Club, Experiments, Anal, Mildly Dubious Consent) – They'd never talked about sex in the year they'd known each other. Well, that wasn't quite correct: Sherlock had never said a word about sex; John had bemoaned his personal dearth of it on many occasions.

Secrets and Revelations by Hisstah (E, 83,535 w. || Sentinel / Guides AU, Omegaverse, Aventure, Violence, Anal / Oral, Omega!John / Alpha!Sherlock, Case Fic, Politics, Mild DubCon) – Dr John Watson has some major secrets that he's kept from his flatmate, Alpha Sentinel Sherlock Holmes. Now the Sentinel Tower is after him. Can John stay out of their hands until he can reveal his secrets to Sherlock? Part 1 of Secrets and Revelations

Uphill by scullyseviltwin (E, 84,945 w. || Olympics AU || Sherlock POV, Skier!Sherlock / Medic!John, Rivalry, 2014 Olympics, Happy Ending) – Sherlock Holmes is striving for gold in this, his fourth and final Olympics as a downhill Alpine racer.

Not Broken, Just Bent by Schmiezi (E, 87,585 w. || Pining, Love Confessions, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Villain!Mary, Suicidal Ideations, Main Character Death, Sherlock POV, Eventual Happy Ending) – "For a second, I allow myself to remember teaching John how to waltz. There is a special room in my mind palace for it. A big one, with a proper parquet dance floor. For a second, I go there. I remember holding him, closer than the World Dance Council asks for, excusing it with the fact that we are training for a wedding, not for a competition. For a second, I feel his hand on mine again, smell his sweat, hear the song we used. For a second, I allow myself to love him deeply. For a second, only a second, that love reflects on my face." Fix-it for S3, starting at the end of TSoT. Evil Mary.

Bleed Me Out by antietamfalls (E, 87,987 w. || Vampire AU || Bonding, Vampire Sherlock, Fluff & Angst, H/C, John Whump, Magical Realism) – John isn’t exactly surprised to discover that Sherlock isn't human. His vampirism doesn't pose a problem, even when their relationship gradually grows into something more. That is, until a deadly revelation about John’s blood sends their lives spinning dangerously out of control.

A Case of Identity by jkay1980 (T, 91,009 w. || Fake Relationship, Post-TRF, Case Fic) – John and Sherlock have succeeded in rebuilding their friendship after Sherlock’s fake suicide, but an unusual case puts their relationship to the test. They pretend to be engaged and attend a marriage counseling workshop. Under the pretext of the case, Sherlock turns out to be a master of seduction, and John finally learns he might like Sherlock more than he thought. Slowly, John discovers that he loves Sherlock not only in a friendly, brotherly way, but both men have to fight their own demons before they can think of taking their relationship to a new level… [[I love this fic. It’s a really great long-fic!]]

The Stars Move Still by BeautifulFiction (E, 96,022 w. || Magical Realism, Demons, Slash to Pre-Slash, AU, Happy Ending) – "What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?"

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #novel length fics #long fics #Anonymous #50 to 100k #long post #nanowrimo

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trbl-will-find-me · 6 years

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Every Exit, An Entrance (26/?)

There are two (and only two) possibilities: either she led XCOM to victory and they are now engaged in a clean up operation of alien forces, or XCOM was overrun, clearing the way for an alien-controlled puppet government to seize control of the planet.

She’d really like to figure out which it is, but asking hardly seems the prudent option. Read from the beginning on AO3

The first story breaks in the Buenos Aires press, a front page, side column feature about mysterious footage and documents depicting an attempted abduction in the city at the height of the invasion.

There are details from the leaked After Action Report, quotes from the aftermath of the initial attack, and follow up with survivors. It’s an article focused on the facts, backed up by a respectable bit of legwork, and blessedly free from the taint of sensationalism. It’s picked up quickly by the local news, and then the national. The wire services begin to circulate it shortly thereafter.

It’s a curiosity, not a headline, a reminder to the public that, despite the devastation, there were those who fought back, who did what they could to push back the incursion wherever the aliens appeared. It is a reminder that those who fought remain cloaked in intrigue, in governmental denial and official non-existence. She wagers the story is enough to spark the demand for more --- nothing like a mystery to spark a readership’s curiosity.

Shen seems to agree, offering her a quiet nod of congratulations as the story continues to spread.

The game is afoot.

“Commander,” Central greets her as she steps into Mission Control.

“Central. Anything interesting?”

