#(to help me if i draw more fa in the future)

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Jordan Nobbs: The Unbreakable Footballer.

Jordan Nobbs was once one of the world's best. She was widely renouned for her passing, her pace, and her ability to find the back of the net, from anywhere on the pitch. One of England's brightest talents, she highlighted her dreams of playing in World Cups, Euro's, and her biggest dream of all, the Olympic Games. Jordan looked like England and Arsenal's midfield maestro for years to come, but things don't always work like they're supposed to.

Here's how one of the worlds best midfielders was brought back down to earth.

Jordan started the 2014 season on a high, it was her 4th season in the WSL, and her 4th as an Arsenal player. She'd long since carved out her starting spot, and was one of their best performing players. She played Arsenal's first 4 champions league matches, scoring 4 goals in 4 games, but then picked up a back injury. This left her out of the entirety of Arsenals victorious FA Cup campaign, and left Arsenal struggling at the bottom of the table.

This injury didn't deter her though, as by the end of the season, despite only playing 9 games, she'd score 5 goals, which made her joint top goalscorer that season, alongside Casey Stoney.

In her time out, her absense was noticable, Arsenal had only won 1 in their first 5 games. She was known for her intelligence on the pitch, and without her pulling the strings in midfield, the team suffered.

The 2015 season was important one, it was a World Cup year. The tournament was set to be held in Canada, and Jordan was one of England's best talents that was looking forward to showing what she could do on the worlds biggest stage.

Determined to make the final squad, Jordan slept with a picture of the 2015 World Cup plastered to her TV.

On the 30th of April, in a 0-0 draw with Chelsea, Jordan would pick up a nasty hamstring injury, just a month before the tournament, and her World Cup dreams were looking in doubt. At 22 years old, Jordan looked forward to playing in her first major tournament, having made her debut for the Lionesses in 2013 against Italy.

On the 11th of May 2015, the World Cup squad would be announced, and Jordan's name would be on that list and not only that, she had been named Vice Captain for the tournament. At 22 years old, one of her biggest dreams, to play in a World Cup were coming true, and she would be helping lead her national team in their efforts to glory.

Jordan's legacy was writing it's self, and this looked to be her breakout tournament, she was the breakout player of the WSL, and people couldn't wait to see what she could do on the world's biggest stage.

Jordan would go on to make just 1 appearance at the tournament, in a group stage game against Colombia. Her hamstring injury would make a reappearance, and she wouldn't be able to perform at her usual level.

She'd play the full 90 minutes against Colombia, but would admit she played through 'agonizing' pain, and would have to run over to the dugout to be supplied with pain killers during the match, as she was unable to sprint.

The Lionesses would go on to win bronze in Canada, but Jordan would be left struggling with the fact she wasn't really able to play like she wanted to.

She would later explain in an interview a couple of months later that 'On a personal level, I was really disapointed to have the injury. I felt like I could have made an impact at the tournament and I missed not being out on the pitch with the girls.'.

“Hopefully there will be a lot more tournaments for me to make more of an impact. I want to be a major part of this squad and help us to keep on improving.”

The next few years went perfectly, she was one of the leagues best midfielders, and quickly making her name was one of the worlds best. She was one of the first names on the team sheet, and the future looked like it had been layed out in front of her, all she had to do was take it.

She became Arsenal's vice captain in 2017, and remained England vice captain alongside captain Steph Houghton. England were considered a better team when she played, and Jordan was ready to prove that she was the determining factor in the squad. The next major tournament was taking place soon, she was ready to redeem herself for what happened in the 2015 World Cup, in the 2019 World Cup that was being held in France.

Jordan started the 2018/19 season with a bang, in her first 10 appearances in all competitions she had scored 9 goals, she was on top of her game, and it was going to take something tremendous to slow her down now.

On the 18th of November, Arsenal would face Everton in the league. The match would end 4-0 to the Gunners, and Jordan would score in the 49th minute, a goal that would see her go to the top of the All-Time WSL top goalscorers list.

In the 82nd minute, Jordan would go in to challenge Chloe Kelly for the ball. However, she would fall to the floor with a non contact injury, after being seen by the medical staff and being supplied with oxygen on the pitch, she would be stretchered off the pitch and the captains armband would be passed to Leah Willamson.

With only 8 months to go until the World Cup, the anxious wait for test results began, as another major tournament hung in the balance for Jordan.

On the 20th of November, a statement would be released regarding Jordans injury. She had torn her ACL, and would be out for atleast 8 months. Jordan would completely miss the 2019 World Cup, and she was now out for the rest of the season.

It was the toughest blow for Jordan, but the hard work was only just beginning, she had been looking forward to proving herself on footballs biggest stage after it wasn't to be in the 2015 World Cup, at 26, she had just been entering her prime.

She stated in her documenatary 'Jordan Nobbs: Heartbreak and Healing' that she had felt 'very tired' leading up to the game and that as soon as she felt the 'pop' in her knee 'there wasn't a doubt that I'd done something serious.' and knew immediately that she wouldn't be at the World Cup in the summer.

Whilst she begun her rehabilitation, the BBC gave her an offer that felt like a lifeline, an oppurtunity to still be in France supporting England. They invited her to be a pundit during the England games, joining the likes of ex team mate Alex Scott and swapping the football boots for a microphone. She also did a column for 90 minute magazine, wanting to support the Lionesses in anyway she could.

Speaking in an interview with SportBible about being a pundit for the tournament, she said 'I think if I was going over there just to watch the games, I just couldn’t do it. It is heartbreaking to not be on the pitch and to think about what I could be doing if I wasn’t injured. For me to focus on a media job role, it allows me to still be a part of everything but it gives me something solid to focus on. I’ve been doing bits and pieces on the media side throughout my career so it doesn’t feel too daunting and perhaps the injury has been a blessing in disguise as it’s opened up this opportunity to still be involved in the World Cup through a slightly different lens than normal.'

That season, Arsenal would go on to win their first WSL title in 6 years, Jordan would lift the trophy alongside captain Kim Little after winning against a Man City team who had gone unbeaten.

Whilst the 2019 Women's World Cup kicked off in France, Jordan was looking forward to entering the final stages of her rehab, the start of the new season was her goal, Arsenal had a WSL championship to defend.

On the 25th of August 2019, 295 days after she had torn her ACL, Arsenal would play a BCD friendly against Tottenham Hotspur. She'd come off the bench for the game and score on her first touch, Arsenal would go on to win the match 6-0, and the Jordan Nobbs come back was well underway.

She would make her WSL comeback on the 8th of September as a substitute for Vicki Schnaderbeck in a 2-1 game against West Ham. She'd go on to make 28 appearances for Arsenal in her comeback season, scoring 8 goals across all competitions.

Jordan Nobbs was officially back, and she was ready to prove her worth. She'd have to fight for her place in a packed Arsenal midfield, that boasted the likes of Kim Little, Danielle Van De Donk, Jill Roord, and an injured Lia Walti who was making her way back to full fitness.

Disaster would strike again, as just when she was finding her rhythm back and getting into good form, the Covid-19 pandemic would cause the WSL to end early in March, this would result in a third place finish for Arsenal, and an even longer wait for Jordan.

In April 2020, she would go on to sign a new contract with the Gunners. “Arsenal is my everything now,” said Jordan after putting pen to paper. “I think football has overtaken my life since the age of seven, but I think I’ve got Arsenal in my blood now and I’m very proud to say that. I think I’ve got some great years to come.”.

She believed that signing a new contract with Arsenal would be the best step going forward, Arsenal had become her home, and this was the key into getting back to where she was in Winter 2018, back to being one of the best, at the club that knew her best.

She had her sights set on the next big thing, the Tokyo Olympics. They would start in the summer of 2021, and after making it onto the initial 30 player Team GB squad in 2012, but then not making the cut and then Team GB not qualifying at all for Rio in 2016, Jordan was prepared to work in order to achieve one of her biggest dreams.

She would end the 2020/21 season making 20 appearances for Arsenal and scoring 7 goals in all competition. Internally, Jordan felt unsure of herself, she had been played on the left wing all season, which wasn't her ideal position, preferring to excel in central midfield, but she would play wherever the team needed her to.

Hege Riise would be the woman in charge of taking Team GB to the Olympics that year, an interim coach after the departure of Phil Neville.

The season would end on the 7th of May, the anxious wait for a call began, as the squad list would be announced later in the month.

On the 27th of May, the 19 player list would be announced; Jill Scott, Ellen White, Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze would all be named as apart of the squad, Jordan would not, she wouldn't even make it onto the reserves list.

Alex Greenwood and Beth Mead were among the shock emissions from Team GB. In an article from The Athletic, they stated that in a bid to not include Jordan in the squad, Team GB would be 'weaker for it'.

Speaking on it in an interview with Arseblog, Jordan reflected 'If I had played in central midfield a bit more, maybe I would have got in; but I definitely think I could have improved or helped the team, given the chance.', Team GB would go on to be beaten by Australia 4-3 in the Quater finals.

Jordan didn't have long to dwell on the disapointment of not making the team, as the next major tournament was in sight, and this one was extra special.

A home Euros. Games would be played up and down the country, with the final being at Wembley stadium. A dream for any footballer.

Arsenal and England would also have new managers. Arsenal would employ Jonas Eidevall, previously of FC Rosengård, and England would take on Sarina Weigman, previously of the Netherlands, which of whom she had won the previous Euro's, and had made it to the World Cup final in 2019.

This was 2 managers she would now have to prove herself to, they would both bring a different vision and Jordan knew she would have to work hard to have any place for club and country, but disaster would strike before it had all even began.

Ahead of the 21/22 season, Arsenal would play a preseason friendly against Chelsea at Emirites stadium. After enduring a tackle from Erin Cuthbert, her ankle would buckle awkwardly and she had to be stretchered off the pitch. Scans would later reveal that she had damaged the ligaments in her right ankle, and despite previous fears that she would be out for 4 months, the injury wasn't as severe as first thought and she would be out for 2 months.

Speaking to Arseblog News about the injury in November 2021, she said it was still really bad timing because I was raring to go for the season and that all took a knock. That injury really felt like the final mental hurdle that I could take, it really knocked me back quite a bit.

“I have worked hard with every setback though and I believe that will pay off. I’ve worked hard every time. It was tough, especially when I thought the injury might be worse, I was just thinking ‘oh my God, this is not happening again?’ Touch wood,” she says, tapping her head, “I am back fit now though and I have a lot of opportunity to shine with Arsenal.”.

That season, she'd go on to make 27 appearances for the Gunners. She'd go on to mark her 250th appearance in a 4-2 victory against Birmingham City as she'd be a stoppage time substitute. She would also score her 50th goal in a game against Everton.

Things were going well for Jordan at this stage, her body was feeling good and she felt ready to compete for a place at Euro 2022.

She was still getting regular England call ups from Sarina Weigman, speaking in an England article about looking towards the Euro's, she said, “I am not looking too far ahead because of what has happened in the past but I have to focus on what I can do and that is performing and playing well.”.

Could she finally be getting redemption ? Jordan had played in Euro 2017, where they would get knocked out by eventual winners the Netherlands after being defeated 3-0 in the Semi Finals. Could she help bring it home in a home Euro's ?

On may 1st, Arsenal would face Aston Villa in the penultimate game of the WSL, things were heated in the title race, with Arsenal in for a chance to get their hands on the trophy for the first time in 3 years.

Jordan would come on in the 73rd minute as a substitute for Vivianne Miedema. She'd only be on the pitch for 12 minutes.

She'd be running with the ball, when suddenly, she'd pull up and drop to the floor. She'd get back up, but it was noticable that she wasn't comfortable and was having severe issue with her knee/ankle. She'd play on for a short while, visibilly getting emotional, she knew what an injury at this stage would mean for her Euro's hopes, and possibily the future of her career, it had been a tough season for her in terms of game time, what message would this send to the manager ? She hadn't had an injury free season in years, and the fact she wasn't playing regular football was making her more susceptible to injury.

She'd hop and jog around the pitch for a little while longer,former team mate Fara Williams on commentary saying 'I really hope she's sensible here if she's hurt, she needs to make the right decision. She'll try and fight through because she's missed major tournaments through injuries and I'm sure thats playing on her mind.'.

She'd eventually come off, in tears and looking heartbroken. As she got a standing ovation from the fans, in commentary they were saying the thought that was on everyones mind, 'I wonder if this could be a farewell [...] her future not certain at this club, the club that she loves, the club she's been with for so long.'

Could this be a goodbye for Jordan ? The anxious wait for test results began. Yet again.

On the 17th of may 2022, it would be announced that Jordan would be out for the remainder of the season, and would also be out of contention for the European Championships that summer.

Once again, Jordan threw everything behind the Lionesses that summer. She partnered up with JustEats 101 initiative, that was helping to fund grassroots teams and making football more accessible to women and girls.

By July 19th, she was back on the grass and training on Arsenal pitches.

Speaking in an interview, she said 'Naturally I wanted to fight for a spot in the squad [...] I've been there, done that, even though it's not the situation I want to be in. I won't ever shy away from tough times of my career that mentally I've struggled with.'

She would attend the games alongside her fellow Arsenal team mates, cheering on her team every step of the way. She knew her role, she'd been here before.

England won the Euro's and the 22/23 season was almost here, it would be Jordan's 12th season with Arsenal.

The season begun with a 4-0 win against Brighton on the 16th of September, Jordan wouldn't appear in this match, this was soon a noticable pattern. She didn't start a game until the 27th of October against Zurich, where she scored a goal that was named Arsenal's goal of 2022. She would then be brought on in the next game against West Ham after an injury to Kim Little, she'd score after 90 seconds with her first touch of the game.

This brought her to be called up by the lionesses, but she'd have to pull out due to a small injury. Fans believed the Jordan Nobbs Revenge Tour was well underway, Jordan would start the next 3 games, getting a good amount of minutes.

She'd make a league appearance as a substitute against Aston Villa, scoring Arsenals 500th WSL goal in a 4-1 win. She would make her final appearance for Arsenal in a Champions League group stage math against Zurich, she'd come on in the 62nd minute and play what fans didn't know was her last Arsenal match.

She'd come off the pitch crying, and this was all the fans needed to know, now they just had to wait for the inevitable.

On January 5th 2023, it was announced that Jordan would depart Arsenal after 12 years with the club. In an open letter, she wrote 'I’m leaving the love of my life behind and that’s something really quite scary for me. But I’ve got no regrets in my mind because it’s been the perfect fairytale and I’ve achieved everything I ever wanted to and a whole lot more. 270 appearances, 81 goals, three WSL titles, four FA Cups? Where did the time go? I think a 17-year-old Jordan would have been very happy with that. It’s very rare these days to stay at a club for such a long time, and quite simply, there’s no other club I would have rather done it at.'

Jordan's departure left a bitter taste in fans mouths, it was later revealed that she had tried to leave the club during the summer, but the club had asked her to stay. A few felt she had been mistreated by the club in the last few years, but Jordan knew that this was a decision she had to make for herself, and ultimately, her career. She was going to Australia in the summer no matter what.

She had a successful last half of the season with Aston Villa, with them having their highest finish in the WSL yet, 5th. Jordan would score 4 goals for them, a hattrick (her first ever) against Brighton, and then 1 against West Ham. She'd suffer a knock towards the end of the season, to which herself and the club thought it would be best to end her season there. She wasn't willing to risk jeporadising her spot on the World Cup squad.

On the 31st of May 2023, Sarina Weigman announced her 23 player squad that would go to the World Cup, Jordan's name would be on that list.

She had fought her way back onto the international stage, putting on exceptional performances at Aston Villa, after missing the last 2 major tournaments as well as the Olympics, Jordan felt rejuvanised.

'I'm still waking up now with the butterfly feeling. Everyone dreams of playing in major tournaments.'

As we now come to the end of the 23/24 season, Jordan has played 1375 minutes for Aston Villa this season, and started 16 games, Scoring 2 goals and getting 2 assists. She has been without injury all season, being one of the only Villa players to do so.

She's carved her name into WSL history books, she's the only player to score in every WSL season, she's never lost in a game where she's scored. She is the only player to make an appearance in every WSL season. She's also 2nd in the all time WSL appearance holders list. She has the highest number of wins with one club (Arsenal, 121)

Although she isn't the player she was once, she's had to slow down due to her injury issues and has had to adapt her playing style in an attempt to avoid injury, added on to the fact that she is 31 years old now, she's still full of energy and has been one of Villa's best players this season, playing out of position at DM.

It's hard to see her getting called up for England again, even as the curent longest serving Lioness, it felt like we only had her for a brief moment, and then she was gone.

Her career didn't go the way it was supposed to, one of the worlds best has been reduced to a classic case of a talent ruined by injuries, but she remains positive. She now enjoys her football again, getting consistent minutes and seeing out the final years of her career.

She leaves a legacy to be proud of, and i hope she is.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 14

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (Please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕬𝖕𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖘 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖉 on the first Saturday of February. I was quite glad to have something to do because all my homework was done and Severus was going to be busy and there had been nothing for me to do today.

I would've gone outside and drawn the purple-gray clouds floating in the sky, spots of grass appearing where the snow had melted, and the lawns slippery and muddy. But it was raining and while it was a lovely scene to draw, I preferred to stay dry and warm.

I arrived in the Great Hall where the apparation lessons would be held with Trang, Harry, and Hermione.

The Great Hall looked much like how it had been during exams last year minus the desk. The four house tables were gone from the room. Rain was sloshing against the windows and the magical ceiling that portrayed the outside weather showed dark swirling clouds. I randomly wondered if the magical barriers would protect Hogwarts from a tornado.

Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Snape were standing in the very back of the room, opposite the entrance doors with a small wizard, bigger than Flitwick and smaller than Sprout. He looked a bit like a ghost in a way, though with slightly more color. His hair was wispy and he seemed as though the wind could blow him away. I wondered if his coloring had anything to do with constant apparation.

I exchanged a look with Harry and knew we were thinking the same things.

"Good morning." The Ministry wizard said. Even his breath sounded like it could be carried on the wind. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in this time-"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall barked.

Heads spun towards where Professor McGonagall was looking. Malfoy flushed dull pink as he stepped away from Crabbe, to whom he had been talking to. I glanced quickly at Severus who was looking slightly annoyed.

