#feel bad for more established players who don’t have the same deal

[kdsburneraccount]

Clark about to sign a 8 figure Nike deal which involves getting a signature shoe and she hasn’t even played a single wnba game yet 😭 bro

#certified marketing moment #at least the pocket watchers can shut up #feel bad for more established players who don’t have the same deal #like guys can we wait 😭 #wnba #indiana fever #caitlin clark

[venacoeurva]

IRT the slavery jokes, and the tag about how bad it must have been years ago: I’ve been in the fandom for almost twenty years, and it honestly wasn’t too bad until Oblivion came out? The fandom shifted from quiet nerds to mainstream very quickly. Could be that I was insulated to some specific forums where the biggest drama was “stop asking us where the puzzle cube is” and one of the mods wanted to make dremoras and atronachs kiss, but I don’t remember much in the way of slavery jokes and offensive bullshit until Oblivion happened and attracted a bunch of randos, a lot of whom were edgy teens who started the whole thing. Worryingly, a lot of people also came in and played Morrowind out of curiosity, then walked away thinking the whole Dunmer xenophobia thing was “cool.”

HOMOPHOBIA, on the other hand, was a big deal even before Oblivion. Lots of people gnashing their teeth over Vivec being canonically bi and AlienSlof making mods that had assless chaps for men. It’s kind of funny that Voryn/Nerevar is the big ship nowadays because I can still remember all the dudes who felt personally threatened by mesh shirts for elves, and screaming “IM NOT GAY” while staring at the Nude Better Bodies option on GameSpy.

Yeah, I can see that happening (keep in mind I was like 6 when mw came out and I wasn't exactly Online), Oblivion promo was everywhere around when it came out and permeated everything for YEARS (at least around here, everyone had it, everyone was playing it, same with Skyrim, but I feel like Oblivion was a BIG big thing because the high fantasy sort of appeal, the lore wasn't prohibitive for new players, and it looked graphically ambitious for the time). I think the aughts were around when being a Gamer started being seen as a semi-cool/acceptable subculture, too, so I'm sure that emboldened a lot of those dickweeds because they felt like revolutionaries or something and circlejerked, including their shared bigotry (and then the skyrim nazi problem happened). Biiig gateways to get people into the older games.

But yeah, I remember constant homophobia and every other [minority]phobia was just a Fandom Problem in general regardless of series... at least the fragility of homophobic dudebros toward even the most basic shit like a male character being shirtless or had tight pants, or having long hair (or a female character having short hair, because they're afraid that's too gay for them) was funny and pathetic as hell when they weren't expressing a wish that people like me die or something. The fact that people still act like this makes me wonder how they survive.

I saw it in multiple places. I think it helps along with general social progress that social media is more than mostly just forums, old style blogs, webcomics, and dA so more lgbtq+ people can just be out there and not get flamed and harassed to the point of just leaving all available mainstream platforms for fans of something and sites are (usually) more proactive about preventing as much hate speech and the average person will shut down or ignore and simply report/block anyone trying to be bold with it.

Also yeah it's kind of funny it's so big suddenly? I think people just really like running with subtexts with fanbases in general these days instead of just sticking to staunch, outright and stated canon that's put directly in your face (which is kind of moot with dying on that latter hill for this series lmao) because people used to just fight you on that shit back in the day for any series, and going nuts and finally have the freedom to do so. New people coming in with their pre-established behavior and accepted norms from other fandoms helps as well I'm guessing. And judging by tags on my art, gay dudes just really like Voryn and see him as a projection character/he was a gay awakening for some of them? I think being on the gay trans website in an era that shipping is its own subculture within fandoms helps

#I don't doubt at least some people consume it as a gay fetishization thing but I have mostly just seen mlm or other lgbtq people into it #not without some questionable stuff though #asks #not art #homophobia mention #racism mention #Sorry if it feels like I'm explaining things too much I'm just telling u my observations #this is how my ass is hfjsk #long post

[cpblaylock-blog]

Thank the Ones Who Got You There

I have had my fair share of coaches and mentors in life and probably still have one or two that will emerge as I move past mid-life. Recently, I learned that one of my coaches will be inducted into the Furman University Athletic Hall of Fame which prompted me to reflect on all of the coaches I was fortunate enough to have and what life lesson I took away from my time with them.

I did not begin playing golf until the age of 13. Prior to that, I played anything and everything my mother could sign me up for and get to for practice. Little league boys baseball, YMCA swim team, gymnastics you name it, I played it. As I got older, my father felt I needed to focus on more feminine pursuits so I stopped playing baseball and picked up tennis and golf. It didn’t take much for me to be hooked because I just loved smashing the ball. There was absolutely zero finesse in my game but I knew enough to make me want to get better. My first lesson was with Alan Pinson, an assistant professional at Coosa Country Club at the time. When I hit the 1st ball, Alan’s eyes lit up and he said “oh boy. Not sure I’ve seen a teenage girl hit a ball quite like that”. For the next 5 years, I continued to take lessons with and work for Alan. Late afternoon rounds, junior tournaments, washing golf carts, and picking up range balls were fantastic opportunities for him to dispense advice about golf, boys, school and my future. His advice was always laced with laughter and love making it easy to me want to be there. Fast forward 15 years and I had played in every professional major on both the European Tour and LPGA, 4 NCAA National Championships and various other “pressure cooker” tournaments and I can tell you the game is the same as it was at age 14 and his advice still applicable. Alan taught me to be authentic, laugh at your bad shots, be grateful for the good ones and always keep perspective of what is important. Alan has an infectious laugh and wonderful sense of humor; understanding what golf is for people and that it can provide the basis for lifelong friendships and good times.

Being a 5-sport athlete in high-school, I could list quite a few coaches but there is one who was so much more than a coach for me as an insecure adolescent female athlete. David Rhodes was my high school basketball and golf coach for all 4 years. From him, I learned many valuable lessons but most importantly David taught me that father’s don’t have to be biological, that a man of faith can be remarkably powerful in the lives of all of those around him and that compassion is one of God’s greatest blessing. For me, Coach Rhodes provided a safe space and refuge at a time when I was terrified of peer pressure, boys, and not being feminine. In the late 1980’s, to be a competitive successful female athlete brought certain stereotypes that were tough to deal with at 14 years old. They do not bother me now because I have had a lifetime of experience to know that stereotypes are tools of the inferior and those who lack depth. My youngest son is named after David and I can only hope that he grows into the kind, compassionate, man of faith that was such a blessing to me when I needed it most.

Let’s just establish that I am competitive, regardless of the circumstance or sport. I absolutely hate to lose and will endeavor to practice anything until I am the best or at least I feel I have reached my potential. At Furman University, I found a coach who totally understood how to motivate me beyond my own expectation. Mic Potter recruited athletes and made no bones about being able to “turn them into great players”. This was definitely the case with me as I completed my freshman year with a scoring average in the low 80’s, less than acceptable. At the All-American banquet at the NCAA National Championship at Arizona State my freshman year, the lightbulb went off. “Mic, why are these people being recognized? What do you have to do to get up there?” Mic’s response was direct and on point - “these are the best of the best, the All-Americans”. I got it and for the next three years, Mic guided and directed me to a path of being a 3-time All American, collegiate tournament wins and a career in professional golf for the next 10. What I took away from my time with Mic is something I remind myself of quite frequently, be your own motivation, work harder than anyone else, and enjoy the results of your effort. My professional career path would have been drastically different had it not been for Mic and I am only 1 of hundreds of women who can say that about such an incredible man and coach.

If you find yourself in the role of coach, teacher, mentor or leader of young people remember, the impact you make during this period in your student-athletes’ lives may not be visible until they are almost 50. I only regret not having the appreciation and perspective I have now during the times I worked with these men but I sure hope they know I cherish the time and lessons I had with each of them.

#coach #mentor #golf #lpga

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I love your idea about EP 2. It sounds more better than the actual EP. Honestly Im disappointed of how Leona wasnt given his villain moment like Scar does. But I was even more disappointed that they made him more of a iredeemable person until EP 6. They couldve shown his more soft side like they did in his Bday.

[Referring to this post!]

Oh, thank you! ^^ I’m happy to hear that you like my rewriting of chapter 2!

Wow, I’m talking about Leona a lot lately 🦁 This is going to get lengthy, so look below the cut for my thoughts on Leona’s development chapters 3-5!

I definitely think that Leona’s Overblot seemed less... impactful (?) since Yuu and co. never got to directly interact with him much that chapter. It’s certainly weird to think about when they frequently ran into Riddle the last chapter. (It was also kind of sad that when we did get to see Leona interact with Yuu and co., he was just bullying them in Magift which seems petty in comparison to like... say, Azul, who although we didn’t interact with a lot, still got his important moments like protecting his contracts).

However! I don’t think that chapters 3, 4, and 5 left Leona “irredeemable”. Twisted Wonderland really plays with the concept of morality, what’s right and what’s wrong. To that end, many of the characters depicted are very morally grey. Yes, they do bad things, but they come from less than ideal circumstances and don’t know how to deal with their emotional turmoil and trauma. Each chapter’s ending isn’t a happily ever after—there’s loose ends, broken relationships, confused boys trying to get it back together. We see some of them try to work on themselves (Riddle and his temper, for example), others are still a slow work in progress (Kalim and Jamil mending their relationship), and as far as I can recall, Vil is the only one who apologizes for OBing because he already has a sense of maturity. For someone as stubborn as Leona, he seems very resistant to change, so I’m not surprised if he still comes across as no different than his initial introduction in chapter 2.

Rather than “irredeemable”, I think it would be more fair to say Leona is “stagnant”. And personally? I think the stagnation fits for his character! He’s lived his whole life with the mindset that others loathe him and that he will never succeed. He’s someone that is always fixated on the past, so of course improving himself (which takes time and effort) is difficult for him.

Another point I’d like to make is that while sure, it would be nice to see Leona’s softer side in the main story, it wouldn’t make much sense. Leona is never shown to be canonically close to Yuu and co. the same way that Grim, Ace, and Deuce are, and he has no reason to be nice to them. He helps them out in chapter 3, yeah, but he had a self-serving motivation behind it. Chapter 4 he wasn’t really around because he wasn’t relevant to the Scarabia arc, and chapter 5, we see him focusing on putting together the VDC venue. What reason does Leona have to be nice in these instances? I don’t think there really is one. (He is only “soft” to be polite to the birthday interviewer.)

I think if you read closely, you can see hints at Leona changing. He’s still pretty selfish in 3, but ultimately he DID choose to help Yuu and co. (just with his own motivation). In chapter 4, Leona is willingly returning home to the Afterglow Savanna for the holidays. In 5, Leona’s actively working WITH his team members on a project rather than leading them/sitting around and bossing them around like in the original chapter 2. He may not be perfect, but I feel like Leona is definitely taking those baby steps.

We should also consider that just because the game doesn’t show us Leona explicitly learning or being more kind, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been doing so off-screen. A character can develop without us seeing it just as much as they can develop when we do see it. It wouldn’t make sense for the story to cut away from Yuu and co. to show Leona being “nicer” to Savanaclaw or other students either, as that would disrupt the focus on Octavinelle, Scarabia, and Pomefiore in their respective chapters.

The closest thing we get to “checking in” on characters post-OB is their cameos in other chapters where they’re just going about their normal school lives (like the booths in chapter 5 or the kidnappings of chapter 6). These are the moments you have to look at to see changes in behavior, subtle or not. Not every boy will announce that they’re going to confront a problematic figure in their life (like Riddle did in chapter 4, and I would argue that’s because Yuu is “closest” with Heartslabyul).

Leona never overstays his welcome, and he doesn’t have it in him to put on airs and be sweet to others. He’s still his arrogant and lazy self in chapters 3-5.

We don’t really get to see if he has changed significantly or not in these chapters because it is not that relevant to the stories being told. However, it does become relevant in chapter 6 because well, someone needs to explain what/who STYX is and establish what will happen while the Dorm Leaders have been kidnapped (aka hand power to Vice Dorm Leaders). It serves a clear purpose in the plot and it shows us that Leona has qualities of a good leader. He knows when he should surrender, and to leave his “people” in good hands while he is absent.

Again, I don’t think it’s Leona being irredeemable in chapters 3-5, but rather slow to change and still being unwilling to fully open up and trust others. There’s also the possibility of off screen development that we, the player, never see. I think he’s getting there, though (given all the subtle indicators)! Chapter 6 was a small glimpse into Leona’s full potential~

#Leona Kingscholar #twst #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland character analysis #twst character analysis #spoilers #notes from the writing raven #disney twisted wonderland #character analysis

[unknowconcreteflower-art-blog-me]

Why Husker will be the driving force to save Angel Dust; Instagram deep-dive story! Angelhusk explained.

Okay full disclosure Hazbin Hotel is an adult cartoon has dark touchy subject matter so please tread carefully. This goes into shipper territory and I don’t want to get attack in my inbox about this or attacking each other too much shipping wars plus I’m a multi-shipper... But for the sake of this post it’s going to be all fuel Angelhusk (or Huskerdust), yes okay great thank you. This is a continuation of my previous post which was just a prequel to this one. I ended the post saying Husker will be the one to reach out to Angel and helping him. 

First I’ll be breaking down Husker’s first appearance and how his character is. When Alastor first summons him, he’s very pissed off when he’s pulled from the poker game. And he’s very quick show his anger, without fear despite Alastor being “one of the most powerful demons in Hell”, and does not care. Though this is a very short interaction we know that Husker does not put up with BS, he’s a drinker, and a poker player. How is this important to Angel Dust? Well Angel Dust, often hypes himself up but also tears himself down in the process, emphasizing that during the limo ride after being scolded by Vaggie that “his body is flawless, everybody wants a piece”... and thinks that’s all anybody wants from him. This is Angel’s way of protecting himself; he flirts with them first before they can hurt him, it’s just hidden with his confidence.

In reality he thinks everyone looks down on him, which is why he doesn’t accept help or confine in Charlie (like when he flipped her off )he isn’t taking a pity party. Angel hides his pain with vibrato and at the same time is too prideful to ask for help... he won’t admit when he’s in trouble. I explained this a little more in detail in my previous post why he thinks Charlie and Vaggie look down on him. But with Husker he in the same boat; using his addictions (gambling & drinking) to cope with his problems. Angel will be more incline to gravitate towards Husker and telling him his problems. I say this because it’s the same reason why Angel confines in Cherri, and is close with her. And unlike Charlie who can be naive at time ( don’t get me wrong I still love her), Husker will know when he’s over stepping his boundaries, and when to helping him since he’s going through something similar.

(Charlie wanting to help Angel but doesn’t know how...)

So all of you maybe wondering, how is Husker gonna help Angel dust then if he hides his problems like that. Vivziepop made Husker a poker-player for a reason, he knows how to tell if someone’s bluffing. And it’s already been established that Angel has a terrible poker face... so Angel can’t lie to Husker. This is why he was angry at Angel’s flirting when they first meet because he already sees through his facade, (plus he’s shy about it). He knows that he doesn’t really meant and he’s hiding something. His sense and observation skills are very necessary cause he can spot when Angel’s actually in trouble.

links to official instagrams below to follow the narrative: 

Angel’s instagram/Husker’s instagram/Nifty’s instagram/Sir Pentious’ instagram

This post starts the saga where Angel is waiting to be picked up at the studio. Saying “Waiting at the studio to...Be picked up for some fucking...Food.”, Val is quick comment on this saying “Forgot to pick you,lol.” and takes the chance to make him like an after thought and after Angel asks to be picked up again Val answer back “yeah but we are filming, I already ate.” just to rub it in. But that’s where Huskers intervenes and get Angel something to eat ,  and there’s a key detail here that it’s only Husker that comes to his aid. Now most of the main cast has an Instagram so you’d think they’d help him but they don’t... They all probably think he’s just being cute and sassy totally unaware of the Angel’s situation with Valentino, but we the audience know... (I’ll bring this point back later)

This one post is enough for Husker to be able see that Angel was really in trouble, which is why he goes out of his way to get him something to eat. And I would also like to point out after this post Husker starts following Angel’s instagram liking all his instagram posts. There’s more to this... keep in mind he starts following Angel after his posts about being tired and hungry. He’s not following him just because he has a “little crush” on Angel... he’s doing this because he wants to make sure Angel’s doing okay. He cares about Angel Dust well being and follows him to make sure doesn’t go hungry again. But during this time Angel isn’t aware of this... that Husker doing this out of worrying for Angel. I say this because right after Angel gets Husker tickets to his strip show, as “thank you” for the food. Showing that he trusts Husker but not entirely...

At this point Angel I don’t believe that he sees Husker’s actions as a gustier of genuine kindness towards him. No, he sees Husker as someone who just wants his body and this is just his way of getting towards that goal. Offering his services (or being flirty) is Angel way of not getting attach to someone (like I’ve said before): think of it as “ripping the band-aid quick off before it hurts more...”  it’s so he doesn’t get hurt again like with Valentino. I believe Val also managed manipulated Angel by doing nice things for him at first, like saying nice words or buying him nice gifts as means to just use him for his body (this is a real thing pimps do). And Angel thinks Husk is no different from the other guys who used him, that what everybody wants from him... he might as well give him what he wants. 

Night of the show rolls around and Husker misses it, kitty got too drunk... which we know takes place during the music video of Addict. In which we get another post about backs my statement the cast doesn’t know about Angel’s abuse. Nifty’s posts a pic, of Angel Dust looking sad after his show... saying “Saw Angel earlier, i hope he doesn’t leave the butts there 😅” Nifty wouldn’t have posted this if she knew what was going on. But Husker knows, that Angel’s depressed and feels bad about missing the show commenting “Oh fuck is that what I missed. Aw shit.” Feeling very guilty about missing Angels, usually Husk tends to hide his feelings but in this moment is very honest. Meaning he really did want to go to the show, not only that but realizes that Angel is actually upset. And he didn’t have to post this comment on Angel’s instagram but he had to he wanted to show that he was remorseful for not coming showing he is attracted to Angel Dust. 

This picks up to with a post with Husker saying “Ugh... Since I missed the show, @angie_fluffy_bootz is sayin I owe him one and is making me watch his fuckin pig... I ain’t a fuckin babysitter!” in which babysits Fat Nuggets, which means he went out of his way to say “ what can I do to make it up to you”, and the conversation after it is a major turning point in the relationship for them. In the comment section Husker complains that Fat Nuggets ate all the food at the bar and says he wants to be payed back. Angel’s offer to pay him pay with a “private show”, in the only way thing he thinks Husker wants (I mean that all anybody ever wants from him). He does this with his usually flirty response, but it’s very different (this is a cut version of the convo.):

Angel: “tell ya what I’ll pay ya back with another private show”

Husker: “...I’m not doing that.

Angel: that or nothing babe. I think it’s a good deal.

Husker:“Jesus fucking Christ...” 

Angel: Ugh. Fine I’ll quit it. Only if you join me for shakes.

Husker: Yeah okay I think I can do that. 

This is major turning point in their relationship; this conversation is very important. Like I said before this is just his way of ripping the band-aid but there’s a reason why he’s really pushing it this time. It’s because Angel knows that he’s starting to catching feelings for Husker. And he’s not sure if Husker wants his body or if really means it. And the matter of the situation is Husker’s feeling the same way. When Husker says “Jesus fucking Christ...” it’s his way of saying “For the last time I don’t want your body, I’m not playing this game”... Here’s the thing Husker believes he’s proven enough that he doesn’t see Angel as a sex object, he’s more tried of the facade than he is annoyed. He doesn’t want Angel Dust to be a “fuck buddy” to him...

And this is a major turning point in their relationship, Angel finally understands that Husker just wants to be there for him. This is why he offers to go out with shakes with him, and of course Husker denies it and says “it’s not a date...”, but we know Husker is happy, because he’s willing accept this as being payed back for the food fat nuggets are, to him this was enough. Needless to say to say it was very cute and I loved it. Not only that but Husker becomes more active on Instagram and low-key tries to flirt back to Angel in his own grumpy cat way. 

Try and tell me they aren’t flirting with each other!

A week after their date Angel Dust does a instagram post showing off his new outfit he got and Husker is quick to ask “why so many zippers”, he’s still too nervous to flirt directly Angel Dust responses with “More to pull down, respond...” Huskers clueless and responses with a “eh” still likes it anyway (the feelings are mutual now). And within the same week Husker posts his own selfie“ Wanted to wear a tie for once. 🥃”, posting one because of Angel. And this isn’t for nothing the pics clearly mirror each other (no pun intended). Just-wanted-to-wear-a-tie-for-once-my-foot ..he clearly did this to impress Angel with him asking “If he needs help with that tie...”, with Husker still being oblivious with the sexual reference but kitty’s still trying. 

This to me highlights why Angel is good for Husker (and vice-versa)... During his first appearance he comments “I lost the ability to love years ago...” and drinks down his booze. Which alludes to why he drinks because he feels lonely. Angel makes him active thus eliminating his reason to drink, as we can see through Husk trying things he hasn’t done before like wearing nice clothes. Now he didn’t have to but Husker pushed himself to be better. As for Angel it gives him a genuine romantic relationship that is centered by an emotional connection and not physically. Husker prioritizes Angels feelings and well-being first.

And for those of you that are confused with Huskers grumpy tendencies. In an interview Viviziepop has said about him is that he is a tsundere. Now a tsundere, it is a character the initially appearing as cold and hostile only to hide their true feelings. This is a troupe used  many times in animes (but if you are not familiar with the term or need an example of one Helga from Hey Arnold is a prime example of one).  His actions disregard his attitude towards Angel... Most of his grumpy responses to Angel are to hide his feelings for him and never used to cut down or degrade Angel Dust (like Val does). I will even argue that Husker is the total opposite of Valentino; Val uses flashiness and with sweet words to hide his heinous and vile intentions. While Husker seems hotheaded and temperamental initially his actions show he’s actually a very kind and caring individual and Angel defiantly sees that...

HUSKER MADE THE WALL!

Angel is special to Husker and he feels the same way... Now and is upper there with Fat Nuggets and Cherri Bomb. And of course Husker is embarrassed, realizing his pics there too saying “what the fuck!” but we know he’s happy. At this post we can assume that Husker is just as important to him as Cherri & Fat Nuggets is to him... and vice-versa. Which is why I believe that Husker will be the one Angel reaches out to first for help within the Hazbin Hotel. And I know some of you may not be convinced, that it’s just platonic or think that Husker just sees him as a friend, but as we know Husker is not a man of words... but a man of action! 

There is a key detail in this story that I’ve been keeping under-warps up until now, (and the reason why it took me so long to because once I found it piece of info; I had to change my original plans for this post). 

Remember how I said that the rest of the cast doesn’t know what’s going on with Val... and that Husker’s observation skills were going to be integral in helping save Angel. Well around the same time as the PJ pic... on Sir Pentious’ instagram he posts a pic of himself trying to make his minions look like Valentino and Vox: I wasn’t even trying to find this but low and behold guess who pops up in the comment section...

Now what does this post say to you. (Husker also liked the post too)

Now repeat after me...“You don’t hear shit about people unless you go looking for it.” ... HUSKER KNOWS!  My theory is that he’s been suspecting that there was something up with Val, ever since the pick-up post, so he’s been keep tabs on instagram Angel to make sure he was safe. And as time went on Angel became more precious to him and became more worried about him. And Husker not wanting to overstep his bounds by asking Angel directly, (because it’s none of his business but still super worried) so he goes around digging info on Valentino. SO then he probably knows that he abuses his workers.  

(Or Angel told him whats happening... I’m leaning towards that Husker did his own digging because narratively it would be too soon and we wouldn’t have a story to tell and would have told Charlie and the rest of the crew too already... Either way..)

Val sent him this, scumbag! And it only takes Husker seconds to defend him and makes sure Angel knows he’s not fat. (most recent post)

Husker has knows, he’s actively been looking into Valentino and the shit he’s done, because he wants to protect Angel Dust! And it’s evident now, he has been defending him on Instagram as well, now being in the know, Husker defending his boy! He is not afraid of Valentino and is not putting up with his BS for putting down Angel anymore... our boy Husker is watching you rat-man.

He maybe the only one who knows that Valentino is abusing Angel (or catching on to it). Which will lead Angel coming clean about how Valentino raped him... And at this point Angel trusts Husker so much that he maybe willing to listen to him when he says “Hey you need to tell someone” or “you need help” and Husker already knows Angel well enough to know how to help him without having Angel push him away. 

AND THAT is why I believe he will be the major driving force in saving Angel from the RAT-MAN (Val)... And we know Husker isn’t afraid of overlords; he’s gonna protect his boy. He is proven time and time again that he loves and cares for Angel Dust so much... and oh I’m gushing now.

