#Cricket Ball for Night Match

[astridsports011]

Top Choices of Cricket Ball for Day & Night Matches

Cricket Balls are very important part of Cricket. There are basically white balls and red balls. Cricket is a game often played in different formats like ODIs, T-20, Test Match, and T-10 also cricket is played all day or it can be a day-night match.

White cricket balls are often used for day-night matches as they tend to increase visibility in daylight and night matches. White balls are designed using polyurethane coating, allowing early swinging.

So, if you are also looking for a white cricket ball you need for practicing, then I have listed some very good options for you. Buy these cricket balls in the USA.

The SF Test Special White Cricket Ball’s main features include the following: 1. This cricket ball is appropriate for players at the professional level.

[shushmal]

tw: for implied past emotional abuse, im in my feels today

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Hopper growls. He's not quite shouting, but he's still loud, raised voice echoing through the living room. "She's not ready to drive yet, I forbade it, and what? You two decided that you knew better?"

Eddie rolls his eyes, but gamely keeps quiet. He knows Hopper's less upset with Ellie taking a spin through the parking lot and more upset about the property damage. Eddie's on her side though, that phone pole came out of nowhere. Must have been pretty rotted out too, to fall over that easily after a little love tap.

Ellie had done a damn good job fixing the huge dent in the bumper.

But if Hopper wants to be dramatic and chew everyone involved out, Eddie's not going to stop him. Whatever gets the guy's blood pressure back down.

"You're supposed to be responsible adults! Especially you, Steve!"

Rolling his eyes again, Eddie glances over, hoping to share a commiserating look with Steve.

Except Steve isn't looking anywhere but down, shoulders and spine ruler straight. Eddie stalls there, stuck on the way Steve's standing, tense from jaw down to his ankles, his hands balled into tight fists flat at his side, knuckles white. Hopper keeps ranting, pacing a wide circle in front of them, but Steve doesn't flinch, doesn't look up, doesn't react. It's like all the color has washed from him.

"Are you even listening?!"

"Yes, sir," Steve says tightly. He doesn't look up. Hopper keeps going.

Eddie watches as Steve's throat works to swallow, like he's choking. Like he can't breathe.

"Hopper," Eddie snaps. "Shut the fuck up."

Hopper whirls on him, livid, but Eddie's not looking at him, fixed on Steve as he reaches out. Tries to take Steve's hand, just holds his wrist when Steve can't unclench his fist, gentle as he touches him. Steve is tightly wound and trembling under his fingers.

When he looks, Eddie finds Hopper with deep regret on his face, struck silent. He doesn't say anything when Eddie leads Steve away, back out onto the porch. They sit on the swing, Eddie's arm around Steve's shoulders, rocking back and forth until the muscles loosen and Steve slumps, strings cut, into Eddie's side. They'll sit like that for a while more, watching the woods as the sun sets and listening to the dusk settle, crickets and cicadas and chats calling the moon up, filling their silence with nighttime music.

Later, Hopper will come out, temper cooled, and sit on Steve's other side. Will ruffle Steve's hair when Steve starts to stiffen. Will apologize when Steve eyes him warily.

Later, Eddie will scowl and glare, but ultimately keep quiet, unwilling to make the whole thing worse for Steve, another fight, another shouting match. Will stiltedly tell Hopper good night and take Steve home, wait patiently until Steve finally speaks, when he finally tells Eddie a little more and a little more, until Eddie's holding him tight.

That's later though. For now, he digs his heel into the porch, rocking them back and forth, and waits for Steve to breathe.

[ninyard]

Do you have any HCs for Kayleigh?? I always wonder about the pre-AFTG series story (and the big players).

There’s brief stuff in the EC abt Tetsuji & Kayleigh. but other than that it’s pretty blank?

Also the detail abt exy becoming popular partially via a manga ? I want the missing chapter when Tetsuji reacts to that 😭😭

Oh Kayleigh and Tetsuji!!!!!!!! I picture her so clearly in University in Dublin in her final year of Sports Management or whatever course she did, writing her thesis on mixed gender sports or the invention of new sports and sitting down with her thesis lecturer with this idea. Kayleigh finding a mentor in this man, or woman, and saying to them I want to do something bold, something amazing. She's on the Lacrosse team in UCD. She plays on as many of the teams that she can without jeopardising her studies.

Kayleigh moving to Japan for her masters, and meeting Tetsuji, and she sees herself in him, this glint in his eyes that says he needs to be destined for more. Them sitting across from each other in the library with books about sports and the invention of different things and Tetsuji looks at a sport like Lacrosse and says it's missing something. I think it could be better. And they spitball these ideas back and forth. Should it be on ice, bigger teams, smaller teams? Should it be outdoors or indoors? Is it violence? Is it violence that it's missing?

Kayleigh talking to her mom, sending letters to Ireland, making expensive phone calls in the middle of the night all the way across the world, begging her to send her VHS tapes of as many hurling games as she could find - her mother complaining about how expensive they'd be to ship to Japan, but she agrees anyway. Kayleigh finding as many books as she can about Irish sport and the history of it all. It's a couple of weeks before she get the package at her door, and she calls Tetsuji when he's in the middle of a lecture and tells him to come over. There in front of her is four, five, six tapes of All Ireland final matches, and they sit down in front of the TV with their notebooks in front of them.

They don't write anything after the first match, Tetsuji staring at the screen like he's taking it all in, Kayleigh staring at him with a smile on her face like this is what he was waiting to see. 70 minutes go by and she switches the tape out for another one, and then another, and another, and they stay up until the sun rises just taking notes and watching. Brainstorming. Kayleigh explains the rules to him. They draw pictures, and there's a million failed ideas that don't work, like a flat racquet more similar to a hurley than a lacrosse stick, or helmets more similar to a cricket helmet than an american football one. No armor, more armor, too much armor.

Them finding each other after class, and proposing this idea for their dissertation, their master's thesis, their final project, and getting a ridiculous look. Getting shut down, getting told it's ridiculous. So they do what they were supposed to do; make it fucking happen anyway.

They spend all the savings that they have, and Tetsuji contacts his family, and they get things shipped over to Japan - hurling helmets, hockey gear, lacrosse sticks. All these mish-mash element that creates the idea thats been living inside their heads. They have 10 different types of balls, a tennis ball, a cricket ball, a baseball, all these different options, and the two of them find out the schedule of all the pitches and fields and courts on campus and try it everywhere. It's messy, but it's exciting, and invigorating. They have their bulging notebooks on the ground, and every rule and idea they have, every thing that feels right or wrong, they write it down. They're taping weights around the lacrosse sticks to see if it feels better, padding out their gear with cardboard and duct tape. There's something missing, still. They try it on ice, and its too unbalanced and sloppy, but the first time Tetsuji shoots a ball at the plexiglass wall, and it rebounds right into Kayleigh's net, they both look at each other like that's it. That's what we've been missing. They jump on top of each other and get scolded for falling on the ice and screaming in the rink.

They figure out how much it would cost for them to rent out the unused college soccer pitch for the summer, and find ten of their friends and classmates and explain the rules as best they can. It's expensive, buying the gear for them all, figuring out how to surround the soccer pitch in plexiglass that's strong enough to not topple over from the weight of a person. They spend that summer finessing the rules, and finessing the positions, and teaching their friends how to play. By September, Tetsuji invites his family to watch, and Kayleigh invites their lecturers to watch, and there they stand. The first ever game of Exy.

It's not perfect - a goal falls over, the floor of the pitch isn't quite working, because they keep stumbling over their own feet when they run, but it's a brilliant thing to watch; something new, and unique, and never been done before. Kayleigh's team beats Tetsuji's team, and for a while they don't hear much. But their friends keep playing, they keep contacting people, making phonecalls to manufacturers and sports clubs.

I'm just thinking about those first few years where Kayleigh and Tetsuji probably spent every waking moment together just figuring it out. Their dorm rooms or apartments full of crap, different balls and equipment. Her bedroom wall covered in drawing and scraps of paper and ideas. Them spending most of their time on the phone with each other when they're not together in person. Thinking about them creating presentations and pitches and just trying to get their silly little idea of the ground, waiting for someone to take a chance on them, waiting for all the different sports committees and companies to call them back. A million "Sorry, no thank you!" emails and a million "It's just not something we can help you with" letters and phone calls. Until they get that one, then those two, those three words that say fucking go for it. The four words that say I believe in this.

I think about Kayleigh and Tetsuji running off of redbull and adrenaline, and how happy they would've felt when that first game finished and they saw something in each others eyes. Before their passion got killed by the reality, by the Moriyama's, by the world pushing them back again and again and again. But more of their classmates get involved. Somebody asked "What is it that you kids have built on the soccer field?" and then it's in a local paper. It's letters sent back to Ireland signed off in Japanese saying I can't wait to tell you what I've been working on.

Yeah. Yeah I have a lot of thoughts about Kayleigh. I have some images of her and Tetsuji in my head. Just a few!

[kylefletchersgf]

Hey I was wondering if I could have a hook imagine if your open for request

basically me and him have dated since 13/14& grew up together and now we’ve turned in our 20’s and he wins the title against Jericho and we all celebrate and he asks me to marry him/ I find out I’m pregnant and everyone is happy for us & stuff

Hook: Fated to You

Summary: Hook has been dating his childhood sweetheart since they were teenagers and tonight is the night he wins back the FTW championship back from Chris Jericho and him and Y/n celebrate by him proposing to Y/n, but little does he know Y/n has a surprise of her own

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.

Masterlists | Aew Masterlist | Hook Masterlist

-ˋˏ [Word Count] ˎˊ : 936

-ˋˏ [Genre] ˎˊ : Fluff

-ˋˏ [TW] ˎˊ : Fluff, mistakes I might have, Chris Jericho, and this was not proofread before being published

-ˋˏ [Taglist] ˎˊ : @oblivionsera @nev-danielgarciawife

[Comment to be added to my taglist]

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.

It's a few weeks before All In where Hook will face Jericho for the Ftw title, you and Hook watch from his locker room as Chris Jericho's interview starts; Renee puts the mic to her mouth "at this time I am joined by the Learning Tree" "Hey guys!" he yelled as he waved to the camera. Renee tried not to laugh as she continued "How do you expect to beat Hook at All In?" she asked as she moved the mic to his mouth."Hey guys!" he waved again. He continued "Renee as you know All In is in a few weeks and I will beat Hook because he forgot the lessons I taught him. But the rest is secret thanks, bye guys!" he said the last part enthusiastically and waved before he left with Big Bill.

Bryan Keith waited back for a few seconds looking at Renee then leaning in close to her as he yelled “You better respect Chris Jericho!” before walking away. When it went back to the commentary table I look over at Hook and we both laugh at how stupid Chris Jericho is. "Are you scheduled to fight tonight?" "No but I have a promo scheduled later though" "what time?" "9:30." I sat down with him on the couch watching the show until it was time for his promo, when the clocks hit 9:30 he got up walking to the door holding it open for me then walking out the door behind me shutting it behind him. He held my hand all the way to where we usually did the interviews but he let go as soon as when the camera started rolling.

"I am joined here by Hook with Y/n, now Hook you heard what Chris Jericho said earlier in the night do you care to respond?" "Chris Jericho I will get back my Ftw title and cut down all your branches on the way too. All In." he said the last part pointing at the camera. When the interview ended Hook and I went back to his locker room for the rest of the show, he looked over at me "I fight Big Bill next week and you will stay here during my match" "but-" "no, do you understand me Y/n?" "yes" "now at All In you can sit at the commentary table with Taz ok?" "ok"

skip to All in

You stood with Hook in his locker room while he got ready, he looked over at you "what color babe?" he asked as he held up blue shorts in one hand and grayish-silver in the other hand. "Do the gray" you told him as you was getting TV ready. You fixed his eye patch to waste time as the Learning Tree did their entrance. When it was Hook's turn you walked on the side as he walked down the ramp, You sat at the commentary table next to your soon to be father in law Taz as Hook got in the ring. You put the headset on as the match begun, You look over at Taz "hi honey" "hi" you replied happily.

Towards the beginning of the match Jericho put Cricked balls onto the mat which made you question it, but learning from wrestling some things are just better not asked about or left unsaid. Hook got out the ring grabbing a Cricket bat and 'oh no' was all you could think to yourself. He started smacking everyone with it then started picking up the Cricket balls and started flinging them at all three of them, you couldn't hold in your laughter anymore. After he did that he went behind Jericho choking him with the Cricket bat yelling "hey guys! Hey guys!" mocking Jericho as you laughed harder adding in "hey guys!"