“Dr. Vahlen would like to see you. She has concerns about recent events.”

Her heart stutters. “Could you elaborate?”

“She’s concerned the research team’s work may not be secure.”

She draws in a small breath and lets it out slowly. We still have time, she reassures herself. “Dr. Shen made it clear the intrusion didn’t impact weapons development work or interrogation logs. That data is still secure.”

“Her concerns were more … academic in nature.”

The comment catches her off guard. “We won a war, and she’s worried about someone scooping her credit?”

“She’s of the opinion that the discoveries made over the course of the Invasion will lead to significant advances; she’d like to ensure her name, and the names of her people, are attached.”

She can’t say she’s unsympathetic. Academia has never been kind to women, particularly not to women in the hard sciences. She can’t argue Vahlen’s brilliance or skill in managing her department. They would never have survived the initial onslaught, let alone the full scope of the conflict, without the woman’s passion, dedication, and astonishing talent for assembling disparate scraps into a coherent analysis. There is no doubt in her mind that Vahlen is deserving of accolades; she had just hoped to keep their work out of the realm of ‘publish or perish.’

“Has Dr. Shen expressed similar concerns?”

“No, but he does have an updated timeline for global Firestorm coverage.”

“How bad?”

“Start of the second week of March.”

She cocks her head. “That’s not too terrible, given the past few weeks. The update should soothe the Council’s nerves.”

Bradford meets her gaze, but is silent for a beat. The meaning is clear: Don’t kid yourself, Lizzie.

“We can only hope, ma’am.”

She hopes none of the men on duty notice the way she tries to bite back a grin. “Keep an eye on things here. I’ll go try to reassure the good doctor.”

She is running out of time. The scouting team is due back within the day, and she is still empty handed. She has nothing of use, save for the confirmation that she should absolutely not eat any meat offered to her.

It’s not for lack of trying. She has been out and about with the crew every night til late, being regaled by their exploits.

They’ve made in-roads, certainly. There seems to be a budding, if mostly friendly, rivalry between the sharpshooters and their Reaper contemporaries. Thomas has already been slapped by no fewer than three of their allies. No one, however, has dared to partake of the cuisine.

But, if they have uncovered anything of use, they have let to mention it in her presence.

She may be without recourse.

It is late and she is freshly dressed from an all too brief showers when the knock comes at her door.

“In!” She calls.

Central’s hands tremor, but there is a light in his eyes. “I think I got your intel.”

“What? How?”

He settles on her couch. “Sally’s a known quantity to enough of Volk’s people. They let a few more things slip around her than they really should.”

“I’m listening,” she says, settling across from him.

“There’s a growing chunk of people who think Volk’s lost his way.”

“In deciding to work with us?”

“No. That thing that took Mox? The Reapers have their own, but officially, he doesn’t exist.”

“Why would ADVENT confirm? They gain nothing from it.”

Central shakes his head. “Not ADVENT. Volk. This thing shoots up their camps and slaughters their people, but he won’t hear talk of it, let alone addressing it.”

She furrows her brow. “Why?”

“Rumor has it this thing used to be one of them.”

She weighs her next question carefully. “Is it true?” He shrugs “Volk won’t talk about it with anyone, inside the Reapers or out. I’d say that gives the claim some weight, but I don’t have proof either way.”

She chews on her lip. “So, he lost one of his own and ADVENT’s using it against him. Now, his people are suffering for it and it’s wearing thin. Is that right?” “That’s the gist of it.” She can feel a grin spread across her face. “Dissent in the ranks. God, that’s gold. How’d you get it out of Sally?”

“Didn’t have to.”

“She volunteered?”

“Sort of. Might be fairer to say she runs her mouth if she’s playing a clean game of poker.”

“She know you overheard?”

“Who do you think she was playing against?”

She chuckles. “So, things are better on that front.”

“They’re stable,” he says. “Less shouting.”

“That’s gotta be a relief.”

He lets out a sigh, and nods. “I don’t know if things will ever really be better, not after what I did. But I’ll take whatever improvements happen.”

“Life’s funny, John. You never know what’s coming.”

He meets her gaze for a moment, and she realizes what she’s said. It’s a level of familiarity, of intimacy she wasn’t intending to inject.

But, there it is. She can’t quite bring herself to regret it.

“Yeah, Lizzie. I guess you’re right.”

-- There is a giggle and a knock at her office door. She sets aside the next batch of files to be released and locks her desk before responding to the summons.

Steph Royston stands before her, ruddy cheeked and pajama clad, a box in her hand.