AND LOOK HOW CUTE THEY ARE! I just want them to be happy, I want the best for our bois!

Thank you and I hope you all enjoyed the post (and please no shipping war in the comment section I don’t condone it whether you support it or not! Not fighting in the fandom)

#angelhusk #hazbin hotel #hazbin angel dust #angel dust #hazbin hotel husker #husker hazbin hotel #hazbin instagram #hazbin hotel instagram #huskerdust #valentino #Cherri Bomb #fat nuggets #hazbin hotel addict #vivziepop #alastor #addicted hazbin hotel

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

fear purpled bedwars: a dream smp character analysis

(spoilers from Antfrost’s stream, 01/31/2021-02/1/2021)

I’ve been waiting for this guy to finally get lore, and I feel very well fed. It’s lore I expected from Purpled’s character so so bad I’ve been hearing people fearing for Purpled’s safety, but I’m of the opinion that Purpled is more of a potential threat than a potential victim Let’s go through what we know of the character

Purpled first established himself as a fairly independent and neutral force who makes sure he has the agency to do literally whatever the hell he wants. He puts his own needs first before the needs of other people. If you look at it, besides Dream, he’s one of the few members of the server with very little attachment to people, to other characters. The only person he trusts well enough is Ponk, a character chaotic and gray enough to do scams with Purpled, but a character that is nice and innocent enough (to an extent) as to be fairly below Purpled in regards to their relationship dynamic.

We know this is how their dynamic is, based not only on this Egg stream, but also on the stream about the Estate Conflict (as named by the Wiki)/the Dream SMP Fire Scam (as named by Purpled on his video about it).

Purpled’s one of the many people in the server who are upset for being ignored or being treated inconsiderately. (Like the rest of them, it’s usually due to not being in lore or barely logging into the server. They are motivated to get the server’s attention.) While Jack Manifold and Nihachu started their respective villain arcs, Purpled’s way of coping with this is starting a real estate business. He chose Ponk as his partner, and throughout their attempts to start the business, Ponk has functioned as a yes man to Purpled. Their relationship is based on business, not an established friendship. These two could easily scam each other but saw instead more potential in a partnership.

Knowing Purpled, what fuels him to keep the business going is his desire for money and rewards. Coupled with his property getting tampered with all the time, it’s not hard to see why he’d become so materialistic to the point of scamming people. 

Keep in mind that he’s not just willing to settle with battles, but has the experience to win settlements via battles. Purpled is equipped as a player. Asserting his power this way makes him a threat to other members of the server.

Something that Purpled said to Ponk concerning the Real Estate Business is:

Purpled: Ponk, listen. We have to have good business with these people...and if we make a good deal? If we make a good deal, think about what this means for us. Antfrost is just the beginning, right? Listen, think about how many unpaid houses are there on the server. Think about the land. Think about the land on this server. Think about the Prime path. Think about all... Ponk:...the real estate?

Like, this child’s ambition is absolutely terrifying. It reminds me of whenever Quackity gets serious about something.

If Purpled genuinely wanted to, and like, had the energy for it, he could claim the entire server by profitting off of the land, exploiting anyone with property over it.

This real estate thing was established within December. The blood vine growths were already present. 

We know that the Crimson wants to take over the server, covering the lands in red, right? Y’all seeing this? Ponk saw it. He saw opportunity, and to think he saw it while trying to get out of a sticky situation he had made for himself concerning the Eggpire!

In the Skull Cave, Ponk and Purpled take themselves aside. Purpled is wisely distrusting of Bad, Ant, and Punz. Ponk insisted that the real estate business, or least Purpled himself personally, can mutually benefit with the Eggpire should they work together. Ponk used his experiences with the 3, particularly how accomodating they were of him when he was trapped in the Egg Box-thing, as a reason to convince Purpled the Eggpire was worth their time.

Ponk: This payday right here will set us for life! Real estate to the moon, okay? To the moon! Purpled: Okay? Ponk: Trust me, trust me.

Purpled clearly likes the power he got from the Eggpire of all people, as the deal to kill Captain Puffy went well.

Ponk: Ask for more money! Purpled: Ponk, from what I can tell, they...they can grant me, really, anything that I want. BadBoyHalo: Anything! Purpled: They seem to have a lot of financial backing here. BadBoyHalo: We do. Antfrost: We do, we do! Purpled: Assuming you trust them Ponk, I trust them. And anything I ask for can be mine.

Keep in mind that at this time, Ponk being infected by the Crimson is still in question. (Hell, that’s why he got trapped by the Eggpire again] He has spent significant amounts of time with the Egg, and his eyes may or may have become red (he totally isn’t wearing red contacts, at least according to him). The way the Crimson beckons to people varies but it’s clear to us that it uses attachments and deep desires as its hook. Ponk, based on his period of exposure, whether immune or not, should have deduced this. He knows he made Purpled and himself a powerful ally. The Eggpire knows it’s made a potentially powerful ally in Purpled.

However, I feel that Purpled might become a thorn for the Crimson should it come to it. There’s a reason he trusts Ponk, and there’s a reason as to why Ponk’s level of Crimson influence is difficult to determine.

It’s easy to conclude that Purpled and the Crimson have a common goal: take over and claim the entire server. 

Purpled’s future can go against the Crimson and function as a competitive force. I’m not keen on this as it seems that Quackity is fulfilling this role. Would Purpled team with Quackity? I doubt it, as Purpled has nothing to go with on trusting him + Quackity is allied with Sam on Las Vegas. Sam destroyed Ponk’s lemon tree AND the Real Estate building Purpled owns. If anything, Purpled has many reasons to go against Quackity, who is associated with a person that has offended him and Ponk personally.

Now, if Purpled joined the Crimson, I theorize that this would be out of genuine willingness, and not being forced into its influence. Today he saw the Eggpire as useful--not trustworthy! Useful.

Purpled: Ponk, you can return anytime. As for these three, I do not extend the same offer.

Purpled is confident that he can one up the Eggpire/Crimson with his own ambition, and personally, I see that too. If Purpled joins this group and allows himself to become infected, I don’t think I would see that strong a change in character motivation. I see Purpled proclaiming that he and the Egg share the same interests. If the Crimson acknowledges this desire of his properly, the Eggpire’s power dynamic is subject to change. Think about it. 

Bad’s the main mouthpiece due to the fact that he’s the de-facto head of the Badlands. His motivations don’t quite line up with the Crimson though. He’s tragically serving the Egg for Skeppy’s safety. The Crimson knows this.

The Crimson would be more content to speak through someone who shares its exact goals! Purpled wants the server and so does the Crimson. It may force the group to acknowledge this 17 year old boy as the head and voice of the Eggpire once this is recognized to all of them, as beckoned by the Crimson Egg. The scariest thing is that Purpled doesn’t need to corrupt himself much. The scariest thing is that Purpled is smart and a capable salesman. Purpled has what BadBoyHalo does not: what exactly the Eggpire needs in order to assert itself as a convincing yet threatening force. 

I mean, he’s already willing to do malicious things for profit, what more with a supernatural force that will only goad this ambition on?

#long post #like very long post #karl jacobs saved his hubby quackity #at the cost of letting this child potentially doom the server #puffy there is now a target on you #she's trying to protect kids only for one to outright attempt to kill her #dream smp #dream smp analysis #purpled #dropsbyponk #badboyhalo #antfrost #punz #quackity #awesamdude #the crimson #the eggpire

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Okay, I have thoughts about the new MCU Loki show, but especially about Mobius (perfect name for a guy whose job is protecting the timeline, by the way).

SPOILERS!

That was a master class in interrogation/deradicalization/recruitment. Possibly the best I’ve seen.

First off, there’s the usual TVA protocols - and I’m highly amused that an organization with extremely futuristic technology and an amazing-looking city deliberately designed their system on a 1980s-bureaucratic aesthetic, right down to the old-style animated video. It’s like they considered every single style from every single time people, country, and planet and decided that Earth-style-1980s-bureaucratic would be the most demoralizing.

Then Mobius comes in all friendly-like. And while that starting point is just standard good-cop-bad-cop, everything he does from then on is just outstanding. And we can reasonably assume that Mobius is coming in knowing everything about Loki, from his entire history and future to his psychological profile - after all, he’s been hunting other-Loki for a while now!

First off, Loki starts with threatening him, and Mobius is giving him absolutely nothing; just cheerful, casual agreement, ‘sure, why don’t you start with burning down my office,’ none of the fear or anger that threats are intended to provoke. At the same time, he takes Loki on a route that makes it unmistakeably clear just how impressive the TVA and their technology is; it’s on a level well beyond even Asgard, and it’s clear that Loki is picking up that the world is a good deal bigger than he’s accustomed to thinking about, and he’s a much smaller player in it than he believed. Mobius takes this moment of discomfiture as an opportunity to reassure Loki, present himself as a friend and build rapport; set up the feeling of ‘we’re on the same side here’. See, Mobius finds the bureaucratic system annoying too! And then, in the elevator, he mentions offhand that he just saved Loki’s life. He engages Loki in banter and wins a few exchanges.

In the cell, he starts off talking to Loki while facing away from him, and talks in an distracted tone. Rather than a standard interrogation setup with the interrogator trying to drag out information and the prisoner trying to stay silent, this creates a situation where Loki is trying to get his attention - as he just observed, Loki loves talking (and attention) - while also giving Loki an opening to attack, an attack that is immediately not only foiled but time-reversed, and which Moebius brushes off casually, thereby reinforcing that Loki is absolutely no threat.

To get Loki to start talking, he encourages Loki to try to manipulate him for future gain; after all, that’s Loki’s best available strategy under the circumstances, and not one he’s averse to (see: Grandmaster). He again emphasizes that Loki isn’t dangerous. He offers him unspecified benefits (he sounds like he is promising to let him go if he cooperates, but there is in fact no firm promise). And this gets Loki talking - especially since the questions are about himself, Loki’s favourite subject.

Now Mobius pulls out some truly incisive questions. (Note that this wouldn’t have worked without all the prior TVA stuff - it works because Loki is bewildered, wrongfooted, and placed in a situation where he’s got zero control. If you put Loki at the end of Avengers in a room and asked him those questions, he’d just laugh at you.) ‘What do you plan to do when you’re free?’ - which immediately reveals that Loki doesn’t want to do anything in particular with power; he diesn’t have any, like, policies; he wants power because it makes him feel powerful and successful. Then he butters him up with ‘I’m a fan; why limit yourself to just ruling?’

While the rest of the fandom is freaking out about Loki’s reaction to the MCU clips, the line that got me was his one about freedom: “For nearly everything living thing, choice breeds shame, and uncertainty, and regret. There’s a fork in every road, yet the wrong path - always taken.” Hello, projection! It’s a great window into Loki’s thinking in The Avengers (albeit a retconned one). “I’ve made terrible choices for myself that made me miserable, therefore I should make all the choices for everyone else” is of course a nonsensical idea, but Loki’s not operating on reason, just emotion.

The Mobius pulls out the video clips, first emphasizing Loki’s lack of success, and then pushing harder with “Do you enjoy hurting people?” Making him look at his actions from outside his own perspective. He keeps pushing, until Loki looks genuinely uncomfortable with his actions, and then, to counter the clips of him failing at conquest, invokes his title as ‘god of mischief’ and shows him succeeding at something genuinely mischievous. Be who are you really are. Be what you’re good at.

When Loki diverts from the topic at hand to rant about the TVA and his inevitable ascent to power, Mobius shows him the real outcome of his choices: imprisonment, and his mother’s death. Loki’s clearly emotionally affected, and Mobius presses his advantage; this is the first time in their entire interaction that he’s raised his voice. But Mobius then immediately returns to calm, and plays his masterstroke. Your predetermined role in the world is to cause pain and suffering. Is that what you want? It flips the narrative: suddenly, Loki returning to his quest for power and rule is compliance with the established order, and becoming a better person is defiance of it.

I don’t know if Loki’s escape is genuinely an error by the TVA, or if this is something orchestrated; the former is more probable, but the latter is a possibility - it’s seeing Infinity Stones thrown in a desk drawer like junk that takes Loki to the breaking point.

After the escape attempt, Mobius, in another great move, leaves Loki alone in the room rather than resuming the interrogation. It’s practically a guarantee that Loki will look at the rest of his future - there’s nothing else to do in the room, and it’s an irresistible opportunity - but at this point it’s more effective for him to feel that he’s acting freely that for Mobius to actively show it to him. And he’s also, obviously, more able to engage with his emotions when there’s no one else there (though the TVA is certainly observing him remotely, he’s not thinking about that).

And only then, when Loki’s coping with all those new realizations - both that his family loved him and that his life ended pointlessly - does Mobius come back. And then he at last gets genuine emotional vulnerability from Loki and, even more stunning, an admission of wrongdoing: that he’s been acting as a bully, harmimg others so he can feel strong. And it’s at that point, when Loki acknowledges himself a villain and is unhappy about it, that Mobius can make the offer of Loki helping on the case and have it feel like something he’s doing for Loki.

It’s the same deal it was at the beginning - help the TVA or die - but it feels very different to Loki. An opportunity rather than a threat. A choice he’s been given to do something different with his life.

And all this is nested within an episode that’s about the illusion of choice. Impressive.

Short version - I don’t see Mobius as Loki’s new best friend. I see him as a man who’s very, very good at his job. And I love competent characters.

I could be misreading it - I frequently read more into superhero movies and shows than is actually there - but that’s how it’s looking to me now.

#mcu loki #loki spoilers #loki show #moebius #mobius

[zelzenik]

my take on the infamous kataang kisses

so i just saw this post that spoke highly of Kataang and on how ATLA deals w consent and what's allowed between partners, and i'm... i'm mad, lol.

this has been spoken on before, but since these bad takes are still floating around on the internet, i feel the need to at least vent/give some sort of rebuttal.

i'm not linking or screenshotting this post, but this is word-for-word what was said regarding Kataang (questionable grammar has been transposed as well):

"One of the many things I adore about atla is how the girls are allowed to and do tell their partners off when they cross a line.... Katara gets upset with Aang for kisses her without her consent, and it's never made out to be overly dramatic or unreasonable, it's framed so that the girls are in the right."

HOW does Kataang properly convey this message??

there's a lot to unpack here. like, a lot

just to start off, yes, i'm aware that not all Kataangers believe that the kisses were consensual and can recognize how problematic (and WRONG) they were. but there are some (many) who do not

for the sake of this rebuttal, we're all going to establish and agree on what happened with the Kataang kisses. personally, in the Cave of Two Lovers episode, i don't believe they kissed - if they had kissed, the creators would've made that known in the show; in the Day of the Black Sun episode, it was clear that Katara was NOT pleased w what went down, same with the Ember Island Players episode; the finale kiss was consensual, however, in my opinion, it made absolutely no sense and came out of nowhere.

this is an address to the following various shippers within the ATLA fandom.

to those who DEFEND Aang's actions toward Katara and JUSTIFY these non-consensual kisses:

don't DO this. these portrayals of murky non-con kisses on television are so harmful!! they perpetuate this whole "nice guy" complex where a guy (or anyone) thinks that he (or they) deserve(s) or can take physical affection from others without their consent/mutual feeling. we have such an awful problem in media concerning these sorts of "nice guys" who wind up taking advantage of women simply due to the fact that they know they're nice and feel that they deserve it.

yes, Aang was a child. yes, he was in an iceberg for like 100 years. i work with plenty of preteens from the ages 10-12, and they've all been taught to respect other people's boundaries, especially when it involves romantic (and depending on how old they are, sexual) encounters; it's worth noting that, at least from my experience, guys are significantly less interested in relationships around this age than girls are!

portraying Aang in a light where he simply takes what he wants from Katara multiple times does a disservice both to him as a character and to all who watched the show without having a clear outside understanding of physical boundaries.

to those who claim that the non-con Kataang kisses are good lessons to others on consent

i might have been able to agree with you had the situations been ADDRESSED within the show! but they were NOT.

the non-con Kataang kisses are not a good example of when a girl has been made uncomfortable by a guy or has been touched nonconsensually by one and stands up for herself because we never have a scene where Katara actually stands up for herself!

between the two non-con Kataang kisses that occurred during the show, not even FRACTION of the show was dedicated toward addressing them!

okay, yes, if you rewatch the show as an older teen or an adult with accurate views on consent, then, yes, those non-con kisses can be an example of how pervasive lack of consent is within our past/current culture

but, for the most part, this show is watched by kids. it's a kids' show. ofc it's grown to be much more beyond a kids' show, and there are so many teens/adults who LOVE the ATLA fandom, and that's totally cool! i'm always anti-harassment and anti-bullying-people-for-enjoying-shows-they-love.

for a show that's primarily marketed to children, though, regardless of the time that it was made in (since the 2000's were far less up to date on consent than we are now in the 2020's), if non-con kisses are included, then they should be addressed.

they can only be good lessons if they're addressed, instead of left hanging and teaching children that such non-con kisses are rewarded.

canonizing Kataang, in a way, validated Aang's blatant ignorance of Katara's boundaries which annoys me to no end.

to those who who say that this behavior was FINE because Kataang canonically dated/married

it's not! it's really freakin not!

do you know how many women experience some form of sexual harassment or assault or rape within their lifetime?? 1 in 6!

and do you know how often these women are unable to do anything about it because the person who attacked them is someone that they love or are involved with?

just because one may be in a relationship with another person doesn't simply excuse this type of behavior.

"no" or "i don't think this is a good idea" or "i'm not feeling this" or "maybe later?" or "i don't feel so good" or "we're in the middle of a war right now" or SILENCE -> NOT CONSENT!!

regardless of your relationship with another person, if they do not respect these boundaries, then they have not respected your damn boundaries.

i don't care if they're your boyfriend or your girlfriend or your husband or your wife or your partner. whatever. if they ignore your boundaries, then they are not respecting you, point blank.

closing

it's no secret that i'm a huge anti Kataanger. i first watched the show as a teenager, and while i initially started the show off loving Kataang, as soon as i hit the non-con kisses, i was immediately turned off from the ship and became a huge Zutara shipper (not even knowing which ship was ultimately endgame but especially loving the dynamic between ZK post-Crystal Catacombs scene).

as someone who's survived a relationship with non-con elements present, i cannot in good conscience ship Kataang because of those non-con kisses.

i love both Aang and Katara too much as characters to see them portrayed in such a way. what hurts the most is that all of these issues COULD have been fixed in the show, if there'd been some sort of reconciliation between Aang and Katara, some sort of encounter where Aang recognized that what he did was wrong and Katara learned that it's okay to say no. but this did not happen. so here i am writing a meta/rant/vent about it.

i understand that this post may not be well received, but this is something i really needed to get off my chest (again) because i hate seeing people praising ATLA for its poor examples of consent within relationships. (it literally drives me crazy.)

#nice guy #this isn't proofread #but #anti kataang #pro katara #anti anti aang #i love both aang and katara #and they were both done so dirty in b3 #i genuinely love both #i would've given kataang a chance had those non-con kisses not happened #despite shipping zutara #i would've j multishipped or smth #but w the way b3 turned out? #hell no #get that away from me #aang needed to grow the hell up and learn #katara needed to stand up for herself and recognize she needs a partner who's an equal #and they could've been that for each other #or #they could've found other people better suited for each other #cough zutara cough taang #but yeah stop praising bryke for giving good lessons on consent cuz all they did is perpetuate the mentality #by validating and rewarding non-con gestures thru kataang's canonity #long post #sorry #i could write abt why i'm anti kataang all day #despite loving them both so much #zel meta

[crescentsteel]

Keeping a Secret - Part 3

pairing: Tsukishima x f!manager of Sendai Frogs genre: sexual tension/crack/fluff/slow burn warnings: lots of swear words, tsukki being a a closet softie wc: 7.3k (Ill just stop apologizing for this long chapter updates at this point)

[a/n]

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist uwu

AO3

Part 2 || Part 4 || masterlist

“Remind me again why are we here.” Tsukishima tells you as soon as he steps foot inside your room. 

He scans the room and immediately notices the mess that it is, particularly the top bunk of the bed which he doesn’t doubt must be your share of it.

On the wall on the left side of the room are posters of seascapes and sea animals of different varieties while the desk bolted under it are framed photos of Sendai Frogs. He recognizes them all;, one was taken from the first win of the team on the first year you joined as the manager. The second is a photo of the team at the gym with the new members that year, including Kyoutani who had just recently joined. The last one is a selfie of you on the bus doing a peace sign and winking at  the camera while everyone was sleeping.

He kinda feels bad for your roommate now. You’re practically hogging the whole room.

You put down your bag on the floor and shoot him a confused look. “To do our project?” 

When you told him to meet in your dorm, he agreed because he thought you meant the common area. After all, he had no reason to think you’d invite him to your room. You two may have disregarded the club incident, tucking it away as a sordid memory from a night of insanity, but that doesn’t mean it is forgotten. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with you as you appear to genuinely find nothing wrong with the current situation. 

You seat yourself at your table, taking out your laptop and notes from the trip last time.

“Go sit, Tsukishima,” you say without even looking at him as you spread out your notes on the table’s surface as your laptop boots up. 

“We could’ve just done this in the library, or at least in the lobby,” he says as a matter-of-factly.

“True, but I also don’t see any problem with doing it here,” you answer passively, still occupied with arranging your papers. 

He was right. It really does not bother you at all. So, he shouldn’t be bothered with it either. This way, at least, no one would see you and him together. You’re a person he doesn’t want to be associated with hanging around with anyways. 

“Do you always invite your groupmates to your room?” He asks out of curiosity since it didn’t seem like anything for you to just invite him in, as if you didn’t care much about your privacy. 

“Hmm. Depends,” you answer. 

He takes out his own laptop, but still eyes you as he prods further. “On what?”

The curve of your lips tugs up slightly as you sit up straight and lift your gaze away from the notes you took out and finally turn your attention to him.

“I welcome those who won’t get handsy with me.”

“Even if you’re the one who’d get handsy with them?” he boldly counters.

You cock your head to the side with hints of amusement playing across your features, which vexes him. The question was supposed to tear your composure, not entertain you. 

“Alright, let’s get the fucking elephant out of the room since it bothers you so much,” you announce with levity. 

If you’re going to be honest, the kiss still finds its way to your mind sometimes. You just keep pushing it off so that you won’t get stressed out by it. What you find interesting is that he still keeps shoving that fact that you kissed him as if you wanted to do so.

Well, you literally did kiss him, but it’s not like you sought for it prior to the incident. 

It just … happened.

“I’ll come clean, good sir, if you’ll allow me,” you declare sarcastically before setting a more serious tone. “I admit it. It was one hell of a mistake to kiss you. But I didn’t mean to. As ridiculous as it sounds, I really didn’t. It was just one of those stupid, off-the-cuff things people do.” 

Your voice takes an accusatory note when you ask, “And why do you sound like I harassed you or something? Hmm? ‘Cause if I remember correctly.”

You cross your arms and look up, pretending to be deep in thought before facing him again with a fraudulent shock. “Oh right!” you exclaim exaggeratedly. “You kissed me back,” you add in almost a sing-song manner.

You put an elbow on the table and rest your cheek on your palm as you hold his glare with a snide grin. “How about that?” 

He continues shooting daggers at you but you don’t falter. Quite soon enough, he lets up and returns to the passive, apathetic face he usually wears, which signals your victory for the argument. “Like you said, it was one of those dumb on the spot whims.”

You nod agreeably. “Alright, great. Now that that has been established, let me reassure you. It’s never ever gonna happen again. Ever.”  

Your eyes are devoid of any humor while your words drip with firm resolve. Yet, he finds it off that you’re not asking him to do the same given that you both just agreed that you are equally accountable for that imprudent act. He is almost just as guilty. 

“Aren’t you going to ask the same from me?”

Your somber expression breaks into a humored one as a laugh rumbles from your throat. You shake your head in comical delight while you look at him. “No, I won’t. Actually...” you drift off as you scoot closer to him until you’re right beside him. “Give it your best shot.”

You close your eyes and tilt your chin up. Did you really just dare him to kiss you? Kiss those stupid lips and have a repeat of that appalling night? 

Should he?

He would do it just to erase the smug off your face, just to prove you wrong. But similar to that night, he can’t bring himself to do it. He hates the idea of instigating such a thing. 

Even more so now that he’s already had a taste of those lips. Those lips that felt too exquisite that it infuriated him. Those lips that took away his logical thinking. With you offering those lips to him so generously, you make him hate them even more. That pretty face and that playful smile of yours do nothing but add to his fury. 

“Can you get your face away from me?” 

You peek one eye open before bursting into laughter, making his displeasure towards you skyrocket. Why the fuck is he always your laughing stock?

“See? This is why I don’t mind you coming over, Tsukishima. I bet if I strip naked right now, you’d walk out in a heartbeat.”