"C'mon Hook!" you yell to encourage him to get up as he was getting jumped by Bill and Bryan. Hook got back in the ring swinging wildly missing as he got smacked on the head with the trashcan, Jericho missed the Judas Effect going straight into a T-bone suplex by Hook. Hook go up taking off the eye patch yelling "I can see!" pointing at his eye. Towards the end of the match Taz got up putting Bryan in his submission letting Hook get the win by Red Rum. Taz backed up so you could hug Hook first, Hook walked up to you kissing your head then hugged you for a few seconds as you took off the headset.

He walked over to Taz hugging him until he decided to take you backstage, he wanted to be alone with you in his locker room. Even though he is very public about kissing your head or his arm being around you, everything else is behind closed doors; he is a very private person. He wanted to do this next part privately, you turn around to look for something and you couldn't find it so you turn back around to face him to see him down on one knee with a small box; it had the most beautiful engagement ring you have ever seen. You nod nonstop before he could even ask you to marry him, he stood up putting the ring on your finger as he kissed you softly.

When he pulled apart you looked at him "then this is the best time to tell you I'm pregnant" you laugh through the tears. He looked at you smiling big; that cute smile that he hides from the public. You're marrying your best fried, now you have all you could ever ask for in life.

[fishermanshook]

GANJI GUPTA HEADCANONS.

( batter ) aka GANJI GUPTA.

TW: MY H/C’s 😨 , this layout is giving cheese , grammar and spelling warning

INTRO

Who is Ganji Gupta? And how do you know him? As a friend, a loved one, or as a nobody?

*manor au where they are trapped inside.

꒰wc꒱ 641

GANJI GUPTA, also known as the manor's one and only Batter, acts as a lone wolf. He most likely won’t start conversations and will keep his answers short. Though, it’s just another barrier he puts up out of the need for protection. He doesn’t know who he can confide in here and, in his eyes, everyone seems to be another untrustworthy person out for their wants and needs. That’s all that they are sized down to at the beginning.

GANJI GUPTA struggles with being alone, at least, less than most others. He has experience with the feeling, but everyone caves eventually. He, on the other hand, can withstand it for quite some time.

GANJI GUPTA who, after quite some time, starts to warm up a bit more to the manor inhabitants. Realizing that it’s better not to hold any grudges if you’re going to be stuck here for all eternity.

GANJI GUPTA enjoys the company of others most when they play cricket with him. It doesn’t even matter if they’re good or not, he finds the act endearing and appreciates it more than anyone could imagine.

GANJI GUPTA would need a partner who takes things slow with him. Someone who understands that he (sometimes) has his moments, and will give him the time and space to sort through them. That might mean leaving your side for a while or hitting some cricket balls as far as he possibly can, imagining that all his anger flies away with it.

               ↳ However, there are moments where neither of these things can help him and he needs you instead. Help him to breathe again, and talk him through it instead. Distract his mind from thinking about why he was so upset in the first place. Just, don’t treat him like a child.

GANJI GUPTA who can’t help but feel jealous as you laugh and joke around with the others. There’s a part of him that sometimes wishes he too could enjoy the company of the rest but is too shy to say it. Although, if you happen to pick up on it, grab his hand and pull him into the conversation. He’ll find the flow, eventually.

GANJI GUPTA also hates the pit of spitefulness that pools in the bottom of his stomach when he notices someone else flirting with you. He goes red in the face with his arms crossed and looks furious. The Batter can’t seem to grasp how other people aren’t yet aware of your relationship and is quick to wrap an arm around your waist and come up with some lossy excuse to pull you away elsewhere.

↳ You can't help but whine a bit as the Batter pulls you away. You had a friendly conversation going on with the “Prisoner”, what’s the matter? As you continue your complaining, it dawns on Ganji that, you hadn’t realized he’d been trying to court you the entire time.

GANJI GUPTA will always use his last cricket ball to benefit you in a match. Whether it’s to save you from your third chair or to help prolong your kite, he never hesitates to use it for your sake. He’s gotten some rather harsh comments on it before, but he just ignores them and carries on with his day.

GANJI GUPTA deals with frequent night terrors that wake the both of you up. He’s quick to apologize, brushing it off as if it were nothing. Unfortunately, the tears in his eyes give him away. You don’t ask what they were about, and you probably shouldn’t for now. All he wants is to fall asleep in your embrace with the reminder that you’re here. That you are alive.

note: you thought I was gonna post that painter fic? erm whattttt? why would you ever think that???? that’s so weird what….

fishermanshook — no stealing , translating , plagiarizing or reposting my work on other any other sites + reblogs adored !!

[sunshine-theseus]

Slow | Chloe Logarzo x Reader

Words: 1.9k Summary: despite a rough relationship with your parents, your closeness to your sister brings you Chloe, the only girl for you. Warning: NOT PROOF READ I have no clue if this is any good and I’m so sorry I think it might be one of my worst ones😭, I know the WBBL started in 2015 but who fucking cares, I changed it – no COVID but Olympics still postponed for some unknown reason :D Requested by - @charligrantismygirlfriend - not happy with this one at all i'm genuinely so sorry

Sport wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with. In fact, it was my favourite thing. As a kid, my mum and dad put me through many different clubs for different sports, from tennis to AFL. We always landed back at the same lush green cricket pitch in the western suburbs of Sydney on a Saturday morning, surrounded by other girls of all ages who shared my passion.

On Sundays my younger sister would play her soccer games, so we’d spend the weekend in a hotel in the city, then go to each other’s games, pretending to do our homework as we watch.

Not long into Ellie’s soccer journey, our parents decided the move from Cowra to Sydney was necessary for her to develop. The hours long trips to and from training in the depths of Sydney every afternoon proving to be more difficult as she progressed in school.

I no longer lived with them when they made the move, but I resented Ellie for a while. I’d been playing cricket before she could walk, albeit poorly as a 6-year-old, and had moved up through the stages into the best group in the academy by the age of 14. My parents insisted nothing much would come of it, so there was no reason to make such a drastic move and leave the farm and small-town life behind.

-

I started playing professionally for Sydney in the Twenty20 Cup at 17, the same year I got my first call-up for the women’s national cricket team. We, or they, still didn’t live in Sydney, so I dropped out of high school my senior year, and lived with one of the older girls who was also on the national team. I made my national debut a couple months after in a test match against England. My parents didn’t come, Ellie had some important game on that was simply impossible to miss.

-

At 15, when they finally joined me in the city, Ellie joined her first W-league team, and had her first senior team call-up. I made sure to be there for both debuts, avoiding my parents who sat in the crowd nearby. I cried the moment she first touched the pitch in a Matilda’s jersey, and rushed down from the stands to pick her up and hug her when the match was over.

That’s when I first met her… Chloe. My age, a beautiful brunette in the midfield who celebrated with my sister after their 9-0 win against Vietnam. We introduced ourselves and exchanged numbers but nothing much came of it. I can’t deny the many nights I spent awake dreaming of the girl.

The next time I saw Chloe in person was a Sydney Derby. Naturally I’d come to support my sister, but I couldn’t help but cheer whenever the older girl got a touch on the ball. I met up with her and Ellie again after the game, shouting them both dinner. That’s when Chloe asked me out on our first date.

It was somewhat rushed. Her departure for Newcastle was pending and it limited our options, leaving us to grab some shitty take away and dance around in a field down the road from where I lived. The sun was bright, but her smile was brighter. I stumble on my own feet whenever she looked at me, her beauty beyond compare. The beginning of a sunburn kissing my cheeks only provided me so much of an excuse as to why I was so red.

“I’m going to come to every single one of your games.” She whispers in my ear as we lay on the picnic blanket, beneath the over looming gum tree, me playing with her hair as she rests a hand beneath my loose linen shirt.

“You have your own training. And you can’t drive 2+ hours back and forth once a week. Also we have away games you can’t possibly make...” Despite my desperate want for her to be there every game, I begin to list all the reasons it wasn’t logical.

“I’ll find a way. And if not all, most home games.” She gives me a satisfied smile, one that tells me she knows she’s won whatever little argument we had.

-

Chloe keeps her promise, and I join her in my own. We both attend each other’s home games as often as possible, and very rarely, we managed to catch an away game. It usually happened when we were both playing a game in the same city, but we took whatever we were given.

Things went down hill when she moved to Sweden.

She hadn’t been the one to tell me. Ellie was spending a week with me after returning from the Olympics, which I had managed to attend most of, and asked me how I felt about the move. Chloe and I had been dating for a year, so the shock that she hadn’t told me was bigger than the shock at the news.

“What do you mean? She would tell me if she was moving to Sweden.” The pity in my little sister’s eyes is enough to break me. She pats and rubs my back as I sob into her shoulder. My whole body shakes as I moan and weep, and by the time I stop my eyes burn and there isn’t a dry spot on her shirt.

-

“So this is it? You’re breaking up with me because I’m moving?” Chloe looks at me like I’ve got 2 heads as I stand on her front step.

“No, I’m breaking up with you because I had to find out from my little sister, by accident, that you’re moving. Were you ever going to tell me? Or was I just going to have to find out when The Jets removed your name from the squad list?”

“I’m going to come back for the A-League season anyway! It’s not like I’m never coming back, I’ll barely be gone 8 months. And I was going to tell you!”

“When? Once your plane touched down in Stockholm or wherever you’re going? In 5 months when I called you so you can explain why you didn’t come to my game? When were you going to tell me Chlo?” I’m met with silence.

“That’s what I thought.” I turn and walk away, never expecting to see her again.

I can hear her shouting something at me as I continue to walk down the road, droplets of rain beginning to fall on the pavement in front of me. Nothing really registers until I’m standing in front of my sister’s apartment door, clothes heavy with rain and a face void of any other emotion except heartbreak.

-

I don’t see Chloe for years to come following the tragic end of our relationship. Despite her coming back during the summer to play for Sydney, I had no reason to watch her games, Ellie having moved to Portland to develop her career.

Then Ellie moved to Lyon, and I decided to move with her, putting a pause to my cricketing career. Further away from Chloe and closer to Ellie seemed like the perfect deal.

So I helped Ellie move and meet her new teammates. Every morning I’d make her breakfast and then walk around the city, usually finding myself in a café or museum and writing a book. Something I never planned on doing anything with, but found a solace in.

That’s how I found myself in the same café I go to every Saturday, typing in the same document I have been typing in for 5 months. Desperately pressing the backspace as I sip the now cold coffee, I don’t notice someone sliding into the seat across from me.

“Fancy seeing you here.” I’m surprised I didn’t get whiplash at the speed in which my head snapped up to look at the girl across from me.

She looks different. Not really, just… older. And her hair is bleached, skin just a fraction more tan, eyes still that shimmering blue. Still beautiful

“Chloe- what the fuck are you doing here?” the words nearly get caught in my throat as I try to process what’s going on.

“Well, I’m playing for Bristol now, in case you didn’t know. Only spent 2 seasons in Sweden then went back to Sydney, went on loan to Washington for a season, back to Sydney, now I’m in England. We have a small break so I thought I’d come see Ellie. Planned everything around you, knew you wouldn’t want to see me. I didn’t take into account you might still like coffee as much as you used to.”

“How’d you even know I’m with Ellie?” it’s a dumb question but I ask it none the less.

“You think I stopped tracking your career because we broke up? I have to say, when I read the “renowned cricketer Y/N Carpenter taking a break for an unforeseen amount of time to help her little sister, Matildas star Ellie Carpenter, settle into the big leagues at Olympique Lyonnais.” headlines, I was shocked.” I finally managed to meet her eyes, the crow’s feet that crack at the corners making her ever the more pretty. It’s aggravating.

“Thought it’d help me get away from Sydney.”

“Sydney? Or me?” I almost want to grab her by the shoulders and scream at her how much I miss her, but I stay sat and silent. A satisfied hum escapes her lips and a smile graces her face.

“I miss you.” She says what I’m thinking, and I begin to think how much of a coward I am. It was so easy for her, why am I struggling?