“Ma’am! We’re gonna get Molchetti drunk off shitty boxed wine for my bachelorette! Come celebrate!”

She can’t help the chuckle that escapes her lips. “It seems you already started.”

Royston grins. “Bernard and I got into the gin. It’s gonna be a good night.”

“You are gonna be so hung over for your wedding.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve got til five o’clock tomorrow to pull myself together, then.”

Her eyes dart from Royston to her office door and then back. She has work to do, responsibilities to attend to. She can’t risk the momentum that’s begun to gather. She should stay in, should focus on the task at hand.

But it’s not every day that there is something to celebrate, let alone something as momentous as a wedding. It’s not every day she’s summoned from her professional duties to partake in some decidedly un-professional fun. It’s not everyday two people beat the odds to make a run at happily ever after.

Oh, fuck it, she reasons. You’ve never thought twice about stopping to grieve. Is death somehow more worthy than life?

“Alright,” she says. “Let’s go see you try to get Isabella to touch a drop of that stuff.”

Royston smirks. “Bernard thought I should put it in a bottle, but that seemed cruel.”

“So, you’re just gonna feed her box wine?’

“Oh, no. Devorah is.”

Looking back, she won’t be able to really explain the sequence of events that leads them up, up, and out into the cold of the Kansas night. She suspects the wine played a part, yes, along with the revelation that Hershel had gone her entire life up until that point without once having ever thrown a snowball.

There they stand, under silent January stars, beginning to shiver as the cold bites through their coats. There is snow in their hair and blood in their cheeks. Hershel cackles and lobs another wintery projectile at her girlfriend, who retaliates in kind. Steph sits on the ground nearby, and raises a toast to the moon before flopping backwards onto the powder.

When the cold finally wins out, when they can no longer tolerate the sting of the air on their skin, they stumble back into the base. Central catches her eye with a look of fond admonishment. She offers him a terrible wink, and Steph covers her mouth in a futile attempt to suppress her laughter.

“Commander.”

“Central,” she grins.

She’s asleep when he crawls into bed that night, waking only when he presses a kiss to her forehead.

“I can’t believe you broke protocol for that,” she says, quietly.

She snuggles closer to him. “Hershel had never thrown a snowball. It seemed important to fix.”

She feels his laugh deep in his chest. “Certainly, a moral imperative.”

“You ready for tomorrow?”

“Are any of us?”

She laughs. “Probably not.” --

They are gathered in Volk’s tent —-herself, Central, Shen, Tygan, Volk, and Kate Starling, Volk’s second-in-command—as the scouting team, newly returned from the field reviews their findings.

The news is good, better than she could have hoped for, really. Pratal Mox is being held in a nearby ADVENT detention facility, one that a skilled covert operative should be able to penetrate with little difficulty.

“That’s great,” Lily offers. “But the second we cut through the security protocols on that door, the whole region’s security grid will light up. We’d have to be in and out.”

“We’ll keep Firebrand on standby and arm everyone for a tough fight,” Central says. “It’s less security than we faced for Gatecrasher, and we still managed.”

The Commander nods. “Right, Outrider, you’ll take point---“

“Oh, so you’re sending one of my people to go rescue your precious Skirmisher. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a waste of resources, Regan.”

She closes her eyes and draws in a breath, then opens them again. “Would the rest of you excuse Volk and I for a minute?”

The others rise and make their exits. Central offers her a small nod of encouragement.

“Volikov,” she says once she’s certain they are alone. “In twenty years, you’ve held ground. I’ll give you that. In your own little corner of the universe, you’ve traded some measure of your humanity to keep ADVENT at bay. I’m not here to pass judgment.”

“What we have now, though, is a chance to push back. To retake some of what should be ours. That means working as a team. You, me, the Reapers, the Skirmishers, anyone we can get on board. And if you can’t take your head out of your ass, play nicely, and support an alliance, then I will find someone here who can.”

“Are you threatening me, Regan?”

“I’m just saying that if you can’t act in the best interest of your people, I’m sure someone here can.”

“The best interest of my people? And what would you know about that?” “Only that you’ve got a chunk of your population who thinks you’re no longer operating in the best interest of their survival. Seems your boogeyman has too much blood on his hands for them to ignore --- unlike you.”