His scowl deepens. The mental image of your unclad body is very much unwelcome and unappreciated. “Bring that up again and I really will leave,” he snaps. 

Even with your smile intact, your humored expression dissolves a bit and is replaced by a curious guise.

“You know, everyone likes me except you,” you say with no shred of diffidence.  

You really are full of yourself. You might be ‘likeable’ for a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean every single person you meet actually likes you. He’s certain there are people who you rub off the wrong way -- people like him. 

“Isn’t that a bit too conceited, even for you?”

You shrug your shoulders indifferently. “Maybe so. But you’re the only person who shoves your blatant dislike on my face.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it for the past three years,” he replies as he flips his laptop open and boots it up so he can turn his attention somewhere other than you. 

“I didn’t need to work with you like this for the past three years.”

He doesn’t know where you’re going with the conversation so he doesn’t respond anymore. He’s certain you know why he finds you a pain in the neck. You constantly get on his grill with every opportunity you get. Maybe if you didn’t, he could actually tolerate your topsy turvy persona. But it’s as if it’s your personal mission to aggravate him.

“I’m putting the deal I offered during the trip,” you announce.

“What deal?” he asks as he starts typing bullet points of what should be done today so he can go home already.

“Forget I’m the annoying manager when it’s just us two. And I won’t deliberately piss you off.”

He types the last bullet point before returning his attention on you. “Then what? I suddenly become nice to you?”

“Hell no! I’m not asking for a fucking miracle. It’s not like you’re ever nice to anybody. Geez!” you explain derisively. “I just want us to have a conversation where you’re not giving me death glares.”

You give him a smile, one that lacks your usual haughtiness. Still, he can’t tell if you’re being serious or if you’ll actually manage to hold the deal you’re proposing. Truth be told, he wants it. He can’t handle you being your usual if you two have to meet beyond training hours and, even worse, in private. 

If this keeps up, he might end up cursing this subject by the end of the semester, which would be a waste because likes this subject way too much for you to taint it with your idiocy.

“Deliver your end of the bargain. Then you’ll have mine.”

Your eyes twinkle with glee at his semi-approval. “We have a deal then.” 

You go back to where you’re seated a while ago and proceed to start discussing at hand.

--

With the start of the game season, training has become more intense. Coach Mira had the team work on the weak points she identified with the help of  the data you tallied from last season’s games.

“Kyoutani! Do not lower those arms just yet. Keep those elbows up when you block,” Coach yells at him, as Kogane spiked from the other side of the court.

She looks over at the other players practicing their jump serves. She furrows her brows at something. Following her line of sight, you see that it falls on Tsukishima. 

On his next serve, the ball spins ferociously but is of low height that it hits the middle of the night. 

“Y/n,” Coach calls out. She didn’t have to say anything else as she cocks her head to Tsukishima’s direction with a telling expression on her face. She’s asking you to handle him, and you know exactly why. 

Before he can toss the ball for another jump serve, you yell out merrily which you know will definitely catch his ears, “ Tsukki!! ” and jog to where he is. His blank expression turns into a scowl when you reach him. 

“Can you stop calling me that?”

“You’re so mean. Aren’t we close enough for me to call you ‘ Tsukki ’?.” You ask with a dramatic pout and exaggerated false woes that he visibly cringes after hearing it. 

He doesn’t respond to your pretentious act. “Why are you here?”

You instantly lose the cheeky act and get to what Coach Mira wants to let him know. You’re just going to twist the words a bit to his ‘liking.’ 

This is the problem you noticed with Tsukishima, one worse than his rotten way of interacting with the team. He can be incredibly unmotivated at times, and when he is, he only gives the bare minimum amount of effort. 

It’s the one thing you can say you truly dislike about him because he’s a professional athlete for crying out loud. It doesn’t matter if he’s unmotivated, uninspired, or doesn’t feel like trying. He should be disciplined enough to push himself to put as much work as he usually does when training.

“You’re not going to get those serves in with that half-assed attitude of yours,” you say sternly while you eye him with a threatening stare. 

His face scrunches in utter displeasure. He’s well aware that he’s not feeling his best today and he’d rather do blocking drills for the whole raining than do ten consecutive jump serves. 

“Since enthusiasm is the answer to everything else, why don’t you try it?” He bites back, which you obviously weren’t expecting. He’s always irritated when you point out his mistakes, but thus far he has always stayed silent. 

Maybe the amount of time you’re spending together outside the gymnasium has made him reach the limit of his patience… which isn’t even a lot to begin with.

“Are you serious?” you ask incredulously.

Of course he wasn’t. You might have some sort of experience with volleyball (although he doesn’t know to which extent), but jump serves are difficult. The coordination of the toss and the run up to hit it at the right angle is aggravatingly hard to pull off, especially for him since jump serves need tons of practice.

He detests the practice for it; he needs to run, jump, and swing his arm over and over. It is boring and tiring for him because it is purely based on physical prowess, compared to practicing blocking where he’s actually thinking. 

He thought you’d leave him alone when you stepped away. Instead, you come back with a ball in your hand. You dribble it off the floor with unbendable focus as if you’re trying to recall something.

“Are you serious?” he’s the one who asks this time. He was just fucking around. He didn’t expect you’d actually respond to his provocation.

“Yep,” you answer with your full concentration on the ball in your hand as you spin it vertically. Some of the players notice what you’re up to and briefly stop what they’re doing to watch.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You bat them open with burning determination before you toss the ball. 

Instead of watching the ball, he watches your form. There’s no trace of awkwardness in your movements, almost like you’ve done this frequently before. The three-step approach is nearly perfect as you propel yourself up to jump. 

The sharp sound of the ball hitting your hand causes the rest of the gym to look at you. The ball spins ferociously at a height he’s not sure is sufficient to get over the other side of the court. He wishes it won’t. That would be the second worst thing you could ever do to him, the first one being that certain occurrence he’d rather not think about again. 

You falter on your feet when you descend from your leap but you immediately look up to see if your serve makes it. Everyone else, including him, is on the edge as they watch whether the ball will get in or not.

It roughly scrapes the edge of the net, effectively thwarting its velocity. Still, it bounces off and lands inside the opposing court, causing the rest of the team to cheer you on as the ball hits the floor.

You seem to forget for a short while that you did it to spite him as your face beams with inexplicable joy while his contorts with ire. 

Even if the momentum of the ball was broken, you still managed to get it over - the one thing he hadn’t been able to do from his last eight attempts. Meanwhile, you did it on your first. 

You definitely had a lot of experience in high school. No beginner can manage to do a jump serve like that, even if it was flawed.

‘Shit,’ he silently curses when you face him with a cocky grin disguised as a pleasant one. 

“Who knew that my experience being an outside hitter and captain of my high school team would still be useful as your manager?” you ask as you slowly walk towards him.

He doesn’ expect that your knowledge about the sport came from first-hand experience. He thought you’re manager of another team previously or just a crazy volleyball enthusiast.

You pick up another ball and softly push it against his rib as you look up to him with contempt. “Don’t tell me I can do better than you,” you spur him on with squinted eyes.

He snatches the ball away from your hands and steps back from the serving line. He spins the ball one time and tosses it high. Instead of a three-step approach, he makes it a four to increase his vertical jump. He tosses it high enough and channels all his rage for you at the ball. 

With how high he jumped, the ball easily goes over the net. Its trajectory curves when it crosses over and hits a spot a little bit just beyond the end line.

He clenches his fist at his another failed attempt despite exerting more than necessary effort for that shot. He avoids looking at you for he’d be put in an even worse mood if sees that taunting grin of yours. 

But of course you had to make yourself seen and intentionally go in front of him with an impressed look in your face instead of a condescending one. 

“That was great! Holy shit. It was just a smidge out. Wow.” You applaud him earnestly, and as much as he despises it, it makes him a little less bad about that missed shot. 

“Can you leave me alone now?” He drives you away to fend off the stupid feeling. He’d rather you just walk away and don’t say anything. “Not like that serve mattered,” he mutters in annoyance.

“What are you talking about? It was awesome!” you yell out with your eyes shining with flagrant admiration, which annoyingly strokes his ego. 

“Just a bit less and it would have been in a spot difficult to return,” you remark as you pat his shoulders approvingly before heeding his request to leave and go back to where Coach is. 

“Sorry, Coach. I distracted everyone else,” you scratch your head with an apologetic smile when you return. 

“I’d tell you off, but everyone seems more motivated now, so good work I guess,” she commends you with a satisfactory tone.

“He looks really pissed though,” Coach Mira adds as she glances at the blonde middle blocker.

“More than you know, Coach,” you reply with a wide smile as he serves another ball and gets it in this time. 

--

Prior to your meeting with Tsukishima today, you proposed to finish the project as soon as possible so you can both focus on other other uni subjects on top of training hours. He immediately agreed, which didn’t surprise you because even though it’s not game season, you’re pretty sure he can’t wait to stop having to see you.

The project’s deadline is in three months, but you believe you can finish it in less than two if you meet up at least twice a week to work on it.

It should be okay, given that you both agreed to have a truce of some sort from the usual dynamic of your relationship. You actually think that it’s not going to work out smoothly, but you still suggested it with the hopes of decreasing his animosity towards you. Yes, it’s fun and amusing most of the time, but outside the gym where you’re just a classmate and not his manager, it’s kinda draining to deal with it. 

“Won’t your roommate mind if there’s a stranger in your room?” he asks as he sits down and rummages through his bag. 

“Oh.” You thought he already figured it out because he didn’t ask about it on his first visit. “Didn’t I tell you before? I don’t have a roommate.” 

His eyes immediately go to your bunk bed that you didn’t bother getting replaced because it’s convenient when you’re too tired. You usually just mindlessly throw your stuff at the top bunk for a later clean-up.

“Wanted the whole room to myself,” you add.

“Spoiled, little rich brat, aren’t you?” He really doesn’t have much basis for his statement. He just wants to say something nasty and sneer at you because he wants to get back at how you called him out during training the other day.

When he meets your gaze, you raise an eyebrow at him, reminding him about your agreement while working on the project. He purses his lips to the side and returns to his passive expression without saying anything. You roll your eyes in response.

“Well if being a scholar while working as your manager is being a spoiled rich brat, then by all means. Do consider me one,” you answer before looking back on your screen. 

He would have never thought you were a university scholar. You don’t look like the type. You’re way too carefree and all over the place. He would’ve thought it was a joke, if not for the tiny offended glint he caught when he said you’re a spoiled brat.

That’s exactly the reaction he wants to get from you, yet it didn’t feel satisfactory. On the contrary, it’s making him feel like a prick. He is being one, but he doesn’t expect to feel like one, especially towards you who does nothing but get on his skin. 

Still, hell would freeze over before he apologizes. Instead, he prods on the topic.

“Why would you even work as a manager if you’re already a scholar?”

It doesn’t make sense to him. You don’t need the work if your university fees are already waived. It will just pile on to the academic requirements you will need to maintain. 

Your hand stops scrolling on your mouse as your eyes soften, still  remaining on your laptop. “Cause I love it,” you utter like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

The look in your eyes is instantly replaced by mockery when you lift them to meet his. 

“Someone’s being inquisitive today.”

He gets his headphones out and plugs it to his laptop. He really is curious why you chose you to be their manager, but you just had to be an obnoxious bitch and break the agreement you offered to him just the other day. 

He knows you’re too much of a chaos to actually pull it off, so instead of wasting his energy by being irritated by you for the day, he’d rather pretend you’re not there.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” you say loudly with a wide smile, yet he can see the sincerity of the apology through the slight panic in your orbs. You must have realized he’s had enough of your shit. “My bad. Old habits hard.” You laugh nervously. 

You speak again when he puts down his headphones on the table. “I may have quit the sport, but I still love it. I love taking care of players like you guys who have the same passion for it.”

“Doesn’t seem like it’s worth it,” he comments with unheld honesty. You could have a lot of time off of your hands if you quit being their manager. You don’t even need the job.

You plant your hands on the floor and lean back as your gaze drifts to the photos of the team displayed on your desk.

“You might be right. A marine science student dedicating her time on sports even though she’s not an athlete? It does sound impractical. But,” you revert your eyes back to him as you continue on, “it makes me happy. That alone makes it worth it. Even if I don’t get paid, I’d still do it.”

Your face glows with pride and joy with your last statement, completely undeterred by his earlier cynicism. If anything, you look even more convinced that you’re doing the right thing. 

He can’t tell if he finds it admirable or disturbing. Probably the latter.

“There’s more to life than just sleep, study, and survive, don’t you think?” 

It was a rhetorical question that he would’ve still refuted if someone told him that years ago. Back in his freshman year in high school, he thought overzealous passion was stupid. Unless an individual is some sort of prodigy, it wouldn’t get them anywhere even if they keep trying to death.

Still, he put in a lot of work -- more than he should -- when he was playing in Karasuno. What was just a club became entirely something else for him, which, up until now, he still hasn’t put quite a finger on. 

When he graduated from Karasuno, he wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to continue playing, but there was a nagging feeling behind his head that he shouldn’t. He thought that that part of his life was already over and while it was good while it lasted, it was time to move one. 

Yet, when he was handed out an application form for the university’s college team, he found himself grabbing the sheet of paper. 

He didn’t have any reason to pursue it beyond high school. He knows he’s good, but he’s not that good. He was at university already. It was time to focus on his future and ignore the itch to hold the ball with five other players on his side of the court.

What’s even more absurd was the next day, he submitted the application form and tried out for the team. He said to himself it wouldn’t hurt to go on playing until he has finally had enough. He’d just ride it out until he got tired of it. 

In his sophomore year, he was scouted by Sendai Frogs and that’s when he knew that the unreasonable passion he has for volleyball is not going to go away. Even now in his graduating semester, he’s still not ready to give it up.

He won’t admit it in your face, but, in a way, he can agree with what you just said. Life is more than just getting by and surviving. That’s the only reason he can think of to justify his choice to continue volleyball: so that he wouldn’t have this constant dissonance that pursuing the sport is a vacuous path he’s treading on. 

“Anyways, back to work now, yeah?”

You smile briefly at him and return to the research you’re tasked to do. He puts his headphones back in his bag and gets back to his own task as well.

He thought all is well and you won’t pester him until you both finish what you’re supposed to accomplish for the day. Unfortunately, he thought wrong. 

You suddenly close your laptop and start whining. 

“Tsukki.”

As usual, he does his best to not acknowledge your existence. 

“Tsukkiii, ” you whine louder. 

For the love of God, you sound the most annoying when you use his nickname. Even though you’ve used it several times now, he’s still not used to it. In fact, he does not believe he will ever get used to it. Shimizu and Yachi not even once called him that, and they were more respectable managers than you are. Sort of. It doesn’t matter that you’re more active and hands on when managing the team.

“Tsuuuk -”

“What?!” You successfully manage to get his eyes off the screen.

“I’m bored,” you pout. 

He glares at you unbelievably. What are you, a five-year-old? 

“And that is my problem, how?” he asks with disdain. 

“Aren’t you getting tired?” you ask back, unfazed by his blatant irritation. But then again, you never are. 

He is getting tired too, but he’d rather drag his brains and eyes out than rest and extend the time he’s going to spend with you. 

“Let’s take a break, please, ” you cry out with pleading eyes. 

“I don’t care what you do. Just leave me out of it.” He puts his attention back on his laptop and looks for the journal article he found significant among the other tabs he opened. 

“I’ll feel guilty if I see you still at it while I goof around,” you admit. 

He really couldn’t care any less. None of what you’re blabbering about is any of his concern. If you keep at it, he’ll just take out his headphones again to drown out your childish whining. 

“I know!” You suddenly perk up. “Let’s review for our quiz,” you suggest eagerly. “We have one tomorrow, right?”

He almost smirks at your suggestion, but he manages to suppress it. He’d rather not let you see that he’s pleasantly amused with your suggestion. 

He didn’t expect that that was your idea of taking a break. He thought you were going to propose something completely absurd like watch stupid videos online because that’s something he could totally see you doing on your free time. 

But yeah, he can definitely use a review. It would be a productive break from the strenuous researching and writing you two have been doing. 

Even though he still hasn’t verbally agreed, you continue on. “To make it interesting, there’s a penalty for every wrong answer.”

He sits up straight, pushing his glasses closer to his face as you successfully gain his full attention. “What penalty?”

Your smile widens when you realize that he’s finally acknowledging your idea of taking a break. 

“Okay, okay.” You rub your hands together in excitement before you clasp them together. “For every wrong answer you get, you need to say something nice about me. And of course vice versa.”

He scowls at the idea. “I prefer the opposite. Get the answer wrong and you get insulted. That sounds more of a punishment.”

You shake your head with your lips pressed into a thin line from disapproval. “Nope. If I get even one wrong answer. I’m sure you’ll get into a litany of rude shit you piled up against me over the years. And I’ll just sit here uncaringly receiving your fury. Does that excite you?”

Hell no. It will infuriate him even more if he throws something at you and you just take it apathetically. But he still doesn’t agree with your initial mechanics. It’s not fair to him.

“No, it doesn’t. But the consequence of a wrong answer is too easy for you.”

You place a palm on your chest and gape at him. “Me? Too easy for me ?” 

You break into a boisterous laugh while still maintaining eye contact with him. He just stares back at you stupefied with no idea what you found so hilarious.

“Tsukishima,” you say after recovering from your disparaging hoots of laughter. “I can think of literally one nice thing about you. Maybe two if I tried hard enough,” you explain with your face still crinkled with the laughter you’re trying hard to contain. 

If you’re trying to provok him to take on your challenge, you definitely succeeding. “Fine,” he hisses. 

Your laughter is completely thwarted when your eyes widen with delight as he succumbs to your plan. 

“Great! Okay, two more rules. One, objective questions only. Two, we can’t say anything that involves Volleyball. For example, you can’t tell me that I’m a great manager, because I’m very much aware of that already, okay?”

His frown only deepens from your conceitedness, only to realize that that’s the only aspect of you he’d consider complimenting you about. 

“But there is nothing else nice about you other than that,” he says without any trace of sarcasm or ridicule, only stating what he considers the truth. 

But you don’t take any offense in his statement. You’re expecting as much. That’s why you added two more rules to push the both of you to take the review seriously.

“Better not get anything wrong then,” you counter easily because it’s as simple as that. It’s a review just for a quiz after all. He shouldn’t be that worried.

“Thirty minutes to review. Then let’s start the quiz?”

You take that he’s fine with it since he closes his laptop and gets his set of notes from his bag.

You get your phone and set a thirty minute timer. You do just as he does and focus on your own notes, skimming over the last two chapters covered during lectures. You concentrate on your learning materials but the alarm sets off after what seemed like ten minutes to you.

You frantically check your phone to see if you put the wrong time, but you didn’t. Thirty minute have indeed passed. 

When you glance at Tsukishima, he’s already looking at you with crossed arms and a self-satisfied smirk. He must have finished before the timer went off. He wouldn’t have that smug expression if not. 

Even though you haven’t fully gone over the last parts of the lesson covered, you can’t help but be enlivened at how competitive he is. He must really hate losing. 

You notice it too with the way he plays volleyball. He might look calm on the surface, but you know he wants to crush his opponents. And right now, that opponent is you. 

His muted excitement affects you. Even though you’re not totally prepared, you’re confident with your own wits. 

“Ladies first, so go ahead, Tsukishima.”

He clicks his tongue, his usual habit when he’s irked with something, but this one was forced to make it appear as if he didn’t like what you said. But you can tell that he doesn’t give a shit about that and he actually can’t wait to ask away just to so you can get it wrong.

Unfortunately for him though, you two are just exchanging questions when your mini game starts. He answers your questions without hesitation and you do just the same since most of his questions are in your own list that’s supposed to be for him.

“What’s the movable membrane found on the eyes of amphibians?” It’s his sixth question that has you racking your brain for the correct answer. When you don’t respond immediately, he sniggers like he’s already won. 

But you do know the answer, or at least the first letter of it. It's the letter N. N-something membrane.

“Nictaling membrane,” you answer unsurely. 

The spread of his wicked smile immediately tells you you’re wrong. “It’s nictating,” he corrects you. 

“Oh come on! I’m just one letter off,” you strongly reason out.

“Yeah, and that would still be marked wrong in the actual quiz,” he refutes.

Damn it. He’s right. That one letter makes a whole lot of difference your professor will definitely not let go.

He places one elbow on the table and rests his chin at the back of his hand, keeping his eyes trained on you as he silently anticipates for you to pay the price of your penalty.

You bite your lip disquietly when you realize the rule you set was a double-edged sword for you can’t also think of anything nice to say about him. There’s that terrible attitude of his which is usually your source of fun, but not exactly something you can call nice. 

You have something in your mind, but your pride won’t let you voice it out. 

He starts tapping the table with his fingers. “You’re wasting both our time, y/n.”

You accept your defeat and tell him anyway. “Fine. I think you’re smarter than me,” you confess. 

You expect him to agree unanimously, but instead he looks at you stupefied, blinking a few times without saying anything. 

“But you’re a scholar,” he remarks. You’re not sure if he just disagreed with you or he’s just putting that fact out in the open. 

“Well, yeah. But I’m just really good at studying and have good time management. You’re actually smart. You’re critical with stuff,” you explain. 

You cheated a bit with your answer since most of your basis is from volleyball games. Although your trip last time is also proof of that. He provided really good input on how you should go about with the project. 

“Okay! Moving on,” you proceed before he can comment further on what you just said and milk it to his benefit.

You ask another question, which he also knows that correct answer to. Originally, you just wanted a fun but effective way of reviewing, but now you kind of want him to get at least one question wrong so you can get even. 

“What do you call the structure the lower vertebrae of anurans is fused into?” he asks another difficult question. 

You rub your palms on your face, your frustration clouding your mind from recalling what it could possibly be. You push your hair back and sigh when you realize that you’re not getting this one either. 

“I don’t know,” you surrender. 

His current expression is the most lively one you’ve ever seen from him outside volleyball games, but it isn't a pleasant one. He looks like a villain whose evil master plan is coming to fruition. 

Maybe you should’ve just agreed with his earlier suggestion to get insulted when you get it incorrectly. You would’ve just sit it out and brush it off afterwards, not make your brain hurt even more from thinking about non-existent good traits from the guy across your table. 

You look around as you desperately try to think of something remotely nice about him.

“Oh,” your eyes meet his right the moment you recall that instance, and form a genuine smile as you remember it once more. 

“It was real nice of you to let me lean on you on the way back to Miyagi last week.”

He removes his elbow from the table and fixes his posture, losing the lax and confident aura he had two questions ago. 

“You would have woken up face down on the bus floor if I didn’t,” he says defensively as if what he did needs that explanation for it to be acceptable. 

You honestly thought he’d rather let you fall flat on the floor. You’re about to ask him back then if he was sure, but you just accepted his angry, yet generous offer which you didn’t expect to come from him.

“I know. I just didn’t think you’d let me rest on your shoulder, so thanks,” you say earnestly, not a trace of your usual cheekiness present. 

“It felt nice and comfortable” you add reservedly. You’ve been wanting to thank him but you didn’t know how to bring it up without being awkward for you’re only used to dealing with grouchy Tsukishima.

It’s only then you realize that despite his palpable dislike towards you, he’s not a complete asshole and still cared enough for your welfare that time.

He remains expressionless with his eyes drifting down to his notes, avoiding your gaze as he does so. “The answer is coccyx, also called urostyle,” he ushers back to the question you got wrong, dismissing what you just divulged, which you’re thankful for because you feel like fidgeting with what just dawned on you.

“My turn again then!” you said too loudly as you try to shake off the feeling and put your focus back on the review.

You read the only item left in your list, still hoping that he gets it wrong since this is the last. 

“What part of the amphibian nervous system regulates heart and respiratory rates?”

Unlike previous questions, he doesn’t answer off the bat this time.

“You’re wasting both our time, Tsukishima,” you repeat what he said to you earlier even though it's only been seconds after you uttered your question. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I know the answer,” he declares with reassured confidence. “It’s the cerebrum.”

You decide to hold his gaze for two second before you burst his bubble. “Fucking finally!” you rejoice in his defeat. 

“Close enough, Tsukishima. It’s the cerebellum,” you announce all too cheerfully.

He hurriedly gets his notes and cross checks if you’re actually telling the truth. You just watch him scramble with a very pleased smile on your face as he goes rigid. 

“Fuck,” he mutters to himself. He must have seen that you were telling the truth.

You start squirming in your seat. Oh man, you’re way too excited to hear what he has to say about you. You want to egg him on, to tell him to hurry up but that might affect what he’s going to say so you force yourself to shut up. 

He raises his gaze at you while you make sure you’re not smiling too wide to annoy him even though you’re reeling from anticipation. 