"-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests." Twycross said and I realized with embarrassment that I hadn't heard what he'd been saying because I'd been preoccupied with Malfoy. I mentally criticized myself.

"As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside of the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

Everyone started to scramble around, pushing each other or ordering others out of space that they apparently thought theirs. I made my way to the left side of the Hall, giving myself the approximate five space needed. I was in the front along with many Ravenclaws. I supposed they believed that knowledge would help them in this endeavor. I could see Trang somewhere in the back and to my left.

I was quite nervous, my stomach turning over. Of course, no one would be apparate on the first try, not even Hermione so I shouldn't expect myself to exceed where others couldn't. I was slightly worried about Trang however. She certainly didn't have the practice that might be needed in this case and I was worried.

Susan was going to splinch herself, but she would be the only one. There was nothing for me to worry about.

Severus was looking at me, a frustrated look on his face, and I wondered what he was upset about. Then, with impending horror, I realized that I'd forgotten to tell him that Dumbledore had told me it was safe to take apparation.

There was no way to tell him now. I'd have to tell him afterwards. I'm sure there was going to be a fight, something I wasn't looking forward to, and I looked glumly at the floor.

"Quiet!" The house heads shouted.

"Thank you, now then. . ." Mr. Twycross said, waving his wand. Wooden hoops appeared on the floor in front of each student. I'd had one of these when I was a little girl for hoola-hooping. Or sometimes playing stick and hoop. You used a branch to roll the hoop alongside you. Of course, the taller you were, the harder it was to get the hoop rolling and it was hard to get the hoop rolling in the first place. The kids on the playground at school had been envious that I was so good at it. But it was just because I was shorter than them. Probably.

"The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D's! Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Step one: Fix your mind upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

I looked down at the center of the hoop. The floor, though made of tile, was completely perfect. Most of it was white, yes, but there were flecks of brown, black, and gray. But they were so little that if I hadn't been studying it, I would never have normally noticed them.

"Step two, focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

I waited for some sort of magical feeling to flow from my head to my feet but nothing happened. It was really stupid, if you thought about it. When your supposed to be thinking about something, you never seem to be thinking about it.

"Step three, and only when I give the command. Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness moving with deliberation! On my command, now... one-"

My stomach clenched. I wasn't ready!

"-two-"

I nearly thought about closing my eyes, the way I dealt with magic most of the time. Concentrating through the blackness of my mind.

"-THREE!"

I turned on the spot, focusing on nothingness, and the hoop. I heard a crack and then next thing I knew, I was standing in the hoop.

There were murmured whispers in the hall and I closed my eyes, horrified. I shouldn't have tried so hard.

I opened my eyes again and saw the house heads kind've just staring at me. Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall's had various degrees of pride written on their faces while Severus held his pride in his eyes rather than on his face.

Mr. Twycross showed more surprise than anything else. I knew he hadn't been expecting this. I stepped out of the hoop, heading back to my starting spot, wishing that people would start to move again and stop staring at me.

Mr. Twycross asked Professor Sprout something and she positively beamed while she answered.

"Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions. . ." He finally said and the other students started to move their hoops back to where they had been. I could still feel students eyes on me and I felt uncomfortable.

This was very different from showing off in class by knowing word by word definitions. This was something that none of us had studied, something that we had never practiced before. I should not have been able to do so on first try.

Perhaps it was because Dad had done so much side-along apparation with me as I grew up that I had a subconscious knack for it. There had to be some sort of explanation.

I kind've just stared at the hoop for the rest of the tries, not even attempting anything. On the fourth attempt, there was a painful screeching and I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around me.

When I opened them, I saw the house heads had converged on Susan Bones. Her leg was five feet away from the hoop, though the rest of her body had successfully transported to the inside of the hoop.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continuously upon your destination, and move without haste, but with deliberation... thus." Twycross said slightly dispassionately and, turning on the spot, appeared at the front of the hall, near the double doors.

"Remember the three D's and try again. . . one-two-three."

An hour later, I'd managed to apparate twice more- the only attempts I made. I was also starting to feel sick though I wasn't sure if it was motion sickness, morning sickness, upset stomach, or nerves and anxiety from being stared at by the whole school combined with stress of being pregnant.

"Until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget; Destination, Determination, Deliberation." Twycross said while fastening his cloak. The hoops were vanished and I hurried away from the Great Hall, the first student out and headed immediately up towards the hospital wing.

"Elizabeth!" A sharp voice called and my steps faltered and I turned reluctantly.

"Professor." I answered as students started to flood past us.

"I thought-"

"Dumbledore gave me permission." I muttered since we were close enough. "He said I could do it. I meant to tell you last night but I got um, distracted and it slipped my mind."

Severus grinned and then remembered that he was in a hallway of students and quickly masked his face before anyone noticed that he had an emotion that wasn't mad or disapproving.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Hospital wing, I feel sick." I said and he put a hand on my shoulder and hurried me along to the hospital wing.

The wing was completely empty and Severus went and fetched Madam Pomfrey from her office. She took a look at me, asking me about my symptoms. Since it was just the three of us, Severus showed mild affection and obvious concern towards me.

If Madam Pomfrey thought that our situation was strange, she didn't show it on her face. She stayed professional and kind all at once.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with you or the baby," Madam Pomfrey said, setting her wand in her pocket. "It's possible that it was simply motion sickness. Of course, pregnancy creates all sorts of new emotions and I'm sure that you felt quite self-conscious when everyone was staring at you in the Great Hall. I suppose. . ." she finished the rest of her statement in her head, checking my eyes and then poured a clear liquid into a cup.

"Drink this." she said, handing it to me and I doused it like a shot. "That should kick in slowly rather than immediately. Won't hurt the baby either."

"Thank you." Severus said in his most sincere voice, kissing the top of my head.

"Oh yes!" Madam Pomfrey said as we stood up, getting ready to leave, "The baby should be due on June 14th but the days could be sooner or later as the exact day is always ambiguous."

I let out a sigh of relief. Severus didn't have to kill Dumbledore until the 30th which meant he would be there for the babies birth. Good.

Severus and I left, heading up to his office.

"I really am sorry I didn't tell you sooner about the apparition and Dumbledore." I apologized again as I sat down on the bed, laying down to rest.

"Don't worry about it." Severus said softly, sitting on the floor and kissed my forehead. He pulled some papers towards him and grabbed a quill to start grading. "Congratulations on apparating first thing by the way."

I laughed. "I don't know how I did it. I think maybe because dad's taken me on side-along apparation so much. I don't know."

"Or maybe you're just incredibly talented." Severus said gently, slightly proudly.

I went to laugh but groaned instead, curling up into a ball and hugging myself. Severus was over me in an instant.

"I'm fine." I said, pushing his chest lightly so that he'd sit back down. "I don't know much about pregnancy but I'm sure this is just one of those things, alright?"

"Sure." Severus whispered.

"Can I have my artpad?" I whispered.

Severus leaned over, grabbing my bag and handed up my artpad and my box that I kept my different drawing utensils in.

"Thanks." I whispered. Severus kissed me on the cheek and then threw himself into grading.

I worked into the night, not drawing a place or places, but rather people. Two people at various stages of life.

First, there is a small girl with wide brown eyes and frizzy hair about her head, sitting in a chair. In one piece of art, she is holding a door knocker tightly, brass and old. There is a bruise at her temple, a greenish hue spreading through her light brown skin. Beside her on a table is a plate of small cakes.

In another drawing, it is the same scenery, but she is now instead holding a stuffed rabbit toy. Her eyes are now on the rabbit rather than whatever she was looking at before.

In another drawing, she is in a room. She is wearing trousers and a sweater and a mask. The mask looks antique, covering most of the face till it reaches the mouth. It is a rabbit mask, it's ears making the girl look taller than she is. She has a sack on her back though the contents of the sack are unknown. She is in the middle of dropping an origami star in a corner, letters seen, but not enough to make out full words.

In the next drawing however, there is a boy. He looks older than most of the boys I know, perhaps eighteen. He has blond hair and brown eyes, curves in his nose and long eyelashes. He is wearing old fashioned clothes with lots of ruffles and large brass buttons on the outside of his coat. His trousers and long socks and strange shoes might've placed him in the mid-1700s, perhaps later.

The boy is standing in a hallway, this one is full of paintings, not café tables and black chairs. It is a hallway based on architecture, based on the articulate and detailed names on the books. The paintings inside the drawings are detailed: floating castle inside a green frame, cities carved into a cliff in a large brass frame, mansions melded together with ships and more.

That drawing is put aside and the next is with both of them. The girl is older now, her eyes are black rather than brown, perhaps diluted by spending time in the darkness. Her brown hair is piled in curls and braids. She wears the bunny ears still, hiding her face though not her lips. She wears a tank top and a short skirt with blue leggings and black boots that almost reach her knees.

The boy still wears the frills, the strange shoes, the stockings. They look so out of place with each other, as though they were from different times. The room has a table that is strewn with papers, books, ink, and quills. There are pillows on the floor and a type of couch that people call the psychiatrist couch. I think the proper term was chaise lounge. There were doors on one side of the room, five of them, each marked with a different symbol. Key, crown, bee, feather, sword. There is no heart, but perhaps that's because the heart is on the door that the boy had come through.

The last one is the two of them with no clothes on. Their lips are locked, their bodies entwined. Her bunny ears stay on.

My hand is sore and I drop the pencil into the box, snapping it closed and making a toss for my bag. It lands on top. Severus jerks, his quill scratching against the paper. Apparently he'd fallen asleep.

My hand is covered in graphite or lead, whichever was in the pencil. I grab a cloth and start to wipe my fingers. Severus stands, stretching and sets the parchment and quill back down on his desk. There aren't as many stacks of paper anymore. I suppose he'd gotten a lot done.

I wondered how long it had taken to do this art work, if Severus had said anything. I checked the clock and saw that nearly five hours had passed and that I was hungry. It was to late to go down to the Great Hall. Two hours to late.

I sighed, finishing cleaning my hands and started to gather my artwork, but Severus beat me to it, scooping up the papers and looking through them.

I wondered if he saw the two people as unsettling. They were obviously from different time periods. It was unnatural. How was it that the two of them met? Was time travel possible in the future? Was this then, a place from the past? It had to be if the boy was there and he was dressed from the past.

Severus carefully set my artwork down on the bag as my stomach growled. He gave me a smirk and with a wave of his wand, produced fruit and vegetables and meat and drink. Part of me felt disconcerted. I felt as though for a moment, I had been a part of that world and now, I had returned to this world, only for a brief moment.

"I need to let this go." I sighed, sticking a grape in my mouth. "I'm getting obsessed, I don't think it's healthy."

"Perhaps you're making nothing into something." Severus suggested kindly. "These could be book ideas, characters or places your bringing to life. I mean, it's possible isn't it?"

Could that be it? Just something I was seeing from the future, bringing it to life? Fictional though it may be, Severus' idea had some logic to it.

I shrugged, "Anything's possible when it comes to me."

"I'll take you up on that." Severus said slyly and I blushed and threw a grape at him. He chuckled, catching it and popping it into his mouth.

If the others saw him like this. . . the thought crossed my mind. How fun he could be, that definitely wasn't something that he showed anyone else.

"What?" He asked, scowling.

"Why don't you show others this side of you?" I asked curiously.

"Why would I?" He asked back. "I only show this side to the people that I love and that's only one person."

"Even Dumbledore doesn't know this side of you!" I protested.

"I don't love Dumbledore." Severus said. "That's the difference. I have great respect and loyalty to him and I would die for him and I would do what he bide me do, but that is very different from the love that I feel for you."

I stared at the carrots instead of at him, touched by his emotions.

Severus gently put a hand on one side of my face, turning me so that I faced him. "Do you understand? This is for you and you only."

"Yes." I breathed and he leaned in to kiss me.

We abandoned dinner after that.

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 couple of days, I abandoned the drawings, locking them in the dresser next to my bed in the Hufflepuff common room. I realized how un-prefect like I had been. I was almost never in the common room, and people had noticed.

"Where are you spending all of your time?" Ernie asked in the library one day during a study session. He looked exhausted. "All the first-years still have so many questions and I'm handling it all by myself."

"Library, private lessons, Hagrid's, Quidditch, I'm sorry Ernie, I'll start spending more time in the common room." I said sincerely and I did so. I started doing homework in there instead of the library, pulling my weight. Ernie was right, the first-years were quite demanding this year.

Apparition lessons continued though I didn't attend every lesson. Severus and Madam Pomfrey were quite sure that it was alright to skip lessons every other week, and when I did attend, it was only to try a few times. Every time I did try however, I ended up appearing in my hoop.

There were multiple splinching incidents but no one had fully apparated yet. Hermione was officially freezing out all of her friends now. She had frozen out Harry for the Bezoar incident, Ron because of Lavender, and now me because I had excelled in apparation where no one else could. It was very frustrating and I felt that if she thought she was so entitled to being the best then she needed to work harder.

Harry meanwhile, was stalking Draco with the Marauders' map. I suppose I could've told him that Draco was going into the room of requirement but I figured my visions were on a need to know basis.

The next Hogsmeade trip was cancelled, most likely because of Katie's incident. She hadn't returned from St. Mungo's yet, though it didn't mean anything. She wouldn't remember anything anyways.

And on top of that, more students were either leaving school, or looking extremely depressed as there were strange disappearances in the news, usually with someone's last name. I was glad that I could be sure of dad's future.

Ron's birthday came and I woke up, snuggled in the crook of Severus's arm. I knew what was going to happen and I rolled over, pressing my lips against his cold skin and then slipped from the bed.

I got dressed quickly, pulling on my robes and shoving my art pad in my bag. I'd started drawing other things, usually my classmates in order to keep my mind off the other drawings. They were quite successful and I'd taken up Tonk's advice and was making a little money on them.

I headed down to breakfast, where I was hailed by my Hufflepuff friends and I went and sat down with them.

They were all talking at top speed about how much they dreaded the Hogsmeade trip being cancelled, etc. etc.

"Elizabeth?" Susan chirped and I jerked and looked at her.

"What'd I miss?" I asked, blushing.

"We asked if you'd do a portrait of the teachers." Justin said, grinning.

"Why?" I asked curiously but pulled my art pad out all the same.

"Like a gift from our graduating class." Susan said. "I figured it would take a lot of time so you'd need time to start it."

"It sounds like a good idea." I replied honestly. "And it would take a lot of time so it would be a good idea for me to start it now."

"But?" Ernie asked.

I hesitated, "Have graduating classes ever given their teachers a gift before? And what about the Slytherins? I highly doubt they'll sign it."

"They will since Professor Snape will be in the drawing." Justin replied. "They'll probably draw hearts all around him too."

I snorted, "Alright then. Question. Should I draw on a normal sized piece of paper and then enlargen it? Or should I enlargen a piece of paper from the start and draw from there."

"Draw and then enlargen." Ernie said promptly.

"Deal." I said. "I'll start soon."

Susan was so happy she clapped her hands together gleefully.

About this time, Ron was being hung upside down by Harry after punching him in the ear.

I grinned at all of them. I flipped open a side page and started to write names:

Dumbledore McGonagall Sprout Flitwick Snape Sinistra Trelawney Filch Pomfrey Firenze Vector Hagrid Pince Slughorn Babbling Burbage Binns Hooch

Then, on the underside, I wrote:

Quirrell, Lockhart Lupin Moody Umbridge Grubby-Plank Kettleburn

I wondered how the teachers would react, seeing their past colleagues mixed in with the current ones. And in a few years, some of these teachers would be dead. Perhaps it would be better if I didn't draw this after all. I was also going to need a bigger artpad now- if I did go through with the idea.

I said good-bye to the others and headed to the Magical art classroom. I wasn't sure who was the teacher of this class, nor did I ever plan to join this club, but I found what I needed which was a larger art pad, and I took it from the student supplies closet.

Then I went to the library while Ron was choking down a bezoar and started to draw.

This was very different from the other drawings because this needed perfection without being drawn randomly from my subconscious.

I started on Dumbledore, making him the center of the page and then branching out, McGonagall on one side and Snape on the other. Hagrid was set in the back and Firenze was completely on the outside, his torso angled so that his legs were facing away from the others. Flitwick was put in the front along with Vector. Filch stood in the shadows next to Madam Pince, the librarian.

Sprout and Slughorn were placed next to each other, Sprout obviously thinner than Slughorn. Trelawney stood to the side, her glasses enlargened her eyes and her hands were clasped together.

Madam Pomfrey stood there, a potion in her hands, her wand sticking up in the front pocket of her white apron.

I continued with the rough sketch. Burbage (Professor of Muggle Studies) holding a red rotary dial telephone in her hand.

Mrs. Norris was lounging in Filch's arms, much nicer looking that she normally did.

Adding a plant in the arms of Sprout.

A potion flask hanging carelessly in Snape's hand.

Pince was holding a library book in her hand, her other hand, a finger in front of her lips.

Hagrid was holding a dead polecat in one hand, an obvious sign that he was about to go and feed Buckbeak. Fang was at his feet, the tail lifted in mid-wag.

Hooch stood to the side, leaning on a broom, a whistle about her neck, the other hand on her hip. She was looking down her hooked nose, her yellow eyes sharp, but also wearing a small smile.

People moved about me in the library, some of them peering curiously at what I was doing, but each time, I covered it casually as though it was just coincidence. I didn't want anyone but myself knowing how the progress was going.

It was just a rough sketch, nothing fancy. I'd definitely have to add more details in the final drawing, position the Professors in other ways.

I started on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers.

I drew Quirrell in the back, nearly standing in the shadows. He had a kind face, of course, and I drew him how he used to be, before he came back with a purple turban. Before he had become evil.

Then there was Lockhart, standing boastfully near the front, his robes sweeping and colorful. He had his charming smile and in his hand was one of his books. I supposed when I detailed it, I would title it Wandering with Werewolves. A foreshadowing to the next Professor.

I drew Professor Lupin, tired looking and accurate, but younger, his hair would've been more red than gray if I had coloured it.

"Elizabeth!" A voice said and I looked up. It was Trang.

