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a-very-fond-farewell · 4 years

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Wen Yuan and the Prisoner of Koi Tower

the only HP!au I will consider for mdzs is the one where WWX acts as Sirius and LWJ as Remus.

also Cloud Recesses already acts as a magical school of sorts so I would not go as far as plant the entire cast in England, but a modern Chinese setting would be a very nice touch and will allow many writers to play around with both pieces of media imo.

my take would be:

- WWX has escaped a secret and hidden magical prison 13 years after protecting the remaining Wens from facing justice after the entire Sect had been accused of being a threat to the laws protecting the cultivation world.

- while some of the Wens (Wen RuoHan and his sons) had actively tried to oppose the allicance by messing with commoners and revealing themselves to the non-cultivation world, other Wens were completely innocent and yet they were still persecuted after the war (Sunshot Campaign) that had exterminated the rest of their Sect.

- WWX sacrificed himself by pretending to be completely unable to control his demonic cultivation and causing the explosion of resentful energy that destroyed the Burial Mounds (the Wen Remains’ hideout), turning the lush forest in a wasteland. the magical barrier dividing the premise and the non-cultivation world was compromised and WWX was accused of having sided with the Wen-dogs to jeopardize the anonymity of the cultivation world.

- by attracting all the attention on himself and destroying their hideout, WWX convinced everyone he accidentally killed the Wen Remains to allow them to escape. with the barrier growing weaker, the Wens slipped into the shadows of the non-cultivation world and pretended to be commoners for the time being.

- Wen Yuan (i assume he would not have a courtesy name if he were to live outside of the modern!cultivation-world, before enrolling in school) has lived 13 years in modern!Yiling with Wen Ning and he’s now 16 under a different name (idk what name, but they certainly don’t plan to be sought out by announcing the world they are called Wen). they live pretending to be commoners and can only rarely see Wen Qing, who was able to work at the “magical school” as a physician only bc the headmaster Lan QiRen is more interested in her talent than her last name.

- Wen Ning and Wen Qing decided not to reveal their little cousin about the happenings of 13 years ago. when they tried to step into the common world the first time after the explosion, A-Yuan had slipped from their grasp and they didn’t know where he had disappeared to (imagine the mishaps of the Floo Network and such or when someone disappararates). A-Yuan, “splinched” and feverish with no memories of his past, was found by LWJ who brought him back to the Wen siblings and helped their entire clan to disappear from the radar.

- upon discovering A-Yuan had, in fact, a golden core at 10/11 years old (although I would also like to see him enrolling in school at 8 or 9 tbh), LWJ offers to pay for his education but asks the Wen siblings not to reveal his identity as a benefactor. so A-Yuan only knows someone in the Lan Sect saw potential in him and... offered him a scholarship? I guess?

- he enrolls under the name Lan SiZhui and tries to find out more as he grows and learns. his suspicions fall on LXC at first, because he’s very kind and pleasant to talk to and he frequently visits the school even though he’s not a teacher. then he suspects LQR or one of the elders to be his benefactor. but when he enters the third year and he’s finally allowed to study with the Qin Language Master (either that or an Array Master or even Spellwork Master, you choose) LWJ... A-Yuan knows.

- so A-Yuan spends roughly two years trying to crack LWJ’s exterior... but it’s actually easy bc LWJ is very fond of him. yet, the elusive teacher doesn’t even try to talk about WWX with him. nobody does. Wen Qing looks after A-Yuan while he’s at school, but they have to pretend they don’t know each other: all the school staff knows she’s a Wen but none of the students have a suspect; if their families were to discover this fact, they would take the children away from the school in retaliation against LQR for having betrayed the alliance by protecting a Wen.

- A-Yuan spends a lot of time with her anyway, sharing meals and gossip in the medical wing late at night. he also tries to injure himself at times during night hunts so that he can meet with her and be scolded by her. it is a delicate balance and a dangerous game they’re playing, but only LWJ knows about it. not even LQR is aware that A-Yuan is a Wen: he trusted his nephew when LWJ told him he found a promising child to bring to the cultivation world and he trusted him.

- Lan JingYi was also “found” in a similar way and he adopted the Lan name and lives with LXC during the summer bc he doesn’t have a family. OuYang ZiZhen is one of the few representing his Sect while Jin Ling leads the way for his Sect and its many members. Jin Ling tries to be a rival to A-Yuan so bad (just bc A-Yuan seems perfect, not bc he’s a Wen. only Lan JingYi knows about that) but they end up being friends.

- Jiang FengMian leads Yunmeng as a Sect Leader while Madam Yu teaches how to wield spiritual weapons. JC was born without a golden core, but WWX sacrificed it for him with a forbidden spell and developed demonic cultivation to balance the absence of his core. LQR saw potential in him and offered him an opportunity to form another golden core... but his attempts failed miserably and WWX graduated following the demonic path before studying to become a teacher himself to explore other cultivation methods.

- Jin GuangShan’s alive and kicking [*cough*sons from staircases*cough*] at the top of Lanling and three of his bastards kids are teachers: JGY, MXY, and Qin Su.

- Nie MingJue rules over Qinghe and sent Nie ZongHui as a teacher and protector of the students from their Sects. Nie HuaiSang visits sometimes to discuss Sect matters with him

- LQR’s older brother is the head of Gusu and only LWJ is a teacher, taking his mother’s place (I envision his mother as an outcasts of sorts, similarly to Trelawney, but less............you know. we still love a cryptid woman in this house tho. basically she was kept away bc she knew too much and went mad with the knowledge she held and vowed to never speak again or something + also I like the idea of LWJ teaching in a secluded place. not necessarily a tower, but I remember Lupin’s office to be quite fetching nonetheless and the Jinghi can still keep all of its minimalist furniture and still be cooler than anything else ever existing in-universe).

- when WWX escapes from prison, the first thing he wants is to find the Wens. the teachers think he’s after Wen Qing and they make sure to destroy every corpse surrounding the school so that WWX cannot summon them. night-hunting is put on hold for the entire year (which would be a parallel with quidditch championship being shut down... also sports being put on hold bc of an emergency sounds oddly familiar...)

- JC still has his brother’s dizi, protected under spells in one of his mother’s cabinets at the school... but Jin Ling is a silly boy and wants to prove to his friends that he knows that his grandma Madam Yu is hiding something important in her office. so during a late exploration night after curfew, the juniors find the cabinet, take the dizi to inspect it and flee the corridors. Madam Yu finds them first, but LWJ defends them and feign ignorance when the woman demands to be the one punishing them. LWJ then asks Jin Ling to give him the dizi and the boy begrudgingly does as the teacher says.

- people start disappearing soon after. one by one, people from MoLing and Baling from the school staff vanish into thin air, then it’s the Jin and Jiang’s turn. By the time LXC disappears as well, LWJ gets worried but he trusts his brother.

- Jin GuangShan’s however, after his younger son’s disappearance, point his finger against the Nie Sect and its dangerous method of cultivation: why nobody of the Nie Sect had disappeared? the culprit must be one of theirs! and if MXY cannot be found, then the Jin Sect will demand reparations from Nie MingJue himself... with his life.

- when the dizi disappears from LWJ’s office, JGY suggests the Yiling Patriarch has finally made his way inside the school and that maybe he’s after the disappearance of so many cultivators and students. then, when the dizi is found among Wen Qing’s possessions, LQR expels her from the school to save himself (?) and his Sect from being accused of shielding someone hiding the Yiling Patriarch... but she is able to snatch the dizi and flee, promising A-Yuan to be back for him when nobody is watching.

- ...nobody aside from Jin Ling, who sees Wen Qing embracing “A-Yuan” one last time. the heir of LanLing demands an explanation from his best friend, asking him why that woman had called him with a different name and why was he talking with such familiarity to a Wen dog even though he knew what the Wens had done to his family. how JZX, his father, had died because of a Wen and how his mother had died because of WWX. on top of that, if Wen Qing was really helping WWX, then it was still a Wen’s fault if his uncle MXY was now missing!

- feeling betrayed, Jin Ling disappears on his own volition and Jin GuangShan accuses the Yiling Patriarch of having abducted even his grandson now. the rest of the juniors look for Jin Ling and they travel into the night until they find a lead: JC, apparently, has found a way to lure WWX out by calling the sword-spirit Suibian through his lend-me-down version of a golden core. feeling someone “pulling” him in, WWX was certainly bound to come back and meet with the heir of YunmengJiang , right? (is this the equivalent of the Patronus thingie? maybe not?)

- the juniors figure out that Jin Ling would follow his uncle JC and so they follow the man as well. they end up where everything started, in the Burial Mounds. but Jin Ling has arrived there even before his own uncle. the juniors see WWX holding an unconscious Jin Ling in his arms when JC arrives wielding Sandu. they duel and in the cave there are a lot of ancient corpses WWX can order around with his dizi. JC is close to have the upper hand... when LWJ enters the cave and knocks JC to one of the walls in WWX’s defense.

- [just like in the movie, I would like the narration to be hinting at LWJ having helped WWX all along. even if there were to be POV from LWJ’s part up until this moment, I would still not let it show he’s still in love with WWX. (eg: is he were to look at an old photo with WWX, maybe LWJ’s POV would show him tossing the picture aside and A-Yuan would accidentally see the scene and the POV would switch... so the kid would assume LWJ had beef with WWX instead)]

- A-Yuan, who up until then has never had any reason to think of WWX as anything but a menace to the cultivation world, feels winded. why does his mentor, his father figure, his benefactor... side with a criminal? and why does WWX have the dizi? did Qing-Jie really give it to him? but wasn’t she framed? the dizi must have been planted in her closet when they found it... right?

- LWJ tries to explain that WWX was not behind the disappearances. and that Wen Qing had not taken the dizi from LWJ’s office: Nie ZongHui had. After so many people disappeared, after Jin GuangShan’s accusations against the Nie Sect, Nie ZongHui panicked and wanted to protect his Sect. and since he knew LWJ was hiding something... since he knew how LWJ and WWX were close during their youth... he snooped around until he found the dizi and planted it on the only person every teacher was suspicious of: Wen Qing.

- Wen Qing, after being framed, seeks out WWX and helps him hide in the Burial Mounds, taking down the barriers the cultivation world has set around the area. she then sent a message to LWJ telling him that JC was being lured as well by WWX into the cave to talk... but that Jin Ling had attacked first.

- tired and still incredulous about being finally, finally free, WWX himself explains the truth about the Wen Remains and what he had done to save them. LWJ holds him tight as the other explains that he cannot use resentful energy as he used to and that -when he had tried to protect himself from Jin Ling’s attacks using the dizi- his first attempt had knocked down the kid. JC had found him at the worst possible moment, really.

- but then... who was behind the disappearances? then appears Su She. who had followed the juniors pretending to be invested in their well-being.

- the first cultivators to disappear were from MoLing after all, but not because they were abducted... but because they were the one abducting people to begin with. leaving out cultivators from the Nie Sect had been done only to satisfy Jin GuangShan’s request to find Nie MingJue at fault: the man’s only sin being that he would have never voted in favor of Jin GuangShan for the position of Chief Cultivator (something like the Minister of Magic, I suppose??) wishing to get more power for his Sect, Su She accepted to give an opening for Jin GuangShan’s plan... after being ordered as much by JGY.

