defensemanryder

[defensemanryder]

So... D'you think a hockey stick would be your weapon of choice in case of, like, a zombie apocalypse?

"mm, I doubt so, a hockey stick would break in two on the first impact, doesn't mean I won't keep mine for moral support."

[defensemanryder]

"And...?" the memory of them at that celebratory moment on the ice, swept up by emotions and perhaps slightly embarrassingly captured forever on worldwide camera had a dust of pink lightly across his cheeks. Ashton was tempted to just close the gap entirely, end the teasing pretense, give in to the sweetness of a kiss and derail their concentration of warming up and practicing. But a part of him was still childish with Ruth, in a way he still felt like a kid sometimes in the memory of them being kids in this same place, once holding each others' small hands as they clumsily glided across.

It was all worth it seeing the mocking look of insult to his joke as a laughter bubbled at the back of his throat. "Yes yes, well practiced soon to be Dr. Ruth Ellery," it's still insane to him at the sheer power she has to be juggling these two things. Ashton was an all-in kind of guy, once locked in, he was all yours and all in. So for Ruth to be able to excel at both, he couldn't be prouder. He still flashed a cheeky grin at the question after a genuine pause with a glance of affection and pride, "does that mean next time I can reap your rewards and see a doctor for free?"

Ash hummed and simply shrugged at her rebuttal, "we can fake it for a longer period that they are with a new pair of skates." He wouldn't even be one to ask for his opinion on the artistic choices made in figure skating, barely having much taste in the arts himself. As long as Ruth felt it was right and wanted it, there's where his opinion would sit, unwavering with her. He'd happily disagree and debate on anything else in the world but the arts, he leaves it to her expertise unless she really wanted his lowly regular opinion of a common man to the arts.

And with that he snorted at the idea of pulling him into her version of the world on ice. His was more gruesome, more animalistic, just a bunch of people fighting over a puck that a kid at an athlete meet and greet once asked him why they were all fighting over a huge oreo on ice. "Me, figure skating?" Ash asked her to rethink that scenario, he picked up his hockey stick as they made a lap passing by it before he began to casually warm up in his own way, gently handling a puck at their relaxed pace while they continued their laps, "you know I literally have no grace, or musicality, or flair. I doubt Team USA wants me on that Olympic team." He couldn't help but chuckled at even the idea, perhaps they can pass it off as a controversial artistic choice. Though he rather not be infamous. One big spotlight on them both last time was enough for him.

Deep blues flashed back to her though, not ever willing to completely dismiss her words, "but lifts? I'm good at lifts, and lifting you up." The difference of their careers on the ice were night and day, yet like eclipses they were also similar enough to meet ever so often. "Maybe- I'm not saying yes, but maybe we can try it again for fun," not at this high stress high pressure environment of representing your country, but something fun just for them. "You could find another man on the ice for the Olympic pair skating, I won't get jealous," a soft but bright laughter echoed in the empty rink for the joke of jealousy but the genuine idea if she ever wanted to actually try it for a different way to push herself, they were both athletes through and through, never settling with their current state.

“hmm,” she tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling as she glides along, as though trying to divine something in the rafters of the arena. finally she tugs herself closer, the space between their skates a perfect puzzle. “i guess there was winning that medal…and...” she could almost lean in to give away the obvious, the frost of their breath melded as he pulls her even closer. but, they’re still teasing. maybe it was the space, the childhood of running in the bleachers and flipping on the overhead lights that kept her light with her words. the disbelief of good luck, hard work.

her mouth drops open, the elaborate oh! of hurt before it dissolved back into a smile. despite the amount of stress she put on herself, she knew it had hardly resulted in gray hairs. she’d thrived on creating her future, a legacy and a security intertwined with unending support. “and now i have all of this practice.”

even now, her heart relaxes as the feel of his kiss, an ease of tension in her shoulders as she curves away to properly skate. “they never look ready.” her skates always stood out, the pops of color she preferred in her outfits, the brashness of her music choices. even now, the heart haphazardly painted on the side of her right skate stuck out against the ice.

“you’re going for figure skating?” she’s never considered a partner, the solo routine had attracted her quickly. all of the eyes on her, making sure she executed each step perfectly, no one else to be distracted by. “i’d put together a great routine for us.” she turns a quick half circle, listening to the ice carve under her feet, “lots of lifts.”