“You know noth---“

“I know your people are tired of you hiding your head in the sand, and pretending that you don’t have something stalking you. I know, when it comes to those things, you and the Skirmishers have more in common than you’d like to think. I know that all it takes is proof that someone else has a gun that’s every bit as good as yours, and a few whispers in the right ear.” She stands, and brushes a speck of dirt from her jacket. “You placed Dragunova under my command and, until such time as she expresses a desire to leave, she will remain under my command. We’ll get the Skirmisher back, and we’ll put a stop to that thing with or without your help. But when we come marching back here with her head on a pike, I hope you’re ready to learn how loyal your people are.”

Volk stares silently up at her; she wonders if he sees the way she shakes.

“You better make sure you know damn well what you’re doing.”

“You should take your own advice. It’s my show, and I’ll run it the way I see fit.”

She turns, and makes her way out into the dark of the night. She finds her staff, along with Starling and Dragunova, gathered around a nearby campfire.

“We’ll move in the morning,” she says. “Dragunova, you’ll take point. We’ll send Kelly and Thomas for any close combat concerns, and Zaytsev in the event of needing medical care en route back. Starling,” she continues, turning her attention to the other woman. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve got Mox back. Thank your people again for me.”

Starling nods. “Understood.”

She falls in next to Central as they make their way back to the ship.

“And?” He asks, quietly.

“That did it,” she offers, voice barely above a whisper. “As long as I didn’t sign us up for more than we can really handle.” “More than we can handle?”

“We’re gonna have to kill the Assassin.”

“We were gonna have to do that anyway.”

“We don’t even know where she is.”

“We’ll find her.”

#xcom #fic #every exit an entrance #commander/central

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bthenoise · 4 years

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To Play Or Not To Play: Thoughts & Predictions On The MLB and NBA From Some Of Your Favorite Bands

We can all agree 2020 has been a pretty terrible year so far. There’s no need to go into detail. You know. We know. End of story.

One thing we might not all agree on is whether or not 2020 is deserving of professional sports. See, starting over the next couple weeks, North America will officially have the return of Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.

Some fans, as you might expect, are thrilled to see sports back as they’ve officially streamed all their stay-at-home content and cannot wait to watch competitive athletics again.

The others, well, they think rushing back into playing games again is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole as we as a nation still attempt to fend off the deadly coronavirus.

Nonetheless, despite what we all think, sports are back. And knowing some of your favorite musicians probably have opinions and predictions on what the upcoming MLB season and resumed NBA games will look like, we decided to ask them for their thoughts.

To check out what members of Black Veil Brides, Movements, Silverstein, Thirce and more had to say, be sure to look below.

ANDY BIERSACK - BLACK VEIL BRIDES

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

I’m definitely excited for sports to come back however I am interested to see how it’s all going to play out in terms of safety. Obviously things will need to be demonstrably safe and the players’ health and well being are taken into account in a way that can be replicated as we get closer to football season, etc. I am excited for all sports to “come back” though. What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

I am actually very curious to see how it plays out. Unfortunately with a truncated season you won’t get to see how it all would have shaken out over the course of the full regular season but if the Reds (who were predicted to be markedly better this year) can make it to the post-season it will be a big deal for everyone in Cincinnati! It’s been, as most years are in Cincy sports, a long stretch of crappy years. As far as the Astros go, I remember earlier this year seeing the “Astros shame tour” twitter account, I wonder how they are holding up with the delayed start to the “shame” haha.

How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

Again, I think a lot of fans are excited to see it come back but also share concerns about player safety. That said, if they can make “the bubble” work it will certainly be exciting to get this season going again. I was raised a Milwaukee Bucks fan and that’s really “my team” but since I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire adult life I always root for the Lakers in the west. Ideally that would be the finals, with my Bucks winning of course!

Who are you rooting for to win both the World Series and NBA Finals this year

World Series - CINCINNATI REDS NBA Finals - MILWAUKEE BUCKS

IRA GEORGE - MOVEMENTS:

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

I am very excited! Opening day for baseball is on my birthday so I’m definitely most excited for baseball to be coming back. It’s going to be a great birthday!!

What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

I think the 60 games get finished and it will be one of the most exciting seasons yet. Anyone can win with only 60 games. The Marlins could win for all we know. I love the added extra inning rule with an inherited runner starting on second base and I am very excited to hear that ball crack on the bat in an empty stadium. A truly magical sound. Astros still get drilled every game but COVID-19 has definitely helped cool down the hatred towards them. We will see.