- JGY... who had been very quick to “suggest” WWX was behind the disappearances after finding out the dizi Madam Yu and LWJ were hiding had disappeared.

- LWJ duels with Su She, but eventually has to take a step back after the other uses a transportation talisman and disappears himself. if they let him go he will tell everyone that WWX is back, that LWJ is with him and they they both took JC and the juniors as hostages. a siege will be called upon them and they need to flee ASAP.

- WWX takes them to Wen Ning’s and A-Yuan is really confused. if it’s true that WWX helped the Wen Remains, then it’s probably right to assume that WWX and Wen Ning were friends... but why did that never occur to him? why neither Wen Qing nor her brother told him anything??

- Wen Ning cries of happiness upon seeing WWX and they embrace for a long time. Wen Qing is there and has put barriers around their apartment in Yiling to protect them from being found. there are spirits (invisible to the commoners) lurking around and flying in the sky, prodding at every window and door. A-Yuan looks out for danger close to the widows, trying to find a solution... and also as a way to stay away from his family for a bit as he tries to figure the truth out all on his own.

- however, he cannot help himself from listening in on what is being told, not with Lan JingYi asking a million questions per minute to an exhausted Yiling Patriarch. Jin Ling and JC are still unconscious on the sofa and A-Yuan holds his friend’s hand by the window for comfort -more for himself than for the other boy- when he learns that Wen Ning defended WWX by accidentally killing Jin Ling’s father JZX 13 years back. and then how, in one last attempt to save her own step-brother, even Jiang YanLi had died in the explosion that should have destroyed Burial Mounds completely.

- WWX had seen her only at the very last minute, dragging her body over to the mostly ruined cave before he could lose his senses to prevent her to turn into a vengeful corpse. to preserve her body until other Sects could arrive. he had truly no idea his sister wanted to talk to him and he accepted to go to prison for it.

- (JC had been the one to find his sister’s corpse and WWX’s unconscious body in the cave 13 years ago. he cried and took both of them back. after his sister and brother-in-law’s funeral, soon after WWX’s incarceration, JC revealed his mother he had found the dizi. she decided to hide it in the school, where nobody could have found it, all to prevent the rise of another demonic cultivator. WWX’s sword was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion... only JC can feel its existence through his lend-me-down golden core. but he doesn’t reveal this to anyone.)

- WWX reveals he should have been brought to the “magical prison” (maybe on Phoenix Mountain?) but he was instead trapped within the dungeons of Koi Tower, the ancient residence belonging to Jin Ling’s family. Jin Ling had spent most of his life there... unaware that his uncle WWX was there.

- WWX also tells them that someone helped him run away, a man younger than him that used to keep him company in the shadows, listening to his stories. someone who brought Suibian back to him... even if he would not be able to wield it without a golden core (he tried in school under LQR’s tutelage a la “Legilimens lessons” you feel me?).

- WWX has met with this person for a long time, even if he cannot be sure how many years exactly. maybe five or less. still, he would like to find this person and repay him in kindness, even if he doesn’t know what his name is. when asked to describe him, WWX tells them his eyes had been shut close all along with talismans and that he would be able to recognize the man only by voice alone.

- Jin Ling is awake by the time the story ends and squeezes A-Yuan’s hand back. they both discovered horrible things about their families and they can barely share a glance between them before they start silently crying. LWJ notices and steps in to try to comfort them... but Jin Ling asks him why he helped WWX instead. demanding to know if he helped him 13 years ago in destroying his family as well.

- LWJ only looks back at WWX and smiles as he shakes his head. then the two of them reveal they had lived together for a while in secret before the fallout. they even got married without anyone but Wen Ning and Wen Qing knowing, just right after the war (Sunshot Campaign)... before WWX’s control over the resentful energy grew unstable and he had to flee to prevent LWJ to be caught in the aftermath of his actions.

- WWX pretended he didn’t love LWJ anymore and asked to be left alone. heartbroken but still mindful of the other’s boundaries, LWJ thought he didn’t have any right to control WWX and let him go. in the following year or two, WWX found a home with the Wen Remains and defended them until the end.

- LWJ had tried to defend them from the hatred festering the cultivation world from within... but treaded maybe too carefully in the attempt not to disrespect his father and the elders of his family.

- when the Burial Mounds exploded, LWJ disappeared to help the Wens find new homes instead of lending his hand in containing the magical power from spilling over into the non-cultivation world. this was seen as an insult from his family’s standpoint and he was forced into seclusion for years. so while WWX was trapped in a jail covered in suppression talismans, LWJ had been forced into a prison of his own, in a freezing cave where he had to focus all of his attention on developing his cultivation in order to survive such temperatures.

- this led both of them to develop a trauma they don’t know if they will ever be able to overcome, unless they learn to live with its consequences one step at a time. during seclusion, LWJ figured that WWX had lied to him, but that he had been too in love and to young to see the truth at the time. so after he left seclusion he looked once more for A-Yuan, who WWX had loved like a son, and was willing to adopt him... but the child already had a family and it would have been cruel to separate him from them.

- that was why he offered to pay for his studies and never wanted to be found out... but A-Yuan was too smart not to find out and so LWJ allowed himself to hope for a future when he could tell the boy the truth. he wouldn’t dare to hope for WWX to ever leave prison, but he could still dream to see him again.

- at the end of the touching story, JC punches LWJ square on the jaw. he was still weak and couldn’t handle the dizziness, but he had listened to everything and now is furious with LWJ. he demands to know why he didn’t tell anyone WWX and him were married; why he thought possible that such a lovelorn idiot like JC’s brother could ever not be in love with LWJ after obsessing over him for the entirety of their academic career. JC and the entire Yunmeng would have helped them! JC would have even convinced Madam Yu to wield Zidian to protect them and the Wens if necessary! why did they have to do everything by themselves?!

- WWX finally sits close to his brother and lets him punch his chest and arms as much as he wants, until the younger man collapses back on the sofa, exhausted. A-Yuan observes all of this and yet he cannot understand: he doesn’t remember WWX at all, nor to have ever lived in Burial Mounds. he will not trust WWX until he finds out the truth by himself.

- Wen Qing, ever so practical, reminds them they have the entire cultivation world breathing on their necks and that no amount of family drama will save them from execution if they keep hiding doing nothing. that’s when LWJ receives a spiritual butterfly (this is the Patronus thingie! I guess??) from his brother LXC: the butterflies goes under the radar and slips inside the barriers set by Wen Qing easily; it says that “Nie MingJue is innocent and that JGY is helping them”.

- none of them could see how that’s possible, since it was JGY the one ordering Su She to kidnap all of those people just to give Jin GuangShan an opportunity to mess with the Nie Sect. yet, LWJ trusts his brother and decides to send another spiritual butterfly in response, asking where they should meet with LXC.

- while they wait, they eat and try to get along. the Wen siblings distract the kids while WWX and LWJ talk by themselves for a while. they need some alone time and they move to the guest bedroom to figure things out (i doubt they would go for the papapa after all that distance, longing, exhaustion and touch-starvation... especially because last time they saw each other WWX told LWJ he didn’t love him anymore. but... you know.... they did miss each other a lot, and WWX desperately needs a shower, so.......................... yeah.)

- Wen Qing coax the juniors close with food and tells them all sorts of stories about the infamous Yiling Patriarch and how he didn’t even know how to properly cook for the Wen Remains. she tells them how interested he was in the non-cultivation world (Arthur vibes anyone??) and how he was the one teaching the Wens how to use all sorts of common objects, like cars and toasters, washing machines and ovens. Wen Ning sadly suggests that maybe WWX had already imagined how they would need such knowledge for when they were going to leave the cultivation world for good. everyone becomes somber afterwards.

- Jin Ling is still wary of Wen Ning, but he accepts his food and doesn’t try anything funny. Lan JingYi asks Wen Qing to teach him how to make a television work and he eventually blasts the volume up until he wakes JC and receives a knock on the head for the trouble. OuYang ZiZhen starts flipping through the romance novels Wen Ning collects and gets hooked on at least three of them at the same time bc none of them are related to the cultivation world. A-Yuan spends time with Wen Ning and they promise to talk about everything that happened as soon as this nightmare will be over.

- the following morning: the kids are sprawled on the floor, JC somewhat surrounded by them and cushioning their heads with his limbs; Lan JingYi slips and calls him “dad” for some reason; Jin Ling boinks his head with a fist and tells him he already has A-Yuan as a cousin and he doesn’t need another one; A-Yuan sobs a little when a sleepy JC tells the kids he has enough love for everyone; OuYang ZiZhen declares he wants to be a cousin too; Wen Qing slips the equivalent of Veritaserum down JC’s open mouth as he snores and they ask him all sorts of questions just to mess with him.

- all is well and the wangxian lovebirds come out of their room: all combed out and clean, WWX looks almost a respectable member of society, but dressed in non-cultivation clothes he still looks too skin for comfort. Suibian held close, LWJ’s hand in his, WWX properly introduces himself and asks for forgiveness.

- still under the effects of the potion, JC reveals that he’s just glad he’s still alive and as annoying as ever. WWX cries of happiness and LWJ has never looked more serene and moved since A-Yuan got to know him properly.

- right then, a spiritual butterfly (a shouting one! like the Howlers this time around!) passes through the window of the apartment and only says: “they’re coming. hold onto Suibian, all of you”. the group has barely enough time to huddle around the sword when the windows of the flat explode and spirits swarms their way inside!

- the sword activates (like a Portkey!) and they get sucked in through a passage until they reach a dungeon in Qinghe Nie. WWX realizes the engravings in the metal had been slightly changed to accommodate a transportation spell that would be invisible to the eye. LWJ takes his sword and point it at their host... but he only finds his fellow teacher MXY. for a moment he had thought the butterfly had come from JGY, because that had been the man’s voice screaming at them to take Suibian... but he couldn’t be sure. spiritual butterflies only speak to the one they are directed to, so nobody heard when the message had been opened aside from him.

- but... what did MXY have to do with all of this? the younger teacher doesn’t speak, simply gesturing them to follow along. then they reach the throne chamber through a secret corridor and there they find... NHS. who finally explains to them what is happening.

* (flashback)

- NMJ and JGY had planned to stop Jin GuangShan’s plan to take over the non-cultivation world. initially they thought they could postpone the inevitable by letting NMJ voting against the Jin Sect Leader in the election for Chief Cultivator... but then the pig ordered JGY to find dirt on NMJ and to orchestrate something to trigger a new war between Sects.

- JGY asks Su She (who he knows he’s a spy under Jin GuangShan’s wing) to start taking people away from the school and help him “frame” the Nie cultivators. JGY has full permission from NMJ to do so and LXC is informed as well. LXC pretends to be “kidnapped” and protects the teachers, students, and members of the staff that had been taken away in the meantime.

