#I feel like hockey grandma sometimes

[thosedaysthatwill]

For the violence ask : 7, 8, 18, 19

I love when you give me an opportunity to rant about things!

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Sidney Crosby. Is there any other answer? It's bad now, sure, but I mean you had to be there during the heyday of Sidney is /all/ everyone talked about, posted about, wrote, all the time. Like every other fic, seriously, was Sidney (back then usually with Colby or Jack, or honestly anyone and everyone, even Mario, but then it was Evgeni all the time) and he was everyone's favorite player, the commentators were up his rear end, everyone thought he was the greatest thing since the sharpening machine, and that commercial about how the rink was his prom and all that. It was a while ago, and people that are newer and are annoyed with him /now/ don't know what it was like when he was /THE/ player, like the NHL revolved around him. It's different now, it's weaker, but it's still there, it lurks in the parts of the fandom that I don't dare venture into. 

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

That the so-called 'miracle' in 1980 is something to celebrate. I've gone on this rant, I will pull it up again, I will go on the rant again if I can't find my previous rant and anyone hasn't heard it that wants to. But it was NO FUCKING MIRACLE and it was not something to celebrate and it was a bunch of anti-Soviet, anti-communist, pro-Reagan-era-America BULLSHIT. It was propaganda, pure and simple. It was McCarthyism on skates! The poor underdog corn-fed American boys (not!) beat the huge professional Russian juggernaut machine (not!) because of Capitalism, Christianity, and Mom's Apple Pie, or something like that. It's gross. (They didn't even win gold by beating Russia. They won it by beating Finland, but that wouldn't make a good anti-communist propaganda movie.) And there is nothing I hate more in all of hockey. 

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

All defensive defensemen ever. I shouldn't dive right from that into ranting about how people don't appreciate Esa Lindell enough (though they don't!), because he's not a /perfectly/ defensive defenseman (especially since John left and Jani is REALLY stay-at-home, it gives him more freedom to wander, but at least he does it responsibly!) but he at least plays DEFENSE which is more than I can say for some of the most recent Norris winners. Fandom seems to think that defensemen should score, and thus seem to celebrate those that do. But THAT IS NOT THEIR JOB! (this is getting to be another answer to number 8) So those defensemen that don't score, and actually do their damn job get overlooked by fandom, and the announcers, and it's a crime. The only GOOD DEFENSEMEN are the ones that DEFEND. So if they say "well he puts up a lot of points but his defense is his weakest area" and he has a D next to his name, he's BAD AT HIS JOB! Back to the answer, fandom is sleeping on Esa Lindell because he knows that his job is to defend. My favorite thing about him is that he's /very/ good at knowing where to be, he takes his spot and he guards the line. That's like 80% of what a defenseman needs to do (and NOT be down by the opposing net). It's kind of sad that I get super excited when he's perfectly positional because it means that SO MANY defensemen are not, that it stands out that he is. He also skates well, which is a requirement for a defenseman, and he doesn't try to score that much. This was a stronger rant when he was more defensive. I can hope he goes back to that.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Back in the day this would have been 'anyone wearing a Habs jersey'. I was /in love/ with Sheldon Souray back in the day and that was a secret because he was a Hab (but /oh/ what a defensive defenseman, and what a shot! I taped my stick like his because I was cool) and my friend from Montreal sent me an autographed poster (which I did frame and hang up, and I sent her a Patrice shirt). But the Habs rivalry has really become weak over the years, it's not even fun to hate them anymore. There are other teams I hate so much more, so I wouldn't even be ashamed of liking a Habs player, if I did. So I can't think of anyone or anything I'm /ashamed/ of liking. I mean I like some kinda weird stuff but I'm kinda weird, and I'm not ashamed of that. I'm kinda at the age where I don't really /get/ ashamed of what I like because fuck it I've been around too long to care. I wish I had a better answer for this one. 

THANK YOU FOR ASKING! 💜

[gaymikelesbianel]

HERE'S SOME OLDER PARTY HEADCANONS TO BLESS UR ASKS.

(this is in a alternate dimension where el doesn't sacrifice herself to close the gate to the upside down LMAO 😭)

1: LUMAX

Lucas is a BASKETBALL COACH (argue with the WALL) and Max is his hot MILF wife and she's probably a hockey (or soccer, or volleyball or even baseball) coach for the same school he coaches at (I literally don't really even know why but I just FEEL the energy with her yk?) and they both live in CALIFORNIA together and NOBODY can change my mind. (P.S THEY ALSO HAVE TWO KIDS)

2: EL.

El works at a HAIR SALON. (argue with ur mother on this one look Ik she's gonna die in season 5 but LET ME BE HAPPY FOR ONCE, LET ME LIVE MY FANTASY) and she's literally the NICEST barber EVER and she's rlly good at her job and she lives in a apartment in Chicago or New York or some city and she has TWO CATS called MITTENS and DAISY and they are literally like her children, like she'd commit ATROCITIES for those Cats. she has a CRUSH on her neighbor called Stephanie and she literally CANNOT get the courage up to talk to her, she loves fashion, and she has a CURATED jewelry collection. but she has such a GRANDMA sense of style yk? like after El experiments with her style and everything it is STRAIGHT to the the Long knitted cardigans and Long maxi skirts and her hand knitted crochet hats and scarves and flowy long sleeve dresses.

also El hand-knitted STOCKINGS for Max and Lucas on Christmas Eve and she also made little booties for Lucas and Max's Kids and it was the most ADORABLE thing EVER I swear to GOD- 😭

3: DUZIE.

Dustin is a full-fledged SCIENTIST, he's your odd and quirky college lab professor who's a little bizarre sometimes but is actually pretty cool and funny, him and Suzie teach at the same college (AWWW) and they actually have a lot of kids (don't ask me why those are just the vibes) and they are literally all like Dustin which annoys Suzie but in like a fondness kinda way, all of his kids are eccentric and really bright, and yk that Dad thing where they hold their kids upside down by the legs and spin them around the air like a monkey? yeah Dustin does that and it totally freaks Suzie out LMAO, their Family is literally so LOVING and PERFECT and SWEET that it makes me wanna CRY 😭 😭 😭 DUZIE IS THE BEST FR.

WAIT SHUT UP I JUST REALIZED.

BECAUSE SUZIE IS MARRIED TO DUSTIN THAT WOULD MAKE HER-

✨SUZIE HENDERSON✨

SHUT UPPPPPPPP 😭😭😭

AND LIKE-

DUSTINS FAMILY WOULD BE THE ✨HENDERSON FAMILY✨

UGHHHHHH SHUT UP THEY ARE LITERALLY SO PERFECT 🤧😭

(I wish I could write about Byler but I have SO MANY THOUGHTS ON THEM THAT I'D EXCEED THE CHARACTER LIMIT)

(whatever I'll just simplify it ig 😭)

4: BYLER

Byler get's married (I really do feel as if they would want to get married) Byler are literally the best uncles, Mike is a WRITER (and no he's not a fucking bowling alley worker my boy deserves BETTER than that) like he writes Fantasy Books and shit and Will is still a Artist and a REALLY GOOD ONE at that, and I don't care WHERE they live AS LONG AS IT'S NOT HAWKINS. like I literally couldn't bear to see them STILL LIVING in that hell-hole 😭 also we literally all know that Mike is SHIT at cooking and Will is GREAT at it.

5: THE PARTY IN GENERAL

The Party visits each other every sholiday and they have a jolly good time 😊

THAT'S IT HOPE U ENJOYED THEM BYLERS WEDDING IS NEXT.

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART AND IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO ANSWER😭

i completely see the vision for duzie omg especially dustin that’s so cute jfjejfjejd and YES MIKE BEING A WRITER! YES!

el having a crush on her neighbor stephanie is so cute jdjejdj pls you need to write aged up fan fics of all members of the party it’s so cute😭

PLEASE DO SEND THE BYLER WEDDING ILL TRY MY BEST TO NOT TAKE AS LONG TO ANSWER😭😭 <3

[maskspurpose]

what are stories that define hokuto and wataru's relationship the most? if you know ;;

enstage dramatica act 1 and 2

ummm GENERALLY speaking theres going to be a lot in theater club stories & actually main story! i'll list specific chapters for the es1 main story but itll be useful to know what happens in there overall so like if you havent, just read the whole story. the thing is that while wataru isn't present in a lot of it, their presence is like... the few times they do show up are kind of moments of extreme relevance for hokuto.

also sorry this comes with a small essay because i cant shut up ever

fun fact that almost all of the es1 scenes are also in the anime so you could literally just watch that.

Main Story Kingdom Chapters 26+ wataru's first appearance in the story overall, also introduces them through the lense of hokuto specifically so i think its really useful

Main Story Ensemble Chapter 30 + 31 the stuff with hokuto's grandma's letter. i recommend reading the chapters that follow these but theyre the ones with their actual conversation and not primarily others talking about it

Rocket Start! has... iirc 1 or 2 chapters with first year hokuto at the theater club that are really cute :3 generally extremely useful context for how they used to act around each other

(Element) DOESNT HAVE HOKUTO IN IT OFFICIALLY. BUT HES IN HERE. origin of hokke-mask-kun (sometimes hockey-mask)

Performance the romeo and juliet theater club story. most theater club stories are focused on wataru and tomoya (kinda), this one is more centered around wataru and hokuto. cannot in good conscience call this recommended reading because the way i read it was by machine translating the entire second half of it but oh boy.

Kiseki <- link to a tl included bc idt there was ever one on the wiki specifically the third part (set in winter) which i dont use the name of. has one of the most central conversation ever!!!!!!!!!!! makes me go insane every time i think about it!!!!!! [a short clip from the stage show version of it bc it makes me feel insane] wataru is in two chapters and STEALS THE ENTIRE SHOW. for ME.

EP:Link okay i know everyone says this is a wataei story. i am also saying its a wataei story. its literally the wataei rooftop proposal story. its ALSO extremely about wataru and hokutos relationship.

Burning Azaleas More Hokke-Mask stuff, now in ES2 era! kind of goes some more into the stuff that was being covered in kiseki already

[ducknotinarow]

2k7 Casey Summer - #

| send me “#” for cell phone headcanons about our muses including

"I dunno if I 'ike the idea of 'his? But I guess i'll play along but the second ya laugh 'hats it!"

- what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone        

'Old Man' / '❤️Dad🏒'

"I switch it sometimes, mostly to annoy Dad, if 'm showin' 'im somethin' on my phone where his name will show I always switch it to old man. Cause he 'ikes to say he ain't old and 'hats he cool. Both are wrong, he is old and lame." She smiles a little "Okay okay he's kind of cool but I ain't tellin' 'im 'hat. I siad it once an' he won't let me live it down. I dunno I jus' 'ike teasin' Dad. I guess I got 'hat habit from Pops? he also teases Dad a lot. More 'han I do? But Dad dose it too, think it's just how we show love? Hazing each other 'ike Dad wanting to embrass me all the time be messing with my hair an' callin' all the names but my own at school and practice."

                     

- what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone

[Image description] It's a photo of Casey, with their now family dog Cooper, Summer snapped it when Casey was clearly playing with the dog at the time. The pup happily Licking Casey's face as he pet their head.

