#beats black friday 2014

[swan-of-sunrise]

His Girl Friday

Summary: At Tony Stark's forty-fourth birthday party, the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist and his longtime personal assistant finally address what's remained unspoken but secretly acknowledged between them for many, many years.

Pairings: Tony Stark X F!Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first time writing a Tony-centric fic and I had a lot of fun with it, so thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

His Girl Friday May 29th, 2014 Avengers Tower, New York City (Fanfiction Masterlist)

Being employed as Anthony Edward Stark’s personal assistant was a challenging and often times perilous job, and that was before he’d announced himself to the world as Iron Man. But (Y/N) (Y/L/N) was no ordinary personal assistant; she stood by the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist when he vowed to stop producing weapons at Stark Industries after being imprisoned by terrorists for three long months, she stuck with him when his secret illness and subsequent erratic behavior drove nearly everyone else away, and she flat-out refused to believe he’d been killed at the hands of the Mandarin. It was evident that Tony Stark was the closest thing she had to a best friend. Lately, however, she’d begun to notice a significant shift in her feelings towards her employer, feelings that definitely went beyond friendship and feelings that she suspected he was feeling as well; she tried her best to keep them at bay, fearful of ruining such a meaningful friendship and throwing away the only job she’d ever truly enjoyed on a baseless suspicion, and thankfully, there were always plenty of distractions to keep herself preoccupied with in her unique line of work.

From her place at the back of the room, (Y/N) scanned over the enormous checklist in her hands to see if she’d missed anything important; the guests were chatting, dancing and taking full advantage of the open bar while the DJ was playing all of Tony’s favorite songs in honor of his forty-forth birthday. All in all, not one of the worst birthday parties I’ve ever planned for him, she thought to herself, a reluctant smile playing on her lips as she recalled the disastrous thirty-ninth birthday party that resulted in the Malibu mansion’s near destruction at the hands of Tony and Rhodey. That particular birthday party was the reason why she’d initially been a little nervous at the prospect of the Avengers attending the soiree, but it only took a brief glance around the bustling common room to see that they were the perfect guests; Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson played pool with Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, while Bruce Banner hovered near the back of the enamored crowd of people that surrounded a slightly-inebriated Thor and listened to his enthusiastic re-tellings of the adventures he’d had on Asgard. Pepper and Dr. Helen Cho were seated at the bar and chatted over glasses of Chardonnay while Happy was hyper-focused on his phone, no doubt catching up on an episode of Downton Abbey. With an inward chuckle, the personal assistant returned her attention to her lengthy list of tasks as the classic rock music continued to play.

“Hey beautiful, how ‘bout a dance?”

“Sorry, but I’m worki-” (Y/N) looked up to see Tony Stark himself standing before her, looking as handsome as ever in his expertly tailored black tuxedo and flashing her his signature grin that never failed to make her heart skip a beat. “Hey, you. How’re you enjoying your birthday party?”

Tony tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged noncommittally. “It’s one of your better-executed extravaganzas, I will say, but it would absolutely skyrocket to the top if I could spend the rest of the evening with my favorite personal assistant.”

(Y/N) arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Tony, I’m your only personal assistant.”

“Exactly, which meant you get the title by default. Yay you!” The billionaire gave her a small applause and she simply heaved an exasperated but fond sigh at his typical theatrics. “C’mon, Girl Friday, you’ve been working your ass off all night and the Birthday Boy says that you should take a well-deserved break.” As his trademark smirk softened into a gentle smile, Tony took his hand out of his pocket and offered it to her in a clear invitation to join him. “Please?”

Although her heart was screaming at her to take his hand and allow him to whisk her into an evening of laughter and coy flirtations, the rational part of her knew that she had a job to complete and that anything more than a friendly conversation could jeopardize their platonic relationship. Masking her disappointment with a shrug and apologetic smile, (Y/N) shook her head and held up her checklist for him to see. “I’m sorry, Tony, but I still have so much to do; I’ve gotta do another check-in with Maria and the security team downstairs, make sure that the pastry chef brings out the cake on time, that the waiters serve the guests champagne at the right tempera-Tony!” She exclaimed when Tony’s hand shot out and snatched the checklist out of her grasp. “Anthony Edward Stark, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting rid of an obstacle,” Tony easily replied, holding the checklist above his head and snickering when she unsuccessfully attempted to snatch it back. “Seriously, Girl Friday, just one dance and I’ll let you get back to your boring planning. I’ll even avoid bugging you the rest of the night if it means I can spend a little time with one of my best friends.”

Tony’s rare sincerity softened (Y/N)’s heart, and she felt her resolve crumble as she stared into his gleaming brown eyes. “All right, one dance. Do you ever get tired with always getting your way?”

“Nope!” Tony happily popped the ‘p’ and tucked the checklist into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket before offering her his hand once again, and (Y/N) smiled to herself as the billionaire escorted her to the edge of the dance floor and whisked her into a slow dance to Bon Jovi’s ‘Bed of Roses.’ The warmth of his hand on the curve of her waist combined with the feel of his body brushing up against hers caused her heartbeat to quicken its pace, and she silently prayed that he wouldn’t notice the effect he had on her. “You know, I was being serious before. You’ve truly outdone yourself tonight, (Y/N), and can I just say that you look amazing?” Tony’s eyes briefly glanced down at her red chiffon evening gown and he gave her an appreciative nod. “Mm-hmm, hot-rod red is definitely your color. So, what’s your secret? How is it you can organize and schedule a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist’s entire life and look drop-dead gorgeous while doing it?”

(Y/N) chuckled in amusement, the skirt of her gown swirling around her legs as he twirled her in a circle. “We all have our own superpowers; you fight aliens and terrorists in a red and gold Nitinol suit, and I oversee the hectic life of the man inside the suit to the best of my abilities.”

“Not sure which is the more dangerous job, to be honest.” Tony smirked, expertly guiding her back into his arms and holding her slightly closer than he had before. “But if I could do that death-glare that you’ve perfected over the years, then that would sure make my job a helluva lot easier and people would think twice before messing with Iron Man.” (Y/N) arched a brow and in response, Tony snickered. “Yep, there’s the death-glare!”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but this death-glare is tailor-made for Tony Stark and Tony Stark alone,” (Y/N) replied with a wry smile, and the billionaire’s grin widened as she looked into his sparkling brown eyes. They danced together in a comfortable yet expectant silence, almost as if one was waiting for the other to speak first, but both remained quiet while the 80’s power ballad continued to play; it wasn’t until she noticed the way he was biting his lower lip – one of the few tell-tale signs that there was something weighing heavy on the billionaire’s mind – that (Y/N) finally mustered her courage to address him. “You got a lot of cool presents this year, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations gifted in your name. Not too shabby, huh?”

Tony shrugged and replied, “I’m a sucker for gifts and I’m beyond stoked that we’ve raised so much in donations, but…” His eyes briefly flicked downwards to focus on the fluttering movement of her chiffon skirt, suddenly appearing as anxious as (Y/N) felt. “Can we play a quick round of Hypothetical Hold’em?”

A nostalgic feeling washed over (Y/N) at the mention of their old game. Back in the more impulsive and less responsible days of Tony Stark, it had been an effective form of decision-making created out of the billionaire’s respect for her opinions and general advice; they hadn’t played very many rounds in the years since he announced to the world that he was Iron Man and while she was happy that he’d grown and matured so much over the years, a small part of her missed their little game. “I’m a little rusty but I think I’ve still got it. Shoot.”

“A guy I know, Walter, he’s got just about everything he could possibly want in life, except the only thing he really wants is something he can’t have. You see,” Tony expertly dipped her and her breath hitched at the sudden movement, their eyes connecting as he continued. “There’s this woman – let’s call her Hildy – and he’s been in love with her for a while. And Hildy, she’s goddamn fantastic: smart, kind, funny, gorgeous, the whole enchilada.”

Heart sinking into her stomach, (Y/N) mustered up a small smile to hide her pain while he slowly righted her. “Hildy sounds wonderful. So, what’s stopping this Walter guy from telling her how he feels?”

“A couple of things, actually.” He took a deep breath. “She’s not just one of his best friends, but…you see, she’s also his personal assistant.”

The din of the party faded away as (Y/N)’s eyes widened in shock at the billionaire’s candid words; if not for the seriousness written across Tony’s face and the longing gleam that had formed in his brown eyes while he stared into hers, she would’ve assumed that he was pulling her leg. But she knew him, knew him far better than almost anyone else in the world, and it was clear as day that he was speaking directly from the heart. “…Oh.”

Tony nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a tried and true attempt to hide behind a more lighthearted façade. “She’s taken such good care of him. He was a loose cannon for a long time…still is, in a way, but she’s gotten him through all the tough spots. He’s good friends with some ex-assassins, a super-soldier and a literal god, but she’s the strongest person he’s ever met and the only person he could ever imagine giving his heart to. But as much as he loves her, he’s not willing to roll the dice and risk losing her from his life forever; that’s why he…” Tony cast his gaze downwards and his hand gripped hers tight. “That’s why I never said anything before.”

“So, what changed?” She whispered as she slowly moved the hand that had been resting on his shoulder to press against the spot where his arc reactor once resided, feeling his rapid heartbeat and silently marveling at how perfectly it matched her own.

“Looking across the room and seeing you with your checklist; you’ve planned over a dozen successful birthday parties for me, but that didn’t stop you from treating tonight as if it was the first. It’s one of the thousand ways you show how much you care about me, and that’s what gave me the courage to walk to the back of the room and finally ask you for a dance.”

The booming opening chords of AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ filled the room and while more guests took to the dance floor for the lively song, (Y/N) grabbed Tony’s hand and practically dragged him away from the crowd, not stopping until they were tucked away from any prying eyes in Captain Rogers’ nearby office. When she closed the door behind them and turned around, she was met with an apprehensive-looking Tony and her subtle smile grew into an all-out grin as her eyes filled with happy tears. “You love me?”

“I love you,” Tony replied, his voice growing steady and his eyes filling with confidence at her obvious happiness. “C’mon, Girl Friday, you’re killing me here. Do you love me or what?”

Beaming with joy, (Y/N) brought her hands up to cup his face between them and nodded. “You’re such an asshat, but I love you with all my heart.” Tony’s grin grew to match her own and he leaned forward to kiss her, but was halted by her fingers covering his eager lips. “And in the spirit of covering both our asses, I’d like to take this moment to formally tenure my resignation, Mr. Stark.”

“Duly noted, Miss (Y/L/N). And since I’m such a good ex-boss, I’ll send your resume and a letter of recommendation to a certain defrosted super-soldier who could use all the assistance he can get.”

“Becoming Captain America’s personal assistant? It’ll be a cake-walk, but at least I’ll have my favorite hot mess to come home to.”

(Y/N) moved her hand and giggled at how quickly Tony’s arms wrapped around her waist to tug her closer, but her amusement soon gave way to passion as their lips finally met in a long overdue kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I figured that we all could use a little fluff, and what better way to deliver it than in a friends-to-lovers trope-fest? Thank you all so much for reading and commenting, and I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!

Fanfiction Masterlist

Marvel Taglist: @brooke0297​

All Works: @crowleysqueenofhell​ @momc95​ @groovy-lady

[ausetkmt]

Death of Tyre Nichols revives calls in Congress for policing reforms

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023. - The US city of Memphis released January 27, 2023 graphic video footage depicting the fatal police assault of a 29-year-old Black man, as cities nationwide braced for a night of protests against police brutality. Five Memphis officers, also all Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Jeff Kowalsky | Afp | Getty Images

After officials in Memphis released graphic footage Friday depicting the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, at the hands of police, members of Congress said Sunday they need to revive their effort to pass substantial police reforms.

The five officers involved in the deadly encounter were charged with murder, kidnapping, assault and other charges on Thursday. All five officers were dismissed from the police department, and the specialized policing unit they were a part of was disbanded Saturday.

Police reform talks fell apart in Congress in 2021 after lawmakers failed to strike a bipartisan deal. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Sunday that while passing those reforms would be "the right starting point," it is ultimately "not enough."

Durbin said that while he knows law enforcement officers risk their lives for Americans every day, many of these same officers are engaging in "horrible conduct" that needs to be changed for the better.

"What we saw on the streets of Memphis was just inhumane, horrible," he told ABC's "This Week." "I don't know what created this rage in these police officers that they would congratulate themselves for beating a man to death. But that is literally what happened."

Durbin added that he would not rule out a federal investigation into the entire Memphis Police Department following Nichols' death.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said he thinks that while there is reform that can happen, no amount of legislature could account for the "evil" and "lack of respect for human life" that he saw in the footage. He said he does not believe those five officers represent the vast majority of law enforcement.

"We'll look at what we think makes sense to help this, to make sure they have the proper training, but no amount of training is going to change what we saw in that video," Jordan told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Some policing reforms were already in place in Memphis at the time of Nichols' death, including a requirement for officers to de-escalate situations where they saw others using excessive force. Ben Crump, the attorney representing Nichols' family, said Sunday he thinks the culture of policing is to blame, as it has normalized the use of extreme force.