He still doesn’t say anything, but you know he’s thinking based on the way he’s studying your face. 

“You have a slightly above average face.”

You run that by again in your head, not understanding what he meant by it at first. 

Above average face? Did he just say you’re pretty if translated from a socially incapacitated person’s language? Is that why he was staring so hard at you?

Of all the things he could choose to say something about, he decides to compliment your appearance? You know that you're a bit good-looking, but you don’t think he notices it. He doesn’t seem to be the type to care about that stuff.

Even when you first met, he just looked at you with a vacant expression and greeted you blandly out of courtesy while the rest of the team ogled at you. His apathetic eyes eventually turned scornful over time because of how often you pick on him, and despite that, he does acknowledge that you are pretty.

You’re used to being showered with admiration because of your face so you’ve developed a natural response to it: a gleeful smile with a spritely ‘aww, thanks!’

But with Tsukishima, it doesn’t kick in. Instead, you avert your gaze away from the unwanted fluttering in your chest. You can’t even look him in the eye as you try to collect yourself and think how you’ll respond to that without looking flustered. 

What the heck is wrong with you? That could hardly be called a compliment. Now that you think about it, it actually sounded sort of like a product review with its lack of any fondness. 

With that in mind, you manage to regain some of your composure and offer him a faint. “Um, thanks.”  

Tsukishima looks at his two remaining questions he listed and even though he’s winning the game, he doesn’t feel victorious at all. Your confessions did nothing to make him feel good about himself. They were too sincere that they made him uneasy.

He also doesn’t like that he had to admit you’re pretty. He expected you’re gonna make a fuss about it. He actually would’ve preferred that than you being uncharacteristically embarrassed about it.

Something weird is definitely going on. You’re not acting like yourself and neither is he. There had been too many opportunities to badger you, but he just let them pass by. Same with you. You could have easily teased him about letting you know he finds you attractive.

“I’m out of questions,” he lies to end the damn review. 

“Me too, actually,” you say with an apprehensive laugh.

So it’s not just him. You also feel the change in the atmosphere between you two. Your smile is uncertain and you look like you don't know what to do to remedy the situation -- that is, if you even know what’s wrong with it because he sure as hell doesn’t. 

But even if he has no idea what’s going on, fortunately, he knows how to end it.

“I’m tired. I’m calling it a day,” he says as he starts packing up his stuff. 

You seem to agree since you don’t say anything and just watch him collect his things. You only react when he stands up. 

“Oh yeah. Sure!” You stand up as well.

“I can see my way out on my own,” he stops you when you start to head for the door.  

You freeze on the spot then nod timidly. “Okay.”

As soon as he steps out and closes the door, you plop yourself back to where you were sitting. You grasp the edges of your table as you softly bang your head against it, gasping a heavy breath of relief when the air becomes undoubtedly lighter after he is gone.

“What the fuck was that?” you mumble with your cheek against the wooden surface. 

Part 2 || Part 4 || masterlist

taglist (those crossed out can’t be tagged)

@ameliaxo @suikrem @akaashisslave @tsumurai  @babythotshq @loving-unicorns106 @flairlust @geektastic84 @anaiss97 @berna-dette @just4readingfics @suteorra @xxekitten69xx @simp4tsukkii @music-is-all-i-need @keshinslittlegirl @raspberrysunshinebby @iminlovewhaikyuu @pdiddy11 @lightyagamami @sailorscout1902 @lovershaikyuu  @expectonothinfromme @mitzuya @yamigoop​

#tsukishima x reader #tsukishima fluff #tsukishima smut #tsukishima angst #haikyuu x reader #tags pls work

[jrumbots-sandals]

Okay, so I wrote a HC fanfic, because why tf not. The idea wouldn't leave my head, so now you get to deal with it.

Based on @mayflowers07’s "I can be the one you call" series. In that series, there is an established code word on the Hermitcraft server for when a prank goes too far or when a hermit is in danger: "blue creeper." When a player says this phrase, everything stops to help the hermit in need. Please go read their series--it's amazing! The premise of this fic comes from that series as well, so I take no credit for the idea, just the execution!

This is my first HC fic ever, so there's probably a lot of errors when it comes to canon. Impulse and Tango are probably OOC. Timeline is all over the place because 1. I've been watching a lot of hermits, and 2. I'm watching everything out of order. Let me know your thoughts if you like! I mostly wrote this for me, but I wanted to share it anyway.

Anyway, here goes.

The Sleep Prank

WC: 3540

Bdubs was tired. It wasn't uncommon; he was, after all, the sleep master. He had a natural ability to fall asleep as soon as the sun began to set.

Today, however, was different. Where there was usually the pleasant sleepy feeling that accompanied the end of each day, today there was frustrated exhaustion. All because of Tango and Impulse's stupid prank.

It had been going on for three days now. The prank was funny at first— a TNT explosion rigged to blow when Bdubs went to hit his bed. The first time it had happened, he had just finished clearing out most of a nearby sand biome, grabbing a large quantity for the concrete shop. At 10 pm precisely, he took out his trusty bed he travelled with, he set it on the ground and prepared for his nightly shreep sleep. When it happened, he had shrieked loudly and fallen off the bed, causing his fellow Boomers, who were hiding behind a nearby dune, to cry with laughter.

"Very FUNNY!!!!!" he had yelled in his trademark over-exaggerated voice. "Mess with ol' Bdubs while he's tryin' to sleep. You think that's FUNNY, don't you?!"

"Yes, actually," cackled Tango. "It's hilarious. Oh, your FACE…"

The laughter went on for several minutes, Bdubs pretending to be angry while the other two collapsed on each other in laughter. But Bdubs had taken the prank good-naturedly, and soon enough the other two left and he was alone again. Slightly shaken up, he picked up his things and headed to his base, ready to actually get some sleep.

The second time was still funny. Impulse and Tango had trapped his home beds to do the same thing, which didn't hurt Bdubs or any of his things, but did make him jump out of his skin. The two had clearly been expecting this, because soon after, his communicator buzzed:

ImpulseSV: TANGO IT WORKED

TangoTek: HAHAHHAHA YESSSS

TangoTek: Get some nice sleep Bdubs? >:)

Glaring at the offensive messages, he typed back:

BdoubleO100: NO >:(

BdoubleO100: YOU FOOLS SCARED ME SO BAD

BdoubleO100: You guys are the WORST

BdoubleO100: Trapping my BEAUTIFUL HOME

Bdoubleo100: I'll get you for that

Bdubs laughed as he typed out his mock rage. But it was all in good fun, both Bdubs and the Boomers knew.

Now slightly wary of the many beds he had around his base, Bdubs got up from the current bed, no real goal in mind besides getting away from the beds for a little while. It was 10:32 now. Usually, he would already be asleep, ready to skip the night and start on more building projects in the morning. Nursing a slight headache, he picked up a book from one of his many decorative bookcases and sat down away from any beds to read.

20 minutes later, eyes heavy from reading and body tired from the day, he cautiously hit a bed for the third time. Nothing happened. He sighed in relief, already starting to fade into sleep.

And then it happened again. An explosion of TNT, to his right.

"AAAAAGH!!" he screamed, again startled by the prank. This time, he heard a dispenser fire, and suddenly he had a piece of paper in his hand:

GOTCHA!!!!!! — your fellow boomers :)

With a stab of annoyance, he crumpled up the paper and huffed downstairs. Grabbing some rockets and a few blocks of wool, Bdubs took off into the night, heading...somewhere. He didn't know where he was going, besides away, away from his base and the stupid bed prank.

He touched down a few hundred blocks away from his base, finding a decently-sized patch of grass sheltered from the outside by the overhang of a small cliff. He spread out the wool and placed a few torches for safety. Without a true bed, the game's code wouldn't let him instantly sleep and skip the night like usual, but he could still sleep the old-fashioned way. Though not as substantial in length or quality, he would still get some rest, ready in the morning to dismantle all the stupid bed traps around his base and then get some real work done.

Sighing quietly, he laid down, closing his eyes and falling into an uneasy rest. It only lasted half an hour or so, just long enough for Tango and Impulse to find him and set off some more TNT. He woke up in a panic at the thunderous sound, disoriented.

"WHAT THE FU-"

He was interrupted by his two tormentors howling with laughter, peeking out from behind a tree not far from his sleeping spot.

"Sup Bdubs! Get some good sleep?" Tango called, smugly.

Impulse was doubled over beside him, absolutely cackling. "Yeah, you thought you could run away huh? Oh Bdubs…"

"Oh veRY FUNNY!" he tried, but his voice and face betrayed his tiredness and annoyance.

"Ha, ha, yes hilarious, now will you leave me alone?"

Tango gave him a cruel smirk. "Well why don't you try to sleep again and find out?"

His heart sank, seeing how invested the two were in this prank. They really weren't going to let him sleep.

"Please?" It was a pitiful request, free of any of the usual amusing inflection in his voice. Tango and Impulse looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Finally, Impulse spoke.

"Okay, if you can make it to tomorrow without sleeping, we'll let you off the hook. We just wanted to see how long you could go," he said, laughing.

"Yeah, Bdubs, it'll be a great challenge for you! See you in the morning then?" asked Tango.

Bdubs considered their offer. What choice did he have? He could make it through one night.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll just...read or something."

The Boomers smiled.

"We believe in you!"

"Bye Bdubs!"

They flew off into the night, leaving him to face the rest of the long night alone.

***

It was painful, but Bdubs made it through.

Grabbing his things, he took off back toward his base, thinking about the day ahead. He had some farming to do, a small shack to finish detailing, and the concrete shop to restock. Not to mention finding all the Boomer traps in his house. Then he would go to bed early and be done.

The day passed uneventfully, with no bed-related explosions, thankfully. Bdubs dug out all the blocks around the many beds around his houses, ripping out the offensive redstone wiring whenever he found some. He pocketed the TNT. It served Impulse and Tango right.

Bdubs really didn't do well without at least 8 hours of sleep. It was just how he operated. A full night of quality sleep was essential to keeping up with all the building work on the server and keeping up his happy, boisterous personality. The effects of no sleep were already wearing on him. He had been grumpy and distracted all day, trying to keep his eyes open long enough to not fall asleep on his feet. While working at the concrete shop earlier, he had dropped a block of the stuff on his foot. Swearing loudly and hopping on one foot, he slammed the door and left the building, only to find someone he really didn't want to see: Impulse.

"Hello, Impulse," said Bdubs stiffly.

"Bdubs! Get some good sleep? Oh wait!" Impulse chortled.

He restrained himself from telling Impulse just exactly what he thought of their stupid prank and no sleep challenge (some of the younger hermits were nearby, after all). Instead, he forced out a laugh and put on an overexaggerated expression of indignance.

"You and Tango, I can't believe you would mess with my sleep. Do you KNOW how hard that was? I'm-I'm gonna fall over or something!" He yawned dramatically, pretending to start falling.

Bad idea. He lost his balance for real and fell, slamming into the ground. Impulse just laughed and helped him up, unaware that he wasn't joking.

"Boomers gotta boom, Bdubs."

"Fair enough. Imma get you back though. So you better WATCH OUT!" Bdubs grinned mischievously as Impulse sprinted away in mock fear.

Once he was out of sight, Bdubs slumped over, rubbing his hip where he had fallen. This prank was really starting to take a toll on him.

The rest of the day passed fine, but Bdubs was on edge, finding himself becoming annoyed at little things— the sound of blocks scraping against each other in his inventory, the lowing of animals around the village, the rockets being fired by a passing hermit. He brushed it off, knowing he just needed sleep.

That night, he looked cautiously at his bed. Even though he had checked underneath it earlier and found nothing, the Boomers were some of the smartest redstone workers on the whole server; they could definitely hide traps Bdubs would never find. And now that they knew that disrupting his sleep would get him so riled up, they were bound to do it again, even if he had technically completed their challenge.

Sighing, he flew back to the grass patch from the night before, this time with more wool. Settling down, he tried to fall asleep and realized he couldn't. Despite being bone-tired from last night and a long day today, sleep wouldn't come. A slight panic came over him. He had never not been able to fall asleep before. Was it stress? Anxiety? Both, probably, he thought.

Sighing, he propped himself up against a nearby wall and slapped on his communicator, needing a distraction. He scrolled through the day's messages, laughing at some:

Grian: Guys mumbos AFK again

Grian: What should I do to him

Iskall85: push him in a hole and then cover his floors with ice lol

Xisumavoid: New potion building is open! Free for all my hermits :)

Stressmonster101: Are u tryin' t put me outta business?

Stressmonster101: ill get u for that X, i will

Smiling at his friends' antics, Bdubs moved to get back into bed. But he was still uneasy— something felt off. Scowling at the thought of being woken up by another explosion, he turned over and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to sleep.

Except his paranoia had been for good reason.

Because moments later, TNT went off, startling Bdubs awake. Well, not awake. He never really got to sleep, but he was getting close, and now the goddamn TNT was back.

Groaning in frustration and cursing under his breath, he sat up to look for the victory message he had come to expect. Sure enough:

ImpulseSV: WE GOT HIM AGAIN BOYS

ImpulseSV: aGAIN AAGSAJH

TangoTek: Take notes, ladies and gentlemen

ImpulseSV: Bdubs weve been waiting like an HOUR for you

TangoTek: WORTH IT

TangoTek: lol

Bdubs played along, sending a funny message back, but he was privately glad it was over the communicator and not in real life. He was pretty sure he would have straight up punched the two in the face if they had been nearby. He had done the challenge. It had been over 24 hours since he had slept. Couldn't they leave him the hell alone already?

He thought about trying to be serious with him and ask them, point-blank, to stop. Surely they would see how much they had put their friend through and end it. They weren't that cruel. Right?

Huffing in frustration, he packed up everything he had brought and trudged back to his base. If he was going to get pranked again, he may as well be comfortable at home.

Once he reached home, he threw his things down unceremoniously. Dammit. He should really be sleeping by now. Instead, he tapped his foot anxiously, trying to figure out what to do. He really didn't want to risk another bed-splosion.

He went an hour or so wandering around his base, organizing things and doing odd jobs here and there, and by then it was 11:23. But Bdubs couldn't get himself to try the bed, no matter how much his tired body screamed at him to. He wouldn't do it, not when he knew he would probably just be woken up again. So he kept finding things to do. 11:30 turned to 12 am, turned into 2:30, turned into 5:00 am, and suddenly it was light outside.

Oh. That was bad. He hadn't slept in two nights.

Closing his eyes where he stood, he swayed slightly as he clenched his jaw. Two nights. Goddammit. He realized with horror that he could feel tears beading up in his eyes. This wasn't sustainable.

He took a deep, centering breath and thought about everything he had to get through to finish this never ending day. Groaning at the thought of getting through another day, he made a decision. He would just have to talk to Impulse and Tango. This wasn't happening anymore after today.

***

So today, he was tired. And crabby. He had been awake for over 80 hours, and Bdubs was in a mood and a half because of it. He snapped at Scar during a mayoral meeting, shoulder-checked Mumbo "on accident" while passing him in the shopping district, and kicked down a particularly ugly flower in front of the Barge. He looked terrible, too, with dark bags under his eyes, uncombed hair, and wrinkled clothes he hadn't taken off in two days.

Several hermits passing through the shopping district gave him worried, questioning looks, making him even angrier. He tried to reason with Ren, who saw him and stopped to say hello, and tell him he was perfectly fine, thank you very much, but his argument was weakened by the way he tripped and nearly faceplanted over a small bump in the road.

"You really don't look good, my dude, you need to take a break or something," laughed Ren, lending him a hand to pull himself and looking at him with a mixture of amusement and concern.

"Well I'm fine, so leave me the hell alone," he snarled in response. The other man had just raised his eyebrows and walked away.

After, he decided to go to his concrete shop to calm down and try to get away from everyone. He pulled out a spare bed and looked at it longingly. Maybe the prank was truly over now? It had been a bad day, and he was so tired…a nap wouldn't hurt.

Lying down gratefully in the comfy bed, (had it always been this comfortable? surely not) he felt the familiar pull of sleep. Just as he was about to doze off, it happened again.

The godforsaken TNT went off.

Bdubs lost it.

"GODDAMMIT TANGO AND IMPULSE YOU SONS OF-"

He was interrupted by laughter from the very two he had just cursed at. They emerged from a door in the wall sneakily hidden by pistons, cackling and falling over each other.

"Oh my God, he actually fell for it-"

"I can't believe it worked-"

"No, Impulse, cause he's so predictable-"

Bdubs closed his eyes, ignoring the way it made the world spin around him, just trying to block out the incessant, annoying laughter filling his ears. He could do this, he just needed to put on a smile and pretend it was all funny-

"He can't go ONE NIGHT without a bed, the precious baby boy," wheezed Impulse.

"Widdle Bdubs is scawed of the dawk, isn't he?" mocked Tango.

He tried to block it out. It's funny, it really is, it's just a prank. Chill out, Bdubs.

"What would we do without him protecting us from all the scaaawy mobbies?"

Tears welled up in his eyes for the second time that day. He was actually afraid of the dark, deathly afraid. It wasn't just a joke to him, they didn't understand...

"Oh, I'm Bdubs, I have to sleep in a bed otherwise i'll get SCARED-"

"SHUT UP!" roared Bdubs. "SHUT UP GODDAMMIT THIS ISN'T FUNNY-"

"Oh but it IS, Bdubs," Tango wheezed, "Cause you fell for it like FIVE TIMES AHAHA-"

He couldn't do this.

"BLUE CREEPER!" he finally yelled, desperate to stop their taunts, to stop everything about the awful prank. The laughter of the other two men died down, finally quelled by the use of the code word.

"Oh shit, Bdubs, are you good?" asked Impulse.

"Yeah, man, sorry, that was the last one we set up," said Tango, shrinking back a bit.

Bdubs hated that they were so suddenly worried about him. As if they hadn't just been making fun of something very important to him, as if this was all a joke. It wasn't funny. They knew he needed sleep and that he was afraid of the dark, of the mobs-

"Bdubs? Buddy? Hey, are you alright, what's wrong?"

But he wasn't paying attention to them. Breathing heavily, he pushed past them, running somewhere, anywhere but here with the other two. He found a corner and pressed himself between the two walls, hiding there for a moment, before reaching for his communicator.

BdoubleO100 whispers to Xisumavoid: blue creeper please come please need help i cantt do it anymore

Tango and Impulse found him there, and they approached him like he was a scared animal, hands raised and eyes wide. Bdubs just hid from them, hoping that-

Teleported Xisumavoid to BdoubleO100.

Thank God, he thought, as he saw the familiar yellow armor. Because suddenly the admin was there, looking at Bdubs with deep worry and care.

"What's happened?" Xisuma asked gently, tipping Bdubs' face up to meet his eyes under the visor. He jerked away, trying to hide his face and his tears. Xisuma instead posed the question to Impulse and Tango, who were looking guilty as hell.

"We sorta played a prank on him…" Impulse said sheepishly.

"Yeah," Tango added, "we just thought it would be funny-"

"To do what?" the admin cut him off sternly.

"...To make TNT explode every time he tried to sleep."

Xisuma glanced back at Bdubs with worry in his eyes. "Why would you do that? You know how he feels about the night!"

At the mention of his fear, a sob escaped him. He slumped to the floor, exhausted. He was so tired, so angry, so embarrassed. He looked back at X, sending a plea with his eyes.

"Please, 'suma, I just...just wanna sleep."

"I know, my friend."

Xisuma left the builder on the floor and stood up to face the pranksters.

"I expect you two to take down everything you set up to explode. Then I expect you to apologize to your friend once he gets some real rest. You took it way too far." He made sure to look both of them in the eye through the tinted visor.

The other two Boomers expressed their agreement and walked out, clearly embarrassed.

An ugly part of Bdubs' mind said good, they should be embarrassed. But he could barely find the energy to be mad anymore. He just wanted to sleep.

Xisuma turned back to him and helped him off the ground. Bdubs all but collapsed into the admin, finally letting some of the tension in his body dissipate. Xisuma shifted to support his mostly dead weight, chuckling softly and giving him a gentle hug.

"Sorry...couldn't take it anymore...goddamn TNT... bullshit," he mumbled.

"Hey, it's quite alright. Let's find you a bed somewhere in my base. I'll patch the code so you can sleep in an actual bed during the daytime. Does that sound okay?"

Bdubs half-sobbed, half-laughed into Xisuma's shoulder. "Yes please. It's… been… long few days."

Teleported Bdoubleo100 to -487.00, 45.00, 1,256.00

Teleported Xisumavoid to -487.00, 45.00, 1,256.00

Once they both successfully reached Xisuma's base, the admin pulled out a bed and set it down in a small building that definitely wasn't trapped. Seeing Bdubs looking at it nervously, Xisuma dug out the blocks underneath, showing no redstone trickery. At last, Bdubs let himself fall into the bed, eyes sliding shut instantly, his body finally free of the tension of the past three days.

Xisuma gently laid a blanket over the man, ruffling his hair fondly and smiling when he moved his head to get closer to the touch. Bdubs mumbled something, trying to thank X, but it was incoherent, his brain too tired to form actual words. The last thing he heard before drifting off was...

"Goodnight, Bdubs."

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanfiction #my work #bdoubleo100 #bdubs #hermitcraft season 7

[therealvinelle]

What if the entire human cast were turned into vampires? (those who stay human throughout the saga)

Well, the first question we must ask ourselves, is who’s turning them? Who would do such a thing?

It’s a very stupid thing to do, after all, and a surefire way to earn yourself a visit from the Volturi.

Now, who in the post-Breaking Dawn world would want to turn all the humans near the Cullens into vampires, ensuring another confrontation between the Cullens and the Volturi?

Answer is, drumroll-

The Romanians.

As of Breaking Dawn, the Volturi are extremely vulnerable. Jane, Alec, even Chelsea have all been neutered. Renata is Schrödinger’s shield. She might work, might not. The more time they’re given to regroup after this, however, the worse news for their would-be usurpers.

Now is the time for a rebellion, but there’s no rebellion without Bella. Bella, unfortunately, is in a coven led by ultimate pacifist Carlisle, and Carlisle isn’t going to greenlight storming Volterra with an army. It’s time to get creative.

This could go many places, but the path of a biting spree in Forks and La Push is certainly one of them.

So, Vladimir and Stefan bite the entire human cast, and open Pandora’s box.

One of the first things to happen, I think, is that Billy, Quil senior, Emily, Kim, and Rachel are killed, maybe even before their transformations can complete. They would not want to live as vampires, to them vampirism is a fate worse than death. A mercy killing before they can hurt anybody would be the only way out.

As for the rest...

This would break the secret.

In this globalized age of internet, viral videos, and live TV, several hundred people all falling mysteriously ill with the same inexplicable symptoms, screaming and begging for death for days, slowly turning into something else as baffled doctors watch, before becoming massacring demons that tear the hospitals they’re in to pieces within minutes and proceed into the streets, killing everything in sight-

Aro hasn’t had a headache like this since ever.

This doesn’t even have to do with the Cullens anymore, though they’ll have to testify that they had nothing to do with this. Caius will be out for blood, though, any blood, and his ire will fall upon them.

This, of course, is the part the Romanians did it all for, because everyone knows that the Volturi are corrupt and would execute them regardless of guilt, so the Cullens will have to bring a new set of witnesses to this confrontation. And this time, of course, the Volturi are showing up to get massacred. Stefan and Vladimir high five each other.

And this time the odds are entirely in their favor.

In Breaking Dawn, standing by the Cullens was a suicide mission. No one knew Bella would be able to pull off what she did, none of the arrivals even knew she even had a gift when they agreed to come. Carlisle gathered only his bravest and most devoted friends.

In this scenario, now that everyone knows Bella’s gift neuters the Volturi, every single vampire who’s ever wanted the Volturi gone are going to want to be there. From random nomads to Maria with her newborns, everyone who’s anybody is going to want to be there, and they’re likely already squabbling over who gets to be top dog as soon as Aro’s a pile ashes.

And Aro can’t avoid this.

He can’t barricade himself in Volterra because there are hundreds of newborns loose in Washington. If he does nothing this will mean that the Volturi rule is officially void. They can’t enforce their law anymore, they may be alive down there in Italy but the era of the Volturi is over in all the ways that count.

If he goes to Washington, he can’t avoid the Cullens for the same reason as above. If he doesn’t collect their testimony to ascertain their innocence it’ll mean they’re now above the law, which in turn means that the Volturi don’t have the strength to punish them.

He has to go to Washington, and he has to deal with the Cullens.

Now, Carlisle may think the best of everyone, but even he would know the plot of the movie 300 when he sees it. The Romanians showed up at his doorstep, they totally didn’t create all those vampires wink, oh and here are eighty thug vampires who are already drawing straws on who gets to kill which Volturi.