[defensemanryder]

@skaterellery

WE LIVE IN TIME dir. John Crowley (2024)

[defensemanryder]

She had all the confidence in the world, as she should, and Ash could only chuckle with a pride that exuded from his smile, "what changed? You sure nothing's changed?" He echoed back the question as if dared asking what changed in those four years. Their relationship first and foremost, but yet at the same time, it also felt like nothing had changed between them. To have known someone practically your entire life, them had felt as easy as breathing.

And perhaps winning golds had also changed their lives, but the first thing was more important. He pulled Ruth closer to him, close enough to share each others breaths to tease as he ran a hand through her hair to cradle a side of her cheek, "..is that a gray hair I see?" He chortled with a bad joke, not an ounce of gray in sight, yet he was tutting away, knowing his continued words were partially true, "med school must be mistreating you so badly, you poor thing."

The boyish grin softened into something more genuine, lifting their joint hands for him to brush his lips over her knuckles, "then we'll get you a new pair of skates." He only then let her go for them to properly warm up laps around, he had been plenty warm from teaching the kids but he'd never say no to extra laps. "I can already hear your coach saying they don't look Olympic ready so we might as well get ahead of the curve." They skated in tandem side by side, as they always have in their own time, chit chatting away in its own intimate form, "but a pair of skates won't stop you. Ooh, or how about putting your hat in the ring for the pair skating this year then?"

lacing up her skates was natural, her fingers moving without thought. she'd taken a quiet approach, letting ashton do the final goodbyes for the children that had come in for today's lesson. her own bag was weighted with textbooks, trying to keep up with the expectations of the two careers she's found herself in.

she remembers all the times she biked over to his house before the sun broke. the fog of her breath in the air, her cheeks pinched red, as she woke him up so she could have the keys to this very center. and now, their names were forever enshrined on the plaque in the front vestibule.

"of course." she allows herself to be pulled forward, her muscles stretching back into familiar positions as she warmed up into familiar patterns. she'd never not been okay, a destine that had somehow found her despite odds. "four years and what's changed?" the question is mostly a joke. the obvious has continued to assert itself into her life, a ryder through and through. "i'm better than ever."

"but..." her breath comes easy, her teasing never changing shape. she takes the lap with ease, her muscles starting to stretch and relax into familiar shapes. "i wouldn't say no to a new pair of skates."

[defensemanryder]

//int. skating rink training center, minnesota - night. @skaterellery

"Are your skates even still competition ready?" Ashton laughed as the two of them hopped into the ice rink after all the kids he was teaching today finished their training, leaving the two athletes to enjoy the entire rink to themselves before he locked up for the day. Life often tries to pull them apart during various busy times of the year, competition seasons, finals, Ruth with pre-med and Ashton with NHL seasons, but they've always made it work, and found time in the summer to stay home as much as possible. And once every four years, everything gets put aside for the experience of a lifetime together in any athlete's career. The last one definitely changed their lives.

Ash held out his hand for her as she stepped into the rink, "or maybe it's time we get you new skates, there's enough time to break them in before the real training starts," he hummed, lacing their fingers together, leading them to warm up for a few laps around. "Can't believe it's been four years already.." Ash turned to skate backwards to face his love, sometimes (all the time) still in awe of her, blues glazing over with a genuine check in, "you feeling okay for the season?"

[defensemanryder]

a verse of choosing the rink over arms

Ash being born and bred in Minnesota, aka Hockeytown, he's been playing ice hockey as a kid and grew to really develop a knack for it, taking it up as a sport all through till high school, playing U-18 Nationals at Chisago Lakes High School.

While he had hopes to follow his father's footsteps and join the military, losing him in combat shook the Ryder family, his mother begging him to not join at all, anything but the marines, and perhaps in another lifetime he'd follow his dad but this time, he respected his mom's wishes.

Instead he secured a sports scholarship into college, part time studying astrophysics and part time training with his college's ice hockey team, growing to be the best offensive defenseman and sniper the team's had in years. Over time it became clearer to Ash that perhaps ice hockey was the route he wanted to take in life, he'd be close to home, and he was fucking good at it. During his college's years he was scouted by the NHL team of the Minnesota Wilds, competing there for a few years before he moved on to join the National USA Team in his late 20s.