- JGY needs to take one specific person out of the school (out of sight from his father’s spies): his brother MXY, who had learned how to use transportation talismans long ago. MXY gives JGY some low-level talismans for Su She and his cronies from MoLing, just to make his older brother appear more trustworthy to the spie. but he’s otherwise preoccupied with perfecting a spell to lead an activated Suibian (aka, the Portkey) all the way in Qinghe.

- JGY needs MXY to finish the “receiving end” of the spell and the array that would have welcomed the Yiling Patriarch back. and to achieve that JGY has to sneak MXY out without people from the Jin Sect suspecting him.

- Qin Su conveniently “suggests” to Su She to take MXY away for good measure: she got news from her brothers of their plan to dethrone their father and she’s on board. so her suggestion was taken seriously by Su She and he himself sneaks MXY out of the school despite the (uuuuuuuuh) lockdown (??? too soon? too soon)

- Jin GuangShan now has what he wanted: an opportunity to seek NMJ out... but Nie ZongHui panics and steals WWX’s dizi, planting it in Wen Qing’s belongings. JGY knows his father will still try to ignore the WWX situation in order to pick on NMJ no matter what... but if the cultivation world hears about how the Jin Sect didn’t care if the Yiling Patriarch was behind the disappearances... JGY knows a siege will come for his father all right, but it will come for him and his siblings too.

- so JGY suggests WWX is the one behind the kidnappings, reminding his father -this way- how the entire Sect will be under scrutiny if he refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of the dizi. JGY doesn’t want for the name of Jin to be followed by hatred and disgust just like it happened with the Wens.

- his father luckily catches up on the tension in the room and for the time being accepts to look for WWX like the others instead of trying to come for NMJ’s head (ahahah)

- while MXY works on the array to activate Suibian from afar, LXC is confident LWJ will find WWX all on his own and convince him to help them. but in case LWJ will fail in convincing him... well, activating Suibian they will still be able to summon WWX whether he likes it or not. but LXC doesn’t have time to send the butterfly that LWJ has already left the school (after receiving Wen Qing’s message). so the little butterfly looks for LWJ for the entire night before he finds him... and a bunch of children (including JC).

- which is unexpected, but LXC trusts his brother. he informs JGY and the two of them entrust to MXY the task to send another butterfly to LWJ, activate Suibian, and welcome the group in Qinghe. all while LXC, JGY and NMJ meet in Gusu to plan a siege against Jin GuangShan.

* (end of flashback)

- NHS finally reveals how he had been the one suggesting MXY to give Suibian back to WWX after transforming it into a (raw and unpolished) transportation talisman before freeing him from Koi Tower (roughly at the beginning of the school year). MXY would have needed more time to finish the work on Suibian, but rumors had it WWX was soon to be executed bc now useless to Jin GuangShan after 13 years.

- tense under the scrutiny, MXY remains silent as WWX slowly falls at his feet and thanks him for keeping him company all of those years. MXY still refuses to speak when WWX marvels at the wonderful job he had done with Suibian as he kneels in front of him and tries to take one of the younger man’s gloved hands in his.

- “Finally, Yiling Patriarch,” utters MXY as he graciously accepts WWX’s offer and takes his hand. but WWX tenses, trying to take his hand back, still kneeling in front of MXY, who is smiling down at him.

- “You’re not him,” is all WWX is able to say before Xue Yang reveals his real identity (the changing-faces thingie is apparently called “face-changing technique” and works here in place of the Polyjuice potion). XY activates Suibian (still in WWX’s hand) once more and disappears with WWX.

- now that he has the whole story (and the Yiling Patriarch all for himself to play with!), XY can go back to Jin GuangShan and be given his two fierce corpses back (SL & XXC), who had been held captive for experiments in Koi Tower.

- XY took MXY’s place upon discovering JGY’s younger brother had secretly let the Yiling Patriarch run away with an unfinished transportation talisman. Jin GuangShan’s ordering him to keep the traitor MXY under control and to find WWX. retracing the spell-work backwards only from MXY’s notes would have taken ages so XY hid MXY behind a mirror in a secret chamber, torturing him to force him to tell him how to find WWX. but MXY refused over and over again.

- XY transformed his features into MXY’s ones, but his missing pinky would have jeopardized his mission, so he wore stuffed gloves on both hands, shrugging it off as a stylistic choice. his acting so spot on, not even Qin Su or JGY noticed anything missing, not even NHS, MXY’s best friend, or Jin Ling.

- but JGY never told him the whole story. and now that he knew the truth about Jin GuangShan’s intention to conquer the non-cultivation world... now XY has leverage to get what he wants and flee with his (partners?? lovers?? guinea pigs??) fierce corpses.

- working on a double array to activate Suibian (whatever that means) took almost an entire school year, but in the end he got to drag WWX all the way back to Koi Tower... where the siege will soon take place.

- WWX gets nails in his skull (which I assume could work in place of an Imperius Curse, even if he’s not a fierce corpse) in order to defend Koi Tower from the siege by organizing the corpses against 3Zun’s army of cultivators.

- LWJ looks for his brother as the others and NHS look for more help. they still don’t know WWX is in Koi Tower or for who XY I start working, but NHS knows Jin GuangShan will not wait for the siege to take him down so he suggest they move to LanLing.

- the juniors are exhausted and yet they fly to Koi Tower in the attempt to warn LXC of what had just occurred, when they hear the dizi Chenqing summoning the dead. the battle begins, but doesn’t culminate until 3Zun show up and destroy most of WWX’s corpses.

- WWX himself is fighting against the nails in his skull and his demonic cultivation is deeply unstable, so much his corpses crumble down easily enough. still, there are so many: Koi Tower must have harvested them against the laws of the cultivation-world (XY being one of the mad scientists/magicians behind the project under Jin a GuangShan’s guidance... all in order to terrorize the commoners and eventually rule over the non-cultivation world)

- eventually, LWJ is able to face WWX and take him down, forcing him to come to his senses after taking the nails out. Jin GuangShan is captured and will face trial. Madam Jin takes over the Sect and makes JGY her General.

- during the battle, A-Yuan gets hit in the head and the other juniors try to use a spare transportation talisman (disapparate) to get him back to Wen Qing... but they don’t know where she is fighting and so they go back to Cloud Recesses.

- A-Yuan gets (Splinched) injuried even more and the pain reminds him of his past, of WWX and the rest of his family in the lush mountain of Burial Mounds.

- the school is empty, but Jin Ling finds a way back to his uncle JGY’s office where he knows there are medicinal herbs and talismans they can use. inside, they only find XY who’s looking for something by the desk in a hurry. XY tries to kill them (with an hex??) with a curse... but Madam Yu saves them by capturing him first with Zidian.

- Jin Ling embraces his grandma and explains what happened and where JC and WWX are, but he also insists on the need to save A-Yuan. once that is settled, Jin Ling forces XY to tell him where his younger uncle is -fearing he may be dead- by pointing his father’s sword at him.

- after getting what he wants, Jin Ling runs to MXY’s office and finds the bronze mirror... but he cannot step inside of it. he wishes and wishes and wishes, but nothing happens! he slides on the floor and cries his heart out.

- WWX and LWJ arrive with JC and Wen Qing at the school. Madam Yu is cold towards WWX and accuses him of destroying their family and of disrespecting the debt he owed them. WWX listens carefully and then embraces her anyway. it doesn’t last long, but he doesn’t care.

- LWJ steps inside JGY’s office and asks XY to tell him where MXY is. the other offers to tell him only if LWJ helps him find something in JGY’s room: a key to the (magical, I guess) cell where SL and XXC have been trapped.

- LWJ tells him they already freed them and that they are waiting for him downstairs. restless and eager to meet them, XY tells him nobody aside from someone with MXY’s face can open the mirror door in MXY’s office.

- tired of all that nonsense, LWJ drags XY over to the office, Zidian still cracking and squeezing him in place like a snake, and forces him to perform his imitation magic once more.

- WWX runs behind them and they find Jin Ling sobbing on the floor. WWX smashes XY’s now transformed face into the mirror and they barge inside. MXY is there, some fingers missing, a lost ear, too skinny for comfort, traumatized beyond recognition. but he immediately recognizes WWX and weakly allows the older man to embrace him and hold him tight.

- A-Yuan sees all of this, after Wen Qing got to work her magic on him and starts to cry. he too once had been too skinny and weak, he too had been saved by WWX and then once more by LWJ.

- he remembers everything now. LWJ hugs him tight as they made their way to WWX and MXY. A-Yuan holds WWX tight as MXY marvels at him.

- “Is this... is this A-Yuan? Wen Yuan?” MXY asks, smiling even in his weakened state, “Your dad told me so much about you... so it was you all along, Lan SiZhui?”

- and even if MXY had never been anything but one of his many weird teachers, now that A-Yuan finally sees him after one entire year, knowing he kept WWX company in Koi Tower for so many years... A-Yuan cannot do anything but feel a great deal of affection for him too. so he hugs MXY as well and he laughs as WWX and LWJ hold him tight.

[what a ride. what a fucking ride. I want 150k words for this but I cannot do it. any volunteers? anyway you can interpret the WWX/MXY thingie as strictly platonic, but you are talking to a wangxianyu shipper so........yeah. no but really, I just wanted these poor characters to be happy. also, even if this is a “HP: POA” inspired au, I’ve always loved the mindfuck that was discovering the truth about Mad-Eye Moody in “HP: GOF” so..... sue me.]

[XY will face a trial don’t you worry]

[ignore all the plot holes, Su She would be proud of me for them]

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #wangxianyu #wangxian

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trepidatious · 4 years

Text

( natalia dyer & alexandra daddario ) bopping along to vanilla twilight by owl city is vienna schuyler , the twenty-one year old cisfemale thrown back to their sports journalism days with none of her memories . voted most likely to break into area 51 , vienna was known for being passionate & bashful , go figures you’d always find them on the ice rink , but grew up to be tranquil & withdrawn . ✎ kaya , 22 , she/her , pst .