She doesn’t let me reply, getting up and walking out. I get up to follow her but she’s vanished in the crowd, so I sit, letting my coffee grow colder, thinking about her.

~~~~~

“Ellie this is a bad idea.”

“Common. Meeks is bringing Harley and Kirstey. You love Harley. You can babysit!” my little sister is determined, although my fighting is useless as we drag our suitcases through the airport.

“Chloe is going to be there El.”

“Chloe is going to be here.” I nearly bump into her as she stops in front of us.

“And she’ll be your plane buddy.” The cheeky grin I was once so familiar with graces her face and I can feel the corner of my own lips twitching as my heart clenches. Fuck.

“Oh goody.” I try to ignore the sweat that begins to prick through my skin as Ellie stalks away from us to meet Emily Gielnik.

-

“Real talk.” Chloe’s face is serious as soon as we take our seats on the plane.

“I miss you, and I want to try this again. I get you may not want to but you can’t tell me you don’t still feel even the tiniest bit of love for me still.” Her finger waggles back and forth between as to indicate exactly what she’s talking about and I sigh.

“I miss you too…” I meet her eyes and I can see the hope that grows behind them.

“But if we try this out again, we have to take it slow. Like go out on a few dates to start with.”

“I can do that.” She eagerly nods her head in agreement.

“I’d really like that.” I smile back at her, and that seems to end the conversation.

As the engine rumbles and we begin moving along the tarmac, I rest my arm on the armrest. I gently slide my hand into Chloe’s and rest my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes. Maybe slow wasn’t necessary, I love her too much.

[ohtobealady]

For the one word prompts, could I get breeze please ☺️

Well! I had about sixty different ways I wanted to end this one, but this drabble has a mind of its own. The prompt word is in there, but just barely. Short and sweet baby!cobert for ya, my sweet friend!

—————‘,—————

Breeze

Her heart raced.

Slightly alarmed, and altogether surprised, Cora pulled in a silent breath and held it as he turned his soft smiles elsewhere, to the woman at his right.

Oh, what was wrong with her? True, he’d been the kindest to her in an achingly gentle and humble way, in a way that suggested she’d somehow known him for far longer than she really had. And true again, he did seem to share her humor and as he laughed, or rather chuckled, at her joke—-“I’ve never heard so many adjectives to describe a hit.”—-she felt a little frightened of the way her chest felt tighter, but lighter all at once.

Lord Woodroth, who had asked her to the Lord’s Test Cricket match and on whose arm her hand rested, hadn’t laughed.

Cora removed her hand.

“Is this your first cricket match, Miss Levinson?”

She nodded at the woman. “Yes.”

“And you aren’t enjoying it, then?”

Before Cora could answer him, though, the woman beside him interjected. “Not everyone enjoys The Cricket as much as you, Robert.” And Cora grinned at the way he—-Robert, oh his name was Robert—-rolled his eyes.

“Not even I enjoy it as much as our Lord Downton,” Lord Woodroth added quietly, annoyed she could tell, but Cora couldn’t care.

“I don’t doubt that, Lord Woodroth,” the woman said, her voice sounding far away. “I practically had to restrain him from jumping from his seat and running to the field.”

“Oh, you exaggerate.” The apples of his cheeks looked rosier when he argued.

“Not by much…” the woman added, and then Cora heard her ask something regarding lemonade and Lord Woodroth, too, and Cora found herself having to nod at him, quickly, to disguise the way her thoughts had drifted away from him and to the way Lord Downton—-Robert—-was grinning back at her. He was grinning at her the way he had when they’d danced together three nights ago. Twice. And the way they’d danced at the ball before that. A waltz. And Cora felt breathless.

“Thank you,” she managed before Woodroth walked away with the other woman. But then Lord Downton stepped closer to her, and Cora lost all sense again.

“You’ll have to excuse my sister,” he chuckled. “She thinks she’s much cleverer than she is.”

Cora smiled. “No, no. I’m grateful to her. Truth be told, I’m not sure I enjoyed the match as much as Lord Woodroth would’ve liked. It was nice to have someone make a little fun.”

“Not enjoyed it?”

Cora snorted a laugh at the incredulity he wore. “Oh. Sorry!” She tipped her head. “I don’t mean to offend you.”

“You really didn’t like it? Not at all?”

“But I didn’t say I didn’t enjoy it at all. I only said I hadn’t enjoyed it much. There is a difference.”

“I suppose you enjoy the derbies more. Or God forbid the tennis.”

She shook her head, laughing again. “No. At least I don’t think.”

“Well what is it that you do like, Miss Levinson?” His voice was lower. Softer. So soft she could hardly hear it over the breeze that moved the waves of his chestnut hair. “Please tell me.”

She hoped she smiled up at him, even if she wasn’t sure, for her face went much too warm at his attempt at forwardness. She laughed, awkwardly, and looked into the crowd to try and find Lord Woodroth.

Lord Downton, however, shifted beside her. “I apologize.”

But she shook her head and, taking a step much too close to him, she looked into his eyes. “No. Don’t apologize. It’s only …” she took in another deep breath, and with it filling her lungs, she let herself flirt back. “I think what I like should be rather obvious.”

[thedawningofthehour]

Since now i only can dream about these things and following our theoric Draxum-is-smart AU, i wanna know, how is game night?

Like, board games or Super Bowl? Because I feel like Draxum would pretend to be above sports while secretly

(I've mentioned this before but in a 'Drax raises the turtles' au where he sends them to school and allows them to participate in sports he'd be the WORST sidelines dad, always cheering super obnoxiously and arguing with the ref whenever Raph gets penaltied for like, breaking the ball or something)

In all seriousness, I feel like American football would become a guilty pleasure of his. He knows it's a fucking death match but he's drawn to it anyway. He and Raph probably bond over it. Same with hockey. (he goes to all of Cass's games until he's banned for fistfighting the ref, because Cass is extremely violent even for hockey and constantly gets put in the penalty box)(Casey Junior joins a hockey league and is a hundred times worse because he's used to combat not recreational sports) With Mikey he'd watch gymnastics or figure skating with. I also want to say he and Splinter would both like some obscure sport like cricket (I know cricket is really big in other countries but it's absolutely not here) and would end up very begrudgingly watching it together.

For board games-for one, it would be a WHILE before he was invited to that. The fam wouldn't trust him for shit, and Donnie would view him more as a colleague than a family member. (which changes as they become closer, but I imagine it would be Draxum to actually initiate his fatherhood role) And Splinter would probably ban him from the lair unless he's there to work with Donnie.

But after they begin to warm up to him, I feel like he'd be so out of his element. Any group game just devolves into yelling and chaos and he just does not know what to do with himself. And it makes him feel angry and jealous because Splinter is just playing along and laughing because he's used to it, and Draxum isn't.

Any strategy game, he'd get competitive. Risk gets intense. He becomes enraged by Monopoly. If they play in pairs or groups he becomes 100% worse. He basically becomes Princess Azula in the beach episode.

With something like chess or other abstract strategy games, it would wildly depend on who he was playing with. Raph and Mikey he'd be pretty chill with, going easy on them and trying to teach them how to strategize better. Donnie, he's delighted to have a real challenge, and he's so proud of how smart he is.

He needs to crush Leo like a bug. His smug grin whenever he wins infuriates him. How the fuck is he so good at this.

[phxntomhives]

My Kuroshitsuji AU

This started because I wanted to write something else. All this was supposed to be the introduction. But it is too long, so take this for now.

Spoiler for well, all kuroshitsuji manga.

Important premise: the fire didn't happen/it happened but the Phantomhive survived (sorry servants). R!Ciel is not a sociopath as he may be now as a bizzare doll, what we saw when he was a child was a slightly obsessive brother that wanted to stay with his twin, for this AU he just grew up and maintained a couple of those traits. Sebastian also isn't here.

The twins life at Weston!

Since it's a happy AU (mostly), the twins just get enrolled to Weston, where they both go to Sapphire Owl.

Lawrence takes a like on both of them, tho he is more comfortable with O!Ciel since he is less mischievious.

R!Ciel may affectionally bully O!Ciel and Lawrence would defend him, projecting on him a little.

R!Ciel then actively starts a fight against Lawrence when he sees them bonding a little too much.

"Leave my brother alone, if you want a younger brother ask your parents. This is mine" and proceed to stalk them both.

Edward has to come and stop him as the older cousin. It didn't work, but R!Ciel did decide to slow his obsession down a little.

R!Ciel also absolutely despises McMillan, at first. But since he is always with O!Ciel, he can't do anything about it but suffer in silence. After a while McMillan shows that he is extremely good at getting information so he starts to warm up to him a little.

O!Ciel is better at fags/drudges activities so he is noticed by the P4, and R!Ciel is extremely pleased and runs around showing off his little brother.

Then Maurice tricks O!Ciel and R!Ciel gets furious at him. He tried to defend him with the other students but since they are twins they don't trust him.

When he overhears the night conversation between O!Ciel and McMillan, McMillan finally earned his seal of approval. From the next day R!Ciel treats him almost like he treats O!Ciel and he doesn't know why but accepts gladly the change of pace.

Later, thanks to Soma, the twins discover about Maurice plan and together bring it down with the same plan as in the manga (tho they had to do the work instead of just using Sebastian, so it took a little longer).

When Maurice tried to harm O!Ciel, R!Ciel joined Herman and Edward in running to the rescue. He checked his brother, ignoring Maurice completely.

The day after they exposed the truth, R!Ciel went home for the day for "personal business". Some days after Maurice was "so embarrassed that his real look's was reveal that decided to quit school and went to hide at home". No one ever saw him again.

O!Ciel tried to ask about the sudden disappearance to R!Ciel but he just smiled and said he had no idea what he was talking about. They are both very good actors.

No one mention it again, but all the students are now slightly scared of R!Ciel. McMillan thanks God that he somehow ended up on his good side.

After this, they both get to join the cricket team because they showed how to be smart and quick-witted.

They also both train very hard, R!Ciel has an easier life adapting and improving on the physical aspect, while O!Ciel relies more on strategy and mental play.

When the tournament comes, it happens with the same strategies. Vincent is in the spectators seats and he is trying his best not to laugh too loudly from his seat. He is very proud.

Diederik is also present and he is fuming while watching the matches. He will scold them both later.

Rachel is loudly cheering them both and encouraging them.

R!Ciel can actually make a couple of points in a fair way! It's more luck than anything but he talks about it like they were decisive.

The final strategy of switching the ball was O!Ciel's idea, but he didn't share the part about being hit on purpose by Greenhill with his twin.

When he got hit, R!Ciel froze on the spot, but O!Ciel was focused on the game and went on with the plan.

After he recover from the shock, R!Ciel doesn't let anyone get close to him, almost growling, and somehow brings him to the nurse. Vincent and Rachel follow soon after.

While O!Ciel is being visited, R!Ciel is outside picking a fight with Greenhill who doesn't fight back bevause he feels guilty. Diederik has to stop him.

O!Ciel gets invited to the midnight tea party, he feels guilty about going because R!Ciel can't go. R!Ciel doesn't stop him but follows him until he can because he is worried something may happen.

Nothing happens tho! We are happy here!

No one shuts up about the blue miracle part 2. Vincent can't stop bragging, especially to Diederik. Rachel talks about it to anyone that has ears.

Every year after that, the twins made it a personal goal to win especially to flex about it to Vincent and because they need more material to annoy uncle Diederik. So they spend their free time at school coming up with more complex and wild strategies.

The manual with the rules for cricket became twice its size by the time they graduated, because they had to keep add rules to not make the twins cheat. But they still won for all the years they frequented. After the second year they win, both the twins just annoy Vincent with "What would you know about sport? You only won once"

Do you want more? I have so much more, this arc is my will to live.

Edit: I made part 2 here

[myauditionfordrphil]

Ok I'mma vent this out at once and will try to not utter a word about this cursed night again. India deserved this cup, they really did. Because if there's been a team who performed the best and embodied the spirit and passion of cricket it's been India. They did their best from the very first game against Australia... Jaddu's wickets (especially Smith's), the top order collapse and King and Rahul's partnership winning us the game (also Rahul's 97). Then came Afghanistan and Bangladesh - Rohit's century, Virat in delhi (vs Naveen, their hug), Hardik's injury resulting in our dear Cheeku's bowling, KL refusing runs to complete Virat's century, Ro - Vi - Rah hug 🤌and ofc umpire not giving the wide. The Pakistan rivalry came into the tournament but our streak was saved when we defeated them 8 - 0. Then came the most dreaded match against New Zealand - Vi's missed century was definitely a sore spot but the revenge was completed. Shami being shami showing why you should not bench him with his fifer and Jaddu hitting the final runs to avenge Mahi Bhai. England and Sri Lanka were no match - they were destroyed by our balling - the only good thing was Gill's knock, Shreyas' century and ofc RohiRat hugs ✨. We made a Sri Lanka out of South Africa with the King getting a century on his b'day and destroyed Netherlands but the main part was Virat and Rohit taking wickets. Then came the semis against NZ and honestly the whole desiblr was scared as fuck bcz of our history but Revenge was taken... Kohli shattering all records and hitting his 50th century making us prouder than ever (anushka's kisses and bowing to the God Sachin will forever be remembered) and Shami's 7 wickets, like is there a way to stop Lalaji bcz I can't think of one (amd what's this 7 factor? 397 runs, all out at 327, won by 70 runs, shami taking 7 wickets ? tribute to Thala ig). But it all came down to this, we lost the finals... After all this we lost, 1.5 billion hearts are broken, the 12 year wait continues. But this tournament will never be forgotten, we laughed and we cried with our team and supported them at every step. We saw moments we'll never forget, we made memories seeing records being broken and our boys having the time of their lives, hugging and dancing on the field and being more excited for the mighty fielding medal than the actual match itself. So this tournament will forever be remembered. You'd expect me to say congratulations to Australia but no, they played well ofc but no team played cricket better than India... Just bcz this team didn't performed in one single match didn't mean that they didn't deserve to win this. Kohli gave all of his soul, Rohit made this team what it is and Shami gutted all his haters but sadly luck was not on our side. After winning all 10 matches our unbeaten streak got broken in the finals only. Yes I'm heartbroken to core but at the same time I'm bloody proud of our boys who gave everything they had, your heads should be held high. In my own delusional world India won this cup and not just team India but the whole country. In my mind we are the winners and the team got the prize for their blood, sweat and tears. You'll all be remembered forever as champions.