How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

I am super pumped to watch the bubble NBA season take place. It’s going to be something we most likely never see again and I’ll be watching as much as I can. Lakers are still a favorite to win it all but no home court advantage will be detrimental to some teams. Let’s just hope the Lakers don’t have to face the Clippers in the first round....

Who are you rooting for to win both the World Series and NBA Finals this year?

World Series I gotta go with my team the Angels facing off against my second team the Phillies. Anything can happen right?

I think it would be great to see a classic Lakers Celtics finals. Lakers would sweep in 4, completely destroying any hope of a championship for the Celtics.

BRENT WALSH - I THE MIGHTY:

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

Provided it actually happens, I'm incredibly excited to watch the NBA again. I've missed it so much. It's been FAR too long since I've watched Steph [Curry] drain a deep three. What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

Can't say I've been too up on MLB news other than the fact that the entire process of starting back up seems to be a total mess. I know the MLB is incentivizing people NOT to peg the Astros every at bat.... but... I mean, they kinda deserve it right? Cheaters. How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

I'm trying to keep my expectations low because I don't want to get my hopes up. I don't think all players are going to take part, which is going to throw a wrench in the works for certain teams who were in contention provided some of their star players decide it's just not safe enough. The bubble is possible... but these guys are all up on each other during games. If one person comes down with COVID it could have pretty wide spread consequences. Definitely playing with fire here.. Who are you rooting for to win both the World Series and NBA Finals this year?

Being an A's fan and a Warriors fan, I have little faith in my team taking it all this year.... I mean, very, very little faith. So to answer this question honestly? I really don't care. I'm just excited to watch people throw and catch things at the highest level of talent while yelling obscenities at my TV again. :)

STEVE SLADKOWSKI - PUP

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

To be completely honest, I’m not really excited at all. To be steaming recklessly ahead, as both the NBA and MLB are, feels very dangerous for the players, coaches and especially the employees of organizations and stadiums/areas contained within the ‘bubble’ (who don’t have a choice to opt out.) The fact that MLB thinks there can be cross-border travel and have teams moving around with some semblance of normalcy is particularly insane and I am disappointed that the Federal Government of Canada has granted an exception to the Blue Jays to potentially play baseball in Toronto at all. [Ed note: Since the posting of this interview, Canada has sense denied the Blue Jays access of playing home games in Toronto.]

Honestly, I am still on the fence about whether or not I will be watching if -- I think it is still an if -- both or either sports do end up coming back. There’s just so much more that demands society’s attention right now; it’s hard to believe that sports will actually call attention to the injustice and fundamental inequality of life in North America that the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare for all to see. I hope I’m wrong though!

What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

The unwritten rules of baseball are bullshit but that’s probably not going to stop anyone from throwing at the Astros. From a sheer numbers perspective, the season feels like it’s going to be small-sample-size chaos -- if they do have to play (they shouldn’t), it’s a great way to mirror the chaos going on throughout the world as we navigate this pandemic. I don’t think they’ll be anywhere close to finishing sixty games, though!

How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

How dare you ask a fan of the longest-tenured single-season NBA Champions whether any other team is the favourite? The Raptors will repeat or there will be no Finals. Those are the only options. If we’re doing some straight comparison between the NBA and MLB, the smart money is on the NBA being able to complete the playoffs within that bubble -- but part of me thinks that there’s too much potential for a super-spreader event at Disneyland in the weeks before the season restarts for there to even be an NBA season. Ultimately, like MLB, this feels like a fundamentally irresponsible undertaking that exposes too many people to too much risk in one of the continent’s hardest-hit regions.

Who are you rooting for to win both the World Series and NBA Finals this year?

There is no evidence to contradict a Toronto sweep of the MLB and NBA seasons this year. But in all likelihood, COVID over common sense in six… maybe seven games!

SHANE TOLD - SILVERSTEIN

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

Sports are back. VERY back. We go from having nothing to watch to having three major sports all cramming in games at the same time (let’s not forget the NHL!). As a cautious, health conscious person do I think it’s a good idea? HELL NO. But as a sports fan, BRING IT ON.

What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

I think one of the three sports is not going to make it through. My vote is baseball because of the sheer number of players and teams and traveling. However, it’s also the least physical, so maybe that will help. And as sick to my stomach I am with what the Astros did, sorry Houston fans but that shit was dirty, I think the pandemic helps keep the focus away from drilling them with every pitch and just going out there and trying to win a game without contracting a potential fatal disease!

