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#they’re the refs best friends friends and paid them off
rosesvioletshardy · 2 years
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andrei said “koochie, no”
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honeyhoshi · 3 months
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hat trick!
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the term 'hat-trick' is used to define when a player achieves the feat of scoring three goals in a single game.
summary: the first half of the championships is going to their opponents and everyone is looking to mingyu to lead the team to victory. as their star player, it’s a tall order, especially when his plate is already full with you.
this a part of the man of the match universe
genre: professional football (soccer) au, porn with a little plot
wordcount: 5,616
pairing: mingyu x afab!reader
warnings: HEAVY DDlg kink, HEAVY d/s themes, both parties are safe, sane, and consenting adults, reader is implied to be significantly smaller than mingyu, huge mingyu, big dick gyu (canon), (acknowledged???) exhibitionism, unprotected sex (pls dont do it, its not worth it), multiple sex scenes, spit kink (bec i wrote it), creampie (also bec i wrote it), mentions of masturbation, size kink go bbrrrr, bulge kink, pussy stretching, plenty dirty talk, mingyu uses soooo many nicknames (pretty, baby, princess, etc.)
author's notes: this is written for my dearest friend @madeforgyu who helped me bring forward!mingyu to life and for making his gf such a joy to write. thank you also to her for inspiring me to come back to tumblr after almost a decade.
Mingyu is pissed. He’s absolutely fucking livid.
This game had to have been fucking cooked. There was no way the ref was making all these shitty calls for him not to be paid off or something. The team had been making all the right moves but the second something seems like a foul, a whistle blows and somehow it's always someone from the Diamonds getting the blame.
Mingyu had come to four attempted goals on target and any other time was deemed offside by the refs. If he sees that fucking checkered flag go up one more time before they call for half time he’s going to really give them a reason for a red card.
Any other day he’d probably be able to brush it off after the half time break. But this isn’t any other day or any other match. It was the last match of the season — it was the Korean FA Cup final.
The 23-24 season was grueling but rewarding for the Diamonds. After the major upset at finishing as runners up in the season prior, the whole squad had come into this season with fire under their asses. The change in coaches was another thing — while their ex-manager, Mr. Cho was a hardass, their tearful promise to give him a win even after his retirement paired with Seungcheol’s no-bullshit coach style took them from 100% to 250% in the space of the off season.
Mingyu’s never been a better football player. Which is why he’s unhappy when the half time whistle does blow and they’re down 0-2.
Both teams shuffle into the tunnel to head to their locker rooms where their managers and coaching staff were waiting. Then Mingyu sees a flurry of pink shuffling through the mess of white and red kits.
“Excuse me, excuse mee, coming through please,” comes a light voice, parting the crowd.
There are a couple of chuckles and greetings coming from his teammates and even a high five and a “hey tiny!” from Hoshi before it finds its way in front of him.
It’s his girlfriend. It’s you.
Your presence at the game is no anomaly. You’re pretty much a permanent fixture, sort of like the 12th man of the team. Except you can’t play football for shit and you’re always somehow wearing the worst shoes for going on the pitch.
Everyone on the Diamonds’ side knows you — from the press, to the coaching staff, even some of the nutritionists. You’ve been with Mingyu forever. You hardly phase anyone around you when you bat your eyes at Mingyu and grab one of his hands in both of yours.
Mingyu tries to harden his glare at you, doing his best to send a look of displeasure at whatever it is you’re trying to pull.
“I’m soooorry,” you start, playfully rocking on the balls of your feet and trying to tiptoe to get closer to him.
Mingyu almost wants to roll his eyes.
The last of the team coaches enter the locker room but before the door closes, Seungcheol peeks out and meets Mingyu’s eyes. Hoshi’s head pops out next to him shortly after.
“I don’t have to tell you anything, I’m sure," Seungcheol starts, “But you’ve got 10 minutes, Gyu.”
“Tiny, I need my forward in tip top shape, alright?” comes Hoshi’s laugh.
Now Mingyu really rolls his eyes.
You can’t help the giggle that bubbles out, “Aye aye captain!”
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You don’t have to be told twice when Mingyu drags you into an extra locker room and says “Skirt up, pretty.”
He makes quick work of slamming the door shut, not even bothering to lock the door. But he does flick the lights open. He wants to see. He has to see all of you.
When he turns around he clicks his tongue at you seated on one of the benches. You’re still rolling your underwear down your legs. They’re a completely useless pair. Though he admits most of your underwear is useless, either too frilly, flimsy, just there for decoration. It’s okay. He likes pretty things. No wonder he likes you so much.
“Uh-uh, doubletime princess. No time for the usual. I need to come before stepping back on that fucking pitch.”
Mingyu’s agitation from his sub par showing during the first half is bubbling under his skin. He’s been stiffening under his shorts since he saw you shuffling through the tunnel and the minute you grabbed his hands, the only thing in his head was how badly he needed to stuff you with his cock.
He grimaces at the pout on your lips as you finally untangle that stupid lacey thing from your frilly socks and platform sneakers. Mingyu grabs your wrist and drags you up against the wall that isn’t lined with lockers. He presses your front against the wall and uses his knee to spread your legs apart.
On instinct you stick out your ass, eager already despite him still being fully dressed, wiggling slightly to show him you want this too.
With quick, practiced fingers Mingyu undoes the knot of his bottoms and pushes down his compression shorts low enough to pull his cock out. He breathes a sigh of relief because finally he can flip up your skirt and see just how needy you are.
He has one large hand wrapped around his equally large cock and inspecting the view in front of him. His other hand settles on the roundness of your ass, grasping slightly to spread you open. He eyes your pink puckered hole and allows his gaze to move down to your pussy. He’s pumping himself roughly to get himself to full hardness as he eyes the slick that’s seeping between your lips. You’re almost jealous. That’s your job.
Once he’s satisfied with himself, he lets his cock rest between your cheeks, and he grasps you on both sides to squeeze. You want to cry, almost scared he’ll get off like this, just fucking the tightness of your pressed asscheeks. It’s almost quiet save for his panting and the way your slick cunt is starting to wet his cock.
So you whine loudly, that unimpressed, unsatisfied one that precedes a—
“Daddyyyyyyyy!”
Fuck there it is.
Mingyu grimaces and clicks his tongue again. No use being quiet now. Or ever, really. Everyone knows anyway.
He turns you around quickly, hoisting you up in his arms and moving to wrap your legs around his slender waist. This position has your pussy pressing up against the underside of his cock and the slight relief it gives you makes you nearly sob.
Instead you whine. You whine and start to grind sloppily as the feeling of delirium starts to course through you. It comes naturally when it comes to Mingyu. You’re addicted and so is he.
Even if your bare cunt is already pressed against him and all Mingyu has to do is angle your hips slightly to slip in, he goes the extra mile.
He supports your smaller frame with one hand and uses the other to lift a corner of his jersey to his teeth so he can bite it. He pulls it up high enough to expose his stomach and your mouth waters at the sight.
Mingyu looks good. He always looks good and he knows you like it when he’s on display for you as well. The dips and groves of his stomach, how it's still damp from the sweat from the first half, has you clenching around nothing.
He feels it against his cock and he quickly decides to quit playing around. You two probably have around 6 minutes and not a second to lose. So he flips the front of your skirt up and groans at the sight of you.
You’re soaked and coating his cock as you try to grind against him, a futile attempt to somewhat relieve yourself. 
So Mingyu pulls away slightly to position the head of his cock at your entrance.
“D’you play with yourself at all, sweetheart?” He says, tapping the large head of his cock against your clit.
“Huh?” comes your confused response.
“I asked my dumb baby if she played with this little pussy?” He answers meanly.
You flush. It’s like a routine for you to stay with Mingyu the night before a game, allowing him to let off steam and go into a game day glowing and stress free while you sit on his lap in the team bus full of his cum from your morning fuck.
But the night before the cup finals had you attending a work event at the last minute because of a scheduling issue that had both you and Mingyu pissed off and horny.
You suppose that’s partly to blame for the first half that had even you swearing at the refs from your seat in his private box.
“Just a little—“
He clicks his tongue, “How many fingers d’you use?”
“Just two daddy, a-and I stopped!” you cry almost petulantly.
“Yeah, baby? Why’d you stop?”
“Because it was no good!” You bounce in his hold slightly, biting your lower lip as he continues to tease your entrance and clit. Just the head of his cock was enough to get you this wound up.
He grins. It’s brilliant and handsome and just so fucking mean because he says, “Thats right. Two of my dumb baby’s fingers are nothing on daddy’s cock,” and pushes into you.
Mingyu has always been so big and thick and you have always always been so much smaller than him, his cock always stretching a little painfully when he first slips in. But today, with such little time and even spending the night away from each other, the stretch punches the breath from your lungs.
You squeal in equal parts delight and distress and Mingyu sets a brutal pace, not even letting you settle into the feeling of him inside of you.
But you understand. You’re his good girl so you look at him with big teary eyes, bottom lip in between your teeth and nod dumbly at him. Words fail you whenever he’s inside you but it’s okay. It’s better than okay. 
You two have long established how nothing nothing in this world makes you happier than when he uses you as he wants, when slips into you whenever he wants, and calls you his princess while destroying your insides.
His eyes are transfixed on where the two of you meet and you can’t help but follow his gaze. It’s absolutely lewd how you wrap around his cock, airtight, and how the sloppy noise echoes in the room.
“Look at my little pussy,” he starts, “my perfect little hole. My baby’s little cunt was made for me.”
Your cries are growing needier, louder, and more depraved. At the back of your mind you remember to worry about how tonight's the championship match and that the halls are surely bustling with press, staff, and even the opposing team. But Mingyu is fucking you so deep, so fast, that he’s literally fucking the thoughts out of your head.
You fight to stay with him in this room, in this moment, but before your eyes completely shut close, you feel his hand wrap around your throat.
“Daddy’s running out of time, baby,” he says, “so be a good girl and stay still for daddy, huh?”
You whine and nod as his hips move faster and he cages you up against the wall, your arms coming up to wrap around his head. 
“Words, princess. I need words.”
You want to swear at him and thrash in his arms but you’re feeling too good, too lost in the pain and pleasure. You bite at the collar of his jersey because it's the only thing you can do to quiet the pathetic whimpers, babbling, and indecipherable cries Mingyu’s pulling from you. 
Mingyu presses a kiss to your temple quickly, “My dumb baby,” he coos, “look so pretty when you’re crying on my cock. That’s my pretty baby, daddy’s almost there. Keep being good for me, m’kay?”
He speeds up his fucking, hips pistoning, and the press of his cock pressing against that spot in you that makes you see stars.
Mingyu pulls you into a kiss that’s all spit and teeth and bruising lips. He sucks on your tongue before separating the two of you and looking back down at his cock bullying its way into your pussy. 
It happens before your mind can process it but at the speed of light you feel a wet, hot thwack of his spit landing on your clit harshly and you cry out, unable to keep it in.
“Daaaaddy!” It’s loud and keening and you’re sure everyone on the other side of the wall hears.
But it’s all Mingyu needs and one, two, three, brutal thrusts later, he’s spilling deep into you, fucking you through his orgasm.
Your eyes fly open as he rubs at your clit with his thumb while he pulls out and slaps at your puffy clit before he brings your face close and presses back in for a long, deep kiss.
When he pulls away and meets your eyes there’s a mean glint in them and a shit eating grin that is almost frustrating enough to bring you back to tears.
“See baby, if you’d been good, I’d have made you come.”
“B-but! I was good, daddy! I was so good for you!” He settles you back down on wobbly legs and tucks himself back into his uniform.
You’re looking at him in indignation, tears brimming at eyes, threatening to fall. Mingyu’s eyes soften as he brushes the tears away with large thumbs and tucks your hair behind your ears.
It’s a futile attempt to have you looking presentable but your smudged lip gloss and the mess at the back of your head are enough to sell you both out for your halftime activities.
“Being good means not touching what belongs to daddy when he’s not there.”
All you can do is huff. He’s right.
You’re trying to fix how your jersey (a custom pink version of the Diamonds’ home jersey) is tucked into your skirt when you catch Mingyu picking something up from the floor.
It’s your underwear.
“Gimme!” You pout, trying to reach for it. But all Mingyu has to do is raise it above his head and it’s impossible for your to retrieve the flimsy lace
“I think I’ll keep this one for now,” he starts, “Think of it as a lucky charm.”
He unrolls the flimsy fabric and folds it into a small square, tucking it into his compression shorts and tightening up the drawstring of his uniform.
“If you want to be good for daddy tonight, you’ll keep all my cum inside of you, won’t you?” He says sweetly, talking you through the idea he’s suddenly come up with, “then daddy will win this game and fuck you with my medal on.”
After trying to get both of you presentable again, you slip out of the auxiliary locker room hand in hand just two minutes over Seungcheol’s initial 10 minute deadline.
You greet the team as they all line up again to return to the pitch and smile proudly as Mingyu talks to his teammates about feeling more relaxed and ready to play. You don’t miss the way he lets go of your hand just to wrap an arm around your waist, hand resting just on the curve of your ass as you two pass the players of the opposite team.
“Good luck, daddy. Come back to me a champion, please.” You bat your eyelashes at him and press the most innocent of kisses to his cheek.
The sweet moment is interrupted by an exuberant, “OKAY! LET’S GO!” from Hoshi.
You roll your eyes at him playfully but give in when he asks for a fist bump and says, “Tiny, thank you as always for your invaluable contribution to the Diamonds.”
You head off to where Hoshi’s girlfriend is seated, opting to be surrounded by friends and fans alike, but not before hearing the two teammates’ exchange.
“You ready to show them up, rockstar?” Is Hoshi’s jest.
Mingyu can only laugh and say, “Fuck you.”
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And show them up he does. Just 6 minutes back on the pitch and Mingyu reminds everyone why he’s one of South Korea’s most prolific strikers. With an assist from Jeonghan Mingyu is lighting fast as he performs one of his signature moves and sends the ball flying to the top left corner of the goal.
You scream your throat hoarse as you watch him run across the pitch towards a camera, pointing and kissing the diamond crest on his chest.
Not long after that Mingyu nets a freekick from just beyond the penalty box, equalizing the game. With so much at stake and still so many minutes on the clock, you can hardly breathe easily, knowing it could still go either way. And it does. 
At the 80th minute the opposition scores their third goal and you could practically feel the Diamonds’ crowd deflating, fearing a repeat of the previous year.
“They can still equalize, I’m sure of it,” you hear Hoshi’s girlfriend from beside you, “As long as Soonyoung doesn’t fuck up and your boyfriend produces another one of his miracles, we can take this to penalties.”
You groan. You hate penalties, but you know how much this match means to Mingyu and the team.
Despite the possibilities, the game has gone into injury time and the crowd around you already look like they’re ready to pack up but sticking around just in case.
The majority of the players are crowded around the opponents’ goal, desperate feet hoping to score or hoping to defend. At this point some of the opposite side’s players are just trying to kill time to secure their win.
Hoshi is yelling orders from along the Diamonds’ midfield, abandoning his goal with the confidence that his teammates will surely take another goal. 
But time just about stops when the Diamonds are awarded a corner. Jeonghan looks like he’s dragging his feet about taking it, walking away to have someone else take the kick. But in a split second he turns back to kick the ball in a beautiful arch that meets none other than Mingyu’s right foot to take a third goal.
Hat trick.
Penalties are an awful cruel thing for any football fan, you think. Even after over ninety minutes a winner still isn’t decided and it falls down to each team’s five penalty takers and their goalkeepers.
Hoshi’s girlfriend is in hysterics next to you, gripping your hand like a lifeline. Mingyu had been the first to take his penalty, the ball floating almost gracefully and finding itself out of the keeper’s reach in a split second.
The score was at 4-3 with the Diamonds in the lead after Seungkwan’s attempt had found the back of the net neatly. If their opponents miss this, the championships would be theirs.
This all falls down to their captain.
Hoshi has always been so dependable and today is no exception. The very second he deflects that fifth and final attempt, cheers erupted in every direction and the final whistle is blown. 
The Diamonds won the Korean FA Cup.
The players, the coaches, and press flood the pitch and white confetti erupts around you. Before you know it your seatmate has vanished. She’s running across the pitch to jump into Hoshi’s arms, kissing away the tears pouring down his face, the team captain overcome with emotion.
Jealousy flares in your chest and you try to look everywhere for Mingyu. You stand indignantly, looking all over for him when you’re reminded of gravity.
The intensity of the match and the anxiety at its uncertainty had taken your mind away from your mid-match tryst with Mingyu and from the fact that he had come so deeply inside of you that it was only now that you were standing and pacing and you could feel the thick, sticky seed moving inside of you, threatening to drip out of your hole. You didn’t even have any underwear to catch it and sop up the mess, the lace neatly folded and tucked into Mingyu’s own underwear. 
You stamp your foot and a whine pathetically when you feel someone come up behind you. You quickly turn to see that, amidst the chaos, Mingyu had found you.
You’d only been away from each other for an hour but in that hour he had become a champion and that fact alone had changed him. He looked like some Greek hero with how he stood with pride painted on his face and how his handsome smirk screamed winner.
God, you needed to suck his cock. 
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Luckily for you, Mingyu had the same idea. With the flurry around the win and the podium and carpets still being set up, the captain, manager, and executives still giving interviews, Mingyu knows everyone will be busy and he has time to whisk you away before anyone will even notice he’s gone.
That’s how you end up in the team’s main locker room, still a bit messy from the half time huddle, kneeling in front of Mingyu’s locker and choking on his cock.
“That’s right, baby. Take it slow so you can take more daddy in your mouth,” is his sweet encouragement before he takes the bottle of champagne next to him and takes a long swig.
You’re transfixed, blinking teary eyes to clear them, just so you don’t have to look away from the sight in front of you.
Mingyu had stripped everything off, feeling like he was overheating from the match he’d just played. He sat like a king, leaning back against his locker, spreading his legs and propping one leg up on the bench. He’d popped open a bottle of champagne and pressed the mouth of the bottle to your lips, watching the alcohol overflow from your mouth and drip down your chin to your neck and down your chest.
He kisses you shortly after, tasting the Moët on your tongue and pushing you down onto your knees.
There’s no need to preface anything because in no time you’re gagging on him. It doesn’t take much to have you drooling all over him, his cock so much bigger than what you should actually have in your mouth.
“You can fuck my throat, daddy, please please please!” You gasp out as he pulls you off of him so you can take in a deep breath.
“I know baby,” he says before taking another swig of that champagne, your eyes following the way his Adam's apple bobs. 
He leans down to bring the bottle to your mouth and says, “tongue out, my filthy girl.”
Your spit is thick and sticky in your mouth and you make a show of it when you follow his orders. He wraps a hand around your throat to steady you as he pours champagne into your mouth again, not caring about how much falls down the side of your mouth and dampens your jersey.
He leans back, pleased with the indulgent mess before him, and grabs at the hair at the crown of your head to pull you back down on his cock.
You’re a dream. You had been so good, so obedient at learning to take his cock over the years, and now he’s sure he’s molded himself into your throat the same way he’s made your pussy perfect for only him.
“My perfect girl’s got the most perfect mouth, huh?” He’s holding you down onto him, keeping your head in place, “The filthiest fucking mouth and its all for dad’s cock.”
The noises are disgusting. With your mouth full you can’t say anything but you’re happy just to listen to him come undone. Your spit and his pre-cum gather at the sides of your mouth but you don’t want to stop until he’s pumping his sticky cum onto your tongue.
You pull off of him to lave your tongue over his balls, sucking on one and then the other before saying, “Daddy, I think I deserve to drink your cum, right?”
Mingyu swears under his breath, somehow still not believing how lucky he got with you, your depraved mind the only one that can match his own.
He downs the rest of the champagne and moves to kiss you, sharing the drink. You gulp down what you can before going back down on him, holding down his hips as the muscles beneath your fingers jerk as he fills your mouth. 
Mingyu comes in thick ropes of sticky hot cum that you almost have trouble swallowing, but daddy trained you to be a good girl, thankful for everything she gets. So you swallow every single drop, proudly showing Mingyu your empty mouth.
“Atta girl.”
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You try to be on your best behavior and good for Mingyu for the rest of the evening. You’re the picture-perfect girlfriend watching and cheering proudly as he gets his gold medal and the team cheers in unison once Hoshi lifts the trophy above his head. The pictures are taken and the interviews are given but there’s only so much you can take and by the time Mingyu has you buckled up into his car, you’re feeling unnecessarily bratty.
“Baby,” Mingyu starts. You’re some fifteen minutes away from his house and he’s about to get into it now?
“Mm,” is your petulant response.
“Listen to me,” he warns.
But it almost comes as an instinct to you to retaliate, having the most fun when you two go back and forth like this.
“Don’ wanna.”
From the corner of your eye you see his jaw harden.
“Didn’t daddy fill you up, today?” He says as more of a statement.
“He did.”
“Didn’t daddy feed you his come, princess?”
You start to flush, “He did.”
“And then didn’t daddy say he was going to fuck you with his medal on if he won the championships?”
He’s pulling up to his house now and you almost let out a sigh of relief.
“He did,” you answer.
He parks and turns to you, “Then you are going to get out of this car and head up to our room and you are going to strip yourself naked.”
You’ve been waiting for this. Finally, away from any prying eyes and ears, no matter how accepting, you can finally let loose and have him every way you want him.
“Daddy will park the car and unload the stuff and when I come into the room I better see that messy pussy served up for me.”
There’s buzzing in your ears and you bite your lips.
“Of course, daddy.”
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It starts with your good intentions, really.
You had asked him kindly to lay back against the pillows and the headboard promising that you were going to be real good, daddy, I promise! And that you were so proud of him, that he was so yummy on the field and of course he was going to be the winner.
You wanted to reward him, said that daddy deserves to be ridden to have your tits in his face, to be spoiled.
To be fair, it was a valiant effort on your end. Once he’d settled into bed, you squealed and threw yourself over him, chest to chest as you rubbed your bare pussy onto his cock.
You were aching to be stuffed but you know how sloppy and wet he likes your pussy to be. And through his cum from earlier today was smeared all over your cunt and thighs, you knew you could do better for him.
You pressed kisses to his chest while running your hands over the dips and divots, the hardness and softness of his chest and abs and sighed dreamily as you met his eyes through thick lashes, “I love you daddy, I’m so happy for you.”
“I love you too, baby. I’m happy I made you happy,” was his simple response.
You bit your lip at the elation that filled your chest and you pressed a quick kiss to the gold medal resting on his chest. You stood on your knees on either side of his hips and kept one hand on his stomach to steady yourself as you lined his cock with your entrance.
The delicious stretch and resistance was still there as you sank down on him, his own spend mixing with your slick, making the slide delicious.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off how your pussy split open to take all of him. The pace is slow and your whimpers of “Daddy, daddy, daddy” made his head spin.
But while slow and romantic was good, it was always just how your love making started. This was all before your thighs had grown tired and your lower back started to hurt.
Mingyu tried to talk you through it, guide your hips on how to grind just right for the head of his cock to press against that spot inside of you. Even his encouragement of you can do it, pretty, daddy’s tired is futile when you finally cry out.
“But daddyyyyy,” comes the high pitched whine, “I’M TIRED TOO. Don’t you feel bad for your baby?”
And he breaks at that.
He sits up and flips the two of you over without even pulling out and your eyes roll as the movements jostle him inside of you.
The anticipation is reaching its boiling point when lifts one leg and places it over his shoulder and pulls out of you to rest his cock on your sopping cunt.
He loves this. It’s fucking sick, but he loves to see how big he is compared to your little hole. He loves to see the head of his cock aligned with your belly button and how you clench around nothing, already missing him inside you.
Before he decides to push his cock back inside you he grasps himself by the base and rubs harshly at your entrance and clit with the engorged head of his cock. It makes you squeal as the rough stimulation shocks your system.
He had left you hanging during half time, with only just enough time for him to fill you up, and you had been too preoccupied blowing him to rub yourself to completion after the match.
But the blessed feeling of an orgasm is finally bubbling back onto the surface now that Mingyu was focusing on your pleasure.
“You’ll give me this, right, baby?” He says pulling you back to him. He wants you to be present, to know how he’s making your body tick, “Be my good girl and wet my cock, daddy wants this pussy to be dripping when he fucks it.”
You whimper in acknowledgment and he speeds up his ministrations, the stimulation getting to him as well as beads of pre-cum mix with your slick and eventually, the spray of your cum squirting out of you messily. 
Your moan is music to his ears and you cry out as he pushes his cock into you, not giving you even a second of respite.
With both hands free, Mingyu positions both of your legs over his shoulders, your stupid frilly socks tickling his ears. This position is a favorite for the both of you. He loves how deep he can fuck you like this, the head of his cock kissing your cervix. And you love how when you put your hand just under your belly button, you can see and feel how his cock moves inside you.
“Fuck, look at you,” he says all too breathless, “So fucking perfect.” The sweat beading on his face falls on your temples and you want to cry — what a waste not to taste him on your tongue.
