#‘the skaters are not allowed to separate’ what an idea!!!

[dozydawn]

Amy Webster and Ron Kravette Original Dance “Tango” 1997.

La Cumparsita.

[azsazz]

Out of Order

Hockey!Azriel x Figure Skater!Reader

Summary: You're running late from practice and the women's showers are out of order. In your haste to make it to class, you utilize the men's locker room while they're on the ice, only to find out that their practice has been cut short as well...

Warnings: Smut (oral, m receiving). Steamy (haha, get it?).

Word Count: 3003

Notes: This would prob never happen but it’s my world and you’re all living in it 😏

Belongs to the Shut Out & Penance world

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“Shit, shit, shit,” you mutter, staring at the sign hanging over the showers in the women’s locker room. It reads Closed for Maintenance. You’ve completely forgotten that the showers weren’t going to be in working order this week. You hadn’t been paying too close attention when your figure skating coach told you about it before the weekend hit, still too stunned thinking about Azriel when you’d run into him on your way to where all the coaches’ offices are housed. 

It hasn’t been a great start to the week. Your alarm went off late, you spilled the horrible coffee you’d managed to make whilst brushing your teeth—no harm there—and you split your leggings after a tumble on the ice. Now, you’re going to be doubly late for class because Coach Vanserra had wanted to talk to you about your routine after practice.

And now this.

Clicking your phone on, you check the time. Yup. You only have fifteen minutes to make your way across campus to class, and you’ve only just stopped sweating from the vigorous run-throughs of the jump you fell on during practice this morning. Anything to get the routine perfect, even if it did mean receiving a few cutting glares from the hockey players who were loitering around for their own practice. The chain reaction of you being late meant that the Zamboni flooded the ice late which meant that hockey practice started late.

Late, late, late.

You would totally skip class too, if it weren’t the one that you were struggling the most in. The Teaching Assistant even allowed you to meet with her before class today to go over the outline of your mid-term, and you really need to do well on it.

“What do I do, what do I do?” you wonder aloud, staring at the bright neon sign. You don’t have enough time to make it home, but—you groan as the idea pops into your head. 

The men’s locker room.

There are showers in there. Ones that probably work, too. 

Fuck, you really don’t want to do this. 

But you have no choice, you’re not spending the day walking around classes a filthy mess or smelling like sweat.

You duck out the door with your things, your bag slung over your shoulder, towel draped over your arm. Your shoes are clutched in your free hand as you duck your head, walking faster. Passing the rink just to make sure the hockey team is still out on the ice, you exhale softly, only allowing yourself a fleeting look at sex on skates.

Azriel is fast. Probably one of the fastest forwards on the team. He slides across the arena with a grace that rivals your own, and you’re impressed. Maybe he’s taken a few figure skating classes of his own. If only you could ask.

Quickly, you make sure that the coast is clear before ducking into the men’s locker room. It doesn’t look much different from the women’s locker rooms, with added urinals. It’s muggy even though it’s early, from the male figure skaters taking showers of their own. There’s a lingering scent of stale sweat in the air that makes your nose wrinkle, but you can push through that if it means you get the shower you so desperately need.

You halt, listening for any noise. Nothing. The locker room is perfectly empty.

You hustle to the back of the room where the showers are located, claiming the one furthest from the door. If someone does come inside, they likely won’t take up the empty shower next to you. Something about bro code and urinals, Cassian once mentioned. You pray that it applies to showers, too.

The walls separating each shower come up to your shoulders, and there’s a pair of swinging doors that keep the area enclosed. The water pressure is incredible, much better than in the women’s showers, and you groan as you step under the hot spray. Your towel is hung on the rack, your bag the furthest from the water as you can manage without getting it wet or being seen by anyone that might come your way.

You scrub your hair quickly, and when you turn around to wash the shampoo out, your eyes connect with a very familiar—and very heated—pair of hazel ones.

Azriel.

Holy fuck, this can’t be happening right now. His dark hair is damp with sweat, clinging to his perfectly tan skin. He’s sans shirt, and when your gaze quickly flicks to below the door, notice that he’s not wearing any pants, either.

Your heart pounds in your chest. He’s not supposed to be in here. You’re not supposed to be in here.

“What are you doing in here?” You exclaim, voice pitching high with your nerves. You slap your arms across your chest, even though you know he’s gotten an eyeful of your breasts from his vantage point, way taller than where the doors end.

“What are you doing in here?” He bites back, and the roughness of his voice makes the warmth pounding against your back converge between your legs. Fuck, he’s so attractive. His throat works around a harsh swallow, and you have to clamp your legs together stifle the throbbing.

Azriel watches you shift on your feet uneasily. Tracks you with his dark gaze like you’re a trapped animal and he’s about to pounce.

You kind of like this look on him.

“The women’s showers are out of order and I’m late for class,” you hastily reply, cheeks burning bright. You don’t know why he’s in here or if the rest of the team is seconds from following, but you need to get the fuck out of here right now, go bury your head in your pillow and potentially never return to the ice rink ever again.

This is utterly humiliating.

Azriel opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, raucous laughter and crude jokes fill the space as the rest of the team enter the locker room. Your heart falls to the floor, swirling around with the soap that’s still running from your hair, and slipping down the drain.

Before you can protest, Azriel’s shoving himself inside of the stall with you, uncaring that you’re completely naked and shouldn’t be here. He presses himself up against you and you slip, but he’s righting you, pulling you into his chest where you can feel how very interested he is in this debacle.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” You exclaim, and it’s hard to keep your voice from shouting frantically like you want to.

The air becomes a thousand times hotter. You can barely breathe with him pressed up against you like this, turning the both of you and hiding you from the view of his teammates. Your heart still races in your chest, both because your fucking crush is pressing his naked torso up against yours and with the fear that one of his teammates will take notice.

“It’s either I see you naked, or the entire team does,” he whispers, huskily. “And no way in hell am I letting that fucking happen.” He growls and something like pleasure skitters down your spine.

You swallow roughly, “Good call.”

“Practice ended early,” He tacks on, answering your previous question.

“I gathered,” you breathe, but it holds none of the heat that it normally does when you talk to any of the hockey players. Especially Cassian. “You were out there for like, five minutes,” you whisper-shout. You can feel how red your cheeks are, and while this may be mortifying, Azriel’s hard cock pressed into your stomach only adds to your already heightened emotions.

You wonder what he’d do if you got down on your knees right now.

“It’s been an hour,” he responds, and you hold your breath when the water of another shower turns on. Azriel drags you under the spray with him, making it look to his teammates that he’s showering instead of hiding the figure skater they’ve been arguing with for ice time all semester. “Coach wanted to keep us loose for the weekend. We’re supposed to change and watch film.”

Fuck, maybe you were staring for longer than you thought.

You can’t focus. Your entire mind needs rewiring because all you can think about right now is how Azriel’s bare skin is touching yours. How he towers over you, how he’s staring down at you with a heat that rivals a thousand wildfires. Actually, he’s staring a little south of your eyes, right at your—

“Hey,” you snap softly. Your arms are still tucked tightly over your chest, and you hope you’re not experiencing a nip-slip right now. “Eyes up here, asshole.”

Azriel’s smile nearly makes you slip.

“Can’t help myself,” he defends, and this is the most animated you’ve ever seen him. Out on the ice he’s all broody and serious, head strictly in the game. It’s hot, but this side of him, cheeky and smug, might even be hotter. “You’re fucking gorgeous. Can you feel how hard you make me, baby?”

Gods, if he doesn’t shut up right now, you’re probably going to do something you’ll regret later, like grab his hand and slide it right between your—

“Dude,” Cassian’s voice bellows and you duck closer into Azriel’s chest. Each ridge of his impressive muscles contract as he freezes up and despite your heart feeling like it’s about to pound out of your chest, you can admit that this is thrilling. The thought of being caught in here, surrounded by built hockey players, naked with Azriel, makes your core twist with pleasure. “Since when do you have a pink towel?”

You wince. Of course, he can see where the towel is hung on the rack, the dude is massive.

 Azriel lies easily, “Yeah, some chick left it over at my place and I brough it to return to her later.” It sounds like something he’s done before. A bite of jealousy hits you hot and harsh at the thought of him doing this with anyone else.

You clench your jaw, but as if he can feel the way you tense, his large hands come to rest on your hips, soothing across your skin. Fucking fuck.

“Used? Nice one, Azzy,” Cassian laughs and nothing more is said while he returns to his own shower.

Azriel eases slightly, the motion making his abs relax. You want to lean forward and lick over them, but now is nor the time nor the place.

You really need to get the fuck out of here.

There’s no way in hell that you’re going to make it to class, dammit.

You hear more showers turn on, and Azriel removes his hands from your hips to reach behind you for the soap you have on the shelf. You watch him as he squeezes some of the shampoo into his hands before scrubbing them through his black hair. He’s like a fucking dream come true, and his cock still hasn’t gone down from where it’s pinned between the both of you, only the thin fabric of his boxers keeping you and it from meeting.

A droplet of soap falls onto your face, and you flinch, but don’t move. You’re not sure if you can, because your limbs are seized up with nerves. You’re not sure you want to.

Azriel rinses his hands off, slowly bringing them to your face. He wipes the droplet away with his knuckle and the feeling goes straight to your core.

“Azriel,” you breathe, but are promptly interrupted for a second time.

“Hey, man.” It’s Rhys. “You ready to kick the Sea Lion’s asses this weekend?” The water turns on in the shower directly next to you and in your haste to shuffle closer to Azriel, your arm brushes up against his cock and his hands fly out, gripping you firmly to keep you from squirming.

Oh. He’s enjoying being in this shower with you as much as you are.

A smirk makes its way onto your face that makes Azriel’s glorious hazel eyes narrow in distrust.

Reaching carefully behind you, you snag the bottle of conditioner from the rack and press it softly into his hand. His brows furrow in confusion as he answers his team captain. “Yeah, dude, Tarquin and his team don’t stand a fucking chance.” He almost chokes when you slide down to your knees in front of him.

“Damn straight,” Rhys says, while Azriel pleads you with his eyes. You’re not sure if he wants you to stop or keep going, but you hook your fingers into the waistband of his boxers and tug anyway.

His cock springs from its confines and the bottle in Azriel’s hand drops, ringing loudly against the floor.

“Shit,” he says, but it’s tight in his throat, like he can’t even get the words out. If someone catches on, he’s screwed.

He leans down to pick up the conditioner bottle and you frown as his cock is pulled from eye-level.

“What do you think you’re doing, pretty girl?”

You lean in close, sliding your hands up his muscular arms, enjoying the way his thick, dark eyelashes flutter under your touch. “Just enjoy, Azriel,” you whisper, your breath casting over his lips. He could grab you by the back of your head and tug you into the kiss he’s been wanting to since the first day you showed up at the rink, snarking at the team for going over their time. His cock jumps at the thought of those pursed lips wrapped around his cock. “And wash my hair while you’re at it.”

“Fuck,” he groans softly, but you pull away before he can rock into you and claim your mouth. He’s been crouched down for too long, anyway, so he rips himself from you, pushing to his feet.

“What do you think about Tarquin?” you hear Rhys ask, but you’re already reaching forward, taking Azriel in your hand. He jerks immediately and when you look up at him, he’s already shooting you an apologetic look, and then another that tells you he isn’t going to last very long.

You like the idea of that. Having this power over him.

He’s hard and smooth in your hand. You watch eagerly as a bead of precum drips from the tip, but it’s washed away by the water still cascading down his body, to your disappointment. If you’re going to be waterboarded, you’re thankful that this is how it’s going to go.

Azriel’s response is choked when you finally wrap your lips around the head of his cock, teasing his slit with the tip of your tongue. The flavor of him bursts on your tongue as another drop of precum follows, and you almost moan before remembering where you are. To keep the noise from coming out, you sink further onto his cock, cutting off your airflow.

“He’s good, but he’s no match for Bloodshed over there,” Azriel answers, and his hand falls to your head, fingers burying into your hair. You can feel the cold of the conditioner and if you weren’t enjoying yourself too much by bobbing your mouth up and down his cock, you’d be worried about the amount he’s using.

“Yeah,” Rhys says. “Their goalie is decent, but our offense is better.”

Azriel hums in response and his other hand finds your face, cupping it and guiding you just the way that he likes.

You take advantage of his help, lathing your tongue across any skin that you can find, reveling in the feeling of it all. Your legs are clenched so tightly together, your clit aching for release. You’re on edge, but you’re terrified of making any noise. You really can’t be found in the men’s locker room like this.  

“Dude…” Rhys trails off, and the suspicion in his voice makes you falter, but Azriel’s still guiding your head, trying not to fully say fuck it and jerk his cock as deep as he can go. “Are you fucking jacking off right now?”

“Yeah,” Az answers, because he doesn’t give a fuck anymore. He’s still going to protect you, but his hips are moving, his tip hitting the back of your throat but not pushing any further, so you don’t choke. “So, if you’d kindly fuck off, that’d be ace. We’ll talk at film. Tell coach I’ll be late.”

Rhysand’s answering chuckle rings throughout the stalls when he cuts the water from his shower. “Enough said, Az. You’re fucking sick, but I’m out.”

As soon as Rhysand’s out the door, Azriel’s picking up his pace, gasping out that he’s going to release and trying to pry you off his cock like the gentleman he is.

Too bad you want his cum in your mouth.

You curl your fingers into the meat of his thighs, urging him to stay inside.

“Fuck, baby, you’re fucking perfect,” he groans before he releases himself. He’s all heady and musky, and you swallow him greedily, not letting a single drop escape. Gods, you need to stop acting like this, but around Azriel, you can’t help yourself.

He helps you to your feet and ducks down to capture your lips in a heated, desperate kiss. Your hands find his hair, clutching to him as his tongue traces the seam of your lips, silently asking for permission. You grant it to him, and the kiss turns hot and needy, like he’s been wanting this for a long as you have.

You’re breathless when he pulls away, chest heaving, but your gaze stays locked on his, especially when he sinks to his own knees.

“What are you doing?” you pant, planting your hands on his shoulders, your nails digging deliciously into his skin.

“Returning the favor,” he says, like it’s the simplest answer in the world. He taps the inside of your tingling thighs. “Why do you think I told Rhys to tell coach that I’m going to be late? C’mon, pretty girl, open these legs for me.”