While Minnesota is known to grow plenty of NHL ice hockey players, with Ashton coming from a small town in Minnesota it was super exciting for the small community to know he made it to the National Team. He's been with the USA National Team now for a couple of years, making his Olympic debut then and now training for the next. Outside of the competition seasons, he prefers to come back home in Taylors Falls with his mom and dog, training kids and teens during the day, while training professionally at night. He couldn't dream of a better life to live.

[defensemanryder]

There was something about his hometown that Ashton just loves coming back to. Despite the commutes throughout his various hockey careers, from a quick drive to his high school in the next town over, to an hours into the main city for training with the league, to flights in and out from Colorado Springs with the national team, Ashton would do it. But with the quieter seasons out of competition, he just liked to hunker down back in his hometown with people that knew him and treated him like family.

Tonight was one of those nights with them, meeting up with his old hockey friends at the bar like the good old days, the catch up was lost in the moment of watching a hockey game play out on the television, making small time bets amongst themselves for the fun of it. The moment the final goal landed, he cheered with the half of the room that was watching and rooting for that team, "you owe us lunch next time." He laughed at his disgruntled friends who had bet the opposing team.

The night was quick to peter out once the game was over, people calling it a night, and so it caught him completely off guard when someone called out to him, turning around to see a stranger no less, an uncommon sight in this place, beaming at him, knowing who he was. Ash froze for a second trying to process the situation, new was not something he was used to in this town, didn't help that he was pretty, "-oh, thank.. you?" Real smooth. What do people do with this? He wasn't actually a celebrity as the man said. Ash tried to chuckle off his own awkwardness to have a normal conversation, like a normal human being, "I'm so sorry I'm not used to this." He glanced down to the offered beer before softly smiling back to the other, "but I won't say no to a free drink."

He accepted the glass, clinking it to the other before taking a sip. "I'm Ashton, though it seems like you already know," he reintroduced himself, but then the name actually hits him, "-so you're the big city kid people are talking about." Not much as Ash hasn't been back in a few months but word travels fast, "not everyday someone moves here to be honest, but welcome to Taylors Falls."

@defensemanryder

there were only a few dive bars in bumfuck, and it was a process to figure out which ones astor was least likely to run into one of his kid's parents. sure, giving piano lessons paid the bills, and it did engage because his very heart and soul are tied to the notes- but god forbid you work with kids and also want a drink every once in awhile. astor didn't do well in stressful situations, and he was slowly learning to be proactive about avoiding them if he could help it.

so here he was, in a damn sports bar of all places. city boy in his fendi button down and fitted slacks, slurping on some shitty draft beer because they actually ran out of whiskey per the disgruntled bartender. he might huff at astor and barely say two words, but he sure was okay to swipe his card. seven months ago, astor would've started a fight with anyone who look at him like that.

maybe dad was right. maybe bumfuck, minnesota had been good for him.

blue eyes rolled nearly into the back of his head as he sipped, shaking off the thought and peeking up at the screen above his head. he'd been all but forced to get into hockey, it was the only thing the people here cared about; but he didn't really mind. it was fucking hardcore. those guys took hits lacrosse players would be uncomfortable with. it was exciting enough to stimulate him into not noticing how the time always seemed to drag.

someone woo'd! from across the bar and it caught his attention, and astor immediately recognized the face that made the sound. he felt a buzz that immediately made him stand, the 2for1 beers he got in his hand as he approached the man, probably the only famous person to crawl out of bumfuck and then decide to keep coming back. he couldn't remember the last time he was actually interested in something in front of him.

"holy shit, aren't you that ryder guy?! i just watched last season's championship game, you were sick out there! it's so cool to see a celebrity just hanging out at the local sports bar." he put the still full beer down in front of him, and did his best to grin, even though his cheeks felt stiff from not doing so in so long.

"i'm astor."

[defensemanryder]

his father had really out-done himself this time.

a failed band, and one too many frivolous charges upwards of a few hundred grand had landed him in bumfuck nowhere, minnesota, and astor mayfair couldn't have hated it more. cut off from his adoptive father's funds, had to get an actual job for the first time in his life. if he was honest, he had squandered most of his 20s on a dream of fame that he could see wasn't coming to him, at least not in the form of the rockstar he'd always dreamed of being. people seemed to like his original classical compositions- and the job he'd squared away for himself at the local music store, plus the side gig of tutoring did seem to be working rather well if he was honest. it made him enough money, and his name was slowly circulating, even if it was from bumduck nowhere, minnesota. the kids he worked with were polite, and the townsfolk had gotten used to the new 'flashy kid from the big city' well enough. his designer two pieces still garnered stares, but they didn't have the same disdain they once had. people here didn't like new, didn't like strange. astor was under the impression the locals thought of them as one and the same. he'd settled in well enough-he couldn't say with confidence that he still hated it-but his life still felt empty. still felt hollow of any excitement. every night he slept he wished for something, anything, to come along and shake it up...

