#character: drew gulak

[openshanklygates]

Like Father, Like Son

Whumpril April 2024 April 5th, 2024 RECKLESS William Regal TW: Drew Gulak Main Verse

There was a pride in seeing his son doing so well within the company of his choice. That was, after all, why William Regal had chosen to make his return to said company. Despite the pride he took in his Combat Club, they were not his children. There was a different sort of pride when it came to ones progeny, after all. It was also, in turn, why he was so worried about the sort of company his son was keeping. Particularly, William Regal was concerned with Drew Gulak.

Most would find that laughable, he was well aware of that. Drew was extremely unassuming, just one look at his history in 205 Live proved that. The PowerPoint Presentation era of Mr. Gulak was not indicative of who Drew Gulak was as a competitor. No, this era of Mr. Gulak was the true Drew Gulak. He was strong, sharp-minded. As evident with the rest of the CatchPoint Gym, Drew knew how to get what he wanted through violence and careful planning. Regal recognized the man Drew Gulak was because he was that sort of man.

It was why he knew that his son was making the wrong choice in letting the man dictate his career.

Maybe it was reckless, showing up to the locker room the Catchpoint boys used. With some careful prodding at Ava Raine, the woman who had taken over for his old position as general manager, Regal had even been allowed inside of the room. He had taken a spot in a chair in the corner, patient as possible. The door opened and, as predictable as ever, Drew was the first of the team to arrive. If there was any surprise that Regal was waiting for him, the Philly native did not show it. He crossed to the bench, placing his bags down. "Mr. Regal. I've been expecting you."

Was that a smirk Regal detected in his voice?

"Expecting me, Mr. Gulak?" Regal raised an amused eyebrow, a chuckle in his throat, "For whatever reason would you be expecting me?"

"Yes sir," Drew removed his ring jacket from his bag, not turning to look at the other man as he spoke, "ever since I started mentoring your son. Though, I have to say, I've been a lot more respectful to yours than you've been to mine."

Now that was an interesting statement.

"Your son, Mr. Gulak?" Regal questioned, standing and crossing to the locker, "As far as I know, you were unmarried and without children."

"There's lots of ways to have kids. Adoption is one of them, sunshine."

Sunshine. The mere thought of the man brough a soft smile to Regal's face. There was only one man that Drew could be referring to. "So. Young Master Wheeler is your progeny?"

"Since I took him under my wing, I've viewed that boy as my own son," Drew finally turned to look at Regal, an anger in his eyes, "And you routinely beat him bloody. You routinely beat him into submission."

"So that is why you have the interest in my Charles, then?" Regal questioned, "I assure you, he is made of far stronger stuff than you believe."

Drew shook his head, "No, no. You misunderstand my intentions, your lordship. I don't plan on harming him like you did my Wheeler. I plan on making him greater than you ever were."

[grizzledyoungimpact]

A Song of Threes

Whumpuary 2024 January 21-22, 2024 Blood/"Just Get It Over With"/Memories Jordan James (OC)/Drew Gulak/Tony Nese Mermaid/Sailor AU

Drew Gulak had never had the abilities of the other men in the small village that he grew up in. While the love he had found in his best friend Anthony Nese had always had the skills that being on a boat required, Andrew's head had always been up in the clouds. Anthony was strong and strapping, coming from a lifetime of pulling in nets and hoisting sails before becoming captain of his own vessel. Andrew had always been more interested in the lore of the lands, the stories of the stars in the sky and the creatures that were rumored to lurk underneath the waves.

Creatures like what Andrew was certain he had heard these last few months.

Despite not being interested in the physical duties of a ship, Andrew had taken quite well at navigation on one. It was all of his time reading star charts, he was certain. At night while other members of the ship slept, Drew would sit on the deck with Anthony at the helm. The singing had started low and slow, hitting Drew on a vulnerable level. He glanced up at Anthony, blinking back his tears, "Is...can you sing?"

Anthony raised an eyebrow, but did not take his eyes off of the horizon, "Can't say that I can. Singing is not a talent these lips are good with."

Andrew stood, crossing over to the railing of the ship, eyes cast on the inky black depths. The moon seemed to reflect silver against the horizon, a guiding beacon to the ship. Andrew could have sworn he saw something splash in the water, but he dismissed the sight.

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The second time that Andrew had heard the song, the ship had been docked in port. Anthony had been entertaining the tavern with the tales of adventure on the open seas. Drew had not been interested in fabrications of the mainly boring details of their sailings. Drew had decided, instead, to sit by the docks and get some journaling done. As his feet dangled towards the sea, the song had begun again. Drew's eyes popped up from his leatherbound journal. 𝙃𝙤𝙬? How was that voice he had heard on the open waves here now?

This time his eyes caught sight of the shining scales dipping beneath the waves. His breath caught in his throat and a grin took his lips. Mermaids? No, no mermaid wasn't a truth in life. They were a sailor's omen, a horror that persisted to scare the men on a boat. Anthony had always told Drew his imagination would run away with him one day. This had to be proof of his imagination playing with him.

"I heard you once before," Drew called out into the darkness, "You don't have to hide from me!"

Drew noticed someone swimming through the waves, pulling in a breath. The young man was shirtless with shaggy black hair and shining blue eyes. The figure was thin, as if malnourished, and Drew could only think about how this was not what he had ever imagined, "Don't I? You're human."

Drew chuckled and coursed a hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Might be human, but I'm not dangerous. Not unless you're a book I intend to read."

The figure gave a wide grin, its tail splashing in the water. Drew could barely make out the color, a deep red flecked with spots of white and black. It reminded Drew of the books he read about the east, almost like what they called a koi fish. "You truly are a charming human."

"So the voice I've been hearing, the song, it's you? You've been following us?" Drew questioned, almost apprehensively.

"I saw you on your...uh..." the merman gestured to Anthony's nearby ship, The Trailblazer, "that."

"A ship," Drew supplied the word, gazing from where the empty vessel sat to his new friend. "It's called a ship."

"Ship," the merman repeated, "you have such odd words."

"What's your name?" Drew questioned, wide eyed with wonder, "I have so many questions, I-"

"Who are you talking to, Andrew?" the familiar voice sounded before Drew had heard the footsteps on the dock. He stood, turning to face what he now saw to be Anthony, his arm around the shoulders of the ships cabin boy, Noam.