P A R A L L E L S

mia thermapolis ( princess diaries ) , hyuuga hinata ( naruto ) , casey carlyle ( ice princess ) , amy antsler ( booksmart ) , nadine franklin ( the edge of seventeen )

T R O P E S

shrinking violet , grew a spine , adorkable , homeschooled kid , geek , she is all grown up , extreme doormat , the confidant , eyes always averted , nice girl , shy finger twiddling

1 9 8 8 - 2 0 1 0

born in albany, new york to philip and danielle schuyler, the schuyler twins had been the center of their parents’ world from the moment they took their very first breath. they never had to want for anything and their childhood was often spent in upstate new york, visiting a family cabin during the holidays. it was those winter adventures that inspired vienna to pick up her first pair of skates, wanting to join the teens who’d she see skating across a frozen lake. at first she stumbled through, barely being able to keep herself upright, but by the end of the holidays she had mastered how to glide across the frozen landscape. after that it was only a matter of time before she started begging for lessons which inevitably lead to small competitions and private coaching.

after developing a familiar routine on and off the ice, her parents getting transferred to bellevue, washington caused the schuyler family to move across the country and a seed of doubt to be placed in vienna’s head. while at first apprehensive that her ice skating career would never get to see the light of day, her nerves were quick to dissipate once she joined a local rink and continued her budding career as a skater. homeschooled so she could have time for her private coaching, vienna never got to socialize with others her age, often sticking to the sidelines and offering shy smiles to her fellow competitors. instead her downtime was spent alone, although sometimes in the company of her twin, as she binged movie franchises from star wars to lord of the rings.

by the time she was a freshmen in high school, most of her summers were spent in san diego for a weekend, attending comic con whenever the dates didn’t coincide with her skating life. socially inept with no skills other than skating, vienna’s parents made it a point for her to attend a university like them, not believing that their daughter’s skating career would be enough to keep her afloat despite the success of her international junior career. vienna found herself reluctantly agreeing, being too timid to argue and chose to join rvu knowing her old coach from new york had moved down to california.

a wallflower entering university, attempting to make friends and being in a school setting had felt like a rug being pulled right from under her. in her classes she was hardly acknowledged, only having her presence known whenever she was paired up for a group project. without the private tutor she was used to having her whole life, class settings were often spent with her lost in thought, filling her mind with daydreams of the future and random thoughts about whatever film she had watched the night prior. even when confronted outside of class, she’d often have a soft tone with whoever she was talking to, her eyes cast down as if she was only a few minutes away from stuttering. when you did notice her, it wasn’t uncommon to find a beginning of a blush forming on her face, a nervous smile becoming her default expression whenever interacting with someone.

stretched thin with her studies and unable to qualify for the 2009 u.s. nationals championship, it was common knowledge within the skating community that vienna would still continue training during the current cycle of competitions instead of participating. skipping most of the major international competitions, she instead put her energy and skills into having a set of polished routines ready for the 2011 circuit. but with her degree being in sports broadcasting, espn had invited her to be a co-commentator for the 2009 world championships held in los angeles. with the conversation being about a topic she knew like the back of her hand, her commentary came fluidly and her usually bashful nature was nowhere to be seen as she observed the performances before her. with that attempt successful, it was no surprise that she was invited to vancouver to once again commentate on the competition.

2 0 1 0 - 2 0 2 0

graduating from rom valley university in 2010, she became a paid intern at espn, attending different competitions whenever she wasn’t competing in them. the internship only lasted a year, with her putting her broadcast career on pause to focus full-time on the 2014 olympic circuit. the next few years passed by in a breeze with her getting silver at the 2013 u.s. nationals and sixth place in the world championship, earning the united states a third spot in the olympics. during the 2014 u.s. championships, vienna placed first in the short and free programs, winning the national title and securing a spot on the u.s. olympic team. the rest of her career followed similarly, with her once again competing and placing in world’s as well as winning a bronze team medal in the 2018 olympics.

before the throwback to 2010 happened, vienna had taken another pause in her competitive career, having suffered a stress fracture that put her out of commission. however, as a now internationally decorated medalist, she found herself returning to her broadcast roots, once again commentating at the different competitions and being interviewed on numerous talk shows. throughout her years post-graduation, she had kept in touch with a few people but for the most has kept to herself, preferring her own company over any amount of people. now able to turn on her charisma in situations non-related to skating, she had found herself content with where she was in life, with her days of smiling bashfully at the ground long gone, instead being replaced with confidence.

Q U I C K F A C T S

unfortunately she’s one of the few who DOES NOT remember anything after 2010

all the self-growth and confidence she developed post-graduation??? long gone and home girl doesn’t even realize it sdfghj

definitely still a bashful mess who is avoiding eye contact whenever possible but hey, she’s definitely approachable and currently lacks the ability to be rude to anyone

doesn’t realize the whole marvel cinematic universe becomes as big and major as it is now so if anyone spoils anything she’d either think they’re an oracle of sorts or a secret writer for the mcu

she’s the biggest nerd and fan girl like i saw a few actors/oscar winners on the taken list and if any of your muses were a part of a marvel, lord of the rings, star wars, etc ( if it was at comic con then consider her a fan tbh ) she would have lost her shit being like “i went to school with this person omg” or “my friend is the scarlet witch!!!”

knows random facts about the stars and outer space and probably used to tweet at nasa a lot

her favorite barbie movie is the rapunzel one solely bc homegirl is staring and singing about the stars sdfghjk

probably asked her acting friends to be an extra in whatever movie they’re in

she says it as a joke but one of those “ get me in the movie. jk.... unless ????”

believes aliens are real and probably talked about it in 2010 and in 2020

like her theories about area 51??? and the government???? she could talk about them for days tbh

avoids drugs like the plague. will not even be anywhere where there’s weed smoke bc she’s scared it’ll pop up on her drug test bc she’s a paranoid dumb lil bean

probably doesn’t really drink that often but when she does it’s tito’s vodka

big nerd who speaks sindarin, can read aurebesh, and can somewhat speak togruta despite the limited amount of words that are known

named after the billy joel song and proud of it

ANYWAYS PLS PLOT WITH ME !!!!! my discord is medieval 4loko gang#5402 but feel free to hmu on here <3

i have a stats page here and wc page here !!!

but also come check out her pinterest board here

#again:intro #honestly?? i hate this #but what can u do dfghjk

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lyricfulloflight · 4 years

Text

Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me @elimaryholmes!

Nickname: Don’t really have any.

Real name: Lyric is my fandom name

Zodiac sign: Pisces

Height: 5′3.5″

What time it is: 8:26am

Favorite musician(s): The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Civil Wars, The Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds

Favorite sports team: Team Canada at the World Junior hockey championships

Other blogs: I have one for regency stuff to help me research for writing, otherwise just this one

Do I get asks: Sometimes. I love them, so I generally ask for asks... which sounds kind of pathetic but I get bored and I like to chat :)

How many blogs do I follow: 517

Any tumblr crushes: None I will admit too ;)

Lucky number: 3

What I’m wearing right now: Sweat pants and a hoodie

Dream vacation: Hiking mixed with history

Dream car: I don’t really dream about cars.... maybe a Mini cause they’re adorable

Favorite food: Raspberries, thick, rich honey yogurt, masala scallops, and a good steak

Drink of choice: Earl Grey tea with honey

Languages: English mostly, some French.

Instruments: I played clarinet in high school and piano. HAven’t played either in years, but can still pick things out on a piano.

Celebrity crushes: James McAvoy is my man. Fassy too. I also love Emily Blunt - serious girl crush material.

Random fact: I hate coffee and all coffee flavoured things.

I’m tagging: @msfbgraves, @alaidiem, @akasanata, @pinkoptics, @gold-from-straw. Feel free to play if you’d like!

#tag game #get to know lyric a bit better

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jeserai · 5 years

Text

bits and pieces (5/7)

catradora week 2019 day 5 - promises/lies

She’s so fucking proud—and at the end of the day, as they sit slumped next to each other in the back of the bus together, with a gold medal heavy around her neck and the silver tucked safely in Catra’s bag, Adora knows there’s no place she’d rather be.

When Adora is eight, she joins a fencing club, partially because her older sister does it in high school, and mostly because she thinks it looks cool. While her grandma signs her up for classes, Adora peeks through the window separating the lobby from the fencers, and despite having seen some of her sister’s matches, this is different. Her sister’s matches were always just one school against another, but there are easily twenty matches going on right now. There are people in full gear, milling around the room, doing stretches, running laps or watching matches, and then there are people that Adora assumes are coaches or parents watching as well. But there’s no one her age.

“Adora, dear,” Razz calls out. When she has Adora’s attention, she beckons her closer, and Adora immediately obeys, taking her hand and following her and the lady from the front desk around the length of the room to a door that she hadn’t seen from the lobby.

Down the hallway are locker rooms, changing areas and showers, and beyond that is another gym. This one is much quieter; a crowd of kids her age are sitting in a scattered semi-circle as an adult talks to them. None of the kids are in full gear, just t-shirts and shorts, just like her.

The lady from the front desk turns to look at her and says, “A class is just starting now, but Adora, you don’t have to join if you don’t want to—”

“Yes! I want to, can I please?” Adora looks first at the lady, then at the class, then to her grandma, who just nods and smiles and follows Adora over to the circle of kids as the lady introduces her to the rest of the class.

Adora sits next to a girl with her hair tied in a messy bun and the prettiest eyes she’s ever seen. When the girl glances at her, Adora smiles big, and after a moment, the girl smiles back.

Later, they pair up for stretches, and when Adora shyly asks the girl if she wants to be partners, she shrugs and nods. “My name’s Catra,” she says, sticking out a hand, “but don’t call me Cat. Everyone calls me Cat and I hate it.”

“Okay, Catra. I’m Adora—your eyes are really pretty, by the way.” And they are, one blue and one hazel.

Catra’s eyes turn into crescents with how big she smiles.

As the day goes on, Catra teaches Adora everything she needs to know about the coaches, their classmates, and the older fencers. This is her first year too, but she’s been coming for about two months longer, so she’s basically an expert, she tells Adora. She even knows what weapon she wants to fence.

“Sabre,” Catra says with satisfaction when Adora asks, “it’s the fastest, and the coolest.”

Adora makes up her mind in that moment that she’s going to do sabre too.

(When her grandma picks her up after her own practice, she ruffles Adora’s hair before asking how class was. When her giggles subside, Adora looks back to wave goodbye to Catra, and then says, “It was good! I made a new friend—we’ve already decided to be best friends.”)

Fencing classes are two hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Adora looks forward to it even though the soreness in her muscles only grows after each practice. They’re not using weapons yet, mostly just stretching, running and practicing footwork. “Conditioning is one of the most important parts to fencing,” their coach tells them seriously when Lonnie asks why they don’t have weapons yet, “there’s no point in giving you a weapon if you don’t have the endurance and strength to fence properly yet. Be patient, okay?”

Pretty much the whole class grumbles, but the bad news is quickly forgotten with the promise of a game of dodgeball at the end of class. (As usual, Catra wins the game, and is rewarded with ten whole dollars, to the envy of the class. She buys herself and Adora ice cream from the truck when it passes by outside, and they sit together as they wait to be picked up. They pinky promise then that they’ll always be friends, that they’ll even go to the Olympics together. “Or, I’ll go to the Olympics—you’ll be in the crowd watching me win gold,” Catra brags. Adora shoves her, giggling, and declares that they’ll both fence at the Olympics. “We’ll get gold and silver, ‘cause we’re the best in the world.”)

Every Friday is a mock tournament. Sometimes it’s King of the Hill, other times they’re separated into different pools, other times it’s a direct elimination—but one thing that remains constant is that in the locker room before they head out together, Adora braids Catra’s hair. She doesn’t know why, and she’s not sure Catra knows why either, but it’s become something of a tradition for them: after they change into their gear, Catra sits down on one of the benches in the locker room and Adora stands behind her, running her fingers through her hair before twisting it pretty and quick before they head out together, always together. If Catra had her way, she’d just pull her hair back in a messy bun or ponytail, but Adora quite likes the way she looks with her hair pulled back. Likes that she’s the one that did it.