"Just as much those officers are responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols, so is the implicit bias police culture that exists in America," Crump told ABC's "This Week."

Crump said he thinks this culture will only begin to change if federal police reforms are implemented. Without them, he said, "We're going to continue to see these hashtags proliferate."

While reforms and training can have an impact, another effective deterrent to this behavior is when officers around the country see what will happen to them if they engage in this kind of violence, said Jason Armstrong, former Ferguson, Missouri, police chief. Armstrong led the Ferguson police force after it was overhauled following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.

Armstrong said since the five officers were fired and charged, officers are seeing that this behavior is not going to be tolerated. He said for some officers, it doesn't matter if they are wearing body cameras or if there are witnesses, they are still going to resort to violence and that culture is what needs to be rooted out.

"Unfortunately, violence is what was natural for these individuals in this instance," Armstrong told ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "And that's where we have to do a better job as law enforcement leaders, is identifying these individuals that are inside our organizations and our police departments and getting them out of the profession before something like this happens."

[mitchbeck]

HARTFORD WOLF PACK VS SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS CALDER CUP PLAYOFF PREVIEW

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack has a familiar opponent for the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Behind three points from Chris Wagner and a four-goal third period, the Providence Bruins defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 7-4 on Sunday afternoon. The loss locked the Thunderbirds into the fourth spot in the Atlantic division and will face the fifth-place Wolf Pack, who make their first appearance in the postseason in eight years. The Pack will now need to contend with goalie Joel Hofer who has had a fantastic season against the Wolf Pack. The series begins Wednesday in Springfield. On Friday, the two teams travel down I-91 to the XL Center for Game Two in Hartford. If Game Three becomes necessary, it will be played Saturday in Springfield. All the games have their opening faceoff at 7:05 PM. This is the second time in Hartford franchise history that the two cities have battled in a Best-of-Three series. The last time Springfield was known as the Falcons, they knocked them out in two straight in 2002. However, this is the first time the two meet with Springfield as the Thunderbirds. Hartford has the series edge over the Falcons (2-1)  and in games (6-4). This is the fourth time the two cities have met in the playoffs in 26 years. The last time the Wolf Pack was in the playoffs was May 15th, 2014. The series was against the Hershey Bears, and the Pack won Game 6, 6-3. That would be their last series win and the previous playoff series in eight years for the New York Rangers' top minor league team. In that series, the two home dates were played in Worcester because of XL Center conflicts with the circus that spring. They were then swept by the eventual Calder Cup champs Manchester Monarchs in the Conference Finals in their last season in Manchester before the Pacific Division was created. The Pack won another best-of-three when they eliminated Bridgeport beating the Sound Tigers behind two consecutive shutouts by Cam Talbot. After 14 straight seasons of making the postseason, the Wolf Pack missed the playoffs for the first time in 2009-2010. In four of the last five years with Ken Gernander behind the bench, the Wolf Pack missed the postseason, and overall it's been 13 of the previous 14 years without playoffs in HartCity. The Wolf Pack arrive in the playoffs after putting on a tremendous push over the final seven weeks of the regular season before clinching the last spot in the Atlantic Division. However, before the celebration of the achievement could even be felt, the Rangers recalled four essential cogs to the Wolf Pack machinery as forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Jake Leschyshyn, defenseman Libor Hájek, and goaltender Louie Domingue were recalled to be part of their Stanley Cup Black Aces. Leschyshyn and Hájek were healthy scratches for the games on Friday and Saturday. All four are important, but Brodzinski, the March AHL Player of the Month, is essential. Brodzinski's play, especially in third periods, willed his team out of its win-one, lose-one play. However, their play was excellent at the end of the season, winning their final eight games, the longest winning streak in two years. The streak allowed the Wolf Pack to surpass the Bridgeport Islanders and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and plant the Wolf Pack flag as the sixth entrant in their division. Brodzinski's recalls leave him numerically short of league-wide MVP consideration because of games played, but it's clear he was the MVP in Hartford. Recalling these critical components of the roster will not make it any easier on Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch. Brodzinski and Domingue have another year left on their contacts and will return. Leschyshyn has two more years on a one-way NHL money, paying him $775K yearly. Hájek has an expiring deal at the end of the season. The Rangers have decided that having these four in the stands is more important than having them play the most meaningful games in Hartford in eight years. Similarly, 31 years ago, the LA Kings airlifted seven prospects, seven weeks from the end of the season, to play for the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL). It effectively killed off any New Haven Nighthawks chances of making the Calder Cup playoffs. With both of their parent teams out of the NHL playoffs, in Laval, the Montreal Canadiens received back Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who scored in the two minutes in his first game back,  as well as Cayden Primeau, and Sean Farrell, making The Rocket a team to be wary of as the Calder Cup playoffs start. The Tucson Roadrunners received five players from the Arizona Coyotes. The old cliche about "next man up" and "creating opportunities for other players" comes to the forefront for the Wolf Pack. Someone must step up for those missing points with these three skaters gone. Dylan Garand will have big shoes to fill in Domingue's absence. He will need to be at his best between the pipes. The reconfigured lineup was on full display Friday with what is likely to be the lineup for the Springfield series. Will Cullye, a significant beneficiary of playing with Brodzinski this year, will likely skate with Ryan Carpenter, almost a point-a-game player, and Will Lockwood, who provided offense down the stretch. Tim Gettinger will likely stay on the second line on the left wing. He had no goals and six points last month until Friday night. Tanner Fritz and Lauri Pajuniemi will likely be pushed up to form a new troika. Anton Blidh will likely stay as the solid third-line left-wing as a net-front nemesis, along with the reliable Karl Henriksson and likely Bobby Trivigno, who added so much spark when he played alongside Henriksson. The fourth line should feature Matt Rempe, at the center, sidelined as a healthy scratch over the last eight games. His 6'8 presence plus faceoff skills will be critical in the short opening round series. Turner Elson will patrol the left side and can also take draws. He might be moved up to the first line. Anything is possible. One of the younger kids, Adam Sýkora or Bryce McConnell-Barker, may get some time on the wing. Adam Edström made a strong case for himself with his NHL move and shot on his first goal. Blake Hillman, like Rempe, saw little game activity by the end of the regular season. He could slide in for Hájek, The other pairings of Jones-Emberson and Clendening-Kalynuk will remain untouched. In net, it's Garand's from here on in. He has performed very well this season. How the defense complies? The backup in the net will be Talyn Boyko. POSSIBLE LINES: Cullye-Lockwood-Carpenter Gettinger-Fritz-Pajuniemi Henriksson-Trivigno-Blidh Elson-Rempe- Adam Sýkora or Adam Adam Edström (?) Jones-Emberson Blake Hillman-Scanlin Clendening-Kalynuk Garand Boyko SCRATCHES: Brett Berard #27 (healthy) Louie Roehl #4 (healthy) Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (healthy) Easton Brodzinski #23 (healthy) Matt Robertson (upper body, week-to-week) Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery) C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season) NOTES: Media reports from Sweden speculate that Pajuniemi and his reps are conversing with several Swedish Hockey League clubs for the Finnish winger's services next year. Pajuniemi has an expiring two-year ELC deal at $925K-NHL/$70K-AHL. He has had no recalls in two years at all. One player not coming next year is junior prospect Jayden Grubbe. He's the team captain of the Red Deer Rebels (WHL). He had 67 points (18 goals,49 assists, and 71 PIM). Grubbe was drafted in the third round (65th overall) in 2021 and will be passed on. According to Eliotte Friedmann of TSN Sportsnet, the Rangers told all the other NHL organizations they would not offer him a contract and had a June 1st deadline to do so. So, as per the CBA, they will retain his rights till August 15th, then he can work out a free-agent deal with the other 31 NHL teams. The Rebels finished first in the WHL Central Division 43-19-3-3  and are currently in the WHL playoffs awaiting their second-round opponent after knocking off the Calgary Hitmen in five games in the first round. Grubbe had one goal and 10 points in the series. In four WHL seasons, the 20-year-old had 95 assists, 134 points in 194 games, and along with 195 PIM. He was a seventh overall pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and was team captain for three of those four years. He represented Canada on the U-17 World Championship team with another Rangers prospect, Brennan Othman, with three points in five games. ROY SOMMER San Diego Gulls head coach Roy Sommer, the all-time winningest coach in AHL history (828 wins) and who coached in the most games (1,814) in a career spanning over 25 years, announced his retirement before the team's last game of the season. Sommer won a Calder Cup with the original Maine Mariners in 1984. After that, he played for two years in the AHL. During his playing days, two teammates were current Springfield GM, former Hartford Whaler player, and Rangers Director of Scouting, Kevin Maxwell. His other teammate, who would become the head coach that year after injuries, ended his career was AHL HOF John Paddock, who is now coaching Regina (WHL). Sommer won the Louis A. Pieri AHL Coach of the Year in 2016-17 in San Jose. One of the best Sommer stories is that he was one of the first true-born and bred California players in the mid-1970s. It was a generation before seeing California as a player's hometown was common. He went to play junior hockey in the rough-and-tumble WHL in Western Canada. Sommer started his hockey journey in 1978-79 as a member of the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) with the Spokane (WA) Flyers playing against the legendary Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe. At next year's AHL All-Star game at the Tech CU Center in San Jose, he would be a fitting addition to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. For the Oakland, CA native, it would be a home run. They should also induct Colorado resident and Wolf Pack all-time great Derek Armstrong. Sommer teamed up with ex-Ranger, New England/Hartford Whalers Nick Fotiu as a coaching tandem with the Kentucky Thoroughblades for three years. BERT MALLOY Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack player, now a dual citizen, Robert "Bert" Malloy, began playing for the Australian National Team in the IIHF Division II Group A tournament in Madrid, Spain, for what is likely his last season of pro hockey. The Mighty Roo (their national team's name) lost their opening game to Croatia 6-4. After falling behind 4-0, they made it close twice, first 4-3 and then 5-4, but couldn't overcome the early, large deficit. Former AHL'er Borna Rendulic scored twice for Croatia. Malloy was a minus-one with two shots on goal for the game. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

[thejase]

Some Musings on 2014

Advertisers increasingly resorted to the gimmick of making the mundane epic with the use of an ‘ironic’ Hollywood voiceover. Bookings.Com. McDonald's, Money Supermarket…. “Dave works in accounts, he’s just saved 15 pence on next month stationary order and he feels AWESOME.” Enough already.

The European Space Agency landed a probe on a comet. Unfortunately news of what must be one of humanity’s greatest achievements was overshadowed by Kim Kardashian’s naked buttocks. In an effort to increase public interest in science ESA has announced that it’s next mission will be a manned landing on Niki Minaj’s arse.

Everyone had an opinion in 2014, or at least everyone had a video they could share of someone else’s opinion which made it look like they had an opinion. Everything from the middle east to the Ice Bucket Challenge, you simply couldn’t rely on good old fashioned indifference anymore. You had to take a stance, even if that stance required no more knowledge, effort or self sacrifice than the calories you burn on a few mouse clicks.

Russell Brand started a revolution except it wasn’t one of those take up arms and overthrow our oppressors style of revolutions, more do bugger all and share a few videos about how great Russell Brand is revolutions. The only actual change we have seen so far has been the rise of UKIP. Nice one Russell.

Black Friday became another new and exciting reason to start fights in ASDA.

The 'Oscar Selfie', 'No Make Up Selfie', selfies on sticks. 2014 has truly been the year of the selfie. For 2015 Harvey Nicks are launching the Personal Selfie Stylist Package. For just £500 you get hair, make up, fashion styling, pouting tips and 200 free likes on Facebook. For and extra £100 you can hire either Peter Andre, Vanessa Feltz or that bloke from Bake Off to comment ‘You look hot babes!’

Lots of people panicked about Ebola, a disease which you almost certainly won’t catch unless you visit certain parts of Africa. It also probably wouldn’t kill you because we have things like clean water and the NHS. Anyway, no need to worry about it now because Bob Geldof, Bono and those One Direction chaps have got it all sorted.

Nigel Farage narrowly beat Jeremy Clarkson, Rolf Harris (disqualified when someone pointed out he’s an immigrant) and Dapper Laughs to be crowned Briton of the Year.