“My perfect little cocksleeve, that I made just for me, isn’t that right. Fuck.” He’s losing it and God do you want him to fall apart.
He pulls away slightly and laughs to himself a little when he sees how his medal, still around his neck, is resting on your chest, bouncing slightly as he continues to fuck into you. What a sight. And only his.
What a day it’s been for him to have woken up in this very bed alone and just another football player hoping for a dream to come true. And to end up here now, in the same bed with you calling out to him like a litany of prayers and his champion’s medal sitting between your tits, bite marks on the flesh contrasting prettily against the yellow gold.
He bites his lip and focuses on your bodies and how you can barely get the word ‘daddy’ out coherently, mumbling dadd-da-daddy-dad unintelligibly. He does you a kindness and presses a hand down where your smaller one is, and thrusts hashly, loving the way you clench around him as you finally reach a second peak. The vice grip your pussy has on his cock is enough to push him over the edge as well, spilling another load into you and your eyes flutter shut.
Mingyu doesn’t pull out of you but sets your legs down and massages the insides of your thighs because he knows you’ll complain about them tomorrow.
He slips off his medal and sets it on the bedside table next to your phones.
After arranging your bodies to be more comfortable, he presses soft kisses on your ear and into your hair, chuckling slightly as you mumble in your sleep that it tickles. 
Mingyu can’t help but keep that smile even as he settles down. It feels so good to be a winner.
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-`✮´- if you've come this far, thank you and it'd mean the world to get a reblog or to hear your thoughts on my first fic on here!
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notebooknebula · 3 years
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Max joins Jay Conner to teach everyone how to create success.
Max went from being a full-time high school Math Teacher to creating multiple successful real estates and marketing businesses. He has published multiple books and currently licensees his lead generation systems to real estate professionals all over the country.
Although business is Max’s new full-time obsession, one thing has never left… the heart of a teacher. Max loves the opportunity to teach, inspire, and share real-world applications that can transform the lives of business owners.
Max earned his B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and his M.A. in Teaching from Louisiana College. He has over 15 years of experience in real estate, finance, and teaching, and he was named the 2019 Industry Innovator of the Year. A few of his current roles are consultant, teacher, author, speaker, and expert panelist. He has flipped over 100 houses and is on a mission to help real estate agents and real estate investors have customers chasing them.
Max created Savior Publishing House as a way to serve his community and help seniors with their real estate challenges. The Savior brand of companies focuses on providing Christian real estate and business solutions to our clients. Max enjoys spending time with his wife and children and engaging in family activities, such as being involved at church and going on vacation. He is passionate about investing time in his family.
Timestamps:
0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money
1:42 – Jay’s New Book: “Where To Get The Money Now”- https://www.JayConner.com/Book
2:59 – Today’s guest: Max Keller
5:26 – How Max Keller got into the real estate business
7:19 – Max Keller’s first real estate deal.
8:23 – Max Keller’s struggles during his start-up in the real estate business
13:29 – Max Keller’s marketing strategy in finding deals in the senior market
17:41 – They see me differently because I have a book – Max Keller
20:38 – Let Max Keller help you create your own book for your real estate business.
27:34 – ‘Real Estate Investors’ Book Writing Checklist” – https://www.DealsChasingYou.com/Conner
28:57 – Max Keller’s parting advice: Lead with value.
Private Money Academy Conference:
https://jaysliveevent.com/live/?oprid=&ref=42135
Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book
Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast
Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.
What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference
https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner
iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/private-money-academy-real-estate-investing-jay-conner/id1377723034
Listen to our Podcast:
https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11247/leverage-books-to-grow-your-real-estate-business-with-max-keller-jay-conner
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Real Estate Investing With Jay Conner
Jay Conner
00:02:40
My special guest knows how to teach and create success. In addition to that, my guest and friend went from being a full-time high school math teacher to creating in such a short period of time, a moldable successful real estate and marketing businesses. In fact, he’s published multiple books and currently licenses his special proprietary lead generation systems to real estate professionals all over the country. Also, I want you to know that all of those businesses are my friend’s new full-time obsession. But one thing has not changed, and that is his heart of being a teacher.
He’s got a servant’s heart. He’s always looking to give value and he loves teaching. He loves the opportunity to teach, inspire, and share real world applications that can transform your business. In addition to that, my special guest and friend has been investing in real estate. He’s got 15 years of experience in real estate, finance, and teaching. And as a matter of fact, he was named the 2019 Industry Innovator of the Year. Also, he has already flipped over 100 houses. In addition to that, he’s created a company called Savior Publishing House as a way to serve his community and to help senior citizens with their real estate challenges, enjoy spending time with his wife and children engaged in family activities. And something very, very important to him is being very involved in his local church, just like me and Carol Joy. With that, welcome to the show my good friend, Max Keller.
Max Keller
00:04:57
Hey, good to be here. Let’s go.
Jay Conner
00:05:00
It is awesome to have you on here, Max. Good to see you again. You and I are in a fellow mastermind. You and I have probably known each other now for about 3 years or so. And I tell you, it’s just amazing to watch all the phenomenal successes and the growth of your company that you’ve got going on. We’re going to be talking about private money with you here on the show today. But before we jump in, tell us, Max, how did you get into real estate?
Max Keller
00:05:28
It was sort of by accident. So, I was teaching Math at an inner city school. I was coaching football, basketball, and track, and I didn’t want to actually get into real estate full time. I just saw it as a passive income opportunity. My pay was pretty much fixed to being a teacher. And so I was like, I got to do something as my kids were getting older. So what I did was I just wanted to maybe get one or two rentals a year. I figured if I did that over a period of time, I could have a pretty good nest egg and then pass it on. What ended up happening in 2015 was I just kind of got sucked into real estate. I mean, it’s not just a good way to make money over long periods of time, but you can really increase the active income.
So I basically just got a local mentor. I worked all day as a teacher and then at night I would work for him. And within about 3 months I got a couple of houses under contract wholesale. One made about $16,000, which is like 4 months worth of teacher pay. I Then did it again. And then another time. And I just decided I needed to go full-time. And so that’s what I did. I just went full-time, I made the leap, it was a lot easier to source deals back then in 2015, 2016 than it is right now, but there’s still ways to do it. You just have to know what you’re doing, execute, and level up your marketing. And so that’s sort of been the journey that I’m on. I’m in Dallas Fort Worth and it’s very competitive like a lot of markets. And so what happened with me, I just had to figure out a better way to do my marketing because if you don’t have leads in your business, whether they’re for private money or for deals, you don’t have a business. So that’s kind of what happened to me. It’s been an amazing journey and it just keeps evolving every day.
Jay Conner
00:07:19
So was your first deal, a wholesale deal, a fix and flip, what was it?
Max Keller
00:07:23
So I have pretty good credit because I didn’t use it. That’s what’s kind of funny about credit. If you use it a lot, you don’t get very much more and your credit score is low. I had gone through when I was a teacher, like the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University model, so I had all my debts paid off. I didn’t understand how to leverage debt in a good way yet. So, I actually took down my first property with a line of credit, I guess I kind of really wholetailed it, I technically took title to it and then just sold it, like I did a closing 4 weeks later to a cash buyer. But yeah, it was $16,000. I mean, I didn’t squeeze every ounce of juice out of the deal like I could have, but what I did have back then, which was really important, is having some really consistent, solid buyers. And that allowed me to create some opportunities for bigger chunks of cash today. And then it allowed me to leverage into long-term assets.
Jay Conner
00:08:23
What were some of your early struggles when you were starting out?
Max Keller
00:08:26
I think probably the first one was what to focus on and like who to market to. So it’s funny. I do a lot of marketing now and I’ve gotten a lot better at it. But at first, the challenge was that marketing because there’s so many other people sending out the exact same thing to everybody. And so as the competition kept going up in our market, the return on my ad spend kept getting lower and lower. And so I had to figure out basically what I figured out in my market was the problem that we were having was every other investor and wholesaler were sending the same messages to the same people. Like if they’re on my list, they’re probably on other people’s lists, too. And we have hedge funds entering our market pretty early on and they were paying really, really high prices.
So I knew that if I was just going to only compete on price and compete against people who have multimillion dollar marketing budgets, that was going to be a tough order. So the good news is I just thought about what the problem was and said maybe I don’t need to take down every deal in Dallas Fort Worth. What’s the best niche I can focus on? And so what I did and what I would encourage people to consider, even if they’re brand new is like, I just kind of outlined what’s a perfect deal for me. And for me, a perfect deal is one where I make good profit on the deal because of a larger profit deal and a smaller one. They take about the same amount of time. Number two is I want to work with people that aren’t resisting me. Like, I would go over to people’s houses and they would argue with me when I showed them the comps and they hadn’t moved in 20 years.
They don’t have a real estate background. And I was like, this is kind of a joke. And so that was number two. I want to work with people who are like, “You’re the expert who helped me,” and I want to work with people that I just enjoyed working with, who were just nice people that just didn’t have a clear path. And so those are the kind of people I wanted to work with. I made a list when I’d already done about 30 or 40 deals, most of the deals that I’d already done didn’t meet all of those criteria, but the ones that did, you didn’t have to be rocket scientists to figure out what the pattern was and that they were senior citizens, they were senior homeowners. So that was sort of my first marketing A-ha moment, was that there’s this really large, fastest-growing niche in our real estate space that I could target with different messages.
Senior homeowners have different needs than millennial homeowners. They just do. They’re interested in different stuff. They have different questions. So instead of sending everybody the same message, “I’ll buy your house, paid cash in 7 days,” like everybody else is sending, I started sending totally different messages that were very senior-centric. And as a benefit, I got a lot more calls. I had a much higher response rate and then kind of the next thing that happened after that real quick was about a senior’s house. It was the dad, and his adult children were there. So he was probably in his early ’80s and the kids were in their ’50s, early ’60s. People were upset because they’re selling the family home. There’s a lot of memories, Christmas was right over there, but they had to do it.
The dad couldn’t stay in the house any longer. And so the adult daughter said, “I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for us. You’ve helped us out.” I found the dad a new place to live, like a senior retirement home. And she said, “You know a lot about this. Have you ever thought about writing a book about this?” I was like, Jay, my lands, that was the furthest thing from my mind. I was like, “No, I’m a Math teacher. I’m not an English teacher.” But then when I thought about it, I was like, that’s actually a pretty good idea because at the time in the little 3 cities that I focused on in this huge Dallas Fort Worth metro area, I was getting known as the guy who knew a lot about seniors.
But if I wrote a book about seniors and their housing struggles, I could be the guy who wrote the book on it. So that’s what I did. I’ve got a special gift for your audience at the end, by the way. If you’re interested in writing your own book, we’ve created the first of its kind DIY guide. It’s basically the framework that we didn’t have when we wrote our first book, but we have now for all the books that we write. I didn’t realize that a book would be such an incredible magnetic marketing engine for my business. I was selfishly just kind of tired of having the 4-hour Q and A’s in everybody’s living rooms, answering the same questions over and over for 3 years. It was kind of burning me out. So I just wrote the answers to all those questions in the book. I wrote down all the stuff that people should ask, and I just got it printed. It took a couple of hundred hours to write my first one and then I just started giving it to people and it became my ultimate business card. And it really changed the way that I market for deals and then eventually private money forever.
Jay Conner
00:13:30
So, you started focusing, as you just said, on serving and talking with senior citizens that were at the point where they needed to sell their houses.
What are your favorite marketing methods for locating the owners of these houses that may be looking to sell?
Max Keller
00:13:56
Great question. So there’s really 2 categories of marketing methods that we use. They’re the ones that we used before we had a book. And then there’s the ones that are more available to people who are experts, authorities, local celebrities. You, obviously, are in that category. And so what we did initially when we got the book, was basically just the same methods that we were using. Data is more available now than it’s ever been. It’s easier than it’s ever been to find more ways than there’s ever been for people to reach you. What’s really missing in marketing is really understanding who you’re talking to as a marketer and then sending messages that are like reading their minds.
That’s the biggest problem, okay? It’s not the list. Everybody has the same list. Everybody knows how to stack a list. You can go on YouTube, figure it out in 5 minutes. The real challenge is why would they choose you over everybody else? That’s the missing piece. And so that’s what we did. I’ll give you an example, real simple, okay. We’re getting calls from our direct mail, our door-to-door flyers, our normal calling agents and talking about if there are pocket listings. Normal stuff. So people are calling our office, right? We had just gotten the book and sometimes they’re calling with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because they know that they’re getting all this mail, you know? So they’re like, “Hey, congratulations, you’re going to win the house lottery. You have the opportunity to come over to my house and pay me more than you probably should.”
And so when people call, they’re like, “we need you to come over right now.” And I was afraid that if I didn’t go over there real quick, they would sell it to somebody else. That’s what they teach at all the bootcamps. And that’s probably true if you don’t have a book, but if you do, you don’t have to do that because instead I would just say, “Hey, oh great! Yeah, you want us to come over? Okay. we’ll get to that. Hey, real quick, do you have a copy of our latest book?” And they’re like, “Your book?” like the whole tone changes. I go, “Yeah! We wrote the book on senior housing. I’m the Home To Home guy, the step-by-step senior housing guide.” And I press further.
“So, let me ask you a question. If I send an autographed copy of the book to your house,  you can read Chapter 3 – ‘All The Ways To Sell Your Home with Pros & Cons of Each’ before I come over. Because if you can, then I’ll come over and if you can’t, then I can’t come over. See, I’m the boss of my business. I’m the expert you’re calling and talking to the foundational source for the information that you need. So we’re going to follow my process.” It’s not being rude. It’s just a statement of fact. And so it really increases compliance, which is what you want as a business owner. Because you know the formula to help your clients better than they do. Otherwise, they’d be doing it themselves. Well, what do you think people are going to say when you ask them if they’re going to read an autographed book?
What do people say when they get your autographed book? They can’t wait. So what happens is, I pay a courier about 30 or 40 bucks. I send it over and I go, “Hey, do you still need me to come over right now? Or are you going in to foreclosure?” Then we got like a couple of days. It’s okay, a couple of days. So now I’m on my schedule, which is what I need to run a predictable business. I send the book, they read Chapter 3, but they read the rest of the chapters. Do you know what I mean? They read the story right here with me and my Momo. Do you think people think that guys who take care of their 90-year-old grandmas are scumbags or loan sharks? Heck, no. They’re like, “Man, this is, like, my new grandson, Max.”
So when I come over, they’ve read the whole book. They’ve already spent 4 or 5 hours with me and they see me differently because I have a book, you know? So it just sets the tone really well. It puts the odds in my favor. Then when I come over, I bring them the workbook and they’re just like, “Dang, it’s like Christmas around here.” And then I go through it with them. So instead of just talking about stuff or asking these lame and hard closing questions that nobody likes and it makes you look really slimy, we don’t have to do any of that stuff. Here’s the perfect example, Jay, on page 41. I tagged this page. I go, “Now, Mavis, if you’re looking at some other investors to buy your house, I totally understand that.”
I said to her, “I’d probably do the same thing, but make sure that you ask them these questions. These are the questions you’re going to want to ask to make sure you don’t get roped in with the wrong person. And by the way, you can ask me those questions, too: Do you see the credibility? Do you see the openness?” It’s like lights out. So that’s how we buy houses and it works really well. We attach it to what we’re already doing, but then the other stuff is the stuff that we didn’t even know about, which is speaking to local businesses. So one time I spoke at the probate attorney association, a monthly meeting for my county. Jay, do you think that 30 probate attorneys sitting in a room while you’re standing, that makes you the expert at what you’re delivering? Do you think some of those 30 probate attorneys in the next 2 years are going to know somebody that needs to sell their house?
Jay Conner
00:19:12
Well, it’s the perfect market that is like the revolving door of prospects for your target market.
Max Keller
00:19:19
Yeah. And so I used to think the only way to market for deals was directly to the homeowner with really standard, generic messages that get thrown in the trash. So our messages used to be in the junk mail, but now our books are on the coffee table with all the other autographed books from the local real estate experts, which, as you know, it’s not a huge stack. So, it’s about pivoting when you’ve established yourself as an authority, as an expert, as a local celebrity in your field, whatever it is. It helps make the transition going from an annoying pest, as Dan Kennedy says, to a welcome guest.  We were the pesky salespersons who were only pitching and not listening, but now we’re the educator or the non-fiduciary housing advisor. That’s just a big paradigm shift. And when you’re in front of 30 business owners, there’s an incredible amount of leverage because they know 30 prospects. So in 1 hour you can really speak to 900 people. It’s just super powerful. And I haven’t found any other method of marketing that can replicate those kinds of results.
Jay Conner
00:20:32
Well, you can’t beat the credibility of having a book. You can’t beat the credibility of knowing what you’re talking about and being an expert. So, Max, we got a lot of people here listening to the podcast and I’m sure they’re scratching their heads going, “Well, that’s a great idea, Max, but how in the world do I get me a book?”
Max Keller
00:20:52
How can I get a book? Yeah, great question. I would love to come on here and say, “Jay, I’m just such a hot shot ninja marketer that I planned all this out.” Nothing could be further from the truth. If my market wasn’t so competitive, I would have never spent 200 hours writing a book. I would have just kept scooping up deals like most people were doing in that time in these tertiary, secondary markets, but I didn’t have a choice and it worked out really good. Here’s what happened. I’m getting deals with my book. I’m in masterminds, and we’re actually in a lot of the same masterminds. So I’m in this mastermind and my friends in there, you know, investors copy what works, they’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. And they’re like, “Hey, I kinda like this.”
“I live in Florida. You’re not using your book in Florida. It turns out we got seniors there, too. You think I could use your book?” And I was like, “I don’t know.” Maybe I just didn’t understand. And then my friend in Chicago is like, “Hey, can I use your book? Hey, they got seniors in Chicago, too.” So what we did was we created a system. I brought in some of the who’s who in publishing and we created a licensing program. It turns out the secret behind this book is that 99% of it is about stuff that our ideal prospect cares about. 1% is about us. Most marketing messages are the opposite. All they do is talk about themselves and very little about the person. That’s why they don’t call you. It’s like, “I’m sending out all this stuff. Why are people not calling me?”
Because it doesn’t look like you even understand what they’re going through. So that was sort of the accidental secret sauce from this. So we created a system where we change about 5% of the book, because the ways to sell a house in North Carolina is pretty similar to Dallas and is pretty similar to California, especially with the types of assisted living facilities, all of that’s about the same. So now we just swap them out on the cover. We give them a custom cover and they just pay us a one-time licensing fee to set up their book. In less than 30 days, they have a book and a workbook that they can hand out to prospects. And so they only spend about an hour or two of their time filling out all the information we need to personalize it. We write in their story.
So it just lowers the barriers that make it easier. And the folks that are usually a fit for our program are folks that are active real estate investors. They understand the value of a deal. They have some credibility, but they just haven’t figured out a way to signal it to the people they’re trying to reach. The phone isn’t ringing like it used to. Those are the people that come to us. And we’ve had about 130 students that licensed one of our 4-books systems across the nation. They see that this works and they don’t want to reinvent the wheel. So yeah, that created another, whole new business that I never expected. That’s where I got the award from, with Robert Kiyosaki. Jay, a funny story and I didn’t tell everybody this right.
It’s kind of embarrassing, but in 2005 I actually tried to get into real estate. I was 25. I just got married. The problem was, I wasn’t reading and I definitely wasn’t writing books. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. So I researched CRMs all day, which is worthless. And I created an LLC, which is meaningless. And I didn’t know anything about marketing or lead generation. I stood in line to get Robert’s book for 2 hours. And then I just ended up not doing anything. That’s what happens. I just didn’t understand what to do next. I didn’t have a mentor. I didn’t even know what that was. So it’s crazy to think and I never would have imagined in a million years, 15 years later, I’m getting this award, we’re sharing a stage together and we’re exchanging books. I never would have imagined it.
It was a really cool deal. So it can happen. Books are super powerful and we believe that we’ve made it easier than ever for folks to plug in. And like I said, it’s for folks who want to do senior housing. And then what happened was that, well, once you have a deal, what do you need after that? The money. So we created a licensing program. This is one of my student’s books, Leonard, I’m really proud of him. He’s in Seattle. And because it turns out, guess what? Senior homeowners have questions. And when you give them the book, they look at you really differently. It works the same way with private money lenders. Who knew? So this is Leonard’s book. And then we just swap out covers. Here’s Tim Davis’. So you see how they’re different? But the insides are the same. But here’s the thing, the person you’ve given it to doesn’t care.
They just want to solve their problem. They’re just trying to figure out how to not get into a deal with a lousy borrower. They’re just trying to figure out if this deal really has a discount or not, they just want to have their questions answered. So instead of going to a blog or getting a bunch of emails, which have a low perceived value, we give them something that has a higher perceived value and a higher level of expected authority and expertise. And we just educate and help people. We tell them this isn’t for everybody. Being a private money lender on real estate is not for everybody. This is who it’s for. This is who is not for. This is my book and if you want to go through it together, I’d love your feedback. You know, stuff like that. So it’s been really cool and he’s happy because he didn’t have to rewrite this himself.
And then what we’re good at is helping people apply it to their marketing because just getting a box of books where you wrote one chapter with everybody else, nobody cares about when you fell down a well and you overcome your struggles, they just care about themselves. “What’s in it for me?”, that’s what all the homeowners are thinking. That’s what all the private money lenders are thinking. They won’t tell you that, but that’s what they’re really thinking. So just give them that, but give it to them in a way that establishes your authority and your credibility and it’s scalable and that’s pretty much what we do. And then we created a book system for Gene Guarino. We just did his latest book, and his students licensed it. And then we haven’t even announced this publicly, but we just wrote a book for Eddie Speed and the Richard Thornton, and so there notes students are going to license that out. That’s brand new. We haven’t even announced it, but I guess I spoiled it a little bit. So it’s been really cool to help people because everybody there wants to lead with more value. They want to educate well, I mean, who would ever say no to that? So it’s been cool.
Jay Conner
00:27:14
What you’ve done there, Max, is you’ve created a way that no matter what niche someone has in real estate, they can further invest on how to raise their credibility and actually convert a higher percentage of prospects into actually doing business. Well, I know we’ve got people that want to connect with you. So what’s the best way for people to connect with you, Max?
Max Keller
00:27:37
Yeah, it’s real simple. We made a special link as long as it’s up, so don’t delay, but we’re going to leave it up at least for the first 25 people who download this. So we created a new book called, “The Real Estate Investors Bookwriting Checklist.” It’s basically all the steps that we went through when we wrote Gene’s book and Eddie’s book and Richard’s book. But we didn’t have that when we started and we haven’t seen it in any other books. So it’s a real simple guide that you can use, whether you’re thinking about writing a book or an e-book or you just want to have social media messages that convert better. It’s real simple. Just go to DealsChasingYou.com/Conner. You can download a copy of the book while the link is still up. And then you can go on the website and check out some of the training videos that we have. It talks about the different types of book systems and how it would benefit you because that’s what it’s all about. It’s about getting more deals. It’s about getting more dollars. And when those things get dialed in, the marketing becomes a lot easier. Life just gets better.
Jay Conner
00:28:50
Max, thank you so much for offering that amazing gift to our listeners here. Any final comments and advice?
Max Keller
00:29:01
Just lead with value. Look, I know you can go deep sea fishing and I know there’s some great fishing where you’re at. You can go deep sea fishing and spend 4 hours trying to wrestle a big fish on the boat. That works. People do it. It’s just really exhausting. That’s what it’s like to market in a crowded market, trying to compete against Wall Street with price. That’s what it’s like trying to market without a book. But what we do is totally different. We share what we’re doing. And then we attract the people that resonate with our message. And so they’re calling and qualifying themselves to work with us. And in one of the most competitive markets in the nation, in one of the most competitive times, people are regularly calling us asking if they qualify to work with us. That’s a big difference.
Jay Conner
00:29:49
That’s awesome. Thank you so much, Max. There, you have it, folks.
18 notes · View notes
ennui-gt · 3 years
Text
Here it is. A Piece Of Borrower Content Written Entirely In Stream Of Consciousness:
AN: so this is incomplete and very…needs revisions to the timeline to incorporate some things I added later! It’s the original universe that Mira’s from! I edited it like Slightly to just change Ross’s name to Ross (if u see Max anywhere that’s his old one I just felt like changing it so that’s just him but different. Anyway) Everything's under the readmore tab, cheers!