How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

Prediction: The Raptors repeat. Yes, losing Kawhi was bad but did you know the Raptors actually had a better record this year without KL than they did with him? Now that the team is healthy, still deep, and has proven to have amazing chemistry, I think there’s reason to think they have a great chance of beating these “super teams” whose stars aren’t as used to playing together, especially with all the distractions. They’re also awesome on the road. And no, they will not beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals… they will beat Denver - who no one talks about but I predicted would make it to the Western Conference Finals at the beginning of the season.

Additional Predictions:

MLB: The Blue Jays make the playoffs. The kids are coming in hot, and with little time to watch tape and readjust, I think the Blue Jays have a great shot at the AL Wildcard. It will be hard to stop the Yankees (I think they will win it all), but the Blue Jays have nothing to lose, have that youth energy, and in a shortened season, that could make an impact.

NHL: The Maple Leafs lose three straight and are out. It’s what they do! I hope I’m wrong. And Boston wins the Stanley Cup - just to make my life a little bit worse.

RILEY BRECKENRIDGE - THRICE

As a sports fan, how excited are you for the MLB and NBA to get started back up again? And which sport are you most excited to watch first?

I’m pretty sure I miss baseball and basketball as much any fan, but I REALLY think starting MLB and the NBA back up in the middle of a surging pandemic is a bad idea. Our federal response to COVID has been an absolute shit show. We’re at 130K+ dead and we still don’t have a coherent plan of how to flatten the curve. Large swaths of the country think that wearing a mask and social distancing is either unnecessary or an insult to their freedom somehow. Cops are killing black people and abusing peaceful protestors. There’s FAR more important shit to think about right now. Professional sports can take a backseat. It’s got to.

What do you predict the MLB season is going to look like? Will it actually finish all 60 games? Are the Astros going to get drilled every single at-bat?

At this rate, I think there’s about a 50% chance they make it to opening day on July 23rd and a 0% chance they finish the season. They’re blowing the testing to even open up practices at this point. That doesn’t really bode well.

How do you see the rest of the NBA season playing out? Will they really be able to pull off a season in a bubble? Are LeBron and the Lakers the favorite to win it all?

Nope. And they shouldn’t even be trying. Eh. Who cares.

Who are you rooting for to win both the World Series and NBA Finals this year?

I am rooting for us (but feeling awfully dire about our ability) to flatten the curve so that I can work and support my family. That’s all I really have the time or energy to root for at this point.

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#interview #Black Veil Brides #Movements #I The Mighty #PUP #Silverstein #Thrice

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junker-town · 4 years

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ of sports: Misfit teams that thrived when put together

We’re looking for “The Guardians of the Galaxy” of sports.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were relative unknowns as characters when they were introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2014. The success of the franchise inside of the bigger picture of the rest of Marvel’s Infinity Saga gave birth to one of the most beloved casts and set of characters despite skepticism of how things might work when they were introduced to us.

All week at SB Nation, we have been taking a look at the MCU and the impact it has had on the world at large and some of the things that have bled over into all of sports. Here, a panel of our writers are going to take a look at some of the teams that mirror the ragtag collection of characters thriving once they found each other.

The 2003-04 Detroit Pistons

Perhaps it is just the Detroit in me (spoiler alert: it absolutely is), but there is no better representation of throwing a bunch of pieces together and crossing your fingers that it works than this group.

Ben Wallace was the heart and soul of the team, but had bounced around the league for a few years and was undrafted. Chauncey Billups was the No. 3 overall pick in 1997, but was on four different teams before landing in Detroit in 2002. Rip Hamilton was part of a trade that sent Jerry Stackhouse, an All-Star scorer, out of Detroit. Tayshaun Prince was a star at Kentucky, but had a hard time cracking the rotation early in his Pistons career. The final piece was Rasheed Wallace, who was a fiery personality despite having all of the talent in the world.

The Pistons were a formidable team in the East before adding the latter Wallace to the mix, but he was the final piece to a puzzle that saw them make a run through the playoffs and then cast the final blow in the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal Los Angeles Lakers dynasty. The Pistons rode an elite defense and contributions from all every direction to take down the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, winning the series 4-1. They came a Game 7 short of going back-to-back, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. The 2006 Pistons would finish with a regular season record of 64-18, but lost in six games to Dwayne Wade and Shaq’s Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. That would be the last time the Pistons’ starting five shared the court together, as Ben Wallace would leave for the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2006-07 season.