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Hockey!AU Tag (will be tagged for any hockey fic, no matter paring):

@whyonearthisyourusernamethi-blog @going-through-shit @crazylokonugget @lilah-asteria @girl-who-writes-stuff @moosemahboi @sherayuki @lyinginameadow @acourtofatboydreams @blackthorngirl @shadowsingercassia @evergreenlark @hannzoaks

[100ducksizedfolignos]

FANTASY HOCKEY FOR TUMBLRINAS: A GUIDE

been curious about fantasy but have no idea how it works? and whatever guides google deigns to give you are not helping? do you live in canada or minnesota and have your coworkers managed to press-gang you into their fantasy hockey league and you don’t want to embarrass yourself? welcome! i have one whole season of fantasy hockey experience and managed to get second place in my league so i’m probably qualified to take you through this. strap in and hopefully this isn’t incoherent because i have extremely limited visual aids available!

PART 1: HOW IT WORKS

first, the two major fantasy sites are going to be yahoo fantasy and espn fantasy. which you use is probably determined by which one your league commissioner (person who made your league) likes better. disclaimer: basically all of my experience is with yahoo fantasy.

so before we get to talking about the draft - the first thing you do in your fantasy sports journey - let’s talk about what you’re drafting your favorite little hockey men for.

the goal of fantasy hockey is to win either head-to-head matchups or your group as a whole (depending on the settings of your league, to my knowledge head-to-head is more common) in individual stat categories that fall into two groups - skater stats and goalie stats. for instance, if all your skaters got more goals over the course of a week than your opponent’s skaters, you would win the point in that category. if your opponent’s goalies had a better average save percentage than your goalies, they would get the point in that category.

all stats are cumulative across your entire roster, for the record. even save percentage and goals allowed average for goalies, which are averaged out, use every goaltender appearance.

if your win-loss record is good enough (for some leagues, each category separately counts towards your record - for example if your league has 11 categories and you win 6, lose 4, and draw 1, your record is 6-4-1, not 1-0 - and for other leagues, each stat adds to a cumulative point total in different weights, i.e. goals worth 1, assists worth .5, etc., and whoever's total is higher wins), towards the end of the season you make your league’s playoffs, where you duke it out for the title.

there are two commonly-used sets of skater stats, which have become the ways people define fantasy hockey leagues as a whole: points leagues and “bangers” leagues.

points leagues use, as you can imagine, different points categories for skaters. the most common set of these is goals, assists, and power play points. potentially plus or minus shorthanded points depending on your league. bangers leagues, on the other hand, usually use those three stats plus shots on goal, hits, and blocked shots. this makes player selection more multifaceted and interesting and shifts the balance of who has more value in a given league. brady tkachuk is maybe the exemplar of a player who gains a ton of value in bangers leagues due to him having good points totals while also putting up a lot of value in those banger stats. i had esa lindell in my team last season, who put up a whole 24 points, none of them on the power play, but was still valuable to me because he had a lot of hits and blocked shots and helped me win those categories on a pretty regular basis.

you may be looking furiously on normal websites to figure out a player’s banger stats. you will not find them. ask me how i know this. your most reliable source of player stats is going to be the fantasy websites themselves, and you can look through player databases without having a team. yahoo, at least, even lets you do mock drafts, if you want to get cozy with the ui and the experience before you do it for realsies.

(a sample of what a fantasy stats page might look like. this particular one is displaying player stats from last season. if unfamiliar with stat abbreviations, in order, they are: games played, goals, assists, power play points, shorthanded points, shots on goal, hits, blocked shots.)

(same as above, but for goalies. stats in order: games started, wins, goals allowed, saves, shutouts, overtime losses.)

goalie stats are usually wins, goals allowed average, saves, and shutouts. plus or minus save percentage or overtime losses, depending on your site and settings. these are all pretty straightforward, with the small wrinkle of “do you take a better goalie on a worse team knowing he’ll win less but have better other stats” vs “do you take a more average goalie on a better team knowing he’ll be better supported by his system which might help his stats and definitely get him more wins”.

PART 2: THE DRAFT

now that you know what you’re looking for, let’s talk about the draft.

most fantasy drafts are “snake drafts”, meaning the pick order flips every round, in interest of fairness. while most pro sports drafts are the same order every round (1→16, 1→16, 1→16, etc.), they have history to fall back on. poor teams need better players to build around, while better teams already have those players. but in the average fantasy league, everyone is starting from zero. so the order goes 1→16, 16→1, 1→16, etc. for as many rounds as your draft goes. the person who picked last in the first round gets to pick first in the second round, and so on.

what you’re looking for here is highly dependent on your team settings. does your league just distinguish forwards from defense from goalies? or does forward position matter? (if it does, know a player is not locked into a spot once you use him there - he can play any of his listed positions at any given time, whether or not he actually plays that spot in the lineup. for instance, joe pavelski is listed as both a center and right wing - despite the fact he rarely plays center, you can deploy him there on any given night. or you could deploy him at right wing, if that’s where your opening is.)

i’m going to take you through this with the settings used by my last league.

in my league, you had 16 guys on your roster. 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 2G, and 4 guys on the bench (who, if they played that day, their stats would not be added to any of your totals, although this was rarely an issue). so on my team, i usually had 8 forwards, with at least 3 people able to play each position, 5 defensemen, and 3 goalies. your league might have a bigger roster, it might not have a bench, it might not care about where forwards play as long as they’re forwards, and this all influences the spread of who you draft and when. if your league calls for - in the case of espn’s default league settings - 9 forwards, 5 defensemen, 1 utility player (put another way, any skater), 2 goalies, and 5 guys on the bench, well, you probably take 12 or 13 forwards, 7 or 8 defensemen, and 3 goalies, and it’s on you how you prioritize the order of that.

really, the important parts of the draft are the first few rounds, when you pick the really high-end guys. later-round players are easier to swap out for each other - which you can do! any guy not drafted is considered a free agent, and if you draft a guy who’s underperforming, you can swap him out for an undrafted guy who’s doing better. so don’t sweat the later rounds too much beyond what roles you need to fill. you can let your fantasy site’s ranking board help you out there.

lightning round q&a:

when do you pick a goalie? generally people go the same way nhl teams do in the entry draft - probably not in the first round unless he’s a really sure thing to an extent that he’s more valuable than whatever top skaters are still there.

can you run with just 2 goalies? if you are extremely confident that your 2 goalies combined can match the output of other teams going with 3 goalies. if you have a vasilevskiy or a sorokin or the type of goalie who is a clear starter and plays at a high level for those starts and your other goalie is giving good starts, then yeah maybe you can run with 2. i did for a bit. take the third goalie though, it’ll make your life so much less stressful, especially if your league has a minimum amount of goalie appearances requirement (mine did - your goalies had to make 3 appearances a week for their stats to count at all).

when do banger stats become more valuable than points? i wish i had a clear answer for that. you just gotta feel it out, man. broadly, when a player’s point total starts to get into average territory, then probably start really looking for those banger stats to maximize value. but if a guy has notable banger stats then maybe you take him before point totals get average. no good answer to this one, sorry

is there any reason for mcdavid not to be 1oa, even in bangers? no, and anyone who tries otherwise is being contrarian for the sake of it. if you luck out getting 1oa just take mcdavid. come on.

if you pick last in the first round, are you boned? well i picked last and got second place, so no you are not :)

when do you make a “reach” pick? as you’re drafting, you’ll have a list of players ranked by the site in front of you. use that to help but not as a bible. you reach when you think someone will take a player before you get to pick again, and the difference between that player and the next player on your list is worth the risk.

idk if people have more questions i can make another post or something. maybe you don’t have any of these questions. i hope it was useful anyways

PART 3: FANTASYING

here’s the meat-and-potatoes nitty-gritty of it all. here’s a very retro view of what your team hub might look like - note the ui absolutely does not look like this anymore:

you can actually see on here what i was talking about earlier with that “guys who play multiple positions can be used in either/any” thing. malkin is listed as both a center and a right wing, and is deployed as a center here, but if, say, this person wanted to bring in derek roy but still use malkin, he could put roy in malkin’s center spot and move malkin to bump selanne or jagr to the bench.

good news! i did manage to find someone’s screenshot with something similar to current app ui:

player stats for the week would be under where it says no game, but you can actually see the ir+ spot in use and what the general layout looks like. actually, speaking of ir-

let’s talk about ir real quick. and this bit is all based on yahoo fantasy, so if espn does this different, i’m sorry and you’re on your own

so! if your team has a dedicated ir+ spot, you can put any guy who is officially listed as out (O, as keller is above), injured reserve (IR), or long-term injured reserve (LTIR) there, and he will not count against your roster total. you have a limited amount of these spots, so probably don’t get landeskog, confirmed to be missing the whole season, and stick him on there, although you can and it won’t affect your main team at all. it would only be a problem if with him you have more injured guys than there are ir+ spots. with this, you could even draft a guy starting the season injured, like a brandon montour, stick him on an ir+ spot, and get a fill-in guy out of free agency afterwards (since you’ll only be drafting enough players to field a team without any injuries), if you think that when he’s healthy, he’ll boost your team enough to be worth missing out on a player of the caliber of where you drafted him. so if a player on your team gets injured and you have ir+ spots, use them! pull a guy out of free agency to take the injured player’s spot and go about your merry business knowing you can still field a full team.

anyways - as before, only the players off the bench (in the white spaces on this ui) count towards your totals. so, and i cannot stress this enough, MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYING PLAYERS ARE ACTUALLY PLAYING AND ADDING TO YOUR STAT TOTALS. much heartbreak has been had by people who have forgotten to do this. yahoo has a fun little button that will automatically do this for you, but only for the week, so keep up with that, too. (for purposes of fantasy, weeks start on mondays btw.) it might also not always start the people you want starting if there’s more guys playing that night than there are spots on your starting roster, so watch for that, too. like if you have 4 defense spots and you have 5 defensemen playing that night, decide which one’s stats you’re most okay with missing out on. players only lock in once their game time comes around, so you do usually have the entire day to decide. you might be influenced by where your matchups are standing - if you’re definitely losing your assists matchup, but your hits matchup is close, you might sit your points-producing defenseman in favor of your big hitter. stuff like that.

and that’s actually pretty much it! even playoffs work the same way. once you’ve got your team, the day-to-day of fantasy is pretty simple. make sure your players are playing, adjust your team with free agents if necessary, conveniently ignore trade requests if they suck (as far as i can tell trading is more prolific in irl fantasy groups where people know each other better, we had like no trades in my online league of strangers last season), root on some guys you’ve never heard of before because you need them, and have fun!

[saucylittlesmile]

The ISU technical requirements for ice dance 2023/2024 have finally dropped, and with it comes some saucy thoughts!

~

First of all... confirmed is 1980's rhythm dance, to no one's surprise. For some, it will only come as a surprise that the 1980's was 40 years ago.

The theme selected for the Rhythm Dances for both Junior and Senior for the season 2023/24 is “Music and Feeling of the Eighties”. Any music is possible provided it was originally released in the decade of the 1980s. The couple should demonstrate through dance the culture and feeling/essence of this decade. The selected music may be remastered.

Music and feeling? I guess that's to help keep the skater's in line - no obscure, ahead-of-their-time, or 'made in the 80's but with a retro vibe' sneaky RD's allowed. And, it needs to have been 'originally released' in the 80's, but may be 'remastered', which to me means, the recording was fixed up to sound better - but does that mean that it can't be a cover that was done at a later time? Guess we'll see.

The Rhythm Dance should NOT be skated in the style of a Free Dance. The couple must use dance movements and dance holds to interpret the chosen music from this decade.

I mean - the dance movements that I'm picturing are not especially ice-dance friendly, aside from those still-present (and personally irking) numerous stops that are allowed. And I can genuinely say I don't know of any particular dance holds that are representative of the 1980's, unless the school dance hold is one of them (and no idea when that originated).

Choreographic Rhythm Sequence Tempo: 100 beats/minute minimum Steps: Silver Samba, steps #9, 9a, 9b to #47 Woman’s steps and / or Man’s steps skated by either the Man or the Woman or a combination of both provided there is continuity of prescribed steps always performed by at least 1 partner (starting on step 9 and concluding on step 47). No restriction in the number of beats per step. Hold(s): in contact, any holds are permitted Pattern: starts on the judges’ left side with step no. #9 of the Woman and #9a and #9b of the Man and finishing with step #47 May cross the long axis without any restriction Separation - 1 separation is permitted for not more than 2 arm lengths and duration not more than 2 measures of music Loop - One (1) permitted Retrogression - One (1) permitted Stop - Not permitted The Choreographic Rhythm Sequence (ChRS) is evaluated as a Choreogrphic Element as one unit.

The choreographic step sequence is gone!!!!! Well, sort of gone. Sort of a mess. They took the steps from the silver samba - more on that in a moment - and then said, you have to do them, but you can do them however you want! Someone needs to do them, the other one doesn't. Pick a tempo, any tempo. Pick a hold, any hold. Pick a way to skate them, any way. Skate in one direction, do a retrogression (but not more than one because that's where they draw the line!).

And then, it's all GOE, baby!

So I can't complain, exactly, because hey, I hated that the choreographic step sequence was useless in every possible way besides entertainment (and as a judged sport, I do want to be entertained but not at the expense of the validity of it as a sport. Technically, we got back the compulsory, which is what I sort of wanted. But it's been so tweaked that it is next to impossible to compare teams, even then. After all, if the skaters can do any combination of the steps (the man's steps, the woman's steps, or any combination as long as all the steps from 9-47 are done, performed by one or the other skater, and they can do a loop and a retrogression or one or neither... well, you get my drift. There is a vague idea of similarity, like they are trying to placate me specifically, while also giving themselves so many loopholes that they almost might as well not have bothered. (I would make a little meme of Madonna's Vogue into Vague, but it was released in 1990 and is not the music nor the feeling of the 1980's, unfortunately.)

And then, the judging is still the same. There are no levels, no particular requirements about edges or turns being correct, no expectation beyond being able to decipher and follow an arbitrary set of rules, and Sell the Samba! to receive your happy face sticker from the judges. Unless they don't like you, and then they pretend you just didn't do it as well.