The Library Fairy:
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Basic Plot (Chrono, comic starts from human perspective abt the ‘legend of the library fairy’ ig maybe. Nothing here is permanent cept the characterization)
Part A
1- Mira is borrower currently chillin in a college library
2- She lives off of the cafe on the second floor nd reads lots and lots of stuff about everything when the upper floors close (lower floor open 24/7 but upper floors r vacant p much after 12:00 AM)
3- she starts getting increasingly curious about human stuff cos she’s literate nd books r pry neat
4- it starts one night when she spots an unattended notebook and a half eaten blueberry muffin, nd it’s 12:30 so nobody’s coming back in atm (it’s the 80s so no laptops for the plebians quite yet)
5- so she goes ‘welp’ nd takes part of the muffin, then sees the work on the page and goes ‘hmmmm this is incorrect’ so she helps our and leaves notes here n there to point the kid in the right direction and puts down some book refs for further study bcos at this point she’s been there for 2 years and she knows where most things are
6- she stays behind to see if the human comes back for it, hidden in a hidey hole near the desk
7- human comes in, sees notebook, practically melts w relief nd stuffs it in his bag
8- next day human comes back nd leaves nother notebook and a cookie, along w a hidden camera
9- Mira goes ‘o boy, this a trap, innit’
10- Mira then decides ‘eh whatever I haven’t had contact w anyone in years now so I might as well’
11- she steals the camera film nd leaves a lil scrap of paper saying ‘nice try ;)’ on it
12- student comes back, sees paper, goes ‘dammit’, then leaves note addressed to the ‘library fairy’ and another cookie, as well as more of their work for her to help with
13- bout a decade goes by and now the “Library Fairy” is an urban myth, it’s currently 2003 so she’s also wound up on the school’s unofficial Wikipedia page under ‘local cryptids’
14- most library employees know of her but they don’t go looking out of fear stemming from superstitions bout her, somehow the legend grew from ‘can’t be photographed’ to ‘a student once saw her and died that day’
15- there’s now a small shrine devoted to her where ppl bring offerings hoping to get good grades in return, sometimes they will leave papers for her to proofread nd stuff
16- new prof (named Alexei) finds online article thinks he Knows What’s Up bcos he had a borrower friend as a kid, but they left when borrower’s fam found out about them knowing each other
17- he leaves note wedged in one of her secret entrances behind outlet, asking if she can meet w him at some point
18- Mira, already In it, goes ‘Okay. Alright. This has gone on for long enough. Time to go and never return’ but ofc she’s curious as all hell and like she decides she will at least honor the guy’s request for a convo b4 she goes, but on her terms and w/o speaking face 2 face
19- they Talk in the library after hours, bcos he paid off the janitor to let him stay after hours nd most of the student employees recognize him as a prof nd leave him alone
20- they talk again for every subsequent night
21- she uhhhh finally decides to reveal herself nd prays that her hunch was right nd he won’t try to grab her or anything
22- he doesn’t but she’s nervous so she winds up gettin caught in her own climbing rope like idiot, is now dangling from ceiling in tangled mess
23- he stifles chuckle nd she says smthn sarcastic
24- he moves closer and offers to untangle her
25- she’s like ‘please’
26- so he do, but her grip on the rope slips nd he has to catch her
26- so now she’s in his hand and he just sets her down and now he’s a bumbling embarrassed mess bcos he said he wasn’t going to hold her and he just did and o dear pls forgib him
28- nd she’s like ‘dude u just saved my life it’s fine ur fine chill’
29- internally she’s going HOLY FUCK AAAAAAA but externally, her human’s already worked up enough as it is so she’s gotta b the level headed one
29.5- after a while they both kinda get used to each other more, he gets tenure, they celebrate, some more stuff happens, Aleksei got married (not to Mira, Mira hasn’t actually rly thought about being in a relationship w anyone cos she’s laser focused on gaining as much knowledge as possible)
30- eventually Alexei’s like ‘hey so I’m dean of faculty for the biotech branch now uhhhh would u like actual job teaching students? Cos, uh, you can do it remotely thru online lectures n stuff, no in person interaction, and I uh was just kinda wondering—‘
31- she’s like ‘yes. Yes!!! LET ME HELP PEOPLE OFFICIALLY KINDA’
32- so now she’s a professor, and has revealed her Secret a few times here n there to a number of the faculty, nd she has recorded her own findings in a personal journal
33- ‘humans will treat u like a human if they think ur human first. The kids call it ‘catfishing’’
34- enter Ross, an mall goth who accidentally tripped headfirst into a premed program
35- Mira’s favorite field of study is bio so naturally she’s his prof for a majority of his classes
36- being the good boy that he is, he now knows Mira’s secret. There is an Entire Chapter on him finding out and legit just continuing their conversation as if everything was normal bcos he thought that was how he was supposed to handle the situation
37- then she says ‘u can ask questions, u know’ he’s like OH THANK FUCK CAUSE I HAVE SEVEN HUNDRED OF THOSE
38- and now he kinda knows what to look for in terms of ‘do borrowers live here check yes or no’
39-in his apartment, the answer is yes and he mistakenly kinda stumbles upon the mom one night when he wakes up in the middle of the night for Snack and opts to pretend like its not happening. Unfortunately the thing she was trying 2 borrow (piece of crumb cake for Son Boy’s birthday) is the thing he wants 2 eat so he’s like “uh. ‘Scuse me, ma’am.” and he peels back the saran wrap on the other side of the plate, takes piece, nd then leaves some there for her
40-so now the woman is like ‘welp guess it time 2 Leave’
.1- she and husband Talk
.2-they decide it best 2 go
.3-theyre Packing
.4-lil bab Ellie confused
.5-hawk attacke
.6-cut to Ross
41- Ross also happens to work at a bar and he goes outside for a break
43- he finds smal child—smol smal—on the sidewalk and said child is missing an arm, nd has lost a lot of blood, so he’s uhhhhh Losing It highkey
43.5-parents r nowhere 2 b seen, but the hawk is nearby and circling. Ross gets an idea of what just happened
44- he up and leaves work, thankfully his apartment is above the shop so he jumps up the fire escape w the child and
45- he make tourniquet
46- he calls Mira nd asks her 2 come over to ASAP. he’s A Mess at this point
47- it is Very touch and go, kid needs blood, Mira is the only viable donor so she’s just gotta pray that the blood type is fine and won’t kill him
48- and then eventually they manage 2 stave infection thru antibiotics properly dosed to his size, Mira does Math and Prays basically
49- ‘bout a month in, kid wakes up
50- kid doesn’t rember much since he’s only 3
51- hes v scared of Ross at first but over time he gets used 2 the human
52- kid (elliot) starts 2 call Ross ‘dad’ after a while
53- Ross: *internal screaming but in a good way*
54- the end kinda for now
Part 2
A- New Borrowers In The Building
—three of em. paranoid dad, mom, nd daughter that’s Elliot’s age so he’s pumped
B- Elliot offers them a place 2 stay briefly
C- he knows by now bout like, how borrowers don’t typically interact w humans and Auntie Mira’s a bit of a weird case so he just doesn’t tell em bout his dad being the human
D- the kid finds out first nd doesn’t tell the parents, but they figure it out later kinda and think that it’s a ‘o god he’s being kept as a pet’ sitch so they’re >:| abt it
E- they move out and try to take Elliot w them (by force bcos they think he’s brainwashed) but he escapes and makes it to Ross, who’s like “uhhhhhh”
F- and the mom come out the hole near the counter n starts yelling at Ross, who is…kinda used to it since Mira brings in ppl who need help from time 2 time and they typically don’t react well when they’re lucid enough to understand what’s going on. He’s just not used to being questioned about his own kid
G- so they’re like “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH HIM”
H- and he’s like “r…raising him???”
I- and Ellie steps up and he’s like “this is my dad. I decided he was my dad when I was three. He’s being a good parent”
J- and Ross is like “yeah what he said. I’m a good parent.”
K- Ross is riding that high til the end of fucking time but like back to the story at hand
L- this is when the husband comes out nd is like “lissen. wifey. ily but that is a very big human and he hasn’t grabbed us yet so let’s count our blessings and gtfo”
M- but she’s like “uh no we stay until I’m sure Elliot is Safe and fucking Sound”
N- so they stay for dinner nd stick around a little longer.
O- Val (the kid) gets closer 2 Elliot and also Ross a bit
P- Mira shows once or twice, first time she shows up they’re like “oh god it’s the crazy doctor lady this all makes sense now” (bcos Mira does check up on as many borrower families as possible in her free time so word has got around by now Of her, and the number by which to contact her in case her services r needed)
Q- After a month or so, then they decide to leave bcos they’re like “look we get that ur son is ur son and he only has one arm and in our profession that is kind of a death sentence but we can’t have our kid getting used to dealing w humans who know about our existence” so they go and leave on a kind of sour note bcos Ellie can do anything he wants to do just as well as any other borrower Thank You Very Much and Ross is ready to fite anyone who thinks otherwise
R- Elliot starts trying 2 b more independent, basically from now on he’s like ‘I can do everything my Damn Self Thanks’
S- but uh he does it to a point where he’s going out of the way to endanger himself
T- so they get into a fite about it and ross Yells and Elliot is like ‘kthxbye’
U- and the boi just. Fuckin bolts. Runs Away. Ross is a Mess, he starts smoking again (he quit cold turkey the day he took Elliot in) to curb the depression, he’s jus. Not doin good, worried that his son is dead and the last time they talked it’d ended badly
V- FREEDOM!!!1! Except Ellie doesn’t kno how to take care of himself so it’s a rough month or so and then he runs into some other borrowers livin in their own town in the wild ig, chillin, being hella independent, and he’s like “uh yes ofc I will join u, I was w my dad for a while but.........” he neither confirms nor denies that his dad’s dead but everyone kinda just assumes.
Part 3
W-anyway a year goes by and then the borrower group gets hit hard w some kind of sickness ig. Elliot gets it too he’s basically incapacitated n drifting in and out of lucidity. So. They contact the weird crazy doctor lady who hangs around humans, a.k.a. Mira, and she’s like “oh. fuck. I know this kid.” bcos she does, u kno, and she jus treats em all for their ailment and shows them how to make antibiotic poultice thing in case smthn like it happens again. Mold. Penicillin is basically what it is
X-she and Elliot hav a Chat (Mira basically yells at him a lot) once he’s fixed up and he decides he’s gonna visit his dad but he makes it very clear that he is a Grown Up (he’s not, he’s literally sixteen), and he is living on his own now
Y- he agrees to stay for a week tho since he misses his home a lot tbh and Ross is just. Over the fucking moon to know he’s ALIVE, he’s not gonna fuck up their relationship by insisting that he stay. Or like, by keeping him ofc he would never
Z- unfortunately the borrower community put two and two together and figured out his dad’s human so they have his stuff packed up when he gets back w mira, who’s ready to go the fuck off on them
End 1:
-Ellie is living at Ross’s place atm and hopeful about the future basically. He eventually will go off on his own but he’ll keep in contact w his dad and stuff
Part C.5
55- few yrs later
56- elliot is Adult now he does adult borrower stuff
57- he moves out
58- finds nice borrower gf (her name’s Tess)
59- doesn’t tell her about his dad being human but talks about his dad a LOT
60- so when she asks to meet said father he’s just like “uh. Maybe we don’t do that actually”
61- and she’s like “y tho”
62- and he’s like “bcos”
63- anyway she decides to look into it cos she knows he goes to see his dad nd keep in touch but his dad is allegedly “a recluse who lives in the big scary human’s walls to avoid other ppl”
64- which is. Not true in the slightest tbqh he’s def not an introvert he’s just a workaholic and he Is the big scary human
65- anywho they run into Val and her wife and she’s like “how’s Ross been?” And Elliot is acting Very Suspish so she, being Smart, calls it immediately and is like “oh shit u haven’t told her yet have u”
66- Tess: “told me what”
67- Val: “El’s dad is a human, bro.”
68- Tess: “I’m sorry?”
69- this results in a Big Fight and they separate for like, a month. Elliot blames Val bcos he’s being irrational and doesn’t wanna admit to the fact that lying to his girlfriend for over a year was Real Bad Actually, but over time he’s like ‘yeah it’s my fault sry for snapping at u’ cos he works thru his emotions n stuff
70- Eventually gf comes back cos she’s like “ok so. I understand why you lied to me about your dad. It was a dick move but I do get it and I still care about you a lot. I would like. To meet him.”
80- this is a lie she does not want to meet him she is doing this bcos she does not want to lose Elliot and that outweighs the fear of his dad
81- so they go to meet him but she’s just kinda. Behind the wall at first like “that’s a crazy big human this is crazy ur crazy it’s time to gO”
82- Val is also there bcos she hasn’t seen Ross in a while
83- they eventually coax her out of hiding
84- and by that I mean Val picks her up and drags her out into the open by force bcos she basically freezes up the second she catches sight of Ross and Val’s like “u didn’t come all this way for nothing, bich”
85- they have a Painfully Awkward First Meeting, Tess is trying her best but oh god he’s just too fucking. Larg. Ellie ur dad too big
86- tbh tho the ice kinda breaks after Ellie and Ross get into a fight over smthn stupid (im thinking Elliot grumbles bout Ross’s hair being unruly and he’s worried that mira’s using it like a personal storage system again and Ross is like “I’ve been keeping better track of that actually” and then like a little line of paper clips and a few hand-bound notebooks tied together w some string fall out of his fucking mane and he’s like “I can explain”
87- “dad you can’t keep letting her use your hair like a fucking NEST”
88- Tess is laughing now cos god damn this was not what she was expecting
89- that’s it the end it ends w Tess laughing at them being idiots good times r had by all
Uhhhh that’s it so far. I have More but it’s kinda jumbled rn and I need to fit stuff in places. Anyway.
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Meeting and dating Dean Portman
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(Not my gif)(requested by @rschelberry )
- You saw Dean before you met him. You were stood off to the side watching the new recruits when he first came out onto the ice. You watched apprehensively as he threw people down and made an interesting first impression. He was entertaining that’s for sure.
- You; just like the other ducks, were unsure of the newcomers and not so keen on sharing the ice with a bunch of strangers. But you stayed back when they went to argue with each other knowing that nothing you said or did would change the predicament you were in.
- Dean “first saw you” or rather first paid attention to you when you smoothly skated over as Bombay and Tibbles spoke. You shared looks with your fellow teammates while he caught his first glimpse of your face and what a face it was.
- It wasn’t until later that you spoke to him for the first time. It was right after Les tried to ask about his tattoo that you stepped in, stretching out a hand and introducing yourself. He put on his best tough guy face and gave your hand a firm shake.
“Enforcer huh?”
“Mhm.”
“Well I’m a left wing so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Welcome to the team Portman.” You said as nonchalantly as you could while you walked away. Oh he liked you.
- Like Fulton said: “Deans not scared of anything” and once he’s set his eyes on something he’s going to find a way to get it. You just happen to be that something.
- At first he just watches you a lot especially when the team isn’t exactly a “team”. Your fellow Ducks don’t take too kindly to the brutes infatuation. They glare at him and warn you to stay away from him, often purposefully trying to block you from view.
- When (and before) the team starts to bond you notice that Dean acts differently around you or at least to you. He’s nicer, slightly quieter, and more helpful. There’s definitely a visible difference between how he treats you and everyone else.
- You two are on friendly terms before anyone else which slightly irritates the Ducks. They don’t want you around him, much like an older sibling/parent doesnt want you around a “bad influence”. They don’t trust him.
- But, it’s only when everyone’s on good terms that he actively starts to pursue you. One day things just sort of … change? He starts flirting with you which throws you for a loop; you think he’s just kidding at first but then you realize he’s being serious. You’re confused but at the same time you…sorta like it?
- His flirting consists of teasing you, twirling your hair, complimenting you, flexing and winking when he catches you looking at him. And you let it go on for a while because it makes you feel good and you kinda like him back until one day he decides it’s time to confess.
- You’re hanging out with him in your room and he’s messing around with your stuff while you do your homework. You’re both just in a comfortable silence until he speaks.
“Hey y/n/n?”
“Mhm.”
“What would you say if I told you I loved you?” You sort of freeze as you try to ignore the butterflies in your stomach.
“Well I don’t know,” you smile. “Why? Is there something you want to tell me?”
- He looks at you and shakes his head with a smile. “Y/n y/l/n I am completely, madly in love with you.”
“Well Dean Portman, it’s a good thing I’m in love with you as well.”
- He nearly tackles you onto your bed before the two of you share your first kiss. The whole time you’re thinking that any minute now you’ll wake up but you don’t and you open your eyes again to find him staring back at you with a smile.
- Technically that was your first date but you don’t really count it as such. No, your first date was at a theme park. He bought both of you tickets and the two of you had a blast screaming your lungs out on roller coasters. He even won you a prize on one of the games they had which you still have sitting on your bed to this day.
- After he won you the prize he asks if he’s “won your heart too” and you guess he really has because the two of you have been together ever since.
- He’s honestly the sweetest guy you’ve ever met. Behind his tough exterior he has a heart of gold.
- Soo many pet names. Babe, baby, honey, sweetie, angel; he rarely ever says your name.
- You call him your/a big teddy bear and he never outright denies it even though he has his bad boy reputation to keep up.
- The instant you seem even the slightest bit sad he’s trying to figure out what’s wrong and getting all soft on you. This boy turns into the human embodiment of comfort. His voice softens, he hugs you, kisses your forehead, listens intently, just everything and anything you could ever want when you’re upset.
- He scares off anyone that annoys you. You don’t even have to say anything, he just senses your impatience/discomfort and acts.
- You think you’ve seen protective, you’ve seen nothing yet. If he even hears about someone bothering you he’s immediately ready to kick ass. He offers to fight them which you laugh at but he’s only slightly kidding.
- It’s a good thing it’s sort of his job to take care of you on the ice because he’s constantly making sure no one gets to you and putting people who knock you down in their place.
- He’s like a moderate to severe on the jealous scale. If there’s a real reason to be jealous then he’ll get jealous (and will probably take it up with the guy). But if there’s really no reason to be he won’t be, like when you’re being platonic with a guy friend or just talking to a guy at lunch.
- He’s well aware that he’s good looking and…athletic; especially for his age, so he isn’t really all that worried about you running off with someone else. Just his appearance alone keeps people away from you, let alone his reputation. It’s rare that a guy is genuinely flirting with you.
- And regardless the both of you make it obvious that you’re only interested in each other which means you don’t have to worry about any girls getting to him either.
- He’s a cuddle bug; he can’t last a day without cuddling. He’ll always deny it but time and time again he’s the one pulling you onto the bed. Doesn’t matter where, doesn’t matter when; he’ll find a way to cuddle you.
- Tracing his tattoo.
- Sitting on his lap.
- Straddling his stomach while he runs his hands up and down your thighs.
- Makeout sessions while listening to rock music. He’s probably made a makeout mixtape for the two of you.
- He just loves making you mixtapes. He’s genuinely spent hours making you; what he thinks is, the perfect mixtape.
- Dancing and yelling out the lyrics to your favorite songs together.
- Doing stupid reckless shit together.
- I’m convinced that he’s the type of guy who buys cheap glass/porcelain and invites you over to smash it with him.
- He always makes sure he’s next to you when you’re sitting with the team on the benches or hanging out with friends.
- Obviously being really close to Fulton. He never minds being a third wheel or having you tag along on “bro nights”.
- The two of you share looks at each other constantly. Someone does something stupid or weird you’re immediately giving each other side eyes and looking to see if the other person saw.
- Bear hugs.
- He’s always touching you in someway. Arm over your shoulders, hand on your waist, hugging you from behind, etc, etc.
- Swatting his hands away when he tries to touch your butt.
- Ice cream and fast food dates.
- Taking long walks together. Sometimes you find something to do along the way, other times you just enjoy each other’s company.
- Having your own handshake.
- Matching bandannas? Matching bandannas.
- Wearing his clothes even though they’re huge on you.
- He always loves when you wear his old jersey. He just can’t stop staring at you and smiling whenever you have it on.
- Giving each other pep talks and having little pre game rituals.
- Calming him down when refs make a harsh or ridiculous call. It’s honestly pretty easy since the moment he sees you he just naturally calms. He’s a big tough guy but he was raised right and that means no taking your anger out on others and not taking things too seriously.
- Even though he’s a total macho man he loves when you take care of/baby him. Want to bandage the tiny cut he got on his hand? Be his guest; he’ll subtly play up the pain just to get an extra “Aw” and a kiss.
- Beach dates.
- Theme park, carnival and amusement park dates; just places with that general chaotic aura.
- Bowling dates.
- He always carries your things for you. Doesn’t matter how light, doesn’t matter how heavy, he’s taking it.
- He likes to pick you up at random. Just throws you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes or lifts you off the ground and places you a foot or so away from where you were previously standing. He feels very satisfied when you shriek in surprise, lightly smack him on the arm or break out laughing.
- He constantly tries to flex and show off in front of you. …yummy….
- He takes great pride in making you flustered.
- He likes teasing you in any way he can. Holding something over his head, tickling you, straight up (playfully) making fun of you, all that good shit.
- Soo many compliments and ‘I love yous’. He wants you to know that you’re his world goddamnit!
- He genuinely cannot wait you make you Mrs. Portman and will tell it to your face.
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Flatbush & Atlantic: part viii
part i part ii part iii part iv part v part vi part vii
Here’s part viii! Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your dog, tell the nosy woman who lives in the apartment above you. Remember to reblog, it helps the series reach more people, and as always - tell me what you think! I haven’t gotten much feedback so far and would love to know everyone’s thoughts, even if it’s only a few words.
part viii
April 19 (sun)
Cass was the most nervous she had been in her entire life. Okay, well maybe that was an overstatement. That honor probably went to the night law school acceptances went out, or when she sat with Alejandra — a friend from back in Texas — as they thought DACA was going to get rescinded, or when her dad lost his job when she was in middle school and their family was living paycheck-to-paycheck. It was Game 6 of the first round, the Islanders leading the series 3-2. The score was tied 1-1 halfway through the second period, a beautiful tip-in by Nelson that managed to just squeak past Mrazek. They had been up 3 games to none at the start of the series, with every intention to sweep the Hurricanes in Game 4 at home. But then they dropped two in a row — needless to say, tensions were running high coming into the night. 
She was sat up in the club box with the WAGs and some other family members who had flown in for the occasion, in hopes that they’d be able to celebrate a win and a move to the conference semifinals. The team probably could have used with tightening up their backcheck, but the passes were spot-on and Cass didn’t see much room to complain. Lauren on the chair opposite, she sat next to Paige as the clock hit eight minutes left, clutching a glass of white wine as her foot nervously tapped the carpet. Paige placed a steadying hand on her arm. “They’re going to pull it off, you know.”
Cass ran a hand through her hair. “That’s what I keep trying to tell myself. And I know they’ve got the talent, and these guys are some of the hardest workers I know, but—”
“It’s hard trying to rationalize it,” Paige finished.
“Yeah,” Cass nodded, “and especially knowing how long the team’s gone without a cup, like it’s been, what,” she glanced at the banners in the rafters, “38 years since they’ve won?. That’s 13 years before I was even born.”
Paige looked down at the ice thoughtfully. “I guess there’s really not much you can do in these situations but have faith that all the training and all the effort’s going to eventually pay off.”
“I guess you’re right,” Cass said, though if she was being honest she didn’t like the subjectivity of the statement. Shitty things happen to good people all the time, bad people get away with terrible things all the time, and people who have worked their asses off don’t always get what they’ve spent their entire lives working toward. 
There were just under six minutes left on the clock, and the first line had just gone back on. Anders took the faceoff, and Cass was so focused on the puck that she didn’t notice the gloves dropping on the other side of the ice until Paige let out a gasp, gently shaking her out of her trance. She was thrown for a minute; sure, fights were more uncommon since the league started cracking down on penalties, but they weren’t uncommon, so why did it matter that she paid any attention? 
Five seconds later, and she understood. It was Mat. It took Cass a few seconds to really grasp it — Mat wasn’t a fighter by any means, she had never seen him in one even before they got together, so what had finally set him off? They traded punches as the refs struggled to get a handle on the situation, jerseys riding up as Cass’ hand squeezed like a vice grip on Paige’s knee. She was too anxious to even figure out who the other player was, just that he was tall and blond and had one fist gripping Mat’s collar as he dodged one of his blows. Mat tried to steady himself, tried to realign his center of gravity, but then the other player threw a punch at the side of his face and it clipped his cheek as he tried to avoid it and he couldn’t get his balance back and he fell. Hard. Helmets had gone off before the fight had even started, so there was nothing in between his head and the ice. 
Cass’ hands flew up to her mouth, and Lauren had to stop her from sliding off the edge of her lounge chair. There was blood, and it was coming from his head, and if there was one thing her mother’s 30 years as a nurse had taught her, it was that blood from the head was never a good sign. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she whispered, feeling the bile rise up in her throat. Scratch anything she had said before, this was hands-down the most scared she’d ever been in her life. The love of her life was bleeding from his head down on the ice, and he wasn’t moving. 
You could have heard a pin drop in Barclay’s Center as the whole crowd waited for Mat to get up. And waited. And waited. Cassidy barely noticed him being helped up by Jordan; she was already running through the halls, Paige right beside her, frantically pressing the down button on the elevator to take them to the dressing room. She didn’t pay any attention to the usher who was telling her that they were private elevators because Mat was hurt and he was bleeding and oh God oh God oh God I need to get to him I need to get to him. 