— Anthony Broome

The 2013 Red Sox

The 2013 Red Sox really had no business being as good as they were. Boston was coming off a very not nice record of 69-93 and finished last in the division during the absolutely disastrous one-year experiment with Bobby Valentine as manager in 2012. With new manager John Farrell at the helm, the Red Sox had some really great pieces to work with — namely superstars in David Ortiz, Shane Victorino, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, and Dustin Pedroia — but had some questions marks coming off an utterly horrific season.

The Red Sox pretty much cruised to an AL East pennant, but the season was a real rollercoaster. The squad donned a “Boston Strong” patch after the Boston Marathon bombings, and Big Papi’s emotional “THIS IS OUR F*CKING CITY” speech served as a rallying point for the team and city.

At one point in September, Mike Napoli (basically Drax, if we’re being honest), Mike Carp, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia all hit grand slams over the span of a week. Not home runs, grand slams.

Oh and don’t forget the beards. Just about every member of the team grew distinct beards, and it became such a thing that the team adopted “fear the beard” as the official slogan heading into the postseason.

Every time it looked like they were out of a fight, they’d come through in the clutch.

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The Red Sox would go on to beat Tampa Bay, Detroit, and St. Louis en route to their third World Series title in 10 seasons. With huge contributions from guys like Napoli, Carp, Saltalamacchia, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Brandon Workman, and Will Middlebrooks, how can it be anything other than a rag tag success?

— Caroline Darney

The Rock & Sock Connection

Look, I get it, some of you are probably foaming at the mouth because I dared to mention a WWE tag team, but there’s very little that better typifies a “misfit team” than when The Rock and Mankind teamed up and became tag team champions in 1999.

The pairing was perfect. You had The Rock, stalwart babyface (good guy) teaming up with the misunderstood Mankind to form a classic Odd Couple amidst the WWE’s “Attitude Era.” Not only were they two of the best, most-popular wrestlers in the world at the time, but they had natural charisma and chemistry together.

Wrestling fans knew the team wouldn’t last. These were two of the top singles competitors in the company working as a tag team, but it lifted both of them. It allowed The Rock to be his classic, smack-talking self, and Mankind to almost be the straight man — which was a hilarious departure for someone whose character was largely comedic.

The duo were dynamite in the ring, and electricity off it. Nobody can forget the classic “Mr. Rocko” promo, in which Mankind gifted The Rock with his own, personalized sock puppet, that looked like it was air brushed on a seaside boardwalk. Everything that was good about WWE at the time was typified by The Rock & Sock Connection, and they are my pick for the greatest misfit team of all time.

— James Dator

The 2005-06 Phoenix Suns

From Bright Side of the Sun:

Some how, some way, this group of misfits still won 54 games and finished 1st in the Pacific Division. They would match up against Kobe (who had 35.4 ppg that year...the 9th best scoring season in NBA history) and the Lakers in the First Round of the 2006 Playoffs.

The Suns would go down 3-1 to Los Angeles, and it felt like all hope was lost. Yet, in true superhero fashion, they battled back to win the series in seven games. This was in large part to another Guardians-esque misfit, Tim Thomas (we’ll allow him to be Yondu in this scenario)

— John Voita, Bright Side of the Sun

Team North America

Team North America is, was, and always will be my favorite hockey team. They played together for only six games total, but the mark they made on hockey is one that will not be forgotten. This team was the brainchild of NHL General Manager Gary Bettman leading into the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and included 23 players under the age of 23 from the United States and Canada.

This means that current stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Jack Eichel were all playing on the same team. It was the first official look at the Toronto Maple Leafs 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews whom many had not been able to watch while he was playing in Switzerland.

Team North America was everything traditional hockey analysts hate — they had the confidence of youth without having earned their time, they played a run-and-gun offensively aggressive style, and they were endlessly cool. Also, the logo is awesome. This was a snapshot of what the NHL was about to become, a transition from the second dead puck era into a future of fast, skilled hockey.

Photo by Brian Babineau/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images

Alas, this team wasn’t as successful as they were legendary. They won two of their three pre-tournament games but when it came time to the actual World Cup of Hockey, the did not advance past the first round with a record of 2-1, losing to the only team that mattered in the tie breaker to advance. The finished the tournament in fifth place but will forever be first in the heart of everyone who watched these young bucks usher in the new age of hockey.

— Steph Driver

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thisisheavynews · 5 years

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Rock music reverberates off the rocks of Manitoulin

Platinum Blonde placed on a strong present for the many individuals gathered on Friday evening at the Flatrock Entertainment Centre. photographs by Warren Schlote

LITTLE CURRENT – This previous weekend’s occasions at the Flatrock Entertainment Centre in Little Current supplied something however flat rock as a rating of powerhouse Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning musicians introduced their excessive voltage sounds to the second-annual Rockin’ the Rock fest.