"I just-" he heard the slap of the tail against the waves before he let out a sigh, "no one. I wasn't talking to anyone."

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

This time when he had heard the song, it had been too late to intervene.

Drew had been finishing up his morning routine when the singing had started. He had been surprised then when the low and slow melody he hadn't heard in weeks since setting sail, turned into a scream. Drew ran from the cabin he and Anthony shared to see Anthony looking proud as the rest of the crew stood around something on the deck, "What's going on? What is this?" Drew asked, an eyebrow raised.

"The singing. We finally found the source of that infernal singing," Anthony sounded proud, though there was a madness in his eyes, "it's a-"

Drew didn't wait for Anthony to finish his statement as he pushed through the crowd. Laying on the deck was his merman, though in a worse state than he had seen him before. The tail that had been so beautiful, so unique, was replaced instead by two human legs. The scales had left their marks in spots, leaving sore spots against the pale skin. Silver blood lay under him on the deck. "What have you done?" Drew hissed at his captain, "What in the Gods names did you do, Anthony?"

Anthony looked surprised, scratching through his thick beard, "I found the sound that plagues us, Andrew. I found something that will make us rich for years to come."

"This isn't right," Drew protested, kneeling down to take the figures hand, "I'm going to get you out of this..."

"The blood," the merman whimpered, "don't touch it. It's acidic..."

Drew gave a nod, taking a deep breath, "I swear, I'll get you out of here...uh..."

"Jordan," the merman whispered, "named for the river."

[kurtisdefender]

Drawing of my characters Drew Fox , Tibar , Goldrake and Ricky Drake. All are inspired by some of my favourite wrestlers. Drew Fox (Drew Gulak ) , Tibar (T-BAR , Retribution version.) , Goldrake (Goldust) Ricky Drake (Eli Drake /Shaun Ricker)

[beachbreakhq]

SOME QUICK UPDATES ! the time limit on reservations will now be 48 HOURS, as i know that this time of the year can be hectic. as always, you can send in an application without a reservation, as long as the character you're applying for isn't already reserved, of course. tumblr ims will be open to non-followers throughout the day, if that's your preferred method of reserving, but will close at MIDNIGHT EST. tumblr's instant messages don't have a timestamp, so the closing is simply to avoid the possible kerfuffle of not knowing when a reserve was requested via ims and having another reserve request be send via inbox. and finally, for current members, we have a MEME BLOG that i'll be posting to at least once a month. most of the memes will be helpful for character development and/or relationship development. look for a meme to be posted soon ! our most wanted list will be listed below. we'd love to have you here at beachbreakhq !

MOST WANTED MALES: jon moxley, kenny omega, orange cassidy, eddie kingston, adam cole, effy, seth rollins, drew gulak, jimmy uso, jey uso. MOST WANTED FEMALES: mercedes mone, jamie hayter, kris statlander, becky lynch, bayley, jade cargill, riho, ruby soho, roxanne perez, jacy jayne.

[or-ng-c-ss-dy]

Hold up oc created the oc gimmick to spend time with chuck 👀👀👀

yes and no. the oc character existed for a little while before this, but the lazy/drunk guy gimmick only came about when chuck needed back-up against his former team and he came up with orange cassidy and drew gulak to team with, fire ant and soldier ant but without masks, his closest friends. so, in my mind, it's pretty clear that he wanted his closest friends to team with him instead of fighting against him, so they started teaming like that.

[foxskip]

I'm interested in the wrestlers

OH BOY :D

I have a *few* more but for now I'll just do Best Friends/Gentleman's Club.

Additionally, my thoughts/analysis are largely derived from the Homestuck text/wiki, the Hiveswap Extended Zodiac aspect descriptions, and the Class analysis/decriptions found here.

Chuck Taylor = Knight of Blood

Yes I am giving Chuck Karkat's classpect, but when you think about it, Chuck iiiis kind of a Karkat, even though he doesn't have mutant blood. Regarding the Blood part, Chuck is often defined by his bonds to other wrestlers, whether F.I.S.T., The Gentleman's Club, or Best Friends. Being very ambitious, he often places himself as the leader of his groups or at the very least defines himself as "The Brains" (also being the one basically in charge of mentoring Yuta), but whether he's actually that successful at said role is a bit debatable. Regardless, he is often a driving force in the lives of his friends whether or not he's making wise choices. And as a Knight he both uses these bonds to move forward and feels a great need to help out his friends, even to his detriment (see: WTL 2018 "I just wanted your mom to be proud of us" and agreeing to a stipulation where he would be forced into servitude to Miro in justice of Trent). Wow I wonder what other character who also lashes out at people and is deeply insecure ALSO obsesses over being able to help his friends

Trent? Beretta = Heir of Heart

I would say Greg is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He is very straightforward and doesn't care for overdramatic bullshit when he's going into or preparing for a match, he's just going to do what he does and hopefully do good at it, like Heirs are kinda known to. He's said before he prefers singles matches, which goes with the individualistic nature the Extended Zodiac describes for Heart, but his emotional closeness to his friends often makes him much more of team player. Speaking of, although he doesn't care abt other people's dramatic bullshit, he's very protective of his friends (& mom) and is keyed into their emotional wellbeing even if he doesn't entirely understand a situation (standing with Chuck in WTL, or standing up for Chuck & OC when Yuta decided to leave). Sue being such a big part of him also definitely fits the motif of being an Heir of Heart.

Orange Cassidy = Bard(??) of Breath

I feel like the Breath aspect is obvious enough. In fact, I think the Extended Zodiac description for Breath can be applied to him pretty well: "Flexible and driven, they leave an impact wherever they go. ... They have a tendency to underestimate themselves, and not always out of poor self-esteem. They were just doing their own thing." OC is very much a go with the flow guy, while also using his quickness and his opponents' reactions toward him to his advantage. I'm hesitant to give him Bard as a class (maybe in part b/c I don't see him wearing a cod piece but I suppose god tier outfits are customizable anyway) but the passive way he allows his disposition to fuck w/ opponents does kinda fit.