"Ya it ain't hard to be a Daddy's girl when ya only got dad's but I sort always seen it 'ike i'm Dad's buddy. Since we talk 'bout hockey all the time. We lovingly yell at each other. Dad hypes me up before games and such. We like to annoy Pop's together by ganging up on him. 'ike in our group chats I dunno how many times we made pop's remove himself from them. Between Dad's need to text every one line of thought and my emoji's yeah the chats a mess." She smiles softly "and 'ight now? dad's havin' a tough time dealin' with Grandma's death. I can sort get it. Grandma was kind of all he really had afta all. Be 'ike if I lost my Dads. I'd be a mess too. I know he tryin' to act 'ike he ain't a mess but he's a mess. Been a mess Pops an' I see it we talk 'bout it. I 'hink Pop's is tryin' his best to let Dad be a mess because he needs to be allowed but I don' 'hink Dad was lettin' himself be one much either. I dunno what happened but Dad seem more willin' to be down but losin' Grandma. And yeah he still sad but he ain't 'ike acttin' 'ike he can't be. So it's nice seeing Dad able to just breath and feel. Especially since we got Cooper now even if Pop's gotta share Dad even more now."

"Sides..I jus' want Dad to not worry 'bout all us so much. An' learn to take care of himself too. Even if i give 'im things to worry 'bout"

                   

- what your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone                            

"I'll Always be you Baby" by Natalie Grant

You taught me how me to walk and how to dream

God gave me your eyes

But it was you who showed me how to see

Now I can stand on my own

But I know you'll never let go

Im butting if a second here I had to do this bit cause Summer had Blue eyes like Casey and Casey always insists Summer was given to them by an angle ;3; sooo yes ;3; when summer gets married this is the song she has play when she dose her dance with Casey. She do a different one with raph cause fuck everyone shes getting two father daughter dances ;3;

"I look up to Dad a lot in truth. Dad's my Hero if I had to pick an' I got lotta school junk to prove it too. Dad looks out and helps everyone. Dad ain't got much but a hockey stick but never stopped him. His Dad wasn't a good guy either but...Dad learned to over come 'hat and Loves Pops wit' all he got. Be full mush with me too. An' well even though Dad don' always 'ike 'hat i'm growin' up? I'll all be his baby. I know I can always count on Dad. I may go to him later 'han he 'ikes but I dunno I just know I can no matter what. If so dick breaks my heart and I don' tell him for months. I can still cry over it later. If I make a mistake I can fess up to him no matter what. I don' 'hink Dad sees how much I do trust him...I wish I was betta 'bout openin' up sooner. If I were a betta Daughter maybe I would. Hell if I were betta I wouldn' get into the shit I do uh? I wouldn' make 'em worry so much afta' all."

 - my muse’s last text to your muse

[text] DAAAAAAD!

[text] Dad I forgot my 🏒 hockey gear! Please can you bring it to 🏫 school

-----

[Text] Dad imma go to the lair afta school I wanna show Ari something

[Text] Dad imma hang out with Uncle Mikey

[Text] Dad imma be with Uncle Leo

[Text] Dad im gonna be with auntie April

(I feel you can understand what this stream of texts mean. Feel loke she tells him all the time where she going)

-----

[Text] imagie of Raph past out on the couch with cooper. The pair actually snagged up together sharing the small space despite how much if it Raphs shell can take

[Text] I found ya 🐕 , and 🐢 ❤️

[Text] I think pops🥤 fine with the 🐕

-----

[Text] hey sooo uh I think I have a date? 😵

[Text] do not come out with the 🏒 stick u_u

[skeleton-in-a-hoodie]

Dead Doesn't Mean Gone is nowhere near Casey being introduced, but i'm really excited about him so thought I'd just dump all my headcannons for him so far here

His mum's mexican, not sure about his dad.

Lives with his grandma and little sister - this version of Arnold Jones is, unfortunately, a complete asshole, so when Casey was about 13 and Robyn 7 their grandma got custody.

He actually met Raph before he lived with his grandma. They both play hockey, so played for different teams. At first they were mostly rivals, but it quickly developed into friendship.

Casey doesn't really talk about his dad to Raph and there's a lot of reasons why. At the time Casey was very much like "he's my dad and he loves me, if I tell anyone they'll completely misunderstand the situation." Like he's protective of his loved ones, and felt he had to defend his dad, even if his dad's actions were awful. Plus he knows that Raph lives in a children's home, so he felt awkward talking about Arnold (Raph doesn't actually mind when people talk about their dads).

After Casey moves, Raph knows that something happened with his dad, but Casey won't talk about it. Raph's grown up around a lot of different kids, so he knows there's a lot of potential reasons Casey and Robyn are living with their grandma now, so he decides to wait for Casey to tell him and just be supportive in the meantime.

Casey is afraid of rats - there was a bad experience with them in his childhood.

Raph mentions Splinter to Casey but doesn't go into much detail. Casey just knows that Raph and his brothers have an adoptive dad who can't legally adopt them, most likely due to an unknown illness.

Unknown to Casey, he has met Splinter already. Unfortunately, it was during the time of night Splinter isn't himself. This did not help his fear of rats at all. (Splinter didn't hurt him, just scared him pretty badly.)

Screamed bloody murder the first time he met Splinter properly. Was then super confused cause "Raph, this is your dad!? He's a gaint talking rat!","Technically he's a rat demon", "Not helping Donnie!"

Does warm up to Splinter. Eventually Casey does end up seeing Splinter as a father figure, but due to *gestures at Arnold* doesn't feel comfortable calling him dad so instead it's either Splinter or Tio.

Has a lot of confusing feelings about his gender that he was not ready to get into after moving (This Casey is genderfluid). Starts figuring stuff out when he's roughly 15 and comes out not long after.

The fam are all very supportive! (Most of them are LGBTQ+)

Makes her own skates.

Splinter sees them and asks if Casey wants to learn metal forging.

(If you listen very closely, you can hear Leo's blood pressure rising.)

Donnie and Casey bond over making things in the garage. The earn some money by fixing people's cars and stuff after school/on weekends. When Donnie goes to university, Casey keeps at it and opens her own mechanic's shop.

Skateboards with Mikey and watches horror movies with him. Sometimes they'll watch horror anime together.

Casey at Leo "Aren't you tired of being nice. Don't you ever just wanna go apeshit?" Also sometimes they'll talk about what it's like being the oldest sibling and having to borderline raise yourself and them.

Not sure yet if she learns ninjutsu officially, but she does pick up a lot of stuff from the brothers and April. She knows how to box.

Watches anime and got into Japanese punk and metal bands.

Finds the forest deer unsettling as all hell. Does not get why Mikey is so fond of it.

Once tried to summon a demon with April (Girls Night!) and laughed so hard she couldn't breath when the ritual spat Splinter out (Splinter yelped). April was swinging between excited that it worked and wanting to know why it dragged Splinter in, meanwhile Casey is curled up in the corner wheeze-laughing

[youareunbearable]

12 Questions for 12 Followers

Thanks for tagging me @soothingmoonlight its always nice to see that you thought of me when I see you tag me in something <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yup, I have my grandma's middle name "May." I'm also named after a plant/nature theme too even though that wasn't my parents goal lol "Amber Chloe May Brooks" = Stone from tree sap, an alternative name for Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, the month of spring, and a small river :) I like it as well casue it goes with my Spirit Name "Braided Sweetgrass Spirit Woman" also v plant/nature based

2. When was the last time you cried?

Ohhhh, last week on wednesday. I had a rough day at work and started tearing up when talking with a coworker

3. Do you have kids?

if you don't count the 90 students I watch at work, then nope, but I would love having my own one day :)

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Sometimes its the only language my students understand, but honestly not that often, maybe like a couple times a week and mostly with my friends

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

facial features, then little ticks they do that make me remember them (ie, hand movements, twitches, expressions, how they respond to something, etc.)

6. What's your eye color?

Brown

7. Any special talents?

uhhhhh, I'm good at helping other ppl and ppl feel open talking to me I guess?

8. What are your hobbies?

Reading, playing video games, chatting with coworkers/friends

9. What sports do you play/have played?

I don't do any sports now, but I used to play hockey, flag football, soccer, and figure skating when i was younger

10. How tall are you?

uhhhhhh i honestly have no idea... maybe 5"6? 5"5?

11. Favorite subjects in school?

oh history all the way :)) its also my favourite subject to teach!

12. Dream job?

I have it :) teaching in high school. While I would like to teach Indigenous students, im also fine where I am now

I'm Tagging @tracks-and-raoul U3U~<3 and anyone else who wants to do this!

[huggybug]

for dilf day can you y/n and their daughter going to visit trevor on the road but they went back to the hotel before the game was over and so when trevor gets there their daughter is super excited to see him and she’s like “ we need to wake up mommy she wants to see you” and trevor tells her that they should let mommy sleep and they she will see him in the morning then when trevor is getting ready for bed their daughter is just talking about what’s been going on scene trevor left ( OMG this is so long i’m sorry but i think about this a lot) also can the daughter be like 3-4

okay… i totally thought somewhere in the ask i saw it was for poppy?? obviously it doesn’t but i didn’t notice until after i wrote it so i’m sorry but it’s about poppy😭😭

When Trevor finally got back to the hotel, he walked into a dark room to find Poppy sitting on the small couch, watching a show on her ipad while you were fast asleep in bed.

“Daddy!” Poppy jumps up, throwing the ipad down as she runs to Trevor who lifts her in his arms, dropping his bag as he carries her away from the door. 

“How was the game baby? I thought you’d be asleep by the time I got home” It was late, close to midnight and while it wasn’t exactly a problem that she was awake, he figured since they weren’t there after the game, it was because Poppy was too tired to stay the whole game.

“So fun! Mommy’s tired” Poppy says loudly, pointing over to where you were asleep on the bed. 

“Shh c’mon babe, let’s let Mommy sleep while we get you ready for bed” He walks into the washroom, shutting the door quietly behind them so that Poppy’s loud voice doesn't wake you.

“Mommy was sad” Poppy says after brushing her teeth (like a big girl!).

“Oh? Why baby?”

“She wants to see you. You weren’t at home” Trevor’s heart pounds. He hated leaving them, even if he had been for years now, that didn’t make it any easier.

“You know Daddy has to work though, right? That’s why I can’t always be home” Poppy was smart for her age, she understood that Trevor had to leave. That he plays hockey and sometimes that means he can’t be home.

“I know and Mommy knows but Baby Lu doesn’t know that. He’s sad too Daddy” Poppy explains like Trevor’s silly for not knowing that her unborn brother was upset about it all.

“I’ll have to tell him then” Trevor smiled softly. “I’ll do it tomorrow okay? But I missed you P, tell me what you did at home this week” That sets her off, she talks about the baby store you took her to and all the baby boy things you bought. She recounts the visit with your mom, the day at the zoo with Grandma and how you all went for ice cream afterwards. She talks the whole time Trevor’s getting ready for bed and all the way over to her bed.

“Okay, bed time P” Trevor sets her down, tucking her in. Poppy wiggles out from under the covers to get her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a hug.