[brookston]

Holidays 10.7

Holidays

Armed Forces Day (Egypt)

Bathtub Day

Bay Day (San Francisco Bay Area)

BOL Foundation Day (Laos)

Expulsion of Fascist Settlers Day (Libya)

Ghatasthapana (Nepal)

If At First You Don't Succeed Day

International Day of Peaceful Communication

International Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day

Italian Evacuation Day (Libya)

Lepanto Day (Greece)

Nagasaki Kunchi begins (Japan)

National Beat Poetry Day

National Flower Day

National Forgiveness & Happiness Day

National Inner Beauty Day

National LED Light Day

National Personal Safety Day

Teachers’ Day (Laos)

Team Margot Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Registration Day

Territory Day (Christmas Island)

Try To Start An Argument Over Which Is The Best Muppet Day

Victoria, Our Lady of Victories’ Day

World Cotton Day

You Matter To Me Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Festival of Food

National Frappé Day

1st Friday in October

Barrel-Aged Beer Day [1st Friday]

Children’s Day (Singapore) [1st Friday]

College Radio Day [1st Friday]

Kids Music Day [1st Friday]

Manufacturing Day (a.k.a. MFG Day) [1st Friday]

National Body Language Day [1st Friday]

National Denim Day (a.k.a. Lee National Denim Day) [1st Friday]

National Diversity Day [1st Friday]

Plaidurday [1st Friday]

World Smile Day [1st Friday]

Feast Days

Feast of Ma’at (Ancient Egypt)

Justina of Padua (Christian; Saint)

Henry Muhlenberg (Lutheran Church, Episcopal Church of the USA)

Long John Tutter (Muppetism)

Marcellus and Apuleius (Christian; Martyrs)

Mark, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Navaratri begins (Hinduism) [thru 10.15]

Nones of October (Ancient Rome)

Odin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Osgyth (a.k.a. Osith; Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of the Rosary (Christian; Saint)

Mozart (Positivist; Saint)

Pallas Athena (Old Roman Goddess of Triumph)

Quob Day (Pastafarian)

Sergius and Bacchus (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [41 of 53]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [54 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 46 of 60)

Premieres

Arthur (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Bandstand (later American Bandstand; TV Series; 1952)

Cats (Broadway Musical; 1982)

Charmed (TV Series; 1998)

Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86, by The Police (Song; 1986)

The Flash (TV Series; 2014)

The French Connection (Film; 1971)

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein (Children’s Book; 1964)

Hawaiian Eye (TV Series; 1959)

Hey Arnold (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Howl, by Alan Ginsberg (Poem; 1955)

Iron Man, by Black Sabbath (Song; 1971)

Little Deuce Coupe, by The Beach Boys (Album; 1963)

Never Say Never Again (Film; 1983) [James Bond non-series]

Over the Rainbow, sung by Judy Garland (Song recorded; 1938)

Pillow Talk (Film; 1959)

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner (Novel; 1929)

Stardust, recorded by Artie Shaw (Song; 1940)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Markus (Austria)

Marija, Ruža (Croatia)

Justýna (Czech Republic)

Amalie (Denmark)

Asso, Ats, Atso, Hasso (Estonia)

Birgitta, Pipsa, Pirita, Piritta, Pirjo, Pirkko (Finland)

Gustave, Serge (France)

Denise, Jörg, Justina, Marc, Rosa Maria (Germany)

Bakhos, Polychronios, Sergios (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Maria, Rosario (Italy)

Daumants, Denise, Druvvaldis (Latvia)

Butrimas, Eivina, Justina, Renatas (Lithuania)

Berit, Birgit, Birgitte (Norway)

Amalia, Justyna, Marek, Maria, Rościsława, Stefan, Tekla (Poland)

Eliška (Slovakia)

Justina, Rosario (Spain)

Birgitta, Britta (Sweden)

Serhly (Ukraine)

Minerva, Miranda, Sargent, Sergeant, Sergio (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 280 of 2022; 85 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 40 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Júyuè), Day 12 (Gui-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 12 Tishri 5783

Islamic: 11 Rabi I 1444

J Cal: 10 Shù; Twosday [10 of 30]

Julian: 24 September 2022

Moon: 93%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 28 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Mozart]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 15 of 90)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 13 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.7

Holidays

Armed Forces Day (Egypt)

Bathtub Day

Bay Day (San Francisco Bay Area)

BOL Foundation Day (Laos)

Expulsion of Fascist Settlers Day (Libya)

Ghatasthapana (Nepal)

If At First You Don't Succeed Day

International Day of Peaceful Communication

International Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day

Italian Evacuation Day (Libya)

Lepanto Day (Greece)

Nagasaki Kunchi begins (Japan)

National Beat Poetry Day

National Flower Day

National Forgiveness & Happiness Day

National Inner Beauty Day

National LED Light Day

National Personal Safety Day

Teachers’ Day (Laos)

Team Margot Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Registration Day

Territory Day (Christmas Island)

Try To Start An Argument Over Which Is The Best Muppet Day

Victoria, Our Lady of Victories’ Day

World Cotton Day

You Matter To Me Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Festival of Food

National Frappé Day

1st Friday in October

Barrel-Aged Beer Day [1st Friday]

Children’s Day (Singapore) [1st Friday]

College Radio Day [1st Friday]

Kids Music Day [1st Friday]

Manufacturing Day (a.k.a. MFG Day) [1st Friday]

National Body Language Day [1st Friday]

National Denim Day (a.k.a. Lee National Denim Day) [1st Friday]

National Diversity Day [1st Friday]

Plaidurday [1st Friday]

World Smile Day [1st Friday]

Feast Days

Feast of Ma’at (Ancient Egypt)

Justina of Padua (Christian; Saint)

Henry Muhlenberg (Lutheran Church, Episcopal Church of the USA)

Long John Tutter (Muppetism)

Marcellus and Apuleius (Christian; Martyrs)

Mark, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Navaratri begins (Hinduism) [thru 10.15]

Nones of October (Ancient Rome)

Odin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Osgyth (a.k.a. Osith; Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of the Rosary (Christian; Saint)

Mozart (Positivist; Saint)

Pallas Athena (Old Roman Goddess of Triumph)

Quob Day (Pastafarian)

Sergius and Bacchus (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [41 of 53]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [54 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 46 of 60)

Premieres

Arthur (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Bandstand (later American Bandstand; TV Series; 1952)

Cats (Broadway Musical; 1982)

Charmed (TV Series; 1998)

Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86, by The Police (Song; 1986)

The Flash (TV Series; 2014)

The French Connection (Film; 1971)

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein (Children’s Book; 1964)

Hawaiian Eye (TV Series; 1959)

Hey Arnold (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Howl, by Alan Ginsberg (Poem; 1955)

Iron Man, by Black Sabbath (Song; 1971)

Little Deuce Coupe, by The Beach Boys (Album; 1963)

Never Say Never Again (Film; 1983) [James Bond non-series]

Over the Rainbow, sung by Judy Garland (Song recorded; 1938)

Pillow Talk (Film; 1959)

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner (Novel; 1929)

Stardust, recorded by Artie Shaw (Song; 1940)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Markus (Austria)

Marija, Ruža (Croatia)

Justýna (Czech Republic)

Amalie (Denmark)

Asso, Ats, Atso, Hasso (Estonia)

Birgitta, Pipsa, Pirita, Piritta, Pirjo, Pirkko (Finland)

Gustave, Serge (France)

Denise, Jörg, Justina, Marc, Rosa Maria (Germany)

Bakhos, Polychronios, Sergios (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Maria, Rosario (Italy)

Daumants, Denise, Druvvaldis (Latvia)

Butrimas, Eivina, Justina, Renatas (Lithuania)

Berit, Birgit, Birgitte (Norway)

Amalia, Justyna, Marek, Maria, Rościsława, Stefan, Tekla (Poland)

Eliška (Slovakia)

Justina, Rosario (Spain)

Birgitta, Britta (Sweden)

Serhly (Ukraine)

Minerva, Miranda, Sargent, Sergeant, Sergio (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 280 of 2022; 85 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 40 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Júyuè), Day 12 (Gui-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 12 Tishri 5783

Islamic: 11 Rabi I 1444

J Cal: 10 Shù; Twosday [10 of 30]

Julian: 24 September 2022

Moon: 93%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 28 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Mozart]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 15 of 90)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 13 of 30)

[freelancelascl]

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[outtrust]

Dateline the life she wanted

#Dateline the life she wanted movie

#Dateline the life she wanted password

#Dateline the life she wanted plus

#Dateline the life she wanted tv

Idris Elba Stuns In Smocked Suit at ‘Beast’ Premiere, “Designed By Me”.

Kevin Hart Dances Solo for ‘Me Time’ & Tequila, Wife Eniko Hart Responds.

#Dateline the life she wanted password

Chelsea Handler Tries To Guess Stranger’s Password In Jumpsuit.

The overall lack of a criminal history and Mallory’s age at the time the crime was committed contributed to that decision I’m sure.” Dateline NBC airs Fridays at 9pm. But the state made the decision to not pursue the death penalty. Harris’ stepfather Charles Cassity said: “Our personal preference would have been that they both would be executed. Mallory and Cervantez were both found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. Mallory and some others, would it be smart, would it be wise to bring along someone who could have been blown away by a strong breeze?” Gordon was referring to Cervantez’s slight physical stature. Her defense attorney Steve Gordon argued: “If the intent to murder Ashlea was developed by Mr. Prosecutors claim Cervantez was the mastermind of the murder/robbery plot and that she manipulated Mallory although Cervantez testified that she was raped when she did not do what Mallory wanted. The young couple had robbed an American Eagle store in a nearby mall three months prior, in August, during back-to-school sales. According to prosecutors, Mallory and Cervantez beat and bound Harris to steal the keys to the American Eagle store and planned to rob the store. The two people convicted of her murder were Harris’ former co-workers: Clarence David Mallory, 19, and his live-in girlfriend Carter Carol Cervantez, 25. On the day after Thanksgiving - known in the retail world as Black Friday - Harris’s beaten dead body was found bound in her apartment which was set on fire. The 31-year-old was an assistant manager at the American Eagle Outfitters store in the Abilene mall in Texas. The Dateline NBC episode “Black Friday” investigates the 2014 murder of Ashlea Ann Harris.

Watch ESPYS Pat Tillman Recipient MSgt.

Who Is Barbara Corcoran’s FBI Agent, Football Star Husband?.

#Dateline the life she wanted plus

Bradley Cooper’s Net Worth Wealth Soars, $100 Million Plus.

Khloe Kardashian Keeps Posting Sparkle Swim Bikini Pics After Kim Kardashian Model Coup.

Russell Westbrook Spotlights School Affluence in “Next Chapter” - “Separate Worlds”.

Queen Latifah Flaunts Dope Shirt, “Brother on the Plane Gave It To Me”.

#Dateline the life she wanted movie

First Out Gay Movie Superhero Surge Speaks on Humor, Responsibility.Video: The Speech Ring Inventor on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking.Do Cranberries Really Help UTI? A Doctor Answers With New Evidence.Burger King Getting Great Reviews on New Cheesy Breakfast Melts, Takes Aim at Wendy’s.Martha Stewart Rocks Yellow Feather Dress In Vegas, Snoop Dogg “Pulls Epic Surprise”.Ellen Pompeo Eats $267 Baked Potato at Martha Stewart’s Chic Vegas Dinner Party.Kurt Warner’s QB Son Missing on Celeb Family Feud, Wears #13 at Div I School.NBA Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo Performs International Dunk Fest with 3 Brothers For 19K Fans.Dwayne Johnson Honors NFL Number 54’s - Here’s What That Means.‘Stargirl’ Brec Bassinger Stops Traffic In Bustier and Low-Rise Mini Skirt, “Big Slay”.Goop Goddess Gwyneth Paltrow Lathers Up In Shower Scene, “We Worked Really Hard on This One”.Savion Glover Steals Scene from Chris Rock, Javier Bardem in Haunted ‘Look at Me’ Trailer.Richard Branson Teaches Disruptive Entrepreneurship Class, “Screw It, Let’s Do It”.Black-Owned Clay & Olive Skincare CEO Inspired by Iman, “Trail Blazer For All Women of Color”.KIN Hair Hoodies Gets NFL Miami Dolphins QB Endorsement After Shark Tank $200,000 Deal.Politics: A Pennsylvania Voter On What It’s Like ‘In The Swing Again’.Kamala Harris Overlooks Motherhood in Women’s History Month Video, Critics Say.

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Crude Video of Putin Singing Iconic American TV Song Disturbs Anew.

[bravo-four-seal-team]

Master List.

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED

17+ ONLY

Please read before sending any requests. Rules for Requesting 

I would also like to take the time to let people know, these stories are made up, some are for humour, others emotional. 

These stories would not happen in REAL LIFE, they are just an escape for reality, if there is a story based on fact, research will be done on the topic and areas along with what would be allowed. 

If you do not like these stories, do not read them. 

Please leave comments or reblog. 

Any Questions please send an ASK: HERE

All Fics have their warnings tagged.

Plot Twist Series One

Plot Twist Series Two

Clyde the Wellness Goose

Chaos When Grounded

Lay me in the ground

Chickens

Heartache

Just let me hold the light

Goat 

Goat 2

Goat 3 

Christmas short Fic

Injured by a friend 

SAD FIC

Sick Blackburn

Hostage and ambush

Buried Alive

It’s okay

You’re not them

Bored Metal May

Rubble and Ghosts Part One SEASON FOUR SPOILERS

Rubble and Ghosts Part Two

Hallucinations

Bike ride - Trent/Metal

Death Notice

Little Light Little Dark

Trapped - Warning Character Death

Hallucinations

Captivity

The Damn Door - Trent is sick and not answering any calls.

Waste Away - Warning Eating disorder

Life to Give

Adrenaline Crash

How many coffees?

