#dash games ( you up for a little scrimmage

[13uswntimagines]

Just In Case (Emily x Reader)

Request: Emily x reader where the reader is deployed in to the military and got permission to video call Emily while she is at camp and something happens to the base while on the call and it ends the call with no goodbye and then like the team seeing news articles and trying to get in contact with reader but they can’t and Emily eventually gets notified that’s she’s in the hospital

There was nothing quite like waiting for the little green dot to appear next to your Skype name. The way excitement mixed with anxiety and impatience. How your wife never knew exactly what state you would be in, only that you would greet her with a wide (probably exhausted) smile. 

It was rare that Emily actually got to call you while you were deployed. You were the assigned medic to a forward operating special ops unit, meaning you spent more time in the middle of nowhere doing dangerous missions than you did on base. She was excited she’d get to see your smiling face after almost a month (a year since she’d actually seen you in person). 

She jumped when the little dot appeared on the screen (much to Lindsey and Kelley’s enjoyment) and clicked on your little icon. 

The screen blinked, and your wide smile greeted her. “Hey darling, how’s champ camp?” Your little southern twang came through the computer. 

Emily mirrored your smile (your accent always made her swoon just a little), Turning the camera so you could see your two best friends also waving at you. “Super fun. Me and Linds beat Kelley during the scrimmage,” 

You smirked at your wife, shaking your head. You knew how competitive they all were (it had led to some very fun game nights at your house- especially with your wife who adamantly refused to be competitive off the pitch). “Bet the squirrel loved that,”

Emily shrugged. “She’s not taking it so well,” 

She again pointed the camera towards your pouting sister. You cracked a smile at the woman.

“I’ll get her next time, don’t worry,” Kelley winked at the screen. 

You looked off to the side for a second, nodding to whoever was talking to you behind your computer.

Emily wasn’t upset, hell she was more than used to the two of you never really being alone (you were the team leader after all). Instead, she took the opportunity to take in your features. Every new wrinkle of your forehead or dark circle under your eye (that looked more like a bruise or black eye at this point). Was that a new scar you kept rubbing under your chin?

Emily shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about how you got that until you were back safe in her arms. Your job was dangerous, she didn’t need any reminders. 

“How are you holding up?” She asked, drawing your attention back towards her. It was a safe question, one she knew she could ask over a live feed. One that didn’t cross any “clearance” lines you had warned her about (though she was sure that your superiors knew you told her many stories deemed classified over the years in the safety of your bedroom). 

You shrugged, your crooked smile not quite meeting your eyes. “I’m alright. Super tired. We just got to base a little while ago,” 

Your vague answer didn’t surprise her. You didn’t like to worry her, and half of your missions were pretty secretive anyway. It was one thing to share your darkest stories, the things you had seen that you couldn’t un-see, while the two of you were pressed together, and another to try and explain from a million miles away. 

Your wife knew how your job weighed on you. 

“But you’re ok?” She pressed, unwilling to let you deflect the question. She needed to know. You ran a hand through your tousled hair (one of your biggest tells), leaning forward just a bit. “Just some bruises. Promise.” You paused, leaning forward, your fake playful smile reappearing with a wiggle of your eyebrows, “What about you? Kelley’s a beast on the field,” 

Emily cracked a smile, despite her worry. “I’m good babe, but Lindsey’s got a nice one,”

“Ooo let me see,” you said, leaning closer to the screen like a little kid. Emily turned the computer so you could harass Lindsey instead of her. 

“No,” the midfielder pouted, crossing her arms. 

“Come on, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” You wined dramatically as Emily turned the computer around and Kelley butted into the frame. 

“That sounds like some teenage boy-...” She started, only to be cut off by a loud crash and the blaring of an alarm. 

“Fuck,” you hissed, looking off-screen, as more yelling started, and the screen shook. 

“Babe-“ Emily said, and you glanced back at the screen as if suddenly realizing your wife was still there. 

“I love you Em. I’m sorry I gotta go,” you said quickly, looking directly in the camera. 

Then the call ended. The screen went blank and the three women sat frozen. Emily very slowly placed her hand over where your face had been mere seconds ago. “Love you too, be safe,” 

The “please,” was softer, almost breathless. And the sound broke Kelley and Lindsey’s hearts. All they could do was hope you would be alright. 

****

Emily had learned to not read the news reports a long, long time ago, on your first deployment (back when the two of you had only been dating for six months). 

As it turned out, most of the time they had no real information about what was going on. They just reported on the overarching bad thing that was happening, or whatever appeared to be happening, and tended to ignore the boots on the ground (your words not Emily’s). 

But still, she couldn’t help but stare at the articles rolling in about an attack on one of the bases near where she knew you were stationed. Especially after the abrupt end to your semi-distracted phone call. 

“Em, reading it repeatedly isn’t going to change the words,” Kelley said softly, prying the phone from her grasp and sticking it on the chair beside her. 

Emily sighed heavily. “It’s just hard,” she mumbled, scrubbing a hand over her eyes. 

Lindsey, Kelley, and the rest of the table nodded understandingly. They may not have the same relationship with you that Emily did, but they loved you all the same. 

It was terrifying to not know where you were, or if you were alright, but they had to be strong for Emily right now. 

“She didn’t answer your text yet?” Lindsey asked, reaching across the table to grasp Emily’s hand tightly. You might not be able to call, but texting was usually a good way to get a hold of you.

Emily bit her lip, shaking her head tightly. “Nah uh,” 

She pinched the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t uncommon for you to go radio silent, especially when you were on a mission, but it had been 4 days since your phone call and You always sent her a little a-ok when you were finished with whatever you were doing. She was starting to get worried. 

“What about Kara, she’s always with her,” Kelley asked gently, rubbing her back, mentioning your best friend. 

The two of you were practically attached at the hip, but as you always said, experience in a war zone will do that go people. Kara was your right-hand man and always answered Emily, especially when you weren’t. 

“She hasn’t answered either,” Emily mumbled, shaking her head. The women at the table all shared a look. The last time Kara hadn’t responded while the two of you were away, you had been stuck doing emergency surgery on one of your guys in the field after an IED blew up one of the hummers in your convoy. 

“I’m sure they’re just busy. You know the news likes to make a big deal out of nothing. They always do,” Lindsey said reassuringly. 

“Yeah, and no news is good news right?” Kelley added, with a half-smile. 

A dark look crossed Emily’s features. She knew (and feared) what happened when things went wrong. She dreaded that phone call or god forbid an officer showing up with your “just in case” letter (one she knew you always carried with you, but she had never physically seen).

 “Only until it isn’t,” she said softly, her voice deadly serious. The women at the table sobered and nodded, equally as somber. It was a terrifying truth that was easier to ignore than confront. 

“I’m sure she’s just busy being a hero,” Lindsey said softly, leaning over to grab Emily’s hand tightly, as Kelley squeezed the woman comfortingly. 

“I hope you’re right,” Emily sighed. 

“She promised Em, and she never breaks her promises,” Kelley said, equally as serious, trying to hide just how worried she was. You swore you’d always come back to them, and she would kick your ass if you didn’t. 

*****

It felt like Emily’s heart was going to beat out of her chest. It was hammering harder than it ever had, even after a full ninety. She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the receptionist to find your room and clear her with the MP’s apparently stationed outside your room.

The second she got the 3 am call, it had been a mad dash to get here. The drive from Orlando to the hospital at the Jacksonville Air Force base was a blur, but she was pretty sure Kelley had broken just about every speed law there was to get her here faster (and to get herself here too, she was your sister after all). 

“I’m her wife. I have permission to see her,” Emily growled at the poor receptionist, who continued to rapidly type on her computer. 

“I’m sorry miss, but due to the circumstances I have to check,” She clicked her tongue, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen, apparently oblivious to Emily’s growing rage. 

Kelley placed a careful hand on Emily’s arm, trying to quell the brewing storm before the receptionist took the brunt of it. 

“Fuck the circumstances. Let me see my wife,”  Emily hissed, completely ignoring Kelley’s “calm down Sonnett,” (your older sister was worried too, but flipping out at a receptionist wasn’t going to help their cause). 

“I’m trying ma’am. We have protocols too, especially after a Rescue and Evacuation,” the woman behind the counter sighed, more frustrated than sympathetic. Emily’s eyes widened. Kara hadn’t said anything about a rescue mission over the phone, only that you were hurt and being transferred to Florida from a hospital in London. 

“A what?!!” Emily screeched, and Kelley grabbed the back of her hoodie to prevent her from launching herself over the counter at the frightened-looking receptionist. 

Before the woman behind the counter could respond, your very tired-looking best friend appeared around the corner. 

“Hey, Em. She’s back this way,” Kara smiled tightly at your wife, nodding towards the receptionist and gesturing down a hallway to her left. 

“Oh thank god,” Kelley sighed, practically shoving Emily into Kara’s arms. Kara caught her, and held her hand out to your older sister, carefully beginning to guide them down the maze of hallways. 

“I have to warn you, she’s in pretty rough shape,” Kara said softly as they approached the door, her hand pausing on the handle to look both women in the eyes. Emily and Kelley both nodded solemnly, steeling themselves as Kara gently pushed the door open. 

“Damn,” Emily and Kelley gasped as they stepped through the threshold and took in your sleeping form. 

Your normally strong form looked so small under the mass of tubes and wires surrounding you (but Kelley notes that you were very much breathing on your own). The whole left side of your face was bruised, and the left half of your chest and arm was wrapped tightly in gauze. 

Emily very carefully approached the bed, her fingers hovering over your right side, afraid to touch you and cause you more pain. 

“Oh baby,” She breathed out, settling into the chair beside your bed, finally grabbing your uninsured hand very gently and pulling it to her lips. 

She heard Kelley ask “What happened?”, but her eyes never left your face. 

Kara blew out a long breath, seemingly trying to steady herself. “Our base got attacked- retaliation for freeing a village probably,” 

Kelley raised her eyebrow at the woman. She wanted to know everything, not the edited version. 

Kara swallowed hard before continuing. “We split into teams. One to pull security and one to evacuate the hospital. We lost communication after one of our own went Rogue. In the chaos, an intruder slipped through us and went to attack the hospital wing. Y/n got ambushed trying to get an injured private to the helicopter,” 

Silence stretched between them as the soccer stars tried to take in the story. It was so you to do everything in your power to help someone else, even if it was dangerous or detrimental to you. 

“How bad is it,” The words left Emily’s mouth barely above a whisper, muffled slightly by your hand still at her lips. 

“She got hit 3 times. One was a through and through to the shoulder. It chipped her collar bone, but mostly just got some soft tissue. The other two were worse. The through and through in her leg nicked an artery, and the other one in her chest did some damage. Luckily she was able to drag herself back to the hospital wing and they could get her stable. The PJ’s got her to London and they did emergency surgery,” Kara listed off, rubbing the back of her neck and closing her eyes tightly. 

Emily didn’t doubt that seeing you like that was probably one of the most difficult things Kara ever had to do, and she felt bad for making her relive that.  

“Is she gonna be alright?” Kelley asked after a few seconds, cracking with emotion. 

Kara nodded. “Yeah, Lena looked over the X-rays. Said that she would need a lot of rehab, but she should make a pretty full recovery. Right now she’s just sedated to help with the pain,” 

Emily felt her heart unclench at the news, made even sweeter by the mention of Kara’s own wife. Lena was a straight shooter, someone who was brutally honest and equally deft at her job (which was part of the reason the two of you got on so well). She wouldn’t bullshit them and give them false hope. 

“Thank you,” Emily croaked. Kara snorted and shook her head. 

“Wasn’t me. She promised you she’d make it and she wasn’t about to let you down,” 

You had dragged yourself nearly 800 yards to the hospital wing, and the only thing they said you said was that you couldn’t die because you swore to your wife you’d come home. Kara was convinced that you had survived purely on adrenaline and stubbornness (that and dumb luck). At least she hadn’t had to deliver your just in case letter. 

Emily smiled softly at your sleeping form, allowing the steady beep of your heart and your warm hand to comfort her “I know,” 

It was easy to relax now that you were here safe in her arms. Sure, you would have a long road to recovery (and getting you to actually follow the doctor's orders was bound to be a fight), but you were alive with no imminent threat hanging above your head. 

She would be there for you every step of the way.

#uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #uswnt x reader #emily sonnett imagine #emily sonnett x reader

[fruitcoops]

Hello! I truly love your writing! Would you consider a continuation of that piece where Jules stays with coops for a week? Or just some snippets of what they get up to?

Here’s part 1, folks! It’s about 3k words and I’m thinking there will be three or four parts total, released over the next couple days. I hope you enjoy it!

Sweater Weather and Jules credit belongs to @lumosinlove!

“Jules.” A series of gentle knocks echoed down the stairs and Sirius smiled into his coffee cup. “Jules, it’s time to wake up.”

Regulus snorted. “Bet you five bucks he has to drag the kid down.”

“Deal.”

“Jules.” Remus knocked again, sounding more exasperated. There was a heavy sigh and the door clicked open; after a moment of quiet, someone yelped. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Go away!” Jules groaned. “An’ give it back!”

“It’s time for breakfast, get a wiggle on. I’ll carry you if I have to.”

“I’m cold.” More rustling noises followed before Jules appeared at the top of the staircase, bundled in Remus’ sweatshirt—which was really Sirius’, but it didn’t matter—and scowling. His bedhead was outstanding.

“Bon matin,” Sirius said with a smile when Jules sat heavily in the chair next to him and put his forehead on his arms. “How’d you sleep?”

“I don’t like your fiancé.”

“Oh?”

“He’s mean.”

Sirius winked at Remus as he rolled his eyes and pulled a cereal box out of the pantry. “What did he do?”

“He stole my blankets with no warning.”

“That is such a lie,” Remus scoffed. “I knocked on your door for five whole minutes before I came in!”

“Thank you for that, by the way,” Sirius said, walking over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Reg owes me five bucks now.”

“Sweet, we can get more Oreos.”

“Oreos aren’t on your diet plan,” Jules sulked as Remus passed him a bowl of cereal and milk.

“How do you know?”

Jules mumbled something and shoved his spoon into his mouth. The night before had been hectic, with Sirius driving the Hope and Lyall to the airport while Remus helped set Jules up for the night. Regulus came back from hanging out with Leo around ten pm; by that time, Jules was still wired for sound at the idea of a week-long sleepover. He finally went to sleep around eleven thirty and Sirius and Remus crash-landed into bed, exhausted.