(“It’s just going to get messed up anyway, stupid,” Catra grumbles, but she’s tilting her head back into Adora’s touch, just like always. “You don’t have to make it perfect.”

“I know, but I want to. It’s... “ Adora pauses, tries to think of how to say that it’s her mark on Catra without it sounding weird. “I don’t know, I just want it to be good. It’s like your good luck charm.”

Catra scoffs, but obediently sits still as Adora finishes the fishtail. “I guess I’ll have to keep you around, then. Since you’re my good luck charm and all—I’ll need that for when I get to the Olympics.”

Adora is glad that Catra can’t see the way she flushes pink.)

Catra, Adora, and Lonnie are chosen to represent the sabres in this year’s Junior Championship; it means staying later and working that much harder, but as Catra reminds Adora, this is just the first step to going to the Olympics together.

They’re each assigned a high schooler to work with after regular practice is over—Adora is with Mara, one of the sabres that had switched over to foil just a year ago. Mara is nice, but she pushes Adora hard enough that she wakes up sore in new places every day. “I don’t really mind that much,” Adora confesses to Catra as she braids her hair, “we haven’t really done any bladework though, just lots of weight lifting and conditioning.”

Catra makes a noise that is somehow sympathetic, disgusted and taunting at the same time. “I’ve pretty much only doing bladework with Octavia. It’s pretty fun.”

“I thought you hated her?”

“Oh, I do. But she’s on the varsity squad at her high school for a reason. But hey, look.” Catra pulls up the leg of her shorts and proudly shows Adora a nasty bruise on her thigh. Adora’s gaze lingers until Catra twists around to look at her, frowning a little.

“Oh! It’s—did it hurt?”

“Only when I touch it,” Catra shrugs, “I’m used to it though—Octavia just hits hard. I have no idea how she hit my leg, though. That’s not even our target area. It looks pretty cool though, doesn’t it?”

Adora rolls her eyes. Of course Catra would be proud of her bruise. “Come on, stupid. Do you want to come over after?”

“Is Razz cooking?”

“I think so, I can ask if you want. If she knows you’re coming over, she will.”

“Oh, good. I’m spending the night too, then.”

Adora bites her lip to hide her grin, ties off Catra’s braid and then tugs on her hair to tell her she’s done. “Sounds good.”

The Junior Tournament goes well—they’re all in different pools, so they can’t watch each other fence, but as soon as she’s done, Adora pushes through the crowd to find Catra on the other side of the gym. She’s not fencing yet, but she’s focused on the match going on now, so Adora stays quiet and bounces on her toes, full of adrenaline. She stills though, when it’s Catra’s match; the girl she’s against is huge, tall and intimidating—but, Adora thinks, if Catra could survive with Octavia, she’ll be fine.

Her hair is braided too, so nothing can go wrong today.

(Catra wins the match, 5-0.)

As she unhooks herself, Catra looks up—meets Adora’s gaze, and smiles big. Adora feels like she’s going to burst with how proud she is of her friend, not only for winning, but for having such a clean match. “You did so well,” she calls out, “lunch is on me.”

“Olympics next, Adora,” Catra mumbles. She reaches out and Adora finishes the pinky promise before leaning more into Catra and closing her eyes to nap on the way home.

Somehow, Catra finds Adora in the crowd and with a lazy grin and, eyes on her all the while, salutes first her opponent, then her coach off to the side, and then—Adora. The quirk of Catra's lips turns challenging, almost like she's daring Adora to get flustered, and though Adora does blush, she rolls her eyes in response to Catra's nonverbal challenge.

But she does nod, and silently will Catra to win her bout.

(She does. Her hair is not braided, and somehow, that means more to Adora than anything.)

It seems almost inevitable, but they both move up to the direct elimination round, and of course, of course, they're in the same bracket. But that's for after lunch, and—almost accidentally, Adora finds Catra in the crowd and reaches out for her, pulling her close enough to ask, "Do you want to sit together?"

And Catra, gorgeous infuriating Catra, looks from Adora's eyes to where their hands are joined and back up with a raised brow before giving her a familiar cheshire grin. It's a moment before she answers, and Adora is sure that she'll say no, but—"Sure. I'll grab us seats if you get us food."

They're still holding hands, and Adora's heart stutters in her chest. She tells herself that it's from the adrenaline of the tournament, and she nods. "I'll find you in a bit."

"Of course," Catra drawls. After another moment, she shakes free of Adora's grip and follows the crowd of fencers upstairs to the balcony.

When Adora finally gets out of the food line, she's got pizza, sodas and doughnuts for the both of them, and she finds Catra sitting far away from their respective teams. She lifts a hand when she sees Adora, but she doesn't do anything to help her carry all the food. Typical Catra—it's somehow endearing even if Adora wants to roll her eyes.

Adora sits next to Catra, sitting criss-cross with their food between them. It's both comfortable and familiar, and Adora laughs a little as she remembers when they used to fence together. "Remember all of the mock tournaments? We used to sit together just like this."

"Course I remember, dork." Catra rolls her eyes, but Adora can tell she feels the same warm nostalgia that she does. "Kinda miss it, honestly. Beating you, I mean."

Adora scoffs. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Fine then, what do you miss?"

Adora sits back, chewing on her lip and watching Catra pick at her pizza as she thinks. What she misses...everything. Being close like this, practice matches and staying late together, watching Catra from the sidelines, having Catra watch her. Fooling around and laughing together, braiding Catra’s hair, sitting close together as hot and sweaty as they'd both get after practice. Being able to just - look at Catra. "You, I guess."

Catra glances up at Adora through her bangs, grinning at her as Adora squirms in her seat. "Me, huh?"

"I take it back-"

"Hey. I miss you too, Adora."

"What, beating me?"

"Well, of course. But..." Catra leans back, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling as she thinks. "I miss the little things. Beating you was fun, but that wasn’t as important to me as being with you was.”

And that's. Far more honest than Adora had been expecting from Catra. "Catra, I—"

Catra looks back at her, one brow arched, and Adora shuts up. She doesn't know what she was going to say anyway—I think I'd fall in love with you if we were still on the same team, I miss you more than you can even imagine, I wish I hadn't moved away?

“Can I braid your hair?”

Catra squints at her, cocking her head in an oddly birdlike motion as she looks at and through Adora. After a moment, she looks away, mouth twisted with some unreadable emotion. “I guess, yeah.”

And somehow, sitting on the bleacher behind Catra and combing her fingers through her hair feelings more natural than anything despite the silence. Catra has an undercut now, and if they had more time, if things were different, Adora knows she could spend hours just running her fingers along her buzzed hair. But as it is, all she says is, “I like your undercut.”

“Thanks, nerd. I didn’t know if I’d like it, but I do. It was kind of an impulse thing.”

Adora finishes the braid, ties it off, and then sits across from Catra, regarding her silently as Catra does the same. “Do you remember the promise we made when we were little?”

“Which one? To go to the Olympics together, or to stay best friends? I’m surprised you remembered, actually.”

Adora winces. “Both, I…” I’m sorry I went to a different school, I wish you could’ve been there with me, I want to be friends again, I still have your old number but I’m afraid to text it because what if you don’t answer, but what if you do? What would we say? What if you hate me?

“You…?”

"I—uh. Never mind. We should eat."

Catra looks almost disappointed and amused, but not surprised. "I guess we should. And hey, I'm not gonna go easy on you in the DEs just because we had this...little talk."

For as light as her tone is, and as lazy as her smile is, Adora can tell that Catra is being fully serious. And that's—Adora's heart thuds, and she tells herself that again, it's just adrenaline. "I won't go easy on you either," is what comes out automatically. "But Catra, can we...save all of that for later? I just...I like this too."

Catra sighs, like the very idea of staying with Adora brings her pain, but she nods. Then she leans back on her hands, observing Adora through lidded eyes, and Adora does not miss the way her gaze steadily and slowly travels down and back up. She’d think it was almost mocking if not for the way her lips curve up into that lazy grin. "Anything you want, princess. But just until the end of the break, okay?"

Two hours. It's not nearly enough time, but—for now, it'll have to do.

(5.5.)

from Catra: hey adora

from Catra: hope this is still ur number

from Catra: ur chapstick tasted rly nice

from Catra: also jsyk i gave u a huge hickey

to Catra: oh my fucking god i hate you

from Catra: >:3

from Catra: ill see u at districts adora

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - x - 6 - 7

#she ra #shera #catradora #catradoraweek #my writing #fencing au #catra fencing saber ??? with an undercut ???? im gay .

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hrhgeorgevi · 4 years

Text

[TV REPORT] ON THE MAT IV

(Taped 23 April 2020 at Princess Theatre, Clacton on Sea, Essex, UK)

Welcome

Dougie Wright once again at ringside and this week he was joined by none of that King George VI Wrestling Club’s Matchmaker Edwin Luntley. They discussed the upcoming event on 3 May at Fairfield Halls, Croydon were we would see the big rematch between Johnny Fresno and the current World Lightweight Champion Metallica Panther III. Luntley said he was keen to move on from the first match which saw the title change hands following a blood stoppage from the ringside Doctor and the events that followed that including Fresno being called before a Judiciary Hearing for speaking out bout the result.

Wright also asked about the current influx of International stars, Luntley said that he gets many letters from fans and TV viewers all over the country asking for more top overseas stars and he’s happy to do that. Tonight we’ll see stars from Portugal, Germany, America, Poland, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

[1] Joao Silva, Eugen Bastiens and Billy Tucker beat Mikolaj Salak, Samir Pande and Barry Bridges(Bastiens with a top rope belly to back suplex on Salak in 26:40, 10:00 shown.)

We cut to the start of the match where Silva (European Heavy-Middleweight), Tucker (World Heavy-Middleweight) and Bastiens (European Lightweight) and Billy Bridges (British Commonwealth Heavyweight) all posed for a photograph with their championship belts.

The match started with the current Joao Silva and the number one contender for his European crown Mikolaj Salak squaring off. The two exchanged a serious of technical holds, much to the appreciation of the fans in Clacton. Silva managed to hit two back breakers but was unable to get him up for his Crucifix Powerbomb.

We cut back to the match with Barry Bridges and Billy Tucker doing battle. Dougie Wright reminded us of the difference in weight between two man but the fans were really loving seeing the World Heavy-Middleweight Champion and British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion slugging it out, with Tucker scoring a near fall following a snapsuplex.

The action returned for the final two minutes of the bout with all six men in the ring and bodies flying everywhere. Pande was sent over the top rope by Tucker and he followed him outside while Barry Bridges hit a piledriver on Silva but neither were the leagal man. Salak was on the top rope going for a high risk move when Silva knocked him down and Bastiens intercepted him and hit a top rope belly to back suplex for the win.

Post Match

After the contest Dougie Wright spoke to Joao Silva in the ring. He welcomed him to Great Britain and asked if he was looking forward to defending his European Heavy-Middleweight Championship and Belt at Fairfield Halls on 3 May. He said he saw nothing special in Salak and thought he’d beat him in less than five minutes.