"What's up?" I asked casually.

"Ron's been poisoned." Trang whispered, taking a seat across from me.

"Oh, yeah, I know." I said, turning back to the drawing, putting a tank with a Grindylow under Dad's arm before starting on a rough sketch of Professor Moody.

"Aren't you worried?" Trang asked in surprise.

"No." I said, adding careful detail to the carved wooden leg and fake eye. "I already knew that he'd be fine. Besides, I would've stopped it except this makes up Ron and Hermione's friendship and that'll be a nice change of pace."

"Oh." Trang said simply and took a seat across from me, "Will you be going to the hospital wing to visit him?"

"Maybe." I said slowly, putting a walking stick in Professor Moody's hands to lean on, his mouth a frown. Him and Professor Snape would be the only ones who weren't smiling. Though I supposed working on Umbridge, her smile would be more of a smirk.

"What are you working on?" Trang asked, turning her head to see it better, "I've never seen you draw so many people before."

"It's a present." I said, working carefully on Umbridge's short stumpy profile. "The Hufflepuffs came up with the idea, I'm just the one who can carry it out."

"They're the Professors!" Trang exclaimed, slightly loudly.

"Shh!" I hissed. "Your the only one outside the group that knows, keep it down. A surprise means that no one is supposed to know about it."

"Right." Trang whispered. "Sorry."

I worked carefully on the pink cardigan, trying to figure out what I wanted to have in her hands. Perhaps I should have something carved into her hands, but I wasn't sure how the Professors would react to that.

"It is really good." Trang complimented me warmly.

"Thanks." I said. By now, people were starting to converge and I wrapped the drawing up and said, "Let's go visit the others in the hospital wing."

We left quickly, disappointed students sitting back down at their desks.

"They know it's a big project." Trang said, almost smugly as though she was part of the drawing committee or something. "They want to know what it is."

I chuckled, "Well, they'll get to know what it is when it's ready to be signed."

We entered the hospital wing where Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were crowded around the bed along with Fred and George.

". . . not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred was asking and he looked up as we entered, "Hey, Eliza. Trang."

I smiled at him.

The hospital wing was quiet, curtains covering the windows to hide that it was already night outside. I'd spent the entire day drawing. I felt as though no time had passed between breakfast and now.

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present." George said, laying a large present wrapped in blue and gold paper on the beside cabinet and sitting back down next to Ginny.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious." Fred said and I grinned unwillingly.

"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him-" George started before Ginny interrupted him.

"You were in Hogsmeade?"

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's." Fred said in a gloomy voice. "A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it'll do us if you lot aren't allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymore. . . but never mind that now." Fred drew his chair up closer to Ron's bed. "How did it happen, Harry?"

Trang listened as Harry told the story of the cauldron chocolate spiked with love potion, going to Slughorn's for the antidote and then drinking the poisoned mead. Ron started to foam at the mouth, Harry shoved a bezoar down his throat. Slughorn ran for McGonagall and Pomfrey and now Ron was here.

"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar." George said, his voice low. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Lucky there was one in the room." Harry said, his face paling slightly.

Hermione gave a sniff so quiet that if I hadn't had exceptional hearing, I probably wouldn't have heard it.

"Do Mum and Dad know?" Fred asked Ginny.

"They've already seen him, they arrived an hour ago- they're in Dumbledore's office now, but they'll be back soon. . ." Ginny said softly.

"If it's any solace." I said quietly. "He's going to be absolutely, 100 percent fine."

Fred breathed out, reaching out and taking my hand. I squeezed back. "So the poison was in the drink?" Fred asked Harry.

"Yes, Slughorn poured it out-"

"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without you seeing?"

"Probably, but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"

"No idea, you don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?" Fred asked.

"No." I said simply.

"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I dunno." Fred said, shrugging his shoulders and squeezing my hand a second time. "But there must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, mustn't there? 'The Chosen One' and all that?"

"No." I said again, "Voldemort wants him alive, to kill him himself. He wouldn't send a Death Eater after Harry to kill him."

"He could be innocent." Ginny pointed out after they were all done overreacting to hearing Voldemort's name. "The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself."

"Who'd want to kill Slughorn?" George asked skeptically, reaching up and putting his hand over mine which I realized was still on his shoulder.

"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side." Harry answered, running a hand through his hair. "Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And. . . and maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore."

He must be thinking about Slughorn's hidden memory about the horcruxes. The damage that Dumbledore could and was going to do with that information.

"But you said Slughorn had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas, so the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore." Ginny said gently.

"Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well." Hermione said, speaking for the first time since I'd entered the room. She sounded stuffed up and very sick. "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he'd keep something that tasty for himself."

"Er-my-nee." Ron croaked suddenly and I smiled gently, exchanging a look with Trang.

"I'm going to go to bed." Trang whispered in my ear. I turned slightly, but not enough that my hands left the hands of the twins. "Let me know how he is tomorrow."

"Sure." I whispered back and Trang left.

The dormitory doors flew open, making us all jump and my hands withdrew from Fred and George's. Hagrid came striding towards us, his hair was wet from the pouring rain outside and his coat flapped behind him as though in a breeze. He still had his crossbow in his hand and as he walked towards us, he left muddy footprints the size of small dolphins behind him.

"Bin in the forest all day! Aragog's worse, I bin readin' to him- didn' get up ter dinner till jus' now an' then Professor Sprout told me abou' Ron! How is he?"

"Not bad." Harry said quickly. "They say he'll be okay."

I quickly turned into a cat, leaving my bag by Hermione's side and jumping up into Fred's lap as Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, "No more than six visitors at a time!"

"Hagrid makes six." George said, though he sounded like he might start laughing if he didn't get it under control.

"Oh. . . yes. . ." Madam Pomfrey said, looking between the six of them, not noticing that there was a random cat that had not been there before. She turned, cleaning up the muddy footprints and then went back to her office. I leapt off Fred's lap, turning back into a human and grabbed my bag.

"Sorry Fred." I said brightly. "I didn't want to get kicked out of the hospital wing quite yet."

Hagrid hadn't seemed to have noticed. He'd turned to Harry and was saying, "I don' believe this. Jus' don' believe it. . . Look at him lyin' there. . . Who'd want ter hurt him, eh?"

Fred and George were looking at me and they stood up, converging on me. "Since when did you become an Animagus?" George asked, grinning.

"That's just what we were discussing." Harry was saying to Hagrid, "We don't know."

"Fifth year." I replied.

Fred shook his head, "bloody brilliant you are."

I turned pink.

"Someone couldn' have a grudge against the Gryffindor Quidditch team, could they?" Hagrid asked, anxiety leaking into his voice, "Firs' Katie, now Ron. . ."

"I can't see anyone trying to bump off a Quidditch team." George said, turning back to the conversation at hand.

"Wood might've done the Slytherins if he could've got away with it." Fred said in what he seemed to think was a fair voice. I giggled.

"Well, I don't think it's Quidditch, but I think there's a connection between the attacks." Hermione said quietly.

"How d'you work that out?" Fred asked curiously.

"Well, for one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren't, although that was pure luck. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course, that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don't seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley burst through the doors next, Mrs. Weasley swooping down on Harry and proclaiming, "Dumbledore's told us how you saved him with the bezoar. Oh, Harry what can we say? You saved Ginny, you saved Arthur, now you've saved Ron. . ."

"Don't be. . . I didn't. . ." Harry muttered, looking extremely awkward.

I laughed quietly with Fred and George.

"Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it." Mr. Weasley said in a tight voice. "Well, all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry."

"If I remember correctly," I muttered into Fred's ear and George leaned in to listen, "You helped him with his luggage and then pretty much pushed Ron into the compartment to make friends with him so it's really your doing."

"Cheers Elizabeth." Fred said cheerfully.

Madam Pomfrey came out, reminding us of the six person limit. Hagrid, Hermione, Harry, and I left. I made sure that my drawing was still in the bag before leaving, kissing both George and Fred on the cheek and followed the others out.

"It's terrible." Hagrid said in a low, growly voice as we walked down the halls, "All this new security, an' kids are still gettin' hurt. . . Dumbledore's worried sick. . . He don' say much, but I can tell.."

"Hasn't he got any ideas, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"I 'spect he's got hundreds of ideas, brain like his. But he doesn' know who sent that necklace nor put poison in that wine, or they'd've bin caught, wouldn' they? Wha' worries me," Hagrid looked over his shoulder and Harry looked up at the ceiling, "is how long Hogwarts can stay open if kids are bein' attacked. Chamber o' secrets all over again, isn' it? There'll be panic, more parents takin' their kids outta school, an' nex' thing yeh know the board o' governors. . ."

Hagrid stopped talking as a ghost floated past us and didn't started up until she was gone, "the board o' governors'll be talkin' about shuttin' us up fer good."

"Surely not?" I asked without thinking.

"Gotta see it from their point o' view." Hagrid said and I knew he had a point, "I mean, it's always bin a bit of a risk sendin' a kid ter Hogwarts, hasn' it? Yer expect accidents, don' yeh, with hundreds of underage wizards all locked up tergether, but attmpted murder, tha's diff'rent. S'no wonder Dumbledore's angry with Sn-"

Hagrid cut off, looking guilty and I sighed, closing my eyes. I should've intervened, should've said something before now but it was too late.

"What? Dumbledore's angry with Snape?" Harry asked, sounding victorious.

"I never said that', look at the time, it's gettin' on fer midnight, I need ter-" Hagrid said quickly.

"Hagrid, why is Dumbledore angry with Snape?" Harry asked loudly, as though he was trying to get someone else to hear him.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" Hagrid hissed. "Don' shout stuff like that, Harry, d'yeh wan' me ter lose me job? Mind, I don' suppose yeh'd care, would yeh, not now yeh've given up Care of Mag-"

"Don't try and make me feel guilty, it won't work!" Harry said fiercely. Hermione and I watched the conversation batter back and forth. "What's Snape done?"

"I dunno, Harry, I shouldn'ta heard it at all! I- well, I was comin' outta the forest the other evenin' an' I overheard 'em talking- well, arguin'. Didn't like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an' tried not ter listen, but it was a- well, a heated discussion an' it wasn' easy ter block it out." Hagrid said uncomfortably, obviously wishing he hadn't said anything.

"Well?" Harry urged him. Hagrid shuffled his dolphin feet.

"Well- I jus' heard Snape sayin' Dumbledore took too much fer granted an' maybe he- Snape- didn' wan' ter do it anymore-"

"Do what?" Harry asked. Like Hagrid had all the answers.

"I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin' a bit overworked, tha's all- anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he'd agreed ter do it an' that was all there was to it an'- an' something about Elizabeth I didn't understand. Pretty firm with him. An' then he said summat abou' Snape makin' investigations in his House, in Slytherin. Well, there's nothin' strange about that!" Hagrid said while Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. I continued to stare up at the ceiling. "All the Heads o' Houses were asked ter look inter that necklace business-"

"Yeah, but Dumbledore's not having rows with the rest of them, is he?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but the other Heads know the necklace didn't come from their students." I said softly.

"Look." Hagrid said quickly as he twisted his crossbow. He'd apparently twisted to far because there was a cracking sound and the crossbow snapped in two. He gritted his teeth in obvious frustration but said kindly, "I know what yeh're like abou' Snape, Harry, an' I don' want yeh ter go readin' more inter this than there is."

"Filch." I whispered quietly as Hermione said, "Look out."

I slipped off into the shadows, hearing Filch cry out, "Oho! Out of bed so late. . ."

I hurried down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, stepping inside without knocking and hurried up to the actual office.

Severus had put his papers away, a candle lit low. He was wearing a gray nightgown, and already fast asleep. I quickly pulled out the drawing that I'd worked on all day, doing a rough sketch of Grubby-Plank and Kettleburn before putting it away for the day and got out of my robes.

I dug in the dresser and found one of Severus' gray shirts. I put that on and it fell past my knees. I climbed into bed, snuggling into his chest though he remained sleeping. I let random thoughts help me drift off to sleep.

Hermione was right. Game of Thrones was a horrible book.

⬅️➡️

[gojocatboy]

The Bride of Sukuna, ch. 2

Angel eyed the stuffed creature wearily. To the fluffy things credit, it looked lifelessly back.

“And you brought them back here,” the principal stated, for what felt like the umpteenth time.

“‘Course. I’m meeting with the higher ups about Itadori, might as well see if the ‘bride of Sukuna’ will give them a heart attack to finish em off,” Satoru said brightly, adding air quotes to his speech.

“They don’t have any cursed energy, which is interesting. But how do we know they won’t immediately go to Sukuna?” Yaga continued.

“‘They’ are right here. And I have no intention of being anywhere near that four-armed beast,” Angel stated, wrinkling their nose in disgust. Their mouth flooded with the memory of that creatures vile blood.

“Ahh, the angel does have attitude!” Satoru jumped in. Angel shot him a withering glare.

“I don’t know how long I’ve slept, or been dead, or…whatever happened for me to be encased in stone, but I am not his bride, or promised one, whatever this age calls me now,” Angel stated firmly.

I hope this is the right move. Angel thought to themself.

“The point still stands that your power amplifies Sukuna’s. It would be wise to limit what energy he has while the vessel is so new,” Yaga stated.

“Vessel?” Angel asked, heart dropping. Satoru turned his head in her general direction, a questioning look passing over his features.

“Either way, I suspect that the elders will want to execute our angel here, the best thing being that they can act as bait for Sukuna if itadori does fail at handling him,” Satoru said. He grinned at Angel. “Really, the elders’ first mode of action is just to—“ he ran a finger across his throat, sticking his tongue out dramatically as he made dying noises.

“They’re not very smart,” Angel observed.

“Nope! See Yaga? Even a person who’s been here for all of an hour sees how shortsighted our higher ups are,” he said brightly.

“We will have to measure Angel’s abilities, given you’re able to persuade the elders to keep them alive,” Yaga said.

“Aw, don’t be so pessimistic, they love me!” Satoru said cheerfully as he sidled out of the room, grinning from ear to ear.

“So, can your friend stop staring me down?” Angel asked, gently nudging the stuffed creature away.

“No can do. You’re under guard until Gojo returns,” Yaga replied, waving a hand. A massive lumbering beast approached, tongue lolling out lazily. Angel grimaced, sitting down.