She leaned her head against the cool metal of the side panel, long since having abandoned her efforts to control her tears as Paige tried desperately to comfort her. “The team has really good doctors, and if he needs a hospital, we have the best ones in the world right here in New York,” she said, but her words fell on deaf ears. Cass’ head jerked up. The elevator had dinged, indicating that they had finally reached the underground level. She turned left, headed straight for the locker room. There was no way he would have been left on the bench. Cass knew enough about hockey and enough about injuries to know that a hit that hard and blood that bad meant that he’d be taken right back.
By this time, she knew the way as good as anyone, and didn’t care who would try and stop her from getting in the room. Come hell or high water, she was going to see Mat. She passed the handful of puzzled arena staff, bursting into the locker room. “I’ll be out here,” Paige had said, but it barely registered. Mat was in a room off to the side, and thank God the trainer was one who recognized her, because he nodded at her as she lingered by the door, unspoken permission that she could enter. Cass rushed to Mat’s side, his eyes screwed shut in pain as the trainer  — Carter, was it? Nick? She really couldn’t remember much of anything at the moment  — held a pad of gauze to his head with a gloved hand. 
“Doctor should be here any minute, Mat, just hang on,” he said. 
Cass knelt down, hands shaking as she laced her fingers through his. “It’s going to be okay, Mat. You’re going to be okay.”
Mat opened his eyes just a sliver. “Cass?”
“Yeah, babe. I’m here.”
The door opened again, a man with a medical bag walking through the corridor and into the side room. “Dr. Khan,” he said to the trainer as he set the bag down, unclasping it. “Nick,” he responded. So it was Nick, Cass thought absentmindedly. 
“I was watching from a box when it happened, got down as soon as I could. So, his head hit the ice? No helmet?” Nick nodded as Dr. Khan snapped his own pair of gloves on. He turned to Cass. “Are you the wife?” For a moment, Cass was thrown. He may have been a doctor, but this man really couldn’t have known much about the team if he thought one of their star players was married. If Mat Barzal was married, everyone would know. 
After a moment, she shook her head. “No. Girlfriend.”
He nodded. “Okay. I’m fine with you staying as long as you keep out of the way, it shouldn’t take too long.” He turned to Nick. “A/O questions?”
“Knew his name, knew the year, knew where we are, knew who she is,” he tilted his head over at Cass. 
“Good, good,” Dr. Khan said, moving over to take his place at the head of the table. “Head wounds bleed a lot,” he said reassuringly, looking over at where Cass stood, her nails bit down to nubs. She thought she’d quit the habit in fifth grade. “It shouldn’t need more than a staple or two.” 
True to his word, fifteen minutes later the bleeding had subsided substantially, and Mat was sporting two very shiny, brand-new staples. “I’m sorry we had to shave a little, your lovely girlfriend was telling me how much pride you take in your hair. It’ll grow back quickly,” the doctor said. 
Mat let out a groan. “I’m going to lose all of my millions of adoring fans. The hair’s all I got, you know.”
Dr. Khan chuckled. “I’m glad to see you’re in good spirits. I’m going to diagnose you with a moderate concussion. It could have been a lot worse, but you got lucky this time.” He turned to Cass. “Would you be able to stay with him for the next few days? He should be able to manage, but it’s always better safe than sorry and it would be good for him to have someone around in case anything comes up.” 
Cass nodded. “Yeah. I’m in school, but outside of that. Yeah. I can stay.” 
Nick walked back through the door, handing a few printouts to Cass. “Just some concussion stuff for you to know. Activities for him to avoid, symptoms to be aware of, what to do if things get worse. That kind of thing.” 
Cass took the sheets. “Do you think things will get worse?” She asked worriedly. 
Dr. Khan shook his head. “It’s not likely, seeing as how he’s relatively aware and the concussion could have been much more severe. But it’s always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to any medical situation.”
She nodded, nervously rubbing Mat’s thumb. “Should I...take him home now?” She asked, trying to think of how she was going to take him back to Manhattan on the train when lights and loud noises were the exact thing he was supposed to be avoiding right now, or how much an hour long Uber would cost. 
“I’d like to keep him for a little longer, an hour or so, just for observation to make sure symptoms don’t get any worse.”
The next hour seemed to inch by, dotted with visits from Nick and Dr. Khan and one from Trotz during the second intermission. Mat was going to be out for somewhere in the vicinity of two weeks; everything was dependent on him being medically cleared and a slow return to training and team practices. The news gutted him. It wasn’t just that Mat loved hockey, he loved being out on the ice and in the thick of the action and with his team, his brothers, and it just seemed so patently unfair that he wasn’t going to be able to do that when they needed him the most. Doing the math, he had realized with heart-wrenching certainty that that meant he would maybe be able to make the last few games of the conference semifinals, and that was only if they made it that far. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith in his team, but the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to do anything but sit on the bench in a suit and hand out waters ate away at him. 
Someone, maybe one of the equipment managers, had taken the liberty of packing up Mat’s things, and Cass was poking around trying to find his keys. He was pretty coherent by then, but still in no state to drive. She slung the bag over her shoulder, trying not to groan at its weight — she’d definitely be sore tomorrow — and helped him out of the locker room and back to the players’ parking lot, half-heartedly waving goodbye to the handful of players and staff that were still trickling out. The ride back to his apartment was quiet, and Mat barely acknowledged the news that the team had eked out a win with a powerplay goal late in the third. They were going to the second round, and it killed him that he might not get to be a part of it. 
She parked in the underground lot, taking the bag once again despite Mat’s insistence that he could carry it himself, their ride up the elevator accompanied by a strangely specific playlist that was mostly comprised of late 2000s pop. “I slow danced with my first boyfriend to this song at our freshman year homecoming dance,” Cass said. 
The corner of Mat’s mouth twitched up. “I Won’t Give Up?” She nodded. “What was his name?” 
“Justin. He played varsity basketball, I did lacrosse and field hockey. We were the jockiest couple at school for the all of four months we dated,” she said wistfully. “He was a good guy, but I should have known things weren’t going to work out. He had a lot of growing up to do.”
Mat hummed in acknowledgement as she opened the door. “I didn’t know you played field hockey.”
Cass let out a laugh. “Wrong surface, I know. But yeah, I did, through junior year of high school. Dropped it senior year to focus on lacrosse and college stuff.”
“But you still did lacrosse in university,” he said, more like a statement than anything. 
She nodded. “Club, yeah. It would have been cool to be on the school team, but D1 sports are super competitive, and I didn’t have time between A Phi and the Mexican Student Association and honors stuff there would have been no way I could have made it all work.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Anyone ever told you you’re a bit of an overachiever?”
She glared at him. “You’re lucky you’re injured, or I would have slapped you.” Heading over to the kitchen, she called over her shoulder, “I’m getting some water, do you want anything?” 
“Water would be great.” Cass came back a minute later, handing him his glass. She looked at her watch. Past midnight. Then she looked at her phone, which she hadn’t checked since the middle of the game and which had understandably blown up since then. She responded to texts from Paige and Lauren and Kerry, sent Chris a message that she’d need tomorrow off to look after Mat, reassured Noah that Mat was fine and would be back on the ice as soon as humanly possible. Her brow furrowed. Three missed messages from the apartment’s group chat, The Fantastic Four, named largely due to the fact that Cass may or may not have had a not-so-little crush on Human Torch as a middle schooler; once the girls had gotten the story out of her, they never let her live it down. 
10:44 - Ryanne: When do you think you’ll be back? Made spaghetti and wasn’t sure if I should leave it out for you or put it in the fridge.
11:17 - Stella: Were you taking the subway home?
11:39 - Alicia: I saw on Twitter Mat got hurt, is everything okay? Do you need anything?
11:55 - Alicia: Cass? You good?
“Shit,” Cass breathed, shutting her eyes for a moment. 
Mat looked concerned, scratching at an itch under his gauze. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Cass said, typing a response. There was almost nothing she hated more than worrying people. Oh my gosh I’m so sorry guys! Yes, I’m good, Mat’s okay too. It’s a concussion so he’ll be out of play for a few weeks, but thank God it’s not worse. I hadn’t checked my phone since he got hurt, I’m so sorry to worry y’all!! I’m over at his, the doctor said he should have someone watching him for a few days just in case. I might come pick up a few things tomorrow, but I’ll be back Wednesday :)
Mat stuck his tongue through his teeth and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all this,” he gestured at his head, “it shouldn’t be your responsibility.” 
Cass smiled softly at him, leaning gently into his side. “It’s okay, I don’t mind it, taking care of you and all. Plus, acts of service are my number one love language.” He laughed. “But,” she started hesitantly, “I’ve got to ask. You’re not really a fighter.” His arm tensed around her, knowing what was coming. “So what made you drop the gloves? You don’t really ever let these things get to you.”
“Yeah,” Mat sighed. He really should have expected the question sooner, it wasn’t like it was an avoidable situation. “Um, he had just been chirping me for most of the game, just stuff about how I’m all talk and no talent, about my points drought earlier in the season, stuff like that.”
“And?” Cass pressed, knowing that there was something he was holding back. She wanted to help him, and she couldn’t do that without the full story. 
“And you,” he admitted. “It’s not really that unusual for guys to chirp each other about girlfriends, but he was just saying some pretty nasty stuff about you. Just sexist, gross stuff. No one should say that about a girl, doesn’t matter who she is.” 
As unfortunate as it was, Cass was pretty sure she knew exactly what had been said about her. She was a woman — a young, attractive woman — living in New York City, which was practically the world capital of catcalling, and her earbuds could only drown out so much. But still, Mat’s response had her heart skip a beat. “Thank you for defending my honor,” she said sweetly, turning her head to give him a kiss on the cheek. 
He blushed. “If I could go back? I’d do it all over again.”
 April 27 (tues)
 Cass scrolled through her Twitter feed as she waited for Mat to arrive at the deli for lunch. It had been a week and a half since the injury, and things were definitely progressing — though not as fast as Mat would have hoped. She had stayed with him for a few days until he was feeling back to his old self, and though Mat hadn’t exactly been thrilled by Cass having to wake him up every three hours to be sure that he wasn’t, you know, dead, he had been a pretty good sport overall. 
Reading and excessive screen use was on the no-no list she’d been given by Dr. Khan, so Mat had taken to a lot of listening to music and trying valiantly to pick back up his guitar skills once he was feeling up to it. Skills was perhaps a generous word, Cass thought, since the only song he had been able to play with any confidence by the end of the week was Rockstar by Nickleback. “It’s not that bad,” he had said defensively. “They get a bad rep.” Cass wasn’t so sure about that, but thought it would be a bit of a dick move to criticize his music taste, so she refrained. 
She was jerked out of her thoughts by Mat, who greeted her with a bright smile and a kiss on the forehead. “How was your day, babe?” 
She shrugged. “Pretty good, nothing special. Just got out of a Contracts seminar. Nothing quite as thrilling as debating the precedent set by Supreme Court cases from the 1980s.” 
Mat barked out a laugh. “I’m sure. I don’t think I’d understand a single word of what they said, but that just proves what I already knew.”
“Which is?”
“That you’re ten times smarter than I am.” Cass laughed, and he opened the door. “Now, I’m starving. I want food.”
“Good thing we came to a deli, then,” Cass said dryly. 
He snickered. “Guess I walked right into that one.” The couple stopped in front of the menu. “What’s good here?”
“Besides everything?” Cass asked. “Roast beef sandwich, grilled chicken’s pretty good too. And obviously the pastrami.”
Mat shifted from one food to another. “I’ve never actually had one,” he admitted. 
Cass turned to look at him slowly, eyes wide. “You’ve never had a pastrami on rye?” He shook his head. “You’ve lived in New York for, what, almost four years now? And you’ve never had a pastrami sandwich?” 
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Mat mumbled. 
“Oh, it is,” Cass said, as they reached the counter. “I take my sandwiches very seriously, Mathew, and you’re about to find out why.” She waved to the man behind the counter. “Carlos!” Jabbering in rapid-fire Spanish as he assembled the sandwiches, she pulled out her wallet to pay before Mat even got the chance. “Él es mi novio,” she said, answering Carlos’ unspoken question and tapping her card on the reader. “Gracias, te veré pronto!” She grabbed the bag of sandwiches, Mat following her out the door as they walked down the block, peeling off to a side road with a small park. Cass shifted her backpack off, setting it on the ground beneath a small table that had become one of her go-to lunch spots since she, Les, and Fiona stumbled across it in their first year. 
“So it seems like you’ve known Carlos for awhile?” Mat asked, unwrapping the sandwich.
Cass nodded, biting into hers and letting out an almost-euphoric moan. 
Mat raised an eyebrow. “You usually save that for the bedroom.”
Almost choking, she swallowed the bite, leaning over the table and lightly slapping his arm. “Mat! But yeah, he started working at the deli sometime in spring of my first year. He moved from Puerto Rico, so that’s why we were speaking Spanish.”
“What was that you called me back there, anyways? Nuevo?”
Cass snorted into her coffee. “Nuevo means new. I called you my novio. It’s the word for serious boyfriend. Or fiancé, really. The language doesn’t make much of a distinction.” Cass sipped slowly, deciding to hazard a question. “How has your recovery been going?”
Mat perked up. Anything relating to hockey and he was all ears. “It’s going well, yeah. I was cleared to start working out the other day, they did some scans and said that everything looks like how it should, which is a relief. I’ve been a little dizzy but nothing serious,” he quickly added, seeing Cass’ nervous glance, “and I go back in two days to see if I can get back to training with the team. A day or two of that and fingers crossed, I’d be ready to play a game if we’re still in it.” The team was down 2-1 to the Capitals, and Mat had been tearing his hair out the entire week, frustrated beyond belief that he couldn’t do anything to help. He was a hockey player, a damn good one at that, and there was nothing he could do but sit in front of his TV and watch his team fall behind in the series. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be out there, scoring and making hits and making a difference, not cooped up like some toddler with a list of things he couldn’t do and couldn’t touch.
Cass could see that he was starting to retreat a little bit, so she reached out, squeezing his hand. “Hey, chou, listen to me.” He looked up. “I know it’s frustrating for you. Believe me, I know how much you want to be out there and how useless you might feel right now, but that’s all bullshit, you hear me?” Her eyes softened. “The best thing you can do for the boys right now is work out when you can, listen to your doctors, and focus on getting better. The city wants their golden boy back, and as cute as your pout is,” Mat’s lips twitched, “it doesn’t do anyone any good, least of all you.”
Cass was nearly done with her sandwich when Mat spoke again. “Graduation’s coming up fast, huh? What is it, a month from now?”
She nodded, picking up a napkin and dabbing at the mustard by the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, it’s the 22, so a little under a month now.”
“Is your whole family coming down?” 
“Yeah,” Cass said, bounding her head. “Everyone’s able to make it, which is awesome, and so much more than I expected. Eliana gets out of school the week earlier, so it’s not a problem for her, and it’s on a Saturday so it’s a non-issue for Noah and my parents. My nana’s driving down with my family, and my mom’s parents are flying from Hermosillo.”
Mat gave her a confused look. “I thought they lived in Texas?”
“They started splitting time after they retired, they were the only ones who immigrated so all of their relatives were still down in Mexico,” Cass explained.
“Got it.”
She continued. “Yeah, so I’m really lucky that everyone’s able to make it, it’s been forever since the whole family was together. Which reminds me,” she said, pulling out her phone and sending a quick text, “I need to get their flight info. I promised to pick them up from JFK.” 
“Why don’t I come with you?” Mat asked quickly.
Cass was confused. “What if you’re still playing?”
He waved his hand. “Obviously not then. But if we’re not, I’d love to come. I could drive around so you wouldn’t have to pay for parking, and it would be nice to meet them before your graduation.” The unspoken addendum was if I’m able to make it. Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals was scheduled on the day of Cass’ graduation; Mat knew that realistically, the chances of making it that far were slim, but the thought of not being able to celebrate with her, celebrate her, caused a pang in his heart. 
Her smile could have lit up the sun. “I’d love that, I really would. And you’re going to love my grandparents. I’ve told them so much about you and they’re excited to finally meet you in person.”
Mat beamed. “I’m glad. Hey,” he added, treading lightly. “Have you heard back from any of the places you’ve applied yet?” He knew of at least a half-dozen firms and nonprofits she’d interviewed with, but if any of them had resulted in an offer yet, she hadn’t told him.
Cass looked down at her hands. This was the conversation she had been dreading ever since last week. “Cass?” Mat asked again, more hesitantly this time. He could tell something was up. “Uh, yeah.” She said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “Yeah, I have. You remember that tech company I interviewed with the other week?
“Yeah, the ones that do computers and stuff?” Mat asked, confused. If she got the job, then why did she seem so nervous?
She nodded. “Yeah. They got back to me a few days ago...and they offered a position.” 
Mat stood up, ready to walk around the table and wrap her in a massive bear hug. “Cass!” He exclaimed. “That’s awesome! You said it sounded like really interesting stuff, and the company’s in New York so you wouldn’t even have to move—”
“That’s the thing,” Cass said, cutting him off. “They’re headquartered in New York, and I thought I was applying for a position in New York, but it turns out everything was ‘space available,’ whatever that means.” She finally looked up at Mat. “The job’s in Hong Kong.”
He feels like he’s had the wind knocked out of him, and sat back down in his seat hard. So hard, in fact, that he almost knocked it over, but he barely noticed. Hong Kong? That’s a whole country and the world’s largest ocean away, and the thought of losing her to a whole different country wasn’t something he ever could have anticipated. He’s finally gotten something so good, someone so good, and the thought that it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye was a possibility he hadn’t even allowed himself to consider. 
Mat swallows. “Are you...Are you going to take it?” He asks thickly. She looks down at the coffee cup in her hands, the same speckled white-and-blue one Mat gave her back in the fall. God, October seems like a lifetime away from where they are now. “I don’t know,” she admitted, and he felt a weight lifted off of his chest. “I don’t even know if I want it, and I didn’t want…,” she tapped her fingers on the scratched stone table, “I didn’t want to decide anything without talking it over with you first.” 
His head felt like lead when he tried to nod. “Okay, yeah. That makes sense. So, let’s talk.”
“It’s not something I ever saw myself doing,” Cass said.
“The moving to a foreign country part or the job itself?” Mat asked. 
Cass scrunched her nose. “Both, I guess. Sure, I applied to places all across the country, but that was more for job security than anything. I needed cash flow to start paying off my loans, and as much as I love nonprofit and pro-bono work, it doesn’t really pay well. That’s sort of the whole point. 
Mat reached behind himself to throw the sandwich wrapper into the trash can. “Do you like what they’d be having you do?”
“It’s contracts and negotiations, so it’s interesting enough. I like the topic and I know I’m good at it. But it’s not what I originally imagined for myself,” she conceded.
“What did you think you’d be doing?”
Cass let out a strained breath. “When I first got to law school, I was convinced I’d do immigration law. I’m passionate about it, feel like I’ve got a stake in the matter, and Spanish fluency is a really good skill to have in the field. And I loved getting to work in the clinic on deportation appeals. The day I got a stay for my first client was one of the happiest days of my life,” she added. Mat couldn’t help but smile. Even with mountains of uncertainty threatening to topple over on them, Cass had such a good heart and he’d always be proud of that. “But I’ve loved what I’ve gotten to do with Chris in the office. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think that I’d like it.”
Mat’s curiosity was piqued. “How come?”
“I think part of it had to do with how rushed and nervous I felt about the whole thing. It was pretty much my last chance and I really just threw my application together without thinking. I didn’t have time to worry if I’d actually like what I was going to be doing. It might just be my Rangers bias coming through, but I think I thought it would just be Scandal-type dealing with dumb shit players did, getting them off the hook for drunken escapades or finding contractual loopholes to save the team money on the salary cap.” She shrugged. “I’m glad I was wrong.”
“So,” Mat said said slowly, “if this isn’t the kind of work you wantedto do, why are you thinking about taking the job?”
“Couple of things,” Cass said. “The company culture is really good, by all accounts they hanuinely care about their environmental impact and worker’s rights, they make sure everyone on the supply chain is given a living wage. Good upward mobility, and there’s a half-dozen offices around the world that you can apply to transfer to after five years. Benefits and salary are are some of the best I’ve seen for new hires.”
“But would you be happy?” Mat asked, so softly that she almost missed it. 
Would I? Cass thought. It was never the plan for her to move so far away; she’s never lived further than a few hours from home and as much as she hated to admit it, the prospect of not being in the same time zone as her family terrified her. What if her abuelo has another stroke, and she’s halfway across the world? What if she’s not able to hold her brother when he goes through his first heartbreak? What if she isn’t there to kiss Mat when he hoists the Stanley Cup for the first time? But what if she hates herself because she never took the chance? She finally looks back up, feeling like Mat’s hazel eyes are boring straight into her soul. “I don’t know.”
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asa-kai · 3 years
Text
Ref. to Chapter 177
Faint chirps of sparrows blending with the soft blow of air from the sea. All of that is crystal clear for Saionji Ukyo the former Sonar man from the Kingdom of Science.
It was almost like yesterday, when they were still sailing on the big blue beneath the widespread  sky along with seagulls and now they are making their way to their next destination-South America.
After a long day of riding their motorbikes the crew made a stop to eat and rest. Thanks to Senku's customized motorbikes they can quickly outrun Stanley and his team.
Although they made it that far, the fact they're being pursued can't settle in Ukyo's mind.
Looking around finding a high place to spend the night he found a huge boulder high enough for anyone to bother climbing but just the right one for him to reach the top.
This little climbing is nothing compared to his past special forces training, he proudly recall. It would be nice though if he can find a tree on the dessert just like that back on the days when he's still working for the Tsukasa's Empire. Where he will watch Tsukasa break human statues in front of him....
Shaking off the bad memories, he perched on the top absorbing the nostalgia  of the night.
"Finally a relaxing silence" he thought to himself.
Or he thought so......
The minimal noises from the campfire can't escape his sensitive ears. The laughter and the conversations are still loud enough for him to be heard.
"It can't be helped, if only I can shut them like my eyes." Ukyo pouted gazing above the night sky again.
He kept wondering if they could defeat Stanley or reach their destination safely or if they could even survive anything that could happen tonight.
He was so disturbed of the thought of what he's going to do if Senku can't fufill his promise that nobody dies. Calming his nerves and clearing his thoughts he starts to close his tired eyes.
Just then he heard footsteps below coming toward the boulder his perching on and base on the weight,speed and pattern of the footsteps it matches someone from the battle team.
"Kohaku?" Ukyo mumbled without realizing saying it out loud.
The huntress' vigilant eyes suddenly looked up to the perching archer.
"What are you doing up there?"
Before the young man can say a word he was surprised to see Kohaku sitting next to him enough for sending him to jolt.
She's really fast. The boulder must be really just a pebble to her
Despite the archer's obvious reaction the huntress seems to be deep into thoughts. She tilt her head up to sky and smile wistfully. Forgetting what just happened the man beside decided to join his new company's little stargazing.
The breeze is faint yet cool, chilling their skin but making one smile lightly.
Kohaku turned her head into the campfire's direction and stared back to the sky. Noticing that she's been doing it five times from now,Ukyo getting concerned finally asked the restless lady.
"Um...You've been looking back five times already...what seems to be the matter?"
" Oh sorry....did I bothered you?"Kohaku replied flustered.
" No not at all but I just get a little concrened." He sheepishly smiled.
The crescent moon dimly radiates light on landscape around them. Its almost vague but Ukyo can absolutely tell that Kohaku just smiled again. A meaningful yet gloom smile at that, as she turn around again back to the usual place under her observation.
"So...are you looking at Senku?" Ukyo forcedly scoffed.
Kohaku darted her eyes at the resident archer with a fearful look. However the pink blush on her face gave away the answer.
"Ukyo don't tell me...."
Her voice alone is already eerie when shes talking like that, no wonder they call her beastly names. But right now Ukyo fears that she'll blow, he can't break his good impression he left on Kohaku.
No one would want to ruin her trust
....."you can hear other people's thoughts?!"
Ukyo let out a loud laugh that Kohaku have never heard coming from him. Since he is usually silent the huntress was left jaw dropped.
"Sorry, I just thought it was absurd but its obvious that your looking at our crafty scientist."
Looking at Kohaku's blank face he continued.
"Observance is everything Kohaku you know that right? First of all Hyoga and Tsukasa is present on the campfire so you will have no reason to be worry of a sudden attack. Second you just finished putting Suika to sleep so you came up here to unwind, clearly enough to conclude that your confident that the crew is safe"
" But Ukyo how did you know I was looking at Senku?" Kohaku questioned poking her chin.
Ukyo took off his hat and start tossing it and then he answered.
" Well you know....I spend my free time observing both nature and people and through all that there's not a time I will not hear a talk about you two especially from Ginro..."
" Ginro....that scum..."
" Its not his fault though since his trying his best to lower his voice, I just happen to still hear it anyway." He concluded wearing his makeshift hat again.
"Oh having such great ears an advantage yes?" Kohaku sarcastically grinned.