“I missed you Daddy. I wish you didn’t have to leave to play hockey”

“I know babe, I missed you too. We have all day tomorrow but you’ve gotta sleep now so it’ll come quicker” That's all it takes for her to flop down into bed and she's asleep before Trevor can get into bed himself. You feel the bed dip and roll over to see Trevor carefully maneuvering himself to try and disrupt you as little as possible but being in your second trimester, any movement was enough to wake you.

“Shit sorry baby” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Sorry we left early today”

“I heard it was because you were tired, didn’t know my playing was so boring these days” Even through the darkness, you could see the smirk on his face.

“Hm I wasn't tired, it was all Lu” You smiled tiredly when you felt his hand land on your belly.

“Can’t be mad at that then can I?” Trevor whispered. “P told me you were sad, that’s why you guys left” 

“Just missed you” You were still half asleep so it all came out mumbled together.

“I missed you too baby” Trevor wrapped his arms around you as best he could, in a form of a makeshift hug. “Season’s almost over though, then we get four uninterrupted months of each other”

“Oh aren’t I lucky?” You say sarcastically and he pokes your side in retaliation.

“The luckiest” He winks and kisses you before saying goodnight and passing out with you following close after

[thosedaysthatwill]

I’m preparing to move a bookcase and I just found these on the top of the bookcase:

Now there’s a blast from the past!

[imagines-r-s]

joel w/ a tattoo artist headcannon

Ok, i will probably write this as a whole fic later, but i have a few too many works in progress that need to get done and i want to fully invest in this one when i choose to write it

tagging some besties: @barbienoturbby @lovenhlboys @butgilinsky @hockey-racing-fubol @oopsiedoopsie23 @iwantahockeyhimbo @dreamsndior @itsurgirlgracie @heartshapedkissxs @lwstuff @handwrittenheroes @ya-pucking-nerd

Okay, so Bee with a tattoo artist girlfriend

I think you would have met either when he goes with one of his friends (wade in this case) who’s getting a tattoo

he goes with wade for moral support and that’s when he sees that you’re the one giving the tattoo

you’re making small talk with both of them and wade is about to lose his shit because bee is just in awe of you 

you also notice during that conversation and you’re just making jokes about it too (which wade finds hilarious)

“ so pretty boy, when are you going to let me give you a tattoo” 

so when wade goes for a second session, you aren’t shocked when you see his friend with him

and this time as wade’s getting his tattoo done, bee asks about getting a tattoo from you 

you hear him as your finishing up some line work on wade’s tattoo and look up at him with a grin

“what are you wanting to get?” “oh, uh, i don’t know” “well when you think of something, you know where to find me”

wade making fun of bee on the way home 

bee honestly did want more tattoos, he just didn’t know what he wanted to get first 

“you know if you don’t know for sure what you want, there is such thing as brainstorming and i’ll give you her number”

so he listened to wade and called in to plan out the tattoo

“ah, pretty boy. you’re here. so i went with what you told me about yourself and i gathered a few ideas”

you show all the sketches and he’s in awe of your talent and he loves all of them 

you schedule his first session for a few weeks after to get one 

he definitely takes the opportunity to get to know you

and it takes until the second session before he actually asks you out

“you know you’re lucky you’re pretty” and he just smiles 

and the rest is history

him letting you practice new tattoo techniques on him 

introducing you to the team

him convincing you to go to his games

the team loves you and the other WAGs fall in love with you immediately 

also sidenote, i’m just imagining all the kids of the team asking about tattoos and them just loving them

becoming the unofficial official team tattoo artist 

since you do work late at times, he’ll bring you food and just chill out with you in between clients 

when the two of you go fishing - well when he drags you along so he can go fishing, you bring a sketchbook to sketch out new designs as the two of you sit in a comfortable silence

he always stays for moral support if you’re getting a new tattoo

LOVES when you get new tattoos 

bee loves your tattoos. literally loves them. 

loves when he finds new (or just old ones he didn’t notice) tattoos of yours 

he’s constantly tracing them 

i can just see a team party and you’re sitting on his lap

arm around your waist protectively and just mindlessly tracing the tattoos on your arm as you talk 

happens when you cuddle too 

you also have a bigger tattoo on your back that he’s only seen slivers of

and at some point when he sees you shirtless he sees the rest of your back tattoo and just loses his mind 

“i didn’t know about this one” he says as he traces your back 

i can also see him coloring some of your tattoos in 

especially since a lot of your tattoos are just simplistic outlines 

the one on your back is all black, so i can just see him sitting next to you as you lay on your stomach and he just colors in the whole tattoo 

other sidenote, babysitting G 

and bee helping him color in some of them too

i feel like at some point at a team gala or fancy event that he brings you to

and because he loves your tattoos that much, he’d encourage you to get a dress that does show more of your tattoos (probably just the ones on your arms and part of the one on your back)

and he finds you stunning, he has to literally catch his breath after seeing you in it 

hottest couple there, obviously 

and he does stay with you most of the night, but he does leave to talk to one of his coaches really quick

and you’re talking to some of the WAGs when someone comes up and makes a comment about covering up your tattoos

and before you or whoever you’re talking to can say anything

bee sweeps in and even though he knows you can defend yourself

he still goes off

“as a tattoo artist, it’s not going to impact her job. now maybe you should worry about your own state of employment rather than others”

and you weren’t expecting that, usually it’s just you standing up for yourself

so when he does

it does indeed throw you for a loop

and so the night goes on without issues

but once you get home he immediately goes

“look, i didn’t mean to say something. it isn’t my place and-” 

you just smile at him and lean up to kiss him, “thank you” 

protective bee for the win!!

him asking about all your tattoos and their meaning because he wants to know as much about you as he can 

there’s a few that you won’t tell the meaning of because they are more personal 

but later on in your relationship you tell him about the more meaningful ones and 

he just listens because he knows it’s definitely not be easy and you’re being a lot more vulnerable 

“so, uh, this one is the nickname my grandma had for me in her handwriting, it’s the one that says ladybug . me and her had this thing where she said that when i finished my apprenticeship that if she was still here we’d get matching tattoos. she got one that was a ladybug in the same spot, but she passed away about a year after we got it.”

and bee just looks at you with such admiration because he’s glad you felt comfortable to say it and he’s glad he waited to hear it

he holds you for a minute as you try not to cry and then homeboy goes “i’d love to go visit her sometime”

and you just know that he’s the one 

when y’all go visit her gravesite, you almost start bawling when he introduces himself

and you look at the corner of her tombstone and see a ladybug and you just take it as a sign

[staal-eric-archives]

"the stupid smoke from the fire is messing with my eyes." or "i have never hated anything this much.."

for owen and corey? doesn't have to be camping related, i'm just terrible at coming up with prompts lmao

When Eric invited him to go to a ski lodge, Owen was surprised at first. The Olympics were short and sweet for them but it's nice to see that the vet still thinks about him sometimes. Owen finds it cool that he's going to hang out with his little gang at a ski lodge. He never ever did skiing but there's a first to everything.

And it's an occasion to get to know some of the the NHL guys too. Eric being with Brendan Gallagher, he knows that there will be some Habs guys. He hopes they don't see them as an ennemy or something because he plays for Buffalo.

And unexpectedly, they welcome him with open hands and he finally get to meet some guys like Cole Caufield. But he also get to know some underdogs.

Like Corey Schueneman. Another giant defenseman for the Habs who made his debut this year with this weird season of injuries and stuff.

When Owen thinks about it, he has always been the taller one in his hockey teams. But in this case, he finally meets someone almost as tall as him. Someone who is not Eric of course because Eric is 5 centimeters smaller than him.

"You ok?" Corey asks him while he helps him getting up from the snow because Owen is bad at skiing.

Owen smiles back to him. "Yeah, thanks. I'm better with some skates on I think."

Corey laughs. "Same. It's just because I did some ski when I was younger."

They go back to the lodge before they head for the dinner. They kind of chat together all that long, getting to know each other a little better. Owen finds out that he really enjoys Corey's simple and heartwarming company.

After the dinner with the rest of the group, it's kind of like everyone to themselves. Owen helped with the dishes with Gally and Nick while Eric, Corey and Cole went for some log outside for the fireplace.

When Owen comes back, he finds Corey lighting up the fire by himself and he decides to join him. The other defenseman blinks his eyes a couple of times. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Corey laughs nervously. "It's just the stupid smoke from the fire is messing with my eyes... I may have a gone a little too far for it..."

"I know a trick for it. Wait." Owen suddenly remembers from his old camping trip that some cold water helps to rehydrated the eyes which is basically the case here. He comes back with a wet cloth. "Here, let me..." He clumsly put it on Corey's eyes as the other defenseman grabs his hands. He feels his heart racing.

Corey lets out a sigh of relief. "Wow, thank you. That really helped."

Owen blushes and he's glad that Corey doesn't see anything because he's most probably blushing at this point. "That's nothing... my grandma used to dobthat where we were going camping and stuff."

Corey puts out the cloth out of his eyes and blinks again. "Funny how it felt like a kaleidoscope for a hot second." He says. "You look good in these glasses, by the way."

"Oh. Eh, thanks..." But sometimes Owen doesn't like them much because he thinks he unattractive with it. "Really?"

Corey smiles honestly and then grabs one of Owen's hands. "Yeah. It adds a charm to the whole thing you know. Want... Want to hang out in front of the fire with me tonight? I mean... I would have my own nurse if something else happens to my eyes."

Owen smiles, blushes and laughs at the same time. "I'd really like that."

send me a prompt + an otp and i'll drablle it

[fivesosmasterlist]

Meet the Billets (l.r.h) - Part 1

 I'm not really sure how I ended up walking to work today. It wasn't cold, but just breezy enough to send a shiver down my spine here and there. It was the last week of August and I was absolutely dreading the cold months to come. Connecticut was brutal in the winter season and I was just absolutely not looking forward to it in the slightest. My car was in the shop for what felt like the hundredth time this month, so here I was at 7:30 in the morning sipping my coffee in one hand as I scrolled through my phone with the other.

    My job wasn't too far from my house— it was a local toy store owned by my grandparents. I started working there when I was around fourteen, and now at nineteen I basically run the show around there. It gets pretty dead at times, as bigger corporations as well as online stores like Amazon have really dominated the toy Industry these past few years. It was sad, I loved this store a lot and would hate to see anything happen to it.

    I approached the front door to the store, attempting to dig my keys out of my backpack while still juggling my phone and coffee.

    After what felt like an eternity of standing there trying to unlock the door, it had swung open from the inside. My grandmother greeted me with a smile as I entered.

    "Good morning Mila," she greeted as she went to the back room, unpacking cardboard boxes.

    "We got shipment today?" I asked, avoiding her first statement. I tried to rack my brain for the day.

    "Yup, just like we do every Thursday," she chuckled.

    "Sorry Grandma," I said sheepishly. "Just a little tired from last night... just billet family stuff, you know the drill," I explained. She nodded silently as I moved to help her with some of the shipment.

    Ice Hockey is pretty big around here, and because of that my family takes part of housing a hockey player or two for their season. It's called a Billet Family, and it's all I really know if I'm being honest. My parents started housing some of these players ever since I was around eight. We provide them a place to stay and take care of them for the season. It was weird at first but I'm honestly used to it now. I already live with two brothers, so what's one more? Last night I got sucked into a final house cleaning spree with the rest of my household since there'd be a new player moving in with us today.