Hit by a car

Recovery Position

Deep Sleep

Part of the pack

The Good and the Bad

 I shall carry the burden

Migraine

shatter the earth

Black Eye

Allergic reaction

Odd things - Ao3 series

Coffin Call - Ao3 series

Arguments and underlying issues

Braking a Promise

Change in heart or change in mind

‘i love you’ ‘you do?’

Never been in love with anyone else

Used To This

Suffering

Heart Stops Beating One

Heart Stops Beating Two 

Heart Stops Beating Three

Heart Stops Beating Four

Heart Stops Beating Five

Heart stops beating Final

Morning sickness

How many coffees

Dinner Plans

This Series is written by myself and the amazing @disasterfandoms​, it started as a conversation to be honest and spiralled from there and its great fun doing this. So here you go a place to find all the fics in the series. 

The Fight

Coffee incident of 2014

More Questions than Answer's

Email with a side of regret 

Sister becomes known by @disasterfandoms

Demons and Help: Part One

Demons and Help: Part Two

You shouldn’t be alone by @disasterfandoms

Drunk 1am Help

Odd things 

Email from the past brought to the present.

After Action Argument Part One  by @disasterfandoms​

After Action Argument Part Two by @disasterfandoms​

After Action Argument Part Three by @disasterfandoms

One Unit One Life: Part One

One Unit One Life: Part Two

Before Deployment

In progress

The fight - Ao3 series 

The mind is a dark place  - ao3 series

Fun Memories - Part of Fanfic Friday

Home

Don’t let others bring you down

Look away for a second

Fun and scare

Blood from  mouth

Past of a Marine - OC fic 

I’ve Got You

time of death

Something I wont forget.

Home

Crash

24 hours before Crash

Into the Light

Brothers in Arms

Healing

Dad Clay

Metal x Reader

Jason x Reader

Sonny x reader

Clay x reader

Sonny x reader 2

Sonny x reader 3

sonny x reader 4

sonny x reader 5

Its Going to be okay Trent: 

Part One 

Part Two

Part Three

Mom I have news.

Telling the Team

[windhamsrotunda]

Roman Reigns x Y/N {Your Name} - "I Like The Way Your Hand Fits In Mine".

Pairings: Roman Reigns x Y/N

Category: FLUFF, Lots of Cuteness. | Angst!

Summary: After a long day at work, Y/N and Roman go clothes-shopping at Y/N's favorite store and then go home to cuddle.

Warnings: Some Language, | Angst! | FLUFF // Cliffhanger at the end!

Requested by: @tribalhotness 💕

Word Count: 2.7k+

Document 17.docx {WRITTEN IN WORD DOCS}.

1 / 8

Y/N taps her fingers upon her desk, pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose.

‘’When’s Roman going to come home?’’ She glances over at the clock impatiently. She is stubborn when it came to Roman’s work schedule, she knew he has long and busy work days ahead of him. Sighing, she removes her glasses off of her face and sets them down on the wooden desk, to where she usually does her readings and college essays. Y/N lays her head down on her desk, getting a shut eye as she sleeps in a deep slumber.

*Y/N’s DREAM*

The dream occurred with candles lit up next to the foot of the bed in rows. Roman had come home about late at night. Y/N is waiting by the foot of her bed, the lit-up candles swooshed in the darkness, lighting up the whole room as he walked in.

He dropped his bags down onto the floor, looking to Y/N’s path.  

‘’Oh my god, this is amazing, Y/N.’’ He greets with a smile, leaning in to kiss his girlfriend of 5 years. She swoons in his embraced arms, tangling her fingers into his long, Samoan black hair.

‘’I am glad you like it; I did this for us, baby.’’ She smiled softly, as her boyfriend Roman cups her face delicately with one hand, while his other hand was in Y/N’s, he says:

‘’I like how your hand fits into mine.’’  

The way Y/N blushes are adorable to Roman, she kisses him on the lips and took him to the side of the bed. Plopping down on the bed next to her boyfriend, she strokes the side of his face.  

Daydreaming inside a dream is lucid, although, she kept herself in check and didn’t want to ruin the rest of the surprise. Y/N’s body was comfortable next to Roman’s, her body shifted to face him.  

‘’You are my sunshine,’’ She crinkles her nose cutely as her hands falls into his.

‘’My only sunshine,’’ He sang back, surprised that he knew the song.  

Receiving a little laugh from Y/N, she looked into his deep, brown chocolate eyes and purses her lips a little. Roman pecks her neck in response from her pursed lips, earning a small and passionate groan from his girlfriend. He hums, scrutinizing her body language. How she sits so perfectly, how the strands of her hair fell delicately on her shoulders, weighing themselves. The exterior of the window a bit crack to get that feeling of life again in the spare bedroom, Y/N says to Roman:

‘’I love the living daylights out of you, Roman. I want to let that sink into your mind and remember I always have your back.’’

He smiles, and kissed her again.

2 / 8

***END OF DREAM***

Y/N woke up, hearing the door handle open to her bedroom, it’s Roman with his luggage in his hands like the dream started out with. She groggily groans, met by her boyfriend, he walks over to the foot of her bed looking at her where she slept on her desk.

‘’Could’ve just slept in your bed,’’ He suggested, giggling a little at the marks on her forehead from resting.

‘’Oh, be quiet.’’ She laughs, getting up and walking over to Roman. There, they sit together on the bed before deciding to go somewhere.

‘’Y/N, what do you want to do?’’

‘’Go clothes-shopping with you,’’ Y/N announced, he crinkles up his nose at the idea, but he didn’t mind at all since it’s supposed to be a fun day for him and her.

‘’Okay! Sure thing, baby girl.’’ He kissed her forehead.

When they got to the mall, Roman held hands with his girlfriend Y/N. Of course, Roman has to dress up in disguise so he wouldn’t get recognized by some crazy fan. He only wants to spend time with his girlfriend and have fun going clothes shopping. Y/N gazes upon the lovely dresses they have displayed, feeling the soft and eye-appealing fabric on the dresses.

‘’I love this one,’’ She points at the dress to Roman that she was admiring. Roman smiled and said:

‘’Why don’t you try it on in the dressing room and let me see how it looks on you?’’  

She walks into the dressing room and closed the door behind her. Removing her clothing, she slips on the luxurious black dress, Y/N then zips the backup of the dress and exits the spare dressing room to show Roman. ‘’You look so stunning, love.’’ He smiles softly, his facial expression sweet.  

‘’Thank you so much, Ro.’’ She smiles back; her face flushing in red. He takes his hand into her’s again, going up to the cash register. Y/N bought a lot of things, like richened jewelry, her new favorite black dress, some shoes and lots of scrunchies.  

‘’Is this all of you, ma’am?’’ The woman at the cash register asks, eyes fixated on Roman.  

‘’Yeah,’’ Y/N replies, then realizing the woman at the cash register was googling at her man.

‘’Your total comes up to $77.69,’’ She proclaims, bagging up the clothing and accessories, looking up at Roman every now and then. She never took her eyes off of Roman.

3 / 8

‘’Um, yeah thanks for googling at my man.’’ Y/N said abruptly, pushing the money towards the cash register woman, which causes Roman to giggle a little. ‘’Let’s go, Ro.’’ She takes his hand, and walked away without a trace.  

Supposedly, they are in a state of mind of: ‘’staying in Paris’’, to get away from their parents – The idea of cuddling on a stormy, Monday night watching Netflix series of a clique of girls who are cheerleaders, a type of horror flick. It’s Y/N’s favorite types of movies, however, Roman did not mind the cheerleader movies. Suddenly, he had an idea.

‘'Y/N?’’ he announces during the movie.

‘’Yes?’’

He taps his fingers upon her lap, and says:

‘’This is very weird of me to ask, but how about we pause the movie and listen to our favorite songs?’’  

She looks at him in direct contact, she grinned.  

‘’And dance?’’ She inquires, getting up off the couch.

‘’To slow and reverb songs, of course.’’

{A/N - I am obsessed with slowed and reverb versions of songs I like, so it’s type of an aesthetic mood I go through; Anyway, on with the fic.}

Roman got up off the couch too, and opened his iPhone to play a song by The Neighbourhood, but in slowed version.

‘’This seems familiar,’’

‘’Like 7 years ago familiar.’’ Roman added, running hands through his hair.

Y/N hummed to the beat of the song, then recognizing the ‘’heart beat through the floor beat’’ that she hasn’t listened to in forever ago.

He extends his hand towards her hand, to where they danced slowly under the dimmed lights of the living room. The world stops between the two of them, the echoes through the song seems as if Y/N and Roman are romanticizing it.  She lays her head down on Roman’s shoulder while they dance.

***Y/N’s FLASHBACK TO 2014***

4 / 8

Y/N was at the bar with Roman, the first time they met – was magical. The song SWEATER WEATHER played in the background of the bar through the speakers,

‘’Care if I get you a drink?’’ His charming smile was contagious to her, she couldn’t say ‘’no.’’ to the Samoan man, whose face was so sunny. She felt lovesick to the 6’3 guy, feeling like ‘’he could hold both her hands in the holes of her sweater.’’ Afterward, Y/N was out of the bar with the Samoan

‘’Thank you so much for a wonderful night,’’ He smiles, before he turned his back, he remembered to keep in contact with Y/N.

‘’What’s your name?’’ She asks, feeling in love on a Friday night.

‘’My name is Roman, but you can call me Ro.’’ Her cheeks heated up when he wrapped an arm around her waist. The feeling of Roman’s huge arm around her waist was ‘’superior’’, yet ‘’so good.’’ ‘’You alright, baby girl?’'

She snapped out of her thoughts, she looked up at Roman.

‘’Yeah, just stared off into space for a little there---- And my name is Y/N. Y/N L/N.’’  

He laughed, ‘’Well, it’s nice to meet you, Y/N. Let me take you home.’’

So, they got in Roman’s car together to drive off to Y/N’s house -  

‘’What brings you here in Florida?’’  Roman asked Y/N.

‘’Oh, well I am visiting family and I decided to go on vacation. I take care of animals at a local animal shelter – it's called Pet Resort.’’ She replied.  

He hummed at her, smiling.

‘’Interesting,’’ he said, his arm still wrapped around her waist as he pulled up to her house. The both of them got out Roman’s car, there, Y/N stumbled a little due to the fact she got a little drunk.  

‘’Whew,’’ she said, almost falling on her ass.

‘’Easy there.’’ Roman tried his best not to laugh at his new friend Y/N, but helped her back up on her two feet.  

‘’Thank you,’’ She half-drunk slurred, smiled widely at Reigns.  

‘’Anytime, baby girl.’’

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

5 / 8

‘’Y/N?’’ Roman snapped a finger in front of his girlfriend’s face, to which she got caught daydreaming.

‘’Huh?’’ she shook her head, eyes up at her boyfriend.

‘’What were you daydreaming about...?’’ He asks her in a bit of concern, and stopped the music.

So, she played stupid and abruptly told him:  

‘’Nothing, I was just daydreaming about unicorns.’’

‘’Unicorns?’’ Roman’s face is now puzzled, trying to figure out his girlfriend. ‘’Nah, baby girl. You were daydreaming about something else. Come on, tell me the tribal chief the truth.’’ Her cheeks heat up with red, his huge finger now on her tilted jawline.  

She shifts her body weight to turn her back, standing in embarrassment, Roman folds his arms across his chest. ‘’You can tell me anything,’’ he says.

‘’Nope.’’ She bravely answered, running away without a sight and headed into her downstairs bedroom to lock the door behind her.  

He groaned with frustration in response, basically playing a game of ‘’Tag, You’re It’’ or ‘’Hide and Seek,’’ Roman wasn’t up for the challenge of finding his girlfriend. But he has to get an answer from her one way or the other. He knocked on the door.

‘’Baby girlllll, can’t hide from the chief foreverrrr.’’ He sang in a cocky tone, kicking the door with his foot.  

‘’Y/N is not here right now!’’ Y/N yelled, army crawling underneath her bed. That pissed him off, he kicks the door open and walks in to the entrance of her bedroom. Looking everywhere for her, he then sees two feet buried underneath of Y/N’s bed. Roman crouches down to meet her laying on her stomach.

‘’Get the hell out of there, you damn childish woman.’’ She declines his demands, so he has to pull her out by her ankles, receiving a big yelp from his girlfriend.  

‘’So uh, I guess you won the game of Hide and Seek?’’ she jokingly says, he rolls his eyes in a reply.

‘’Hide and Seek is for little girls and boys,’’ He pouts, tapping his foot on the wooden flooring of Y/N’s bedroom.

She stands on her tippy toes to kiss her boyfriend, then ran away again.  

‘’Oh, my fucking god Y/N! If you don’t tell me what you were daydreaming about, I am leaving.’’ He threatens, feeling like he’s being toyed with.

6 / 8

She stops in her tracks, and walks calmly back to her boyfriend. Y/N pushes her glasses up at the bridge of her nose, and says:

‘’Fine, so be it since you want to be Mr. Badass.’’ She utters, staring at the tempered Samoan Man.

She turns her back, making a great mistake. He turns her around without any warning and hoists her up. ‘’Ahh! Let me go!’’ she yells.