Bleed blue 🩵

[goroaix]

In the leftover image of you that I cannot erase, you are my vivid dream

Sohn Hyunwoo x fem reader

Lumberjack/historical sort of au

16k

Graphic depictions of injuries. Very slight hint of an ED/controlling parents. Also it's a little bit of traditional gender roles but nothing egregious, I promise.

『 To know that the generations before him had tilled these lands, planted each seed, tended to each crop - it was enough for Hyunwoo. The simple life of a lumberjack was all he needed to feel fulfilled. Yet, he, alone, could not eat every fruit from his ancestor's trees. 』

Today was a night like any other. The outside was quiet, only the sounds of crickets and nocturnal animals disturbing the tranquil blanket of the moon and stars. The air was still and Hyunwoo had tucked everything away in preparation for the morning - where he would spend a good majority of his day chopping up wood of trees that he had felled.

He had just managed to close his eyes, about to relax into the softness of his bed and newly bought pillow, when he heard something odd.

It was unlike anything else he had ever heard from the forest. It sounded like weeping, wailing of some sort that picked up and died down within seconds of the other. Normally, he would have thought of it as something that the wind carried as it blew through a hollow but it was too… alive for that.

Hyunwoo frowned, his eyebrows knitting together as he got up on one elbow, scratching his ear with his free hand. For a moment, there was silence.

Then it started again and he thought to ignore it and continue with his plans for an early night - chopping wood did take lots of energy after all and he needed every last wink. Yet he He couldn’t shake this nagging feeling that it wasn’t something to let fade into the background. Hyunwoo wasn’t the kind of man to have things that irked him be left unattended.

So, with a half sigh and half grunt, he swung his legs out from his bed and sat up, his lips pursed before he pulled on his slippers and left his bedroom. This was where the sound became louder, no longer hindered by the wooden door and instead it wafted in through the slightly ajar windows, pausing again before picking up.

He wouldn’t say that he was someone that was easily spooked, and he wasn’t really scared but he did feel a little uneasy. This was worth investigating; he’d sleep well knowing it was nothing in the end.

Grabbing an oil lantern, he lit a match and turned it on, stepping out of the back door that was situated directly on a path to the forest. During the day it was beautiful, a vast expanse of greenery that spoke volumes on the wonder of nature and its intricacies. It stood tall against the azure of the sky, dwarfing his cottage that stood alone on the outskirts, and that difference was only more stark at night where the trees turned to gnarled limbs that swayed in tune with the wind, the shadows twisting into something more evil than delicate.

But Hyunwoo paid no mind to that. Honestly, it hardly bothered him anymore. Everything in the forest was easily recognised and he knew it inside out from his years of exploring both with his parents and unaccompanied.

Rubbing his eyes, he closed the door behind him and began making his way down the path, entering the forest’s domain. Here, the sound was the loudest and it seemed to echo around him, bouncing off the barks of various trees and travelling around him. The lamp’s light was bright, having recently been filled with more oil, and he was able to use it to efficiently navigate the darker routes.

With every step he took he got closer to the source and the sounds seemed more alive, like something was weeping from pain. A pang of concern rushed through him and he went closer, pushing throughthe bushes before he reached the area where it was coming from.

It was hard to see from this distance but it seemed to be something white that had curled up into a ball.

Hyunwoo held out the lamp, letting it illuminate the creature - only to have the shock of his life.

For it was no animal, but a human woman that was crying, her face hidden by her hands before she looked up upon the shine of his lamp, confusion clear in her eyes.

Oh. This was… definitely not normal.

"Are you okay?" He asked, not knowing what else to say in this situation. Animals were more his area of expertise. "Are you hurt?"

Her lips pursed and she looked down at her feet, the fabric of her rather intricate dress covering them up. Then, with great care and trembling hands, she moved the material to reveal the true cause of her pain.

A wolf trap.

"Oh no," he uttered to himself, eyebrows furrowed. Who had left this inhumane device behind? It certainly wasn't him! He never hunted the predator animals that passed by.

Blood seeped from the puncture marks, the sharp, metal teeth buried in the soft flesh of her ankle and rendering her immobile. Purple inflamed skin surrounded the broken tissue, bruising forming around the fresh wound and he spied the cuts on her crimson coated fingers - likely from trying to pry it open.

No wonder she was crying, he thought, these traps were made to capture large, wild animals. She would be lucky if she didn't have any sort of permanent scar.

"I'll get you out," he reassured, setting the lamp down and inspecting the trap. It was an older model that was triggered by the slightest touch, the spring recoil made to be harsh and powerful to stop the animal there and then. Such a thing would only spell disaster for a delicate human ankle. Had it been a bear trap then the only mode of removal would have been to sever her foot from her leg.

Hyunwoo kneeled beside her, mindful of the fact that she was likely scared and exhausted. His hands, while calloused and hardened from manual labour, were gentle as they touched swollen skin. It was tilted to the left to allow him a clearer view of the mechanism but she hissed in pain despite clearly trying her hardest to contain her exclamations. "Oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled, thumb rubbing the uninjured skin in apology.

The lamp was pulled closer, eyes narrowed to get a better view and he saw that there was a small button within. It had a faded symbol that had rusted over, making it illegible.

His left hand pushed into the small gap, fingers patting around the confined space to reach it when his index finger brushed over it. The placement was purposefully inconvenient, not intended to be undone by the animal or until the owner was sure that their kill had parted ways with this world. He wasn’t an advocate for these types of traps simply because of how inhumane they were, making the animal suffer until its last moments or it was desperate enough to bite off its own leg in order to escape.

He pursed his lips in concentration, pressing down harder on the button despite the awkward angle and the way the edge of the metal dug into his skin. Then, a few seconds later, it popped open and she sighed in relief. The damage was done and it was worse than he had initially thought, the teeth of it having torn almost all the way through the meat and into the muscle with blood dribbling from the now exposed wounds. Honestly, he wondered how she hadn’t passed out from shock.

“Thank you,” she murmured, voice shaking and thick with congestion. Hyunwoo simply nodded, trying to give her a comforting smile despite wondering what on earth he could do now. There was no feasible way for her to walk on that ankle and he would never leave anyone to die in the woods.

“Is it okay if I take you home? It’s down there, the cottage by the road.” He pointed in the general direction but it was dark and the only light was that of his lamp. This woman had no choice but to trust him and he wouldn’t dare to betray it.

“...Yes, it’s okay.”

Lifting her wouldn’t be a problem for him; Hyunwoo would easily lift upwards of 200kg with the work he did. No, it was the fact that he had to be incredibly mindful of her ankle and any other injuries that she might have sustained.

“Please tell me if this is uncomfortable.” With his voice barely above a murmur, he reached around her back and under her knees, lifting her as though she were a doll. The lamp was cradled in her arms, held for them both and her leg dangled uselessly. “I’ll walk us back now.”

She nodded and said nothing else, body tense in his hold though he couldn’t blame her. It was with great care that he made his way to his cottage again, feeling guilt ebb through him when her leg grazed against his side and she tried her hardest to contain the gasps of agony.

It did confuse him in the moments that he could think about something other than this woman’s safety and injury, that someone wearing such expensive and silken clothing would be out in the middle of the forest. The fabric intertwined with his fingers was made with care and quality - the kind of thing that he would only buy after saving for years upon years.

But Hyunwoo had more important things to worry about than this, and he continued on the path home.

Read the rest on AO3

[remylius]

Little Miss Imperfect

Part 5

Daichi x Chubby!Manager!Reader

1007 words

T.W. Alcohol

Note: I'm sorry this took a while, aside from my classes my family is moving to a new city next week so we're slowly getting things prepped for the move, and stuff for my new school aside from my extra curriculars I'm sorry for the really long wait, yet again we're back

That afternoon, practice started as usual with y/n and Kiyoko helping out with the drills and other materials needed. Suga sighed as he elbows Daichi lightly. "So how's Mister Lover coming along?" He chuckles hearing his best friend muse. Deciding to ignore the statement, he runs back to his drills glancing at the younger manager. She was taking notes at the sidelines of each members progress as if nothing ever happened. The noise of volleyball shoes slipping on the floor, followed by balls getting hit one after the other. The constant talking of Coach Ukai helping the boys out was also to be heard. Y/N was watching over the 2 first years bicker about sets once again. She smiled looking at them, these boys were practically her family, seeing them like this together even if it was for club activities were fun. Despite it being noisy all around, it was peaceful for her. An oasis far from her troubles. She noticed someone glancing at her from afar, she looked right back at him. Daichi.... She had to give her answer, she knew what to say, she just didn't know how to.

Coach Ukai then clapped his hands "Alright guys round up." He called unto them for final announcements as the 2 managers also did so to report the new progress. They soon ended the briefing and headed out. "Uhm, Daichi San, can we talk after you guys change?" She asked as she went up to him. Daichi halts as he looks at her a smile creeping up his face as he nods quickly running up to the club room to change.

---

As he walks down now ready to head home. "So what's up?" She holds unto her bag sheepishly. She blushes as she grins, "Senpai can I walk you home?" He chuckles scratching the back of his head. This is new. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?" She grins as she walks ahead "can't I return the favor for last night?" She chuckles her blushing face away. Despite the heat of summer, the nights were a bit more chilly. They walked home side by side, living only a block away from each other. The streets were silent as they walked side by side, only with the sounds of crickets or occasional barking of dogs or meowing of cats. They both walked in the silence, embracing it. Taking a deep breath from the chilly night she paused on her tracks gripping her bag a little tighter. Daichi noticed the pause looking back at her. "Senpai, I'll take up on that offer" she said to him, looking at him with glassy eyes. He smiles huffing out a laugh as he hugs her tightly. "Come to me when you need a breather." He smiles hugging her tightly. Another year drops as she hugs him back tightly. A new feeling coils at her stomach. A feeling foreign to her yet one she welcomes with a hug. A feeling of warmth so great, a few droplets of tears roll from her eyes. The feeling of home.

It's been a week since the two started opening up, Y/N slowly told her about her past, how both her parents died and why her brother had to work in a different city. Daichi sat in y/n's room to talk about some strategies she came up with for the match upcoming. As she used the toilet, he noticed the amount of sticky notes plastered on the wall by her bed and her desk. There was one drawer left open, curious he debates whether he should check it out. 'she is taking her sweet time in the bathroom, one peek won't hurt.... right?' his curiosity fights him 'no, Daichi that's her privacy you shouldnt-' a few seconds pass by as he gets up from her bed to peek at the open drawer at her desk. He opens it a bit more to reveal what was inside. To his surprised, his face turns white to see the 2 bottles of liquor she didn't throw before he arrived as well as the box of cigarettes and a lighter. His breath spikes as he quickly shut the drawer almost slamming it running back to sit on the bed. He panics despite knowing this already. He jolts hearing the door open to see her carrying a tray of snacks. "Hey, sorry I decided to fetch some snacks for us." She chuckles lightly pushing the door open with her knee. He clears his throat smiling trying to forget everything he just saw in that drawer. She places the snack tray on the coffee table in the middle of her room opening up her notebook for each member's progress as well as her laptop showing some stuff she saw online that deemed useful. They discussed back and forth yet his mind was still stuck on what was in that drawer. "Since when did she start? I get why her problems started but why?" After their talk, he decided to try and brush it off as he arrived home.