More, what happened in Forks and La Push is only a taste of what’s to come.

Not only are the Volturi needed to help stop this madness, but if they should fall then what happened in Forks and La Push will only be a blip on the radar against the chaos that will be unleashed. It’ll be a genocide of the human species.

And Carlisle will have a culpability in that. The reason why this mass vampire creation tragedy is happened in the first place is precisely to see the Cullens go to war against the Volturi.

Last problem, it would be a massacre of the Volturi. Carlisle is a pacifist who cherishes life, even if it there would be no repercussions to the Volturi falling, forty-something vampires would still be killed.

I think at this point it would be unconscionable for Carlisle to allow this confrontation to happen. Question is, how to prevent it?

I have no doubt that the Romanians would be filling Bella’s head with conspiracy theories and what have you, for starters, explaining how her family will never be safe while Aro lives. It would be effective, even if Bella is told by Carlisle what this means for humans she’s not necessarily going to internalize just how bad that would be. Bella also has the problem that she romanticizes her love for Edward, to the point where she i Eclipse would let his family die if it meant she could keep him. Letting civilization fall to protect her lover would be acceptable to Bella.

More, the Cullens like humans well enough, but they’re not altruistic.

Likely, they would be convinced by the Romanians and the other vampires there that this was a fight for liberty, the human population would be fine, this is really no worse than Heidi fishing 40 people a week, we’re just more honest about it! The Cullens would want to be convinced, because the Volturi are scary and have proven evil in the past. If they’re not overthrowing them, they’re not just agreeing to live in danger, they’re agreeing to be slaughtered. It’s been established, to them, that Aro’s just itching for an excuse to kill them.

Carlisle can make his plea that they fuck off to Isle Esme while he alone stays behind to testify to Aro, so there’s no Bella at the confrontation. They’d refuse both because there’d be nothing stopping Aro from killing their allies and then coming after them when they’re alone, and because there’d be a real chance they were leaving Carlisle to his death.

Besides, with Bella’s gift they can hold the Volturi hostage, act nice or she’ll let these 80 vampires kill them. Nevermind that the vampires would just attack the Volturi anyway, and Bella couldn’t not shield them.

Bella and the rest of the Cullens aren’t going to go along with Carlisle.

Now, if Carlisle were Aro, the hard but effective solution here would be the Didyme route. Kill Bella, one life to spare the many.

Carlisle is not Aro.

What options does he have, then?

He could sneak away to intercept the Volturi, speak with Aro, hope to in some way initiate talks. It’d be a desperate, futile gamble, one where even if he gets Aro to listen it still won’t make their army-shaped problem go away, because Bella will never believe it if Aro says “we’re friends now! No quarrel! I’m definitely not going to kill you at first leisure if you let your army go.”

It’s an empty lead.

I think, given everything, Carlisle would swallow down the bitter taste of irony, call up his old friends whom he can still rely on, such as the Irish and the Amazonians, and ask very nicely if they would - sigh - like to witness that the newest Cullen-Volturi encounter goes over peacefully. The shapeshifters should be on board as well, after what happened to their loved ones and the countless other innocent humans killed or turned, they’ll never forgive the Romanians and not Bella for standing with them either.

So Aro shows up, and there’s Bella and the Romanians with an army of thugs, and there to the side is Carlisle with his tiny squad of witnesses. Who, should a fight break out, will try to defend the Volturi and get themselves killed in the crosshairs.

There’s a long silence.

Everyone is giving Carlisle their most exasperated eyerolls, his own squad included. Carlisle wishes he was rolling his eyes too, but the situation is a bit too serious for that. He just stands there feeling very uncomfortable.

Quite damningly for Bella, if she now allows the fight to happen that means the shapeshifters will be killed. None of the Cullens are particularly keen on the fight now that Carlisle’s likely to die.

Frankly, I think this would be an unbearably awkward encounter where absolutely nobody acknowledges aloud the reason why they’re there, or what was supposed to happen, and act as if it’s a normal trial, for the several first few minutes.

The Romanians know this is it, this is their chance, so right about the time where Aro is saying “How excellent that we’ve established the Cullens didn’t do it! Who, then, could the culprits possibly be?” they launch their attack.

All, at this point, depends on Bella’s reaction. If she keeps up her shield, then a glorious battle occurs, and most if not all Volturi die, the Carlisle squad are also goners, and most if not all of the Romanians’ army die as well.

The thing is, to win the Romanians don’t have to win - they just have to make the Volturi lose. So, even if they’re wiped out, if they can take out the key members of the Volturi then the Volturi will still have lost.

And this is where Aro’s planning enters into the equation.

Would he bring his key players to what was certain to be a slaughter? Would he even come himself?

Is it not perhaps wiser to send the twins, who in a fight without their gifts would be the first and easiest to be killed, to a secret location? Hope that, should the Volturi fall, then they can at least hope to take Bella down with them so that Jane and Alec will be able to keep the world from succumbing to a fiery hellpit?

And Jane and Alec couldn’t do this alone. They’re kids, for one thing. More, there are no men like Aro. His gift and personality both have been how he kept the vampire world under control for over a thousand years. It is a romantic notion to go down with your ship, burn with your empire, but it’s an impractical one. And Aro is nothing if not practical.

If he doesn’t show up to the trial it’ll just be sending his Volturi to be slaughtered, and as I explained above, not going at all isn’t an option either.

I think the twins would be safely whisked away to some faraway place, while Aro arrives with plans for an effective escape for himself and the core members, and as many vampires Chelsea was able to get to redshirt themselves.

This, in turn, means that even if Bella doesn’t use her gift, it’ll still be a slaughter. Alec and Jane aren’t there.

In the scenario where Bella doesn’t use her gift, this forces the Cullens to fight alongside the Carlisle squad and the Volturi. The odds are not so uneven as they originally were. Could be Aro still escapes, or given the tipped balances he could try and luck it out, to increase the odds of his side winning.

There are many outcomes this battle could have, but the Volturi would not escape unscathed from this. No coven would, the fighting would only end when there was only the victor remaining.

I, personally, like the outcome where Carlisle and Aro both survive, and find themselves living with a new world order. The secret is out, the Volturi are a shadow of what they once were, and the Cullens can never live as humans again. The two form a tentative alliance (because at no point has anything been cleared up between them) to keep this new world from descending into interspecies war.

Edward, now a Volturi, wonders where it all went wrong.

(There’s also the outcome where Renesmée joins her grandpa’s squad as a teen rebellion thing, and since no one wants to harm her the fight is cancelled. 

Aro repeats his ramble about nukes and missiles, the vampire community needs him to smooth things over and have Chelsea make all world leaders adore vampires or it’s over for all of them. Carlisle supplies in that poorly scripted random member of the audience says exactly what the magician needs him to way, “Yes absolutely the humans have weapons that can take us out!”

It’s awkward for everybody.)

#Anonymous #ask #long post #this was an oddly difficult one #too many variables #and it's never easy to predict the actions of people more intelligent than me #not in a scenario like this one where they'll be at their most strategic #aro #carlisle cullen #edward cullen #bella swan #twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight meta

[doublekrecs]

haikyuu fic recs (updated!!)

**smuts indicated in warnings!!**

karasuno

kageyama tobio

milking situation by @nekxrizawa​ (one-shot)

warnings: fluffy-ish, implied pregnant reader, lactation, lactation kink, 18+

lactation kink w/ kags

awe. by @kuroopaisen​ (one-shot)

warnings: f!reader

a photographer in his spare time, kageyama can’t quite find the passion he once had for the art. until he meets you at a wedding, that is.

so, i had a crush on you… by @beccascribbles (ongoing sm!au series)

warnings: swearing, a lil angst, drinking in later chapters

where you send all the crushes you have ever had a google form to find out if they ever felt the same way towards you.

NO by @hokageyamatobio (one-shot)

warnings: none

the infamous setter asked for your help to study and get better grades, you just didn’t expect to fall for him in the process.

hate sex by @ahegaobaku (one-shot)

warnings: smut, degradation, spanking, biting, hate sex

in which you and your ex express a mutual hatred by using your bodies.

personally. by @bunmilks (one-shot)

warnings: angst

kageyama doesn’t seem to care at all, whereas you care too damn much.

no. 1 fan by @settersloveletters (ongoing series)

warnings: slight angst, smut in later chapters

y/n will always go out of her way for her family, especially for her 7 year old niece, who happens to be kageyama tobio’s number one fan. what happens when the charming sweetheart, y/n, meets the emotionally null, kageyama tobio? and what happens when those two fall in love at first sight?

tsukishima kei

omg they were roommates by @noya-sleftankle (ongoing series)

warnings: drinking

when tsukishima’s best friend yamaguchi moves out of his way too expensive apartment, tsukki finds himself in need of a new roomie. when he replies to your tweet, he expects a quiet girl who keeps to herself but instead he gets you. will you be able to break down tsukishima’s walls or will you be forced to stand on the outside, looking in?

sawamura daichi

watch me by @vangoghmusings (ongoing sm!au series)

warnings: nsfw

college frat boy daichi’s world is turned upside down when he learns his classmate is actually a very popular cam-girl. 

sugawara koushi

thigh riding by @nekxrizawa​ (drabble)

warnings: smut, thigh riding

too easy. by @kuroopaisen​ (one-shot)

warnings: lil angsty

falling in love with suga was easy. being friends with him was much, much harder.

safety blanket by @vixen-scribbles (one-shot)

warnings: 18+, soft dom!suga, semi-public sex, sofa sex???, a hint of cockwarming, foreplay, degradation/praise kink mixed in there, daichi and asahi make an appearance.

happier by @rebel-ramen (one-shot)

warnings: a lil angsty

reassuring suga you love him.

aoba johsai

oikawa tooru

i don't like your shampoo by @hinac0lada​ (one-shot)

warnings: none

soulmate!au

birthday gift by @ahegaobaku

warnings: smut, pegging, heavy degradation (giving), sub!oikawa, spanking?

hit me up by @akaashichigo (finished series)

warnings: profanity, sexual jokes & references but no actual n/s/f/w

you leave argentina unsatisfied from the failure of your little quest despite having a last minute retry. just when you’re about to give up, a relatively attractive guy comes up to you asking the same thing you’ve been asking for the past week. conveniently enough, that wasn’t the last time you saw him. sm!au

just until i win by @kurooskult (ongoing series)

warnings: small amount of angst

being a co athletics trainer for a national team proves to be a job that requires a lot of effort, persistence and dedication. just like your long term relationship with a member of a rivalling team. keeping your relationship with world famous athlete oikawa tooru under wraps is no easy challenge but with the olympics fast approaching and fans watching their favourite players every move, you both agree that it’s best you both try your hardest to keep your relationship out the public eye for now. after all, the obstacles of hawk eyed fans, unaware rivals and invasive media attention can’t be too hard to avoid. right? sm!au

gekkan shoujo oikawa kun by @inarzki (one-shot)

warnings: none

oikawa has feelings for his volleyball club’s manager, and he isn’t very subtle about it. unfortunately for him, his charm doesn’t work on her. she’s completely oblivious to his advances, reducing him to embarrassment every single time (the third years find great joy in their captain’s misery.) oikawa finds that he is unable to stop himself from falling into her unknowing traps over and over again.

oikawa touching his s/o in a team dinner by @honeyvanilla-hq (drabble)

warning: smut

last time by @karasu-hoes

warnings: smut, car sex

whose bitch? By @vixen-scribbles 

warnings: pegging, degradation, spanking, sub!oikawa

oikawa gets pegged.

iwaizumi hajime

make you sweat by @shanscript​ (one-shot)

warnings: smut, bathroom sex, sweat kink, body worship

cause you're trouble by @kagsbuns​ (one-shot?)

warnings: mentions of sex, small pinch of angst

sugar daddy!au

teacups by @kodzukens-thighz (one-shot)

warnings: kitchen sex, slight biting kink, degradation, breeding kink if you squint

in which your college roommate’s boyfriend gets tired of the bedroom eyes the two of you exchange wordlessly every time he’s in your apartment and things get a little heated

hey there, roomie by @myherowritings (one-shot)

warnings: none

after being set up on a bad date with ushijima, he insists on walking you to your doorstep. not wanting him to know where you live, you lead him to iwaizumi’s apartment and pretend iwaizumi is your roommate. college!au

operation: SEX GOD by @writeiolite (one-shot)

warnings: smut, degradation, cum eating, spit play?, cunnilingus, dirty talk, power play, unprotected sex

thinking he’s too vanilla, you make it your mission to improve your roommate’s sex life. you couldn’t have been more wrong. roommate!au

puppy love by @fukuronani (ongoing series)

warnings: none

soulmate where you can write/draw on your skin, it appears on your soulmate’s skin too. in this case, you communicate with your soulmate in your mother tongue for fun. it’s fun to write certain phrases in filipino. soulmate!au, filipino!reader, sm!au

shiratorizawa

ushijima wakatoshi

insecure by @bokutobabie

warnings: hurt/comfort, insecurity, smut, creampie, lots of praise

reader is scared that ushi won’t like what he sees when they get intimate.

drunk phone sex by @wakatshi (one-shot)

warnings: dirty talk, masturbation, praise kink, (auto) asphyxiation, cunnilingus, dom wakatoshi

hesitation by @basicinstnct (one-shot)

warnings: oral sex, multiple orgasms, dirty talk, hair-pulling, face-sitting, implied, sexual content, size kink, dirty talk, established relationship

when wakatoshi makes an effort to get closer to you, you never expect that it'll be in one of the dirtiest ways possible. then again, the ache in your core leaves you in no position to turn him down.

eita semi

it's always better with you by @prettyboi-keiji​ (drabble)

warnings: none

semi makes your night better with some late night boba drinking and singing you songs.

vortex by @tetsuroyaoyaoya (ongoing series)

warnings: cussing

y/n is a girl living her best life, in an apartment with her two best friends, kuroo and kenma. while she has gained a fair amount of popularity from appearing on kenma’s animal crossing streams, her life isn't all that interesting. that is, until she gets caught up in a scandal with the lead singer of a well-known band, and ends up being the person that could ruin or save his career...

nekoma

kuroo tetsurou

thicc by @rivendell101

warnings: smut, jealousy, thigh riding, spanking, mild choking, dirty talk (praise and degradation), wall sex, unprotected sex

kuroo has nice thighs. unfortunately, you’re not the only one who notices.

fire in his eyes by @tetsurouskuro

warnings: alcohol, swearing, dom!kuroo, fireman!au haikyuu, smut, unprotected sex, shower sex, mirror sex, dirty talk, fluff

kuroo is a fire fighter and your best friend. when your apartment building catches fire and burns up, kuroo offers to let you stay at his place until you’ve found a new apartment.

rent free by @marigoldthoughts (ongoing series)

warnings: swearing, sexual innuendos

you’re karasuno’s second year manager who starts crushing on nekoma’s captain. your friends worry that you’ll end up hurt much like the last time you were interested in a third year. do you care? sm!au

hey, rachel by @noya-sannnn (ongoing series)

warnings: cursing, suggestive themes

two months ago, life was so much simpler for the karasuno second year l/n f/n; she had all the friends she needed and everything was as calm as a serenely flowing river stream. but after her father gets promoted for a job in tokyo— therefore requiring her whole family to move— life goes awfully to shit. just imagine this: barely succeeding at making new friends AND having to deal with a fuckface of a neighbour who ‘bullies’ her for everything she does. oh, and did i mention that he calls her rachel? sm!au

just us two by @jinkicake (one-shot)

warnings: smut, daddy kink, oral (m receiving), public sex, penetration

kuroo loves to fuck you under the lights of his favorite club.

special stream by @cosmic-goddess-leo (one-shot)

warnings: smut, exhibitionism, masturbation, toys

kuroo finds out his roommate is a cam girl. camgirl!au, roommate!au

chemistry by @seita (one-shot)

warnings: smut, mutual/pining, dom!kuroo, dirty talk, handjob (kuroo fucks your fist), pet names, praise kink, mild dacryphilia, multiple orgasms, light degradation, overstimulation, pussy slapping, squirting

you’ve got a steady, fun fwb relationship with a science nerd in your class, kuroo. after being paired up with a project with him, feelings start to develop due to the overwhelming chemistry between the two of you.

sunshine by @pudding-head-kenma (ongoing series)

warnings: a lil angsty

y/n can’t exactly remember where it all went wrong. it’s like one day they’re best friends finishing middle school and the next they’re enemies. if kuroo wants to be an asshole, let him. It’d be nice to know why, though. Sm!au

melancholia by @tetsuwhore (one-shot)

warnings: full blown smut, smoking, drinking, heavy implications of mental illness, parental issues

you’re the edgy, punk outcast. he’s your goofy nerd of a roommate. naturally, you fall for him. college roommate!AU, bad girl!reader

kozume kenma

tangelo envelope by @writeiolite

warnings: vibrators, butt plug, overstimulation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, master/pet-play themes, nudes, alcohol, mutual masturbation, and hookups

you become user kk9kk5′s sim. camgirl!au

boo you whore by @sushimii (finished series)

warnings: angst

the first words your soulmate says to you appears on your wrist from birth. in (Y/N)’s case, she never expected to find hers through a twitch stream, especially when the streamer is someone she hates. sm!au, enemies to lovers!au, soulmate!au

HUSH. by @namikxze

warnings: slight mentions of alcohol, nsfw ft. blowjobs, kenma kinda thinkin like a dom at the end

basically, you come home drunk then try to suck him off while he's live streaming.

stress relief by @inosukki (one-shot)

warnings: breastfeeding kink [?], handjob, cum eating <3

after a rough day at work, kenma wants to try something new that might benefit the both of you.

digging straight down by @sugakuns (finished series)

warnings: after breaking the number one minecraft rule, who knew you’d be pining over the one guy who made fun of you for it. sm!au

fukurodani

bokuto kotaro

farewell by @bokukiyoom​ (one-shot)

warnings: post breakup angst

post breakup isn’t as easy as it seemed. y/n realized how much happier their days were with bokuto.

come on in by @sushimii (one-shot)

warnings: skinny dipping; thigh riding

akaashi keiji

just your attention by @hqvortex​

warnings: thigh riding, grinding, over the clothes stimulation

akaashi won’t pay attention to you, so you decide to grab it from him by all means.

frienemies by @starfleetakaashi​ (ongoing sm!au series)

warnings: swearing, a lil angst

akaashi was polite, yes, but even he had people he didn’t really like. you were one of them. not like you cared because you hated him, too, but all of the sudden you were paired with him for a project. now that’s when you care.

ike or like like by @bunmilks

warnings: none

in the face of love, akaashi is painfully oblivious

baby boy by @jinkicake

warnings: bondage, overstimulation, oral (f receiving), face sitting, blindfold, light praise kink

some sub!akaashi

daisy flower by @elysianseraph

warnings: overstim, femdom, sub!akaashi, toys, bondage, gags

now live: pretty boy_05 by @starboybokuto (one-shot)

warnings: smut, fluff, pet play, dirty talk, degradation, praising, some dumbification, exhibitionism, senpai kink, lowkey hard dom!akaashi, after care on cam

after getting suspicious about his impressive income as a college student, your best friend tells you about your new boyfriend's side-job and when you decide to confront him, akaashi finally finds the courage to tell you about his little hobby. camboy!au, college!au

inarizaki

miya atsumu

backseat serenade by @msbyslut​

warnings: filth, ATSUMUyes he deserves a warning, car sex but not really, fem!reader, light choking, fingering, squirting, dirty talk, v light overstim

teasing atsumu is always interesting.

king of the fall by @elysianseraph​

warnings: a lil angsty

atsumu miya has never had any feelings about falling in love. he tries not to think too hard about stuff like that. until he meets you, and now its the only thing on his mind.  

virgin killer by @dearkags​

warnings: cursing, nsfw jokes

y/n is an animal lover, and living in a place with loud roommates would never allow her to adopt new pets that she can take care of. but everything changes, when she finally decides to move into a new apartment by herself to be able to live with her beloved and peaceful animals, until her annoying new neighbor miya atsumu, shows up with his weird antics of attemping to flirt.

coincidence by @bokukiyoom​

warnings: bit of angst, language, alcohol, suggestive

atsumu and y/n have been internet friends for over a year now. until now, she lived in america to gain experience; after moving back to japan, she contacted her old friend group, in hope of getting back together again. little did she know, that a special someone might step into her life as well.

the love club by @tobiosmilktea

warnings: some angst, swearing, suggestive themes

atsumu miya finds himself getting love advice from a popular instagram hotline after getting dumped on his one-year anniversary. it just so happens that you’re the one having to deal with his bullshit

ctrl by @keijiwrld (on hiatus sm!au series)

warnings: angst, cheating, mentions of sex, swearing, toxic relationships

in which y/n finds herself wanting more out of her tainted relationship with miya atsumu even though it’s all out of her control

only fools fall for you by @beccascribbles

warnings: smut, angst

where atsumu is a notorious playboy and now he wants you.

returning the favor (sequel to only fools fall for you)

where you give atsumu a taste of his own medicine.

pseudo love by @kei-kui (ongoing series)

warnings: some manga spoilers, angst, drinking, cursing, suggestive

hot-shot volleyball player miya atsumu just can’t seem to get those pesky gossipers off his back. his solution? fake date someone so they’ll shut up about him being a playboy. but there’s only one problem- atsumu doesn’t know anyone who would want to pretend to be in love... sm!au, roommate!au, fake dating!au

how to fall in love: a guide by @shinsukesgf  (ongoing series)

warnings: angst

maybe trying to get your crush, miya osamu, who you’ve been crushing on ever since first year to fall in love with you wasn’t exactly the smartest plan... especially if miya atsumu was behind it all. sm!au

the wrong reasons by @fukuronani (one-shot)

warnings:  nsfw/smut, vaginal sex, blowjob, riding, some cock warming, dirty talk, crying, slight crack + angst + fluff

fwb trope!

miya osamu

angel by @fpwritings​

warnings: smut, kinda rough sex, clothed sex, sorta face sitting??, unprotected sex, slight orgasm denial and overstim

just another day by @starfleetakaashi (drabble)

warnings: none

small cute osamu fluff!!

bet you never saw it coming by @wickedgamesoyaoya (finished sm!au series)

warnings: swearing, uncomfortable situations, accident mentions, blood, loss of loved one, dead animals.

former seijoh manager, y/n, had to move to accommodate her fathers job. all the while inarizaki high loses it’s current manager and are desperate for someone to fill the position. y/n may be the perfect candidate, outside of the fact she is far too blunt for her own good.

the art of cooking by @keigosbitch (ongoing series)

warnings: none

when her friends have had enough of her cursed breakfasts and setting off smoke alarms every other 3am, they take matters into their own hands and ask miya osamu to teach her the art of cooking.

suna rintaro

aesthetic by @tetsuwhore

warnings: smut in beginning, rest is fluffy

chill after sex tingz with suna.

not a crush by @prettyboi-keiji

warnings: none

love watches you from afar, notices the little things you do and makes an effort to make you smile. love also smiles whenever you are happy. it’s not just a crush, love knows when it is and when it is not.

rekindle by @prettyboi-keiji

warnings: some angst

after two years of being apart, reader and suna met again.

watch me by @sbspice (one-shot)

warnings: cheating, toxic relationships, mentions of pegging, mentions of a threesome, dom!suna, switch!reader (kinda?), both y’all asses but for good reason, forced voyeurism, fingering, non protective sex (wrap the banana y'all), cursing, slight size kink, slight dumbification, spanking, degradation, squirting, semi-clothed sex, surprise character:)

you get back at your soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

high suna by @bjbex (drabble)

warnings: shotgunning, hotboxing, recreational drug use, oral (m receiving), under da influence

dirty by @kuroosrighttoe (one-shot)

warnings: degradation, spitting, spanking, oral, fingering, cursing

you were used to a lazy kind of love with your boyfriend, but that drastically changed in the bedroom.

who are you? by @bokukiyoom (ongoing sm!au series)

warnings: swearing, tiny angst

in which suna rintarou texts a stranger, y/n, instead of his teammate. their friendship doesn’t start off easily, but they get attached to one another in no time.

bet by @lovebot2-0 (drabble)

warnings: none

in which suna and the reader discuss a bet that kita, aran, y/n and the twins made.

shinsuke kita

farewell, mr almost by @keiyoomi​ (one-shot)

warnings: angsty

itachiyama

sakusa kiyoomi

jealous fuck buddy by @luna084​

warnings: smut, jealous sex, degradation, oral (f receving), shower sex, not rlly without consent but kinda (?)  

you’re in a ‘just fuck no strings attached’ relationship with the both of you secretly having feelings for each other. having found out you have history with atsumu during practice, he can’t contain his jealousy as he fucks you in the shower room.