“I’m super happy. Mother Nature co-operated for the most part, except for a shower on Saturday morning to remind us she has that ability,” stated organizer KT Timmermans.

The occasions received occurring Friday night with a band battle showcase that ran from 6:30 to eight pm. Although three trusty rock outfits every introduced their very own distinctive model and mix of parts to the fore, the showdown between Lion House, Highway 69 and Northern Rage finally eked out a winner.

Highway 69 took the title and earned the honour of returning for an extended set the following day to open up the Saturday schedule.

Following Friday’s band battle showcase, comic and host Derek Seguin took to the stage and received the crowd revved up and in stitches. After his set, Platinum Blonde (which launched a number-one Canadian-chart-topping hit ‘Crying Over You’ in 1985) got here up and performed a number of crowd favourites.

That pleasure, nevertheless, couldn’t match the vitality in the crowd as the night’s headliner Glass Tiger got here out to showcase its prime hits together with the internationally acclaimed ‘Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone).’ Unfortunately for the crowd, Bryan Adams (who supplied backing vocals on the 1986 recording) was unable to supply his help that night.

Glass Tiger lead singer Alan Frew received totally into his efficiency as Friday evening’s headliner. Despite shifting to Canada from Scotland when he was 16, his accent from the previous world shone by way of.

The subsequent day following the successful band battle teams, Lee Aaron introduced her musical stylings up and set the tone for what could be one other unforgettable night of rock. She gave a particular shout out close to the finish of the efficiency to her husband John Cody who additionally serves as the drummer in her group.

Montreal-founded new wave group The Box got here up subsequent and introduced smiles to an incredible quantity of faces. Patrons in the band assembly and merch signing lineup may very well be heard reminiscing about how they as soon as listened to their music all the time and had an intensive assortment of their data.

One signer who beforehand recorded with The Box, Sass Jordan, has been introduced as one of subsequent 12 months’s acts.

Toronto got here up subsequent with lead singer Anne ‘Holly’ Woods belting out some of the band’s hit singles together with ‘Lookin’ for Trouble’ and ‘Your Daddy Don’t Know.’ As Toronto performed away and darkness crept nearer, the nearly-full moon started to rise in the southeast and created a stunning impact because it peered by way of the rising clouds. Ms. Woods additionally made good reference to the abundance of limestone as a novel side of Manitoulin Island.

After a lot anticipation, the pageant’s most important headliner Trooper emerged onto the stage to deafening cheers. Although their hits that they reprised for this efficiency had been too quite a few to listing, the crowd appeared to significantly respect ‘The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car’ and ‘Raise a Little Hell.’ Lead singer Ra McGuire gave a particular shoutout to all the Anishinaabe followers who had been there for the present.

Ruby Thompson of Sheguiandah First Nation picks up some handcrafted jewelry from Steph Shilling and her store Pop Up Guru, primarily based in neighbouring Sheguiandah.

Before performing ‘The Thin White Line,’ Mr. McGuire touched upon the band’s journey in the direction of turning into drug- and alcohol-free.

They got here again for an encore that featured ‘We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time).’ As they let the viewers sing the closing notes of their closing music, they got here out onto the stage extension for a bow as a fireworks show started to burst in the evening sky above their heads, bringing yet one more 12 months of music at the Flatrock Entertainment Centre to an in depth.

Ms. Timmermans stated she estimated attendance at shut to three,000 for the weekend.

“We had lots of folks from different parts of Ontario and Quebec. The artists were extremely, extremely happy. Resoundingly, they kept commenting about what a great audience it was. A lot of times, they don’t get people that are so engaged and who only come for the party, versus true music lovers,” she stated.

Toronto, a band that was certainly fashioned in Ontario’s capital, had a various set together with this highly effective drum solo that drew reward from all of the musicians on stage in addition to the crowd.

Plans are already underway for subsequent 12 months and up to now, along with Sass Jordan, Honeymoon Suite and Sweet have been introduced as some of the coming acts. Tickets and tenting passes are already on sale.

“Thank you to everybody who continues to support these crazy dreams we have. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody in 2020,” stated Ms. Timmermans.

from Heavy News https://thisisheavynews.com/rock-music-reverberates-off-the-rocks-of-manitoulin/

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