--- a few weeks later ---

It was exam week, the busiest times for students, especially third years. With exams and college exams to study for, not to mention volleyball, Daichi scratches his head as he studies in his room.

*RING RING*

His phone starts ringing as he studies. Annoyed he shuts it off, hiding it in his drawer to focus. It continues to ring, the vibrations from his phone getting louder. He scratches his head as he taps his pen on his notebook getting annoyed. Deciding to turn it on "do not disturb" mode, continuing his studies. An hour later he decides to check his phone.

(10 missed calls from y/n)

(5 unread messages from y/n)

Panic filled his mind as he opened the messages. Why was she calling.

Y/N: Daichi help me

Y/N: I'm scared

Y/N: My Brother just came home he's gonna do something again

Y/N: Daichi please help me

Y/N: Daichi-senpai

[crossovershipstournament]

CROSSOVER SHIPS TOURNAMENT BRACKET

(Please full-screen for an easier time reading)

Finally, the bracket for the Crossover Ships Tournament is here! I'm so excited to finally get this tournament going, so I'll keep this short and get to the match-ups, with a quick reminder that will be included on the polls themselves as well:

That being said, let's get to the match-ups:

SIDE 1:

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (Ducktales 2017)/Clover Ebi (RWBY) VS Gregor (Star Wars the Clone Wars)/Harley Quinn (DC Comics)

Dib Membrane (Invader Zim)/Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) VS JD (Heathers the Musical)/Nathan Prescott (Life is Strange)

Charlie Bradbury (Supernatural)/Rose Tyler (Doctor Who) VS Reagan Ridley (Inside Job)/Toriel Dreemur (Undertale)

Ange Ushiromiya (Umineko no Naku Koro Ni)/Rin Tohsaka (Fate/Stay Night) VS Max Goof (Disney)/Yakko Warner (Animaniacs)

Dimentio (Super Paper Mario)/Jevil (Deltarune) VS Astro Tenma (Astro Boy (2009))/Wilbur Robinson (Meet The Robinsons)

Damian Wayne (DC Comics)/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug) VS Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)/Miles Morales (Marvel)

Sora (Kingdom Hearts)/Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet) VS Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron)/Timmy Turner (Fairly Oddparents)

Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine)/Cuphead (Cuphead) VS Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo)/Samurai Jack (Samurai Jack)

Mogar (Xray and Vav)/David (Camp Camp) VS Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017)/Whitley Schnee (RWBY)

Ash Williams (Evil Dead)/Crawford Tillinghast (From Beyond) VS Skales (Lego Ninjago)/Starscream (Transformers Prime)

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (How To Train Your Dragon)/Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians) VS Jane Porter (Tarzan)/Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet)

Isabelle (Animal Crossing)/Wolf O’Donnell (StarFox) VS Webby Vanderquack (Ducktales 2017)/Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Chibiusa (Sailor Moon)/Kid Trunks Briefs (Dragon Ball Z) VS Kokichi Ouma (Danganronpa)/Venti (Genshin Impact)

Applejack (My Little Pony)/Hol Horse (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) VS Jake Long (American Dragon: Jake Long)/Juniper Lee (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee)

Princess Peach (Super Mario)/Samus Aran (Metroid) VS Kefer (Egyxos)/Shiryu (Knights of the Zodiac)

Alex Mercer (Prototype)/Desmond Miles (Assassin’s Creed) VS Gandra Dee (Ducktales 2017)/Winter Schnee (RWBY)

SIDE 2:

Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio)/Timothy Q. Mouse (Dumbo) VS Max (Camp Camp)/Phineas Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

Wirt (Over the Garden Wall)/Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) VS Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony)/Shockwave (Transformers Prime)

Daffy Duck (Looney Toons)/Donald Duck (Disney) VS Commander Peepers (Wander Over Yonder)/Wilt Michaels (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)

Jigglypuff (Pokemon)/Kirby (Kirby) VS Merida (Brave)/Rapunzel (Tangled)

Leonardo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)/Yuichi Usagi (Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles) VS Megaman (Megaman)/Pit (Kid Icarus)

Floyd Leech (Twisted Wonderland)/Kanata Shinkai (Ensemble Stars) VS Adrien Agreste (Chat Noir) (Miraculous Ladybug)/Berry Shirayuki (Mew Berry) (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Ben Tennyson (Ben 10)/Rex Salazar (Generator Rex) VS Bayonetta (Bayonetta)/Palutena (Kid Icarus)

Gyro Gearloose (Ducktales 2017)/Hazel Rainart (RWBY) VS Sally “Thorn” McKnight (Scooby Doo Franchise)/Skwisgaar Skwigelf (Metalocalypse)

Blossom Utonium (Powerpuff Girls)/Dexter (Dexter’s Laboratory) VS Angus McDonald (The Adventure Zone)/Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) (Mob Psycho 100)

Selina Kyle (Catwoman) (DC Comics)/Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe) VS Apollo (Percy Jackson)/Clark Kent (Superman) (Superman)

Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Cinderella (Cinderella) VS Huey Duck (Ducktales 2017)/Wakko Warner (Animaniacs)

Madoka Kaname (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)/Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) VS Gaz Membrane (Invader Zim)/Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Sam Winchester (Supernatural)/Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds) VS Phone Guy (Five Nights at Freddy’s)/Wally Franks (Bendy and the Ink Machine)

Ditzy Doo (My Little Pony)/The Doctor (Doctor Who) VS Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)/Nepeta Leijon (Homestuck)

Bowser (Super Mario)/Dr. Eggman (Sonic) VS Beastman (Masters of the Universe)/Lifeweaver (Overwatch 2)

Luca Paguro (Luca)/Maisie Brumble (The Sea Beast) VS Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017)/Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)

The tournament will begin proper sometime over the following weekend (07/01 - 07/02). I should have a more specific day and time by tomorrow!

[slightlystupidhun]

If The Shoe Fits… Bear it.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,

Part 7

Summary: Prince Vincent Solaire, of Wonder Land, spends a wonderful night with a stranger, but what happens when the shoe left behind fits someone else.

He had sat in his chair for only five minutes total that night. The large white ballroom marked with golden accents and intricate paintings of angels, was now becoming his least favorite place in the world. Each time he sat down a new person would come forward asking him for a dance. He was bored to say the least. No one was catching his eye, and none of the conversations he had had were anything new. The only thing he found interesting was the different masks everyone wore.

“Now announcing…..” the name was muffled and Vincent couldn’t care to look up and listen. He continued tapping his fingers on his thrones arm. Then he was up being pulled out to the dance floor by non other than King William Solaire. Suddenly he was passed off to the most recent guest.

“I don’t believe you’ve dance with them yet?” William chuckled as he pushed the Prince forward. The person in-front of him offered him a gentle smile as he readjusted his mask. The gold and black half faced mask almost falling completely off his head. He looked up and was met by a full face white and gold mask with lace flowers.

“Hello,” they spoke up at him. He could hear the smile in their voice as they bowed to him.

“Ah uh Hello,” he returned the favor, noticing their lace suit jacket pant combo. He took their hand and stared at them as the music started playing. They moved together in time to the music.

They didn’t know what they were doing. Why did they even come to the ball, and alone at that. It’s not like they were high class, in fact, they worked at a small boutique at the edge of town.

“So stranger,” Vincent’s voice broke through their intruding thoughts, “What brings you to the ball.”

The mused at him and their smile came through even with the mask. “I don’t know, must be fate. Or a learning experience.”

“A learning experience?” He questioned.

“Yes. Learning what I should and shouldn’t be doing, what better way than to dive in deep?”

The music slowed to an end neither of the pair wishing to part. The crowd resumed its dancing and Vincent decided to take this opportunity to converse more with the stranger. He took their hand and lead them through the large marble doors out to the garden.

The night air was chilly against their fingertips. The crickets were playing their symphony’s and the birds were all nestled up for rest. The only thing louder than the crickets songs were the laughs coming from the pair strolling through the garden.

“I see I see,” Vincent laughs, “So what are you? A royal, a peasant, a god.” He winks at them, but it’s blocked entirely by his mask.

“Oh quite a flirt aren’t you?” The giggled over at him.

“Quite evasive aren’t you?” He shot back at them as he looked at the rose bush next to them. It was full of red roses all in full bloom, and he plucked one from the plant and handed it over to them. “So what’s your life like.”

“Not as amazing as yours I gather. This glorious castle, a strong kingdom, all to you, all owed to you.” They sat at the edge of a white Cupid fountain at the center of the courtyard.

“All owed to my father. And yes, it is glorious, but as glorious as it may seem, it is a heavy burden.” He sat down next to them.

“What an amazing burden to have money must be.” They nudged him with their elbow. And he chuckled. He was extremely handsome, even with the mask. Even if they had no idea what he looked like without the mask they would find him attractive. He had one of those personalities.

“It’s not fair,” he sighed nodded to them.

“What?” They looked at him.

“To be as attractive as you are” he turned his head to look at them his face now mere inches from theirs. Their breaths mingled and immediately felt ten times warmer. The cold chill of the outside air was no match for the heat coiling between the two. They both leaned in.

The stranger felt to compelled to kiss him as they began lifting their mask. But then there was the reminder that this wasn’t right. He didn’t know them. He didn’t know that their life was already complete. He didn’t know that at their home they had someone waiting for them. They had a strong dependable man who would move heaven and earth for them. Their heart was already won, and they were about to make the worlds biggest mistake. That’s when the bell chimed for midnight and finally broke them out of their paralysis. They stood up and began running for the door, Vincent chasing after them.

He chased them back through the royal hall and down the steps of the palace. As they made it down the second flight they tripped, stepping out of their glass slippers to run away faster. When they bent down to grab their shoes they saw him right behind them and took up to running again, hopping on their horse and riding away.

Vincent stopped at the bottom of the stairs and picked up the slippers looking at the shrinking figure.

“Vincent! What’s going on?” Vincents adopted brother, Grand Duke Sam called catching up to him. Same parter, a royal from the Lupinia Kingdom followed shortly after.

“I danced all night with a wonderful creature. However, I believe they had to leave at midnight because they up and ran away.” He spoke still staring off into the distance.

“Or they simply did not fancy you.” Sam’s partner spoke up.

“Regardless of the outcome, I must find them. I am going to seek them out. Starting tomorrow, have every person in town try on these slippers, I’ll accompany you in the afternoon.”

“This is a fools errand.” Sam spoke up.

“Then I have found the perfect fool.” Vincent smiled at his brother.

“I’ll stay at the palace. I wish not to associate myself with your search of this elusive stranger.”

*I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER! Sorry it was so short!!*

[the-sunshine-dims]

Sweet Dreams Till You See Sunbeams

me me- when nightingstar actually <3

(book: 'Tales from Thicketdown Forest' by maddie an)

Ao3

Words: 4k

Summary:

The auras muttered tired words, asking if he was going to bed yet, If Aax and Caspian were back yet.

Another asked if he'd be going to Starbarks again, mostly a joke, but one clouded by the exhaustion of staying up.

And frankly, the idea sounded appealing.

No matter how much of a joke it was.

Probably the first thing that did.

(or, Rae, unwilling to sleep, sets about on hanging out in starbarks, sure he wont be caught with the late hour, but fortunately, luck isn't on his side (depends who you ask(maybe give him just a second and he'll change his answer))

Contents and Warnings: Pre-relationship Nightingstar, Sleep-deprived Rae, Fluff,

______

The stars shone brightly above Rae from where he stood on the porch. far into the middle of the night with the silence to match.

He wasn't unused to being around when no one else was. Him residing in his study and losing track of time far too commonly. And his sleep schedule being 'possibly worse than nonexistent' to quote Centross even more commonly.

But it was notable. The silence only welcoming the occasional cricket chirping its night melody.

He leaned onto the railing, mostly just watching.

Maybe it was worse when he knew he was too exhausted to even research- to pour himself into his work. No matter how he felt he should. Because he knew for a fact he'd make no headway, head not clear enough to truly think.

And yet the idea of sleep was more daunting than welcoming, the idea of nightmares, and possibly sharing them.

And maybe just sleep.

Even apart from the nightmares and possibilities. Just sleep.

Of having to lay down, no tasks, just alone in consciousness with his thoughts in the dark of the room.

The thought leaves him dreading.

He huffed a little. The chilled air sending what felt like spikes of ache into his lungs. Too cold and too thin apparently.

A little ironic given that that had been his best remedy a reset prior, the thing he could best recommend to Wolf given the same skulk problem.

Rae debates heading back into the study, warmer, but not by much. But that idea too, is unappealing. The idea of being surrounded by all of the balled-up notes he'd left in there, too frustrated, too wrong, too stupid.

And, that he could not stand to clean up right now, though maybe he should, with the time he had not doing anything else.

The auras muttered tired words, asking if he was going to bed yet, If Aax and Caspian were back yet.

Another asked if he'd be going to Starbarks again, mostly a joke, but one clouded by the exhaustion of staying up.

And frankly, the idea sounded appealing.

No matter how much of a joke it was.