The Silver Samba. It is a quick tempo, and the steps are almost all quick feet and few demands on edges. It is a short dance - to do the section of steps that is required here, assuming that the team doesn't stretch it out, will take less than 30 seconds. It is not a compulsory that was used very much at a senior level, since it's origin (just three times, from what I can see). Here is Grishuk/Platov performing it; but also, here is a team that is doing this as a dance test, because the camera is stationary and it gives you a better perspective on the dance as a whole (the camera is opposite where the judges would be, so step 9 is starting on the far side of the rink from the camera, in the corner, and step 49 is on the side closest to the camera.)

As another interesting note, this is the only step sequence that is permitting a retrogression this season; every other step sequence specifically prohibits them.

~

On to the FD!

One (1) Set of Synchronized Twizzles At least 2 Twizzles for each partner, with a minimum of 2 steps and up to 4 steps between 1st and 2nd Twizzles. (Each push and/or transfer of weight while on two feet between Twizzles is considered as a step) Partners may be in contact between the 1st and 2nd Twizzles.

Unlike recent seasons, the partners are not required to touch between twizzles, though they are still allowed to do so. I guess the ISU got tired of watching teams reach out and literally place a hand on a boot or arm, and consider the rule fulfilled, lol.

Choreographic elements...

Three (3) Different Choreographic Elements chosen from: Choreographic Lift Choreographic Spinning Movement Choreographic Assisted Jump Movement Choreographic Twizzling Movement Choreographic Sliding Movement Choreographic Character Step Sequence Choreographic Hydroblading Movement

Yes, that's right, Yet Another choreographic element added to the list of possible choices, to allow judges to give egregious marks expand the creativity of the dances, and get points for them specifically instead of being creative just for creativity's sake. Hydroblading, which was popularized in the 1990's by Bourne and Kraatz, has continued to have skaters who make use of it during their programs. But, they will have a fine line to balance, as any hydroblading they do must be careful not to allow any body part to actually touch the ice, or else it will become a choreographic sliding movement, instead.

Choreographic Hydroblading Movement: performed anywhere in the program, during which both partners perform hydroblading movements The following requirements apply:

A low movement with the upper body almost parallel to the ice. The core of the body must be clearly positioned away from the vertical axis. No other part of the body other than the boot of the free leg is allowed to touch the ice. If any other part of the body, (other than the allowable boot/foot drag of the free leg) touches the ice it may be considered a Chorographic Sliding Movement

Hydroblading movement by both partners at the same time for at least 2 seconds. The start and end of the Choreographic Hydroblading Movement does not have to be performed simultaneously.

May be in hold or not touching

Also of note - if the team choses to do a choreographic character step sequence, they must not do it in the same pattern as their required Style B step sequence (circular, midline, diagonal, short axis).

~

The other aside, was that the junior teams, also skating to the 80's, also have an interesting caveat to their pattern dance, the Rocker Foxtrot. The original pattern is only 14 steps, taking up half the rink. The juniors will skate two sequences of this pattern; the first is the traditional pattern, while the second half on the other side of the rink, has the woman dancing the man's steps, and the man dancing the woman's steps! Now, they may have chosen that to add interest, but it feels like a very, very minor way to play with the idea of moving past defining ISU ice dance as 'one man and one woman'. (There is also a note about being allowed to alter the type of hold expected in the dance overall, except for the key points, which I of course find interesting after talking about it so much over the years.)

Two (2) Sections of the Rocker Foxtrot: skated to any dance style with the range of tempo: 26 measures of 4 beats per minute (104 beats per minute) plus or minus 2 beats per minute. The first step of the dance begins on beat one of a musical phrase. 1RF and 2RF: Steps #1-14 Two (2) Sequences of Rocker Foxtrot may be skated in any order, one after the other or separately. Step #1 of 1RF skated at the Judges left side. Step #1-14 of 2RF skated at the Judges right side. 1RF must be skated in accordance with Rule 707, paragraph 2, the Man must skate the Man’s Steps and the Woman must skate the Woman's Steps. 2RF, the Woman skates the Man’s steps and the Man skates the Woman’s steps (switch tracking/sides on Key Points in a recognized hold excluding hand in hand). Variation of Hold is permitted except during the Key Points. Crossing the Long Axis is permitted for Steps #5, #8 – 9. The description, chart and diagram of the Pattern Dance Element Rocker Foxtrot are included in the ISU Handbook Ice Dance 2003.

~

One last video for some definitive 1980's music and feeling (and dancing).

[aquaticptato]

Hey taters n' skaters! You can call me Tato (online alias for safety :P) and my pronouns are she/her!

This blog will be more for lurking than for posts, but if you want to occasionally see some random content that follows my hyperactive brain, feel free to stick around! I'm in lots of fandoms, but at the same time it feels like none at all, lmao.

Intro and Navigation! ✨

🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙

Lil bit about me 🥔

🩵Tato

💙17

🩵She/Her

💙Biromantic, Asexual

🩵AuDHD

💙Roman Catholic ✝️(don't worry, not the kind who hates everyone and tries to force conversion. That's actually entirely what Jesus is against.)

🩵Favorite color: Any variation of blue!

💙Favorite food: Potatoes in their many forms (though some require bacon and cheese to be worthy)

🩵Favorite pastimes: Drawing, reading, writing random music that pop into my head, petting animals, playing Minecraft, watching shows

💙Music Taste: All over the place lol. Some of my favorite artists include:

Alan Walker

mididuck

Set It Off

Stessie

Sasha Alex Sloan

Hatsune Miku

Being Me The Horizon

{The Hazbin Hotel soundtrack}

LongestSoloEver

Lolirock

I Prevail

Motionless In White

Magnolia Park

Shawn Mendes

DJVI

Waterflame

Duolingo

C418

TheFatRat

💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

🥔Fandom Masterlist🥔

🍟Artwork Masterlist🍟

Tags for navigating my blog:

#tato shut yo bitch ass up - random thoughts and rambles

#tato reblogs art - reblogged art and fics (writing is a form of art that's why fics are included)

#whoa tato made something - my original work!!

#tahahato- memes/shitposts/humor I reblog

#tato dispenses knowledge- answering asks

#serious topic- serious things.

And of course, there will be fandom tags.

HOWEVER- I am too lazy BUSY to go edit the tags in all the stuff I've already posted/reblogged (cause it's a LOT). So anytime I edit my tag system, womp womp. Anything I posted before is still the same tags or lack thereof. Sorry, yes, confusing.

And for posts that date back to before I changed my alias to Tato, the tags are:

#aqua shut yo bitch ass up

#aqua reblogs art

#whoa aqua made something

#hahaqua

(no ask tag)

Next, VERY IMPORTANT thing:

💥⚠️DNI LIST⚠️💥

DO NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES interact with my blog if any of the following applies to you.

🚫 You support the Israeli government (and the complicit countries such as U.S. of Ass) in the genocide of Palestine (NOTE: THIS DOES NOT MEAN NO JEWS OR ISRAELIS ARE ALLOWED. BUT IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING THE RIGHT THING BY MASSACRING THE INNOCENT, FUCK OFF.)

🚫You support Russia in the invasion and massacres of Ukraine

🚫 You are homophobic

🚫You are transphobic

🚫You are biphobic

🚫You are aphobic

🚫You support J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter fans welcome, we can separate art from artist.)

🚫You are antisemitic

🚫You are anti-Muslim

🚫You discriminate based on any other religion or lack thereof

🚫You believe that your religion gives you the right to abuse others in the name of "preaching the truth"

🚫You are racist/xenophobic

🚫 You're a Trump supporter

🚫You are a ped*ph*le (M.A.P. IS NOT A VALID QUEER IDENTITY AND NEVER WILL BE, YOU CREEPS)

🚫You are a proshipper (INC*ST, PED*PH*LIA, AND R*PE ARE NOT OKAY, EVEN IN FICTION. THEIR REPRESENTATION IN FICTION SHOULD ONLY BE PORTRAYED AS NEGATIVE AND BE FOR THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION ON SURVIVORS' STRUGGLES)

🚫You ship things that erase hard-earned canon representation (i.e. shipping Amity Blight with Hunter when Amity is a canon lesbian and Dana Terrace fought hard to include that rep)

🚫You are a zooph*le

🚫You DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ALL FURRIES AND THERIANS BECAUSE YOU ASSUME THEY ARE ALL ZOOPH*LES (THEY ARE NOT)

🚫You think abortion is not necessary healthcare or a human right

🚫You think gun reform is a stupid idea (SAY IT TO MY FACE, I FUCKING DARE YOU. BECAUSE I BET ANYONE WHO THINKS THIS HAS NEVER LIVED THROUGH THE TERROR OF A SHOOTING OR BOMB THREAT. LIKE I HAVE. SO SAY IT, YOU BITCH.)

(now, saying it's gonna be nearly impossible and be hard and take a long time, that's fine. But saying it's not important enough to even be worth trying gets you blocked here.)

🚫You support Autism Speaks

🚫 You discriminate against people with physical disabilities

🚫You discriminate against people with mental disabilities (THIS INCLUDES USING THE R WORD)

🚫You are over 30 (EXCEPTION: If I already knew you before you turned old [/j], you can stay)

Yes, the list is long, because UNFORTUNATELY there's a lot of different kinds of people who aren't welcome here.

🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵

Aight, that's it! If you think you like the vibes, feel free to stay!

Sea you later!!

-🌊🥔

[peanut-tyrug]

HEY!!

Y’ALL WANNA HEAR MY IDEA FOR HOW CANDY LAND CAME TO BE??

LIKE LORE-WISE??

A few of these ideas could be subject to change btw

The idea I had was Candy Land itself was created by, as legends put it, someone all powerful. A deity of the kind named by trusted all-knowers, “Eleanor”, named after Candy Land’s irl creator, Eleanor Abbott.

Candy Land as a place exists as another dimension. A place similar to ours, just made of candy. However, it wasn’t as vast and grand as it becomes. What I mean by this is that the places in Candy Land didn’t exist after it’s creation. Peppermint Forest? Gumdrop Mountains? What’s that? The only place that existed in Candy Land shortly after it’s birth was the Candy Castle, where eventually a long line of rulers comes into play over the land’s existence.

How does each place come to be? Sweet Celebrations! Every several years, a Sweet Celebration is held to allow a new flavor to bloom in Candy Land and be inhabited by whoever desires to reside there (basically the same as the movie, where this comes from and is inspired by).

Over the next hundreds or thousands of years, multiple areas are born from the Sweet Celebrations.

————

Peppermint Forest: Where the Mint family lumberjack business and family resides (I got this idea from an artist who had made a design for Mint’s dad).

Gumdrop Mountains: Where various gummy creatures and people reside.

Peanut Acres: Owned by the Nut family. Others are always allowed to visit.

Lollipop Woods/Snow Flake Lake: Not really owned by anyone. Anyone can come and go as they please. Later on though, Princesses Lolly and Frostine, who are part of the Kandy lineage, reside there.

Licorice Wicket: Where the Licorice family resides (there is more to why this is but I may save for another project).

Chocolate Swamp: Because Gloppy is the Chocolate Swamp, he was basically born when the swamp was born.

————

Although the aforementioned places in Candy Land are based on/inspired by the 2002 iteration/movie, I’ve thought abt Candy Land being separated into different universes that are basically each like the various iterations of the board game.

So in one universe, Frostine is a queen who resides in the Ice Cream Sea. Frostine Lolly, King Kandy, and Gramma Nut aren’t related in most universes either. Lord Licorice could have a castle in one universe, yet have a lagoon in another. Mint could be a lumberjack in one universe, but in another, an ice skater. And what abt Plumpy? He only exists in certain universes.

This idea also goes for appearances and make up too. What do I mean by make up? Gloppy in older iterations of the game was made of molasses, while in later ones, he’s made of chocolate. As for appearances, Jolly could be a gummy dino in one continuity, while in another, he looks less like an animal and more like a jester. The residents in Candy Land look different depending on what universe, that is based on whatever particular iteration of the game, you’re in.

Okay I think this rant is over

[alexandriaisburning]

026: Spark the Electric Jester 3

CANON FIRE is made possible by the generous contributions of readers like you. Support more writing like this on Patreon. Thank you!

If Spark 2 has the cocky, brusque swagger of young ambition, Spark 3 moves with the confident, businesslike stride of someone with a plan guiding their every move. It’s a definitive, persuasive bullet point on Lake Fepard’s argument for what the high speed 3D platformer should be. It’s a synthesis of multiple generations of Sonic games--filtered by his experience with both fan games and his original work--with an eye for building and keeping momentum. 

Spark’s ideas owe a debt to Sonic, but it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t made them its own. It’s not a perfect, polished object, but a compelling and coherent one following the scattershot aim of the previous two games. And yet Spark 3 is still happy to cast all those refinements aside to introduce a new gimmick or gameplay style on a whim, if it suits the moment. There’s an absolute confidence in spending years refining your movement and mechanics and instead opening on a Daytona USA style racing level--and making it somehow work. 

When you get into the first level proper, it’s immediately obvious how satisfying the movement is. Physics are tweaked for more fine control, with an option mode to limit the max speed and add assists for those who want a less technical experience. Familiar Sonic staples like the homing attack, air dash, double jump, wall run and lightspeed dash are all here, with moves like the Down Dash and Jester Dash performing the functions of the stomp and spin dash, but refined so they can chain together without interrupting momentum. Each is separated out to prevent control overlap, and avoid unintentional inputs. 

Even elements of modern Boost era Sonic manage to work their way in, without ever taking control or letting you go on autopilot. An unlockable Energy Dash launches you to an absurd speed and distance, allowing you to quickly cross otherwise impossible gaps and hitting max speeds within seconds. But it’s as likely to send you careening to your death if used incorrectly, and comes at the cost of a decent chunk of the new energy meter. 

Energy is now more than a combo multiplier--which is separated into its own function--and powers many secondary abilities like the Energy Dash, float, teleport and special attacks. The energy system gives you an immediate reason to engage with exploration and combat, with energy pickups powering new traversal methods and the brief interruptions of combat mixing up the rhythm for a moment only to empower a quick return to high speeds. 