‘’No ma’am.’’ He growls, carrying her body weight on his broad shoulders. He then sets her down on her couch. ‘’Are you going to tell me?’’ Elbows pressed down on the arm of the couch, with hands resting in his cheeks as he stared at his girlfriend Y/N in deep consideration.

‘’Fine!’’ she chokes out, ‘’I will tell you! It was a 7 year ago memory, from where we first met and I fell drunk on my ass that night, you literally had to carry me inside my house.’’ Y/N’s embarrassed, now the tribal chief had gotten her attention, her strand of hair fell down on her face. She continued:

‘’The song that was playing was our favorite song, Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood. How it was so nice of you to carry me in the house like that, with your strong ass self.’’ Smiling weakly, her breathing got shallow like cold ocean waves hitting against human’s flesh.

He looks at his girlfriend, about to cry. ‘’No, don’t cry---’’

She cuts him off with a firm: ‘’You’re not the Roman I’ve met!’’ and left the room.  

Leaving the head of the table stunned, he slams his fist down on the arm of the couch, shouting: ‘’DAMN Y/N! THEN AFTER ALL OF THIS TIME, WHAT WAS I TO YOU!?’’

Memories flashed before Roman’s eyes, 2-3 years ago from him telling his girl Y/N about his leukemia coming back, telling the whole world who was in the audience that day and watching at home -  

‘’I am sorry.’’ He plops himself down on the couch, hands folded into his lap and bowed his head down. Closing his eyes, he pictured better days with Y/N. Attempting not to cry, he gives a deep exhale of frustration and hurt inside of his gut. Rubbing his head, he lays his body down on the couch. Tapping his foot at the end of the arm of the couch, his mind’s scattered like papers scattered on a desk after studying. You know how your brain hurts right after studying and taking time-management on for college? You know that feeling deep down inside for when you give it your all for your fans, your girlfriend, your friends and family? Me too. I’ve been there before.

The soft guitar strings play in the back of Roman’s mind; his eyes sewn shut, trying not to remember the gut-wrenching feeling he gave Y/N. He has to apologize somehow.

7 / 8

Hours of sleep wasted away, his heart pounded hard in his chest, waking up to Y/N sitting on the arm of the couch, she looked at him.

‘’You’re just not the Roman I’ve met.’’ She muttered quietly, fumbling with her pockets, unsure of to forgive Roman or not.

‘’Sweetheart...’’ He fights back piles of tears starting to form in his chocolate brown eyes, trying not to get worked up over the ‘’You’re not the same person I’ve met 7 years ago.’’ comment.

She takes an inhale of oxygen, then exhales. Attempting to stay content, her body sent shivers down her spine coldly. Getting up, she gives a glance at Roman burying his hands in his face. She never saw him cry like this, ever before in the past 7 years. Of course, it was small cries, or a good 30 second cry.

Walking over to the presence of Roman, Y/N hugged him tight into an unforgettable embrace. They sat there, hugging each other for about 10 minutes.

‘’I never want to lose you,’’ she whispers, stroking the Samoan's long black strands of hair.

‘’You won’t lose me, trust me.’’ He mumbles, wiping his tears away with his black tank top.

Her eyes grow with trust, meaning she trusted in what Roman was telling her – that she would NEVER lose him. And he would never lose her. She knows deep inside of her everything Roman told her was true, the usual ‘’I love you’s’’ and ‘’You look beautiful today’’ was the reason why Y/N had stayed alive. This is not a cliffhanging ending, nor a bad ending – it is a happy ending between the two of them.

‘’Y/N?’’ he turned his attention to Y/N, who was blubbering.

‘’Y-Yes, Roman?’’

He stops what he is saying, and places his hands into his girlfriends’ of 5 years.  

‘’Will you marry me?’’ He proclaims aloud, shaking his head yes in all smiles at the reaction of Y/N, the words that came out of her mouth are: ‘’I say yes!’’ She cries in joy, hugging her newlywed fiancé tightly. Roman Reigns isn’t always your cocky heel character, but he sure knew how to make things better.

‘’I love you, Y/N Anoa’i.’’

‘’I love you too, Roman.’’

---END---

8 / 8

[skylarmoon71]

Leonardo x Reader- Oneshot (TMNT 2014/2016)

So in honor of black history month, I decided to write this Fanfiction. 

As a black woman, it is important to recognize and be proud of who I am. And to all the beautiful black women out there, be proud and thankful for all we’ve achieved. I hope my readers will enjoy this little fiction as much as I liked writing it. There is also a little information about my hometown in this.

Enjoy!! 

"Hey Leo did I leave my.."

"Right here."

Leo was holding your pack of hair ties in his hand. He smiled, and you flushed, taking it with a small thanks.

"You saved my life, I always lose these. Just bought them too." You were so excited for the movie night yesterday that you came right from the store with everything that you shop for that evening. So of course when you got home and couldn't find them, you assumed you left it with the turtles.

"Alright guys quit flirting." Raph buzzed passed, and at that moment you were thankful for your dark skin, because it would be that more embarrassing if Leo could see you blush. Leo brushed off the comment, just shrugging his brother off.

"Don't mind him, he's just mad cause Mikey beat him again in Mario Kart." you giggle, following Leo to the living room.

Easy days like this were nice. Saturdays were what you looked forward to. Friday nights you'd all get together and watch a movie, and Saturdays were reserved for pure relaxation. You moved over taking a seat next to Mikey, and his grin grew wide as he looked at you. You smiled, despite your slight confusion. "Do I have something on my face?" you chuckle.

"Nah brah, it's just your hair." your eyes widened, and you reached over wondering if maybe it was getting unruly again. "Oh crap is it crazy!" you asked, self consciously. You had it loose today, curls falling at the sides. It was puffy and curly at the same time. Almost like a kinky afro. Generally you'd pull your hair back in a high bun, or even a side one. But you couldn't find your ties earlier, and you were really not feeling it to comb through it today.

"Are you kidding! Your hair is amazing, everytime you come it's like in a different style." This time, you were surely blushing. "O-Oh..thank you..." It was no secret that you had untamed hair. You loved it though. Growing up there were people that made you feel a bit insecure about it. Most of the kids at your school had such tamed and straight hair, while you had curly kinky locks. At times it was a challenge styling it, and it did take a while on most days just to get it under control, but it's what made you, you. Your hair was your heritage, your strength.

Leo was watching you from his spot, and he couldn't help but agree with Mikey. It wasn't just your hair that was different, it was everything. He remembered the first time he asked Master Splinter about the differences in humans. He was a kid, probably nine or ten. He didn't know much but what he'd seen Donnie show him when they'd sneak to the surface to peek through the drains.

Looking back he realized just how everyone varied. Hair, skin, eyes. It was so fascinating to him. He loved it all. The diversity, to him it was incredible. As sad as humanity was sometimes, there were occasions that they would surprise him. The world was far from perfect, but there were moments where unity just inspired him to fight harder for the citizens.

You were a clear example of that. Meeting you was not just eye opening but also educational. He'd forever be willing to learn new cultures. So whenever you gave him or his brothers a small history lesson when they questioned something you did or said, he found that he was that more intrigued by you. They'd known you for just a few months, yet it felt like years of friendship. They were still learning more about you, everyday. Now that he thought about it, you weren't born in New York.

"(Y/N), you said you were born in the Caribbean right?"

The way your face spark to life never fails to make his heart pick up.

"That's right, I'm surprised you remembered that. Think I told Mikey the second time we met. He wanted to know why I talked so funny."

"Yeah, what was the name of your country again." Raph questioned from across the room. He was presently doing pull ups on the metal bar.

"Trinidad and Tobago. That's where I was raised, I moved here with my parents four years ago."

"Dude say that thing you did last time." Mikey called excitedly. You rolled your eyes.

"What thing?" Leo asked curiously.

"The way they say what's up is so cool. (Y/N) says it's english but it sounds completely different."

Now Leo really wanted to hear. His sapphire gaze turned on you, and you nibbled on your lip.

"I-It's isn't anything great it's just a greeting."

"I'd like to hear, if you don't mind of course."

You didn't mind at all. Leo was your weakness.

"Wais de scene."

"Seee!! You can't tell me that's english!"

Mikey was jumping up off the chair laughing and now so were you.

"You sounded different too." Leo notes. Your accent was different from the New York drawl he used too. It was nice.