Probably the first thing that did.

He'd not get coffee, not unless he was working on something, he cajoled himself. But still, having a place to be and not think about everything he didn't know, it sounded nice.

It also helped that it always smelled like warm treats there. Always a pleasant nut-meg and cinnamon smell wafting through the air.

He stepped away from the railing to face the stairs up the mountain, of which he got a perfect view of Starbarks just above their house.

"That's.. Actually, a pretty good idea," he addressed quietly, daring not to disturb the silence of the night.

They questioned a little, practically chirping out their confused words, but Rae just set out on walking, offering a hushed "Starbarks is a nice place to decompress" and nothing more.

The ones awake, and that was a concept he was sure, agreed a little. Before settling down. 

It really was late.

He made his way through the path and started up the stairs, gasping a little at the repeated chill in his lungs as well as the further exertion. Maybe that was just going to be a pattern tonight, his lungs aching until he finally rested. 

Still, He made it up just the same as he always had. Reaching the dog park, then the Starbarks then making it to the doors.

It did occur to him that the doors may not open. Rae couldn't even imagine any of the dog's Wolf assured him 'got benefits' were working, and usually he snuck in to grab coffee during its business hours.

Yet, as the handle turned, it did open and so that was all he could ask. stepping in quietly, and placing a hand under the bell as the door closed, just so Rae didn't wake the dogs that, yeah were asleep, hidden just out of view until he caught the tail peeking out from behind the counter.

He stepped a little closer, almost laughing at the little beds tucked neatly under the counter, names embroidered on them for the extra touch. That made it all the more silly because none of them were in the right ones besides tea who for all intents and purposes, chose to sleep outside.

Coffffffffee in the large Latte's bed, practically engulfing the small dog, even sharing it with the other moderately small Frappuccino. leaving the great Dane to fit haphazardly in the smallest dog’s bed, as well as using Frappuccino'a bed as a pillow, just for extra measure.

It was… incredibly silly, for lack of better words. But all of them were happily snoozing away so Rae didn't dare mess with them, he was pretty sure that may be illegal too?

Workers rights?

He, truly did not know, businesses were not his thing.

Rae settled in one of the seats in the back of the Starbarks, just to be on the safe side. And just sat back, taking in the instant warmth the Starbarks incased, warming his chilled skin. And the baked goods smell. 

And Rae was sure he had nothing to think about. He had no energy- nor brain power. Nothing he wanted to think about anyway. Nothing that he could look into without the books in his study, which was probably for the best. And ultimately, nothing that was a problem. Especially nothing to warrant being thought about in the dim light of the Starbarks.

Nothing, his study a mess in a classic example of it. 

Nothing,

He's sure, if he really wanted to he could probably think about a dozen other things. But those particular things he'd rather ignore, avoid, not think about nor panic about.

And so he didn't try, ignoring the distant familiar swirl of guilt pooling in his stomach. And instead, focusing elsewhere. Trying to get a moment of solace.

Of not having to think.

..He hadn't been a very good book club member, maybe he could catch up on the week’s book until he was ready to go back down to the house again. Or until the sun rose, and he figured he should probably not be caught.

That sounded nice.

Gods, it's been a while since he was able to just read something that didn't require urgency.

He pulls out one of the shulkers, searching the sack beside him as he looked for said book, because he was pretty sure he had a copy in it, far neglected, but still in it all the same.

He grabbed blindly at a couple different blank covered books before finally finding it, and fighting a silent cheer as he pulled it out with little flair. Catching attention.

"Wait- Rae?"

Rae jolted. swirling around in the seat suddenly, book in hand. And coming face to face with Wolf, un-masked face twisted in a concoction of surprise and worry.

Crap.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear?

"...hi Wolf" 

Wolf raised his eyebrow, and Rae just offered his most appeasing smile, mostly doing nothing more than looking like a guilty cat.

"Didn't hear you come in..?" He adds and Wolf just presses his lips together in a thin line. 

"Yeah, I noticed- I didn't even stop the bell..?" And Rae just feels a new layer of sheepish, wow, he should've heard that.

That seemed like a pretty distinct noise..

Was he really that engrossed in searching through his books? Or was his attention just that lacked?

"I- was just a little.. distracted?" Rae tried.

And Wolf just blinked at him slowly

"Look- it's late!" He defends weakly, not making any points in his favor.

"It is." Wolf agrees, "I was only coming to grab something I'd forgotten, you look like you were getting ready to settle in" he points out,

And Rae shrinks back a little, "I can leave-?" He mumbles, and instantly Wolf's face softens.

"Now I didn't say you had to do that, just-" he grabs the back of the chair next to Rae and sits down, changing directions as he faced to look at Rae "-what's going on?"

"Why does something have to be going on?" Rae asked

Wolf once again blinked at him, but it didn't quite hold the same effect, though similar "you're sitting in Starbarks at gods know what hour" he pointed out deadpan, before again going softer, "is something going on?"

"..Not this time." Rae muttered. Because okay, he couldn't sleep, but that wasn't 'something going on' for all intents and purposes, everything was fine. And he wasn't even being flippant!

No bad interactions, not.. A lot of overthinking, especially not for him. Nothing he knew Wolf would count as a 'something'! 

It wasn't a great evening, but it was by no means a bad one.

"Okay," Wolf relented, "still, can I ask why you're at Starbarks- again your welcome here- but coffee at this hour, really?" He asked, eyebrows pinched together, now in slightly less of concern- though Rae knew that was still evident in his two-toned eyes. And more of general confusion, and maybe a little mirth. 

"I wasn't coming for the coffee!" Rae defended quickly, "I still have some even!" He says to make his point further and Wolf raises an eyebrow "I just.. Wanted to sit down for a minute and read.. something that wasn't related to everything, and.. urgently important?" he tried, trying to press down how.. selfish? it sounded to his ears.

"Oh" Wolf said, blinking, rerouting his train of thought. Before nodding, “that's a good idea” 

and then pausing for a minute once again, though this time much more amused "Rae.. "

"Wolf..?" 

“We have a loft, specifically to read books”

“”Oh,” Rae blinked, parsing his brain for the same information as it clicked. "Right."

And suddenly Wolf was up with a laugh and trying to drag Rae up with him, Rae’s mind falling behind at the quick movements “oh- wait where are we going?"

Wolf gestured vaguely ‘up’ and Rae floundered a second before simply accepting it, not questioning it further and instead snatching up his shulker before Wolf made him leave it. Soon being led pointedly past the other chairs, then right.

Which made little- and then quickly, a lot of sense. When they passed the counter and got to the ladder, Rae's mind slowed with fatigue.

"In my defense I didn't want to disturb the dogs!" Rae whispered in a hushed tone, still defending himself, before getting properly shushed as Wolf gestured him up with a smile.

"You're getting the proper book Starbarks experience!" Wolf whispered in a similarly hushed tone, following him up once Rae had reached the top.

Rae huffed a laugh, "I was happy down there too"

"Okay, but have you considered the whimsy of the book nook?" he gestured around, standing up.

Rae breathed out a light "okay" that turned more into a lighthearted laugh, as he looked around. And he'd seen the room many times before during the book clubs he'd attended. But it did, somehow feel more cozy in the dim. Blankets scattered around littering the couches, likely from momboo's shift.

And the café downstairs was still incredibly nice, but Rae was almost mad at how quickly he was convinced, because it was, really, really nice.

"Okay, I will admit it, it is pretty whimsical" Rae sighed fondly.

Wolf nodded seriously, face wrinkling with a barely suppressed smile.

"It is, it is" he nods, and Rae really can't help but smile with him.

Wolf directs Rae to sit down on the couch as he lights a fire and Rae can't help but shake his head fondly as he does, settling the book on the side table as he watched.

Left for only a second to his own devices to twiddle his thumbs and using it. Rae thinks about the circumstances for just a moment. And he laughs, briefly getting a glance from Wolf, "I really spent no time in the starbarks before I got corralled into the book nook, I'd barely gotten my book!" He chuckled. and Wolf laughed with him, short amused breaths. simply uttering a simple "damn, should've started in the book nook then, I guess," voice only teasing, as he continued placing the wood in the fireplace.

Rae could only laugh more as he went back to watching.

And, when it settled, embers worked red. The fire warm and bright, and somehow it keeps amazing him how nice it is.

And Wolf really was right.

Maybe he should spend more sleepless nights here he thinks, another mostly-a-joke thought that he was well aware could turn less so.

It's not a surprise from Wolf of course that it's so cozy, but it's just impressive. And Wolf stands back a little to gaze at his work proudly, as he should.

Before moving to sit by Rae.

And Rae probably shouldn't have been, probably wouldn't be normally. But he seemed to have trouble thinking in general, he's finding. Because he is firmly caught off guard. It was late! Rae was just unable to sleep! It wasn't Wolf’s problem! "Wolf- you don't need to stay with me, I'll be fine, I've been placed. I'm just going to read! I'm fine," he assured.

Wolf hums, considering the words for only a moment. "Well, actually, maybe I just want to appreciate my fire skills," he said, sinking into the couch next to him regardless. And Rae has to repress furrowing his eyebrows as well as the ‘doesn't the fire bother you?’

"Now, what book are you reading?" Wolf asked. Moving the conversation along smoothly.

And maybe it really is a show of the somehow worsening exhaustion that Rae doesn't put up any further fight as he just shakes his head, shoulders sagging, and goes "the one for book club actually," he briefly turned the book over to read the cover "The 'Tales from Thicketdown Forest?'"

"Oooh, good good," Wolf nods, "very good choice" he tells him seriously and Rae just huffed a laugh.

"Oh, of course" Rae nods, continuing the bit just a little before shaking his head fondly once again. Picking up the book from the table and deciding for a moment before tentatively leaning onto Wolf's side, back meeting shoulder.

Wolf didn't say anything and so Rae just relaxed, pulling an abandoned blanket over their legs, and just settling in.

Maybe Wolf would go back home soon, sleep. 

Or maybe he wouldn't, Rae not able to non-hypocritically say anything regardless.

Rae had no sway.

…

He shouldn't not want him to leave. He shouldn't just want the presence, the warmth emanating through his back.

He should want Wolf to go back home and get some sleep. Even if it was away from him.

He doesn't though. If Rae was honest, with himself at least. Finding comfort in the man’s presence alone.

Rae parsed the lines in the book. Wolf leaning his head onto Rae’s, narrowly avoiding the pair of stacked horns. watching the stars, or maybe the fire, Rae unable to tell with the flicking of his attention. Rae briefly allowing himself to be drawn into the contents of the story. finger tracing under the words as he read. 

He paused momentarily, thinking for just a second.

"You alright, Rae?" He felt rumble from the man behind him and he turned his head in confusion.

"What?"

"You stopped reading," Wolf supplied only.

What? Rae's mouth moved to repeat, how could he tell?

How was he always able to tell?

And yet just as the words were about to come out, Wolf answered "You breathe differently when you're reading" he tried, before clarifying quickly, "it's not super noticeable, but when you're reading or writing.. You almost hold your breath?" He told him casually, "And you stopped."

Rae processed that for a moment, rolling it over in his mind as a slow embarrassed magenta spread through his cheeks and to the tips of his ears "...wait.. That's not fair..!" 

Wolf pulled back and tilted his head, and Rae just flushed further. Turning his head away, though not by much and pressing his face into his hands. 

"I was just- agh- it's not fair you can tell!" Rae declared, voice cracking at the end in pure embarrassment the more he thought about it.

Wolf smiled, eyes softening with mirth and cheeks wrinkling, "why not?" 

All that came out with a frustrated "Mm!" Promptly followed by an equally frustrated "because!" not able to find a solid reason really besides it was mortifying that he had a noticeable tell of when he was reading or not. Though he was probably more embarrassed then it actually called for. Wolf laughed, arms shifting with the weight of it.

And Rae briefly took fondness in watching, eyes peeking over his fingers, light-hearted complaints and noises silenced as he just looked at him. Wolf's whole face just illuminating in cheer, truly only slightly dampened by the offense of being known so well.

Rae hadn't even realized, did he really do that? Has he always? He knew he sometimes hummed- Caspian had pointed that out long ago but-

What did Wolf even mean??

He grumbled a little bit, only seeming to fuel Wolf's light-hearted laughter. And how did he make the room feel warmer with his laugh, that shouldn't be possible.

He turned his face back down into his hands to properly grieve any remaining dignity.

And eventually, done with teasing his.. friend, Wolf just huffed one last laugh, watching and letting Rae's flush wear down before getting back onto topic.

"Anyway, what were you thinking about?" Wolf asked and Rae slowly unhid his face, blinking a little to adjust for the firelight.

"Oh right- I just- I realized you didn't have anything to really do and I wondered if you wanted me to read it aloud so you could at least listen?" Rae suggested, and Wolf blinked.

"Oh yeah!" Wolf accepted "Book moment!" he declared. Getting more comfortable instantly as he swung his legs over onto the couch, and pressed himself back into the couch arm, briefly dislodging Rae as the shorter man huffed a laugh.

Rae followed quickly after, shuffling back, now practically nestled between the couch and Wolf's chest. Dragging the blanket along, and settling it neatly over their legs.