Practice was going to be hell.

“Why do we have to wake up early, again?” Jules asked around a yawn.

Sirius ruffled his hair as he sat down again. “Practice starts at ten. Eight o’clock is not early at all.”

He squinted at him, confused. “How early do you usually wake up?”

“Seven, seven-thirty.”

Jules shuddered and turned back to his cereal while Remus plonked himself down in Sirius’ lap with a coffee cup, looking moments away from falling asleep again. “Children are exhausting. Why did we get two of them?”

“Hey!” Jules and Regulus said in unison, clearly offended.

“We’ve got terrible judgement,” Sirius laughed.

“Older brothers are the worst, right Jules?”

“Totally. Are you coming to the rink with us?”

Regulus shook his head. “Sorry, buddy, I’ve got college stuff to work on. Want to help me with paperwork?”

Jules made a face. “I’ll pass.”

“We’re leaving in forty minutes, okay?” Remus said, stretching his back as he stood up and left Sirius’ lap cold and empty. “Jules, please take a shower.”

“I smell fine!”

“You didn’t take one yesterday or the day before. Scoot.” Jules rolled his eyes and got up. “Don’t give me that look! And put your bowl in the sink.”

Sirius and Regulus shared a glance as Jules put his stuff away and trooped up the stairs. “Hi, Hope,” Regulus snickered.

Resignation overtook Remus’ face and he sighed. “Fuck. I’m turning into my mother already. Reg, you should take a shower, too.”

“I smell fine!” The withering look from both Sirius and Remus made him raise his hands in surrender and wander off to his bedroom. “I’m nineteen, not nine!”

”And yet we still need to babysit you,” Sirius called back. Finally, they were alone. He hopped up to sit on the counter and grabbed Remus around the waist as he passed by, pulling him back for a hug. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning.” Remus kissed him gently, bracketing his hips with his hands. He looked tired, but happy. “I’m actually pretty excited to have Jules stay with us. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“Ne rien. It’s good to have people here.” They kissed for a moment longer, listening to the shower running upstairs and Regulus’ rummaging noises down the hall. “I swear to God, he’s like a raccoon.”

Remus laughed and leaned his forehead on Sirius’ shoulder. “He definitely sounds like one.”

“At least his room’s clean.”

“Cheers to that. He’s heading back tomorrow, right?”

“Mhmm. Dumo’s been bugging me for, like, three days.”

Remus hummed, wrapping his arms around Sirius and snuggling into him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. We’ve only got a little bit of time before Jules is out, so we should get dressed.”

Remus groaned, but released his limpet hold. “That was so close to a perfect sentence.”

Sirius paused just before hopping off the counter and raised his eyebrows. “If we have extra time…”

“Come on, you,” Remus laughed, tugging him off the counter by the hand and hurrying toward the stairs.

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

They arrived at the rink at 10:05, and Sirius began bracing himself for the inevitable chirping as soon as he stepped out of the car. Jules bounced on his toes in excitement as they walked toward the building, laden with their hockey gear and still a bit frazzled from the mad dash out of the house.

“Is this the munchkin?” Moody asked when Remus knocked on the door to the PT office.

“Yep.” Remus looked down at Jules, whose eyes were wide and more than a little nervous as his grip tightened on Remus’ jacket hem.

“Alastor Moody,” he grunted, holding a hand out that Jules tentatively shook.

“Jules.”

“Wanna see how bones work, kid?”

Instantly, his nerves disappeared. “Yeah!”

Moody winked at them as he led Jules toward the joint models on the far wall and Sirius let out a slow breath. “He’ll be fine.”

“God, I hope so. If anyone can drive Moody off the wall, it’ll be my little brother,” Remus murmured as they headed off down the hall.

The yelling started the second Sirius opened the locker room door. “You’re LATE!” James shouted, grinning from ear to ear. “Hand over the badge, Captain.”

“We still have fifty minutes until practice starts, shut your face.” Sirius socked him on the shoulder and set his bag in the stall.

“What, pray tell, was the reason for this tardiness?” James leaned over and batted his eyelashes.

Remus rolled up a towel and smacked him on the ass with it. “My little brother.”

“Jules is here?” Leo perked up on the other side of the room, and Sirius saw several of the guys look over in excitement, as if they were hiding him in one of their bags.

“He’s staying with us for the week since my great-aunt passed away.”

“Shit, Loops, I’m sorry.”

Remus shrugged. “I never met her, but my folks went back for the funeral. Moody said he’d keep an eye on Jules during practice.”

“Lupin, Black, you’re late,” Coach Weasley said from the doorway, giving them a look over his glasses. “Do we need to have a conversation?”

“No, Coach,” Sirius said as he pulled his pads over his chest.

“I hear you’ve commandeered my head PT for the day.”

Remus shook his head. “If Jules starts bugging him—”

“I’m kidding, Loops.” Arthur’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Moody loves kids. This’ll be good for his disposition.”

Finn snorted. “Can’t get any worse.”

“I expect all of you on the ice in twenty. Any stragglers are doing laps outside!” Arthur slapped the edge of the doorway before ducking out into the hall again; his sneakers squeaked on the freshly-washed floor and Sirius stifled a laugh as he finished buckling up.

The five minute delay did not have a terrible impact on his pre-practice rituals, which he took a  moment to be grateful for—they had a scrimmage planned, and he didn’t intend to lose. Once warmups were over, they moved into running plays, until finally the whistle blew and Coach called out the teams. Remus ended up on the other side and he slapped Sirius’ ass with his stick as he passed him, grinning over his shoulder before stopping next to Dumo.

Jules and Moody came out to watch a few minutes in; Sirius caught a glimpse of his wide eyes when he saw the speed of the game and smiled to himself. Everyone else seemed to notice the new arrivals as well, because their effort doubled and suddenly the plays were running smoother than ever.

Showing off for a ten-year-old, he thought with a shake of his head. Talk about baby fever.

Remus sped through the defense, weaving back and forth until he was nearly face-to-face with Sirius. His whole face lit up and he braced; when Sirius went to check him, he dipped sideways at the last second and slipped the puck right through his skates, catching it on the other side and zipping toward the goal at top speed. The goal light went off and Talker whooped, checking him in celebration.

“Lupin! Where’s that been all season?” Arthur demanded, though he was laughing. “Christ, guys, thanks for finally waking up!”

“Where the fuck did you learn that?” Sirius asked as they headed back for the face-off.

“You think you’re the only one who skates in the basement?” Remus said with a cheeky grin.

The whole rink buzzed with energy throughout the rest of the scrimmage—once or twice, Sirius realized even he was showing off a little for Jules, who cheered louder than fifteen thousand fans whenever someone scored.

Arthur shook his head when the final whistle went off. “Everyone say ‘thank you’ to Julian.”

“Thank you, Jules,” they chorused. Jules looked like he was about to die of happiness.

“I need to get him in here more often,” Arthur muttered as they headed to the locker room to change into their gym gear. “Let’s get that energy for every practice, okay? Not just the ones with Little Loops.”

“What are you talking about?” Kasey laughed.

Arthur fixed him with a look. “Don’t bullshit me, Winter, all of you were showing off for the kid.”

Remus blushed all the way to his ears, and the rest of them mumbled some half-assed excuses until they were shooed away. “I put the new schedule on the mirror,” Sirius called over the noise. “Try to pay attention to it for once.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Logan reached up and patted him on the shoulder as he passed; Sirius dragged him back into a headlock to ruffle his hair. “Ow, fuck, okay!”

Logan did not, in fact, stick to the schedule. He was far too busy tossing the lightest medicine ball they had with Jules, who staggered slightly whenever he caught it. Both looked absolutely thrilled.

Sirius, on the other hand, was glad for the opportunity to do a fair bit of ogling while he spotted Remus—who stuck to the schedule, Sirius had never loved him more—until he finished his bench-pressing rotation. He was strong before being a player, but now…well, it was safe to say he could sweep Sirius off his feet literally and figuratively.

“Re, Re!” Jules ran over when Remus finally sat up, then paused and made a face. “You’re sweaty.”

Remus pulled him in for a hug, making him shriek and wiggle to get out. “I am, yeah! Isn’t it great? Here, lemme just—”

Jules flailed, but he couldn’t get out of Remus’ hold in time to avoid the head nuzzle that plastered his hair up on one side with sweat as the guys laughed. “Ewww!”

“Did you need something, buddy?” Remus asked at last.

“Well, now I need a shower.” Jules grimaced. “I was going to ask if you guys actually do ice baths.”

“Of course we do!” Kasey cut in before Remus could quickly divert the topic. “And your brother loves them.”

Sirius had to turn around to muffle his laughter as interest lit on Jules’ face. “Really? Can I see?”

Kasey opened the door dramatically. “Right this way, Little Loops.”

Two of the ice baths were full when they arrived and Sirius did not miss the pained look on Remus’ face at the sight, nor did he miss the devious smile on Kasey’s. Jules hurried over to one and looked over the end, practically sticking his whole face in. “Woah.”

“Pretty cool, huh? You want to know what the best part is?”

“What?”

“Oh, Christ,” Remus muttered.

“Loops, will you do the honors and make sure your darling little brother has a good time?” Kasey asked, the picture of innocence. Remus sighed and stood next to the ice bath, silently begging Sirius for help with his eyes as Kasey motioned Jules over. “Alright, so you take one of these, and then you have to be super careful as you aim. Lucky for you, you’re learning from the best.”

Remus winced as the first ice cube smacked him in the side of the head and gritted his teeth as the second went down the neck of his t-shirt. Sirius schooled his expression into the mildest, sweetest smile he could muster. “He’s not doing anything,” Jules whispered. Remus began taking deep breaths.

“He will.”

“Try me, Wint—oh, sh—” Remus muffled a squeak as ice went directly down his spine. “Hoo, boy, that’s cold.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you censor yourself,” Kasey said, amazed. “It’s uncanny.”

“Are you done?”

“I could do this all day, but it’s my turn to make dinner tonight and Nat gets hangry if I’m late. Good game, Little Loops.” Kasey and Jules high-fived and Remus shook his shirt out; no less than four ice cubes clattered to the ground.

“Young man, you are in such big trouble,” Remus growled playfully as he swept Jules over his shoulder and began tickling his knees. Sirius dodged the squirming legs and held the door open for them as they walked back into the hallway. “You’re okay hanging out with Moody while we get our stuff together, right?”

“Yeah! He’s got the coolest knee statues.”

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

Dinner was anything but a quiet affair; all three of them had taken a nap when they got home, then had a dance party in the kitchen while Remus taught Jules how to actually cook chicken so nobody got food poisoning. Sirius was torn between begging them for the details of that particular story and wanting to stay as far away from it as possible.

Regulus and Jules got into a fierce game of footsie under the table that only ended when a small foot—he still didn’t know which one it was—slammed into the base of Sirius’ knee, hard enough that it would certainly leave a bruise. “Ow.”

They both froze, shared a look, then silently went back to eating. “Practice starts at nine tomorrow,” Remus said around a bite of broccoli. “That means wake up time is six thirty, okay? We’ve got a game on Thursday and it’s super important that we’re not late again. Reg, what time are you heading out?”

“I was thinking noon-ish? That way I can get my stuff set up while Dumo’s still at practice. Don’t want to bother him.”

Jules turned to him with the biggest, saddest eyes Sirius had ever seen. “You’re leaving?”

“I live with Dumo, remember?” Regulus hesitated. “I’ll be at the game, though.”

“Can I sit with you?”

“Absolutely.”

That seemed to placate him, and he turned back to his chicken happily. Sirius nudged his brother, giving him a significant look, which was met with an eye roll that couldn’t quite cover the fond flush on his face.

Jules and Regulus took care of the dishes after dinner and Sirius stretched out on the couch to the sounds of the kid’s excited chatter as he recounted the day’s events. Remus flopped down on top of him, settling between his thighs with a contented smile. “Today went well.”

“Yeah, it did.” Sirius began running his fingers through Remus’ soft hair. “I think Moody is about thirty seconds away from adopting him.”

Remus laughed against his chest. “I think so. It’s pretty cool seeing him so excited about PT stuff.”

“It is.” There was a slow sigh and Sirius raised his eyebrows. “What was that about?”

“I just realized that even though Reg is leaving tomorrow, we won’t have the house to ourselves for six more days. It’s been two weeks.”

Sirius closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the armrest. “Fuck. I didn’t even think about that. Think we can dump him on Dumo for a night?”

“We can handle six days, right?”

“Yeah, totally.”

There was a beat of silence. “This is going to be difficult.”

“If we make it to the three-day mark, I say we break open the Oreos as a reward.”

“Sounds good to me—oof.”

They both groaned as an extra hundred pounds of person squished on top of them. “Dishes are done!” Jules chirped.

“Did you wash your hands?” Sirius wheezed, blinking the dark spots out of his vision. Remus’ chin was digging into his upper ribs.

“Yep! Regulus wants to watch a movie. I think we should watch Jurassic Park, but he says it’s terrible—”

“He what?” Remus raised his head slightly and craned his neck to look back at the kitchen. “Regulus!”

“What?”

“You don’t like Jurassic Park? I thought you had taste!” Remus pushed off the couch and Jules wrapped all his limbs around him like an oversized koala. “We’re watching it tonight and you’re going to like it. Come on, baby, we need to make sure your brother has culture.”

Two hours later, as the credits rolled and three people snored gently, Sirius smiled to himself. He could handle a week of this.

[okaywa]

Lev and Bokuto -Being protective over their shy s/o

requested by @akikotoseu (sorry I don’t think I followed the request very well) sorry this took so long bb!

Lev

Now Lev is a complete child who’s great at distracting you and other from your shyness bc of his antics

He knows how shy you are and how much you hate being put in stressful social situations so he’s happy to take the spotlight and let you hide out behind his lanky form

If he sees anyone making you look even slightly uncomfortable he’s gonna go over and hug you from behind, resting his chin on your head to make you feel better

He knows a familiar touch helps ground you

But one day while he was in the middle of a practice game you came to visit

And caught the attention of a guy from the basketball club

He could tell that you wanted to end the conversation but you were too polite to just walk away

Kuroo starts yelling at him to pay attention after he completely misses a block but how is he supposed to when you’re over there in distress?!?!

He knows he’s gonna have to spend another hour spiking after practice for this but he squares his shoulders and walks off the court towards you.