These energy mechanics loop back into the new rail grinding systems, which were clearly designed to alleviate the common frustrations of finicky Sonic rail grind sections. Nearby rails can be targeted for a homing attack, instantly transferring you at high speeds without the fear of misjudging a jump and plummeting to your death. Crouching on a downward slope builds massive speed, and later abilities allow you to store and release energy by braking and rail boosting. The boost mechanics give that cathartic, near out of control feeling of the Boost Sonic games, but keep you engaged with the level by asking you to find the best time to deploy them, pushing and pulling the throttle with more precision as you familiarize yourself with the layouts, and leaving peak acceleration for when you’re literally on rails. 

The amount of new toys calls for a change in the size of the sandbox. Spark’s first stage proper can take you five minutes or thirty, depending on how much time you want to speed finding alternative paths, collecting medals, or attempting sick jumps. Your only objective might be “get to the goal” but the paths you take can vary wildly.

Stages focused on side objectives like medal collection take aspects of Sonic Adventure’s Treasure Hunt stages, giving you small hubs to explore, but with a philosophy closer to something like a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Stages are designed for you to chain moves through them, finding your own routes as you learn the layouts. but I found myself wanting more of these medal collection stages, since the simple objective and soft pressure of timer gave the wide spaces motivation to learn them, but enough breathing room to try and do it in an expressive and stylish way. 

You see the same emphasis on style and expression in combat, which takes its attitude from games like Devil May Cry. An expanding move list of combo techniques is now available, only growing larger as you gain alternative Jester Forms and characters to play as--which you can of course switch to mid combo. New launcher attacks expand the fight to the air, enabling juggles and air combos that further emphasize Spark’s mobility. 

The parry that plagued Spark 2 is retuned--no longer the universal, impenetrable defense it once was, unable to parry stage hazards or certain unblockable attacks. That single change forces you to engage more with the boss patterns, and stay moving around the arena, with rhythm of push and pull closer to the rest of the game. 

Consequently, when you nail a series of parries and break the boss’ stance it feels incredible. A vulnerable boss can be juggled to absurd heights before being brought crashing down with a powerful finisher. Flexing and keeping combos varied fills the combo meter faster, rewarding you with big damage and making it faster to go between combat and platforming in the main stages. The wild swings the combo system introduced in Spark 2 are prevented by the energy meter, which keeps a steady stream of buffs and special moves building, even when you drop your combo. 

The new combat systems form a strong baseline through all the forms and characters, which each have little buffs and alterations to the moveset. Float adds a new “Mark” mechanic that boosts the damage of the party just by being there, Reaper Form can steal health, and Fark returns with expanded air movement and aspects of his moveset from the previous two games. Characters do unfortunately have a bit too much overlap to be entirely distinct--they have their own wrinkles and rhythm, but the beats are always the same. It’s easy to imagine another version of the game where these characters are relegated to short playable appearances, acting as hype moments rather than given full movesets. But their appearance in Spark 3 speaks to its philosophy of giving you more options, even if you don’t use all of them, because it’s more fun. 

Modern mainstream games are often built to provide spectacle for everyone. Punctuated with set pieces designed to draw attention to themselves, and bring out a big talking point. Spark 3 is made for the obsessive. The ones returning to master each aspect. The people making combo videos and doing speedruns. It doesn’t care if you skip half the stage because it’s intentionally designed to give you the freedom to do that. You can see it in the skill contests Lake puts on to challenge and highlight players in the community, or in the way he handles moves like the Magnet Dash. 

Magnet Dash initially began as an exploit in Spark 2 that allowed you to cancel a homing attack with a dash, slingshotting Fark to absurd speeds by extending the period of high acceleration. It was initially unintended, but Lake later formalized it into a hidden mechanic to make it more consistent to pull off. It returns in Spark 3, though it's still hidden and not given a proper tutorial, since it’s the only move that requires strict timing, and Lake wanted to prevent casual players from being alienated by it. 

All these nuances make Spark 3 a game that continues to open up as you return to it. Simply moving around and exploring the moveset is a joy, and attempting better runs had me making calculations on when to engage in combat, or how I could use enemies to reposition myself. Reaching high speeds is exhilarating, but just as fun is knowing when to pull back the throttle and slow down to hit a better route through the stage. Spark 3 lends itself to the same mindset as racing sims, where moving fast is enjoyable not because you’re in a fast machine, but because you’re learning its limits and know how to keep that speed through the next turn. Playing a stage well is the spectacle here, and a clean run is easily as impressive as any scripted moment in a larger title. 

Not that Spark the Electric Jester 3 doesn’t have its fair share of hype scripted moments. Spark’s finale builds up through an incredible series of stages and boss fights, which become more and more abstract as the world around Spark begins to unravel. It throws in new gameplay styles and unexpected transformations as the big anime plot happens and Spark fights back in pure shonen anime style--complete with vocal songs. It’s a left field escalation that had caught me off guard, which is impressive in a game that already surprised me with stages involving breaking through a prison complex, and being lifted by rioting protestors as I fought cops and firemen. It’s a wild journey on aesthetics alone, and even if it doesn’t always cohere, it had me motivated to see it through purely on the madcap energy and style it radiates. 

That combination of inconsistency and almost improvisational design are where Spark 3 begins to show its limits as a single person project. After all, this is a game mostly made by Lake himself, with a few collaborators to provide music and sound, and to assist with additional art and programming. At the same time that’s exactly what allows Spark 3 to achieve its singular vision. Each aspect is touched and refined by the same person, and there’s no conflicting philosophy on what the game should be. Lake has a strong belief for what this style of game should be, and it's hard to play Spark 3 and disagree. It even predicts changes Sonic Frontiers would make to the series, and personally, provides a more compelling vision. 

Most importantly, Spark the Electric Jester keeps me excited for where else Lake and other creators will take the genre. Spark 3 gave me basically everything I’ve wanted from a Sonic style platformer for years, while still firmly establishing its own identity. It makes me excited for all the upcoming games that not only take influence from 3D Sonic, but remix its ideas for their own goals. 

Spark the Electric Jester 3 is exciting as both a game deep enough to return to for years, and living proof that a game's fans can not only match the highs of the games they imitate, but reach beyond with their own vision.

[jcmarchi]

Penny's Big Breakaway Preview - Bauhausian Rhapsody - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/pennys-big-breakaway-preview-bauhausian-rhapsody-game-informer/

Penny's Big Breakaway Preview - Bauhausian Rhapsody - Game Informer

Introduction

Sonic Mania is widely regarded as one of the blue blur’s best games. More than six years after its 2017 release, that sentiment remains as strong as ever, even after recent outings like 2022’s Sonic Frontiers and this year’s Sonic Superstars. While published by Sega, longtime Sonic fans who grew up playing the series, like Christian Whitehead, Hunter Bridges, Dave Padilla, Brad Flick, Tom Fry, and others, led the game’s development. And without speculating too much, the degree of separation afforded to these fans-turned-developers allowed Sonic Mania to feel like both a fresh breath of air and a return to form.

Not wanting to wade too deep into the world of independent contracts and wishing to maintain the friendship between each other strengthened in Sonic Mania’s development, the five of them formed Evening Star months after the game’s release. Studio CEO and executive producer Padilla, CTO and game director Bridges, creative director and lead engine architect Whitehead, design director Flick, and art director Fry all admit the easy follow-up was right there: A Sonic Mania-type 2D platformer. It’s what fans of Sonic Mania wanted, and to their credit, they worked with Sega on potential sequel ideas before amicably parting ways. But, unsatisfied with the easy answer, Evening Star got to work on a 3D momentum-based platformer inspired by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, an early 20th Century ballet, and 1995’s Jumping Flash on PlayStation.

Evening Star

“We always had this idea of, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a character that could use a yo-yo to do different moves?’” Whitehead says. “Initially, we jotted them down on a 2D playfield, but there were several concurrent themes swirling in the background. At least for me, my perspective as a developer is I’ve spent the last decade working exclusively on 2D pixel art, so I really wanted to expand and prove that I could do something more than just one particular genre.”

Whitehead says he’s aware Penny’s Big Breakaway is another platformer but says it’s a different flavor in a different dimension. After playing more than two hours of the game myself, experiencing the first three of 11 regions in the world of Macaroon, including three different boss stages and special Star Globe bonus levels, that much is clear. Knowing the development leads of Sonic Mania are responsible for what I play, it’s impossible to deny the momentum-based inspiration that lives in both titles. But Whitehead’s right – even beyond the obvious shift from 2D to 3D, Penny’s Big Breakaway features a different flavor. It is not just a new flavor for these developers but something unique in the long-standing platforming genre.

Breaking the Standards

Breaking The Standards

I’m terrible at the game, at least for the first handful of stages. It doesn’t help that I just watched Bridges speed through them like someone with intimate knowledge of every stage’s challenges, but I’m slow and struggle to combo yo-tagonist Penny’s yo-yo-based moves across ramps, flag poles, gaps, and more. Penny can toss her yo-yo forward to attack enemies and break barrels with a button on a controller or, more curiously, by flicking the right stick in a direction. And that directional input is independent of Penny, meaning you can flick the yo-yo to her right while she walks left. It’s admittedly bizarre at first – not because it doesn’t feel good, but because it’s so different from how I typically interact with the combat and moveset of a 3D platformer mascot.

In the same vein, Penny can double jump, but instead of gaining a good amount of height with a second jump, she gains a barely noticeable amount; the purpose of her double jump isn’t height but a stop in momentum, Bridges tells me. She can dash by tossing her yo-yo forward, performed by flicking the right stick in the same direction twice, and she can swing left and right, forward and backward, on her yo-yo anywhere in the air as well.

Although it takes me some time – something I welcome because it’s rare to experience a new moveset that challenges my preconceptions of a genre – I finish my Penny’s Big Breakaway play time with the realization that it’s not a 3D platformer in the vein of something Nintendo might create, another challenged preconception. On the one hand, it’s a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-inspired platformer with an emphasis on momentum that will appeal heavily to speedrunners and time trial fans, with a constant score and Devil May Cry-style combo tracker on the right side of the screen, too. On the other, it’s a team’s love letter to the weird and sometimes broken platformers of the 3D genre’s early days. Together as a complete package, it rules.

“The rules [of 3D platformers] at that stage weren’t really established that well,” Whitehead says. “I remember growing up playing a lot of PlayStation games where they were maybe a bit rough around the edges but trying to grapple platforming mechanics in 3D, and I felt really inspired by that era. I experienced that as a kid, but I wanted to experience that as a developer.”

A Roundtable Philosophy

A Roundtable Philosophy

Whitehead, admitting creative selfishness, says he wanted to try and make a PlayStation-style 3D platformer that fixes the problems he experienced growing up with the genre. The small slice I’ve played proves Evening Star is on the right path. But in speaking to others within Evening Star, like Bridges, Fry, Flick, and Padilla, it’s clear everyone is all-in on that idea. Even Fry, the art director on paper, says he was involved in all kinds of decisions outside of his development realm, a philosophy everyone else expresses too. “The collaborative effort is an intrinsic part of the team,” Fry says. “Not one person has an idea and everyone follows them like the Pied Piper with it. It’s something where we believe everyone has something of value to throw into the pot, and with the art, that’s certainly no different. I refer to it as a roundtable philosophy.”

That collaborative energy even made its way into the so-far-amazing score of Penny’s Big Breakaway, which utilizes a wide range of weird synthesizer instruments, instrumentation from genres like Latin and Calypso, and more to create a jazz-like symphony of music. Bridges, Whitehead, and others in the team contributed to the score in various ways, even after Evening Star hired Streets of Rage 4 and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge composer Tee Lopes, who the team also worked with on Sonic Mania, and Sean Bialo to create the score.

Performance Art

Performance Art

If one aspect of Penny’s Big Breakaway speaks most to its early PlayStation inspiration, it’s the art direction. Inspired by the early 20th Century Triadisches Ballett and the Germanic Bauhaus art movement from the same period, combining colorful abstract ideas with primitive geometry, the world of Macaroon feels like one big performance. Your social status is defined by the performance you can give to denizens of the world. Every stage ends with a “Busker” bonus that requires quick and accurate QTE sequence completion to add additional points to your total score. Within each stage are three denizen challenges, like collecting four missing tax forms for an electric company while riding Penny’s yo-yo like a unicycle, and during the Busker bonus, the denizens you help watch you perform.

Even the conceit of the narrative speaks to the idea of performance art being everything – Penny attends a talent show after finding a special yo-yo with an insatiable hunger and, instead of wowing the emperor with a showstopping performance, the yo-yo eats the emperor’s clothes. She spends the rest of the game running further and further away from the emperor and Macaroon’s capital, chased to the world’s edges by the emperor’s ever-present penguins, only temporarily slowed by your efforts and never outright defeated.

“We want the game to keep the flow and dribble going,” Bridges tells me. “We really wanted to have that rhythm […] and never interrupt that. It’s a game where the most skilled players can theoretically make it through a level in an unbroken string of moves. That’s Penny’s masterful performance.”

That’s why Evening Star controls the camera at all times, which requires a flip in my brain. With three denizen challenges to complete and three Show Pieces to find in each level, I want to explore every nook and cranny. But without camera control, I can’t, and I hate this at first. It’s only after realizing that if Evening Star isn’t allowing the camera to take me here or there, then there isn’t anything to miss that I begin to play on the team’s terms. This switch is freeing, realizing Penny’s platforming playground is predicated on my ability to keep moving forward to where Evening Star was taking me in its design. With thoughtful movement and a keen eye, completing every challenge and finding every Show Piece feels intrinsic to Penny’s “performance” in each stage.

The game clashed with every notion I had of 3D platforming. I wanted to take things slow; I wanted to search every corner for something; I wanted to take my time. But Penny’s Big Breakaway is a welcome antithesis to everything (mostly) Nintendo had taught me about this genre. It’s a bold design choice and one I would have called risky on paper. In talking with Evening Star, it’s clear it understood that risk going into its first original game and IP. However, each member I spoke to expressed humble confidence in their respective facets of the game’s development.

“There are a lot of skills we really excel at when making games, and a lot of specific nuances we bring to the table because of our team dynamic and our tools, and I don’t think it’s going to be a complete surprise,” Padilla says. “I think a lot of folks are going to see this as something completely new and something completely original, but in terms of what we’ve done before and what we’re doing now, and hopefully what we’re doing in the future, folks are going to be able to connect the dots.” 

This article originally appeared in Issue 362 of Game Informer.