Rae opened the book once more, thumbing the pages to get back at the beginning, and humming in satisfaction when victorious.

Rae took a breath, hoping beyond hope his lungs had no issue with him reading for prolonged periods of time. Before starting, finger still tracing the words as he read.

"Most people today" Rae started slowly "live in big cities. Big, bustling areas with lots of concrete and people living on top of each other. And everybody knows how to get around and everybody says hi to their neighbors." 

Wolf followed the words with a nod, and Rae settled further into his little nook.

"Some people live in smaller towns. Smaller, not quite as bustling areas, with fewer buildings and people live a little farther apart." Rae breathed. "But everybody knows how to get around and everybody says hi to their neighbors." 

Wolf shifted just a little to undo Rae's hair-tie, before neatening the mess of raven hair with his hands as he gathered it up, receiving a brief look and "wha-?" From Rae before just waving him back to the book with a "don't worry about it, continue" 

Rae sighed, partially aware of a plot rising as Wolf parted the hair in three, but no energy to stop it.

Still, He did as requested and continued "Almost no one lives in the middle of nowhere." Rae spoke, "One minuscule area with one building and only one person living miles away from everyone else."

Wolf dragged his fingers through his hair. just once more, taming any excess strays. Before moving to plait them. Left side over, middle replacing it. Right side over, middle replacing it.

"But usually, they know how to get around and would still say hi to their neighbors, if they had them." Rae yawned, relaxing further.

Wolf continued, gently twisting the pattern, intertwining. One, two, one, two.

"But no one lives" Rae yawned, lungs protesting less with the increased breaks, increased time to breathe. "in the Thicketdown Forest. There are no buildings and no people."

Wolf held the sections tuat as he worked his way down slowly. so it wouldn't come undone while he was working on the braid.

"Nobody really knows how to get around and there are no neighbors to say hi to..." Rae blinked slowly, eyelids feeling heavy as he sagged into the other man, just breathing for a moment. Plot working smoothly.

"Most people who wander into Thicketdown Forest stay for a while," Rae yawned, them coming too often for comfort, "walk around, then go back to their homes." Rae read.

Wolf worked his way to the bottom, done with the plaiting as he tied the red hair-tie once again in Rae's hair to hold it together.

"Some stay a little longer and set up temporarily…." Rae's eyes closed, just for a minute, Wolf keeping an eye on it. Before Rae blinked them open again, and did his best to continue. figuring out where he was quickly.

"Places… to stay.." he yawned, "but know very little about how to get around.." 

Then, Wolf took a gentle hand of tucking the remaining pieces of hair- mostly face-framing pieces, behind Rae's ears as they began falling into his face. Causing a nuisance of themself. And Rae's eyes slipped shut again, head almost lolling to the side, as his arm barely stayed where the words were. Before he shook himself back awake stubbornly. Though barely, eyes not opening more than a squint.

"They normally.. know.. By the trees.." Rae blinked, voice barely working with him, trying too hard to continue reading, though the words looked more muddled now, having to squint further to try and decipher the letters.

A small voice in the back of his head, or maybe next to it, whispers that he should just rest his eyes, that it’ll be there in the morning. And suddenly that sounds so nice, even just for a minute.

He rests his head on Wolf. hand going slack with the book collapsing into the blanket, Wolf gingerly placing it onto the side table behind them.

And it's just warm.

The fire crackles- it more embers now than anything truly fire-like, or warmth-providing. Causing a gentle background noise.

And even if it isn't the fire, it's just warm.

And Rae’s out like a light.

Wolf huffs a fond laugh, wrapping an arm around Rae and he considers briefly trying to carry him down to his house. Try to get Rae to sleep in the comfort of a bed. But the amount of stairs, while possible, made Wolf decide against it, not willing to wake up the exhausted scientist.

And he doesn't consider leaving him in the loft. not for a second. And so, Wolf just settled with him, whispering a soft "sleep well, starlight" as he made sure he was tucked in. Before turning his attention out-word.

Watching the embers, making sure they die down. Watching the night sky.

Just watching. Protecting.

Until his vision fails too, sometime later, though not too much. The embers gone, all light apart from the stars in the sky, gone. 

And maybe Wolf blinks just a little too long, as he falls asleep too, weariness not on his side, as it never is.

And so, there the two sleep. Peacefully, for a change. nightmares not daring to touch the pair of them.

Not daring to touch the fragile tranquility they found themselves in.

And when awoken, after a many hours of restful slumber. It is to the sunbeams of a new, easier day, shining through the balcony.

Easier with a good start in the pair’s pockets at least.

[azikarue]

Life In Color : Chapter 27 : Beyblade

Emily, Mariah, Rick, Michael | FFN Rating: T | FFN Link ❖ The melodic trill of crickets was more grating than relaxing tonight, Emily realized with a frown. She had too many other things fighting for purchase in her mind, making tension run icy hot from her temples down into the set of her shoulders. She took a deep breath, forced herself to loosen the hold her fingers had on the case she was carrying, and soldiered on toward the river.

The footsteps behind her sped up to match her pace.

At the beginning of their journey, once they’d snuck through the minefield of snoring beybladers and out of the dojo, Mariah had attempted to start a conversation. Now it seemed that some of Emily’s seriousness had rubbed off on her; she hadn’t uttered a single word in the past few minutes. She would have felt bad for killing Mariah’s thunder if it weren’t for the gravity of the situation.

The future of beyblading was dangerously close to belonging to BEGA because, no matter what Tyson thought, there was no guarantee Kai was going to come back and battle.

Emily didn’t want to be the naysayer, but it was time somebody started exhibiting some common sense. They were three battles in and hanging onto their last shred of hope by a thread. If nobody else could master the Hard Metal System in the next twenty-four hours, there was every possibility they would never have a fifth blader and would lose the Justice Five Tournament.

As that thought burned itself into the back of her brain, Emily arrived at the crest of the hill leading down to the riverbank. Mariah came to a stop by her side. At the bottom of the grassy slope lay the river, slithering like a snake as light glistened on the surface like starry scales. Out here, away from the dojo and in the cool of the night, it would almost feel like everything was normal if it weren’t for the weight of the case in her hand.

“Well, well, well – look who finally turned up,” Rick said, staring up the hill with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Yeah,” Michael chimed in. Rick didn’t have his boombox, but there was no power on earth that could keep Michael from bringing his lucky baseball; he was tossing it into his glove with an air of impatience. “You certainly kept us waiting long enough.”

Emily rolled her eyes and started down the incline. “It didn’t kill you,” she said when she reached the bottom.

“Boys can be so impatient,” Mariah sighed, joining the group. “I told Lee that’s probably why he hasn’t been able to master the new beyblade yet. He wants it to spin like Galeon right away, gets mad when it doesn’t, and sends it flying out of control.” She shook her head ruefully.

“Speaking of Lee, when you said you were bringing someone else, he’s more who I had in mind.”

Leave it to Rick to be brutally honest. Emily admired that trait most days, but the way Mariah’s eyes snapped over to fix him with a warning look didn’t bode well.

“No offense,” Rick added, cocking one eyebrow when he sensed the mood shift and caught the look on her face.

“Rick’s got a point, though,” Michael said. “Statistically, Lee’s got the best chance of beating Garland or Brooklyn out of anyone else on the White Tiger team. If you don’t count Ray.”

“If we were going by team statistics, Michael, you wouldn’t be here,” Emily said firmly. “It was Max and Rick that represented the All Starz in the World Championships.”

Michael opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, gripping his baseball so hard that his fingertips were white. Rick snorted, an arrogant smirk on his lips. Michael shot him a glare and threw his ball into his glove with twice his normal force, but didn’t comment.

In reality, Emily’s data did point to Lee as an obvious choice to wield the Metal System effectively. She was on her way to wake him up when she ran into Mariah first. Her friend was eager to know where she was going and why and if she could help. Emily found herself changing her mind and inviting her along before she fully realized what she was doing.

However, the more she thought about it after, the better it sounded.

Mariah didn’t battle much in the tournament, which meant Emily’s data was woefully incomplete, but there was no doubting she was one of the best beybladers in the league. She was spirited and skilled and wasn’t as inclined to trip over her ego as the boys were. Emily thought she might end up being perfect for the Hard Metal System.

“So are we gonna take that puppy for a spin or what?” Rick was eyeing Emily’s case eagerly. “Or did we come all this way to wish on a star that Kai comes crawling back?”

Mariah tutted. “Impatient.”

“I prefer ‘realistic’,” Rick shot back. “If you think Kai’s gonna show his face after that thrashing from Brooklyn, you’re delusional. While we’ve been wasting our time waiting on him, BEGA’s put themselves in position to win the tournament!”

“Just because one of us isn’t man enough to own up to his mistakes for the sake of his friends, doesn’t mean Kai won’t,” Mariah argued with a narrow gaze. “Is that any way to talk about someone who stood up for you when your team was being booed?”

Rick was a whole foot taller than Mariah, but she wasn’t in the least bit intimidated by him. Emily liked that about her, even if she’d been hoping Mariah would act as a buffer for Rick and Michael’s inevitable bickering instead of perpetuating her own argument. She sighed and tucked the case under her arm so she had both hands free to clean her glasses.

A vein throbbed in Rick’s temple at Mariah’s insult. “If Kai cared that much, he wouldn’t have tried to join BEGA in the first place.”

“It’s not the first time Kai’s switched sides—”

“Surprise, surprise!”

“—but it wouldn’t be the first time he came to his senses and did the right thing either!” Mariah finished unflinchingly. “Although,” she added a sheepish afterthought, “I would’ve preferred to have Galux back before he returned Black Dranzer to BIOVOLT.”

Emily snorted. No kidding. She’d chewed all her nails down to nothing wondering if she’d ever see Trygator again. But dredging up Kai’s past shortcomings wasn’t getting them any closer to having a fifth beyblader on their team. As Rick detailed, with colorful language, how Mariah’s argument wasn’t winning her case, Emily walked over to the grass.

She set the carrying case down on the hillside and retrieved the Metal System prototype from inside. It was a generic, well-balanced beyblade that she’d whipped up last minute after helping Kenny build Dranzer. The Bladebreakers did seem sure that Kai would be back, but Emily definitely didn’t know him well enough to take that gamble.

“Hey, Michael, want to give this a shot?”

Michael, who had been watching Rick and Mariah bicker with interest, met her gaze with a spark in his eye. “Oh, yeah!” he said, tossing his baseball glove aside.

“Why does he get to go first?” Rick asked in outrage, suddenly willing to cut the argument short.

Emily ignored him – she didn’t answer obvious questions when she had better things to do – and instructed Michael to hand over Trygle. Carefully and efficiently, she transferred its bit to the new beyblade. It flashed when it clicked into place, ready for action.

“You’re going to want to launch away from the bridge, in case you lose control,” she told Michael as she handed over the beyblade with its launcher. “I’m not about to foot the bill for a new one. And do your best to steer clear of the water; that blade’s kind of irreplaceable.”

“No pressure, though,” Michael said sarcastically. He loaded the launcher warily.

“Don’t screw this up,” Rick interjected, a smirk appearing on his face as Michael’s expression grew irritated.

“Rick, you and Mariah can be his opponents.”

Rick snorted and reached into his pocket for his beyblade. “He won’t keep it spinning long enough to get close to Rock Bison,” he said while Mariah pulled Galux from her hair.

“We’ll see about that,” Michael said, his bravado resurfacing. He adopted a launching stance; feet apart, arms raised, ripcord gripped in his right hand.

Mariah and Rick followed suit, looking like odd mirrors of one another launching with opposite hands. Emily watched all three of them stare each other down, remaining stock still even as the nighttime breeze combed through their hair and clothing. After a moment, she realized they were waiting on her to count them down.

“Three… Two… One…”

“Let it rip!” they cried in unison.

Trygle exploded off of it’s launcher, sending Michael stumbling back. It looked like it might be over for him before it began, until he cursed under his breath and steadied himself. Impressively, his blade steadied with him.

“Trygle!” he called out, pointing straight ahead at where Rick and Mariah’s blades were spinning side by side. “Take ‘em out!”

With a burst of speed, Trygle charged Rock Bison and Galux. Clouds of dust flanked it like wings as it surged forward, maintaining a straight course. Michael had obviously taken the lessons the others learned whilst training with the Metal System to heart. Emily was impressed.

Unfortunately a head-on attack wasn’t going to cut it against the likes of Rick and Mariah, whose beyblades dodged in opposite directions just in time to avoid a devastating impact. Trygle flew right between them, making them wobble in its slipstream, but leaving them unaffected otherwise.

“C’mon, Trygle!” Michael’s hands balled into fists as he fought for control. He managed to get Trygle to slow down enough to turn around in a wide arc. Unfortunately, it leaned too far into the turn and its attack ring cut into the ground. “Aw, shit!” Michael spat as it dug a spiral into the dirt, before grinding to a halt in the center.

“Way to go!” Rick guffawed. “That’ll make BEGA run for the hills.”