Now normally Lev is a gentle and goofy giant but he can be intimidating when he wants to

Especially when you’re getting cornered by some guys who don’t know when to quit

So he kinda just walks up, and is looming over the guy until he turns around (he’s not a shit talker or very confrontational alright)

And he p a n i c s bc there’s a tall ass guy hovering there, so he d a s h e s out of there

And Lev, still ignoring Kuroo and now Yakus shouts, bends down and cups your cheeks

He frowns when he noticed your eyes are silver lined and scrunched with stress

“Hey, it’s okay,” he says real soft and grabs your hands, leading you out of the gym to privacy so he can calm you down

He hates seeing you so overwhelmed so he just wraps his arm around you and lets you breath it out

“Thanks, Lev.”

“Of course, lovely,” he murmurs and presses a kiss to your temple before nearly jumping out of his skin when the gym door slammed open

“LEV GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!” Yaku shouts before noticing you’re sitting right next to the door on the steps. “Oh, hi there. You need to practice your spikes.”

You see Lev scowl, a rare expression for him

“Yeah, I know. Can I talk to Y/N for a minute?”

Yaku blinks, just noticing you. “Sure, make it quick Kuroo’s pissed you walked out of the scrimmage.”

Once he’s gone Lev looks back at you and grabs your hand, eyebrows raised in question

“I’m okay now” you smile “go practice before Yaku kicks your ass”

He groans, already knowing he was going to get at least ten laps and another hour of spiking

Bokuto

Duuuuude once Bokuto learns how shy you are and how hard of a time you have talking to ppl his protectiveness is gonna dial to ten

It’s like he has a sixth sense for when you’re in an uncomfortable situation bc he’s so in tune with your emotions

He can be a little overbearing at times bc he’s so worried so you actually have to tell HIM to calm down sometimes

But unlike Lev he’s fine with confrontation so if he sees someone bothering you he’d get right up in their face, grinning sharply while introducing himself (totally squeezes their hand too hard)

Usually he’s nice but I’m convinced he could be in the shit talkers squad if he really tried

He probably says stuff like ��ur girlfriend looks like my mom’ and just goofy shit talking that ppl laugh at but then think about in the shower for the next three months

As soon as he gets you out of a tense situation he immediately reverts to sad puppy and is grabbing your face and trying to make sure you’re okay

Probably one of the best boys for a shy s/o bc he’s so naturally out going that he can always talk enough for three people so he easily fills any silence left behind by you

I swear if he ever sees you cry he’s gonna cry and you’ll have to end him comforting him

So one day y’all are in a cafe after a hard day of exams, both tired af and looking to get a caffeine boost

Too bad coffee never agrees w Bo’s stomach so he dashes off to the bathroom thirty minutes into the date

Now you’re stuck sitting alone in a crowded coffee shop feeling exceptionally self conscious (doing that thing where you’re just swiping around on your phone to look busy)

A chair pulls out at your table and you look up with a smile expecting Bo but instead it’s a random man with his two friends standing beside him

Your stomach churns nervously

“Um, hi?”

They say some creepy stuff along the lines of they saw a pretty girl sitting alone and thought they should introduce themselves

You’re only answering in one word answers and they’re still not getting the hint that you don’t want to talk to them

So what do I have to do to get your number?

Perfect moment for Bo to reappear

He comes up behind you and kisses your forehead “hey baby, are these your friends?”

He already knows they’re not, he already knows they’ve overstayed their welcome from your tense shoulders and crossed arms

The three guys shoot to their feet, stammering out lame excuses before scurrying off

He watches them until they disappear around a corner before sitting down, making sure to move his chair right next to yours so everyone knows you’re his

He buys you a treat to make you feel better and then takes you back to the dorms for cuddling and snacks until you’re fully settled

Bo pulls out all of the stops and pampers you bc he is a king 😌😌

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fluff #bokuto scenarios #bokuto headcanons #bokuto x reader #bokuto #bokuto kotaro #lev haiba headcanons #lev fluff #lev x reader #lev haiba

[swanqiu]

A STUDY IN CHARACTER LAYERS.

——— slight mentions of: drugs, death

LAYER  001 :   THE  OUTSIDE.

NAME.   zhang qiu / “cho chang”.

EYE COLOR.   light brown.

HAIR STYLE / COLOR.  black, although more of a dark brown in most lights. she usually wears it down, if not in a neat bun at the office or a nice plait during matches.

HEIGHT.   5′3″

CLOTHING  STYLE.   black jeans! athletic shorts! small pieces of statement jewelry! turtlenecks! sleeveless tops with lacy straps! rayon blouses with 3/4 sleeves! tapered slim-fit pantsuits! shoes with some height that also pair with many different outfits! muggle hoodies supporting the local rugby and football teams! she “borrows” her partner’s tees and sweaters and casual wear, so lol add those to the list. she’s big on practicality and comfort over flair and height of fashion, but she does like keeping up with trends and coordinating her outfits to reflect that.

BEST  PHYSICAL  FEATURE.   her smile! it’s absolutely very cliche, but when she smiles and her nose does that crinkly thing and her eyes get all starry, it’s very unfair how powerful it is. alternatively, she also has a great ass, so there’s that.

LAYER  002 :   THE  INSIDE.

FEARS.   losing people she loves. having someone d*e during a healing procedure and her mind just shutting down during it.

GUILTY  PLEASURE.   parfaits! going for a late night fly! being on top!!!

BIGGEST  PET  PEEVE.   people who sneeze/cough without covering their mouth and nose. people in the magical community who somehow think muggles are “less developed” or “behind” without magic, when they’re the ones who haven’t even moved beyond printed news and radios to circulate current events and pop culture tbh.

AMBITIONS  FOR  THE  FUTURE.   to successfully campaign for a british seat at the international confederation of wizards (delegate timeline); to patent a line of at-home salves and develop at least one healing spell by the end of her residency (healer timeline); to just be the best mom and partner possible, honestly! (divorced verse)

LAYER  003 :   THOUGHTS.

FIRST  THOUGHTS  WAKING  UP.   huh. 6 AM already?

THINKS  ABOUT  MOST.   how other people are doing.

THINKS  ABOUT  BEFORE  BED.   any of the interactions she might have had that day.

WHAT  THEY  THINK  THEIR  BEST  QUALITY  IS.   her ability to depend on herself. her sociability. her commitment to fight for what’s right.

LAYER  004 :   WHAT’S  BETTER ?

SINGLE  OR  GROUP  DATES.   single (unless you’re harry potter and have to meet up with hermione later in the day). group dates are sometimes useful for gauging potential partners’ ability to crack on with her friends, though.

TO  BE  LOVED  OR  RESPECTED.   loved. respected. both?

BEAUTY  OR  BRAINS.   brains— for herself and for a potential partner. BUT i can’t lie, if we’re being really honest here, i’m absolutely tempted by the idea of cho being with a heart-of-gold jock whose sole purposes in life are to get gains, look good, and love cho. cho x himbo king is canon btw; the muggle she marries is a *checks notes* brickhouse rugby player who rescues animals on the side and doesn’t know the first thing about how getting sick works but will gladly and fondly listen to her explain everything from antibodies to the common cold to why wearing a mask helps.

DOGS  OR  CATS.   both.

LAYER  005 :   DO  THEY…

LIE.   not really, and never with bad intentions. as she gets older, she learns to use it more for self-preservation.

BELIEVE  IN  THEMSELVES.   yes.

BELIEVE  IN  LOVE.   yes. always.

WANT  SOMEONE.   no. in her divorced verse, the answer strays more toward yes.

LAYER  006 :   HAVE  THEY  EVER…

BEEN  ON  STAGE.   yes. ravenclaw common room parties are a whole event. terry boot may or may not have the negatives of the one time she sang karaoke to abba’s “dancing queen” on roger davies’s 17th birthday.

DONE  DRUGS.   yes. her muggle psychiatrist recommended medical mar*juana to cope with the very rare night terrors. she tried it for a little while, and it worked, but she ultimately prefers the calming potions made by healer pye. she used sleeping draughts for a little while after the war (who didn’t), but she hasn’t used them since.

GOTTEN  DRUNK.   lmao yes. me, ess the mun, cupping my hands around my mouth: baby girl’s a light weight, y’all!

CHANGED  WHO  THEY  WERE  TO  FIT  IN.   no. part of the reason we read about her experiencing ostracization at school (through harry’s pov) was because she didn’t waver in her defense of marietta and was quite open with her emotions (although she ended up having to repress a large part of her grief and anger anyway). she’s very firm about sticking to her resolutions and not bending who she is in order to do that. (that might get slightly lost in romantic relationships, though.) in her moved-to-the-muggle-world verse, she definitely changes her external habits and way of living to blend in, but it’s not so much a change of her character or her person.

LAYER  007 :   FAVORITES.

FAVORITE COLOR.   beige. light purples. dark greens.

FAVORITE  ANIMAL.   swans.

FAVORITE  MOVIE.   the princess bride (1986). in the mood for love (2000). miss congeniality (2000). remember the titans (2000). 2000 was clearly a big year for her and movies.

FAVORITE  GAME.   lmao as if it would be anything other than quidditch! i’m not exactly sure how fans keep up with the sport if they’re not watching in-person, but when league cup season rolls around, the television is on, the radio is tuned, the newspaper articles about game highlights and star players are read, the plumpton tutshill jersey is ritualistically worn...

LAYER  008 :   SLEEP.

HEAVY  OR  LIGHT  SLEEPER.   light sleeper.

WHAT  SIDE  OF  THE  BED  DO  THEY  SLEEP  ON.   the right side— when she shares a bed with someone, it’s more comfortable for her to cuddle up to them if they’re on her left. in her divorced verse, she sleeps on whatever part of the bed the kids didn’t claim in the middle of the night.

WHAT  DO  THEY  WEAR  TO  BED.   old quidditch stuff— she has one or two ravenclaw scrimmage jerseys that are so old the house insignia’s already faded away. she also has endless tutshill tornadoes shirseys and tees that she’s worn and washed so often that the fabric’s become so soft now and is definitely susceptible to hem stitches unraveling. her favorite sleepwear combo is a pair of cotton boyshorts and to go braless under one of her oversized tutshill tees. comfortable— and as flattering and as easy access as possible, for those nights.

WEIRD  THINGS  THEY  DO  IN  THEIR  SLEEP.   she mumbles a lot sometimes.

LAYER  009 :   LOVE.

BIG  DECLARATIONS  OR  SMALL.   small, from her end, but she’s extremely appreciative (and only a little embarrassed) of big declarations toward her.

OPEN  OR  CLOSED  OFF.   open, although she wisely exercises caution with some people and thus becomes more closed off.

LOVE  AT  FIRST  SIGHT  OR  SLOW  BURN.   slow burn! this is also me, ess, exposing myself for my love of a good slow burn.

ONE  TRUE  LOVE  OR  A  STRING.   a string, but maybe it leads to comfortably settling into that true love. she definitely doesn’t believe that there is only and exactly one love out there for each person. that myth is a terrible and disheartening way to go about life, frankly.

LAYER  010 :   FINISH  THE  SENTENCE.

I  LOVE.   "...that things do get better. my friends. the people i consider my family. my children (added for divorced verse).”

I  FEEL.   "...insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. content with where i am, usually. but mostly, i tend to feel everything, unfortunately all at once.”

I  HIDE.   “...the parts of my feelings that lead into anger.”

I  MISS.   "...the simpler days. hogwarts days, honestly.”

I  WISH.   "...i could have had more time. to do things. to be with people. to enjoy certain moments. sorry— a bit vague, huh?”

tagged by: @gramenviride​ ( 💕 )​ tagging: lol i’ve already tagged a lot of you in these dash games/character studies and likely blew up your notifications over the last week; this turned out pretty long and might use more brain power than usual, so i’m gonna go with a general call for anyone that sees this and wants to fill this out to please do it! and tag me if you do! 

#indiecho character study #this was just an opportunity for me to hurl all of my headcanons at you; if you read through this whole thing i appreciate you sm #lol this was indeed a lot of things to just blast onto the dash but. i was given a platform and i have many thoughts what can i say!

[fictionalnormalcy]

Face Amidst the Smoke Ch. 6

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1350 Characters: Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Haddock Summary: Astrid is paired for a project with someone who she is definitely not eager to work with. Haddock has a reputation of being a bad student, just a bad role model in general. But in being forced to work with one of the worst seniors in the school, she comes to see what is under this bad boy’s exterior… and she may be getting in over her head.

Venture

I managed to get everything to fit into one bag. I was going to be travelling across town for the day so I had to ensure I wasn’t overburdened. I hadn’t a clue what the day would bring. I’d have to convince Heather to let her take my racket for the weekend so I wouldn’t be lugging it across Berk.  Before I headed down to the bus stop, I ensured I had my water bottle, towel, extra hair ties, wallet, and phone charger. I wouldn’t be coming home until the evening, what with waiting for all the buses and practice. I pulled on my visor, lugged my duffle bag over my shoulder, and headed out of the house.

“Scrimmage time!” Coach Flashburn shouted.

Heather was my doubles partner. When we first started, I was a singles player and she played doubles with Cameron.  But they argued constantly, and towards the end of the season our sophomore year, they got into a physical fight. Getting so feral that Cameron was dubbed Camicazi among the team, and soon it trickled throughout the whole school. For reasons unknown to us, Camicazi didn’t join the team for our final year of high school. I tried out doubles with Heather, and we wound up being a good pair. Able to work well and have each other’s backs. Sometimes the coach liked to have a tossup day to keep the girls on their toes. Pairing the singles versus the doubles. 

Today, was not one of these days. Although it was something creative to play. This was the last stage of practice. Once we finished the scrimmage, we were free to go home. After the match, Heather was going to treat me to brunch. A place that we really loved called The Snow Wraith’s Lunchery. Just in the last week, she had been allowed use of her family’s car, passed down from brother to sister. She was eager to take it out for a drive. Me meanwhile, would have to wait a good couple of years until I could get my own car. 

“My turn to serve.” Heather said as she twirled the racket in her hand. 

For each odd set we had to switch. For the past two seasons, our method had developed where I would start us off in the serves and then Heather would finish us off. As a former singles player, there wasn’t really much of a chance to volley. So over the seasons I’d come to enjoy being able to slam a ball at someone’s feet so close to net. Our teammates yet opponents in this circumstance were predictable in their shots, and it was easy to change position so that Heather wouldn’t have to cope on her own. A shot was fired so it flew high in a lob, and for a second I swung my racket backward so I could hit it, but then abandoned the notion when I knew that there was a chance it could backfire.