"Can you tell us more." He really did love to learn, and maybe just between him, he kind of liked your native tongue.

~~~~~~

The boys were on patrol, so you figured you'd have more time to yourself. You opted for taking a shower. You'd gotten out a few minutes ago and now you were spraying your hair with olive oil as you ran your fingers through the curls. Your hand shifted to the small container of hair food, dipping in and placing it on your scalp, making sure to get it through the roots. You were glad Leo placed this mirror in his room. You had no idea why though. He didn't seem like the self absorbed type.

"I knew it would come in handy." His voice startled you a little. He closed the door on entry, and you dropped your hands. "H-Hey, I'm sorry I didn't think you guys would be back yet. I wasnt messing with your stuff or anything I just need to use the mirror and yours is so big so I thought why not and I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, I asked Donnie to set it up here for you." you raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're here a lot, and I know girls like styling their hair. I was hoping I'd finally get to see you actually doing it. I've always been curious about how you get it to look so beautiful."

He really did know what to say to make your heart flutter.

Damn that smooth talker.

"Gosh, are you guys on a mission to embarrass me today, you've been complimenting me since this morning and it isn't even my birthday. " you pulled your hair up into a high bun, reaching for a hair tie to keep it in place.

"Wait!" you froze, looking at him.

"S-Sorry I just...I like the way it looks when you leave it down. It's so puffy, kind of cute..." his words trailed off, and you slowly dropped your hand.

"W-Well I guess if you like it then I don't mind. " you couldn't maintain eye contact, so you turned to the items in front of you. Closing the lids of both hair products, you shift over to the sink you wash your hands from the oily substance. When you were done, you reached for the hand cloth, before you could grab it, Leo was behind you, and his hand rested gently over your palm. Your body stilled, pulse increasing.

"Leo.." it was said with so much uncertainty. You weren't sure how things got to this, heck, you weren't expecting it, but you weren't complaining. His hands ran down your arms slowly. With your back still facing him, there wasn't much you could do but hope your breathing wasn't too labored. You'd spent so long trying to keep your feelings for him under wraps. If nothing but to ensure you didn't risk your friendship. Right now though, friendship was far from your thoughts.

"I wasn't being completely forward earlier, it isn't just your hair that's beautiful. " Your heart gave a thump, and when he urged you around slowly, you couldn't bring yourself to look away from him. "Your hair, skin, eyes, lips.." the last word was said longingly, and you swallowed the lump in your throat. "It's a challenge for me sometimes, I envy Mikey's ability to just say what's on his mind. I can barely look at you for too long, otherwise I'm afraid how much harder it'll be for me to hold back." So he was holding back too, geez, and here you thought this attraction was purely one sided.

"What if I..don't want you to hold back Leo.." His blue eyes glimmered, and you swore your knees would buckle just from the intensity of his stare. His hand raised to your cheek, and you released a sigh. How many times did you imagine this scenario in your head. Hundreds? Maybe thousands.

"Then I won't." he closed the space with those three words, and you leaned into it. Leo's arms were secured around your waist as his soft lips covered your own. Your hands gripped at his shoulders, and you tried to keep them from venturing. If they strayed, you weren't sure you'd be able to trust yourself not to grope every inch of his taunt muscular body. The kiss started off slow, innocent even. It was your first one together. You were both trying to savor it. Having longed for this, it felt like a dream.

After a few moments, that tentative demeanor changed to one of dominance and hunger, one that needed to be satisfied. Leo backed you up, not breaking the kiss for even a mere second. Leo's hand around your waist moved to the small of your back, and you gasped when it landed on your butt. He heard the sound, pulling back.

"Should..I..stop.." he forced out between pants. You shook your head, diving back in. Leo groaned, giving your cheek an appreciative squeeze. The action made you open your mouth, and his tongue slipped in. You moaned, and Leo took another step forward, this time he turned, and you let out a soft sound when he fell back in the bed, pulling you with him. He barely seemed affected, taken by the sensations.

You straddled his body, parting to admire his hazed look. Your chest was still heaving, and you wanted nothing more than to join your lips again, but you just liked looking at him. Those azure orbs that were almost penetrating you. His hand ran up your thigh, and he smirked at the way you bit down on your lip.

"Did I mention that I like chocolate?"

You giggle, "I sort of figured it out hotshot." you snark back. You squeaked when he suddenly switched positions. You were now bound to the bed, literally. He pinned both your wrists, that confident smile never leaving.

"I also like being in control." That comment did wild things to your body. You didn't mind at all. He pressed into you, and you whimpered needy. "L-Leo.." you wanted him, needed him now.

"Don't worry, I'd never leave you all hot and bothered, no matter how arousing it is to watch."

"Stop talking and kiss me!"

"So bossy." He taunted.

"Leo!"

He leaned down, giving your neck a soft kiss.

"Save your voice, you're gonna need it."

You gulped, and Leo took your breath away before you could fully think about it.

You were in store for a very...busy night.

[todoroki-waifu]

Note: I wrote this in 2014 but never posted it. At least I think I didn’t? Lol. Anyway, this is my first Haikyuu fic! I edited it a bit so hopefully you guys enjoy it! I love Kageyama so much. 😭♥️😭♥️

Kageyama x F!Reader

Word Count: 1631

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Cursing.

A quiet but long sigh passes between your lips, your jaw resting on your palm while you stare out the window. All your friends take note of your somber mood and although you tell them you’re fine, your response doesn’t match your behavior. It was the beginning of the lunch period, but the cold weather persuaded everyone to stay indoors. 

Desks were moved around to accommodate the students’ ideal seating arrangement with their friends. You suddenly felt your desk shift slightly and you turn your head to find that Kageyama had pushed his table right beside yours. 

“Oi, I know you’re lying.”

“Eh? Lying about what?" 

"That you’re ‘okay’.” He situated himself back to his seat, facing you with determination to have you reveal what you’ve been hiding. 

“I’m not lying. Really! I’m just…tired. I didn’t get enough sleep.” Maybe if you kept telling yourself that, you might actually believe it yourself. 

“Hn.” He leaned in slightly with an interrogating aura surrounding him. 

“A-anyway, I’m gonna get something from the vending machine. Want anything?” You stood up, his presence overwhelming you slightly. 

“Yes, I want you to tell me the truth." 

"Kageyama-kun, I said I’m fine, okay? If you keep asking, I’m going to get mad.” Your annoyed look shut his mouth.

A few moments after you left, the door of his classroom was roughly opened and a slightly high pitched voice gathered everyone’s attention.

“__(y/n)-chan!” Nishinoya sings your name before his eyes try to find you. “Are you okay?!" 

"Who do I need to beat up?!” Tanaka pounds his right fist into his left palm. 

“Guys, we shouldn’t be so loud.” Asahi tries to hush the boisterous duo. 

“We brought you something that’ll hopefully cheer you up.” Sugawara chimes in, holding up a bag filled with various goodies. 

“Oh! You guys came here, too?” Yamaguchi is surprised with the sudden crowd in the room. 

“I told you it was unnecessary for us to come here.” Tsukishima sighs but quickly glances around the classroom to find you. 

Kageyama finds the volleyball team entering the room, walking to where yours and his desks were. 

“Where did __(y/n)-chan go?” Hinata asks after returning from the restroom.

“She went to get something from the vending machine." 

"Oi! Did you do something to __(y/n)-chan?” The two first years look to where their volleyball senpais were gathered.

“You! You look pretty guilty. What did you do to __(y/n)-chan, damn it?”

“Now, now, let’s calm down. I’m sorry about them. ___(y/n) is our friend and we’re just worr-”

“I’m sorry! I-I didn’t do anything, I swear! I don’t even talk to __(y/n)-chan!” cries the freshman who Tanaka and Nishinoya decided to question. 

“I’m sorry about these three. Please ignore them.” Daichi bows his head to the young male, dragging Asahi, Tanaka, and Nishinoya to where the rest of the group was. 

“Stop scaring the first years!” He scolds. 

“Eh? But I didn’t-” Asahi doesn’t understand why he was being scolded. 

“Your face is already scary enough!” The poor long haired boy pouts at his failed attempt to defend himself. 

“Did you manage to find anything out from ___(y/n)-chan?” Kageyama hears Hinata ask.

“She hasn’t said anything. She keeps saying she’s fine and that she’s just tired." 

"Maybe we shouldn’t push her into telling us, but let’s just try to show our support.” Sugawara places a few snacks the team bought for you beside your bento. 

“You guys are overreacting. If she says she’s tired, then maybe it’s just that.” Tsukishima grunts.

“I know the difference between her being tired and when there’s something on her mind." 

"Do you really, now? I didn’t know you paid that much attention to her.” The blonde smirks at the black haired setter. 

“S-s-shut up! I just …there’s just a difference with her mood, that’s all! It’s not that hard to tell." 

"Let’s not argue. We’re here for __(y/n)-chan, remember?” Yamaguchi tries to pacify the two. 

“Actually, Kageyama is right. __(y/n)-chan isn’t tired. She’s a bit heartbroken.” Kiyoko finally reveals what has been bothering you. She knew exactly what brought down your mood. Although she wasn’t one to blurt out your private conversation, if it had the boys this concerned, they deserved to know that it wasn’t too serious, like someone bullying you.

“Heartbroken?" 

"Yes, she found out that the guy she likes, likes someone else.” That was all she would say. Giving out too much details would betray your trust. “I told her maybe it wasn’t true, but it still discouraged her. Anyway, try not to say anything. I don’t want to worsen her mood.”

The gang agreed silently to not mention what Kiyoko had said and decided to focus on making you feel better. You were surprised to find the group surrounding your seat, but smiled at their presence. You had a feeling they had the same concerns as Kageyama.

You were feeling better than this morning, but once in a while, you would slip into your distracted gaze. Kageyama was becoming quite annoyed with your behavior. Who the hell was that bastard anyway? He bet he would be a waste of your time. So, why did you care about him so much? 

After practice, he was one of the last few to leave school grounds. He spotted you walking towards the school gates, the setter quickening his pace to match yours. He got lucky that both your club activities ended simultaneously.

“Oi, __(y/n)," 

He was met with silence.

”__(y/n).“ He raised his voice slightly and frowned when you ignored him.

”___(y/n)!“ Kageyama finally manages to capture your attention.

"Ep!” You screech, turning to where you felt your hand being grabbed. Your free hand had its fingers curled tightly against your palm, ready to strike, but stopped when you recognized the individual.

“K-k-kageyama-kun! You scared me!”

“I’ve been trying to call you!” He had one arm up to defend against your almost attack. 

“S-sorry! I didn’t hear you.” You lowered your guard and he did the same, slowly releasing his grip.

“Clearly. Are you still thinking about what’s been bothering you all day?”

“N-no, I’m just tired.” You didn’t want your friends to worry.

“W-who cares about that damn bastard!” He was fed up with your crush. In the first place, why the hell didn’t your crush notice such a beautiful girl longing to be with him? Second, did he think he was too good for you?

“Huh?”

“I heard from Kiyoko-senpai that you had your heart broken. She didn’t say who, but that’s why you’ve been upset. Like I said, who cares about him? You’re too good for him anyway! I bet he’s just some idiot who’s too stupid to notice you. I bet he isn’t worthy of your attention. You should give me his name so I can kick his weak ass! I’ll prove to you that you don’t need a dumbass like that.”

“So…you mean to say that you’ll kick your own ass?” You blinked, tilting your head to the side a bit.

“Kick my own ass…? The hell would I do that for?”

“I’m gonna give you a minute to think about it.” You found it cute how Kageyama was becoming defensive for you. You didn’t intend to reveal who you were admiring, but you would feel better if your feelings were at least known.

“…I’m the lame dumbass that you like?” He points at himself, shock painting his face once he registers what you said.

“Yeah.” You nodded. “A-ah, but I don’t think you’re a dumbass!”

“Wait, but I thought that the guy you liked, likes someone else?” Kageyama was confused! He didn’t like anyone but you!

“Exactly. I’m probably taking a big risk here, but you’re my crush, Kageyama-kun. I heard Hinata talking about how you both admire Makoto-senpai and how you wish that she was in our year and that she would join the volleyball team. And I heard that you also plan to ask her out.”

“Wait…what? No way! I don’t like Makoto-senpai like that! And I think you’re seriously misunderstanding here.” [1]

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure which Makoto you’re referring to but I’m talking about the guy from the swimming club. Anyway, the reason I said that was because I admire him. He’s very athletic and passionate about swimming. I know it has nothing to do with volleyball, but I heard he gives out excellent training tips. I was hoping that we’d meet up sometime to discuss what I can do to increase my strength and stamina.”

“Oh…” you nod slowly before embarrassment shows on your cheeks. “Oh! Oh my -I’m so sorry for assuming things.”

“I-it’s fine.” He looks away to hide his cheeks that matched yours. “You can m-m-make it up to me by letting me take you o-out on a d-d-d-date.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you on a date? I technically did confess first.” With your face burning a deeper red and a shy smile, Kageyama felt his heart pump faster.

“But I l-liked you first so I should be the one asking.” He argues childishly, slightly disappointed that he didn’t get to confess to you beforehand. But that disappointment didn’t stay long since he was more than happy to hear your feelings.

“Is that so?”

“Mm.” He firmly answers.

“All right, well, I’m free Friday night. Does that work with you?”

“Yeah. I’ll pick you up at your place at 7?”

“It’s a date.” You take a step closer to him and lightly kiss his cheek. “See you then!" 

He watches you turn towards the direction of your house, your figure becoming further away from him. Shaking himself from the slight daze caused by your kiss, he quickly follows you.

"W-wait!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[1] Free! :p

[harryskalechips]

Hung up high in the gallery

A/N Hello I am back with an angsty story! I would like to call out an anon who gave me this idea! Sadly I made it turn into a depressing one-shot LMAO Anyways, please enjoy!

Harry and Jeff decide to spend their Friday night at a mysterious art opening. Harry starts to realize though that maybe these photos have a deeper meaning than he originally thought. 

Word count 2350

“Look, dude, I know you’re busy on Friday nights writing music and all but why won’t you come to an art opening with me? Glenne is feeling sick and I was invited to go.” Jeff suggests as he talks to Harry through the phone. Harry was just laying on his couch, watching an old episode of friends.

“I mean… yeah, sure. I’m not doing much anyway.”

“Really? Wow, never thought it would be this easy to pull you out of your house.”

“Funny.” Harry sarcastically laughs as he finally sits up on his couch so he can make his way into his bedroom.

“Okay, how about I text you the address and we meet up? Let’s say at 6:30.”

“Wait, Jeff, what are we supposed to wear?” The thing about Harry is that he can go to events every night and they can all be the same ones but he wouldn’t know what to wear to an art opening.

“Wear whatever you want,” Jeff replies. He didn’t know who was the artist they were going to see but since he knew the gallery owner, he was automatically invited to these things.

~

Harry’s eyes light up a bit as he catches Jeff exiting out of his car. Doing the same, he meets his friend in the middle of the entrance right before they enter the building. “I can’t believe I’m your date tonight.” Harry teases as he hugs his best friend.

“Yeah, thanks, babe.” Jeff laughs along.

As they stepped inside, they noticed that they were at an art opening for a new photographer. Photographs of different colours and moods were framed on the white walls with a spotlight on each. They were beautiful and nonetheless carried a story each individually.

The boys were separated a bit throughout the night as Jeff was pulled into conversations with his father’s old pals. Harry entertained some guests who were driven to get to know him because of his fame. A glass of champagne and another, a few appetizers here and there and Harry was now completely bored.

