#I've seen her do French and Swedish so far

[trilliath]

This ESPN interviewer makes me very happy because so far in all the interviews I’ve seen her do she takes the time to say her final thank you to the player in their native language. The surprised little smile she gets from them is so Good.

[broken-clover]

Solaxl Week- Day 1

Kinda nuts that GG is a big enough series now to have shipping weeks. I did not expect this one to be the first I'd ever seen but I'm happy! Bringing people together through the power of a couple fire-wielding idiots. Let's get to it!

I fudged this one a tiny bit seeing as how it's a past relationship, it ended up fitting the narrative better, but I promise the rest of these will be more explicitly romantic. I specifically picked the option here that felt a little more tricky for the sake of trying to be creative. And I've always got a soft spot for AU's!

Criminal/Law AU, Firsts, Sparring

-

Called in early. That was always a good start…

Frederick had been at this long enough that he knew exactly how long he could get away with dawdling before someone raised a fuss. Scraping himself out of bed as soon as he got the call meant he could cram in a good-enough shower, just enough to not show up looking like greasy, dandruff-ridden death. Food was a toss-up- after hosing down and stuffing himself into work clothes, a couple of spare minutes only offered enough to stuff a mini-muffin and a slice of cheese in his mouth before grabbing his keys and getting busy with the commute.

While one hand held the wheel, the other tried to wipe the residual tiredness from his eyes and the muffin crumbs from his button-down. His poor excuse for a breakfast had left him longing for a coffee. One of the few things he’d been willing to splurge on when he got the job was a higher-end coffeemaker, the kind with a dozen shiny dials made by a company that sounded French and Swedish at the same time. Unfortunately, the quality shit took time to make. Which meant that when he was in a rush like today, trying to brew a pot was out of the question, leaving his body crying out for caffeine.

Still, drive-thru coffee was always an option. Cheaper, crappier, but an option. He turned the thought over in his mind between turns and on-ramps. Thinking just made his head hurt more. His doctor had mentioned that as being a sign that he needed to cut down on the coffee, but he’d never been the best patient. And with how today was starting out, he didn’t need a headache on top of a headache. Yeah. Shitty coffee was still coffee.

…The exit he typically took was closed. Guess that answered the question for him, but he wasn’t happy about it. Had he forgotten about some prescheduled road work? Usually, he tried to keep a better eye on that kinda stuff. Now he was uncaffeinated and had to take a detour. Great. Whatever this was, he hoped it was goddamn important.

Only a few cars were parked in the station’s lot by the time he arrived. Frederick wasn’t sure if he was pissed off about having nobody to share his suffering with, or glad he got a good spot close to the door. He mentally crossed his fingers in hope that there would be a pot of coffee that he could swipe a cup of. Cops had to use that overinflated budget for something, right?

“Ah, Mr. Bulsara, good to see you!”

Frederick almost mustered a smile. If he made a list of all the people that worked here (and he did know them all, he spent far too much time in this concrete hellscape) and ranked them from most to least pleasant, she’d be at the top of the list by a country mile. Dizzy sat in her usual spot behind the counter, flanked on either side by the kitschy decorations that covered every free inch of her desk. The potted flowers and rubber duckies clashed horribly against the brutalist concrete in a way that he welcomed.

The woman was an anomaly. Far as he knew, she only worked there because her husband was a cop and she wanted to spend more time around him. Her taste in men was questionable, but aside from that, he held a soft spot for her. Dizzy was too good for this place. He’d gotten the impression that she was one of those pacifist types who was legitimately sure any confrontation could be solved with talking it out and holding hands, so what she was doing here eluded him.

Not that he’d ever take talking to anyone else here over her. “Dunno how you can be so perky at this crazy hour.”

Dizzy just shrugged. “I’m up to fill the bird feeders anyway, might as well come in and get started early, too!”

He feigned a gag. “Ugh, too chipper to handle without any caffeine. Do they got a pot going in the breakroom?”