“Shut up, Rick!” Michael snapped as he stomped over to pull Trygle from the groove it had carved for itself. “Like you could do any better!”

“Isn’t that why we’re training?” Mariah interrupted before the argument could really get going. She held out her hand and caught Galux deftly, without looking. “Not even Tyson mastered his new beyblade in one try.”

“I’m not waiting around all night for Michael to master that thing.” Rick recalled Rock Bison and walked over to Michael in a handful of long strides. “Hand it over. We’re taking it in turns.”

Michael frowned and looked to Emily for confirmation.

Emily sighed. “That’s probably the best way to do it since I only have one beyblade,” she answered apologetically. With parts being as hard to come by as they were, she was lucky they had enough material for her to scrape into a sixth blade in the first place. “Sorry, Michael.”

“Whatever,” Michael pouted and took Trygle’s bit chip out before handing the beyblade over to Rick.

Rick smirked smugly and the two of them readied their beyblades for battle.

“Whatever happened to ladies first?” Mariah asked as she watched the boys finish their preparations. Emily recognized it as an attempt to rile Rick up instead of the complaint it might have been mistaken for. She had a feeling this would be an interesting battle.

“Michael did go first,” Rick snarked.

“Hey!”

Emily sighed, mentally lamenting that this, of all moments, could be their final hope.

“Are you guys ready, yet?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and preparing herself to compare Rick and Michael’s trial runs. “Need I remind you that, even if one of you masters the Hard Metal System tonight, there’s only twenty-four hours before you’ll be facing one of the strongest beybladers BEGA has?”

“Yeah, yeah – keep your shirt on.” Rick rolled his eyes, but hunkered down for his launch nonetheless.

Across from him, Mariah and Michael got ready, too. Emily noticed Michael was launching left-handed this time and made a mental note to work the difference in power output into her calculations. Once they were all settled, she counted down and watched them launch.

The force of Rick’s launch sent him skidding back a few inches, but he managed to keep his footing better than Michael. Michael seemed to take that as a personal slight; when Rock Bison thundered toward him, he sent Trygle out to meet him head-on. Mariah followed suit and all three beyblades collided in a shower of sparks.

“Keep trying all you want,” Rick shouted over the sound of metal grinding, “but you’re no match for me and Rock Bison!”

“We’ll see about that!”

“Yeah, Rick – could your ego be any bigger?”

Emily bet it could be, especially if he mastered the Hard Metal System before either of the other two. So far he was doing a good job of battling with it like it was his normal beyblade. He landed a couple strong attacks that sent Michael and Mariah reeling. Emily was debating whether he was getting the hang of it or if it was the fact that his chosen attacks didn’t require much finesse when he got a dangerous gleam in his eye.

“All right, Rock Bison,” Rick cried, raising his arm and splaying his fingers out against the canopy of stars, “Drop Rock Attack!”

“Rick, be careful!” Emily called as rubble packed in around his beyblade. Drop Rock was a risky move when he hadn’t even proved he could handle the basics. “Don’t get cocky!”

“I know what I’m doing!”

The rocks around Rick’s beyblade morphed into a solid block of stone and hurtled toward his opponents. Michael and Mariah both poised themselves to evade the attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

With a few inches to go, Rock Bison’s movement stuttered and a mighty explosion broke the stone back down into dozens of smaller rocks that flew out in every direction like bullets. Emily shielded herself as best she could. Mariah and Michael dove out of the way. Rick swore. And all three beyblades went flying in opposite directions and landed completely still in the dust.

“If that’s knowing what you’re doing, I’d hate to see you completely clueless,” Michael grumbled as he got to his feet and tried to beat the dirt out of his clothes with his hat.

“I warned you,” Emily scolded, rushing over to make sure the beyblade was okay. “An attack like that when you haven’t learned to control the Metal System could’ve destroyed the blade!” Thankfully, it didn’t seem any worse for wear. She let out a sigh of relief.

“If you hadn’t distracted me, that attack would’ve landed fine!”

“Right, Rick.” Mariah looked wholly unimpressed with dirt smudged on her face and clothes. “We’ll be sure to tell the whole stadium to be quiet while you battle in the next round.”

Rick glowered at her and Michael snickered, returning his baseball cap to his head.

“Mariah’s turn,” Emily announced and handed Rick back his bit chip. “Maybe a girl on the team is what we need, after all.”

“Doubt it,” Rick mumbled as he put Rock Bison back together.

Emily pretended she didn’t hear him and got ready for their third attempt of the night. “Same rules,” she told Mariah, handing over the beyblade. “Launch away from the bridge, avoid the water, and don’t try anything fancy” –she shot Rick a look– “before you can battle without losing control.”

Mariah nodded resolutely and they all began the countdown together.

“Three… Two… One… Let it rip!”

Like the other two, the kickback hit Mariah hard. She fell back on her butt, catching herself with the heels of her hands. She seemed to have prepared for such an eventuality, because her eyes remained fixed on Galux the whole time and its path never wavered.

“Whoa, nice one!” Michael said. “Even steadier than Rick’s launch.”

“Shut up,” Rick grumbled, but even he looked impressed.

Mariah didn’t reply, too busy maintaining her concentration. Her sharp eyes never strayed from Galux as it glided around, dealing glancing blows to each of the boys’ blades in turn. The attacks spurred Rick and Michael into action and they set their blades on a course directly for hers.

Mariah got to her feet slowly, keeping her gaze steady, and watched their approach. When they got too close to correct their trajectory, she called out to Galux and it darted obediently out of the way, before pulling a tricky reversal and claiming the center of the battlefield once more.

Emily could feel the moment they all collectively held their breath, eager to see if Mariah would slip up after a maneuver like that. When her beyblade spun true, Michael let out an impressed whistle and he and Rick took up the offensive again.

And again, Galux dodged at the last second, then sprung back. If she kept going like this, Emily would nominate Mariah as their fifth team member and focus the training on her. With such little time to prepare, it made sense to pass the torch to whoever had the most control during their trial run.

She was about to say it out loud when something went wrong. After a third dodge, Mariah let out a gleeful cheer and her concentration slipped just enough that Galux didn’t pull off the reversal.

“Oh no – Galux!” Mariah cried out in alarm as the beyblade headed straight for the river.

Time moved in slow motion as they all rushed for the blade, trying to keep Mariah’s bitbeast and all of Emily’s hard work from being washed downstream.

Emily was closest so, using every ounce of skill from her toughest tennis matches, she dove for it. Relief flooded her veins when her fist closed around the beyblade right before it fell in the river. She hit the ground with a grunt. The bruises and dirt would be worth it. She could only hope to be able to say the same about their late night training session when this was all over.

“I’m so sorry!” Mariah skidded to a halt at her side, spraying her with more dirt. “I was so excited, but then it wouldn’t come back and I panicked. Blading with that thing is like trying to tame a wild animal!”

Emily let Mariah help her up, mostly because she didn’t want to risk dropping the beyblade when they were standing so close to the water. Once they were a safe distance away and standing in a circle with the boys, she uncurled her fingers and found, to her relief, that the beyblade was unscathed.

“No harm done this time.” She tucked it into her pocket so she could wipe off her glasses on a clean corner of her shirt, then fished it out again. “I guess we’re back to you, Michael.”

She did her best to keep the disappointment she was feeling out of her tone. She knew it would be an uphill battle. Knew firsthand from the hours she’d spent in secret trying and failing to master the beyblade on her own before admitting that maybe someone else would be better suited. Their failure still stung. Worst of all, it left her feeling like she could have done better for them, somehow.

“Don’t you want a turn?” Mariah asked with a gentle, if not tentative, smile.

In contrast, Rick was frowning, staring off into the middle distance. And Michael was hiding his expression with the brim of his hat, hands in his pockets. It seemed like they were feeling the same defeat that Emily was.

“I’ve tried plenty,” Emily admitted, the words sour on her tongue. “Taking the data into consideration, the three of you have much better chances of learning to use the Hard Metal System by our deadline. That’s where we should focus our efforts.”

Rick’s eyebrows drew closer together and Michael’s expression darkened. For the first time since creating the Hard Metal System, Emily was feeling hopeless.

Mariah looked around at all of them, a combination of confusion and exasperation on her face. “I thought the whole point of this was that the numbers don’t matter,” she said. “Tyson and the others didn’t master the Metal System because they were statistically better than us!”

“It didn’t hurt their odds,” Michael pointed out, sounding none-too-pleased about it.

“If they were that good, we wouldn’t be stuck between a rock and a hard place right now,” Rick grouched, using his attitude as a defense mechanism. “One more loss and the future of beyblading is shot.”

“The data doesn’t lie. Ray, Max, and Daichi are three of the best we’ve got.” Emily had known in the back of her mind, from the moment the challenge was issued, who would fight by Tyson’s side. Maybe trying to twist fate and add someone else to the mix was always doomed to fail, but it was the best option she could think of. “If Kai wasn’t defunct, he’d be the next logical choice. We don’t have the luxury, so it has to be one of you.” It wouldn’t be her.

“I’ve had about enough of this!” Mariah stomped her foot.

Emily, Rick, and Michael turned, in unison, to look at her like she’d lost it.

“If data was all that mattered, we wouldn’t be challenging BEGA at all,” Mariah said once she had all of their attention. Her hands were on her hips and her cheeks were flushed under the dirt, but her eyes were fiery. “It’s not the data that’s at risk – it’s the spirit of the game! It’s the love of beyblading that’s enough to make you want to practice and grow stronger and have fun doing it! That’s how battles are won and that’s how Tyson, Ray, Max, and Daichi mastered the Hard Metal System!”

She looked at each of them, one by one, breathing heavily.

“I don’t care what the data says and I don’t care if you’re feeling discouraged. It doesn’t matter how much time is left – we’re going to keep trying until we can’t anymore, because we all love beyblading too much not to. Or did you all forget that part?”

Maybe, Emily thought, she had forgotten. In the midst of all the failed attempts to master the Hard Metal System and the hours spent on the sidelines as others fought nerve wracking battles that determined the fate of beyblading and her own future… Maybe she’d forgotten that a strong beyblade wielded by a strong beyblader was only half of the equation.

But she remembered now.

She remembered being seven years-old and telling her parents she wanted to beyblade and play tennis when she was older and being told that, sooner or later, she’d have to choose one. She remembered being so determined not to pick, that she kept up with both – plus her studies, so her parents wouldn’t make her drop one of her extracurricular activities – until one day someone approached her about an opportunity with the PPB. She remembered Judy honing in on her analytic potential, but acquiescing when Emily refused to sacrifice training time because she wanted to play so badly that it made her hands itch for her launcher or racket when she didn’t.

Emily was fortunate to be where she was thanks, in no small part, to her love of beyblading. She wanted that to always be enough to ensure a future with the sport. The thought of other children never having the opportunities she had because BEGA wanted to replace the love of the game with a hefty paycheck was unthinkable.

“I knew I brought you along for a reason,” she said and reached into her pocket for Trygator. Its bit chip gleamed. “Thanks Mariah.”

She met her friend’s surprised gaze and watched it melt into a warm smile.

“Any time! We all need a reminder once in a while,” Mariah said with a wink.

“As heartfelt as this is, are you gonna take your turn or not?” Rick didn’t flinch when they all looked his way and any of the darkness in his stare was replaced with a familiar confidence. “Because it’ll be my turn that much faster if you wanna skip.”

“That’s only if I don’t master it on my next turn, Rick,” Michael interjected, turning his baseball cap around. “I’m feeling lucky.”

“No one’s that lucky,” Rick quipped with a cocksure smirk. “Least of all you.”

“I might be,” Emily said, a feeling of determination swelling inside of her. “I helped design the Hard Metal System, after all. I know it better than any of you.” When she looked around at the others, they were all grinning. “If any of us are going to master it and fight with Tyson in the final round, it’s going to be me.”

“That settles it, then,” Rick said as he loaded Rock Bison onto its launcher. “Don’t expect us to go easy on you.”

Emily took a moment to hand Mariah back Galux’s bit chip before fixing Rick with a challenging look. “You’re gonna need every ounce of power to even come close to beating me,” she said smugly. “So do yourself a favor and give it your best shot.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it.”

Michael and Mariah flanked Rick on either side. They were each formidable opponents on their own; together, Emily knew she’d have her work cut out for her. Instead of feeling apprehension or dread, she just felt excited. This was what beyblading was all about, she thought as she clicked Trygator’s bit into the Hard Metal blade. And it was a feeling that, win or lose, BEGA could never take away.

Emily inhaled deeply and took her stance at the same time as the other three.

“Remember to aim away from the bridge,” Michael advised, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

“And watch out for the water,” Mariah chimed in cheerfully. “That beyblade’s irreplaceable, you know!”

“And no fancy moves before you master the basics.” Rick’s fingers flexed on his launcher and his lips curled up into a grin.

Emily chuckled and led them in the countdown one more time.

“Three… Two… One… Let it rip!”