[chiliiscereal]

May I offer a prompt of how the turtles would be with a mom friendTM? you know the type I mean? like.... I think they might benefit from that kind of friend in the group lol (also I love your stories, your such a cool writer keep up the awesome work!)

Rottmnt headcanon: mom friend TM

And thanks so much!

Mom friends are severely underrated XD

——

-Okay these boys need a mom friend badly

-but that’s where you come in!

-as the mom friend you keep them safe in many ways

Donnie💜

-starting with this guy, he never really wanted a mom friend

-when April first brought you over he was cold

-didn’t even bother talking to you

-you were determined to befriend him, even though he left whenever you tried to talk to him

-you became comfortable with the turtles quickly and the others accepted your mom friend nature

-not Donnie though

-he didn’t hate you, sure, but you were too much

-you were too overbearing and too nervous for his safety!

-you’d make him wear a helmet when he used his jet pack 

-you made him put on SUNSCREEN whenever he went outside

-you told him to be careful when rewiring a project even!

-it’s like you wanted to ruin his bad boy image

-he hated it and wanted you to stop being so smothering

-…

-…until he realized that attention and moral support comes with the smothering

-the moment he realizes that he’s all for it

-he’s no longer hiding his inventions from you so you won’t bug him, but he’s seeking you out for your advice and praise

“Hey so I made this and… I don’t know…”

“Wow you built that? It’s awesome!” 

“Really? I mean, I know, I just wanted to show you that it was.”

-praise ain’t something this boy has

-have you SEEN how his brothers react to his ideas?

-he needs this

-with praise comes affection

-I’m talking homemade snacks and questions that his brothers never ask

-you’re there if he needs a cup of coffee or if he hasn’t eaten in a while or taken a nap

-“don, it’s been two days since you slept go to bed.”

-“*hissssss*”

-“I’ll make a cup of coffee for you after...?”

-“*hisses but less intense*”

-you may be good at making snacks and everything

-very good in facts

-but the questions are probably his favorite part

“Woah what’s that supposed to do?”

“Well it’s a device that’s meant to fix all the broken McDonald’s ice cream machines.”

“That’s amazing! What did you use to build it? How does it work?”

-you’re actually trying to learn about his work!

-you’re trying to learn about him!

-he loves it

-and he loves that you’re careful to

-it’s a nice change from his brothers

-you’re someone he can depend on

-doesn’t matter if it’s missions or just being a good friend

-and I mean it when I say depend

-you’re there when he needs help rewiring something or just to simply talk about his dumb dumb brothers

-honestly April isn’t even mad that Donnie stole one of her best friends

-she knows he needs this

-Donnie fully learned to trust you after the purple dragons mishap

-you told him they were untrustworthy but his heart was dead set on that satin jacket

-when he came back to the lair, late at night, with no satin jacket and a handful of his missing tech, he found you raising an eyebrow at him from where you had sat to wait for him

-he knew from then on to trust you and your opinions, even though his often got in the way

-you can often be found sitting on Donnies bed while he works, offering your company and comments

-Normally no one else is allowed in while he works but that’s just because they don’t have anything positive to provide

 Raph❤️ 

-Raph IS the mom friend

-your mom friend energy and his mom friend energy just work together so well together

-I’m talking planning missions together, figuring new ways to trick his brothers into being responsible, cleaning the dishes, and even making snacks together

-“so the mission is tomorrow right?”

-“yep! Should we bring apples with peanut butter or pretzels with hummus?”

-“well Donnie doesn’t like peanut butter, but Mikey does, so both?”

-“awesome! And you’ve got the water covered?”

-“dude I even have caprisuns packed so we’re ready!”

-the others find it to be too much with the two of you but Raph really appreciates the help

-especially during the pizza puff episode

-oh that part nearly set you on fire with worry

-Raph had never seen you that worked up

-you had a fan for Leo, a bowl for Mikey, and a bag of fruit snacks for Donnie

-Raph has to activate his supreme mom friend energy to get you to stop hovering over them

-that meant literally dragging you away from them so they could figure things out on their own

-he’s seen you be a mom friend to them all the time

-but never once for him

-you two were like... co mom friends working together to stop the younger irresponsible three

-until Raph got separated in the sewer

-oh man you were torn with worry

-you nearly destoryed the place looking for him

-and finding him all savage like that... ack that was enough to practically shatter your heart in two

-once he stopped trying to barbecue villains and destroy his brothers you took him to the lair and helped him calm down

-you even turned on a movie for the two of you so he could relax

-it was nice to have your best friend and partner in stopping crime back

-Raph of course was embarrassed because it’s HIS job to help everyone, not the other way around

-after much assurance you had him convinced that you didn’t mind

-he was grateful to have you and your help

-he just wished you didn’t worry quite so much

Leo 💙:

-this boy is soaking it all up from the start

-someone to compliment him?

-someone to help him out?

-someone to admire his achievements?

-oh he’s all for it

-he’s showing off skateboard stunts, he’s doing flips, and he’s randomly pulling you to him and creating a portal

-usually you end up somewhere sketchy but sometimes it works out

-you always have to be ready though

-one minute you’re walking to the projector room and the next you’re in New Jersey with a sheepish looking red slider

-his only problem is now he has to be more careful with skateboard tricks

-he’s fine with a helmet but when it comes to you hovering next to him while he’s going down the skate ramp...

-eh he’s not so fond of that

-praise?

-sure

-home made gifts and cards?

-always appreciated

-but you constantly trying to protect him from things he knew how to do?

-no

-just no

-now he only feels like he can skate if you’re not there or if he goes to a skate park without telling you

-you figure out quickly and still worry that he’ll mess up a flip

-doesn’t matter if you’re watching or not

-you’re the mom friend

-your job is to worry

-you promised that you’d stop worrying about him if he can back

-you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home!

-he agreed and you did your best to keep your promise

-...

-until he actually messed up a flip

-you don’t know WHAT he landed on but it must have been sharp because there was a LOT of blood

-maybe you thought there was a lot because you were so worried but still

-you hadn’t even been in the room but you heard his shout (and crash) and you came running

-oh he was lucky you carried gauze and everything in your bag because other wise they’d have to go buy some

-you chewed him out while patching him up, much to his displeasure

-you’re both sweet and sour about it

-“I’m fine! Look, nothing’s broken!”

-“I TOLD you that you could get hurt! I TOLD you it wasn’t safe! Why did you not listen- I’m sorry does that hurt? I’m sorry!”

-“yeah it does hurt-.”

-“than you should have listened to me!!”

-for a while he’s bitter that you were just waiting for him to mess up

-clearly you thought he was just a big clutz to you

-but after a while of him avoiding you and pouting you brought it up again

-“I’m not just waiting for you to fail you know. I just want you to be okay.”

-“that’s not what it feels like! You clearly don’t trust me!”

-“life happens, Leo! Doesn’t matter how skilled you are! You’re an amazing skater but sometimes mistakes are made!”

-ha that changed his tune quickly

-“you think I’m an amazing and skilled skater?

-you just rolled your eyes and left, not saying anything about his comment

-didn’t matter

-this boy is all smiles for the rest of the day

Mikey🧡:

-he was on board from the very start

-he’s got cuddles, piggy back rides, and his own art fan/critic

-lots of baking and cooking together

-maybe even drawing if he’s lucky

-only problem?

-you don’t trust him to go out on his own

-even if it’s just to grab a video game from the store or pick up pizza

-“I’m just going down the block!”

-“what if someone sees you?”

-“I’ll be careful!”

-“just let me go with you.”

-“no! I can do this on my own!”

-you’re always offering to give him a ride or tag along just because you don’t want anything to happen to him

-that means, of course, sneaking out

-not for a long time, just enough to get some air

-but that also means you’re staying up late waiting for him to come back

-he’s your buddy!

-you can’t let anything happen to him!

-he didn’t know about it until he found you cashed out on the couch with the lamp still on

-normally you gave him an excuse about why you were still up, such as a late night snack or a movie

-but your phone and the tv were both off

-he decided to think nothing of it until he noticed that you were grumpier in the mornings

-he didn’t want his actions to affect you so he started coming back earlier

-even texting you and telling you he was fine

-you two talked and set up a deal

-he could go out by himself and you wouldn’t stay up late waiting for him as long as you had his location on your phone

-it was easier for both you from then on

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Master post - Yuzu's senior SPs

In order of my least favourite to favourite (although all are incredible)

8. Étude in D-sharp Minor

7. White Legend

6. Parisienne Walkways

5. Let's Go Crazy

4. Ballade No. 1

3. Otonal

2. Let Me Entertain You

1. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Bonus: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso skated for 24HTV - Yuzu's pro career debut

I finally finished this post-series.

About Rondo:

Rondo is the queen of programs. Rondo is it. Rondo is the peak of figure skating as it SHOULD be.

Specifically, I have chosen to put each GIF separately to see (as much as the quality allows) the details and precision of movement. I have also dedicated 3 GIFs to the StSq and sacrificed 2 spin GIFs. Even without sound, it's possible to grasp the precision with which Yuzu moves his arms to capture each note and music accent.

I had written a very emotional rant about Yuzu and his evolution as a skater over time, but Tumblr decided to be a little bitch and erased it. Now, I can't remember what I wrote, so I'll just post this as it is.

The main idea was:

Yuzu has evolved so much over time, his programs are the proof of that. His longevity in the sport doesn't mean his decline, on the contrary, he has continuously strived to be better and better, to push himself to the limit and to push figure skating as a sport ahead as well. Unfortunately, the sport hasn't been kind to him in a very long time. However, that doesn't mean he's finished.

Even now, he's showing us his versatility and new sides of him and his skating. And we are all loving it.

We, as fans, will continue to support Yuzu in whatever he chooses to do next starting with being there to cheer for him while he pursues his dream of conquering the 4A - dream which he made very clear he's not done with just yet.

[joyfulhopelox]

Roller Cat | JHS - Teaser

Summary: Getting a job at the roller skating rink was not something you would've expected- not when you've sworn to never skate again. But it's the 50's, you're alone and you need money. With an old injury causing you trouble, things are about to get even more complicated when your new boss enters into the picture.

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader (ex military Hoseok, ex pro skater reader)

AU: 50s, slice of life, roller skating

Genre: fluff, with a tiny bit of angst

Rating: pg

Word count: teaser 1k (whole fic approx 12k)

Warnings: probably a lot of misogyny (it's the 50s), talk of war, injuries, 50s slang (I am sorry!)

Welcome to the BTS in the 50s collab hosted by @homeofbangtan!

A/N: I want to thank @notyouroppar for reading over this and the amazing @ttaetae my lost twin, for making this amazing banner! I would also like to thank everyone in this collab for being such amazing people! (there will be more thank you's when the fic is posted!)

Copyrights @joyfulhopelox

As always please leave feedback and/or talk to me as i love to hear from you! Enjoy <3

FULL FIC HERE

You couldn’t believe you were doing this. Papers in hand and heart in your throat, you watched as people lined up for the ticket box. Excited couples and children reminded you of your own elation at the prospect of putting on your skates, and for a moment you allowed yourself to reminisce. Bright eyed and rosy cheeked, your younger self couldn’t have been happier at the new entertainment that opened in town.

“Miss, you’ll have to queue to get in.” A stern voice interrupted your daydream and by God could you have kissed this person. You never wanted to go back to those memories, but by being here, a trigger was inevitable. Turning to face your saviour you offered them a tight lipped smile.

“Ah, no. I’m sorry. I’m here for the job.” You waved the papers as if to prove a point. The man, quite tall and stern judging by the permanent creases on his forehead, gave you an unconvinced look. “I uh, was told there is an opening as a part time cleaner?” You gulped not daring to utter the other side of the agreement, hoping he wouldn’t prod. Resisting the urge to shift on your feet under his gaze, you glanced around hoping he wouldn’t kick you out. The amount of time and pep talk it took you to even urge yourself here made you almost beg him to let you in to apply. Almost.

“Tran, the queue is getting bigger, we should separate the slots again.” A cheery voice called out from behind. Tran, as you assumed the man was called, turned around to face whoever had spoken and without a word to you headed for the ticket box.

Dumbfounded and confused you stood there, mouth agape wondering what just happened. “Ma’am, is there anything I can help you with? If it’s for the school admissions–“ your head snapped in the direction of the voice. Recognition dawned on you at the sight of the blonde man. “School admissions are only on– oh, it’s you!” Too surprised to respond, you simply looked at him. Today he’d chosen a cream short sleeved shirt, and cropped dress pants. His short blonde hair was once again styled to be off his face and his cheery eyes were wide in surprise.

“Uh.” What a good start. Not knowing what to say you nodded in acknowledgment. The heat of the sun beating down your back made you feel uncomfortable, or maybe it was just the man’s stare that caused the sheen of sweat to drip down your back.

“What brings you here?” Getting over his surprise at seeing a very unlikely face, he broke out into a grin. Giving you a once over he scratched his chin in contemplation. “Is it the job?” He motioned towards the papers that were hanging loosely in your grip.

You didn’t know what possessed you. Maybe it was the suddenness of seeing him again or the fact that you’ve changed your mind, the prospect of working there no longer a viable one, in a split of a second your fingers tightened on the papers and you hid them behind your back. “What makes you think that?” You narrowed your eyes at him, “I could have very well gotten another job!”

The tone of your voice surprised him and he took a step back before he started chuckling to himself. “Of course, I apologise. What brings you here then?” He motioned behind him at the colourful building. “Is it for lessons?”

“Oh no, no. I came to–“ You paused not meeting his gaze. “Skate!” You exclaimed in his face, the insincere excitement almost making you wince. “I heard it’s the bee's knees nowadays, really!”

“Stop feeding me apple butter, Hoseok.” Resisting the urge to cross your arms, the action too unladylike even for your taste you shook your head at him. “Just come out with it already. Is there anything you don’t want me to see in there?”

Hoseok huffs at you, his over dramatic expression of innocence worsening your suspicions. “What could it be, Roller Cat? There is nothing; if you don’t trust me to do my own paperwork and want to check over them later, you can do so.” He lets you go ushering you into the rink. “For now, we got curtain climbers to entertain.”

You stared at him incredulously, your mouth agape as he winked at you, and with a final energetic wave he rushed back to his office, the door slamming shut after him. It took you a moment to recollect yourself, and before you could even step foot in the rink, the guard made his way over towards you from the other side.