Kris Statlander = Witch of Space

Another canon classpect assignment but wow wouldn't you know it Kris is kind of a Jade too (imo). Space definitely fits with Kris's alien gimmick, but she's also someone who can have her head in the clouds and does things her way to reach her goals even if others don't understand. As a Witch of Space, Kris is both very powerful and very social, quick to form bonds and use her strengths to help as much as she can.

Drew Gulak = Mage of Mind

THE LEGAL EAGLE IS A MIND PLAYER YES. Drew likes to insert logic & reasoning into everything and definitely has his own idea of what is Right with some interesting methods on how to get there (see his campaigns). He is very strategically minded, also being a technical wrestler, but more so for his own goals--which often have some kind of greater purpose--and in the ring than as a team strategist if that makes sense (hence Mage).

Swamp Monster = Muse of Life

Swampy is a very passive social creature literally made of plants. He cares deeply about those around him to the point of self-sacrifice, traits associated with both the Muse class and Life aspect. Remember what he did for OC? :'''(((( Also, despite being bullied by Chuck I think Swampy inspires a lot of morale & happiness for the GC.

BONUS - I haven't figured out a class yet but Lil' Kazu is definitely a Light player. He strategically plays the long game in his matches, he's the Rainmaker (fortune is highly associated w/ Light), and his post-excursion career in njpw started with him trying and eventually taking the spotlight from Tana.

I also originally had Wheeler Yuta too, but I don't really agree with what I decided, especially w/ the recent storyline.

[fyterfesthq]

Why do we reserve, sir? So we can learn to pick our characters up.  

DREW GULAK.

Twenty-Four hours starting.....wait for it..a few more seconds...now!

[4dlee]

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022: 5 Potential finishes for Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey - former Women's Champion returns, new character makes a debut

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022: 5 Potential finishes for Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey – former Women’s Champion returns, new character makes a debut

Charlotte Flair will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Ronda Rousey in a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash. The two women will battle it out in an “I Quit” match. Rousey had Charlotte beaten at WrestleMania, but the referee wasn’t able to see and she later went on to lose. In recent weeks, Drew Gulak has become part of the feud and the two women have picked up several rivals along…

[cryptozoologymp3]

wwe//whose line quirks

[ariyadaivaris]

DrewGulak walking into 205 Live tomorrow like

[grizzledyoungimpact]

Kay's Whumptober Day 12

Prompt #12: Insomnia, "I'm up, I'm up."

Character: Drew Gulak

Mentions Of: Tony Nese, Jordan James (OC), Wheeler Yuta, Wynn Yuta (OC)

Verse: Main

With a huff, Drew Gulak rolled over and glanced at the alarm clock on his dresser. Even with his blurry vision, without his contacts in or glasses on, Drew could make out the red numbers of 2:00 am. 𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝒂𝒎. He ran a hand over his face. His alarm was set to go off, as it always did at 5:00 am. He had a set routine, so why couldn't he fall asleep like he normally did?

Maybe it was due to the fact that Tony wasn't home? Since their time together in WWE, the duo had found comfort in one another. What had started as a deep friendship had turned into two men who clearly loved one another. When rooming together while on the road, they shared the same bed. Now that they lived together, alongside their partner Jordan James, the trio either curled up together in the same bed or alternated what combination cuddled together.

Drew could have believed that if Tony not being home was something new. Since the other man had started working with AEW, Drew had started getting used to Tony being on the road. It was hard sometimes, yes, but Drew was getting used to it. He also had found himself getting used to Jordan spending time in New York. His beloved composer had to work just as hard as he and Tony did, it was just that his partner stayed stationary.

His lack of sleep couldn't be because of his partners not being with him.

Drew pulled the blanket up to his chin, rolling over to look at his partners empty side of the bed. He took a deep breath, letting out a sigh. He was in the process of closing his eyes when the thought of his adopted children, Wheeler and Wynn Yuta, flitted into his head. If he hadn't been focused on the two, now his brain was.

The Yuta siblings had come into his life when he was still working with CZW, quite literally bumping into Wheeler. The duo had needed a strong father figure in their lives, needing both a home and a purpose. Drew had been willing to take those two into his home and into his life. These days he couldn't imagine a life without them. Maybe that's why his mind was racing and he couldn't sleep? Their allegiance with the Blackpool Combat Club was nerve wracking. Part of it was due to how the Combat Club trained their own. It was violent and the home that Wynn and Wheeler came from was not a safe one. The training couldn't be good for the siblings, physically and especially not mentally. Part of it was the way the siblings had turned their backs on their friends, The Best Friends.

Drew shuffled again to try to get comfortable, this time rolling onto his back. Worrying about his loved ones wasn't even Drew worrying about his own career. A career that seemed to be floundering, being delegated to Level Up and-

𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘁.

Drew had only just managed to close his eyes! How was his alarm already going off? He groaned, running a hand over his face before tossing his blanket off. He shuffled over to his dresser, slamming his hand down on the off switch. "I'm up. I'm up."

Boy was he thankful to be off today.

[kidvoodoo]

Damn if I didn't absolutely LOVE Drew Gulak as a wrestler I'd say he should jump on commentary full time.

[snarkwriteswrasslin]

2020 - archived

[18+ advised ] This is going to be long af. I’m going to do my best to put everything - all my writing on this blog, in one goddamn place, but I make no promises, so forgive me in advance. Below the cut is everything I’ve written and posted, for every single wrestler I’ve written for so far.  If its’ not linked, then I haven’t posted it yet or it’s a placeholder. If it’s bolded/has an m out beside it, it is most definitely mature and only meant for a mature (18+) audience. If there’s an asterisk (*) out beside the title, it belongs to or is part of something else that I have on the blog.