“I get it,” they grumbled.

~~~

Angel had dozed off in the hours that they waited. They awoke, head tucked against one wing as the other enveloped them in a feathery blanket. The two stuffed animals remained on guard, casting barely a glance at them as they sat up, rubbing a palm into their eye.

“They awaken,” satoru said brightly. Angel jumped, drawing their wings around them defensively.

“Sorry, sorry, Shoko has been telling me to stop scaring people like this,” Satoru said, squatting down in front of them.

“So am I dying?” Angel asked.

“Well! Good news, not right now. Bad news, probably in the future,” satoru said.

“And why must I die?” Angel sighed.

“You don’t know the legend, huh? Suppose you’ve been sleeping for centuries, so you wouldn’t know how convoluted it’s become,” Satoru said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“The official Sorcerer stance is that the ‘bride’ of Sukuna made it so that he was unkillable from the lovebite that they administered him. The golden poison you have supposedly made it so that he would be able to return when the time was right, and so the two cursed lovebirds would return once more, to rule an age of demons,” Satoru said.

“What do you believe?” Angel asked.

“Me? I think there’s a bit of truth to it. I don’t think you’re as loyal to Sukuna as the stories make you out to be, given that you weren’t exactly excited about his reappearance,” Satoru said.

This one is dangerous. He was dropping information to see my reactions Angel couldn’t help but feel a little impressed with him.

“No, what I did was…not in his favor,” Angel said. They knew that much at least.

“Interesting. Not so romantic yeah?” Satoru sighed dramatically.

“Don’t tell me you believed in that,” Angel said, feathers ruffling in alarm. Satoru burst into laughter.

“No, no! You should see your face! You look like a startled chicken!” Satoru cackled, pointing a finger at them.

“Hmmph,” Angel pouted, crossing their arms over their chest. They focused on smoothing down their feathers, waiting indignantly for the man to stop laughing at their misfortune.

The truth was, they did have a soft spot for Sukuna once upon a time. But that was long ago, further before either of them even knew their special abilities. Had grown into their true selves.

Angel studied the man in front of her. Did he know what it was like, to have to betray the one he loved?

[coollyinterferes]

Dash Game: Muse Interview

What is your name? "Robert Edward Orville Speedwagon. ‘That’s such a long name!’ Yeah, I know. You don’t have t’ tell me." Please don't.

Do you know why you’re here? "I don’t really know all the details. So far it’s goin’ better than most other 'interrogations' I’ve been part of, so that’s good."

Do you have any family? “Not that I’m aware. My father died when I was just a small child, and I never really got t’ meet my mother as she died just a week or two after I was born. I didn’t have any siblings as far as I know, and no one else stepped in for me after my father died, so I’ve always assumed I’m the only one from my family who’s still ‘round. If there’re any others ‘round, I really don’t know, and I really don’t care.”

What did you last have for breakfast? “I’m what most folks’d consider a ‘night owl’, so the whole breakfast thing doesn’t really apply for me, I think.”

What do you last have for lunch? “Fish and chips"

What did you last have for Dinner? "Stale bread and tea"

How old are you? “25, turnin' 26 next month.”

Do you have any friends? “Tatts. Li. Lemmy. Jonathan, too, of course.”

Are you more comfortable by yourself or surrounded by others? “Define ‘others’, please.”

Do you have any hobbies? “Yeah, but I might get into trouble if I openly admit t’ some of ‘em, so I’ll stick t’ the safe ones this time: Travellin’, learnin’ new languages, collectin’ hats, readin’, spendin’ time with my mates, and stuff like that. " The not too safe ones for which he could get in trouble with the law for being: Gambling, visiting certain pubs and molly houses just to hang around other gay men in a more open manner and environment, causing mischief and getting into trouble, among other stuff.

Do you have any aspirations or dreams? “I used t’ want t’ become a doctor or some shit like that when I was a child so I could save people, all as a manner of honorin’ my mother. Childish dreams, I guess. Growin’ up, I learned that all those nice things and opportunities are only for the 'fortunate ones' who can afford the tools t' build that sorta future for themselves, and so I was forced t’ put those ideals aside and focus on, ahh… other activities in order t’ make a livin’ and survive another day instead...” This whole 'childish dream' of his hasn't fully died, though. It's worth to mention it will be part of why he will decide to invest into medical research for the betterment of healthcare for humankind years down the road, in the future, when he creates the Speedwagon Foundation.

Are you quick to anger? “As much as it pains me t’ admit it, I’m an intense motherfucker. I don’t get angry too quick or too easily, but when I do, shit goes down for real."

Can you dance? “Ah, yeah. I’ve had the opportunity t' learn how t’ dance different types of dances. Music from ‘round the world and all that stuff, y’know?” These being things he’s learned with the help of some of his now ex-boyfriends he's had from other parts of the world during some of his trips. “I dunno how t’ ballroom dance, though. Never really been interested in ‘rich people’ stuff, but I guess I wouldn't be opposed t' learnin' if the opportunity comes up.” Could turn out to be pretty useful, too.

Do you prefer casual or stylish wear? “Stylish. There ain’t much variety for men back home, so I like t’ give my shit some personal style out of personal preference and for ah… a few other reasons…” The gay code that reigned among homosexual men in Victorian times, he means.

Can you lift? “How do you even think I got these guns, mate?” The blond flexes an arm; big muscles making themselves evident even through the couple layers of fabric of his frock coat and dress shirt. Man is also packing defined abs and powerful legs, too.

Do you play games? “Poker, Black Jack, things like that? Yeah.” Additionally, even though he rarely interacts with children due to his ‘line of work’, he doesn’t mind playing games with kids to entertain them and draw a smile on their little faces in those rare instances where he interacts with any.

Are there any parts of your past self that you’re ashamed of? “Ah… That’s a bit of a complicated answer. I used t' be ashamed of certain parts of myself, includin' some guilt over my bein' an 'invert'. That was a long time ago, though. Nowadays, I ain’t really ashamed of who I was, who I am, and what I have achieved, even if it’s all a bit ‘outside the law’ because, honestly, fuck the law.”

Can you tell us a joke? “One day a bear walks into a pub and he says t’ the bartender: ‘Gimme one whiskey and............................. one gin.’. ‘Why the big pause?’ asks the bartender. The bear shrugs, looks down, and says, ‘I don’t know, I was born with ‘em.”

Is there anything you’d like to say before we wrap things up? “Ah… this was surprisingly fun!" And harmless, too.

-

Tagged by: Been seeing it making the rounds over the weeks so I applied the good ole Speeb sees, Speeb steals lol Tagging: If you're reading this and want to do it for your muse, then please take it from me (and tag me in the post if you'd like me to read your answers :D)

[retrodaft]

What’s been happening and going to happen for the future

So first off just to clear the blog isn’t ending. I wanted to explain why things have been slow on the blog, lack of uploads, and posts.

Ever since September things started getting busy, I finally saved enough money to buy a iPad Air for drawing. And was excited to start to relearn to use a tablet( I used to do some digital art back in high school)

At the same time while I also had been going back to school ( adult education) to finish my certification cuz things were getting back to normal hahaha na this world still mess up but at least school was open. But then I had another problem, work.

I had been in retail for years, I like my job and my coworkers but it was becoming more stressful and demanding, with a pay rate that was low for this economy. I think we all know especially if you live in American how bad things have been getting with the growing inflation.

What also didn’t help you never leave on time ever. You’re shift done at 9:30 nope you are here intell 10 or even 11 pass. Being understaff and etc made me worried and so stressed. So I got a new job and finish school, cuz I had people on me about “it’s been years why aren’t you done yet?!” The pandemic HELLO.

By January I finished school which yayyyyyyy! And got a another job opportunity. There’s other things that had happened, trying to eat healthy, home issues, car problems, etc. I had TV to keep distracted but then I was changing my mind on what I wanted to watch.

This now goes into what will posting on the blog and thoughts on starwars.

I still like starwars love ya, but I don’t feel the same inspiration and excitement for the newest shows to come. Actually I was barely enjoying anything new from Starwars.

And please this is just my opinion, if you enjoy the sw shows that’s great. But for me everything that came out after mando season two was mediocre, ok or trash. It just wasn’t good, the story , the writing, animation or live action, the freaking editing jeez.

Maybe some of you already know but I don’t care for the bad batch, didn’t care for their introduction or much less for the show. Just didn’t like concept but still gave the first season a shot watch a couple times. Then sw fandom ..

The discourse in the fandom, some of y’all are wonderful in your art and I hope you keep pursuing it. And some of you are cursed, there were more clonest art and debating about sw shows in general, sometimes I wonder if some fans are even real or just bots. The changes to the canon or what even is the canon anymore? Jeez the arguments on canon. Or people putting all the trust into one person thinking they saved the franchise, yeah don’t count on that. Not to mention the weird raise of sexualizing of characters and real people (if you know,you know)

Over the year my attention went to other stuff, my friends got me into model kits it started first with transformers some years back but there weren’t many. But there’s plenty of gundams plus a new show with their first female lead, awesome soundtrack, and girlfriends ooh yes please.

Plus with Crunchyroll I’m able to finally watch some of the old anime’s I saw bits of as a kid. But now able watch the whole thing. Plus coming on the horizon a reimagining of a anime I haven’t seen sense freshmen year huh?!

SO there was a reimagining of Trigun if you haven’t heard please please go watch, I really want a part two please! It’s doing ok in the numbers, you can watch both the new one and the 1998 oh version on both Crunchyroll and Hulu. Watch both, there’s also a the original manga but unfortunately the publisher hasn’t reprint the manga so yeah it’s expensive to buy. BUT THERES HOPE right here on Tumblr you can read for free. But please to donate too cuz these fans are doing the work to translate.

Also NEW TRANSFORMERS MOVIE LETS GOOO, so yeah get ready cuz my art is changing again, I still would like to work on my starwars ocs still.

But there will be more Trigun fanart for sure, along with pics of my growing plant and model kit collection. Photography too, you can look at my toy photography I have done on instagram under the same name. There is gonna be cosplay work too, THANK YOU all for still being here,reading, thank you to all my followers!

It’s been a crazy last year let’s hope for a better one.

[roycefoxarts]

COMMISSION BATCH 5 IS OPEN!!

The previous batch is done, but money is still tight, and I need to keep the funds coming. I will take a short break after the opening of the coms, but I will be accepting commissions orders during the break. I just wanna take care of some personal art. I enjoy drawing for you guys and being both generous and experimental, but rent fund is important, and I can only offer so much at a time. I am still close to landing full scale employment, but I am not there yet.

I know I added greyscale to the line art, and I love doing that. In my regret, made the choice to make greyscale a seperate item rather than something I randomly add to the lineart tier. I am sorry, but rent money is important. Living in CA isn't cheap.

I appreciate your understanding and I am sorry for the inconvenience. I love you guys and I love drawing for you all. And if I could, I would draw for free, simply because I see art as a hobby rather than a profession.

Though I will still offer a 15% discount for anything sumo related, since that happens to be my selling point (i tried fighting it, but there is no escaping where I started).

Even if you cannot afford, You can always help by spreading the word and reaching a larger audience.

I thank you all for your support, It means a lot to me.

Now for the rules

Before I can begin, Let me lay down what I prefer to draw.

-Slim -fat fur -tasteful nsfw -vore (with heavy restrictions) -certian action scenes -modern or fantasy

and what I WILL NOT DRAW for a commission:

-overcomplex drawings (they take significantly longer than they should and I prefer to risk drawing complex stuff on my own time) -Gore (Which leaves hard vore out of the question) -Abuse and cruelty art (Things like rape, abuse, or degradation.) -Slob or uber immobile fat. -Capepunk (Modern "realistic" Superhero genre. I just don't like the current modern superhero genre and its oversaturation.) -Certain Copyrighted characters and IPs (There can be some exceptions) -Other people's OCs without their permissions (There is drama around it. Dont drag me into any more drama.) -Characters that are or look underaged (I have the FBI on speed dial) -Diapers fetish (just...just no) -Political art (Should I even need to explain why?). -politically incorrect shit (You are more mature than this.)

To order to order a commission from me, You need something of a social media presence. at least a DA, Twitter, or most importiantly FA, that you had for some time at the time of ordering a com. This allows me to screen for security purposes.

I will not be accepting commissions from:

-Newly created FA or social media pages, be it burner accounts or whatever. -social media individuals that have a significant degree of controversy within the last year or so. I want to avoid controversy. -individuals under the age of 18. -Individuals that have a habit of hiding their behaviors behind "muh free speech." I would rather be with mature people thank you very much. -MAPS (should I even explain?) -People who make their political views their own personality (I dont want you as my customer base anyways)

The second thing to fill out a google form, this has everything you need to make an order from teir to whether you want the com to be nsfw or not.

Major thing to note: Do remember that I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. So my apologies in advance.

Lastly, If I approve, I will send you the invoice. I am a Pay-upfront person, so that means if you want your slot in the queue, you need to pay upfront and that is strictly invoice only.

When you Order from me, you agree to the written agreements stated above and any violation would bar you from any future coms. Standards come first over money.

[brebug242posts]

~ Lounge Singers Performance ~

Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/Bre-B… ~ If you'd like to support me please check out my redbubble shop ~ my zazzle shop: www.zazzle.com/store/brebug242 I'm finally fixing up Hope's character she went from roller skater to lounge singer I love her character a lot more now (plus drawing her helps me draw bigger body types and I'mma try to draw more different body types in the future) Reference Photo: i.pinimg.com/564x/fa/32/c1/fa3… Important please look: Important Petitions You Should Sign

Have a lovely day

[riffaist]

innocent — riff x reader

warnings: childhood friends to lovers! taylor swift inspired imagine! riff being... riff ig. sex talk. some SLIGHT dirty talk but not much. anita's tauting scene. tried to make this a really angsty one.

i guess you really did it this time

left yourself in your war path

lost your balance on a tightrope

lost your mind trying to get it back

"riff, i don't -" y/n mumbled, feeling her body shrunken, her hands clapped together. "i don't think that's gonna be a good thing."

"well, sweetheart." the overly sweet voice made her sick to her stomach. the stern tone. seeing riff displeased was a pretty unusual thing. "we don't have that many options."

"you do have more options.." calling the rumble off was on top of her list. "but a gun? you know that tony's not gonna agree with it, and besides-"

"if tony would stop being a wuss, and came to the fucking thing," he cut her sentence in the middle. "then we wouldn't need the gun."

"you don't mean that."

"oh, i don't now?" he scoffed, slowing down once he saw they're both getting close to the location. "these sharks are sneaky as hell, y/n, and i don't want any of my boys-"

"hey! look what the cat dragged in." mouthpiece announced once the couple came infront of the bar they were supposed to get the gun from.

"the chicks should cut out, right, riff?" action confirmed, glancing sideways to velma, grazi and y/n.

"we might" the taller blonde said, crossing her arms. grazi wasn't going anywhere. "but then again we might not."

"the cops are already after us." ice took the floor. "i'm sure you don't want to be in the middle of it. it's dangerous stuff, you know?"

"we can deal with it," she replied. " 'cause we ain't stupid, and won't take shit from anyone."

some slight buzz started, between the blonde and some of the boys. y/n kept quiet, only turning her face to the side, feeling a familiar touch in one of her wrists.

"just promise me you'll go." riff said, quietly, once he pushed the girl aside, holding y/n's hands, with a serious look on his face.

"if you promise me to get the gun and go as well." she replied. holding her breath. "no funny business in the middle."

"promise." he touched his own forehead with hers. his voice merely a whisper. y/n could feel her boyfriend's shoulders tensing up. but she didn't even brought the fact up. not in a time like that.

"please, be safe." was her final whisper. interlocking arms with velma, seeing grazi storming off, hoping that the end of the day wouldn't take so bad of a turn.

wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days?

always a bigger bed to crawl into

wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything

and everybody believed in you?

way before things started going downhill. y/n and riff had their own little story.

the little boy, who had just turned 10, lost a hide and seek game to tony, and found himself sitting at one the old school's outdoors benches. one knee completely scrapped, and the hope no one would find him there and take him away. no one, besides her.

the small girl, always dressed in lilac or blue, wearing tiny dirty sneakers with a big smile on her face, and way too big of a heart, who always gave him something for her lunchbox.

he wasn't used to the pain. not yet. but letting his tiny group of friends - the future jet boys - see him cry over some blood, was definitely not in riff's plans.

"i hope it helps" she said once the bandaid was carefully place on the wound. "i can draw a star on it if you want."

the dark haired boy kept quiet, shaking his head, making y/n nod, sitting right next to him.

"you know.. when people do good things for you, you should thank them?" she muttered, not offended by the silent, already opening up the pink lunchbox, taking half of her sandwich from there, giving it to him.

"shouldn't you be with you other girl friends?" the boy replied quietly, accepting the food, taking a big bite of it. he was starving.

"you're my friend, riff." y/n smiled, choosing to take a bite from her apple. "my favorite friend, even. i wished you were at school with me every day..."

wasn't it easier in your firefly-catching days?

when everything out of reach, someone bigger brought down to you?

wasn't it beautiful, runnin' wild till you fell asleep

before the monsters caught up to you?

"sure, y/n! good choice, huh?" the woman in the clear drunken state said a bit to loud.

"mom, please.." y/n wished she wasn't causing such a scene. being the center of attention was never her thing. "not here.."

"it's alright, darling. go hang out with riff-raff out there why don't you?"

"goodbye, mom.." y/n closed the door, and took a deep breath.

the fifteen year old girl turned around with an embarrassed smile on her face, shrugged, walking in the direction on the jet boy.

"afternoon, princess." riff said with a smirk, already grabbing one of her hands. "did mommy want to lock you up in the tower?"

"something like that, yeah.." he passed his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek. "so, where are we going today?"

"well.." he spun her around, smiling once he heard the girl's laugh, starting to walk through the moving streets. "someone told me that watching the stars was super romantic.."

"oh, shut up, riff.." y/n covered her own face with one of her hands, shaking her head. "i can't believe you remeber that.."

a flushed y/n and a smirky riff kept the calm and soft conversation while walking to the secret place the boy insisted he had prepared for them.

once the sun was completely set, both of them laying down at the hill, holding hands. the moonlight shining on the girl's face made riff shiver, and the silence was comfortable. it always was for them.

"so, tell me." he finally said, looking at her, trying to not sound so worried. he couldn't deny the fear on his tone, but tried anyway. "what is it that's been bothering you?"

the jet girl took a deep breath. eyes still focusing on the night sky ahead of both. the stars always caught her attention, and that day wasn't different.

"my mom doesn't think you're a good influence.." y/n replied, taking some seconds to continue. "it's annoying 'cause it's not like she can say something about being a good influence, you know?"

"adults are complicated as hell, princess," the boy stood up by his elbow, turning to the side. "come here."

she quietly came closer to him, letting him hug her to the side. both of her arms wrapped around her waist, carresing the place softly, until the girl fell fast asleep.

it's alright, just wait and see

your string of lights are still bright to me