He walked around by himself throughout the gallery. He didn’t want to pull Jeff out of his social circle nor did he want to stick around next to him like a regular date. The weird thing about this art opening was the artist.

They never presented themselves during the introduction of the night nor was their name plastered anywhere. It was kind of suspicious, Harry thought to himself. Maybe they’ll present themselves at the end of the night or something? He didn’t even realize he was entering a new hallway that led to an enclosed room. A couple smiles at him as they walk out leaving him to look around the room with a new set of pictures.

He was the only man in the room as he heard the soft music and conversation going on in the main hall. Looking around, he quickly notices how each picture around the room starts to lose colour until it’s just black and grey.  What were these photos even about?

Starting at the right side of the room, he looks at the first photo with the most colour. It was a picture of a lot of flowers. It was a bit messy too but he started to notice that the flowers looked familiar. It kind of clicked when he realized that each flower he had a shirt of. Weird really, how the photo yelled at him. The title of the picture was just called Colourful. It was a basic name for a picture that showed so much mayhem. So much excitement.

He carried on through the range of photos, there were only ten but he took all his time in the world observing each one. How each photo gave him flashbacks. Specifically flashbacks of his time in New York.

During his time in One Direction around 2014, he lived in New York a bit. He bought himself a decent-sized penthouse and explored a bit during his time off. Went to every cliché place in the city, went to too many fancy events and fashion shows. Probably dated a lot of models too but he knew they were all flings anyway. It was because he met one girl at this coffee shop near his place.

Her name was Y/N. She loved photography probably as much as this artist right now. She had dreams in a busy city. She was still in university but despite both of their busy schedules, they managed to date for a whole year. He was so in love with her.

As Harry noticed he was eyeing the third photograph for too long, he started to wonder if this was her art opening. But how could that be possible anyways? Last time he remembered she wasn’t making much off her passion. She was becoming pessimistic with all the unlimited rejection New York City had to offer her. It would make his mind go crazy if she flew across America to start her career here. He knew she was damn well talented but he doesn’t think he can handle that idea if it were true.

If another person would observe these photos, they would call these pictures beautiful and deep but in reality, the artist knew that they wouldn’t understand anything from this specific collection. No one should. Yes, art is subjective and can be interpreted in many ways but no one would ever realize that the arrangement of photos showed the artist’s journey...in love.

Harry walks back to the second photo before moving on in the line, noticing that each specific detail seems to make him uncomfortable. After the random pictures of flowers, the next photo showed coffee beans sprinkled with glitter on a table? The mood? Energized. Childlike. The name? Addicted. The third photo showed a pair of stereotypical chelsea boots laying recklessly on a carpet with popcorn all over the floor. The mood? Unknown. The name? Comfortable. The fourth photo displayed a flame in a forest all alone with stars above. The mood? Intimate. The name? Ignited. The fifth photo, however, was different from the other four as the colour was the most saturated than the rest. A very big difference that catches a person’s attention. How he thought the colour was decreasing throughout each photo but now this proves him wrong. It was a picture of a girl’s hand in a man’s hair. The mood? Sexual. The name? S. S? Harry makes a face of confusion. The artist clearly took a photo while she was receiving oral pleasure. Harry thought to himself. This artist has to be a girl. The title… she has to be referring to sex.

 The next 5 photos, however, took a turn as they showed a depressing mood. They slowly turned to black and white. The sixth photo was a bunch of shoes on one side of a sidewalk all facing one way. The seventh photo showed a glass wine with a goldfish inside with a little hole with water pouring out. The eighth photo showed the fourth picture but the trees no longer had leaves. The stars were gone and the flame has diminished. The ninth photo showed a simple white bed with the title Miss. The last photo was a picture of the artist’s neck. Oh, she is a girl. It was a picture of her holding a necklace with her fist covering the charm but you see Harry took his time to stare at the photo longer. In between her digits, was a sight of a ring. A ring he knew too well. A ring he gave to Y/N. The title? In love.

“Hi! Would you like to come to the main presentation room now? The photographer will be introducing herself.” Harry turns himself immediately to catch the girl who interrupted his thought process.

“Y/N.” He mumbles as he stands still, completely in shock. So she was here.

“Oh, Harry! It’s so nice to see you again. I-uh I didn’t realize you would be here tonight?” She smiles warmly as she tries to cover up her stutter. She was all dolled up. Her hair was curled nicely. She was wearing a simple white flowy dress with sparkly heels.  She walks towards him and gives him a good hug.

“So, you’re the artist huh?” He tries to make his heart stop beating fast. It’s been five years, why is he acting unstable?

“That was actually supposed to be a secret but yeah, I am.” She smiles sweetly as she looks around the room he’s been standing in. “Oh, were you looking at this collection?” She crosses her arms and looks around the room of pictures. So, her photos in this collection weren’t exactly groundbreaking like the rest but she wanted to showcase this one too because it made her who she is.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful work Y/N.”

“Thank you.”

“Can you explain the whole story?” Harry bit his cheek a bit as he carefully watched her. He wanted her to admit that these photos were somehow about him. How could it not be? The photo of the flowers, his Chelsea boots, the model’s hair in between her thighs, the sidewalk… that had to be the paparazzi. The rest of the photos were metaphors except for the last one because he couldn’t understand it. In love? Why was it the last photo after all the depressing ones? Why was it black and white?

“Of these photos?” She laughs in shock. “I can’t. You need to interpret them.” She looks back at him and takes a big swallow.

“Well correct me if I’m wrong but these photos seem to be about us.” The mood Y/N brought along with her suddenly fell. She somehow forgot she had to introduce herself to the rest of her visitors as she stood in front of a man who changed her life.

“Why do you say that?” She doesn’t even try to correct him! Harry smirks to himself as he watches her fidget.

“I was there throughout each step of our relationship. Also this last photo,” He walks closer towards it and points at her fingers. “That ring, I bought it in a vintage shop in Paris in 2013. I gave it to you the first fight we had.” She glares at him for a few seconds before speaking out.

“Yeah.” She gives up and lets out an exhale. “You’re right. This collection is about us.” Harry couldn’t even properly listen to her as he stared coldly at her bare neck.

“Wow, can’t believe you dedicated a whole collection for our story.” He laughs and walks towards the fifth photo. Y/N stands silently, just watching him “You’re really clever. The title is S. We all know that meant sex.” He laughs out loud as he looks at her. Was it obvious he was trying to not talk about the depressing side of their love story? How this whole collection showed why their love stood no chance against his fame.

“The title S. actually doesn’t stand for sex.” She shakes her head and smirks. “It stands for Styles.” Now that made his laugh disappear. He realized that there was no way he can find humour in this whole collection because the truth is what happened between them was sad. It was sad to the point, he had to force himself to forget about her. How was that possible! Ever since New York. Track 8 on HS1.

“Oh.”

“Wondering about the colour difference?” She takes a seat on the lonely beach and offers him to sit beside her. He takes a seat without looking at her. He only looks at the picture of the paparazzi. He knew they were the reason. The reason he grew overprotective of her. The reason that he knew so well of what broke them apart.

“Yeah.”

“Many people won’t understand what’s going on this whole series. They think that the colour is probably my love that slowly drains out.” She pauses a bit and looks behind her to make sure no one can hear her. “But the truth is, the colour represents my fear. In the beginning when I first met you. I was scared to get to know you more. My head was in a party of different emotions. Different voices in my head. Just ultimate chaos, you know? But that slowly disappeared as I fell in love with you. That picture,” She points at the fourth one with the fire pit. “You ignited something in me. I felt reassurance that you would take care of me and love me the same way but as the fifth photo shows, all that fear came back rushing into me as we spent our first night sleeping together. I guess you can say S. does mean sex but I named it after you because when you were asleep in my sheets that night all I can think about is your name and who you truly are.”

“If you noticed, the colour is strongly decreasing for the rest of the photos. You know, despite the most hurtful part of our relationship that was so exhausting and stressful, I was still in love with you. I no longer had fear. I was no longer scared to admit to everyone that I was in love with you even though all this sad metaphorical shit represents us. I guess the last photo shows that I am in love with you even everything we went through. You get the vibe right?” She tearfully smiles at Harry as she notices he’s already looking at her.

“I’m sorry about what happened between us.” he takes a hold of her hand looks at her.

“It’s okay, it’s been five years. I’m okay now.” She laughs it off but he still knows her like the back of his hand. He knew there had to be something still there in between him but what happens if that’s a lie and it’s all in his head?

Something inside Harry that he kept buried in his heart began to grow pressure. It felt like his heart was actually aching like it was about to explode. What happens if I’m not? What happens if I tell you right now I’m still in love with you! “Yeah, five years. I’m okay now too.” He lies.

[thecollegefootballguy]

2021 Top Games of the Week: Week 3

Much like Week 2, there are only a few high profile games in Week 3. Blame non-conference play. Only a couple of series were scheduled between high profile opponents. However, we are also seeing a number of great rivalries being revived on the gridiron.

The Top Ten Games of the Week

10. UCF 2-0 (0-0) at Louisville 1-1 (0-0) (Friday, Sep 17)

Don’t sleep on UCF. The Knights acquitted themselves well against Boise State in Week 1 and are perfectly capable of challenging Cincinnati once again for the AAC title. Louisville is hard to gauge at the moment. The Cardinals couldn’t keep up with Ole Miss but few teams can. Newly refurbished UCF will give us a better idea where Louisville stands.

9. #16 Coastal Carolina 2-0 (0-0) at Buffalo 1-1 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

If Cincinnati holds the pole position in the G5 race, then Coastal Carolina is right there in second place. The Chanticleers were able to beat Kansas at home, but the Jayhawks are a terrible P5 team. Now CCU has to go on the road to a relatively talented G5 program. Buffalo has taken a step back from their great season in 2020, but they should still provide a stiff test for Coastal.

8. #8 Cincinnati 2-0 (0-0) at Indiana 1-1 (0-1) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The higher stakes relative of the Coastal Carolina game sees G5 front-runner Cincinnati on the road against Indiana. It’s clear that the Hoosiers also aren’t as strong as their 2020 incarnation, but they’re a competent P5 program and will be seen as one of the primary hurdles all season. Wins against the P5 mean more.

7. Purdue 2-0 (0-0) at #12 Notre Dame 2-0 (Saturday, Sep 18)

One of the great underrated rivalries in the Midwest has to be the Notre Dame-Purdue series. The Shillelagh will be up for grabs for the first time since 2014. The Fighting Irish ended their longstanding in-state rivalry after joining the ACC, but we’re glad to see it back on the schedule and hope the two can work something out.

6. Virginia 2-0 (0-0) at #21 North Carolina 1-1 (0-1) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The South’s Oldest Rivalry gets a moment to shine as two division rivals square off. Virginia won the ACC Coastal in 2019, while North Carolina was the biggest success story in the conference in 2020. The Tar Heels almost certainly would have won the division last year had the Atlantic and Coastal structure not been dropped to temporarily house Notre Dame. However, UNC did lose to their rivals to the North in the head to head matchup. Now they’re thrown together with divisional aspirations on the line.

5. #15 Virginia Tech 2-0 (1-0) at West Virginia 1-1 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Two old Big East rivals square off once again as Virginia Tech takes on West Virginia for the first time since 2017. The Hokies are flying high following their dominating win over North Carolina in Week 1. The Mountaineers failed in their opening test against rival Maryland. Now WVU has the chance to set things right again by taking back the Black Diamond Trophy.

4. Nebraska 2-1 (0-1) at #3 Oklahoma 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Finally, for the first time since 2010, Nebraska and Oklahoma reunite on the gridiron to play one of college football’s great rivalry games. I labeled it the best rivalry killed by conference realignment a few years ago. It’s great to see them playing once more. I don’t expect the game itself to be that competitive, but you never know with these kinds of things.

3. #19 Arizona State at #23 BYU (Saturday, Sep 18)

Now this one is interesting.  Arizona State is in the mix for the PAC-12 South based on their performance last year, but so far the Sun Devils haven’t proven themselves against serious competition in 2021. That changes when they travel to Provo this weekend. BYU has already claimed two PAC-12 scalps in this young season, the Cougars are looking to make it a hat trick.

2. #22 Auburn at #10 Penn State (Saturday, Sep 18)

We love to see this kind of aggressive scheduling between two powerful programs. This is the kind of thing we as fans need to encourage. Auburn comes into the game with two wins against two nobody programs. This is their first real test in 2021 and it’s in a very hostile environment. Penn State appears to have rebounded since their humiliating 2020 campaign. The Nittany Lions can push themselves into the Playoff conversation with a win here.

1. #1 Alabama 2-0 (0-0) at #11 Florida 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The scheduling gods gave us a scheduling treat when they gave us a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship Game so soon after it was played. Alabama is looking as fierce as ever, gunning for another national championship. Florida has their best shot in a while at knocking off the Crimson Tide with the enemy coming down to Gainesville for the first time since 2011. We should see some fireworks.

-

5 G5 Games of the Week

5. Nevada 2-0 (0-0) at Kansas State 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Nevada is looking really solid so far. The Wolf Pack have already beaten Cal and seem to be real contenders for the West Division. Kansas State had a good win over Stanford in Week 1 but the Wildcats struggled with Southern Illinois last week after the injury bug bit.

4. Fresno State 2-1 (0-0) at #13 UCLA 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Two teams whose stock has been rising steadily in the last two weeks are Fresno State and UCLA. The Bulldogs nearly upset defending PAC-12 Champions Oregon, then the Ducks turned around and beat Ohio State last week. Meanwhile, the Bruins’ win over LSU in the Rose Bowl has been a shining moment for the PAC-12 in the young season. These could be the two best teams in California squaring off.

3. Utah 1-1 (0-0) at San Diego State 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

San Diego is once again out for PAC-12 blood. The Aztecs easily dispatched Arizona last week and have their sights set on Utah. The Utes don’t often lose twice, and SDSU’s temporary stadium in Carson doesn’t have the same atmosphere as LaVell Edwards Stadium.

2. Oklahoma State 2-0 (0-0) at Boise State 1-1 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The Mountain West could be in for a big week if Boise State can take care of business against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys barely managed to scrape by Tulsa at home. The Broncos should provide an even stiffer test.

1. Mississippi State 2-0 (0-0) at Memphis 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Oh yeah, we’re gonna see a glorious track meet between Mississippi State and Memphis. And I’m not sure I’d say that the Tigers are the underdog in the Liberty Bowl.

-

FCS Games of the Week

5. #24 Kennesaw State 1-1 (0-0) at Wofford 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