If you want to be on the taglist for my writing, you can find that [here]. If you want to know what I write / how often I write and stuff like that, my faq/about post is [here]

adam hangman page | take you home | spring | mature.

adam hangman page | baby fever | winter| mature.

adam hangman page | darlin | summer | mature. 

baron corbin | right now | winter | mature.

darby allin | the sound of silence | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | somebody watching me | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | alpha | winter | mature.

ethan carter iii | worship you | winter | mature.

jon moxley | duality| summer | mature.

jon moxley | allnighter | summer | mature.

jungle boy | touch myself | winter | mature.

jungle boy | unnamed as of yet | summer | mature.

kevin owens | morning | summer | mature.

kyle o’reilly | backseats and phone calls | spring | mature.

kyle o’reilly | the quiet game | winter | mature.

mjf | dessert first | winter | mature.

mjf | sweet | summer | mature.

mjf | morningafter | summer | mature.

roman reigns | alpha | winter | mature.

sammy guevara | dirty dancer | winter | suggestive.

sammy guevara | cheater | summer | mature.

trent beretta | blackout | summer | mature.

trent beretta | sneaky | fall | mature.

adam hangman page | whatcha gonna do by hinder | angst / comfort.

adam hangman page | push my buttons [ suggestive] | 

adam hangman page | i’m erasing myself from the narrative | i’m putting myself back into the narrative | may you always be satisfied | the story of tonight. 

adam hangman page | second one to know |  dancing around an open fire | | 

adam hangman page | dreaming of a wedding dress | | 

adam hangman page | the love boat || | 

adam hangman page | sweet cherry pie || that dress is begging to come off [ virgin oc; mature af } 

adam hangman page | | honey on my table suggestive | motion of the ocean - cruise romance au, mature | 

adam hangman page | alone among the couples | 

adam hangman page | im yours - alphaverse au | won’t you stay with me alphaverse au |  bathtub mermaid - alphaverse au/suggestive | 

adam hangman page | she’s a nutcracker | 

adam hangman page | virginia on my mind, angst | fuck you and the horse you rode in on [ an au of what ifs second chapter, holy shit mature]  | | punishment pretty please, goes with wildside/whatifs holy shit mature | pour some sugar on me, mature | | 

baron corbin | everything you can do i can do better | 

baron corbin | follow me | prince not so charming | 

baron corbin | love on the rocks | 

curtis axel | | | boop [  mature ] | be kind rewind [ roommates au, mature ]| 

curtis axel | discount chocolate day | | 

drew gulak thoughts of yesterdays | august rush | lost in your eyes [ suggestive.]

drew gulak | he loves me, he loves you not [ miiild suggestive, alphaverse] | | leave her wild [ suggestive alphaverse..kinda] | 

drew gulak |once upon a dream [ soulmate au] |  starcrossed lovers and other strangers [ suggestive ] |

drew gulak | valentines day episode | 

drew mcintyre | marionette | | just between me and you | 

drew mcintyre | burnt homemade chocolates [ conclusion to my alphaverse short fic, suggestive and fluffy ] | 

edge x ofc x christian | seeds of unrest | 

elias samson | couples costume contest | 

elias samson | waiting on your friends to leave 

ethan carter III | winners remorse | rewrite history [ a retelling of w.r] | |

finn balor | after an endless dream | 

jay white | graveyard smash | punch drunk princess [ vampire au; mature] | it should’ve been you [human version of vampire au]

jeff hardy  | it all started with glow paint [ suggestive; bordering mature ] | 

jeff hardy | do i look lonely |  my lips are up here [suggestive]

jon moxley | hurt me so good | if I loved you less I could talk about it more | can’t find a better man [mature].

jon moxley | bloody valentine | 

jon moxley | your days are numbered | spared but not forgiven | nature adores a virgin [mature]

jon moxley | all the guys want cheerleaders | ps i lo- | no more almosts | warm desert wind | | dark as night [ roommates au / suggestive ] | 

jon moxley | siren song [ soulmate/pirate and siren au | 

jungle boy | sweet boy | 

kyle o’reilly | can I see through you | | death of a bachelor | 

mjf | did you just grab yourself on tv | 

mjf | candy hearts taste like chalk | 

pete dunne | you jump i jump jack | | you can’t win | I’m melting

pete dunne |bitter bite alphaverse au |  aftershocks suggestive |

roderick strong |  trying not to smile | 

roderick strong | kisses like cruelty [suggestive,borderline mature] | | | 

roderick strong | walking the line | put ‘em up | 

roman reigns | patchwork heart | 

roman reigns | slow roasted | 

roman reigns | anorgasmia | 

sami zayn | farmers market | moonbeams on pumpkins

sami zayn | heart and soul |

sami zayn | reflecting light | 

zack ryder | rough rider 

12 Days Of Christmas Masterlist 2020

My entries for the 12 Days of Christmas on both my writing blogs can be found on this post right here.  [ merry christmas clicky ]

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

New Years

Valentines Day

Other Holidays / Special Occasions

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS I HAVE / USE TO WRITE

original character, Adeline x | 

original character, Kasey x | 

original character, Violet x | 

WRESTLERS ONLY DOWN BELOW

adam hangman page x [m] | x - soft hangman | x -hangman does halloween | x hangman on your first date [ fluffy,suggestive]|  x [soft] | adopting a dog | enemies to lovers | roommates to lovers | softly mature | more halloween hangman | 

buddy murphy x [ mature, sex life] | 

cash wheeler x [ suggestive ] | 

chuck taylor x [soft]| x more soft | 

damien priest x [ mature ] | 

darby allin x[soft] | x [mature] | 

drew gulak x | 

drew mcintyre x [ mature ] | 

eddie kingston x | x | x mature | enemies to lovers | 

elite x celebrating Halloween with the Elite | 

ethan carter iii x [m] | 

finn balor x [ m] | x [m] | 

heath slater x | 

jeff hardy x[m] | sick female!SO [pms mentioned briefly] | 

jon moxley x [m] | x [m] | 

jungle boy x[food/cooking] | x [ actual! jungle boy in love ] | fall softness | 

kenny omega x [ suggestive ] | x | x [halloween] | 

kevin owens x [m] | 

kyle o’reilly x [ mature - werewolf!kyle ] | 

luchasaurus x[mature+soft] | 

marko stunt  x soft and mature | x mature | x soft | x daddy kink of sorts |

matt jackson x [m] | x more m | enemiest to lovers -suggestive | 

nick jackson x [suggestive] | losing a basketball game to you | x mature/soft mix | 

orange cassidy x [lowkey m] | 

Pac x [suggestive fluff] | 

pentagon jr x mature | 

pete dunne x [ mature ] | 

prince devitt x mature | 

ecw era raven x [soft ] | x [m] | x[halloween] | 

roderick strong x [ adopting a kid with ] | 

roman reigns x!HeelRoman, slight nsfw | 

sami callihan x [ music preferences ] | 

trent beretta x [lowkey m] | x [ soft ] | x [ more soft ] | 

tyler breeze x [ enemies to lovers, polyamory hinted at | 

undertaker x [ gender neutral baker / biker taker SO] | 

wardlow x [ m ] | x [m] | x [ soft] | x[ halloween] | x mature | x Christmas with Wardlow | 