oh, who you are is not what you've been

you're still an innocent

y/n's head was peacefully resting against riff's bare chest. both of their body's almost completely covered by the sheets.

her fingers interlaced with his, and the warm bodies were comfortably glued together.

"thank you for waiting for me..."

she knew seventeen year old boys had needs. she had some of her own as well. ignoring the fact all of her girl friends had already done it. y/n wanted to wait. not for the right person - she had found her right person years ago - but until she was totally ready for it.

"don't even thank me, girly girl." a kiss was left on the top of her head. "i would wait the fucking eternity for you if i had to."

"eternity huh?"

"to see you like that again?" the teasing tone came to riff's lips way to quickly, causing the girl to roll her eyes. "to have a chance to listen to that little sounds you made? i-"

"please, my love," she cut him off, laughing quietly "don't even think about ruining this for me."

"you ready for a second round now or..?" the jet boy asked with a smirk on his face, eyes focusing on every bit of her face and bare shoulders. they couldn't stop at the sight of her perfectly translucent breasts covered by the sheets.

"god, riff, shut up."

did some things you can't speak of

but at night, you live it all again

you wouldn't be shattered on the floor now

if only you had seen what you know now then.

"he was left laying there." y/n said quietly. her boy. her riff.

he died. in a way no one thought he would.

the jet girl wasn't there. not to hug him. to see him for the last time. to stare at the dark brown eyes for ten more seconds. they took him away from here without a previous warning.

she was wearing riff's blue shirt, her hands couldn't stop shaking while she held velma's ones. the tears stains on her cheeks kept getting covered by new ones.

"that's bothering me too." ice muttered.

"they didn't let you see him at the hospital, y/n/n?" balkman this time. she could swear she never saw the whole gang in such a low energy.

"no, uh-" she shook her head. "i wasn't legally his family or, anything.." the last part made her swallow a sob.

the silence wasn't comfortable this time. it was almost sick and saddening. all heads turned to the door once bernardo's girlfriend appeared. she looked as miserable as the rest of every teenager in the room.

"i have a message for your friend.. tony?" she waited. waited like her life depended on it. but all of the jets stayed quiet. "where's valentina?"

the second the sneaky comments started to appear. y/n stood up, in a failed attempt to control her breath.

"valentina! és anita!" the woman started to walk into the store, making y/n feel her heart right on her throat. "puedes subir? que tengo que.."

"spanish?" grazi stood up this time, the raspy crying voice taking the floor. "you come here speaking spanish?"

"grazi, please.."

the boys continued to talk, but the girl could swear she wasn't assimilating anything. her head was aching, and her knees were shaking. anita tried to go, but some of them got right in front of the door.

"let her pass." graziella tried one more time. "no one wants you here."

"you hear that boys?" ice said. y/n was starting to feel like throwing up. "she wants to pass."

"numbers, stop it." y/n tried to get him away from the woman, feeling herself being held up, throwing out of the pharmacy.

the next second was a blur. a fucked up blur. the girls found themselves outside doc's, in a desperate notion, hitting the door in front of them. in a miserable attempt to stop the scene of happening.

"i'm so sorry." y/n sobbed. still trying to hit the glass door. she started to realize what was going on right beside her eyes. she lost balance. it was the rumble, the fights, the deaths.

things were failing apart. little by little.

riff wasn't there. to be the one to stop it, to control it, to be their leader. she didn't have him by her side now.

her best friend, her boy.

lost your balance on a tightrope, oh

it's never too late to get it back

[sehrish-munir]

My True Story

I was born in a lower middle class family. My grandfather migrated from interior Sindh to Karachi in late seventy. He had some ancestral land, which he sold and bought a 3 room flat in the heart of the city.

Whereas, he started a mini cloth shop to run the bread and butter of the home.

Before he could establish his new business, just after a year of his migration, he got a cardiac arrest and could not succumb.

As my father was the only child of my grandfather. At that time he just completed his matriculation. He tried to take over o

my grandfather’s business. However, within two years he gave all the shop to borrowers. As he was a teenager, he had no experience in business. Now my father has had only the earnings of grandpa i.e one flat.

My father and my grandma were in tension over how to earn the bread and butter. In that time of hardship, my maternal uncle came forward and helped my father to get enrolled in the education department as a junior school teacher. My grandma thanked God that now they had some arrangements for daily meals.

The time was going on. After a few years of my father's job, grandma decided to marry my father. For this she selected her niece. My father accepted his mother’s decision and married my maternal uncle’s daughter.

The day nights were passing like a dream. After fifteen years of my parents' marriage, they have 5 daughters and 2 sons. My number is third in sisters. Whereas, my both brothers are little from us.

With the passage of time my father’s income decreased. Whereas, the expenses raised manifolds. As my mother was a typical housewife, he had no contribution to the household economy. On the other hand my father had only a 14 scale government teacher job, which was insufficient for 9 members of the family. Out of which all the children were school going.

As we were growing, we were becoming a source of worry for our parents. Because they had very few income resources. My two older sisters completed matriculation at the same time.

My parents decided to send only one girl to the college on a regular basis. Whereas the other one will do a private FA. Therefore, my oldest sister sat at home and the little one joined the government college for FSc in biology.

Now it was a worrying situation for me. At that time I was reading in ninth class. My dream was to become a software engineer. But my father's pocket was not permitting me to do that.

I decided to do something myself. So I can contribute not only to the bread and butter of my home but also to make my dream practical.

In this regard I started searching for some kind of work that I can do after school time. At the same time I was also consulting with my friends and classmates. One of my friends advised me to learn some beauty parlor work. She also told me that her aunty (Khala) has a nice beauty parlor in the Gulshan area. Which was a few km away from home, so I can easily manage the outback. I liked the idea and decided to get permission from my parents. But getting permission was not an easy task. So I involved my older sister Mehwish in the plan, and requested her to seek permission for me.

One day after the dinner, checking the mood of my parents, my sister Mehwish told my parents that Anmol wanted to join a parlor. On this my father showed a strict reaction and said there is no need for this, and went to the bedroom.

After a few days we requested again, and that day my mother also supported us. Finally my father agreed on one condition that I and Mehwish can both join the parlor. Initially Mehwish was not interested, but after my insistence she surrendered.

Now the day has come, my friend was at our home to take us to the sad parlor. After walking for half an hour, we reached the said parlor. My friend’s aunty was a quite aged woman. She offered us the chairs, and asked whether we had any ideas about parlor work. We both replied that we are unaware about this work like a plain paper. However, she didn't mind as we went their with our friend. After serving us tea, she asked us to check all the parlor work and select the job you have to do. After seeing the girls who were already working there I have decided to learn Mehndi design or Henna design work. As I had good grip on drawing work. Whereas, my sister Mehwish chose to learn hair cutting work, because she loves the hairs.

After choosing our jobs, the parlor owner asked us to learn these jobs for at least three months, for that she will never pay us a penny. We both agreed on the terms and came home.

Next day after school I came home, after finishing my lunch hurriedly, we both arrived at the parlor.

In the Henna design section Iqra was my teacher, from whom I had to learn stylish mehndi designs. On the first day my teacher taught me how to grip a Henna cone. It was quite interesting for me to draw rough mehandi lines on a plain paper.

On the next day she gave some kids mehndi design patterns, and asked me to rehearsal on these designs. I was putting my whole heart into learning these as soon as possible. So I can help out my father with my monthly income. On the other hand, my sister was also working hard to learn something.

Due to my hard work and passion I start making simple mehndi designs in just one month. The parlor owner appreciated me and asked me to draw kids mehndi designs on a regular basis.

Now I have become an associate henna artis besides my teacher Iqra. Whenever a kid comes to the parlor with mother, I start making beautiful mehndi designs on their hands free of cost. It was a passion and keen interest which was forcing me to do such things. Many mothers gives me some money as a tip while leaving. Now I was able to bear my monthly personal expenses.

After three months the parlor owner came to us and asked that now you both have ample knowledge about your work. So from now I will pay you rupees ten thousand per month each and besides this I will also give ten percent as commission to each customer you will serve. She also advised me to learn some advanced designs like Arabic Mehndi Design. I promised her that I will learn every advance of Henna Mehndi designs.

On the way back home we both sisters were very happy. When we told this news to our parents they became very happy. My mother was very happy, like flying in the sky. As she knows that the extra income will help her to bear the additional expenses of house. Whereas she will also be able to make some drowery for her girls.

Life was passing very fast, as our hard days went off. After one year my mother has ample money. So she decided to marry my sister with his nephew who was working in a microfinance bank as a loan officer. My sister also liked that guy. So reaching upon the agreement both families decided to keep the marriage ceremony just after Eid.

We all sisters and brothers were very happy as my sister was going to be married. On the eve of Eid we all had new clothes, on Chand Raat I made beautiful Eid mehndi designs on all my sister’s hands.

On the same day, my father and mother were busy preparing for my sisters wedding. As they had fixed the wedding ceremony on the third day of Eid. My father booked a lighting arrangements service for whole week. A day before the wedding I had drawn some amazing bridal mehndi designs on my sister's hand. That was the first time I had draw any Mehndi designs for a bride. By the grace of Allah the marriage passed well. All the arrangements were very good. Everybody on the wedding were admiring us, specially my Dulhan Mehndi designs was also being liked.

After Mehwish’s wedding I rejoined my work alone. Mehwish's husband stopped her from doing any work.

On the other hand I was continuing to learn the latest mehndi designs coming into the market. For this I was using many online platforms like instagram, facebook and youtube etc to know the new trends in the field of Henna designs. This thing helped me to learn new and modern styles like Indian Mehndi Designs, Western Henna Tattoos and Arabic Henna Designs and other kind of mehndi ke design famous in the field.

It was a hot summer day, I was in college's library, when our college watchman came their in search of me and told that the principal is calling for me. I went hurriedly in principal's office, as soon as I entered she told me that my father has met an accident while he was coming from his duty now he is in ICU of city's major hospital. It was thunder like news for me, I ran from the principal's office in hesitation. Picking an auto rickshaw from the gate and reaching the hospital. When I reached the ICU I saw my mother, my little sisters and brothers were crying. Yes my father was no more with us. This was a heavy shock for all family members. I was feeling like I lost everything.

After the funeral of my father, everyone was talking that how will we survive. My sister Mehwish and brother-in-law have their own expenses. So they could not bear any other expenditures. My father has only monthly pay as an income, so after his death it will have to stope. Whereas, his pension and gratuity case was taking long to finalize. I was earning almost 25K per month, which was not enough for a family whose 90 percent members were school going. So I requested my parlor owner to increase my salary so I can cover the house expenses, but she replied that it is not possible now.

After a few months I decided to set up my own business of Henna designs. But I had not have enough money to set up any new business in a city like Karachi. In this regard I sought help from my brother-in-law as he was serving in a microfinance bank. He helped me to take an ample loan for opening up my own Mehndi design parlor. I selected a location for the parlor, which was nearby to my house.

Finally the day came when I inaugurated my own business. To meet the future requirements I took my little sister with me so she can learn the Mehndi art. First day I received only one order for full mehndi design. I charge rupees 2000 for my first project. I was very happy about that, because now no one will take a big share of my hard work.

As I introduced so many new mehndi designs myself. Thus the demand of my parlor was raising day by day

In 2019 I earned a lot of money during the wedding season, as I received many orders for Dulhan Mehndi designs.

I was inventing new mehndi designs in the field of body art with every passing day. So I have been booking a wedding for many days, and here girls demand to print some beautiful hand & foot mehndi designs. Therefore, I repaid my bank loan within one year, which was quite an amazing experience for bank staff too.

I have also bought a beautiful house in a posh area, where I am living with my family, cool and calm. My little brothers and sisters are reading in good schools. I am also doing my graduation degree from a well known University.

To promote my mehndi art I have made my own website. Where I place beautiful back hand mehndi designs and front hand mehndi designs. I have also made my own social media accounts, so people can know more and more about my business.

So this is my own motivational story for those who want to become something in life. At the end I will suggest you do not lose hope when something hard comes in life. If our Allah close a door, definitely he opens many new doors for us.

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby- |D. Cozens| [Part 1]

It’s finally here! @workhorsefromwhitehorse24​ and I have been working on this for a while now and I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite thing we’ve collaborated on! This was a little outside my comfort zone but I enjoyed writing it so much! Hope you enjoy! Let us know what you think!!

“Ava Grace I’m home!” Dad calls from downstairs. I sit up and grab my sweatshirt off of the floor. 

“Coming!” I say as I pull it over my head and run out into the hall. I attempt to make it down the stairs without dying but almost fail as I get to the bottom step. “Whoops! Sorry!” I yell as I knock one of the pictures off the wall. He stands in the kitchen doorway and watches me, amused, as I fix the picture then turn to face him, a grin on my face. He had been gone for 2 weeks on a 5 game road trip, resulting in the Penguins going 4-1. Dad scored a pair of goals in the first two games. But sadly, it wasn’t enough of a push to get them to the playoffs. 

“Hi Daddy!” I say, running to hug him. He lifts me off the ground and kisses the top of my head. Dad and I have always been super close. It’s been just him and I for years. Ever since I was born, it’s just been Dad and I. Grandma and Grandpa were always in the picture too, along with Aunt Taylor. The 4 of them have been my entire world and my family for the past 17 years. My mom has never been in the picture since she and Dad had me when they were super young, before Dad was in the NHL. Dad had moved from Nova Scotia by himself when he was 15, down to Faribault, Minnesota. Mom and Dad met within his first week of school. Dad tells me I look just like her but from what I can tell, the older I get, the more I look like Dad. But basically one thing turned to another, Dad had his first taste of freedom, being away from his parents and all, and 9 months later, I was born. As soon as Grandma and Grandpa found out, they moved Taylor and everything else down to be with my dad and help out with me. But one Saturday, Mom dropped me off with Dad and told him she had decided she wanted more than raising a baby and my dad so she left me with Dad and left. I’ve never heard from her, except for one birthday card when I turned 6. Grandma and Grandpa raised me alongside Taylor until Dad’s first season in the NHL. That’s when he moved me to Pittsburgh with him. I mean, before he was in the NHL, he made sure that he was a part of my life and made sure I knew that I was his little girl. But it hasn’t really been that big of a deal that Mom hasn’t been in the picture since I’ve had Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Taylor, plus all of Dad’s teammates through the years. It’s been a ride, having a dad like I do. I mean, he’s pretty much the face of the NHL and one of the greatest players to ever play hockey, being Sidney Crosby and all. Everywhere we go, he gets recognized so it was always hard for him to come to my things as I was growing up. But he always made sure that someone was there for me, whether it was one of my grandparents or Aunt Taylor. But even through all of that, my dad is my best friend. I’ve never needed anyone else. 

“I missed you so much!” He says, setting me down and looking at me. I smile and nod.

“I missed you too! Nice set of goals by the way. Sorry about the playoffs...” I say, smiling as he walks into the kitchen. He shrugs as I follow him into the kitchen and sit down at the table, watching him wander around the kitchen, making one of his shakes he always drinks.

“It was a long two weeks for sure, but I’m glad I have you to come home too.” I nod and smile.

“Oh Sweetheart, before I forget, we’re going up to Toronto next weekend for the Leafs’ first playoff game, for your birthday. We’ll spend two weeks up in Toronto.” The Penguins missed out on the playoffs, ending their season early. But my Leafs made it to the first round of the playoffs. He smiles as my face lights up. The Toronto Maple Leafs are my favorite team. As disappointed as Dad was in me when he found out, he still supports it, just happy that I like hockey. My favorite player is Mitch Marner, which is a player Dad approves of. He raised me on the ice, around his team and made sure I loved hockey as much as he does. I played for 6 years but I decided I liked watching hockey better than playing. 

“Really? We are?” I say, giddy. 

“Yep, I think Tanger and Geno are going to come with us. I invited Taylor too, figured we could make a whole vacation of the trip. We can go out to dinner, shopping, all the fun, girly stuff you love. Oh and there’s a surprise flying out to see you too.” Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are Dad’s alternate captains and my honorary uncles. Up until about 4 years ago, I had 3 honorary uncles. Marc-André Fleury, the Penguins' goalie and now the Vegas Golden Knights’ goalie was the third. He and Dad are still close which means he still claims the third honorary uncle spot. When he got married in 2012, I was the flower girl. I’ve actually been in all 3 of my “uncle’s” weddings. They’ve been a huge part of my life since I was little, even when Dad was trying to keep me out of the spotlight.  I smile, pushing my hair out of my face. I think the thing that everyone always finds so interesting about Dad and I, is that he did such a good job keeping me out of the spotlight up until I was old enough to understand what was going on. But as soon as I started going to events with him, everyone knew I was his daughter. I mean, I look and act like a female version of Dad so it makes perfect sense that I’m his daughter.

“Ava girl, do you want to see if one of your friends wants to come with us? Might be a little boring to spend your birthday weekend with a bunch of old people.” Dad says, finally sitting down with his gross shake. I nod and laugh, thinking of who I could invite. I go to Shady Side Academy in downtown Pittsburgh, which is a big, fancy private school. There’s a little over 1,100 kids that go to my school, but only about 70 of them are in my grade. 

“Oh, I’ll invite Carter. Let me text her and see if she can go.” Carter James has been my best friend since 2nd grade. She’s my total opposite and somehow, it works. 

“Okay Honey. I’m going to go lay down for a little bit. Our flight left pretty early this morning so I’m pretty tired. Go ahead and order something for dinner. Anything but pizza please.” I pout a little, my bottom lip jutting out. He smiles and drops a kiss on the top of my head as he walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I walk out to the living room and flop on the couch, getting on my phone to watch Tik Tok for a while. Suddenly, the door to the house flies open and my Aunt Taylor waltzes in.

“Hello my absolute favorite niece in the entire world!” She calls, dumping her purse and everything in her hands onto the bench by the door. Grandma decorated the entire house. Dad was going to hire a decorator but Grandma insisted and somehow, Dad ended up liking what she did with the place. 

“I’m your only niece so I hope I’m your favorite. But hey Aunt Tay. What’s up?” I asked, sitting up.

“Nothing much. Just came home to drive my big brother crazy and talk about your birthday trip with you. How excited are you? Hey wait, isn’t it your 18th birthday?” I smile and nod again. Aunt Tay is a little scatterbrained and once forgot how old I was turning and bought me a 13th birthday card. I was turning 11. But of course, she always means well and loves me a ton. 