" Its not that great"  Ukyo defended, besides you two usually hang out together-just the two of you." Realizing he had said to much Ukyo turn to Kohaku to see her reaction.
" Oh so your a stalker now huh?" Kohaku even grinned wider and there is literally like a black smoke surrounding her right now.
Ukyo gulped down with two beads of sweat on his face, but what he expects on what the huntress is going to do is turned down though.
Kohaku hug her knees and hide her face.
"Who am I to be offended by you...Im the same too. I will sometimes shortly glance at Senku when he's not aware and I don't know why. I constantly worry about him as an ally and friend but I think its getting out of hand and  becoming a habit."
Although Kohaku is not showing a bit of faze on her tone but he can tell that she's worried and troubled for some reason.
"At least you can just close your eyes and never look again." Ukyo pointed out.
" That's the problem I can't turn away my eyes on him nor I can shut them. Not when there's another girl beside him" Kohaku's voice cracked at the last words she said.
Ukyo just came to a realization how wonderous yet coincedental life  can be sometime
Moments ago  he's worrying about the well-being of his friends who are safe sound but his companion is worrying about her problem on worrying too much  about Senku than the given normal.
Him worrying about the things that are still not happening.
Her worrying about a small thing but tormenting her right now
However he can relate on Kohaku's envy on her advantageous sense of sight.
"Our so called gifts can be such a nuisance huh? But maybe you can still use their trouble you know?"
Kohaku is now a friend and an ally to him and he will gladly help her if she need it.
It is the first time he'll personally offer help to the mighty huntress. Given Kohaku's physique its almost though she will need no help but ironically right now  she's carrying which sometging which is to say in the old world a common problem but even she the mighty Kohaku can't handle it on her own. Theres no human who haven't experienced jealousy not even once.
Kohaku hanging on what he just said paid her attention closely to the archer as if like  desperate child looking for answers.
Ukyo can't even conclude if she's solely worrying about Senku's well-being or if its something more than that and it looks like Kohaku is doubting herself as well.
Ukyo took a deep breath hoping what he's going to say will help.
"Like I said Kohaku, observation is everything."
The huntress gets even more attentive at this point. Confirming the words in his head Ukyo continues.
"The truth is I'm also envious of my sensitive hearing, sometimes I will hear things Im not suppose to hear but you know what really helps? Ukyo paused giving a warm smile.
Yes what Kohaku needs right now is emphathy  even though his knowledge in psychology is inferior that of Gen but it is one of the common and genuine way to help out anyone.
..."I just let it."
Kohaku slightly flinch and her eyes widened.
"Forcing yourself to hold it in even when your about to throw up just makes matters worse right?  I should know, my first day at the submarine makes me really sick that I want to pull my gut out."
Yes your'e not alone
...
...
" Uh sorry about the gruesome illustration."
"No its only normal." Kohaku brushed off.
That's Senku's lioness for you
"I knew Im not the only one... But what I fear if I get attach to him and letting go will be more difficult." Kohaku lamented.
The issue is now clear. She's just blaming it all to her eyes but the real deal is her feelings.
She's growing alright and it is unavoidable for anyone to feel that way.
Like Ukyo can see Senku and Kohaku had been literally went through blades and stones and their mutual trust makes them good friends but somehow its likly that one might start to look at the other differently.
The pair were silent for a while. Letting the evening aura take over making light sounds of air passing through stones.
Ukyo rest his head against his arms for a second trying to get answers for Kohaku's problem.
Though.....
Is he even fit for solving her problem,maybe it would be better if Gen will tell her....no does he even need to solve it?
"Sorry if I bother you Ukyo, I  get too emotional sometimes." Kohaku stand up and started to brush off the dirt from her navy blue dress and just as she's about to wave goodnight, she sensed a sudden spark beside her. Right there, Ukyo made a little  fire from using his bows and with a dozen of small sticks he gathered.
"The answer depends on your resolve Kohaku...you can either choose to look at him forever or shut your eyes, whatever works best for you all I can do is give you my advice. I don't have the authority to tell you what to do...... But right now why don't you let your senses take you somewhere else. It's getting cold you know." Ukyo hummed while putting more ignition on the fire.
Kohaku was drawn to the relaxing warmth of the newly made campfire a little smaller than that with the rest of the crew. Without knowing it she's starting to forget on what she's chafing about, a moment ago.
Unexpectedly an east wind blew caugthing the duo off-guard letting Kohaku's hair went loose and almost taking Ukyo's hat away. Without warning a stronger wind came and blew their makeshift campfire away, getting dark again so suddenly made Kohaku laugh akin to Ukyo who's groaning over the blown campfire.
"Well, some things don't always look and stay as they seem, one minute ago we have the fire I thought will hold yet now its already gone."Ukyo chuckled though  attempting to make the fire again.
"That makes sense....everything change eventually, up to the point where a problem is no more." Kohaku softly stated coming up to her realization.
Ukyo smiled he was  relieved that Kohaku finally get what he means.
"Well Im glad the lesson Im implying  reached you."The archer exclaimed.
" Life goes on Kohaku"
Kohaku nod and smile in agreement.
"Yeah...I also learned you should never build a small fire on a high windy place". She jokingly concluded.
"Come  on I know that....."Ukyo sheepishly laughed.
The night even grew darker but the stars and the moon appears to grew  even brighter. The pair enjoyed the diamond ornamented void as the evening hyms envelops around them.
"Listen Kohaku" Ukyo whispered.
"This might be just one of my ideals but I always believe that life has many angles that each one can see and discover that's why I don't like anyone to die  because they won't be able to enjoy it if they're dead... So Im convincing you to look at the other angles too Kohaku."
The huntress eyes were opened a hint of sparkles will be found in her eyes and a warm smile on her face being moved of what just her trustworthy comrade said. Although it's still not clear in her mind what he is saying. But whatever it is she will someday understand just like what he said life goes on.
" I'll gladly take the advice,I will surely enjoy, look forward to it."
-end
Obviously this is my first fanfic... Just to be frank I got tired reading the romance genre so I made something platonic and between- friends -kind -of- a -thing fanfic between low-key duo in dr. Stone. (Yes you just read it)
Speaking of low-key I'm also making fanfic for other underrated dcst (so called canon couples)
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orangeoctopi7 · 4 years
Text
Back to School
: Chapter 1 : Chapter 2 :
Stan was sullen as they left their morning math class.
“That was great!” Ford chuckled, “I thought Mr. Grauberger was going to spit out his dentures when you answered that tax-cut problem!” But he noticed his brother wasn’t laughing along. “What’s wrong?”
Stan fidgeted with his backpack strap. “Yeah, the look on his face was definitely worth it. It’s just…” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “The minute he passed out that quiz, I froze! I should know that stuff, it’s finance, it’s what I’m actually good at, but I just couldn’t think!” He scuffed his feet on the linoleum floor. “All this time, and I’m still just the dumb twin.”
Ford scowled. "That's not true. It doesn’t matter what some arbitrary scholastic test says, you’re smart! I never would have made it home if you weren’t!”
“I know, you’re right.” Stan gave a small smile, “I just... wish I could’ve proved it to them.”
“They don’t matter.” Ford said shortly. “If it makes you feel any better, you can copy off my answers the next time you freeze on a test.”
“Yeah, just like the good ol’ days.” Stan chuckled sardonically. 
They tried to lie low through the rest of the day, not answering questions in class or talking to their fellow students. Neither of them really had any friends, outside of each other, which hadn’t been great for their social development, but at least it made things easier from a time-travel perspective. Nobody found it odd that the twins were keeping to themselves.
Of course, they didn’t have all the same classes together. Ford had advanced classes in Physics and Chemistry. Stan had an extra hour of PE that was basically just more time for boxing practice, and Choir, simply because it was an easy A. 
Stan was enjoying taking some of his frustration out on a punching bag in the weights room when a hulking figure, almost as wide as he was tall, stepped behind the sandbag.
“D’you mind?” Stan complained. He didn’t want to hit whoever was back there when the bag swung back.
“Well, well, Stan the lesser. Practicin' for tomorrow's match?” Crampelter’s ugly visage peeked from behind the bag.
“Ugh. I forgot they held you back a couple of years.” Stan rolled his eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The bully demanded.
“You wouldn’t get it even if I explained it to you.” Stan smiled smugly.
Crampelter stepped up to Stan. He was still almost a head taller. “Your brother’s supposed to be the smart-mouth.”
“We’re trading shifts.” Stan replied flippantly, not even remotely intimidated. “Now do you wanna do this right now, or can we save it for the ring? Y’know, where I can get paid to punch your face in.”
“You’re just scared to take me without a ref!”
“Not even a little. I just need the cash. I got a parking ticket to pay, apparently.”
With that, Stan swung a powerful left hook into the punching bag, swinging it directly into Crampelter’s gut. The bully doubled over, and Stan took the opportunity to get out of there. While he was confident he could take Crampelter even in a dirty fight, it really just wasn’t worth the trouble. 
He decided to skip Choir today and check on Ford. It seemed like their childhood bully was looking for a fight.
It took Stan a while to remember where Ford’s classroom was. He tried to just peek in quietly, but the teacher’s head immediately snapped to the door.
“He’s not here.” She said brusquely as soon as she saw who it was.
“Uh… d’you know where he went?”
“Said he needed supplies for his science fair project.” and with that, she returned to the board, where she was writing what Stan now recognized as the equation to calculate the gravitational forces two objects exert on each other.
There were a few places Ford could have gone to find supplies. First Stan checked the Chemistry lab and the art room. He finally found his brother in the auto shop, which was empty this time of day. When Stan opened the door, Ford was standing at the back of the room casually, with his best ‘innocent angel’ look.
“Oh, it’s just you.” the scientist went back to rummaging through the welding equipment as soon as he saw his brother.
“What are you doing!?” Stan hissed as he crossed the shop.
“Well I can’t fix the time tape using whatever dad’s got lying around.”
“Yeah, I get that part. But you could get kicked outta the science fair for stealin’ from the school!”
“As a wise man once said,” Ford flashed his brother a knowing grin, “Only if I get caught.”
Stan couldn’t help but be a little proud, but there was too much at stake for that right now. “At least let me do it, I already swipe enough stuff that they’ll expect it, and it doesn’t matter if I get in trouble.”
Ford rolled his eyes but relented. “Knowing how the administration feels about you, even if I did get caught, they’d probably find a way to pin it back on you anyway.”
Stan took a look at the box Ford had been ransacking. “So whaddya need?”
“The smallest soldering iron you can find.”
“What kinda filling?” 
“It’s called solder.” Ford corrected him automatically, “Ideally, Lithium, but I know they’re not going to have it. Tin or Copper should suffice.”
“Anything else?”
“A face shield and anything else you can find that'll help working with small circuitry."
"Pretty sure Dad's got some jeweler's lenses in the pawn shop. If you tell him it's for the science fair project, he'll probably let you use ‘em."
Ford grimaced. “I’m worried if I ask to use any of dad’s tools, he’ll want to see how it’s coming.”
“So just show him the preliminary frame. It’s not like he actually gets how the perpetual motion machine is supposed to work. You can just hide the time tape in a drawer or something.”
Ford nodded reluctantly. “Well, I suppose I’d better leave, if we don’t want to get caught. I wish cell phones had already been invented; I’d text you if I thought of anything else I might need.”
“Pch, we never needed those pieces of junk before!” Stan scoffed. “Oh, wait! Before you go, I was lookin’ for you to warn you. I ran into Crampelter earlier, seemed like he was lookin’ for a fight, so, uh, might wanna watch your back.”
Ford flashed him a vicious smile. “Honestly? I welcome the opportunity.”
“Tryin’ to stick to the timeline, remember?”
“Fine, fine, I’ll try and stay out of his way, but if he comes after me…”
“Then you can use your 30 years of sci-fi survival skills to get out of there without causin’ a scene.”
“You’re no fun.” The scientist pouted.
“If I can’t leave Shermie a note, you can’t beat up Crampelter.”
Ford wanted to argue that one of those would alter the timeline significantly more than the other, but he also knew that Stan would not want to hear it. And besides, he really needed to get out of there before anyone else showed up.
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gaycrouton · 5 years
Text
Gym Defense
[While doing required fitness tests at the gym, a man pulls some dirty tricks while sparring with Scully, and Mulder is not having it. MSR]
Sometimes Mulder worried Scully’s association to him prevented her from being able to make more friendships within the bureau. He wondered if, before being assigned to the X-Files, she was the type to go out for drinks with friends after work, hang around the office with people she enjoyed, laugh when jokes were made about the spooky guy in the basement.
Call him selfish, but getting all her attention for this past year of partnership had been more than he could ever ask for. He couldn’t really remember the last time he’d been so openly comfortable around another person, let alone someone so incredible. Now he wasn’t just excited to come into work to investigate, but more often than not, his excitement stemmed from the fact he was able to see her. The guilt couldn’t help but gnaw at him, though, when he realized while she finally gave him the human interaction he so craved, he was probably keeping her away from all the potential interactions she wanted.
It was times like this that solidified that was probably not the case.
This was the first time he and Scully had to do the FBI fitness test since becoming partners. It was mostly just done to make sure field agents could chase and apprehend a target. They’d already finished the independent race with perfect times, now they just had to stand in line and spar. It didn’t matter who was the winner or loser, you just had to prove that you knew what to do.
These were the only times he was immersed in an environment with other agents and, to be honest, he hated it. He knew what his reputation was, and he could feel everyone staring at him. He felt like he was Sasquatch, just wandering into the public unannounced. No one dared to approach, just walked passed and gawked, sometimes making passing comments to those around them  under their breaths. Because of this, he expected Scully to stay away and do her own thing, but instead she stood next to him in the corner and, much to his surprise, shared his grief.
Apparently Scully’s desire to socialize was even less than his own. “I don’t see why this is necessary. Doesn’t our record alone and the fact that we are apprehending suspects on a daily basis prove, you know, that we can apprehend suspects?” she sighed, pulling on her hair with both hands to tighten her ponytail.
“I’m surprised you’re not socializing more. I thought you knew some of these people before the X-Files?” he asked, hoping she didn’t take his comment as an implication that he didn’t want her near. He was just genuinely curious why she wouldn’t take the opportunity to get a reprieve from him.
She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in front of her face as if dispelling the crazy notion from the air. “They’re not worth my time.” He smiled at the implication being that he was. “I’m not the mingling type.” For a second he entertained the idea that she was just saying that because she felt bad no one except her would talk to him, but he waved it away like she had. If there was one thing he’d learned about Scully in their short time together, it was that she never did or said anything just to placate him.
His attention was drawn to her when she threw her head back to drink the last of her water bottle. Mulder’d honestly been trying to avoid looking at her too much in fear she would catch his gaze wandering. She was wearing tight nylon runners leggings and a tight tank top to match. Most of the women here were wearing far more revealing athletic attire, but Scully was just radiant. Even as her hair fell from her short ponytail and she was sweaty and flushed from exertion.
“Is my hair falling out or something?” She asked. Caught.
However, before he had a chance to answer, the instructor reigned them all in and split them up into pairs based on physique. He was paired with a tall nerdy guy from the Financial Unit, why he needed to be here Mulder did not know, and Scully was with a short woman who was talking her ear off. Scully looked over at him and gave him a pained smile and he immediately missed their time by themselves in the corner. While he thought the rumors they were married were condescending and tired, he couldn’t help but feel out of his element without her by his side.
They stood in their respective lines and waited their turns. Scully’s line was moving substantially faster than his. The men liked to milk the opportunity to exert their physical dominance, he supposed. A chance for them to showcase their masculinity as if it was a pheromone to the women. He rolled his eyes at the thought and was glad his partner from Finances didn’t look the type.
Scully ended up getting to a mat before he did, and he was glad he had the opportunity to watch. Not that he hadn’t seen her take someone down before, but it was just fascinating to watch. She and the other woman stood on the mat face to face, shook hands, and waited for the count down. Her partner naively tried to strike her immediately, allowing Scully to gracefully duck under her arm and slide around her side, pinning the woman’s arm behind her back before she even had a chance to see what was happening.
With ease, Scully grabbed her other arm in the crook of her elbow and swiped her feet out from under her, preventing her from being able to kick. The instructor began counting down from ten and the match was over within a mere moment. Scully let the woman go as soon as the whistle blew and she stretched out her hand to offer assistance. She smiled politely at the woman and Mulder could see a blush spread across her cheeks when everyone around her started applauding the quick take down. That was another one of his favorite things; seeing others appreciate Scully as much as he did.
A loud thud drew his attention back to the mat in front of him where there was a beefy homicide agent throwing around a younger guy. He was being unnecessarily rough and even the ref seemed put off, though he didn’t say anything. All the guys around cheered as he violently kicked the young man in the leg and hit his back before pinning him in a headlock. Mulder silently thanked the fact he didn’t have to fight a ‘roided out’ guy like him and let his attention wander around the room until it was his turn.
He was last in his line and, from how quickly the matches on the other mat went, he was likely going to be the last match. Most of the women filed out and left after their match was over, but he saw Scully sticking around against the wall, eyes flicking around the activity of the room before inevitably returning to him. He waved at her gently and smiled when she playfully returned it.
He was curious why she was staying. Was she here because she needed to talk to him after, or was she here because she wanted to watch him on the mat. He was embarrassed with himself for how much he hoped it was the latter. It struck him that this oddly reminded him of high school, when he’d be playing basketball and he’d try to slam dunks to impress the cute cheerleaders on the side.
He had to remind himself that this was Scully, his partner, and trying to impress her with displays of masculine agility and strength was probably not the best thing to do. Though, he knew he was going to try it anyway. She started smiling and he became embarrassed when he realized he’d been staring at her, but then she started pointing to his left.
“Sp-Mulder, are you coming?”
Mulder started and realized his partner was waiting for him on the mat. “Sorry,” he apologized, stepping up.
“Too busy checking out his little wifey,” the beefy homicide agent teased, making the surrounding group of men laugh.
He didn’t reward the comment with a response and just got into fighting stance. “Three, two, one!” the instructor called out before blowing the whistle. The finance guy went low and tried to pick Mulder up, presumably trying to replicate something he saw on WWE. Mulder rebuffed him by dropping low and using one of his legs to sweep the other guy off his feet.
As he did this, he saw the homicide agent was talking to Scully, leaning one palm against the wall as he invaded her personal space. Scully didn’t seem to be paying him any attention though as her eyes were still focused on Mulder’s match.
His attention probably should have been focused on his match too, because his opponent took his moment of weakness to pounce on him and knock him off balance. Mulder fell from the impact, but quickly regained his footing, grabbing the man’s wrists in one hand and pinning him down to the mat with his leg trapping the man underneath him. He was making sure to do it in a way that exuded pressure and not force while keeping a good distance between their bodies.
He struggled for a moment before giving up as the instructor counted down. As soon as it was over, Mulder helped the guy up and wished him a good game. However, unlike the other matches, the men all started to walk away, either distracted by something else or simply leaving since it was over.
“Good match you two. Now that everything's over, I have to go report these scores. Make sure to tell everyone they’re free to go,” the instructor said, taking off his whistle before heading out.
Mulder turned to thank his opponent for a good game, only to discover he too was gone. Curious, he made his way over to the group that was huddling, but he didn’t have a good vantage point. “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked the people around him.
“Brad challenged Mrs. Spooky to a match since she was the best woman,” one answered over his shoulder.
“What?” Mulder asked incredulously.
The man turned around and his cocky smile died on his face when he saw who he had been talking to. “Oh, uh, sorry Agent Mulder.”
Mulder paid him no mind as he elbowed his way to the front of the crowd, worry gnawing him away. There was something malicious about this and it put a bad taste in his mouth. He knew Scully could handle herself, but a strong surge of protectiveness coarsed through him. His anxiety didn’t subside when he could finally see them.
Brad was probably Mulder’s height, but with the build of a wrestler. He could probably make a brick wall flinch just by looking at it. Mulder felt uncomfortable just seeing him on the mat with Scully, who looked like a child standing next to this man. This wasn’t right. The gym wouldn’t have paired them together; she may be strong and nimble, but that didn’t really matter with such a significant size difference. The only rational thing he could think of was that he somehow antagonized Scully into accepting a challenge. Nothing about this boded well with him.
The countdown started and all the men surrounding the man started cheering when the whistle blew. Immediately Brad grabbed for her, but Scully was quicker, weaving away from his grasp so elegantly that it almost looked like a dance. Her avoidance took Brad by surprise and he stumbled, creating a laugh from the crowd.
Mulder didn’t need to have a background in profiling to know being laughed off just added fuel to the fire. Brad wheeled around and hit Scully in the side with a the back of his fist, causing her to fall in shock, though she didn’t scream. He wanted nothing more than to run onto the mat and wring his neck, but he knew Scully would be mad at him for intervening.
By nature, he felt compelled to throw himself into every situation. Being partnered with Scully had been a learning curve for him. When people said that the gender dynamics in opposite-sexed partnerships were tricky to navigate, there was a bit of truth in it. He didn’t find it difficult in the way they acted; like the woman was a liability or that the sexual attraction would be too much, though there was plenty of attraction on his behalf; but it was difficult because he wanted her to know he respected her and he wanted everyone else to do the same.
Sometimes he had to check himself over things he hadn’t given a second thought. Was he explaining something to her that she already knew? Was he being inconsiderate of her personal space? Occasionally they’d be doing something stressful and he’d see her get pale, or she’d get really quiet before reaching in her purse before grabbing a Midol. He worried that he was pushing her too hard when she was on her period and he should be more considerate. Then after he asked himself all these questions, he worried if that would be considered ‘treating her differently’ and he worried if that, in and of itself, was sexist. He didn’t want to make it sound like it was so hard dealing with her womanhood, he just wanted her to know how much he respected and valued that aspect of her.
All too often he had to watch her get dismissed because of her gender, and it infuriated him. Men talking to him as if she wasn’t there, men looking at him while she talked as if asking for silent confirmation she was worth listening to, or men who leered at her with poorly-disguised intentions. It took him awhile to realize what was happening, what this odd behavior was, but as soon as he did he was disgusted. Scully had told him time and time again that they couldn’t react poorly because it would just perpetuate the stereotype women were emotional or sensitive. This often meant he couldn’t react on her behalf when he wanted to.
Like now.
He saw the pain register on Scully’s face for a split second before she masked it. He bent down to lunge at her, but Scully was quicker. She did a sort of somersault in between his legs and pivoted on her butt so she could kick him in his, sending him falling to his knees. Scully took the opportunity immediately by throwing herself on his back, grabbing his arms to pin them behind him.
The crowd started cheering at her impressive moves and he felt another surge of pride well up in him. However, he simply was too strong for her to be able to hold his arms like that. He quickly shucked one free before sending his elbow back harshly. It landed squarely on her chest, clearly knocking the wind out of her. Everyone gasped with her at the absolutely illegal move. Hitting was frowned upon, but throwing elbows and knees was forbidden.
His fists clenched at his sides until he was afraid the skin might tear. The jovial nature of the room fell slightly and he saw some people catch sight of him before immediately leaving. Even they didn’t like where this was heading.
The man wheeled around and initially grabbed one bicep, his meaty hand completely engulfing her arm, while he slid the other hand in between her legs to grab her thigh. He lifted her up into the air with a triumphant smile and Mulder almost ran onto the mat, afraid he was going to toss her onto the ground. Scully, per usual, was one step ahead of him and kicked his ribs with her free leg, doing it with the meat of her thigh instead of her foot as to keep it clean.
Brad yelled in pain and dropped her, but she was able to land on her feet. The relief was short lived as he quickly recovered and used his full weight and both hands to shove her. A cry escaped her involuntarily as she fell onto her hands and knees. A self-satisfied smirk erupted on Brad’s face as he loomed over her, leaning down to grab her arms and pinning them to the mat while shoving his knee in the middle of her back.
It should have ended there.
The rule was, if a person was unable to move for ten seconds, the match should be called. It was clear there was no way for Scully to get her hand back, so he could just stand there and hold her arm while the timer counted down. He didn’t. Everything about this was already too rough for Mulder’s comfort, but then he really crossed the fucking line.
He slid his knee off her back and eased himself down, pinning her with his weight to the mat by simply laying on top of her, moving himself so one hand grabbed her wrist while the other held her shoulder. Mulder couldn’t see Scully at all since the man completely covered her.
But he could hear her. “Get the fuck off me!” He saw Brad’s body rock a few times and he knew Scully was fruitlessly trying to buck him off. Mulder knew she’d be pissed at him, but he’s never been able to control his temper as well as she could and he was furious.
He pushed aside the group of men gawking, stepping up the mat and grabbing the man roughly by the shoulder “She said get off,” he shouted with enough force it seemingly sucked all the other noise out of the room.
Everyone stood in stunned silence as Brad rolled away a little bit to see who was touching him. “Come on, Spooky. We’re just doing a training exercise.”
He barely heard what was said because all he could focus on was the small part of Scully’s frame that was revealed to him. Her hands were pressing against the mat with so much force that he could see the muscles in her forearm straining. He also could see the ugly red imprint of a hand on her bare shoulder where he’d been holding her down.