I shouted for Heather to take the shot and quickly dashed to the side. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see her use a finger to find the point of impact, and then she slammed the ball down to the other side’s No Man’s Land. Point, ours. The game was already ours for the taking, but we still had to pull through for the 6 game total. As our opponent hefted the ball into the air, her knees bent and arm poised, I shifted my grip on the racket. Heather countered with a shot at the alley. The ball came straight toward my racket rather feebly. I raised my right arm, and took two steps back. This was mine. 

As we climbed out of her car I was still rubbing the towel over my face. I’d already downed my entire water bottle, and there was lingering adrenaline from the match. 

“I’m going to need to set a reminder to ice my shoulder tonight.” Heather hissed as she slid into a chair.

“Giving you pain again?” I frowned. 

“My dad said that there had to be an inflamed nerve when he gave me a massage.”

“Yeah, just be careful the next few days. We need you for the match against the Berserkers next week.”

“Yeah I know.” Heather smirked.

After we gave our drink order, Heather loosened the hair tie holding her braid together and began to pry the strands apart. Something I noted when we’d first met way back when was that a braid was our continued choice of hairstyle. I was never one for ponytails, and she didn’t like to have her wavy hair draped over her shoulders and torso. I left my hair still tied upward, but Heather let it loose in what I could guess was to cool down from the workout we’d just had. 

“You got what I asked you for?” I spun the straw in my glass.

“Yup.” Her expression grew grim. “Though Dagur and I ask the same question. Why do you feel so determined to get him to commit that you have to go to his house? He thinks you’re looking for a death sentence. I can’t believe you’d want to get this much into his private life. I mean, I’m not looking up Atali’s address behind her back.”

“You also aren’t heckling her to do her part. I have to do it, and I really doubt that Hiccup would have given it to me if I asked politely. I’m doing it, because I’m thinking that if I can at least get word to his parents they can get him to follow through.” 

“But not every parent is the same. Sure your parents would do that if you were slacking off, but Haddock’s could be different.” She took a ginger sip of her macchiato. “One parent could be a drunk, or an addict. Hel they might both be workaholics who don’t give a crap if their son even goes to school. You saying you want to step into the role of parent for them?” 

“I can be a great persuader.” I smiled. “How do you think I got to be captain?”

“Yeah well that determination didn’t get you to go for the student cabinet though.” Heather laughed. “I have the address for you, but Dagur made me and I have to make you promise to secrecy. If people found out you could do this we could get in some serious trouble.”

“I know that. It’s just, I got tired of waiting around. He doesn’t cling to his cell phone like most seniors and I get the feeling he doesn’t have much access to internet. I guess, my curiosity is starting to get the best of me. I want to see where he lives, see if I can gauge why he acts the way he does.”

“You can’t be thinking he’ll be okay with you popping up at his house out of nowhere.” 

“He’ll have to deal with it. Cuz now that I’ll have this info. in my back pocket, he’ll know that I can find him.” 

She handed over a slip of paper. “You’ll have to shred that after you have it remembered. He might ask you where you got the information though.”

“It’s a decent-sized city, I’ll say it wasn’t hard to figure out.”

“Asti, all I can ask is that you be careful as you go on your little quest today. I pray to Freya that nothing will happen to you. That’s why I think you should take your racket with you as do this.”

“I can’t be lugging that thing on the bus as I go across town. Just take care of it for me ‘til Monday.” I begged. 

“Fine.” But she reached into her racket bag and dug out a small canister in a leather case. “Then take this. Pepper spray. Can’t trust a guy like Haddock.” 

“Thanks for the wish of luck.” 

I read the address on the little sheet of paper. Sliding out my phone so I could type it into my navigation app. 

#httyd #fanfiction #face amidst the smoke #ch 6 #ao3 #astrid hofferson #hiccup haddock #heather oswaldson #modern day au

[liviuswrites]

The first time they met at hockey practice, they were seven and eight, and Sasuke’s family was still alive.

"You didn't hurt him, did you?"

Naruto tucks his hands behind his back. "No."

Sasuke frowns. He's only known Naruto for a few weeks, but Naruto seemed to hurt things — and people — a lot. When a bully stuck their skate out to trip Sasuke, and Sasuke skinned his knees on the ice where he'd been lining up to take a shot, Naruto had gone after the other kid. He chased him right off the ice, even when Coach Iruka yelled at him to come back.

"Okay," Sasuke says, sniffing from his earlier tears. "I believe you."

"You shouldn't. It's easy to lie."

"Why would you lie?" Sasuke blinks confused at Naruto.

Naruto glares, looking away and saying nothing. Sasuke wishes Naruto didn't always look so angry. The other orphans who were dropped off by a bus once a week didn’t ever look as angry as him.

After a brief moment, Naruto sits down on the ice next to Sasuke, pulling a handful of crumpled bandaids out of his pocket.

"I got these from the nurse."

"That's a lot of bandaids..." Sasuke says.

The nurse only gave Sasuke one bandaid last time he saw her in the rink’s infirmary. Maybe she liked Naruto more. He’s in there all the time and sometimes Naruto could be really nice.

"I stole them," Naruto says.

Sasuke's eyes fly open. "Stealing is bad, Naruto!"

"Worse than lying?"

Sasuke pouts. He guesses he's glad that Naruto told him the truth, even if the truth was bad.

Naruto doesn't mind when Sasuke doesn't answer his question. He opens up the first bandaid, stripping it over the bloody scuff mark on one of Sasuke's knees. Sasuke doesn't watch Naruto's hands at work, but stares at his face instead. He doesn't like that Naruto stole the bandaids, but he feels a little warm — a little happy — that Naruto was worried enough to sneak into the infirmary for him. Itachi would have never broken the rules like that.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke says. "I like you a lot."

Naruto doesn't look up from the third bandaid he's peeling open, but Sasuke can see him frown.

"You should marry me."

Naruto looks up at Sasuke, wary. "Marriage is dumb."

"Don't say that." Sasuke tries to hide that Naruto hurt his feelings.

"But it is." Naruto smooths the bandaid out on Sasuke's skin, patting it down. "It doesn't really mean anything."

"It means you get to hold hands with that person," Sasuke argues.

Because clearly, Naruto just doesn't know how awesome marriage is. Maybe it’s because Naruto doesn't have mom or dad. Maybe he doesn't know that Sasuke could hold Naruto's hand, he could hug Naruto at nighttime when his mom lets him come over, he could even have a baby with Naruto when they're grown up, though Sasuke isn't certain enough to mention that one.

Naruto reaches over, grabbing Sasuke's hand with his own in an uneasy, mechanical motion like he’s never done it before.

Sasuke flushes.

"We can hold hands without being married. See?"

"Oh," Sasuke drops, now doubting his point. His confusion is quickly washed out by delight though, gripping Naruto's hand back with a smile. "I guess we can."

Naruto stares at him intently, and Sasuke thinks he looks scared, or like he might run away, but then his cheeks turn pink, and Sasuke’s smile grows bigger.

"Gross! Boys don't hold hands with each other!"

Naruto's eyes snap to the side to see the same kid who pushed Sasuke has returned to the ice. Before Sasuke can stop him, Naruto lets go of his hand, grabs his old, beaten up hockey stick, and climbs back onto his skates. This time, he’s definitely prepared to hurt the bully.

"Wait, Naruto!"

Sasuke jumps to his skates too, ignoring the sting of his knees, chasing after him.

***

Naruto had been playing hockey since he was seven and he knew exactly how brutal the NHL tryouts would be.

He’s ready when the coach divides everyone into teams to scrimmage and there’s not a chance in hell he’s going to let the rival team steal a win. His blades might as well be made out of hot iron for how they cut against the ice. He guards the puck, gripping his stick intimately, mouth curling into a sharp smile behind the guard of his helmet as an instinct deep in his gut tells him, go left.

Ice frays beneath steel as Naruto makes a tight turn, avoiding one of his opponents. An opening reveals itself. Naruto brings his stick back in full swing. He can see it now. He’s over the blueline, he’s in enemy territory where openings are rare, and he has to take the shot.

Naruto’s stick is less than an inch from making contact with the puck, it even tips it, when he catches a blur in the corner of his eye.

A blur of a purple jersey and purple helmet slams into Naruto’s shoulder. He has just enough time to twist his body and prevent real damage from the impact, but there’s no chance of quick recovery from the largest player on the ice. Naruto crashes into the lining of the ring with the weight of the other player on top of him, their face guards smashing together.

Naruto pinpoints the unguarded puck as a player on the rival team scoops it up.

It’s number 66.

Naruto doesn't recognize players. His coaches have given him shit about it in the past — that studying the game is just as important as playing it — but Naruto has never met anyone he couldn’t take on, so it didn’t matter who they were. He would always pull through when it came down to it.

Number 66 glances over at Naruto, who is still pinned against the wall, and Naruto stares right back into those casual, dark eyes, so knowing, like—

Like he was the one behind the assault.

Naruto’s stick flattens against his assaulter's chest guard, shoving him off. Naruto is an enforcer. His role is to protect his teammates from violence by being the violence, and while Naruto is very good at this, it’s not his only interest. He wants to make nets; he wants to score. His minor league coach, Jiraiya, used to call him a greedy fool.

Naruto calls it being the best in the entire damn league. Why would he ever aim to be anything less?

So he doesn't hit his assaulter, if only because he can’t cut his tryouts short due to injury before he proves he’s more than just violence. Naruto’s hands itch all the same to give into temptation, but he knows better. All the enforcers here are looking to make an impression; they’re all going to try and start a fight as soon as they can to impress the tryout judges.

They’re most likely looking for an enforcer who can get decked in the face five times, spit out their broken teeth, adjust their displaced jaw, and tackle the closest opponent who dared lay a finger on the best player on the team.

He knows what they want, but it doesn’t change what he wants.

Naruto grip tightens on his stick. He’s a little surprised when his assaulter doesn't try to provoke a fight. This guy is weirdly calm and he lets Naruto go.

Naruto skates around him, somewhat weirded out by his lack of interest, but it’s a non-factor. Right now, Naruto’s only priority is to get back into the game.

Number 66 still hasn’t passed the puck, even by the time Naruto returns to the frenzy. The other team is shouting at 66 to pass, they’re open! and normally Naruto would use these verbal cues to figure out where the puck is going, but 66 doesn’t even glance in his teammate's direction. Even Kiba — the biggest puck hog of all time — used to pass if he was yelled at enough. It doesn’t look like this player even hears his team.

In a surge of surprise, Naruto notices that none of his own teammate’s are covering the player with the puck. Looking around wildly, his own teammates are boxed out by the other team. Number 66 is untouchable, pulling his stick back, and Naruto’s eyes dart to their goalie going on defense, tensing neither left or right, careful not to give 66 any clues to which way he’s going to dive.

66 can’t be serious. He’s going to aim for a goal that far away from the net?

Naruto frowns, pumping his arms to make a dash for 66. It takes all of three seconds before his intentions are known and he makes it all of five feet before he’s plowed down.

It’s not just a shoulder tap this time. It’s a full fucking bodycheck.

Naruto skids against the ice, ribs scraping against the hard surface, spine slamming against the rink’s wall. He manages to grab his head in time, preventing it from bouncing too hard off the side. He knows how to take a hit. His junior hockey coach, Iruka, tells him it’s because he always got into fights as a kid and he’s flabbergasted really, to this day, how Naruto hasn’t died from any of his concussions yet.

Naruto’s assaulter leans over him. He gets a good look, squinting up. Orange hair under that purple helmet. It’s the same enforcer as before. Naruto’s vision thumps from the impact and he can already feel the discoloration of his ribs.

Naruto looks over in time to see number 66 make one of the most ridiculous shots he’s ever seen.

The player goes behind the net, rounds it, fakes the goalie, and waits for the goalie’s knee guards to hit the ice in the wrong direction, before 66 slots the puck through three other player’s legs at an angle that Naruto couldn’t make even with no else on the goddamn ice.

It hits the goal so hard, it flies back out as fast as it goes in.

The goalie swears, hitting his stick against the ice in frustration.

Naruto’s eyes don’t leave 66 as he glides in a small circle to full stop, graceful and memorizing and completely infuriating. The guy acts like it was nothing at all. It rubs Naruto the wrong way — that pretentiousness. He probably grew up in a hockey family who started him on skates before he could even walk with all newest gear and fancy fucking top notch coaches. It doesn't matter though. Not really. Naruto would make sure of it.

He’s about to get up right now to do just that, in fact.

Except the enforcer who bodychecked him hasn’t moved since the goal. Naruto pauses when notices the guy is still watching 66, mouth relaxed and gaze soft, and it’s a little odd to see such open affection on the ice, but Naruto just assumes they originally played on the same team.

Either way, Naruto is certain he’s never played against these two guys before. They were probably recruited overseas.

The other enforcer’s focus is broken when Naruto is back on his feet. He frowns.

“Don’t touch 66.”

Naruto goes to skate by him, but the guy blocks him. The penalty whistle was blown the moment Naruto went down — there are consequences for full bodychecks like that — so really, the guy should get a move on.

“If you go after number 66 again, you won’t get back up next time.”

Naruto raises his eyebrows at the threat, but he doesn't say anything. He’s not scared. He’s heard far worse; hell, this guy is probably one of the most tame enforcers he’s ever met.

“I’m not going into the box until you agree.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt him,” Naruto says, honest.

Naruto doesn’t bodycheck players without good reason. He would have shouldered 66 to the side, at most, to throw off his shot, but since 66 is apparently a prodigy sharpshooter, he doubts it would have made a difference in any case.

The ref blows their whistle louder now for the enforcer to take his penalty, players growing impatient with them for holding off the scrimmage.

“You haven’t agreed,” the guy says, his voice beginning to strain.

Really strain.

So maybe he isn’t as calm as Naruto thought.

Well. Naruto isn’t going to agree. He can’t say whether or not he’s going to go after someone when he doesn't know who that someone is. 66 could be a dirty player, for all he knows. If he attacks one on his teammates, Naruto will have to run him down. His mouth thins, and his answer is known.

The enforcer pulls off his gloves, tossing them to the side. Naruto’s eyes narrow. He didn’t want to fight this early on, but he will if he has to. He reaches to remove his own gloves, but he stops short.

Number 66 skates up to them.

He swoops down in one elegant motion to snatch his enforcer’s gloves back off the ice and stops between them with his back to Naruto, but Naruto still watches in surprise. It’s rare — pretty goddamn unheard of in hockey — that a player intervenes on his enforcer who was about to fight on his behalf.