Pre Recorded Interview

Junior ‘Iron Man’ Morgan was interviewed at his local running track. He Jamaican said that he wants to be a World champion but knows the fest step is to become a British champion and that tonight he would be at Jackie Joyce and retire him for good.

[2] Johnny Fresno (185lbs, Bolton, Lancashire, UK) beat Negro Leon (183lbs, Torreón, Mexico) in a Lightweight contest (following a knock out in in 9:05, full match shown)

The fans went wild as Fresno made his way to the ring, he was handed a banquet of flowers from one young lady at ringside. Negro Leon was waiting for him in the ring, they started off at lightening speed. Fresno avoided a leap frog and then reversed a hip toss for one of his own. Fresno then hit a big dropkick and Leon flew through the ropes to ringside. Fresno slid out to get Negro Leon but was attacked by his opponent. Leon then hit a springboard moonsault to the outside and send his opponent into the ring for a two count.

Fresno though was able to resist submitting to a Camel Clutch and hit a Dropkick that sent Fresno to the corner. Negro Leon missed a running splash and Fresno hit a monkey flip before a spinning heel kick that Negro Leon was unable to return from, being counted out on the mat.

Pre-Recorded Interview

Jackie Joyce had his British Commonwealth Lightweight Championship, he was wearing a blue tracksuit, and looked like an old man who was about to do some gardening. He said he was used to fighting bigger opponents and it wouldn’t take much time to finish off Morgan, Joyce reiterated his desire to retire champion.

[3] Junior ‘Iron Man’ Morgan (187lbs, Kingston, Jamaica) beat Jackie Joyce (188lbs, Northampton, UK) © through disqualification (low blow in 21:20, full match shown Joyce retains the British Commonwealth Lightweight Championship)

Full ring introductions with Junior Morgan and Jackie Joyce shaking hands before the contest started. Morgan was quick to gain control but Joyce kept breaking the holds with either kicks or punches to Morgan’s body. Joyce rocked Morgan with one uppercut that he fell through the ropes and onto the ring apron. Joyce went to suplex him back into the ring but Morgan blocked it and hit a sunset flip for a near fall.

Morgan was quick, hitting the ropes with a great degree of pace, with one such flying cross body block also seeing Joyce struggle to kick out before three.

Joyce, the veteran hit a head but and hip attack on Morgan that saw him too nearly win the contest. At one point the two of them were doing battle at ringside and the referee had to be helped by a second to get both men back into the ring. Morgan had received a cut to his ear at this point and Joyce was relentless in his attack of it, with forearms and a knee drop that made the cut even worse.

Junior Morgan hit a top rope dropkick that rocked Joyce and he then followed it up with a Death Valley Driver. Joyce was in no mans land. Morgan didn’t cover him quick enough though and both men were able to get to their feet with Joyce kicking Morgan square below the belt with the referee having clear sight he called for the bell and the match was ended via disqualification, the belt remaining and championship remaining with Joyce.

Post Match

Joyce told Dougie Wright that he had slipped, he would never mean to hit a low blow, said he’d be keen to give Morgan another shot, but he’ll need to improve.

Morgan, furious with the result demanded that the match be restarted right there and then if Joyce was happy to give him another shot. Joyce wasn’t keen and made his way to the back pretty quickly with the Championship belt.

Next Week

Eight top names in the ring today go head to head in a Clash of the Champions Elimination Tag Match when Jackie Joyce, Johnny Fresno, Barry Bridges and Len Ashurts take Los Metallica Panthers and Billy Tucker! Zimbabwean Heavyweight Alf ‘Sledgehammer’ Salisbury will also be in action plus we’ll see how the Ladies International Grand Prix has progressed.

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tfcrp · 5 years

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THIS IS YOUR GAME

Name: Anderson Ford Age: Twenty One Class Year: Senior Position: Goalkeeper, #4 Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT

TW: abuse

He could have been a perfect son, if only he had a different father. The one he had didn’t want him, and he didn’t seem to want Anderson’s mother, either, all of the dissatisfaction he had with the life he was living laid at their feet, like they were to blame. The worst of his rage was focused on Anderson’s mother: the screaming, the broken glass, the fists—but that didn’t mean that Anderson escaped it completely. But no matter how often it happened, or how bad it was, she would just shrug her shoulders at Anderson and smile, say you know what your father’s like, honey, like it was nothing at all.

One night, as a child, he had hidden in his room, watched the red and blue flashing lights of a cop car pull into their driveway. He thought that they’d take his father away, thought that things would get better, that he and his mother would be safe. Instead, listening at the top of the stairs, he’d heard his father, relaxed and smiling, deflect all suspicion. It was a misunderstanding, he said. His mother didn’t say anything, but it didn’t matter. The police believed him. When they went back to their cars alone, without Anderson’s father in tow, they apologized to him for the disturbance.

And so Anderson learned that no one would save him. And he decided there and then that he would do all he could to save himself—and that Exy would be his way out.

Exy was everything to him: it was a reason to be away from home after school, it was an excuse for the bruises he sometimes carried with him, it was his future, it was his salvation. On every single team he played on, he was always the first one on the court for practice and the last one off, the one who stood out for his seriousness and his focus, the one who was obviously going somewhere.

But everything changed when his sister Autumn was born, thirteen years his junior. Suddenly, it wasn’t just him. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Exy. His mother didn’t seem to love Autumn in the way that Anderson did, immediately and unreservedly. Anderson didn’t want to blame her—she knew even better than him what kind of life she was sentencing her daughter to—but at the same time he knew that he couldn’t count on her to protect his sister. After all, she’d never been able to protect him. For the first time, Exy started to take a backseat, extra hours on the court sacrificed to watch Autumn, to make sure she had happy memories of her childhood that Anderson, most of the time, felt like he lacked. The escape he had so looked forward to should have been within his grasp, but it felt farther away than ever. He couldn’t just leave her there.

He didn’t know where to turn. In a small town, people knew his father. People liked him. No one could see what was hidden right in front of him, and no one had ever helped him. He couldn’t count on them. He was a high school junior when David Wymack came to one of his Exy games. He knew that Wymack wasn’t there for him: he wasn’t a Fox, his future was brighter than the Foxes—even then, teams were already swirling around him, talking about his play, marking him for greatness. But when he stopped Wymack in a back hallway by his high school’s court after the game, still panting in his sweaty gear and filled with desperation, Wymack listened. Can you help me? Anderson asked. And, when the police hadn’t, when no one in his town had, Wymack did.

He told him what to do, what to expect. Maybe somebody else could have, but Anderson hadn’t asked them to. So instead it was Wymack, who always answered his emails and his calls, guiding him through the legal morass of getting his sister—and himself, though that always seemed like a secondary consideration—to safety. At the end of it, his sister was in a stable foster home, and Anderson was an emancipated minor at the age of seventeen. His father, when he saw the writing on the wall, gave up fighting. And, rather than stay in a town where his reputation had been dragged through the mud, he left quietly and without fanfare. And Anderson’s mother went with him—no matter how much Anderson wished he could have somehow saved her, too.

SEIZE IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT

Wymack didn’t expect anything in return, Anderson knew. He never once talked about Anderson becoming a Fox, never once said you owe me. Anderson finished high school strong, working himself to the bone between school and Exy and Autumn to follow the plan that he’d laid out so many years ago: the Captain of his team, one of the top goalkeepers in his year in the entire country. Teams were knocking on his door, and none more than the Penn State Lions. A Big Three team, and an almost guaranteed shot at the pros after that. Everything he’d worked so hard for, and everything he thought he had always wanted.

But he hesitated. His father was out of his life, and he knew who he had to thank for it. His sister was safe, in a new family that made sure she called Anderson once a week, that made sure to keep room for him in her life—and he knew who he had to thank for that, too. And he knew his own skills, was confident in his ability to turn heads with his play, to find his own path to the pros. And so when it came to college, he knew what he wanted to do: David Wymack had earned his loyalty, and Anderson wanted to play for him. It was a decision that shocked the Exy world, and earned Anderson the anger of the coaches and the recruiters—especially on the Lions—who had worked so hard to court him, only to be spurned for the Foxes, of all teams. And, despite all of Anderson’s confidence, his first years on the Foxes yielded nothing but loss and failure. Through it all, Anderson never let a single hint of doubt or regret show—even if, sometimes, in his most private moments, he felt them. But, just as he clung to his plan of playing in college when his childhood was at its darkest, he clings to one thing now: Wymack had given him help when he needed it most, had seen him when nobody else had—and in return, Anderson is going to give him a Championship title.

ANDERSON FORD is portrayed by MAXENCE DANET-FAUVEL and is OPEN

#anderson ford #andersonbio #a #f #o #of

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visa0003 · 5 years

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Blackvelvet Fighter Au

So I've been obsessed with @incorreci-spaghetti 's fighter moodboards and this came out. I'm just gonna share some hc I have for it since I don't think I'll be writing it anytime soon.

Seulgi:

A bartender for a bar known for their more than hostile clients and their fights.

•Learning how to fight was basically on the employer's request.

•It was in one of the most brutal fights that she happened to get scouted. Two gangs started the commotion and she managed to take out more than a half from both sides.

•Heechul (her manager) was having a rough night when his next MMA superstar got arrested and had runout of possible prospects to replace her for the already booked fight next week and needed a drink. Watching Seulgi go at it like it was a piece of cake was like a heavens godsent for him.

•She surprised everyone at the gym even more so when with only a week of training she picked up on several techniques.

•She won her first match, quickly setting her up as the most promising fighter in the league for flyweigth

Rose:

Used to be a happy go lucky college student (majoring in music ofc) until back im her junior year after a party a group of guys tried to rape her. Luckily for her they were too drunk to put up on a real fight and she managed to escape.

•Safe to say she was more than shaken up by the accident so she started taking self defense classes.

•She ended up loving it! There was something just so freeing and empowering about it. She feels like no one could ever hurt her anymore

•She might not be the strongest but she's fast and can last for hours on end.

•She might or not have a crush on the new boxing champion at the gym.

•She practices kickboxing

Lisa:

Is the newest boxing champion on the lightweight divition and also the youngest at only 18 yrs.

•She's considered a prodigy and has been practicing ever since she was a child, following her father's dream

•Lisa is the kind of girl you wouldn't expect to be a ruthless opponent, what with her sweet and childish attitude outside of the ring but as soon as she steps foot on it she transform and becomes a badass bitch with no concept of mercy. Her duality is the main reason why she has so many fanboys and fangirls after her.

•What's even more baffling is that for all of Lisa's talent if she's outside of the ring you can bet she'll do everything in her hands to avoid any kind of physical violence.

Jennie (and Jisoo):

She's a gang leader, she looooves fighting and she will take any excuse to do it. Oh, did you happen to look at her for more than 2 seconds? BAM That's a fist to your jaw. Did you happen to bump into her on the street? PUM that's a kick to your groin.

•Seriously it has gotten to a point where even cops avoid her side of the street.

•If you were wondering, yes, her gang is Ikon and yes, she's the only female.

•To be honest it was all CL's fault, she took her in when she ranaway from her house and basically taught her every move she has. She also taught her to adopt that kind of attitude of she wanted to survive in that world. She just happened to fall in love with the lifestyle...I mean is hard to hate something you're good at, right?