Mulder raised his foot, pressed it into his side, and pushed him with so much force, he rolled off of Scully and onto his back. Mulder couldn’t even rejoice in Scully’s freedom because the sight in front of him caused the rest of the world to stop and the blood to pound in his ears.
The man had a full-blown erection; he’d been getting turned on from attacking Scully.
Mulder saw red and he felt like his rage was in control of his body. He leaned down, grabbed a fistful of the man’s shirt and punched him so hard in the face that a sickening ‘crack’ resonated in the room. All went silent as Mulder attacked him, landing blow after blow wherever he could.
He didn’t know how long that lasted until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder followed by Scully screaming, “Mulder, stop!” His fist remained in the air as he turned to look at her. She looked scared and worried and he felt ashamed for putting that look on her face.
He shoved him back down and took a few steps away from him. “What the fuck man?” Brad spat, clutching his nose, which was pouring blood over the front of his shirt.
“That wasn’t a sparring match, that was a full blown assault!” Mulder screamed as several men rushed to help him up. From the looks he was getting now, he’d been wrong earlier. He wasn’t Sasquatch invading their domain, he was Godzilla ruining it.
“They were just having a little fun, come on,” one of Brad’s work partners defended.
“If that’s what you think a woman looks like when she’s having fun, I feel bad for your wife,” Mulder seethed.
It looked like there might be another fight until Scully jumped between them. “Just take him out,” she demanded. They regarded her with contempt before she added, “Now!” The room quickly cleared out, accompanied by a series of grumbles and snide remarks. Eventually, the metal doors closed, and they were left alone.
Guilt overwhelmed him and an apology started pouring out of him almost involuntarily, “Scully, I’m so sorry. I was-”
The look of shock on her face as she whirled around stopped him mid-sentence. “Mulder, why would you possibly be sorry. I don’t want to think how far that might have gone if you hadn’t intervened. What could have happened if you weren’t there.”
He’d been so worried that he’d insulted her pride by interrupting, that her confession brought on a new wave of guilt. Had she been waiting for him to step in earlier? Had she laid there on the ground with that guy’s dick grinding against her thinking that her partner was watching and enjoying it at her expense? “I should ha-,” he started, but she interrupted him like she hadn’t heard him in the first place.
“I just feel stupid. I was distracted, so I didn’t realize this guy played dirty,” she sighed.
“No, Scully. It’s not your-”
“It is though. I should have known what he was doing. He was egging me on, implying that it would be impossible for a woman to beat him, and I was just too blinded by my irritation and my desire to prove him wrong.” She sounded thoroughly pissed at herself and she raised a hand to fix her hair, but she stopped to wince.
His overwhelming need to apologize for his actions were superseded by his concern for her well being. “How bad did he hurt you?”
She blew out air in exasperation and shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think anything’s really hurt, I’m just sore.”
“May I?” he asked, pointing to her hair. Maybe he didn’t help her in time then, but the least he could do was fix her hair. He was relieved when she nodded, granting him permission.
He raised his hand up and grabbed her elastic band, tugging at it slowly so it came undone without catching or ripping any strands. Her eyes fluttered shut at his touch and he ran his fingers through her hair to get out the tangles. “I’m sorry. I-”
“Mulder, you don’t need to-”
“No, please let me explain.” He looked at her face for a response, but she just remained silent, allowing him to continue. He started gathering her hair up in his hands to redo her ponytail. His actions were a little clunky since he was two decades out of practice. The last time he had done this was for Samantha. “I feel guilty that I hadn’t stopped him sooner. I just didn’t want it to look like, or for you to think I was implying, that since you were a woman you needed a man to save you. I was scared you would think it was implying I didn’t think you could handle it, or that you don’t know your limits.”
He paused, trying to gauge a response, but she hadn’t moved. “It just-bothers me. And don’t take this the wrong way, I’ve seen you take down guys bigger than him with ease, but I didn’t like that he was using how tiny you are to assert dominance over you. With the mindset he was in, there was no chance for you to win fairly. And then when I saw he was-” Mulder trailed off, almost unable to voice the words.
“Getting off on my distress?” Scully finished, disgust evident in her tone.
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I just got overwhelmingly protective. I didn’t want you to be mad at me for being, as you put it, ‘territorial.’ Now I realize it might have looked to you like I was just sitting back and enjoying it like the others, and I-”
“No,” she asserted, turning around as soon as he wrapped the band taut one final time. “I would never lump you in with them.”
The conviction that was in her tone and written on her face gave him a sense of pride. Almost like if she believed he was a good man, then it must have been a fact. “Mulder, you’ve never treated me as weak or less than even when I was thinking it myself.” To him, she was impenetrable, a force of strength that blew him away. His heart hurt that she would ever think any less. “I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I trust you implicitly. Please never question that.”
He smiled at her words and gently pulled her into a hug, happy when he felt her return the embrace. He nuzzled his chin into the crown of her head before placing a kiss to her hair. She pressed her cheek into his chest and gave a little content sigh.
It was clear then, and it’d be clear for the next twenty-five years; it didn’t matter how many blows they would take, they’d always be there for each other.
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emperorsfoot · 5 years
Note
Also,what things did Sigil do? As in that were 'so not cool shit'. I never expected that from Sigil,he's very complexed. Though I still have love for him.
Its been almost 3 years, I think it’s safe to say I won’t be continuing that fic, so here’s all the spoilers:
First, let me preface all of this by saying that 3 years ago this all made sense in my head. Looking back on it now, it’s just utterly insane nonsense and is actually very out of place for the rest of the fic series. So, be prepared for absurdity.
I don’t know if you ever saw any of the character ref sheets @nozominoyami made for my OCs, but each one of them included a regular civilian clothes outfit, a proto-tech armor, and a Duelist outfit based off the Black Roses arc of Revolutionary Girl Utena. 
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Using the magic roses from Ledgerdomain, and the broken elevator in the building where Devlin and Kenny had their regular therapy appointments, Sigil was going to create scenarios where everyone got to work out their issues. Except, for some reason, the answer to everyone’s issues came out to be “I should kill Devlin” (once again, three years ago this made sense in my head, I have no idea what I was thinking now). 
So, Devlin is basically the Rose Bride in this arc. 
Kenny falls into the role of Utena and must duel all their friends to protect Devlin. 
Like in the Black Rose arc of Utena, after each duel, the opponent has no memory of ever being a duelist in the first place, but they still feel inexplicably better about themselves. ‘Cleansed’ in some way. So, while they might not be consciously aware of it, they have worked through their issues.
Sven was going to be the first duelist. He was introduced in this fic and had the least amount of character development. This was going to be a cheap and easy way to get the audience to know him. As you know, he is Emily’s son, so since their moms were best friends, Devlin used to hang out with Sven when they were younger. Gwen used to take Devlin for piano lessons at Emily’s house. Keep in mind, at this time, Devlin resembled Kevin’s original mutation from the Ben 10 OS, so he was a grotesque monster. But Sven thought Devlin was really cool and may or may not have developed a little crush on him. Sven may or may not be a monster fucker. (He holds onto this crush for a long time, it takes finding out that they’re cousins to finally squash the feels.) In the duel he confesses that he’s mad at Devlin for figuring out a way to turn himself human, and hates his pretty face, and wants to cut it off (he’s kinda a dark character). Sven feels like Devlin only stopped coming over and hanging out with him because he got pretty and no longer needed him.  
Dylan was gonna be the next duel. His issues were a lot. He had issues with his father, which -while having nothing to do with Devlin- did get stirred up every time Devlin would go on one of his ‘woe is me, my father is evil’ rants. Then he’s got issues with Phil Billings, his paternal uncle and the one who brought him in on the Rooters fiasco that turned Dylan into a Necroffriggian hybrid. But, mostly, he blames Devlin for everything else! He blames Devlin for their psychological being postponed. The delay prevents Dylan from transferring to the real Plumbers Academy at Galvan Prime, something that Dylan was counting on. Remember, he is in foster care and as soon as a child turns eighteen, the funding us cut off and their care runs out. Most foster parents will not keep a child they are no longer getting paid to care for. So, when Dylan turned eighteen, he suddenly found himself without a home and without a plan. His plan had been to be at the Academy, but because of Devlin that never happened. (There was also gonna be some race stuff. Dylan used to be a white boy with all the privilege that went with that, but now that he’s an alien people treat him differently.) Of everyone, Dylan Billings had the most legitimate grievances. 
After Dylan was going to be Minie Armstrong. She’s pretty straightforward. She wants to be taken seriously as a member of the team and not patronized like a child. Yes, she is a child, but so was Ben 10,000 when he started fighting aliens. If Ben could be taken seriously as a hero why can’t she? 
Finally, Ally was going to be the last of their friends that Kenny has to fight. Ally’s thing is that Devlin and Kenny have so many issues and are so wrapped up in their own issues that they fail to care or even notice that their other fiends have problems too. Ally is sick of being the ‘mom friend’ who has to take care of Devlin and Kenny when they’re all the same freaking age and the boys should be able to take care of themselves. She has her own things. Her dad, Alan Albright, dating Kai Green for one. Its weird. Ally likes Kai, to a point, but Kai is also Kenny’s mom and so that makes things weird. Ally does not want Kenny as a brother. Also, while she is happy her dad is dating again, and does legitimately want her dad to be happy, she also has mixed feelings about betraying her mother’s memory and such. Like, is it even okay to be happy? In the fics that have been posted thus far, I kinda glanced over how Ally’s mother died. I mentioned it was in an accident with farming equipment. What I didn’t mention was that Ally was involved. It was the first time her Pyronite powers manifested, her mother was there with her and was so shocked she backed up, tripped, and fell into a lathe. Ally hardcore blames herself. But also never talks about it because her friends are always too wrapped up in themselves. 
The whole ordeal is very traumatic for Kenny. While everyone else might wake up with no memory of the duels, he remembers everything and is shook. 
After all that, Kenny figures out that Sigil is behind all of this and they fight too. 
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sillyfudgemonkeys · 5 years
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Persona 5 Problems: Are the P5MC’s parents good/bad/abusive/grey?
Hoooo boy I dunno if this is happening anywhere besides the confessions blog (btw leave the mods alone, they are good people that have to deal with all of our salty butts) but...... I guess we need to talk about it. I should note this isn’t my own personal “Persona Problem” it’s more of a “Persona Fandom Problem” (which I haven’t done one yet, or at least published....still working on the FeMC one 8U but that’s off topic). 
So if you don’t know things have been getting heated in relation to if P5MC’s parents are good or bad/abusive or grey, and so on. Everyone raises good points tbh! Some.....not so good (on all sides) I should note I’m completely neutral tbh (I prefer a more grey backstory, but I can swing any which way with this interpretation tbh!), as long as the interpretation is well written (by which it addresses some of the grey ares the game left), be it positive or negative, I think it’s fine. So this isn’t someone who is....like....super biased to one side (not that anyone can be unbiased but concerning this topic I’m as close as I’ll ever be to it). 
Anyway what is the answer to this question? Well I have your answer guys! It’s open and to be left up to the interpretation to the player! :D DON’T GO-! ;w; I’ll explain myself under the cut, I figured you’d at least like to know my answer going in. Even if you don’t want to believe it, it’s very much the fact that it’s left up to interpretation due to the sole fact there’s not enough info to go on (even if we nitpick the living shit out of it we don’t know the parents’ motives). Anyway, I found there’s some key info people missed out on (blame Atlus for keeping that tidbit a bonus missable quiz show thing) and also looking into the real life JAPANESE juvenile law (just....cause I’m afraid people are trying to use their own country’s law and try to apply it to Japan, and this required some research, tho I feel like I still have more to learn this is what I could find 8U)
Last thing I should note, a lot of this might come off as “defense for good/neutral” parents, but there’s something you need to remember. WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM. Not their personal reasons or mindset as to why the MC was allowed to move to Tokyo. We don’t even know if they do or don’t call him because they are unimportant to the story. Everything is left up to the player’s interpretation, and regardless of what route you wanna take, it will require SOME explanation. Good/neutral parents, you’ll need to explain why they are absent or why they chose what the did during the course of the game, but you don’t really need to explain the MC’s choice to go back to them (cause in his mind they are good). Bad/abusive parents, you won’t need to explain their lack of presence during the game (cause it’s really easy ‘they’re just bad’ see? not a whole lotta thought needed), but you’ll run into some issues as to why the MC returning home is a good ending (so you’ll need to explain that). Grey parents, you have no choice but to explain things for legit everything they do/don’t do in the game. Regardless of what you subscribe to, you’ll need to explain something that isn’t explained in the game....and guess what? Regardless of your explanation....it’s not canon. Because the game itself doesn’t explain it. You can headcanon as much as you want, it’s encouraged, all of them are valid, but unless Atlus remakes the game where they give the parents actual personality/character, nothing will be canon. And that’s ok. You can explore a lot of different things thanks to this, it’s frustrating but you have to take the good with the bad. Now, why am I explaining stuff that is inconsiquential considering nothing is canon (and everything is permitted, ...no AC fans?...ok ;w;) regarding this? Well call me a devil’s advocate, but it also shows how someone can come up with a valid reason rather than ‘just cause.’ Ex: MC’s parents don’t give him any money, what’s their financial standing? Side A: They are well off and are just assholes who don’t want to help him. Side B: They aren’t well off, I have no reason just....because. Not the best comeback right? Well what if we changed Side B’s answer to: They aren’t well off, because he’s going to a private school in the city and that might be siphoning more of their money than they originally were doing before and thus might be struggling. Gives more weight to Side B no? Both interpretations are valid, because we don’t know the MC’s parent’s financial situations of course (please remember we know nothing as I bring up things people may have missed/overlooked/didn’t know), but Side B now doesn’t sound like it’s just saying stuff ‘just cause.’ 
Anyway, all that preface out of the way, actual analysis under the cut: 
So.....let’s start off with analyzing what we do know about the game! P5MC’s court case went by faster than an episode of Law and Order (very unusual, I think even mentioned by the game, so some of the “hmm but couldn’t they have done had the MC be in a different school in his hometown under probation” is just game going to game so we won’t worry about that too much, his sentence was to Tokyo so that’s what we are going with! tho tbh the game does kinda handwave a little explanation as to why he’s in Tokyo, Principal literally says they are the only one who would take him....and well rather that’s realistic or not game gonna game so yeah moving on 8U) 
We know the MC’s parents sent him to Sojiro. We know Sojiro is a probation officer (something I noticed people seem to forget in the confessions). MC was sentenced to live in Tokyo via the courts orders, the parent’s agreed, and the parents made arrangements to stay with Sojiro due to a connection with a shared friend of their’s (also probably cause he’s also a gd probation officer but that’s not stated as a reason, just want to make sure you are aware Sojiro is a probation officer). MC is accepted to the only school (in Tokyo, or maybe the country not specified) that will take him, and will presumably be able to integrated in the school due to no one knowing about his criminal record (aka he gets a clean slate). During this time Sojiro state’s to briefing the player on the MC’s situation "*laughs (I think only in the JP ver)* In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass" (there’s a few things about this line I can mean a lot of things and I’ll get into it later). He says if MC causes any trouble he’ll throw him out......And then later saying if he problems he’ll be sent to juvie (wait....so doesn’t that mean he’ll just send him to Juvie? Not on the street? Sojiro you make no sense....just gonna bring it up here, ‘throw you out’ seems more in line with Sojiro being ‘tough love’ than actually threatening while the juvie is a legit warning to the MC, only way I can reconcile why he’s saying that, esp since he’s a lot more serious voice acting wise when talking about juvie and the two times he uses ‘throw out’ in the first two days he’s a lot lighter/flabbergasted/not as serious sounding, just a thing to note). The next day the principal states that if he’s kicked out, he’d have nowhere to go. Sojiro also states the reason he took the MC in was for money (as well as being asked and accepting, but keep in mind with the money, he kind of slides that in at a last second, this is key). 
So yeah it seems that the parents might have had to dump him there and might not be happy with him......Key words: “might” and “it seems.”
Here’s a few things the game.....doesn’t make clear, Sojiro’s attitude during this time as well as some key info you’d miss unless you’d look into it.
Let’s start with Sojiro’s attitude, he’s def taking the “tough love” approach to the MC (I think a lot of people can agree he’s being a hardass cause that’s what he thinks the MC needs right now...dunno why but yeah), and he’s also lying to the MC on at least one thing. Wait what? Lying? About what? The money. Surprised? I know this info isn’t mandatory in the story, it’s easily missable! Anyway, it’s very likely Sojiro isn’t getting paid (and this can both hurt and support the parents so don’t think this is an execution for the parents), and so he just lied to the MC. If you don’t believe me, here’s the game stating that probation officers (and with Mona’s commentary, including Sojiro) don’t get paid.  So....why lie? Well again he’s taking the tough love approach, and he’s def faltering on the 2nd day, and the way he stumbles to answer the MC and adding the money at the end might show him trying to keep up with the tough love act by showing he’s only in it for the money even if he isn’t (and thus lying). He could also be lying about the pain in the ass thing too, either cause he’s already lying about one thing so what’s stopping him from lying about another thing, or the fact that that in the original Japanese, he laughs when he says the MC was kicked out for being a pain in the ass (as well as his portrait changing to the smiling one)....meaning he’s either lying or just joking (not the best time to make a joke like that Sojiro 8U). All that being said, his words do not imply the parents said that, it could be all Sojiro. So saying “he got it from the parents” isn’t supported, not saying it’s false or you can headcanon it, but the text does not support the parents said that to Sojiro. So you can’t outright claim that as fact. I’m not saying the parents didn’t say it, but there’s nothing proving that they did nor didn’t.
“Ok but why dump the MC with Sojiro? He’s just some rando right? A STRANGER! THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM HE COULD BE A SERIAL KILLER-!” Ok let’s take a breath guys, yes Sojiro is only a friend of a friend but.....keep in mind....he’s a probation officer (hogoshi/保護司 specifically, ref original dialogue in this jp walkthrough/guide here) He’s not just “some rando” it’s his (volunteer) job (nonetheless it’s still a job) to look after kids like the MC. And not just any old job, the dude has to go through training for 2 years on top of having to take a test that’s looked over by the Japanese Supreme court it’s not something just ANYONE can be (source, pg 8, but also the wikipedia pages have shown this as well) Like 1) he’s qualified to take care of him, 2) MC needs an officer (or at least he’s getting one whether he wants one or not) tbh it’s kind of the thing I’ve found by via reading, 3) it really helps that he’s a friend of a friend that can vouch for him AND he’s an officer. There’s really nothing wrong sending the MC to Sojiro if he’s destined to go to Tokyo, Sojiro is literally better than sending him to a legit “some rando.” (I should note, while I can’t find the exact website that stated it, this one does also mention that there aren’t really enough probation officers atm, I dunno just something I came across so like that fact could’ve also played a role in the MC moving in with Sojiro due to not having a closer officer nearby but I dunno) (edit: also remember when I brought up the tough love thing in regards to throwing the MC out up top? I stated that because throwing him out would be.....well.....against his job, and unless he’s throwing him out to sending him to juvie, it would be....kind of unethical on his part to throw the MC out on the street and counterintuitive to rehabilitation that Japan really emphasizes).
But why send him to Tokyo? Well remember the court ruled it, I guess the ruling said “go to Tokyo” (probably cause there was a school and a probation officer that would make that possible). Sure his parents agreed, but can you really say no to a ruling? I guess you can, but let’s look at what they were probably facing. The courts probably ruled that they send him to Tokyo or to Juvie. Tokyo is def the better option (at least he’s not in basically jail, and Japanese juvie isn’t something to laugh at) so I can see why they’d say yes (Tokyo means he gets schooling and a clean slate and not in jail, and juvie means he’s in kid jail and....hooo boy not good and can screw him for a number of reasons). Or they could’ve appealed to the court instead.....except that Japan isn’t really.....all that great when it comes to appealing stuff, there’s also the fact the only school “nearby” that would/could take him was Syujin. As again, stated by the Principal that he’d have nowhere to go if kicked out of Syujin:
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And considering how long the appeal process would be (like years), on top of the fact it would probably be fruitless due to how Japan is with this type of stuff (guilty until proven innocent), MC would miss out on an education. Which would be VERY BAD. So the parents probably were like, “Ok, clean slate in Tokyo, still gets to go to school and get an education, guardian seems good, and it’s only for one year.” It should be noted this was all done in a short amount of time (even mentioned in that very scene with the principal if you wanna cross reference). Regardless if they like their son or not at this point, this reasoning makes sense. They made lemons out of lemonade.
“Ok but why didn’t they contact him?” What makes you say that? It could happen off screen. “But that’s just such a bs explanation.” Yeah but they aren’t exactly super important to the story, no one really complained about the P4 MC’s parents doing that (I mean he has similar hc about neglectful parents, but not everyone subscribes to that), so does it matter? But....consider this, what if they COULDN’T call/contact him? By which I mean they legally couldn’t. This thought crossed my mind when reading about probation officers in the beginning pages of this pdf file. While it seems the probation officers will be in contact during an investigation period for a trial, we know the MC’s trial was very unique so they might’ve skipped/fast forward through it. But one of the things they do is investigate the home life situation. So consider this, what if the parents....were deemed the reason the MC got into that situation. I’m not saying they are violent, but maybe the MC got his mentality from his parents (aka, save the weak, or maybe a parent was an activist or an ex-delinquent but was a great parent) and the courts deemed that could’ve been why he got into trouble. Because from my research, Japan is about rehabilitating the youth/criminals. They want to find the source, and change it. If the courts decided he needed to get far from home and have limited contact with his family, that could be why. Not saying it is what happened, not saying it isn’t what happened. Not saying they didn’t call him, not saying they did call him. Again, this is grey area and open for interpretation. This is something that COULD happen irl, but I’m not saying it did happen in P5 (it could, you can headcanon it, there’s open room for it, but it’s a headcanon, not actual canon, and there’s not really anything that could....well.....oppose it but there’s nothing that outright supports it..... Again this thing is all grey and open 8U)
There is something else that had me wondering about something not explained in the game. It’s about the type of school the MC was going to.....and how much it costs. Because, in Japan you need to pay tuition to go to school! This is something I know from just....consuming media, it comes up, and after researching that’s kind of the norm. Why bring this up? Well...it’s because I want to explore the possibility of the MC’s financial situation (which, money is a whole freaking mess in P5, but one thing at a time). Anyway first we need to know what school the MC is going to. The Megaten Wiki (always take with a grain of salt keep in mind) states that it’s an “elite prep school.” Ok, well does that mean it’s a private school? Yes actually! It’s not going to outright say it in the speech bubble but the game does have a banner saying it:
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Hidden but I found it gosh darn it! >:D As you can see, I was also researching what the tuition differences between public and private are....and well...it’s pretty big. There’s a few articles (here’s just one, mentions how lower income people can still attend, aka Ryuji and his Single mom....btw single moms are probably one of the poorest groups in Japan, also here’s another source) but it can double to quadruple depending on where you go. So if you want to go the “why aren’t they giving the MC more money” this might be why, because they are paying for the MC’s education. And/or maybe they are just paying Sojiro directly (we dunno if he’s telling the truth about that or not). Or MAYBE the parents aren’t exactly well off and are just trying their best. (of course maybe they just don’t give a shit and are footing the whole bill onto Sojiro, again we don’t know, there’s not enough info given about them or the financial situation, so....it shouldn’t be debated 8U).
“Ok but why aren’t they feeding the MC/taking care of him?” Why them? Right now it’s not their job, it’s Sojiro’s. It annoys me that no one blames Sojiro even tho THAT’S HIS JOB right now. “Sending only a small box of his stuff?” Can explain it as basic necessities, Japan tends to have small living spaces regardless so it could be just what the MC needs. “But can you argue that?” Yeah you can, but you can also argue that it’s not enough....but it’ll get us nowhere because there’s not enough info (which is pretty much this whole issue but yet here we are). (btw this is connected to another issue with how Persona, but specifically P5, handle money in the main story....which is poorly, esp since they are thieves and are earning money just.....sigh....that’s a separate issue but throwing that out there). Basically, anything aimed at the MC’s shitty living situation or poor health while in Tokyo can easily be pointed at Sojiro, because he is neglecting his duties to take care of the MC while he is in his ward. It’s not 100% the parents fault for not knowing Sojiro isn’t as great as they thought (it’s like thinking blaming them for sending MC to Kamo’s school, they didn’t know Kamo was a shit bag, maybe they didn’t even know who Kamo was or that he’s at the MC’s school, you can’t blame people who go info that this person is great and then they turn out that they aren’t behind closed doors). THAT BEING SAID, I’m not saying Sojiro is a shitbag or bad (if he is doing a bad job, it’s not the parents’ fault for like....believing the guy will do his job, it’s like expecting someone not to trust a doctor to do his job, but yeah I just want to specify when I said above “not their fault for not know Sojiro is doing a bad job” is for argument’s sake I don’t think Sojiro is), but if we ARE going to complain about the MC’s living situation....well....he’s the one to point fingers at. And are we going to complain that Sojiro doesn’t feed him? Actually I see that’s probably the next natural step as the next discourse, “He feeds the MC breakfast so we can assume he feeds him every day!” “Well Mona states the MC doesn’t eat well enough, so maybe Sojiro isn’t really doing that!” I personally think Sojiro feeds him, the game is just dumb with out it handles money and that’s a different argument for later, also please don’t make this the next discourse. 8U
So what have we learned from this? That the situation isn’t completely black and white, and that there’s not enough info from the parents to go on to be able to characterize them.