Number 66 hands the enforcer his gloves.

“Not now, Jugo,” 66 says.

Naruto narrows his eyes at that implication that there will be a later, even though he’s well aware it’s not a choice for him today to turn down a fight. There’s too much of a risk the judges will dock him for it.

66 skates off without ever looking at Naruto and Naruto grits his teeth at the complete lack of acknowledgement. He’s used to it enough that he can shove it aside. He half expects Jugo to to take a bare-fisted swing at him anyway, but the guy parts from Naruto toward the penalty box without another word.

“Number 01.”

Naruto turns to look at spoken judge, standing just outside the ring with her clipboard. He always likes hearing his number said out loud, even when it’s said with something less than impressed. It reminds him where he’s going to be in the NHL rankings.

“I presume you remember how to line up?”

Naruto fights down the color rising to his cheeks and nods, more in acknowledgement than apology, as he falls back in line with his team.

His team runs the puck down into rival territory.

Naruto’s spirit picks back up at the opening to score. His improving mood skids to a halt.

“Hey!” Naruto yells.

His teammate can’t possibly hear him in time.

Number 66 angles his stick just so, stabbing between the player’s legs amidst all the other players where it’s subtle and hard to see from the judges’ perspectives, and 66 flips the player over onto the ice. It’s a dirty play. The crack of the player’s helmet bounces off the rink walls.

Naruto’s teammate drops like deadweight.

The penalty whistle blows.

While enforcers are expected to be penalized for the sake of protecting the best players, sharpshooters like 66 should always avoid penalties. It’s time off ice that should be time spent scoring. It only hurts their entire team, and it doesn’t seem like 66 could give less of a damn.

Naruto skates by the on-duty paramedic, who is rushing toward the unmoving player.

He goes right for number 66.

“What the hell was that?” Naruto gets in his face.

And shoves him.

Number 66 slides back, turning an ankle to stop the movement, unsurprised, as though this is all very predictable.

“The ref called a penalty,” 66 says, dismissive, like that’s all there is to it.

“I don’t give a fuck about the ref. You do it again and I’m coming after you.”

“Scary.”

“You don’t think I will?” Naruto growls.

66 tilts his head in a way that makes Naruto feel analyzed. Exposed. Naruto doesn’t like it.

“I hear you’re an enforcer that doesn't like to fight.”

Naruto doesn't have to consider whether or not that’s true. He leans in, nice and close for 66 to hear.

“Doesn’t mean I won’t.”

“That’s just what I hear,” 66 goads. “How true can that be when you’re threatening me instead of checking on your teammate?”

Naruto rips his gaze away to look over at his teammate. He hadn’t even spared a glance to see whether or not they were even conscious. The guy is slowly sitting up, arguing with the paramedic that he’s all right to keep playing, and by the time Naruto looks back, 66 has already propelled himself a few strides away. Naruto glares after him, but shortly turns around to follow his wobbly teammate and the paramedic back toward the bench.

“You okay?” Naruto asks.

“I know we don’t know each other, but man, can you kick that guy’s ass?”

Naruto forces a small smile of partial reassurance and partial apology, before rounding back toward the center line, pretending he doesn’t see Jugo step out of the penalty box or how 66 graciously takes his place to serve his own time.

There’s going to be a fight with Jugo since he shoved 66. Naruto knows this. But 66 was wrong. It’s not that Naruto doesn't like to fight. He wants to be more than that, more than the monster he’s been seen as since he first started playing. But sometimes—

Sometimes Naruto believes that’s exactly what he is.

He’s had an inescapable desire for violence as long as he can remember, like it’s burnt into his soul.

He’s not expecting Jugo to come after him before the puck is in play. He’s not expecting Jugo to come at him, right out of the box, like an uncontrollable beast — all trace of calm gone in a blink.

But Naruto is ready. He’s always ready.

Naruto drops his gloves before Jugo tackles him. Jugo is bigger than him and Naruto can't just topple them over. He grabs Jugo's jersey, yanking him in, but Jugo does the same, and for a moment, it's just them fighting to get the upper hand.

Jugo gets it first.

He punches Naruto in the side of the ribs, once and then twice, and Naruto is left to cling onto Jugo’s jersey, refusing to let go, even as Jugo elbows his helmet off and lands another punch, this time square in Naruto’s mouth. Sweet, savory copper bursts over his tongue, indicating a split lip or a knocked tooth, but he doesn’t care.

Naruto likes the taste of blood.

Knuckles collide with Naruto’s right eye and that one hurts, snapping his head sideways. When he looks back, Jugo’s face is lit with something wild and not quite right, his mouth pulled into an unhinged smile, nothing tame about it, and Naruto can see the victory in those hungry eyes. Without a doubt, Jugo intends to finish the fight with the next blow.

Naruto’s nose doesn’t break, but it must at least fracture by the crack of his bones and the amount of blood that gushes out.

It’s worth the surprise on Jugo’s face when Naruto doesn’t go down.

Naruto doesn’t miss a beat.

He grabs the collar of Jugo’s jersey and slams their heads together. The damage Naruto has already taken is irrelevant. The impact sends Jugo off balance, but Naruto’s hand is still coiled in Jugo’s shirt, keeping him nice and close, refusing to let him escape what has become his turn.

It won’t take long. It never does.

He has Jugo down on the ice in seconds. Naruto pacts a ridiculous amount of strength in his punches and he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t stop because he can’t, slamming his knuckles against Jugo’s face until it becomes just as bloody as his own. The ref frantically blows his whistle.

Naruto’s eyes are wide and violent and pulsing. One more hit and Jugo will be out of tryouts for good, which means one less competitor for Naruto, and he almost can’t stop himself, almost, but he’s had practice.

His last punch lands in the ice next to Jugo’s head. Even the ref goes silent when the ice crunches beneath Naruto’s knuckles, cracks reverberating outward with a frightening amount of distance from the force.

The first thing Naruto sees when he looks up from Jugo’s mangled face are the incredulous eyes of number 66.

Wide and alive... Something stirs deep in Naruto’s stomach, heated and alive, and...

Blood drips between Naruto’s eyes and over his lips.

66 isn’t wearing his helmet. Naruto can see him now.

It’s the little boy.

It’s the little boy who asked to marry him all those years ago before he blinked out of existence the next day with no warning, no goodbye. All Naruto heard was that his family had died.

It’s Sasuke.

Two other players rip Naruto off Jugo. They pin his arms down against the ice, and Naruto finds himself unable to look away from Sasuke. He’s distantly aware that the only reason 66 lost his helmet is because a pack fight has broken out. It must have broken out during his fight with Jugo. Sasuke must have left the penalty box to contribute or—

Naruto sees the two guys down near Sasuke’s skates.

Or... Or Sasuke was going to end it.

A slow smile, past his shock, past his disbelief, pulls onto his mouth before his gaze lifts to lock on Sasuke again, to see the recognition in those dark eyes, as they both realize exactly who their rival will be in becoming the best player in the NHL.

#have a hockey AU i guess #naruto is kind of cold but i promise he's sunshine off the ice #i might write more to this IDK #but spoiler: they both make the cuts #Naruto #Naruto Uzumaki #Sasuke Uchiha #SasuNaruSasu #SNS #SasuNaru #NaruSasu #SasuNaru fic #NaruSasu fic #SNS fic #SasuNaruSasu fic #so many different versions of the same #hockey AU

[dulcetscen]

Hiii may I request a nsfw scenario for Okamrua Kenichi, the scenario being something like his wife wants a child so she is literally pouncing him at any chance she has? (I wanted to add two other dudes but they are from different animes so if it's okay I'm sending those as two other asks)

Ahh, so this wasn’t as pouncy as I wanted it to be? But I hope you enjoy it either way. Everyone loves a poor, flustered Keni, right?

Thanks for requesting!

•

Kenichi was careful to slip through the front door as quietly as possible.

The team he coached begged him to let practice last a bit longer after their scrimmage game, and of course he obliged. Thirty minutes more quickly turned into hours and next thing he knew, he was finally leaving the gymnasium a little after 10 with nothing more on his mind than getting home to you and falling asleep in the bed he hoped you waited for him in.

Turning to lock the door behind him, the fatigue that suddenly hit him prevented him from hearing as you approached from behind him.

“Ken~i~chi.”

His ears piqued at the sound of your voice even before his name registered in his brain. He didn’t think you’d be awake, and as he turned around to face you with a smile forming on his lips, he certainly didn’t expect to see you in…

“That.”

His cheeks bloomed in a deep blush, and his hands began to grow warm and twitch at the sight of you. His eyes dashed across your body, taking in the subtle details of the white lace teddy that (barely) covered your skin.

How could something so naughty make you look so perfect? He wondered what the delicate lace would feel like under his touch, how warm your skin must have been to be glowing the way it did to him.

Kenichi loved the way it looked on you, but knew that he would like it even more when it was off.

He didn’t realize that you’d been stalking towards him as he mused over your presence in his mind until his gym bag hit the floor with a dull thud.

His body flamed where you pressed yours against him, your hand resting on his shoulder as you pushed yourself up to meet his ear with your lips.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Kenichi.”

Your arousal seemed to pour off of you as you pressed your lips against his scruffy chin, butterflying your way over to his lips and ghosting there, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“I’ve been wanting you all day, too.”

Kenichi’s hands shook as he brought them to your hips. He hesitated for a moment before pulling you flush against him.

“H-have you?”

His mind was foggy, suddenly reeling what the words you whispered to him so unabashedly.

It had always been so easy to get Kenichi aroused, and this time was no different. It was just a matter of moments until he was largely aware of the growing tent that strained against his slacks. The light pressure of your thigh pressing against his clothed cock didn’t do much to help, either.

Not that either of you were complaining.

Bringing a hand down, you lightly covered the tenting of his cock through his pants, squeezing lightly where you knew his sensitive head would be.

“You’re happy to see me too, huh?” You gave him an innocent, gentle smile that made his mind turn into literal mush.

Yes, he was ecstatic to see you. But he didn’t trust himself to express that with words, and instead pressed his lips against yours in a slightly frantic kiss.

Making sure to not disturb the dancing of your lips, you quickly made work of the button and zipper that kept Kenichi’s pants at his waist, dipping your hand into the waistband of them and the briefs that he wore underneath.

He leaned against the door behind him, the touch of your warm hand on his bare member sending a jolt through his body.

He was already so hard, and you guessed that he couldn’t be too far from his release either.

He finally pulled away from you, his head leaning back against the door as his mouth hung open with a silent moan.

Circling the head of his cock with your thumb, you pressed sweet kisses along his neck and collarbone, smiling against his tan skin as he let out shaky, strained breaths because of your touch.

This continued for a few torturous minutes until finally your voice brought Kenichi back to attention.

“Ken?”

“H-hmm?” He jumped slightly, his breath hitching as you gave the head of his cock one last gentle squeeze before pulling your hand away from him.

Licking the bit of precum from your finger, you smiled at him, relishing in the way his face turned a deep shade of red at your action.

“Let’s go to the bedroom, okay?”

How could he say no?

He knew exactly what you wanted tonight, and Kenichi was more than happy to oblige.

#okamura kenichi #Kenichi Okamura #Okamura x reader #Kenichi x reader #Okamura Kenichi x reader #Kenichi Okaura x reader #knb x reader #kuroko no basket #kuroko no basuke x reader #Kuroko no Basuke #🍋 #kissingscorpions #dulcet.atnite

[mantra4ia]

My Top/Bottom “10″ Moments of Avengers: Endgame [Spoilers Ahead]

In no particular rank…

The Good and the Legendary Moments (I had a hard time limiting it to 10, clearly there are more)

Cap’s “don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone” and Bucky’s reprise “How can I? You’e taking all the stupid with you…I’m gonna miss you.” He knows his friend well enough through all the years that he understands and accepts (and in that second, we do too) that Cap’s not coming back the fast way, that he’s chosen the slow path to the end of the line.

Sam inheriting the Shield from Rogers with Bucky’s blessing, “go to him.” Because Bucky knows that, even though they are the best of friends and fellow supersoldiers, Sam has kept an eye on Steve while Bucky was MIA, and that puts him in a reasonable position to inherit the mantle.

Post-snap “5 years later” we see Steve taking up Sam’s role as a group counselor, our first hint at the transition of roles later to come, capped off with Sam emerging from the portal with a timely “on your left.”

Hawkeye’s opening: the very real, personal, character driven moment in which Clint is with his family, and shortly thereafter the snap is dragged out of retirement kicking and screaming.

Tony’s and Stark’s intellectual interactions which began as animosity and conlcuded as a kind of mutual admiration “is this the one we win? / if I tell you, it won’t happen (almost apologetically because Strange knows what is about to happen and is letting it go forward anyway),” culminating with “I am Iron Man” and thunderous applause.

EVERYTHING having to do with Tony’s daughter Morgan. From her interaction with Jon Favreau aka Happy about cheeseburgers, to finding her dad’s suit mask, to Stark calculating time-travel while doing the dishes, then swearing, then swearing Morgan to secrecy, and most heartrendingly “I love you 3000.” Tony’s father-daughter relationship is one of those key character pieces that elevates this whole film from a Marvel capstone to a best picture.

Steve’s moment watching Peggy even though he never interacts with her, in 70s at the Pymm/Stark research facility. It’s the most poignant foreshadow of his destination to come. He doesn’t make that mistake twice.

Natasha’s character development. Five years later, even as she falls apart spinning her wheels about deep sea tectonic quakes, and she still cuts her peanut butter sandwich corner to corner as if daring “Nick” Fury to unsnap himself and say “no, let me show you how it’s done.” Two great insights into the depth of their familial relationship courtesy of the Captain Marvel film. Also a shout-out Steve’s subsequent offer to cook Nat dinner. Steve and Nat always carry great character moments, all the way back to CA:WS when she was setting him up on dates.

The small moments of battlefield humor that were just enough not to break the moment: Steve calling out to Parker “Hey Queens,” Peter engaging the Spidey suit kill mode and then him curled up in the fetal position, Wong’s deadpan “were you expecting more?” Jesus, just give Wong an entire act in the next Doctor Strange movie and I will be happy. I adore him. PS: what a pleasant surprise the way the Russos put Tilda Swinton in as Sorcerer Supreme opposite Banner. That was just the right character for the exposition on the perils of altered reality.