“Y/N, are we ready to start the day?” He smiles at you, his cheery disposition always a surprise to you. You hadn’t spoken much to him. The few times you had, weren’t outside of working hours where his merry self would be replaced by a tight lipped smile and fierce eyes scouring the rink for any misdemeanour. You offered him your own greeting, a small nod of your head as you rushed to get your skates on. The sight of the white shiny wheels made you smile, the dance you shared with Hoseok still fresh in your mind.

Your curiosity at what he could have been hiding was at its peak, when an idea popped into your mind. “Hey, Tran.” You called over your shoulder at him, your hands busy with your laces. The shout of acknowledgement he offered you spurred you on, “do you know what has gotten Hoseok so giddy?” Finishing with your laces, you turned around just in time to catch the worried glance he threw you. “Tran.” You warned him, knowing that he was also going to feed you bull.

“It’s–“ Before he could continue you interrupted him. “Out with it, and I want the truth.”

[connorandersons-blog]

Connors just got new furniture for his apartment but since he’s a twink he needs to ask the himbos (nines, Markus and Gavin) for help to move them but then they start competing to try impress Connor at all cost

So I kinda forgot I wrote this lol! Sorry!! But here it is!

No warnings, just pure cuteness. If you wanna see Connor’s outfit here it is:

Shirt Skirt Socks

Hope you enjoy!

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

The time had come he was facing his most difficult enemy, one that had lurked in the shadows and waited for him to come. He should have heeded the warnings, the rumors, and even jokes about this, but he thought he could do it by himself. Boy had he ever been more wrong. 

Ikea had truly bested him. It was stupid and silly; he could use his access to the internet, but he'd wanted to do this like a human. So, like a human, he called for some help. 

Nines showed up first, though Gavin would say walking through the door didn't mean that as he was there at the same time. Then Markus sprinted over, his clothes a bit rumbled from running all the way from Jericho. 

"What's the emergency?" He asked, not out of breath only because he was an android. 

Connor spread his arms around his new but small apartment, showing the boxes of furniture. "I can't build these. I'm trying to do it the human way but it's just not working." 

He pouted as Gavin broke into laughter, but Nines slapped him on the back of his head and he quickly shut up. "Please help me." 

"Of course, are we allowed to do this the 'android way'?" Nines asked, scanning all the boxes for the contents. 

Connor shrugged half-heartedly, biting his lip. "I mean, you can, I guess. I thought it might be fun if we did it all together." 

He wanted to spend time with them too, and this seemed like it could be fun. He'd order pizza for Gavin, and he'd make some thirium drinks for the other two if they wanted it. 

"Alright, let's get to work," Markus said, pushing up his sleeves. He looked at the other two, something passing between them that Connor was unaware of. There seemed to be a glint in each of their eyes as they nodded and picked something to build. 

Connor was a little baffled that they wouldn't be building it together, but maybe this would get it done faster. 

Once again, he was proved very wrong. Their separate pieces were thrown across the floor, mixing with the others and causing more than one person to use the wrong thing. 

Connor tried to help, but it was a bit too amusing to not just watch. Gavin kept cursing and grumbling about how the furniture was stupid, Nines was more silent, but his LED was stuck on yellow, and Markus looked more focused than he had during the whole revolution. 

Connor sent the order out for some pizza, and within that time it was Gavin who had finished his first. It was a small side table that would be going in his bedroom. 

He didn't realize it looked like he was rewarding Gavin when the pizza came, but the other two sent deadly glares Gavin's way. 

Gavin had smirked and took the pizza, eyes going soft when he looked to Connor. "Thanks, Tincan, I'm starving." 

Connor nodded, going to get him a plate from the opened box. "You've done really well, it's the least I can do." He reached over and gave him a small side hug, once again missing the glares it got Gavin. 

He sat back down with a new piece of furniture, a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth as he read over the instructions. 

"Oh, um, does anyone need help? I'm so sorry I've just been standing around." He was being more than a bad host for not even offering to help. 

"No!" All three said at once. 

Connor blinked in surprise, not having expected such a firm answer. "Are you sure? I can keep everyone's parts in order." He wanted to help somehow considering it was his furniture being built. 

Markus smiled up at him, and Connor melted a little inside. "It's ok, but if you want to help you can." He reached out his palm up towards him. Connor slid his hand into his, feeling that spark he was addicted to. 

Markus's hands were so soft and much warmer than Connor's. He could hold his hands for hours if given the chance, but he sunk down onto the floor and started sorting the pieces. 

The boys went back to work, but all were more than distracted by Connor and how he was sitting. None of them were surprised by the cute lace-up skater skirt or his white socks that had cat toe beans on his foot. What caught their eyes was the way he sat, W-style, and how his soft blue dute cloud sweater kept slipping off one of his shoulders as he leaned forward to grab things. 

Connor, of course, had absolutely no idea at how he looked or what it was doing to the boys. He'd long since grown comfortable wearing any clothes he wanted, regardless of how humans gendered it. He liked the skirt and how it fanned out when he spun (though it showed his ass, not that anyone was complaining about that). The sweater was soft and didn't make him want to rip off his skin when his sensitivity got too bad. And the socks? Well, those were just adorable so no one could blame him for wanting to wear those. 

Once he had things sorted, he smiled to himself, putting his hands on the ground between his legs and leaning on his arms. He brushed a few curls away that fell into his face, missing the looks of awe and enchantment on all their faces. "Right! Markus, Nines do either of you want a thirium drink?" 

"That would be appreciated." Nines managed to get out without sounding odd. Markus could only nod and hope he didn't look stupid. 

Connor hopped up and made his way to the kitchen, giggling as he used his socks to slide to the counter. Gavin didn't even try to disguise his stare as he watched Connor's ass. He had to swallow thickly when Connor bent over to grab two cups. 

He quickly looked away when Connor turned back around to come and hand the two their cups. "I hope you like, Kamski sent me a few things to test out. It's supposed to taste like strawberry lemonade, but I can get you plain thirium if you prefer it." 

Both took large sips of it, equally surprised at how good it tasted. It wasn't overly sugary, and the lemon taste was just strong enough to make you think there could be fresh juice in it. Even if they hadn't liked it, they still would have drunk it.  

"This is good, thanks Con." Markus nodded, trying to focus back on the project at hand. 

Markus and Nines both finished their work at the same time, smiling smugly as Connor praised them. 

After that things started to get heated. They all wanted to impress Connor, working as fast as they could. Gavin wasn't above snagging someone else's nails when Connor wasn't looking, trying to get himself some extra time. 

Markus and Nines bickered about the right way to put some things together, and Connor has to step in and look over the poorly written instructions. As it turned out neither were correct, not that Connor minded. He was just glad they were all together and having fun. 

He moved between the three, helping where he could. He didn't mind getting close, leaning on the arm to see the instructions or reaching around them to grab something. Gavin was shameless in his touches, even going so far as to 'accidentally' pull Connor into his lap. 

Nines was more reserved, but he did beam (or as close to it as he could get) when Connor pressed a kiss to his cheek. It was quick and given because Nines had complimented Connor, but he'd gladly hold it over the other two. 

Markus was open to touching Connor since they did so frequently. They hugged all the time and even cuddled a few times when Connor or Markus had a long day. Their hands touched a lot, though that only made Nines jealous since he knew that android hands were considered more intimate. 

Connor giggled when things started being thrown, not sure why but loving it nonetheless. He dodged things as they flew, making sure nothing would get damaged. He knew for a fact that none of them would hurt one another or damage the apartment, so he didn't try to stop their antics. 

When everything was built it was time to move the furniture. Nines had offered to do it all considering he was the strongest, but Markus and Gavin protested, saying they would help too. 

Connor rolled his eyes as they argued over who would get the heaviest, walking over and moving it himself. It was like they forgot he was incredibly strong, a very close second to Nines. 

By the time night came everything was in place and Connor couldn't help but get misty-eyed. This was his home; he had his own place. Somewhere he'd be safe, and he could even have his friends come if they needed to get away. 

He sat down on the bed, the others climbing on after Connor nodded. Connor was in the middle, Markus on one side, Gavin on the other, and Nines beside him. 

"Thank you for doing this." Especially considering they all could have done more important things. Markus was a very busy man being the leader of the androids, Nines and Gavin probably had cases piled up just like Connor did. 

"Of course, I am positive in saying that we'd all do anything for you." Nines reached over and put his hand on Connor's arm. 

Gavin and Markus nodded, both leaning closer to Connor. They were all exhausted after a long day, and none wanted to leave, not yet. Connor didn't even want them to leave, glad to have his friends there. The only thing to make it perfect was if Hank had the day off too so he'd have his friends and family. 

He wasn't sure why they'd all rush over to help with something so trivial, but he was glad it happened. His eyes started slipping closed, but he did make a small realization before slipping into stasis. 

'Fuck, they all like me.'

[unlocktxt]

winter wonderland | kth

kang taehyun

day 2 of 12 days of christmas

genre: fluff, taehyun x reader

description: all anyone really needs to live through a hallmark movie is a little push from the one that they love.

wordcount: 1.5k

warnings: none

here you were sitting on your couch... watching yet another hallmark movie. this was all you did every year before christmas. sure you had your family and some friends, but you swear that these hallmark movies were going to destroy your holiday spirit and replace it with the crushing feeling of being single during the holidays.

it’s not like you didn’t like anyone and honestly at this point it was killing you that they showed no signs of liking you back. sometimes you’d stare at the fake mistletoe decorations and try to make your move on the boy, but he was good at avoiding them.

it was the fifteenth of december and you weren’t planning on getting all your hopes and dreams crushed a week before christmas. however, this wouldn’t keep you from answering all of taehyun’s call... including the one right now.

the soft melody of taehyun singing all i want for christmas alerted you of his call. just listening to his voice almost made you forget to pick up.

“hey taehyun what’s up?” you pick up the call only to hear is teeth chattering.

“open the door it’s freezing out here.” he rushed his words out, causing your eyes to grow wide as you rushed towards your front door.

“what’re you doing he-” you begin to ask only for him to hang up right as you open the door.

his black long coat was wrapped around his white sweater that rose up to cover his neck. he looked stunning despite his red cheeks and nose and you could only wish it could be cold the whole year round.

he didn’t wait for you to let him in, choosing to brush past you and close the door on his own.

“what were you doing? I knocked.” he had already made himself at home, taking his coat off and throwing it on the couch before sitting down and staring at the movie playing.

you rolled your eyes before grabbing his coat from the couch. “sitting on that exact couch dying from loneliness.” you exaggerate while hanging his coat on the rack.

“maybe you’d feel less lonely if you didn’t watch hallmark movies.” he looks back at you after turning off the television.

“maybe... but they’re the closest thing i have to hopeless romance.” you walk over to his laid back figure. “besides all that... why are you here?” you ask before plopping down beside him.

he got up quickly. “to help you become less lonely, so don’t get comfortable because i’m taking you to go ice skating.”

your eyes lit up at this and you had to tell yourself that he was only taking you because the two of you were friends. then you realized that you weren’t dressed yet, still wearing your christmas pajamas with your house slippers.

“oh... let me go get ready.” you turn around quickly, not wanting him to see your embarrassment.

when you got to your closet you didn’t really know what to wear. obviously something warm, but you had a ton of sweaters. you thought you should go with leggings because you were going skating, but he was wearing dark jeans.

“why don’t you wear this sweater with those black leggings?” his sudden question caused you to jump before looking back at him. you didn’t realize he followed you into your room, but the fact he was right behind you peeking over your shoulder sent small snowflakes on your skin.

“g-good idea. now leave so i can change.” you shoo his curious self away and unlike the last time you made sure he actually left your room.

the white turtleneck sweater he picked out worried you because it was a bit thin, but you decided you would just grab a coat like taehyun.

you didn’t realize that the outfit he picked matched his until you met with him in the living room. his coat was back on as he smiled at you with sparkling eyes. you couldn’t help but smile back, letting the giddiness of matching show.

you had been excited when he first brought up ice skating, but now as you stared at the ice without railing you were nervous. to say the least you weren’t the best skater and you knew taehyun was pretty good at it. after all, he was the one who bought you your skates.

sure you should be less embarrassed because you and taehyun were the only two here, but that made it worse. nobody else would be falling along side you and you’d just happen to embarrass yourself infront of your best friend... who you like.

“what are you waiting for slow poke?” taehyun had already tied his skates and was preparing to get on the ice.

you were certain that this boy would make fun of your lack of skills.

you had to swallow your pride and risk the chance of embarrassing yourself.

“i haven’t skated in forever.” you confessed staring at your untied skates.

taehyun only laughed and shook his head before making his way back over to you and kneeling before you.

“this may not be the best place to learn to skate, but it is the prettiest.” his reaction surprised you. you were expecting him to clown you, but instead he didn’t make anything of it. he had started to tie your shoes for you, causing your face to warm up in the cold. luckily you could blame the blush across you face on the cold.

instead of staring at him tying your shoes, you decided to admire the area. it seemed like a secret spot, but the icy pond was surrounded by the white snow. the trees were decorated with lights and the gazebo had been decorated with plenty of christmas decorations. taehyun was right... it was pretty. almost like your own personal winter wonderland.

taehyun finished tying your shoes and stared at your mesmerized eyes that scanned the area.

“come on let’s teach you how to skate.” taehyun had gently grabbed your cold hands with his gloves. he didn’t seem to look past this because he took of his gloves almost immediately.

“why didn’t you bring any gloves? here have mine.” despite your complaints and efforts to return them he wouldn’t budge.

this was a side of him you weren’t used to seeing. the only time he showed this side to you was when he knew you weren’t feeling your best.

he guided you to the ice and the closer you got the more you began to panic. he had already started to glide on the ice as you slowly allowed yourself to be dragged.

as soon as your skates met with the slick surface you nearly fell back, but taehyun was quick to react and pull you forward just the right amount.

“okay so you’re going to want to push off one leg and try to balance.” he tried explaining only for you to hesitantly nod your head. “like this.” he let go of you, causing you to stiff up.

while trying your hardest not to move you watched how he moved. when he came back over he grabbed your hands once more. you wished that his gloves weren’t the only thing separating the direct contact.