“I can check, if you’d like. I’ll bring you some.”

“What, don’t trust me in there?”

Though he’d meant it lightheartedly, he saw how she winced. “Well, um, it sounded like Leo really wanted to talk to you as soon as you arrived. He told me to send you back immediately. I don’t suppose you could…?”

Any meager bit of sunlight immediately soured. Frederick scowled down the hall. “They drag me outta bed, don’t tell me what for, and I don’t even get a second to breathe? Sonuva-”

“I- I’ll have someone bring you your coffee,” Dizzy called after him as he stormed off. Any ill will he had toward her right now was just an extension of everything else. If he was feeling generous, he’d send flowers later, but he didn’t feel particularly kind right now.

A couple of officers already in the building looked up in shock at the sound of him storming past. Frederick wondered how anyone was still surprised by it anymore. Maybe he’d just been stuck with some newbies on their first early shifts. Maybe one of them had been here long enough to know where the coffee was.

No, there was no time for coffee. Of course not. Good things were kept on a tight schedule, while annoyances came as they liked. He knew exactly what halls to head down and what turns to take. The directions to holding were something Frederick knew like the back of his hand. The same went for the bulky figure that was standing outside of it, peering through the interrogation room’s small one-way glass with a severe frown.

“Whitefang.”

Taking note of his voice and footsteps, the uniformed officer turned to face the newcomer. “Ah, Bulsara. Prudent enough, I suppose, though it seems you declined to iron your suit-”

“I can always turn around and go home, Officer Brick-for-Brains. Just show me who I’m stuck defending.”

Leo blinked silently, taken off-guard by the sudden aggression. His bravado softened. “Alright, alright…suppose I’d rather not devote much more time to this, either.”

“Must’ve been bad if the judge already issued me.”

“Erm, yes, about that…” The cop scratched at his neck and averted his eyes. “Our criminal specifically asked for you.”

Frederick wondered if he’d heard correctly. ”Asked? By name?”

“Yes. Numerous times.”

He wrinkled his nose with displeasure. “Well tell him ‘too fuckin’ bad,’ y’don’t get to pick public defenders. I’ll take it if I get assigned, but- “

“Frederick, please.” Leo cut him off with a sigh. “He’s been raising a fuss for hours now. The only way we could get him to stop was by telling him you were coming. We had to do something.”

He snorted in disbelief. “Great, so I’m your scapegoat. Why’m I supposed to want to agree with this?”

“You don’t have a choice. You’re a PD, you can’t decline a case.”

“This isn’t my case.”

“Not yet.” Leo raised a finger, suddenly looking awfully smug. “But if on the off chance it becomes your case, and you refused to be involved with your client, that’d cause some legal issues, wouldn’t it?”

He wasn’t sure if that was true or not. He hadn’t run into a situation like this before. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he should expect a cop to know the law, either. The fact of the matter here was that Leo wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Fuck’s sake, you’re the reason I still smoke.” Frederick elbowed past the other man with no attempt at care. “Fine, I’ll talk to him. What am I working with, here?”

“Criminal arson. No confirmed deaths, but they haven’t sifted through all the rubble to be sure yet.”

“Aaaaand you’re sticking me with the heavy shit, too. Sonuvabitch, couldn’t just be something petty, could it?”

“Frederick- “

He ignored whatever Leo was trying to say. No point in wasting any more time than they already had. The door was unlocked, so he let himself in without hesitation.

And immediately regretted it.

“...Of course it’s you.”

Significantly sootier than usual, pants torn and cuffs singed, but he recognized that smirk anywhere. Axl looked awfully comfortable in those crappy metal chairs. He’d already put his feet up on the table like he owned the place. No wonder Leo had been more irritable than usual.

“Finally! Got stuck slingin’ shit at the blue meanies so long, I thought you’d never get here! Damn, grew your hair out since last time, how’ve you been, chief?”