•Truly for all she knows she's living her best life....until another bigger gang beat hers and claimed all her territory.

•She could've died bleeding to death on the street is if it weren't for Jisoo finding her that fateful night and nursing her to health.

•Since then Jennie practically became Jisoo's cat. A very possessive and grumpy cat but a cat anyways. She's literally only soft with Jisoo and only Jisoo and god help you if you do anything to her.

•She finally accepted to enroll in the "BlackVelvet" gym per Jisoo's request when the older girl explained to her that she kind of needed money (now that they were two and sadly her job at the local café barely allowed her to pay the rent to her small studio apartment) and there was a small local competition being held there with a handsome cash prize.

•She ended up winning ofc and getting scouted.

•She only accepted after they agreed to let Jisoo be her manager

Irene:

She's the most desired, beautiful, young CEO of the 21rst century according to forbes magazine. Having started her own business as early as 20 yrso and getting said business raise as one of the biggest monopoly in the world at 27 yrso. Thanks to her Bae Industries is for sure a name that will stay with ppl for generations to come.

•What they don't know about the beautiful CEO is that while in the day she remains as the sharp, intelligent business woman everyone have come to fear and admire by night she's one of the strongest underground fighters in Seoul.

•Fighting is the only true stress reliever she has for having to deal with condencending, sexist, mysoginistic, pervy (old) men all day at work.

•She had to pull out of the underground scene when one of the fights got too much and she was forced to kill a man (it was either him or her and Bae Irene wasn't about to quit out her life for the sake of morals)

•As much as she hates men, the incident did weigth a lot on her consciousness. It got to the point where she started to get trouble sleeping and with her only get away closed she was starting to go insane with stress.

•Thankfully for her, just when she was about to lose her mind she got quite the good news from her old friend (and ex-gf, who she might still have feelings for but shh you didn't hear it from me) Wendy telling her about this new Gym she opened along with two of her mentors and that she should check it out sometimes you know in case she needed to let off some steam and who knows even find an actual challenge for her.

•As soon as she saw the new blood fighting she knew she was in for the long ride.

•She's also a MMA fighter but on the lightweight divition. Don't be fooled though she's been doing this for quite a while and has developed quite the skill to take down several opponents twice her size without breaking a sweat.

•She sort of becomes a mentor for Seulgi, who's new in all this but has the potential to surpise even her in a few years easily.

Wendy (and Joy):

Used to be a big name in the wrestling world with several championships under her belt before migrating to the martial arts (Taekwondo).

•It was in one of the latters matches that she got a severe knee injury that ended her career.

•She used to be childhood friends with Irene, and later her girlfriend, until the day of her accident. She got a deep depression from it and decided to listen to her family and move to Canada to see if the change in scene helped her get over it.

•It took her a few years to finally accept she wouldn't be fighting professionally ever again and a few more to understand that not being able to fight doesn't mean she had to quit the world entirely.

•So she packed up her things and moved back to Korea to find her old manager, mentor and friends with a new propose in hand. Those being Tiffany, Taeyeon and Heechul.

•She wanted to start her own gym and help coach new, promising fighters. Taeyeon is a retired Taekwondo and kickboxing champion, Fany a very rigourous and determined manager who knew next to everything you needed to know about whatever discipline her clients were in and Heechul has the best eye for talent there needs to exist and together they founded the Gym.

•The first couple of months was harsh, they barely had enough to meet the ends day and despite the big names managing it, there were few aspirants willing to sign up and Wendy refused to go to Irene for monetary help.

•She felt ashamed for the way she just left and ended things with her (even when Irene told her more than enough times that she understood) she just wasn't ready to face her yet.

•Thankfully they found the perfect star that would later help them get the fame they needed to become one of the most requested (and then exclusive) gyms in the country just in time. The star being none other than Park Joy.

•Park Joy was Wendy's roommate. She just started college and was more than a little excited to finally be out of her parent's house and Wendy's very comfortable apartment was possibly in the best location next to her college with a much cheaper price than the dorms.

•Despite being way younger than Wendy they clicked instantly and became best friends in record time.

•Much to Joy's annoyance Wendy used to see her as a little sister, incapable of protecting herself. That quickly changed when one night after picking up Joy from a party and lecturing her about the dangers of frat parties and the drunk dumbasses lurking about and how defenseless she was in comparison that Joy snapped and showed her just how wrong she was by breaking several bricks without blinking and explaining to her she got Taekwondo classes when she was young and was already a black belt.

•Wendy was amazed and ever since then she started to beg Joy to pleeeease enroll in her gym and let her coach her into professional Taekwondo. Joy accepted but only after agreeing that she would no longer be required to pay rent.

•Something that luckily worked for both when she ended up victorious competition after competition and the news about it spread all around the country.

•Soon after more and more aspirants started to sign up for the gym along with other professionals wanting to train (and some even teach) there.

•It was only when her gym was successful enough that Wendy got the balls to contact Irene again and let her in inside her life once again

Kim Yeri:

She's Irene's personal assistant and possibly the only one besides Wendy who knows about her secret hobby before she went and joined the latter's gym.

•She's a huge MMA fan who goes to practically every major fight she can get whenever she has the time.

•When she heard about the mysterious goddess (Irene) who had been making a huge name of herself on the underground scene for quite a while now she just HAD to go to one of her fights.

•Her cute enthusiasm and surprising insight quickly got her the older's attention and she didn't hesitate on employing her as her assistant as soon as she saw just how capable Yeri really is.

•To say Yeri was living the dream would be an understandment. She was the person closest to her idol, the pay was more than satisfactory and now she has thr opportunity to engage and interact with the other big names in the fighting world.

•It was after meeting and befriending Lisa that she got the nerve to finally start getting classes for herself and step from being a fan to possibly be a star of her own.

•She decided to take on Muay Thai seeing as none of her closest friend where stars in the discipline and she wanted to be a first.

There it is...maybe I'll add some more later hehe

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enniewritesathing · 5 years

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john has pretty much blocked everything and shoved all his emotions into a locker from the ages of 9 to about 13 until he met brian

little by little, he changes, for the better. it’s noticable to everyone. he’s come out this shell that he created himself. he becomes less guarded and a little more vunerable. not everyone accepts this sort of progress. by that i mean, he’s supposed to be hardened by loss and tragedy. he is, in a way. he matures much faster because of it, but being a teenager, john doesn’t know how to deal with it. by himself anyway. therapy goes a long way between 9 and 20. it was every week, then two weeks, then once a month, then every two, then whenever he needs to go.

he’s learned to not take things for granted anymore. john becomes more affectionate because of it, honestly. and very protective, but not to the point of being possessive. he’s more forthcoming with his thoughts, even if they sound dumb to him. he’s more likely to talk things through than to act on impulse. to some people, this comes off as being overemotional. boy’s got a lot of those; after 5 years not dealing with them, well, something’s gotta give.

since meeting brian, he’s gotten more serious about school work. he wasn’t failing, but he didn’t have high grades either. Think... Cs or B-. he thinks as brian as being the smartest person ever. dude’s making straight As, in honors, and even taking AP classes. (come to find out, this was stressing him out and came to a head in college). not that john considers himself to be a dumbass or anything, but, if he’s gonna be with someone that smart, then he’s gotta up his game.

so, he asks for help. after muay thai practice, instead of winding down, he starts to study a little more. actually do those practice tests and look over the worksheets. make little quizzes. he starts getting Bs and a few As here and there. even hit the honor roll a couple of times!

muay thai, he’s more focused in practice and sparring. he’s not going through the motions any more. sure, his record is decent, has a lot of potential -- he’s won a few junior titles and championships, regional, national -- but hey, if he’s gonna be with brian, he’s gonna have to better, if he wants to go intercontential, international, or even world. this isn��t lost on anybody, but none especially his gruff uncle. “he’s good for you,” he says. “don’t let that go.”

and this is all noticed. the small changes. the betterment. brian is there, every step of the way too. he’s gone through some things himself, given the interaction between him and his so-called family and aunt. but despite everything, brian keeps his calm, his wits. john comforts him through tears, and brian has done the same with him too. brian has a different kind of strength that john finds very admirable and gives him the utmost respect; he wants to protect that, to protect him, so that he can become the person he’s meant to be.

he tells brian this; he thanks him over and over. he’s become a better person since he’s met him, highs and lows. it’s like that first ray of light that splits the darkness until there’s 2, 3 more, etc.

really, the light of his life.

#a text post #non sims #oc: john #i think about this like a lot #he could've have easily been edgy and all of that but nah #in this house we have angst... but happy endings #but yes brian made him better #he saw him like 'damn i gotta get where he's at so im at least worthy of his attention'#john was also pretty shy?? i know that seems shocking but he was #(he still is lol)

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harocat · 6 years

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is Yuuri is the only Official jsf senior skater? Because they only show him on their website but why not minami and the rest... how does one become official by the federation?

Okay let me see if I can describe this correctly. There are two tiers of JSF certified skaters IRL. Premier athletes and non-premier certified athletes.

Premier athletes are the JSF’s top athletes. These are basically their ‘team A and team B’. These are the skaters that get sent to Grand Prix events.

Unfortunately the JSF is redoing their biography page right now, so I can’t get to it and find exactly who they are, but I’d imagine it’s basically the following based on the 2017 GP series:

Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Takahito Mura, Keiji Tanaka, and Daisuke Murakami. After this season that will also include Kazuki Tomono.

For the ladies Wakaba Higuchi, Satoko Miyahara, Marin Honda, Mai Mihara, Kaori Sakamoto, Yuna Shiraiwa, and Rika Hongo. If Rika Kihira moves up to seniors next year, you can expect her to be added to that list. Mako Yamashita I’m not sure… but maybe.

For a skater to be chosen for the Grand Prix series, they have to be seeded. Seeding is a points based system that takes the previous World Championships (and Junior World championships) as well as the skater’s overall international ranking into consideration. It also takes into consideration season’s best scores. The top twenty highest scorers are guaranteed at least one GP assignment. I’m going to be honest though, how they do seeding is a lot of numbers I don’t quite get.

Yuuri is Japan’s ONLY premiere man, as we clearly see on the website. This means he’s the only one they’re regularly sending to Grand Prix events and other big international events. He’s the only one that’s seeded high enough and has a good enough international ranking.

Now the question we don’t know for sure is if Japan in the YOI verse has any non-premiere men. We would not be able to see them on the portion of the website shown in YOI.

If they do, none of them have done well enough internationally be be part of the GP series, and if they DID get sent to Worlds in Yuuri’s place post-Sochi (providing they met the minimum score requirements), they didn’t do well enough to earn a spot on it that way either. Placing in the top ten at Worlds guarantees you two GP assignments, after all. Basically whoever they are, they did not do well and Japan will most certainly have only one spot for the World championships that takes place post-YOI (which would have been Helsinki in 2017). When Yuuri wins it, because of his victory they’ll have two Worlds spots for the next season and two for the Pyeongchang Olympics as well.