“Carter is coming with us. Do you know what the surprise is? Dad just told me there is one but didn’t say anything else.” Taylor grins as she nods.

“I’m not telling you but just know this, you’re gonna be really really excited.” She says, sitting down on the couch by my feet. 

“So how’s things at school? Still thinking about going to UPenn?” She asks, tapping her thumb against my knee. I sigh.

“Ugh I don’t know anymore. I fell in love with UPenn when I visited there with Grandma last fall but I don’t know if I want to be that far away from everyone. I mean, it’s only 4 hours but going from how things are now to that? That’s a lot to process.” She nods, watching me. 

“Well Honey, you know your dad would make sure you had a car on campus and everything. So you can always come back home and visit. But I mean, it’s been you and your dad since you were a baby. Maybe it’s time to go out on your own a little?” I cringe a little at the thought.

“I don’t wanna leave!” I say, falling into Taylor’s lap and drawing out the end of the word. She laughs and smooths my hair down. 

“We’ll figure something out. You’ve still got time, Ava Grace.” She says and somehow, those words make all the anxiety I have about college and everything else coming up in my future fade to a dull roar instead of the screams it has been for the past couple weeks. I’ve always been able to talk to Dad about anything which is why he and I have such a good relationship now. But the one thing I haven’t been able to talk to him about is college. Dad went straight from high school into the NHL. He always claims to understand but I’m pretty sure it just confuses him sometimes. 

“Okay you two, it’s very hard to sleep when all I can hear is laughing and carrying on.” Dad says, coming back downstairs. 

“Yeah yeah, keep it down, Patrick.” Taylor says, looking up at Dad. Dad hates being called by his middle name which is why Taylor calls him that. He rolls his eyes and bats her hand away as she reaches up to poke him. When the two of them are together, Grandma always says they act like they did when they were little. 

“Have you girls figured out everything for us leaving on Thursday? Ava, is Carter going with us?” I grab my phone off the arm of the couch and turn it on, quickly reading the notifications on the screen.

“Yeah she’s going. And she’s gonna be here in 3, 2, 1!” I count down as the door bursts open again. Carter and my Aunt Taylor are two peas in a pod. They’re practically the same person which is why I love them both so much.

 “Hello Crosby family!” She shouts, sliding across the floor and landing on top of me.

“Oh this is going to be a long two weeks.” Dad says, laughing and rubbing his forehead. 

“So we’re going to Toronto for your 18th birthday? And to see the love of your life? Hell yeah this is going to be a great trip.” Carter says, looking up at me. 

“Okay, Carter James, slow down please.” I say, patting her head. 

“Wait, isn’t the legal drinking age in Canada, 18?” Carter asks, sitting up and looking at Dad.

“Oh my God Sidney Patrick. You’re taking your daughter to Canada to drink for her 18th birthday?” Taylor says, looking over at Dad with a smirk on her face. 

“Taylor Jane, you’d better cut it out or you’re not going anymore.” He says, shaking his finger at her. Carter and I laugh and Taylor rolls her eyes.

“She’s responsible enough to handle this. You two are the ones I have to worry about.” Dad says, pointing at Carter and Aunt Taylor. 

“Tanger and Geno are going too? Oh this is going to be a blast!” Taylor says, rubbing her hands together and grinning evilly. Dad’s head drops into his hands and the 3 of us burst out laughing. Carter and I spend the rest of the evening planning our trip out while Dad and Aunt Taylor watch the St. Cloud game. The week leading up to our trip to Toronto flies by, but my excitement for the game only builds. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a Leafs game, nor is it the first time I’ve gotten to watch my favorite player play. But it’s happening on my 18th birthday and that makes it even more exciting. 

Thursday morning, two days before my birthday, Carter wakes me up by bouncing on my bed. 

“We’re leaving today!” She sings, bouncing more. I roll over and groan. 

“Carter James, it’s too early!” I say, shoving her. She laughs at me and I sit up.

“Come on, we’re going to dinner with the love of your life tonight!” She says. I jump out of bed and look at her, eyes wide. I’m 100% a Mitch Marner fan girl. Carter thinks it’s hilarious but she’s the exact same way for Patrick Kane. We ran into him at the Stanley Cup Finals one year and she was speechless. 

“What are you talking about? Dinner with who?” I ask. Dad walks in and is now standing in my doorway.

“I called in a few favors and we’re going to dinner with Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly tonight. How does that sound?” He says, as my mouth drops open.

“Oh my God thank you thank you Daddy!” I say, running over to hug him. He smiles and Carter laughs. 

“She’s gonna faint as soon as she sees him. Total freak out.” Carter says, crossing her arms and laughing. 

“I am not! I’ll be perfectly fine. It’s just another hockey player. Not like I’m in love with him or anything.” I say, pointing at her. She rolls her eyes and we both laugh.

“Where my favorite birthday girl?” I hear a deep voice call from downstairs.

“Geno, it’s too early for you to be this loud. Shut up.” I hear Taylor say.

“I take it G and Tanger just got here?” Dad calls and Taylor groans in response. 

“Alright girls get ready and we’ll leave in a little over an hour. Go down and say hi to everyone first though.” I nod and follow Dad downstairs, Carter tagging along behind me. 

“Hi Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris!” I say, running to hug both of them as they stand up from where they were sitting on the couch. Taylor is taking up the other end of the couch, facedown in a pillow. “Are you excited for your birthday trip?” Kris asks, patting my back as he hugs me.

“I’m so excited. Do you know what my surprise is? Dad still won’t tell me.” Geno laughs, still too loud for Taylor apparently because a pillow goes flying across the room and just misses his head.

“Tay, go drink some coffee please, you’re being a brat right now.” Dad says, patting her head.

“I know surprise. You like a lot.” Geno says, crossing his arms and looking down at me. I raise an eyebrow. I’ve been the victim of one of Dad’s surprises before and let’s just say he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to surprises. 

“Is it bad that I’ve been your best friend for 12 years and I still can’t understand what he’s saying?” Carter asks, leaning over to me. I laugh and Geno looks between the two of us.

“Who you? You Ava’s best friend?” Carter rolls her eyes and nudges Geno, who laughs again and hugs her. “Alright, Little Crosby, let’s get this show on the road.” Kris says, pointing towards the stairs. I smile and rush upstairs to get dressed and grab my bags. I pick out a pair of black leggings and a peach colored Adidas sweatshirt. I change into the clothes and put my pajamas in the dirty clothes. I put on mascara quickly, finishing everything off with some lip gloss. I grab my Birkenstocks and slip them on. 

“Okay, I’m ready!” I call as I drag my bag down the stairs behind me. I again attempt not to die on my way down the stairs. But yet again, I fail.

 “Oh God, Little Crosby.” Kris says, somehow managing to catch me as I trip down the last 3 steps. 

“Your daughter is a human wrecking ball. You know that, right Sid?” Dad laughs and nods.

“I haven’t killed myself yet. So far, we’re safe.” Everyone laughs and I smile. All these people filling this house are my entire family. They’ve raised me and I wouldn’t be who I am without all of them. 

“Okay, let’s get going! Our flight leaves in 45 minutes!” Dad calls, attempting to herd us all towards the door. Taylor has finally had her coffee and returned to the world of the living. 

“Toronto here we come!” She calls as we all get out the door and into the two cars we’re taking. Dad locks the door behind us and turns to look at me.

“You excited, Ava Grace?” I nod and he hugs me to his side.“I hope this lives up to your idea of the perfect 18th birthday.” I laugh and nod again as we head to his car. 

The drive to the airport and the flight to Toronto are pretty boring but Kris and Taylor keep everyone entertained the whole trip. Carter finally crashed after the Red Bulls she had while we were waiting for our flight to get called in the airport, leaving me to my own thoughts pretty much the entire flight. When we land in Toronto, everyone is pretty excited for the next two weeks. 

“Little Crosby surprise time!” Geno calls from the back of our group.

“Geno, we’re still in an airport. Keep it down a little please?” Carter says, patting his arm. Dad scoffs and looks between me and Carter.

“He’s right though, your surprise is right through those doors.” Dad says, pointing towards the exit of the airport. I see Taylor pull her phone out of her pocket and start recording me. I hand my bag to Kris and look over at Geno who motions me towards the door. I walk towards the doors, which slide open. I glanced around then back at Dad and Taylor who followed me out.   

“Little Crosby!” I hear a very familiar voice yell over the buzz of the airport.

“Oh my God! Uncle Flower!” I shout, rushing towards my uncle Marc and hugging him.

“Surprise!” Dad calls, smiling as I hug Marc.

 “So you were my surprise?” I say, stepping back and looking at him.

“Yep, I was the big wonderful surprise. Hope you weren’t too disappointed.” He says, smiling as his arm rests around my shoulders.

“I figured you’d want all of your uncles here for your big 18th birthday. So we worked it out and got him here for you.” I smile, quickly hugging Dad before returning to hug Marc again. 

“Alright well, it’s time to get heading to the hotel. We’re going to dinner at 6:30 tonight. Geno, Flower and Kris are taking Tay to something that I know nothing about. And you’re okay with Carter going with us?” I nod as Marc leads us and the rest of our group to the waiting van. 

“I’m taking a nap when we get to the hotel. You woke me up too early this morning.” I say, nudging Carter as she slides into the van next to me. 

“Sounds like a plan. The Red Bull ran out.” She says, laying her head on my shoulder. The two of us manage to fall asleep on the 20 minute drive to the hotel. Geno shakes us both awake when we get to the hotel. We sleepily wander into the hotel and wait in the lobby while Dad and Tay get everything figured out. The adults herd us all over to the elevator and into it, somehow managing to get us all to the conjoined rooms we have for the next two weeks. As soon as we make it into the rooms, Carter and I collapse onto the bed we’ll be sharing and fall asleep. 

About 2 and a half hours later, Dad comes in and wakes us up.

“Girls, we have about an hour before we have to leave for dinner. Go ahead and start getting ready.” He calls as he closes the door behind him. I sit up and stretch, the excitement building in my chest all over again.

“Okay, I think I’m gonna curl my hair and wear that frilly, layered red skirt with the white sweater and my little brown boots. What about you, Carter?” I ask, looking back at her who is still laying in bed. 

“So I have to dress nice right? I think the army green pants romper thing with my jean jacket, Vans and straight hair. Sound good?” She asks, finally sitting up. I nod and get started curling my hair. She gets started on doing her makeup while I work on my hair. Somehow, we both end up being done with plenty of time left to spare. So we do what typical teenagers do and spend the extra 15 minutes we have, on our phones. Dad comes in and the two of us follow him down to the elevator and out to the car. It’s some super nice, fancy car; just like the one that lives in our garage except on home game days. Dad lets Carter play music which automatically, I can tell, he regrets as Cotton Eye Joe plays for the third time. Carter is having the time of her life and I can’t help but laugh along with her. When we get to the restaurant, it’s one Dad and I came to, back when we came to Toronto for some charity event a few years ago.

“Alright, how excited are you?” Dad asks, as he parks the car and we climb out. I squeal a little and Carter laughs. Dad smiles, draping his arm around my shoulders as I link arms with Carter. The 3 of us waltz into the restaurant and walk up to the hostess.

“Hello, Mr. Crosby. Your two guests are already seated.” I squeeze Carter’s arm and we squeal a little together. As we follow the hostess to our table, back in the back, we pass a table with two teenage boys. One looks Carter up and down, obviously checking her out, while the other locks eyes with me. I smile, forcing myself to look away as we disappear into the back, private room Dad reserved for us. 

“Holy crap, did you see those guys?” Carter whisper-yells into my ear. I nod, trying to focus on the fact that Mitch Marner is standing a few feet away from me, a grin on his face, instead of the guy I just saw.

“Hey Sid. This must be Ava and Carter. Nice to meet you girls.” Mitch says, reaching his hand out. I shake it, the smile on my face impossibly large. Morgan Rielly stands next to him and shakes our hands as well. As we all sit down, I happen to glance around the room and see that both of the boys are looking into the room. As much as I want to pay attention to what Mitch, Mo and Dad are talking about, I can’t. I’m too distracted by the boy I saw. Carter, apparently can’t either. 

“Ava, they were literally so hot. Can I please go get their numbers?” She asks, nudging me when she catches me staring again.

 “No! Dad will kill me if he catches me talking to a boy!” I whisper-yell, glancing up at Dad and Mitch. 

“Ava Grace, that could be your freaking soulmate and you’ll never know because you won’t let me go get their numbers!” I roll my eyes and glance over my shoulder at the boys’ table. Sadly, they’re gone and I sigh, looking over at Carter.

“They’re gone anyway. Not like we’re ever gonna see them again anyways.” I say, glumly, resting my chin on my hand. She shakes her head. “There went your soulmate.” I sigh, knowing she won’t let me live this down. Dad clears his throat, pulling Carter and I back to the conversation happening at the table.

“So Ava, I hear you’re a pretty big fan of mine.” Mitch says, leaning on his elbows against the table. I smile, taking in all of his features.

“Yeah, you’ve been my favorite since you came into the league. Dad’s always a little disappointed when I don’t tell people he’s my favorite player.” Mitch and Mo laugh. The rest of the evening, conversation flows easily and Carter and I both have a blast. As I glance at my Apple watch and see the time, Carter nudges me again. 

“Your dad is looking at you funny.” She says, nodding her head towards Dad. I look up, my eyes meeting my dad’s gaze.

“It’s getting late, are you girls ready to head back to the hotel? Your aunt and uncles should be getting back soon too.” Carter and I nod and I turn to look at Mitch.

“I’ll be wearing your jersey on Saturday night. Don’t disappoint me. Also it’s my birthday so a goal or two would be nice.” Mitch and Mo laugh as Dad smiles down at me. 

“I will try my hardest. Glad we could spend the evening with you lovely ladies. See you on Saturday after the game? There’ll be passes for your whole group at the ticket desk.” My face lights up and I know Carter’s does too.“Okay great! See you then! Good luck!” I say, standing and hugging Mitch. Mo shakes Dad’s hand and then the two of them head out. 

“You two seemed very distracted all during dinner. Was everything okay?” Dad asks as the 3 of us head back out to the car after he pays.“Yeah everything was fine. Dinner was super good and fun. Carter just saw some cute boy and wouldn’t shut up about him.” Dad laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Hey, in my defense, your daughter was looking too so it wasn’t just me.” Carter says, crossing her arms. Dad’s head whips around as we climb in the car.

“A boy? What?” I groan internally and elbow Carter. I’ve never been that into boys. I mean, I’ve thought plenty of boys were cute and had quite a few guy friends but I’ve never had the time or the effort that comes with having a relationship. So it’s never been a topic of conversation for Dad and I. 

“Nothing, it was nothing. Don’t worry about it, Dad.” I say, trying to avoid the topic. 

“It’s interesting though. I was just talking to your uncle Kris about how you’ve never had a boyfriend or anything like that. Which is fine with me because I know what boys are like.” Dad says as we drive back to the hotel. Carter is dying sitting next to me, her hand pressed against her mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

“I-I know...I’ve just never had the time or wanted one.” I say, burying my head in my hands. 

“Well you don’t need one. You have all the guys you need in your life. Me, your Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris, Uncle Marc, and Grandpa.” Carter finally bursts out laughing and Dad looks in the rearview mirror at me. 

“I’m serious, Ava Grace. Why do you need a boyfriend?” Dad has never really been the overprotective dad. He’s protective for sure but he kind of lets me do my own thing most of the time. He knows if I need to, I’ll come to him or one of the other main adults in my life. But he lets me make my own decisions and figure life out by myself. This whole ‘no boyfriend’ thing that he’s doing right now is new. 

“I guess I don’t. You’re right.” I say, putting an end to the conversation by turning and looking out the window. Thankfully, Dad doesn’t push any farther. The 3 of us ride in silence, the radio off, the rest of the way back to the hotel. Once we get into the hotel and up to our rooms, I tell Dad goodnight, give him a hug and a kiss then follow Carter into our room. Carter distracts me from the disaster of a conversation that was with Dad and forces me to watch some cheesy rom-com with her. I fall asleep midway through and sleep in late the next day. Taylor takes Carter and I out shopping all day on Friday while my dad and the uncles do who knows what. The topic of boys is avoided all day, All night at dinner on Friday, we catch up with everyone. I fill Marc in on what Dad’s latest old person moment was, even though he’s only 33. Everything seems so perfect and happy but I keep replaying the conversation with Dad over and over again in my head. 

Saturday morning, my birthday morning, Carter wakes me up with cake in bed. It’s a tradition we started when we were 12. Every year on our birthday, the other girl brings the birthday girl cake in bed. It’s one of my favorite birthday traditions. 

“Happy birthday Little Crosby! You are adult now!” Geno calls, leading the rest of my family into my room. Dad brings up the end of the line and walks over to the bed. He hugs me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.“Happy birthday my sweet girl.” He says, smoothing my hair down and getting all teary-eyed. 

“I can’t believe the young lady you’ve grown into. You are beautiful, strong, independent and so responsible. I...I didn’t think things would end up this way, especially with your mom not being in the picture. But I look around you and I see all these people who helped raise you and I know, you’ve turned out more than okay. I love you Ava Grace and will always love you. Happy birthday.” Dad says. I take another bite of the cake Carter brought me and smile up at him.

“I love you so much, Daddy. Thank you for everything. Thank you everyone for everything you’ve done for me. I love all of you.” They all share a sappy smile and I keep eating my cake. The rest of the day, we hang out at the hotel, lounging around before the game tonight at 7. Marc and Geno see how many pieces of pizza they can eat while Dad keeps score. Taylor paints Carter’s nails and I pick at mine. Kris sneaks out to buy me ice cream and comes back with at least 10 different kinds, all of them my favorite in one way or another. 

Carter and I start getting ready around 4:30 so we’re ready to leave by 5. I straighten my hair and do just light makeup. I dig my Mitch Marner jersey out of my bag and put it on with some black leggings. Carter wears the jersey of the only Leaf she likes, Frederik Andersen. She opted for black ripped jeans instead of leggings. Everyone else is just dressed casual. Marc did wear a Leafs hat just to please me. The drive to the arena, Carter gets to play music again. She plays our ‘Hockey Game Hype Up’ playlist, something we made a few years ago. Even though I’m the music person, she’s much better at putting playlists together. I’m only really good at finding one or two songs I love and just playing them over and over again. As the songs ‘Auston Matthews’ by Svdvm and ‘Toronto Maple Leafs Anthem’ by JDME play back to back, we pull into the arena parking lot. No matter how many times I’ve been to Scotiabank Arena, it never ceases to amaze me. I think I’ve been here a grand total of like 15 times in the last 10 years, solidifying it as my favorite arena. 

“Come on Ava, let’s go watch your boy play.” Carter says, linking her arm through mine. She leads me and the rest of our group into the arena. Everyone else heads to the box but I decide to stay down in the main area and wander around a bit, making sure I get the full experience again. All around me, Leafs fans are hurrying to one place or another. I take everything, wanting to remember this for the rest of my life. As I’m walking down a small set of stairs, I collide with a pretty solid body. And of course, with my human wrecking ball abilities, I manage to take both of us down, all the way to the ground. “Shit! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” I ask, sitting up and looking at the boy I collided with. He sits up, looks at me, down at the ground, then back up at me. His eyes are huge.

“I-Oh my God. Yeah-Yeah I’m okay! Are you?” He asks, jumping to his feet and reaching his hand out to help me up. I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. “Yeah I’m all good. Sorry for taking you out. I’m known for being clumsy. Like the jersey by the way.” I say, pointing to where the number 16 is stitched into the arm of his jersey. The same number sprawled across my back.

“Hey, I like yours too. Marner your favorite player?” I nod, pushing my hair back out of my face.