AEW;

- adam hangman page [ f s v ] | o i d | c m x | k l | 

- cash wheeler [ i l s ] | [ m o r ] | c s u | 

- chuck taylor [ j m w ] | [ a d l ] | [ c  v ] | i k w | n u x | 

- darby allin [  k o t ] 

- jack evans [ b t h ] | 

- jon moxley [ a k r ] | 

- jungle boy [ d m o ] | 

- matt jackson [ k q w ] |  [ b d e ] | f i o | u y | c j v | 

- mjf [ s k v ] | b m u | 

- nick jackson [ a b g ] | [ m o ] | c i o | 

- orange cassidy [ f h x ] | [ o ] | [ i p v ] | [ k w ]

- pac [ d m x ] | [ i p u ] | [ f o s ] | 

- santana [ a o q ] | 

- trent beretta [ j m u ] | 

- wardlow [ d j w ] | [ k u ] | [ b m r ] | [ a o v ] | c i p | 

WWE NXT;

- chad gable [ b o u ] | 

- damien priest [ d i v ] | 

- drew mcintyre [ b e d ] | i p w | 

- jinder mahal [ g i w ] | 

- roman reigns [ c u m ] | 

- timothy thatcher [ c j y ] | f k | d | 

- tyler breeze [ l x y ] | d j u | 

TNA;

- heath miller [ b e d ] | 

NJPW;

- jay white [ d f k ] | k u m | b j w | 

AEW;

WWE / NXT;

AEW;

WWE / NXT; 

[wweassets]

Drew Gulak shading Andre Chase’s awful character on Twitter lol... I love my fat ass Philly king 😍

ugh love that fat ass slut

[mith-gifs-wrestling]

Daniel Bryan being impressed and practically delighted that Drew Gulak left his neck hurting for a week is so perfectly in-character for him.

[sstrongstyle]

𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Adam Cole x OC, mentions of Seth Rollins x OC 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: After nearly a decade of being the golden girl of WWE, Adaline Marin wants out. Their ring was no longer home, haunted by her first love and upon reaching her thirties, the face behind "Aspen Glory" wonders if the passion she once had was still ablaze. Instead, she gets sent down to NXT to join the Undisputed Era. The next three hundred and sixty-five days, all captured by cameras for the history books, become a year of revival, reinvention, and realization with her legacy at stake and a new flame from the past emerging. 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: All characters are referred to by their real life names (for the most part) 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: I love feedback! Please send some my way! <3 Very background heavy chapter, no real fun, but more to come. If you’re interested in being added to a tag list, let me know!

CHAPTER THREE.

June 8th, 2019

Adaline couldn't believe that she didn't just agree to this, but agreed for it to be done for an entire year. It wasn't like she cared about being in management's good graces and volunteered to do it, but she somehow got hoodwinked into agreeing to a 365 special on herself. She was the last person in the world to enjoy having cameras on her when she was out of the ring and no longer Aspen Glory. Doing interviews out of character for Adaline felt like pulling teeth. She avoided Total Divas at all costs. Even appearing on stuff like Ride Along and UpUpDownDown was difficult for her.

"Just call me the modern day Undertaker," Adaline rolled her eyes, but she smiled a bit, as she sat down for the camera.

She liked her privacy as much as any other wrestler that had cameras constantly on them, but especially since fans liked to pay extra attention to her life for whatever reason. Adaline attributed it to her once long term relationship with Colby, highly publicized at several points because of whatever dirt sheet rumours and private leaks that were thrown their way. She was quiet at all times, her Wikipedia page only covering her wrestling career, as she had been as vague about her childhood as possible in the past.

Raising an eyebrow at the producer, Craig, a few feet away, Adaline wasn't sure where to begin. "I can just talk about anything?"

Anything but the few things on the "no mention" list. Most were contributed by WWE, but a lot of other things were provided by Adaline. This included her past relationship with Colby outside of kayfabe and especially anything to do with Nikki Bella.

"Start with talking about your career so far. You can name drop companies and non-contracted performers, but only because we'll be editing whatever we don't want aired, anyway."

"Right," she shifted slightly, unsurprised. "Well, I'm turning thirty-two this fall, so this will be into my sixteenth year of doing this thing."

She wasn't exactly sure why the Network executives wanted to give her a 365 special. As far as she knew, most of the episodes were focused on wrestlers overcoming serious injuries or taking the next great step in their careers. Was this what NXT was supposed to be for her?

Craig's expression remained blank, as he pushed his semi rimless glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "You started at sixteen years old?" His eyes never left the clipboard in front of him, where she assumed was a list of prompts to ask.

"Yeah, I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and I worked retail and other random part time jobs for two years while training and working local shows in Toronto. Bingo halls, high school gyms, random parking lots, you know," Adaline explained further, still trying to loosen up her tense shoulders. "When I turned eighteen, I dropped everything and moved to the United States because I knew I was limited, wrestling where I was wrestling. I was an illegal alien with no plan and just a few hundred dollars—the dumb indie wrestler dream."

It'd been so long since she looked back at that time in her life. Once embarrassed by her roots, Adaline felt a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pit of her stomach and couldn't ignore the swelling of pride in her heart. She'd come far.

The look on Craig's face induced Adaline to continue, so she took a deep breath. "My early work happened in Pennsylvania, where I fought my way into gyms and I mean fought. It was really hard at that time for a woman to be taken seriously. It was guys like Drew Gulak and Jon—" Although Craig said that she was allowed to name drop non-contracted performers, she was positive that uttering the former Dean Ambrose's name wasn't worth it. "—um, who helped me learn the ropes and culture in that area. Chikara's Wrestling Factory really helped me out and I did stuff for them and other places like CZW. Drew was the head trainer at the CZW at the time and was one of the first mentor figures I had."