“okay... you’re going to have to try y/n.” you shook your head while biting your lip. you were certain that if you moved you were going to take him down with you.

your response caused him to grip your arms tighter and start moving back. he surprisingly was pulling you along, but nearly caused you to face plant. you were forced to push off and try to stick with his slow pace.

he wore his bright smile once more before looking at you in a way you haven’t seen from him.

“i’m doing it!” you exclaim while trying to go faster. your confidence led to your downfall.

you ended up dropping your chest, causing taehyun to react quickly and use his body to straighten you. this only seemed to backfire because he ended up causing you to fly backwards, as you feet flew from beneath you.

taehyun had still been holding you tightly, so he ended up falling as well. you closed your eyes bracing for impact as the cold ice could be felt against your butt. your head never slammed against the ice and then you finally comprehended that taehyun was holding you head in his palm.

when you opened your eyes you were met with scrunched eyes from the smile on his face. your heart was beating fast because of the position the two of you were in. when taehyun had finally met eyes with you his smile faded, but the look of pure happiness in his eyes had yet to disappear.

he leaned down causing you to close your eyes. this was the moment you have been waiting for. his soft lips gently placed themselves on your forehead, causing you to open your eyes once more.

“is this the hallmark movie you were waiting for?” he asked with a smile on his face.

now you were just confused. your eyes must’ve told him everything you needed to hear.

“let’s save our first kiss for a mistletoe.”

[anewbeginningagain]

Hello, Yuzu anon here! Don't apologize for responding late, no problem: I really feel you, I am in the middle of a very stressful work period too.

I have drafted a quick response below, but I think it will be the last, because I realized while re-reading it that it sounds a bit like I am trying to convince you of Yuzuru 'superiority' by repeating somehow subjective opinions on stuff that can be interpreted in various ways. Which is not my intention because it's fine to me if we draw different conclusions from the same data and also because I am not actually that attached to the idea of him being considered the 'GOAT'. I just think it seems that way because when I try to put into words my reasoning it seems very passionate even just because it's long, but I really don't feel that strongly about it.

So, anyway, here are some points I would like to make, and then I'll shut up ahah.

1) I understand that Yuzuru has crazy stans, but I really don't like bringing that fact among factors why I should like or dislike him: he has no control over them and if I blamed people for their crazy fans I would have to unstan Tessa and Scott faster than light (I mean, apart from bullying people online, some of their fans actually committed real life stalking and harassing). I am not saying no one is allowed to be put off by them, just that personally that doesn't infer my opinion on Yuzuru because I consider a separate issue. 2) All my considerations were made on the basis of what I actually saw and felt during competition, fully considering other possibilities like actual imperfections and mistakes. And I still came to the conclusions I explained, to me sometimes the score did not match with the quality of elements and components, especially when confronted with other skaters in the same comp. As a simple fan, I don't consider myself enough of an expert to assume my opinion is the only correct one and if you don't see it the same way it's fine. 3) I have not read the entire blog of the author of that article, just the single piece. I fully agree there could be other interpretations to the data shown, but I think the author did a good job in explaining why some data where left out and accumulated enough data overall that the patterns that emerge are at the very least interesting and worth considering. Anyway, as I stated from the beginning, this was just an interesting read to me, not conclusive evidence in one way or the other. 4) I don't think Javi was a better complete skater than Yuzuru (I enjoyed him immensely and I think he was a better storyteller, but there are other types of artistry than purely storytelling, he was also pretty inconsistent at times, did not have better jumping technique overall, had often difficulties on spins - I am nitpicking, of course he was excellent, I just think overall Yuzuru was a more refined complete package). 5) It is true that post 2018, mostly due to almost continuous injuries, Yuzuru has not been the most consistent on all jumps, but he still had those quads consistently enough (even in that injured state) to actually state he has them, it's not like he is just attempting them. When he is on, the quantity of skills he performs (in addition to quads, for instance, the 4S+3A seq, just to mention a truly mind-boggling element at least to me) as well as the quality of them (I just cry about his 3A sandwiched between twizzles) and of his choreography to me do make him the best expression of the sport overall (again I fully agree other people may be better at one of these things, I just think he marries them better all in all). Of course he has to be on and of course he hasn't been often recently: lack of consistency is certainly something going to his disadvantage, but imo it's not the only element to be considered. 6) I agree he left a lot of other stuff on the table for that 4A, but I kind of understand his reasons for trying to do it and to his credit he came damn close to perfecting it. Also personally he hasn't gone around lamenting his lack of a medal as if it was someone else's fault, but accepted full responsibility for his scores (his fans were the ones doing the lamenting, and, again, I understand if they put somebody off, but I don't think that discussion should be mixed with Yuzuru merits or faults).

Sorry if this is long and rambly it's very late here, I am escaping sleep and responsabilities. I'm not sure I have made my points clearly overall, as English is not my first language. Anyway, as I was saying, I feel like we are going back and forth saying "yes it could be like this, but consider that it could also be like this" and each giving our own (valid) interpretations so I think I will probably stop bothering you by repeating the same stuff. I will happily continue to follow you though, I really like your blog!

Once again a very late response :) My thoughts:

I agree it's unfair to hold Fanyus against Yuzu but I have to admit I have a hard time not doing so. I've heard and read quite a lot about how some of them act during shows and especially competitions, and their harassment and bullying of other skaters have been common knowledge for a long time. The fact that he never once publicly told them to back the f*ck off other skaters is something that bothers me greatly. I have a similar issue with Yuna Kim not telling her fans to back off Sotnikova, I don't even like Sotnikova and I 100% think Yuna should have won, but her fans abused Sotnikova for years in some truly troubling way. I have a similar issue with what was done to Mariah Bell by Eunsoo fans and there are other examples as well. The bottom line is that while fandom wars and fans of all types of sport can be very toxic, there are times when the lines are crossed in a way that goes beyond what can be accepted, and Fanyus have been the worst thing in the skating fandom for at least 6 years if not more. And yeah, I do hold Yuzu partially responsible for that. I also think that the comparison to the V/ M fandom doesn't stand because V/M (and their loved ones) were the biggest victims of their f*cked up fandom and they actually did try to speak up on more than one occasion.

I understand that you came to your conclusions based on what you saw, I just think people bring a lot of subjectivity to things that can be objectively assessed. It's like how after the Olympics all of a sudden fanyus started saying that popping a jump shouldn't be seen as a big error that should affect PCS. It's absurd because a) of course it's a major error, especially in the SP when there are only 3 jumps b) they only started saying it after Yuzu popped the 4S at the Olympics SP. I just can't handle that type of hypocrisy.

The blog as I said is very very biased. It's basically based on the notion that Yuzu is being judged unfairly and then there's an attempt to "prove" it with numbers. A lot of effort goes into it and I respect that, but again it lacks objectivity.

Regarding Javi vs. Yuzu - that's subjective :) To me, Javi lacked quads and consistency at times but was a better all-around skater.

Regarding Yuzu's jumps after 2018, I went and checked :) In 2018 at ACI, CoR he did 4S, 4T, at GP Finland he did 4Lo< too. He managed to land the 4Lo cleanly at worlds. In 2019 at ACI and SCI he went for 4Lo and had a bad landing. He landed it at NHK and at GPF and at GPF he did a 4Lz too. He tried a 4Lz again at 4CC and failed. He tried the 4Lo again at Worlds 2021 and failed. The SP has had the same layout for years which explains why he basically maxed his scoring potential with it. The FS saw some changes with going for 4Lz twice and trying the 4Lo in the first two seasons of the quad, and as you said there were some sequences there, but overall the big issue is that he didn't do a clean SP and FS at the same international even against Nathan this entire quad.

I understand what his reasonings behind the 4A were. But fanyus can't say "he wanted gold or nothing" and "he was robbed of a medal" at the same time while ignoring his very big errors. Their mentality of him deserving a medal for showing up is as fucked up as the corruption in the scoring of Russian ladies that they love so much to talk about. Yuzu deserves things only when he earns them, you don't get a medal for showing up, that's the entire meaning of competitive sport - he needed to be competitive and he wasn't. He would have gotten the bronze if he would have gone for a normal combo instead of the 4A but he chose not to so it's on him. The way they praise his decsion and talk about his decision making while whining about him being robbed and having no control over his scorng is laghuable since even the 95 he got was something only Nathan would have been able to score if he messed up an entire jump. Yuzu is privelleged in terms of te scoring he gets compared to to other skaters and his fans are so blind they can't even acknowldge it.

I will say you made your thoughts very clear :) I understand why Yuzu is so loved and I do think he is one of the GOATs. But his fans treat him like a god and it's both troubling and also kind of revealing the fact that he is a really flawed skater and the more they insist he s perfect the more many of us notice the imperfections.

It's still has been super fun to chat with you :) You are super special in being able to read criticism about Yuzu as a skater without resorting to name-calling and insults and it's so refreshing tbh.

[welovethecloudboytoomuch]

Hero Natsuo Todoroki

Quirk: Ice

The same quirk as his mom and as Shoto’s left side, but he’s more proficient at it. At the cost of pure power. His quirk automatically makes the air temperature around him freezing cold, so he compensates by continually moving around. Unlike Endeavor, who has to have a cool-down between attacks, Natsuo needs to keep moving to keep from freezing up.

He’s also learned to have more control over his quirk than Shoto. Because, like, he’s a medical student and who wants a nurse with cold fingers right? He is much more precise with his quirk and can create structures out of ice like simple geometric shapes and walls, but not as large as Shoto could make them. As a rescue Hero, he uses this to make shelters for the injured and to separate them from the battlefield.

Hero Outfit: Natsuo’s hero costume is mostly a normal jumpsuit built for insulation, with a prominently featured first-aid symbol. Probably white or light blue coloured. Also, possibly, a helmet-type thing that protects around his head but leaves his hair flowing out the top, because none of the heroes in my hero have head protection and that bothers me. He also wears goggles? Sunglasses? Ski mask? To protect his eyes.

He also has specialty boots with non-slip gripping on the bottom. Additionally, the soles of the boots flip down with a tap of the heels and turn into ice skates. With this, he has improved mobility and speed.

In terms of mobility, he moves around like an ice-cross skater, creating his own luge/ skeleton-like pathways that allow him to traverse almost any terrain, granted he has enough momentum to get around. If you don’t know what cross skating is think of like: downhill skilling but on an icy track with jumps and drops where 4 players are released from the gates at the same time and it’s a race. It’s awesome go look it up. 

Additionally, he has many hidden pockets and compartments to store emergency first-aid equipment. He often wraps a wound in super-insulated cloth, then makes a make-shift ice cast so that the wounded can have temporary stability. He’s also an expert in making sleds to transport many people at once, ice spinal boards, and ice packs :D.

Hero name: The ice-speed hero: Sleet

Moves:

Ice Arena: He stamps down his foot and makes it so that the entire area is covered in ice. This often slips up villains as they try to escape or fight on the slippery surface. This move also creates a border around the arena, making it more difficult to escape. Think of it as about the size of a hockey rink, though it can vary in size and height depending on the situation.

Board check: Yep, it’s what you think. After he creates the arena and disorients his opponent, he uses the momentum he gains from constantly moving and body slams them into the side of the “rink”. And Natsuo Todoroki is built like a brick wall, so it works to his advantage. Also, as a medical student, he knows exactly where to hit villains to the greatest effect.

Clear Ice: If a villain is charging at him he can create a wall of near-invisible ice between him and the attacker. It’s very hard to see straight on, but if you’re paying attention to the ground or standing at the side it’s possible to see its outline.

He mostly just uses his speed and momentum to hit villains hard and fast. It makes it hard for him to have long battles of stamina, because he gets tired from constantly having to move around to use his quirk. He likes to avoid large-scale attacks like Shoto’s giant ice wall because they cool his body temperature too low.

Story Stuff:

In a world where all of the Todoroki family are heroes, I imagine that Natsuo is always the first one on the scene. Always rushing through the site of an attack with his ice and relaying the situation to the rest of his family behind him. He’s the one that clears all civilians from an area so Touya and Endeavor can do most of the fighting while Shoto is there to learn. And Fuyumi? Well, I’ll be honest I never really had a great idea of what her quirk might be, but I always thought it should be something that involves yelling at the top of her lungs. Idk just wanna watch her go feral is all.

Side stuff:

The cold his quirk naturally gives off is why he often has to wear warm clothes/ jackets.

Natsuo also likes to help his little brother to gain more control of his quirk and, “You can’t ice skate? For hell’s sake, you have an ice Quirk! We’re fixing this now.” *creates an ice rink with a stamp of his foot.

You’ll notice that a lot of my ideas incorporate many different types of sports. Originally, I wanted that to be his gimmick. Like, Endeavor thinks he’s playing all these sports but really, he has all this equipment for hero use. I also wanted him to carry around a water-soaked wooden baseball bat so he could freeze it and make the hits harder or softer depending on the villain, but that didn’t really make sense.

[angrymoontaeil]

Blades and Quads ~ Liu YangYang

Wc: ~3.6k

Warnings: injury, swearing (like one or two)

Pairing: Yangles

AN: Okay, so like hockey boys are fine af. I also use a lot of Roller Derby terminology so if you want definitions either dm me or I can make another post with the definitions for you all! ALSO!!! Requests are open for both boy and girl groups, and dm if you want to be in the tag list! ❤❤❤

"As of today, we will be sharing the rink with the hockey team," your coach's voice rang throughout the rink, groans and sighs of protest sounded about the team at the announcement, "yes, yes, I know how much you loathe the team. However, they need a place to practice while their rink is being fixed because of their a/c. The team will use our blades and the rink and we will have practice as normal. Now, for today we will work on..."

"So you're telling me, we get to practice while those boys are here?" Your friend, Niki nudged you while leaning in close. Your coach continued to ramble about the practice for today while the two of you whispered in the corner.

"Those boys?" You questioned.

"Yeah, those gods we call the hockey team? I mean, have you seen them?" Niki bounced as she talked and shifted her weight between her skates, obviously excited about the news of the hockey team sharing the team's space for some time.

"Okay! Start some laps then!" Your coach called out and the rest of the team started going around the track lazily, talking and stretching out a bit. You and Niki did the same, catching up with some of your other teammates and chat before the practice started up fully.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no. Look, Y/N, it's them." Niki and the other girls giggled while they all stared at the hoard of boys started to pile into the rink. You stared as well. I mean, they weren't unattractive, they were hockey boys after all. It was just you never particularly liked them. There was really no reason, they just were an itch you were never able to scratch, and it bothered you to no end.