[defensemanryder]

a verse of choosing the rink over arms

Ash being born and bred in Minnesota, aka Hockeytown, he's been playing ice hockey as a kid and grew to really develop a knack for it, taking it up as a sport all through till high school, playing U-18 Nationals at Chisago Lakes High School.

While he had hopes to follow his father's footsteps and join the military, losing him in combat shook the Ryder family, his mother begging him to not join at all, anything but the marines, and perhaps in another lifetime he'd follow his dad but this time, he respected his mom's wishes.

Instead he secured a sports scholarship into college, part time studying astrophysics and part time training with his college's ice hockey team, growing to be the best offensive defenseman and sniper the team's had in years. Over time it became clearer to Ash that perhaps ice hockey was the route he wanted to take in life, he'd be close to home, and he was fucking good at it. During his college's years he was scouted by the NHL team of the Minnesota Wilds, competing there for a few years before he moved on to join the National USA Team in his late 20s.

While Minnesota is known to grow plenty of NHL ice hockey players, with Ashton coming from a small town in Minnesota it was super exciting for the small community to know he made it to the National Team. He's been with the USA National Team now for a couple of years, making his Olympic debut then and now training for the next. Outside of the competition seasons, he prefers to come back home in Taylors Falls with his mom and dog, training kids and teens during the day, while training professionally at night. He couldn't dream of a better life to live.

[defensemanryder]

moodboard & aesthetic game send a symbol and/or the description of one if you can't see it for the receiver to make a moodboard / aesthetic

@byenycfm asked: "🏠 HOUSE - my muse's family/hometown"

small town, weekend nature hikes, homely fall seasons, starry nights, camping trips, boats lazing down the river, locally made wine, cozy close knitted community, drive ins, milkshakes, hockey over frozen lakes, home grown family businesses, observatories, adventures into the forests, playing in the snow, stargazing all night, waiting for dad to make it back home.

Taylors Falls. MN. Taylors Falls is a little river town of less than 1,000 residents along the St. Croix River in Minnesota, not too far from the city but still quiet, and quaint. Ashton was born and raised here until he joined the military, he enjoyed and really come to appreciate the nature he was surrounded with, enchanted by the untainted night sky, clean cold air, and comforting warmth of family and community. Something he once took for granted, now living in a concrete jungle but he hopes one day to return home.

[defensemanryder]

moodboard & aesthetic game send a symbol and/or the description of one if you can't see it for the receiver to make a moodboard / aesthetic

@pxtitxrosx asked: "☁️ CLOUD — my muse's past"

a past on the ice Compared to the calm, quiet man you see now, Ashton was a pocket rocket of a kid. Too much excitement too much energy, his mother had no idea what to do with him. Always losing sight of him running off to explore some woods to a new clearing where the stars shine brighter than anywhere else (or so 9 year old Ashton always claims when he finds his way home) In hopes to keep him safe, his mom suggested he tried out a sport to exert all his bouncing energy, ice hockey perhaps, their family use to watch the games together and he always found it fun. And thus began his first taste of true physical training, discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, sacrifice, humility. It’s easy to say the military was what shaped Ashton to the man he is today, but a very small handful of people will know that it started much earlier with ice hockey.

From elementary, to middle to high school, it was what he did outside of school itself, and a pretty damn good offensive defenseman and sniper at that, best of his years there. There were talks of getting a sports scholarship in order to pay for college, to fund his true passion in astrophysics, but perhaps he had already decided when his dad was killed in action, that the military was something he wanted to do, and had to do. He hasn’t done ice hockey competitively ever since graduating high school but he’s still an excellent skater on the ice and would be up for a friendly match at any time. And he knows deep down it’s what he had to thank for building him up and being the pillar and direction he needed back then in his life. He knows it could’ve all gone south if his energy had gone anywhere else, especially during the first few years when the family of three became two. Ice hockey was his anchor amongst the chaos of grief, anger and self destruction.