If Adaline had to put her money on it, she would have said that Craig was bored out of his damn mind, but then again, he had the same expression on his face ever since he walked into the room. "Did you just stay in the northeast for that portion of your career?"

"I ventured a bit more west as time went by. Definitely lingered around Illinois for a while, since it's where the top independent women's promotions were at the time. Funnily enough, I ended up living in Chicago for about ten years after that." To be with her boyfriend, but she didn't mention that. "I did some time on the west coast, not as much as I wish I did, but I definitely had some fun doing stuff in California and for a split second, Mexico. Three years into working in the States and I somehow, by a miracle, land myself in the locker room of Florida Championship Wrestling."

To this day, Adaline wasn't exactly sure how she got in. The tape that she sent the developmental recruits was god-awful and her tryout promo was more than cringy. However, looking at other people in her recruitment class, it was clear that officials and scouts looked at potential over everything—how well could they be molded into the WWE standard, the ceiling of their entertainment value. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered that they saw that in her or not or if they simply saw that she could be easily manipulated.

"It was definitely a time down there. Difficult, yes, but I learned so much." Adaline could recall nights crying into her pillow out of frustration for where her training was going and how she was treated by the other talent. Girls often claimed how hard they were judged for being models and dancers before coming to FCW, but it was just as hard being an "arrogant indie schmuck." There weren't many women from back then who could relate to the garbage that she went through.

Craig asked, "Do you think performers then had a harder time in FCW than the recruits down in the PC and NXT today?"

She paused, taking the question in. "Not a harder time, per say, but the process is much smoother now, while being more of a burden. We have the state of the art Performance Center now, compared to that warehouse we used to train in. NXT gets so much more exposure now that it's harder to reinvent yourself at your own pace." Adaline said. "In a way, because NXT is now its own brand, I would say that talent from the FCW era were much more catty in the sense of starting drama and wanting to move up to get on the road with the main roster talent. The divas division back then was a very different culture to the women's locker room here at Full Sail, which is now very welcoming. Everyone wants to help each other, not drag them down."

There was nothing Adaline wanted to do more than expose certain names, but she held herself back. The catty environment, the hazing, the drama and sabotage, was too much for her. She was just glad that she move on from there quickly, as her memories in developmental hurt her as much as they did help her.

"And after FCW?"

Adaline grinned. "Oh, come on. Everyone knows what happened after that."

For the first few years, she was afraid that the only reason she got lumped in with The Shield was because she was Colby's long term girlfriend and that they assumed he would be most comfortable with her as their valet. After all, Adaline wasn't exactly progressing as a character in FCW. She was scared of that, and only being considered as eye candy and a side item for the boys. It took years of understanding from other people and seeing the product in the eye of the executives that they truly must have seen potential in her.

And if all of the above were true anyway, then Adaline made damn sure to prove herself to be otherwise in the past few years.

"My time with The Shield was everything I could ask for and more. I'm glad I spent that portion of my career with those guys, I don't think I could have found my way around without them. We were all definitely kind of lost, but we had each other, and we were really family." She wanted to say are family, but things were different these days.

Adaline talked to Joe the most, at least up until her move to the yellow and black brand. He texted and checked up on her often while she was off TV. Jon came here and there, but things were different. She only kept up with him through Renee, since the man clearly had yet to discover how to reply to a text.

Then, there was Colby.

Things were good the first couple months after the big finale. As fine as they could be, really. They were on different brands leading up to Wrestlemania, which contributed tremendously to the smooth sailing. After the Royal Rumble, though, things got. . . weird and of course, she hadn't known it yet, but it was around the time he started seeing Becky.

"Hey, Becks, some of the girls are going back to my hotel room after the show," Adaline had tapped Becky on the shoulder after catching her outside of the trainer's room during the later hours of Elimination Chamber. "You gonna come and kick my ass in Mario Kart?"

For whatever reason, Becky's expression dropped. "Oh, uh, actually, I'm just gonna head back to mine. Call it in early, y'know?" Tripping over her words, the fluster in her voice was a tad suspicious to Adaline, but she brushed it off.

She'd proceeded with her plans with Pamela and Leah, playing video games into the early morning. Adaline didn't even think of Becky and her obvious excuse until Leah mentioned that she ran into Becky on her way back to her own room.

"It was written all over her face! Someone definitely got lucky that night," Leah mused at the makeup table, two days later at Smackdown. "Who do you think the guy is? She's definitely not one for random hookups."

Adaline knew that she wasn't owed an explanation to Colby's new love life, but she was a little disappointed that she figured it out on her own. The little things, the rumours she heard backstage, all pieced together for her to realize what was going on between the two of them. Maybe Adaline wouldn't have felt so ruffled about it if it wasn't made to be so weird and secretive. She didn't tell anyone what she found out, keeping it to herself until they announced it themselves.

"Stop making excuses for him, I know why he's late." She didn't even look up from her phone, as she waited in the passenger's seat of the group's rental car. "He's with her, right?"

This was at the tail end of The Shield's farewell era in February earlier that year. Though, Adaline was not heavily involved in the storyline as some expected her to be—the escalation to her own Wrestlemania feud had been going on and she had duties to fulfill on the Smackdown brand. She wasn't there for the buildup throughout the month on Raw, but she was able to join the reunion at Fastlane. It was the group's last match together and the group begged personnel to let her be apart of at least the final moments.

Joe and Jon simply exchanged looks with each other in response. They clearly knew about the couple and probably found out from Colby himself. While nobody said anything to Adaline about it, deep down, they all knew that nobody needed to. She knew Colby more than possibly any other person in the world and the two weren't surprised that she figured it all out.

"Right." Jon was the one who chose to break the awkward silence. "Well, he can meet us there. Let's get this show on the road, we got some beautiful people waiting to see my beautiful face at that bar." It felt a little wrong to not wait for Colby on their way to the roster's "Goodbye Shield" party at a local watering hole, but even Joe was sick of waiting and started the engine.