Non-premiere athletes might get sent in to senior B events (like Triglav Trophy, Finlandia Trophy, etc). If they place well enough on enough senior B events, they may very well end up with a GP assignment. Examples of non-premiere, but still JSF certified athletes would be Ryuju Hino and Rin Nitaya.

The only way one of these athletes, while still an internationally certified but non-premiere athlete, would get send to a Grand Prix event is if, for example, someone withdrew and they needed a replacement. They would still have to meet the minimum international score requirements though (exception: if the event is in the skater’s home country. I.E. Japan could send a skater that doesn’t fit those requirements to the NHK trophy).

So yes, in a manner of speaking, Yuuri is Japan’s only ‘top’ male skater. There might be other skaters that could send to senior B competitions and the NHK trophy (or to a competition of Yuuri pulled out), but that’s about it.

#anonymous #haro talks #it seems weird for japan to only have one top skater in any senior discipline #but keep in mind even as soon as the early 2000s this was absolutely the case with the men #it wasn't until the breakout of nobunari/daisuke/takahiko and that whole group that it changed #before that they pretty much had takeshi honda and only him

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bunkershotgolf · 2 years

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More Money for Pros but What About Fans?

By ED TRAVIS

The past two weeks have had their share of significant golf news starting with Lee Elder’s death followed by Tiger Woods’ revelation that even made the national morning shows, his days as a full-time touring pro are over. Both stories pushed the PGA Tour’s announcement of a $60 million increase in prize money next season to $427 million out of our attention but did leave unanswered questions concerning the most significant factor in professional golf.

So, what is that factor? Is it stars like the incapacitated Woods or the seemingly ageless Phil Mickelson or future Hall of Famer Dustin Johnson or even the resurgent Jordan Spieth? Could it be the often thrilling mano a mano competition? Or maybe it’s our vicarious enjoyment as the best in the world tackle those tough tests of golfing skill, courses such as Pebble Beach or St. Andrews?

No, none of these are even close. To paraphrase a former U.S. President, “It’s the fans stupid.”

Fans provide the cheers between beers, purchase tickets and food and souvenirs not to mention working millions unpaid hours to run every PGA Tour event which provides massive support to local charities.

Professional golf is an entertainment business, and the paying customer must be considered in almost every decision from broadcast rights to Porta Potties.

The jump in Tour prize money has little to do with the fans but everything to do with the potential challenge from tours catering to elite-players only. The Super Golf League headed by Greg Norman with backing from LIV Golf Investments is funded mostly by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund while the separate Premier Golf League boasts it has no Saudi money saying that they want to “cooperate” with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour which formerly was the European Tour. The newbies are offering guaranteed pay to top players with yet unspecified tournament formats, but team play is a definite possibility.

In addition to the increased tournament payouts the PGA Tour is upping the FedEx Cup yearend cash to $75 million, the Player Impact Program to $50 million and the Comcast Business Tour to $20 million. So, in case your keeping track that’s another $35 million however this money goes mostly for the top stars and certainly does nothing to improve the fan experience either in person or on television.

The Super Golf League has also announced 10 full-field events in conjunction with the Asian Tour with LIV making 10-year, $200 million commitment.

Tournament attendance and broadcast viewership drives the PGA Tour’s negotiations with sponsors and advertisers as well as the level of prize money. And just so we all understand the scope of the dollars involved, the new nine-year broadcast rights agreement going into effect in 2022 pays the Tour in the neighborhood of $700 million a year.

A nice neighborhood but fan-less. The question yet to be answered is how do fans make out from all these multimillions?

Should, as is speculated, the Tour add fall (read after the start of football season) team events? Is this spreading the product too thin? Ask yourself, who would you rather watch, the Fortinet Championship at Silverado or Lefty trying to hit through a cactus in the desert?

A biggest danger is the new circuits, the Super Golf League and Premier Golf, will cannibalize players and fans from the established American and European tours. This won’t grow the interest in professional golf simply dilute what is already there.

Generally, the most avid and interested golf fans are those who play and feed their love of the game by attending events, watching on television and following on social media. This makes it obvious to build and ensure their fan base the PGA Tour must get even better bringing more players into golf whether they are old, young, juniors, women, men or those with special needs.

Meaningless so-called competitions which are actually pay-for-play exhibitions don’t reward fans, aren’t especially entertaining and provide a lousy return from all this new money.

#golf #EdTravis #European Tour

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junker-town · 3 years

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Final Four teams in the men’s NCAA tournament, ranked

There are four teams left standing in the men’s NCAA tournament. Who do you think will win it all?

The 2021 men’s NCAA tournament has been anything but predictable. The opening weekend featured the most upsets in tournament history, with four double-digit seeds busting through to help form the highest seed total the Sweet 16 has ever seen.

It looked like things would go mostly chalk from there with three No. 1 seeds still standing, but UCLA had other ideas. The Bruins upset top-seed Michigan in an Elite Eight thriller to set up a Final Four that should offer a fitting and exciting conclusion to the tournament.

UCLA now faces a powerhouse Gonzaga program looking to finish off its historic undefeated season. Baylor and Houston sit on the other side of the bracket. In a way, this tournament has played out in perfect fashion: we got upsets early, but still have a chance to watch the two best teams in the country all year long square off for the national championship. The Cougars and Bruins likely have other ideas.

Let’s re-rank the field in the men’s bracket before the Final Four starts on Saturday.

4. UCLA Bruins (No. 11 seed)

UCLA was at rock bottom two years ago when they hired Mick Cronin away from Cincinnati. Cronin wasn’t their first choice, and he wasn’t their second or third choice either. A defensive coach with a grind-it-out style seemed like an odd fit for a job as glamorous as UCLA, but Cronin was still building positive momentum after a solid 19-12 debut season. Then everything seemed like it started to fall apart.

Months after last season ended, UCLA’s top incoming recruit, Daishen Nix, opted to instead play in the G League. Eight games into the season, star forward Chris Smith tore his ACL. Jalen Hill left the team for personal reasons shortly after that. The Bruins still looked solidly in the NCAA tournament for most of the season despite all that, but losing their last three regular season games plus their first Pac-12 tournament game made for a sweaty Selection Sunday.

UCLA did earn an at-large bid with a play-in game against Michigan State, and the rest is history. The Bruins made their way to the Elite Eight with two overtime victories against the Spartans and No. 2 seed Alabama before certifying their case as a legit contender with a win over top-seed Michigan. UCLA slowed down the game to a halt, forced Michigan to hunt mismatches in the post, and drained the exact shots (long two-pointers) that Juwan Howard’s defense is built to give up. Along the way, former Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang has become an unlikely tournament hero with his tough shot-making, while Tyger Campbell has given the Bruins the steady hand they needed at point guard.

UCLA will be a massive underdog to a Gonzaga team that looks like one of the best in the modern history of the sport. In that sense, there isn’t much pressure on the Bruins heading into the Final Four. They’ve already proven the world wrong by getting this far. What’s one more victory?

3. Houston Cougars (No. 2 seed)

The Midwest was supposed to be the region of death in this year’s NCAA tournament, but that didn’t apply to the Houston Cougars. Kelvin Sampson’s team busts into the Final Four after beating only double-digit seeds on their way to winning the region. Things are about to get a lot tougher against a Baylor squad that has been one of the country’s best teams from the jump, but at this point Houston’s profile suggests it is far closer to elite than it is lucky.

The Cougars enter the Final Four with the No. 7 offense and No. 8 defense in the country. They play at a snail’s pace, shoot tons of threes, and dominant the offensive glass. The Cougars have won 11 straight games heading into the showdown with the Bears, and they’re one of the few teams in the country who have the guards to keep up with Baylor.

Quentin Grimes was a McDonald’s All-American out of high school who was supposed to be a one-and-done at Kansas. He transferred to Houston after a subpar freshman year, and has now fully blossomed into a star for the Cougars as a junior. DeJon Jarreau, a former UMass transfer, has become Grimes’ co-star, while 6’1 sophomore Marcus Sasser gives Sampson another guard who can get after it on both ends. This Final Four run happens after Caleb Mills, the AAC Preseason Player of the Year, left the program in Dec.

Houston will try to get Baylor into a rock fight. If they can control the tempo and hit their threes, an upset is absolutely possible. Yes, the Cougars have had an ‘easy’ path through the bracket, but they still very much deserve to be here.

2. Baylor Bears (No. 1 seed)

It’s easy to forget that the Baylor Bears would have been a No. 1 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament if it wasn’t canceled because of the pandemic. The Bears brought back four starters from that team and added a few impact transfers, led by big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and guard Adam Flagler. The result has been a team that’s even more dominant on the way to the program’s first Final Four appearance of the modern era.

The Bears started this season 18-0 before dropping an away game to Kansas and a Big 12 tournament semifinal matchup to Oklahoma State. Those are the only games they’ve lost all year as they break into the Final Four at 26-2. If there was concern that Baylor looked a little shaky heading into March Madness, it didn’t really show itself on their run through the South region. Only Arkansas came within single-digits in the Elite Eight, and there was no doubt who the more talented team was during that game.

Baylor’s trio of guards — Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, and MaCio Teague — have powered the program to elite status for two seasons now. Mitchell has become the leading man in March, showcasing his incredible offensive burst and lockdown individual defense throughout this run. Teague’s shooting and Butler’s steady hand in running the offense have also shined, while Matthew Mayer and his mullet have provided some essential floor spacing.

We were supposed to get Baylor vs. Gonzaga back in early Dec. before the game was canceled just before tip-off because of Covid protocol. Let’s do it again for the national championship.

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (No. 1 seed)

Gonzaga enters the Final Four staring down history. No college basketball team has finished the season as an undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976. At 30-0, the Zags are just two wins away from doing it.

Gonzaga was not challenged during their march through the West region. It beat No. 16 Norfolk State by 43 points, No. 8 seed Oklahoma by 16 points, No. 5 seed Gonzaga by 18 points, and No. 6 seed USC by 19 points. None of those games felt as close as the final score indicated, and the final score still indicated a blow out.

The Gonzaga machine was hitting on all cylinders against the Trojans in the Elite Eight. Freshman superstar Jalen Suggs scored 18 points and finished two assists short of a triple-double. Sophomore center Drew Timme dominated his matchup USC’s freshman star Evan Mobley, finishing with 23 points, four assists, and three steals. Corey Kispert added 18 points, too. All three looked like the All-Americans that they are, and the rest of Gonzaga’s overqualified role players finished the rest of the job.

Gonzaga’s offense — the second most efficient of the KenPom era, starting in 2002 — gets most of the credit for good reason. More underrated is how effective the Zags’ defense has been. The Zags are currently No. 4 in the country in defensive efficiency, and are posting the second lowest points per 100 possessions of Few’s tenure. The Zags had six steals against USC, but it felt like twice as many. Their ability to turn misses and turnovers into quick-strike buckets is typically what blows games open.

Gonzaga has been the best team all season. They certainly look like the best team as we reach the final weekend of the season. It probably won’t be easy, but at this point we haven’t seen any team’s best shot actually be good enough to beat the Zags.

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