precious by  @msbyslut​

warnings: daddy kink, spanking, dacryphilia literally always, facefucking, light size kink, dumbification, degradation, unprotected sex, mentions of aftercare

in short, sakusa doesn’t like when you act out.

go to sleep by @paripedia​

warnings: none

sakusa + late nights.

it was never meant to be easy by @wickedgamesoyaoya

warnings: some angst, drinking in later chapters, past heartbreak, manipulation, toxic relationships, past kuroo x reader, some osamu x reader

y/n is bokuto’s childhood friend who doesn’t take anyone’s shit. what happens when she crosses paths with someone who is very much the opposite of her? will they match or will it be easier to walk away?

sakusa loves to please you by @jinkicake (one-shot)

warnings: oral (f receiving)

sakusa gives you head for the first time.

pegging sakura by @sunnyshoyou (one-shot)

warnings: pegging, dirty talk, degradation

clean by @jackrrabbit (one-shot)

warnings: masturbation (m)

sakusa can’t stop thinking about you in the shower

a quiet sort of love by @watevermelon (one shot)

warnings: none

manager to the fukurōdani volleyball club, there was no doubt that itachiyama’s sakusa kiyoomi was a strong ace. he brought your team to their knees on multiple occasions, but what you were not expecting was getting to know the nationally acclaimed spiker beyond just the titles and labels.

pose by @sbspice (one-shot)

warnings: 18+, sexual tension, sakusa being sakusa, he’s mean>:(, lingerie, clothed sex, degradation, no foreplay, size kink, creampie, explicit photos, dacryphilia, manager!reader, cameo of the msby boys

headcanons

fancy dinner date!! (ft kageyama tobio & akaashi keiji) by @sckusa

haikyuu boys meet your parents for the first time!! by @sugawaraxo

daichi with an s/o who has big boobs by @miinaashido

thigh kisses by @miinaashido

kenma having a crush on the team manager by @miinaashido

creampie headcanons (ft ushijima, oikawa, atsumu, osamu, kageyama, akaashi) by @vinncent

kuroo's crush on the karasuno manager by @peach-pops

dominant s/o (ft. oikawa, suga, bokuto) by @hikyoo

thigh highs (ft. captains) by @ahega0princess

fwb!suna by @rintarous

open up - spit kink (ft. atsumu, ushiwaka, tendou) by @writingbakery

spell coconut (ft. akaashi, semi, tanaka, & ushijima) by  @jinkicake​

dry (ft. hinata, kageyama, & akaashi) by @kageyamasthighs 

post game (ft. sakusa kjyoomi) by @diem-my​

short gf wants a kiss (ft. suna, akaashi, & osamu) by @beccascribbles​

new ongoing series

sir pudding head by @softieshoto​ (kozume kenma)

warnings: none

kenma is a well known for his youtube channel and twitch streams for playing games and getting indie games out there. you are a huge fan so it’s normal for you to talk to other fan accounts about how cute kenma is right? it’s not like he is ever undercover or anything. sm!au

crush code by @the-broken-halo-writer​ (akaashi keiji, kuroo tetsuro)

warnings: jealousy, hints of underage drinking, sexual jokes, swearing

akaashi has had a crush on you from the moment he met you; the most he ever acted on those feelings was when he became your best friend. bokuto didn’t think it would have caused so much trouble to introduce you to kuroo. sm!au

idols by @bluberryparfait​ (semi eita)

warnings: some angst

in which semi falls in love with one of the members of a rookie girl group.

good girl by @dearkags​ (oikawa toru)

warnings: cursing, nsfw jokes, suggestive themes

with strict parents who expect nothing but perfect grades from their one and only daughter, y/n is also not allowed to have a boyfriend until she finishes her studies, and everyone at her school knows that. but what would happen, if the popular volleyball captain of her school sees her sneaking out with someone? sm!au

heather by  @kingkagss​ (kuroo tetsuro)

warnings: angst, unrequited love

you’ve liked him for three years and no matter what you do he never seems to look at you that way. then she arrives, and you have never felt more out of place.

playboy by @simp4satori​ (suna rintaro)

warnings: suggestive themes, drinking, swearing

nothings better than a post-breakup glow. it seemed like everything was going your way. you were done with boys after all the bs they put you through. love was the last thing on your mind—or at least that’s what you thought before you met pro volleyball player suna rintarō.

17 asterisks by @toorusushijima

warnings: cussing

you send 17 asterisks to your friends about the guy you’d date before kuroo tetsurou. they try and figure out who it is and once they do, all hell breaks loose.

#tobio kageyama x reader #tobio kageyama #hq #hq! #hq! x reader #sugawara #sugawara koushi #sugawara koushi x reader #oikawa toru x reader #oikawa toru #oikawa x reader #iwaizumi haijime x reader #iwaizumi hajime #ushijima #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima x reader #semi eita #semi eta x reader #kuroo tetsurou #kuroo tetsuro #kuroo tetsurou x reader #kuroo #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kozume kenma #kenma #kenma x reader #kozume kenma x reader #bokuto #kotaro bokuto

[eelistolvanen]

Atlantis - Ryan Graves

Pairing: Ryan Graves x Y/N (established)

Warnings: mentions of depression, angst 

Word count: 6.1k

A/N: So this is my first NHL fic. Warning: I didn’t proveread and my first language isn’t english.  This idea is based on those tiktoks about people losing their sparkle. The title is from the song Atlantis by Seafret. 

Hope you enjoy :)

_____________________________

You hurried along the concours at Pepsi center, swearing under your breath. You had already missed the warm ups because you had been held up at work. You didn’t really want to miss puck drop as well. Out of breath, you made it to your seat, happy to realise that you had, in fact, not missed puck drop. You plopped down besides Mel Landeskog and groaned.

“God, I wish I could kill my boss. What a dick.” You said between trying to regain your breath. Mel chuckled beside you. “I wish you did, I don’t know why you keep working for him. I know I wouldn’t.”

Mel had briefly met your boss when she visited you over lunch at your workplace once. And she quickly let you know about her dislike for him. You weren’t a fan of him either, but besides him you liked the job and was one you had worked hard to get.

You and Mel caught up, even though you had seen each other only a few days prior. Then the players started to trickle out of the tunnel and onto the benches. Both you and Mel put the conversation to the side to focus onto the ice. Your eyes went on to search for your boyfriend immediately. It didn’t take very long to spot him, given that he was towering over all the other guys.

As if Ryan had know that you were looking for him, he turned towards the Wags section and locked eyes with you. And although you were too far away to see it properly, you were sure Ryan gave you a simple nod. He always gave you one in warmups when you were watching him. Since you weren’t able to make it in time for warmups, you got the nod now.

The game passed quickly. Both the Avs and Dallas had been playing a good and very tight game. In the end the Avs won it 4-3, thanks to a late 3rd period tiebreaker by Mikko. Ryan played a good game as well, getting an assist and a plus 2 rating.

Soon enough you found yourself down in the families room waiting for Ryan to emerge. You were holding conversation with Mel and some of the other Wags, happily letting them distract you from your long day at work.

The moment Ryan stepped out of the locker room, your eyes moved to look at him. Your subconscious was so in tune with him, you always felt his presence as soon as he entered a room. A few quick steps and he had scooped you up in his arms. This is exactly what you needed after a long day at work. A Ryan hug could fix everything.

“Good game, babe. Sorry I missed warm ups, the boss kept me in today.” You muttered into his neck, while he seemed to melt into your body. He pulled away to look at you.

“Thanks, love. It’s fine, you didn’t mean to miss it. And you made it in time for the game, that’s the important bit.” He gave you a smile and a quick wink while wrapping his arms around you and turning to say goodbye to the team. He took your hand in his while leading you out to the car and driving home.

  Unfortunately the long day at work wasn’t a one off. Recently your boss had kept you in longer seemingly every day, excusing it with you needing to more effort into work since many would love to have this job. And it was starting to war you down. You knew Ryan was understanding but you still felt bad that he had to wait up for you.

By the time November rolled around, you were more stressed out and exhausted than ever. You were drowning in work and you felt like the wasn’t any end in sight soon. It didn’t help that the Avs weren’t having a good time. Instead of being at the top of the standings they were battling to stay in a playoff spot. Ans even though it was still early in the season they wouldn’t want to drop back now and even fall out of the playoff race early.

You were currently standing next to Mel and Mikko’s girlfriend waiting for the team to exit the locker room. You knew the mood wasn’t good. The team just lost against the Preds. A team who was battling against them for a playoff position. Also, you were pretty sure that Ryan noticed that you missed the first period due to being held back at work.  A few players started clearing out of the locker room and you could see the loss imprinted on their faces. Riding a losing streak was bad enough, but losing against a division rival made it even bitterer.

You felt like you were barely able to breath, not knowing what Ryan’s reaction was gonna be like. Once he finally exited the room, as one of the last out, he held his head low and you could see the disappointment on his face.

He didn’t really lift his head walking over to you but still pulling you in for a hug once you were within reach. He engulfed you with his huge body and held you tight. A huge weight lifted off your chest almost immediately. And you suddenly felt like everything was going to be okay. That you had just worried to much, he would never be angry at you for missing part of a game because of work. You tried to pull him even closer, while he gave you a kiss on the head.

  It was nearing the end of November and you had just pulled yourself out of bed an hour ago. It was already 2 pm and while you hoped that sleeping in on your off day would help you with the constant fatigue you were facing, all it did was making you feel even more tired. And you felt like you couldn’t get anything done recently and sitting around in your apartment all day lazily wasn’t helping your guilt at all. But you felt too lethargic to move, the grim weather wasn’t helping. You knew you should get outside more, recently only spending time at work or being holed up in your apartment, but you just couldn’t get any motivation to get up and go outside.  

It wasn’t helping that Ryan was away on a road trip and wouldn’t be back in almost a week. The avs had been playing better but the still weren’t where they were supposed to be. HE had been so focused on playing well recently, you didn’t really feel like bothering him with your everyday problems. His career was important to you and you didn’t want to mess with it.

This week passed slower and you felt yourself being sucked into the black hole even further. Then on top of all the stuff that was doing badly at work at the moment, your boss had decided to bring in a new intern. He also made it pretty clear to you that the intern was trying out for your job position. You slowly felt like the weight on your shoulders was staring to crush you. Once Friday evening came, you were wrapped up in blankets on your couch, binge watching some Netflix series and eating ice cream. Ryan would fly in after his game, presumably late in the night. So you didn’t bother staying up, you would only fall asleep on the couch anyway.

You were woken up by sounds outside of your bedroom and not soon after you heard Ryan slip in. He was trying to be quiet, but you were awake now anyway.

“Hey Babe, you’re back.” Your whispered statement probably sounded more like a question but you didn’t care. His reaction told you that he wasn’t expecting you to be awake.

“Oh hey, baby. I’m sorry for waking you” You barely heard him, his voice quiet and hushed. Soon enough he slip into bed and wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you close. He must have sensed that you had a hard day at work, just from the way he was holding you close to him. And you tried your best to relax into his touch and fall asleep again.

 November passed and you just couldn’t seem to catch a break anymore. Today was another horrendous day at work, where everything seemed to be going wrong lately. Your boss was more than displeased with your performance and it didn’t seem like you were able to get out of your slump anytime soon. The new intern threatening your job position was obviously not helping in easing your nerves.  Now you wanted nothing more than to get home and curl yourself up on the couch in Ryan’s arms.

Finally making it to your shared apartment, you had never been so glad that Ryan wasn’t on a road trip than tonight. As soon as you were inside the door you dropped your coat and the purse in the entry, kicked of your shoes and made your way to the living room. You let out a deep sigh, the tight feeling in your chest that you had all day still letting itself be known.

As soon as you entered the living room Ryan looked up from his space on the couch. His gentle greeting went mostly unrequited. You felt a lump in your throat forming. The team had hit a rough patch time lately again and you didn’t really want him to have to deal with your problems. You knew that he had enough on his mind. So you quickly tried to give him a smile but he’d already risen from the couch, knowing you well enough to see by your posture alone that something wasn’t right.  

With a couple big steps he closed the distance between you two and wrapped his arms around you tightly. You were trying to relax, let yourself drown in his big embrace but then you slowly you realise something that you had been dreading for a while now. The tight feeling in your chest was still there. You anxiety didn’t lift of you like it used to. His embrace didn’t seem to let you forget about all your worries. It didn’t seem to heal you, put your pieces back together anymore. And suddenly you realised that it hadn’t for a while now. Slowly hug after hug his power to keep you together, to calm you down, had weakened. You used to call his hugs his superpower, that no one hugged you like Ryan did. No one else’s hugs made you feel at home, made you feel safe.

But now his hugs just felt like… hugs. Normal hugs. Nothing special. Simply a hug you could get from any person you knew. No magic, no superpower. No sparkle…

You could feel your heart shatter at the sudden realization. He hugged you still the same way. He still put all his power into trying to keep you together, to pick your pieces up, to heal you.  It wasn’t Ryan who lost something. It was you. You had lost your sparkle, your magic. And Ryan wouldn’t be able to fix it. Not this time.

You hadn’t even realised that silent tears had started to run down your cheeks. You let out a shaky breath, trying to steady yourself. But all it did was making it worse. You let out a sob you didn’t knew you were holding deep inside you.

“Hey, hey! Shhh, it’s okay baby. Everything is gonna be okay.” Ryan slowly rubbed your back, trying to soothe you. But you knew Ryan well enough to know, that even he himself wasn’t believing his words anymore.

You quietly cried into his chest and he held you close to him. You had stayed like that for a while after. But the tight feeling in your chest didn’t lift. If anything your sudden realization made it worse.

  You hit your breaking point in the beginning of December. You felt like you fell apart. You hadn’t been going to games for a while now. You came home after work and holed yourself up on the couch or tired to cry yourself to sleep.

Ryan tried to reach out to you as much as possible. He tried and tried and tried, but no matter what he did he wasn’t able to help you. His presence didn’t relieve the pain in your chest and that heavy feeling you’d been carrying around for a while now. It had gotten so bad that you had started to pull away. You didn’t consciously want to, but did it anyway. He just wasn’t able to get through to you anymore.

And this killed him. Nothing hurt him more than to see that light in you fade. Day after day, week after week, your once so bright sparkle had started to dim. And no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t fix you. Not anymore.

You had been thinking about it for a while now. You hated your work, Denver started to turn all grey on you and you felt like a burden to Ryan recently. You needed change.

Now, you were standing in the living room, a couple steps away from Ryan. You knew he wanted to close the space, hug you, try giving you comfort but he wasn’t sure if that’s what you really needed anymore. Silent tears ran down your face and you could see Ryan shatter right in front of you.

“Tell me we can fix this. Please Ryan, tell me that leaving isn’t the right thing to do.”

“You’re not happy here anymore, Y/N. You don’t have to stay here for me, you know? I can’t expect you to stay.”

You wanted him to be wrong. You wanted him to tell you that everything would work out, that you would be able to fix your life in Denver, that leaving wasn’t the right thing to do. But you knew better.

“Ryan, please tell me you know how to fix this. You always find a way to fix me!” You were desperate now, your voice shaking.

You hated how you could read the answer in his eyes before he even parted is lips. You knew this was it. Game over, you had nothing else to give.

“I look at you and see the ghost of someone you used to be and nothing hurts more than knowing that there’s nothing I can do to fix you. To save us.  I can’t save us.” You felt yourself shatter. Game over. Nothing made it more real than him telling you. He finally closed the space between the two of you. But he didn’t hug you, he simply put his hand on your face and gently stroked the tears away with his thumb.

“I know you’re trying to look out for me, thinking about me, about us first. But you need to start looking out for yourself now. This life here isn’t treating you right anymore. It’s breaking you! You know yourself that you won’t be able to fix this here.” You inhaled shakily.

“I know, I just…” Your voice gave in.  

“You know that if there was a way for me to fix this, to heal you, to do something about it, I would. You need to go, cause you won’t get better here. With me. And as much as I love you, this life here is ruining you.”

His forehead was touching yours now and both his hands were placed on your cheeks. You could feel his silent sobs. You could feel the way his heart broke when he said the following words.

“How do you look at the person you love the most and tell yourself that it’s time to let her go?”

“Don’t let go then!”

Slowly he pulled away. You tried to catch his hands in yours but of no use. Slowly he lowered them and pulled his hands from his grasp.

“Just promise me you’ll try your hardest to get better. To get that light back, that sparkle back. You will get better, but this time you have to fix yourself. I love you so much, Y/N, but I just want you to be happy. Maybe one day this will include me again.”

With that he gave you a last kiss on your forehead and turned around and walked towards the door. That’s when you broke down. You knew this was real know. The bags you packed would actually be used, the calls home you made to tell your family about coming home would actually hold its promise, the resignation on your job would actually be sent in. You knew this was only supposed to be a break for you to find yourself again and come back after. But right now this felt more like a finale breakup than anything else.

   At first being home seemed to do you good. You spent a lot of time with your family, you didn’t have to think about your job anymore. But it didn’t take long for that cold, nagging feeling in your chest to return. So you had started to visit a therapist. And you tried your hardest to do the little tasks she sent you home with after each session. But somehow you just felt so broken. You felt so exhausted, so lifeless. It was hard for you to find joy in something nowadays. You felt… empty.

Weeks passed. Christmas came and went. You tried to set yourself some goals, some solutions for the new year. But things didn’t seem to get better.

 Ryan really didn’t want to look at his phone. Another loss, another season that seemed to go to waste. An now he couldn’t even go home and hold you in his arms for consolidation. He already dreaded the empty house he would come home to. He really couldn’t call it his home anymore. Just a place he used for sleeping  or the occasional nap. Nowadays he spent as much time at the rink or at teammates houses as possible. The house was just so cold without you. Like all life had left it. Once he was seated in his car he finally gave his phone a quick glance. He did a doubletake to make sure his eyes weren’t betraying him. But there it was you name on screen. Had had left him a voicemail.

His chest tightened as he realised that you probably called him on purpose during the game. You knew that he was playing, he was sure of that. He had to take a couple of deep breath before being able to press play on the voicemail.

At first he could only hear your shaky breath, presumably teary eyed. He felt a sudden stab to his heart.

“Hey Ryan, I know this is out of nowhere but I just…” Your voice went silent again. This time he was sure that you were sobbing quietly.

“I’m trying so hard, but I don’t know how much longer I can fight… But I want you to know that there was nothing you could have done to help me, Ryan. You did your best.” He could hear your sobs now loudly and clearly, and it broke his heart.

“And you have to know that if I ever lose my battle to depression… know that I fought, know that I tried, know I did my best to overcome it. I love you so much, Ryan.”

And with that the voicemail ended. Ryan felt like someone ripped to ground from underneath him. Felt like he was spiralling down a dark hole. He let out a gasp, feeling himself tear up.

He knew he had to call you back, as soon as possible. But it was proving to be a challenge. His vision was blurry from his teary eyes and it wasn’t helping that his hands were shaking uncontrollably. It felt like he was just sitting there in his car for ages, before he had calmed himself down enough to press the call button.

He didn’t really know what he was going to say. He didn’t even know where to start, all he knew that he needed to hear your voice. Now.

It kept ringing and ringing but you didn’t pick up. He tried multiple times but nothing. His calls went unanswered. With a heavy heart he decided to drive home, since he was still sitting in the parking lot at Pepsi center.

At home he tried again. And again just before letting his exhausted body fall asleep. But you didn’t pick up. Finally, the next morning just when he thought another call would go to voicemail you answered.

“Hey.” Honestly you didn’t know what else to say and you also didn’t know to expect.

“You wouldn’t do it, right? You wouldn’t… you know end it, right?” He sounded desperate, you could sense the urgency in his voice.

“Ryan…” “No, you wouldn’t do this to me, right? I love you, Y/N. I need you. I let you leave so you could get better, not to …”

His voice cut out, and his sentence went unfinished. You didn’t really know what to tell him. The voicemail was made impulsively. You had a bad day yesterday. Well, you had a lot of bad days recently.  

“What do I have to do Y/N? Tell me what I can do? I thought that letting you go home, getting out for a while might help, apparently it didn’t. God, if you tell me that you want to come home, home to me, I’ll step on the next airplane and will get you myself.”

You laughed humourlessly.

“No, you were right. I have to fix myself. I had to get away from all of that. But I just can’t seem to get better. I don’t know that else to do, Ryan. I try to focus on myself, I go to a therapist, I try to get outside a lot. But… nothing.”

“You will get better, you have to. I couldn’t handle losing you, Y/N!”

  Denver airport was buzzing this particular early February morning. You stood at the baggage claim, waiting for your suitcase to appear. The waiting time left you questioning yourself whether you made the right decision to come back here. You were only coming for a few days. To catch up with Mel and Linnea. Really Mel had been the one pushing you, saying that it would do you good to talk with someone you used to see almost everyday.

Finally you spotted your suitcase and made your way towards the exit. Finding Mel was easy enough, since she had spotted you way before you were near her and was now waving frantically. As soon as you got to her she gave you a big hug. Still, you were feeling at unease. You didn’t really know why. The team was on a roadtrip and wouldn’t be back for a few days, so there was no possibility to run into Ryan.

You weren’t actively avoiding him but you weren’t ready to face him either. YOU hadn’t spoken to him in weeks. You were supposed to be gone for a bit and come back once you felt better. Now over 2 months had passed and you weren’t better at all. You weren’t ready to come back, you were just visiting. You weren’t even sure anymore if you could ever come back. And that scared you. You used to love the city, loved living here, loved your job. Now, that was all gone. How would you be able to tell Ryan this? Tell him that you were failing at fixing yourself. Tell him to wait around for you, in hope that maybe one day, one day you would get better.

He had tried to call you occasionally but you usually weren’t picking up. Just sending him lame excuses for not answering the phone, knowing that he would see right through you. But you couldn’t stand to hear his voice. He cared so much, even though you weren’t giving him any reason to. You wouldn’t be able to lie to him, wouldn’t be able to give him false hope, that it would all work out. Cause truly, you’d given up hope.

Mel was right. Catching up did you good. You had missed her, in a way you had also missed Denver. The Denver you used to love, before everything turned grey and lifeless. You talked to her for hours. You played with Linnea, went out for lunch and even agreed to watch the Avs game in the evening.

Talking with Mel put a lot into perspective for you. You saw things from a different view. You realised that not everything always was gonna be perfect. That you didn’t need to have that dreamjob to feel happy. Quiet the opposite actually. Trying to be enough had torn you apart.

You didn’t just talk about you and your struggles but also about stupid everyday things. About that coffeeshop you went to, about funny stories on the team, about Linnea’s newest adventures. And you realised how much you wanted this back. This life you used to love so much, before you let it take control over you.  

Those couple of days seemed to pass in a hurry and you would soon return home. This time with a goal to return rather sooner than later. That morning Gabe had left for the first practice since returning from their roadtrip. When he came back the three of you, Linnea was asleep upstairs, hung around in the kitchen making light conversation. You heard the door open and close, but you really didn’t think of much. Mel’s panicked look threw you off guard.

“You were supposed to tell Ryan that he can’t come over after practice today,- !” Mel’s harsh whispering towards Gabe was cut short as Ryan entered the kitchen. Suddenly everything went silent. It took Ryan a couple seconds to spot you, but his shocked look his face told you that Gabe at least hadn’t told the team that you were back in town.

Ryan was still wrangling for words, while Gabe and Mel quickly escaped the kitchen. You wished you could have too.

“You’re back. I didn’t know…” You knew he didn’t mean to sound so accusing and hurt, but it still stung. “Were you going to tell me?”

You were fighting for words. You didn’t think you would see him, you were hoping he wouldn’t find out. Your silence was enough of an answer for him, the disappointment written all over his face.

“I only came to visit, I’m not staying, Ryan.” You realised too late how wrong your words sounded. Ryan let out a sigh, frustration slowly building up.

“Obviously not to visit me.” He sounded sad and hurt. “I thought this was just some time away for you, not like… a breakup or something.”

“It’s not, Ryan. I- “ But you really didn’t know how to answer this honestly. Because it did feel like a breakup to you too.

He stepped closer to you before speaking up quietly. “ I love you, Y/N! I always will. And I’ll wait for you as long as you want me to. I won’t give up on you, ok? But if this is not what you want anymore, I need to know. Cause I can’t keep calling you, reaching out to you, keep holding on if you have already let go.”

You wanted to speak up, but you just didn’t know how. You just didn’t know how to let him down easy. And you could see in his eyes that he was waiting for you. But the longer you waited, the further he seemed to slip away.

He gave you a sad smile and a silently mouthed “I love you” before turning around and walking towards the door.

You knew he was long out of earshot when you finally spoke those words back to him.