“Yeah, I grew up a Penguins fan because of my dad but the Leafs are my favorite team.” He smiles and nods. He looks so familiar but I can’t place where I know him from. Talking to him comes so naturally and it seems like the world just goes on around us while we stand there and talk. Before I know it, they’re starting the lineup announcements.

“Oh shoot, I gotta get going. Enjoy the game!” I call over my shoulder as I run back towards the box we’re all sitting in. Of course, I trip up the steps and almost fall. As I glance over my shoulder, I see the boy with a smirk on his face. I blush and mentally kick myself for first off accidentally tackling a cute boy then tripping and almost falling in front of him. As I rush back into the box, Dad eyes me with a raised eyebrow. I huff and flop into my seat next to Marc and Carter. Carter glances at me out of the corner of her eye and smirks.

“Why are you all red and bothered about?” I bite my lip and Marc looks over at me.“I accidentally tackled a cute boy…” I say, burying my head in my hands. Carter and Marc laugh and Marc pats my back.

“There there, Little Crosby. I did much worse to your aunt Véronique.” I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder. Geno and Kris are behind us, teasing Taylor as Dad watches what’s going on down on the ice. His hand is resting on my shoulder, absentmindedly squeezing and releasing in a protective way. As I sit there, watching the game, all I can think about is the boy. But as I do, I think about the conversation Dad and I had last night in the car. Did he really mean what he said? Would he really get upset if I did ever decide to have a boyfriend?

[pixie88]

A Free Man

A/N: Those that Lovelink know Damien Jones or his counter Austin. I was thinking about doing a Damien FF and after yesterday’s date I definitely needed to do it! Thanks to @khoicesbyk​ for the idea and giving me the push to write this. MC is named after her MC in the app. Normally I have to write SMUT after a few drinks haha. It’s pure smut with a little fluff I hope you like it!

A/N 2: Re-uploading because Tumblr is a b***h and took it down, I’m uploading again. Tumblr you need to take a closer look at some of the stuff on here that REALLY violates the community guidelines. #justsaying

Find my other Lovelink FF HERE on my masterlist under Lovelink - One shots. Along with my Rory Bear & Shopping Trip (Rory O’Brien), My Science Buff & The Naughty Teacher (Marco Bottazzi), Photogenic (Dominic Wright) & Tattoo Artist to Businessman (Blake Bailey) FF. 

Let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Comments always welcome!

Word count: 1757

WARNINGS: ⚠️ NSFW & Fluffy fluff

Disclaimer: Characters are property of Lovelink.

Pairings: Damien x MC - Kara

Enjoy!

I'm standing in the prison car park just staring at the door, I look down at my watch 10.37 AM. 7 minutes late what if something has happened? I pull out my phone and load up Lovelink.

*Damien last active 8.09 AM*

Then I hear the creaky iron door open. I look up there he! My Damien a free man!

He looks around then spots me, the brightest smile appears on his face as he starts sprinting towards me.

My eyes well up, his arms wrap around me, he lifts my feet off the ground and spins me round "KARA!"

He pepper kisses all over my face before his lips crash against mine, his tongue invades my mouth "God, it feels so good to be able to do that without worrying about a guard catching us or counting the minutes until our time is up! That's all thanks to you Kara. Most people wouldn't have stuck by me like you have" he lands soft kiss against my lips.

"Damien, guess what?"

"What?"

"You are finally a free man!"

He grins, "Come on, I need to refuel, then burn some energy," he puts me down and gives me a look that warns me that we need to leave now before he takes me right here.

"Let's get you home!"

We get into the car, "I never thought I'd see the back of that place"

He's looking out the window, staring. I reach over, take his hand in mine "Your future starts today"

He kisses my knuckles "Our future! Kara you are my future"

My cheeks burn "What do you want to eat?"

"Besides you? Something greasy, a burger oh, and fries and a chocolate milkshake"

I laugh "OK, I think there's a diner just down here"

We pull in and head inside, we order Damien leans over the table and takes my hands "You have no idea how much I've missed touching you"

I bite my lip, he gaze makes me squeeze my legs together "Oh, I think I do!"

"2 Cheeseburgers with fries, 1 chocolate shake and 1 strawberry shake!" the waitress puts the food down in front of us.

He face lights up "Thanks," he says as she leaves us to it.

He takes his first bite "Oh..My..GOD" he says between chews.

I can't help smiling at him "Kara, are you sure you don't mind me staying with you?"

"Hey! Now you are out I don't want to spend a minute away from you!"

He chuckles "Good because I wouldn't want to be anywhere else"

~*~*~*~

We pull to my apartment building "Home sweet home" I tell him.

He looks up at the building "Nice area so much nicer than where I've lived before" he smiles at me.

"Come on, let's get you inside" we head up, he's close behind me.

I open the door and before it slams shut his lips are on mine like I'm the air he needs to survive. His hands roam my body desperately, his lips move to my pulse line, I push off his jacket needing fewer clothes between us.

His hands slide under my thighs before he lifts me up, I wrap my legs around his waist. He moves us across the room our lips not leaving each others, he lowers me onto the kitchen counter pulls back just a little to look at me as his hand glides up my leg and under my dress "Damien?"

He smiles "I can't believe this is real," I blush, he reaches his goal, he pulls my underwear to the side. The pads of his fingers brush against my core making me shiver "God, Damien!" I see him grinning as he's standing in front of me.

I pull his t-shirt over his head, run my hand down his chest and abs.

"Oh!!" his fingers dip between my folds and play against my clit, I reach for his belt and unbuckle it. I slip my hand beneath his jeans, I can feel his hard shaft trying to break free, he groans.

I pull him back to me, kissing and nipping his neck "Kara....fuck" I dip my hand under the waistband of his boxer, grasp him and start working up and down. His head collapses against my shoulder, both trying to catch our breath as we match each other's rhythm.

"Damien....I..." I don't need to finish my sentence he pulls down my underwear and removes his "Wait, there's some condoms in my bag" he reaches behind me and grabs one.

"How long you had these in there?" He smirks.

"Before my first lesson at the prison, but we never got a chance to use them" I wink.

"I'll make it up to you now" He rolls it over his hard member.

His lips smash against mine as he pushes pass my entrance filling me. I wrap around him adjusting to his size, his pace is slow to start with "Harder Damien" a growl catches in his throat.

He draws out all the way to the tip before he thrusts harder all the way to the base, each thrust is more powerful than the last.

I dig my nails into his back, and he hisses "Ohhh...baby!"

He reaches between where our bodies meet and works against my clit "Fuck...." I feel him grin against my lips.

His pace speeds up I grip his shoulders anchoring myself, I can't hold back anymore, I clench around him as I fall over the edge "Damien YES!"

"God Kara! Shit" I feel his body jerk as he hits his own peak.

Both panting, he places a soft kiss on my lips "Wow that was..."

He lift me up of the counter "I'm no way through with you yet!" he takes us over to the couch.

"Damien!" I giggle.

~*~*~*~

"No!! I didn't do it! NO!!" I stir the room still dark, I turn on the lamp"No! It wasn't me!! Kara Please!!" I hear Damien scream I turn over, he still asleep, he must be dreaming.

I touch his face and whisper "Damien, hey, it's ok! Wake up" I stroke his face, he's sweating.

He begins to stir gasping for breath, after a moment he realizes where he is "Hey, did you have a bad dream?" He nods "Aww baby! What was it about?" He casts his eyes away from mine "Hey, you can tell me"

"I...I was arrested. One of Bennie's goons set me up, Kara, I was so scared. The worst part was you actually believed I did it!"

I turn him to face me "Hey, I would never do that because I know you aren't capable of that. It was just a bad dream"

He looks at me with sad eyes, "I know but it felt so real"

I place my finger to his lips shushing him "You know what's real? Me here with you" I place his hand on my chest.

His face starts to soften, his hand come up and hook under my chin he pulls my lips towards his, I rest my hands against his peeks.

He stops "Kara, I love you"

I smile, "I love you more"

He laughs before claiming my lips with his. The kiss starts of soft before becoming more intense, his tongue swirls with mine.

I pull away "Let me show you how real this is" I place little kisses down his neck, chest, he groans. I brush over his boxers to find him ready for me, I hook my fingers under the band of his boxers freeing him.

I grip around the base before circling his tip against my tongue "FUCK, KARA!" he groans.

I take him fully in my mouth working up and down his hard shaft. His hand clutches my hair moving me to his rhythm "Crap...baby....that feels" each time I draw back I lightly graze my teeth against him making him buck his hips up.

I pull him out "Feel real enough for you?" before he can answer I work my mouth along him again.

"Fuck...yes" he arches off the bed.

He pulls me up towards his lips, so I'm straddling him, I reach over to the bedside table and grab the foil packet. He pulls away takes the packet out of my hand rips it open between his teeth in one swift moment he slides it on.

His hard member runs along my apex before entering me making me cry out "Oh!" he moves slow stretching my walls, he pulls me back to his lips as his hips thrust up against mine.

I sit up a little and move my hips with his"Kara..you feel so..ride me baby" as he thrust his hips up and plunge mine down causes him to go deeper.

"Damien, just like that..oh" I press my hands against his chest.

"Baby...that's it ride me harder...fuck" I speed up my rhythm his hands clutch my hips moving me to his beat.

He sits up grasping my hair capturing my lips with his. His kiss is rough, his hips thrust up harder and faster. His arms wrap around me, pressing me tighter against him.

"Come for me Kara! I know you're holding back!" he thrusts up harder, pushing me towards the edge a few more thrusts "Yes Damien YES!" this send towards his own climax "Kara!!" he collapses backwards on the bed with me against his chest, both trying to catch our breath.

~*~*~*~

The next morning I left Damien in bed sleeping while I jumped in the shower, behind me, I hear the door open.

I feel his presence behind me, his hand moves the hair away from my neck, and he begins to kiss against my pulse line, his other hand cups my breast.

"Morning" He whispers, I turn in his arms and gently kiss his lips as his hand dips between my legs and brushes against my centre.

I moan against his lips, he lifts me up and press me against the glass. We get lost in each others embrace.

Later I'm just about to I head over to my dresser as I look up at the mirror my heart melts. In red lip stick, there's a love heart with a message that reads.

Kara, Will you be my girlfriend? D x

"You found it, then?" I hear him call over from the doorway "So, what's your answer?"

I run over to him, crash my lips to his. He pulls away slightly "Is that a yes?"

I nod

"Well, that causes for a celebration" he walks us backwards until we fall onto the bed.

"I love you Damien"

"Guess what...I love you more Kara!"

[justanotherartblog]

Examination: Shouto Todoroki

Hello and welcome to the Conspiracy Corner. Today I was wondering how, like physically, can Shouto's quirk work?

Okay, we have the ice and the fire, but where do they come from? First of all, fire is a chemical reaction, so does Shouto's body secrete a chemical, a little like Bakugo's sweat, and its oxygen-reactive, so it lights on fire on contact with the air? So, that could be how his fire works, because apparently in the mha universe people can sweat chemicals and exist, so what about the ice? 

So the ice cant just appear out of nowhere, because matter cannot be created or destroyed, just changed into a different form, (law of conservation of matter) So where is the ice coming from? (and i'm pretty sure that we are still dealing with most of the basic natural physics 200 or so years in the future) How does he make the ice? We all know that when air is cooled enough, the water vapor, or even carbon dioxide gas can turn into ice too. *more on this later* So, we know that there is water vapor in the air, so we could assume that Shouto's body could release some sort of super-coolant to cool the water vapor in the air around him, kinda like his fire powers may secrete an ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species, a term used in chemistry for a chemical/element that reacts with oxygen) But! The amount of water vapor in the air is miniscule, less than 0.5% of the total amount of air we have (the other parts being 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.4% carbon dioxide, 0.4% water vapor, the remaining 2% are other things in the air) So he couldn’t use this hypothetical coolant to do much to the air around him. However, there is another solution! Carbon dioxide gas, as mentioned earlier, can also be transformed directly into ice, called dry ice. But it has to be at least -109 degrees F (-78 degrees C) for that to even begin forming, also its so cold and dry that upon contact human skin will go into extreme shock, kinda like a super-severe frostbite and shrivel up, because the moisture from your skin is soaked up by the ice, hence the name~ so its unlikely that Shouto can, or will use the small amounts of carbon dioxide in the air for his ice powers. Also if he actually did, then his body would need a better countermeasure than just his fire to help him deal with the shock of the dry-ice frost that may form on his skin if he uses his power this way. So, with not many materials to use, how does Shouto make his G I G A N T I C structures?? another explanation for his powers could be that ice expands when formed, but the amount that Shouto has demonstrated is just off the charts. there doesn't seem to be a plausable explanation of how Shouto is able to create his ice. On the other hand, what if he is not actually "creating" ice? Now, I don’t know about the technicalities of all the quirks out there, but this theory of him being able to supercool the air around him is not seeming likely. But, what if his quirk was something else entirely? 

For example, we have seen moments of Shouto seeming to try to call on deeper strength/power from within himself to release his fire as seen during the battles between class 1-a and 1-b in season 5 (volumes 21 and 22, the matches starting near the end of chapter 194) And with his ice during the movie "Heroes: Rising" where he defeats an enemy using extreme cold to freeze him still. This power from within could be a little like Fa Jin (OFA third user's quirk) where kinetic energy is stored or harbored within, and released at a chosen time. Only where Shouto could draw his power from the potential energy of a situation and releases it through extreme cold or heat. I think that this potential energy could be stored for later, and so when shouto tries even harder to heat or cool things, he can force himself to release even more of that energy. However, i'm not exactly sure about this theory either, its almost fully dependant on the basis of another quirk that we know very little about. so, with my previous theory about his fire quirk, he secreted a ROS to light himself on fire. but how does he not catch on fire then? blood is highly comprised of oxygen, so it would be dangerous to have a material reactive to yourself- and not to speak of how he manages to spread it and keep it burning for so long, even on concrete structures, and when the fire is even far away from him seems to roar up as he tries harder to use his quirk too, (demonstrated in his battle in season 5) So is he pyrotelekenetic? (The telepathic ability to control fire, in this case, perhaps just the fire he makes) This seems to explain a bit to me, but there still is the issue of how he creates his fire in the first place. does he even secrete a substance to aid this chemical reaction? If not, then how can he make the fire come to life at his will? does the fire come from the energy within him? If so, then how is it released so suddenly and dramatically? How is this internal energy transformed into heat energy? s i g h, there are too many questions, my friends, and not enough answers, so, I leave you with these theories. Should anyone have any thoughts on this or other ideas, i would enjoy revisiting the topic.

[tarithenurse]

Nightingale - 38

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: Some concerns about Team 7, sensei stuff, a hint of angst. A/N: As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag! HUUUGE thanks to all who are reblogging already <3

Ch. 38

The last stubborn snow is dripping from the branches and joining the sludge on the dirt road. The feet of Kakashi’s students let go of the mud with squelches any jōnin would hear but at least they’re so close to their goal that stealth isn’t an option anyways – already, he’s seen the movement in the shadows and undoubtedly Sasuke is aware of it too.

Sasuke. He’s trained harder than ever over the winter, but despite the obvious improvements, the boy remains sullen and is even beginning to seek out confrontations with Naruto. Not always. Most of the time it’s still the straw-haired kid that doesn’t know when to back down, but the fact that both boys have taken competitiveness to a whole other level does put a strain on the team, though.

“Almost there,” Sakura sighs, “maybe she’s got something else than milk or catnip tea?”

“Or anchovies,” Naruto adds, earning a glare from the black-haired boy.

...

He sends the team out ahead for the pickup after having sorted the trade with Nekobā.

“Hmmm,” she isn’t oblivious to how her cats keep a certain distance to Kakashi even as he sits quietly, “you’re not an Uchiha but there’s something...” she dismisses it with a wave of a hand. “So what do you want?”

I have no right to involve her, the white-haired jonin hesitates before deciding to continue. In few words, he lays out how the broodiness of the second to last of the clan is devolving despite any and all efforts of guiding him towards a brighter future.

“Why ask me?” Nekobā squints over the brim of her tea cup, “I saw him often as a kid, but you’re closer to him now, aren’t you?”

“He doesn’t tell me much...as you said, I’m not an Uchiha -”

There’s a scoff before the jingle of porcelain being put down. “And still I had to hear about you from two of them whenever they came here.”

Obito. He doubts anything the former teammate had said was positive as the two of them only got to an understanding shortly before the boy with the goggles had his fate sealed. As for the other person, Kakashi can only think of one other Uchiha with enough of a connection.

“Yes, Kakashi of the Sharingan,” Nekobā purrs, “your reputation precedes you and I understand why you recognize Sasuke’s troubles considering how a family member’s actions weighs on you too.”

Yes and no. It’s true, the pain and anger Kakashi used to feel is exactly what he sees in his student now.

“Revenge was never an option for me...or a desire. The supposed crime was far from the atrocity Uchiha Itachi has committed. There was even a semblance of sense to my fa- to the actions while the massacre holds no meaning when looking at all we knew of Sasuke’s brother.”

“And that is why no one can reach his heart with ease...I suspect.”

Maybe, Kakashi nods silently, and maybe it’s because Itachi somehow seems to be within reach.

...

Days become weeks. Weeks become months. One day spring has truly returned, softening the evening air as it cools his skin during the sparring session against Uguïsu, and strands of blue hair dancing on the breeze. But for once, Kakashi’s mind is far from her and the present situation and before he knows it, she’s felled him and tangled her limbs around him from behind in a vice grip.

“Where are you, ‘Kashi?” she whispers gently into his ear and then loosens the restraints.

Sitting up, he draws her arms around him. The heat from her chest is soothing, grounding him as the white-haired jōnin attempts to organize his thoughts to be shared with someone else. Are other genins this much trouble? They probably all come with their own list of problems, but he can’t help but suspect this particular team was given to him to spare his comrades.

A soft kiss finds its home on his neck. “Talk to me.”

“I worry about the boys...” Kakashi sighs.

“Knucklehead and Broody?”

Nodding, the sensei tries to explain his concerns and how he’s beginning to realize that he can’t reach one without slacking the attention on the other...and in all of this, he somehow must not forget about the kindhearted, worried Sakura.

“I don’t know how to get Naruto to understand what I’m trying to teach him! That boy is...is...well, his attention span is minimal and while he’s smart in some aspect, he’s also very...y’know?”

He adores the soft chuckle even if it technically doesn’t help him. “I know. And...I don’t think it’s bad to admit, you’re having a hard time levelling with him. You two are very different. Maybe there’s someone else who can help?”

“Someone more like him?”

Kakashi would be lying if he claimed never to have considered this, but he had dismissed the crazy idea as soon as it had manifested itself. Perhaps...but he has improved a lot anyways, though. There’s some to be said in favour of stubbornness.

“There...is someone I could ask for advice, I guess,” the jōnin concedes. And I ought to do it soon.

Like any other captain of a team of genins, Kakashi is all too aware of the nearing deadline for signing his students up for the chunin exams. Even now, he believes they stand a fair chance of making it past the second stage and he’s keen to help them push their limits with the intention of excelling through the entire event.

“Go,” Uguïsu’s voice urges him, “do what you can to make sure they’ll be amazing.”

The jōnin can’t tamper down the burning sting of guilt in the chest. “Meet you later? I actually have some days without missions planned.”