    My father in particular took hockey very seriously. He played throughout his childhood into his college years, loving every moment of it. In turn, my younger brother, Grayson had been following in his footsteps. He's only sixteen right now, but I really can see him going far with the sport. My other brother, Ian was only seven years old but my dad got him on skates the second he began walking. I even played for a girls league up until last year. So yeah, my dad's is ride or die for this sport, so that's pretty much how we ended up as a billet family. It sucks being the only girl other than my mom, and it can get really rambunctious sometimes but it's not all bad. Sometimes the guys we house are really cute.

    We opened the doors to the store around 8:30 and I took a seat at the front counter, pulling my laptop out of my backpack. Knowing that it probably wouldn't be too busy at eight in the morning on a Thursday I figured now would be a good time to attempt at getting some schoolwork done. It was my first year out of high school and I was currently attending an online college. I really didn't know what it was exactly that I wanted to do so I started off slow and am currently just taking some general education courses. My parents didn't mind, they were always very supportive with anything I did and I've always been so grateful for that. Plus, online college was significantly cheaper than going in person anyways.

     My mind began to wander after a while, my brain could only process so much Statistics at once. I wonder what this new kid will be like. I feel like we've housed all sorts of personalities— some good, some bad. I was particularly fond of the boy we housed last year, Max.  He was cute, I thought to myself. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the front door jingle and shut. I looked up to greet the customer, but fumbled on my words as I took a look at them.

    Standing in front of me was a skyscraper of a boy, easily over six feet. He had blonde hair and bouncy curls, just passing his ears. He had the brightest blue eyes I think I'd ever seen in my life and was dressed in black joggers and a white Nike t-shirt. "Hi how are you?" I finally spit out. "Is there anything you can help you with today?" I said in my customer service voice.

--------

not sure how many parts there will be yet, but this is also featured on my wattpad: lrhemmings111

[lavendersblue32]

that’s my family

ok so little preface. I love love love the idea of coops with a daughter and her growing up with the biggest, sweetest family ever, so I made Thea. I’ve never posted on tumblr, let alone released my own writing so bear with me, but I had to put the idea down, so here it is. all characters are the incredible creation of @lumosinlove, but thea is mine :) <3

“Mr. and Mr. Lupin, welcome! I believe we've met before, on back to school night?” 

Remus reached out to shake the teacher’s hand. Sirius gazed around the 3rd grade classroom. Art projects and geography posters plastered the walls. The teacher’s name, Ms. Bernard, was printed in copper letters on the front of her desk, to match the students name tags on the front of their desks. Sirius found Thea’s desk, smack in the middle of the front row. He smiled at the thought of Thea’s hand shooting up ambitiously at any question she knew, thrilled to share her knowledge. 

“Yes, I believe that’s when we last met.” Sirius said, sharing a nod with Remus. 

“Well, please come have a seat.”

Sirius pulled out one of the 3rd grade sized chairs sitting around a table at the front of the room.

“Oop, not quite hockey player sized.” Remus laughed, as he sat in the tiny chair, his knees barley fitting under the table. Ms. Bernard grabbed a folder off her desk, and joined them at the table. Sirius couldn’t help but feel anxious about the reason they were there. The teacher had only sent a brief email, asking him and Remus to come in for a meeting regarding Thea. He didn’t think Thea was in trouble. She couldn’t be. Or had he made a mistake as a parent? 

Sirius felt Remus’ hand brush his own, linking them together under the table. Remus could tell Sirius was anxious. 

“By the way, and I should’ve told you in the email, but Thea is absolutely not in any trouble.” Remus let out an exaggerated sigh. 

“Thank goodness, we can call the boogey man and cancel his visit.” He smiled, as Sirius laughed heartily, his anxieties eased. 

“In fact,” Ms. Bernard continued, “It's quite the opposite of trouble.” She pulled a typed paper out of the folder. “This past week, I gave the students an assignment to write all about their families. I’ve made it a point as a teacher to teach students about the importance of understanding and respecting our differences, and wanted to begin with the different types of families there are. It’s also a way for me to get to know the students since we’re only a few weeks into school.” She slid the paper across the table towards Sirius and Remus. 

“Everyone did great with the assignment, but Thea...Thea’s family essay blew me away.” Sirius picked up the essay, scooting his chair closer to Remus so they could both read it. Thea was a smart kid, but what could be so phenomenal about a 3rd grade essay that the teacher had called the parents in? Remus began to read out loud. 

“My Family

By Theadora Celeste Lupin

My name is Theadora but everyone calls me Thea, just because. Family is very important to me, because it’s always around me. My parents are Remus and Sirius Lupin. They are both my dad’s and I love them to the moon and back. They play hockey for the Gryffindor Lions. They drive me places, help me get better at hockey, and help me grow. Most kids don’t have two dads, or think it’s weird, but I don’t. They love me more than anything else, and that’s all that matters. My Papa’s mom and dad are Celeste and Pascal Dumais, and they are my grandma and grandpa. Meme Celeste teaches me to cook, and bon papa Dumo coaches my hockey team. My dad’s parents are Hope and Lyall Lupin. I call them hopey and lemon. We make the best pies together. 

My papa’s brother, my uncle Regulus, is super smart, and he always helps me with my homework. He always watches movies with me too. My dad’s brother, my uncle Julian, always takes me to the park and lets me have ice cream before dinner sometimes. My uncle Leo calls me darlin’, and has a funny southern accent. We talk in french sometimes to confuse uncle Finn. Uncle Logan always braids my hair for me, and lets me wear his hats. Uncle Finn always has dance parties with me, and we build pillow forts when he babysits me. 

My aunt Lily takes me shopping for clothes, and takes me out for girls days. She knows the girly things that Papa and Dad don’t know. Uncle James taught me Mario Kart, and always lets me win. Harry is James and Lily’s son, and he’s like my big brother. He always looks out for me, and lets me skate with him and his friends. My aunt Natalie and Uncle Kasey and Uncle Alex are so much fun. Aunt Natalie is a really pretty singer, and Uncle Alex can play the guitar. Uncle Kasey has long hair like me, so he lets me put it in crazy hairstyles. 

There are a lot of people in my family, but everyone means a lot to me, and everyone means something different to me. I love my whole family to the end of infinity. My family may be different than yours, but it's still a family. And I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

A tear rolled down Remus’ cheek, and dotted the paper he and Sirius were still holding. 

“Wow.” Sirius let out, desperately holding back the tidal wave of emotions threatening to spill. 

“It’s really think it’s special how much love she holds for so many people.” Ms. Bernard smiled at them softly. “I thought it would be best if I shared it with you two before she reads it to the class. I think Thea has a wonderful perception of others emotions and a great capacity for empathy, she’s an incredible kid.”

Sirius’ heart felt like it would burst with pride. In this moment, the doubts he had about himself as a father, becoming like his own father, disappeared. 

“I’ll send you home with this copy, so you can share it with your family, it needs to be shared.” She put the paper back in the folder and handed it to Remus.

“Thank you for having us in, it’s comforting to know how well Thea is doing, she’s in the hands of a great educator.” Sirius shook Ms. Bernard's hand, and waved as he and Remus left the classroom. 

“I’m going to give ma fifille the biggest hug I’ve ever given her when we get home.” Sirius wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. 

“You think you’re a mess? Just wait until we let James read this.” Remus linked arms with his husband, who let out a knowing laugh. 

“We have the best kid.” Remus mused, and leaned over to kiss Sirius’ cheek.

“We sure do.”  

[ducknotinarow]

[07 Casey Summer]

Casey had no idea why he was doing; he didn't really understand much of anything he's been doing since his mum passed away. Things were a strange blur. It felt like he was stuck in place, while everything around him moved on, changed. He didn't like the feeling. But he figured, maybe he just needed a change too, and he'd feel better. Yeah, totally how that works.

It's why he was starting simple; his hair. That was easily fixed if he hated it. Shame he knew approximately fuck and all about it. He was smart enough to grab a box of red hair dye but, that's as far as his knowledge went. Good thing he had a daughter who knew a lot more about this than him.

Stopping at her room, Casey briefly knocks, before letting himself in. He notes the mess; one day she'll clean it - Casey will be sure to play the lottery that day,

"Dimsum, I need t' ask yer somethin'," Casey asks, glancing down to the box in his hand, "How d' yer add red streaks t' yer hair?"

| Muse interactions

Summer luckily some may say, had never be to a funereal before the one held for her grandma. Go through all the motions that came from it. Sure they still had time with her before it happened Summer asking to go every chance given, sometimes she went by herself just wanting to try and soak in every last minute with her grandma that was left. But didn't matter if those minutes span into hours, days and more. When the time finally came, it was still too soon. Summer thought funerals were meant to help with the whole saying goodbye of someones death. But it didn't help Summer in the slightest. When she would tell her grandma goodbye before during visits and such? that was different because she was there to say it back to her. Summer sighed as she was looking over the copy of the funeral program she had kept for herself. Looking at the image of her grandam on front. Listed under was some basic information to summarize her life. Summer didn't like how short it was. Felt like it should have more to it then a few sentences. Felt like it should be bigger or have more pages even.

How can you really capture all one person was in just this one piece of paper alone? She wasn't the biggest fan of the photo they picked for it either didn't 'feel' like her grandma either. Laid out on her bed, program held up in the air above her thinking of how many things shes still wanted to ask and talk to her grandma about. Summer could talk for ever enough for three people she heard pop's joke before. But, not even Summer could cram in every conversation she wanted and needed to have with her grandma. She just felt hurt now. Not the kind you walk off in a hockey game either. It was hollow.

The faint knock on her door dose snap her out of her mind as she hums a little and lowers her program down to her chest before look to the side of the door. A few silent blinks looking towards her Dad right now. Casey wasn't hiding the pain of the loss as much as he seemed to think he was. But more than Summer was aware of she just offers a smile and swings her legs over to side of her bed. Swift motion to help set her to sit up right as she did. Gently setting her program to the bedside table. The only thing in her room not half hazard throw into the mess it always was. And would be.

"Dimsum, I need t' ask yer somethin',"

"Yeah?" Summer asks with a tilt of her own head a slightl frown tug her smile down. No one could blame Casey for how he was these day's. Summer was sure the days she had to go through what he was would be hard as well. Course, she wasn't excatly in the mood to fully explore that thought shifting her thoughts back on to the small little things. How her Dad's voice was just off these days, the sadden look that filled his eyes, the way he carried himself was so different as well. His sadness was heavy and clear. Summer noticed how he looked at the mess in her room sure he always tossed out a 'clean your room' not that anyone understood why. It wasn't going to happen after all.

"If it's ta clean my room, I 'hink the bed and closet are to full at 'his point." Summer makes a mention of because that was her way of cleaning her room. She was just trying to lighten the mood a little as she started to kick her feet. Maybe it's just because shes with her Dad so much but it's so easy to feel how low and heavy his mood has become these days. Maybe working a faint smile or laugh would work? Uncle Mikey always said smiling and laughing was the perfect cure. Please be right for once.

"How d' yer add red streaks t' yer hair?"

She tilts her head further as the swing to her legs come to a stop a moment "my hair?" She reaches up to play with a strand of red at the moment. She been doing the streaks longer than the blue black she started desperately to stain her hair with. "Well I jus' get the junk from the corner store and -" Summer slwoly let's her words fall off her tongue as something click.