The overarching theme of premonitions as it deals with crossing through the quantum realm into the past, and the ensuing parallels from what we’ve already seen in the Marvel past. Specifically the ‘premonitions’ that past-Nebula had when future Nebula past through time and how they could access each others memories, which puts the interesting and poetic possibility that Tony’s dreams/visions this whole time (ex: Infinity War’s “[Pepper] we had a kid, it was so real”) were never a direct result of Thanos, but rather his travel through time. The Time Travel element also relates to parallels where Howard Stark meets “Howard Potts” and the potshots at his questionable beard. Tony meets Stark Sr. at the exact right moment when Maria is expecting and they relate to the perils and joys of fatherhood: “there’s no manual for this/ there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid / you did your best”, which sets up Howard’s video journal to Tony and Tony’s post-battle video journal to Morgan as even more powerful together, in the context of each other, then when we saw the original Iron Man films. Endgame brings new depth / meaning to those historic moments.

Honorable mention to Thor who, after the “I aimed for the head” reprise, developed a sense of crippling anxiety and notable weight gain within his depressive reclusiveness, and still managed to suit up and be a hero anyway. While I didn’t necessarily like the fact that Thor dealt with his PTSD through hardcore gaming, I like the direction that the Russo’s steered him after subsequently calling him an “Angel Pirate” in Infinity War. The message, by contrast, that you don’t have to look a certain way, or step into the role that everyone expects of you (King of Asgard), or even have your shit together to be heroic - you just have to step your foot out of the door and face the day - is damn brilliant.

Honorable mention #2: Rocket’s speech to Thor “you’re not the only person to have ever lost someone.” Great BroTP, with tha dash of crossover Whovian.

Honorable trifecta: Steve Rogers wielding the Mjolnir and FINALLY. FIN-A-LLY “Avengers: Assemble!” What great standing ovation moments.

OVERALL: What this film misses in building the tension (it cycles down before it revs up), it makes up for by setting up the small, poignant character moments that show off the emotional talent of these actors in a way that I’ve never seen with this impact before: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Civil War being the runners up.

The Disappointing:

The “Smart Hulk” / Ant Man “little man” gag didn’t work for me. The autographs, the tacos, the test time travel run. It got stale very quickly.

Speaking of Ant Man, by contrast to Tony and Morgan, Scott Lang’s reunion with his daughter after 5 years didn’t hit the emotional note it was meant to. It make sense how they use Lang as perspective of “what’s going on / fish out of water” to drive the aftermath of the snap home and to introduce quantum science. But out of all the characters, I was probably least invested in him.

The female-led gauntlet scrimmage in the final act across the battlefield felt like more of a “set piece” rather than really earned emotion by comparison to Infinity War’s female tag team (Okoye, Nat, and Wanda) against Proxima, where Nat defends Wanda and says “she’s not alone.”

I didn’t like the script choice of killing the complex, Infinity War version of Thanos so quickly (while it was unexpected and paid off big time for a hot second when Thor’s said “I aimed for the head”) and taking on Past-Thanos. For me, it undermined and underdeveloped the villain. I would have wanted a deeper understanding of “The Garden” and flashbacks to Titan or young Gamora, or even more interaction between him and his daughter present-Nebula, before the war-torn Thanos gets the 1-2 chop, but I understand the choice given time constraints of a three hour film.

Hawkeye’s ronin montage: his revenge against criminals in the post-snap era, “why are you here, why did you get to survive and my family didn’t?” could have had the ability to be powerful, especially considering that Natasha has been keeping tabs on him and didn’t intervene until critical mass. But instead, I feel like it was mishandled, too thematic, it takes your out of the moment like a set piece.I loved Natasha’s bond with Clint up to and after the ronin sequence, it took two characters that I was on the fence with and got me emotionally invested in them as a team, I just hated the montage itself.

No Vision? What?! Hardly even a mention in this film except for Wanda’s wrath when she is resurrected and brings that house down on Thanos, but even then Thanos essentially said “who the heck are you and what did I do to make you mad?” completely taking the steam out of Vision’s fall. Hopefully Phase 4 addresses / fixes that.

No Loki resurrection? At the very least, no past-Loki dialogue?! Come on. I thought for a second, when Loki escaped STRIKE custody in the alternate timeline with the tessaract, that maybe the team had created a and untrimmed time branch (I still think they did, because if Rogers returned the Stone to 1970, it doesn’t fix the later botched attempt to steal it, so maybe there’s a branch reality where Loki is alive with witty trickster lines and I’ll cling to it). Then I was fooled again when Mjolnir went flying through the air I thought perhaps that Loki Odinson had returned and was worthy to wield it through his selfless sacrifice (I was only momentarily disappointed / awed to see it was Cap instead). Again, Phase 4, give me some help here!

The fact that Black Widow got no proper funeral sendoff, concluding Natasha’s long history of under-use throughout the entire Infinity Saga. Don’t get me wrong: I understand her soul stone sacrifice, and in a way I understand the people who say, “don’t take that away from her, it’s powerful.” It is. She comes from a manipulative, violent background that made her who she is and good at what she does. Throughout her history, she never had family, which she admits: “Red Skull knew my father’s name, that’s more than I ever did.” So it makes the choice more poignant that she built a family around herself and did whatever it took to keep them safe and united. That said, I wasn’t (until this film) necessarily invested in Black Widow like I am the other Avengers characters, but she’s had some great moments with Clint (I still want to see the Budapest mission, and the Iran extraction that Bucky compromised) and Rogers (Endgame: I’ve been telling everyone to move on, but not us. Winter Soldier: their getaway from Hydra-infested SHIELD) and Fury. Which is why I HATE that her only tribute was a bunch of men standing around lamenting over her (while simultaneously being oblivious to the Nebula swap, seemingly incapable of intelligent script development by McFeely and Markus around those two female characters). It would have at least been fitting if they had more regrets “why didn’t we know her better, we were supposed to be her family”, “why didn’t we appreciate her while we could” or her name added to an altered  “fallen” monument. There was no payoff to her chemistry with Bruce, and no final closure with un-dusted Fury to pay his respects, which would have been a small but vastly fitting gesture. WHAT A WASTE. 

Captain Marvel’s use in the film as essentially a ballistic, ship-destroying missile and her anticlimactic Thanos battle. Why use her at all in this film if it’s going to be as a plot device? She could have had potential opposite Thor, and I’ll argue that she should have been Banner’s tag-team person to bring him out of new-Asgard exile. But the Russos and writing team missed that opportunity as well. Danvers’ appearance felt hollow.

The pacing / cycle down of tension post-opening sequence was off-putting to me. I was revved up to level 10 ready to go to 11, but had to dial back down by half (ex: even though I love the montage of Tony and Nebula playing table football, it crawls by comparison to the expectations set right after Infinity War). The tonal shifts between the three acts of Endgame made me feel like I was watching two good films as opposed to the one great, legendary film I was expecting. Perhaps I came in to Endgame too pumped and needed to be more in the moment, because this displaced feeling was very strong on initial viewing, but faded the second time I saw the film.

Honorable mentions: Parts of the alternate reality “time travel” sequence really bothered me: ie the battle of New York (from A1). Hulk smash didn’t work for me, though Hulk “take the stairs” and Stark’s minor cardiac dysrhythmia corrected by Thor’s hammer were funny. Also Cap’s “I found Loki” was priceless. So I guess you have to absorb the disagreeable montages of time alterations to enjoy the good, like Banner and the Sorcerer Supreme, Howard and “Howard.”

Honorable mention #2: This movie did a hell of a job at all the couple / BroTP splitting, WTH! Steve and Sharon never stood a chance, Wanda and Vision, Banner and Natasha, Steve and Bucky, Steve and Sam, Thor and Loki, Gamora and Quill. Dammit, I hope Phase 4 at least patches up a few holes in these ships before sending in the speculated new ensemble of comics characters.

In SUMMARY: as my dislikes wane with time and my likes grow in retrospect with each saga part I rewatch, and each time I revisit A4 in theaters, I think that Avengers: Endgame, while not quite my favorite installment, will stick with me forever. What a decade! And my next great joy will be 10…15…20 years from now, when I get to meet a kid, let’s call her Morgan, who’s never seen an MCU film before and vicariously relive that first joy watching it with them. To the end of the line.

I can’t wait. 

#spoilers #avengers endgame #avengers endgame spoilers #top 10 #endgame #endgame reaction'd #infinity saga #mcu #mcu phase 4 #to the end of the line #i love you 3000 #tony stark #captain america #sam wilson #bucky barnes #black widow #hawkeye #bruce banner #a decade for the nerds #nerdlife #marvel #stan lee the legand #the russo brothers #jon favreau #kevin fiege #a standing ovation to everyone involved in these 22 glorious stories

[disenchantedhq]

THE AURADON HERALD pub. May 16th

Headlines of the Week:

The Northmen Invade: In less than one month the annual Camelot Games are to be held in the land of its namesake, and we’re already hearing reports of visitors from the North Ridge and further beyond Auradon borders arriving in the city ahead of the competition for last minute training and to seek sponsorships from the wealthy noble houses. While many competitors have descended upon Auradon City, among the most notable is the heir to Her Royal Majesty Queen Merida of DunBroch and the child of Camelot’s own heroes Lady Kayley and Sir Garrett, as well as descendants of some of Auradon’s own General Li’s war comrades. Most of the northerners have been seen around the barracks which have been reconfigured into training grounds for the athletes, drawing an uncommon crowd down at the docks. This year is expected to be larger than before as it is believed that alongside the usual competitors and select members of the nobility that compete, the Shadowborn will be allowed to sign up for the events. (Event Date: June 7th through the 12th, sign ups begin end of May)

Corona Prepares for Birthday Festivities: Elsewhere in the city, we are seeing purple flags bearing golden sun crests going up on every corner as we near the birthday of her Ladyship Rapunzel Fitzherbert of Corona. As is yearly tradition, the royals of Auradon are expected to head westward to the city on water in order to participate in the week long festivities to honor the Countess of Corona. This year’s festivities are expected to be more grand than the years before as invitations are rumored to be extended to the Shadowborn currently residing in the city for the social season. While no information has been given at this time as far as what to expect during the five day event, we know at the least there will be the annual releasing of the lanterns on the evening of her ladyship’s birthday, just following sundown. (Event date: May 26th through the 30th)

The Society Section; Marriage Announcement: As previously announced, a wedding has taken place on May 13th, 1825. The Honourable Gwendolyn Dallben has been wedded to The Honorable Viscount of Atlantica and Royal Naval Captain, Lord Anderson. The newly wedded Lord and Lady Andersen are expected to spend a fortnight in Tirulia before returning to Auradon City. It has been reported that a salute from a line of naval officers took place outside the Notre Dame Cathedral following the service.

Missing Person’s Report: Two weeks following the May Day festivities, including a soirée at the Fey Burrough, it has been reported that a Light-Talent Never Pixie by the name of Honeybea has gone missing. Honeybea was said to be in attendance at the party but reportedly went missing some time prior to midnight and the fireworks show in the Enchanted Park. The case has been taken to Detective Basil of Baker Street who is asking the public for any information they may have regarding the disappearance. Honeybea is the child of the Light-Talent Pixie Iridessa of Neverland, and was last seen wearing a bright yellow ‘dress’ of sorts according to witnesses at the soirée. The Prince of the Vale, H.R.H Sevastyan Petit is likewise seeking any information the public may have.

Royal Ballet Announces Next Show: The Auradon Royal Ballet is preparing for their 1825 Winter Season by announcing a staging for a new ballet. The show is Swan Lake, a debut based upon the story of Viscount and Viscountess Schwann of the titular providence. The ballet is composed by a young composer by the name of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and is being sponsored by Sir Jean-Bob, a Baronet from the providence of Swan Lake. The Opera has announced that the show will debut by end of the year. Auditions for principle roles are slated to be held by summer’s end for any and all skilled dancers in the city, with Sir Jean-Bob expressing an interest to see a fresh face star as the White Swan.

Sea Battle Ensues with The Black Pearl: News from the sea has revealed a scrimmage with the infamous pirate ship The Black Pearl took place, just off the port at Tortuga. Two Royal Naval Ships were involved in the sea battle, namely H.M.S Trident and H.M.S Lancelot. Adm. of the Fleet, Admiral Andersen of Tirulia was aboard the H.M.S Trident which answered a distress signal off the coast of Tortuga where The Black Pearl commenced battle with and inevitably sunk H.M.S Lancelot. Casualties were said to be at a “comfortable minimum“, with little to no damage coming to the mother ship. Before the navy could further engage with the pirate ship, they disappeared seemingly out of thin air. Rumor has it a new captain helms the ship as Captain Jack Sparrow was last seen in Port Royale awaiting trial once again. The navy is currently protecting trade lines between Auradon and eastern allies such as Kumandra, which have come under pirate fire within the last few years.

Welcome to the first official (or perhaps second if you count the engagement announcement) edition of The Auradon Herald — a new feature to the roleplay which will be posted periodically as a means to help add more layers to the world, keep everyone in the know of in universe going on’s and news, as well as give updates to future events and to mostly maintain the advancement of time in the game. As we gear up for more in game events and plot drops, The Auradon Herald will give players some inside information on both the playable events and on things that would be happening in the world which characters should be in the know of even if they don’t directly pertain to the characters’ day to day lives. Unlike Lady Chattermore’s Society Papers, The Auradon Herald isn’t here to gossip or theorize about characters’ personal lives or to summarize events — it’s here to help flesh out the universe and help the progression of time.

That being said, The Herald will feature some society news such as marriage and wedding announcements. While Lady Chattermore will always have her piece to say about society’s personal lives, it is highly important for official announcements to be made in the local papers. In regency era your union was not considered legitimized by society standards if it wasn’t reported in the newspaper, and as such all royal or noble pairings should be included in the Herald’s postings. As more matches are made, we’ll collaborate with players to make sure their weddings are duly announced as well as the marriage and any relevant information.

Basically the Herald is here to keep you up to date on in game dates, news and upcoming events, as well as offer conversation points for the drawing room. Utilize it as you will!

With this edition of the Auradon Herald out, we want to let everyone know the current in game week is Sunday May 16th to Saturday May 22nd, 1825, and all interactions should be presumed to take place during this time. You are encouraged to resume any interactions on the server for the wedding as well as starting anew on the dash with the following week. We will be entering the next event, Rapunzel’s Birthday Festival, in about 1-2 weeks, so keep tuned in for the post for the next event.