They’ve barely had any time together the last few weeks and he had planned to treat her to her favourite food this evening. Maybe go for a stroll to the outskirts of town where there’s a house that’s looking less derelict than before – not that it (or Kakashi) is ready to be presented to his blue nightingale yet...he simply wants to figure out if she even likes the area.

“I’d like that,” she beams, “I’ll wait for you on the water tower.”

...

It took little time to write a letter, explaining about Naruto to the sannin and proposing (with well-rounded arguments) why the tutelage of the older shinobi is imperative for the kid’s progress. No, the problem was not composing the message but to find out where to send it to. As a precaution, Kakashi had decided to copy it in four, sending each in a different direction.

Now, the white-haired youth sits on the metal roof that still holds a bit of the heat from the day. He’s come to equate this place with the sort of calm he experiences when he’s done his part and all he can do is wait.

And wait.

And wait as the sky’s darkening, Kakashi is still alone on the roof of the water tower, and he can’t ignore the sixth sense screaming at him that something is wrong.

[cutelittleexo]

"How would you feel?"

Luna-4. A Past, Present, and Future. Ch. 1 - Hope For the Future

Luna-4 got snapped out of her daydream by her stained glass ghost, Shard, seems she didn't realize her guardian was in a daze. "I'm sorry Shard. I was thinking. Could you repeat that please?" Luna asked, hands cupping her still hot tea as she continues to walk along the riverside of the last city, just under the shadow of the ruined tower. "You've been doing that a lot lately. But okay, I'll say it again." Shard rolled her eye a bit before speaking "I asked. How would you feel If you were offered to go back to your life before you were a guardian?" Shard spoke softly and clearly, knowing Luna-4 often loses focus If someone speaks to quick, Luna shot her ghost a unamused look "This question again? I've already told you the answer, I don't know. My dreams are different than other Exo, sure I still dream of the black tower and the fight to get there, but not as much as the others." She sips her tea, still piping hot. Shard darted around her purple Daito cloak and sat in the little crevice where her hood stacked up in a small layer "Do you think It has to do with gui-" "Drop It shard, I came out here to unwind, not to have another existential crisis." Luna-4 spoke in a unusually stern stone, Shard sighed and shimmied out of her hood "Okay. I'll stop...how's the tea today?" Shard asked as If Luna hasn't even scolded her, Luna took a mouth full this time and took in the flavour before gulping it down "Bitter, but a sweet aftertaste. Devrim's fourth favourite tea." She smiled, remembering the time when she asked for sniping lessons from him, only to end up doing his work in that trostland plaza for the day, he got to drink tea and chat up Marc and Hawthorne for once, needless to say she did learn a lot using his custom No Land Beyond. "It's growing on me a bit and I should thank him, think he's still at the fa-...what are you looking at Shard?" Luna-4 asked with a tilted head, seeing her ghost float up a bit "Did the Traveler always glow like that?" Luna-4 turned to see what she was talking about.

Then suddenly feeling a burst of Light.

Comms suddenly went off as civilians and Guardians began to chime in on different channels. The Vanguard channel got some Hunter's on as well much to her surprise. The white noise that was people talking and doing every day responsibilities went quiet before piping up again, different and more rapid this time. Another feeling of Light, like when she was resurrected. It didn't take long before Guardians and Civilians ran past her, some even leaving their spicy ramen sadly behind. A Golden Age song played out in the distance.

"Some hope for the future

Some wait for the call

To say that the days ahead

Will be the best of all."

Luna-4 quickly gulped down all her tea that was meant to be enjoyed slow and tossed it in a nearby trash bin before beginning to walk up the street, her ghost following behind.

"We will build bridges

Up to the sky

Heavenly lights surrounding

You and I."

"Hey, what's the rush?" Luna bumped into one of her fire team members coming out of a underground walkway, a warlock she tells herself she'll befriend, his name being Alexi "Traveler, glowing." She says quickly before running ahead after regaining her footing, leaving him in the dust.

"From out of the darkness

Our future will come

If we leave the past behind

We'll fly beyond the sun."

Luna-4 kept her pace up, running past civilians that stared in awe and up some stairs and continuing on, jumping across ramps and going through the nearby damn.

"We'll be together

Sharing the load

Watching in wonder as our lives unfold."

Now running up stairs and giving a hard left turn before seeing the Traveler again, glowing, much closer now, she passed through a small crowd and made another jump across a gap. Another burst of Light, the area around her seemed a bit foggy. She spotted some of her friends, her lover, and a few acquaintances, sitting around and looking up at the Traveler, some climbing the nearby Vanguard neon sign and radio tower, some over on top of the green house and balconies nearby it. She saw a big ole titan with rusted battleworn armor, Tank, at the greenhouse. A Human Hive-Afflicted Warlock leaning on a aluminum vent, XV, often seen using Dreadfang in crucible. Another Warlock near him, sitting on the ground and leaning on his Monte Carlo, Callum, Gambit wildcard. Another Titan which was on top of the vanguard billboard to get a better view, Reynault. An Exo hunter sat along the edge of the building they were on, Mori, a skillful bladedancer. Luna-4 passed another close friend, an Awoken Titan named Ivara, they've been on strike ops with each other a lot. Sowl, a Guardian she helped get reacquainted in the city a long while ago, been a while since they talked to each other, usually draws a grey teddy bear who likes cookies. A warlock on one of the balconies near the green house, Hawk, usually head bangs. She spotted her ex, a New Monarchy devotee Titan, Felra, who kept her name from her previous life among the Awoken of the Reef. Luna-4 walked up beside her lover and casually held his hand which he responded with a tight squeeze, a Warlock named Volcan, he helped Luna-4 a lot during The Red War, falling in love with each other during said war. They've stuck together since.

All of these Guardians and their Ghosts, they had all gathered to see what the Traveler was doing. An offical message came onto the Vanguard comm channel, ordering evacuation, along with sirens off in the distance, but civilians and guardians still looked on, ignoring the potential danger. "What do you think is happening? I feel so...warm." Shard spoke "Like when I was born. And when I found you..." She looked Luna-4, who was now holding Volcan's arm in worry. Shard didn't talk again, and instead rested on Luna-4's shoulder and watched with the two of them. Another burst of light, making thing's seem blurry. Everyone continued to watch, seeing the Traveler put itself back together. It hasn't done something in 3 years. The comms are active with chatter, Eris Morn speaks, The Guardians Ghost, Commander Zavala. Everyone braces for something.

There was a heavy burst of Light once more. Before the Traveler lit up the entire city and gave a heavy flash of white Light.

"Hope for the future

It's coming soon enough

How much can we achieve?

Hope for the future

It will belong to us

If we believe

If we believe."

[aion-rsa]

How Ted Lasso Sneakily Crafted its Empire Strikes Back Season

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This article contains Ted Lasso spoilers through season 2 episode 8.

Perhaps you’ve heard, but Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso was the subject of some dreaded Discourse recently. 

Since the Internet is infinite and we privileged few in the media have nothing but time, a handful of features came out weeks ago essentially questioning what Ted Lasso season 2 was even all about. Many of these features were well-written, well-argued, and fair, but when filtered through Twitter’s anti-nuance machine (i.e. Twitter itself), every feature boiled down to the same reductive take: Ted Lasso season 2 doesn’t have a conflict. 

In some respects, this take was the inevitable reaction to the metanarrative surrounding Ted Lasso in the first place. Despite drawing its inspiration from a series of somewhat cynical NBC Sports Premier League commercials, the first season of Ted Lasso was all about the transformative power of kindness. 

Or at least that’s what we critics declared it to be. And I don’t blame us. Awash in a flood of screeners about antiheroes, dystopias, and the end of the world, the simple kindness of Ted Lasso seemed revolutionary. They made a TV show about a guy who is…nice? They can do that? But the inherent goodness of its lead character was always Ted Lasso’s elevator pitch, not its thesis. 

There’s been a darkness at the center of Ted Lasso since its very first moment, when an American man got on a flight to London in a doomed attempt to save his marriage. And, as season 2’s brilliant eighth episode rolls around, it’s become clear that that darkness is what the show has really been “about” this whole time. 

Season 2 episode 8 “Man City” (the title is referring to AFC Richmond’s FA Cup match against opponent Manchester City but also stealthily reveals that this installment will be all about men and their respective traumas) is quite simply the best episode of Ted Lasso yet. It also might be the best episode of television this year. Near the episode’s end, right before AFC Richmond plays a crucial FA Cup match against the mighty Manchester City, coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) finally comes clean with his coaching staff. He’s been suffering from panic attacks of late. His assistant coaches hear him, accept him, and then head off to the pitch where Man City absolutely obliterates their team.

Man City destroys AFC Richmond. They annihilate them. Embarrass them. Stuff them into a locker and steal their lunch money. The final score is 4-0 but it might as well be 400-0. The coaching staff is rattled but the players are hit even harder. Richmond’s star striker and former Man City player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) is forced to endure watching his scumbag father cheer for his hometown team from the Wembley Stadium stands at the expense of his son. 

After the game, Jamie’s father, James (Kieran O’Brien), enters the locker room where he drunkenly accosts him for being a loser and demands that Jamie grant access to the Wembley Stadium pitch for him and his scumbag friends to run around on. When Jamie refuses, his father pushes him, so Jamie reflexively punches him right in the face. James is dragged out of the locker room by Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), leading a stunned and traumatized Jamie Tartt standing in the middle of the room, as if in a spotlight of pure pain, surrounded by teammates too afraid to even approach him. And then something amazing happens…

Here’s the dirty secret about television: there’s a lot of it. Due to the sheer number of TV shows released each year, even the best of them are destined to become little more than memories long-term. Sometimes all you can ask from multiple episodes and seasons of television is to provide you with one moment, one line, or one warm feeling to carry with you into the future. I don’t know how much I’ll remember from Ted Lasso 30-40 years from now when I’m immobile and reclined in my floating entertainment unit, Wall-E style. But I know I’ll at least remember the moment that Roy hugs Jamie.

The great Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) – a character so disconnected from his own emotions that some fans are convinced he’s CGI – embraces the one person in the world he is least likely to embrace. As Roy and Jamie wordlessly hug, it’s hard to tell which man is more shocked by the moment. Ultimately, however, it might be Ted Lasso himself who is hit hardest. Shortly after seeing Roy play father to the younger Jamie, Ted quickly exits the locker room and calls sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles) on his Apple TV+-apporved iPhone. 

“My father killed himself when I was 16. That happened. To me and to my mom,” Ted says, weeping. 

And that, my friends, is what Ted Lasso is all about. Pain. And dads. But mostly pain. 

None of us can say that Ted Lasso didn’t warn us it was coming. To go back to the discourse of it all real quick – I don’t blame anyone for not picking up on the direction that this show was so clearly heading in. Ted Lasso is, first and foremost, a sitcom. The beauty of sitcoms is that you welcome them into your home to watch at your own pace and your own terms. If having Ted Lasso on in the background so you can occasionally see the handsome mustache man who smiles while you fold your laundry is the way you’ve chosen to engage with the show, then great! Just know that season 2 has been operating on a deeper level this whole time as well.

Let’s take things all the way back to the beginning – back to before season 2 even began. You’ve likely heard the old philosophical thought experiment “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well Jason Sudeikis’s interviews leading up the season 2 premiere beg an equally as interesting hypothetical “how many times can one man mention The Empire Strikes Back before someone notices??”

Sudeikis referred to Ted Lasso season 2 as the show’s “Empire Strikes Back” multiple times before the premiere including in his local Kansas City Star and his technically local USA Today. The show even explicitly mentions the second Star Wars film in this season’s first episode when Richmond general manager Higgins (Jeremy Swyft) tells Ted that his kids are watching the trilogy for the first time. Sudeikis (who co-created and produces the show) and showrunner Bill Lawrence clearly want us to take the idea that Ted Lasso season 2 is The Empire Strikes Back seriously. And why would that be? 

Think of how ESB differs from its two Star Wars siblings in the original trilogy. This is the story that features arguably the series most iconic moment when Luke Skywalker discovers his dad is a dick on a literal universal level. It also has the only unambiguously downer ending of any original trilogy Star Wars film. Luke is thoroughly defeated in this installment. Having one’s hand chopped off by their father and barely escaping with their life is definitely the Star Wars version of a 4-0 defeat. 

The Empire Strikes Back can safely be boiled down into two concepts: 

Dads are complicated.

Everything sucks.

When viewed through those two conceptual prisms, so much of Ted Lasso season 2 begins to make more sense.

Episode 1 opens with the death of a dog and then leads into a classic Ted Lasso speech that could serve as this season’s mission statemetn. After recounting the story of how he cared for his sick neighbor’s dog, Ted concludes with: “It’s funny to think about the things in your life that can make you cry knowing that they existed then become the same thing that can make you cry knowing that they’re now gone. Those things come into our lives to help us get from one place to a better one.”

Things like…a father who you didn’t have nearly enough time with? Following episode 1 (and following just about every episode this season), Bill Lawrence took to Twitter to assuage viewers’ fears about a lack of central conflict this season. He had this to say about Ted’s big speech.

Look, Merrill. It was thought out, but the speech he gives after (Written by Jason himself – I loved it) is the core of the season, but we knew some people might bum out.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 27, 2021

Sorry, truly. Ted’s speech after (which I love, but am obviously biased) is a big part of the season. But it sounds like you had a crappy thing happen recently.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 28, 2021

It’s not. But Ted’s speech has big relevance. Stick around!

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 26, 2021

He also had this to say about dads.

Effin Dads, man. Love mine so, but he’s struggling a bit.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 27, 2021

“Effin dads” and our complicated relationships with them are all over Ted Lasso season 2. In the very next episode, Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) tells Ted “You know, my father says that every time you’re on TV, he’s very happy that I’m here. That I’m in safe hands with you.”

Ted smiles at this bit of info but not as warmly as you might expect. Because to Ted, a dad isn’t a reassuring presence but rather someone you love who will just leave when you need him the most. That’s why he’s been trying to be the perfect father figure this whole time. That’s why he did something as extreme as leaving his family behind in Kansas while he heads off to London. If giving his wife space was the only way to preserve the family and remain a good dad, then he was going to give her a whole ocean of space.

Moreover, Ted hasn’t just been trying to serve as a father figure to his son this whole time but to everyone else as well. Sam’s comment to Ted reminds him that not everyone has a good dad, which encourages him to bring Jamie into the fold in the first place.

As time goes on, however, the stress of being the consummate father to everyone in his orbit begins to wear on Ted. Throughout the entirety of this season, Ted Lasso appears to be trying to be Ted Lasso just a bit too hard. His energy levels are too high. His jokes go on too long. The same life lessons that worked last year aren’t working this year. AFC Richmond opens with an embarrassing streak of draws before Jamie’s immense talents set things straight.

It all culminates in this season’s sixth episode when Ted has his second panic attack in as many years. This time it’s in public during an important game. The experience sends Ted running through the concourse of the stadium until he somehow ends up in the dark on Dr. Fieldstone’s couch, instinctively, like a wounded animal. 

It’s certainly no coincidence that this panic attack occurs on the same day that Ted received a call from his son’s school asking him to pick him up, not realizing that he’s an ocean away. In that moment, Ted can’t help but remember what it’s like to be left behind by his own father and subconsciously wonder if he’s doing the same. 

Though the shallow waters of Ted Lasso season 2 may have appeared consequence free for half its run, beneath the surface was a tidal wave of conflict. Just because the conflict wasn’t taking place between a happy-go-lucky football coach and a villainous owner doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

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Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is terrible at meeting deadlines but great at writing. According to him (and William Faulkner, from whom he borrows the quote), the only conflict worth writing about is that of the human heart with itself. That’s something that The Empire Strikes Back understood. And it’s something that Ted Lasso season 2 does as well.

The post How Ted Lasso Sneakily Crafted its Empire Strikes Back Season appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[outrunningthedark]

England’s Conor Coady and Stonewall FC’s Jay Lemonius struck a common chord this week by uniting for a chat ahead of Rainbow Laces Day.

Both players have fond memories of Wembley Stadium, with Coady having broken into the Three Lions squad earlier this year to make a goalscoring bow at the famous venue, while Jay featured for Stonewall FC in their historic Middlesex County Football League game against Wilberforce Wanderers back in 2018.

And, in a call hosted by Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam, both players spoke fondly of their memories and experiences of featuring under the Arch.

"To get the opportunity to play there is the most special feeling in the world, nothing will come near it,” said Coady.

"And when The FA were pushing to get Stonewall there, I think it's fantastic.

"Football is a sport for everyone and it always should be and for me it always has been because if we can do something like that as a sport and use the platform we've got, it's massive.”

Lemonius, who has since joined The FA as our equality and diversity officer, added: "It's an incredible experience, I look back and it all feels a bit hazy because those opportunities don't really come around for people like me.

"For us as a club, which had been around for a long time, I think it was the symbolisation of not just our efforts in terms of where the club is today, but for all the people at Stonewall FC who walked before we could run, it's one that will live long in our memories forever.”

Wolves captain Coady has previously spoken in support of the LGBT community in his role at Molineux and as the 2020 Rainbow Laces campaign draws to a close, was only too happy to re-iterate why he thinks the symbolism is so important.

"The biggest thing is when we see these things and my kids look at that and they ask me why I'm wearing a different captain's armband or how come I’m taking a knee and I explain to them the situation,” he revealed.

"So if I'm teaching my kids and the next generation about this kind of thing, then hopefully we can stamp this thing out.”

And Coady also said he'd be more than willing to help and advise any player, were they to approach him about wanting to come out as LGBT in the future.

"I'd advise them to be open and honest and to speak to me whenever you want to speak to me and we'll go about it together," he revealed.

"You're more than team mates, you become a family because you spend so much time together.

"This is a massive part of someone's life, this is huge, so to keep that inside and keep it a secret and to not be happy coming out about it, it's absolutely heart-breaking.

"It doesn't change anybody, or anything about that person, it's no problem at all and that should be the feeling about everybody. So that would be my advice and I'd be there with them every step they take forward."

The former Liverpool youngster also refused to rule out making an appearance for Stonewall FC in the future, once his club and international career starts to wind down.

With Lemonius claiming “we need a centre-half”, Coady was quick to request his role to be as a sweeper should he turn out for the most famous LGBT grassroots club in the world. (click here)