"We had the time of our lives in that initial run. There's just too memories that I'll cherish forever, you know. But, my memory of all time is surprising the fans at Fastlane, when I showed up to accompany the boys to the ring one last time and having that farewell embrace as the show went off air." Adaline quickly blinked back the tears, as sensitive as ever, but she didn't like showing that side of her to the camera. "I swear to god, time seemed to just completely stop for those few minutes. It was out of this world, nothing like it."

The most magical part of wrestling was the crowd, there's no denying that. On the eve of Fastlane, Adaline felt mountains of love and excitement from the fans, knowing that they were witnessing the end of an era. All four of them knew it was the end of an era, in many ways more than one. Adaline and Colby, who were always known as a collective, rather than individually, were now apart and were now moving on from each other. Mox chose to chase his dreams elsewhere, away from the three that became his family. Joe's legacy in the industry was building and building, year by year. They were no longer the people they were in 2012, having finally gotten a taste of wealth and glory after early years of struggle when the four used to share a single hotel room to save costs.

She'll always be grateful for her run with The Shield. At the beginning, she was just happy to be in a main roster storyline. She was just happy to be able to maximize her time with Colby. Beyond that, Jon and Joe became her family. Bickering over who's turn it was to drive after long house shows, getting to know Joe's kids, playing video games in the locker rooms and every hotel room, and nobody leaving the trainer's room until everybody was clear. No one got left behind.

Back then, it was like that. Now? Adaline can't help but feel like she's come to that point, without any of the three by her side for the first time in a decade.

Craig sighed a little too loudly, rolling up his sleeve and glancing at the shiny watch on his wrist. "We're running out of time. We'll touch on your time with The Authority and everything since then for our next interview day, maybe also dig a little deeper into your new alliance with Undisputed Era." Adaline tried not to breathe a sigh of relief, already worn out from the questions. "Last thing. What are your expectations going into NXT, considering all that you've gone through in sixteen years?"

A question that she didn't know the answer to.

"It's good catching up with you. You have your locker number?" Coach Bloom stood up from his chair from across the desk, extending his hand for Adaline to shake.

She nodded, taking his hand. "Yes, sir. I'll be on my way, then."

Being called into the head trainer's office was similar to the feeling of being called into the principal's office and she had more fear in her body than someone who had just arrived should have had. That was the feeling that Bloom gave off to all NXT residents, but she knew that there was always care behind his tough demeanour. He simply wanted to welcome her properly to the PC on her first official day.

Meanwhile, Serena had been sitting to the side of the two of them and she couldn't confine the grin stretching across her face. When they had shook hands, she instead pulled her old friend into a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy you're here," she whispered into her ear, not caring that Bloom was rolling his eyes at them, mumbling about something for the two women to take it outside of his office.

They had only reunited so few times since Serena signed on as a coach for the Centre a year ago and it only made the moment feel so much sweeter. At the very beginning of Adaline's career, Serena had served as such a helpful mentor figure, even going into their short lived time in the FCW women's locker room together. To have their paths intersect once again, at yet another pivotal part in Adaline's life, seemed poetic in a sense.

Adaline walked out of the office, in tow with Serena. "I guess I'll be responding to your drills again, huh?"

"And you better do it damn well," she raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. "I'm still in shock that you're here. They really didn't want you going anywhere else, huh?"

Shrugging in response, the Canadian sighed. "I'm in shock, too—considering that NXT wasn't apart of the plan." Adaline was getting tired complaining about how the wool was pulled over her eyes during her contract negotiations, but it was starting to fully settle in. Meeting the guys in Hunter's office softened the blow. It was time to shut up and accept the facts.

"People everywhere watched what you did all over the world during those two years that you were gone. You don't need this company to be a star, they need you," Serena said. "Have you maybe considered that you're here because you did all you could do on RAW and Smackdown?"

Those words echoed in Adaline's head, as she trudged into the women's locker room.

It had almost ten years since she started this journey in this company and it seemed like almost everybody that started with her had already grown tired of it. Her first road wives, April and Celeste, were long gone. Danielle decided that she was worn out and was gone. Trinity had recently taken time off and wasn't sure when she was coming back to the ring. Saraya, someone who Adaline thought would be wrestling in her sixties, was retired. Even the goddamn Bellas weren't around anymore. Ninety percent of the division from a decade ago was gone. Wasn't she exhausted, too?

She envied women like Becky and Pamela, who were still hungry for more. There were others who had just made the main roster and some down with her in NXT now, who suffered through the struggles of the indies and were still ready to claw up to the top. Adaline wondered where that drive was for her.

Every locker was labelled by ring name, some with more long-standing plates—mainstays like Io Shirai and Bianca Belair. Meanwhile, others simply had a laminated piece of paper slapped on top of the metal. These were the recruits who had yet to prove themselves, the names that Adaline couldn't recognize.

A shiny, new plate shone on the locker that sat at the corner of the room. Aspen Glory, it read, in all of its permanent lustre.

She slammed her gym bag onto the bench, the impact echoing throughout the empty room. The process felt foreign, making a locker home when Adaline spent so many years travelling to probably hundreds of different arenas and treating each space and moment as temporary. She wasn't sure where to begin, as she unlocked the door and was met with a clean, baby blue interior.

There were some basic things that she brought, like extra socks, a water bottle, and shower shoes. Adaline quickly filled the locker up with these contents and it still appeared so barren to her. What the hell else was she supposed to put in it? She shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Then, she heard the door creak open.

Somewhat hidden away from the front of the locker room, Adaline could hear a distinct voice that seemed to be talking to someone over the phone and a smile formed, hoping it was who she thought it was.

"Yeah, that sounds good for dinner. I just got into the PC, I think Cheree's already waiting for me. You know how she is, she's always early. Alright, bye, Johnny, I love you. See you."

A flash of blonde hair only confirmed Adaline's suspicions. It was Candice LeRae, who hummed the melody of a 90s pop song and chewed bubblegum, as she strolled over without noticing the other female in the room. She easily unlocked her name plated locker, which was across from Adaline's, and nearly everything spilled out from it being too full.

She groaned. "Oh, crap," Candice said, trying to chase a bottle of dry shampoo that had begun rolling across the floor, only to be met with Adaline's bemused expression.

"Hi."

"Hey," Candice replied with a grin, a little perplexed.