Frederick ignored his enthusiasm, merely shutting the door behind him. The room was kept chill, likely to keep criminals from getting too comfortable, but he was thankful for how it cooled the sweat on his forehead and palms. This just kept getting worse. Had he done something lately to warrant all this bad karma biting him in the ass?

“This isn’t a nostalgic reunion.” He tried to keep his focus on the job, not the person attached to it. Frederick placed his case on the table and tried to ease into something more familiar.

“Man, don’t look all that different, though! Still same ol’ chief.” Axl grinned, only to sour slightly when he went ignored. “Jeez, ya grew up and got stuffy.”

“And you became a criminal.”

“Pfft. So they already got ya started on that. I didn’t do nothin’.”

“So your clothing is singed because…?”

“Look, I wasn’t trying to do anything. Just hanging out, havin’ a drink, next thing I know everyone’s yelling, bloody pigs saying somethin’ about ‘criminal arson’ and ‘shuttin’ down the I-44.’ It wasn’t that bad.”

“Christ alive, that was you?” Part of the job was not taking things personally, but it seemed like Axl was taking that as a challenge right now. “Was a pain in the ass taking a detour around it.”

The man merely shrugged, not fazed in the slightest at his current circumstances. “Did anybody die?” He watched Frederick intently, as though waiting for some specific reaction. When he didn’t get it, he broke out into a catlike grin. “Right. ‘Cause I was real careful, just like always.”

“So you’re admitting you were responsible for it?”

“Look, ‘m just sayin’ if someone did knock it down on purpose, it was a tax repo office. No real loss. Prolly had it coming.”

Frederick realized that he had been standing the entire time. While he wasn’t happy with the idea of getting closer to Axl’s smug mug, he was getting awfully tired of standing. The chair’s metal legs shrieked against the ground as he pulled it out to sit.

As soon as he did, Axl took his feet off of the table and leaned in close. “C’mon, chief, ain’t that sorta thing what we always talked about when we were kids? ‘Fuck the establishment, fuck the system?’ C’mooon, you can’t tell me you’re all chummy with the pigs now, are ya? The hell happened to ya?”

“My own opinions on it ain’t the issue here. You can’t blow up a building and have everyone just be fine with it.”

“I didn’t blow up a building.”

Frederick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, burned down a building. Either way. Fuck, are you gonna listen to a thing I say? My job is supposed to be trying to keep your ass out of jail."

“‘Supposed to?’”

“I can’t take your case now, anyway.” He tossed his hands in the air. “Even if you didn’t take law, you gotta know what ‘conflict of interest’ is, right?”

“Y’mean because we’re exes? What, they don’t like that much in your line a’ work?”

“It was not a relationship.” Despite himself, Frederick could feel his cheeks warming.

“We had sex!”

“Three times, and two of them were only because I felt bad for you. Goddamn it…” He leaned against the tabletop, head low and buried in his hands. “What are you doing, man?”

Axl’s sense of bravado softened. “Chief, I- I just wanted to see you again.”

“You could have done that without becoming an arsonist!”

“Wh- hey, don’t go thinking I did anything for your attention!” Frederick had to recoil as Axl leaned across the table to jab a finger at him. “Not much a point in it anyway, seein’ what you’ve turned into! Sonuvabitch, you gave up on everything we used to talk about! You went soft!”

The other man slapped his hands on the table, glaring back. “I’m not gonna take judgement from someone like- !”

The door to the room slammed open. “Frederick, that’s enough.”

The two went quiet, looking at the officer in the doorframe. “Ah, yeesh, now the pig’s come to bail ya out. 'Course.” Axl sneered.

Frederick said nothing, merely taking his briefcase and departing.

“It was a relationship!” Axl shouted after him. “You’re only lyin’ to yourself!”

Leo rapped his knuckles against the door. “Quiet down, Low. You’ll get another public defender, but it’ll be a few hours.”