Moving to stand uo on her mattress as she sets her hand son her Dad's shoulders. Pushing down on them as she struggles to try and peer over the top of his head. Casey was sturdy enough for the sudden act of Summer inspecting the top of her father's head. "Jeez Dad ya gettin' all Grey again? Old age ain't takin' it easy uh?" Summer questions before moving to hop off the side of her bed assuming she has the right puzzle pieces in her head. "Last week they had a sale so I got extra! We can cover up your grays real quick."

Summer suggests hopful in tone and her gaze she has fixed on her Dad. Because well they been so down and they haven't hung out much, all the funeral stuff doesn't count. Besides Casey felt not fully here lately. Summers sure it's just grief maybe but.

"I mean I only got 'he course but we could match it'll be fun an' I won't tease ya 'bout your grays even!" She threw in a little bargaining chip not that needed it, Casey was a massive push over when it came to Summer and she knew it. As she took hold of hus wrist with both her hands and started to tug and pull for him to follow her. "Come on I wanna try and get it done before pops gets back we can surpise 'im."

Summer seemed to get her Dad to go along with her plan. Having him sat on the kitchen floor due to height as she was stood behind him taking care of his hair, making sure she got a good covering on every sliver section she found helped the red stand out more too. Section it all off so she could make it wasn’t all choppy. sure it be clear it was a home dye job but she was determined to make it look nice as can be.

"See now you an' I can match even more be like we did it on purpose, oh! I can get a mask and we can take photos together like that too!" Summer has been chatting away and away with Casey well they waited for the dye to process before having to wash it out. "Ya should let me borrow more of your clothes then we can go all put on the twinsy" Summer contuined on to talk and talk. Things she normal would hate and cringe and calling embrassing, but Casey wasn't talking, so if she kept talking, maybe he would?

Hearing the sound of the window opening had her moving over to peek over towards Raphael climbing on through the window. "Aw popd ya back too soon." She fakes a pout but gestures him to come over anyway. He'll tease Casey like always and Dad will be a bitch back. "Check it out pops!" Summer says presenting Casey to Rapphel soon moving to sit next to Casey on the floor. "Ain't done yet but once he's done well be all matching with red." She beams woth taking out her phone and holding it up to take a picture of the two of them together. "It'll look betta once done." Summer contuines on chatting away pretending not to notice.

Not to notice Casey not talking, and to not notice that Raphael seemed just as concerned himself. When he didn't out right tease Casey for doing this. Raph walked over slowly pulling over a chair from the kitchen table to sit near the two of them.

"Jeez she talk ya into it 'hat easy?" Raphael finally spoke up. And summer tried to not notice the lack of a response to follow. Raph went and slightly nudged Casey with his leg. Casey saying something thought he try it out but there's not really emotion to the words. Summer dose risk a look up towards Raphael who share her stare a moment before he jist slams his hands to Casey's shoulders. Playfully rocking Casey back and forth. "Ya know ya too old for that Case, trying to act younger now?" He teases just faintly.

Summer hopes it's enough for at least an annoyed expression. She really wishes grandma could have stuck around just a bit longer, for her Dad at least.

[seventhrounder]

I went thru my folder with old hockey magazines I had saved from around 2011 to 2015 and came across this one and thought it could be a fun to make a post about now in hindsight.

This is Jääkiekko magazine from May 2012, they always have a section of "99 questions with ..." and in this issue they interviewed Teräväinen.

I’ve translated the questions I found interesting under the cut! It ended up being about half of the interview. (*) are my additions.

On the cover "seuraava superjokeri" means the next super joker, he played for Helsingin Jokerit so it's a word play from that. Under, on the blue print it says: "The 17-year-old forward will become a first round draft pick in the summer. The natural goal scorer can dominate in SM-Liiga as soon as next season."

In the 2nd photo the headline and lead paragraph goes:

"A post with dents* - A year ago Teuvo Teräväinen was known only within a small number of hockey insiders. Few passers-by recognize him now either but after a flashy rookie season the Jokerit sensation is on the radar of every NHL team and is a strong contender to become a first round draft pick. Next season with Jokerit the talented second line center will be one of the main talking points in the SM-Liiga."

(*references the net Teräväinen had in his backyard and into which he practiced his shooting)

3. You've been described as a magician, top scorer, wunderkind and a prodigy. What do you think of these descriptions?

TT: Heh, those are some descriptions yeah. What can I really say? Don't really wanna comment on them much.

4. How nervous are you about the Draft?

TT: I try not to be nervous as best as I can. In a way I don't have anything to be nervous about since I don't care which team picks me or at what number I go.

6. Which is stressing you more, English interviews or physical tests?

TT: Maybe both. Bench press (laughs) and English interviews can be tough.

12. How far along have you planned your career with, for example, your parents or your agent?

TT: Haven't really planned things with others but I've thought about them myself. I try to go step by step and not jump too far ahead.

14. How does it feel to be so young with all the star players in Jokerit?

TT: How to say it? I haven't felt like I was young but a part of the team instead. The team's been very good with me and they haven't been looking down at me like: "oh he's young". It's been fun to play in an experienced team.

15. Is there a generational gap between players?

TT: You can see the age difference, older players look older but we're all childish, at least with our topics.

17. What does a 17-year-old do in the sauna nights of the team?

TT: I actually haven't been in any yet. I've always been at national team's camps or something.

19. Did you get the number you wanted?

TT: I did, yeah. I could've taken #18 but Semir (Ben-Amor) has it. But i'm happy with #86, it's good.

23. What are your strengths as a player?

TT: Offensive play and with that playing with the puck, passing, IQ, power play and skill, just the usual skill - skill with hands.

24. And weaknesses?

TT: They are to do with defensive play, strength and physicality. Battles and such but I think I took a step forward last season. That's a good thing.

25. Have you ever been "pressed into a mold" or has your playing style gotten to develop naturally?

TT: As a kid the play was mostly offensive/attacking, I didn't have to think about playing defence. Up until 15 years old, I got to attack pretty freely. Playing defence became more important when I started to play in A-juniors a couple seasons ago.

26. On a scale from 1 to 10 how determined are you?

TT: Maybe 8, feels like an 8.

32. What kind of role are you planning to take with Jokerit next season?

TT: I think a pretty big one. I try to be a top player and not just take others' example but give others example myself too. So that someone in the team can take something out of the way I do things on the ice and off the ice.

35. If you could pick anyone, who would be your car driver?

TT: Nico Manelius for sure. He's been my driver this season. I've had others too, like Riku Hahl but he's not nearly at the same level. Nico’s clearly the best.

36. What are the most important qualifications to be a good driver?

TT: The car is obviously important. Hahl's car is totally awful, he takes a lot of heat for it from the guys too. I wouldn't dare driving with him. Manelius is a steady performer, never lets you down.

38. What sports did you play as a 10-year-old?

TT: Hockey and floorball, probably football (soccer) during the summers at the time too.

42. When did you decide to focus only on hockey?

TT: So when I stopped playing other sports? Three years ago, before that floorball was kind of a side thing, I played a couple of games in the regular season and playoffs.

45. Do you follow floorball or other sports? Go to games?

TT: I don't go to games but I like to watch floorball on TV, it's an interesting sport. Sometimes I watch football too but I don't follow it much. Feels like they never score there.

47. Have you ever played with a wooden stick?

TT: As a kid I did play with a wooden stick.

49. You won the hockey players' golf tournament last summer even though there were more experienced players too. Are you good with all stick games?

TT: Well, I've been pretty good in all of them. I've played golf for a long time and still play it.

50. How is your swing?

TT: Pretty bold, kind of a hockey swing. I don't really care where the ball goes - as long as it goes far.

52. What do you think of off-ice training?

TT: Let's just say it's more stupid than being on the ice but you still gotta do it to be better on the ice.

56. Which word describes your professional relationship (with his coach, Tomek Valtonen), tranquil or colorful?

TT: Colorful of course. At times we're joking around, other times it's more serious but the relationship is really good.

57. Coaching you has been described in many words: good, bad, worse. What are they?

TT: Heh, well... I won't tell them here. He (Tomek) keeps the discipline during practices but sometimes when things haven't gone to a plan I've had to jump on an exercise bike in the middle of a practice.

58. What have been the reasons?

TT: I'll quote Tomek: "when I haven't been present".

59. Have you ever tried to turn the resistance of the bike to zero?

TT: (Laughs) Of course I have and sometimes I've even succeeded.

60. Describe your diet in three words?

TT: Greasy, healthy and good!

64. Your first name is not common for people your age. How did your parents come up with it?

TT: I actually don't even know. Maybe they didn't want a usual Ville*....

(*very common name for men of all ages in Finland)

66. Which of these is the most important: skill, unexpectedness or courage?

TT: Skill!

68. Your longest video game stint?

TT: Six hours, at least. I've played a lot of War of Duty lately.

72. The dumbest thing that has made you upset in hockey?

TT: Probably if I didn't get an assist on a goal even though I should have. Or even worse is if I score and they mark it down for someone else.

79. Have you had any concussions?

TT: I haven't had any, I've managed to always dodge them.*

(*ouch, tho it's good the recent one is his only as far as i remember)

84. In 2011 Team Finland finished in the 5th place at the U-18 tournament. Why only as 5th?

TT: Because we lost to Team Russia in the quarter final, just as well we could have won that game too.

89. You didn't get to be on the ice to accept the SM-Liiga bronze medal (because of the U-18's). When and where did you get it?

TT: I actually still haven't received it, I don't know where it is.

93. What is the population of Helsinki?

TT: There's like 5 million people in Finland so maybe around 500k in Helsinki? (to be exact 596k) Did i really get it right...?

94. Who's the mayor of Helsinki?

TT: I don't know, I barely know the president.

95. Do you think the municipalities in the capital city area should merge?

TT: Luckily I don't have to decide but they probably shouldn't.

96. What do you check first in the news paper?

TT: The sports section.

97. Your favorite tv show?

TT: Putous* was pretty good, I liked a lot of the characters. The grandma was pretty good.

(*Finnish live improvisation comedy/sketch show (there are still new seasons, the latest just finished). Every actor comes up with a humor character with a catchy phrase and one of them wins. "The grandma" is Marja Tyrni and I just got such flashbacks from typing this sentence.)

98. Last book you read?

TT: I don't read many books. The last book was a study book, a Finnish book. I wrote an essay on Tiki (Esa) Tikkanen's biography. An eventful book, great career and a lot of chirps.

99. Who should we ask the 99 questions next?

TT: Riku Hahl could have good stories, he's also seen a lot of the world.

[acciomalfoy]

What a beautiful wedding (Fred Weasley x Reader)

Summary: While attending Bill and Fleur’s reception, certain secrets are forced to be revealed.

-

“Isn’t she beautiful?” I whispered in awe as I watched Fleur, the absolute goddess, walk down the aisle. She was breathtaking, and if she wasn’t about to get married maybe I could’ve convinced her to marry me. Fred nudged me.

“Come on, L/n. Don’t tell me you’re the type to go soft over a wedding.” I ignored him in favour of smiling at Fleur, who beamed back.