"Hey, Y/N. We are gonna start a scrimmage, do you wanna be on my team?" You turned from the boys and skated backwards to talk to the girls easier. You agreed to team and the group made your way over to where the coach was handing out panties to the designated captains of the two teams. Niki was handed the two panties of your team and you two made it over to the bench where the rest of your team sat talking.

"Alright. So, this is just an easy scrimmage. Just listen to each other and work as a team. Also, if you do not bridge when the pivot says to. I, Niki, will personally make you do laps. Fifteen in three. Do not make me." As much as you loved Niki, her scary side always managed to crack a smile on your face when she threatened the younger kids.

She tossed you the jammer panty and you accepted it with glee. Jamming was your favorite position, it was the release of adrenaline when you have to break through the pack, or when you lapped the other jammer. Maybe it was crowd screaming when you jump the axel, or do a fancy trick that drives them insane. You, and the blockers made your way to the track and you set yourself up behind the jammer line.

"Okay we are keeping it simple today. Hip-checks are allowed, you do not have to slow down to enter the pack either. We do have refs, do keep it legal, people."

You took a deep breath and tugged on your wrist guards and perched on your toe stops.

"FIVE SECONDS!"

Breathe in, and out. In... and out.

Once the whistle blew, you sprinted into the pack doing a mo-hawk in time to go around the inside of the opposing team, and spun back around to sprint through your team. Another short whistle blew signaling that you were the fist to make it through the pack, that the other jammer was stuck by your team's wall.

"Let's go, Y/N!" Niki screamed as you sailed by the bench. You smiled and winked at her before starting crossovers around the turn. This boosted you further as you started them again around the second turn before slowing down a bit with a plow stop before entering the pack once again.

"Yo! Yangles? You with us?" A hand waved in front of the boy. He was focused on you as your strong legs propelled your forward and your shoulder swung with every push. He quickly snapped out of his daze and glared at Lucas who wore a smug grin on his face. "You like what you see?" His cocky smile adorned his features while YangYang rolled his eyes before watching you again. You swiveled away around people as you went through the pack. Your face remained in a smile the whole time, making quick conversations and making quips to the others when you swung your shoulders and swiveled your hips.

Once you broke through the pack, a laugh sprouted through your lips which sounded melodic to YangYang's ears. A huge smile broke out on his face as you lapped around again the track.

"YangYang, let's go!" Sungchan called from the group and waved him over. YangYang looked back in time for you to successfully jump the apex and land perfectly with a shout from you and your teammates. He silently cheered for you before turning to his team and getting ready for practice.

"I have no idea how you can manage to do that," Niki said while she took off her knee pads "I mean, it took me hours just to jump in place without wiping out." You smiled and shook your head, removing your helmet and running your hand over the back of your neck to get rid of the sweat that built up.

"Remind me next practice, we can work on it." She giggled and jumped up from the floor and engulfed you in a tight hug before picking up her bags from the floor and bounding off the track. You finished taking off the rest of your gear in time before you heard shouts and the rolling of wheels on the floor. You didn't bother to look up from your bags to know that the hockey team skated onto the track.

"Hello, Y/N... how are you on this fine evening?" You looked up from your bags and swung them over your shoulders. There stood Haechan and Lucas, both with wide smiles.

"Hello," you dismissed before walking through the two boys and heading towards the exit of the track.

"Y/N!" A huff left your lips but the scowl turned into a bright smile when the voice matched a face in your head. You turned to see Johnny and Doyoung making their way over to you, with a pouting Haechan and a laughing Lucas behind the two. "I saw that jump earlier, that was so cool!" Johnny was the first to reach you and wrapped his arm around you and gave a slight squeeze. Doyoung stopped in front of the two of you and spoke a mile a minute about how the team looked amazing and how your skating abilities improved by a tenfold.

However, although the compliments were rewarding, your focus was on something else. Yangyang skated around the track with ease, quickly stopping and starting up again with a slight swivel of his hips.

"You like what you see?" Johnny quipped, close to your ear. Doyoung stopped talking and looked to where your gaze landed on the lean boy. He whipped his head back to you look and then motioned back to YangYang with a surprised look on his face.

"Him? The captain?" He said, shocked laced in his words.

You rolled your eyes and ducked out from under Johnny's arm. "You have to be kidding me," you said under your breath. The screech of wheels made you stop and look up at the two boys in front of you.

"You have to talk to him now," Doyoung said with his arms crossed over his chest, "I think he likes you as well."

"Who likes who?" Haechan practically shouted from behind you, causing you to turn around quickly and seeing both YangYang and Haechan stood next to each other, latter with a shocked expression, and the other with a slight blush dusting his cheeks. Before any of the boys could continue their current topic, you spun on your heel and exited the track without another word.

The air was cold and bitter to your exposed skin. You threw your gear into the trunk of your car and turned the heat on high when you sat down and locked the doors.

"Like me?" You whispered to yourself, setting your head onto the steering wheel.

Yangyang, the captain of the hockey team - the team you hate - likes you? How? The two of you weren't rivals, nor were you close at all, it was just new information that you never thought was possible. You sighed heavily and pulled out of the parking lot, ready to head straight to bed after you got home.

A scowl formed on your face the moment you stepped into the arena. Voices bounced off the walls of shouts and screams that boiled your blood automatically. Today was one of the days that your team and the hockey team would be skating at the same time, while Niki was was a smiling mess, your face showed the total opposite.

"Cheer up, Y/N! Maybe it won't be that bad," Niki said when the two of you set down your bags and started unpacking your gear. The smile never dropped her features even as she watched some of the boys skate past her with a smile and a wink.

"Bet that it will be," you shot back at her, sliding your elbow pads into place and fastening the velcro snugly. A lot of the other team members were already on the track, some chatted with the hockey players, and others stretched out in separate groups. You watched the swarm of skaters go around smiling and laughing.

"Hey, Y/N!" Chenle, one of your juniors skated over to you with a bright smile. He reached down to you and you gratefully accepted his hand and pulled you up. "How are you? It has been so long!"

After warm ups, both teams split up to work on skills. You were currently watching the younger skaters as they practiced their stops. They giggled at each other when they would fall down and push each other down just to have the other do the same when they got back up again. Out of the corner of your eye, Johnny was making his way over to you. You turned to him and he swung his arm around your shoulders.

"Yangles wants to do a group practice," he said in a low voice. You whipped your head to look at him. A shocked expression adorned your features and Johnny let out a loud laugh. "I mean it. He means it. He wants to do an endurance game to combine the groups." Then it was your time to laugh, tears brimmed your eyes.

"I will just feel bad, I don't want you guys to loose too bad. Poor Haechan won't take it."

"I can't take what?" Speaking of the devil, Haechan appeared to your other side and circled around you and Johnny. "Afraid that I can't take some pussy?"

"I mean we know you can't, but having our teams compete in a game. I can't have you crying on the track now, can we?" You quipped back at the male. He shot a glare at you and dismissed the thought with the wave of his hand.

"You'll be saying that now but just you wait. I am going to have Yangles fuck you." He stopped and smirked, then realized his mistake and started to stutter around waving frantically with wide eyes. "I mean fuck you up, no.. not, not fuck you fuck you. I mean fuck you up like beat you up. No, not that either... I meant he will win against you, not fuck you."

Heat rose to your cheek and you cleared your throat. Johnny tried his best to keep his laughs to a minimum as Haechan continued to blabber on about you not fucking YangYang, and you trying to hide your embarrassment. Quickly, you ducked underneath Johnny's arm and made your way over to where YangYang watched some of his team do skills of hits.

"Hey YangYang," you spoke quietly, the boy turned towards you and immediately his eyes went wide, a small hint of blush sprung up on his cheeks, "I heard you want to play a game with the teams?" He nodded frantically at your words.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you knew one?" His words seemed timid and his eyes never met yours. You smiled at him and motioned him to follow you to the center. When you took a few paces and found that he didn't follow you, you grabbed his hand and met his eyes which widened once again. You tugged the boy into the center and let go of his hand. The warmth left them suddenly and you shivered in the cold, not realizing till now how cold the building was.

You clapped your hands loudly, "Okay, everyone! Gather round, we are planning to play penny tag!" A lot of the kids on your team giggled loudly and shouted their excitements for one of their favorite games. "For those who do not know, these are pennies," Niki skated over to you with a laundry bin full of them. The garments were thin jerseys with faded numbers on them, you were to wear them when scrimmaging for practice to signify teams. "Each person will get one penny. You will skate around trying to grab other's. If you manage to get yours stolen then you must to 10 push-ups and 2 laps before starting again. The one with the most after 20 minutes wins!"

The hockey boys nodded their heads and murmured to themselves about how they were to win, the same with your side. "However!" Your voice rang again, "there will be teams." You turned to Yangyang and gave the flushed boy a smirk. "After the 20 minutes, which ever team has the most will win and make a punishment for the other team."

Both sides seemed to agree and more excited at the news of how the competition would go. You made eye contact with the captain once again and rolled over to his side. You placed a hand on his shoulder and lent in close to his face. The slight flush earlier darkened by many shades at your action and you only chuckled. "Watch your back, captain. It would be a shame if I had to choose a punishment for you," your lowered voice had an obvious affect on YangYang who stood tense with wide eyes when you pulled away to face him. You left him standing there, frozen solid, after a quick wink.

If it was possible, your team had more energy than usual when you passed out the pennies to them. Niki rolled over and talked to you about her 'plan' to seduce the boys and then steal their pennies. However, you watched as YangYang went to every member and handed out the colored pennies to his team. His lean body easily strolled around in his skates as if he was just walking around.

"So, Yangyang?" Niki butted in slyly.

"Never in a million years," you said flatly tearing your eyes away from the boy. You made eye contact with Niki and nodded towards the track where she gracefully stopped and popped out her hips sassily.

"Okay! 20 minutes on the clock, starting now!"

You rolled around peacefully, letting the small kids take a shot of stealing your pennies. By the 15 minute mark, you had already taken out a lot of the hockey team. They obviously were angry by this time apparent by the pout on Haechan's face when he finished his second lap as another person stole his penny.

"Hey..." Lucas stood beside you, keeping an even pace with yours, "can I have one please?" He cupped his hands together and gave you puppy eyes with a pouty lip. You smiled widely and rolled your eyes, suddenly stopping. Lucas stopped and spun around to face you, knees bent and a flame in his eyes, "So, I am not getting one? Fine," He took a step in a lunge before springing after you. A small screech left your lips as you bounded away from the taller.

You were going opposite of the track; when normally you would do crossovers as right over left, you and Lucas were currently gaining speed with left over right crossovers. The giant smile never left your face and a bubbly laugh spilled past your lips. The seconds ticked down the clock as the two of you spun around the track. Just as you picked up your left leg up to do another crossover your skate hit a small object and sent you flying. You threw your hands forwards, relying on the wrist guards to catch your fall. A sharp pain flew up your leg to your hip when you finally hit the ground.

"Shit, Y/N!" Lucas called from behind you. He stopped quickly and fell to your side. He grabbed your arm quickly and you looked up to face him. Concerned was etched in his features as the pain in your ankle increased when you tried to move your lower body to stand up. Lucas was quick to catch you before you fell lower to the ground. "Yangyang!" He called out, the boy was already skating over and landed on the ground by your feet.

"I am going to take your skates off, okay?" His voice was calm but his face said otherwise. He gave a small smile while you shuffled to face him. When he took off your left skate you closed your eyes and waited for him to touch your right leg. When he did, you squeezed your eyes shut and smacked your hand over your mouth to hold a muffled cry. YangYang stopped his motions to look up at your pained expression. "Here," he said suddenly, "let's get off the track." He stood up to move next to your other side and motioned for Lucas to help you up.

Both grabbed your arms and lifted you up to stand on your left foot and lean on YangYang who slowly helped you to the seats by all your equipment. "Stay here," he said before smiling and adding, "I mean, you can't but... you know what I mean." The bright blush from earlier when you flustered him appeared on his cheeks once more before turning around and heading towards his equipment.

You bent down and undid your knee pads and threw your elbow and wrist guards to the side before bending down to remove to try to remove your skate. You undid the bow of your skate before slowly loosening the skate and slipping it off of your foot. You whimpered softly under your breath as you did so. Finally, when the weight of the skate left your ankle, you took a deep sigh of relief.

YangYang stopped in front of you with a box of what seemed to be medical supplies. He sat down by your foot and, with soft touches, propped your foot up on his lap and started to take out some of the supplies from the box.

"Why do you hate the hockey team so much?" The question scared you. You didn't expect to not only be in this predicament but also have the question leave the hockey captain's mouth. You brought your head up to look at YangYang who didn't meet your eyes, instead he focused on your foot. You didn't answer, the words couldn't leave your mouth. You settled for watching the boy start wrapping an ace bandage around your ankle and foot delicately.

"I mean," You stopped for a second, the words were hard to find, "I don't hate..." YangYang looked up from his lap and met your eyes. "I mean I don't hate you, or your members at all, I just... I don't know. You guys always steal the attention away from us. Our team is under funded and not popular enough to get people in, and I just..." The boy finished bandaging your foot and slowly lowered it to the floor. "I just want my team to be happy and have people root for them like they do for you."

YangYang said nothing, his eyes held concern and compassion. He lifted himself from the floor and sat down next to you on the bench. Your hands were engulfed in warmth as he grabbed them and turned you to face him.

"I understand. Having to watch over the team and make sure they are not only happy but work together, it takes a lot." YangYang lifted his hand up and went to reach for your face. He stopped himself and you glanced at his hand, and then his red face. You gave a small nod of your head and when his hand rested on your cheek and brushed over your cheek bone you swear your face was on fire.

"But, I promise that next time I will be the one to root and cheer for you. I will even loose my voice if I have to," His words brought a smile to your face and you nodded with his had still on your cheek. You brought your hands to wrap around his waist and settled your head on his shoulder. YangYang tensed at the action, his hands hovering over your back and a shocked expression plastered on his face.

"AYO! Lovebirds! Stop hugging! I still want to beat the hockey team!!!"

~~~~~

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