A cool regional non-conference series.

4. #6 Delaware 2-0 (1-0) at Rutgers 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Rutgers is improving so it’s probably a bit foolish to talk myself into this, but I’m talking myself into this.

3. Charleston Southern 1-0 (0-0) at #20 Monmouth 1-1 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

Two of the best programs in the Big South square off in a match that should go far in determining the conference champion.

2. #21 Richmond 2-0 (0-0) at #12 Villanova 2-0 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The CAA always delivers a solid game on a weekly basis. Both squads have looked very solid so far, let’s see who has an early lead in the Colonial race.

1. #3 James Madison 2-0 (1-0) at #9 Weber State 1-1 (0-0) (Saturday, Sep 18)

The FCS delivers another top ten out-of-conference matchup. Both James Madison and Weber State are likely Playoff bound, this is just a test to see who gets a first round bye.

[sailing-elitsha]

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

Our first ocean crossing is a fact!!

The last miles were draining. Running with constantly changing winds, crossing waves and without spinnaker is not funny. I was not seasick this time, but caught an ear infection, which I thought will be okay after a while, because I got antibiotic from Doctor Josephine in St Helena for my leg infection. Without consulting a doc in St Helena again, we left. The crossing waves and light wind made me nauseous because my ear was blocked. The night watches drained but the spirit of the crew, Dick and I, maintained unbroken positive and happy. We caught a tuna and a barracuda. The swordfish, when we finally had him close to Elitsha, went back to the sea. The line broke and he is now the coolest fish in the South Atlantic with a hip piercing on his sword nose. The barracuda, I caught on my watch. Dick was sleeping and I got him close, which was not easy, but then I saw his teeth, I knew, this I won’t do on my own. Together we got him in.  Even though I was not feeling well, I baked several breads, cooked tuna curry, and did my watches. Dick took the more difficult watches and let me sleep a little bit longer each night. I rest much more then he did. So, you can imagine, we both looked forward to having a good sleep after arriving in Fernando. Bob the aircraft engineer was close to us, but they wanted to continue their way to the Caribbean straight forward. Going ashore in Fernando de Noronha was not allowed, so all Yachties skip the island. We were hoping on getting water and to be allowed to just sleep 3 nights at the anchorage and continue sailing afterwards.

Immensely proud and happy on Friday the 30th of April at 5 am after having sailed 1812 nautical miles we arrived at Fernando de Noronha, a small Island and Nature Reserve at the Brazilian Coast. Dick and I were both a bit emotional: WE DID IT!!!!!! Its always special to arrive after a long sail. First you hear and see birds, then lights, then the shape of land, then you smell something different……… But this time is was special special. We arrived at the other side of a very very big and deep (4000+ m deep) ocean.

40 meters of anchor chain and we lay in front of a beautiful beach in a beautiful bay. This Island is a Nature Reserve and so so beautiful. We were the only yachties. Nobody is allowed to enter the island from sea. we could smell the cocktails, but were nut allowed to grab them.....made our owns though....Due to humanitarian reasons they have to allow us to buy fresh supplies and water, which we needed to continue the rest of our voyage. After we arrived, our yellow Checkers cloth and the Brazilian flag went up the mast. Nothing happened. Dick was swimming with zebrafish and sharks in the meantime. After half a day waiting and asking harbour control again and again on the radio we finally got an answer. At 3 o clock we got picked up and the harbour master welcomed us together with the police. The police would escort us to the shops and the next day we have to leave. Zora pictured out a scenario of Dick and I in handcuffs in de shops grabbing 5 l canisters of water and apples under supervision of the police officers, when we told her. (There is a photo of Alex, the police officer, faking to arrest Dick. That photo was especially taken for Zora.)

But it went differently. We were very fortunate to meet Alex, a Brazilian federal policeman from Brasilia, the only English-speaking person on this island. They all try google translate, but internet is a crime here. So Alex was the solution. He told us that the extra days of sleep could only been allowed if I would get a doctor’s attest and then he drove with us to the hospital, translated, then to the Pharmacia, then to the harbour again to explain that I was even sicker than I thought, and the doctor wants to see me every day till Monday. He and his colleagues wrote reports, spoke to their boss, to make it happen for us to stay longer. This way we not only were allowed to stay 3 nights, but we were also allowed to explore the island. The police brought our 60 l water and fresh supplies to the boat and gave us very valuable tips for sightseeing, bus routes, the best bars and best meals of the islands: platter federale ( a seafood food platter the chef  always creates for the federal police men and Caipirinha pinto. They gave us a branche with well 12 coconuts on it. Uii, lekker.  We ate a special bean soup with quail eggs…….. Alex was and still is our hero and became a friend. We had a very special time at Fernando de Noronha. Again, everybody knew us, helped and was friendly. 

Traveling during Corona is not easy, but at the same time very special. People are happy with every single tourist; it is not full and overcrowded. Covid in Brazil is hectic. In Fernando they have not one case. Its so normal to sanitize and wear masks. Fortunately, we will not get a Brazilian stamp in our passport, which is good. This stamp could close some borders for us. So, we visited a little piece of Brazil, met a lot of Brazilians from Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Recife and other Brazilian Cities, and got information and a little bit of insights in the culture.

 We ate delicious Brazilian food, but officially we have never been in Brazil. How is that?Traveling in the Caribbean with a South African flag is a problem we were told, because of the racist history. That was one of the reasons why we choose a German registration. But sailing with a German flag in Brazil was also a thingy: 7:1, the water taxi captain said when he saw the black/red/gold. I apologized and promised, that we (the Germans) would never beat them (soccer WC 2014) again in a semi-final in their own country with 7:1. That was good, then.

Even though it was great and relaxing. It was quite expensive to stay on an Eco Island. For 3 days we paid 200 dollars. When we wanted to go to a beach at the other end of the island today, they wanted us to pay another 100 dollars (a 9 day valid ticket for three beaches). We rather went back to the for-free-harbour-beach with the bus again and saw turtles, lemon sharks and a lot of other beautiful fish. Wrong!!! Dick saw them. I am not allowed to snorkel. Grrrrrr. My ears!!!! So, we didn’t need a 100-dollar beach. From here we could even see Elitsha waving towards us. 

��From Elitsha we see dolphins around us spinning in the morning, zebra fish all around and the trumpet fish from St. Helena followed us to Fernando. 

Our last water taxi was a luxe motor yacht with fancy leather seating. Dick and I felt like Crockett and Tubbs in Miami Vice. So funny. 

Last evening at Fernando. Tomorrow we lift our anchor and off we go again. The doldrums are waiting for us and then the north east trades to lift us to Suriname. Can’t wait to explore the rainbow forest that side. 

A big thank you to our shore captains, Anneke, Zora and Holger, who make harbour arrangements for us, inform us about the weather and much more; to Wiek, our fishing coach, for telling us afterwards what we caught and have eaten, hahaha and to all our friends and supporters who react and encourage us all the way of our journey. Its fantastic to be in touch with you. 

Believe us, we enjoy every single second and moment of our journey with each other and are so so glad and happy that we are doing this with the two of us. Don’t forget to donate for the nautical miles we are sailing. 

Lots of loveDick, Sylke and Elitsha     

Questions for the Elitsha competition:

1.       What is the capital of Brazil?

2.       Where is Fernando de Noronha?

3.       What is a sea mountain?

4.       What kind of shark, did my husband dive with?

5.       How does a trumpet fish look like? (and don’t tell me: like a trumpet, hahaha. I want to see a photo.) 

All participants will receive a price!!!!!!! 

For the ones who want to take part in our sponsor sail: We have sailed 1812 nautical miles. You can donate a cent, a Rand, a Euro or whatever per nautical mile. We are sailing for these amazing schools: every nautical mile and each Rand counts. To UBUNTU for Africa, German NGO.                                                                                                                                                                          The money will go to the UBUNTU for Africa projects: after care at Hout Bay Primary School and the music project at Silikamva High School. This organisation I started 12 years ago (www.ubuntuforafrica.com) Of course, you will receive a tax certificate. 

Ubuntu for Africa-Kinder-, Jugend und Familienhilfe in Südafrika                          Volksbank Boenen e G                                                                                            IBAN: DE91 4106 2215 0054 5799 01                                                                  

For South Africans and others, who want to donate directly to South Africa (also with tax certificate): please donate to Kronendal Primary School (www.kronendalprimary.com). I worked for 10 years at Kronendal Primary as a school counsellor. This school struggles financially due to the consequences of the Covid Pandemic and deserves our support.                                                    KRONENDAL PRIMARY SCHOOL trading as CUIM (“the account holder”) holds the following account with                                                                                        First National Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (“FNB”): Account Type BUSINESS ACCOUNT Account Number 53452884035                                           Branch Code 204009                                                                                         Branch Name HOUT BAY 345                                                                               Swift Code FIRNZAJJ                                                                                                                                                             WE DID IT

[gdwessel]

G1 Climax 31 Night 4 - 9/24/2021; Government Looking To Lift State Of Emergency At End Of Month; Suzuki v. Homicide (and Ishimori v. Deppen) in GCW, Suzuki/Archer v. Mox/Kingston in AEW Both Air Last Night; ELP Returns To Impact to Assist Bey & Hikuleo

Well I DID say my time was short yesterday in the last post...

G1 Climax 31 continued on Friday, in a show you can see now on NJPWWorld. B Block matches continued on this particular show. Only 816 persons at this one. Not good.

- 9/24/2021, Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] (Small Package, 14:10)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Tama Tonga [Bullet Club] d. Chase Owens [Bullet Club] (Gunstun, 12:59)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Jeff Cobb [United Empire] d. YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] (Tour Of The Islands, 13:21)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Taichi [SZKG] d. SANADA [Los Ingobernables] (Black Mephisto, 25:15) 

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. EVIL [Bullet Club] (Rainmaker, 21:46)

Okada naturally declared he would win G1 once again, same as last time. Taichi and Cobb look like the next likely runners-up this time around. 

Current B Block standings:

Cobb - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Okada - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Taichi - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) EVIL - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) SANADA - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Tanahashi - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Tonga - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Goto - 0pts (0W 0D 2L) Owens - 0pts (0W 0D 2L) YOSHI-HASHI - 0pts (0W 0D 2L)

I mentioned last post that I had some things to talk about but didn’t have the time. That would be the reports that the government may be lifting the state of emergency at the end of September, owing to lowering rates of infection since they peaked in August. What with the coincidental timing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party holding leadership elections soon, and a general election due to happen before 11/24/2021, it is entirely possible this is a political move rather than one based in science or statistics. Certainly Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would like to step down on a good note. 

With the state of emergency going away (if it does), this would certainly allow for bigger crowds at events, including, hey, pro wrestling. Attendances being down is not something that is only affecting NJPW -- Big Japan, for example, has been drawing pretty low (less than 100) crowds themselves recently. One thing that has been mentioned was lowering the requirement of government-decreed quarantine sites for travelers into Japan; travelers WOULD still be required to quarantine on their own, however. (There are also reports that the USA will be lessening restritctions for UK/EU travelers as well, so maybe we WILL get Shooter in the USA soon?) We won’t know anything for certain until the orders come down.

Last night was a real treat for Minoru Suzuki fans, what with two matches in NYC being shown on various networks, and there wasn’t even any real overlap so you could potentially have seen both.

First off, Suzuki once again main evented a GCW event, beating indie icon Homicide at Get Lost A Lot from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens. Both men looked like they were having the time of their lives in the match. Afterwards, Suzuki got the mic, and said “I speak little English. Thank you New York City, and thank you fucking Homicide!” The match was a banger, in a night that had several bangers, not least of which was Bone Soldier, Taiji Ishimori, defeating Tony Deppen in a thriller. Seriously, spend the $15 on FITE TV (or $20 if you want to bundle it with Thursday’s GCW show Emo Fight, also from the same venue). 

Later on in the night, TNT aired the episode of AEW Rampage taped Wednesday night following Dynamite at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, main evented by the Lights Out match between Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston v. Suzuki & Lance Archer. This was a wild hardcore match that did see the babyfaces win, but post-match, Suzuki-gun laid out Eddie Kingston, duct-taped Mox’s hands behind his back, and began WHIPPING Mox until Homicide (who has teamed with both Mox and Kingston in the past) made the save. Nice little bit of continuity there even if the timing was a bit off due to the vagaries of tape delayed wrestling. Overall this show was very good too, so hope you were able to catch it.

Suzuki’s American adventures continue this weekend at the Autumn Attack NJPW Strong tapings in Garland, TX, which I’ll talk about a bit below at the end.

Meanwhile in Impact, El Phantasmo has returned, helping out Chris Bey and Hikuleo in beating down FinJuice in the aftermath of David Finlay Jr.’s victory over Hikuleo. Good timng, what with the Impact X Division title being vacated by NJPW Strong guest Josh Alexander recently, so expect ELP to get involved with that tournament. This episode also saw the shock return of Christopher Daniels, late of AEW, in his first Impact appearance since Impact were TNA back in 2014.

The tour resumes tomorrow with A Block matches. Tonight, however, is the first night of Autumn Attack. I’ll be listing the cards, but I will not be listing the spoiler results, as I’d like to have something to write about when the relevant NJPW Strong episodes air. These shows will not be streamed live, but the second episode from tje Fighting Spirit Unleashed tapings will be aired tonight at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT on NJPWWorld.

- 9/26/2021, Hyogo Kobe World Memorial Hall

Master Wato v. Kosei Fujita

Yuji Nagata v. Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Great O-Khan [United Empire] v. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Toru Yano [CHAOS] v. Tanga Loa [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] v. KENTA [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Kota Ibushi v. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG]

Autumn Attack (NJPW Strong Taping) - 9/25/2021, Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, TX

Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] v. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy]

Ren Narita v. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor [Team Filthy]

Juice Robinson, Lio Rush [FREE], Clark Connors & TJP [FREE] v. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Chris Bey & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Karl Fredericks v. Will Ospreay [United Empire]

Fred Rosser v. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG]

More TBA?