Fred was on one side of me with George on the other, and bridesmaids and groomsmen were scattered across in front of the guests, while Fleur eventually reached the front. Charlie hastily pulled out her ring and presented it to Bill, who looked like he was on the verge of tears. I would have been too, with a bride like that.

“Be honest. Do you think I could seduce Fleur and convince her to elope with me?” I whispered, and George coughed to disguise his laughter.

“I think you could do anything.” Fred whispered back, and the vows began.

“With this hand I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring I ask you to be mine.” At this point I was seriously beginning to question my sexuality. That was, until I saw the smile on Fred’s face. Then Bill said his vows.

“It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were truly supposed to be together, and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched you. It was like coming home, only to no home I’d ever known. I was just taking your hand to help you out of a carriage and I knew. It was the most pure form of magic that I’ve ever known.” Everyone, every single witch and wizard in attendance cooed, the witches tearing up and the wizards focussing on doing just the opposite.

“You may now kiss the witch.” The officiant said, and Bill did just that. We began cheering and screaming, and there wasn’t a couple quite as beautiful as this one.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen followed the newlyweds in a seperate carriage, and as I was squished between Ginny and George, I realised that life possibly couldn’t get any better. Ginny kept looking meaningfully between George and I, making me laugh harder and harder each time. She couldn’t have gotten it more wrong.

“I see you flirting.” She whispered in my ear, and I sniggered, patting George on the head.

“I don’t think so, Gin.” She narrowed her eyes and looked pointedly away, and that was just fine by me. Soon enough we reached the reception, Fred falling into step beside me.

“So, my dear Y/n. Were you ever planning on telling me that you want to snog my brothers tonsils out?” I shrieked with laughter, and Fred scowled.

“I’d sooner play tonsil hockey with Malfoy!” I cried out, and George punched my shoulder.

“Bloody tosser.” He mumbled, but his smile afterwards showed me there was no hard feelings.  

When we walked into the tent the sheer size of it shocked me; but then again, there were quite a lot of guests coming to reception that weren’t at the ceremony. Shortly everyone had arrived, and after introducing the bride and groom we took out seats. It was almost instantaneous - as soon as everyone was seated small pieces of paper appeared in front of each person. It seemed to be a checklist.

Find someone who’s patronus is an otter.

Find someone who’s painted their fingernails green.

Find someone who’s older than eighty.

Find someone who took more than four minutes to be sorted into their school house.

Find someone who was retrieved in the triwizards tournament.

Convince someone to confess to their soulmate and the spell they created.

I almost dropped the paper when I saw the last one. A soulmate spell? Those were incredibly tricky to cast, let alone invent.

“Fred! What’d you get?” We compared lists, and he laughed at mine.

“Look, one of yours has already been ticked off!” He said, and I got a horrible flashback to the tri-wizards tournament. Lucky Cedric had saved me relatively quickly, since my claustrophobia had already begun to set in.

“I wonder where Ced’s sitting.” I pondered, and George made a face.

“Why? You don’t like him, do you?” He asked, and I shrugged.

“No, not really. He’s fucking gorgeous, you’d have to be blind to not notice that, but I think he’s gay.” I whispered the last part, just in case the older brunette was somewhere behind me.

“I have to say, I agree.” Fred said gravely, and George rolled his eyes.

“Sometimes I think you’re gay, you dickhead.” Fred clutched his heart and I laughed at the twins - they really were the best.

“Anyway, Bill said that each list is charmed to cater to the person. So the answers to your list are the people you have the most in common with. Apparently you can’t leave until you’ve checked everything off AND you’ve checked what you can for other people. Take Hermione, for instance. She’s obviously the only one with an otter, so she can’t leave until she talks to everyone with that challenge.”

“I think I need a drink.” Fred said, and I agreed.

The night didn’t exactly fly by. Those with difficult lists were all too aware of how long it was taking them, and the only challenge I had left was the last one. I was on the verge of tears, and a drunken Fred was too. I didn’t know what challenge he had left, but the issue still remained. We were stuck here. There was maybe twenty people left, and the groom was one of them.

“Don’t fucking talk to me. I’m ready to throttle my lovely wife for the idea.” Bill warned as I approached him, and I groaned.

“Bill, I just want to go to bed! I’m begging you!” Bill only shook his head.

“I have absolutely zero power over it. I think a divorce is on the cards.” I brightened up at that, until I realised I would be stuck at the reception for the rest of life and wouldn’t be able to elope with the bride.

“What’s yours anyway?” I finally asked, and Bill glared at me.

“Watch someone fall in love. I know. Seriously, even if one person falls in love I have to fucking find them just before they do.” I had a good laugh at that. Bill seemed to be in a slightly worse position than I was, even though I was still fucked. I decided to take action, and stood on a chair before clinking a glass.

“Attention, ladies and gentlemen. If you or someone you know has invented a soulmate tracker spell then please, I beg you, hit me the fuck up and we can have a talk.” I stepped down and almost stumbled. Maybe I shouldn’t have done those fire-whisky shots. When in Rome, however. Mental note: you absolutely cannot keep up with Charlie Weasley when it comes to alcohol. I made my way over to Bill, who had placed an incredibly drunk Fred into a chair and was patting his head. It would have been nice if it wasn’t just weird.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” I said breezily, and Fred grabbed my hand.

“Of course you’re not, sweet cheeks.” Godric Gryffindor, I tried not to blush. I knew he was only saying it because he was drunk, and because he didn’t have a filter, but it still made me smile.

“Control your brother, Bill. Oh! Cedric’s still here!” I let go of Fred’s hand and tried to walk away, but to my dismay Fred yanked me backwards and pulled me onto his lap.

“Look’s like he’s your problem now.” Bill said. “I’ll go see how Cedric’s doing, shall I?” Bill was off without another word, and Fred pulled me even closer.

“Why do you like Cedric so much?” He murmured into my ear, and I involuntarily shivered.

“He’s my best friend, you oaf. Now let me go!” I struggled against his grip, but I just couldn’t escape.

“I thought I was your best friend.” He said, and I gave up trying.

“You are. I can have more than best friend, you realise that right?” Fred shook his head.

“No you can’t. I’m not letting you go until you say I’m your bestest friend ever.” He clutched me tighter than ever, and I tried in vain to get Bill’s attention.

“You’re a child. An actual child, Fred.” When there was no response, I sighed. “Fine. You’re my bestest friend ever.” I said, and Fred cheered, letting go of me. I stood up quickly, and Bill came back with Cedric in tow.

“Look who’s left. How are ya, Fred?” Cedric sat besides Fred, and I leaned on Bill’s shoulder.

“Fucking hell, I might fall asleep standing up.” I murmured, and Bill patted my head in a similar manner to what he had done to Fred.

“I’ll join you. Who do you reckon’s the most likely person to fall in love out of everyone in this room?” Bill asked, and I snorted.

“It’s got to be your grandma, doesn’t it?“ Bill scoffed and rolled his eyes at my laughter.

“Har har. You’re so funny, Y/n. I might just die of laughter.” He said, and I let my gaze wander around the room. I wondered who was going to fall in love tonight.

“Ced! What do you have left?” I asked, and Cedric looked up.

“I’ve got fall in love. I know, and there’s no way it’s with Grandma Weasley, I can tell you that.” He said, and I laughed. A lot. I clutched my stomach as I laughed, and really, it wasn’t even that funny. It was just the thought of Grandma Weasley walking down the aisle to meet Cedric took me out completely. With a soft pop, I watched Cedric and Bill disappear.

“What just happened?” Fred asked slowly, and I wasn’t in the state of mind to know.

“They popped. They’re going to bed now, maybe we should too. We can sleep on the floor.” I sat down on the floor and it was horribly uncomfortable.

“What do you have left?” I asked with a yawn, and Fred sighed heavily.

“I’ve done my challenges.” He said, and I remembered he was the key to someone else’s puzzle.

“That sucks then. Maybe you should try and talk to people and figure out what it is.” I said, and he looked at me sadly.

“I know what it is.” The silence stretched out for a long time.

“Well?” I asked, and he laughed without a trace of humour.

“You really don’t know?” He questioned, and I shook my head.

“Unfortunately my dear, I’m the answer to yours.” I blinked slowly. My crush and best friend of five years had invented a soulmate spell and hadn’t thought to tell me.

“Fred, come on. Just confess to her and we can leave this prison.” I pleaded with him, but the man was being unreasonable.

“Absolutely not. We can live here for the rest of our lives.” Fred smiled award winningly, and I found that I couldn’t smile back.

“At least tell me who she is. Maybe I can try and see if she likes you.” I fiddled with the hem of my dress, and it was hard to look Fred in the eye knowing he belonged to someone else.

“I don’t think so, pretty girl. I don’t think she will be too thrilled to see who she’s mated to.” Fred confessed, and I rolled my eyes.

“Any girl with a heartbeat would kill to be soulmates with you, Fred. Why can’t you see that?”

“Any girl?” He whispered.

“Any girl.” I confirmed. Fred took a deep breath.

“You’re my soulmate.” Fred said eventually, and before I could blink we were standing in the burrow.

I looked at Fred, his brown eyes ever beautiful, and made a split-second decision. I flung myself into his arms, and he caught me with ease.

“You’re a tosser,” I murmured into his ear. “-You should have told me as soon as you knew.” I hugged him tightly, and his grip on me tightened.

“I didn’t know how you’d react.” He confessed, and I pulled my head off his shoulder. Godric, he was beautiful.

“Still.” I leaned in and our lips met, moving in perfect sync. His hair was softer than what I had always thought it would be, and it was perfect.

[swanpyart]

The Short Lived Adventures of RAPH and Casey Jones

This is an old pic that was made for a zine that was never published. So I’ll leave it here. It might not ever be finished, but I think the story is decent enough on its own.

Part 1:

Casey was completely fine by herself.

Sure, her parents never really paid her any mind, but she never needed them to; Casey was a fast learner, and was able to cook, clean, and do pretty much anything the adults could do.

“Look!” Ten-year-old Casey held up an English vocabulary test, with an “100%” written in the corner in cursive. “I passed!”

“Honey,” her mother barely looked at her from her seat at her desk, “One hundred percent is the bare minimum. Anything less means you practically failed.”

There was always an empty space in the bleachers whenever Casey had a hockey game. She would cross her arms as she waited for her parents to pick her up and watched as the people in the audience rushed down and hugged their own children after a game, regardless of whether they won or lost. When her parents finally showed up, she sat in the car quietly as they drove.

Casey spent almost everyday after school at her Granny’s while her parents were at work. The old woman’s house was always warm, mostly because she was always baking; cakes, cookies, and especially her famous brownies - made with a special ingredient.

At twelve years old, Casey had failed a math test for the first time, and burst into tears as she walked through her Granny’s front door. “I’m a failure!”

“Sweetie, everyone fails every now and then,” her Granny wiped a tear from Casey’s cheek and got out an antique mixing bowl, “but I can tell you tried really hard. That’s what matters; that you don’t stop trying your best.”

Afterwards, Casey and her Granny spent the afternoon baking brownies, and that was when she was granted the knowledge of the secret ingredient. She swore her secrecy and never told anyone.

Of course, that was a while ago; her grandmother had passed away sometime afterwards. Her parents reacted with more emotion when Casey had shaved her head than when they attended the funeral.