As always, feel free to reach out with questions or if you would like to collaborate on future announcements! ☺️

#disenchantedupdate #disenchantedevent

[tiiescut]

what are your hands meant to do?

nourish

Maybe you should invest in flour. You work, work hard and sometimes you feel like that’s all you can do. That it'll never pay off. But there’s no greater feeling than to see the joy you bring to others, to see them succeed with the tools you gave them. You may not be a leader, but a leader’s spine, shoulders, ribs. You are the dawn before the sun. It’s sweet, too sweet, but it’s better than nothing. You are endless golden fields, salt of the earth, and the lives of all who devour it.

tagged by @frostfractals​ ( thank you booo !! ) tagging @towercursed​ @wildwcmen​ ( cass ) @nirgama​ @herflame​

#( this is freaky accurate i love it ) #dash games ( you up for a little scrimmage ? ).

[13uswntimagines]

A Misplaced Shovel Talk (Uswnt x reader)

Request: I was wondering if you could do one kinda similar but instead it's where the reader is the younger sibling of a really famous actor/actress (maybe Alycia debnam Carey but I don't mind you can chose who). And the reader is always so excited to watch their show that the team think they have a huge crush on them but then find out they're actually related when they come to either training or a match?

Hey dudes, so i decided to use Melissa Benoist because i’m currently obsessed with Supergirl, and I thought it would be fun to pull in a person from the team as the readers crush. I hope you enjoy and if you have an requests, feel free to hit me up. 

You loved the bus. It was generally noisy and loud but cuddled up to your bus buddy Alyssa, you had never felt more at peace. It was also the perfect place to catch up on all of the episodes of Supergirl you had missed. You were utterly obsessed with the show, and your teammates knew it.

“Oo Who ya smiling at rookie?” Kelley asked, popping over your shoulder. You startled slightly at her surprise presence, before settling back into Alyssa’s side.

“Just Supergirl,” You said offhandedly, smiling back down at the episode playing on your phone screen.

“Haven’t you watched them all yet? You’ve been binging it for like the past 8 camps.” Kelley asked, placing her chin on top of the back of the seat and watching the episode with you.

“Mmm,” You responded, not really paying attention to your teammates, instead, focusing on the blond-haired woman on the screen. You missed the looks your teammates shared. They thought your crush on Melissa Benoist was absolutely adorable, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t tease you about it.

“Maybe, she’s just not done watching the pretty blond,” Alex suggested, standing from her seat beside Kelley, also placing her chin on the back of the seat to watch the episode.

“That’s right. Our little rookie does have a type,” Kelley laughed, and a blush spread across your cheeks.

“I do not…”  you grumbled,

“So you’re not into superheroes?” Kelley shot back, raising her eyebrows.

“No, she’s into blonds,” Alex laughed, and your cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. Did they know about your crush? They couldn’t, right? You may have fallen for a certain blond midfielder, but you had been sure to not make it too obvious.

“You totally are!! Look at her cheeks,” Kelley giggled back, and you hid your face in Alyssa’s shoulder.

“Leave her alone guys,” She said, protectively wrapping an arm around you. The laughter quieted down, and you refocused on the storyline unfolding on the screen.

“Come on kid, we gotta warm-up before open practice,” Alyssa said, nudging you when she realized that you didn’t notice the bus emptying around you. You nodded, returning your phone to your pocket and heading off the bus. You were practically buzzing with excitement by the time you reached the locker room. Today was an open practice, which meant that your families had been invited to watch you train.

           You were incredibly close to your older sister, but you almost never actually got to see her in person due to her crazy schedule. She was always away filming in Canada, while you were stuck in Huston with the Dash. You knew that she tried her best to catch your games, and you never faulted her when she couldn’t. Sure it had hurt when she couldn’t make the world cup final, but you understood. You were thrilled that she would finally get to see your skills with her own eyes and that you would get to introduce her to the women who had become your family. You just hoped they wouldn’t tease you about your crush on Lindsey while she was there.

The girls watched as you spent the majority of practice glancing into the stands, an impossibly wide smile taking over your face. You had gone harder and pushed farther than you ever had during the scrimmage. You wanted to impress your sister, and with the 4 goals that you had scored for your team, you were sure you had.

The moment Vlatko blew the whistle to signal the end of practice, you were racing into the stands, right into the arms of Supergirl herself.

“You did so well out there munchkin,” She squealed as she pulled you into a tight hug. You sighed contently into her chest, your shoulders relaxing for what felt like the first time in forever.

“I missed you,” You mumbled into her shoulder, unwilling to leave her embrace.

“I know kid. But I’m here now,” She said quietly, placing a comforting kiss into your hair and squeezing you impossibly tighter. You leaned back suddenly, a wide smile breaking across your face.

“You have to tell me, do Kara and Lena finally get together, because there is so much chemistry there.” You rushed out excitedly, and she threw her head back laughing.

“Well,” she started, her cheeks turning a little pink and you laughed loudly at her.

Your teammates watched with shocked expressions as you leapt over the wall, and ran right up to the girl they had been teasing you about for months.

“Maybe it was more than a crush?” Pino mumbled as she came up beside Kelley, her eyes widening when you practically buried yourself in the woman’s chest.

“Damn, Kid’s got game, did you just see the look on her face,” Kelley laughed, taking in the way the woman wrapped herself around you and was blushing. How the hell had you managed to become so smooth? In their experience, you became a stuttering mess anytime anyone flirted with you. Yet there you were, flirting with your apparent girlfriend.

“She has to have something if she’s dating Supergirl. That woman is fine,” Alex Said from Kelley’s other side, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend and staring at you in shock.

“Is it just me, or is Supergirl looking at the rookie like you look at Perry’s kids,” Christen smiled as she walked up beside Tobin, bumping her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

“Definitely not just you,” Tobin smirked, wrapping her arm around Christen. They slowly made their way over to the tunnel, laughing when they saw you practically dragging your blond counterpart in that direction as well. Things were about to get very interesting.

“Hey kid, you going to introduce us to your friend here?” Megan asked as the team crowded around you and your sister. You shot her one of the brightest smiles they had ever seen.

“Everyone, this is Mel. Mel this is everyone,” You gestured wildly with your hands, too giddy to reign in your excitement. Mel laughed and kissed your cheek, and you blushed.

“Aw, you’re such a cutie pie,” Lindsey awed at you, pinching your cheek.

“I’m not cute,” You pouted at Lindsey, slapping her hand away.

“I’d beg to differ,” Lindsey laughed as Emily grabbed you in a headlock and messed up your hair.

“How many times have I told you not to mess with my hair. I’m going to kill you,” You yelled, laughing, as you began to chase Emily and Lindsey around the field. Your sister watched you chase after the women with a fond smile, and the women watched your sister with a very serious expression.

“What are your intentions with Y/n,” Kelley said after a few seconds, glaring in Melissa’s direction. Mel glanced at.

“I think we’re going out to dinner after this,” She shrugged, smiling as you finally caught up to Lindsey and tackled her to the ground.

“No. What are your intentions with her.” Alex said, crossing her arms and stepping directly into your sister’s line of vision. Melissa frowned, not understanding the aggression of the women around her.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding here,” She started, bringing her hand up to rub the back of her neck.

“There is no misunderstanding. Y/n is crazy about you if her obsession with your show is anything to go by. And it’s our job to protect the baby of the team.”  Kelley said, drawing out each word and accessing the women in front of her. If she was playing the baby of the team, they were going to have a massive problem.

“So we’ll ask again, what are your intentions with Y/n” Alex glared at her, slowly losing her patients with the woman in front of her.

 We’re not dating, she’s my little sister,” Mel blurted out, raising her hands in a pacifying motion, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

“Sister?” Alex’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, her arms dropping to the side. Her mouth opened and closed a few times.

“Yeah, sister,” Mel said, cracking a smile, unable to stop the little chuckle that left her lips.

“But she blushes every time we mention a crush,” Kelley said in disbelief. Mel nodded.

“She totally has a crush, just not on me.” She mumbled, watching as Lindsey escaped your hold, and you chased after her again, a giant smile gracing your lips, “That would be weird,” Her nose scrunched and she turned back to the women. The women laughed and followed her gaze. Maybe they had been wrong about the person who your feelings were directed with, but watching you with Lindsey, it became crystal clear.

“How did we miss that?” Alex said in disbelief, her eyebrows furrowing.

“I’m not sure, but if you want to join me for the shovel talk with that one,” Mel said, pointing to where you were leaning against Lindsey, trying to catch your breath. “You’re more than welcome. You guys are scary when you want to be,” She smiled at the women. She was happy that you had people to look out for you when she couldn’t. She had practically raised you, and it killed her that she didn’t get to see you all too often. Now, she could rest easy because you had 23 other people looking out for you.

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Kelley smirked, a mischievous look spreading across her features as she linked arms with your older sister. This was going to be fun. Tobin, Christen, and Alex shook their heads. With Mel, they were cautious because they didn’t really know her, but all bets would be off with Lindsey.

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines

[barinacraft]

NFL Football Team Cocktails - Drinks For Every Roster

Game Day Drinks And Cocktails For All 32 NFL Football Teams

Football season means great tailgate parties away at the stadium for home games and at your in home bar for away games when your team is on road. These NFL football team inspired cocktails* will give you lots of game day party ideas for themed drinks for all 32 NFL teams out on the gridiron.

The cocktails were chosen based on a number of factors including team names, colors, mascots, player and squad nicknames as well as city, regional and state monikers, landmarks, festivals and more. A few were created as signature drinks for specific football teams, but most were added to the roster because they were a good fit for that club.

Whether its pre-season scrimmages, regular season games or the playoffs; Wild Card, Divisional, Conference and the Superbowl, there's a drink listed here that's perfect for your pigskin party. Some of the squads have several symbolic sips which lets you substitute your drink line-up based on the schedule.

So, with one hand waving your favorite team's foam finger shouting you're #1 and the other hand free for a refreshment, the only question is:

Are You Ready For Some NFL Football Team Cocktails?

American Football Conference Team Themed Drinks

AFC East

Buffalo Bills:

Buffalo Bill - equal parts apple cider or juice and bourbon or rye whiskey.

Niagara Falls - a fancy drink named after the natural attraction nearby the city along the Canadian border.

Miami Dolphins:

Mojito - the national drink of Cuba is a favorite in Little Havana as well as one of the most popular cocktails in Florida and throughout the rest of the states.

New England Patriots:

New England Highball - when it comes to cocktails, what's better than a highball while watching football?

Red, White and Blue - a pousse-cafe drink layered in patriotic colors.

New York Jets:

Manhattan - along with Brooklyn has the highest concentration of fans according to a 2013 Facebook study.

Bronx - followed by Queens borough, the former home of Shea stadium, also love the J-E-T-S. This drink is basically an Income Tax cocktail minus the bitters.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens:

Purple Hooter - black raspberry liqueur colors these tailgate party potations plum perfect.

Cincinnati Bengals:

Bengal Tiger - the namesake is a tawny, red brandy drink while an original recipe adds black licorice stripes to an orange vodka cocktail that could be a spooky sip on Halloween too.

Cincinnati Cocktail - fill your favorite beer glass half full with a bold brew and top off with soda water.

Cleveland Browns:

Brown Cocktail - equal parts gin, light or dark rum and dry vermouth.

Brown Derby Drink - legendary football coach Paul Brown who the NFL team is named after was known for wearing his iconic hat on the gridiron sidelines. It was a fedora, but the (brown) derby is de rigueur.

Brown University Cocktail - their namesake college football team drink would love to be drafted by pros for game day. The “Brunonian” is equal parts bourbon and dry vermouth with a couple dashes of orange bitters.

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Black & Gold - refining iron ore put this steel town on the grid. Their NFL football team inspired gridiron drink adds a precious metal to the mix. Combine black vodka with gold flaked cinnamon schnapps two to one.

Monongahela Cobbler - named for one of the waterways which flows past Heinz Field (formerly Three Rivers Stadium) that's known for its rye whiskey.

AFC South

Houston Texans:

Black Gold - a nod to the city's former franchise, the Houston Oilers.

Longhorn - another college sports team themed cocktail that would like to be drafted by the NFL, especially from the same great state and mascot. The burnt orange color of the University of Texas at Austin inspired this recipe with lemon rum, orange rum, vodka, orange vodka, orange soda, ice and oranges.

Indianapolis Colts:

Horse's Neck - this drink is named after its garnish.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Jaguar - a Barina Craft original drink recipe that is spotted with southern sipping favorites.

Tennessee Titans:

Lynchburg Lemonade - Tennessee whiskey, sweet & sour mix, orange liqueur and lemon-lime soda makes a southern sip worth suing the distillery over.

Tennessee Tea - same as above, just substitute cola for lemon-lime soda.

AFC West

Denver Broncos:

Orange Crush - this NFL football team inspired drink celebrates the nickname given to Denver's opponent crushing 3-4 defense and the Broncos bright colored home uniform jerseys in the 1970s.

Kansas City Chiefs:

Arrowhead Cocktails - the Chiefs' logo is carved in stone and one of these drinks is cherry.

Kansas City Ice Water - flows thru the fountains at Arrowhead stadium and in the veins of the players and fans who as of this writing boast the loudest sports crowd roar.

Las Vegas Raiders:

Casino Cocktails - now that the team is located in the Entertainment Capital of the World, famous for gambling and other activities throughout all the city's mega casino-hotels, these drinks are a sure bet for Raiders fans.

Oakland Raider Cocktail - a black rum and cola mixed with a shot of silver tequila over ice. This silver and black drink symbolizes Raider Nation whether they're playing in Oakland, Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

Los Angeles Chargers:

Charger Cocktail - toast the team's moniker to 'charge' when the bugle call sounds with this cherry brandy and rum sour.

San Diego Seabreeze - this legacy drink preserves team history. 1 oz vodka, ½ oz each blackberry brandy and blueberry & raspberry schnapps, plus 2 oz each orange and pineapple juice in a tall collins glass over ice.

National Football Conference Team Themed Drinks

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys:

Cowboy Cocktail - throw the cream away and drink the shot of whiskey straight up.

Fedora Cocktail - in honor of their legendary head coach Tom Landry who wore his heralded headgear on the sidelines for 29 seasons.

Thanksgiving Cocktails - dubbed America's team, they always play football on this holiday.

New York Giants:

The New York Cocktail - the entire state loves the NY Football Giants, except for parts of the city per Facebook 2013. This is an interesting whiskey sour style drink with rye, lime juice, grenadine and an old fashioned sugar cube.