“Good! Bet they’re better than you, chief! I’m not over this, you hear me?! YOU’RE NOT TOO GOOD FOR ME JUST BECAUSE YOU WORK WITH THESE BASTARDS NOW, YOU SONUVA- !”

“Are you alright?” Leo asked once the door had closed, blocking any more ranting beyond a protective barrier.

“Fine.” Frederick replied in a clipped grunt. Though his hands were in his pockets, his shoulders were nearly brushing his ears. He turned away and skulked off. “Gonna get some damn coffee…”

[berryunho]

omg i know how u feel i don't think i'll be graduating in 4 bc i have to do co-op terms so it delays my grad by a year or smth?? we'll see how things go

wow that's so cool!! the dedication is immaculate i would always give up after a month or so. do you know any other languages aside from eng and korean?

ooo i'm kinda the opposite like nothing really interests me outside of courses in my major or other science courses. i've gotta do some arts credits and scrolling thru them is like... okay this sounds interesting then i read the syllabus and its like readings and essays and discussion groups then im like NOPE LOL BYE

that's so funny cause i saw someone sleeping in a corner of the stairs. ppl will sleep anywhere and i don't blame them. could you imagine falling asleep near the river ugh bless

omg yes like with chem i always end up working backwards from the answer (wink wonk) to see what i did wrong and usually it's a lot 😭

it wasn't too bad! it was kinda cold but not windy so i was okay. i still brought a jacket with me cause it was windy af during the day and i thought it'd be the same at night but nope there goes my money for coat check 😭

ohh!! that sounds fun, did you manage to find anything? red hair is so nice. everyone i've seen so far with red hair pulls it off so well and i'm lowkey convinced it's a colour that works on everyone....

thank you!! i did have lots of fun : D i might've died on the bus ride back... but we don't talk abt it..........

-mightychondria

yeahhh i have to get a masters degree for the profession im aiming for so... if everything goes to plan that's six years of university and i do NOT want it to be more 😭😭 hopefully your graduation doesn't get delayed too much ??

:LKFJDKFSJD:LFKJ oh boy languages and me... lowkey obsessed w learning them SO one set of my grandparents were german and didnt speak english so i know very basic german (my dad didnt think it was important to teach me. crying screaming throwing up.) and i got to be pretty okay at finnish at one point but i've forgotten ALL of it lol and i took 2 years of latin in highschool which was very fun but again i forgot most of it KLFJSFDLJK AND FINALLY i took a couple years of american sign language in middle school but i literally remember the alphabet and basic kindness' :'] ive also attempted swedish, norwegian, spanish, and french with ... immediate failure ! hehe

i get what you mean 😭for me its not that i dislike my stem courses but i actually love reading and writing essays and stuff and i just wish i could do more of that 😭 but the majority of my stem friends definitely would agree w you LOL

ugh for real it would be so nice to sleep outside in the sun i feel like ... living out that cat/dog life ... but id be too scared of being kidnapped LKJJFSKFJKS

that is definitely the way to do chem 😭 just gotta learn from your mistakes until there are none ! i had an exam last friday and ... i should be getting that grade tonight or tomorrow so im very anxiously waiting to see how i did ...

nooooo not the coat check money... i cannot even imagine how much clubs make in the winter just from coat check like 😭 some nights at one of my local clubs its literally more expensive to check your coat than to get in 😭

sadly i still havent figured out who/what to be... i think im gonna wait to dye my hair though so that it lasts longer ... so i really dk LOL im lazy tbh so i normally go for something i can just wear my normal clothes for... and since i just finished breaking bad im thinking maybe jane ??? i dress like her irl (though less 2008) and id just need a wig LKJFS:LDJKF BUT IDK !!! do you have any costumes in mind? or any plans?

hehe im glad you had fun but ... 👀 ... how ominous ... hehe i hope your week starts off nicely !! :]