Almost instantaneously, they pulled each other into a hug. Knowing that she would be diving head first into the unknown, Adaline was aware that she couldn't navigate all on her own. The two Breezango idiots were too busy figuring their own things out and she couldn't voice her anxiety to her new stable mates, wanting to give off a confident face. There were only so many people that Adaline could turn to outside of them, so she gave Candice a heads up that she was now reporting to the Performance Centre.

Adaline bent down and reached out for the lavender can for her shorter friend, passing it to her. "Your shit's a mess, girl."

"Yours will be, too. Give it a month," she rolled her eyes and peeked over her shoulder at Adaline's belongings on the bench. "You're moving in today?! I honestly did not expect to see you here so soon."

"I told you that I landed a few days ago, didn't I? I've been in meetings all weekend," Adaline replied with a groan. She had only been in Orlando for such a short amount of time and the amount of work and settling she had to do was taxing. The NXT tapings hadn't even begun, yet.

Candice said, "Yeah, it doesn't really slow down for another week or so. You'll love it here, I promise." As everyone else had promised Adaline, who clearly wasn't convinced.

The blonde turned around and put the can back into its place—if it even had one, in that mess of a locker—and began rummaging through her personal possessions. Candice let a out a soft a-ha! when she found what she was looking for at the back of the space, a Minnie Mouse hairbrush. Adaline chuckled softly at the sight and turned around, closing her own locker.

"Are you off to go workout?"

"Yeah, Cheree's wanted to get some cardio in. Any more meetings today?" Candice replied.

Adaline shook her head. "No, just moving in." She gestured to her gym bag and locker.

"Well, while you're here, the taping schedule is posted up by the west wing double doors, you know, the ones to the main gym. We can check it out together. Actually, would your name even be on there?" Candice thought to herself, considering that she was one of the few people who were made aware of Adaline's presence. The taping schedule wasn't usually subject to the change unless there was an injury, but producers were known edited the cards last minute to accommodate random returns and debuts before, at least once the talent found out.

The woman in question just shrugged in response. "Beats me. It doesn't hurt to look, right?"

"Then, we can check out the travel schedule. Ooh, I hope you're coming with us to the midwest loop at the end of the month!" Candice became giddy. "We'll hit the road together, no men! I wish we got to do that more often when you were in Cali."

Adaline didn't get the opportunity to do so often, but she loved wrestling in The Golden State and especially in PWG. When she worked with them in the past, she always travelled and hung out with Candice.

"I don't think so, but probably the next one?" she shrugged.

The two began chatting more for the next few minutes, mostly about Adaline settling in and her new house. Always the lazy type, she'd been procrastinating and the boxes in her home were left untouched, despite her promising herself that she would get it all out. The small talk about something other than wrestling for once settled the restlessness in Adaline, a small distract of sorts.

It wasn't like she disliked talking about wrestling, rather it was all that seemed to be on her mind for the past while since Wrestlemania. Somehow, it was the first time Adaline really took notice of that, considering she lived, breathed, and ate wrestling for the past sixteen years of her life. A part of her felt worrisome for the sudden awareness of it, wondering it had any relation to her other career concerns.

Unfortunately, the brief, sweet wrestling-free moment was cut short when the locker room door slammed open.

Everyone knew who Shayna Baszler was, or at least, every woman in the company did. After all, the current NXT Women's Champion was probably next in line to overtake your spot in the animal kingdom. Management wanted to push her to lead the division once she would inevitably leave NXT and become a box office draw for all of the big pay-per-views and tours and media.

Some said that Shayna was one of, if not, the most intimidating women on the NXT roster and bore a vicious gaze. Even upon entering the locker room that was nearly empty, her presence demanded attention. All eyes drew to her so naturally and so quickly as they tore away from her out of fear.

"Out of my way," was all she had to say to Adaline, not even flinching at the sight of the veteran and former women's champion.

Adaline zoned out for a moment, completely baffled by the attitude that she was just given. She couldn't help but scoff, trying to process the disrespect that was being shown to her.

She narrowed her eyes at Shayna. "The hell did you just say to me?"

In between them, Candice just sighed. It seemed like that she wanted to end what was going to be an ugly dispute early, but something held her back. Adaline hoped it wasn't out of intimidation by the former mixed martial artist.

Shayna stared back at the woman in front of her. "You think you can just waltz in here and act like you got this brand on lock? They get tired of you on the main roster and Japan couldn't offer you enough money, so you come down here to fuck around?"

Adaline wanted to find out how Shayna found out that she was going to be here, but that wasn't the main concern of hers. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground, hearing Shayna's words. Clearly, she didn't like her or some rumours already began to float around backstage. Regardless, Adaline was already on the bad side of the de facto locker room leader.

With the fury running through her body, though, she didn't give a damn.

"I'm going to say this once, so you better listen up," Shayna began, "I think you're entitled. I think that you've ridden on the coattails of your ex-boyfriend for your entire career. So, I don't like you. Plain and simple."

"You think you know me?" Adaline's voice began to rise, but Shayna held up a hand and didn't let her finish.

She said, "Maybe for you, being here is like a little vacation before someone like Ashley Flair gets injured and creative will need another spoiled brat to bury their women's division with on Smackdown. For some of us, NXT is our entire lives. Don't mess that up for us."

With that, Shayna bumped Adaline's shoulder when she walked away to the other side of the room and behind a wall to another area of lockers. All she could hear after was the stomping of boots and the slamming of a metal door open. Meanwhile, she was in complete shock of the conversation that just happened, wondering if she just imagined it.

Looking at Candice's sheepish expression, though, it confirmed that Shayna Baszler did indeed strut right up to Adaline and cussed out one of the scariest warnings that the latter had ever heard in her life.

"Honestly, she gives that talk to every new girl," Candice said in a low voice, as she ushered Adaline out of the locker room.

"You can't be serious," Adaline shot back, still worked up over what happened. It took all the will in her body to not barge right back in and swing at Shayna's smug face.

The target was now on her back and she had yet to even step into the yellow brand's ring. If she was being honest, it was definitely a wake up call to where she was now and the expectations weighing down on her shoulders. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't even want to be here. Adaline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was terrified for the first time in years.