Basically you can have abusive/neglectful parents who are making Sojiro pay for everything and basically wanted to get rid of their kid ASAP. And only take him back because it’s proven he was innocent (I mean.....the game is a little weird and he basically got out by turning himself in as the leader as the PT but sure whatever game). 
Or you can have parents who are trying their best in a shitty situation (choosing the best option for him, while possibly being forbidden to contact him via the court), paying for his school (which either hurts them cause they are poor, or just because there’s just because school is so expensive) and assuming Sojiro is doing his job taking care of their kid. 
Either’s fine, as long as the grey area is explained it’s fine.
“But what about the roadtrip?!” Oh for the love of. Ok 1) Sojiro might’ve informed his parents (depends on if he was lying about not knowing where Futaba/Mona were at the beginning), 2) It’s probably not a roadtrip but a detour which isn’t a shocking thing by any account (reasons being a) Futaba didn’t tell Sojiro where she was going so she’d need to return at some point that day or else HE’LL be worried and are you going to argue Sojiro doesn’t care about Futaba too?, b) no one seems to be packed for anything longer than a day away from home), 3) and/or they could’ve texted them that he was going to be home a little late. 
Like train is def faster than car in Japan, but like......stopping to look at the ocean (or just drive by, or just taking the MC the long way home to spend a little more time with him).  It’s not anything scary, he’s getting to his destination. “But Ryuji said he wasn’t taking him straight home!” doesn’t mean it’s a roadtrip. Like calm down y’all. 
Also one last note, cause I feel like some people might bring it up, the anime, mangas, drama cds (at least P5′s atm), and anthologies aren’t outright canon, by canon I mean “the game is the main canon, everything else is just an outside interpretation.” In case people want to bring up P5′s one anthology chapter (that Saito made btw) where P5MC hints that the adults in his life didn’t believe him, or the P4 manga which actually goes into Souji’s backstory. Yeah those aren’t canon to the games. So don’t go using it as facts to back up your argument. Just....a warning. 
So yeah, tldr; everything is grey, it’s up to you! Don’t go around claiming your headcanon as canon, but your headcanon is valid! Also do go around shitting on other’s for having a different headcanon (esp if they aren’t going around claiming it as canon). And btw not saying I’m fool proof, if you guys have researched JJL and find something new that I missed, or just another side of the argument I didn’t address you can point it out and I’ll add it below this point! 
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notebooknebula · 3 years
Video
youtube
Top 3 Aha Moments in Real Estate with Jay Conner & Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
https://www.jayconner.com/top-3-aha-moments-in-real-estate-with-jay-conner-chaffee-thanh-nguyen/
Real Estate Investing With Jay Conner
Jay Conner was joined by his good friend Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen. They talked about some of the “Aha! Moments” in the real estate business.
In addition, they also conversed about “Private Money”. What is Private Money? How and where you can get private money to fund your deals.
All these and more in this episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen is an International Speaker, #1 Best Selling Author, and Business and Success Coach.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
After college, he worked in Corporate America for over 11 years as an Engineer and Senior IT Business Analyst.
He was a Certified Project Management Professional with the internationally recognized Project Management Institute for 6 years.
Using his corporate experience, he went on to start multiple businesses starting in 2002, including Real Estate Investing where he has invested in multiple states across the nation.
His passion, helping others achieve their highest potential in both business and in life.
As a refugee himself, Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen is committed to helping others and giving back. He is very active within his community serving within the Jaycees as a 10th Degree Jaycee, US Jaycee Senator #70583, and a JCI Certified National Trainer.
Timestamps:
0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money
0:39 – Today’s guest: Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
1:34 – Jay’s New Book: “Where To Get The Money Now” –https://www.JayConner.com/Book
2:13 – Chaffee, one of the editors of Jay’s new book talks about why you need to get this book now!
3:19 – Aha! Moments in Real Estate – Private Money Academy Conference
4:43 – Who is Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen?
8:42 – 1st Aha! Moment: Substituting the collateral allows the lender to continue earning interest on a loan for a longer period of time, should the original property sell in less than 6 months.
10:19 – What is Private Money? Who is a Private Lender?
15:43 – 2nd Aha! Moment: Sellers do not know what they will accept until you make the offer.
23:10 – How can you buy a property using Subject-to existing note strategy?
26:04 – Final Aha moment for today: You can make big money in the real estate business in a very small market.
31:49 – Chaffee’s parting comments: Go out there, do not be afraid to make offers!
Private Money Academy Conference:
https://jaysliveevent.com/live/?oprid=&ref=42135
Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book
Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast
Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.
What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference
https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner
iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/private-money-academy-real-estate-investing-jay-conner/id1377723034
Listen to our Podcast:
https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11201/top-3-aha-moments-in-real-estate-with-jay-conner-chaffee-thanh-nguyen
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Top 3 Aha Moments in Real Estate with Jay Conner & Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
Jay Conner
00:03:06
Well, Chaffee, you’re the one that came up with the idea for the show today, and that is we can talk about the live event a little bit and we had 74, what we call “A-ha moments.” So, tell everybody what “A-ha moment” is at the live event, Chaffee.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:03:34
So, first of all, let me say that this was one of the best live events that we had a long time in forever. And so to have everyone there, it was a full crowd, full room. Everyone was up in mixing and mingling and having the time and most importantly learning what to do in their business, following Jay’s processes and systems. And as you can see, it’s multiple pages before an “A-ha moment,” which is a moment where Jay talks and trains and teaches about what to do and how to do it.
And the little light bulb comes on and it’s like, “A-ha! I’ve got it! It makes sense!”  
Jay Conner
00:04:14
And the attendees are writing these down and they’re turning them in. So we give away prizes and such as well for people to share their A-ha moments. We don’t have near the time to review all 74 of them, but review just a few of the comments that the live event attendees wrote down and turned in as light bulb moments, from learning at the event. But, Chaffee, lets you take a moment and tell folks about your background and how it is we work together.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:04:47
Sure. So when I was growing up, I was told you gotta go to school, get good grades and get a good job or J-O-B as we call it, right? And so that’s what it is. I did. I went to school, I got great grades.
I’m Asian, of course. So I get straight A’s and good stuff.  
Jay Conner
00:05:06
You’re really good at math, right?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:05:07
That’s right. I was good at Math. So like a lot of Asians during my time, we were either doctors or engineers and I became an engineer, went to college, got big grades again and got a job as an engineer. So I’m working as an engineer in the corporate world at a multi-billion dollar company. And it was always nagging at me, Jay, that I needed to do more. I needed to do something else because I wasn’t made to be an engineer. I was made to do a lot more than go to a job, 8:00 in the morning and come home at 8:00 at night, 10, 12 hours a day working for somebody else, doing something that I might be good at, only I don’t really enjoy, or I don’t have really have a passion about. So during that time I decided to start something on the side and that was my real estate business. Started investing in 2002 and lost a ton of money on my first deal day.
Jay Conner
00:06:09
Uh-oh. There’s one big lesson right there.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:06:09
That’s a book that I need to write, right? Of what not to do. And one thing that I didn’t have, just to share with everybody, one thing that I did now was a coach or a mentor to call up and say, “What’s going on? What am I doing wrong? Or what am I not doing? What should I be doing that I’m not doing?” And that’s really what got me in trouble, Jay, was really some of the things that I should have done that I wasn’t doing. So it wasn’t necessarily that I was doing something wrong. It was, I was missing some steps. I’m missing some things that I should’ve been doing. And so I lost a ton of money in that first deal. Learned, I went through the school of hard knocks and, and you know, lost a ton of money.
And then I got smart and I said, I need help. And so I got a mentor, I got a coach and started doing some more deals. And then I realized how powerful a coach and a mentor can be for somebody’s business and success. And that led me to personal development, which led me to fall in love with coaching. And so I started transitioning from real estate into coaching. And then while I was coaching at a real estate event, I met this guy right here, Mr. Jay Conner. And it was like a spark right away. It was like, I like this guy. He would resonate. And I like what he’s doing. And at that time you were just starting your Where To Get The Money Now course. And you’re like, I’m going to be a speaker and a trainer.
I’m like, “Me, too. I’m doing the same thing, I’m a speaker and a trainer, too.”
And so we’ve gotten in touch over the years. And then, Jay, you started blowing up. I mean, you started teaching and training a whole ton of people. And along the way, he said, “Hey, Chafee, come join the party.” And I was just like, “I’m there.” Like, where am I at? And let’s join the party and-
Jay Conner
00:07:55
You’ve probably been coming to all of our live events. It’s probably been 7 years or more, 7, 8 years, something like that. But yeah, Chaffee helps me run my mastermind group, as well. So, wow! Mastermind group is starting to blow up big time. Because we had 22 of us in the room, thereabouts, 20, 22 of us in the room, the week before last at the mastermind. And we almost doubled that now, but yeah, Chaffee’s a very, very important part of my team when it comes to working with our students and et cetera.
So anyway, as I mentioned, we just have gone through these A-ha moments. So let’s just go back and forth, Chaffee. This first one here. So I’m gonna read the A-ha moment, but then I’m gonna ask you to expand or to really talk about what it means in a very easy, simple to understand way. So George at the live event wrote down, his A-ha moment was, “Substituting the collateral while I was a lender to continue earning interest on a loan for a longer period of time, should the original property sell in less than six months.” So,how about unpacking that. First of all, a good place to start is, make sure everybody knows what we mean when we say, “collateral.” What’s collateral?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:09:24
So collateral is what you get in place of the money that you’re lending.
And in our case, Jay, or your case, the collateral is the property. And so they get the property. If something happens and you’re unable to make that payment back to them, then they can go and get the property. And a lot of times they’ll end up with a lot more money when they get the property because you’re only buying those properties that are certain after-repair value, 75% of the ARV, as we say. And so they’re better off getting a property only, obviously you’ve always paid everybody back. And so they’ve never had to use that collateral.
Jay Conner
00:10:10
Yeah, these A-ha moments. So the name of the event that we just said is called The Private Money Academy Conference. So the emphasis of the event is on how to quickly and easily get a lot of private money. So let’s be clear, first of all, Chaffee, and make sure everybody understands what we mean by “private money.” What are we not talking about and who is a private lender or what is a private lender?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:10:37
So just to be clear, private money typically comes from somebody that doesn’t really do real estate. They don’t want to get involved in real estate. They’re busy or they have other things that they want to do in their life. And they want a greater return on their money. Sometimes people confuse private lenders with hard money lenders and these are professional money lenders. And so they charge points and they charge high interest rates. And that’s what most people are familiar with. That’s what most people use, are hard money lenders. They’re not banks, they’re not institutions. They’re just people. Most of these people are retired or they’re professionals with high incomes and they have money sitting in a bank or in a retirement account, earning them less than 1% typically. And they’re looking to earn a lot more.
Jay Conner
00:11:33
So private lenders are human beings, right? As Chaffee just said, you’re not borrowing money from any kind of bank or mortgage company or broker of money. These are individuals. In fact, Carol Joy and I right now have 47 individuals that are loaning us money, investing with us to do deals. We pay them a higher rate of return, safe and secure, but nowhere near a hard money lender’s rates. One thing that’s very different about this world of private money is we make the rules as the real estate investor. We set the program, like resetting the interest rate. We determine how long the notes are. In Kentucky, they call it a 360. It’s actually a 180. So it’s the opposite direction of how it works when you’re borrowing money from a bank. When I was borrowing money from the banks up until 2009, my first 6 years, that’s where I thought, that’s what you had to do.
You had to go to the bank and borrow the money to fund your deals. Well, 2003 to 2009, that’s what I did. But since that time, and then this world of private money, we have created our own program. And like we said, the interest rate, how much interest rate would you pay, the frequency of payments, and et cetera. So back to this coming here on this A-ha moment, George says substituting collateral allows the lender to continue earning interest. So what I taught in the section was that when you have borrowed money for your real estate deal, and it sounded like I borrow a lot of what we call “seconds” or junior lien position, smaller amounts of private money, not a lot of money that I used to buy a house, but for rehab and say, for example, so I may have like a $30,000 note that I’ve borrowed to rehab a house.
Now let’s say I sell that house and the note has not expired. So if I have another property, another collate piece of collateral that I have, then I keep that note open so that the lender can keep earning their interest. And I don’t have to pay off that $30,000 note, in this example, I can just substitute or change the collateral that’s backing that note. Does that make sense, Chaffee?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:14:07
Yeah. What you’re saying is that you don’t have to pay back that private lender and pay them on the interest because you still have time left on that note. So instead of them only getting interest on four months of payments because you sold the property within 4 months, you know, it’s a 12-month note, you got eight months left. You just take that and put it on another property and they continue to get paid on those 8 months.
Something that goes along with that is a lot of times when I have a new private lender that is doing business with us, if I cash out, I’m going to pay them off or whatever. One of the first things they say is, “Well, Jay, can’t you just keep the money? I don’t want the money back.” And the answer is, you got to either substitute- If you’re doing the business my way cause we can’t borrow any unsecured money. It’s all backed by real estate. Can I do that legally? Sure. But I want to protect and give the security to the private lenders. So they’ll ask, “Well, can’t you just keep the money, Jay?” And the answer is I can, if I’ve got another property that I can collateralize that note. And the worst, I can’t, I’m just not going to keep the money.
If you pay off and you’re also shooting the collateral, then the real estate attorney can’t keep it in their escrow account, what we call “unassigned” and I mean that they’re not a savings account, right? So either got to pay them back or settle through the collateral. We gotta do our next one, Chaffee. What we’ve got here on the sheet?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:15:42
I like this one that Felicia had which is, “Sellers do not know what they will accept until you make the offer.”
Jay Conner
00:15:55
Yes. That’s always an A-ha moment. So the A-ha moment is that sellers do not know what they will accept until you make an offer. But now I’ve heard you say this a hundred times, Chaffee, “I’ve never bought a house that I didn’t make an offer on.” Right? So the reason this is such an important point is I just know from experience, it happens all the time and Carol Joy and I, and my team, we do 2 to 3 deals a month, right?
Not a lot of deals, but 420 rehabs since we started this back in 2003. What I’ve learned over all these years is that regardless of what the seller says is the least they will accept. Now, this is particularly if they’re talking to someone else on your team, like the acquisitions. So I have a full-time acquisitionist that does the initial negotiating with the sellers. So regardless of what they tell Kim, our acquisitionist, then I’ll run the numbers. I may not be able to offer that amount of money that he said was the least they would take. So a lot of times I’ll get back to Kim and I’ll offer much, much less. For example, we’ve got a house over in Beaufort right now, that lead came in from one of our bird dogs, a.k.a. Field Agent, a.k.a. Ant Farmer. Anyway, they sent me a picture of this FSBO sign.
And we got up into the seller, Chaffee, and the seller told Kim, in fact it was an inherited property, told him they weren’t going to take one penny less than $300,000. We ran the numbers. I couldn’t offer $300,000 to make it work. The most I could offer was 250,000. So I went back to Kim. I said, “Give them the offer,” and I’m just not offering 250,000, it’s how this offer is framed and presented. I said, “All cash,” i.e. private money, private in there to buy it. And then I could close in 7 days. I knew the house was vacant. I knew it was imperative. There’s no emotional attachment to this property. And these 2 sisters just want to cash out. And so I said, “We close in 7 days, all cash. Don’t have to go get approved for a mortgage or get approved for a loan.”
And that was $50,000 less than just what they said, the least they’d take is 300, and Chaffee, they accepted it. Boom, no conversation. They accepted it, $50,000 less. So as is written down here. They really don’t know. I think they may have really thought that in their head, they may not have been playing any games, but when you’ve got an all-cash offer offered to you and you can have all that cash in 7 days. I mean, that will affect the way you think. Right, Chaffee?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:18:57
Absolutely. I mean that’s a $50,000 lesson right there, right?
Jay Conner
00:19:00
Exactly. Exactly. So the takeaway from that for me is, if you want the property, make the offer, period.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:19:12
Let me add why I think that’s also very important is that before you even get to the conversation with the seller, Jay, a lot of students that I’ve talked to that have trouble or challenges finding deals always tell me, like I asked him, “How many offers did you make?”
And they’ll say like, “2 or 3.” I go, “Why haven’t you made more offers?” And they’ll say, “Well, the numbers don’t make sense.” And so that’s a wall for them, right? That’s a mental wall that says they look at the numbers from the MLS or the lead sheet or wherever they got that lead from and say, well, you know, it just doesn’t make sense. Like, they want more, it doesn’t meet the MAO, the maximum allowable offer, or it’s above that. So it’s not a lead, let me just throw it away. And regardless of what the numbers say, if you just make the offer, according to what your numbers should be, you’ll be surprised at how many people come back and counter the offer or start that negotiation process. Or as you said, Jay, just take it because they want out.
Jay Conner
00:20:17
Exactly, and there’s an art to making the offer as well.
So we’re going to make the offer, but we’re also going to justify the offer. Many times we will share my formula that I use with the seller. Now I say, the math is what makes the decision and what we can do. And we just get the white elephant out of the conversation, like right up front. In fact, the sellers that I was visiting with this past Friday, I sat down with them for two hours, I still make offers myself. I enjoy visiting people. So I’m sitting down with these people. And so I knew what their number was and we were $30,000 off. And so I had already gone through the house and looked at the repairs that they needed and etc.
And I told them right up front and I said, “Look, I think we’re going to have to work something out,” but I’ll tell you it doesn’t work out all the time. We call that the ‘takeaway,’ right? But I just get the white elephant out of the way by saying, you know what, unless this is a win for you and a win for her husband that was sitting there as well. And this is a win for both of you and a win for me then I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t want to be involved in any transaction where everybody is not winning. And for everybody to win, all of us have got to give a little bit, too, for that to happen for a long time. So I justified the offer by actually sharing the formula and the math.  
I don’t want to come across as though I am just like pulling some figure out of thin air and just trying to make an extra $30,000 and be some greedy real estate investor. There’s an actual formula to where this comes from and I actually gave him a choice. And one I’m gonna bring up now is not on the A-ha moments, but we talked about it at lunch and that is, I gave them multiple offers. I gave them a choice. And quite frankly, I was happy with whatever choice they took, I said, “Look, I can buy this property.” Of course they never heard of the subject to the existing note, nobody’s ever heard of it. So you gotta like, dumb that conversation down, but I said I can pay you all cash, or I can give you $10,000 more if I buy it from you with what we call,
“subject to the existing note,” or “subject to,” as most real estate investors. And they immediately took the 10,000 more. That’s what they had in their- at least these people were current. I mean, they got fantastic credit. So just to make sure everybody understands, Chaffee, tell our audience and listeners and viewers here, what do we mean by buying a property, subject to the existing note?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:23:21
So when we say “buy, subject to the existing note,” which is not something that you would actually say to the seller. You’re not going to say I’m going to buy your property subject to the existing note because that’s right over their head, right? So basically they have a mortgage on that property with the bank or with a credit union or some institution. And all you’re going to do is you’re going to make their payments for them.
So they’re not getting rid of that loan, instead, you’re just gonna pay those payments as they come on a monthly basis and they’re going to transfer the title of the property to you. So you’re going to own the property and make payments as if it was your loan, except the loan stays in their name. So that’s the only thing. You’re making their payments and you’re taking over the property and they can go on their happy way and live their life. So they don’t have to worry about those monthly payments anymore. And oftentimes Jay, with “subject to,” with the strategy that you use, if somebody is behind on payments, you’re actually helping them fix their credit because you’re making those on-time monthly payments. Now, in this case, they were on time. So you don’t have to do that. And as long as you continue to make those payments for them, that’s still helping their credit build up because that’s a loan on their property being paid on time
Jay Conner
00:24:38
Yeah. So they are actually getting in this transaction that I’m talking about, they are actually getting about $34,000 more than their payoff. So I’m buying it to the existing note, making the payments on that outstanding balance until I find a buyer and cash out. So the difference that I’m paying them, I explained to them, you’re getting the same amount of money in your pocket. Whether I pay all cash and pay off your mortgage, or if I buy it, this is what I call Option B and explained to them how “subject to” works. You’re still getting the same amount of money in your pocket. It’s just a matter of whether I’m going to be paying off your mortgage right now. And so what else am I going to do on this deal? I’m buying it, set it into the existing note, and then I’m going to borrow private money in a second position or a junior position, and use that little bit of private money to go ahead and give them their cash when we close on it.
One A-ha moment that I’ve read on here is they just made a statement that they heard me say to a lot of them all the time. And that is you can make really big money in this business in a very, very small market. So what’s the population of where you and your family live up in the Chicago area?
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:26:21
There’s about 8 million people in the city and the surrounding areas.
Jay Conner
00:26:26
Yeah. So he’s at 8 million. So me and Carol Joy are here in 40,000, so we did 2 to 3 deals a month, even when it’s become more challenging now to find deals in the market that we’re in.
But as I said, we do 2 to 3 a month, and we’re still averaging all this $70,000 profit per deal. Well, let’s fill up under contract that I’ve been telling everybody about. The after-repair value is right around 300,000 and I can put maybe $5,000 in this house. It’s already been totally rehabbed. There’s a little bit left upstairs. Well, here’s the math, I’m buying it for 160,000. It’s worth right at 300. And all I got to put in is about $5,000. So I didn’t have to take that to the committee to get the approval on that one.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:27:35
Let me just repeat that so everyone listening understands, Jay, is that these individuals are current on their payments and the house is worth about 300 after repair. And they’re willing to sell it to you for 160 and they’re allowing you to take over their payments.
And is that a real deal, Jay? Do those kinds of deals exist?
Jay Conner
00:27:59
Well, I’ll be able to show you the contract. I’d be able to show you the deed this coming Monday. But this is not an out of ordinary deal by any imagination. One question someone may be thinking right now is, well, why would somebody trust me to make their payments and give up all that equity? Couldn’t they put the house in the multiple listing service? They could, even though it still needs some repair upstairs. But I always ask people, “How did you know where to find us?” And we did marketing consistently everyday. We do Facebook ads. We do Google ads. We do direct mail to people that are behind and in foreclosure, et cetera. So I asked this lady, I said, “How did you find me?”
She says, “We’ve been living here for 28 years and we know what you do.” I mean, if you live around here, you’re going to see my face and you’re going to see my marketing on Facebook. And so she’s “All I did was I just went to Google and I Googled ‘Jay buys houses.’ ” There it was. But back to the question, why would someone be willing to do what we’re doing? Well, people do things for their own reasons. Sometimes you’re not even actually sure, but since I sat down with these people for two hours, I know why. The husband is not in good health and it’s like a hundred degrees here. He’s been working on this house for over a year. And he came in from the heat last week and his wife is worried sick that something’s going to happen to him.
And she’s going to be stuck with the burden of this house. And she tells me that she tells me that multiple times. She says, “I just don’t want to have the risk of being stuck and having the burden of this.” And in fact, on this “subject to” things they never heard of, I said, “Well, you get with me giving you $10,000 more, option B way,” I said, “The only thing you have to decide is, are you going to trust me to make your payments?” And I said, “Why wouldn’t I make your payments? I can’t sell a house and fix it up and all that if I’m not making your payments, right? I don’t want the bank to take it away from me, particularly when I’m getting ready to put this rehab money in it.”
So the short answer to the question, “Who would be willing to sell their house this way?” And the short answer is, “A motivated seller.”
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:30:46
And that’s the key. So I hear it all the time, Jay, is that, “No, I don’t. I can’t find these deals out there. No one will ever sell me these properties.” And the reason is that you’re talking to unmotivated sellers. Most of them are For Sale By Owner because they’re too cheap to hire real estate agents. So they’re not motivated. They just want more money and those, I think For Sale By Owners, you can definitely find some deals with them. If you find the right For Sale By Owner, only is you have to filter through a whole ton, a lot of them. And I think that it’s good practice for you to learn how to speak to people and just realize you want marketing channels in place to get those motivated sellers contacting you so that you don’t have to go out there and talk to a thousand people for you to find the 1 or 2 motivated sellers from those FSBOs out there.
Jay Conner
00:31:40
Exactly. Well, Chaffee, we are about out of time. So I’m going to let you wrap it up with parting comments and final thoughts.
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen
00:31:48
Parting comments is – Go out there. Don’t be afraid to make offers. Find somebody who you can resonate with, who you like, who has a system and a process that can help hold your hand to do this business and show you how to do the things that you need to do. Unlike me, when I first started, right? Find somebody that’s going to teach you this business so that you can do this business and it can allow you to change your life and live life with the passion that you want or do the things that you’re passionate about. Because, you know, I hear a lot of people all the time, Jay. I’ve watched 30 hours of YouTube videos every single week on how to do real estate.