Philadelphia Eagles:

Eagle Cocktail - Philly is the perfect roosting place for this classic drink.

Eagle's Dream - sugar and egg whites substitute for maraschino liqueur in this variation of the Aviation drink recipe.

Washington Commanders:

Cherry Blossom - this national flowering festival held locally is closely associated with the area as is a rumored story of a namesake founding father chopping down a certain tree.

Gin Rickey - “air conditioning in a glass” is the unofficial official drink of D.C.

Political Cocktails - any number of these drinks could be served at a game day party in this city if you want to mix politics with religion, er, football that is.

NFC North (Black and Blue Division)

Chicago Bears:

The Chicago Cocktail - pretty fancy for football but it is the city's namesake drink.

Detroit Lions:

Lion's Tail - Detroit is one of two NFL teams along with Dallas to always play a game on Thanksgiving to start the Xmas holidays so the use of an allspice liqueur, dubbed “Christmas in a glass” by Murray Stenson, in combination with the drink's name make this cocktail a perfect match. 2 oz bourbon, ½ oz each pimento dram and lime juice, ½ tsp simple syrup and 1 dash aromatic bitters.

Green Bay Packers:

Blood and Sand - Johnny ‘Blood’ McNally, who took his nickname from the movie and loved to sing Galway Bay while standing up on bar table tops, was a star player for four championship Packer teams in Green Bay and one of the original members inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Brandy Old Fashioned - to wet your whistle in Wisconsin, just replace the bourbon or rye you normally use in the recipe.

Minnesota Vikings:

Purple People Eater Elixir - raise your Viking drinking horn and toast possibly the best defensive line of any football team in NFL history.

Scandinavian Glogg - this Nordic mulled wine really packs a punch.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons:

Georgia Peach Cocktails - did you know some suggested the Falcons be christened after the official state fruit?

Scarlett O'Hara & Rhett Butler - these two drinks are both named after characters in Gone With The Wind which was set in and around Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers:

Carolina Iced Tea - spiced rum, vodka and both peach liqueur & schnapps along with some southern style sweet tea in a tall glass or mason jar.

New Orleans Saints:

Sazerac - the official drink of New Orleans often referred to as America's oldest cocktail.

Vieux Carré - the signature drink of the French Quarter named after the “old square” at the center of the Crescent City.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Bumbo - a pirate's poison.

Filibuster - although its more closely associated with politics these days, the word originally derives from the Dutch term vrijbuiter for pirate, which means "to plunder," where vrij means "free" and buiter means "booty."

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals:

Cardinal Cocktail - a Kir drink variation also known as Communard which substitutes red wine for white.

Los Angeles Rams:

Greatest Show On Turf - a nickname for the team's record breaking offense during the 1999 through 2001 National Football League seasons when they were the Saint Louis Rams.

Ram Cocktail - seems appropriate that the helmet battering Rams namesake drink is a variation of a Harvey Wallbanger.

San Francisco 49ers:

Barbary Coast Cocktails - a pair of pigskin party picks named after the city's seedy, crime ridden, red-light district during the California gold rush and beyond. One drink has equal parts gin, scotch whisky, white chocolate creme de cacao and light cream or half and half. The other is mixed with dry gin, cherry brandy, lemon juice and grenadine.

Frisco Sour - the tasteless moniker given to this gold drink garnished with a red cherry which matches the football team colors.

Seattle Seahawks:

Emerald City - a signature drink for this city with the blue green nickname whose major league football, baseball and soccer teams all sport these colors.

Share & Compare This List Of NFL Team Drinks For More Ideas

This list of libations is a work in progress. Be sure to check back for updated ideas, more NFL football team inspired cocktails and links to additional information.

Have a suggestion for a game day drink recipe for your favorite NFL team? Contact us or post on our Facebook wall.

Want a generic gridiron geared gulp instead? Check out these pigskin potations penned for plays, points and positions like the Block & Fall, Quarterback and Touchdown.

Please, always drink responsibly.

* - DISCLAIMER: NFL related images, logos, etc. are shown only as a point of reference / commentary for names, mascots, colors and so on as potential drink inspirations and do not represent an affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement by the league, any individual team or associated person or group.

#Cocktails #Drinks #Football #Sports #Party #Themes #Tailgating

[auburnfamilynews]

In this strange, half started season of college football, the Southeastern Conference finally begins play this week in closed session. Like other conferences have shown, the extended protocols call for extraordinary measures that have changed the entire fan experience like few other events in history. Gone are such regular features like tailgating, Tiger Walk, full stadiums, nostalgic strolls through the campus on the way to the stadium, just about everything that makes the in-person game day a memorable occasion.

But what will we see between the sidelines these first few games? From the style of play that other programs have shown in the early season, even in the few limited games that have been played, teams are at wildly different levels of preparation depending on a number of factors – numbers of returning starters, turnover of coaching staffs, length and levels of practice during camps, numbers of interruptions due to protocol restrictions, etc. With such limited sets of data, scant public information released and even so few games actually played, it will be difficult to rate any team’s results with any sort of accuracy on the root cause or impact of reasons for success or failure.

How does this affect the Tiger Eye Review for the season? In this article I’ve tried to classify and discuss these factors.

One thing to note first off. While there will be no distinct change in the analysis I do, there is the fact that now that the season is purely conference play, the numbers generated will be relevant much, much faster than in any previous year. My expectation is that there will not be many (or any) ‘throwaway’ games in which statistics have less value than others. In this respect, ALL the games and their numbers will matter a great deal in a way that I haven’t seen in any other season I’ve analyzed. So rather than waiting until the third or fourth game of the season for relevant results, I think the first two of the schedule might be significant in analyzing what we’re likely going to see as we progress.

To start the discussion I should point out what you won’t see impacting games this year.

Home field advantage There is a new dynamic in 2020 to each and every game – absolute field neutrality. With limited fans in the seats, the dread of places like The Swamp, Jordan-Hare, Bryant-Denny, Baton Rouge will be lost on visiting teams. There will be fewer distractions, less hoopla, and almost scrimmage-like games. I believe this will mean the play will be faster, with greater substitutions and an increase emphasis on the conditioning of the players and depth of rosters. Fast paced teams will have a distinct advantage, in my opinion.

And there won’t be any blasted Cow bells.

That being said, I think certain aspects of game play will be heightened due to several factors concerning this abnormal pre-season both in the Spring, Summer drills and Fall camps. Things that will matter only in 2020 after the break.

Off season Coaching changes Newer coaches have had far less time with all their players in organized practices and drills. Veteran coaches have longer relationships with their returning players and that might tip the balance up, but no-one has had much time or experience to give to new Freshmen and transfer players.

Special Teams play The first casualty of lack of practice is usually special teams especially on coverage for punts and kickoffs. These are generally your younger or second/third string players and by and large they will be relatively poor early on.

Mistakes  Broken plays, Missed blocking assignments, gap miscues on defense, penalties – the lack of which are the hallmark of disciplined, well practiced squads on both sides of the ball. However, when practices are limited like they are for all teams, these all have the potential for greater impact game to game early on.

Schedule strength and timing Some teams are starting their seasons with a bang with early heavy games (UGA, Ole Miss), Others are alternating light and heavy games throughout (AU, TAMU), and still others seem to have their most difficult games a little later in the season (LSU, UA). All of this will sharply impact how well their seasons go and those that survive early ‘big’ games will have hopefully navigated the above hurdles. Lastly, I expect there will be individual impact by some key personnel

Flash and Dash Better athletes may play extraordinarily better in such games. Think of Jaylen Waddle in last year’s Iron Bowl, or if you want a more Auburn friendly example, Cam Newton in his single season. When you have weaknesses in discipline, lots of mistakes, poor decision making, lack of practice, and other such concerns these gifted individuals tend to have their talents just explode on the field. And along with those explosions, teams will have added difficulty adjusting, due to many of those same limitations from pre-season practices.

Experience matters Whether it is on your bench, prior experience at key positions, length of time for coaching staffs either with their teams or in long careers witnessing a wide range of situations, I believe all of that will impact the 2020 season to a much greater respect than in previous years.

Note: Want to find out about how well Chad Morris and Kevin Steele work together? Take a gander at two significant examples on YouTube – the Auburn-Clemson games in 2010 and 2011. Kevin Steele was Clemson’s defensive coordinator both years, and Chad Morris was their offensive coordinator in 2011. I’ve watched both games several times. What struck me most was how many times on the zone read play Cam Newton faced a perfectly placed tackler in the hole in 2010, and how effective the 2011 Clemson offense was when it pummeled Auburn in 2011, especially in the second half.

In sickness and in health You can go ahead and add ‘Covid Positive’ above what used to be called ‘The Injury Bug’ in analyzing team play this year. I believe it will have a greater impact on games and schedules and may very well contribute significantly to the Playoff discussion – especially if you have teams with a ten or more game season and you have a Big Ten champion that has only gotten to play potentially as few as SIX games.

If you don’t hear the whining now, just give it a couple of weeks.

All in all, this is going to be one nutty season this year. Who will rise and fall as the season progresses will be those teams, individuals and coaches with the ability to overcome adversity, who take advantage of opportunities and make bold, dynamic decisions from the sidelines and on the field of play. Now, it may seem obvious that this is the exact case for winning teams every year, but I think the test of 2020 is that whatever those contributions have had in the past will be but a pale shell of the scale of their impact in this year. As the Southeastern Conference loves to advertise in their television commercials year after year.

“It just matters more.”

If there was ever a season when that line was most applicable, it would have to be in 2020.

  War Damn Eagle! Let’s play some Football, Bo!

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[junker-town]

Jared Pinkney can be a better Falcons TE than he was at Vandy

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Jared Pinkney’s junior season was full of highlights. His senior campaign, not so much.

Jared Pinkney didn’t hear his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he was quickly signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. Get to know more about him in our pre-draft profile.

When Jared Pinkney made the decision to forgo the NFL Draft following his junior season at Vanderbilt, there was no way the tight end could have known his senior year wasn’t going to be as fruitful as he had hoped.

Pinkney’s junior season found him snagging 50 receptions for 775 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per catch. While the NFL was on his radar following that performance, Pinkney instead focused on coming back to the Commodores.

“There were things I felt I hadn’t accomplished yet, individually and as a team, that I felt we had an opportunity to accomplish,” he said at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Unfortunately, the Commodores’ offense staggered to a 3-9 finish in 2019, totaling just 2,064 yards through the air with 10 touchdowns. Pinkney grabbed 20 passes for 233 yards, averaging 11.7 per catch, and found the end zone just twice. All were career lows.

”It was a challenging time,” Pinkney said. “People ask and I’ll tell them, it’s a lesson and a time you can’t read about. You have to learn about firsthand. Dealing with adversity, controlling what you can control ... Performance-wise, I wasn’t able to play well enough.”

Although Pinkney was quick to point out his own struggles, he wasn’t getting as much help from his quarterback as he did his junior year, either. In 2018, Vanderbilt was led by Kyle Shurmur, who passed for 3,130 yards with a 62.6 percent completion rate. He threw for 24 touchdowns while being intercepted six times.

In 2019, the Commodores turned to senior quarterback Riley Neal, who had transferred from Ball State after four seasons. Neal never quite found the same rhythm he had shown with the Cardinals, having his second-worst season of his collegiate career with 1,585 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions.

With the Vanderbilt rushing game not posing a game-changing threat, the offense really didn’t find its footing.

Despite the difficulties, Pinkney said he never second-guessed his decision to stay.

“It’s football,” he said. “If you’re out there second-guessing and thinking and doubting, you’re going to get yourself hurt. So, I think, honestly, I didn’t allow myself, while I was in the game, to think about that kind of stuff.”

Pinkney wants to prove he can do more in the NFL than he did during his senior year

The statistics of his senior year tell a story of a reduced role in the Vanderbilt offense, and less production across the board. Pinkney said that’s the first thing teams have brought up during interviews. He said he discussed with them the fact he played through a wrist injury for most of the season, which kept him out of the final game of the year. Additionally, he admits his team just didn’t find the chemistry needed to put together a strong season.

”I just tell them that everything wasn’t able to come together,” Pinkney said. “And it’s unfortunate, but we were just never able to get off the ground. It was unfortunate. It sucked. But I think it was an important lesson, not only in my football development, but just life.”

Pinkney’s showing at the combine was a mixed bag. Despite running a 4.96-second 40-yard dash, he finished last out of the 17 tight ends who tested in the event. His bench press reps, however, were tied for second-best at 23. He didn’t test in the other parts of the combine.

At 6’4 and 257 pounds, Pinkney has solid size and good athleticism. His speed is quick enough to open up some routes and pick up yards after the catch. Still, Pinkney does see weaknesses in his game that he has focused on improving.

”I think my route creativity and savviness at the top of routes — giving head-fakes, giving a little bit of something on the way to them. Attacking them, getting them on their feet, things like that,” he said.

If playing at an H-back position, his ability to block on the move will also likely prove to be an asset, though analysts have questioned his ability to be a punishing run blocker at the line of scrimmage. But like with any career, Pinkney knows he has work to do in order to satisfy the expectations of his employers.

”I’m looking to show consistency and then as far as skills, that I offer versatility, doing multiple jobs at a high level,” he said. “And then things that I’m not good enough at, I’m willing to work to get to a level that’s acceptable for the clubs.”

A solid junior season at Vanderbilt showed Pinkney is capable of playing at a high level in a pass-first offense. But a senior season of less-than-anticipated results and an NFL Draft process stunted by the coronavirus pandemic will force teams to rely on his gametape and his combine results in order to get a feel for where he will fit in the NFL.

Pinkney is projected as one of three Vanderbilt players to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn was taken in the third round with the No. 76 pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Receiver Kalija Lipscomb should be a Day 3 pick like Pinkney. SB Nation’s Dan Kadar ranks Pinkney as the No. 137 player on his big board.

No matter when Pinkney hears his name called, he just wants teams to be aware he’s someone to be counted on, both in games and off the field.

”Just that I’m trustworthy,” Pinkney said about what teams should know about him. “And it’s not that I’ve had things in my past, but on the field, you can trust this guy with reps pass-blocking, run-blocking, reception routes, going out for passes. And then when he leaves the facility, you can turn your phone off at night. He’s not one that you have to worry about.

“But mainly, building trust in my teammates, the coaching staff and the organization that this is a good choice.”