They also seemed only mildly surprised when, at thirteen years old, Casey was accepted into the Foot Clan and never came back home.

There, Casey promised to herself to show the world just how much of a not-failure she really is! Even if she had to work with the most vile Clan in all the world to achieve it and release the Shredder, the ultimate evil, unto the world. She had worked above and beyond to get where she is, and no one could stop her!

At least, that’s what she thought before the Shredder disappeared, and with him, the Clan’s purpose. And way before those strange, overgrown turtles with no sense of honor or discipline showed up and destroyed their chances, time and time again.

Suddenly, the group she had worked with since she was a preteen, and the closest thing she had to any family, were dragged away by outside obligations she never understood.

Foot Brute and Lieutenant were better parents than her own, but, in the end, they were her bosses and coworkers, and no replacement for a family.

Sure, everyone else may have given up, but she would stay committed to the Clan’s ultimate vision, even if she had to use her dear Granny’s recipe for evil. Grandma CJ’s Brownies were an absolute bust, but she had to try something.

Then, she met this weird, giant, smelly rat with a Japanese accent dressed like a teenager who somehow turned out to be the father of those overgrown turtles.

And, as weird as it was, despite not even being human, he sat next to her and heard what she had to say; and, for those few minutes, it was almost like being next to her Granny again.

“Just because you failed doesn’t make you a failure.”

If she had been smarter, maybe she should have listened a bit harder to what he was saying. If she had been smarter, maybe she would have calmed down and talked to the girl that was beating up the Girl Scouts. There were so many opportunities to just talk.

But then the Shredder was restored, and she really thought it would be the return of her Clan’s glory. Even as she looked at the beaten down forms of her previous bosses. Even as she saw Splinter and his family struggling for their lives. Even as she realized winning would mean the end of everything, including her.

There was no more Clan. She was still alone. She was just alone with a giant evil suit of demon armor.

But, now, she wasn’t.

Even after everything, Splinter offered her an invitation into their...

Family.

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

He had invited her to the lair a few weeks after the fight with Shredder.

“I’m working at the Foot Shack. After my former clan disbanded, they got bought out by another company, Splinter, sir.” She squeezed the mug of tea in her hands.

“Just ‘Splinter’ is fine,” Splinter had opened a bag of chips, and was reclining in his seat. The turtles were out with April at the arcade, taking a break from repairing the lair. “Where are you staying? Do you have a place to live?”

“Yes, I actually have my own apartment.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. Splinter sighed. “Listen, Casey, I know that it’s probably hard having to... uh, sort things out by yourself-”

“What?! No, I’m fine!” She flapped her hand dismissively. “My life is fantastic! It’s definitely not in complete shambles after losing everything I know.” She blinked, realizing that she overshared, and collected herself. “I’m doing great.”

“I-I never said it was in shambles,” He massaged his temple with two clawed fingers, his beady eyes squinting in frustration. “Look, all I am saying is that, if you ever need help, or if you ever get lonely and just want to talk, I am here. And my sons would probably say the same thing. You’re a Hamato now, at least in spirit.”

Casey’s eyes widened, then she looked down. “Thank you, but I’m a very independent person. I’ll be sure to not bug you unless it’s an emergency.”

Splinter nodded, but he’d dealt with enough children to see that Casey was a bit lonely. Still, he said nothing.

For a good while, Casey stuck to what she said; she didn’t really come by the lair unless she really felt the need to or if they needed an extra set of hands with repairing.

But… occasionally, she found herself asking questions. She found out Michelangelo loved cooking, and somehow he got her to agree to bake her Granny’s brownies together. She realized that Leonardo wasn’t just annoying in battle, but all the time, and that she started getting more and more used to it, even occasionally laughing along. She found out while playing video games with them, that Donnatello was just as vicious as her, and that April was equally as competitive.

And Raph, well… they didn’t talk very much. But he seemed nice every time they spoke.

But she kept her distance. After all, it was better if she didn’t get too attached.

She occasionally goes down to the local hockey rink and plays a few rounds with total strangers, and usually gets kicked out due to a combo of delinquent children and complaining parents.

So, here she is, lying on her bed, staring blankly at her phone, with a half eaten sandwich laying on her chest, and old sweatpants that she’s been wearing for a week because her clothes are in the laundromat. For a ninja-slash-ex-cult-member, her life had fallen into a fairly mundane pattern.

Everything could always be worse. So why did she still feel like such a failure?

And for some reason, Casey found herself at the sewer grate. She didn’t even know why she came here, really.

She was about to turn back when a feminine voice spoke from behind her. “Hey, CJ, what’s up?”

She spun around. It was April.

“I was just coming to visit.” Casey tensed up. She hadn’t expected to run into someone else.

“Oh, me too!” She opened up the grate, and started climbing down the ladder. “You coming or what?”

Casey gulped. She couldn’t back out now.

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

Raph paced the lair, quietly groaning as he tapped his chin.

It had been about six months since the fight with Shredder, but another challenge had presented itself; cleaning up the lair after it had been almost completely demolished. Thankfully, with Draxum’s help and Donnie being able to scavenge some old tech that didn’t get destroyed and whip up some devices for reconstruction, the place was finally fixed up after about a month and a half.

Now what? Well, in Leo’s words, it was the time for “rest and relaxation.”

That was pretty easy for the rest of his family to do.

Leo’s entire existence hinged on “rest and relaxation”; Mikey has an assortment of hobbies to keep him busy; Donnie had a tight schedule trying to repair all of his broken inventions; April was trying to adjust to all of the changes at school due to all of New York recovering from the recent Battle Nexus catastrophe; and Splinter, of course, was parked in front of the TV, finally at peace after the Shredder was defeated, and helping himself to milk and cake.

Raph should be relaxing, or at least recovering from all that’s happened to them. The fight with the Shredder was the most stressful and terrifying time of their lives. They lost their Gram-Gram, and even if she was now able to rest with their ancestors and her father, it still stung.

But it’s been such a long time since he’s been in a real fight, and he can tell he’s going a little bit stir-crazy.

Of course, the turtles would spend a lot of time out of the lair; but whenever Raph gets a call on the phone, he finds himself hoping it’s some kind of an emergency, only to turn out to be Todd calling them about the puppy farm, or Leo pestering Senior Hueso with an order for pick-up. It seemed like even their strongest enemies have gone on hiatus as well; there was no word of Big Mama as of late, and every other major bad guy they fought recently seemed to have been exhausted by the Shredder ordeal as well.

Raph’s usual sparring partner, Frankenfoot, is absolutely wonderful, but fighting him wasn’t exactly what Raph had in mind; it was fun, but couldn’t really be compared to the thrill of a real fight.

“Come on, guys,” Raph stood in front of the screen, blocking Leo and Mikey’s view of a Jupiter Jim rerun while Pops was passed out on the couch, snoring, a bag of chips lying open on his stomach. “We’ve been cooped up in the lair for a million years. Who wants to go wreck some bad guys?” He pounded his fist in his opposite hand for emphasis.

“Raph, I can’t see!” Mikey waved his hand in a dismissive way as he said it, and leaned to peek around his older brother and continue watching the screen.

“Ugh, we’ve been over this,” Leo exasperated from his spot on the ground, on his stomach and his head resting on his propped arms. “No crime fighting while we’re on vacation! This is the time to chillax, my guy.”

“How long are we gonna be chillaxing, exactly?” Raph put his hands on his hips, an inquisitive look on his face, even if, deep down, he knew what response he’d get.

“I don’t know, until some other crazy evil mutant guy tries to take over the city? There’s bound to be another one of those eventually.”

“What, so we just wait until some evil mastermind has some evil plan and gets all of New York in their evil clutches? It’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Raph tried to summon the energy he usually exudes when he attempts to make a rousing speech, but the rolling eyes and groans from his youngest brothers quickly made its effect futile.

“You know,” Donnie said from the back of the room, the other three having not noticed him walk in, “We did, oh, I don’t know, save all of New York City, take down Big Mama’s Battle Nexus scheme, and, most importantly, defeat our bloodline’s greatest enemy?!”

Raph furrowed his brow, his sharp fang digging into his lower lip.

“We deserve an indefinite break, and I need it, because I actually refuse to do any fighting until I have all my stuff back online. I’d love to fight with only my impeccable mind, but let’s be realistic.” The sandwich in his hand was brought to his face and he swallowed it whole. Donnie knew he had made an excellent point.

“Don’t worry,” Mikey beamed, tucking his arms and legs into his shell, “We’ll get back into the groove of things before you know it!”

“Yeah,” Leo agreed, “Think of it as, like, you know, self-care. Sometimes, you need a break from what you’re used to. Now, can you move out of the way?”

Raph sulked out of his siblings’ view of the screen and sunk into a beanbag, next to the couch their father was snoring in.

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

“Hey, guys!” The turtles turn around to see April and... Foot Recruit walk in.

Raph didn’t really know what to think of Foot Recruit, or Casey, as she preferred to be called. Pops insisted that she wasn’t dangerous anymore, but it was hard for him not to be a little wary; I mean, come on, she used to work with the Shredder!

 She’d been over only a handful of times over the past few months, usually to speak with Splinter and Mikey.

“Casey! April!” Mikey stuck his hands out of his shell in joy. He ran over and hugged them both. “It’s been a while.”

“Hey, Apes. And, hi to you too, Casey.” Leo kicked his legs up behind him.

“Above ground has been pretty hectic,” April leaned on Donnie’s shoulder as she spoke, “Everyone has been freaking out about disappearing from New York for a few days. Relaxing on a yacht sure beats coming back to the city in shambles. And finding another job is so hard when everyone’s paranoid we’re gonna all disappear again. Ugh, I wish we did, then I’d get another break!”

“Well, if you want a job, you can help me repair what’s left of my s- I mean, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. The Shredder tore him apart.” Donnie put his hands on his hips and relaxed his posture to cover his slip-up.

“Aw, your cute robot son isn’t repaired yet?” April teased.

As the two bickered while walking towards the lab, Raph looked back at Casey, who was standing by the entrance, visibly tense. 

“Hey, Casey. Um, why are you here?” Raph asked innocently, not realizing how rude he sounded.

“Smooth,” Leo chimed in unhelpfully.

Before he could take it back, Casey spoke, with a glare on her face. “I’m here for the orange one.”

Raph blinked. “Huh?”

“We’re gonna bake brownies!” Mikey clarified, his chest puffed out with pride. “Casey decided that I’m worthy of learning an old family recipe.”

“Yes!” Casey grinned, in a way that was far too menacing for someone talking about brownies. “I decided that, as a new member of your- um…” clan? Group? Committee?

“...Family?” Raph assisted.

“Uh, yes, that,” she turned shy for a few brief seconds, only to return to her previous bravado, pumping her fist in the air, “I will honor you with the knowledge of my grandmother’s most nefarious secret!”

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

Raph peeked into the kitchen as Mikey and Casey got to work. Of course, he trusted Mikey; but he had a hunch that Casey might be up to something.

Or maybe the boredom was just making him a bit more paranoid than usual.

Dirty dishes, half-full cups and brownie mix were strewn about the kitchen counter. Whatever this recipe pertained, it must be pretty intense.