And I hadn’t done a deal, right? Well that’s because you don’t have somebody like Mr. Jay Conner telling you, guiding you, teaching you step-by-step, what to do and how to do it. You’re watching a thousand different videos that tell you all different things. So you’re either going to pay through the school of hard knocks and learn through mistakes, or you’re going to find somebody and go through and hire a good mentor or coach that’s going to show you how to do this business and do it successfully. And it’s going to be a lot less headaches. So you can do this business, just find the right people to work with and it will change your life.
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currycurrie · 5 years
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@sockablock​ got prompted for a Roller Derby AU in the post I just reblogged and I used to actually be a part of a roller derby team/league a little while back until a shitty injury and life got in the way so I GOT SUPER INSPIRED and have SOME THOUGHTS. I’m super sorry to totally steal this idea, but I just got really excited and couldn’t contain myself. Also, that post is much better than mine because it actually has a fun, adorable plot (unlike mine), and also they’re probably my fave fic writer! Read it!
So anyway here, have yet another completely unsolicited Roller Derby AU inspired by/ripped wholesale from my experiences playing. I love derby just SO MUCH and I’d love to bring it into the limelight a bit more. It’s funny how much of a bizarrely large overlap there is in the venn diagram of nerdom and roller derby. 
The Zadash City Rollers rent a semi-abandoned warehouse to practice out of and hold games at. (My league does this and it's as awesome as it sounds.) This is entirely paid for by league members paying in each month to help support the league and also merch and ticket sales.
Twice a year the league runs a rookie class for people who are brand new to the sport and want to join up. Enter the Mighty Nein. Who all for various reasons felt this need to shake up their lives and hit people on wheels.
They spend the whole twice weekly, six month long rookie class showing up and bonding over falling all the time, how badly they and their gear smells (”Caaayyy-leb, you really need to wash your wristguards more!”), and how awkwardly physically close you have to be to people to actually play roller derby.
Beau and Jester decided to get into this together as friends and they both take to it pretty easily. Beau is incredibly nimble on skates and has the uncanny ability to knock anyone on their ass no matter their size. She very quickly takes up the mantle of the Pivot position.
Jester is less nimble on skates but is low to the ground and incredibly strong. She can nearly stop anyone on skates and is a solid brick wall on the track. Her position is Blocker.
Fjord was conned by Jester into tagging along after expressing an interest in varying up his exercise routine. He's unsure about it all at first, but super quickly becomes very competitive and super invested. Fjord is very middle of the road in terms of the various derby skills, but has a great strategic mind for the game. He helps develop strategies and positioning and is able to keep his head cool while being pummeled with body parts. You know, when Jester isn't using the excuse that this is a contact sport to make him extremely flustered. He is also a Pivot.
Molly and Yasha join at the same time after newly moving to the city together and looking to find a new friend group. Molly is all flash and panache. You'll never meet another person who is able to so quickly spin on a dime on skates. A whirling dervish of elbow pads and sharp hips. He is definitely a Jammer.
Yasha is very similar to Jester in the blocking department. There is no getting past her. She also has the incredible raw strength to just launch someone off the track should she so choose. God help you if she does. Her and Jester are the blocking dynamic duo coaches dream about.
Caduceus just wants to ref. To be a ref in this sport you kind of have to know how to play it and know how to skate. Refs are required to wear skates too. He joined up cause his menagerie of sisters all used to play for the team back home so it's something he knows. He's also fairly new to the city and looking out for some friends anyway. With his perception and insight you are never gonna get away with any sort of penalty. Ever.
Nott and Caleb joined up together. Nott saw a flyer advertising the rookie program and knows Caleb used to skate and essentially forced him to join with her. Nott is small, quick, and subtle. Blockers have a hell of a time keeping track of her. She is able to squeak through the smallest of cracks in any blocker wall. She is definitely a Jammer.
Caleb used to play when he was younger, and joins on the pretense of just wanting to ref and support Nott. He used to play for the Rexentrumm Derby Dolls who are the sworn rivals of the Zadash City Rollers. At some point he was sabotaged during a game and earned an incredibly nasty injury that had him off skates for years. Except he never got back on skates anyway. It soured his love of the sport. When Caleb played he was a combo of Jammer and Pivot. Not one for flashy stunts and raw strength, he could always dissect flaws in any opponents defense in a split second, and knows where to hit them so it hurts.
The six months of the rookie program leads up to a big showcase match between their rookies and the rookies from Rexentrumm. We're going classic sports movie cliches here. The Nein are nearly blown out of the water until Cad tells them on the sly that Rexentrumm are cheating and exactly how, and he's not able to do anything about it cause they brought their own ref. With that knowledge the Nein are able to come up with a strategy to counter the cheating and pull off the greatest comeback in derby history.
Now for the fun part DERBY NAMES. Traditionally made of puns and thinly veiled sexual innuendo!
Their team is obviously called the Mighty Nein that's a no brainer.
Beau: Beaun Cruncher
Jester: Bruiseberry Pie
Fjord: What’s Krakin' (Like Kraken? It's a bit of a reach. I struggled with this one. Inspired by my old coach whose derby name was just Kraken.)
Molly: Mollydict (A pun on maledict. Also sounds like dick for bonus points.)
Yasha: Thunder Thighs (I can only apologize.)
Cad: Fun Guy (I can only apologize AGAIN.)
Nott: Your Worst Nott-mare
Caleb: Scheiße Kopf (this is a pun as Scheißen is a word for burn but also remarkably close to the German word for shit so it directly translates to Burning Head but has a double meaning as shithead. Bonus points for being on brand and something Caleb has to explain the meaning of over and over in exasperation.)
I love roller derby you guys!! And definitely plan on getting back into it soon as I can. If you're interested in roller derby at all feel free to drop me a line! I'm happy to explain what the positions are and how the game works etc. Also if you're interested in playing, most leagues have a similar rookie program for complete newbies to the sport and you should Google around for one in your area! I started out with absolutely no knowledge and met some of my best friends through the sport and it's a wonderful community!
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flowerinthenet · 6 years
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13 Things That Annoy Me At Hockey Games
I haven’t posted in a while. I started a new job and hockey season was A LOT, but I think during the off season I may need to revive this blog in order to fill my Hockey Cravings. I say offseason because The Dallas Stars done did me dirty again and are missing the playoffs. Obviously I will be supporting Vegas this year, but things won’t be the same without my Stars Boys. THEY’RE GOOD BOYS, BRENT.
Anyway, at the last Stars home game of the season I started crafting this list SO, without further ado, here is:
13 THINGS THAT ANNOY ME AT HOCKEY GAMES
1. People who wear the jerseys of teams that aren’t playing
Are you lost bud? It’s Senators vs Stars and here you are, bold as brass, wearing your goddamn P*trick K*ne jersey in THIS, MY ARENA. I’M SORRY YOUR TEAM IS BAD THIS YEAR – DON’T TAKE IT OUT ON MY SENSE OF ORDER. And NO just because Minnesota also wears green doesn’t mean you can escape my watchful eye. Minnesota is a SORE SUBJECT and in this house we respect The Dallas Stars.
2. People who look at you funny when you’re loud and into the game.
If you wanted a nice relaxing night out then you’ve come to the wrong sporting event my friend. I get that you have oodles of cash and season tickets are a status symbol for you, but I paid a lot of damn money (relative to my itty bitty salary) to be here and I’m gonna enjoy myself, dammit! I will yell in support of my boys. I will drink a beer or two. I will get tipsy and loudly complain about how our offense is being incorrectly utilized. If you try to complain about our goal tending I will argue with you. I am living my best life and your stinkeye will not deter me.
3. People who start goalie chants
I don’t care if we are playing the Blackhawks, goalie chants are a garbage way for garbage people to act. If you try to start one in my section I will chant over you before you can get a foothold. It’s just mean. Go buy an 8 dollar hot dog.
4. People who scream at the players
I’m all for loudly enjoying the game, but when you start to screech at the ice like a possessed grackle I have to draw the line. We’re in the nosebleeds. The boys can’t hear you and if they could I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate your nonsense.
5. People who manspread in tiny little seats
I get it. You’re tall and you have balls and these seats are made for children. But nobody’s balls are that big, buddy. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a larger lady myself and I manage to stay in my allotted space just fine. If you spread your legs into my bubble I will be spreading right back. Get ready for some uncomfortable Knee on Knee action until you get back the fuck into your seat space. Your knee should not be crossing the line the armrest makes into MY territory and you will learn this lesson, SO HELP ME GOD.
6. People who yell curse words or slurs
I understand if we have a beautiful chance to score, miss it, and a “FUCK” slips out a little louder than intended. And obviously if a ref makes a bullshit call, the appropriate response is “BULLLLLSHIIIIIIIT,” but when you’re purposefully screaming obscenities as loud as you can at the players, regardless of intention, we’re gonna have a problem. There are kids around and your ass is drunk and obnoxious. I’m sorry you don’t understand the game and you’re bored because you have the attention span of a hamster, but learn some etiquette. And if slurs are involved? Oh buddy. I’ve never been ejected from a game, but I’m willing to give it a shot if it gets you to shut your mouth. And I’m not just talking racial or queer slurs – if you use one of those, you’re as good as dead – I’m talking gender slurs too. If I have to hear some entitled white boy call a player a “bitch” or a “pussy” one more time I might just lose it. So be a decent human being, please.
7. People who wear jerseys as dresses
I know you’re sexy and you wanna show off your freshly waxed legs. I understand. But this is a WINTER sport. It’s COLD in here. And I know you’re cold too because you have 4% body fat and the seats in the boxes are leather. Just wear some leggings! You’re gonna be a lot happier! And you’ll still look hot, I promise. Tyler Seguin isn’t going to fuck you though, and for that I’m truly sorry.
8. People who wolf whistle the Ice Girls
Those girls are making minimum wage and spending half of every paycheck on their own cosmetics for games in order to wear bras on the ice and put up with every drunk, middle-aged piece of shit’s attempts at flirting. Just leave them alone. You’re not funny. I’m sorry your wife left you. Go home Dan.
9. People who yell at players and beg them for a puck at warm ups
I know Jamie Benn was GONNA give that puck to the five year old with a cute sign, but now that you screamed at him twelve times to give it to you, a 20 something asshole, he’s changed his mind! What’s this? He’s climbing over the glass to shake your hand? He’s giving you his jersey? AND HIS CAPTAINCY? My god, it’s a good thing you harassed him all warmups. What a day for you. I’m deaf in one ear because you wouldn’t shut the fuck up, but I guess that’s a sacrifice I’ll have to make.
10. People who try to get on the glass during warmups – even though there are no spots left
I got here at 6:00 PM, when the doors to the arena opened, so I could get a halfway decent spot on the glass for warmups. You don’t get to saunter in at 7:10PM for a 7:30PM game start and shove your way to the front. I’m sorry you weren’t prepared for this evening. It is not my fault and no you cannot squeeze in next to me there is NO ROOM for your TARDINESS. You take the hand that was dealt to you!
11. People who shout “SHOOT” or “SKATE” loud enough for the whole damn arena to hear.
The only time this was ever okay was when some guy in the terrace below us screamed “SKATE FASTER” with such relatable desperation that my friends and I could not stop laughing about it for the rest of the game. Unless you are that guy, doing us all a service as we suffer through this nightmare, please keep your Advanced Hockey Strategies to yourself. Yes I wish they would shoot too. Yes I know Hitch’s defense first approach has killed our offense everywhere but our first line. Yes I know you see a shooting lane from above that the players on the ice can’t see. I get it Scott. I understand. It’s okay. We’re all in this together. Now be quiet and suck back the soda in your 9 dollar commemorative plastic cup.
12. People who boo their own team
B I T C H. IF YOU CAME HERE TO BE A NEGATIVE FUCKING NANCY YOU CAN GET THE FUCK OUT RIGHT NOW. These are my BOYS. Even when they hurt me like this they are my BOYS. BOO THE OTHER DAMN TEAM YOU MONSTERS.
13. People who leave the arena early when we’re losing.
We all have to work tomorrow, Susan. We’re all disappointed that it would take a miracle to win this game now. But if you THINK I’m gonna abandon my TEAM in their hour of need, you got another thing coming. I am here til the BITTER END. So GO. Beat the traffic – but I know where your true loyalties lie.
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thesportssoundoff · 6 years
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Five Things To Draw From The Contender Series Season Two
Joey
August 20th
It has JUST enough Dana White in it
Do you wanna know why the Dana White Contender Series worked and Lookin' For A Fight doesn't? One show has too much Dana. Too much Dana and his friends doing stuff you just can't possibly care about no matter how big of a DW stan you are. Too much Dana White and his friends eating food at Guy Fieri-esque "average guy" restaurants. Too much of Dana and his friends doing EXTWEME sports stuff or making food or just being dudes. Every MMA fan watches Lookin' For A Fight for a few minutes of Dana White being rich with his not as rich friends (Din Thomas, Nick The Tooth, Gian Villante and Matt Serra) to the yuk yuks and ha ha's and for whatever fight recap we're getting. The series to me fell off a cliff when it became less about the shows and more about Dana White.
Dana White's Contender Series is JUST the right amount of Dana White. The show is named after him and the concept itself is based around him so that much makes sense. Where the Contenders Series gets it right is that it captures Dana in the place we WANT to watch him at. We watch Dana watch fights, react to fights, gush about fighters, freak out about finishes and showcase the passion he still has for MMA. That's the Dana White that made the UFC a big deal by being a relentless borderline desperate madman with a product he would not allow the public to forget about. Watching Dana White, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby freak out after a great finish is something we can all get behind and something that's genuinely cool about the Contender Series. Seeing Dana flip out about refs, judging or just be the world's richest fan may wear thin on some but again, it's reminiscent of what made Dana White a big deal to begin with. To the fans, he IS a fan---just the one with the highest decision making power in the sport. The best parts of the Contender Series are when Dana just arbitrarily decides to fuck over Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby by saying something like "We agreed on two guys but I'm going to bring in one more guy!" is easily the most real part of the Contender Series and gives you a reason to remember the guy who Dana pulled the executive decision on.
The first season was an attack on weaknesses, the second season was an attack on size
Here is how the Contender Series breaks down across their two seasons. I've listed the number of signings and the number of fights per division. I did not include guys getting developmental deals EXCEPT for Greg Hardy because I think his deal is probably different than what guys like Bevon Lewis and Chase Hooper are getting.
DWTCS Season 1 Total Signees: 16 (15 men, 1 woman) Signees By Weight Class, signings per fight: Bantamweight- 3 3/6 Middleweight- 3 3/5 Featherweight- 3 3/6 Light Heavyweight- 2 2/6 Flyweight- 2 2/8 Lightweight- 1 1/2 Heavyweight- 1 1/3 Women's Bantamweight- 1 1/1 Welterweight- 0 0/2 Women's Strawweight- 0 0/1
DWTCS Season 2 Total Signees: 23 signings (21 men, 2 women) Signees by Weight Class, percentage of signings per fight: 
Lightweight- 5 5/8 Heavyweight- 4 4/7 Middleweight- 4 4/7 Light Heavyweight- 3 3/3 Featherweight- 2 2/7* Welterweight- 1 1/3 Bantamweight- 1 1/2 Flyweight- 1 1/1 Women's Strawweight- 1 1/1 Women's flyweight- 1 1/1 Women's Bantamweight-
The UFC hid absolutely nothing as it pertains to what Season One was really about. The deepest division in MMA (lightweight) got two fights in it, the second deepest in theory is welterweight and it got two fights as well. The top division to get contender series fights was flyweight which, I suppose, might be surprising to some. The Contender Series though was about finding new talents in divisions of need and in truth, there's no doubt that flyweight needed depth. Maybe not a wealth of talent but depth to fill  up the ranks. Light Heavyweight was targeted as the organization seemed to finally realize that the DC/Jones/Gus trio was in need of something new to switch it up. The same could be said for bantamweight where the UFC is probably as tired as the rest of are of this Cruz/Dillashaw/Assuncao/Garbrandt chokehold at the top of the division. Light heavyweight is tied with bantamweight and unsurprisingly enough featherweight for the number of Contender Series fights.  Season two sees a return of dominance from lightweight but ALSO a rise in heavyweight, middleweight and MORE light heavyweight signings even if there's less fights. This season was a predominantly "big" one as signed 11 fighters in weight classes 185 and up. They even managed to double the number of signed females as well which is kind of good but also kinda trash since 2 women is probably STILL not enough for a series that runs eight weeks. That's gotta get fixed up.
All in all, I think we're seeing what the pattern for Contender Series' is going to be; they're going to try and sign guys and gals when they need them at specific weight classes. The nature of 145 and 155 lbs suggests that talent will always be there but as we've seen the divisions like 125, 185, 205 and HW need primary care. These divisions will get the attention regardless of what's poppin' at other weight classes.
The LFA Situation
23 fighters were signed  by the UFC this season. 12 of those fighters were immediately coming to the UFC from LFA with no stop in between. That number includes Greg Hardy who had every amateur fight in LFA. The other promotions that pop up? Bellator (!), Brave FC, Valor Fights, Alliance MMA, Phoenix FC, Hex Fighting Series, CXF and CFFC. Over half of the signings came straight from LFA to the DWTCS and that number balloons if you extend it to, say, "fought in LFA within their last three fights before the Contenders Series." In many ways this really isn't much of an issue since LFA is the top regional organization in the world. It's also worth remembering that Mick Maynard probably knows more about every single fighter who has ever walked into one of those shows than he does any other organization. He may know a guy like Ryan Spann better than any fighter on the UFC roster to be entirely honest. This is more about the underlying issues when it comes to MMA organizations OUTSIDE of just LFA.  This sport needs a healthy group of regional organizations producing top talent at a healthy enough clip to keep the UFC and Bellator beasts alive. Bellator can't survive just on whatever California based amateur wrestler they've signed or whatever SBG flunky they can bring in. The UFC can't survive just on whatever Alexis Davis based Brazilians and LFA champions they rack up. The sport needs to have a healthy stream of places for young fighters to fight, get paid and get experience. LFA only holds so many shows a year and as such, we need to always be cognizant of whether or not there are alternatives out there for fighters to make it to the UFC. Clemson and Georgia and Bama don't deliver EVERY NFL prospect to the NFL; you gotta have options for guys.
There will always be snubs
Rule of life for ya boys and gals; There will always be competent folks left out of jobs when the number of capable applicants outweighs the number of open positions. It was said that in season one of Dana White's Contenders Series, the UFC went into it unaware of how good the show would be and as such had a limited number of open slots available for signees. Per twitter scribes like Nolan King, they went into this season signing LESS talents because they knew the Contenders Series would take up a much larger portion of talents. Even so, there's still going to be folks who leave disappointed they didn't get signed. For instance dudes like Chris Curtis, Austin Vanderford, Julian Erosa and Dontale Mayes off the top of my head were quality fighters who didn't earn themselves deals. Don't get caught up in who did and didn't get signed because the agitation is not worth the effort. Just accept that snubs will happen and take solace in the fact that a snub just means you're going to get a short notice call eventually. If anything, the snubs from Season One created quite a few promising prospects for Season Two.
This is an unsustainable product
MMA scribes always love to talk about NEW and FRESH ideas as if those translate to money. We've seen the PFL's NEW AND FRESH idea struggle to generate an impact with the MMA consensus. Bellator's ratings are way down with "NEW AND FRESH" tournaments all over the place (and by the by, since when are tournaments new and fresh) and the Contender Series is the latest NEW AND FRESH idea people are gaga about. Dana White at the end of Season Two made what I think was the most honest statement of all the honest statements we got during the Contender Series. When asked about doing more of these on ESPN, he made it clear that they pretty much drain what they feel is the talent pool and as such, they need to let a year go to build them back up. Eventually we're going to hit a year where there won't be an immediate build up of talent on the regional circuit to put all the great fights on. Eventually there's going to be a season where you don't average nearly four finishes an episode across eight weeks. Things will eventually hit a rough patch because that's life in MMA.
We also need to accept that the value of MMA is in its quantity, not its quality. We've seen that quality fights don't do the numbers you'd expect them SO a large percentage of what is "value" is in the sheer scheduling. I hate to hurt the feelings of "LESS IS MORE!" people but the brand of MMA lives on not its immediate impact but it's impact over a 364 day stretch. The UFC doesn't do a 40+ event a year schedule because it wants to but because networks pay when you do it. "Make sure every fight feels special" sure SOUNDS awesome and great until you squint, look at your schedule and realize that to make big money in this biz, you need to almost be omnipotent on a spiritual level. Can't do that with an eight week stretch where every fight MEANS something. My suggestion is to just enjoy the Contender Series as it is and not get caught up in trying to make everything into the Contender Series.
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fossadeileonixv · 3 years
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WTF FRIDAY
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First of all let’s sit back and appreciate the artistic talents of our man Gillis.
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Normally I’m a pretty positive and upbeat guy. While I respect every opponent I don’t think there’s anyone we can’t beat on a given day. I loved Fester. #IFIT I love Maldini. #IMIT I trust in the project. You know, all that good stuff.
Well that Turkish ref really pissed me off. So I’m gonna let bad Mike out for a day to vent.
Here some negative takes, some with basis and others without, about everyone on the team. Be prepared. It might not be pretty.
I loved MAIGNAN when he first arrived. He was intense and played with some real fire and anger. Despite three goals conceded against Liverpool he was still staring daggers into people that made mistakes. Since then though we’ve given up some pretty shitty goals due to blunders in front of him. The giveaway against Juve. A stupid deflection against Spezia. The clusterfuck of mistakes that led to the Griezmann goal. That Turkish ref shitting on us. I’m starting to see some cracks in that confidece AND I DON’T LIKE IT.
TATARUSANU... dude.... what’s up with that new hairdo?
JUNGDAL.... um..... I don’t even know who this guy is. Anyone? Anyone?  
TOMORI Suggestion... start talking more my friend. You are our best CB and we need a leader in that back line, especially when Kjaer is out. Roagnoli isn’t that guy. Never has been. That captains armband is your for the taking my friend.
KJAER is really, really fragile. It’s kind of amazing we got 18 solid, healthy months from the guy. He’s not getting any younger folks. Enjoy him while we have him.
Guess who vanished in the big moment once again? ROMAGNOLI! Great on a Tuesday night against Genoa but forever being the butt of the joke against big teams. Infuriating.
Remember when we thought GABBIA was gonna be important? Like he might actually have a role to play? Even if that rule was to be sacrificed at the Plusvalenza altar? That was great.
CALABRIA... hmmm..... pass.
THEO Defense bro. Learn it. PLEASE. There is a reason your area of the field on the opponents heat map looks a bonfire. The whole other team is there. They’re considering changing the names of hot dogs to ‘Theos’ because you are getting roasted so much. You had it for a minute the beginning of last season but somehow have forgotten again. If this continues we will find some naive EPL team, I’m thinking West Ham, to spend 60 million on you only to find out you couldn’t defend in a Sunday over 50 league.
KALULU and BALLO TOURE French? check. Fullbacks? Check. Good fullbacks? One maybe. Maybe. 
CONTI I’m sorry but there is no market for one legged fullbacks. Not even in Serie B. Does he even show up to training? 
FRANK KESSIE.... MY MAN. Listen brother. I know you’ve had your head turned a bit. I get it. Big clubs got your name in their mouths. the press is having a field day with your ‘negotiations’. You got 7 more months tied to Milan and then you can go wherever you want. You could agree terms right now and just coast through the rest of the season. maybe even make up some injury while you are away at AFCON and never even come back. That would be easy and you’d get PAID. You’d think that would make you smart. Like you pulled one over on us. 
When really you’d be f’n over your teammates Frank. And your coaches. The staff. The fans. That wouldn’t be right man. Wouldn’t be right at all. Worst of all.... 
You know what that would make you Frank? 
A BITCH. 
DON’T BE A BITCH FRANK. DO NOT GO OUT LIKE A BITCH. 
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU ARE GOIN OUT 
LIKE 
BITCH.
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Think about it Frank. THINK REAL HARD. Look in the mirror. Ask yourself that question.  DO I LOOK LIKE A BITCH? Cuz right now you are. You’re messing the whole damn thing up. That ain’t you man. That ain’t you. So tell me who you see. Who’s staring back at you Frank? WHO???
Ok that’s it. 
I just really wanted to get to Kessie. He’s really pissing me off right now. Lazy. Sloppy. Disinterested. Jesus... his performances actually remind me of Hakan.
Here’s the thing though. He’s got a chance to put an end to that this weekend at Atalanta. Take a giant dump on Gasperini and company, knock in a couple goals and we can forget abut this over the international break. Go out there and remind them what Frank Kessie is all about. 
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Because every once in a while the lion has to show the jackals WHO HE IS.
Show em Frank.
FORZA MILAN!
Lisi
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