“I love you too, Ryan.”

 The rest of the day passed slowly. Everything seemed to drag on. You would fly back home the next day and you knew you had to tell Ryan to hold on just a bit longer. But you felt immobilized. Mel tried to talk to you about your confrontation, but to no use. You pushed her away, shut her out. So she let you be.

You were sitting in Mel’s car on your way to the airport. Mel was making light conversation and was actively avoiding the elephant in the room. And you were thankful for that. You wouldn’t know what to say.

For a minute you considered telling Mel to turn the car around and drive you to Ryan’s apartment. To your apartment. But you couldn’t do it. And a couple hours later you were sitting in the plane taking you towards your hometown.

  You’d been sulking at home the entire rest of the day. You had to tell him. The sooner the better. But you hated confrontation so you waited til the next morning, when you were sure he was at practice. Your voicemail was short but hopefully enough to get the message across.

“Don’t… don’t give up on me, Ryan. I’m trying ok?” That was all you had said.

When he called you in the evening, it was the first time in a long time you answered to one of his calls. You talked for what felt like hours. Nothing deep or meaningful, just the little things. But when you hung up and you went to bed, it was the first time in months where you didn’t have trouble falling asleep.  

 Now you weren’t missing a single call of his. He asked you about your day, about your session with the therapist, whether you’d drank enough water and you would ask him about his day, about the team, about practice or about the game. Over the next months those calls started to become your favourite part of your day. It was one of the things you were looking forward to.

As you were sitting in your therapist’s office late in march, you kept replaying something she’d said earlier during the session. “You only know how to use the tools to fix your heart, but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t stand beside you and hand them to you.”

And you realised just how right she was. While nobody else could use those tools, it helped to know that there was someone standing beside you supporting you, helping you out, guiding you. And that someone was Ryan. And you knew then that that two of you would be fine. Even if it took a while til you got better. You’d already gotten better over the last few weeks.

 So a couple of days before the regular season ended you flew back into Denver. This time not for a visit. You hadn’t told Ryan that you were coming. Since Mel or Gabe couldn’t come pick you up EJ came and drove you home. Talking with him on the drive home made you realise just how much you missed the team. They were like a second family to you. EJ was probably more excited for you to be back than you himself. He kept telling you how hard it had been for Ryan to be away from you and that he was glad that you were finally back so he wouldn’t have to hear Ryan pour his heart out to him on every team flight.

EJ helped you carry your bags up to your apartment door but told you that he would let the two of you reunite in peace. It took you a bit to calm your nerves before you were able to knock. Technically you still had the key and it was still your home as well, but you didn’t want to just barge in.

You could hear his footsteps walking towards the door and you were sure that you could feel your heart beating louder than ever before. You couldn’t hear any hesitation in his steps, indicating that he definitely hadn’t looked through the peephole before opening the door. This was only further proven by his shocked expression he wore when realising who was standing in front of him.

The surprised expression didn’t stay for long though and before you knew you were being scooped up into his arms. You could hear him exhale slowly. “You’re back…”

  Your breath was caught in your throat. Shocked you looked down at the ice where your boyfriend had you moments before made heavy contact with the boards. It was midway through the third period and an opposing player thought the best was to avenge his teams 4 goal deficit by giving out a dirty boarding hit. It was the last regular season game and the clinching game for both teams, so emotions were running hot. He was still down, not moving. You watched in shock as the athletic trainers made their way onto the ice. Mel had wrapped an arms around your shoulder but you barely acknowledged her.

You could faintly hear her soft “He’s going to be fine Y/N, okay?” All you could do was give her a slow nod. In what seemed like slow motion, Ryan was helped onto his feet by the trainer and some of his teammates. His head hung low and he was basically dragged towards the tunnel but at least he was able to get up on his own.

You released the breath you were holding. You were still shaking but he seemed to be better than you first anticipated. The rest of the game passed by you in a blur. You were on autopilot. You barley registered Nate scoring on the powerplay that resulted from the hit. Neither did you acknowledge the empty netter from Mikko making it 6-0 for the avs in the end and subsequently clinching a playoff spot. As soon as the buzzer sounded you were out of your seat, trying to make your way down to the locker room.

Mel caught your arm and tugged you towards her. “Hey, he will be just fine, okay? He’s a though one. Let’s go down together, yeah?” You quickly nodded and gave her a hug. “Thank you, I don’t know what I would do without you sometimes.” You meant it, she was always such a good friend to you. She gave you a reassuring smile before wrapping an arm around you and making your way down to the locker room.

You were pacing holes into the carpet in the families room, impatiently waiting for someone to come out of the locker room and give you an update on Ryan. You nearly jumped EJ when he finally emerged as the first player.

“He’s fine Y/N. Just a little shaken up. He’ll be out soon.” He gave you a quick hug. And it really didn’t take long for Ryan to emerge. He looked tired and worn out, but he was walking on his own and you couldn’t detect any injury so you took this as a good sign.

He quickly closed the distance and pulled you in for hug. It was quiet but you could still hear him mutter “I’m fine, Y/N. I’m glad you’re back” into your hair. And in this moment you realised that the anxiety, the tight feeling in your chest and the worry about Ryan had lifted. One simple hug let all your worries wash away. It seemed to fix all your problems and worries. Just like it had used to do.

When Ryan pulled away you could see it in him as well. That realization. He gave you a kiss on your temple.

“You’re back, Y/N. You’re back. God, I missed you so much.”

And you knew he didn’t just mean your physical return to Denver. You were back.

*the end*

#ryan graves #ryan graves fic #ryan graves imagine #ryan graves x reader #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction #colorado avalanche

[sokkastyles]

I was talking about this to my cousin, and I feel like there's this misconception in fandom (especially for this who don't ship) that zuko and katara yell at each other a lot even as friends. Post TSR, I can't think of a single moment where either of them have lost their temper at the other?

Yeah, honestly, when people say that all they would do is yell at each other I just have to laugh because that’s literally the opposite of what we see of them on screen.

I mean, we’ve seen them argue, but never without any reason, and they actually manage to work it out in a healthy way and their relationship becomes stronger as a result. And that’s actually a sign of a healthy couple. If you’re afraid to disagree with your significant other or you can’t resolve fights in a healthy way then that isn’t a good thing. Obviously you don’t want to argue all the time, but no relationship is going to be always without conflict. The key is in whether you’re able to resolve it, and I’d argue that Zuko and Katara actually provide one of the best examples of that.

And the anti discourse around this annoys me in particular for two reasons. One, people insist that a strong female character has to be tempered, and because Katara is a character who does get angry and lose her temper and feels things very strongly, people feel like she needs a man to hold her back. Which she does not.

As for Zuko, because he’s an abuse victim people act like he’s too damaged to have a healthy relationship and he would just not be able to control himself emotionally, which is also false because he had like, a whole arc of learning to control his temper and changing himself and getting rid of toxic behaviors. Like, that happened in the show.

The one scene I can think of after “The Southern Raiders” where Zuko loses his temper at Katara is in “The Ember Island Players.”

This kinda turned into a meta about that episode so whoops.

Zuko complains about his portrayal in the play and Katara teases him, and he shouts at her but it’s without any of the volatile nature of some of the ways he took his anger out on others before.

He doesn’t seem like he’s really angry at her, and look at her face. Look at how much fun she’s having! Katara, the girl who worried about being seen as too serious. Look at how natural she is with him. It comes across more as good-natured ribbing (dare I say...flirting?) on both their ends, even though both of them are upset about their portrayals. Katara isn’t fazed by his dramatic reaction and he’s immediately forced to eat his words. Which I think is an important aspect of Zuko’s arc of learning to control his temper and realizing that he doesn’t need to take everything personally. He’s forced to live with his own embarrassment, which fits with the theme of learning humility. We’ve seen him do the same thing several times after joining the gaang, where he initially gets angry but then makes a conscious effort not to overreact. Which isn’t always easy, but he’s trying.

And part of it is also that he feels safe with her, despite his long face. He knows that she’s not really being mean. Katara can be mean even to people she loves, but she’s transparent with her emotions. 

Contrast that with the way Zuko was with Mai, who he could never figure out. Mai always encouraged Zuko not to show his emotions and he predictably exploded because he was feeling things and he didn’t know what she was feeling or what she wanted from him.

This episode is actually another really good example of how well Zuko and Katara do get along and are able to resolve conflict even in a situation where both of them are upset and dealing with their own individual issues. Even though she made fun of him for it before, Katara is empathetic when she realizes what is really behind his anger, which is that he misses Iroh and feels guilty about the way he treated him.

And it shows how well she knows him. She knows that he can sometimes do hurtful things that he regrets later, but she also knows that he loves Iroh. She knows this because this mirrors her relationship with Zuko. I mean, the relationships literally echo each other in this episode. She’s been in Iroh’s position, he hurt her and then sought her forgiveness (and she was also there when he betrayed Iroh. She is in a position both to understand and know that his regret is sincere and to reassure him that he can get Iroh’s forgiveness, as she also forgave him. That’s why she’s the one to comfort him outside Iroh’s tent a few episodes later.

It’s also kinda funny that they are so close in this scene because the scene right before this one is the zutara crystal caves parody. They go from moving away from each other, embarrassed at the idea of being a couple, to very close in a matter of minutes. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

This is also right after Aang walks out in a huff, because of the whole stage zutara thing. Like? I wasn’t supposed to ship them here?

Aang and Katara argue this entire episode, and when Katara tries to comfort him about his anger at his portrayal in the play, he takes it out on her.

Katara: Relax, Aang. They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time. [Everyone looks at her.] What?

Aang: [Turns around and sits down. Sarcastically.] Yeah, that's not you at all.

I remember having a really visceral bad reaction to the way Katara is treated in this episode that I couldn’t really articulate, and at the time I didn’t realize how much it had to do with shipping because I had no idea what the fandom was like when I was watching the show. I described it to a friend as Katara being treated like “the girl” of the group. Even though there are two other girls present, Toph is one of the boys, and Suki is in an established relationship with Sokka so she’s not a threat. But Katara is Aang’s love interest, and their relationship status is uncertain, so she’s treated like a source of conflict for Aang. I was able to pick up on this even though I didn’t feel particularly negatively towards the Kataang relationship at the time, but in hindsight this treatment of Katara is so tied with Kataang that it’s hard to avoid negative associations with the ship itself.

Katara spends a lot of time this episode trying to comfort Aang, who spends most of the episode angry at her for things she didn’t do and can’t help. She also has to deal with seeing a version of herself onscreen that is racist and misogynistic, but who is there to comfort her? Aang, Sokka, and Zuko all get upset about their portrayals, and are allowed to vent and be comforted, but Katara is punished for it and then told that she is like that, and mocked. She has to comfort Zuko, too, but at least she gets to mock him as well and give him a little bit of what she has to put up with. And he’s not the one who yells at her while she’s trying to comfort him, that would be Aang.

If this episode was supposed to be anti zutara and pro kataang, it certainly did a poor job indeed. Even in this scene where they all look at her and fall silent when she says she’s not a sappy crybaby, and it’s supposed to be a joke because “haha, women are irrational, amirite?,” and then Aang responds sarcastically, the blocking clearly places Aang and Katara in opposition to each other, with Aang facing away from her and Zuko between them and the closest person in the group to Katara. The intent was obviously to make the audience worry for Aang that Katara won’t reciprocate, but it actually makes Katara and Zuko look like the more appealing relationship if you are looking at it from Katara’s perspective.

And then Katara and Zuko spend the rest of the finale getting closer while Katara and Aang argue and then wordlessly play kissy face in the last two seconds of the show.

#zuko #katara #zutara #anti kataang #anti maiko #ember island players

[crystalelemental]

Man, Leon getting alts really is paired with tremendous salt, isn’t it?  I don’t think I’ve seen the Pokemon Master reddit this abuzz with irritation...ever.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the guy’s biggest fan either, but he’s not bad.

But, that’s not why I’m writing.  I’m writing because naturally, this Leon salt gets translated to arguments about the best Champion, and boy oh boy, do I have opinions.  I literally always do.  So today, my focus is going to be on ranking all nine champions: Blue, Lance, Steven, Cynthia, Alder, Iris, Diantha, Kukui, and Leon.  Please note that Hau is not included, because technically the player is the first Champion of Alola in USUM, and he is the challenger to your title, making him not a Champion at any point, and also I didn’t feel like spending his entire entry dunking on him and USUM’s terrible character decisions.  This is based on my personal preference for each, but I’m of course talking at length about what I like or dislike about each.

“What about Wallace?”  I literally forgot about Wallace.  I’m writing this now as I’m basically ending the post and realizing oh fuck, Wallace was a champion in Emerald.  I haven’t played Emerald in ages, and actually...cannot remember what Wallace’s deal is.  So in the interest of giving him an approximate placement without being able to seriously talk about him...maybe in the same tier as the bottom 3?  That seems fair for now.

9) Lance Come at me.

For a lot of this list, I’ll likely be talking about what kind of person makes a good champion, and what aspects make them more or less interesting based on this concept of “The strongest trainer.”  And in a lot of cases, it’s a matter of dedication, training, or just pure talent.  For Lance, he’s the champion because dragon Pokemon are the biggest.  They’re the biggest strongest type, so he is the biggest strongest trainer.  It lacks anything truly interesting.  Not to mention, until his rematch fights in the remakes, Lance isn’t a Dragon trainer.  He’s a Flying trainer.  All his Pokemon are flying, but only half are dragon.

In Lance’s credit, I do like the little sequence with the Lake of Rage hideout, showing that Lance is willing to get intense in his approach to getting things done, and that he took time to beat Silver and offer some kind of guidance that stuck with the kid and started his turn-around.  But...it happens off-screen.  We don’t really see much of Lance’s interactions, we just hear about it off-screen.  He just...doesn’t do much.  And never felt like much of a threat in battle.  I don’t like the guy all that much.

8) Diantha And not doing much better is Diantha.  I admit, Masters is making me like her a lot more, but as a character, not a champion.  Diantha as champion is...an odd choice to me.  She shows up exactly once, and doesn’t really do anything from then on.  She just...is.  She outranks Lance solely for having a scene that establishes a character.  Her meeting with Lysandre early on, where she expresses that she not only isn’t bothered by change but actively seeks it to expand the roles she can play, is kinda nice.  It sets up the idea of an interesting character who, sadly, never comes back ever.  Like, you established a theater lady who likes playing roles, and then made an under-cover mission against Team Flare led by Dexio and Sina, man’s greatest sin aside from the Ultra Recon Squad.  The complete disregard for her potential is...staggering, frankly.

While I do like that she’s the type to have an interest outside of just battling, her career as an actress never really comes up.  This makes it...really hard to feel like she has anything substantial outside of her battling career, unlike others who get more screen time and are shown to have those outside interests.  Shame we didn’t get PokeStar Studios back.

7) Leon If it helps, we’re past the champions I dislike.

Yes, this shouldn’t be surprising, given my track record of “Gen 8 was bad.”  I stand by that Leon isn’t that interesting either.  The bulk of his character exists as “He’s the unbeatable champion!” and that’s...not really compelling.  It’s very similar to Lance, in that he’s just kinda...the best by default.  But unlike Lance, no one can shut up about it.  Which...sets the stage for something really interesting, actually.  Gen 8 had a lot of emphasis on a sort of “passing the torch,” having the older generations stepping down for the younger generation to rise up.  And Leon’s part of that, passing on the torch to the new champion in the protagonist.  But Leon...isn’t that old.  He’s like...young 20s, at oldest.  And he started his champion career around your age.  He’s someone who, from a very young age, had this incredible talent that got him elevated to this idolized status.  He’s not just the current champ, he’s the unbeatable champ, and this is something everyone not only acknowledges but enforces.  Having that kind of expectation placed on someone so young, it makes sense that the logical route Masters took with its winter event was that Leon is so engrossed in his work he neglects his connections.  That would happen when the entire region is insisting constantly that you’re their idol, and your sense of self-worth is tied to being that unbeatable champion.  But maintaining that places the kind of pressure that sucks the fun out of what used to be an enjoyable activity.  And that in mind, it creates some great concepts from his character acting in battle.  When you beat Leon, there’s an immediate sense of sorrow.  He lost.  His title as the undefeated champion, and all the sense of self-worth that was built into that, crumbled in that moment.  But almost immediately after, he’s thrilled for you, and calls it the greatest battle of his life, and goes on to continue battling and loving it.  Leon is someone who really is just in it for the fun of the sport, and only seems to push himself as champion due to expectation and what his sense of self was built by others to be.  There’s something really compelling in all that.

It’s just a shame they never really...do anything with it.  Like it’s never explored or discussed.  The idea that Leon overworks himself trying to be the champion he’s expected to be is never brought up in-game, and only explored in a single side event in a mobile gacha game.  And even that misses the mark by having him acknowledge that this may be true, but he’s aware and has a plan around it, and it’s just...continue doing what he’s doing but better though.  Which is stupid.  I don’t know why, but they seem to almost avoid giving him any flaws or complications beyond a very boring “is cartoonishly bad at directions,” and over-emphasize that he’s just super unbeatable.  It’s kinda stale, and misses a really good opportunity to create a memorable and fleshed out character.  But instead, it’s just...okay.  He’s fine, I guess.

Also, quick aside, because I know there’s discourse about it: the Champion was never responsible for solving the region’s problems.  The international police exist, and are constantly called on for Looker cameos.  Champions are just the toughest fight, and more a celebrity status than anything.  As a result, no, I do not give points for Leon “doing his job,” because that was never the champion’s role.  Moreover, his actions lose him points, because I am playing a video game, and his alleged “doing his job” removes the players involvement entirely, causing the main story to be something that happens off-screen and leaves us with a confusing mess.  It’s nice when the champ is involved, but the player needs to be the agent that solves it, or we’re just not playing an engaging game.

6) Kukui I have nothing against Kukui, but he’s not particularly interesting.  Like a lot of Gen 7 that wasn’t the Aether family, he’s very one-note.  It’s a good note!  He’s lively and passionate and a ton of fun, and pretty involved as a professor in his field research, among other things.  But he never gets much in the way of complexity, and that...that’s fine.  He’s around, he’s a fun guy, and not everyone needs to be the most developed, three-dimensional character.  I just wish we got a bit more with him.

His positives are really just being around enough to have fun dialogue with other characters.  Olivia asking if he’s allergic to shirts is the constant example my wife gives of really enjoying the interactions in Alola.  He has presence, and is generally pretty cool.  He’s also the first time a professor was the champion of a region, and finally one-ups Oak as a battle professor.  I also admittedly really like his team.  Taking the starter you’re weak to, having Lycanroc be his main, he just has some cool stuff going on.  The downside of Kukui, beyond the noted lack of depth or intrigue, is...Kanto.

Alola was the first and only attempt to shake up the whole gym challenge formula.  There were trials now, and those were very different until you realized there are still eight of them around different types culminating in a major battle but forget that!  It was something different.  Worse, but different.  And it opened up the possibility of not really knowing where this all ended.  And then...island 3 happens, and Kukui tells you he’s just...establishing a Pokemon League.  Because Kanto had a league!  Did you know about Kanto?  The Kanto trainers are super tough, and his goal is to emulate them by creating a league like theirs, right here in Alola!  Even if the Grand Trails were basically identical in function, this shift away from at least a regional feel to the standard we’ve had for decades felt regressive, and having it entirely be because of his undying love and admiration for Kanto is just more Gen 1 dick-sucking on the series’ part.  It’s lame and it’s stupid and that’s why he’s not top 5.

5) Iris As a character, I love Iris.  I think she’s a ton of fun, and I love the energetic kids.  I also appreciate that she’s a bit more the Dragon trainer than Lance, and has some fun and memorable stuff to her battle.  Frankly, I know my wife thinks sprite art isn’t great and prefers that they went 3D, but the background in Iris’ champion battle is gorgeous and nothing has looked so visually good since.  Also her outfit is 10/10, and per Masters’ extended lore, Drayden got that outfit for her, so like...that’s a thing.  I also really like her becoming the champion.  Similar to Gen 8, it’s a bit of “passing the torch” to the younger generation.  Drayden’s a big source of this, talking about the potential of the youth, and Alder’s whole thing is often giving advice to young challengers to help them along.  The theme is a little flimsy though, so it’s...really not doing too much.

I think Iris’ biggest flaws, to a degree, are just being mostly absent in BW2.  We know her from before, but it’s been a few years, and a lot of what was interesting in BW2 was seeing how people had changed as a result of the previous game’s events and the time between.  Iris doesn’t get that.  Her development was “is champion now.”  Which doesn’t exactly go too far.  It’s not an inherent negative to have her development be about becoming a stronger trainer, but it makes her feel very lacking in comparison.  But by virtue of her established character in BW1, we have more of a personality, it just would’ve been nice to do more with that.

4) Alder We are officially in “I love this one” territory.  These four are close, but then Iris was close to this one.  Discrepancies aren’t all that wide in the top 5.

Points in favor: Alder is fascinating.  He’s an older trainer who is essentially retired, after the loss of his partner Pokemon.  He wanders the land kinda just...living his life and finding himself.  The idea that he left being an active champion due to a traumatic loss of a Pokemon friend is already pretty strong, but when Team Plasma starts to make gains, and it’s clear they’re aiming to destroy the connections many people have to their Pokemon, Alder comes back to take a stand against N.  He tries, and ultimately, fails, handing that responsibility to the player.  This is a great way to establish the champion as being involved and doing something, but still giving the player agency and participation in the central conflict.  Have them be involved, but not the one to resolve the problem.  Absolutely love it.  And through all of the events leading to this point, Alder’s MO seems to be passing out life advice to the younger generation.  Not just for battling, but for life.  His advice is what turns Cheren away from this sense of “I must be the best and strongest” to something more freeing that culminates in Cheren becoming a Gym Leader.  And unlike Lance, we see that discussion, we get to feel the weight and impact of Alder’s words.  While BW2 barely plays with his character at all, BW1 presents such a strong picture that he really does stand out.

But in spite of all that...I just never liked him that much.  I know, that’s such a weird thing to say after all that, but it’s true.  He doesn’t have anything I would really categorize as a serious fault in his writing.  If anything, he’s probably the character I’d understand the most if someone said that he was their favorite.  But he just...never quite resonated with me.  Is that bad?  I feel like that’s bad.  It’s a bad reason to rate him under the others, but it’s my favorites ranking so we’re all just gonna deal with this now.

3) Blue This is the same general profile as Alder.  Absolutely fantastic, but just never quite hit the mark for me.

My wife told me about a character analysis she read that was spot-on, talking about Blue overall.  In his initial iteration, he’s a brat, who is skilled enough to always stay ahead of you at every turn, until by the end, you show up and beat him after his literal five minutes of fame.  His high and mighty attitude takes a blow, and by GSC we see him more subdued.  Still arrogant (”Johto trainers must not be that tough!”), but more...contemplative?  Like he’s talking about the devastation of a sudden volcanic eruption in pretty serious terms, and it’s like okay I guess that’s happening, wasn’t ready for that.  Masters even continues his development; the recent villain arc for Kanto has Blue acting very much the leader of the League, giving out orders and planning a method of attack against the new Team Rocket.  Blue is a character constantly developing and becoming more engaging with each iteration.

I think my hangup with Blue compared to Alder is that, barring Masters, the games never quite gave me what I’d want.  Like yes, there’s a clear character there with a ton going on, and you can really see some stuff if you dig into his personality and what goes on.  Like, the fact that Oak...kinda treats the player with better regard than his own grandson, and is overly harsh about why Blue lost despite him not really doing anything particularly bad beyond over-focusing on winning.  There’s a ton to dig into with Blue.  But like with Alder, it just never hit me the right way, and I...cannot fully explain why.  Because just like Alder, I’d get it if someone said he was their favorite.  You’re right and your opinions are valid.

2) Steven Fucking love this rock nerd.

Steven Stone is not nearly as complex as the last two, and if anything misses out on top billing because I do get his faults.  He is the son of the president of Devon Corp.  He is a literal rich kid, whose entire existence is being able to go around doing whatever he wants, and is also stupid good at battling.  I’ve heard him described as “a boring Mr Perfect,” and that may not be too far off.  It’s not quite as in-your-face as Leon’s constant “He’s the unbeatable champ,” but it’s not as though Steven presents with any serious flaws as a character.

But!  Flaws are not inherently necessary to make a multi-dimensional character.  You just need them to be eccentric as hell, and oh my god is Steven eccentric.  Like okay, you are a very, very rich man, who has never had to seriously work a day in your life because of your father’s very successful tech business, and are the acknowledged best Pokemon trainer in the region.  With all of this fame, fortune, and success, what do you do?  Apparently the answer is fuck off to a cave to look for rocks.  Like, that’s it.  That’s his thing.  He wants to look for rocks.  When the plot happens, Steven’s there to be like “Woah, the hell happened here?” but ultimately doesn’t really have a plan.  Hell, he doesn’t even know about the major legends.  Wallace does.  His solution is to go see his boyfriend, who just happens to be the lorekeeper for the region, and hope he knows what the deal is.  And that’s hilarious.