“And, now, for the final ingredient. This one was given to me by my grandmother.” Casey pulled a canister of brown powder. She leaned over and whispered close to Mikey’s head. Whatever she was saying, Raph couldn’t hear.

Mikey gasped. “PUMPKIN SPICE?!”

Casey shushed him, then yelled herself. “It’s a secret, remember?!” She poured a generous amount into the mixing bowl full of batter.

The two of them looked so happy baking together, and Raph felt a pit of guilt in his stomach for assuming the worst. He really needed to chill out.

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

“Wait, so let me get this straight,” Leo sunk into the bean bag chair, “You’re a fan of Lou Jitsu, right?”

“That is correct.” Casey was sitting stiffly in her seat. Her expressions were intense, like she was about to strangle someone, but Raph had realized pretty quickly that this was just her default.

“You have all of the movies memorized?”

“Of course! I used his guidelines for self improvement in my schemes to take over the world! I mean, that’s not really relevant now, but-”

“And you said you spend almost all of your available money on Lou Jitsu merch?”

“I hide them all so my guests don’t see.”

“And, yet, you’ve never watched a Jupiter Jim film? The Jupiter Jim, his longtime franchise rival and co-star in Jupiter Jim Vs Lou Jitsu?” Leo clutched at his chest, as he held up the DVD case of the movie he was talking about for emphasis.

“Leo,” Raph warned, looking up from his phone, “don’t make her feel bad-”

Leo chuckled. “Oh ho ho, trust me I won’t. I’m definitely putting on a Jupiter Jim Vs. The Galaxy Riders Part 1 and Part 2, and you are going to love it!”

Casey cackled ominously. “You really think this ‘Jupiter Jim-’” She made quotation marks with her fingers for emphasis, “-can measure up to the greatness that is Lou Jitsu? Fine, I guess we’ll just have to see.”

Raph ended up dozing off after the fifth film, and woke up to see Casey and his brother still openly debating whether Lou Jitsu would beat Jupiter Jim if they were both in a desert completely unarmed and at full strength.

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“I’m not scared of much,” Donnie mentions offhandedly one day, while Raph was doing a bicep curl, “but she -”

He points to Casey eating a sandwich like a hyena, while April sat next to her, texting.

“She terrifies me to no end.”

Donnie’s strange relationship with their new friend took Raph a while to comprehend. Then it became clear as day. If anyone could match Casey in moral ambiguity, it was his immediate younger brother.

“I made you a little gift,” the softshell grinned smugly, as he handed Casey what looked like a metal hockey stick.

“Oh, um,” Casey's eyes were wide, and a little watery, and her lips were in a warbly smile. “Thank you… no one’s ever given me something so nice.”

Donnie grinned. “Press the button on the side.”

When she did, the widest end of the hockey stick flipped open like a lighter, and a stream of fire shot out of the tip. Casey’s tears of joy gave way to maniacal laughter. “Those kids at the hockey rink won’t know what hit ‘em!”

Donnie joined her in glee, his eyes and teeth shining menacingly in the light of the flames. Raph watched in mild horror (He was plenty used to Donnie’s antics), at least until the fire alarm sounded and they were all drenched from the sprinklers.

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Another month had passed since Casey started coming around, and Raph seemed like the only one in the lair who hadn’t quite jived with her yet. Sure, his suspicion had pretty much subsided, and he liked her company plenty, but the two of them hadn’t really clicked.

However, he noticed some slight changes over time. Casey’s eyes had bags under them which were more obvious in brighter lights, and sometimes she fell asleep on April’s shoulder (and snored louder than his Pops, somehow). Sometimes, there were hints of sadness on her face, even when she was laughing along with everyone.

Raph didn’t mention it for fear of being rude, but he couldn’t help his concern. After all, if she was upset, she probably wouldn’t mention to him all of the people.

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Hockey wasn’t a sport Raph and his brothers knew much about, but he couldn’t help but get excited as Casey gushed about it, holding tightly onto the treasured tech-hockey stick Donnie had gifted her, wearing a huge grin on her face.

The two humans and four turtles (disguised as humans, of course) were just entering the hockey rink. The hall to the auditorium was cold and echoey.

“I come here every other Friday. The regulars here know my face, and they fear it. It’s ‘cause they know I’ll decimate everyone in my path!” She pumped her fist as she spoke, a sinister grin on her face, before she caught herself and straightened out. “Well, I do until the rink’s supervisors kick me out for making a scene and being mean to children.”

“Don’t sweat it, Casey,” Donnie spoke up, “You’re not the only one whose been kicked out of establishments for scaring kids.”

“Uh huh, exactly!” April agreed a bit too eagerly, and Raph looked back to see the distant, traumatized look in her eyes, and he could tell she was remembering the screams of children and the  sinister laughter of animatronics at a certain pizza joint.

The six teens got to the rink’s auditorium, and put their bags down on the bleachers. There weren’t too many people around.

Mikey whistled. “This place is massive!”

As Raph put on a maroon hoodie and pulled on his skates, Casey rolled onto the rink, over to a huddle of teenagers wearing hockey gear. “Hey!”

One of the teenagers - a boy with messy brown hair covering his eyes - responded. “Oh, you again. Guys, look, it’s that crazy girl from last week.”

“The name is Cassandra Jones!” Casey pulled down the hockey mask she was wearing and held up her stick. “I’m challenging you to another round! Did you really think you’d escape my wrath?!”

The kids started laughing. “You challenge us every time we’re here, and you always lose. What makes today so different?”

Casey laughed. “Well, for one thing, I’ve got my own team now, so you better get ready to go crying to your mommy!”

The group hadn’t stopped laughing, even as Casey walked back to the bleachers. Raph raised a brow. “Uh, what was all of that?”

She looked down. “Those are my enemies,” She clenched her fists, “A group of jerks who manage to beat me every time I come here.”

Raph paused for a second. The look on her face was determined, but had a hint of sadness to it. Raph understood how she felt; wanting to fight, but getting beaten down time and time again. He’d realized a while ago that he didn’t have to do it alone; and neither did she.

Raph put an arm around Casey’s shoulders, and cupped a hand to his mouth, shouting to the teenagers from across the rink. “Hey, knuckleheads! You get ready for a match; you’re not just dealing with Cassandra Jones anymore! you’re dealing with the Mad Dogs, now!”

“Yeah, right!” One of the kids, a girl with a ponytail, shouts back.

He turned to face his brothers and April, who were sitting on the bleachers, their attention already on Raph from his shouting. “Hey, those guys over there are saying we’re gonna lose! What do we say to that?!”

“Oh ho ho, I like this energy!” Leo stood up on the bleachers, joining in the hype. April and Mikey stood up beside him.

“Yeah, you chumps aren’t even at our level!”

“Ya’ll ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Donnie stood up slowly, his arms crossed from the cold. “Yeah, we’ll definitely beat you! But-” He switched to his normal volume, “let’s not make promises we can’t keep.”

Raph dismissed him, and looked at Casey, who was smiling. Together, they were able to beat the Shredder. This would be a piece of cake.

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“Are we done? My mom is here to pick me up,” One of the kids, a girl with pigtails, mentioned as she walked towards her belongings on the bleachers.

Raph was gasping for air from his spot on the cold ground. Hockey was hard. Like, really, really hard.

In hindsight, their loss made sense; this was the turtles and April’s first time playing hockey, and even Casey, who’d been playing since she was a kid, wasn’t able to beat these kids. They really were just that good.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Leo had fallen in front of the goal, two huge purple bruises visible on his face; one on his forehead, and the other under his eye, popping out from his green skin and red birthmarks.  

Mikey was crying on his knees, while April patted his shell, cussing out one of the kids who she felt pushed him too hard. Even as the kid was walking away. “And another thing-”

Donnie lay flat nearby, looking like a purple stain on the white shiny floor. He was never good at sports, but he tried. Geez, it was almost more embarrassing, with just how hard he tried.

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They found a vending machine, and after Raph gave Leo a cold soda can to hold over his bruises, he walked past Casey, sitting with her head in her hands.

“Hey,” He placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked around to see if the others were watching. April, Mikey and Donnie were going off about losing the match, while Leo sat dejectedly in the corner, nursing his injuries. “Are you alright?”

She looked up, tears in her eyes, and her lower lip wobbling. She hastily rubbed at her face with her sleeve, her eyeliner smearing. “I’m...I’m fine.”

“Is this about us losing?”

“No, no, it’s not that,” She sighed. “It’s a lot of different things- It’s just…”

She trailed off, and Raph sat down next to her on the bleacher. He realized this had definitely been bubbling up for a while. If only he’d talked to her sooner.

“Ugh, all I’ve ever wanted was to be a success. Taking over the world was everything for me- helping the Foot, working for the Shredder, making that whole brownie pyramid-scheme. But now? I don’t have anything. I’ve hit rock bottom. Now, I’m stuck in a stupid rivalry with a bunch of kids in a hockey rink.”

She began to cry again. “What am I going to do? Am I just doomed to be a failure?”

“Just ‘cause you’re not taking over the world doesn’t make you a failure. Most people just stick to regular, everyday stuff and they turn out fine.”

“It’s not just about taking over the world,” Casey sighed. “I don’t have a purpose. No Clan, no commitments, no future. It’s like everything I do is a failure. I’m a failure.”

Raph felt himself start to tear up, too. What she was saying felt way too familiar. “You’re not the only one whose failed.”

“Huh?”

“My Pops told us we were supposed to die in order to protect the Dark Armor. We failed to do that, but we realized how messed up that was, and we decided to do our own thing. And it totally worked out for us, ‘cause we ended up destroying Shred-face once and for all.”

He stood, wiping the small tears from the corners of his eyes. “Think about it. So what that you don’t got a purpose? I get it, but your ‘purpose’ was handed to you by those Foot-faces. What do you wanna do? What do you wanna succeed at?”

Casey sat quietly for a few moments, thinking, and Raph feared that he might have said something hurtful. He was never as savvy with people as Leo or Mikey.

Then she spoke. “I spent all of my life trying to be the best, even if it meant being the biggest bad guy in the world. Now, I want to be the best good guy!”

Her expression softened. “I guess what I really want - I want to stop people who were like me once. I want to stop evil people who want to control others. But...how?”

Raph thought. Then, an idea struck him. “You and me can team up!”

“For what?”

“I was a vigilante for a little while. I mean, I used to be, but I guess since I was already part of a team, and with the whole Shredder thing, I just sort of stopped. But, since my bros are on hiatus, you and me could fight crime undercover!”

Casey was looking at her lap, her head bowed. Raph cleared his throat. “I mean, only if you wanna, it’s just a suggestion-”

“That sounds amazing.” Casey looked up at him in awe, her dark eyes glossy with unshed tears. Suddenly, she stands up, and pumps a fist into the air. “Raph and Casey, the most feared vigilante duo in all of New York!”

“Yeah, Go big or go home!”  Raph pounded his fist into his other hand in excitement.

“Oh me gosh, stop yelling!” The two look behind them to Leo, still holding the can to his face. He turned in the direction of his twin. “Donnie, get me another can! This one’s warm!”

Casey was giving him a big smile, a far cry from her previous mood. Raph smiled back. Finally, he’d be able to go out and fight crime again; and this time, he wouldn’t be at it alone.