I mentioned Alder and Blue just don’t click for me.  Steven clicks.  He clicks real good.  Like, I get this man.  If I had infinite money and could do whatever the hell I wanted, I too would find my equivalent of finding rocks in a cave.  Hell, in Emerald, he isn’t even the Champion, he’s just the hidden ultimate trainer in the world, who is again just in a cave looking for rocks, and oh fuck I just realized Wallace is a Champion and I didn’t even include him, fuck me.

Now that that’s fixed, I do really like Steven.  A lot.  Like all this potential to become a super successful business man, or do all these great things in his life, and all he cares about is finding cool rocks and then showing them to his boyfriend.  And Roxanne.  And really anyone who will listen, and probably some that won’t.

1) Cynthia I mean...yeah, we knew.  Look, I know this is a very common perception, but hopefully there’s at least something here that’s a bit distinct?

I do want to talk about her battle, which to me is the best designed in the series (in Platinum).  She is one of the few champions that is notably harder to beat than the Elite Four, has a spectacular and well-balanced team that presents with minimal weaknesses she cannot handle, and the general feel of her battle is one where you’re fighting an opponent who is incredibly on top of their shit.  No other fight in the series carries the same weight, and that absolutely factors in to her impact as the alleged best trainer of the region.

Obviously there’s more to it than that, though.  I mentioned Steven’s flaw as kind of being a “Mr Perfect,” who comes from money and is just good at everything.  Cynthia gets a bit of the “just good at everything,” but implicitly she’s a bit more self-made, having basically none of the advantages Steven had as the son of a tech billionaire.  But much like Steven, her response to having fame and fortune is self-interested.  She travels everywhere learning about regional mythology.  Cynthia has the most appearances outside her home region of any champion, and canonically travels the world researching mythology.  She’s heavily invested in her particular area of interest, and is constantly pursuing it.  It’s a bit more interesting than just “The rock guy.”

But there’s another component I love, and it’s oddly something Cynthia sometimes gets shit for.  “Just go live by yourself.”  Cynthia gets called out as fairly harsh and no-nonsense with Cyrus, which...justifiable given he did very much just try to erase reality.  But Cynthia just gives off this vibe of saying whatever she wants; she’s incredibly direct.  Even in Masters, she’ll just tell Caitlin that she considers her a rival and cares a lot about her, or talk about how sure all her Pokemon are great but Garchomp’s her obvious ace.  It’s just...small comments that seem to suggest not just a bluntness, but a slight lack of social graces.  You’re not supposed to pick a favorite in your team.  You’re not supposed to fluster your girlfriend in front of her butler.  But Cynthia will.  Cynthia ain’t care.  She’s polite and friendly, but she’ll tell you exactly what’s on her mind, and she won’t pull any punches if she’s tired of your shit.  That’s great.  I really like that.

I think what makes Cynthia is just...good character feel.  Like she’s not as broadly fascinating a character study as Alder or even Blue, but it’s the smaller things that make her stand out.  The love of research, the blunt attitude, the fact that her house is apparently a disaster so she prefers hanging out in Caitlin’s house where presumably Darach has to clean up after her.  It’s small stuff that fleshes out someone who feels like a person, and I really enjoy that.

#pokemon #pokemon champions

[inventors-fair]

Two-Faced Commentary

People went really big this week! There were a lot of cool tropes, novel mechanics, and a surprising number of white cards with hexproof.

@alextfish​ - Manifold Core

The front side of this card is a very powerful cost reduction effect, especially given that it applies to a set of cards that often don’t have any colored mana in their costs. I suspect that would often function as a combo piece in decks that don’t intend to transform it, to a degree that it overshadows the rest of the card a bit, but the overall flavor is good. The card is also very aggressive when transformed on turn 4, although that you need to four-for-one yourself to get the creature serves as a powerful check. 

@bread-into-toast​ - Guilt-Wracked Artist

A genuinely horrifying card concept. I’m not 100% sure that I follow what the treasure represents in the story (the key?), but it’s still very unnerving.

Mechanically, the card holds together reasonably well, in that if you get the card in the graveyard the “right” way, then it’s easier to pay the disturb cost, and the mutual discard plays reasonably with a graveyard-focused strategy.

@decayingbooks​ - Graceful Swan

This is a great transformation trope, and a very strategy-heavy flip card. Flip cards that gain value by flipping back and forth are established design space, with Huntmaster of the Fells being the most notable, but this card adds the additional wrinkle that, once you’ve accumulated enough bird tokens, you want it to be night on your own turn to take advantage of the ability to buff your tokens. (Although both activated abilities do have value on your opponent’s turn.) 

While it’s doing reasonable flavor work, the ability that makes your bird creature tokens humans may be overkill. There’s nothing wrong with trinket text, and in a set with human tribal elements it could be genuinely relevant, but the card is already fairly complicated.

@deg99 - Seraph of Salvation

The creature revealing its true demonic nature (or falling angel, but my understanding is that this is the former) trope is a good fit for a TDFC. There’s a ton packed into this card - the front side on its own is very flashy, and threatening an instant-speed Mythos of Snapdax once the card is on the field changes the way the game is played significantly. (Wrathing at instant speed is a big deal.) The mechanics of each side don’t feel all that strongly connected, but they make enough sense on their own. I like the aesthetic decision to leave the demon W/B rather than making it mono-black, as its effect is more strongly associated with white.

@dimestoretajic​ - Zosusk, Cruel Taskmaster

The front half of this card is extremely strong. Even at four mana, a super-Ashnod’s Altar that can go in the command zone is a scary proposition, especially given that it’s also difficult to remove and can cash itself out for a treasure if it would die. The indestructibility is arguably overkill, especially as the card can generate a lot of value even if it is removed right away.

Similarly, I’m not sure if the back half particularly needs hexproof; if you’ve got any kind of board, it generates a lot of value, and I think that on balance it’s better if that’s answerable.

The idea of a card that’s sort of a side-grade when transformed is interesting, as is the tension about whether or not to cash out your creatures if it’s going to transform, and I like that the tension is abated a bit by the fact that both halves make sense in the same deck, even though they operate differently.

@fractured-infinity​ - Velis, Distorted Reflection

This is a really clever twist on the Evil Twin design space. The back side is very powerful, but the effort required to get there is real and meaningful, and the front side is enough of a slightly bad deal on its own that the transformation ability isn’t just a freebie. Needing to specifically see a creature with the same name die is also fairly clever, as it means that Velis needs help to transform. (You can’t just crash Velis into whatever it’s copying.) The back side does have a pretty high level of inevitability; once you’re at six mana, you can effectively “steal” any creature your opponent plays before they can attack with it, and in Commander can be used to keep other commanders off of the field. This latter feature might make this card safer as a non-legendary creature.

@gollumni​ - Ral, Untapped Potential

The front half of this card makes a lot of sense as a Ral card. The sparking condition doesn’t tie directly into Ral’s own sparking story in any obvious way (he sparked when he discovered his partner was cheating on him), but it mechanically ties into what the character is about and strongly enables his fairly stiff sparking condition.

If I have a quibble with this card, it’s that you often won’t be able to productively make use of Ral the turn he flips. To do so, you’d need a fourth instant or sorcery that you can cast that turn, this time at full price, and if it’s a very cheap spell then the amount of value you’re getting is pretty modest.

@greensunzenith​ - Escape from the City

What I think really elevates this card above the basic idea of a Saga that transforms into a creature is that it does something with the lore counters after transforming. Unless I’m missing something, haste on Hazoret is mostly superfluous, as it will nearly always have been on the battlefield from the beginning of your turn when it transforms. (It could still matter if you double proliferate or if it changes controllers, I guess.)

@grornt​​ - Inconspicuous Youth

This card is another fantastic choice for a transformation trope. This one does a magical girl transformation in a non-obvious but flavorful way, where the character transforms specifically in response to a major threat, and then reverts when the threat is gone. That it transforms even when the major threat is your own card feels like an acceptable flavor bend for the sake of making the card playable, and that it reverts as soon as any major threat is gone is a reasonable choice for simplicity. (It could also check for 6 MV creatures at the end of the turn.) 

I went back and forth on whether I liked the back half having defender. On one hand, it allows the back half to be far bigger and scarier than if it didn’t have defender; without that, the transformed half needs to shrink or the card needs to cost more. It’s also fine flavor. On the other hand, it really gums up the board, as it’s very difficult to profitably attack into the card. Additionally, it kind of creates an “...oh” moment when reading the back.

Lastly, I think that a white creature just straight up having hexproof is a bit of a bend (although not one wholly without precedent.) The flavor helps justify it (and it’s definitely mechanically relevant), but flavor can justify a lot of things.

Despite these questions, I do really think the design is very clever, and it was one of my favorites from this week.

@helloijustreadyourpost​ - Marchesa, Tyrant Queen

The mirrored Abyss effects are clever together, and the flavor helps to sell the shift. The nontoken clause on the first side is doing several interesting things in terms of not only making the card a bit stronger as a control tool, but in helping enable the flip. Giving opponents a natural out on the back side helps check the overall power level of the card as well, and I think it’s a positive that any wrath is an answer for the back half in Commander. While the flavor makes sense and it certainly makes the card stronger, I could take or leave the second ability on the back.

@hiygamer​​ - Penultimate Form

I like that this card cleverly ties the “quest” condition to something that the reverse side of the card will naturally need. I also think that the triggered ability on the back is extremely clever, in that helps make the card less tricky. Without the triggered ability on the back, there’s a not-immediately-obvious interaction where casting instant spells in response to each other allows the creature to transform with five loyalty counters on it, which is a major advantage in that the card can use its -4 ability right away and survive. Stealing a creature is extremely powerful protection for a planeswalker and strong in general. However, because a similar ability is present on the back, players don’t need to recognize that stacking instants correctly allows the planeswalker side to start with five+ loyalty counters, as you can get the same effect by just casting them in sequence.

@hypexion​ - Sigarda, Fallen Grace

The transform condition on this card is quite difficult, even with the amount of Eldrazi token-making available and its ability to fuel itself, but the front half is plenty strong. Large, evasive, efficient hexproof creatures are something that I think they shy away from a bit now (and white rarely gets creatures that just have unconditional hexproof), although the throwbacks to Sigarda’s first card are clear. While the back half of the card is a meaningful upgrade, the front half is strong enough that it stands on its own - many decks may not worry about flipping the card at all.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ - Ormendhal Weakened

Ormendhal is a potent abyss effect, and having it wait until your upkeep to trigger for all players is a good safety choice - it gives your opponents a healthy window of time to respond to it. The backside is something of a consolation prize, as in many circumstances it will operate like a basic Plains, but the flavor is interesting. I don’t totally understand the decision to allow the land to tap for colorless instead of just white; outside of an environment where colorless mana costs exist, it won’t make much of a difference, and while there have been Eldrazi on Innistrad (and Ormendahl was affected by Emrakul), the connection seems a little loose to justify what’s otherwise an unusual line of rules text. 

@jsands84​ - Battered Lamp

This is a really fun design. That you need another creature to “rub” the lamp is a cute piece of text, and allows for other costs on the card to be pulled down to really attractive levels

The degree of inevitability on this card (5-power, evasive, bounces any blockers your opponent has, requires either artifact destruction or instant-speed creature destruction), along with its complexity, might push it to rare, although I like that the numbers work out such that this doesn’t win the game on its own.

I’m not sure whether this is intentional, but you can effectively get “infinite wishes” by having Zephyr Djinn bounce itself when you transform it for the last time. It’s enough of a tempo hit that I don’t think it’s a power level concern, and if you’ve already made (and probably attacked with) a 5-power evasive creature twice, then there’s a good chance that you’d rather attack with the Djinn the third time than to bounce it, but I felt that it was an interaction worth pointing out.

@kellylogs​ - Klara, Embereth Aspirant

This is a sufficiently clean, elegant transform condition that, even though this is not an existing planeswalker character, tells a clear story. I do feel like the backside of this card could be a bit stronger; if you’ve successfully attacked alone with Klara, blockers may not be something that’s causing you problems, and in an aggressive deck a 3/2 with Exalted may be at least as powerful planeswalker side in many scenarios. (Although being able to get a 2/2 Vigilance creature right away means that you don’t fall back much in terms of board presence.)

The -7 ability in particular could probably also use a bit more juice. While it’s technically a three-turn ult, its impact disappears if Klara does, and the +2 ability required to get to it is pretty weak (especially on the turn when Klara transforms, where it will generally do nothing.)

@misterstingyjack​ - King Pakesh II

The two sides of this card are loosely mechanically connected (they both like it if your opponents’ creatures die, although both halves can also be fueled in other ways), but the flavor helps tie them together. I think that limiting the front half to one treasure/turn is a good decision both in that it helps keep the cost of the card down and in that the card isn’t so good that you don’t care about the back half. Both halves have unique mechanics that still feel reasonably elegant and flavorful, and I like that the card doesn’t try to do too much. This is also a cool recontextualization of Disturb in general.

@morbidlyqueerious​ - Niko, Quizzical Javelineer

You mentioned that this card is revised from an earlier contest where the goal was to make a card that included every letter of the alphabet, and while that shows in the card’s name, the overall package isn’t stretching or squishing tooooo much to meet that criterion. Niko offers a larger amount of repeatable scry that exceeds what’s generally printed, although needing to connect with what’s otherwise a gray ogre to get it makes it such that it’s not likely to fire too many times in one game. The flip condition is challenging enough that I think the strongish +2 ability on the reverse side is justified, especially as it will often leave Niko vulnerable. If anything, I think the reverse side could perhaps be a smidge stronger.

I’m not sure whether this is intentional or not, but I do think that it’s interesting that it’s easier to meet the card threshold for the when you’re on the draw, but easier to meet the unblocked attack condition when you’re on the play.

@naban-dean-of-irritation​ - Will, Stoic Cryomancer

This is a pretty clever way of handling a flip walker that represents power sets found in two different colors, and the card does a solid job of feeling like a tag team. Another cool thing about this card is that it defies the legendary rule as long as you leave both copies on different sides.

If I have a critique of the card, it’s that I do think it’s a bit difficult to reach Will’s ult, however. If you play the card on curve (turn 3), you generally can’t flip it until turn 4. From there, you need to use the +2 three times to get to 10 loyalty, which is only possible if your opponent consistently has at least two creatures. That takes you to turn 7, which means that you can use the Ult on turn 8, making it a five-turn ult (or four turns if you were able to flip Will on turn 1). The ult only does something, however, if you control another planeswalker. While the ult is not a big deal on a planeswalker that’s this flexible, I think it could be a smidge cheaper. (-9 would save you no turns on building to it, but means that you don’t need to have another walker in play to use it.)

I’m also not sure if overtly making typeless permanents is something that’s worth putting on a card, given the potential confusion. The rules can handle it, and there are ways of making it happen in-game already, but similar gameplay can be achieved in more conventional ways.

@nicolbolas96​ - Ugin, Last Among Elders

This is another card where the front half is almost worth it on its own, so the relatively steep flip requirement is fine, as it serves as more of a bonus. Life gain and card draw aren’t the things I most strongly associate with Ugin, but the card draw works as a mirror of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, and the package is sort of like a miniature version of Ugin’s ult.

This is a small thing, but I wish Ugin was a bit bigger than 3/3. I realize that the similar Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, is only a 4/4, but 3/3 feels a bit small for an Elder Dragon.

The planeswalker side is recognizably Ugin, serving as a sort of greatest-hits of his associated cards. The novel ultimate will win the game on the spot in any deck built around it, but as you spent 5+8 mana on Ugin already and upticked it three times, that’s totally fine.

@nine-effing-hells​ - Mysterious Ruins

It’s not totally obvious which part of the ability the Revelation ability word refers to, but overall the card tells a clear story. A land that transitions into cardflow in the late midgame and a (kinda) finisher in the late game makes a lot of sense, although opponents that are too worried about the reverse side can save a kill spell for it. A land that enters the battlefield untapped doesn’t need to do much else to be good, so the high overall investment required to flip it is a good decision. Decks that want this sort of effect will tend to be controlling decks that can make better use of the mutual draw as well.

@partlycloudy-partlyfuckoff - Tender of the Wilds

The names on this card are clever, and help tell a different story than the superficially similar Mayor of Avabruck.

This is a very strong effect; the back side in particular is both large for a 2-mana werewolf and has a very strong anthem effect. While a good fit for a werewolf deck, this card is strong enough to go almost anywhere (and the front half is slightly better in a non-werewolf deck.)

This is a minor thing, but the more common templating for abilities like the backside has is to roll the stats it provides into the creature itself (printing it as a 4/3) and then to print the ability as “Other non-human creatures you control...” However, I think the templating you’ve chosen is potentially reasonable on this card for the sake of mirroring the front half.

@piccadilly-blue​ - Gavony Town Hall

This is a very difficult card to evaluate, because its impact on the game can vary a ton depending on how things are ordered.

This needs to go in a token deck to do anything at all, but the day-side drawback of turning off all of your creatures is harsher than the anthem on the back is beneficial, if you’re trying for an aggro strategy. On the flip side, there’s a lot of potential to gum up the board quite a bit with indestructible hexproof tokens if you play the card after your token producers. Token strategies already sometimes gum up the board, and this creates the potential for game stalls. Your opponent can get around this by passing their turn to shift to night, but that’s a fairly major tempo loss, and it sets you up well for the crack back.

I do like that there’s some interesting things that can be done with wraths and with creating token copies of cards with powerful static effects while on the day side. 

@pocketvikings​ - Covetous Vizier

One of two “genie of the lamp” cards this week, I believe that this card is specifically a reference to the Disney movie Aladdin. (I could be wrong about that - I’m not super familiar with genies.) This card is basically Phylactery Lich on an installment plan, although you spend more total mana and some life. Additionally, your opponent has a window of time to respond with creature removal, which is not the case for the Lich. In compensation, the front half of the card can be played profitably even if you control no artifacts. Black does, as of Midnight Hunt, apparently get 2/3 creatures with upside for 1B at higher rarities, but a 2/3 for 1B with a useful effect is already, on its own, a satisfactory creature. The first question I had with this card is why it wasn’t just a lich, but not every card needs to use the most obvious or most-established flavor for an effect - and it’s more memorable that it doesn’t.

@quillpaw​ - Shellcrown Phoenix

A few different phoenix cards - Everquill Phoenix and Rekindling Phoenix - have used complicated tokens to try to mimic this effect, and a few DFC cards represent hatching eggs, but this card is novel in combining them, and I think it works really well. 

The one slight oddness with this card is that it’s possible to miss your chance to transform it back, if you don’t have the mana (or don’t wish to spend the mana) to flip it at the time that the last counter is removed. It’s possible to play around this by attacking with fewer creatures, but I don’t think that the card as a whole is so strong that this limitation is necessary. Additionally, due to the cost of the card and the flip condition, I feel like the game will often be over before the card can flip back, but it still has utility in getting the last bit of damage in in a gummed up board state.

@real-aspen-hours​ - Gathering Storm

The front half of this card is very strong, offering heavy levels of card selection at a reasonable price on a card type that’s relatively difficult to interact with. I don’t know that it’s over the top (three mana is a lot for just selection), but the card doesn’t hinge completely on 

I respect the decision to use a simple transform condition. I feel like the “obvious” angle is to condition it on having a certain number of cards in your graveyard, and that’s potentially safer (the current version will, I think, sometimes be flipped with just one very strong card in your graveyard), but even that requires some building around, so it’s probably not that big of a deal. I do like giving players a decision 

@reaperfromtheabyss​ - Wavewhisper Egret

This is a lot of card for a two-mana uncommon. The front half would be an attractive card even without the ability to transform, and the transform effect will generally scry at least 4. Blue can get 2-power fliers with upside at higher rarities on occasion, but this is certainly a very aggressively-costed version of this creature profile.

I also think the decision to flavor this as a card from Kaladesh, rather than from New Phyrexia or Alara, was an interesting one. It injects a bit of light horror into a setting that doesn’t have much of that.

@shakeszx - A Tempest Foretold

Having the saga exile itself and return transformed is an elegant way to kill two birds with one stone, dealing both with the sacrifice clause on the card and helpfully disposing of the now-irrelevant lore counters.

I’m not 100% sure how to parse the first ability on this card - I’m assuming that it’s meant to pull from your graveyard or cards you own in exile (and maybe the stack), since those are under most circumstances the only zones that will have instant and sorcery cards in them when the ability resolves that aren’t your hand, but as written it sort of reads as though you can grab cards from places like your opponent’s graveyard. The rules do intervene to stop you from putting other players’ cards into your hand, but I feel that the wording on this could be clearer.

I’m also not sure that the back side works the way we want it to. In cases of cards that exile themselves on resolution, I’m not sure that Izzuke will recognize that it’s the same card, and any other card will go to the graveyard upon resolution, where it won’t be recognized as the same card if it’s then exiled again. (The rules could maybe be altered to support this, but it’d create additional complications.) Additionally, I’m not sure that exiling your hand in order to slowly potentially get the instants and sorceries back one at a time really feels worth it; Izzuke is a good deal for four mana, but even with Ward 4, the blowout potential is pretty huge. If your opponent saves any removal for it, you’re very likely to lose.

All that said, the general concept of a saga that builds up a resource that the creature it flips into can expend is a strong one.

@snugz​ - Queen Bee

Assuming that you hit your land drops and that nothing happens to your drones, this card will flip after two land drops, having created seven 1/1 fliers. The reverse side will then make these fliers 2/2’s, three of which can attack right away (assuming this occurred over two turns). In most formats, this means that your opponent is going to be dead before the long-term value aspects of the card come into play. They are still relevant in Commander and as a rebuilding option if your drone army gets wrathed, and the flavor is good, however.

On the whole, the card may be a little too efficient at building a game-winning board, especially as it is hard to remove if not removed immediately. I think the card could do fewer things and still work as a card, even though all of the individual components make flavor sense.

@starch255​ - Cursed Knight

There’s a lot of things I really like about this card. I like that its toughness is low compared to its power, so it will usually either kill something or die in any combat with another creature. I like that the Frog side is still a knight. This feels like a reasonably in-pie way to give white a well-above-the-curve creature, and if your opponent doesn’t have an answer or a body to throw in front of it, this puts out much larger life swings than two-mana uncommons normally ever do. Even if your opponent tosses a 1/1 in front of this, you’re still up a bit.

@whuh-oh​ - Masked Debutante

This card has a lot of moving pieces, but the overall package makes sense. The actual power level of the card hinges a lot on your opponent having at least three creatures already in play, but there are enough outs to it that it doesn’t feel hopeless in any case.  I also like that the creatures have to actually hit you to get the counters, limiting the total amount of value you can steal. I also like that the card doesn’t have any sort of anti-sacrifice mechanism built in; it’s game-winning enough of the time as it is, and doesn’t need to have what answers do exist for it to be shut off.

I’m not 100% sure that the creature-stealing is really a red thing, but tying it to the survival of the creature helps, and in general makes the card much more fair.

@wilsonosgoodmcman​ - Venser, Close to Death

In inventing a new card subtype, this is the most ambitious card for this week. I also like the flavor of a doomed planeswalker having only minus abilities, and lining up the planeswalker so that it needs to die to using one of its abilities (or take damage on your turn, I guess) is a nice little minigame that isn’t trivial, but also is easy enough that you can usually expect to flip Venser if your opponent doesn’t have a substantially greater board presence than you.

The third ability on Venser should probably target only other permanents, to avoid confusion about what happens if it targets Venser, but that’s pretty minor. (I’m assuming that the intent is that it doesn’t flicker Venser.)

Even though it costs you (usually) a creature and the effort of flipping Venser, I think that the +1 on the reverse side might be a bit much. While all of the abilities are powerful, that one stands out as especially tough to beat.

@wolkemesser​ - Keepsafe Bear

This card tells a cool story, and I appreciate the work you did in balancing the difficulty to flip the card. At first, I sort of felt like it went a little overboard in terms of preventing you from flipping it (you basically need a wrath or for your opponent to block it or attack into it with a much larger creature), but the front half and back half are both strong enough that I think it’s okay for there to be some fairly specific hoops. 

The back half does just enough, I think. There’s an alternate design for this card where the back half loses indestructible and the front half is harder to flip, and that version is probably a bit easier to print, but I think there’s a place for the higher-challenge version presented here as well.

#commentary #if-two faced #mtg #magic the gathering #inventor's fair #custom magic card